MIF04

Bridge City

WOS

H-J -- but this is counting an awful lot on the Roebuck kid coming back from injury. If not, its OF.

All of these teams could win their first round. BC has a very good shot at Austin (but Region III is very tough this year -- good teams will be denied a trip to Austin).

LCM

PNG

Nederland

LCM and PNG both have a change to last a long time in playoffs. Either have the team to spend a weekend in June in Austin.

I'd say it is a combination of 3 things:

1. Over use

2. Too quick with knife (in some cases)

3. Better medical technology to diagnose the problem

I think pitch count is part of the solution....except that having a pitch count in game 1 of a tourney on Thursday with another outing on Saturday and closing out a game in the finals is just as bad.

And it is awful hard to 'overly limit' a kid in the summer when he's throwing in front of 40-50 college scouts and the MLB Scouting Bureau. I understand the concept in local HS/Connie Mack (which over here is basically goofing off/glorified pens and BP) but summer ball has evolved (right or wrong) into the #1 way kids get seen/recruited/drafted.

Again, another topic for another thread.

Hamshire Fannett leads wire-to-wire and wins at home vs. Bridge City, throwing the race for the 3rd playoff spot into a log jam. BC closed the gap to 1 in the 4th only to see HF reel off 11 straight points.

Why not limit # of pitches in HS game as well?

And who gets a bonus if they win? I want that job!!!!

Northwestern is recruiting PNG LHP Branden Powell....very seriously. May be a signing in the future?

Latest info is that Cody Mire (PNG) will sign with Hill Jr. College.

Who are the area select teams in the area for 12 y/o and 7th graders? Thanks.

Actually a very thougtful and provocative question. Without taking sides, think about this:

a. Are pitchers being over-used more today/throwing more breaking pitches, etc.?

b. Are the diagnostic tools better today; therefore, it is more easily detectable (or, put another way -- was it missed a lot?)?

c. Plus, until the actual Tommy John ahd the first surgery, you really didn't have a cure and you certainly didn't do surgery as the ligatments frayed.

On the other hand, maybe the procedure is so accepted now that more and more doctors send their kids to college 'over prescribing' the need for surgery.

I do know that, in the case of 3 of the kids listed above, they needed the surgery or their career would have been over before it started.

I think either Adams or Haymon were released first (?) so that would give them some advantage. I know Haymon pitched some this summer against very high competition. I have seen both Haymon and Powell throw and they look pretty sharp for post-surgery/early in the season. Haven't seen either Adams or Womack in a while but reports are that Adams velocity has returned and is improved.

With that being said, I think the biggest impact would be Haymon, simply because he'll be BC's #2 (and he was very close to Angelle before he was hurt). If Powell is #2 for PNG then he'll be a big impact. Stone may use him to close and that makes him very important. As far as Adams and Womack, that will depend on who Griff uses when. I am guessing Dugas is the #2 and, if so, that will lessen Adams and Womack's pitching impact....but that can always change.

Out of curiousity, what do we think LCM's projected starting lineup will be (of course, it will change depending on who pitches, etc.). I have always assumed that Schneider will move over to SS and that Rowell would be the full-time C but there's a lot of possibilities with all the returning experience here.

Any input?

Region III is tough:

Six of the Top 10 teams are Region 3 (BC, Hudson, Jasper, Columbus, Lorena and Huffman Hargrave) plus the likes of Barbers Hill and Cameron. You think the fight to Austin isn't gonna be fun to watch?

Although I would guess nearly everyone will be following their own team, I would make a suggestion if you have an 'open' weekend on March 2-4th. Go to Brenham with LCM. There are a number of quality teams there and a good test for Griff and the Bears:

Their pool games are:

Alvin (pretty fair 5A team fighting for playoff spot in 24-5A)

Texas City (although rarely mentioned, a Top 10 team in the Houston area)

El Campo (who, I admit, I know nothing about)

Brenham (very good team, lots of tradition, and it it THEIR tournament)

And, their reward after pool play? The trophy game against the likes of Montgomery (pre-season #1 in Region III) or Angleton/New Caney. Whew.

