END OF 2nd Round THOUGHTS
1. North Eugene. Let's all go to Swede this Friday. I'm going with home field advantage and a North Eugene win streak all the way through round three. 2. Thurston. The Colts need a win at Swede, but they could still sneak in with a loss to North if the Highlander's lose one of their other third round games. 3. Willamette. In the driver's seat over Churchill. The Wolverines can lose to Churchill and still go because Willamette owns the tie breaker. 4. Churchill. Myrmo hasn't thrown in a long time and the Lancer's were 1-4 in the second round. The Lancer's probably have to win at least four in the final round to make it, and that still might not be enough. 5. Marshfield. My alma mater needs to beat the Miller's in Springfield to own the series. 6. Springfield. When the pitching doesn't go berserko, these guys are okay. A couple of more wins this round? FIRST ROUND THOUGHTS The first round is playing out just as expected. North and Thurston battling for the title and Churchill and Willamette fighting for the 3rd and final playoff spot.
North 4-1 Thurston 4-1 Willamette 3-2 Churchill 3-2 Marshfield 1-4 Springfield 0-5 March 28, 2008 Final PreLeague Prediction
Final thoughts before league openers on Wednesday. I'm not changing my final preseason rankings.
North is making me a little nervous though. Willamette's stock is up
a little. March 4 Prediction - with detail So it's time for a change to my top 3. But first I
want to make sure I don't get expectations too high for Marshfield's
facility. I just realized there are three new head coaches and they
aren't familiar with the nightmare field in Coos Bay. Imagine the
1st & 3rd basepaths (grass) being raised about six inches due to years of
chalk build up. It was okay when it was only about three inches high
- it made bunting great. But once it got to where it is now - six
inches high, the
ball just rolled back to the pitcher...... Now move to the normal infield
lip. Depending on the year it was either four inches or it wasn't
skinned or edged at all. Last year the 'lip' sort of undulated
between the bases....... Ahh, the mound. It was like
pitching on a pin head. There is supposed to be some sort of
platform for the pitcher to work on......... The plate was cockeyed
relative to the mound..... The infield was about 60 per cent grass and 40
per cent giant weeds. Have to admit, it was green. New ranking. 1. Thurston. Pressure's on for new coach Dube. Add 2nd team all leaguer from Pleasant Hill and Bodeens transfer back to the Colts to Hunter's return and a load of returning all leaguers. It's been 8 years since a team besides North (2 outright titles and 2 co-titles), Churchill (3 outrights) or Sheldon (2 co's) took a title. Springfield and Sheldon were co champs in 2000. Thurston's last title was in 1996. That may be the Colts only baseball title, although my records are a little spotty. I don't know if I would want to try and manage the team chemistry with all of the talent and incoming players, but then I would love to have the talent. What killed the Colts last year? Can you say "defense"? Thurston couldn't last year. But the Colts were incredibly young last year. They should settle down. With Hunter's arm on the mound, that should steady the fielding in at least half of the games. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 2. North Eugene. Coach Nicholsen will probably punish my prediction and win the title. But based on returning players, the Colts should slide by and take the title. For second place, I like the Highlanders with Keller and Woodke handling the pitching duties. Saboe and Womack are going to have to get some cover from player's moving up from North's always great JV team. The two collected a lot of rbi's and hit for power last year. But if they don't get guys in front and behind them, life will be tough. Count on the new sticks from the jayvees to deliver. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats 3A.
Churchill. I'm moving
the Lancer's back to third. I don't think you bet against a program
like North's or Churchill. I was looking for a reason to put them
back in the playoffs and Grady Wood moving out or Willamette was enough. Graduation
and transfers hit Churchill hard.
