HOW GOOD IS DB

[WestTNMatron9]

Talking about the maroon and gray and what kind of season they will have. Can they be for real or will it be another missed opportunity. Do they have enough big guns to compete in the Knox. area? Is the pitching strong enough to get there, also supposedly this is supposed to be the best class they've had in a long time but why is a freshman playing ss. Some insight would be great.

We played DB this season... nothing special.... their firstbaseman is good but after that i dont think they have much depth

[hsfbinsider10]

Is the whining over now? If you had read my past posts you will know that I have the utmost respect for your coach and for your players. The first thread on DB (by a fan I assume) on Coach T was about them winning the state championship. That thread set the stage for all that has followed. At Jeff County we are about winning our district first and we give respect to our competition in the IMAC by not assuming that district is already won. I have never, nor will I ever, bash players or coaches. Obnoxious fans are another matter. BTW, the way the Knox paper handled Halls' lack of success in the Sports Bell was much more objective and their coach, Polston, was very honest in appraising his team.

 

Bud is a class act on the these threads and I apologize for using his statement to lob a grenade at some other less than astute fans. But as the old saying goes, "Throw a rock at a pack of dogs and the only one that squeals is the one that gets hit."

 

Friday will be fun. It will be our sixth game of the week and I don't even know if we have six pitchers on the team. We've already thrown 1,2, and 3. I assume 4 and 5 will go tonight and tomorrow night. One thing I agree with that has been said on this thread is that in tournament play (as in scrimmages) when you pitch somebody that is not part of the regular rotation, it is almost impossible to judge how the same two teams will come out in the play-offs with their best on the mound. I bet there are over twenty runs scored in Friday night's game.

 

And why does everyone have to be so angry? This stuff (the back and forth between fans) is supposed to be fun.

[BigCheif123]

DB v. Gate City.........All i have to say is Bo Burton on first? Seriously? Bo is a wonderful player but come on........Poor coaching once again i belive.....They won but goodness it was Gate City's first game.... If they make Gate City look that good their first game then I dont know what to expect further down the road.....

[teepeeguy]

I agree the kid has never played first, where is the tall lefty, is he hurt, why isnt he playing. Give him a chance coach, he might turn out to be a pretty good player.

[BigCheif123]

I agree the kid has never played first, where is the tall lefty, is he hurt, why isnt he playing. Give him a chance coach, he might turn out to be a pretty good player.

 

From what i understand Ritz is primarily wanting to use him (Lucas Henderson) for pitching..... Which i belive is good and bad...... I have seen this kid play all his life along with the rest of the junior class, and in my opinion he is one of the best firstbasemen i have ever seen...... But being 6'4 and a lefty who can throw like he has been, according to the rumors, Im guessing that Ritz is just wanting to use him for that..... Which also makes me question why he hasnt been pitching in any of the Varsity games?....... But that is what i am getting from the whole sitution to answer your questions......

[BatesJammin]

Burton makes a lot of errors at short and Crawford is much better defensively. The problem is there isn't anywhere else to put Burton.

 

"I don't worry about Bearden when we get to the playoffs,'' said Ritz, "because it was their No. 1 pitcher against our No. 8 (Brewer). We won't have that situation when we get to the playoffs.''

 

I think Ritz went too far with this comment. First of all Bearden spanked them 10-4. Second, the kid who pitched for Bearden was a Freshman. I'm sure he was a good pitcher but he was by no means their ace. Third, I dont think Ritz should have refered to Brewer as the team's #8 pitcher. He was essentially blaming the loss on his belief that he pitched his worst pitcher. If he feels that way thats fine, but a coach that has any class wouldn't make derogatory comments about their players like he did. Finally, Ritz should worry about Bearden. Dobyns-Bennett had played inferrior competition all year until the Sports Belle. When they played qualities teams they lost. I understand they were conserving some of their better pitchers for conference games, but thats the case every year. The whole point in these tournaments is to see how you stack up against the rest of the state early in the year. If hes so concerned with saving his pitchers for conference play then stop going to the Sports Belle. I mean hes paying to play so go down there and show everyone how good you are. Throw your better pitchers against the Bearden's and Halls'. Bearden, Halls, Faragut, and South Doyle are much better than D-B right now and in a one game win or go home situation, they are going to be hard to beat. If Coach Ritz wants to get his team over the hump this year and go to state, he needs to stop making so many excuses and put his players in the best situation to win.

