Top 12u team in NorCal?

[arunner2]

the Outlawz's ...are they Nor. Cal, central Cal, So. Cal
they are South of Fresno..right ?
if they are Nor Cal they should be Top 10.

[say what]

Hey arunner2, I think I'm gonna go with your picks. Not bad, not bad at all.

[NCal123]

arunner, good job. just a couple of comments....

1. Salinas Storm97 Well deserved for winning FC
1. Grapettes97 Need some games against each other
3. Sorcerers97
4. E.C.Hotshots Workin their way up...good job
5. AASA
6. San Jose String 2nd wknd 1 and done on Sun. Star beat Sat (#8).
7. Lady Magic silver bracket....but still solid at #7
8. So. Bay Stars IMO.....#6
9. Cal Breeze97
10. Strikkers if you insist....but dont expect it to last
11. Strike Zone good sat, bad sun.
12. Tri County Smash
13. S.J. Renegades 97 Top10 Finish in FC. Weak pool but won 1 on Sun
14. R & R
15. Sorcerers98
16. Valley Stompers
17. Cal Crushers
18. CC Comets
19. Salinas Storm98
20. . Grapettes98

All in all, Norcal represented well down in Fresno. Good job Ladies!

[grass stain]

FWIW here is my top 10 (through April) with reasoning:

1. Storm - consistently come out on top
2. Sorcerers - interchangeable with Grapettes. Neither play enough nor cal 12u tourneys to say for sure who is better
3. Grapettes - see Sorcerers comment
4. AASA - during the Fresno Force Classic played some of the best defense I have seen this year.
5. Lady Magic - assume getting bounced down to the silver bracket in Fresno was an anomaly. Very strong, deep pitching
6. SB Stars - wrestle with this one. Do well on Saturday, get bounced on Sunday, but have come out on top against 7,8,9
7. Cal Breeze 97 - number one is lights out. Expect them to move up.
8. EC Hot Shots - always tough. No lead is safe with their hitting.
9. SJ Sting - I know this team has got the talent, but haven't seen them put it all together yet. rough weekend in Fresno.
10. SJ Strikkers - impressed with their hitting this past weekend.

[say what]

Sticking with arunner2 picks...
storm, sorcercers, grapes,all GREAT teams...AA GREAT Defense
backing up their pitcher, Breez for me as well as SJ sting moving down. EC Hot Shots tough team to look out for,moving up and Strikkers can get pretty crazy at times.Was not able to ck out all team but for what I seen NorCal brang it.

[arunner2]

I've decided to use and edit " Mr. Bracketologist " rating system.....which seems to be right on.

The important component is the Teams grade (A, B+ & B) and not their ranking. At this point rankings and grades are
demonstrated by wins in tournament bracket play " No.1 against No. 1 " strength of all Tournaments and strength of Pool play and not friendlies.
It's "OVERALL " not just one game or Tournament.
Like someone else said on this forum : Friendlies allow teams to practice plays, develop players at secondary positions, etc., in order to prepare for tournaments.
the only developing going on with some coaches, is trying to develop a reputation and to them the friendly becomes States, where you may be batting your roster (12-14 players) they are batting 9, pitching their #1 and as serious as a heart attack. If they happen to win, they get on this forum boasting about beating a ranked team

A’s – Have the ability to win three consecutive games against other A or B+ rated teams at a major tournament (i.e., State, Nationals, Fresno etc). A’s are playing for the big prize “ASA Nationals”. To be ranked as a solid A Team, a team must have the ability to beat all of the other A Teams - as demonstrated by wins in tournament bracket play and not friendlies. Not one but all!

B+ Teams – Have the ability to win the big prize at ASA Nationals if a few things break their way (i.e., don’t have to beat two A teams in consecutive games). B+ teams will beat A teams in tournaments, they just lack the ability to beat all of the A teams! To be ranked a B+ team, a team must have the ability to beat all of the other B+ teams.

B Teams – Can only win major tournament if they get hot and they get lucky (i.e., a great draw)! They can beat A teams in friendlies but struggle beating them in tournaments. B teams can and will eliminate B+ Teams but they would be hard press to win a tournament that requires them to beat three B+ Teams in a row!

C+ Teams – The goal is to qualify for ASA Nationals but going is another. These are usually top 10-20 teams that will play the B+ teams closely and beat B Teams in significant tournaments. Typically the best first year 12u teams perform at this level.



BACK TO REALITY !!

1. Salinas Storm97- A+
2. Grapettes97 - A
3. Sorcerers97 - A
4. E.C.Hotshots - A-
5. AASA - A-
6. San Jose String - B+
7. Lady Magic - B+
8. So. Bay Stars - B
9. Cal Breeze97 - B
10. Strikkers - B
11. Strike Zone - B-
12. Tri County Smash - B-
13. S.J. Renegades 97 - C+
14. R & R - C+
15. Sorcerers98 - C
16. Valley Stompers - C
17. Cal Crushers - C
18. CC Comets - C
19. Salinas Storm98 - C
20. . Grapettes98 - C

[Giantfan]

I would put the Outlaws in NorCal as i would any team north of Bakersfield. That being said both the Strikkers and Strike Zone were beat by the Outlawz, Strike Zone was beat by double digits. Oh yeah no i dont have a DD on the Outlawz, but lets give credit where credit is due.

[Iluvblue]

This last post is very good. Any team can beat another team on any given day. But we have played some teams that played a great game against us, then they turn around and lose to a crappy team.

I like to use the words of Bill Parcells. When the media always trys to say... well you guys could have been 12-4 if you would have just won those 4 games that you lost in the final seconds.

To which Bill Parcells would reply, " Well, we are what we are." Meaning if an NFL team is 8-8, then they are 8-8. They are an avg team, because the top teams arent 8-8. So when a team puts that great game together and things just go perfect for them, they can beat some really good teams. Then the next game, they come back to Earth, and those errors that they consistently make, reappear.


Softball is about being consistent. You arent going to win every game, but if you are good, you are in every game, and you have a chance to win ALMOST every game you play. So teams need to be realistic about where they are, and I like this rating system you are using, where instead of overreacting to one tournament, you try to rate teams based upon what they do week after week, game after game.

[arunner2]

BACK TO REALITY !!

1. Salinas Storm97- A+
2. Grapettes97 - A
3. Sorcerers97 - A
4. E.C.Hotshots - A-
5. AASA - A-
6. San Jose String - B+
7. Lady Magic - B+
8. So. Bay Stars - B
9. Visalia Outlawz - B
10. Cal Breeze97 - B
11. Strikkers - B
12. Strike Zone - B-
13. Tri County Smash - B-
14. S.J. Renegades 97 - C+
15. R & R - C+
16. Sorcerers98 - C
17. Valley Stompers - C
18. Cal Crushers - C
19. CC Comets - C
20. Salinas Storm98 - C
21. Grapettes98 - C

[FullCount]