Now here's a topic that we can all disagree on! (And it's about baseball)

at least we now what you are smoking and it appears to be alot of it.

quote:

Originally posted by FastballDad:
The MSL and the MSL West in particular is the best Conference in '07. Better than the CSL, Fox Valley, SICA or whatever that is now. Better than the Upstate 8, better than the Southeastern Conference, better than CoachB's conference. Better than the Western Big 6, better than the Conference that includes Peoria, Springfield and the like. Better than the West Suburban Silver, Gold or whatever color they have. Better than the Chicago Public League, Super Conference or other.
Add to that the North Suburban, DuPage Valley, ESC, or Chicago Catholic League, or any other Conference I'm not mentioning. All these Conferences are fine Leagues but this year is another story!
Like it or lump it!

One more thing.....The Cubs are now a better team than the sox and will go further in 07. sox fans will be holding onto 2005 for the rest of their lives, while Cub fans have many Championships to look forward to.

Put that in your pipes and smoke it.

HS, I'm with fungo!

We'll take 2005 baby!

cub fans will be holding on to 1908 for the rest of thier lives! HAAAARRRRRdy, HARHARHAR HAHAHAGHAHAHAHAHAGHHA LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEEE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

quote:

Originally posted by soxnole:
HS, I'm with fungo!

We'll take 2005 baby!

cub fans will be holding on to 1908 for the rest of thier lives! HAAAARRRRRdy, HARHARHAR HAHAHAGHAHAHAHAHAGHHA LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEEE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

I'll put whatever this is supposed to mean in my pipe and BURN it! Then I'm going to Ann Sathers for some lunch!

FastballDad...does this belong to you? It's empty!

soxnole - let us know how you really feel next time

I called my friend Smokey yesterday and who was there but none other than soxnole. We proceeded to have a most pleasant 35 minute conversation over speaker phone about baseball. We talked about rankings, major college programs and mid-major programs. White collar teams and blue collar teams. His son, Smokey's son, and my son and their respective teams. It was my pleasure to finally meet soxnole. He is much different than his hsbbweb persona

Rosy...it's funny how a person can learn to associate a person, place, name or anything with another person.

Case in point: When I was walking through the train station downtown the other day, I saw an Ann Sather's Cinnamon Roll Stand. What person do you think I immediately thought of?

I forgot one thing.....add the Cardinals to that list of teams that will be breathing Cub's exhaust fumes for the next seeral seasons!

gotwood- I think I could find some matches.

Naw...no dice batwest...we'll let it spontaneously combust...matches would just lead to arson charges!

I don't know why but I humbly agree with fastballdad

What persona????

Ann Sather's is a heckuva breakfast place.

Lou Mitchell's (on the south side) however, is better.

Go Chanticler's!
Go Noles!

Fastball.....

I think the microwaves coming from your computer screen are affecting your thinking. How can you not have the West Suburban Silver Conference in the top three let alone maybe the top five??????? They virtually always have a representative fighting for the quarterfinals at state.


Cubs do definitely show a better chance of winning at least their division, but I don't think the Cardinals will rollover easily. And, do you really think they can win at least 90 games this year, beacuse if they can, then they stand a great chance. I do like what they have put together, especially with Lou at the helm.

"Go Chanticleers!"

Fast Ball Dad you have a PM!

Boomer

The Conferences were listed in no particular order. I know the WSC Silver is a very strong league, year in and year out right up there.

I do think the MSL West will be a tough league this year, but when I'm free from the microwaves of my computer screen I realize there are a few tough leagues that wil be heard from.

Just trying to shake some people up!

Elgin, right back at you

FastballDad.....

Gotta luv yuh!!!

Thanks!

"Here, here" for the shake-it-up!!!!

What I'm about to say is definitely going to stir things up, at least toward my opinion. In the next two years you will see a distinct decline in the quality of Lyons Township baseball. Market-it-down, you heard it here first!!!!

Many, many coaches are going to think I'm crazy, and I am, a little bit , but because of the decline in quality instruction from high qaulity travel programs, LT will be weaker until something changes, i.e., like ex-pro players, Sorce or Cangelosi, who can bring back that level of team instruction and player development. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to annoint (sp) anyone as being the savior for LT, I just think, because of what I see and hear about at the junior and sophomore levels, they will be hurting, unless they prove me wrong. I hope I am, but I don't think so!!! Look for OPRF, Hinsdale South, and Glenbard West to take over as the teams to beat.

