MIF04

Win with class and lose with class. That way (no matter the score)...you stlll got your dignity.

Geez, guys...let it go. It was the Orange paper talking about Orange teams and districts. Look, I'm the first to realize that WB baseball doesn't always get attention in its own paper but thats not the Orange Leader's fault (nor the PA News, for that matter). WB just needs to keep on winning and they'll be in everyone's paper...

Without a doubt...all that good coaching in the summer. LOL.

To the best of my ability (i.e., what is posted on this thread and others)...here are the HR leaders: 8 - Murphy (WB) 7 - Dishon (BC); Riley (Wood) 6 - Ferguson (WB); Reagan (Jas); Rowell (LCM); Townley (BH); Wallace (WB) 5 - Dillon (BC); Campbell (BH); Thomas (WOS) 4 - Hart (Jas); Ponder (BH); Serna (WB) 3 - Barnett (PNG); Hearn (LCM); Moore (HF); Monse (HJ); Primm (Wood); Rogers (HJ); Simmons (Kirb); West (War); Lycan (WB) Modified to include Thomas from WOS. All corrections, updates, etc. are welcome.

First, let me start by saying that I did not go to HS in SE Texas so I do not have any personal ties, etc. to any of the area HS. If I do have any long-time allegiance to any of the 'old' HS in Beaumont, it would be French. My roommate on our college baseball team was French...he is one of my best friends, etc. For years, my only contact with Beaumont was with the so-called North End Gang, etc. Second, the comparison of when Hebert, et al closed with the opening of Ozen seems misguided. Those events occurred some 2 decades apart. It does seem strange, though, that BISD would maintain 2 4A schools and 1 5A schools. Those are matters of politics, though, and this is a baseball thread. It seems obvious that our friend '643' has some long-standing issues with Beaumont and the "West End". I don't know what those may be but I would think a run of therapy would go a long with resolving those. He does 'talk' a better game than he delivers, though...there isn't a 2A team in the area that would have beaten Sterling on Monday...errors and walks included. That is not meant to disrespect any of the 2A schools...that is simple fact. Following '6-4-3' 's logic to the end (a dangerous path, I agree), Kountze would've beaten the Cleveland Indians last night since the Indians made 3 errors and walked 7. Whew... I will agree that Sterling did not play their best...but neither did West Brook. That is another fact that '6-4-3' overlooks. WB miscues allowed at least half of Sterling's runs. It is high school baseball. Teams make errors. Pitchers walk hitters. It is part of the game. You don't make the playoffs because you have the best batting average or highest fielding pct...you make the playoffs because you win games. You may win 'em pretty or you may win 'em ugly...you just got to win 'em. Remember, if Sterling did shoot themselves in the foot (or eyes), it was West Brook who nevertheless loaded the gun. For all of the complaining about 'cheerleaders', this guy is a 'cheerleader in reverse'...he roots against people, not for them. And show me where those who are afflicted with the dreaded disease of 'westend-itis' have come on the board and made the same excuses you are making for Sterling? If (and I said 'if') there are any, they are few and far between. I am sure the reply is coming...MIF04 is a 'cheerleader', too (I can live with that one). Maybe the reply will remind us (again?) how he talks to scouts or what his son's career was or wasn't (no problem with that, either...those guys call me all the time). I just think its time for this guy to give it a rest. He needs to pull out the scrap book and remember what could've been instead of taking it out on everyone else. There. I'm done.

First, and by stating the obvious, Silsbee @ Jasper is a huge game in 21-3A...but the biggest game left is the HJ-BC game. HJ wins that and we have a 3-way tie for second. My trip 'out on the limb' looks like this: 1. Silsbee beats Jasper (don't know why I feel this way. They're playing in Jasper, Jasper's tough at home but Silsbee has beat them the last 3 times. Maybe the Tigers simply have their number). 2. BC beats HJ. The Cards are a better team, pure and simple although HJ is 'hot' right now. The game is in BC -- advantage BC. 3. Jasper beats BC. If 1 and 2 happen, Jasper has GOT to win to avoid playoff/tie breaker with HJ (at 4 losses). BC is playing to be co-champs with Silsbee...but they're in the playoffs. I'll take the more 'desperate' team...even though the game is at BC. Silsbee, BC and Jasper. Tough situation for HJ. A good team is going to be left home. Mind you, this isn't how I'm ROOTING for things to turn out...just my uneducated guess. For fun...what if this happens...Jasper beats Silsbee. HJ beats BC. BC beats Jasper. All 4 teams wind up with 3 losses. What a playoff that would be!!!! And certainly not out of the realm of possibility. And, by the way, I am so 'positive' about these 'predictions'...I am NOT calling them in to my bookie...LOL. Good luck to all 4 over the next 10 days. Heckuva race.