Granted, tournament games don't always serve as a predictor for district and playoffs (since everyone's pitching gets stretched out over 4-5 games) but still -- what a schedule. Ain't no ducking anybody here!!!!

SOUTHEAST TEXAS PRE SEASON ALL AREA TEAM

MVP: Clayton Ehlert (Sr. -- LCM)

MVP CANDIDATES: Will Alvis (Sr. -- Jasper); Kevin Angelle (Sr. -- BC); Mark Serna (Jr. -- WB)

NEWCOMER: Casey Jackson (Soph. -- BC)

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FIRST TEAM:

PITCHERS (5):

Kevin Angelle (Sr. -- BC)

Clayton Ehlert (Sr. -- LCM)

Zach Harwood (Sr. -- PNG)

Mark Serna (Jr. -- WB)

Matison Smith (Sr. -- Ned)

CATCHER (1):

Blake Buchanan (Sr. -- PNG)

INFIELD (6):

1b: Landon Womack (Sr. -- LCM)

2b: Tim Ferguson (Jr. -- WB)

3b: Will Alvis (Sr. -- Jasper)

SS: Wes Schneider (Sr. -- LCM)

INF: David Murphy (Jr. -- WB); Braden Riley (Jr. -- Woodville)

OUTFIELD (4):

Bobby Armstrong (Jr. -- WB)

Johnny Dishon (Jr. -- BC)

Cole Johnson (Sr. -- PNG)

Micah Mosely (Jr. -- Nederland)

UTILITY/DH/OTHER (3):

Jerrod Dugas (Sr. -- LCM)

Taylor McInnis (Sr. -- PNG)

Jake Rowell (Jr. -- LCM)

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SECOND TEAM:

PITCHERS:

Charlie Jones (Jr. -- Kelly)

Broc Haymon (Sr. -- BC)

Cody Mire (Sr. -- PNG)

Branden Powell (Sr. -- PNG)

Eric Sparks (Sr. -- WOS)

CATCHER:

Abe Barrerra (Sr. -- HF)

INFIELD:

1b: John Falgout (Sr. -- WB)

2b: Chris Laird (Sr. -- Ned)

3b: Kris Hearn (Jr. -- PNG)

SS: Derrick Coleman (Sr. -- BC)

INF: Nick Ayers (Sr. -- WOS); Kevin Roebuck (Soph. -- HJ)

OUTFIELD:

Rocky Calhoun (Jr. -- Silsbee)

Matt Calvert (Sr. -- WB)

Chris Capels (Sr. -- OF)

Cody Sparks (Sr. -- BC)

UTILITY/DH/OTHER:

Kyle Adams (Sr. -- LCM)

Marcus Freeman (Sr. -- PA Mem)

Tommy Roebuck (Sr. -- HJ)

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TEN OTHER SOPHS TO WATCH:

VJ Bunner (P -- Vidor)

Anthony Fazio (P -- Kelly)

Josh Gardiner (INF -- Ozen)

Eric Harrington (P -- PNG)

DD Lott (P -- Ozen)

Thad Lycan (INF -- WB)

Kevin McDonald (P -- Silsbee)

Justin Parsons (P -- Jasper)

Joel Schooling (P -- Silsbee)

Todd Wallace (C -- WB)

Thanks, Mom.....okay, okay --just kidding. Hey, just trying and cannot wait until this all starts FOR REAL next week!!!!

Word from another site is that Channelview will move up to 5A.

Wonder if they'd get sent east to join Bmt. and PA with Baytown, North Shore, etc. DIffierent district????

I'll check with some folks I know on that. I would guess Woodville will be very good again in 1A.

I think the coaches poll is out as well as some others (Inside Prep Baseball -- formerly Texas Baseball News is posted elsewhere on this site).

