trainer

i think zach helton played center 2 years ago. D.J. simmons played centerfield i believe last year.

the reason i mention moving all those sophomores up is that I think that Richlands is still a year away from being a beast. And I definitely think that hitters like that would be wasted at the J.V level.

shouldn't null have been moved up? i have no doubt he can hit at that level.

are simmons and jennings playing varsity or J.V.? I think the Null kid should be moved to varsity also.

i diddn't get to see but 4 Rhs j.v. games. But from what I saw Caleb Jennings, Simmons, and Stanton appeared to hit most consistently. I did get to go to the 15-16 tournament games in the state tournament and thought Stanton and Simmons killed the ball there. I know the shot Simmons hit at Pound would have been well out of any real baseball park. Its 360 down the left field line there.

Stanton and Simmons homered in the J.V championship game. Stanton is a junior and Simmons is a sophomore.

[ QUOTE ] being at the game in 1992 we all know richlands could have beaten salem anyway! cleats don't make a difference its the kids that do. the loss in 1992 (aka cleat-gate) was a chicken [censored] way for salem & willis white to explain a choke season. salems season will come to another end come saturday 12-4-04. what will be there excuse this time around. [/ QUOTE ] Its a shame that we never will know the impact of the illegal cleats. Both teams were cheated in that regard. I do wish that fans from Richlands would not try to downplay what happened. Had the roles been reversed I have no doubt that our fans (including myself) would have complained just as much as the folks from Salem.

I was born and raised in Richlands. I graduated from RHS in 1978. I am a huge fan of the Blue Tornado, and will be at Ernie Hicks stadium on saturday cheering them on. That being said, I do wish other folks here in Richlands would quit being so defensive about what happened in 1992. What our head coach did was wrong. The illegal cleats were one thing, the lying about it afterward was another. There was no way we could excuse it (although many here have tried). What made me sad in 1992 was that those defending the coach felt that his actions should be forgiven and forgotten. He should have been (as a teacher)a moral example to our players and he failed. Do I think the cleats impacted the game? I don't honestly have any idea. I do know we had an outstanding team and their accomplishment is definitely tarnished to those outside our town. Unfortunately, there is no way of changing that situation, although I do think a victory on saturday would go along way towards making the events of 1992 seem less significant. t honestly