Baseball

[slu72]

Go Bills! Take the tourney in 4 games and move on to the NCAA's.

[HoosierPal]

6 minutes ago, slu72 said:

Go Bills! Take the tourney in 4 games and move on to the NCAA's.

What, a comment on baseball, on a Baseball Thread. 

How many SLU baseball players are in med school?

[prebilliken]

Without counting our Billichichkens before they hatch, I would love to see us end up in the Fayetteville regional. Arkansas has perhaps the best environment for college baseball there is, the outfield is open lawn seating where they allow gear to be brought in tailgating style. If the Bills end up there I will be making the drive back to my hometown (I grew up in Bentonville). It is also only a 5 hour drive from the Lou. 

I could also see us ending up in the Lexington regional, I suppose, good for fans who would want to watch, but I won't be making the drive from Dallas. It all depends on who is hosting. 

I realized an ironic thing as I was looking at the baseball bracket predictions, as much as I want to be in the Big East, and as badly as I want to see SLU baseball develop, being in the Big East would do little to nothing for hardball when it comes to at large tournament bids for the sport. Big East is as solidly a one bid league as the A10 is. 

[HoosierPal]

18 minutes ago, prebilliken said:

 

I realized an ironic thing as I was looking at the baseball bracket predictions, as much as I want to be in the Big East, and as badly as I want to see SLU baseball develop, being in the Big East would do little to nothing for hardball when it comes to at large tournament bids for the sport. Big East is as solidly a one bid league as the A10 is. 

Not being familiar with Big East baseball, I looked on the conference website and they apparently only take the top 4 teams for the conference tourney.  That's unprecedented, right?  If correct, that is lame.

[Tilkowsky]

While I appreciate everyone's passion for baseball does Billikens baseball really need a bigger stadium?

They play a soft schedule (don't see Texas, TCU, Florida, Florida State, University of Miami) and really don't draw.

Soccer. Again. Attendance is minimal. No need to build a bigger stadium until the need is there.

are there people in the Athletic Department whose job it is to fu drains for a new stadium? To my knowledge no, but if there is why not call them up. Say why are we not fundraising for a new stadium.

Posting anonymously on a message board won't get it done.

[billikenfan05]

More LOLZ from tildo, proof he has never attended a SLU baseball games and has the reading comprehension of a third grader.

[DirtyRican]

13 minutes ago, Tilkowsky said:

While I appreciate everyone's passion for baseball does Billikens baseball really need a bigger stadium?

They play a soft schedule (don't see Texas, TCU, Florida, Florida State, University of Miami) and really don't draw.

Soccer. Again. Attendance is minimal. No need to build a bigger stadium until the need is there.

are there people in the Athletic Department whose job it is to fu drains for a new stadium? To my knowledge no, but if there is why not call them up. Say why are we not fundraising for a news Radium?

Posting anonymously on a message board won't get it done.

I have no idea why Coach didn't just call up Morris or Martin and ask them to come play here.  Heck, I knew O'Sullivan pretty well growing up.  Maybe it's on me to make the introduction and get the champs to the BSC.  Dang it. 

Nice post. 

[prebilliken]

42 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

Not being familiar with Big East baseball, I looked on the conference website and they apparently only take the top 4 teams for the conference tourney.  That's unprecedented, right?  If correct, that is lame.

That is correct and it is lame but the Big East only fields 7 full time squads for Baseball. So they are actually taking over 50% of the league. Compare that to the A10 that has 13 baseball squads, only the Dukes don't field a team.; 

They used to play their championship games at TD Ameritrade Park where Creighton has their games, which is pretty cool. This year though it seems that the Big East tournament is being held in beautiful Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, 22 minutes away from host xavier's campus. That is not cool. If you're the Beast, you should hold hoops in the Garden and baseball in Omaha every year, no questions asked. 

BTW, for whatever it is worth, xavier's baseball complex looks more crap than ours. 

[Billiken Rich]

I don't want to come off as a troll here and I've never been to a SLU or any other college baseball game.  Given my obvious ignorance of other colleges facilities, I have to say that our fields look nice.  They look a lot nicer than West Pine looked in the last 80 or so years for basketball.  Would a more competitive baseball stadium and team or soccer stadium and team make money or enhance the prestige of SLU with a large block of fans and donors and supporters.  I am skeptical.  I am happy to see SLU making noise in the A10 in any sport but not enough to pay, or whine, or get crazy about it other than Basketball.

