BB: Regionals (Midwest) Oshkosh '08, '09, Whitewater '10, '11

[cubs]

mwunder-
So are you saying BaseballFan was totally off base with his prediction?

I'll take an impartial look at things.....

1.  Carthage went 5-7 over their last 12 games.  While they did put together a great streak to start the season, it didn't appear they were playing their best ball towards the end of the season.

2.  Injuries....  Carthage lost arguably their #1 or #2 pitcher Chris Krepline.  That is going to hurt any team to lose one of their top guns.  Add in another injury to their starting CF and lead-off hitter Boe Baitinger (the guy who gets on base to set the table for the meat of the order.)  There had to be questions on how his wrist injury would affect his play.

While it turned out today that Carthage showed they were worthy of a Top 3 seed, I don't think it was "off-base" to say that they received a pretty good seed with how they finished the season.  I honestly believe that BOTH Oshkosh (3-3 in their last six games) and Carthage benefitted from their strong conferences, and Scholastica was hurt by their weak schedule. 

In the end, do I think Scholastica deserved a better seed than Carthage or Oshkosh?  No.....

[mwunder]

UST-  will use a #4 against Knox Probably start Ryan Fahey
UWW- probably goes with Dott, CSS- goes with Burg hes been pitching way than Kummet
Carthage -Husing  UWO- Demmin, use Rubens from closer role

Well I was wrong they deserve a 3 seed!!! Im glad Carthage won! I guess I dont know what you want from me, part the red sea, walk on water, or come up with some lame-o sayings.

Well to show Im not 'stupid' take a look at who i said would be starting, oh wait i was right!

I wouldnt bash other peoples picks when you dont do it yourself. Well hopefully you can bring something purposeful to the board

I'm not arrogant enough to think that I know all there is to know about the Midwest region and the teams that are participating in the tourney...so I won't make any stupid predictions that are worthless to even the person who made them.  Nice call on the starting pitchers though...you've redeemed yourself in my eyes.

[mwunder]

mwunder-
So are you saying BaseballFan was totally off base with his prediction?

No, I'm saying that his statement about Carthage being a 5 seed was flat out dumb.  If they'd gone 2 and out in the CCIW tourney, then maybe they deserve a 4, but look at the rest of the field before you stick your foot in your mouth.  No 5 seed had more than 32 wins and all of them had double digit losses except for CSS who was 32-4.

As far as his predictions go...they weren't too hot either, but then again...who really cares right?

[BaseballFan]

ok its finally settled

[OshDude]

Oshdude did you make it to all the games today or just Oshkosh? If you did how did all the teams look

Yeah, I busted tail in and out of exams today. I missed the 3rd-5th innings of WW/CSS.

Random thoughts from Day 1:
GAME 1
--Bullis's 3-run homer to right was the farthest I ever I saw a ball hit to RF at EJ. It landed in the middle of the road, for crying out loud. I estimate it was 435-ish.
--The wind was blowing out to CF, and for whatever reason the ball was jumping to RF. That's very rare at EJ.
--I wanted to give the Knox SS a hug, in an understanding kind of way. He booted three grounders, couldn't catch a line drive (justly ruled a hit) and threw one in the dugout on a routine play. Rough day to say the least for that kid.
--Fahey was a machine. He probably went ball-one to two or three guys in 7 IP. Great mix as well.
--Dan Leslie made four great plays at 3B. McQuillan and Boland both flashed the leather as well.
--the Knox SP threw about 73 mph.
--Knox's Paul Bennett could start for any team in the MW. Very impressed with him.
--If you didn't know, St. Thomas is really, really good .

GAME 2 (I missed a few innings while taking a final, but I only missed two runs)
--Zalnis's go-ahead opposite field 3-run HR was crushed about 400 feet. He is a strong human, indeed. Never would have predicted so many RF smashes. An update on my previous dimension "misrememberings": It's 318 to LF, 402 to CF and 346 to RF.
--After that HR, a WW player, referencing Lewis's earlier go-ahead 3-run bomb, said "I bet that one hurt more!" Ouch ...
--CSS seemed like it shut 'er down after that HR. Sucked all the air out of that side. That'll happen, I guess.
--Reik was lights out.

