ACC Baseball Schedule

[FredJacket]

I wish I knew why I bother… but it is December, there is no bowl game (for Tech) on the horizon, the ACC basketball action has yet to begin… I guess I “have time on my hands”. I also blame @GTNavyNuke for planting the seed on who we’re playing. I took a look at the ACC baseball schedules. I was hoping to see something in there that led me to believe the baseball gods were already looking favorably upon our Jackets by laying out an ACC schedule that is on the easier side (relatively speaking). I think I’ve concluded no such luck.

Atlantic
6 – LOU
8 – FSU
10 – WF
15 – CLEM
27 – NCST
84 – BC
121 – ND

Coastal
5 – UNC
17 – UVA
43 – MIA
75 – GT
91 – DUKE
122 – VT
131 – PITT

Obviously, some teams will improve and others fall; but for the sake of this post (here in December)… I used 2017 RPI. The above are the ACC divisions with 2017 RPI rankings. The good news…we are in the Coastal division. The Atlantic is stronger than the Coastal with 4 top 25 teams (plus NCST knocking at the door). The Coastal has 2 top 25 teams. Last year, 5 Atlantic teams made the NCAA tournament and only 2 Coastal teams did. Each team plays 10 ACC series…it includes all the teams in your division (6 series) plus 4 cross-divisional series.
In order to simplify the analysis, I grouped the conference into 4 “tiers” based on the RPI.

Group A: Top 25 RPI
UNC
LOU
FSU
WF
CLEM
UVA

Group B: 26-50 RPI
NCST
MIA

Group C: 51-100 RPI
GT
BC
DUKE

Group D: 100+ RPI
ND
VT
PITT

Here is the way the Coastal teams fair regarding their 4 cross-divisional opponents. My ranking from MOST difficult schedule to easiest (I did not factor in road/home series…which does matter, I think):

UNC: 3xA (LOU, FSU, WF) 1xB (NCST)
GT: 3xA (FSU, WF, CLEM) 1xB (NCST)
UVA: 3xA (LOU, WF, CLEM) 1xC (BC)
DUKE: 2xA (FSU, WF) 1xB (NCST) 1xD (ND)
PITT: 2xA (LOU, CLEM) 1xC (BC) 1xD (ND)
MIA: 2xA (FSU, CLEM) 1xC (BC) 1xD (ND)
VT: 1xA (LOU) 1xB (NCST) 1xC (BC) 1xD (ND)

VT really got a break as the ONLY team in the entire conference whose 3 teams they do not play are ALL in Group A. They are not scheduled to play FSU, CLEM and WF.

As for the Atlantic:

WF: 2xA (UVA, UNC) 2xC (GT, DUKE)
FSU: 1xA (UNC) 1xB (MIA) 2xC (GT, DUKE)
LOU: 2xA (UNC, UVA) 2xD (VT, PITT)
CLEM: 1xA (UVA) 1xB (MIA) 1xC (GT) 1xD (PITT)
BC: 1xA (UVA) 1xB (MIA) 2xD (VT, PITT)
NCST: 1xA (UNC) 2xC (GT, DUKE) 1xD (VT)
ND: 1xB (MIA) 1xC (DUKE) 2xD (VT, PITT)

Similar to VT, ND gets break by not drawing any team from Group A in their cross divisional schedule.

All that to conclude… frankly, I'm not sure any of this says a particular team or teams has a huge scheduling advantage. The ACC is a tough baseball conference. Saying Coastal is ‘easier’ is relative. Looking at all this with minimal knowledge of which teams gained/lost significant talent on their rosters… I would expect Wake Forest to regress more to the mean and Miami to re-assert themselves. The rest of the field I think will stay basically the same. The ENORMOUS exception is Ga Tech...who WILL be over .500 in ACC play for the 1st time in too long…baseball (scheduling) gods be damned!! GO JACKETS!

 

[RoosterJacket]

I think you are correct on WF probably being down from last year. One team that is expected to be much better though is Duke. So in my mind, those kind of offset for us. I think we went 2-4 against those two last year.

UNC should be down from last year, but very rarely is UNC ever really “down”. Same can be said for Louisville.

FSU should be the cream of the crop based on what they have coming back.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I wish I knew why I bother… but it is December, there is no bowl game (for Tech) on the horizon, the ACC basketball action has yet to begin… I guess I “have time on my hands”. I also blame @GTNavyNuke for planting the seed on who we’re playing. I took a look at the ACC baseball schedules. I was hoping to see something in there that led me to believe the baseball gods were already looking favorably upon our Jackets by laying out an ACC schedule that is on the easier side (relatively speaking). I think I’ve concluded no such luck.

