govols10

Getting closer but afraid we will be watching pre-season games with teeth chattering. The fields are pretty wet and we need a break in the snow/rain to get them dried out. There has been some great commentary on this thread. It is great to see the excitement and there are going to be some great teams and players. Couple questions to throw out and keep the discussion going. We have broken down the teams but wanted to get some thoughts on players to watch this year. Remember: this is an opinion board to please feel free to give your thoughts. 1) who are the power hitters? 2) who are the toughest outs? 3) who are the power pitchers? 4) who are the best pitchers overall? 5) who are the best defensive players? 6) who are the best new comers?

There were no zone changes.

That is a good question and from what I have heard, yes. I really don't know how that worked out. It would be unfair to post what I have heard on the reasons for this because I am not sure if it is accurate.

It is now 27 days until practice officially starts. Any more thoughts on how things are shaping up?

Thanks for getting this going and good analysis. I think that your comment on parity is dead on. This could be one of the toughest districts in the state and anyone's to win. The question is going to be pitching depth. Each team in this district has a strength. I think Riverdale has the best pitching depth, Blackman the best line up, Siegel the best defense, Oakland the best overall with a senior heavy team. Smyrna is most under rated team and will be one to watch. They are very scrapy and I hear they added a 2nd baseman from Blackman. I know the least about Lavergne other than that they are a very young team. It will be almost impossible to go undefeated in this district. It is going to be some fun games to watch. The season can't get here fast enough!!!

With college football being over it is time to talk baseball as the baseball season is not far away. Just 34 days until practice starts. What are the thoughts about 7AAA? Which team is the favorite this year and who are some players to watch?

Thanks for sending this out DL. I did not see the specification regarding alloy or comp - it only says non wood bats. I may have covered this and I just missed it in the article. I thought that comp. bats were not allowed as part of this change much like the college transition this year.

Not arguing that point. Just wanting to know what the rule is and what the right call should be out of curiosity.

I have a question on what the right call should be: Runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Ball hit to the corner and runner from 1st goes in to score but misses the plate and is tagged out. Now there are 2 outs however the batter rounds 2nd and leaves the field of play with helment off thinking the game is over. The call on the field was that the runner was placed back on 2nd base. Is this the right rule or should the call be out once the player leaves the field regardless of the circumstances? Just curious of what the right call should be.

BUMP!!

Well - this class would be 8th graders this year. I think you skipped a year - there has been a thread for 2010, 2011, and 2012 graduates so I think you skipped 2013.

Great posts. Working ahead and throwing strikes early in the game and counts will be important to keeping the starters on the mound. All of this supports the need for a deep staff. The coaches strategy has to include winning series while protecting arms for the season. I am sure that coaches will have different opinions and strategies. Of course some of those will be influenced and driven by the bench they have. A deeper bench will give coaches many more options - of course this is stating the obvious but it is far more important this year and in this format than the format of years past. Getting closer!!!!!

I have heard different opinions about this. Some believe throw 1 vs 1 because that gives your team the best chance to win that game. Some feel 3 vs 1 and focus on winning series not every game. Some say put your pitchers in a rotation and they pitch on thier day - regardless of which game that is. College generally throws thier best guy on Friday night to start a series. MLB uses a rotation. This is what makes this format so exciting and interesting - there are several ways to approach this and it will take thought and more strategy! I agree with the previous post - this is going to require teams to have more than just good starters to be successful - they will need good bull pens. Which is why I still say the team that is deep and has the best staff will have an advantage over the team with the better 1 or 2 starters.

I could not agree more. Coaching will be a factor. The rotation decisions AND the reliever decisions could have a significant influence on who wins a series. It might have less impact on one game but over the course of a 3 game series these decisions will be important. One day closer!! This will be exciting!!!!

IMO - you will need to be 4 or 5 deep to get through the 3 game series. Early in the season you might have to be even deeper. That third game could be interesting. It will be interesting to see how the coaches manager the game differently. With 2 games you can have a quick hook but with 3 it might change things a little - that is where a deep staff will come into play. I also agree with the earlier post - this format and competition will be great to prepare the teams for a state tournament run. COME ON WARM WEATHER!!!!!

It is played on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They are home, away, home or away, home, away and next year rotate. Very exciting format that will test the pitching depths of teams.

Seems to be a little setback on the baseball weather this weekend. Come on spring.

Will the season ever get here? I am really ready for some baseball.

You are right - both of those schools have #1 guys going to the SEC. I heard they have pretty good #2 guys also. How deep are they? The real test this year is going to be depth. Any thoughts on who has the most depth?

There are some good young players starting their high school careers this year. I would say that each school has some excellent new players. 7AAA will continue to be one of the toughest districts top to bottom for several years.

With the new district alignments did all schools/districts go to a three game format? IMO the 3 game format of 7AAA is fantastic and will really test the pitching depth of each team. What team has the most pitching depth and best staff in 7AAA? Will winter ever be over?? I am ready for some baseball!!

For the Riverdale fan who brought up the officials; and have we beaten a team this year that has not made at least a veiled mention of them? I agree with you; Maryville receivers were held and interferred with at least three or four times by your secondary with no call. Late in the game Patton Robinette got taken down by a block in the back, with a ref standing right there. The Maryville coaches yelled something, the ref looked at them and shrugged his shoulders. I am pretty sure the close to 500 yards of offense we amassed against a "better defense than has been seen in East Tenn this year" were all us not the refs. Just to clarify for this poster and one earlier - If you read my post regarding the refs I did not say that is why we lost nor did I say they only made bad calls against Riverdale. I stated they were the worst crew I had seen this year period regardless of where they were from. I am very confident that if we sat down and watched the game film we could make a list 10 feet long on both sides where there were blown or no calls that should have been easy ones to make. It was a bad crew - this is an opinion board and that is my opinion. My post also pointed out a well coached team that executed well and did not suggest your offense success was due to officiating. You guys won we lost - congratulations and good luck next week. I can't speak to threads in the past because I was never a part of them. The character and class of a team starts with parents, administration, fans, and coaches and that is what has impressed me most about this entire match up as they seem to have very similar programs in this regard. Seems like the majority of the folk on this board understand that.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was confused because it did not reflect the class that you guys had demonstrated all week. Good luck next week.

First of all congratulations to Maryville. You are a well coached team and execute the game plan well. I would have to agree with the two previous posters - not sure why the need to keep throwing out Big Boys comments as I have not read any posts from Riverdale fans claiming anything but respect for your program except one and he does that to every team Riverdale plays. You won and we lost. You were the better team tonight. That's it. Keep the same class that you have had all week. I thought we would struggle with the Maryville passing game but was surprised that they had so much success on the ground. After stopping a powerful running game of both Blackman and Oakland I thought we would do better against the run and we did not. The second lost fumble so early in the game was tough and the interception was a dagger. Sad to see the season end this way as I have been impressed with the character and leadership of this senior class. After a dissapointing year last season they really stepped up. Keep your heads high seniors as you set a great example for the players behind you. This is not why we lost so don't start jumping on this comment but I thought that we had an SEC officiating crew tonigh. Worst one I have seen this year by far regardless of where they were from. Funny thing though - same thing happened as when I watch the Vols play - no matter how much I yell they never change a call or do anything different. I am starting to doubt that the refs even hear me - I thought it was just because I was at Neyland with 100K fans but they did not seem to hear me tonight either. Oh well - at least it makes me feel better and I get it out of my system. Good luck next week Maryville. You have a great program and congratulations on the win. Hope to see you again in the years to come.

Does anyone know what time they will start selling tickets?