GAME 3
--Like Cubs pointed out, UWO couldn't get off the field. That 4-spot was hard to watch (for me). I think it was bases empty and two out that inning, too. The McGuire 2-run 2B changed everything, including Husing, or so it appeared.
--Husing was strug-gling through two. I've seen him a handful of times before, and I don't think he had his best stuff. A more knowledgable Carthage fan could deny that. After that 4-spot, he started dealing even if he was laboring. I don't know ... he just made big pitches when he had to. His slider got him through a gutty, gutty outing. After the 2nd inning, I didn't think Husing would see the 5th. In many ways that start was better than the ones I've seen where he dominated. Awfully impressive 9 IP.
--The play on which Kanny committed the error was after Leighton backhanded a smash three steps on the LF grass and threw an off-balance dart from his knees before falling down. Just a strange play. If Kanny didn't get a glove on it, it would have hit him in the knee.
--The strangest play was a 7-8 putout in the bottom of the 8th. I'll try my best ... the UWO LF and CF went to the wall on a for-sure 2B off the L-C wall. The LF did his best Spiderman impersonation while simultaniously climbing and crashing into the wall. The chainlink fence rattled and bowed, and the ball never hit the ground. The CF was a half step behind the LF in crashing and climbing the wall, ultimately snagging the ball in the air (debatable, to say the least. The ump was in a good position, but how in the world did that ball not hit the fence?). The umps said the LF got his glove between the ball and the wall and tipped it back toward the field. The CF raised his arms right away to sell the "catch." I don't know about that ... Three Carthage coaches took their turns "chit-chatting" with the ump. If the game was 3-3 instead of 6-3, that play would have gone down in Wisconsin baseball lore and probably would have left a depleted Carthage coaching staff. Now it's just one of the weirdest plays I've ever seen.

Anyone going to the games tomorrow?

[Mr. Downtown]

Thanks. The student link is working.

They need some work.

I agree. It is like listening to two junior high buddies narrate a video game. Still, it is much better than no game at all.

Its a new generation of broadcasters at UWO. Also, Baseball broadcasts were brought back last year after a long hiatus. I'm sure they'll turn the corner and get better (or at least I hope so).

Seeing that I have been trying to land myself a full-time broadcasting gig, I haven't been paying much attention to the baseball side of things, and I noticed that today David Hermes hit a home run for Carthage. I started next to him in Centerfield back in our Fort Atkinson days, and I never played beside someone who had his power and came through in the clutch. Always had a positive attitude, and always came to play. Honestly one of my favorite teammates I ever had during my playing days, and I'm glad he had some success today. Way to go David!

Again, I hope the broadcasters are better tomorrow. I know if I was on the call, and got comments like that, I would be on my A-game the next time.

Then again, Wisconsin Folks are used to Uecker and Powell, which doesn't get much better then that in the booth.

Actually, it seemed like more than two guys were calling the game.  I realize it's student radio, but take a little pride in your work.  Go talk to the SID's from each school and get proper pronunciation for tough names (or listen to the PA announcer), keep a book, take notes, etc...Also, the score is always announced with the larger number first.  I don't know how many times I heard today.."the Titans trail the Red Men 3-5."

That being said, there was at least one kid who did a really good job and was easy on the ears.  He wasn't a total homer, gave the count and the situation pretty regularly, and actually praised Husing from time to time.  He's probably a former player who knows the game well or listens to Powell (Uecker is terrible at calling a game if you really listen).

I didn't listen to the game, but I'm 95% sure who you are talking about, and that would probably be Jake Timm, who just recently won the National Award for Best Sports Play by Play with me and another poster TitansRus (Yes, I know, I haven't updated my signature). He's Grade A material.

[Gustie13]

I think CSS throws Gerten after seeing the USt-Knox score yesterday. They certainly shouldn't expect to put up a 15 spot, but I think they can throw their #3 and be confident they'll get a W.

Oshdude, thats a surprising distance for Bullis to hit the ball, he's not known for his power.

Its really too bad Leslie and Bullis haven't been able to pitch for USt this year, especially Leslie. He was a #1/#2 pitcher.

I'm not a fan of 6 team regionals either, Dukes.

[cubs]

Here is a little something to ponder for everyone while we are waiting for the games to start today.....

UWO has qualified for 13 Regional Tournaments under Head Coach Tom Lechnir.  Interestingly enough, they have won the Regional nine times and finished runner-up the other four times. 

