My annual Tuesday morning rant - and we won this year!

[Solomon]

I'd personally rather cut the district tournament and sectionals (sub-state, whatever) and the top 4 regular season teams advance to an 8 team double elimination regional tournament. Winner of region goes to state.

[skydogg25]

You also haven't been around high school baseball in Tennessee very long...

 

It isn't crap. Ask Tullahoma's Brian Morris. Farragut's Rob Catapano. Drew Hayes. Mikie Minor. The list is long. I know - I saw all of them throw....

 

Just about every #1 throwing Monday will throw again on Friday. And the ones that win will throw on Tuesday hoping to throw on Friday. I bet you can not find 10 pitchers throwing this Friday that did not throw Monday across A, AA and AAA.

 

This puts teams that were rained out last night at a HUGE disadvantage. Another reason this format is terrible...

 

Your right I was on a staff in Georgia and been part of 3 state championships, and I do agree that the Tennessee format is crazy. I took what you said as some #1 will throw tommorrow to win Region, then throw Friday to win Sectional, and then throw Tuesday to start state and I was just saying if thats the case then that coach doesnt have the player in mind and is an idiot. as long as a kid doesnt throw too many stressful pitches they can rebound fairly quickly. I like our format in georgia because the better teams seem to get where they are suppose too!!

 

Good Luck to your team!!!

[davidlimbaugh]

This seems like a revised Limbaugh Plan to me..........

 

I've given up hope of it changing.

 

No Solomon, no revision - the Powers-Limbaugh plan has been the same for 11 years now

[davidlimbaugh]

Your right I was on a staff in Georgia and been part of 3 state championships, and I do agree that the Tennessee format is crazy. I took what you said as some #1 will throw tommorrow to win Region, then throw Friday to win Sectional, and then throw Tuesday to start state and I was just saying if thats the case then that coach doesnt have the player in mind and is an idiot. as long as a kid doesnt throw too many stressful pitches they can rebound fairly quickly. I like our format in georgia because the better teams seem to get where they are suppose too!!

 

Good Luck to your team!!!

 

I had typed: "A #1 throws on a Monday, then on Friday with 3 days rest, then on Tuesday in Murfreesboro on 3 days rest and if they make the finals on Friday on 2 days rest."

 

There is no real reason to win the region except you get to be home Friday. A lot of coaches will not even throw their #2 tomorrow. They had rather have their #2 ready in case their #1 tires on Friday. That game you HAVE to win.

 

Georgia's bracket

 

(Notice Lassiter put out by Harrison)

 

is very similar to

 

Alabama's

 

Mississippi's

Edited May 15, 2012 by davidlimbaugh

[3-6-3]

Linbaugh is right here - In fact in the 80's and 90's it was standard fare as most if not all district play was on a Mon-Wed-Fri rotation and there were very few if any tournaments played... by the end of the 90's everyone was having a tourney - there really were no regulations on maximum amount you could play - they counted as two games... so districts figured out how to play the least amount of district games they could so they could get more games in tournaments... this is what lead to the new rules in place now on pre season scrimmages, etc... Most schools would have two main starters and one week one guy threw mon-fri and the other threw on wed and the next week they would rotate... pitch counts were not really a big deal - some teams didn't even keep them... the high school game has evolved as now its like a college thing where we play "series" with another school on back to back days so you won't have to face the other guys' #1 guy more than once - back in the old days some teams would see him twice and others would not see him at all due to the m-w-f rotation... in some ways that's good in others i think high school athletics are way out of whack - too much emphasis put on virtually every sport there is... priorities - think about it - at most, high school sports are all most will play... a few will move on to college - so we spend all this time for 8 years of a kids life??? in the grand scheme - we'd be better off going to back to 24 -30 games total and a single elimination tourney all the way thru the state tourney... but i guess that's another story?

 

You haven't been around high school baseball in Tennessee very long if you think that is the case. I guarantee you over 90% of kids that start on Monday will start on Friday. I know for a fact most of those kids will turn around and pitch on Tuesday in Murfreesboro and if they make the finals will pitch again on Friday. Don't take my word for it - check out the box scores for previous Spring Flings and see who started the Championship games and when they pitched before that day....

 

Start with 2006

 

http://www.tssaa.org/2005Champions/StateBaseball/ClassA/Game13.htm

 

Check out box scores for Games 1 and 3

 

Check out AAA championship game that same year - may have been one of the greatest pitching performances on two days rest in history.

 

http://www.tssaa.org/2005Champions/StateBaseball/ClassAAA/Game15.htm

 

Rob Catapano threw 14 shutout innings in four days.

 

That is why a lot of coaches like the current system. They hope they get a huge arm and can ride him to the state tournament.