1st team all leaguers Schumacher, Irsfeld & Krietz all graduated. All
leaguers Hunter transferred (to Thurston) and Peter Straka (to Sheldon) after
playing for the state runner-up Churchill. Now, instead of fighting for
first in league, the Lancer's will be fighting for third. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 3B. Willamette. New coach John Guldager starts his Willamette head coaching career with two all leaguers returning and a lot more with varsity experience. The Wolverines return four players who hit dingers during league play. If Coach Guldager can quickly develop some pitching, he'll get the Wolverines back to the playoff's for the second year in a row. Gebhardt, the Woodke's and Calef can all hit with runners in scoring position, so Willamette's O should be solid. Nice schedule with two games at home versus North, Churchill and Marshfield. If they are going to get back to state, they will have to knock off the Lancers and Highlanders, so it's nice to have home field advantage. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats 5. Marshfield. Injury riddled Marshfield will be one of three teams with a new head coach in 2008. Quintin Hall will start his varsity head coaching experience with three returning all-star seniors who played in the state playoffs as freshmen. Add in senior Jesse McClintock, who also played in the playoffs as a freshman, but was injured most of last year and you have four excellent seniors who want to end their high school career by at least making the playoffs. McClintock is a horse on the mound, but he was hurt early last spring and just when he started to get healthy he took a liner off of his noggin and sat out the last part of the season. The last time I saw McClintock he was being scraped off the basketball floor late in the season. The four seniors can all hit the ball, which should give the Pirates a good 2-3-4-5 setup if they can find a solid leadoff man. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 6. Springfield. The Miller's won three league games last year, all against Marshfield. Marshfield won two league games, both against teams that went to the playoffs. Figure that one out. The Miller's do not have any all league players returning but should be bringing back enough players with varsity experience that they can make trouble for someone. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Not an all-leaguer but... Don't agree, have additional ideas or corrections, or think I always sandbag the Pirates? Then email [email protected] . Contributors names are not mentioned without approval of contributor.
Feb 17 - last day before first practice. This week is the week we learn who is really going to be on the varsity rosters. Transfers, injuries, senioritis and internet misinformation change my anticipated lineups every year. Please let me know how your rosters look after the first week of practice. [email protected] If Grady is really at Junction City, then I'm moving Churchill back to third. That's assuming Churchill doesn't take any more hits to their lineup..... I hope everybody is getting in a practice on Monday, President's Day. Looks like the sun is out, but rain on Tuesday. ....Good news for teams traveling to the bay. I've seen the new Pirate coach slaving away on the field almost every day. Best mid February condition in years. The dandelions haven't started blooming yet, but I'm guessing you'll be seeing much better infield conditions this year.....reminder: I'm trying text messaging this year, so text in those scores by 9 PM so I can post them. I'm a cell phone klutz, but my two boys say I can do it. December 2007 Thoughts about 2008 finish Peter Straka to Sheldon. At least that doesn't give one of the other MWL his 14 league rbi's. So..... New prediction as of December. 1. Thurston. Merry Christmas new coach Dube. It's been 8 years since a team besides North (2 outright titles and 2 co-titles), Churchill (3 outrights) or Sheldon (2 co's) took a title. Springfield and Sheldon were co champs in 2000. Thurston's last title was in 1996. That may be the Colts only baseball title, although my records are a little spotty. Let's redo the returning list with Hunter in the mix, it looks awesome. Can you say "defense"? Thurston couldn't last year. But the Colts were incredibly young last year. They should settle down. With Hunter's arm on the mound, that should steady the fielding in at least half of the games. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 2. North Eugene. Coach Nicholsen will probably punish my prediction and win the title. But based on returning players, the Colts should slide by and take the title. For second place, I like the Highlanders with Keller and Woodke handling the pitching duties. Saboe and Womack are going to have to get some cover from player's moving up from North's always great JV team. The two collected a lot of rbi's and hit for power last year. But if they don't get guys in front and behind them, life will be tough. Count on the new sticks from the jayvees to deliver. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats 3. Willamette. New coach Jon Guldager starts his Willamette head coaching career with three all leaguers returning and a lot more with varsity experience. The Wolverines return five players who hit dingers during league play. If Coach Guldager can quickly develop some pitching, he'll get the Wolverines back to the playoff's for the second year in a row. Wood, Gebhardt, the Woodke's and Calef can all hit with runners in scoring position, so Willamette's O should be solid. Nice schedule with two games at home verus North, Churchill and Marshfield. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats 4.
Churchill. Graduation
and transfers will probably give the Lancer program a one year hiccup.
