District 8-5A

Flower Mound is....AWESOME, the clear favorite of a very tough district.

Lewisville & Plano West will be much better in 2012.

Not too sure about everybody else.

Lewisville will hit the ball well this year but they have a severe shortage of quality arms.

Agree that Flower Mound seems the team to beat this year but not absolutely sure about awesome!!! Plano West a few years ago had 2 dominating game changing pitchers and made it Round Rock one game from the ship. That to me was awesome.

My Predictions

1.Flower Mound - Has solid pitching and defense

2.Plano West - With Coach English at the healm I would expect a good hitting team.

3.Plano

4.Lewisville

5.Plano East

6.Marcus

7.Hebron

8.Allen

Other than Vinson, who are the other pitchers Flower Mound have? Also other returning starters from last years team?

Moffit,Gunter,Kresta should be the other starters for Flower Mound. Will probably start at least 8 if not 9 Seniors on defense .

Hebron 7th? Didnt they win district last year? Did they lost everyone? I thought plano and plano east everyone? Lewisville 4th? Marcus 6th? Allen 8th? Who has insight on these teams?

*did they "lose" everyone?
*I thought plano and plano east "Lost" everyone?

Hebron will be good with Farley on the mound.

quote:

Originally posted by funneldrill:
Hebron will be good with Farley on the mound.

What about the others? Allen Wranglers, do you make it out to Allen games? Or are you just based there?

What about Plano and East, how are they going to be?

quote:

Originally posted by Great Bambino:
What about the others? Allen Wranglers, do you make it out to Allen games? Or are you just based there?

What about Plano and East, how are they going to be?

I have had the privilege of coaching one of the two split-squad Varsity teams each of the last two fall seasons. My select team has played against a number of the 11th-grade class in this district since they were 12yrs old, and had some kids from other schools play for us as well, both currently and in the past.

I think teams in the bottom half of this district would finish in the top 3 in many other districts...this is nothing profound as it has been stated before, but rather a function of N. Dallas suburbia and the ability of many folks to get a lot of extra training in the sport throughout their young "careers." There are high-end players at every position on every team (not D1 high-end, but quality, select-level players). Same can be said for many other N. Dallas schools, I understand.

Point is, on a given day, they will all compete. I could give you reports from scrimmages that the Allen varsity has played so far... but I have no real idea of how the opposing team managed the game, so it is all conjecture and potential chest-thumping at this point. It's so early, and just like MLB spring training, everyone should believe they are going to win. I do believe Allen will be improved, but how that compares with the other teams in the district... I can't say.

Lots of good kids (both skill and character-wise) up here, and its an honor to work with them. I'm sure that can be said about every team in the district too.

Let's just see what happens. Not trying to be overly evasive here ... I just know its a ridiculously talented district. I know Allen returns about 4 starting defensive players/hitters from last year's team (the entire OF and the C), and has 1 player signed so far to play at the scholarship level in college (the SS is heading to Texas Weslyan).

Allen is going to be improved. They played a lot of kids last year and still found a way to defeat both Flower Mound and Plano East.

Also, their JV last year was one of the upper-middle teams and a few of those players will help this season as well.

So I am guessing no one that has posted so far is buying into PLano's pre-season poll ranking.

If you can explain the criteria for the rankings maybe I will buy in.

Allen will also struggle on the mound. With the switch to BBCOR bats this year, pitching will be more important than ever, which leaves Allen, Lewisville, and Plano West at the bottom of the standings.

I know Allen has 2 pitchers that will throw strikes all day long and coax groundballs out of hitters more often than not. Both are very well coached and have more than a fastball to rely on.

thatlankylefty
Member
Posted February 16, 2012 09:53 PM Hide Post

"Allen will also struggle on the mound. With the switch to BBCOR bats this year, pitching will be more important than ever, which leaves Allen, Lewisville, and Plano West at the bottom of the standings."

I think its the other way around. With the old bats you could get cheap hits with bad swings off great pitching. But with these new bats hits wont come as often. This will help teams with average pitching. And teams like FM High that have dominate pitching with dominate without the risk of a cheap bomb.