Another way of looking at it, is that UWO has played in the Regional Chmapionship every year they have qualified under Coach Lechnir.

So with that said, will UWO keep the "streak" alive, or do they finally bow out early?

[bigbadbaseballman]

css will most likely go with gaub or hawkins against knox....kummet the next game with lanari in relief then gerten.  Berg will most likely follow on short rest.  
CSS will win big over Knox
The Robinson/Ruebens matchup will be a good one. Ill go with UST

[REDMENFAN]

Oshdude, I was getting updates during the game, and heard Carthage head coach Augie went absolutely bonkers on that play you were talking about.  From what I was told, the ball absolutely hit the fence, and I agree with you if it was a tie game at that point, Carthage really would've been in trouble.  In the paper today Augie stated "I only one who'll ever know what really happened is that center fielder. Track him down and ask him." 

If the starter for UWW is what some are predicting, what can you tell me about him. I assume Carthage will go with the Sophomore Ruffie.  Ruffie isn't an overpowering pitcher, but hits his spots and throws several pitches for strikes, which he'll throw at any time no matter what the count is.

[REDMENFAN]

Here's the link to the article from the Carthage/UWO game in the Kenosha News.  There's another article that's not online, but it talks about how Carthage is quite familiar with Kenosha Native Billy Johnson of UWW, who's having a great year, as well as their starting 3rd baseman, and a pitcher (forget the name). Johnson and Carthage outfielder David Hermes have played for the Kenosha Kings together the past 3 summers. When asked what the best way to throw to Johnson is, Hermes replied in the article "off speed stuff is your best shot to get him out."

http://kenoshanews.com/article_comments/view_comments.php?articleNum=2971135

[REDMENFAN]

My last comment on all the prediction stuff:

I have absolutely no problems with people making predictions on this site.  Baseballfan, I just think the way you stated that those 2 teams (I think it was UWO and USS) were better than Carthage hit a few people the wrong way, which probably weren't your intentions, it just came out the wrong way.  Clearly Carthage was the complete opposite of last year, a team that was 17-11 at one time and then went on to win 20 in a row heading into the world series.  This year, they were 24-0, and then lost some key guys, and really struggled the last 2-3 weeks of the season.  IMO, seeding is over-hyped big time.  Whether you're a 1 or a 6, you still have to beat great teams and get lucky.  For a team that was ranked 2nd in the country for most of the season, and was 10th in the latest poll, I do think they got it right with Carthage as 3.  I really could've cared less though if they were a 2 or a 5 as well.  To me, UWO is just as good as the other teams in the regional, depending on the day, so its not like Carthage caught a break the way I see it.  Okay, I'm done, no more talk of predictions for me!!   

[badgerwarhawk]

[And he broke the back window of a car with a foul ball. Never saw a truck window destroyed like that before.

I have a name for those who park their vehicles along the baselines within range of foul balls.  I call them "track parents."  Didn't see it but I heard it and you could tell by the sound something was smashed.   

Oshdude or Downtown, can you tell me if the Titan played at EJ Schneider field prior to building the current ballpark? 

[BaseballFan]

Saints are back on the radio today games at 10. CSS starting with Matt Lewis but Coach Baggs basically said he was on a short leash. I would agree with the pitching decision need to save Kummet/Gerten/Lanari.

http://www.fan560.com/main.php

[OshDude]

As I head out to the ballpark, I'll relay a few more Day 1 observations.

The Hermes HR was majestic, if I can get pretty and poet-y on you. It was like a well-struck iron pitching wedge – about 380 feet long and 200 feet high. Just a no-doubter that stayed in the air for--ever.

The Legend of Nolan Fadness has made its rounds. I heard about five different descriptions of what happened against Point, none of them quite right but all improvements on the legend, if anything. In the retellings, some guys are throwing punches, some guys are getting pummeled, some guys are instigating, some guys are reacting. In alternate tellings, Fadness bowled Warwick over without sliding and on and on ... Apparently everyone reads the boards.

The Point slumber party also had its own treatments. I wasn't there for that one , so I don't know which of the different tellings was correct.

People also read the main site. One parent suggested the Oshkosh Regional predictions be posted in every player's room and on the bus as motivation.

Can't wait for Rubens vs. Robinson.