1st team all leaguers Schumacher, Irsfeld & Krietz all graduated. All
leaguers Hunter (to Thurston) and Peter Straka (to Sheldon) transfer after
playing for the state runner-up Churchill. Now, instead of fighting for
first in league, the Lancer's will be fighting for third. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 5. Marshfield. Injury riddled Marshfield will be one of three teams with a new head coach in 2008. Quintin Hall will start his varsity head coaching experience with three returning all-star seniors who played in the state playoffs as freshmen. Add in senior Jesse McClintock, who also played in the playoffs as a freshman, but was injured most of last year and you have four excellent seniors who want to end their high school career by at least making the playoffs. McClintock is a horse on the mound, but he was hurt early last spring and just when he started to get healthy he took a liner off of his noggin and sat out the last part of the season. The four seniors can all hit the ball, which should give the Pirates a good 2-3-4-5 setup if they can find a good leadoff man. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 6. Springfield. The Miller's won three league games last year, all against Marshfield. Marshfeild won two league games, both against teams that went to the playoffs. Figure that one out. The Miller's do not have any all league players returning but should be bringing back enough players with varsity experience that they can make trouble for someone. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Not an all-leaguer but... Don't agree, have additional ideas or corrections, or think I always sandbag the Pirates? Then email [email protected] . Contributors names are not mentioned without approval of contributor.
The new OSAA classification system was good to the MWL in baseball. Churchill made it to the state finals for the first time ever for their school, and the first time for the MWL since North Bend made it in 1991. It's easy to predict who is going to state next year. How's that for bold? Churchill, North and Thurston. Willamette will be a possible spoiler again. Or is it, Willamette will go to state and Thurston will be a possible spoiler? Okay, these two teams are clones. These programs have definitely 'arrived'. They tied for the final playoff spot last year at 8-7. They both were composed of mostly sophomores and juniors last year. And I don't know why a coach would leave when your team is incredibly young and on the rise, but both teams welcome outstanding new head coaches. Marshfield and Springfield might pull off a few upsets which impact which order the teams finish. Bottom line is that Churchill is the only team with a lock on a playoff spot, although they might not go as number one. North is light on returning starters and Thurston and Willamette are light on pitching, but any of them could break through. However, you want a ranking, so here goes - only eight months until "Play Ball!" 1. Churchill. I haven't seen the schedules yet, but Churchill should have the home field advantage in a three game series with North, so I'm going with Churchill. Four returning all leaguers off of a state final team. Pitching should be fine with all stars Hunter and Myrmo. They can hit, too. Add in the bats of Hoffman, Straka and Layson and you can see why they will battle with North for the title. I'm guessing that Hunter will be a league stopper on the mound next year and that Coach Hoberg will manage the batting lineup to produce a lot of rbi's once again. If the Lancer's can get by North's pitching staff, they should regain the MWL title. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 2. North Eugene.
Tim Keller (1st team all league) and Tyler Woodke (2nd team) back on
the mound. That'll be a huge help for a team that graduates five all
league players. 2007's number two rbi man in the MWL league, Brandon Saboe, and
long ball hitting Scott Womack are the other two all
leaguers returning for North. My dream game would be to see Hunter vs.
Keller at Swede. It's a long drive from Coos Bay, but it would be worth
it. 3. Thurston. I picked the Colts for third last year, but they lost the tie breaker to Willamette. I'll put the jinx on their new coach, Phil Dube, and pick them for third again. The Colts have six - count em - six all leaguers returning.&nnbsp; Spencer, Hoover, Urness and Chapman like to rip the ball, so Thurston should take advantage of Willamette losing their all state pitcher. Coach Dube will improve the D, which is what corralled the Colts last year. By the way, a lot of people got on the Colts because of bad D, but didn't seem to notice that they were loaded with sophomores and some juniors. They'll be a year stronger, quicker, and faster next year - and many of them will have a year after that... Look out MWL. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 4. Willamette. New coach Jon Guldager starts his Willamette head coaching career with three all leaguers returning and a lot more with varsity experience. The Wolverines return five players who hit dingers during league play. If Coach Guldager can quickly develop some pitching, he might get the Wolverines back to the playoffs. Wood, Gebhardt, the Woodke's and Calef can all hit with runners in scoring position, so Willamette's O should be solid. These guys can finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th, but for now I'll say 4th until I feel better about their pitching. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats 5. Marshfield. Injury riddled Marshfield will be one of three teams with a new head coach in 2008. Quintin Hall will start his varsity head coaching experience with three returning all-star seniors who played in the state playoffs as freshmen. Add in senior Jesse McClintock, who also played in the playoffs as a freshman, but was injured most of last year and you have four excellent seniors who want to end their high school career by at least making the playoffs. McClintock is a horse on the mound, but he was hurt early last spring and just when he started to get healthy he took a liner off of his noggin and sat out the last part of the season. The four seniors can all hit the ball, which should give the Pirates a good 2-3-4-5 setup if they can find a good leadoff man. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Also, not an all-leaguer but... 6. Springfield. The Miller's won three league games last year, all against Marshfield. The Pirates won two league games, both against teams that went to the playoffs. Figure that one out. The Miller's do not have any all league players returning but should be bringing back enough players with varsity experience that they can make trouble for someone. Returning All-Leaguers with league stats Not an all-leaguer but... Don't agree, have additional ideas or corrections, or think I always sandbag the Pirates? Then email [email protected] . Contributors names are not mentioned without approval of contributor.
