BB: LL: Liberty League

[BBFan62]

Clarkson starts off decent with three of four.  Only loss comes with ace on hill, so the Knights have to be happy with start, gets real rough at end of trip with three difficult opponents (Worcester St., WNEC, Whitewater..yikes!).  I may have been off on RPI.  Just not the same program as 5-10 years ago.  St. Lawrence off to a good start at 5-1, but, outside of Otterbein, the schedule has been weak.  Rochester playing competitive but appears to be struggling at plate.  Skidmore as usual, not playing very good competition in Florida so it will be hard to read them.  Newcomer RIT had a rough trip.  I still like my top four picks, but, may move the Redhawks down a bit.  Northern teams may be the teams to beat.

Let the fun begin! Rochester ended 3-5 on the Florida trip, including losing 1-0 to Wash U and 2-1 to Emory in the first two games. Not the outcome we wanted but considering they were the first 2 games and versus good competition that had a dozen games under their belts, we'll take it. Now let's hope Mother Nature continues her good mood.

[Pitchersmom]

Yeah,  RPI struggled in Fl. Ace hasn't hit his stride, relief was a bit shaky and unearned runs hurt. 3-5 for the week. Bats were warming as the week went along, talent is there.

[airball55]

Clarkson moves to 6-1 with a DH sweep of Worcester St. today.  Tough road in though with WNEC and Wis-Whitewater.  All of our teams may not need to fly south next year with this unseasonable weather.  Probably snow this weekend now after that joke!

[BBFan62]

Clarkson moves to 6-1 with a DH sweep of Worcester St. today.  Tough road in though with WNEC and Wis-Whitewater.  All of our teams may not need to fly south next year with this unseasonable weather.  Probably snow this weekend now after that joke!

Well, UR opens at Skidmore. According to the weather forecast, okay for Saturday, rain on Sunday. Then at Rochester, sun on Monday & Tuesday......rain on Wednesday, a scheduled BB day! We had great weather for the Florida trip this year and saw exciting baseball to boot. Let's hope it stays nice, as rainouts/snowouts cost us big time last year!

[BBFan62]

Clarkson moves to 6-1 with a DH sweep of Worcester St. today.  Tough road in though with WNEC and Wis-Whitewater.  All of our teams may not need to fly south next year with this unseasonable weather.  Probably snow this weekend now after that joke!

Well, UR opens at Skidmore. According to the weather forecast, okay for Saturday, rain on Sunday. Then at Rochester, sun on Monday & Tuesday......rain on Wednesday, a scheduled BB day! We had great weather for the Florida trip this year and saw exciting baseball to boot. Let's hope it stays nice, as rainouts/snowouts cost us big time last year!

Due to a potential rain-out, the UR-Skidmore games for Sunday have been moved to 1:30 & 3:30 Friday afternoon. Strap on the seat belts, get ready for fun!

[BoomerIL]

Tough way to start the season.  Its a shame, and now it appears to have gotten worse for UR, that they didn't get to play a couple games before the UAA's like they have in the past. Adding RIT to the Liberty League and eventually Bard, may help them in the future (may have two divisions in the Liberty League). Time will tell.

The losses against Skidmore must have been tough, since in the recent past UR has had it the other way. Personally, I like the way UR had their lineups for the last two games against Skidmore. Although I would move Caghan to the three hole and then have either Lesuer, Davis, or Sander lead-off. They need speed in the one and two holes. They also need to have Barnard play third all of the time. No one else seems to be able to handle that spot.

The lineup needs to be consistent, the same, except if someone really falls apart. Players need that consistency so they can focus on their job. Looking over their shoulder hearing foot steps may push them, but consistent play and batting makes them better. It's also a shame that some of the seniors haven't set an example and "step-up" their play. Its all about heart, the team, and not personal wants. A few players can't always carry the team. Maybe if some would put in "extra time" working on their skills, it might help the team, and coaches!!

Every player has class work, and its tough at a school lke UR. But it can be done. Maybe the underclassmen can do some pushing. UR has put many very good teams on the field in the past, only to come up a little short at the end. Maybe these guys can string some wins together and make a push toward the league tournament. Who knows, "stuff" happens.

[LLObserver]

Based upon the first week's games, anyone want to revise their predictions on how the standings will shake out this year?

