BB: Midwest Region

[BigPoppa]

Biggio-
Complete agreement on the Oles (I was unsure of them even after talking with a former player of mine that is there now). They are looking very strong.

I was high on Oshkosh early in the pre-season and took a ton of flak when I placed them at #24 in my pre-season poll in January. I just found it hard to believe that Lechnir was not a good coach and would figure out a way to  right the past few seasons. Other than a loss to Carthage, they have looked spectacular.

I am not sure what the deal with the Tommies is. Are they struggling under Olean's first full season (Denning resigned in January of last year, but ran the fall season before leaving)? I am sure they will get back on track before all is said and done, but will they do too much damage to make the post-season as a Pool C?

Bethany is bit of a mystery to me. Weather is preventing us from getting a solid read on them with Webster rained out, and Rockford and Augsburg both cancelled this weekend. A game next week with Buena Vista might give us more insight into their future. Still, they should pile up Ws in the UMAC. Kudos to them for improving the SoS this season with UST, St. Olaf, and the lost games with Webster, Rockford and Augsburg (which they should try to re-schedule to bump up their SoS).

[biggio34]

Biggio-

I am not sure what the deal with the Tommies is. Are they struggling under Olean's first full season (Denning resigned in January of last year, but ran the fall season before leaving)? I am sure they will get back on track before all is said and done, but will they do too much damage to make the post-season as a Pool C?

Bethany is bit of a mystery to me. Weather is preventing us from getting a solid read on them with Webster rained out, and Rockford and Augsburg both cancelled this weekend. A game next week with Buena Vista might give us more insight into their future. Still, they should pile up Ws in the UMAC. Kudos to them for improving the SoS this season with UST, St. Olaf, and the lost games with Webster, Rockford and Augsburg (which they should try to re-schedule to bump up their SoS).

Regarding the Tommies, I'm not sure it's the coaching that has anything to do with their struggles... unless we are examining the recruiting aspect of coaching.  I know STU brought in a huge class, of which I must admit I know little about, but did they bring in guys capable of filling the large holes left by Schuld, Larson, Wippler, Stone etc ??  Also, I'm puzzled as to why they do not have their website updated. It's actually pretty annoying.  You have to visit their opponents site to gather any info about what is actually going on in their games.  The one game they did update their site about was the Whitewater win... go figure.


As for Bethany, their SOS may be effected by things outside their control, even though they did attempt to  schedule so good teams.  If STU continues to struggle, playing them won't mean what it has meant in the past.  And you can't control weather.  It's unfortunate, but like you said BigPoppa, hopefully they are able to reschedule some of these good games later in the year.

[MIACLUV]

I'll be the first to admit that the Tommies are down. And by down, I mean that this isn't Tommie Baseball that Coach Denning preached while building this squad into what it was prior to this season. Defense & pitching have been the cornerstone of this program for better than a decade. They are young, but the guys rolliing out there are not getting it done. Olean was a pig part of that pitching I talked about earlier and I do not doubt that the pitching will get in line soon. But the defense and offensive strugles fall on his shoulders and that of his assistants. I think it's about time to bite the pride bullet and get Buzz Hallahan on the horn. He was a huge part of the defensive success as well as offense throughout the run of the 2000's. This will not happen though, since Buzz & Olean aren't exactly close. I think a lot of promises are made in recruiting of these rookies and it may be backfiring with a lack of chemistry. Great talent only wins with great direction!
Also yes, seriously the website get on it. I realize that the Basketball team just won a National Championship  but did the SID decide to take the spring off? Likely a recruiting move to keep the poor start out of the recruits vision.

[MIACLUV]

As scores continue to roll in this week and games are starting to pile up, it appears that several teams are (or have the chance to be) good to very good while others are surprisingly not playing well.

I have questions for those in the know about the following teams.

So here goes...

1.  St. Olaf - Impressive schedule and an even more impressive record.  Their pitching staff is obviously setting the tone.  I thought they would be improved from last year... I'm surprised they improved by this much.  Are they as good as their record looks?

2.  UW-Oshkosh - Along the same lines as Olaf... thought they would be better, surprised at how good it sounds like they are playing.  Its looking like these JUCO transfers are legit??  The pitching staff seems deep too? 

3.  St. Thomas - Again, a tough early schedule, but alot of their games have not even been that close, which surprises me.  It's one thing to lose games, but they seem to have been over matched in some of these scores.  Are we looking at a team that just isn't that good, or have they been unprepared, or have their opponents just brought their A game every time?

4.  Bethany Lutheran - They won some close games early, I know they are deep on the mound, but will their offense be able to keep up with the better teams in the region?  Will this squad be in the conversation at the end of the year when its regional time?


I have not seen a single game yet this year, so my ability to comment is limited to box scores and articles.  Sounds like a lot of games in the region will be canceled this weekend.  Never thought I would say this, but I miss the Metrodome.   

