The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Dammit, Jim, that's a huge difference there!

(04-21-2016 12:25 PM)bopol Wrote:  Dammit, Jim, that's a huge difference there!

Lol. I meant to say KSU downs PSU

Nice day sweeping Ohio 6-0 and 8-0. Softball team also swept and women's golf got into 1st place after round two. Not a bad day. We can use a few more weekends like this one.

Go Flashes.

Another good week. Baseball wins 2 of 3 against second place team, softball sweeps and men's golf wins it. Pretty good two weeks.

Baseball team really needed that game yesterday. Would have really been tight had we lost yesterday.

The team has swept the Mid American Conference weekly awards for the third consecutive week! Including a mid-week pitcher (freshman Joey Murray) winning pitcher of the week for the first time since I can ever recall.

Yesterday was also Coach Duncan's 100th win at Kent State already.

We need to hope Ball State and Miami are in the other bracket because they'll beat each other senselessly.

Complete game shutout for the supposedly "struggling" Andy Ravel. 5-0 Flashes and go for the sweep tomorrow

Flashes sweep and are now 36-11 and just outside the Top 25

Looks like we only need to win one game against BG to clinch the regular season title. Hoping for a clean sweep and a nice run through the end of the season.

Truthfully, we need every game left on the schedule. At this point you have to believe 42-45 wins will get an at large bid even if we fail to win the conference tourney.

42-45 wins would get you into consideration for a three seed in the regionals but will absolutely not be good enough for an at-large from a conference who's RPI is worse than the Horizon League.

(05-12-2016 10:12 AM)JimJoyce Wrote:  42-45 wins would get you into consideration for a three seed in the regionals but will absolutely not be good enough for an at-large from a conference who's RPI is worse than the Horizon League.

Normally, I would agree with that statement except for the fact that we had a difficult non-conference schedule and did well. I believe if we get to 43 wins, we get in regardless. Hopefully, we don't get to find out.

For an at large bid to come into play we would have to lose two more games. The best we can do is finish the season 7-0 and then go 2-2 in the tournament. I don't think 9-2 will pull our RPI up very much. 9-2 is a slightly better winning percentage than 36-11 but not much. Obviously playing MAC schools and W Carolina won't add to our SOS so we won't get much help there. We are currently number 70 and need to get to at least 45. It won't happen. The NCAA posts the RPI on their website so I assume they use it to help with their at-large selections. I think we need to win the tournament or the season will be over.

I don't know all the criteria the committee uses, but I will remain adversarial. I contend if we win 45 games we will get in. There is no way Kent State wins 45 games and isn't one of the best 64 teams in the nation. I think most would agree no matter what some metrics (RPI) will say.

Lauer throws a 13k no-hitter at BG as the Flashes win 14-0 and clinch the regular season title and the #1 seed in next week's tournament. KSU scores 12 in the 9th, batting around twice.

(05-13-2016 05:27 PM)axeme Wrote:  Lauer throws a 13k no-hitter at BG as the Flashes win 14-0 and clinch the regular season title and the #1 seed in next week's tournament. KSU scores 12 in the 9th, batting around twice.

Kid is totally ridiculous. He is going to be a high 1st round draft pick. Likely top 10-15 picks.

From what's I've read is that Lauer is looking at middle of the first round to second round (there is a competitive balance round inbetween the 1st and 2nd rounds and sometimes there'll be a distinction between the first round and supplemental first round where teams get picks for lost free agents).

I've seen that the White Sox are particularly interested and they have a pick at #26.

I don't follow the MLB draft that closely except to look at Kent players, but the closest comparison is Andrew Chafin who went at #43. Lauer seems ahead of Chafin at this point. Lauer has 4 good pitches and strong command and Chafin also had Tommy John surgery (not a death knell, but it did hurt his draft position). The biggest complaint I've read is a lack of a plus pitch (one that is the go-to to get players out). That said, when you have 4 good pitches, then you can keep batters off balance by just mixing it up well. The general consensus seems to be that he will be a major league pitcher quickly and the floor is to be a back-end starter.

So unless the make-up of this draft is radically different, I think Lauer's going in the second half of the first round, as high as #14 to the Indians, which I'd be pretty ok with as an Indians fan.

The funny thing is, because these players are far from finished projects, you might see him go higher because someone gets infatuated with him with an early pick. That said, it doesn't mean they would be wrong. Travis Shaw is having an all-star season for the Red Sox so far and he was a 9th round pick.

I'd love to see the Indians take him. I'm not sure if we'd go starting pitcher in the first for a second straight year considering our depth at the position though. On paper, Lauer seems like our best prospect in a long time.

I don't think taking a starting pitcher two years in a row would bother the Indians.

1) Brady Aiken is very far away and may be damaged goods. Basically, the Indians took a pitcher who was the #1 pick a year before that didn't sign because he didn't pass the physical (first, elbow inflammation and eventually, Tommy John surgery). It's probably a chance worth taking in the middle of the first round, but Aiken is a complete unknown. He might become a top flight starter, he might become a decent major leaguer, he might become nothing. It'll be several years before the Indians know.

2) The current model of Indians leans heavily on an abundance of cheap, good pitching. It's kind of working since they have a nothing payroll and are probably good enough to make the playoffs. I could see an appeal in Lauer as someone who can contribute quickly as either a starter in a year or two OR tradebait.