BB: Central Region Rankings

BigPoppa · March 23, 2009, 05:57:39 PM

BigPoppa's Central Region Rankings:

1. Augustana: 12-3 (Can they continue to produce once the CCIW starts?)

2. Beloit: 10-2 (Buccaneers were listed as my pre-season dark-horse in this region. So far, they have not disappointed that expectation)

3. Buena Vista: 10-1 (Have not faced the best competition, but all they do is win ball games.)

4. Carthage: 6-4 (Brutal southern schedule took a toll on the Redmen. Need to shore up their defense if they want to make a run again)

5. Aurora: 9-4 (starting to make a bit of a comeback after a few down seasons)

6. North Park: 9-4 (Luke Johnson's Vikings have made a quick turnaround after being a CCIW doormat for years.)

7. Illinois Wesleyan: 5-4 (Why? Even a 5-4 IWU is a scary team to face. Once their arms return from the DL, they could be a team to reckon with)

8. Loras: 10-5 (Could be a surprise in the IIAC)

9. WashU: 12-6 (Not impressed with this team. Very inconsistent so far)

10. Elmhurst: 5-2 (No idea what to think of them this year, but a nice start offers them some hope)

theoneandonly · March 24, 2009, 12:02:46 PM

Bigpoppa i wanted to say a few things about your central region rankings.... just some general comments. Hope you dont mind.

1. Augustana: 12-3 I agree with this they do have to get some quality starts in the CCIW

2. Beloit: 10-2 You chose a solid dark horse here

3. Buena Vista: 10-1 (Have not faced the best competition, but all they do is win ball games.) Agreed! They have had a couple quaility wins but have also played a team or two that they just manhandled.

4. Carthage: 6-4 (Brutal southern schedule took a toll on the Redmen. Need to shore up their defense if they want to make a run again) Well Said

5. Aurora: 9-4 This team has quite a few players and an aresenal of pitchers. I think there is one pitcher, who hasnt thrown many innings as of late that pitches quite well. Jr. Dominic Pissano has only thrown one inning and i think they need to try to work him in some more because in that inning he got 3 quick ground ball outs, then it was over. BUT it is hard when you have guys like Koudelka and Salazar in front of them.

6. North Park: 9-4 (Luke Johnson's Vikings have made a quick turnaround after being a CCIW doormat for years.) once again all i can say is agreed! I would like to see Sekalias get some more AB's because he seems to be hitting well at this point. and Athans has started out on a tear!

7. Illinois Wesleyan: 5-4 - last year they started out 2-6 so in all actuallity I'm not so worried about them. I guess the true test usually seems to be the regionals for IWU. And sadly they seem to choke it away more often than not.

8. Loras: 10-5 (Could be a surprise in the IIAC) Could be but they do have a decent conference to contend in. They have to face simpson (9-6) who is decent sometimes, Wartburg (9-9) who is off to a slow start but will likely turn it around in conference, and Buena Vista (10-1) Should be an interesting conference to watch!

9. WashU: 12-6 WashU was defeated by Fontbonne, Brandeis, Case, Emory, and IWU twice. In all reality IWU is the best team here and they played the closest with them. They got beat by 3 or more runs in All of the games except Brandeis and by 10 against emory and 11 against Case. They seem to be getting handled this year quite a bit and I dont really think they will be making much noise down the stretch unless they get some pitching in a little better order and get their bats going

10. Elmhurst: 5-2 (No idea what to think of them this year, but a nice start offers them some hope) ---- They are now 7-2 and had a couple quality wins against concordia. However the other schools they have played im not real familiar with. THEY DO however play Buena Vista today so that will be a true test since they are off to such a great start.

BigPoppa · March 24, 2009, 12:53:00 PM

Quote from: theoneandonly on March 24, 2009, 12:02:46 PM
Bigpoppa i wanted to say a few things about your central region rankings.... just some general comments. Hope you dont mind.

1. Augustana: 12-3 I agree with this they do have to get some quality starts in the CCIW

2. Beloit: 10-2 You chose a solid dark horse here

3. Buena Vista: 10-1 (Have not faced the best competition, but all they do is win ball games.) Agreed! They have had a couple quaility wins but have also played a team or two that they just manhandled.

4. Carthage: 6-4 (Brutal southern schedule took a toll on the Redmen. Need to shore up their defense if they want to make a run again) Well Said

5. Aurora: 9-4 This team has quite a few players and an aresenal of pitchers. I think there is one pitcher, who hasnt thrown many innings as of late that pitches quite well. Jr. Dominic Pissano has only thrown one inning and i think they need to try to work him in some more because in that inning he got 3 quick ground ball outs, then it was over. BUT it is hard when you have guys like Koudelka and Salazar in front of them.

6. North Park: 9-4 (Luke Johnson's Vikings have made a quick turnaround after being a CCIW doormat for years.) once again all i can say is agreed! I would like to see Sekalias get some more AB's because he seems to be hitting well at this point. and Athans has started out on a tear!

7. Illinois Wesleyan: 5-4 - last year they started out 2-6 so in all actuallity I'm not so worried about them. I guess the true test usually seems to be the regionals for IWU. And sadly they seem to choke it away more often than not.