[3-6-3]

RA Dickey - MBA in 93 almost single handedly won a state tourney by himself -

 

Linbaugh is right here - In fact in the 80's and 90's it was standard fare as most if not all district play was on a Mon-Wed-Fri rotation and there were very few if any tournaments played... by the end of the 90's everyone was having a tourney - there really were no regulations on maximum amount you could play - they counted as two games... so districts figured out how to play the least amount of district games they could so they could get more games in tournaments... this is what lead to the new rules in place now on pre season scrimmages, etc... Most schools would have two main starters and one week one guy threw mon-fri and the other threw on wed and the next week they would rotate... pitch counts were not really a big deal - some teams didn't even keep them... the high school game has evolved as now its like a college thing where we play "series" with another school on back to back days so you won't have to face the other guys' #1 guy more than once - back in the old days some teams would see him twice and others would not see him at all due to the m-w-f rotation... in some ways that's good in others i think high school athletics are way out of whack - too much emphasis put on virtually every sport there is... priorities - think about it - at most, high school sports are all most will play... a few will move on to college - so we spend all this time for 8 years of a kids life??? in the grand scheme - we'd be better off going to back to 24 -30 games total and a single elimination tourney all the way thru the state tourney... but i guess that's another story?

[daylily]

I do understand your frustration to a degree, but in actuallity a team playing for a state championship better have more than one pitcher. Playing on Monday in single elimination is not at all out of line, but the Wednesday game has very little luster at all because both teams move on anyway. Friday's game should be one with clout and pitching on Monday and again on Friday is not at all out of the ordinary. A pitcher should have no trouble at all doing this. The system you provided is way too much playing in a short period of time, especially those who have to travel. The region you are discussing has the two best teams playing for the title.

[davidlimbaugh]

I do understand your frustration to a degree, but in actuallity a team playing for a state championship better have more than one pitcher. Playing on Monday in single elimination is not at all out of line, but the Wednesday game has very little luster at all because both teams move on anyway. Friday's game should be one with clout and pitching on Monday and again on Friday is not at all out of the ordinary. A pitcher should have no trouble at all doing this. The system you provided is way too much playing in a short period of time, especially those who have to travel. The region you are discussing has the two best teams playing for the title.

 

daylily, I don't understand what side of the argument your are taking?

 

You say it is ok to have one arm on Monday and Friday AND that you need more than one pitcher. How is my plan too much playing in a short period of time? Are district tournaments too much playing in a short period of time? We are talking 6 maybe 7 baseball games over 4 to 5 days.

 

I think Siegel and Columbia may disagree with you saying the two best TEAMS are playing for the title. Losing 3-2 with a walkoff in the bottom of the 7th and 1-0 because one team managed 3 hits, 2 in the same inning, and the other only managed two is not a large enough sample size to say the two best TEAMS won.

 

Check out these scores of Spring Fling games AFTER the opening round games since 2002:

 

23-4

13-3

11-5

13-0

16-6

10-0

12-2

12-2

20-1

13-2

15-6

12-3

10-9

13-2

20-1

15-6

18-4

10-9

12-3

10-0

10-9

15-10

10-0

10-0

13-0

12-11

12-3

26-0

15-1

13-2

19-6

13-3

18-5

14-0

9-0

13-1

10-0

18-7 (AAA Championship game in 2007!)

16-6

12-2

17-7

12-0

10-3

13-2

11-1

13-3

9-0

13-3

14-2

11-0

13-0

11-10

12-0

12-0

13-3

14-1

13-3

14-6

10-3

12-2

16-6

12-0

12-0

14-4

13-3

12-2

 

Brutal baseball.... Why? Because teams got there with one great arm but not a lot of good ones....

[davidlimbaugh]

How do you vote?

[ksgovols]

If you have to have arms to win state why shouldn't you need arms to get to state? I think that is the crux of the question. As it is there are 2 elimination games 5 days apart. Win those and go to state and figure out what you're gonna do in the second round after you get there cause your #1 has pitched in 3 games in 9 days.

Edited May 16, 2012 by ksgovols

[sportsnutdad]

Just my two cents worth, but I believe the schedule is fine forcing teams to use more than 1 pitcher. Ideally, teams would need 3 to 4 pitchers to make it through the state championship. It is a TEAM SPORT. Just look at the roster for most college teams. Roughly 50% of the roster is made up of pitchers. Of course smaller college teams, and most high school teams will have players who play one or more positions as well as pitch.

[davidlimbaugh]

Just my two cents worth, but I believe the schedule is fine forcing teams to use more than 1 pitcher. Ideally, teams would need 3 to 4 pitchers to make it through the state championship. It is a TEAM SPORT. Just look at the roster for most college teams. Roughly 50% of the roster is made up of pitchers. Of course smaller college teams, and most high school teams will have players who play one or more positions as well as pitch.

 

That is the point. You need a STAFF to get through a district and/or district tournament. You need a STAFF once you reach the state tournament. You need one GREAT arm to get to the state tournament if you make it out of your district. There lies the problem. Great TEAMS sometimes do not make it to Murfreesboro. Great #1s make it quite a bit.