I Find the Excuses for LSU and the SEC Very Entertaining This Morning

I've always been one of those that felt that the SEC especially and the Big Five schools in general have a built in RPI advantage especially in baseball and basketball due to thier litany of home games over the season especially in OOC play...

I know some who felt that UK was slighted when they were not selected for the tournament due to their sub 30 rpi - even though it was a BIASED rpi due to the SEC schedule

You get these schools out of their comfort zone (i.e. home parks/gyms) and they are JUST LIKE everyone else

Maybe they should change their slogan from IT JUST MEANS MORE to WE CAN JUST BUY MORE....

Anyone who thinks otherwise isn't honestly looking at the situation. it's true for basketball, but even more so when you're talking baseball. I've watched a lot of NCAA baseball this spring and you're right, get them out of their comfort zone and they're just like everyone else.

Except us!!! We couldn’t win at home to save our skin when it counted.

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Originally Posted by techman05

Except us!!! We couldn’t win at home to save our skin when it counted.

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Smh…

I think we overachieved to some extent and were about where we are - our arms were shot by the tourney and our offensive woes were quite evident heading into the tourney - we were two arms short and two bats short and had been all year long

Caught a break with FAU taking the ties - we were really a 3rd or 4th place team in the regular season

I'll take 21-9 in conference every year and let the chips fall where they may

But that's not what this thread is about

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

I've always been one of those that felt that the SEC especially and the Big Five schools in general have a built in RPI advantage especially in baseball and basketball due to thier litany of home games over the season especially in OOC play...

I know some who felt that UK was slighted when they were not selected for the tournament due to their sub 30 rpi - even though it was a BIASED rpi due to the SEC schedule

You get these schools out of their comfort zone (i.e. home parks/gyms) and they are JUST LIKE everyone else

Maybe they should change their slogan from IT JUST MEANS MORE to WE CAN JUST BUY MORE....

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There is a plethora of good baseball players who fall through the cracks every year from the big schools. When you add those kids with the juco kids coming up, any college can put together a good team from year to year. That is what makes a program... I do think Kentucky belonged this year. I am the biggest fan for the small school, no point of the RPI if they don't get in. I know they were sub .500 in conference, but they do play in the toughest conference. No, I am not a SEC homer, pull against all of them in almost all situations.

I like the regional, super regional, final 8 in Omaha set up. I'm sure it can be tweaked to be better. LSUseless fans will grip about anything. Their team over performed this year. All-American 3b and ace pitcher hurt for year, they did great considering. It takes some luck and a lucky bounce here and there for a team to go a long ways. I just want to make it to a regional 2-3 times every 5 years. That should be doable a Tech. If we just recruit along I-20 from East Texas to Jackson, MS for the core group of kids, we should be great. Throw in 1-2 jucos a year, a kid or 2 from Baton Rouge area, Lake Charles/Lafayette, and New Orelans, we should be great. I guess if it were that easy, I should be coach. :D

But you missed the point -

The SEC is no tougher than the Big 10, Big Xii, ACC or Pac 12

It's a biased rpi

And MID WEEK games matter as much as weekend games - cause come tourney time - those midweek pitchers are the difference between winning and losing in most instances



The tourney usually backs this up

And NO Kentucky still didn't belong :icon_razz:

In the past LSU baseball fans have shown a measure of class....devoid from their football fans, in general. I watched some of their game(s) vs. Oregon State. They got hammered....out-classed! LSU baseball fans usually say as much and just congratulate the other team. I don't read any other school's fan forums, so maybe there is a meltdown going on. But it is unusual.

I dislike all of the SEC, Big 10, Big Xii, ACC and Pac 12. The entire Power 5 concept and economic grip sucks, is incredibly biased and potentially illegal in many aspects.
I would love to see the Tulane, Tulsa, Houston, SMU, BYU, La Tech and heck the Service Academies etc's.. of the world joint action sue the threat of or true monopoly that exists.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

In the past LSU baseball fans have shown a measure of class....devoid from their football fans, in general. I watched some of their game(s) vs. Oregon State. They got hammered....out-classed! LSU baseball fans usually say as much and just congratulate the other team. I don't read any other school's fan forums, so maybe there is a meltdown going on. But it is unusual.

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Church comments, twitterverse and am radio this morning...

