Beach District Preseason Predictions

quote:

Originally posted by birddog:
Thought Harrington had moved to CF; he's too fast to park behind the plate. His bat will kill you anywhere they put him. My preseason pick for Beach POY.

We'll have to get the watch on the other two kids and see how close (plus/minus) they are to 2.0

USC will have him behind the plate and in the OF next year.

Have to agree with you, the kid from Ocean Lakes is pretty good, but if I remember correctly, Speddan used "catching by committee" last year.

As far as pop times at the high school level, most of the runners stealing seem to be on the pitcher.

So, with that being said, Redbird, maybe you should spend some extra time teaching that 1st baseman at Kellam to pick the ball. That way, maybe the "transfer" will have a better chance to throw a runner out. Just joking, Kellam used to have the lowest percentage of teams stealing on them, because of so much focus on pitching.

Bryant from OL will be one of the top offensive catchers in the area. Dont know his pop time.

Harrington moved out from behind the plate lastyear. Leebrick caught all season, so I dont think they will move a senior catcher out from behind the plate after catching all of his junior year (I could be wrong). I heard Leebrick popped a 1.9 over the summer.

Dont know Pitt's pop time from PA, but he has one of the strongest arms in the beach.

It is true that most base stealers will run off the pitcher, so pop times can be misleading. Dont understand the comment about "teaching that 1st baseman at Kellam to pick the ball.That way, maybe the "transfer" will have a better chance to throw a runner out." I dont think the catcher makes a throw when the 1st baseman has to pick the ball on a steal. Must be an inside joke...

Who is the "transfer"? I take it he is a catcher? If so, he must be some player to take away the starting spot from a returning senior...

In my opinion , if Harrington isnt catching this year , Pitt should be the best catcher in the beach .

As of the catching status' of kempsville , salem , & landstown I have no idea who will be behind the plate for them

no inside joke, the point is simple;

if the first baseman misses the throw from the pitcher, the pop time of the catcher is not relevant!

As far as a transfer taking the "spot" of a returner, that is a totally different debate. Loyalty to a kid or putting the best player on the field!
Transfers, well some people on this site would call it recruiting, but that is yet another debate!!!!

What about Dennis from cox i heard he threw a 1.8 pop time at the VWC showcase and if thats true shouldnt he be a top recruit?

Dennis Ferrigno threw a 2.0 at the VWC Showcase. Jeff Bay threw a 2.28.

quote:

no inside joke, the point is simple;

if the first baseman misses the throw from the pitcher, the pop time of the catcher is not relevant!

As far as a transfer taking the "spot" of a returner, that is a totally different debate. Loyalty to a kid or putting the best player on the field!
Transfers, well some people on this site would call it recruiting, but that is yet another debate!!!!

Let's not go there!

You know Grasscutter, most of these people don't even remember 2005 at the beach! It is not always all about you!!! I was talking about the transfers this year, or the recruits, which do you call them?

Though, with that being said, it is certainly a great scenerio. A pitcher gets pulled from the rotation, because a high school coach wants the younger stud to pitch against the undefeated team. They lose the game by one run (a home run I believe, one pitch). The benched pitcher's parents decide to put their kid in a better situation, move, and he then pitches at another school. That school goes on later to not only beat his old team, but win the state championship. WOW!
On a side note, where are they now. The slighted kid in tenth grade, only six baseball seasons later is pitching in the major leagues. The stud, well I am not exactly sure where he is now.

1943 Yankees,

Still dont understand why you're bringing up the 1st baseman picking the ball on a steal? I'm assuming you're talking about a pickoff??? Were we talking about pickoffs and 1st basemen, or the best catchers in the beach? I thought we were talking about pop times and catchers throwing out runners trying to steal. Of course pop times are irrevelant if the ball never makes it to the plate. Thats why I thought it was an inside joke. Just tryin to stay on the same page...

Still havent heard who the "transfer" is?

Man, that's quite a story.

Was Dennis Ferrigno week 1 or week 2 at the VWC Showcase?

Week 2.

So does this transfer to Kellam have a name? Has he played locally here before?

And would anyone happen to know the Beach stolen base record?

I was at the week 2 showcase and there was nobody in the 1.8's at all. 2 kids were below 2.0 a hickory kid threw a 1.91 i believe and a maury kid threw a 1.93

quote:

Originally posted by topdawg:
I was at the week 2 showcase and there was nobody in the 1.8's at all. 2 kids were below 2.0 a hickory kid threw a 1.91 i believe and a maury kid threw a 1.93

Danny Grauer Hickory '10 threw a 1.93
Steven Overkamp Maury '10 threw a 1.95

Is there any word on who will be starting Short Stop for FC?

Ryan Cook from what i know right now. Is there another ss at FC that i dont know of?

TJ Costen is listed as a SS.