Actually, I think it is the other way around. Sam Houston recruited Riley as a position player only.

1. Whether it be hits, walks or errors...it is the totality of all of these things (and more) that makes up a baseball game. On the whole, West Brook played better than Sterling; therefore, the Bruins won. 2. From a walks vs. hits standpoint, every walk takes the bat away from someone who could legitimately get a base hit. For example, Murphy walked twice, Lycan walked twice, Ferguson walked once and Armstrong walked once. Those are 6 base hits waiting to happen right there. 3. I also would make note that good hitting does not always result in base hits. For example, down 0-2 in the count in the 6th (1 out, bases loaded), Mark Serna battled a ball of the outside of the plate and hit a fly ball to RF. Was it a hit? No. Did it result in a sac fly that drove in a pretty important run? Yes. Baseball people call it situational hitting...I am sure '6-4-3' has heard of it. 4. Svoboda and Murphy threw well. They had 11 strike outs between them (compared to 8) for Sterling. They walked 4 and hit another, so it wasn't like Sterling didn't have opportunities. Obviously, West Brook put the ball in play more than Sterling. When you do that, good things (whether it be hits, errors or sac flies) are bound to happen. To put it another way, WB outpitched Sterling last night. West Brook won a big game last night. They gave SE Texas a chance to pick up a district championship in a "non-SE Texas" district. You would think that would be cause for congratulations. I guess for some it isn't...

The job these guys have done at LCM is astounding. 1 starter returning. No experienced varsity pitching. A tough district. LCM just knows how to be competitive. Personally, I don't understand why the powers that be over there don't make him the head football coach. LOL. I also think we need to keep in mind, tho, that the district race is not over. No one has a spot clinched with a lot of big games left. THese guys have got their work cut out for 'em.

Hey...tell the Pope I said 'hey'. Sure that'll make his day. Also ask him how he sees the playoffs shaking out, will ya? BTW...you ARE on lucky guy. My big trip? Friday to PA Memorial to watch WB vs. PA. Now, does that sound fair?

A tragic loss to our baseball community. The folks at West Brook passed the hat tonight to help. I hope others will follow suit.

One of the umpires who was bashed from the Silsbee/Jasper game was killed in an automobile accident on his way home that night. Maybe we should all take a breath before we 'take our shots' at those guys. It should certainly give us pause...

Very nice job by Bruins (although helped tremendously by Sterling miscues, walks, etc). An outstanding job of pitching by Josiah Svoboda with 7th inning relief from David Murphy. Sterling 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 = 4 6 5 WB 0 1 0 5 0 1 x = 7 3 2 WP - J. Svoboda (6 IP, 6 H, 8 K, 3 BB) SV - Murphy (1 IP, 0 H, 3 K) HR - Ferguson Murphy 0-2, 2 BB Lycan 0-2, 2 BB Serna 1-3, SAC, 1 R, 1 RBI Ferguson 1-3, HBP, 1 R, 2 RBI Armstrong 1-2, BB, 2 R Wallace 0-3 Fisher 0-2, BB Schwarzlose 0-2, BB, 1 RBI Falgout 0-3, 2 R The Bruins now hold a 1 game lead in 21-5A and travel to Pt. Arthur on Friday night to face the Memorial Titans.

Actually, he was 5-6 with a Sac Fly. Not to split hairs because it was a pretty good week either way. Through 10 games, he's hitting .520 in district so he's been swinging it pretty good lately. Also a good week for Jake Rowell over at LCM. Keep up the good work, guys.

The Bruins score 5 in the first and cruise to a solid 9-1 win over the Baytown Lee Ganders, 9-1. The win keeps the Brook tied for first in 21-5A: LEE 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 = 1 7 0 BROOK 5 1 0 0 0 3 x = 9 13 1 WP - N. Svoboda (7 IP, 1 ER, 6 K) LP - Jarmillo Murphy 1-3, BB (HR) 1 R, 1 RBI Lycan 2-4 (1B, HR) 2 R, 1 RBI Serna 1-3, BB (1B) 2 R Ferguson 3-4 (1B, 2B, 3B) 3 R, 2 RBI Armstrong 2-4 (1B, 1B) 1 R, 1 RBI Wallace 2-3, BB (1B, 2B) 2 RBI Fisher 2-3, BB (1B, 1B) 1 RBI Schwarzlose 0-4 Falgout 0-3 Stage is set for the WB-Sterling game @ WB on Monday at 4 p.m.

