Nor Cal Gold Teams 08-09

[DHBHitting]

I love Nor Cal.

You know Demon Boy I love Nor Cal too for different reasons than yourself probably, but I have allot of pride in Nor Cal Gold ball having watched my kids come up through it. And it is a dam shame that we can not follow So Cal's lead and put winning above all else, whether that be ego both coaches and players, personal gripes, recognition...etc.

It always seems that we here in Nor Cal find a way to self implode everytime we get close to really being competitive at Gold. Now nobody is saying that if kept in tact that Sorcerer team was going to win it, but they would have had a chance to be playing on the weekend in Oklahoma which would have been a big step for Nor Cal Gold ball.

Now due to ego's, attitudes, personal gripes, what have you we have one less squad that has a legitmate shot at really doing well in Oklahoma......dam shame

[Demonboy]

You'd know the inner workings and politics better than I. But I think Lady Magic could do
serious damage. I can't think of one So Cal team that is straight up "better".

On the other hand, Gold Coast Hurricanes might end up putting another smack down on us all.

[DHBHitting]

No doubt Demon Boy I give Lady Magic the nod as well but after that we have very little that can really make some noise in Oklahoma as far as I can see. We have talent we are just spread too thin, just to many Gold programs and not enough Gold talent. If we could consolidate our talent a little better we would be allot more competitive at Gold. But with all this soap opera drama, combined with who shot John, and ego mania we dont stand a chance of ever consolidating anything up here so we will be what we have always been.....average at best. But agree the Magic has a chance to do real good in Oklahoma.

Gold Coast Hurricanes will be tough, they too could bring back pretty much everyone from last years national championship team and unlike others they are holding their thing together in the name of winning and defending that national title....funny how that works huh? Sticking together for a common goal...take notes Sorcerer!

[tracerass]

[If we could consolidate our talent a little better we would be allot more competitive at Gold. ]

Looks Like Arizona did that! Honestly, DHBHitting brings up some great points. Always well writtens posts.

From all the talk I can see why Moore left. However, no one has explained the reason the other players followed her to ARIZONA! How did the Hotshots pull that off? Seems they always have an ace in the hole.

DBH, why didn't those players just all go south?

From the outside looking in the Sorcerer looked like a fine oiled machine in Lancaster. In the fall they looked bad. The Lancaster Sorcerer will be missing six starters going into summer.

OUCH

[NorCal LVer]

Sorcerers (all) have been “self imploding” for many years, this is not news; likely a reflection on how the organization is run.

Maybe Phil will merge his team with the Sting?! (winning at all costs)

Opps,, tried that in '05.. BAD IDEA!

[wadeintothem]

I dont want to comment on specific teams, but I've worked every team mentioned in this thread and know them well, not to mention the top SoCal Teams; Ive worked them fall ball and I've worked them when they have their "National" roster; one thing is certain, So Cal will not dominate 18G this year anymore than they did last year. For 18G The top tier from both areas are very impressive, strong, and fun to work; aside from the fact they require 120% effort all the time just to keep up! Almost to the point that its literally anyone's game at the top echelon.

Obviously some east coast teams will bring it as well, so I think its going to be an awesome year.

I'll see you all at the classifiers, 18G NQs, and 18G tournies, no doubt about that, and I cant wait!

Good luck to you all!

[DHBHitting]

From all the talk I can see why Moore left.

Response: Well I can't, I mean I understand needing pitching time and needing to stay sharp but complaining about not throwing during fall ball? I mean was there any doubt who Mumma was going to put on the hill when it really counted? So unless I'm missing something, leaving due to pitching time in the fall is something I just cant understand.

However, no one has explained the reason the other players followed her to ARIZONA! How did the Hotshots pull that off? Seems they always have an ace in the hole.

Response: Not really sure why Robbins and Decker up and left like that, nobody is really talking about it, and I have no idea really what happened. As for the Hotshots, dont know how they pulled that off, but that was a team that was already very, very good and they just got better with those three players. Hotshots will be hard to deal with this summer, very hard to deal with.

DBH, why didn't those players just all go south?