Give this a whirl:
1) St. Olaf - There was a point where I thought this squad may come back to earth, guess not. The pitching has been really good vs some very good teams. Offense doing enough to win games against some upper tier arms I may add. The MIAC is theirs to lose at this point. NOBODY in the league is as deep as they are on the mound.

2) Oshkosh - Healthy staff, a LEGITIMATE catcher for a change and a group of guys that can what Lechnir dishes out makes this team very dangerous. Very impressed by what the back end of the staff has done to teams such as Wooster. Definitly looking at the tournament in my opinion.

3) St. Thomas - Pretty sure I covered that

4) Bethany Lutheran - Webster would have been a good measuring stick, but this team is only as good as the offense that shows up that day. They have a lot of holes to fill, but can depend on not needing a whole lot of runs to win when Hallahan is on the mound. Looked like they got some quality starts in Florida from guys not named Hallahan. Could be a year that they topple the St. Scholastica mountain.

Things like SOS are tough to judge. Any team that put St. Thomas on their schedule are not happy right now. Other than Point & Whitwater, there is probably no safer team to put on your schedule to improve your SOS. Without the dome and with the lovely weather we've had in the twin cities, your going to see a lot of games crammed into short periods of time. Which in turn means some teams are going to lose games they shouldn't being stretched thin on pitching. To say this year is going to be strange, may be the understatement of the season.

[Bronko7]

For what I believe is a UST guy to come down this badly on the Tommies is a little brutal in my own opinion. UST graduated a ton of talent that has contributed for multiple years and you don't just replace those guys with freshman and expect to stay the course. Olean will have this team ready by the end of the year and I expect them to still make a regional.
Its easy to jump on the bandwagon of teams after a good florida trip, but again seasons aren't made on a one week trip. Its a test of the depth in a teams pitching since a great deal of the time teams are throwing their 4 & 5 midweek vs some pretty good teams.
Based on stats and having seen a few of these teams, here's my thoughts:

St. Scholastica  B+  (pitching good, offense good, defense is a ?)
Bethany Lutheran  B  (Dominant 1 very good 2, offense is average)
St. Thomas   C+   (young pitching ok, defense really hurting them right now)
St. Olaf   A-   (Pitching has been terrific, youth shows up at some point though)
St. Johns  B   (Dominant #1, good offense, not a lot of depth on the mound)
Whitewater  A- (Not a lot of holes in this squad, with a lot of returners)
Stevens Point  B+  (Still my pick to win the WIAC, slow start. Too many good players)
Oshkosh  A-  (a lot like Olaf, very good and deep on the mound, offense firing well)

Again, ITS EARLY

[BigPoppa]

The Tommies will be there in the end.

The WIAC may have three Top 15 teams by the end of the season.

I love the Oles right now. Just get it done day in and day out.

I see the WIAC getting three bids... the MIAC getting two... and the UMAC getting 1.5 bids. Still not sold on Bethany Lutheran, but they have a chance to do some damage this year. It would have been easier in the Pool B, but moving to Pool C may cost the UMAC.

I have no idea of what to think of the NAC right now, but I really like Concordia-Chicago so far.

[Just Bill]

Nice inter-conference Midwest match-up tomorrow with UWSP at Edgewood in a DH at 1:00. EC has live stats and live video, so you'll have something to distract you from doing work at the office.

EC live links: http://www.edgewoodcollegeeagles.com/sports/2008/6/12/GEN_0612080837.aspx

[cubs]

2) Oshkosh - Healthy staff, a LEGITIMATE catcher for a change and a group of guys that can what Lechnir dishes out makes this team very dangerous. Very impressed by what the back end of the staff has done to teams such as Wooster. Definitly looking at the tournament in my opinion.

Care to elaborate on the legitimate catcher comment?  I guess I am a little confused, because going into this season you had a three-year starter returning at the catching position in Hiroskey.  Now I understand that he was unable to catch the majority of last season due to injury, but I don't think that was what your comment meant. 

Just going back and looking at who started at catcher the past 10+ seasons shows more often than not, they have had a "legitimate" cathcer.  Below, you can see that Oshkosh has had an All Conference catcher seven of the last thirteen years.  In four of the other six years, Oshkosh's catcher was an Honorable Mention selection.  That leaves two years since 1998, that Oshkosh was without a catcher receiving any type of recognition, in 2001, when Ben Stanley was a first year starter, and in 2005, when the primary catcher still threw out one out of every three stolen base attempts.  Some of the names to strap on the gear over that time?  Casey Kopitzke, Vince Mancuso, and Korey Feiner just to name a few.

[cubs]

As scores continue to roll in this week and games are starting to pile up, it appears that several teams are (or have the chance to be) good to very good while others are surprisingly not playing well.

I have questions for those in the know about the following teams.

So here goes...