Biased or not, at the end of today, the SEC could have eight teams headed to the Super Regionals. Four of those teams would have made it winning on the on the road. If this happens, I think criticism of the SEC and the selection committee will fall on deaf ears.

Of course, they could wind up with only three in the supers, and in that case ... pile on.

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

I've always been one of those that felt that the SEC especially and the Big Five schools in general have a built in RPI advantage especially in baseball and basketball due to thier litany of home games over the season especially in OOC play...

I know some who felt that UK was slighted when they were not selected for the tournament due to their sub 30 rpi - even though it was a BIASED rpi due to the SEC schedule

You get these schools out of their comfort zone (i.e. home parks/gyms) and they are JUST LIKE everyone else.

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Very true. For example SEC team Texas A&M played every game leading up to the Frisco Tournament at their home baseball stadium. Then they went to Frisco and got beat by Louisiana Tech. I was there for every game and the officiating was refreshingly unbiased in every game regardless of who was playing whom.

They had 6 advance. 3 super regionals pit SEC teams against each other.

So they are guaranteed to have 3 in Omaha.

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Originally Posted by Tech77

So they are guaranteed to have 3 in Omaha.

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I hope they all get drummed.

LSU was over rated, losing to any team by 25 runs in 2 games means you're a very average team. If the ball doesn't hit the pitcher's foot and bounce in the wrong direction, that's a double play and NSU wins. How about Tennessee Tech taking out the SEC champ on their home field!!!!:laugh:

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Originally Posted by TYLERTECHSAS

I hope they all get drummed.

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Yeah, me too.

I kinda like Vandy…

I'm pulling for Tennessee Tech and Stetson all the way.

The Stetson Mad Hatters. Gotta love that nickname!

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

But you missed the point -

The SEC is no tougher than the Big 10, Big Xii, ACC or Pac 12

It's a biased rpi

And MID WEEK games matter as much as weekend games - cause come tourney time - those midweek pitchers are the difference between winning and losing in most instances



The tourney usually backs this up

And NO Kentucky still didn't belong :icon_razz:

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Just to somewhat confirm what you are saying and how the SEC teams have much less success away from their comfort zone, LSU played 11 games this season against other teams form Louisiana. They won 7 and loss 4. All of their wins were at home and they loss all 4 of their games away from Alex Box!

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Originally Posted by dawg80

The Stetson Mad Hatters. Gotta love that nickname!

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Quick trivia: What caused Hatters to become Mad Hatters?

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Originally Posted by DJDAWG

Quick trivia: What caused Hatters to become Mad Hatters?

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Wasn't it mercury or some other chemical they used to work the felt for the hats?

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

But you missed the point -

The SEC is no tougher than the Big 10, Big Xii, ACC or Pac 12

It's a biased rpi

And MID WEEK games matter as much as weekend games - cause come tourney time - those midweek pitchers are the difference between winning and losing in most instances



The tourney usually backs this up

And NO Kentucky still didn't belong :icon_razz:

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An SEC school has won 5 of the last 9 College World Series. An SEC school has been College World Series runners-up 5 of the last 7 years. The SEC was represented in the World Series finals in 9 of the last 10 seasons, including twice where both teams were from the SEC. This year 6 of the 16 super regional teams are from the SEC. Not only is the SEC "tougher/better" than any other conference in baseball, it is not even close. Furthermore, no team with a top 30 RPI should ever be left out of the tournament regardless of which conference they are from. I could imagine a scenario where a team from outside the Power 5 with a top 30 RPI being left out. That would be garbage as well.

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Originally Posted by Bulldog Tom

An SEC school has won 5 of the last 9 College World Series. An SEC school has been College World Series runners-up 5 of the last 7 years. The SEC was represented in the World Series finals in 9 of the last 10 seasons, including twice where both teams were from the SEC. This year 6 of the 16 super regional teams are from the SEC. Not only is the SEC "tougher/better" than any other conference in baseball, it is not even close.

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Yes, that all could be evidence that the $ec is better.

OOOOOORRRR … it may just be evidence that the system is rigged.

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Originally Posted by Champ967

Yes, that all could be evidence that the $ec is better.
6
OOOOOORRRR … it may just be evidence that the system is rigged.