Leebrick popped a 1.88 this summer with consistently sitting at a 1.9.

But who is a better candidate?

I don't think you can go wrong with either one. TJ patroled the outfield for FC last year and showed a great arm and can cover gap to gap.

I think TJ would probably be the better athlete at that position.....however, it will depend on who else at FC can play CF at a high level......if they do not have another player with TJ's ability, I think he will be back there for the sake of the team. TJ still has another year of HS that he could play SS and has already signed with USC. So it is not hurting him.

Do you think politics will stand in TJs way at FC?

Thanks for all who posted on the catcher pop times. Some very good times out there. If the accuracy is that good should be some strong catching prospects at the beach!!

As someone pointed out, runners do steal on pitchers who are slow to the plate, but a guy scouting a catcher looks for a kid who can get the ball out of the glove quickly and throw it accurately.

Politics at FC, no way, just tell the kid to go out and get in a bunch of trouble. That way he can be the starting SS when the season starts!

Lynn Metheny

Like other schools dont have trouble....Last year
was a good group and most returning. I think Cook earned the position and he probably will pitch some so who will cover when that happens remains to be seen....

Come on '43. You're killing me. L O L!!!!!

No way,

The question was addressing FC, not other schools. All schools have problem players, some coaches choose to handle it, and some coaches don't.
My personal experience was that more than one player at FC was not even available for spring practices because they were "incapacitated". Yet, at the very first game of the season, they were starters on the field.
Now, you can defend FC all you want and you can compare FC to other beach schools.
Let me add, the players played most of the season, until they got into "trouble" again. Only this time they were removed from the roster. That left the team without original starters during the tournament.
Moral of the story: They should have been removed originally, I'm sure one of the "private christian" schools would have accepted them!

Lynn Metheny

Hmmmm...dont remember any of that last year. I do remember Fc finished second overall and won the Beach District Tournament. The bad apples must have been at other schools last year......

No way,
I should have realized that you were only thinking of last year. Sorry, I went back a couple of years, your kid was probably on JV. I can't believe JV was not aware of what happened that year cause I believe 2 of the "problems" were only in 10th grade.
Just for the record, once again, there are bad apples at almost every school. It depends on how the coach handles the situation.
By the way, the year that FC went to states a few years ago, the third baseball was not allowed to play in the spring. Dr. Jesse made that decision, and look, they got to states!

The third baseman didn't get in trouble off the field......it was a disagreement with another coach in another sport......however, that kid is now a very productive player in college.

He was a great kid growing up and never had any issues until that one incident.

things happen and coaches usually fight for their players. Do I think politcs are going to determine the teams shortstop this year, no....

Actually, I don't.

I think the coach will do what is best for the team and gives them the best chance to win.

The question about who the "transfer" is was never answered. Just trying to ease the tension here.

Billy,

I would have to disagree with you, there were previous issues with that player. I never insinuated anything personal, in fact I spoke to him just last week. (He will have a medical redshirt this year)
The point was, coaches sometimes do just what you say. Make a decision to "give them the best chance to win." This is not what a high school program should be. The coaches and players should be held to the same standards that they are to uphold in the classroom. Remember Billy, this isn't "rec" ball! LOL
And the original "problem" kids I spoke of had been problems many, many, many times. In the classroom, on the field and off the field. (and in the dome)

Lynn
Baseball fever, I thought by this time, the player's father would step up and answer. Guess not!!!!

My conern at this point is that too many coaches are blamed for incidents and actions of their ball players. Alot of these problems could have been curved from a young age in "rec" or travel ball. Baseball is a team sport and it takes the best nine on a field to compete for a win. Coaches now a days have much more issues to contend with on the field as well as outside.

Lynn, bless you for your honesty and frankness with bringing these things to light. I wish these forums would address the right things. Promote player development, applaud individual achievements, and commend the coaches for positive reinforcement to our young impressionable ball players.

The beach district has some of the best quality head coaches in this region. Lets let the coach coach and support their decisions and BRING THE STATE TITLE BACK TO THE BEACH!!!!! GO COX, GO FC, GO BAYSIDE, GO GREEN RUN, GO PA, GO LANDSTOWN, GO SALEM, GO TALLWOOD, GO OCEAN LAKES!!!! WORK HARD GUYS!!!! THE AREA IS PULLING FOR YA!!!!!

AMEN!!!! what ever happened to the kids working hard and the parents staying out of it??? there are a lot of players in the area that are 100% dedicated to baseball and their academics...and these kids easily get overlooked because of ridiculous politics!

I agree...lets support all the schools and players!!

OOPS...Forgot...GO KEMPSVILLE!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by baseball fever:
OOPS...Forgot...GO KEMPSVILLE!!!!

. . . Kellam

GO KELLAM!!!!!!!