2.  UW-Oshkosh - Along the same lines as Olaf... thought they would be better, surprised at how good it sounds like they are playing.  Its looking like these JUCO transfers are legit??  The pitching staff seems deep too?

A couple of comments, although a bit tardy....

1.  Oshkosh had some pitchers that were thrown to the wolves last season, when in all honesty they weren't ready.  While guys like Mattson, Cordier, and Kuepper were busy quitting the last two years, guys like Westphal, Mrkvicka, Murphy, and Wells took their lumps, but stuck with it.  Now you have guys that have some experience to supplement the return of Rubens, and the D1 transfer in Schreiber. 

2.  Westphal and Mrkvicka ended last season as the Titans #2 and #3 pitchers.  Now with Rubens and Schreiber, it allows them to slide down in the rotation, and in Mrkvicka's case, be the main bullpen option.  That depth "should" pay off, with the way the weather is this season.  While Whitewater and Stevens Point can arguably match-up just as well (if not better) in the #1, #2, and #3 spots with Tincher/Leitner/Donovan and Williams/Delorit/Koback, I think Oshkosh has shown a little more pitching depth thus far.

3.  The change in the bats for the 20011 season, may benefit a team like Oshkosh more than the other WIAC contenders.  If you take a look at the stats over the past 5-10 years, Point and Whitewater have made a living with the longball.  Oshkosh on the other hand has been laying down bunts and moving runners over instead of waiting for the 3-run HR, leading the WIAC in sacrifice bunts five of the last six years.

Now most of this is just my opinion, which is subject to change over the next couple of months...

[MIACLUV]

Correct me if i'm wrong here but in 08 & 09 (could be Hiroskey) was him moving to catcher a positional conversion following the injury to Mickey? The kid did a fine job, but catchers need experience to handle staffs and situations and nobody was scared to run on him. Been awhile since they've had a strong defensive catcher. i guess it should have been worded as a "shut the running game down" type of guy. All Conference is 9 times out of 10 an offensive award, but some do receive those honors for their work with the glove. Take Field for example at UST, he's hands down the best defensive catcher in the MIAC, but will never be the first team All MIAC catcher. Slick at Bethel puts up ridiculous numbers and will get that nod every time despite being middle of the road MIAC defensively. The guys you mentioned were all very good players, Kopitzke both ways especially. But very good 2 way catchers are a short commodity. And right now they have a very good one.

[ballfan55]

I think what you are seeing is Oshkosh finding a way to get their best players on the field.  Hiroskey was a SS coming out of HS that was converted into a catcher.  His are clearly couldn't hold up and it makes since to move him to 1B to save the arm but make use of his bat.

A comment about Matt Wells.  Matt hardly pitched in HS.  He put in a few innings here and there but was primarily a 3B/OF.  The one thing he had going for him was a lot of movement (which actually hurt his 3B play, the ball just moved too much).  My son was a teammate and said he was the hardest player to hit against in practice he just lacked consistency.  If he gets it together like he did against Wooster he could be a real surprise.  Lechnir made a smart move by putting him on the mound.

[biggio34]

Good stuff!  From the sounds of it Oshkosh is a force to be reckoned with.

I agree with Cubs on the fact that the new bats will bring Point and Whitewater back to the rest of the field when it comes to scoring runs.   Teams like Oshkosh, Olaf, CSS that have more singles and doubles type hitters that can execute situationally have to be excited about this change.

I have read on other boards some statistics about offensive production due to the new bat, but without having seen a game yet, I don't have a good feel for how it is impacting the game.  It seems as though teams are putting up runs, but doing it in different ways, instead of counting on the 3 run bomb??  So the question is, what team is going to be best able to adapt and excel with this new bat?  I would have put money on it being St. Thomas before the season started, but that has not panned out to this point. 

[biggio34]

Take Field for example at UST, he's hands down the best defensive catcher in the MIAC, but will never be the first team All MIAC catcher.

Hmmm, I have no idea if Field is good this year or not, offensively or defensively, BECAUSE ST. THOMAS HAS NO STATS!!!  WTF

[BigPoppa]

So... does everyone still think I was crazy putting Oshkosh in my preseason top 25?

[cubs]

So... does everyone still think I was crazy putting Oshkosh in my preseason top 25?

I am not surprised with how the top of their rotation is pitching.  That was one part of their team I thought would be solid.  It's the back end of the rotation that has been better than expected.  If they continue to get solid performances from guys like Wells and Murphy, it just makes UWO that much better. 

I am however surprised with how they have performed offensively.  Outside of Fadness, there were quite a few question marks with their line-up.  The JUCO guys have definitely made an impact accounting for a third of the Titans extra-base hits.

The defense is a surprise as well, as a lot of guys are playing new positions this season.  They have already turned 15 double plays in 10 games.  To put that in perspective, they turned just 32 in 38 games last season.