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How is the system rigged in favor of the SEC over the PAC 12, Big 12, ACC and Big 10, not too mention every other conference? Keep in mind this is a 64 team tournament. Seems nearly impossible to rig it for one conference to have so much success. Not to mention 6 different SEC teams have either won or finished as runners-up in the World Series during the last 10 years. I agree that the Power 5 conferences have advantages in all sports with their nine figure budgets, 100,000 seat stadiums, national television contracts, etc. But to not acknowledge the SEC is by far the premier conference in college baseball is illogical. We may not like it, but it is the truth, sorry to say.

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Originally Posted by Bulldog Tom

How is the system rigged in favor of the SEC over the PAC 12, Big 12, ACC and Big 10, not too mention every other conference? Keep in mind this is a 64 team tournament. Seems nearly impossible to rig it for one conference to have so much success. Not to mention 6 different SEC teams have either won or finished as runners-up in the World Series during the last 10 years. I agree that the Power 5 conferences have advantages in all sports with their nine figure budgets, 100,000 seat stadiums, national television contracts, etc. But to not acknowledge the SEC is by far the premier conference in college baseball is illogical. We may not like it, but it is the truth, sorry to say.

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The best predictor of wins is not conference affiliation, but number of home games. (This is also true of football & basketball, by the way.)

The obscene budgets you cite dont advantage those teams / conferences so much because they attract the best athletes. But rather because they can buy more home games. As has been explained elsewhere in this thread, the vaunted $ec suddenly looks pretty ordinary (on about the same level as Pac12, Big12, or even CUSA) when they have to play OOC road games. That is to say … When you control for number of home games, their win percentage falls pretty squarely in the middle of the pack. $ec dominance is therefore better explained by the ability of its members to buy more home games than by (objectively) better teams.

The system is flawed because it counts all games as (roughly) equal. It doesn't properly account for the relative difficulty of winning on the road, or the (again, relative) ease of winning at home. An more equitable system could, for example, diminish or 'plateau' the value of home wins greater than the average. Or could give substantially greater weight to road wins.

And that doesn't even begin to address the "homecooking" angle. The favoritism shown by $ec officials is as shameless as it is legendary, and has been well documented on this board and elsewhere. There are (practically) no consequences for the bad actors, and they're not even discreet about it. A pool of NCAA officials, not affiliated with any conference, could help. Also meaningful and public penalties for dirty refs.

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Originally Posted by Champ967

The best predictor of wins is not conference affiliation, but number of home games. (This is also true of football & basketball, by the way.)

The obscene budgets you cite dont advantage those teams / conferences so much because they attract the best athletes. But rather because they can buy more home games. As has been explained elsewhere in this thread, the vaunted $ec suddenly looks pretty ordinary (on about the same level as Pac12, Big12, or even CUSA) when they have to play OOC road games. That is to say … When you control for number of home games, their win percentage falls pretty squarely in the middle of the pack. $ec dominance is therefore better explained by the ability of its members to buy more home games than by (objectively) better teams.

The system is flawed because it counts all games as (roughly) equal. It doesn't properly account for the relative difficulty of winning on the road, or the (again, relative) ease of winning at home. An more equitable system could, for example, diminish or 'plateau' the value of home wins greater than the average. Or could give substantially greater weight to road wins.

And that doesn't even begin to address the "homecooking" angle. The favoritism shown by $ec officials is as shameless as it is legendary, and has been well documented on this board and elsewhere. There are (practically) no consequences for the bad actors, and they're not even discreet about it. A pool of NCAA officials, not affiliated with any conference, could help. Also meaningful and public penalties for dirty refs.

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The problem with this thinking is it doesn't account for how the SEC put four teams in the Super Regionals that didn't host a regional. Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt all went on the road to win a regional. In fact, more road SEC teams won a regional than host teams (Georgia and Ole Miss both lost at home). I'm not an SEC homer, but it's really difficult by any objective measure to argue that the SEC isn't far and away the best baseball conference.

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Originally Posted by theprofessor

The problem with this thinking is it doesn't account for how the SEC put four teams in the Super Regionals that didn't host a regional. .

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Well of course the $ec has good teams. Even some great ones in any given year. But taken as a whole, it's just another good conference.

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I'm not an SEC homer

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Ummm, yeah. Ok.

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Originally Posted by Champ967

Well of course the $ec has good teams. Even some great ones in any given year. But taken as a whole, it's just another good conference.

