February 20th.
Its the date that Division 1 baseball players have been waiting on for about eight months. Its the date that breaks the consecutive string of practices filled with running, drills, intersquad games, lifting, 5 AM wakeups and more running.(When I say it like that it sure does make me miss my playing days) Its the date that marks the beginning of a new season of D-1 college baseball.
You can find all the matchups, scores and individual stats at this wonderful website: http://www.d1baseball.com/
The best matchup of the opening weekend will be between Vanderbilt and Stanford. Vanderbilt's offense has some big holes to fill after Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty left but they still have a great pitching staff led by Mike Minor. Minor will face off against Jeff Inman, Stanford's ace, in the opener on Friday. The Cardinal are ranked in the top 10 by BaseballAmerica but they too have some big holes to fill in the lineup after losing Jason Castro and Cord Phelps.
Before the season gets going, how about some predictions?
Golden Spikes: Dustin Ackley-OF/1B-UNC
-Ackley has hit over .400 in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. The only way he slows down is if opposing pitchers pitch around him, which is very possible considering the lineup surrounding Ackley is considerably weaker than the past two seasons. He still has good protection in Kyle Seager so I think the average will still be north of .400. I can also see him hitting between 12-15 HRs and stealing around 20 bases.
It is very possible that Stephen Strasburg wins this award since pitchers frequently do win it(David Price being the latest), but I'm just gonna go with the top hitter to mix it up. Blake Dean(LSU), Grant Green(USC) and Josh Phegley(Indiana) could also be among Ackley's strongest competition.
Roger Clemens Award: Stephen Strasburg-SP-SDSU
-Its hard seeing anyone else beating out Strasburg. He is a man pitching against boys in the Mountain West conference. Expect gaudy numbers from the future #1 pick. Low BB/9, high K/9, a few shutouts, maybe a 27 strikeout game. Only an injury(knock on wood) can slow him down in 2009.
Alex White(UNC), Andy Oliver(OSU) and Mike Minor(Vandy) might give Strasburg a run for his money but in the end it'll be the Aztec righty who brings home the award.
National Champions: Baylor Bears
-The Bears brought in the best recruiting class in 2006 and that group has been disappointing thus far. I see this being the year that those boys put it all together and earn a national title. The Bears rotation includes three arms- Kendal Volz(Jr), Craig Fritsch(So) and Shawn Tolleson(So)- that have the ability to dominate. All three could be top 2 round draft picks.
Baylor's bullpen isn't as good as it was when they went to the CWS a few years ago but closing games out will be former Saturday starter, Willie Kempf, who is coming off a very good year. Setting him up is Mace Thurman, a southpaw who is also coming off a good season. The pen isn't very deep so coach Steve Smith will need some youngsters to log key innings.
Offensively, some big names finally need to step it up and they are Aaron Miller and Dustin Dickerson. These two were the top recruits in that loaded 06 class and Baylor fans had high hopes for them. So far, though, neither has hit above .313. If these two can get it going and hit around .350, the Bears are going to be in great shape as they have a lot of starters returning. Included in the returnees are: Shaver Hansen(3B), Raynor Campbell(OF/2B), Adam Hornung(1B/OF), Ben Booker(OF)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
What's Up With Wake?
No team in college basketball is disappointing me more right now than the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. After starting out 16-0, 3-0 and climbing to #1 in the rankings, Wake Forest has gone 2-4 in their last six games and are now 5-4 in the ACC.
The ACC is traditionally a very tough basketball conference and this year is no different. UNC, Duke and Clemson have all been in the top 10 at one point, Florida State currently sits at #25 and Boston College and Virginia Tech are in decent shape as they make a run at a spot in the field of 64. But Wake is not losing to very many top teams. They are getting beat by the bottom half of the conference. Their 4 losses have come to:
-Miami(FL): 15-8, 4-6
-NC State: 13-9, 3-6
-Virginia Tech: 16-7, 6-3 (only solid team)
-Georgia Tech: 13-10, 1-9
The Demon Deacons are a young team as three of their top four scorers are either freshmen or sophomores. But there aren't many teams that shoot the ball better-49.1 team FG% ranks 6th in the country- and there more than likely isn't a bigger team in the country as 6 of their 13 players are 6'9" or bigger, including two 7 footers. Perhaps the Waukegan School for the Incredibly Tall has a bigger team but Wake Forest is at least #2.
