2009 PreSeason Baseball Poll - Impact Baseball

I'm a firm believer in the fact polls shouldn't come out until 2-3 weeks into the season in any sport. Let the dust settle. East Rowan wasn't ranked to begin the year in 2008 and they finished undefeated in the NPC and placed 2nd in the state. That's why they play the games, I guess. It makes for good conversation, though.

As far as the West Rowan vs East Rowan......West is a very talented team and they are deserving of a ranking if we are going to do that sort of thing. West doesn't have a pitcher on staff that has had success against any of the players from East in high school or legion in a game situation. East has 3-4 pitchers that have shut the players from West down on a regular basis. If you are giving me Corbin Shive vs West's line up or Randy Shepherd vs East....I'm going to take Shive and East everytime, because it is proven. I'm not detracting from Shepherd's quality as a pitcher, he is very good. West is very good. But East has been there. East lost 3 very good players, but picked up 2 very good players and the rest of the squad is a year more experienced.

Another thing that may have played into the rankings is that West has had more exposure with Impact. Not anyone's fault, but the folks making the poll have seen Randy Shepherd in action. He was their #1 ranked pitcher at a showcase event. Does that mean he is a better high school pitcher than Corbin Shive......not many people agree with that even though Shepherd could be drafted in the Spring. West is also playing in the Impact Tournament March 7th and had an ID camp at West on Feb 7. They obviously have seen their players and been exposed to them. If you are Impact and you are going to stick your neck out and take on the monumental task of canvasing the entire baseball rich state of NC and do a poll, you are going to rank based on what you have seen and know. I think that is what they did in this case. The Salisbury Post does a tremendous job covering these kids during the season and the off season. I would like for their opinion to be voiced.

 

Wow.....I forgot about Sanderson. They should be good. I have a feeling the CAP 7 is going to beat up on each other a lot this year. I could see a 5-6 loss team making a deep run in the playoffs.

 

I agree with Coach Evans. The only poll that counts is the one at the end of the season.

I for one would like for us to be mentioned in only one poll every year. With that poll being the one at the end of the season. Don't get me wrong. We here in Roanoke Rapids are happy to just be mentioned in the same breath as some of the great 2A programs ranked in the top 10. I don't think we are there right now. We do have a great group of kids that will work hard everyday to hopefully get there by the season's end. And with hard work and a little luck hopefully we can play well enough to earn some of that respect that the guys at Impact have given us.

Good luck to everyone on the upcoming season. Just like every year, it looks like it is going to be a fun one.

 

Final Poll is what counts!

Out of the 40 teams listed in the 4 pre-season polls last year, only 19 of them managed to stay there in the final polls. Only one #1 pre-season pick (3A Rocky Mount) went on to win the State Championship!

 

Impact Preseason Poll is out

please delete

 

Sanderson gets no love - again!

I totally agree that the only poll that matters is the final poll.

In 2007 Sanderson made the playoffs for the first time since 1991 with mainly a sophmore based team. Made it to the third round in 4A East. No ranking but what a successful season.

In 2008, mainly made up of juniors, they lost in the East Finals to eventual 4A State Champion Greenville Rose. Sanderson was not on anybody's radar and ended up ranked #6 in 4A. The only time they were ranked all year even though they won the CAP 7 title. When was the last time they were ranked? I feel this was mainly due to the fact that there has not been much success over the years and they had to earn any respect they were going to get.

In 2009 they have six senior starters back and a total of nine seniors. The experience the class of 2009 has from two straight trips to the playoffs will be invaulable the coming season.

What you do on the field is what matters the most. If you continue to work hard the recognition and respect will come. We have seen this first hand as Sanderson baseball is being talked about is such postive ways.

Good luck on a successful 2009 season. You may not win every game but I know you will compete on every pitch.

Play ball! The games can't start soon enough.

FYI - - my son is one of the seniors and he could care less about any polls. He just wants to be back on the field playing baseball. Its the parents that look for the polls!