Ummm, yeah. Ok.

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We'll just have to disagree that it's just another good conference. In my opinion, it's the best​ baseball conference. And despite what you think, that doesn't make me an SEC homer. It just makes me a realist.

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Originally Posted by theprofessor

We'll just have to disagree that it's just another good conference. In my opinion, it's the best​ baseball conference. And despite what you think, that doesn't make me an SEC homer. It just makes me a realist.

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Not to mention being correct. Eight of the 16 teams to host a regional this year are sitting at home now. The SEC dominance in Omaha has been incredible. But you gotta admire someone, who doesn't let facts alter his opinion. :D

The SEC is usually the best conference, top to bottom, in every sport...sans hoops. Not sure why the SEC hasn't taken over basketball, both men's and women's, but they haven't. Might have something to do with there being no geographical advantage afforded in BB regarding the weather. Being an indoor sport, winter/bad weather doesn't impact BB, like it does outdoor sports. Given that the SEC dominates football, baseball, track & field, for instance (Georgia just won the NCAA outdoor T&F title...dethroning THREE-time defending champion Florida, who had to fight off the likes of Arkansas, LSU, and South Carolina, in particular, to win those 3 straight titles).

Back to the point, I wonder if the SEC enjoys a weather-related advantage that not only allows more, uninterrupted training/practice, but just attracts more athletes who want to be in a more comfortable climate year round. Just a thought. I mean, come on, you're a great high school athlete being recruited by Iowa and Florida...where would you go?

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Originally Posted by dawg80

The SEC is usually the best conference, top to bottom, in every sport...sans hoops. Not sure why the SEC hasn't taken over basketball, both men's and women's, but they haven't. Might have something to do with there being no geographical advantage afforded in BB regarding the weather. Being an indoor sport, winter/bad weather doesn't impact BB, like it does outdoor sports. Given that the SEC dominates football, baseball, track & field, for instance (Georgia just won the NCAA outdoor T&F title...dethroning THREE-time defending champion Florida, who had to fight off the likes of Arkansas, LSU, and South Carolina, in particular, to win those 3 straight titles).

Back to the point, I wonder if the SEC enjoys a weather-related advantage that not only allows more, uninterrupted training/practice, but just attracts more athletes who want to be in a more comfortable climate year round. Just a thought. I mean, come on, you're a great high school athlete being recruited by Iowa and Florida...where would you go?

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I think the weather is a huge benefit to the south, both in recruiting and more importantly practice time outdoors.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

The SEC is usually the best conference, top to bottom, in every sport...sans hoops. Not sure why the SEC hasn't taken over basketball, both men's and women's, but they haven't. Might have something to do with there being no geographical advantage afforded in BB regarding the weather. Being an indoor sport, winter/bad weather doesn't impact BB, like it does outdoor sports. Given that the SEC dominates football, baseball, track & field, for instance (Georgia just won the NCAA outdoor T&F title...dethroning THREE-time defending champion Florida, who had to fight off the likes of Arkansas, LSU, and South Carolina, in particular, to win those 3 straight titles).

Back to the point, I wonder if the SEC enjoys a weather-related advantage that not only allows more, uninterrupted training/practice, but just attracts more athletes who want to be in a more comfortable climate year round. Just a thought. I mean, come on, you're a great high school athlete being recruited by Iowa and Florida...where would you go?

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I also think the fact that it's harder to put together pickup football and baseball games than it is pickup basketball games plays a role. Basketball is huge in the major cities like New York and Chicago. Kids in those cities grow up playing basketball every day. Those kids don't end up at SEC schools, or rarely do.

"Pride cometh before the fall" and the SEC is prideful and will eventually fall.

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Originally Posted by theprofessor

, that doesn't make me an SEC homer. It just makes me a realist.

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… said every single $ec homer EVER.

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Originally Posted by Champ967

… said every single $ec homer EVER.

