MIF04

Good tourney. I look for LCM to win but that's only by a hair. I'm looking forward to seeing how Silsbee and WOS perform here. Good test for all.

Just for kicks, I looked at our Preseason 1st Team and evaluated that some 5-10 games into the season: MVP -- Ehlert-LCM (so far, he is still the best all-around player in the area. He, in my view, is the best pitcher and 1 of the best position players). MVP Candidates -- Alvis (JAS), Angelle (BC) and Serna (WB). On the MVP list, I'd put Alvis and Serna ahead of Angelle based on their offensive performances so far...but these are the next 3 still. P -- Ehlert, Angelle, Smith, Serna and Harwood. I think these guys have all done well so far this year. C -- Buchanan-PNG (hurt and now not playing unti mid-March at the earliest). I love this kid and his absence has hurt PNG but I'd make a change here. I'd probably move Rowell (LCM) to this spot or maybe Barrera from HF. 1B -- Womack-LCM (he's done well but so has 2nd teamer John Michael Falgout from WB. Either one is a worthy pick here right now). 2B -- Ferguson-WB (still hitting the ball a ton and fielding better than any other area middle infielder. Solid pick here). 3B -- Alvis -JAS (no question here). SS--Schneider-LCM (sweet fielder and solid on-base guy. Murphy has hit well and pitched well so far for WB but Schneider is the 'dean of defense' here). INF--Murphy-WB and Riley-WOOD (Murphy stays but I'm soft on Riley right now. Larid from NED could be the other pick here. OF -- Armstrong (WB), Dishon (BC), Johnson (PNG) and Mosley (NED). Armstrong and Dishon stay for sure. I'd probably drop Johnson and am unsure about Mosley (I just haven't seen enough of their games yet). If I don't put Powell (PNG) in at utility then I put him as one of the OF. UTIL -- Rowell (LCM), Dugas (LCM) and McInnis (PNG). Dugas stays for sure. Rowell stays either at UTIL or as C. McInnis would probably go. I'd put Powell in here and/or 1 of the WOS guys (Ayers or Sparks). I also need to find a place for Neal (HF) and McFarlan (NED). In any event, you find the Top 10 or Top 20 or whatever out of this group. That doesn't mean that the ones NOT in that list aren't good -- they're very good. I just think this represents the 'best of the best'. As far as the other lists, I think WILL11 is off base (no one from WB? no Alvis? ). Midcounty04 has a pretty good list of some of the best pitchers but misses the rest (as his later post admits). By the way, it would make this all more interesting (and scientific) if everyone would get/post their team stats. I've only seen 2 or 3 team's stats and its hard to judge without all of the info. Thanks....

Yeah, I do like the Powell kid. He is 1 of the few rays of sunshine right now down at PNG. I am also becoming a fan of the MacFarland kid in Nederland. He can rake.

Oughta be an easy sweep this weekend for the Cards. After last weekend, a little confidence booster is what they need.

Way to go Panthers...and congrats to both Josh and DD. Doing 'em proud.

Jay Bruce (WB) hit a ball last year at Spring Westfield (you BC folks will remember that park from 1 of your playoff series last year). That ball went just right of CF, over the fence behind the park and over the trees behind that. It was like the Energizer Bunny....it just kept going and going and going. A nice runner-up came in 2004 at Houston Memorial during the playoffs. After Bruce had hit another tape measure shot over the 410 sign in CF (still climbing on its way over), WB then-soph John Michael Falgout hit an absolute rope over the power alley in LCF and over the parking area behind it. T remendous....

Well, I'll leave Bryant 'moves' tonight alone, but BC almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory tonight, needing to bring in Angelle to sop a 7th inning Cougar rally. Time will be the test of any coach (Bryant included). In the 3 years he has been there, BC has been blessed with an abundance of talent for any school (much less a 3A school). You should win at that level with that talent. The trick comes in a year or two when that talent pool recedes and you have to COACH, not just rely on some very special kids. And Bryant might be that guy...he just needs to do it first.

