OVC 2010 Predictions and thoughts

[Baseballdad1985]

Not at all. Grades were never the issue. Nor was heart and desire. If you played, you played. You didnt' have problems with grades and off the field issues. Baseball was, well at least with my teammates, the top priority when spring came around. Kids made sure their grades were up and stayed out of trouble. I mean, I wasn't the most innocent kid in high school. But when spring came around, baseball was all that mattered. It has definitly changed now days though.

[squinks]

it sure has and i wish it would be like that now when you played then there would be more competition in all sports....but i hope to see ya at the fairland vs.sp game sir...and i wish goodluck to all the teams,players,and coaches....

[Baseballdad1985]

Good luck to you guys in Pointer country and if you truely are Dickess, I have no hard feelings. I was just giving my opinion. That's what these boards are for. Go out there and give it your all because it's gone before you know it. Good luck to all teams and yes I will be there to watch the Dragons take on the Pointers as long as nothing comes up with work. Bring on the spring!!!

[740blueangoldfan]

It's crazy for you to say dickess isn't in top 5 pitchers that's just crazy I've seen the kid pitch for many years he'll I've caught the kid several times he throws smoke idk the numbers but he does have velocity his duece is pretty nasty when he trys along with his knuckle you say your not biased but you talked about thackston a whole lot I haven't seen the kid pitch so I can't say anything but i just don't see how you can say dickess is pretty much an average player

[Baseballdad1985]

I'm just stating the obvious. Dickess is a good player. You never heard me once say he sucked or anything. I'm just stating the truth and that is Thackston is an overall better pitcher then Dickess. I dont want to get started in this argument again. I honestly feel stupid defending Alex so much because all I wanted to do was state how good he was. I didn't want to have to keep defending him and "appear biased". I'm just saying that it seems A LOT of Pointer fans don't seem to know how good the kid is. You all haven't seem him play?! How are you going to express what you think? I have seen BOTH, I repeat, BOTH pitchers. And I'm just giving the facts. And the last time I saw him throw was summer and I have heard that he is throwing even harder then when he did in summer. I actually talked to a friend of mine and he told me that he has seen and heard from multiple people that the kid has gotten extremely good . Not only did I find this out but I heard that Alex's brother, Tyler is done for the year up at Charleston due to season ending shoulder repair. This is very sad because I am one of the people that could just hear Tyler from my house every single day banging balls off the bat. I live sort of close to the field so where I'm from, you can easily hear him. That young man worked extremely hard and its a shame what happened. I hear he will sit out this year due to the surgery and will take a medical redshirt. I also heard that Robbie Easterling did in fact transfer to Rio. Apparently this happened a long time ago because he has been there all this semester. I never heard about that. I hope things work out for Robbie. I really hope the kid doesn't give up and keeps pushing. He will be a great player in college I feel.

[740blueangoldfan]

No I haven't seen thackston pitch but I. Will this season for sure an we will see who's a better player I'm not downing the kid but I think you should give dickess more credit.. But the season is almost here I'll leave it at that for now

[mr t]

Dickess is pretty good, i haven't seen thackston pitch yet, i'll be interested to see what the hype is about. This could be a very interesting year for the ovc, edge to RH with experience, then Coal Grove.

[O.V.C '11]

I'm just stating the truth and that is Thackston is an overall better pitcher then Dickess.

There is no possible way that Thackston is a better pitcher than Dickess. Dickess has a faster fastball and his junk is way better than Thackstons. Dickess has the upper hand on experience as well, and there is just no possible way Alex Thackston is better than Kyle Dickess. If you can, PLEASE prove me wrong. You cant go around saying that Thackston is a better pitcher when he has no experience at all at a High School level. Dickess has pitched since freshman year at a High School level. So like i said if you can then PLEASE prove me wrong.

Ok so lets see here, there is no way that Alex Thackston throws in the 80's as a 15 year old...unless he is on steroids that is. Dickess is one of the top pitchers of the OVC, his fastball gets in there quick and his junk is just nasty. As for the lazyness, no one has any room to talk about any lazy players...there is no way that anyone would know if players are lazy or not. What does it matter how players grades are now? Last i checked it only mattered when report cards came out. If your gonna talk about lazy people then lets wait to see who actually has grades before you say somethin about them.