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:icon_roll:

The point still flew over both of your heads -

The "inflated" rpi due to the over abundance of home games gives the conference a boost that allows them have the numbers they do in the field and in turn gives them advantage of garnering the high number of regional host sites, which in turns gives them the advantage of numbers in the super regionals and then the CWS altogether

You can look at their road records to see that it is POINT A, B and C

I wonder how the rpi and records would be if they truly went on the road during OOC and half of the mid week games a year

That's the POINT - I'm making which a blind eye is being turned to

And is why Kentucky didn't deserve a slot and probably Texas A&M didn't deserve a slot and maybe even LSU (even though they finished .500 in conference but went 0-3 in midweek road games)

The conference works the rpi - look at LSU, pull Texas out of the OOC home schedule and it's pathetic

I don’t know why I bother to watch college baseball. It is THE worst of the NCAA sports. 95 percent of the talent bypasses the game by going pro straight out of high school and the umpires by and large shouldn’t be calling 12 year old ball.

The Auburn reliever just got chased after throwing a PERFECT third strike on the sec player of the year in the bottom of the 10th. Called a Ball and absolutely no one in the park thought it was... except the idiot in charge

... and the Freshman replacement gives up a walkoff.. after the middle relievers perfection was blown by the homeplate umpire.

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Originally Posted by skilldawg

... and the Freshman replacement gives up a walkoff.. after the middle relievers perfection was blown by the homeplate umpire.

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Glad I didn't stay awake for that. He was inconsistent the entire game and looked like he had a crush on Florida.

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

The point still flew over both of your heads -

The "inflated" rpi due to the over abundance of home games gives the conference a boost that allows them have the numbers they do in the field and in turn gives them advantage of garnering the high number of regional host sites, which in turns gives them the advantage of numbers in the super regionals and then the CWS altogether

You can look at their road records to see that it is POINT A, B and C

I wonder how the rpi and records would be if they truly went on the road during OOC and half of the mid week games a year

That's the POINT - I'm making which a blind eye is being turned to

And is why Kentucky didn't deserve a slot and probably Texas A&M didn't deserve a slot and maybe even LSU (even though they finished .500 in conference but went 0-3 in midweek road games)

The conference works the rpi - look at LSU, pull Texas out of the OOC home schedule and it's pathetic

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True. And it's true in other sports too.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

True. And it's true in other sports too.

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Absolutely -

How would Wake Forest, Illinois, Miss St, LSU and Clemson fair every year having to travel to Middle, WKU, Utah St, Lafayette, Huntington etal every year in basketball for a conference game - probably not very good

Two teams in from the PAC 10. Mission accomplished by the NCAA and ESPN. I'm sure they are disappointed that Texas Tech and Miss State made it.

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Originally Posted by skilldawg

I don’t know why I bother to watch college baseball. It is THE worst of the NCAA sports. 95 percent of the talent bypasses the game by going pro straight out of high school and the umpires by and large shouldn’t be calling 12 year old ball.

The Auburn reliever just got chased after throwing a PERFECT third strike on the sec player of the year in the bottom of the 10th. Called a Ball and absolutely no one in the park thought it was... except the idiot in charge

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I told my dad that was the worst missed call of th game. He piped that pitch on the outside corner.

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Originally Posted by skilldawg

I don’t know why I bother to watch college baseball. It is THE worst of the NCAA sports. 95 percent of the talent bypasses the game by going pro straight out of high school and the umpires by and large shouldn’t be calling 12 year old ball.

The Auburn reliever just got chased after throwing a PERFECT third strike on the sec player of the year in the bottom of the 10th. Called a Ball and absolutely no one in the park thought it was... except the idiot in charge

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I will agree that the talent is reduced by guys leaving early or bypassing college ball. IMO, there are still several players I enjoy watching and are as good as those guys who go early. Granted you have to look harder for them.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

The SEC is usually the best conference, top to bottom, in every sport...sans hoops. Not sure why the SEC hasn't taken over basketball, both men's and women's, but they haven't. Might have something to do with there being no geographical advantage afforded in BB regarding the weather. Being an indoor sport, winter/bad weather doesn't impact BB, like it does outdoor sports. Given that the SEC dominates football, baseball, track & field, for instance (Georgia just won the NCAA outdoor T&F title...dethroning THREE-time defending champion Florida, who had to fight off the likes of Arkansas, LSU, and South Carolina, in particular, to win those 3 straight titles).

Back to the point, I wonder if the SEC enjoys a weather-related advantage that not only allows more, uninterrupted training/practice, but just attracts more athletes who want to be in a more comfortable climate year round. Just a thought. I mean, come on, you're a great high school athlete being recruited by Iowa and Florida...where would you go?

