Pinecrest Baseball (Please shed some light on this one)

You are wrong, Southern lee has 2 conference losses and Grey's Creek has 3, before being negative do some research and check non conference schedules before making uneducated comments. A win tonight by Southern over Union Pines and they will be tied for first.

 

The polls make for some good arguments, thats for sure. The latest Impact poll doesn't show any love for the Cape Fear Valley. Not a single team ranked from that conference, while the Coastal & ECC have 2 each, and the Big East 1. Of course, it may only mean that these teams didn't report their records. This year I'm thinking that conference is pretty strong, and may make alot of noise in the playoffs. Union Pines is a good team, and Southern Lee is close behind. Grays Creek has split with both of them. GC lost a game to Overhills & thats why they're in 3rd place. But its a strong conference this year. By the way, Southern Lee & Union Pines play tonight @ S. Lee. 1st place on the line. In 4A, Pinecrest should certainly be ranked, probadly at #2. But, I know its hard to keep up with it all. The way its done, some good teams are going to fall thru the cracks.

 

OK, first, the word kudos just literally shivers me. Kinda like Miss Jane on Beverly Hill Billies agitating. Sorry, just had to say it.


Now to my points. (And they may be just as agitating to all of you.)
In the old days, if you wanted to know about a team, you got in the car and went to see them. Nowadays, everyone wants to scout by way of the internet - and that is what I was originally rebutting. If I am off topic, I apologize.

Further, the "polls and recognition" seem to continually promote the ME mentality that the folks in question of producing said poll have helped to cultivate. Recognition comes, for example, in all-conference meetings. The best are recognized for individual effort. Why do we so desperately need to see our names in the paper week to week? And by the way, those stats - as argued on another thread - are not always correct. Yes, homers are homers and the like, but some .450 averages are not really .450. And OK, so you're, say 19-3 - but all 3 losses are in conference against good teams and say 7-8 non-conference wins are against .500 teams. Are you really #_ ? (I will stop here and concede the fact that the best team doesn't necessarily win it all. Though maybe the best team does.)

As for national polls (and even those state-wide), at the outset they are based on "premiere players" on the roster. I mean, some teams never make "the polls", but they win their conference year, after year, after year, after... uh, you get it; and they are in the 3rd/4th round of the playoffs year after... uh, I'll stop now. But no "poll love". Hey, I doubt "those coaches" look at the polls too much anyway. Their mentality and work ethic keep hanging banners. Polls don't look so good on a sign when you walk in the park. (Dude! Do I sound like Andy Rooney or what?)

Again it's culture, and I get it. It's just a shame that people who want to know about other teams can't do old fashioned leg work, and that we are more worried about getting our name in the paper week to week than getting a bunt down in the 6th inning - and most tragic - that we only care about the two most important columns (W and L) as it pertains to polls.

I'll definitely stop now as I'm beginning to hum," where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?" Nostalgia. Probably overrated. And the good old days without stats and polls and whatever, well, they probably weren't so good. Proof: There wasn't TBR back then - real tragedy!

At the least, thanks for the discussion.

 

I hope you don't mind, but your post made me reflect on things that I want to share. High School baseball has changed so much from the past years. Some of us "hark" of the old school days and how fun they were, but in reality it was not very good compared to now. In the old days the baseball coach was the head football coach during his off season to pick up some extra money. He would roll out the balls, hit a few grounders, bark at you a little bit, but rarely would he teach you anything specific. Today, you have wizened, experienced ex-ballers who know the game and have at least one area of expertise (pitching, hitting or fielding) that they can help their players. High School baseball coaches know the game and teach it.