The dragons have lost some great players, but I think they will be a decent team. SP has returning players such as McClure, Dickess, Esque, Adkins, and possibly Winkler. They also have new players coming out and from what I have heard they have good talent just need a little work which they have 3 weeks for that. Chesapeake, havent heard much about them, but I have a feeling they will be alright. River Valley, they will be a joke as usual. Rock Hill has some pretty good players as well and could make a run. Coal Grove has good players as well, mainly Sparks and Murphy. They both have good bats and Murphy is a great catcher. I think that it will come down to Coal Grove and South Point to win the OVC, but then again there are surprises and it just comes down to whoever has the most heart as a team.

[Baseballdad1985]

OVC 11, how do you really expect Alex to be able to get any playing time last year? Of course Dickess is going to pitch for the Pointers when he was young. How can Alex get to pitch when he had people like Burcham, Easterling, his older brother Tyler, Hatfield, Godby, and other pitchers in front of him? Those kids all went to play college baseball with the exception of Hatfield who plays basketball at Marietta. Believe it or not, I do believe the kid is in the 80's now. He has gotten bigger and stronger. Even when I saw him play in junior league I'd say he threw 75, 76. But when you hear from people including T-Bone, a major league scout tell you that he himself clocked Thackston at 82 then I'd say there is some truth behind it. i havent seen him throw this year. But there is no doubt in my mind that he is up in the 80's. I dont see why people think Dickess' velocity is so high. I'm really not dogging the kid. I just know I was watching the game at South Point against Fairland last year and I remember the Dragon boys getting frustrated because how hard it was to wait on Dickess' fastball.

As I said before, I have no hard feelings toward Dickess. If he was better, I would admit it. I can sit here and tell you a bunch of pitchers that Dickess is better then on the Dragon team. Thackston is clearly not one of them. I honestly know for a fact that Fisher throws harder then Dickess as well. And just to let you know, Alex's skinny figure could never be identified as a roid taker . I guess all we can say is we will see. I can't wait to see both Dickess and Thackston battle. Both teams may lack some hitting. But I remember watching an intersquad practice last year from the outfield parking lot at Fairland, and I remember even some kids on the Dragon team last year had trouble hitting Alex. He's a hardthrowing lefty with a nasty duece and a great changeup. I watched him play some JV last year and no one came close to beating him. Yes, it's JV but still. The kid was 15 when he was doing this. Those kids he was facing were 15,16, and maybe even some 17 year olds and he was making them all look like fools.

I'm not the only Dragon fan that is excited about this kid. His name is buzzing in Dragon country right now and if all the Dragon fans got on here and expressed their opinions, they would all tell you the same things I'm telling you. In the same conversation I had with Thackston's dad, he also told me that Tyler and Alex actually scrimmaged in legion ball last summer. He told me personally that Tyler told him that of all the times a pitcher had him with an 0-2 count, that Alex intimidated him the most and that his legs were shaking in the batter's box because he couldnt believe the situation he was in against his much younger little brother.

As I have said before, I am HEARING all of this stuff from people. Yes, I have seen Alex play. But I havent seem him throw in almost a year. Which makes me have no doubt that he has increased in velocity. If you want me to be unbiased then here you go: Alex would had made my son, who played for Fairland but graduated a while back , look like a fool on the mound at this age. If I was biased, then I would come on here and brag that my son was better then him. But I'd be lying and i would know it and wouldnt ever come on here and talk someone up that isnt what they are said to be. The only pitcher I have watched through the years that was better at 16 was Michael Hill and i still think Alex has the potential to be close. He may not get up to 92 like Mike did, but he will be in the upper 80's by his senior year. But when you factor in that hes left handed, 87-89 is just as good if not a slight bit better then 90-92 as a righty. So many players, including my son, would had gone great places with their talent if only they were left handed. Lefties have such an advantage and scouts drool after them. I'm By FAR a bigger Dragon baseball fan then I am just a fan of Alex. And if I was a biased person, I would come on here and say the Dragons are going to kick butt and take it all. But that would be a lie because quite frankly, on paper I dont even have them winning the OVC. They are too young and lack hitting.

[clutch]

Is this forum only about Fairland, Thackson Jr., and evaluating Dickess?