First, I think Ehlert is an awesome player but I think Hale was somewhere beyond that. Hale was a kid who worked in the 90s (I mean, he touched 98 and regularly sat around 92-93). Ehlert doesn't have that type of velocity. He has touched 90-92 but pitches best in the 88 range. I think Ehlert may be a little more polished now than Beau was in HS, and he is a tremendous all-around player. But Hale just blew people out. Beau was very, very special and HS players like him come along very, very rarely.

With Ehlert, LCM looks like the best 4A team (and maybe best team period) in the area. Without him, they'd still be in the playoffs but not for long. I think that makes Clayton pretty special, too.

Update on BC -- think they may get lights as early as end of March (at a cost of $500,000+, with some FEMA help). Whoa....

Apparently, BC won't have lights until April 24th.

Who are the other pitchers? I am interested in that.

And while I give credit to rootin' for the hometown team, I would say a Nederland, PNG, LCM finish would be the upset of the season. I do agree that Smith can beat anyone. He's a good one when he's sharp.

First, I meant it would weaken (not necessarily be weak) and that would allow a team like Ozen to sneak in as a playoff team in 07 or 08.

Second, the facts are these:

1. LCM will lose their entire pitching staff and nearly every varsity player they have to graduation (except C Jake Rowell). With a team this good, and losing the talent they will, the Bears will be weaker.

2. PNG loses their top 4 pitchers (i.e., their entire pitching staff) and the best C in the area (Buchanan). Not too many other pitchers will see varsity time on the hill this year. Again, by definition, that means they'll be weaker. True, there is talent remaining on the Reservation with INF Kris Hearn and youngsters like Flores, Domingues, Harrington and Carnahan -- but (with the exception of Hearn) there's not a lot of varsity experience there.

3. Nederland did have the top JV team last year and that does bode well for them in coming years. It remains to be seen, however, whether JV success equals varsity success.

The word you seized on (weaken) means no disrespect. It simply recognizes that (a) there is a lot of talent in 20-4A this year and ( it'll be gone after graduation.

By the powers vested in me by setsports editorial board, and after getting a load of input (on and off this board), here is:

SOUTHEAST TEXAS SPORTS 2006 PRESEASON TOP TEN:

1. BRIDGE CITY

Isn't it every guy's dream to drive a Big Red Ferrarri? This year, the winner is Coach Bryant. He puts the area's best 1-2 punch on the mound (Angelle and Haymon) with a quality 3rd (Stringer) and the Cards are ready for a return trip to Austin. True, they lost a lot of talent (Hayes, Myers, Stevens, Coulter) but return a solid nucleus including OF Dishon (probably the area's most projectible D-1 and MLB prospect) and Sparks, INF Coleman and Helter, and new C Jackson. This region is loaded (Hudson, Jasper) but there's a reason BC is the State's #1 team -- they're loaded.

2. LCM

The Bears are boasting that this is 'the best team ever' at LCM and, if so, it is one heck of a ballclub. Fact? Griff may have the talent to back up such a claim. You start with a racehorse in 2-way standout Clayton Ehlert, the 'ace' of 20-4A and add pitching depth from Dugas, Cassidy, Adams and Hughes then you have a recipe to win and win often. You can add to the mix that LCM returns a deep and experienced team including sweet swinging jr. C Jake Rowell, 1B Landon Womack and smooth fielding sr. Wes Schneider at SS then you are primed for a deep run in the playoffs. The battle of the Bears (LCM vs. Montgomery) may very well determine who punches their ticket to Austin. Best team ever? Maybe not (there'e no Beau Hale here)...but good, very good.

3. WEST BROOK

Up in District 22-5A, just making the playoffs in the State's toughest district makes you a very good team. New coach Jacob Walton will need all of that just to claim the 3rd spot given a major talent loss (#1 pick Bruce, the Ewings, Ford and both starting pitchers -- Castolenia and Beherns). The Bruins do welcome back 5 starters led by INF Tim Ferguson and David Murphy, 1B John Falgout and OF Mark Serna and Bobby Armstrong. Look for LHP Serna to be the 'ace' of this staff (and he's a good one) but they'll be looking all over for the rest of their pitching staff. Serna could have a breakout, MVP season and the trio of Ferguson, Murphy and Armstrong look to explode offensively. The tournament season could be long given their thin pitching staff but they will be playoff bound come May.