Response: Who else could have went? The Hotshots got a 3rd of the Sorcerer's starting line up in J. Moore, Robbins, and Decker, dont really know who else they could have gotten or who else they would have wanted. Kostreba maybe, but remember the Hotshots had a heck of a line up without these kids so it is not like they where hurting for talent, at least not from what I seen.

From the outside looking in the Sorcerer looked like a fine oiled machine in Lancaster.

Response: Agreed, that team they had last summer was a nice looking squad, a very rare combination of speed, power, and pitching, their only weakness was playing defense which eventually was their downfall. But boy could they hit and run, the middle of that order was just brutal down in Lancaster with Robbins(CAL), Arioto(CAL), C.Moore(Miss St.), Burns(Stanford), Wallace(CAL), and Kostreba(CAL) hitting 3,4,5,6,7,8.....ouch!

In the fall they looked bad.

Response: Agreed, I was totally shocked at the drop off in talent on that sqaud.

The Lancaster Sorcerer will be missing six starters going into summer.

Response: No doubt and from what I'm hearing could even possibly be missing more than that. I have been around and have seen the Sorcerer play for years and I believe another poster actually said this happens all the time with Mumma, which is true, he is always turning over players. But not like this, not this much at one time, replacing this many quality players at once will be a challenge even for Mumma. Sorcerer will struggle to qualify...

[GoldTBfan]

I haven't checked this board for a while...too busy getting players ready for the college season.

I've known Coach Kim for years; she has always been well respected by her players, parents and coaching peers, not sure wht this attack is about.

Sorcerer this summer can still put a pretty impressive line up together: Allard (Northwestern), Suitos (AZ), Wallace (CAL), Burns (Stanford), Moore (Mississippi State), White (UCR), Kostreba (CAL), etc. I'm not sure where Mumma will play them or who else he will add to the mix but...Pitching Albanese and Medeiros will have to get the job done but, I'm sure Sorcerer is scouring the country looking for another pitcher. I know that I and other coaches still follow this roster when looking for recruits.

As I've said before I think Sorcerer, Grapettes, Sting, Sharks and Magic will all be ok. Magic looks strongest now with their pitching intact but lets all wait and see.

[DHBHitting]

Sorcerer this summer can still put a pretty impressive line up together: Allard (Northwestern), Suitos (AZ), Wallace (CAL), Burns (Stanford), Moore (Mississippi State), White (UCR), Kostreba (CAL), etc. I'm not sure where Mumma will play them or who else he will add to the mix but...Pitching Albanese and Medeiros will have to get the job done but, I'm sure Sorcerer is scouring the country looking for another pitcher. I know that I and other coaches still follow this roster when looking for recruits.

Great point coach, we all get so focused sometimes on what has been lost you can lose sight of what is still there. I agree, those kids named above form as you say a pretty impressive line up. You put Allard and Suitos at the top followed by Moore, Wallace, Burns, Kostreba, and White, all 5 girls are able to leave the yard on you in a heart beat. However, I stand by my statement that losing Robbins and Decker does not hurt as much as losing J. Moore. You can replace position players but pitching is pitching is pitching, and losing J. Moore was the big one because as you say they are now in need of some help in the circle because of that. Unless the two kids they have in the cirlce now can step their games up a bit and become genuine shut down pitchers Sorcerer will struggle to qualify. They will be putting an awful lot of pressure on those power hitters that they can still throw at you to just come out and flat pound their way to victories. However we all know it is not that easy to just light it up offensively at these qualifiers with everyone bringing back their college aces to hold you down.

Magic appears that they will be tough, but I will reserve final judgement until they start playing for real in Hemet. I have seen many fall ball champions fall flat in the summer, now the Magic appear to have a solid squad but we will see. My gut tells me that they should do fine especially if they bring back a couple of kids that left when they went to 16's and now can come back being that they are playing Gold.

[wadeintothem]

There is absolutely no comparison in the intensity and speed of 18G qualifying games and skill level of the championship rostered 18G teams and the 18G fall ball showcases in Stockton. It's not even close. I saw nothing this fall that made me say "wow! that team is going to do great in 18G". I dont think the teams even have their championship roster fielded.