I will work on that. Will need a lot of cooperation from each team's stat guy/coach.

Well, here's an addendum to Random Thoughts...we'll wake up with Jasper the 1st place team in 21-3A...Huge win for HJ as the Hawks hang tough with win over #4 Silsbee.

Its one thing to beat a team of Kingwood's caliber 7-2 and another to beat one of Lumberton's caliber 6-3. That's all I meant...

With 21-3A moving their schedule to a Thurday/Saturday format this week (to accomodate the district track meet), this week's edition of 'Random Thoughts' may be even more random than usual. There is still a lot of 'big doings' so far this week with more fireworks to come over the weekend. The LCM Bears earned a huge win by travelling to The Reservation and rallying to claim a 5-4 win over previously undefeated PNG. Not only did it allow the Bears to pull within a game of the Indians but it kept them 1 game up on Vidor (who took a lackluster 6-3 win last night over Lumberton) and 2 games up on Nederland and Dayton. The Bulldogs kept their hopes alive when they finally put away Central 14-5 whiel Dayton suffered a 4-3 'dagger in the heart' courtesy of the Ozen Panthers. How big is Friday night's Vidor at Dayton game? Answer: huge. But so is the PNG @ Nederland game while Ozen continues to try and play spoiler when they travel to LCM. Next door in 21-4A, Barbers Hill rolled (again) to a 12-0 win over Crosby. They should be tested Friday when they travel to New Caney to face PJ Dean (he of the 90-plus mph fast ball). By the way, congrats to BH as they sit #3 in the latest HS Coaches State Poll. Up in 5A, West Brook trounced Kingwood 7-2 last night and, coupled with Lee's upset of Sterling, the Bruins find themselves tied for first in 21-5A with Sterling. Josiah Svoboda threw 6 solid innings and Tim Ferguson bashed his 5th HR to lead WB. The Bruins host Lee on Friday night and hope to set the stage for that district's showdown on Monday afternoon when they welcome Baytown Sterling to the friendly confines of West Brook Park. All the chips could be shoved on the table for that one. Down in 3A, congrats go to Silsbee (#5) and Jasper (#8) for being state ranked. HJ travels to Silsbee tonight for what remains as a 'must' win for the Hawks as the cling to their slim playoff hopes. Buna continues to roll with a 9-0 romp over Hardin while Pineland West Sabine, at 13-1, holds down the #5 position in the 1A state poll. PNG loses...Vidor is set to tangle with Dayton...PNG goes to Nederland...think we might see some changes by Sunday in the Top Ten? That, my friends, is why we play the games !!!!

We'll see...remember, the Indians lost by only 1 run and still lead that district by 1 game. Plus we still gotta lot of games to play.

Should have one done by this afternoon....

Good win for West Brook. With Sterling's loss tonight, the Bruins are now tied for first in 21-5A. Josiah Svoboda with 6 strong innings (1 ER). Tim Ferguson with 2 hits (incl HR) and 2 RBIs. Todd Wallace with RBI double and Charles Schwarzlose with huge 2 run single in 6th.

I am not sure either Murphy or Ferguson are ready to be defined in terms of 'goddeses' (or gods, for that matter). Lets just say they're both really good, probably the best 2 in the area and leave it at that.

First, from a league perspective, Mid County Babe Ruth is tops in the area. They do a very good job, etc. From a select standpoint, the SE Texas Sun Devils (out of Beaumont) are the proverbial 'gold standard' in the area. Most if not all of the D-1 players from this area have gone through that program. They operate a HS age team and, now, a 13 year old team (always building for the future). The other select organization in the area is Big Timers. That is all I will say about them. If you want to expand your zone, the Baytown Knights run several teams as does the Houston Heat. I have always been a fan of the Heat and their 'founder', Phil Cross. The important thing in summer ball is to decide what you want to get from it. Do you want to play, play locally, travel, get exposure, etc. Those are all questions you need to answer before deciding where to try to go. Best of luck to everyone this summer (of course, spring ain't over yet) !!!!

I say this in full recognition that Ned was, for a week, #1 but...they're under .500 and still in 4th. Maybe a 2-0 week will change that...but they need to do on the field what they look like on paper. They are warming up, tho....