[billikenfan05]

29 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

I don't want to come off as a troll here and I've never been to a SLU or any other college baseball game.  Given my obvious ignorance of other colleges facilities, I have to say that our fields look nice.  They look a lot nicer than West Pine looked in the last 80 or so years for basketball.  Would a more competitive baseball stadium and team or soccer stadium and team make money or enhance the prestige of SLU with a large block of fans and donors and supporters.  I am skeptical.  I am happy to see SLU making noise in the A10 in any sport but not enough to pay, or whine, or get crazy about it other than Basketball.

Perfectly valid. I think the answer is more complicated that I care to dive into while at work. I believe that improvements to the baseball, softball and soccer fields are not only important to bringing in better players, enhancing attendance and increasing the number of donators/supporters. For every event held at Chaifetz, many spectators  walk through the billiken sports center. The aforementioned stadiums are a forward facing display of what people can expect from the rest of our beautiful campus.

That being said I think the most important reason to upgrade the stadium is to make playing at SLU more attractive to perspective student athletes and thus allow us to get better players. There are no locker rooms connected to the baseball or softball fields. Right now baseball and softball players have to dress at Chaifetz and walk over. If I'm a student athlete looking at facilities and one school has a "clubhouse" and one doesn't I'm 100% sure I'll play at the field with the locker room.

Right now SLU doesn't have a pressbox at either baseball or softball. Softball has to put up a tent for Mickey and the interns to do their work. I know people have asked why SLU doesn't stream baseball, this is a main reason. It's also probably a reason Stu doesn't cover the two sports as much as he should, nowhere to sit and work. I think adding these amenities would greatly enhance the ability to reach more people who aren't fully aware of SLU baseball and softball.

[Billiken Rich]

2 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Perfectly valid. I think the answer is more complicated that I care to dive into while at work. I believe that improvements to the baseball, softball and soccer fields are not only important to bringing in better players, enhancing attendance and increasing the number of donators/supporters. For every event held at Chaifetz, many spectators  walk through the billiken sports center. The aforementioned stadiums are a forward facing display of what people can expect from the rest of our beautiful campus.

That being said I think the most important reason to upgrade the stadium is to make playing at SLU more attractive to perspective student athletes and thus allow us to get better players. There are locker rooms connected to the baseball or softball fields. Right now baseball and softball players have to dress at Chaifetz and walk over. If I'm a student athlete looking at facilities and one school has a "clubhouse" and one doesn't I'm 100% sure I'll play at the field with the locker room.

Right now SLU doesn't have a pressbox at either baseball or softball. Softball has to put up a tent for Mickey and the interns to do their work. I know people have asked why SLU doesn't stream baseball, this is a main reason. It's also probably a reason Stu doesn't cover the two sports as much as he should, nowhere to sit and work. I think adding these amenities would greatly enhance the ability to reach more people who aren't fully aware of SLU baseball and softball.

I have no doubt that our facilities could be better.  I have no doubt that better facilities and support would attract a better caliber of athlete and that ANY winning team does increase the prestige of the school.  I am just skeptical of the return on investment of a new baseball stadium or soccer stadium.  I'm not talking just money of course.  Would the prestige of being an A10 baseball power be worth it?  Would it turn heads at Big East headquarters?  Would St. Louis rally around  the Billikens?  I just don't see it.  We aren't a soccer town anymore and we are a professional baseball town.

Every department at SLU has it's hands out for the limited funding available.  Looking at the university as a whole, where would you put millions of dollars? Where would Professor Steve?    

  

[billikenfan05]

19 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

I have no doubt that our facilities could be better.  I have no doubt that better facilities and support would attract a better caliber of athlete and that ANY winning team does increase the prestige of the school.  I am just skeptical of the return on investment of a new baseball stadium or soccer stadium.  I'm not talking just money of course.  Would the prestige of being an A10 baseball power be worth it?  Would it turn heads at Big East headquarters?  Would St. Louis rally around  the Billikens?  I just don't see it.  We aren't a soccer town anymore and we are a professional baseball town.

Every department at SLU has it's hands out for the limited funding available.  Looking at the university as a whole, where would you put millions of dollars? Where would Professor Steve?    

  

I don't want to argue semantics but I don't think that we're looking at a "new" stadium for any of the sports. I think what we're looking at is upgrades.

I've long been of the mindset that our non-rev sports have been part of the reason we don't get a serious look when conference realignment comes up. I do believe that being a consistent NCAA participant out of the A10 in non-revs sports will make us attractive to conferences looking to expand.