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July 2007 thoughts about 2008 finish
The new OSAA classification system was good to the MWL in baseball. Churchill made it to the state finals for the first time ever for their school, and the first time for the MWL since North Bend made it in 1991.
It's easy to predict who is going to state next year. How's that for bold? Churchill, North and Thurston. Willamette will be a possible spoiler again. Or is it, Willamette will go to state and Thurston will be a possible spoiler? Okay, these two teams are clones. These programs have definitely 'arrived'. They tied for the final playoff spot last year at 8-7. They both were composed of mostly sophomores and juniors last year. And I don't know why a coach would leave when your team is incredibly young and on the rise, but both teams welcome outstanding new head coaches. Marshfield and Springfield might pull off a few upsets which impact which order the teams finish. Bottom line is that Churchill is the only team with a lock on a playoff spot, although they might not go as number one. North is light on returning starters and Thurston and Willamette are light on pitching, but any of them could break through.
However, you want a ranking, so here goes - only eight months until "Play Ball!"
1. Churchill. I haven't seen the schedules yet, but Churchill should have the home field advantage in a three game series with North, so I'm going with Churchill. Four returning all leaguers off of a state final team. Pitching should be fine with all stars Hunter and Myrmo. They can hit, too. Add in the bats of Hoffman, Straka and Layson and you can see why they will battle with North for the title. I'm guessing that Hunter will be a league stopper on the mound next year and that Coach Hoberg will manage the batting lineup to produce a lot of rbi's once again. If the Lancer's can get by North's pitching staff, they should regain the MWL title.
Returning All-Leaguers with league stats
1st C Justin Hoffman Sr
2 2bs, 2 HRs, 9 rbi
1st IF Darrell Hunter Sr
4 2bs,
3 HRs, 12 rbi
2nd IF
Peter Straka
Sr 5 2bs,
14 rbi
HM P Matt Myrmo Jr
1
HR 4 rbi
Also, not an all-leaguer but...
Ryan Layson
Sr 4 2bs
6 rbi
2. North Eugene.
Tim Keller (1st team all league) and Tyler Woodke (2nd team) back on
the mound. That'll be a huge help for a team that graduates five all
league players. 2007's number two rbi man in the MWL league, Brandon Saboe, and
long ball hitting Scott Womack are the other two all
leaguers returning for North. My dream game would be to see Hunter vs.
Keller at Swede. It's a long drive from Coos Bay, but it would be worth
it.
Normally, I wouldn't pick a team who lost so many players to graduation to
finish 1st or 2nd, but 12 straight playoff appearances eases my mind.
Keller will be great on the mound and Wookde will give the Highlanders a solid
pitching staff. North will develop rapidly during their preleague schedule
a usual.
