New Districts and 7AAA

[MTCSFAN]

Allright southpaw, here is a question for you. Do you throw #1 vs. #1, #2 vs. #2, and #3 vs. #3 or do you mix it up and throw #3 vs. #1 , etc. Just a little food for thought. Could it be that some actual coaching could come into play? Some will come up woefully short if this is the case.

[Whatagreatgame]

The key is to win the series not nesicerilly every game. Did I spell that right? If you win every series than you've done alright. Coaching might come into play on this one, WOW! A coach might have to plan his rotation in the 3 game series a little different than just playing one game at home and one away. A pitching rotation similar to MLB would work better than tha traditional HS. Another thing that comes into play is home field advantage. Do you want your #1 throwing at home? Scouts, gate, concessions, or do you want him to throw away and have a better chance to win on the road. It will be interesting to see what the coaches at the high school level think.

[govols10]

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!!!!

[southpaw]

Allright southpaw, here is a question for you. Do you throw #1 vs. #1, #2 vs. #2, and #3 vs. #3 or do you mix it up and throw #3 vs. #1 , etc. Just a little food for thought. Could it be that some actual coaching could come into play? Some will come up woefully short if this is the case.

 

I think you have to pitch 1 v. 1, 2 v. 2, and so on. Unless...there is a team with an absolute stud #1 (like Farragut's Pfeiffer or Brentwood's Ray). If there were such a pitcher in 7AAA, a coach may be tempted to save his #1 for game 2. I think the 4 Murfreesboro teams have strong #1's (don't know what Lavergne and Smyrna have) who are pretty close, so I don't see anyone trying for the mismatch.

 

Other things to consider:

 

1. If there is a split in the first 2 games, game 3 will be a circus! Every pitch, every at bat will be huge.

 

2. I agree with GreatGame...winning the series is important. A sweep would be huge.

 

3. Coaching will be more important than ever, especially late in the season. What kid in the bullpen do you bring in a tight game?

 

4. Teams with "pure" pitchers may have the advantage, especially late in the season. Pitchers who are also position players may run out of gas late in the season. A pitcher who throws 90 - 110 pitches in game 2 will have to play a position in game 3. Can he do it?

 

I like this format. It reminds me of the SEC format. I can't wait to see how it plays out.

[Whatagreatgame]

This format is more like college or pro baseball where winning the series is big and a sweep is a bonus. One thing to consider when thinking about pitching match-ups is a coach can change week to week. The pitcher who pitches on Thur. could possibly come back on the next Wed. and who's to say a team will know who they will face until the day of the game? High school coaches pitch guys on less than 5 days rest. But, if I DO know who I am going to face on Tue. and he is a D1 signee who can most likely hold my team to 1 or 2 runs I may want to throw my #1 on Wed. and my #2 on Thur. to hopefully try to win the series. Another thing that comes into play is to have my hitters take more pitches to get into their bullpen as early as possible. Get their starters out of the game early if I can. That is the strategy managers use when they face guys like Sabathia, Lee, Santana, and so on. It's not just a hunch, it's a proven way to be around at playoff time. Make em throw a lot of pitches early and get into their bullpen as early as you can. Do high school coaches use this strategy or just go 1,2,3?

[govols10]

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.

[riverdaleman]

I want to add a reminder on pitchers if a pitcher pitches 2 days in a row he cannot throw on the 3rd day so if you have a closer you will only be able to use him in 2 of those games

[Whatagreatgame]

Surely a high school coach wouldn't throw a pitcher, (releiver or closer) 3 days in a row, would they?

This is gonna be interesting!

[Whatagreatgame]

Riverdale Man, I've been waiting for you to chime in on this one. You have been patient. lol

[Whatagreatgame]

By the way which teams in 7AAA have the best 1,2,3, best bullpen, and coaching staff to make it to the end? The new district allignment will make it fun to get to see alot of the games since they are all closer together.

[Borobaseball]

I want to add a reminder on pitchers if a pitcher pitches 2 days in a row he cannot throw on the 3rd day so if you have a closer you will only be able to use him in 2 of those games

 

 

I do not like this rule. Did the coaches vote on this or is it a TSSAA rule?

[columbiaguy]

As you can tell by my handle I am a District 8AAA guy, but I want to chime on the competition. I know some people that say Blackmon's arms are looking great right know for it to be early February. They have several guys putting up impressive velocity. I don't think anybody gets close to Blackmon this year. I could be way off and like I said, I am more of an 8AAA guy but all indications are Blackmon is the team to beat.