I absolutely don't think that St. Louis would rally around the Billiken baseball but I don't think we need that. I think we need only attract the St. Louis baseball community and students. Seating behind home plate was at least 75% full at all of the 5 games I attended this season. Students do come out and support baseball which is why, though I didn’t mention it above, I think a permanent concession stand that can serve beer and has a grill would be a welcome addition. 

 I think that the St. Louis soccer community can still be reached. The high level fall/winter spectator soccer market is still incredibly bare.

edit: don’t know why the stat on attendance is bigger font. 

[billikenfan05]

Here is the bracket for the a10s

http://www.atlantic10.com/fls/31600/pdfs/18-base-bracket.pdf?CONTENT_ID=2136465&DB_OEM_ID=31600

[JMM28]

39 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I've long been of the mindset that our non-rev sports have been part of the reason we don't get a serious look when conference realignment comes up. I do believe that being a consistent NCAA participant out of the A10 in non-revs sports will make us attractive to conferences looking to expand.

 

I agree 100% with this. To me, it shows that SLU doesn't really care about athletics, which means they're only as good as the current head coach of the basketball program when it comes to Big East/other conference realignment. Look at Creighton and their facilities. Forget Xavier and Gonzaga. Creighton is the athletic program I want SLU to be.  

The A10 membership doesn't care about these kind of things. The A10 is a basketball transient conference that has other sports so that their participants can be D1. 

[Billy Ken]

Imagine a big beautiful home, with a crappy lawn, a carport instead of a garage and the sidewalks and driveway broken up and patched up. That's the best analogy of Chaifetz next to baseball, softball and soccer. Whether or not people want to realize it or not. Everything matters. What is wrong with having nice facilities? How do other schools do it? Again just because that's the way SLU has always done it, or it is better than the West Pine days doesn't make it right or any better. The bar has been set so low, people don't know any better. Nothing wrong with thinking bigger and wanting to do better. Unless it's fear of failure by administration or they don't have a vision. Just my two cents. But, to community and recruits it all matters and all connected whether you agree or disagree. 

[St. Lunatic]

1 hour ago, Billiken Rich said:

I have no doubt that our facilities could be better.  I have no doubt that better facilities and support would attract a better caliber of athlete and that ANY winning team does increase the prestige of the school.  I am just skeptical of the return on investment of a new baseball stadium or soccer stadium.  I'm not talking just money of course.  Would the prestige of being an A10 baseball power be worth it?  Would it turn heads at Big East headquarters?  Would St. Louis rally around  the Billikens?  I just don't see it.  We aren't a soccer town anymore and we are a professional baseball town.

Every department at SLU has it's hands out for the limited funding available.  Looking at the university as a whole, where would you put millions of dollars? Where would Professor Steve?    

  

2

IMO, the stadium is the first piece of the puzzle. In baseball for example, there are 50 or so rounds to the draft. If we put some money into our baseball field and get better athletes, who is to say we won't have a Billiken in the Big Leagues? If that Big Leaguer had a good experience at SLU, he might donate back and help fund further improvements. Maybe this is a pipe dream, but I can see it working. 

I was not a athlete or anything, but based on previous comments, it seems like the athletes at SLU (outside of basketball) are not looking back fondly on their SLU experience. If it takes a few million dollars (from a billion dollar endowment) to significantly improve the experience of these kids, I think it's worth it.

[prebilliken]

58 minutes ago, Billy Ken said:

Imagine a big beautiful home, with a crappy lawn, a carport instead of a garage and the sidewalks and driveway broken up and patched up. That's the best analogy of Chaifetz next to baseball, softball and soccer. Whether or not people want to realize it or not. Everything matters. What is wrong with having nice facilities? How do other schools do it? Again just because that's the way SLU has always done it, or it is better than the West Pine days doesn't make it right or any better. The bar has been set so low, people don't know any better. Nothing wrong with thinking bigger and wanting to do better. Unless it's fear of failure by administration or they don't have a vision. Just my two cents. But, to community and recruits it all matters and all connected whether you agree or disagree. 

This is well said. Its about pushing for the next piece, that's what being a business is and that's what being a fan means. Frankly, I think the "major improvements" that @billikenfan05 and I are vying for are anything but, and are ultra-realistic. 

