Big 9 Baseball

[Plowboy Deluxe]

I noticed that Daniel Boone is ranked higher than Science Hill in the state poll. Do most of you still think that Science Hill will be the team at the top at conference tournament time?

 

 

 

Congrats to Boone. They are playing very well in district play. And if any Big 9 teams gets ranked in the state it should be them.

 

I am not so sure any of the Big 9 teams are really a top 10 in the state at this point. Not to say that there aren't a few teams capable of getting to that point.

 

But this has to be one of the strangest seasons in a long time around here. It just seems to be so sluggish getting things going district wide. Nobody has really stepped up as THE team to beat. And the weather has broke the rhythm of any team that gets close to getting on a roll.

 

IMO ..The first game of the district tourney will make or break any of the Big 9 teams. Everyone must throw their ace in the first game to get to game 2. After that if Science Hill is still standing they have the depth in the rotation. Still the defending and Big 9 leading team at this point.

[Gabby]

Congrats to Boone. They are playing very well in district play. And if any Big 9 teams gets ranked in the state it should be them.

 

I am not so sure any of the Big 9 teams are really a top 10 in the state at this point. Not to say that there aren't a few teams capable of getting to that point.

 

But this has to be one of the strangest seasons in a long time around here. It just seems to be so sluggish getting things going district wide. Nobody has really stepped up as THE team to beat. And the weather has broke the rhythm of any team that gets close to getting on a roll.

 

IMO ..The first game of the district tourney will make or break any of the Big 9 teams. Everyone must throw their ace in the first game to get to game 2. After that if Science Hill is still standing they have the depth in the rotation. Still the defending and Big 9 leading team at this point.

 

I agree that it has been a sluggish season (probably due to the weather). I've seen more exciting Little League seasons.

 

It seems like the best time to play baseball in East Tennessee is from August to October (generally warm and dry), and it seems like the best football weather (cool, crisp nights) is from March through May. It looks like the excitement is going to gear up in the conference tournaments. Although I'm pulling for Science Hill, they are susceptible to a first game lost unless they play one of the weaker teams. If they get a bye, then they are going be in the driver's seat if the other teams are forced to use their aces.

 

There doesn't seem much wriggle room. You can,t save anything for the tomorrow this year in the tournament. You must win that first game and worry about the second game when it comes.

[WaCoJaCo]

You people that keep downing DB will be eating your words in a couple years. We're going to build another nice yellow brick building and put in some very expensive computerised state of the art batting cages this summer. You will see! /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

[Bearslayer]

After last night's games (TN High over Science Hill and South over Boone) do we have any different opinions on how the Big 9 will shake out.

[Gabby]

After last night's games (TN High over Science Hill and South over Boone) do we have any different opinions on how the Big 9 will shake out.

 

Last night's SH/TH game was interesting. First of all McKinney didn't start. Evidently, he felt some soreness in his shoulder, and SH elected not to use him. They started Mancuso, who actually did a pretty good job until he ran out of steam. His defense also let him down by making three errors. SH fought back and got the lead in the fourth, 6-4. It stayed that way until the top of seventh.

 

Patterson was pitching and started over throwing and got wild. It looks to me that Mancuso and Patterson are each good for about 4 innings.

 

TH got a hit to start the 7th. I think another batter walked. SH got two outs, and Patterson grooved a get-over-the-plate 3-1 pitch that the kid drilled for a double that plated the runners. In the 8th, Patterson walked the bases loaded and plucked a batter to allow the winning run. Boston King gave up ground ball between first and second to score the other two runs.

 

The interesting part of the game was how long SH let Patterson go. In my opinion, he was really struggling. He couldn't get his breaking pitches over and he was over throwing his fast ball. When you walk a lot of batters, someone always come a long and hits a dinker that gets thrown around a couple of times. I'd rather see the opposing team hit a 580 ft. home run with nobody on, then a 30 ft. dribbler with the bases loaded that gets thrown down the right field line.

