11AA predictions

[coachcutt]

Thanks, MKD. We are excited about coming to your place and seeing some good baseball. I really think whoever comes out of 11AA has a great chance this year to go further. Others may argue, but I feel our district was really good this year. The top 4 teams are very competitve and any team could win. As usual, it will depend alot on the pitching. See you this afternoon.

[clemlawn]

We are very excited to be hosting at Camden this week. We cannot remember when (or if) the last time that Camden Baseball won the district and we are going to do our best to try to make everybody feel as welcome as possible. If there is anything that is needed or you would like to talk I usually end up down the third baseline taking videos and pictures. Hope you have a safe trip down.

What is the address for the park please?

[mkd24]

Camden wins over Creekwood 13-3 while hitting six homeruns. Creekwood spent most of their time complaining about the fence (same one they were swinging at) and got one homerun themselves. The Creekwood coach made us laugh at one point. He said something to the umpire about the short fence and one of our mom's went off on him. "It's the same fence. If it is that easy you should have 8 or 10 homeruns yourself. Your team has the same fence to swing at!!!" He looked at her just as calm as possible and told her " You are very observant and completely correct". When he agreed with her it just kind of took the wind out of her sails. She was all set to give him a hard time, but how do you do that when he agrees with you?

 

I was really surprised at the second game. Both teams hit the ball and Harpeth didn't make several plays that they should have. Presley was leaving the ball up and Mont Central was hitting it. Did he pitch Friday and then come back again Monday? And the homerun that was called an out for the illegal bat was a bomb! It got out in a hurry. While I don't think it would have gone out if he was using a broomstick like some of the fans suggested, it was going to go out with any normal bat.

[ksgovols]

Exactly how short is the fence? Maybe the kid from Central should have used a normal bat.

 

Even though the fence is the same for everybody, you play different at Fenway than you do at Busch Stadium. The 9 1/2' goals at Waverly Middle are the same for both teams too, but still. It's a definite home field advantage for a team that knows how to pitch at a field with a short porch. Camden swings it well enough that they don't need the short fence to beat somebody. I think the new bat rules will knock down the home run totals in years to come, but on the other hand Benton County's got a lot more flat land than Cheatham and Dickson do. Wouldn't be that hard to have a baseball field with a 350'-360' fence around it. We carved one out of a bluff that's 375' in center at the Rock, which is aptly named.

 

Good luck to everybody. I doubt I'll make it to Camden by 4:30. Go get 'em Harpeth. Leave it all on the field. Not sure why the guys can't seem to play sound defense against Central. That's 2 gifts to those guys this season.

Edited May 10, 2011 by ksgovols

[WEbaseball101]

Playing on a team's short porch is frustrating when the field that is your home field is monsterous compared to the one you are playing on. It's is most certainly home field advantage, because pitchers can make mistakes at a big park and still live to pitch another pitch. That's the beauty of baseball, not every field is the same (unlike every other sport in America). As a coach myself, it is very very frustrating though, I understand CW's coaches frustrations.

 

I haven't seen Camden play, ever, but it sounds like they swing the sticks when at home.

 

Good luck to all teams in this district. I said it once, and I'll say it again, Montgomery Central is a notorious great tournament team in this district. I do not miss playing them in the District Tourney. They always seem to win, no matter the talent level. Dunn does a great job over there.

[mkd24]

The fences are 295' down the lines going out to 345 in center field. Plus the 10 foot fence. We looked at several ways to lengthen it and there are no cheap ways to do it. You either have to move the lights or move teh concession stand which is what we tried to do so we could get a new one. Since it is a city park it is hard to sink that much money in it. The booster club tries to add something every year like the fences, block wall, and new scoreboard, but we just cant get the kind of money you are talking about to do that.

[mkd24]

Playing on a team's short porch is frustrating when the field that is your home field is monsterous compared to the one you are playing on. It's is most certainly home field advantage, because pitchers can make mistakes at a big park and still live to pitch another pitch. That's the beauty of baseball, not every field is the same (unlike every other sport in America). As a coach myself, it is very very frustrating though, I understand CW's coaches frustrations.

 

I haven't seen Camden play, ever, but it sounds like they swing the sticks when at home.

 

Good luck to all teams in this district. I said it once, and I'll say it again, Montgomery Central is a notorious great tournament team in this district. I do not miss playing them in the District Tourney. They always seem to win, no matter the talent level. Dunn does a great job over there.

 

There is no arguing that it is a home field advantage. I just think that the opposing teams focus on it more than they should. And we have sometimes have the opposite problem in some of the bigger parks thinking that you can just throw it up there and let them hit it as opposed to still keeping the ball down. You see lots of threads that mention Stephen Gant as a pitcher. I can tell you that Riverside's field compares to ours like we compare to Creekwood. The girl's softball team could play on their field. He still doesn't give up any runs. That shows that he not only has the speed but he keeps the ball down too. And they came to Camden and gave us a thumping. They kept the ball down and hit it up.