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Iowa reporting in. We had blizzards in April. Pro baseball in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin was screwed for the early part of the season, which is mid to late season for college baseball. The only conferences that should realistically lead in baseball every year are the SEC, C-USA, the Sun Belt, and some of the ACC and some of the Big 12. The first 3 still should be on top in college baseball pretty much always, because way up here, in February, when college baseball starts, we are still dealing with subzero low temperatures at times, with typical highs below freezing.

Out of those three, obviously the SEC has the most resources and support, and therefore success. C-USA needs to up our game, because this is an area where we can really compete, along with basketball.

Agreed. Given our geographical location, Tech, and everyone in CUSA, should be better in baseball. Helps to have a good coach though...

Pawdawg needs t tell us how to root. lsu is gone so he might get it right...

Feeling kinda chickish. Pulling for the Longhorns because they have the best logo in college sports... other than Lah Tech

Tejas Tech...

GUNS UP!

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Originally Posted by skilldawg

Pawdawg needs t tell us how to root. lsu is gone so he might get it right...

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I'm watching soccer.

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Originally Posted by PawDawg

I'm watching soccer.

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Sitting on the couch with your Matracca yelling Olay, Olay, Olay?

I bet Ms. Sonya is all in on that...

I heard he is cheering for Tunisia -

I hope our coach is watching tonight. His favorite safety squeeze was just executed perfectly. It helps when you recruite more than 2 guys who can bunt AND run.

Good ballgame between Arkansas & Oregon State.

Next bunt results in a pop up double play.

Who’s call was the dropped foul ball that would’ve ended it? RF?

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

Who’s call was the dropped foul ball that would’ve ended it? RF?

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All 3 of them could have been the one to end it. That was crazy!

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

Who’s call was the dropped foul ball that would’ve ended it? RF?

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Definitely RF, he should have kept charging and screaming the other 2 off the ball.

RF because the play was in front of him -

I find that today's utes really don't "know" the positions as well as players did 10 or 15 years ago

But I will say this, the Shaddy protected his teammates in the press conference by taking all the blame

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

RF because the play was in front of him -

I find that today's utes really don't "know" the positions as well as players did 10 or 15 years ago

But I will say this, the Shaddy protected his teammates in the press conference by taking all the blame

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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu8tX2BAD1k" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu8tX2BAD1k

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Originally Posted by techman05

Definitely RF, he should have kept charging and screaming the other 2 off the ball.

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Yeppers and many little leaguers know this fact.

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Originally Posted by TYLERTECHSAS

Yeppers and many little leaguers know this fact.

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Not any more....

A sidenote:

Prior to a HS summer game Sunday at The Box at LSU.
Me: “Infield grass looks great.”
Field crew member: “Well, we didn’t have as many games on it the end of the season.”

http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/image...quote_icon.png Originally Posted by techman05 http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/image...post-right.png
Definitely RF, he should have kept charging and screaming the other 2 off the ball.

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Originally Posted by TYLERTECHSAS

Yeppers and many little leaguers know this fact.

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

Not any more....

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That's such a shame. I coached Little League up to 13 years old for many years with 2 of my 3 boys and that play looked terrible. Our young men never did that after about 11 years of age. Communication and basics is everything. I guess coaching in general, in the younger leagues these days, doesn't practice enough fundamentals.

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Originally Posted by TYLERTECHSAS

http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/image...quote_icon.png Originally Posted by techman05 http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/image...post-right.png
Definitely RF, he should have kept charging and screaming the other 2 off the ball.



That's such a shame. I coached Little League up to 13 years old for many years with 2 of my 3 boys and that play looked terrible. Our young men never did that after about 11 years of age. Communication and basics is everything. I guess coaching in general, in the younger leagues these days, doesn't practice enough fundamentals.

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Very few strong youth leagues -

Everything has gone to travel ball

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Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden

Very few strong youth leagues -

Everything has gone to travel ball

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Most of the good coaches went first.

Little League baseball, youth, used to be strong across the state. I know growing up in Metairie that even average teams here (in Louisiana, and especially in the New Orleans area) were very good. My older brother was a heck of a fine pitcher in his Pony League days (13 & 14 yr olds). His "recreational" team, based at Delta Playground, won a tourney in Mobile against all-star teams from other states. Fans (parents) of the other teams could not believe his was not also some hand-picked all-star team. Nope. Just random whoever signed up to play stuff.