 

SH had plenty of chances to break the game open, but they tried playing small ball and it backfired. SH had the bases loaded in the 5th and tried to squeeze. Evidently, Mancuso missed the signal (when I played, the batter always had to acknowledge he was squeezing) and the runner was a sitting duck. I think they must teach small ball in coaching clinics, because all the coaches in this area do it.

 

When the season started, I thought SH was going to dominant with pitching and fielding. I thought their hitting might be their weak spot. It has been just the opposite. Their pitching and fielding has struggled, while their hitting has been strong. That's why, I think they are making a mistake playing small ball. If Mancuso had hit one in the gap, the score could have been 10-4 by the end of the inning.

 

I still think that SH is going to win the conference, especially if they get a first round bye. As someone stated earlier, several of the top teams are about equal when their ace is pitching. SH happens to have more aces, if everyone is healthy.

[VolmanScott]

After last night's games (TN High over Science Hill and South over Boone) do we have any different opinions on how the Big 9 will shake out.

 

 

SH will still win the conference. I look for Tenn. High to finish 2nd and I'm thinking the Rebels have a shot at 3rd. Crockett and Boone in the 4 and 5 slots.

[madman101]

Last night's SH/TH game was interesting. First of all McKinney didn't start. Evidently, he felt some soreness in his shoulder, and SH elected not to use him. They started Mancuso, who actually did a pretty good job until he ran out of steam. His defense also let him down by making three errors. SH fought back and got the lead in the fourth, 6-4. It stayed that way until the top of seventh.

 

Patterson was pitching and started over throwing and got wild. It looks to me that Mancuso and Patterson are each good for about 4 innings.

 

TH got a hit to start the 7th. I think another batter walked. SH got two outs, and Patterson grooved a get-over-the-plate 3-1 pitch that the kid drilled for a double that plated the runners. In the 8th, Patterson walked the bases loaded and plucked a batter to allow the winning run. Boston King gave up ground ball between first and second to score the other two runs.

 

The interesting part of the game was how long SH let Patterson go. In my opinion, he was really struggling. He couldn't get his breaking pitches over and he was over throwing his fast ball. When you walk a lot of batters, someone always come a long and hits a dinker that gets thrown around a couple of times. I'd rather see the opposing team hit a 580 ft. home run with nobody on, then a 30 ft. dribbler with the bases loaded that gets thrown down the right field line.

 

SH had plenty of chances to break the game open, but they tried playing small ball and it backfired. SH had the bases loaded in the 5th and tried to squeeze. Evidently, Mancuso missed the signal (when I played, the batter always had to acknowledge he was squeezing) and the runner was a sitting duck. I think they must teach small ball in coaching clinics, because all the coaches in this area do it.

 

When the season started, I thought SH was going to dominant with pitching and fielding. I thought their hitting might be their weak spot. It has been just the opposite. Their pitching and fielding has struggled, while their hitting has been strong. That's why, I think they are making a mistake playing small ball. If Mancuso had hit one in the gap, the score could have been 10-4 by the end of the inning.

 

I still think that SH is going to win the conference, especially if they get a first round bye. As someone stated earlier, several of the top teams are about equal when their ace is pitching. SH happens to have more aces, if everyone is healthy.

 

 

I believe the Vikes could've played better as well...Their top 3 hitters going into that game did not have a hit. People stepped up and picked them up though. They battled and showed alot of character. Looking forward to a future rematch. Two very good and exciting teams.

[Gabby]

You people that keep downing DB will be eating your words in a couple years. We're going to build another nice yellow brick building and put in some very expensive computerised state of the art batting cages this summer. You will see! /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

 

Another typical 2009 SH game. Pitching wasn't very sharp (I believe that all 13 runs were allowed by the starter) and three errors in first inning. Offense put up 9 runs. Unfortunately, DB put up 6 runs in first inning. In my opinion, the coaches left the starter in too long. One bright spot was that they finally took a chance on a relatively unknown pitcher. The relief pitcher did give up a hit that allowed two runs to score, but settled down and pitched scorelessly the rest of the game.

 

Give DB the credit, they got the hits when they needed them. Many of them were barely over the infielder's heads but those count too. Just a few real blasts, but the blasts came at good times.

