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From The Dugout
By Keith LeClair
©2004 Bonesville.net
Pirates battle foes and polls
I was stunned the other day when
Collegiate Baseball
put out its poll and East
Carolina stayed at No. 28 after going 4-0 and beating four quality
opponents. After fighting the polls for five years as a Pirates coach, I
can now speak my mind without suffering any consequences.
I do know Coach Mazey has to remain
politically correct on the subject so he doesn't ruffle any poll voters
who could hurt ECU. But hopefully I can at least express my opinion.
For some time now, East Carolina
University has been one of the top 25 programs in the country — year in
and year out — but often is left behind in some of the polls. Notice I
did not say all polls, because some have been very fair to us over the
years. In fact, for two years, I was one of 40 coaches who voted in the
Baseball Weekly poll and I can honestly say I did it objectively and
fairly.
I hear and read comments regarding the
polls such as, "Its not where your ranked now, but where you are at the
end of year," which I have often said myself during my coaching career.
But to be honest, the polls do have
some input as to where your program is heading.
For example, recruiting becomes so much
easier when you can tell a kid, "Hey, we are ranked 14th nationally in
Baseball America," versus spending 30 minutes trying to sell your
program on a kid who may know very little about ECU. It also allows you
to go head-to-head on some of the top prospects in your home state and
across the country.
Believe me, kids read the polls and
want to play for a top 25 program. Hey, first impressions are big when
you meet a girl and the same holds true in recruiting.
Another way in which polls can help
your program is in attendance and hosting NCAA Regionals. You will have
folks around town that may not come to a game all year until they pick
up the paper and see ECU is ranked No. 14. Now, all of a sudden their
curiosity wants to check these guys out with their little son Johnny.
Bam, ten more bucks into the program and a couple of more seats in the
stands to attract the NCAA for a regional site.
This is so important in hosting
regional tournaments. If two teams from the same area are neck-and-neck
in the bidding, who do you think the NCAA committee will choose? That's
right, the one that will fill up the stadium.
Last but not least, being ranked is the
best and cheapest marketing tool a university has. These polls go out to
every paper in the country and national exposure is priceless,
especially nowadays with the realignment of conferences so prevalent.
That's why it's important to be ranked.
I guess when I saw the Collegiate
Baseball top 25 poll last week and we were sitting at No. 28, it angered
me — because deep down, I know the significance it can have on your
program.
I will say that polls do not
necessarily get you into the NCAA tournament. When tournament time comes
and decisions are made on who goes and stays home, the RPI (ratings
percentage index) plays a major role in these decisions. It's a formula
used that takes in account your strength of schedule; your opponents;
road wins versus top 50 clubs; home wins and losses versus the top 50;
and a whole lot more. It is a very thorough formula that is by no means
perfect, but it does take out some of the politics that can take place.
What I have learned over the years is
that your schedule plays a major role in your RPI standings at the end
of the year. That's why last year Houston was ranked so high with a
large number of losses. Losing to a quality opponent does not hurt you
nearly as bad as would a 200-ranked RPI team. It is also the reason
northern schools have a complaint about the RPI system, because it is
very difficult for most schools up north to play the schedule southern
schools do and ultimately this is what hurts their RPI.
But for now, the system works better
than anything else we have tried and it really would work well if we
decided to push the season back.
Well, that's my reasons for the
importance of polls. By the way, ECU has an RPI of 13 in
Boyd's rating system, which is
basically the same RPI used by the NCAA. It's just not official.
Hey, let's make Omaha our final
marketing job for the year and on to a national championship. Take that
Collegiate Baseball. Maybe we will meet College of Charleston in the
finals.
Chad Tracy: "The Natural"
Chad is off to a torrid start for the
AAA Tucson team. He is hitting over .520 through six games and has
already hit two game-winning bombs. One, I may add, was a grand slam.
But the best stat of all is that Chad
already has two stolen bases. Not bad since he did not have one all of
last year. Folks, it won't be long now until you see Chad in "The Show."
Just don't get impatient.
The Diamondbacks are doing the right
thing allowing him to play everyday in AAA versus sitting on the bench
being Randy Johnson's gopher boy. When the time is right, he will be
ready and that's the most important thing.
Give Bonds his due
Love him or hate him, Barry Bonds is
one of the all-time greatest players.
Whether he did steroids or not, I have
no idea. But what I do know is these kind of players come around once in
a lifetime.
Nobody strikes fear on the opposing
team like this guy does — not since Babe Ruth, at least. He most likely
will break Hank Aaron's home run record within two or three years and go
down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest player of all time.
Do I love him? No, but I have a great
deal of respect for what he has accomplished on the baseball field.
Tigers roaring
Hey, how about them Tigers. Maybe
my
prediction was not so far off the wall after all. I bet
our interim chancellor, Dr. Shelton, has a grin from ear to ear.
If you didn't already know, Dr. Shelton
is a huge Tiger fan and I give him a hard time about it, but I can't say
much now. I hope everyone had a great Easter! God Bless America.
If you
have a question or comment about the Pirates in particular or baseball
in general, fire your best pitch at Ol' Condo:
Sound off to Coach LeClair...
02.23.07 10:27 AM
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