Menchvile high school of Newport News is ranked number 1 in the baseballnews preseason baseball poll. Check it out at www.baseballnews.com
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Here's a more direct link. Sounds like they have quite a pipeline going from the Virgin Islands
Menchville #1
Menchville #1
so these guys were the #1 team in the UNITED STATES last year, are projected to be #1 this year and they had no players who made the VHSL AAA First Team All State Team?
What is up with that?
What is up with that?
quote:Originally posted by stilllearning:
so these guys were the #1 team in the UNITED STATES last year, are projected to be #1 this year and they had no players who made the VHSL AAA First Team All State Team?
What is up with that?
There was an entire thread last month in which this very topic was discussed: ALL STATE TEAM
The best players in the state aren't always on the team that wins the state tourney, nor even the team that's slated #1 in the preseason. Happens every year.
That's pretty impressive, considering what they lost to graduation last spring.
Are they really that good again, or is the ranking relying too much on last year's performance by players no longer there?
Are they really that good again, or is the ranking relying too much on last year's performance by players no longer there?
says the won JV Championship last 4 years....no such thing around here...do they have a tournament at the Beach that crowns a JV Champion?
Does anyone know if the Menchville Monarchs Baseball team has a team website, I went to the school website but could not find anything about the baseball team, kind of strange ?
CV
CV
I would like to see Menchville go to California and play in the Anderson Bat Classic. That would be a great test for them.
quote:Originally posted by stilllearning:
says the won JV Championship last 4 years....no such thing around here...do they have a tournament at the Beach that crowns a JV Champion?
Could it be that they had the best JV record in the Peninsula district?
Here's a little more info on what they have coming back. It appears (like last year) pitching will not be a problem. Chrismon is legit and if you go by Team USA results, Lake is as well. The question will be their hitting and defense. If they can score a few runs to support their pitching (as they did last year) they will be tough to beat.
Daily Press
Daily Press
quote:says the won JV Championship last 4 years....no such thing around here...do they have a tournament at the Beach that crowns a JV Champion?
The Beach has two divisions that play each other for the city championship each season.
quote:The Beach has two divisions that play each other for the city championship each season.
My mistake. I was thinkin of MS. Best record is considered JV champion.
What I am confused about is Devorn Lake...
The guy throws 96mph? If so, why did he not pitch AT ALL last year? He was used only as a DH/1B right? I don't remember seeing him or reading about him pitching at all in '09. It's insane to think a team is so loaded at pitching they don't use a guy throwing 96. There has to be something to that, right?
The 4 guys they used on the hill were E. Carter (graduated), A. Chrismon, J. Cotton (graduated - was dominant in states), and from time to time M. Armstead (graduated).
So basically they only have one proven varsity pitcher, Chrismon... someone can correct me here if I'm wrong...
Cotton & Armstead were two of their best hitters as well from what I recall.
Not trying to knock them... they will be a great team and they do have talent returning ... but to lose graduated E. Carter, J. Cotton, and M. Armstead and still be ranked #1 in the country? Those three guys were DEFINITELY the 3 most valuable players on the roster last year (Chrismon is there too, only he didn't hit).
Also... graduated Infielders Logan Senelis-Jose & Trey Steele were All-District starters as well, right?
That's a lot to lose... I honestly thought that last year was their one run... but if this guy Lake can really throw 96 and PITCH... I had no clue on that one... they'll have the 2 pitchers to dominate twice a week.
The guy throws 96mph? If so, why did he not pitch AT ALL last year? He was used only as a DH/1B right? I don't remember seeing him or reading about him pitching at all in '09. It's insane to think a team is so loaded at pitching they don't use a guy throwing 96. There has to be something to that, right?
The 4 guys they used on the hill were E. Carter (graduated), A. Chrismon, J. Cotton (graduated - was dominant in states), and from time to time M. Armstead (graduated).
So basically they only have one proven varsity pitcher, Chrismon... someone can correct me here if I'm wrong...
Cotton & Armstead were two of their best hitters as well from what I recall.
Not trying to knock them... they will be a great team and they do have talent returning ... but to lose graduated E. Carter, J. Cotton, and M. Armstead and still be ranked #1 in the country? Those three guys were DEFINITELY the 3 most valuable players on the roster last year (Chrismon is there too, only he didn't hit).
Also... graduated Infielders Logan Senelis-Jose & Trey Steele were All-District starters as well, right?
That's a lot to lose... I honestly thought that last year was their one run... but if this guy Lake can really throw 96 and PITCH... I had no clue on that one... they'll have the 2 pitchers to dominate twice a week.
After doing some looking around on Google I found this interview with Coach on the Gameday website:
This is just part of the Gameday interview -
757GD: Winning states, what does that do for your team and returning players next season, also how many starters are returning?
COACH PF: "Well, first of all, we have 4 starters coming back, and 8 returning players. We are also coming off 4 years in a row JV championship teams. Winning the state championship should motivate these young men to work as hard as they did last year and reach that much higher. They need to be focused to try to have goals that we can accomplish, which we did this year. We went season by season, we made it out to have 4 seasons, Peninsula District, Peninsula District tournament, Regional, and State tournament. We took those game by game, and I believe these young men will do the same thing for next season."