Then about 9 years ago someone told me about this internet website that talked about HS baseball. I thought that was cool there was a place to go and read or discuss the players, especially since there were little information gathered from the newspaper. My son was a freshman pitcher pitching his first varsity game against Robert Woodard's Myers Park team (they went on to play Rose for the State Championship.) Well, my son pitched well with a complete game 2 hit shutout and I thought it would be kinda cool to read the discussion about that game. Unfortunately it was where I read the topic starter. "Braves Jr is gay"...to say I was floored is an understatement. I replied asking why someone felt it was necessary to attack Braves jr like that I was told by several "if you don't like it, go start your own." And that's what I did. It's also why I am so passionate about keeping things positive when discussing the players. There is never a good excuse to blast a kid, even if one felt it was deserved. These are 14-18 yo kids we are discussing. They are going to make mistakes, but those mistakes don't need to be discussed openly for all to read. People get hurt when that happens.

Initially, we used to post a lot of instructional information, but rarely do now. Why?...because most people already know it. I've involved college coaches to discuss recruiting. I've posted HS coaches interviews to give their viewpoints on things. I've had MLB scouts and ex-players interviewed to discuss their perspective. However, I have found there is little else to inform. It appears many already have the info they need or want. So where do we go from here?

It goes back to the fundamental reason I started TBR Preps. To promote all HS baseball players, whether it was a great game or in some cases their commitment to play beyond HS baseball. I like to promote a sense of community among members. We have too many things in common not to promote that type of environment. I don't have a son that plays HS or college baseball anymore, but I love to read about your sons...and I quietly am thrilled when a HS coach actively participates in discussions. Just as I am when a respected umpire posts (although many have been told not to.)

I know many college coaches read TBR to gather info about their recruits (did he have a great game last night?)----that's cool

I know many parents read TBR to see if their son was mentioned---that's cool!

I know many players read TBR, but are afraid to post--that's cool, but I wish they posted.

I know many HS coaches read TBR and quite a few partcipate--that's cool

I know there are MLB scouts that read the board---that's cool

I know all the showcase team coaches read the board---that's cool

...and I know a few current and past MLB players read the board---very cool

As you can tell there is a variety of people that make up this community...and what a treasured group it is.

Now getting back on topic...what is it again? Oh yeah, polls. They're fun. They don't mean much. It's like getting a gold star in school---makes you feel good for the day. But the only gold that really means anything is that gold ring for winning the state championship. But in the mean time, they are fun to discuss.........and this is that internet thingy people are talking about to discuss it

 

.........and this is that internet thingy people are talking about to discuss it

This my friend is why we respect your input. And you included Al Gore's finest sports accomplishment!

 

Dang, man didnt mean to ruffle your feathers. I said correct me if I was wrong, But Southern Lee was ranked 10th in one poll while Union Pines whose record is very good, and didn't get 10 runed by pinecrest, while facing maples, is still ahead of them in the conference. Not talking negative about a team, just talking about how polls really dont mean a hill of beans.

 

Technology is a good thing. I've told my sons a million times. We had 4 channels when I was growing up in the sixties & none of them was ESPN.
(and of course, when the president was on , we were screwed)

 

CAPE FEAR VALLEY CONFERENCE SHOWDOWN

Southern Lee 12 Union Pines 2 6 innings

S. Lee and Union Pines now tied for 1st in conference

 

The polls will always be a little skewed, but when it comes down to it you need to put up more runs than the team in the other dugout. I bet some coaches would rather have their team not ranked and "upset" teams in the playoffs, but im sure most coaches know if they are playing a good team this day and a not so good team the next. I'm not going to lie when I played I wanted to be in the top 10. Mostly because support at our school was slack and it got interest, and when a fellow CFVC team was is in it, beating a ranked team just added fuel to momentum. Polls will be polls, but the scoreboard never lies.

 

Holly Springs is 13-1 in the state's best 4A baseball conference. They get my #1 4A vote in the state. 2 losses were to Wilson Hunt (non-conf) and Athens Drive (NCSU recruit Chris Williams outdueled UNCW recruit Justin manning in a 2-1 game). Rodon and Manning will be tough to beat in playoffs.