[airball55]

Great question.  Some surprises for sure.  Rochester is on the outside looking in obviously now.  Maybe Skidmore is better then I thought, as well as others.  RPI, Skidmore, St. Lawrence and I am still going with Clarkson in the last slot.  Union is a bit of a surprise early, but, I got to see it some more. 

[Joe Baseball]

Great question.  Some surprises for sure.  Rochester is on the outside looking in obviously now.  Maybe Skidmore is better then I thought, as well as others.  RPI, Skidmore, St. Lawrence and I am still going with Clarkson in the last slot.  Union is a bit of a surprise early, but, I got to see it some more. 

A season is not decided in one weekend.  Revisit this in a couple of weeks and see where things stand then.

[airball55]

As I stated.  No one has implied the season is over.  There were some surprises in the first weekend.  Just some innocent discussion.  Chill out man, we are all fans of d3baseball here in this room.  The Rochester boys get testy every now and then, just kidding!!

[Pitchersmom]

Ok, so it's clear I'm an RPI fan, but air balls comment that RPI isn't the same program as 5-10 years ago was a zinger after Florida. Hopefully the strong start in the LL gets us going in the right direction. This weekend bats were smoking' vs. Clarkson with Rpi taking 3.

[BBFan62]

As I stated.  No one has implied the season is over.  There were some surprises in the first weekend.  Just some innocent discussion.  Chill out man, we are all fans of d3baseball here in this room.  The Rochester boys get testy every now and then, just kidding!!

IF the UR bats wake up we'll be okay.

[airball55]

Go easy RPI mom.  Having followed RPI over the past 10 years or so, it was practically an easy conclusion that you could write the Redhawks in for the tournament.  They were easily mentioned with Cortland in terms of their own league dominance.  However, the past 5-6 years, times have changed.  They even missed the conference tournament not too long ago!!  Remember, I picked them this season, thinking they may recall some of that past season's dominance.  All I am saying is, they have come back to the pack.  Not too long ago, this was a preseason top 25 program automatically.  Now, with Skidmore and Clarkson and even St. Lawrence getting tournament bids, as frequent and more frequent then the Hawks, the times have changed.  Don't be alarmed, they are off to a good start, but, both of those series' were at home.

[baseballislife]

First of all, I think airball's comments are pretty objective and fair.  And hey, if other fans' teams were off to the start that UR is off to, they would be a little testy, too.     If you start settling for and accepting losing - that is exactly what you you will do.  At least we have a reason to be grumpy, Pitchersmom  .

Too bad the SLU/UR series got cut short due to the worst conditions I think I have ever seen.  The series was a draw for 24 of 25 innings, excepting one 7 run debacle in game 2.  Two walk off games - one each way.  Still surprised with the sweep in Saratoga in week one - the first 4 game sweep against UR in the LL since moving to the 4 game format in 2006.

But hey, UR has 20 of 29 players in either their freshman or sophomore year and there are still 20 to be played.  I'm pretty sure they will show up.  Thankfully, the forecast for Troy looks pretty good at this point.  Weatherwise for UR, their new field (fieldturf) can't come quick enough.

[BBFan62]

First of all, I think airball's comments are pretty objective and fair.  And hey, if other fans' teams were off to the start that UR is off to, they would be a little testy, too.     If you start settling for and accepting losing - that is exactly what you you will do.  At least we have a reason to be grumpy, Pitchersmom  .

Too bad the SLU/UR series got cut short due to the worst conditions I think I have ever seen.  The series was a draw for 24 of 25 innings, excepting one 7 run debacle in game 2.  Two walk off games - one each way.  Still surprised with the sweep in Saratoga in week one - the first 4 game sweep against UR in the LL since moving to the 4 game format in 2006.

But hey, UR has 20 of 29 players in either their freshman or sophomore year and there are still 20 to be played.  I'm pretty sure they will show up.  Thankfully, the forecast for Troy looks pretty good at this point.  Weatherwise for UR, their new field (fieldturf) can't come quick enough.

BBislife-
Well stated. People tend to forget about the youths on our team. But, these kids can all play. Like I said, if our bats come alive, we'll be fine. We have 4 good starters and one of the best closers you'll find. Defensively, our guys can rake. Despite a few pitching lapses, our main problem has been clutch hitting. We went toe to toe with St. Lawrence; they (STL) also played great defense. Our pitching got them to hit a ton of ground balls and hit into 3 double plays despite St. Lawrence not hitting into any before our series. So, look at the positives and prepare for the final 20!