I think the potential surprise team come playoff time might turn out to be L.C. Bird. They can now put 2 shut-down pitchers out there, either to combine to knock off even the best of teams, or to win maybe 2 games back-to-back to get through the Dominion tourney and into the regional field. I'm not yet convinced about them defensively or offensively, but Kaufmann and Conner make it possible we could see a surprise sprung on somebody.
I've also seen a bit of a slack attitude at Manchester that makes them ripe for upset. They seem to take it easy in the first few innings, then wake up and knock a few HR's to pull away. Sooner or later, if you repeatedly show up without the attitude to go pedal to the metal from the first pitch to the last, someone is going to bite you. They have all the talent anyone would need to win a state tourney, but in some games I've seen the killer instinct doesn't seem to be there.