SLU should market to the city harder, we should see if there is a business opportunity for being a cheaper, quality baseball alternative to the Cardinals, these are not lofty dreams, they are obtainable and measurable goals. The fact of the matter is we don't have an AD willing to put in the work. We have rested on being the plucky, lovable, local basketball schoolfor so long, its not unreasonable to push for being better. 

[billikenfan05]

24 minutes ago, prebilliken said:

This is well said. Its about pushing for the next piece, that's what being a business is and that's what being a fan means. Frankly, I think the "major improvements" that @billikenfan05 and I are vying for are anything but, and are ultra-realistic. 

SLU should market to the city harder, we should see if there is a business opportunity for being a cheaper, quality baseball alternative to the Cardinals, these are not lofty dreams, they are obtainable and measurable goals. The fact of the matter is we don't have an AD willing to put in the work. We have rested on being the plucky, lovable, local basketball schoolfor so long, its not unreasonable to push for being better. 

I honestly don’t think we need to be that. If we can become a spring destination for students to come have a brat/burger/dog and a couple beers on a weekend evening or afternoon that’s enough in my opinion. After that if you can get outside fans to the park it’s gravy. 

[slufan13]

The administration doesn't care about athletics and doesn't understand the importance of successful athletic teams. It's May's job to sell them on that point even if they're a hard group to crack. I think Pestello has shown a willingness to follow the money and invest in the school. I think he's a terrible president and I don't think the school in general is in great shape but soccer, baseball, and softball facilities all need improvements. At a minimum is just makes the campus look better and maybe a more inviting environment brings in another 20-30 students per game. You have to start somewhere. People really care about appearances and we can't just point to one building and say that we have a great commitment to athletics. Hell even Chaifetz needed major locker room renovations this past year. Ford and Stone partnered with May to get the money raised for that one. 

People at SLU are afraid of being perceived as putting athletics above education. A good administration (BoT, AD, president, etc) can balance both. I think multiple people have failed in raising the profile of our athletic teams.

[prebilliken]

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

I honestly don’t think we need to be that. If we can become a spring destination for students to come have a brat/burger/dog and a couple beers on a weekend evening or afternoon that’s enough in my opinion. After that if you can get outside fans to the park it’s gravy. 

I'm not sure we need to be that either, and I do believe we can be what you're aiming for before we take any the next step, but what I am worried about is the aggressiveness to strive for either. 

College baseball is dope. College soccer is dope. Make it more fun for the students to come out and crack beers at and the rest will follow. Kids want to cheer for their team, they're not hungry for every event to be a Bama football, they just want grass stains on their backside for going to a game. 

Go Bills beat Richmond/Davidson! 

[Spoon-Balls]

1 hour ago, slufan13 said:

People at SLU are afraid of being perceived as putting athletics above education. A good administration (BoT, AD, president, etc) can balance both. I think multiple people have failed in raising the profile of our athletic teams.

Bingo.

[Billiken Rich]

2 hours ago, Billy Ken said:

Imagine a big beautiful home, with a crappy lawn, a carport instead of a garage and the sidewalks and driveway broken up and patched up. That's the best analogy of Chaifetz next to baseball, softball and soccer. Whether or not people want to realize it or not. Everything matters. What is wrong with having nice facilities? How do other schools do it? Again just because that's the way SLU has always done it, or it is better than the West Pine days doesn't make it right or any better. The bar has been set so low, people don't know any better. Nothing wrong with thinking bigger and wanting to do better. Unless it's fear of failure by administration or they don't have a vision. Just my two cents. But, to community and recruits it all matters and all connected whether you agree or disagree. 

In my opinion, your point would be better made by calling for us to imagine a big beautiful home with a nicely maintained, though perhaps dated, carport instead of the three car garage with chauffeur's quarters above that you want us to have .   

[philliken]

Hendrickson named A10 Coach of the Year Today.  Miller Hogan named A10 Pitcher of the Year.  Both well deserved.  Let's hope for a good week of hardball in the tourney.

[Pistol]

2 hours ago, slufan13 said:

People at SLU are afraid of being perceived as putting athletics above education. A good administration (BoT, AD, president, etc) can balance both. I think multiple people have failed in raising the profile of our athletic teams.

Yeah, these aren't mutually exclusive ideas. Schools can be excellent in more than one area.

Also, if there are those in power who are afraid to look like they're prioritizing athletics over academics, I have to wonder why some of those academic efforts aren't showing.

[DirtyRican]

Congrats to Coach for being named A10 Coach of the Year!