4. PNG

The Reservation boasts the deepest playoff-tested pitching staff in the area led by Zach Harwood and Branden Powell and supported by Taylor McInnis and Cody Mire. All of the "Fab Four" can win big ball games for the Indians and each contribute significantly on offense. Offensively, the 'straw that stirs the drink' here is C Blake Buchanan, the area's best behind the dish. Add to the mix INF Kris Hearn and OF Cole Johnson and never, ever count out the Purple & White. Get there early for the PNG-LCM games (they'll be barnburners) and remember...the last time I picked LCM over PNG --the Indians wound up in Austin. Jay Stone isn't making any early vacation plans.

5. JASPER

Hiding up north, the Bulldogs are primed for a long run through the playoffs. You start here with 2-way star Wll Alvis who won't be a well-kept secret to college recruiters or MLB scouts. With an upper 80s fastball, and the ability to rake it at the plate, this kid can carry a team on his own. Add jr. RHP Travis Reagan and soph LHP Justin Parsons, and the 'dogs are ready to roll. They'll cruise thru district and will lie in wait for their chance to go bird hunting in Region III -- looking for some bright red Cardinals....

6. NEDERLAND

It speaks volumes when a program is still playoff bound in what is considered a down year for them. Right away, sr. RHP Matison Smith (20-4A Newcomer of the Year) has the ability to shut down any 20-4A opponent. The rest of the pitching staff is suspect but these Bulldogs will rebuild (reload?) with a stout District Champ JV squad. Offensively, INF. Kevin Laird promises to continue his hot hitting along with OF Micah Mosley. 2006 will have a lot of surprises (good and bad) for this Mid County team but, when push comes to shove, they'll be playing when others have been sent home.

7. WOS

The 'Stangs would be a serious threat to be District Champs....if they were in a district other than Bridge City's. Do not count out the Blue & Silver, though. They return two bona fide starters on the mound in seniors Sparks and Ayers and, when not on the hill, Nick Ayers anchors the middle of their infield. No question the Mustangs are thin but pitching wins....and WOS has that. They'll finish second in district and then let their pitching do their talking in the playoffs.

8. SILSBEE

These guys are the area's 'Dirty Little Secret'. You don't hear about 'em, don't see 'em and then there they are -- back in the playoffs. The Tigers are led by jr. OF Rocky Calhoun, a catalyst at the top of the lineup. Depth is always an issue here (their baseball numbers have been historically low) and their long-term playoff success will depend on the status of oft-injured jr. RHP Chris Stoudt. They'll finish behind Jasper but they are athletic enough to cause a lot of teams and lot of problems. It may fall to youngsters Kevin McDonald and Joel Schooling (both soph.) to carry the pitching burden...if they step up, this young team will get better by leaps and bounds.

9. OZEN

This team is probably a year away and are probably #4 in 20-4A. They are young and should be a playoff team in 2007. They have future stars in soph. LHP DD Lott and soph. INF Josh Gardiner and need some immediate help for 2006. MEMO TO NEDERLAND: Remember 2 years ago? This Ozen team can sneak up on people.

10. KELLY

These Bulldogs are in a tough district (St. Thomas and St. Pius) but return a core of strong pitchers in jr. LHP Charlie Jones, soph. RHP Anthony Fazio and sr. RHP Jake Henderson (brother of Lamar 1B Will Henderson). Coach David Huggins is a miracle worker with pitchers and he'll mold these guys into winners. SS Kevin Talbot leads their position players and one can look for Kelly to go a long way once the playoffs begin.

Rankings will be updated throughout the season. Let the debating begin.