My mistake. Schooling is still an outstanding pithcer (whether he be a jr. or soph). Isn't McDonald the #2 and isn't he a soph?

The unbalanced comment was in response to the statement that Silsbee threw their #1 against HF's #3. I am aware that Silsbee's pitching staff is young (I've made reference to it several times on this board) but that doesn't distract from the fact that HF apparently did not throw their 'ace' while Silsbee did. Granted, I am surprised HF did not throw their #1, given the fact that they had no other games last week but, hey, I'm not the coach down there. Regardless of age/classification, who would you rather face -- someone's #1 or their #3? That's what I meant by unbalanced. I did not mean to take away from the Tigers' win -- it was a great win for them.

You are right. Both TC and Santa Fe are 4A....just a typo at 1 in the morning. Had an 'editorial deadline' to meet. I didn't know they had moved the HF-Silsbee game and understand that the matchups pitching-wise may have been somewhat unbalanced. Strange I didn't hear that from any HF people when they beat LCM without Ehlert on the mound... As far as the poll, and I won't speak for the other contributors, but it is a combination of how they're playing now (i.e., what have you done for me lately) and their projected/overall ability. For example, LCM has lost to HF (7-0). I still think overall LCM is the better team. Likewise, I saw the same score as everyone else (Brenham 10 LCM 0) but also know it was a 1-0 game late when Griff decided not to overthrow his starter and went to his bullpen. While this may mean that LCM is not as deep as once thought, it doesn't distract from the fact that they are very good with their 'best' people playing/pitching. The same is true for BC -- they got 'run ruled' by Nederland in 1 of the games this weekend (although this may be more of a concern since BC did start their #2 LHP Haymon). This kinda stuff happens a lot, especially during the tournament part of the season when everyone is playing 4-6 games over a 3 day period. I disagree with the comment about Nederland -- they have played well so far especially when you consider all the talent they lost from last year (the same comment could be made about West Brook). The 'intestinal fortitude' they showed against The Woodlands is commendable and they did beat both BC and Sulphur this weekend. Their losses were close ones. The Bulldogs are playing very competitively right now. PNG has disappointed but their problem this weekend wasn't poor defense. They actually played pretty well defensively. For example, they only made 1 error (and it was late) against WB but they still got shelled 10-0. Take away the very lackluster win over an overmatched Hemphill team (7-0) and it was a very, very bad week for the Indians (4 runs in 4 games). Granted, the played an otherwise competitive schedule (5A Baytown Sterling, West Brook, Brazoswood, Lufkin and Lake Charles Barbe) but they just aren't playing well. Its a wild time of the season with different matchups, etc. I think that this will all start to crystalize once District play starts for everyone and it is truly 'for real'. That'll be a fun thread after this weekend....WHO MAKES THE PLAYOFFS FROM EACH DISTRICT? That should help everyone through an otherwise dull week of work!!!!

I'm not sure getting Blake back cures what I saw this weekend. We'll see.

Well, since PNG only has 2 wins all season, I'm not sure the '2/3rd of their wins' calculation works out. I did not see Powell pitch this weekend but did see McInnis and he was nowhere near 87-89. He was low to mid 80s at best. I do think Powell is a very good player, both as a LHP and offensively.