 

SH pitchers are really struggling getting their breaking stuff over.

[NETFan]

Another typical 2009 SH game. Pitching wasn't very sharp (I believe that all 13 runs were allowed by the starter) and three errors in first inning. Offense put up 9 runs. Unfortunately, DB put up 6 runs in first inning. In my opinion, the coaches left the starter in too long. One bright spot was that they finally took a chance on a relatively unknown pitcher. The relief pitcher did give up a hit that allowed two runs to score, but settled down and pitched scorelessly the rest of the game.

 

Give DB the credit, they got the hits when they needed them. Many of them were barely over the infielder's heads but those count too. Just a few real blasts, but the blasts came at good times.

 

SH pitchers are really struggling getting their breaking stuff over.

 

Nobody is playing great right now. I thought Tennessee High was there but they let down last night. Boone is back in first with the tie breaker win over SH but that could change Monday with the Boone/SH game. Boone has a tough final two weeks with games next week against SH, THS, and DB and the last week with Crockett. Anything could happen in the next two weeks. The #1 spot is getting bigger every day. Other than that the 1-7 spots are pretty close with East having the ability to beat anybody with Des on the mound.

[gohard]

Science Hill will get stronger as the year goes on come tourney time these other teams better watch out because SH is gonna eventually get hot and their pitchers are gonna be dealing

[Gabby]

Science Hill will get stronger as the year goes on come tourney time these other teams better watch out because SH is gonna eventually get hot and their pitchers are gonna be dealing

 

I agree that SH should get better.

 

McKinney's shoulder is bothering him, but it is getting better. I saw him pitch against Davey Crockett a couple of weeks ago and he was throwing a lot of breaking pitches and I wondered why. Now I know. McKinney should be back full steam at tournament time. That should stabilize their rotation.

 

I watched Norris pitch last week, and he was struggling with his off speed stuff. I think he may be trying to light up the radar guns. He threw a couple high fast balls that were probably in the 90s, but he threw a lot of fast balls in the mid-80s. Good hitters can hit mid-80s. He would be better off throwing a little less hard and spot the ball better, especially the breaking stuff. Mid 80s with a mid 70s breaking pitch makes a lot of difference. Work on location now and slowly bring in the velocity. He's got two years to blossom and become a pitcher rather than a hard thrower. With command of one pitch, a pitcher can compete. With command of two pitches, he can win. With command of three pitches, he can dominate.

 

Sharp is good and would be an ace at other schools, but he is no McKinney or Norris. Once past these three, the quality drops off dramatically. Several others can throw hard, but you don't know where they're going to throw.

 

SH really needs to improve their defense. I think their outfield might be playing too far back. No outfielder likes to get burned. But statistically, many more balls fall in front of outfielders than go over their heads, especially at the high school level.

[sportzfan17]

I agree that SH should get better.

 

McKinney's shoulder is bothering him, but it is getting better. I saw him pitch against Davey Crockett a couple of weeks ago and he was throwing a lot of breaking pitches and I wondered why. Now I know. McKinney should be back full steam at tournament time. That should stabilize their rotation.

 

I watched Norris pitch last week, and he was struggling with his off speed stuff. I think he may be trying to light up the radar guns. He threw a couple high fast balls that were probably in the 90s, but he threw a lot of fast balls in the mid-80s. Good hitters can hit mid-80s. He would be better off throwing a little less hard and spot the ball better, especially the breaking stuff. Mid 80s with a mid 70s breaking pitch makes a lot of difference. Work on location now and slowly bring in the velocity. He's got two years to blossom and become a pitcher rather than a hard thrower. With command of one pitch, a pitcher can compete. With command of two pitches, he can win. With command of three pitches, he can dominate.

 

Sharp is good and would be an ace at other schools, but he is no McKinney or Norris. Once past these three, the quality drops off dramatically. Several others can throw hard, but you don't know where they're going to throw.

 

SH really needs to improve their defense. I think their outfield might be playing too far back. No outfielder likes to get burned. But statistically, many more balls fall in front of outfielders than go over their heads, especially at the high school level.