LeatherneckNation / General Sports Discussion Forums / Leatherneck Nation Sports Lounge / how come we never talk.. / Latest Posts

RE: how come we never talk..

WIU BB 31 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:21:29 GMT

DOG (4/24/2008)

my question after soaking in all your responses is: should we be a division 2 school ?

Absolutely not. We have a Division 1 program, we just don't have enough D1 players.

RE: how come we never talk..

WIU712 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:43:01 GMT

WESTERN could be very competitive in Division 2.

The way things stand now, our goal seems to be making it to the NCAA Tournament where we would probably be a "one and done" team.

RE: how come we never talk..

DOG — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:19:17 GMT

my question after soaking in all your responses is: should we be a division 2 school ?

RE: how come we never talk..

western-101 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:14:53 GMT

Hmmmmmm, well No one can argue that the facilities have vastley improved, and the schedules these days are tough (too tough IMO) and the uniforms look good. Successful baseball programs need all of the above, however without adequate recruiting doing all the other things is little more than window dressing.

RE: how come we never talk..

WIU BB 31 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:00:38 GMT

As a former baseball player, I believe that people care. Maybe the main posters on this board just aren't big baseball fans.

As far as the current situation, it kinda goes both ways. Stan Hyman has upgraded the program as far as facilities, scheduling, even the uniforms. They give the appearance of big time college baseball. I like that.

Now the downside. He hasn't had a player drafted since he's been here. He bragged about winning 30 games, but he also lost 30 games in the same season. They regularly aren't chasing a league title in a poor league. We won the Midcon in 1984 and had a record of 28-8, and the teams in our league were Mo. State, EIU, Ill-Chicago, Northern Iowa, Cleveland State, etc. We had two players per year drafted during my time there. He makes bold comments about his players and predicts success and then falls on his face.

I currently live in the Peoria area. I have friends whose kids are either playing D-1 baseball or are currently being recruited, and Hyman never contacted any of them. The roster during my years would include alot of Peoria and Springfield area kids who ended up being very successful. Not saying this is the answer, but he's got kids from all over the place and doesn't win.

RE: how come we never talk..

DOG — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:15:09 GMT

thanks for the feedback.

RE: how come we never talk..

western-101 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:51:08 GMT

Alot of it has to do with the fact that Western is a cold weather climate team. Can anybody name a cold weather team that has won the College World Series? I can't think of any. Western is in the same Geographical footprint as the Big 10 and the Big 10 has never won a College World Series. We are a victim of our harsh March and unpredictable April climate.

It is hard 'cause us cold teams play almost the Entire 1st half of the season on the road. By the time we do get back to Macomb we are almost guranteed to half a losing record. Thats just how it works playing 12-15 games in a row on the road is not a good recipe for winning.

RE: how come we never talk..

Leatherface — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:31:31 GMT

I would say -b, as the closest posibility. Not because folks don't really care, but more from the fact that baseball-as well as other non-revenue sports- just don't get the publicity and coverage that football gets. With little coverage and promotion, people just don't *think* about it.

Enough sales and marketing can make just about anything appear attractive and interesting.

RE: how come we never talk..

western-101 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:09:55 GMT

Go Leathernecks beat Bradley.

RE: how come we never talk..

WIU712 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:46:41 GMT

I have seen several postings about the WESTERN Baseball program. I have written one myself.

Yes, we do care about the WESTERN Baseball program!

how come we never talk..

DOG — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:15:15 GMT

about baseball on this board?

is it because
a. they suck
b. nobody cares
c. this is a football school
d. all of the above