I do not have a dog in this fight because my son plays in another district. I do have a lot of respect for the teams in this district. With that being said, just from watching some of the high school scrimmages it appears that good pitching still counts but more so if the kid is throwing strikes. With the new bats, the teams that play in small fields and/or hit a lot of bombs prior to the switch to BBCOR that feasted on average pitching will need to make adjustments. The home runs will fall this year if the results at the college level are an indication of what to expect, especially where the young men are bigger and stronger but hit less long balls. The teams that have a history of being coached on the importance of fundamentals such as team defense, hit and runs, bunts, plate discipline that results in walks, good base running will probably have the most success. Athletic players that are fundamentally sound will become important again because they will steal bases, make plays, take away hits etc. Pitchers don't have to be great but they must be good enough to consistently throw strikes and NOT walk guys. Getting guys on base will be at a premium. I rather see a guy get shelled than walk a batter. on the other hand, one tool power hitters who are non athletic will need to add some tools to their toolbox if they can't continue to hit bombs which is highly likely.
So as I evaluate teams those are the things that I look for going forward. I considered these things last year but even more so this year because of the absense of the cheap hit or the thing I hated most the pop up home run hit off the handle of the bat.(smile) Game changing cheap shots will hopefully become a thing of the past.

Who knows anything on the type of team Marcus will field this year?

Marcus pitching will be strong with southpaw Poche' and righty Courville. Both hard throwing Sr's with a lot of varsity experience. Treager will see a alot of time on bump too.

I predict that Marcus will not make the play-offs. To much going on the background. It will have a detrimental effect on the team.

What exactly do you mean by "To much going on the background." ?

quote:

What exactly do you mean by "To much going on the background." ?

Rubber stamp for the AD, bb coach. Run off, the majority of your Seniors. MIF car theft.

Funneldrill, took this team to the Regionals, 2 years in a row, not an accident. Quality talent at the school
They did not make the playoffs, last year. WHAT else, do you need to know? Geez, this team was 22-1, their freshman year, when funneldrill ran the program. Go figure.


I, complex with the AD, it has been that way for years.

quote:

Originally posted by collegegrad:
So I am guessing no one that has posted so far is buying into PLano's pre-season poll ranking.

With some teams, addition by subtraction is a good thing but that's not the case with Plano. The cupboard isn't bare but they lost some great players from last year's team.

I expect them to waltz into district play with a gaudy record and then everybody will get to see if they can live up to the hype.

quote:

What exactly do you mean by "To much going on the background." ?

And now, the head coach, has broken the total "game rule". Major UIL violation. Scrimmage, Monday and Tuesday. Tournament, with five games, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So much for being concerned about his players, risking early season arm injuries

Very obvious that you have an agenda or an ax to grind.

quote:

Not a violation. It seems like one of those scrimmages was a rain out that was being made up. Tuesday was next available plying date...making it legal.

Not according to UIL. You can not play two games, from Monday-Thursday, unless tournament games are involved.

quote:

Originally posted by Salt:
Very obvious that you have an agenda or an ax to grind.

I agree Salt, I think OS-79 does have an ax to grind.
Quote "Run off, the majority of your Seniors. MIF car theft."

Why even bring up the MIF and his families problems? Although he didn't name him, but what purpose does it serve? By reading his comments his son must have been cut from the program and this is his way to try to get back at the AD, HC and anyone else.

I will not name names, I know who OS-79 is, but I will not call him out. I can only hope that he sees that he is looking silly and not helping anyone with his remarks.

quote:

By reading his comments his son must have been cut from the program and this is his way to try to get back at the AD, HC and anyone else.

I will not name names, I know who OS-79 is, but I will not call him out. I can only hope that he sees that he is looking silly and not helping anyone with his remarks.

No, you evidently don't know who I am. I live no where near Flower Mound, my son was never cut, from a team, in high school, or college. I do not know the coach at FM. Just the first hand stories, that I hear from players.

Why bring MIF car theft up? Maybe, the player has a few character issues. Yet, the coach chose to keep him over a player, that does not have, those issues.

