SW4A Preview - 2010

From a former Homer---I absolutely agree with everything that was said. Coach Tuscan was a great selection and will get the most out of the kids.

 

heels77, it's like night and day. Tuscan has come in and hit the road running. He is working hard and always at the field. He is active in the recruiting process for his players. His players are working hard in the weight room and on the field. They should be fun to watch. I don't know if he has enough horses but he will get the best out of what he has. He demands hard work and he knows baseball. He is going to be a good one.
The facilities are back. It's amazing what good leadership can accomplish.

 

Plowboy
Confirmation about all I've heard about Coach Tuscan. I'll be out cheering for you guys this year.

 

Looking at Individual Teams

We got a pretty good read on South Meck now. I'd love to see a similar analysis of the rest from folks closest to each program. For example, How's Myers Park going to replace the pitching they lost; how's East Meck going to get some hitting to combine with their pitching and fielding prowess; how do those seniors that have been waiting their turn over at Providence look; is Independence ready to take another step up; how does AK replace their leadership and the clutch hitting they got from their departed studs; what does Butler have in the way of position players to go with their hurlers.

Mincmi got us started, but the discussion about SM demonstrated that there's more to learn. I know its early, but the are done and I'm sick of Tiger and the Heisman trophy.

 

There's a s****r tournament in Raleigh that has 7,000 kids participating this weekend...oh, wrong sport.

 

Hitters and a bunch of them will be the key who wins the conference this year because the pitching is dominant on just about every team.

In my opinion, Providence clearly has the most talent from top to bottom, but it is a combination of young talent and you never know how they will respond come conference time. They have key players returning with a ton of big game experience; and with the addition of Jake Fincher at SS, they won't skip a beat. I think they have enough pitching to go with their outstanding bats to go deep into the playoffs. Sometimes people get caught up into win/loss records. Coach Hignight plays an aggressive early schedule that seasons his team to be ready for conference and the playoffs.

AK returns 3 college committed pitchers and have a bevy of others waiting to take their turn. They also have the confidence knowing they are the State Champions. There are big shoes to fill losing their seniors. Those guys were talented leaders and not easily replaced. But I know Coach Bagwell will have the new guys "coached up" and with AK's pitching, they will be hard to beat.

Here's the thing about this conference. Every team has either maintained a high standard or has improved over their previous season. SM may have taken a dip losing many talented players, but I believe their new coach will make up for that in wins.

Although East Meck is a better team this year and have learned how to win a close game, I just don't see the bats that you find at some of the other schools. They'll have to win their games with great pitching, sound defense and timely hits. Can they do that? Of course, that's why I'm on their bandwagon.

Butler is always a mystery to me. They always have some of the best talented players in the city..and this year their pitching will carry them. The question is how far. But as soon as you count Butler out, Coach Cousar pulls out some magic and the Bulldogs are in the hunt again. He lost some quality players to transfer and it remains to be seen if someone else steps up. There is a 2nd baseman, can't remember his name, and maybe he's going to ss, but when I find out his name he is a player to watch. He may be the best defensive player in the league. The kid has great hands, feet and gets a great jump on all balls hit. He's going to be special.

Myers Park will hit the ball. It's the best hitting team in the league. However, their pitching does not match up with the other teams mentioned. If they can develop some arms this year...watch out! But it's hard to win a championship with "ifs". However, Coach Spencer is a very talented man. One of the brightest we have in our city. He's made some changes over there that I believe will show up in wins...and if they ever decide to dust off some of that old money over there and bring in this talented volunteer coach, that would seal their championship fate.

Which brings me to Independence. Their coach does an outstanding job with the talent they have. They are always 2-3 players away from competing for the conference championship, but they are always competing and winning games they have no business winning. If a team takes them for granted and not play with passion, they will knock you out. They also have the most underrated player in the league in Trey Starnes. Trey could play any position on the field and play like an all star. He's a young man that will be better in college than in HS. He's just now sampling the talent that he has..and his upside is enormous. The kid just gets better and better every year.

 

Butler "unknown"

Butler is waaay underrated. Chase Gehringer (just a sophmore) will most likely move over to SS with great defense and a GREAT lead-off hitter.

Ryan Hodge (Junior) will prob move back and forth between 2B and 3B, another good left handed hitter. He has been getting a few looks, one being Wingate.

Come season time Butler will prove their talent. Reason for being unknown is Cousar does nothing off the field to rep his players

 

saw Hodge this summer / fall with the Megastars -

not a big kid - but a solid hitter that will surprise you with his power.

 

Butler will be better than most think. Pitching will be a strength(Maas, PMac, McWirter,Hicus) and defense should be sound. Biggest question will be offense and generating enough run support. Geringer is solid lead off and speedy,Rose will be solid behind plate. A few good players moving up from JV will need to step up. Fincher will be missed, special player defensively and offensively. Wilkerson transfer will hurt as well, best bat on JV for 2 years. Hit for Power and high average with great speed. Tough out, should have been starting on Varsity last year IMO. Had these kids stayed Butler would have been very dangerous.

 

Situational Breakdown

I haven't seen this breakdown of the league yet, so why not?

Who do you want at the plate (in the SW4A) with bases loaded and a tie game?

Who do you want on the mound in the same situation?

The old adage, a team is built up the middle. What team is strongest up the middle?

Who has the best lineup 1-9?

What school sells the best hotdog? (sorry I ran out of questions.) add or answer if you want to.