757GD: What was it like when Collegiate Baseball had you ranked #1 in the country for that week?
COACH PF: "When they had us ranked #1 in the country, I tell you what, there was a lot of excitement. It was a special moment, and we knew at the time that we still had to go game by game. I told my kids to enjoy the moment now and let's move on and take care of the next Peninsula District game."
757GD: Did that bring extra pressure on you as a coach, and did you do anything different to change your approach?
COACH PF: "We didn't do anything different, we just went game by game and tried to be normal with these young men. Yeah, there was added pressure, put a little weight on my shoulders, put a bigger target on my back. I could handle it; the kids could handle it. That's why we are state champs!"
757GD: Winning a state championship, what does that do for the team, Menchville HS, and Newport News as a whole?
COACH PF: "Well, I think we energized Newport News totally, and I think it also brings a community together. There is a lot of excitement in the school. I think the student body sees that hard work pays off. Also being the first state championship baseball team in the Peninsula District, I think, has to say something about our program and the type of baseball being played in the Eastern Region."
This is just part of the Gameday interview -
757GD: Winning states, what does that do for your team and returning players next season, also how many starters are returning?
COACH PF: "Well, first of all, we have 4 starters coming back, and 8 returning players. We are also coming off 4 years in a row JV championship teams. Winning the state championship should motivate these young men to work as hard as they did last year and reach that much higher. They need to be focused to try to have goals that we can accomplish, which we did this year. We went season by season, we made it out to have 4 seasons, Peninsula District, Peninsula District tournament, Regional, and State tournament. We took those game by game, and I believe these young men will do the same thing for next season."
757GD: What was it like when Collegiate Baseball had you ranked #1 in the country for that week?
COACH PF: "When they had us ranked #1 in the country, I tell you what, there was a lot of excitement. It was a special moment, and we knew at the time that we still had to go game by game. I told my kids to enjoy the moment now and let's move on and take care of the next Peninsula District game."
757GD: Did that bring extra pressure on you as a coach, and did you do anything different to change your approach?
COACH PF: "We didn't do anything different, we just went game by game and tried to be normal with these young men. Yeah, there was added pressure, put a little weight on my shoulders, put a bigger target on my back. I could handle it; the kids could handle it. That's why we are state champs!"
757GD: Winning a state championship, what does that do for the team, Menchville HS, and Newport News as a whole?
COACH PF: "Well, I think we energized Newport News totally, and I think it also brings a community together. There is a lot of excitement in the school. I think the student body sees that hard work pays off. Also being the first state championship baseball team in the Peninsula District, I think, has to say something about our program and the type of baseball being played in the Eastern Region."
I can't speak from a local stand point on the rankings, but I can say these polls are even less accurate than the preseason college football/basketball polls. I have no idea who is what here, but I noticed that Chandler Hamilton from Arizona was ranked 23rd. They have one of the best programs in the country, but lost one the top classes the state has seen, losing atleast 7 starters and their pitching staff. They will be good this year but not 23rd in the nation, they may not be top 10 in their own state. So you have to take these polls with a grain of salt. Nobody really knows what a team is going to be until they start playing for keeps. I do have to say it does sound weird that a player is touching 96mph and didn't play varsity last year.
First of all, the fact that he throws 96 once in a while now doesn't mean he threw that hard last year, plus you can knock off 5 mph to get a more typical fastball speed. If his typical speed last year was 85-86, the reality is they had guys ahead of him throwing that hard or harder and more experienced. And that's assuming he was healthy last year.
Second, I raised my question above from experience. My own son's team, James River, ended 2007 pretty high up in several national rankings, then got ranked high going into 2008 despite losing all sorts of studs to graduation in 2007. The 2008 team had a strong stretch run and did manage to repeat as AAA champs, but I wouldn't contend they were a top 10 national team. Meaning, you often see pre-season rankings that do nothing but pay homage to a program that succeeded last year, without really looking into what left vs. what's coming back.
Third, as to the Anderson Bat -- the problem with that tourney is it's just too early for a VA team. The CA and FL teams that go are in mid-season form by that time, while VA teams are still ramping up, with pitchers often not ready to go deep into games. In the end a huge % of the teams there go 2-2 based on the format they use, which is designed specifically to produce that result.
Not to mention, again from experience, traveling to Anaheim to play 4 HS games is absurd. It just costs too darned much, and I cannot imagine a public school program having that kind of money to throw around in our current economic climate.
Second, I raised my question above from experience. My own son's team, James River, ended 2007 pretty high up in several national rankings, then got ranked high going into 2008 despite losing all sorts of studs to graduation in 2007. The 2008 team had a strong stretch run and did manage to repeat as AAA champs, but I wouldn't contend they were a top 10 national team. Meaning, you often see pre-season rankings that do nothing but pay homage to a program that succeeded last year, without really looking into what left vs. what's coming back.