Another week has come and gone for SE Texas baseball. Last week's 'surprise team', the HF Longhorns lost their only game (5-4 to Silsbee) and everyone (save and except Barbers Hill) took on at least 1 loss. One of our preseason favorties (PNG) sits at 2-7 and is in disarray while Nederland suddenly looks 'for real' following a 10-0 pounding delivered to #1 Bridge City. Thanks for the votes, phone calls, emails and 1 pm....and here it is: Weeks 2's Top Ten: 1. WEST BROOK Another big offensive week for the Bruins, scoring 52 runs in 5 games and going 3-2 in their own tournament (the losses including a last inning rally at the hands of nationally ranked LC Barbe). With the emergence of RHP David Murphy as a solid #2, the Bruins pitching appears to be rounding in shape but forget the pitching....these guys are bashing the baseball. 100 runs in two weeks? 101 hits? Four guys in this lineup are hitting over .400 (Armstrong, Ferguson, Murphy and Serna) while 2 more (Lycan and Falgout) are knocking on that door. THis team can hit, and, for at least this week, the Cardinals are out and the Bruins are in. 2. BRIDGE CITY The Cards split with both Nederland and Sulphur down in the Nederland Tourney but a concern rises when you notice that they were outscored by a margin of 24-11. LHP Angelle was sharp in his 4-1 win over Nederland but #2 LHP Haymon was hit hard in the 10-0 run rule loss to that same team. The lack of offense continues to plague the Big Red. Are they still the best in 3A? Probably....at least in this area. But one pitcher and very little offense projects trouble down the road. In any event, 1 pitcher and an inconsistent offense (especially against quality opponents) drops you in our polls. Sorry, Billy...you're #2. 3. LCM The Bears 2-3 showing in Brenham is a lot better than the record indicates but not what the faithful had hoped for. This team is both talented and deep but a 10-0 loss (even if it was to state-ranked Brenham) and losses to 4A Texas City and Santa Fee raises questions as to whether this is the juggernaunt everyone expected. This team is, however, loaded for a district (and playoff) run with their pitching remaining strong at the top and good offense down through the lineup. Ehlert continues to justify his selection as the Pre-Season MVP and Dugas has proven himself in his own right. Add to the mix players such as Womack, Cassidy, Schneider and Rowell, and you see how this team will be at or near the top of everybody's rankings all year long. 4. NEDERLAND They lost two tough games to BC (4-1) and Sulphur (3-1) but rebounded to crush BC (10-0) and edge Sulphur (4-3). This is a team that is seeming to get better. RHP Smith is still one of the area's best while LHP Stanley literally tied BC in knots in his 2-hit shutout over the Cards. Young MacFarland adds new and needed pop to the 'Dogs lineup. This performance (on the heels of last week's superb performance at The Woodlands Tournament) shows that Nederland has roared past PNG among District 20-4A hopefuls and is closing ground on front-runner LCM. I say it again -- that is gonna be one tough district. 5. BARBERS HILL What do we know about the Eagles? Not much....except they're still undefeated at 8-0. Granted, their schedule has not been one that inspires awe (the Hitchcock and Sealy Tournaments?) but, still, they've made it through two weeks without a loss. That earns them a place in our Top Ten. 6. JASPER The Bulldogs lost the 'game of the week' on Tuesday (4-1 to Lufkin Hudson) but rebounded to finish second at the Whitehouse Tournament, losing the championship game to Paris. Sr. RHP Alvis and Soph. LHP Parsons both continue to impress people throughout SE Texas. It remains to be seen how good this team really is but they have played a very competitive schedule in the early going. By the time district rolls around, this will be a hardened, battle-ready team. 7. VIDOR The Pirates continue to confound us 'experts'. They play very inconsistently in the Kelly Tourney last week and then start this week by getting drilled 8-2 by Kelly...only to turn it all around and win the WOS Tournament by 'blowing out' Buna, OF and Warren before edging WOS 4-3 in the finals. They're young but Coach Green may have gotten this team to turn the corner. It may still be a reach for these guys to make the playoffs in their District but PNG has played itself back into the pack. Who knows? The Vidor-PNG game may turn out to be the 'game of the year' for District 20-4A. And who woulda thunk it? 8. HAMSHIRE-FANNETT Last week's fair-haired team, the Longhorns played only 1 game this week...and lost it to Silsbee. Upset? Only time will tell. I haven't forgotten that this is the team that beat both LCM and Jasper on the same weekend and that justifies our continued faith in them...but they still drop form #5 to #8. This is a big week for the Horns...contender or pretender? 9. WEST ORANGE STARK The Mustangs finish 2nd in their own tourney including a 6-5 win over Silsbee before losing a one-run decision in the finals to Vidor. Nothing much has changed for the Mustangs...they still rely heavily on the pitching duo of Sparks and Ayers but there was some cause for concern earlier this week when Ayers was rocked early in the 'Stangs shocking loss to Buna. I've said it before...this team goes only as far as those 2 guys can carry them...fortunately, they're both 2 pretty good guys. 10. SILSBEE Silsbee finishes 3rd at WOS tournament and started the week off with a bang by knocking off HF at the 'Horns own park. RHP Joel Schooling serves youth well with the win in that game. The Tigers are very young, especially on the mound (relying heavily on 2 sophs to carry the burden there) but they play very hard and find a way to win. OF Calhoun is playing through his ankle injury and remains the catalyst of this team's offense. Keep him, and the young pitchers churning, and Silsbee has got themselves a winner. For now, they make the cut at #10. FALLING OUT: PNG -- The Indians are 2-7. They went 1-5 this weekand were shutout in 3 of those games. They only scored a total of 11 runs in those 6 games. This team is in disarray and better get fixed fast. MEMORIAL -- The Titans lost to 3A HJ....'nuff said. This is it, folks....thanks to all who voted or contributed. Keep those emails coming....