Natchitoches was awesome in girls' softball. They won a true National Championship in 1994 The "Ponytail League" ages 16-18. But, they had three REALLY good coaches back then. Excellent, no nonsense coaches and the practices were tough. I know, my oldest daughter played for one 'em and I used to go out and help with practices, like hit fly balls to the outfield, with that stupid skinny bat.

But, youth baseball has tanked in recent decades. It's noticeably different.

Half the kids playing travel ball aren’t even good enough to start on a Dixie league team. At least it’s true from what I have seen.

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Originally Posted by techman05

Half the kids playing travel ball aren’t even good enough to start on a Dixie league team. At least it’s true from what I have seen.

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I’ve spent the last three months watching a 7 yr old grandson play travel ball on a 9 and under team in NWA. He had to try out to make the team and I have been very impressed with the quality of play as well as the coaching. Much better than I expected or remembered for kids this age. Kids playing travel ball have to love baseball and be dedicated, it’s pretty serious for the kids and parents.

I refused to do travel ball until after the 5-8 YO developmental leagues...TBall, Pitching Machine, Coach Pitch...when baseball is being learned. Spending your weekends (or even every other weekend) from late February to early July) on the whims of a whiny 6YOs who don’t have proper throwing motion...Now that’s patience. We stayed at home, played local and learned the game first.

Yes, we had to deal with Daddy ball, but I came to find out most Daddy Ball is the result of unhappy Mommies torturing their spouses on position and playing time issues.

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Originally Posted by techman05

Half the kids playing travel ball aren’t even good enough to start on a Dixie league team. At least it’s true from what I have seen.

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When Haughton Dixie hosted a tournament this past season, all of the travel ball teams dominated, at least in my son's division (9-10 live arm).

We're going to hold off on travel ball for a couple more years while he continues to develop the basics (especially hitting) since he's only been playing for a year. However, I have him in private lessons with a pitching coach who sees a lot of arm talent in him. Being a tall southpaw doesn't hurt either. Don't worry, he'll be going to Tech ;)

One issue that I have is that there are a lot of leagues that are going to open bases on the small field. Thankfully Little League is not one of those yet, but Dixie and travel ball is all open bases. The kids have no idea how to hold runners on, almost every move is technically a Balk, and the catchers can't throw the runners out. There is a team in Blanchard that the coach doesn't even allow his catchers to throw down to 2nd. He knows that they can't throw anyone out there and in between innings throws down to 3rd base instead.

Dowty, your experience is the same everywhere now. I just did the regional tournament for Shreveport Little league and there was a team from Sterlington that registered with Little league but played travel ball all year. They were not use to closed bases, and I had to send back runners for leaving before the ball crossed the plate about 5 times. (Once when they scored 2 runs on it, but the runner on 3rd left early.... took those 2 runs off the board) They won the game 12-1 and gripped and complained the entire game. They didn't play a single LL game in Sterlington, but are now likely representing the this region in the State tourney this weekend. They aren't THAT good and will likely get smoked when they play the South LA teams like Eastbank and Lafayette.

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Originally Posted by DocMarvin362

One issue that I have is that there are a lot of leagues that are going to open bases on the small field. Thankfully Little League is not one of those yet, but Dixie and travel ball is all open bases. The kids have no idea how to hold runners on, almost every move is technically a Balk, and the catchers can't throw the runners out. There is a team in Blanchard that the coach doesn't even allow his catchers to throw down to 2nd. He knows that they can't throw anyone out there and in between innings throws down to 3rd base instead.

Dowty, your experience is the same everywhere now. I just did the regional tournament for Shreveport Little league and there was a team from Sterlington that registered with Little league but played travel ball all year. They were not use to closed bases, and I had to send back runners for leaving before the ball crossed the plate about 5 times. (Once when they scored 2 runs on it, but the runner on 3rd left early.... took those 2 runs off the board) They won the game 12-1 and gripped and complained the entire game. They didn't play a single LL game in Sterlington, but are now likely representing the this region in the State tourney this weekend. They aren't THAT good and will likely get smoked when they play the South LA teams like Eastbank and Lafayette.

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Did Dixie change? Up until last year, they only had one division under 13 that had "open bases". That was age 12 that has "Ozone".