8. Loras: 10-5 (Could be a surprise in the IIAC) Could be but they do have a decent conference to contend in. They have to face simpson (9-6) who is decent sometimes, Wartburg (9-9) who is off to a slow start but will likely turn it around in conference, and Buena Vista (10-1) Should be an interesting conference to watch!

9. WashU: 12-6 WashU was defeated by Fontbonne, Brandeis, Case, Emory, and IWU twice. In all reality IWU is the best team here and they played the closest with them. They got beat by 3 or more runs in All of the games except Brandeis and by 10 against emory and 11 against Case. They seem to be getting handled this year quite a bit and I dont really think they will be making much noise down the stretch unless they get some pitching in a little better order and get their bats going

10. Elmhurst: 5-2 (No idea what to think of them this year, but a nice start offers them some hope) ---- They are now 7-2 and had a couple quality wins against concordia. However the other schools they have played im not real familiar with. THEY DO however play Buena Vista today so that will be a true test since they are off to such a great start.

Oneandonly- the great thing about it warming up in the Central region is that these teams will now start banging on each other head-to-head. This will give us a true test of the "unknowns" that we have with many of the programs. I am expecting a SLIAC team to start to take control of the conference and make a push into these rankings soon.

goldengear · March 24, 2009, 01:52:28 PM

Big Poppa, you do realize that Aurora isn't in Central anymore?

BigPoppa · March 24, 2009, 02:41:15 PM

Quote from: goldengear on March 24, 2009, 01:52:28 PM
Big Poppa, you do realize that Aurora isn't in Central anymore?

WOW!!! Tahnks, goldengear. My mind has not yet adjusted to the new regional alignments. Thanks for reminding me.

theoneandonly · March 25, 2009, 09:16:48 AM

So bigpoppa who takes that 10th spot in your books then? Just curious.

BigPoppa · March 25, 2009, 09:34:30 AM

Quote from: theoneandonly on March 25, 2009, 09:16:48 AM
So bigpoppa who takes that 10th spot in your books then? Just curious.

I would replace Aurora with either Wartburg (I know they are struggling, but I feel they are still a great team ready to explode) or one of the SLIAC teams, possibly Fontbonne (I know they have not played the best teams, but they are winning games).

theoneandonly · March 25, 2009, 10:24:12 AM

I agree that fontbonne is playing good ball. And they did beat WashU. I think if you were to take one of the SLIAC teams, IF any team at all, at this point in the season, I think Fontbonne is your safest choice.

BigPoppa · March 25, 2009, 10:29:08 AM

The problem in the SLAIC is that they are all beating each other up and no one has stepped to the forefront yet.

SLP-O-8 · March 28, 2009, 03:22:48 AM

BV picked up the win over Elmhurst 9-6 and lost a tough game to #1 Eastern Connecticut State 7-6

BigPoppa · March 29, 2009, 01:01:55 PM

Quote from: SLP-O-8 on March 28, 2009, 03:22:48 AM
BV picked up the win over Elmhurst 9-6 and lost a tough game to #1 Eastern Connecticut State 7-6

Oddly enough, the close loss to ECONN actually makes me feel that Buena Vista might be the best team in the Central at this point. I plan to spend a few hours pouring over the week's results in the region before making a new ranking, but right now, things are slowly becoming uncluttered in the region.

FYI: don't look now, but Beloit keeps on winning.

goldengear · March 30, 2009, 08:45:06 AM

Quote from: BigPoppa on March 24, 2009, 02:41:15 PM
Quote from: goldengear on March 24, 2009, 01:52:28 PM
Big Poppa, you do realize that Aurora isn't in Central anymore?

WOW!!! Tahnks, goldengear. My mind has not yet adjusted to the new regional alignments. Thanks for reminding me.

No problem, appreciate your rankings and posts, but you can't be serious about Beloit are you?, I don't know who they played down in Florida, but since being back up North they are 6-0, which is awesome - but 4 wins against MSOE and 2 against Wisconsin Lutheran, both fine schools, but well you know enough about the game..

BigPoppa · March 30, 2009, 09:25:54 AM

Goldengear- I am not saying that Beloit is going to win a national title, I am just pointing out that they are beating all of the teams that they should beat, which is how middle of the road teams (like Beloit has been in the past) elevate themselves to good teams (which is where they are headed). By no means are they world-beaters, but they ARE winning the games on thier schedule against inferior teams which is more than many teams can say right now.

They really only have one, what I would call, "quality" win but at this point the rest of the Central is taking its lumps while Beloit and Buena Vista are stockpiling in-region wins. The in-region record is all that really matters when all is said and done.

goldengear · March 30, 2009, 10:08:43 AM

If Carthage or IWU and Beloit met 100 times who would win how many? I'd say Beloit is losing 90+ against either of them - even with the struggles each team has had - it is just a different level of play.

BigPoppa · March 30, 2009, 10:29:07 AM

Quote from: goldengear on March 30, 2009, 10:08:43 AM
If Carthage or IWU and Beloit met 100 times who would win how many? I'd say Beloit is losing 90+ against either of them - even with the struggles each team has had - it is just a different level of play.

I agree, but right now Beloit is getting it done on the field. Just rewarding them for a nice start... whether or not they keep it up is in their own hands. Do I expect them to stay there all season... no. They will work themselves out of the national picture but for right now they deserve a little love in the Central region. I listed them as a my preseason darkhorse for a reason... they have the players in place to make a run, but I am not sure if they have the toughness to make it happen.