Third, as to the Anderson Bat -- the problem with that tourney is it's just too early for a VA team. The CA and FL teams that go are in mid-season form by that time, while VA teams are still ramping up, with pitchers often not ready to go deep into games. In the end a huge % of the teams there go 2-2 based on the format they use, which is designed specifically to produce that result.
Not to mention, again from experience, traveling to Anaheim to play 4 HS games is absurd. It just costs too darned much, and I cannot imagine a public school program having that kind of money to throw around in our current economic climate.
To correct y'all....... The player that throws 96 is Deshorn Lake, not Devorn Lake..... They are not the same person... As the daily press article that chris taylor posted, he is a transfer and only a JUNIOR! acording the PG this lake kid is ranked in the top 10 2011 prospects in the nation. Sounds legit..
Perfect Game lists him as the # 8 player in the 2011 class. Topped out at 94 mph and threw between 89 and 93 mph.
Well we can all agree that they have studs on the mound, but i still don't believe that they have enough offense carry them if one of their studs has an off night.
I didnt follow the state tournament, but from watching the regionals, their offense certainly struggled. They beat IR in the semi-finals in a game in which IR's runs came from errors, and Mechville's runs came from walks and timely hitting from players that i believe have graduated (Cotton etc).. and we all saw that their offense was shut down in the championship by a Cox pitcher (funky name, cant remember how to spell it at all) who had hardly even seen the mound that year...
I just see Menchville having problems getting past a strong eastern region that could possibly field:
teams like IR, FC and WB, regional qualifiers last year who return the majority of their core players
as well as teams such as Grassfield, Great Bridge, Ocean Lakes, and Kellam, who are all talented teams that play in much stronger districts than the Pen., thus making them way more prepared
I didnt follow the state tournament, but from watching the regionals, their offense certainly struggled. They beat IR in the semi-finals in a game in which IR's runs came from errors, and Mechville's runs came from walks and timely hitting from players that i believe have graduated (Cotton etc).. and we all saw that their offense was shut down in the championship by a Cox pitcher (funky name, cant remember how to spell it at all) who had hardly even seen the mound that year...
I just see Menchville having problems getting past a strong eastern region that could possibly field:
teams like IR, FC and WB, regional qualifiers last year who return the majority of their core players
as well as teams such as Grassfield, Great Bridge, Ocean Lakes, and Kellam, who are all talented teams that play in much stronger districts than the Pen., thus making them way more prepared
I agree the beach district is tougher as a whole than the peninsula, but I believe the peninsula has two powerful teams that can take any beach team. If menchville wants another repeat then they better bring there bas with them every game because pitching can only do so much....
Two teams that can take ANY beach team? Put those two in a beach tournament or even SED tournament for that matter and i highly doubt the TWO of them could handle ALL the teams. I'd put the big two from the Beach and SED of FC and Kellam or IR and WB over Menchville/? any day
I see the Eastern Regional's are going to be alot of fun......remember, it's baseball, and any team can win on any given day. All it takes is for one pitcher to have great day with a good defense and they will shut down a team.....proof from Cox over Menchville last year in the Eastern Regional's.....all four of the teams you mentioned have a great #1 pitcher.....it will depend on their #2's and #3's......to get the job done!
quote:Originally posted by Smith Baseball:
What I am confused about is Devorn Lake...
The guy throws 96mph? If so, why did he not pitch AT ALL last year? He was used only as a DH/1B right? I don't remember seeing him or reading about him pitching at all in '09. It's insane to think a team is so loaded at pitching they don't use a guy throwing 96. There has to be something to that, right?
The 4 guys they used on the hill were E. Carter (graduated), A. Chrismon, J. Cotton (graduated - was dominant in states), and from time to time M. Armstead (graduated).
So basically they only have one proven varsity pitcher, Chrismon... someone can correct me here if I'm wrong...
Cotton & Armstead were two of their best hitters as well from what I recall.
Not trying to knock them... they will be a great team and they do have talent returning ... but to lose graduated E. Carter, J. Cotton, and M. Armstead and still be ranked #1 in the country? Those three guys were DEFINITELY the 3 most valuable players on the roster last year (Chrismon is there too, only he didn't hit).
Also... graduated Infielders Logan Senelis-Jose & Trey Steele were All-District starters as well, right?
That's a lot to lose... I honestly thought that last year was their one run... but if this guy Lake can really throw 96 and PITCH... I had no clue on that one... they'll have the 2 pitchers to dominate twice a week.
The kid tossing in the 90's, I believe is the brother of Lake. He wasn't even at Menchville last year, transferred in this year. The three transfers from last year came to Menchville from Denbigh after half of the school year passed. Some strange doings going on to be sure.
The JV at Menchville dominates annually because of good players in huge numbers. It has been nothing in the past for Menchville to carry 30+ on JV. Play about twelve, and use the balance as fund raiser fodder. Good players with potential at the other PD programs are brought up out of neccesity. As a whole other PD programs produce better "individual" players than Menchville, ready for the next level. There are exceptions, Chrismon immediately comes to mind, but he doesn't get his coaching at Menchville. He's just zoned there.