hardball

I, too, sensed a little bitterness in those posts.

If a coach reflects all that you end your post with, the players, for the most part, will reflect those attributes as well. And if a coach exudes these qualities, success will ultimately come. But let me tell you about the real world... job security depends on W's. Sad, but true.

I like Smith; does a good job. Nice field, too.

Good example.

I think Perkins poured in close to 35 on Tuesday, and hit about a forty-footer at the buzzer to beat Casey by one.... He's pretty good.

In my mind, if a team that is low on talent advances through a GOOD district, then a GOOD region, utilizing more than two pitchers, most of that is coaching. Whether it be on the field coaching, or the more psychological areas, someone has done a good job leading that team. If you're looking for specifics, you can tell which teams have good coaches by watching pitch selection, defense, and in a smaller way, basecoaching. Teams that know what to do in different situations on defense are well-coached. Bunt rotations and the like are not taught in little league, and are rarely taught in Babe Ruth. Pitchers without a high 80's fastball that set hitters up are well-coached. Offensive players that know on which counts to run, bunt, hit to the right side, etc., etc., are well-coached. Winning because your kids are just more athletically gifted is just luck. Those are the coaches that have a winning record once every four years... Oh, and by the way, a great coach takes pride in his field.

That's a good question. I think a good baseball coach is a coach that finds success when he doesn't have great athletes. Basically, anyone can coach talent. If most of a school's sports teams are bad, but their baseball team is relatively successful, that tells me that particular coach knows what he is doing.

That all depends on how tough their respective districts are.

Was Pulaski in the bonus?

Ty would probably be better served to try to enroll at Somerset and start over...

Did Ellis play at Dunbar? Seems I remember seeing them play at a tournament at Harrison County in '99 or 2000.

Man, you hit .454 as a team and you better be picking up some hardware!

Triples is one of those stats that you would assume to be higher. Heck, how many high schools played w/o an outfield fence? Several before the 1980's I would assume.

Strike, are you going to post any more records, or should others pick up where you left off?

Coach Masten is a very good baseball coach. The people and administration at Lincoln need to realize that before a better opportunity is presented to him...

^ Noblesville, Indiana

I saw college staffs last year that didn't have three guys throwing that hard...

John Cole is very, very good.

Let's say, for instance, Joe Blow from Somerset High School played baseball in the 1960's, and played Eubank, Shopville, Nancy, and Ferguson High Schools (which were all high schools in Pulaski County before consolidation). Basically, Somerset was head and shoulders better than these teams. Would the 8 no hitters thrown by Joe Blow against these teams deserve to be listed ahead of guys that have beaten legitimate, quality teams?

Imagine before consolidation if you were a large city school playing tiny teams from around the state. There are probably individuals out there that threw ten no-no's themselves, but the books are long gone.

I would have been happy to have had the chance to play at Morehead...

Danville, Somerset, and Mercer are the Big Dogs of the 12th, with Boyle, Pulaski, SW, and West Jessamine right behind.

Russell High School or Russell County?

But without John Cole to throw to...

But just getting a signing bonus for even the 5th round will be around a quarter million...that's a lot to lose for a broken leg or dislocated shoulder. And yes, Witten's fastball is very straight. He could move his arm slot down a bit and pick up some more movement, but he'd probably sacrafice some velocity. Different strokes for different folks, though.