Talk amongst yourselves!!!

When I read this stuff, really, you guys are in a different world than us. Those kids have a lot to be thankful for. Other than kids hitting in their barns, my kids don't have these opportunities. Of course, they're strong from all of that other work. LOL!

Coach....

Your right, we are in a different world. Lyons Township has approximately 8,500 kids at two campuses. Freshman and sophomore at south campus, and juniors and seniors at north. Freshman year for my son, 2003, they had approximately 100 kids tryout for for that team. Then it twindled down the next year, and so on. Junior and senior years were fairly well set, with some minor changes, and always having from at least two to as many as six underclassman working toward making the varsity team. Two usually made it.

My son played in a travel tournament at SIU in 2005. The talent in your area is pretty dam good considering the sizes of your schools at what is, or is not available for added instruction and training. When O'Fallon knocked us at this year in the Elite 8, I didn't see much difference in the talent. 2-1 score, 5 hits apiece, and we were beating the other teams we played with double digit run production. That's the great thing about baseball, the variables. We didn't hit like we were doing. No, I'm not taking anything away from O'Fallon. They were the better team that day. And look at Naperville, they beat us earlier in the season in a non-conference game. I can't imagine what opportunities your kids would have if they could benefit from what we do up here. Thats where the hunger and passion for the game comes from, within, and obviously practicing in a barn isn't all that bad. I think about Nolan Ryan in that way.

Wow. 8500 kids. I can't believe LT wouldn't be right there year in and year out. If you really believe that, then you must really believe in the importance of great summer ball and summer coaching. Are the better kids going to Naz or other privates?

"Do the right thing even if it means dying like a dog when no one's there to see you do it."
Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale
Recipient of The Medal of Honor and 4 Silver Stars
An American Hero and Ilinois' Very Own

boomer, your schools website shows 3,710 students total for grades 9-12. Did I read your post right, did you say 8500 kids?

8500 students! Sounds more like the combined enrollment of Morton East And West.

Sorry boys, my bad! I meant to type 3500. I think I have 'male keyboard disease!'

Tuzigoot.....

To which summer ball and summer coaching do you refer? And, what better kids are you referring to that "go to Naz or other privates?" Could you clear that up for me?

quote:

Originally posted by BoomerIL:
Many, many coaches are going to think I'm crazy, and I am, a little bit , but because of the decline in quality instruction from high qaulity travel programs, LT will be weaker until something changes,.....

Whomever, you were referring to here. Who were the other high quality travel programs and coaches that were feeding kids in to LT, than Sorce and Prairie Gravel? It is my understanding that Sorce isn't done, he is helping coach the 16U Midwest Bergen Beach team this year that has some Naz kids on the roster.

And I posed the question to you, could your hypothesized belief that a downturn for LT be because the better baseball players that live in the LT district, have decided to go to school elsewhere?

"Do the right thing even if it means dying like a dog when no one's there to see you do it."

LT usually has 38-3900 kids freshmen year and by the time they get to senior year it dwindles down to 3700ish, as kids bail out or people move out of district. As for the baseball program feeder system, there has been some kids playing for a hinsdale team that are now sophs. And Sorces "last" gravel team is now seniors. LT has a legit shot this year. My prediction is they will be 32-4 ish and make it back to state. They have some talented kids coming up, they are not going to shock anyone, as we say at LT just reload baby. Good luck to all this year , can't wait to see some bball again....come on feb 16

Tuzigoot.....

Yes, I know Sam is a coach on the Bergen team. Maybe I should have gone into more of an indepth thought for you. Sam had a group of kids, and I'm probably wrong about the number, maybe "sweaty" can confirm, I believe it was like 6 or 7 kids that played together for two or three years. They started about the age of ten. Most of Gravels starting line-up at that time went on to LT to play ball. Yes, some went to other schools. I think that the teams coming up in the next two to three years for LT are not going to be as good as they have been the last 5 or 6 years.

You may be right in saying that some of the better players are at Naz, or Benet, or Fenwick, or St.Ignatius, or Montini, and those kids might be there for other reasons that we don't know about. The one, two, or three players that you may have in mind may or may not have made a difference for LT. That was my point. Sorry if I wasn't more clear. LT will be weaker, either way.