Atlantic
6 – LOU
8 – FSU
10 – WF
15 – CLEM
27 – NCST
84 – BC
121 – ND

Coastal
5 – UNC
17 – UVA
43 – MIA
75 – GT
91 – DUKE
122 – VT
131 – PITT

Obviously, some teams will improve and others fall; but for the sake of this post (here in December)… I used 2017 RPI. The above are the ACC divisions with 2017 RPI rankings. The good news…we are in the Coastal division. The Atlantic is stronger than the Coastal with 4 top 25 teams (plus NCST knocking at the door). The Coastal has 2 top 25 teams. Last year, 5 Atlantic teams made the NCAA tournament and only 2 Coastal teams did. Each team plays 10 ACC series…it includes all the teams in your division (6 series) plus 4 cross-divisional series.
In order to simplify the analysis, I grouped the conference into 4 “tiers” based on the RPI.

Group A: Top 25 RPI
UNC
LOU
FSU
WF
CLEM
UVA

Group B: 26-50 RPI
NCST
MIA

Group C: 51-100 RPI
GT
BC
DUKE

Group D: 100+ RPI
ND
VT
PITT

Here is the way the Coastal teams fair regarding their 4 cross-divisional opponents. My ranking from MOST difficult schedule to easiest (I did not factor in road/home series…which does matter, I think):

UNC: 3xA (LOU, FSU, WF) 1xB (NCST)
GT: 3xA (FSU, WF, CLEM) 1xB (NCST)
UVA: 3xA (LOU, WF, CLEM) 1xC (BC)
DUKE: 2xA (FSU, WF) 1xB (NCST) 1xD (ND)
PITT: 2xA (LOU, CLEM) 1xC (BC) 1xD (ND)
MIA: 2xA (FSU, CLEM) 1xC (BC) 1xD (ND)
VT: 1xA (LOU) 1xB (NCST) 1xC (BC) 1xD (ND)

VT really got a break as the ONLY team in the entire conference whose 3 teams they do not play are ALL in Group A. They are not scheduled to play FSU, CLEM and WF.

As for the Atlantic:

WF: 2xA (UVA, UNC) 2xC (GT, DUKE)
FSU: 1xA (UNC) 1xB (MIA) 2xC (GT, DUKE)
LOU: 2xA (UNC, UVA) 2xD (VT, PITT)
CLEM: 1xA (UVA) 1xB (MIA) 1xC (GT) 1xD (PITT)
BC: 1xA (UVA) 1xB (MIA) 2xD (VT, PITT)
NCST: 1xA (UNC) 2xC (GT, DUKE) 1xD (VT)
ND: 1xB (MIA) 1xC (DUKE) 2xD (VT, PITT)

Similar to VT, ND gets break by not drawing any team from Group A in their cross divisional schedule.

All that to conclude… frankly, I'm not sure any of this says a particular team or teams has a huge scheduling advantage. The ACC is a tough baseball conference. Saying Coastal is ‘easier’ is relative. Looking at all this with minimal knowledge of which teams gained/lost significant talent on their rosters… I would expect Wake Forest to regress more to the mean and Miami to re-assert themselves. The rest of the field I think will stay basically the same. The ENORMOUS exception is Ga Tech...who WILL be over .500 in ACC play for the 1st time in too long…baseball (scheduling) gods be damned!! GO JACKETS!

Glad to help. As far as time on your hands, maybe do some hiking; I missed the Miami and UVa football games that way. South America is coming into summer now ...... the Peruvian Andes are spectacular.

But back to the OP, GT is in one of the two best conferences (ACC & SEC) so there is no place to hide.

How we do is largely going to come down to pitching and I'll consolidate my thoughts on that before the season starts. Can't be as bad as last year, right?

 

[MWBATL]

Can't be as bad as last year, right?

Your lips to God's ears.....

 

[FredJacket]

What do you think about a week(end) off around exam week in early May?

Once the ACC schedule begins, the 10 conference series span an 11-week period (Mar 9th - May 19th). Every team has one-week of non-conference play or no play at all. In 2017, five ACC teams scheduled no games for this extra weekend: DUKE, UNC, UVA, VT, WF. In 2018 that those 5 will do the same thing plus BC and ND. So... half the conference is taking a weekend off during the last 3 or 4 weeks of the season.

Here was how those teams performed last year on their next ACC series after the weekend prior off:
DUKE (v GT): 2-1
UNC (@ VT): 2-1
UVA (v MIA): 2-1
VT (v UNC): 1-2
WF (v BC): 2-1

So..of the teams that didn't play each other (UNC/VT), they each won those series (no sweeps).

Last year, Tech traveled to UIC for this extra weekend and split 1-1 with a game cancelled. If I recall, the weather sucked all weekend in Chicago for that. They returned home and recorded their only conference sweep the following weekend over Pitt. This coming season, we'll play Radford at home (May4-6) a week prior to traveling to UVA.

Seems to me... given the option, taking a weekend off is more good than bad...despite the 2017 sweep over PITT. The players get what little extra time they get to prep and take exams...they are still Ga Tech students after all. It gives the team (esp pitchers) time to rest for a final push of the regular season schedule and hopefully a successful post-season. On the other hand, baseball is a rhythm sort of endeavor. You play every weekend starting in February... does a weekend off mess up your routine too much?

