MIF04

Don't really know how the Area Code team did. It is 'sponsored' by Texas Rangers and consists of players from this region in the country. The significance is not how the team did....its who made it. Once you make it, and go to the games in Calif, you are on the 'fast track'. Getting invited is a big deal, and making the final scrimmage is a really big deal. SE Tx had 4 players make that group. Unfortunately, none made the team.

WB had a very last minute cancellation. Sure, we would've loved BC, but Hemphill was the best they could find.

Here is the schedule for the West Brook Classic (Mar. 2-4th) @ West Brook High School: Thursday, March 2nd: 10:00 West Brook vs. Hemphill 12:15 Brazoswood vs. PNG 2:30 Brazoswood vs. Hemphill 4:45 Lufkin vs. Lake Charles Barbe 7:00 Lufkin vs. West Brook Friday, March 3rd: 9:00 PNG vs. Hemphill 11:15 Brazoswood vs. West Brook 1:30 Brazoswood vs. Lufkin 3:45 PNG vs. Lake Charles Barbe 6:00 Hemphill vs. Lufkin 8:15 West Brook vs. Lake Charles Barbe Saturday, March 4th: 9:00 PNG vs. Lufkin 11:15 Lake Charles Barbe vs. Brazoswood 1:30 Lake Charles Barbe vs. Hemphill 3:45 West Brook vs. PNG

Sterling and Clear Brook should be good tests for the Indians. Clear Brook has looked very impressive in their scrimmages so far and Sterling boasts a very good and deep pitching staff (Dempsay, Fuqua, Cervenka). Good luck to the NDNs.

They have done a lot: 1. Been over-rated since inception 2. Ran off one of the best football coaches in the area 3. Wasted a ton of talent The list could go on and on...

Congrats to all of those young men. Now, for an update on some of them: Josh Stinson (PNG) has started 2 of Texas A&M's 4 games, hitting .250 and throwing out 2-3 attempted steals. Justin Huff (WB) has started all 7 of Centenary's games, hitting .400 including 2 hits vs. nat'l power LSU. He also leads team with 7 steals. Dustin Hood (Ned) started in Wake Forest's season-opening DH and , in his D-1 debut, went 7-8. Wrandall Taylor (Ozen -- Prairie View A&M) has been named SWAC Pre-Season Pitcher of the Year following his outstanding freshmen season where he was named to Louisville Slugger Freshmen All American team. In the JUCO ranks: Brandon Castolenia (WB) made his 1st start for Angelina, pitching 5 innings and getting a no-decision in an eventual 2-1 Roadrunner loss. Kevin Cooper (Ozen) has saved both of Angelina's wins this year.

Without getting too much into 'which coach promotes better than the other', both Angelle and Ehlert are well-known in baseball circles and have been much promoted thru their summer ball. When compared, they are viewed (or ranked) very similarly: 1. Baseball America (the so-called bible of baseball) ranked them (in Feb. 2006 listing) as #224 (Ehlert) and #231 (Angelle) in their national Class of 2006 Top 400. There is not enough difference between 224 and 231 to spit over. The difference may be that Ehlert is also highly regarded as an OF, not just a P. 2. Incidentally, they are not the highest ranked area player. Zach Harwood (#101) from PNG is. Also on the list is Cody Mire (PNG) at #364. 3. Heard (from Montgomery) is not ranked in the Top 400. 4. Ehlert and Angelle are ranked 19 and 20 by Texas Baseball News. 5. Both will enroll at A & M but not as the Aggies' highest ranked player. That distinction goes to Clayton Kershaw (LHP from Highland Park) who is ranked #31. Kershaw is the real deal and the only thing keeping him out of the Aggie starting rotation next season will be the MLB draft. 6. Both Ehlert and Angelle were invited to Area Code Tryouts and made the 'finals' but neither made the final team. This event is run by MLB baseball/scouts. These Baseball America rankings are highly regarded within baseball circles. Not that I agree with all of them (I don't) but they demonstrate that both Ehlert and Angelle have had a significant amount of exposure (promotion) by someone. Granted, I think Bryant is open to some criticism (BC has MLB scouts calling administration because they can't get info from the Head Baseball Coach) but so is Griff. But someone has spent a considerable amount of time getting the word out about these kids. Of course, that really wasn't that hard -- they're both very good players and both outstanding young men.

Without dredging up the reasons this won't happen, I sure wish BC and LCM were playing this year. I think an Angelle-Ehlert matchup would be worth the price of two admissions!!!!

Here is the schedule as I can put it together for the last week of scrimmages: MONDAY: Bridge City-Lumberton Kountze-Kelly TUESDAY: PNG-HF Jasper-LCM Vidor-West Lake West Brook-North Shore WOS-Buna Silsbee-Barbers Hill Deweyville-Central EC-Anahuac Ozen-PA Memorial FRIDAY: PNG-Baytown Sterling-Clear Brook OF-Vidor Jasper-Lumberton BC-Central HJ-Kirbyville HF-Barbers Hill Deweyville-Cathedral EC-Warren SATURDAY: LCM-WOS-Alumni West Brook-Nederland-Lufkin Ozen-Forest Brook And, then, FINALLY -- it starts for real!!!!