Going back to shooting percentage, because Wake is so big their overall percentage is going to get a boost because of their low post game. In turn, their outside shooting hasn't been so good. As a team, they are shooting 33.3% from 3 point land. Though, Jeff Teague is money shooting 51.5% so they have a lethal outside shooter. But their guard depth isn't very strong as Teague is the only player over 33.3% shooting 3's.
However, a team with their dominating low post game shouldn't be getting beat by weak teams as often as Wake Forest has been. They are shooting themselves in the foot as the ACC Tournament nears and a 5-6 seed in that tourney looks like a possibility.
Not long ago I thought Wake Forest's great size and ability to own the boards would continue to overshadow their deficiency from the outside and would help propel them deep into the big dance, possibly to the Final Four. Now though, I'm questioning that thought. Their big men continue to get in foul trouble- Al-Farouq Aminu, James Johnson and Chas McFarland have each fouled out 3 times this year- and not many guards outside of Jeff Teague and L.D. Williams are stepping up.
I guess the good news for Wake is that it is early February and that there is time to get it going. But they have some big issues to address going into the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
The ACC is traditionally a very tough basketball conference and this year is no different. UNC, Duke and Clemson have all been in the top 10 at one point, Florida State currently sits at #25 and Boston College and Virginia Tech are in decent shape as they make a run at a spot in the field of 64. But Wake is not losing to very many top teams. They are getting beat by the bottom half of the conference. Their 4 losses have come to:
-Miami(FL): 15-8, 4-6
-NC State: 13-9, 3-6
-Virginia Tech: 16-7, 6-3 (only solid team)
-Georgia Tech: 13-10, 1-9
The Demon Deacons are a young team as three of their top four scorers are either freshmen or sophomores. But there aren't many teams that shoot the ball better-49.1 team FG% ranks 6th in the country- and there more than likely isn't a bigger team in the country as 6 of their 13 players are 6'9" or bigger, including two 7 footers. Perhaps the Waukegan School for the Incredibly Tall has a bigger team but Wake Forest is at least #2.
Going back to shooting percentage, because Wake is so big their overall percentage is going to get a boost because of their low post game. In turn, their outside shooting hasn't been so good. As a team, they are shooting 33.3% from 3 point land. Though, Jeff Teague is money shooting 51.5% so they have a lethal outside shooter. But their guard depth isn't very strong as Teague is the only player over 33.3% shooting 3's.
However, a team with their dominating low post game shouldn't be getting beat by weak teams as often as Wake Forest has been. They are shooting themselves in the foot as the ACC Tournament nears and a 5-6 seed in that tourney looks like a possibility.
Not long ago I thought Wake Forest's great size and ability to own the boards would continue to overshadow their deficiency from the outside and would help propel them deep into the big dance, possibly to the Final Four. Now though, I'm questioning that thought. Their big men continue to get in foul trouble- Al-Farouq Aminu, James Johnson and Chas McFarland have each fouled out 3 times this year- and not many guards outside of Jeff Teague and L.D. Williams are stepping up.
I guess the good news for Wake is that it is early February and that there is time to get it going. But they have some big issues to address going into the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Super Bowl 43 Predictions
With about an hour to go before the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers go at it in Super Bowl 43 in Tampa Bay, I feel now is a good time to get my predictions out there.
Coin Toss: Heads
First TD scored by: Larry Fitzgerald
Pittsburgh Total Yards: 372
Arizona Total Yards: 386 (most through the air)
Pittsburgh Turnovers: 1
Arizona Turnovers: 3
Final Score: 31-20 Steelers
MVP: Ben Roethlisberger
With all that said, I do hope I'm wrong. Being from St. Louis, I'm a huge fan of the Rams and will always root for Kurt Warner whenever he isn't playing against the Rams. However, the Steelers defense is just too good.
Coin Toss: Heads
First TD scored by: Larry Fitzgerald
Pittsburgh Total Yards: 372
Arizona Total Yards: 386 (most through the air)
Pittsburgh Turnovers: 1
Arizona Turnovers: 3
Final Score: 31-20 Steelers
MVP: Ben Roethlisberger
With all that said, I do hope I'm wrong. Being from St. Louis, I'm a huge fan of the Rams and will always root for Kurt Warner whenever he isn't playing against the Rams. However, the Steelers defense is just too good.
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