I saw Stanley's game vs. BC. An outstanding job of keeping them off balance, etc. On the other hand, I also saw Murphy's game vs. PNG and it was every bit as good. Both had outstanding pitching performances. Angelle's game on Thursday was also very, very good. By the same token, if you look beyond a one game performance, then you need look at hitting, etc.

I don't think so (in fact, I'm pretty sure of it). I 'think' these are some of the records and would appreciate updates, corrections: Bridge City: 7-2 LCM: 7-4 West Brook: 7-3-1 Nederland: 4-3 I just haven't counted up everybody else (and am not absolute on the above). Thanks for your help.

From West Brook (5 games, all at their tourney): (in no particular order) MARK SERNA 8-14, .571, 10 R, 4 RBI, 2B, 3B, HR JOHN MICHAEL FALGOUT 6-13, .462, 9 R, 7 RBI, 2 x 2B, 3B, HR DAVID MURPHY 5-12, .417, 4 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR plus 7 IP (CG win/shutout vs. PNG), 0 R, 4 H, 4 K BOBBY ARMSTRONG 7-14, .500, 5 R, 3 RBI, 2 x 2B, 3B All are deserving and had great weeks. Serna, Falgout and Armstrong all were very productive offensively. Murphy was also productive and had the shutout of PNG.

DETAILS FROM WEST BROOK VS. PNG (SAT.) WEST BROOK 10 PNG 0 PNG 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 4 1 WB 3 0 3 4 X = 10 11 1 WP: Murphy (2-0) 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 K, 0 BB LP: McInnis 2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 K, 0 BB Flores 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 K, 2 BB PORT NECHES-GROVES Powell 1-3 Harrington 0-2 Mire 0-2 Carnahan 1-2 McInnis 0-2, RE Walker 1-2 Hearn 0-2 Harwood 0-2 Barnett 1-2 WEST BROOK Calvert 0-2, BB, 1 R Lycan 2-3, 2 R Serna 3-3, 3 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI Falgout 3-3, 3 R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI Ferguson 0-2, SAC, 2 RBI Armstrong 2-3, 1 R, 2B, 1 RBI Murphy 1-2, BB Wallace 0-3, RE Balfanz 0-2 Serna and Falgout HRs were 'back to back' in the 3rd inning. Murphy runs his record to 2-0 (with 1 save) and lowers his ERA to 0.47.

Although I doubt Griff is very happy about a 2-3 weekend, I think the tourney shows the Bears are fine 'at the top' of their lineup and rotation, its just the depth down the line. That should bode well for them once District starts. Plus, they played some very good teams in this tourney.