Outstanding day for the Mustangs. Details?

Billy Carlisle (prep standout at Clear Lake and later @ Baylor) had a heart attack shortly after Friday night's game and passed away enroute to a local hospital. He was 2 days short of his 52nd birthday. He is survived by his wife and 3 children (the oldest of which is 11). His brother (Buddy) is the long-time head coach at Clear Creek HS and his father is an area coaching legend, both at Clear Creek HS and Rice University. I had the pleasure of knowing this family since I was a very young boy. This is a tremendous loss.

What are the names of the 2 move-ins? Obviously, we'd like to follow those 2 kids along with Bagley.

Very good day for the top 2 out of 20-4A. Besides 2 McInnis bombs, who swung it well for Indians?

LCM easily defeated WB on a cold blustery day at Don Gibbens Field. LCM pitching was sharp throughout the day and, while both teams had their moments of sloppiness, LCM was much more solid than WB. In particular, Ehlert stood out but all of the Bears' staff was effective and around the plate all day. WB did not swing it very well at all (altho that very well could be blamed on the pitching -- it was good all day). Doubt and Murphy each threw a couple of good innings for the Bruins but some dropped balls, etc. were (as usual) death...especially against a good team like this. Good outing for LCM...reality check for WB.

Should a coach get sued because a kid didn't turn out to be as good a player as the parents thought/hoped? Nor should a teacher get sued because a kid didn't get into Harvard? But, is there some point where the coach, or teacher, does fail to treat a player/student appropriately and therefore have some legal responsibility for that? Or, is the coach/teacher beyond question (above the law)? As with most situations, it always depends on the circumstances. But, be honest -- a coach or teacher does that to YOUR kid. You not gonna call someone?

LCM vs. West Brook scrimmage has been cancelled for today. It is now scheduled AT LCM for Sat at 11 a.m. Bring a heater....

Okay, I'll bite.... What lesson does LCM need to learn from BC?

Silsbee was a playoff team last year and should be this year. Granted, they will be young on the bump but still some pretty good throwers. Most worrisome now is injury to jr. OF Rocky Calhoun. If he is out for any appreciable time, that will significantly impact the Tigers.

LCM at West Brook on Saturday should be interesting to say the least.

The Bruins scored early and often on a very cool night in Beaumont, routing the Lumberton Raiders. Although the scoreboard got turned off early, WB scored at or above 40 runs over the course of 13 innings. Pitching-wise, Serna looked sharp for WB in his 2 innings of work as did Doubt and Murphy. The Svoboda kid did not throw as he was at another function Tues. night. The usual suspects (Serna, Ferguson, Armstrong, Falgout) all swung the bat well for WB as did newcomers Lycan and Wallace (Murphy did not hit due to lingering wrist injury). Srs. Calvert and Balfanz also looked good. A steady breeze from LF kept a couple of balls in the park off the bats of Ferguson, Falgout and Wallace but that simply stopped a little of the bleeding for Lumberton. The Raiders are clearly rebuilding and need to improve quickly before jumping into 20-4A play. Just a long, cold night at the ballpark...

Two highly regarded teams got together Tues night at The Reservation for a season opening scrimmage between PNG and Jasper. When that smoke cleared, PNG's vaunted pitching staff proved the old adage that "pitching is ahead of hitting" as the defeated Jasper 14-5. Harwood, Powell, Mire and McInnin combined to allow but 1 earned run over 8 innings, chalking up 14 Ks in the process. Buchanan, Mire, Morgan, McInnis, Bourgeois and Powell (2) all had extra base hits. Powell had 4 hits on the night and Flores threw an absolute strike from CF to cut down a runner at the plate. Jasper seemed to still be rounding into shape (and still a good team in the making) but they just ran into a buzz saw last night. Their catcher looked pretty solid and they have a lot of athleticism and team speed. They just didn't swing the bats very well until late in the game.

LCM and OF opened the 'scrimmage season' Tuesday night, and LCM lived up to its preseason billing by shutting out OF over 12 innings. Ehlert, Dugas, Womack, Adams, Cassidy and Martin all threw for the Bears with Ehlert striking out 5 in 2 IP. Offensively, the Bears scored in double digits with HR from Cassidy and doubles by Schneider, Ehlert and Dugas.

Vidor is young, especially pitching-wise. The #1 on this staff will probably be soph VJ Bunner. It would be a surprise if they finished in top 3 and made playoffs but, hey....that's why they play the games.

Glad to hear the good news about Tommy being healthy. What is HJ projected starting lineup?

Kingwood Humble West Brook (although Baytown Sterling could slip in here) Each of these teams will go 2 rounds. As usual, Kingwood is a threat to return to Austin.