Just maybe the coach has the character issues

Let's see, he cut a Senior pitcher, simply because he had mono. The kid won a game on Varsity last year. What would be wrong with leaving him on the team, to see if he got healthy enough to help the team. The coach demoted another senior outfielder, to third string, that played football. The kid had been the starting outfielder, since the middle of his Sophomore season, when he EARNED the position. The player was demoted, for no rhyme or reason. The players moved in front of him, neither have ever had a varsity at bat. If they had beat him out, that is one thing, that did not happen.
These are just a few. There are plenty of other instances, of booster club baseball, going on up there.

Marcus is done ---it is unfortunate as they house some of the best baseball players in the Metroplex and arguably have the best youth baseball feeder system in Texas. When you don't respect the game and the players, the game has a way of making you pay.

Old School, it may be time to find new sources. The pitcher was not cut because he had mono. He was cut because he had not performed well enough to earn a spot on the team and had not shown the required effort in the offseason workout program.

The outfielder started sparingly his sophomore year, started less his junior year because he failed to produce at the plate, and only kept struggling at the dish in the senior year. Plus, the so-called "third-string" demotion was released days before even the first scrimmage occured, the player gave up on the team, the team didnt give up on the player.

I have plenty people I know from Marcus, players and parents both and that is what I have been told.

quote:

Old School, it may be time to find new sources. The pitcher was not cut because he had mono. He was cut because he had not performed well enough to earn a spot on the team and had not shown the required effort in the offseason workout program.

The outfielder started sparingly his sophomore year, started less his junior year because he failed to produce at the plate, and only kept struggling at the dish in the senior year. Plus, the so-called "third-string" demotion was released days before even the first scrimmage occured, the player gave up on the team, the team didnt give up on the player.

I have plenty people I know from Marcus, players and parents both and that is what I have been told.

Dude,,,, What are you talking about? The outfielder took the starting job, his Sophomore year. Started all last year, his Junior season. He is just now a Senior, so how, as a football player, have you determined that he has struggled? Really, do you know the history of the AD? The kid, runs a 6.7 60, is over 85+, get a grip. Third, string demotion, and the outfielder, are one in the same. DUH. Maybe you, in your great history of 11 posts. Need to get new sources. And, by the way, it is tough to perform, when you have football, mono, or,,, stuck in a jail cell

quote:

Originally posted by thatlankylefty:
Who knows anything on the type of team Marcus will field this year?

With only a few posts of my own I am no expert at this message board. But i do observe that LankyLefty raised this question as if he knows nothing about Marcus then proceeded to be drawn into a very detailed pi$$ing match about specific Marcus seniors complete with snooty comments about their PT, performance at the plate, and off season work ethic. HE sure knows alot for pretending to know nothing. Hmmm. Time will tell how it turns out over there. And that is why we play the games. As for 8-5A, it is Flower Mound's year.

Back to the original question--Marcus has an inordinate amount of talent in this years class---they unfortunately lack the intangibles -- team cohesion,camaraderie,and leadership to make the playoffs in that district. This is not a commentary on the players, they are loaded with all the right talents and character, but rather this points to leadership, the Marcus players and the Flower Mound baseball community deserve more ---Flower Mound has built a brand for baseball --- that brand is losing its equity. Has hard as it might be to realize it, there are issues.

Besides these two teams. How did other teams in the district shape up this past week?

I should have taken better notes of the other teams at the tourney Allen was in. I know Plano West won at least 2 of their 4 games (sorry, I didn't get the score of the last one).

I saw an old player/pitcher of mine from Plano beat Wylie East handily this past weekend. Don't know about their other games, as they were not in the same tourney as we were.

Allen went 2-2... lost to Rowlett and McKinney Boyd, and beat Texarkana High and McKinney High.

i've done my research on Marcus the past few years. i dont know about the team theyre fielding this year which is why i asked. i have seen the kid play who got cut. 1. he did not start his whole junior year, in fact he barely played at all. 2. he does not throw 85+ on the mound.

I've been around the marcus baseball community the past 5 years so dont act like I dont know what im talking about.

FWIW, Marcus went 3-2 in their tournament this weekend.