[ksgovols]

I see this being a point of contention at the next district meeting.

 

Personally, I like having the district tournament at Creek Wood from one standpoint. They have the best playing surface in the district and nice dimensions. On the other hand, there should be a reward for finishing at the top of your district. I played on a field in high school that had a short right field fence, 294' I beleive. Every team that came in there would stack their lineup with all the lefties they had. We'd throw lefties against them to try to counter that. A short fence all the way around is a little tougher to deal with unless you can throw a sinker.

 

Guess everybody found out the penalty for using an illegal bat last night. That's one that you keep in your pocket until you need to pull it out.

[lawdog]

The corners may be 294' at Camden but the ball flies out of there like it's a little league field. One of the kids for Camden last night told his coach as he rounded 3rd after a home run that he hit his off the handle! At least 2 of Camden's home runs were literally hit off of the end cap of the bat! Of Camden's home runs only 2 were really well hit balls. I have seen many games at that park and routine fly balls at most parks are home runs there.

 

That having been said, it is the same fence for everybody. The big time home field advantage for Camden is that their swings are coached to be tailor made for that park. Once they hit a bomb, if you can call a home run at Camden that, I think opposing teams start trying to hit it out and change how they swing the bat. Like Central and Harpeth last night, you just have to hit the ball and not worry about the home runs. Do not try to change your swing to fit the park.

 

So much of pitching at that park also depends on the umpire. If an umpire will not call a strike at the knees (or just below)and you have to get it up, you are in trouble. I bet Stephen Gant kept the ball down and beat Camden, you're only talking about a pitcher that may well get drafted after his senior year at Riverside!

 

Still gotta play the game and find a way. I think it will be hard to beat Camden at that park. They will find a much tougher row to hoe once they have to leave the friendly confines I am afraid. But that's why you win the district!

[tdouglas3]

The corners may be 294' at Camden but the ball flies out of there like it's a little league field. One of the kids for Camden last night told his coach as he rounded 3rd after a home run that he hit his off the handle! At least 2 of Camden's home runs were literally hit off of the end cap of the bat! Of Camden's home runs only 2 were really well hit balls. I have seen many games at that park and routine fly balls at most parks are home runs there.

 

That having been said, it is the same fence for everybody. The big time home field advantage for Camden is that their swings are coached to be tailor made for that park. Once they hit a bomb, if you can call a home run at Camden that, I think opposing teams start trying to hit it out and change how they swing the bat. Like Central and Harpeth last night, you just have to hit the ball and not worry about the home runs. Do not try to change your swing to fit the park.

 

So much of pitching at that park also depends on the umpire. If an umpire will not call a strike at the knees (or just below)and you have to get it up, you are in trouble. I bet Stephen Gant kept the ball down and beat Camden, you're only talking about a pitcher that may well get drafted after his senior year at Riverside!

 

Still gotta play the game and find a way. I think it will be hard to beat Camden at that park. They will find a much tougher row to hoe once they have to leave the friendly confines I am afraid. But that's why you win the district!

 

 

Gant didn't pitch in the game, but what I was referring to was that they were used to the field size and didn't let it bother them at all. It is the teams that talk about it and let it get in their heads before the game ever starts. And there is no doubt that if you don't get the call at the knees it is going to be a long night.

[clemlawn]

All good points, I too would like to see the tournament at Creek Wood. There is no one that can not agree that it is the best park in the district, but how would that be fair? Maybe there is a way to figure it out. Memories are being created that we will remember for a long time. I have enjoyed going to Camden the last few nights and the hospitality is appreciated. There have been a ton of Home runs, an illegal bat issue, a strike out on a pitch thrown behind the batter etc, As long as Creek Wood makes it to the region I do not have a problem with playing at Camden, but if they lose today I am sure it will be because of the fence. JK. Good luck to the teams left. MC is hitting the ball as well as anyone right now. MC vs. CW today should be an instant classic. The winner gets to keep playing and the loser is done.

[coachcutt]

Well our season has come to a close, it was an emotional ending for the Seniors who have played their last game. I enjoyed watching our team this season, we were "the good, the bad and the ugly" all in one season. It is disapointing to exit so early but we were beat by two teams who hit the ball better than we did on this occasion. As far as the field goes, we certainly didn't take advantage of the short porch, with power up and down the line up we never threatened to homer.

 

I don't think Creekwood getting the tourney every year is a viable solution, there is too much advantage to hosting. I think the winner should host, and if we don't want to play on Camden's field we better win. I would like to thank all of the people at Camden who were so welcoming, we were made to feel right at home by their coaching staff and parent volunteers from the moment we stepped off the bus. The hospitality tent was nice and those home-made cookies were off the chart good. Good luck to the teams still in it, I hope the District will go far at the next level whoever wins the tourney. Best of luck to all!