Play Ball!

Big Time College Baseball is about to kickoff the 2008 season.

Rivals has a breakdown of the Preseaon Rankings. Yahoo has side by side rankings from Baseball America, and USA Today/ESPN.

I disagree with many of the rankings, especially Miami and San Diego. If you didn’t do it last year, then you have to prove you can do it this year. Until you do, you don’t deserve to be ranked, especially if the talent has not changed.

Some teams always make the top 10/25: Rice, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Miami, and Florida State.

Texas, USC, Miami, Rice, Clemson and Arizona State most likely booked rooms and flights at the end of last year CWS. It’s just assumed that these teams will be there. Such are the expectations of the elite schools.

North Carolina and Nebraska have been on a hot streak the last few years. Neither school was known for baseball, however that is changing. Ditto for Oregon State Much as Rice came from nowhere in the late 90s, these three schools have suddenly burst onto the scene in the 2000s.

Oregon State has won the championship the last two years, both times defeating Rice, then North Carolina. I don’t see that happening this year.

What about USC, you ask? Well they have fallen on hard times. They have not made an appearance since 2001. It’s possible they may be in a slump due to being overshadowed by Football, or it could be just another winless streak like they had from 1979 to 1994.

For those wondering; Texas has the most appearances in the CWS with 32. They also have 6 championships. USC has the most championships in Baseball at 12.

Baseball has also started using a common start date for ‘first pitch’, and practice. A good thing I believe. Will we have “Midnight Madness” like they do in basketball? The ‘first pitch’ will be thrown on Feb 22.

Those schools not playing in Division I have already started their seasons. Many are already into the second week of play.

Links to local coverage

• ACC Atlantic Division
• Clemson 2008 Outlook
• Cornnation on the Big 12

Tags: baseball, college baseball, michigan, texas, rice, CSUF, oregon, miami, florida