I like open bases and more distance between mound and HP.

-Some of these kids are grown at age 12 playing against 11 year olds who are babies.

-It's time to begin "real baseball" age 12 with stealing and holding on.

-Pitchers need to begin developing pitching out of the stretch at age 12.

Yea, only the O Zone's are open bases. You're correct. So maybe my beef is just with Blanchard. There's not a big talent pool in the small town, so it's just bad baseball. We've actually on more than 1 occasion stayed 10 minutes after the game with both teams pitchers and attempted to help them to things properly. The 13-15 year olds are making even the simple mistakes of going from the wind-up when there are runners on base... and what's even worse is there isn't a single team out there smart enough to go on first movement. It's really bad. $45-50 a game makes it tollerable.

What about the issue of young kids ruining their arms? My brother did. Back then, and this was the mid-to-late 1960's, youth pitchers could (if they could) throw curve balls, and any other pitch they could master. Also, while there were inning counts, especially in tourneys, but they were INNINGS, and not a pitch count. So, some young pitcher might run into a long inning, throw 40+ pitches, and it still count as just ONE of his innings. My brother, and others, did permanent damage to their arms.

Me? I played a lot of 2nd base, even though my hero was Brooks Robinson, so I wanted to play 3rd.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

What about the issue of young kids ruining their arms? My brother did. Back then, and this was the mid-to-late 1960's, youth pitchers could (if they could) throw curve balls, and any other pitch they could master. Also, while there were inning counts, especially in tourneys, but they were INNINGS, and not a pitch count. So, some young pitcher might run into a long inning, throw 40+ pitches, and it still count as just ONE of his innings. My brother, and others, did permanent damage to their arms.

Me? I played a lot of 2nd base, even though my hero was Brooks Robinson, so I wanted to play 3rd.

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That explains the little man syndrome.. Weak arm! Haha

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Originally Posted by dawg80

What about the issue of young kids ruining their arms? My brother did. Back then, and this was the mid-to-late 1960's, youth pitchers could (if they could) throw curve balls, and any other pitch they could master. Also, while there were inning counts, especially in tourneys, but they were INNINGS, and not a pitch count. So, some young pitcher might run into a long inning, throw 40+ pitches, and it still count as just ONE of his innings. My brother, and others, did permanent damage to their arms.

Me? I played a lot of 2nd base, even though my hero was Brooks Robinson, so I wanted to play 3rd.

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Dixie Baseball, in the last 10 years or so, changed to a pitch count rule for that reason. Makes much more sense.

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Originally Posted by Dowty

Dixie Baseball, in the last 10 years or so, changed to a pitch count rule for that reason. Makes much more sense.

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Yes, thank goodness.

This thread is a great example what they mean by the phrase "Inside Baseball". Talk about getting in the weeds......Geez! :laugh:

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Originally Posted by HogDawg

This thread is a great example what they mean by the phrase "Inside Baseball". Talk about getting in the weeds......Geez! :laugh:

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Are you new to the BBB? Welcome aboard! :icon_razz:

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Originally Posted by Dixonfor6

That explains the little man syndrome.. Weak arm! Haha

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As compared to your weak mind, azzhole.

I did play 3rd and some shortstop too at times. But, in the Dixie Majors up through and including the Dizzy Dean League, which is the best it got in recreational baseball, I was privileged to play with two very, very good infielders. Keith H. who cuz of his carrot top was called "Red", who played SS, and Gregory M. who played 3rd. Red and I turned double-plays with the best of 'em! Henry N. was our 1st baseman. Gregory had a bad habit of arguing with the umps and twice he got tossed, so our coach moved me to 3rd and brought in someone else to play 2nd. Red got sick and missed two games, so I played SS those games. I had a cannon for an arm, but the coach liked me at 2nd because of my range, and because I could play deeper than most 2nd basemen, cutting down the angle and keeping balls that would have been base hits from getting through. It was what was best for the team, so I didn't mind playing 2nd. Heck! I just enjoyed playing and would have played right field too.

Try not to be an azzhole your whole life. You can change, ya know.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

Try not to be an azzhole your whole life. You can change, ya know.

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#irony

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Originally Posted by Champ967

#irony

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Don't be so hard on yourself. You're okay, just misguided a lot.