Returning All-Leaguers with league stats
1st P Tim Keller
Jr
1st OF
Brandon Saboe Sr
GG 8 2bs 1 3bs,
1
HR, 19 rbi
2nd P Tyler Woodke
Sr
GG
3 rbi
2nd 1B Scott Womack Sr
GG
1 2b , 4 3bs,
2 HRs, , 14 rbi
3. Thurston. I picked the Colts for third last year, but they lost the tie breaker to Willamette. I'll put the jinx on their new coach, Phil Dube, and pick them for third again. The Colts have six - count em - six all leaguers returning.&nnbsp; Spencer, Hoover, Urness and Chapman like to rip the ball, so Thurston should take advantage of Willamette losing their all state pitcher. Coach Dube will improve the D, which is what corralled the Colts last year. By the way, a lot of people got on the Colts because of bad D, but didn't seem to notice that they were loaded with sophomores and some juniors. They'll be a year stronger, quicker, and faster next year - and many of them will have a year after that... Look out MWL.
Returning All-Leaguers with league stats
1st DH Jordan Branhem Sr,
4 rbi
2nd P Brooks Chapman Jr 5 2bs,
6 rbi
2nd C Skip Spencer
Jr 6 2bs,
3 HRs, 19 rbi
2nd IF Kyle Hoover Jr
7 2bs, 1 3b,
12 rbi
2nd OF Danny Urness
Jr 6 2bs, 1 3b,
7 rbi
GG
Colin Schaurmann Sr,
4 rbi
Also, not an all-leaguer but...
Tyler Bradley
Jr 3 2bs,
3 rbi
Dylan Hesse
Jr
3 rbi
4. Willamette. New coach Jon Guldager starts his Willamette head coaching career with three all leaguers returning and a lot more with varsity experience. The Wolverines return five players who hit dingers during league play. If Coach Guldager can quickly develop some pitching, he might get the Wolverines back to the playoffs. Wood, Gebhardt, the Woodke's and Calef can all hit with runners in scoring position, so Willamette's O should be solid. These guys can finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th, but for now I'll say 4th until I feel better about their pitching.
Returning All-Leaguers with league stats
1st U
Grady Wood Sr
7 rbi
2nd OF Michael Calef
Sr
GG
1 3b,
5 rbi
HF OF
Kenny Gebhardt Jr 1 2b,
1
HR, 7 rbi
Also, not an all-leaguer but...
Andy Maas
Jr 3 2bs,
1
HR, 4 rbi
Chad Parker
Sr 3 2bs,
1
HR, 4 rbi
Kevan Neuhoff
Sr 3 2bs,
3 rbi
Taylor Woodke
So
2 HRs , 7 rbi
Nick Jernberg
Sr
3 rbi
Kyle Surace
Sr
3 rbi
5. Marshfield. Injury riddled Marshfield will be one of three teams with a new head coach in 2008. Quintin Hall will start his varsity head coaching experience with three returning all-star seniors who played in the state playoffs as freshmen. Add in senior Jesse McClintock, who also played in the playoffs as a freshman, but was injured most of last year and you have four excellent seniors who want to end their high school career by at least making the playoffs. McClintock is a horse on the mound, but he was hurt early last spring and just when he started to get healthy he took a liner off of his noggin and sat out the last part of the season. The four seniors can all hit the ball, which should give the Pirates a good 2-3-4-5 setup if they can find a good leadoff man.
Returning All-Leaguers with league stats
2nd IF Gatlin Giorgis M Sr
4 2bs, 1 3bs,
1
HR, 10 rbi
2nd IF
Cody Slack M Sr
1 2bs,
4 rbi
HM C
Adam Reed M Sr
GG
3 2bs,
13 rbi
Also, not an all-leaguer but...
Jesse McClintock Sr
2 2bs,
5 rbi
Geoff Van Pullian
Jr
2 rbi
6. Springfield. The Miller's won three league games last year, all against Marshfield. The Pirates won two league games, both against teams that went to the playoffs. Figure that one out. The Miller's do not have any all league players returning but should be bringing back enough players with varsity experience that they can make trouble for someone.
Returning All-Leaguers with league stats
None
Not an all-leaguer but...
Devin Bodeen
Sr 3 2bs,
5 rbi
Joey Palermo-Silence Sr
1 2bs,
4 rbi
Zazy Navarro
Jr
1 HR, 5 rbi
Johnny Dougherty
Jr
3 rbi
Mike Travess
Jr
2 rbi
Don't agree, have additional ideas or corrections, or think I always sandbag the Pirates? Then email [email protected] . Contributors names are not mentioned without approval of contributor.