 

[LargeFO]

Looking forward to 2/3rd empty stadium this season. Maybe when the GTAA shows they care I'll come back out to some games.

 

[Buzzzard]

Winning solves a lot of problems...........

 

[LargeFO]

Better get a new coach then.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Looking forward to 2/3rd empty stadium this season. Maybe when the GTAA shows they care I'll come back out to some games.

You're entitled to your opinion, which is as valid as mine.

But please don't only be negative. When I feel the way you do, I just stop posting. Right now, I'm trying to get my mind right for the season.

You can see how people felt at the end of last season, including myself. But Hall isn't going anywhere. Us b!tching won't do any good and only make ourselves miserable.

Namaste.

 

[FredJacket]

Not sure when it happened... but there has been a slight (but I think significant) change to our schedule.

Ga Tech's final game in Charlottesville (at UVA) is now MONDAY night (5/14) at 7pm. So that series is now a Fri, Sat, Mon deal. Monday's game on ESPNU.

This sets up for our final 5 regular season games to cover 6 days (5/14-5-19) as follows with late-night (red-eye) travel on Day 1:
Mon: at UVA (7pm)
Tues: Southeast Missouri St (6pm)
Wed: off
Thurs-Sat: Duke (7pm, 6pm, 1pm)

ACC Tournament starts 2 days after that on Tues (although, only 6 of 12 teams play in Day1 of the tournament).

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Wow. It may be better to forfeit SE Miss St than play the game if we can afford it. Why that game in crunch time?????

 

[FredJacket]

Wow. It may be better to forfeit SE Miss St than play the game if we can afford it. Why that game in crunch time?????

Forfeiting a scheduled game can't be a viable option. Not sure how serious you were with the that specific thought...Your point is quite valid & it goes back to my question in an earlier post. Quite a few ACC teams are taking an entire weekend off late in season. Presumably, it is around their final exams. Late April or early May.

Whatever (if any) "benefit" rest-wise is realized from a break in the grind...Ga Tech is now set up for the other extreme.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Forfeiting a scheduled game can't be a viable option. Not sure how serious you were with the that specific thought...Your point is quite valid & it goes back to my question in an earlier post. Quite a few ACC teams are taking an entire weekend off late in season. Presumably, it is around their final exams. Late April or early May.

Whatever (if any) "benefit" rest-wise is realized from a break in the grind...Ga Tech is now set up for the other extreme.

Given pitching is usually our weak suit, it is incredibly stupid to schedule an extra game coming up on the ACC tourney when you already play more games (assuming you win). This greatly reduces our ACC tourney chances which look very small going into the season.

Forfeit may be a bit strong; how about we have an outfielder pitch? And only play non-starters?

Who is responsible for scheduling non-ACC games? Wouldn't be ACC, so must be GT? And it may not be Hall even though you would hope his input is considered if it is a GT decision.

 

[FredJacket]

Given pitching is usually our weak suit, it is incredibly stupid to schedule an extra game coming up on the ACC tourney when you already play more games (assuming you win). This greatly reduces our ACC tourney chances which look very small going into the season.

Forfeit may be a bit strong; how about we have an outfielder pitch? And only play non-starters?

Who is responsible for scheduling non-ACC games? Wouldn't be ACC, so must be GT? And it may not be Hall even though you would hope his input is considered if it is a GT decision.

Great points and great questions. This is the "inside baseball" (excuse the pun) stuff that to many is innocuous; but I find very intriguing. Perhaps others know the process. I do not. ...but the beauty of this type of forum is I am free to speculate over and over.

I assume the OOC baseball schedule is managed/negotiated entirely by Ga Tech with the individual staffs of the potential opponents. With such a limited staff, I would also assume Coach Hall controls it. I'd imagine there is a "minimum" number of games teams need/want to play...52-56 seems to be the target. Just one comparison. UVA v GT. UVA plays 55 games while Ga Tech plays 56 over the same time span (opening day to final regular season game). However, UVA is taking a full 10 day period off (May 2-10). Tech plays every weekend of the regular season. There longest break is the ONE week they do not have a mid-week game (4/30-5/3)... 4 days. BTW... UVA's big break happens to be leading up to their series with us beginning May 11th. ...maybe we can "jump on them"? (or... the other thing... rest works for them. )

Being fair... I think CDH must balance a lot of things in putting a schedule together. The goal is to play (and win) competitive games improving your resume for NCAA tournament berth.

Specifically... looking at the last 2-3 weeks of the regular season of 2018's schedule, it is hard to understand why that SEMO game is scheduled that week. I also really think CDH should follow what other ACC teams are now doing... take the weekend off around finals. As for the SEMO game...I agree with you... that should probably be somebody's "1st career start" ...and all the arms would need to be preserved for the Duke series and the post-season. In similar situations in MLB... sometimes teams send a few players home ahead of the team still playing in order to allow them 'normal' rest for that quick-turn game. Obviously, getting way ahead of ourselves... but not much else to discuss.