[squinks]

any schools having any grade issues with players...the nine weeks is almost over!

[gametime]

nice day for baseball practice

[hornets1367]

bloomfield wont play baseball if he does its dumb ... he has a ton of talent in track just stay there, he could go to college in track imo

as for the rest:
rock hill will always be able to hit the ball but do they have the pitching and defense to win?
coal grove does have sparks and a few others but one pitcher dont win every game, do they have anyone throwing behind him?
south point is in the same boat as coal grove can they find any pitching behind dickess, theyll hit the ball decent but will struggle when dickess is playin cf
fairland lost a lot but coach ward knows what hes doing after coaching behind snyder for so many years.
chesapeake is imo the best coach team in the league but i dont think they have the talent this year to compete
river valley has been the joke of the league since they joined so i wouldnt expect anything to change.

cg has some new kids on the block. some freshman and upper class men are comin out this year too. they oughta be good this year.

[O.V.C '11]

OVC 11, how do you really expect Alex to be able to get any playing time last year? Of course Dickess is going to pitch for the Pointers when he was young. How can Alex get to pitch when he had people like Burcham, Easterling, his older brother Tyler, Hatfield, Godby, and other pitchers in front of him?

If he was as good as everyone makes him out to be then he would have started in some of those games atleast. And also thackston might have some junk, but no way his curve ball is better than Dickess' and Dickess also has a nasty circle change and a knuckle ball. Also if your gonna say that Thackston throws harder than Dickess prove it first...Dickess throws mid to high 80's...consistantly in the mids though. But the only way to find out who is better is to wait until the season starts.

[Baseballdad1985]

Your crazy if he throws in the upper 80's! The older Dragon team last year couldnt even tee off on him at first because he threw so slow! You obviously have never seen mid 80's. If Dickess is throwing high 80's please show me his full ride to Texas or Rice or something. Because if hes left handed throwing that hard then he is either getting drafted or going really good D1. Neither one of those things are going to happen. Everyone knows what true speed is. And he doesnt touch 80. 75-76.

And I told you, last year Alex was extremely good. But not half as he is this year. If he was playing last year like I hear he is this year then I would most definitly think he would get some playing time last year. I dont know what the baseball world is coming to if they really think Kyle Dickess throws in the mid to high 80's. He's the slowest pitcher Fairland faced last year besides kids from River Valley! Fairland's ace last year, Burcham doesnt even touch high 80's. So your gonna say Dickess throws harder then Burcham. No, sorry. Think before you speak. Thats absolutely insane to think he throws that hard and to lie and brag him up like that when he clearly has never came close to 80.

[osumufan]

Baseball dad why are you arguing with a bunch of high schoolers? Let it go. Your case will be proven/disproven on the field by this time next month plus a week when SP and Fairland play on the 14th!!!

[Baseballdad1985]

You're right. I just dont want to come off like the big mean guy that is just being biased. I dont want people to think that of me or think I have anything against Dickess. And yes it does seem like they are a bunch of high school kids talking up their own team which they should not do because I'm sure their coaches would be extremely mad if he found out.

[squinks]

i dont think any coach would be mad if there saying good things about there team but its a different story if people were saying bad things about there team....i cant wait to see fairland v. sp...i vote sp by 3 or 4 each game

[baseball64]

I have faced both of these pitchers last year. In my opinion Alex threw harder last year and no doubt him growing increased his velocity even more. There is no way that Dickess throws in the 80's he may throw 75 but i would not even say that cause when he hit me last year in the ribs it never even left a bruise. Yes he has some good junk and thats what makes him a good pitcher you have to keep the batters guessing. I have only seen Alex's curveball when he was throwing a bullpen and it looked good, but neither pitcher is overpowering. If they are going to do well this year then they will have to learn to mix up there stuff. Next year if Alex keeps progressing like he is then he very well could be an overpowering pitcher but it isnt going to happen unless he breaks 85. And from what i can tell by reading all these posts very few people know what 80 mph is.

[clutch]

I hear that Coal Grove has some new faces that are gonna strengthen their defense.
I also hear that South Point has come up with some new talent that is going to make them a contender!
Rock Hill's pitching is down and their hitting is struggling from a report that I heard from a former coach at practice.