I'm not sure I'd say 'struggling' for all teams in 20-4A. For example, I think Nederland's performance to date exceeds what most people expected. They get a 'gold star' to date. As far as LCM (and leaving the HF loss aside), they have played a tough schedule to date (i.e., Brenham tourney this weekend) so it is hard to get a handle on that. The disappointment to date is PNG who, to be kind, just looked awful this weekend. They can't score and their defense has beeon poor. Does that open the door for someone else such as Ozen or Vidor? Maybe but I still think the playoff teams from this district will be PNG, Nederland and LCM.

Simply put, those criteria are 'fiction'. Based on this, there is no one in this area that is a Tier 1 and maybe not a Tier 2. For example, none of the pitchers in the area sit at 92-94; yet, we have 3 who have signed with big D1 programs: Harwood (Rice) tops around 90-91 but his breaking pitch is, at best, average. Angelle (A & M) tops in the upper 80s although he is more comfortable around 85-87 although is curve ball is probably a plus pitch. Ehlert is another guy around 90 with an above-average to plus breaking pitch. He signed with A & M. None of these meet the Criteria 2 but they are outstanding pitchers who will do well in a major college program. I don't think you can find a legitimate recruiter or MLB scout that would use that criteria. It was a good effort but it just doesn't work in real world recruiting, etc.

I gotta disagree. There have been some outstanding teams (coaches and players) over the recent past. Woodville, for example, brought back the trophy. Others have done very well. I am sure some complacency occurs but programs do not succeed year in and year out if that's the case. I'm not really sure who you're referring to but obviously you have someone in mind....

I think the answer lies in the fact that Texas in general (and the area that covers Region III) is one of the most competitive baseball areas in the country. You can have very good talent and very good coaching and still not win state. Two years ago, PNG made it to Austin and, last year, BC went. Woodville won State last year. I think this area always does very well in playoffs....its just a tough row to hoe, so to speak. With that being said, there is no doubt that some teams win with talent despite the coaching (and maybe vice versa -- sometimes good coaching makes up for a lack of talent). Without naming names, it does happen.

Anyone have any details on the 2 games LCM played on Friday? Thanks.

DETAILS FOR WEST BROOK (FRIDAY'S GAMES) BRAZOSWOOD 10 WEST BROOK 4 Brazoswood 1 6 0 0 3 = 10 8 3 West Brook 2 0 0 1 1 = 4 6 5 WP: Stowers LP: Svoboda (1 1/3IP, 7 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB) Doubt (2 2/3IP, 0R, 1 H, 1 K, 2 BB) Crawford 1/3IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 H) Fisher (2/3 IP, 0R, 0 H, 1 BB) NOTE: Only 2 of Brazoswood's 10 runs were earned. Calvert 0-2, BB Lycan 2-3, 1 2B Serna 1-3, RE, 2 R Falgout 0-2, BB, 1 R Ferguson 1-3, RE, 1 R, 1 2B Murphy 1-3, RE, 1 RBI Armstrong 0-2, HBP Wallace 1-2, 1 RBI Balfanz 0-2 LAKE CHARLES BARBE 8 WEST BROOK 6 LC Barbe 0 2 0 0 1 0 5 = 8 10 2 West Brook 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 = 6 8 3 WP: Griffin (7 IP, 6 R, 8 K) LP: Serna ( 6 2/3 IP, 8 R, 4 ER, 10 H, 3 K, 6 BB) NOTE: WB loaded bases in bottom of 7th with 1 out but failed to score Calvert 1-4 Lycan 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 2B Serna 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 3B Falgout 1-4, 1 R Ferguson 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B Armstrong 1-3 Murphy 0-3 Wallace 0-3 Balfanz 0-2, BB, 1 R

LC Barbe 8 West Brook 6 (Barbe scoes 5 in the top of 7th, 4 with 2 out, to win. Tough loss for Bruins).