Ive heard more than a few people say that the coaches at LT try to teach all their players basically the same hitting philosophy ...a contact type of swing...irreguardless if the player might have the ability to hit for power . Is this true ?

sulltiger....

I'm not sure if that is true. Maybe one of the other LT dads can answer that. I do know that when you were told to make adjustments, all of the kids who were taking lessons somewhere, just went back to what they were being taught by their personal hitting instructors. Our coach said that they could teach them everything they needed to know about baseball.

They ceratinly molded them into a "team." But the serious training came from the outside.

Since we are disagreeing on this topic, or maybe agreeing, this is the pre-season rankings for high schools across the nation as printed in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, as taken from their website.....



Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Easton Sports National H.S. Poll
(2007 Pre-Season Poll)
www.baseballnews.com

Rank School 2006 Record

1. Charles W. Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, FL) 29-3
2. Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, CA) 34-4
3. Katy (Katy, TX) 37-8-1
4. Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, NJ) 26-4-1
5. Chatsworth (Chatsworth, CA) 30-3
6. Riverside (Greer, SC) 31-2
7. Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, AZ) 29-5
8. Dobyns-Bennett (Kingsport, TN) 33-6
9. James Madison (Vienna, VA) 22-2
10. Palm Beach Central (Wellington, FL) 28-2
11. Grosse Pointe North (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI) 38-1
12. Elk Grove (Elk Grove, CA) 24-8-2
13. Bishop Gorman (North Las Vegas, NV) 35-7
14. Lexington Catholic (Lexington, KY) 36-6
15. Klein Collins (Spring, TX) 27-12
16. James Monroe Campus (Bronx, NY) 50-2
17. Lyons Township (LaGrange, IL) 34-7
18. The Woodlands (The Woodlands, TX) 38-1
19. George Washington (New York, NY) 44-5
20. Cottonwood (Salt Lake City, UT) 21-6
21. Valhalla (El Cajon, CA) 26-10
22. Pace (Pace, FL) 31-3
23. South Caldwell (Hudson, NC) 30-6
24. Parkview Baptist (Baton Rouge, LA) 31-5
25. Maize (Maize, KS) 21-3
26. George County (Lucedale, MS) 21-9
27. Riverside Poly (Riverside, CA) 26-4
28. Foy H. Moody (Corpus Christi, TX) 32-7
29. Miami Springs Sr (Miami Springs, FL) 19-8
30. Cullman (Cullman, AL) 36-13

Copyright © 1998 - 2007 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Inc. All Rights Reserved. This Document for informational purposes only. Agreement Disclaimer Privacy Policy

Not a bad placement for a team that finished as high as quarter finalist in the regular season and did not even make the final four in a weakened summer tournament. (Limited number of teams) Makes you wonder how team placement is determined. Taking nothing away from LT, but we are talking about the best 30 high school teams in the country. Also, I may be mistaken, but I thought that Joliet Catholic was listed on last years list. If true, their lack of national success may have due to various distraction, but they were not even on the national radar screen. Sorry JC fans . I also agree with Bommer that the LT team may not be as strong as past teams. I thought last years team was quite talented but the previous few years teams were soooo exceptional as well as deep in the pitching rotation and bench. I also think much like Sam had a big influence on the LT program. The explosion of several other elite teams and quality coaches and trainers influencing the training of those players, have improved the competition statewide. As the history of IHSA records prove, the demographics of State Championships are effected by variety of fsctors incuding population shifts. I also believe the growth of the Illini/St.Louis Metroplex growth will produce more intense even better teams from that area. Talk about boomtown.

Isc59.....

Thanks, someone does understand!!

After the 2005 season, LT was ranked in the Top 50 of Baseball America. I e-mailed them the find out why, and how they received that ranking. It was based a number of factors such as record, coaches, media people, etc. At the end of last season, Illiana Christian was the only ranked team from Ilinois. If you think that LT's coach had anything to do with it, don't bet on it. I suppose it might somewhat be due to having a consistent, winning program. Again developed by additional knowledgable training and instruction, and playing travel baseball. Some nay sayers feel that you don't get anything from travel baseball, but I feel that depending on which program your are involved in, will determine the quality of play, plus give necessary exposure for future opportunities.

I didn't follow LT at summer tournament time, so I couldn't give you my impressions of how they looked. I only know that several players have been "annointed" for stardom, some deservedly so. This could be, and probably will be the last decent team they'll have for.....until who knows when.