 

BTW, the people commenting on Ron Bliss...this guy has as much creditbility as my 2-year old sister. Here is a comment he made in his preview of the Sports Belle... "top teams from Knoxville in the tournament include defending state champion Knox Halls." HOUSTON WON THE STATE TITLE!!....Halls wasn't even in the championship game.

[BigCheif123]

Burton makes a lot of errors at short and Crawford is much better defensively. The problem is there isn't anywhere else to put Burton.

 

"I don't worry about Bearden when we get to the playoffs,'' said Ritz, "because it was their No. 1 pitcher against our No. 8 (Brewer). We won't have that situation when we get to the playoffs.''

 

I think Ritz went too far with this comment. First of all Bearden spanked them 10-4. Second, the kid who pitched for Bearden was a Freshman. I'm sure he was a good pitcher but he was by no means their ace. Third, I dont think Ritz should have refered to Brewer as the team's #8 pitcher. He was essentially blaming the loss on his belief that he pitched his worst pitcher. If he feels that way thats fine, but a coach that has any class wouldn't make derogatory comments about their players like he did. Finally, Ritz should worry about Bearden. Dobyns-Bennett had played inferrior competition all year until the Sports Belle. When they played qualities teams they lost. I understand they were conserving some of their better pitchers for conference games, but thats the case every year. The whole point in these tournaments is to see how you stack up against the rest of the state early in the year. If hes so concerned with saving his pitchers for conference play then stop going to the Sports Belle. I mean hes paying to play so go down there and show everyone how good you are. Throw your better pitchers against the Bearden's and Halls'. Bearden, Halls, Faragut, and South Doyle are much better than D-B right now and in a one game win or go home situation, they are going to be hard to beat. If Coach Ritz wants to get his team over the hump this year and go to state, he needs to stop making so many excuses and put his players in the best situation to win.

 

BTW, the people commenting on Ron Bliss...this guy has as much creditbility as my 2-year old sister. Here is a comment he made in his preview of the Sports Belle... "top teams from Knoxville in the tournament include defending state champion Knox Halls." HOUSTON WON THE STATE TITLE!!....Halls wasn't even in the championship game.

 

I defenitly agree, its obvious that DB has the talent to go very far for at least the next two years, but im sorry to say without the coaching.......its not gonna happen.......... Coach Ritz needs to put the right people where they do the best.... I also agree that Jamie Crawford is a better short-stop, but Bo Is going to make errors at first too (ex: last night againt GC), so why not put someone on first who can actually play there, and if you want Burton to play so bad, DH him............All Im saying is coaching is going to hurt them somwhere down the road unless they get their act together......

[BwAnG]

The problem is you can't DH Bo when you are already DH'ing Tyler Joyce. The reason Bo is in there is for his ability to make something happen on offense. He is a very athletic player and for his first time playing first base last night wasn't too bad. People someday might realize that no matter how bad the coaching is (If it is at all) the players are the ones who win and lose the game, nobody else.

[BatesJammin]

Your right about that BwAnG, the players are the ones who win and lose the games. I've just never seen a coach so openly blame his players. Its another thing if he says we just didnt play well. The problem is he always uses they. They didnt play well, they made too many errors, they werent ready to play. Isnt it his job to prepare them and help prevent these things? He takes credit when the team wins and blames the losses on the team. I've just never known many coaches who dont take the blame on themselves.

 

Although I can see where he has a hard time filling out the lineup. There are so many people who can contribute but there arent enough spots. It looks like Crawford might take the everyday shortstop duties and that will leave 2 postitions open which are firstbase and the right field job. Ring has done a good job so that might just leave firstbase where there is a logjam with Creech, Henderson, and now Burton. The thing is the lineup needs to be solidified so the kids can go out there and play and not worry about learning a new postition everyday or whether or not their even gonna be playing.

[Cap1]

I just got wind that Gabe Buchanan along with several other players for Central (some starters) were kicked off the baseball team for a school policy violation. Does anyone know anything about this????

[teepeeguy]

It was failing a drug test, but this is not a central thread, go and find one.

[Cap1]

It was failing a drug test, but this is not a central thread, go and find one.

Sorry…I’m not use to posting on a sissy sport thread….It won’t happen again!!!