(02-16-2020 10:47 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 10:40 PM)Barney Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 07:19 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Wade’s take

https://twitter.com/ricestudpoker/status...01251?s=21

Please -- no one cares.

I used to laugh at him too but if you take out all the Trump/political conspiracy he pedals, he’s been pretty correct about Rice Athletics over the last five years.

To be more precise, you agree with his take on the subject.

(02-16-2020 10:59 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 10:47 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 10:40 PM)Barney Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 07:19 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Wade’s take

https://twitter.com/ricestudpoker/status...01251?s=21

Please -- no one cares.

I used to laugh at him too but if you take out all the Trump/political conspiracy he pedals, he’s been pretty correct about Rice Athletics over the last five years.

To be more precise, you agree with his take on the subject.

He’s been consistent in his take about the JK era being a failure, which I completely agree with. So, if that’s his take, then yes I agree.

(02-16-2020 09:58 PM)Minnewaska Owl Wrote:  Walt said before the series started that we have a much better hitting team this year, but that we may struggle against UT because we have not yet been exposed to the type of pitching talent we would see this weekend. I think he was right - and I think we will progress significantly as the season goes along. I like this team and will definitely come back and see several more games this season. I think we are going to pleasantly surprise a lot of the early season naysayers.

What’s a reasonable projection for the team this year, do you think? I’d love to see a return to the tourney, but my thoughts are that that’s out of reach for this year’s team with their pitching.

(02-17-2020 01:03 AM)mhatter106 Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 09:58 PM)Minnewaska Owl Wrote:  Walt said before the series started that we have a much better hitting team this year, but that we may struggle against UT because we have not yet been exposed to the type of pitching talent we would see this weekend. I think he was right - and I think we will progress significantly as the season goes along. I like this team and will definitely come back and see several more games this season. I think we are going to pleasantly surprise a lot of the early season naysayers.

What’s a reasonable projection for the team this year, do you think? I’d love to see a return to the tourney, but my thoughts are that that’s out of reach for this year’s team with their pitching.

I'm thinking the best we can hope for is a top four finish in conference regular season play, with an outside shot at winning the conference tournament. Winning the conference tournament is the only way I see us making the NCAA tournament. That's just one guy's opinion based on what I saw this weekend. I do think we are better than we have been the past two seasons. Before the UT series somebody projected that we are probably ranked somewhere in the 125 to 150 range. I'm now guessing we are closer to being ranked around 100. Not good enough to make the NCAA tournament without winning our conference tournament. Still, after several years of steady decline, I think we are now on the upswing, program-wise.

(02-17-2020 01:03 AM)mhatter106 Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 09:58 PM)Minnewaska Owl Wrote:  Walt said before the series started that we have a much better hitting team this year, but that we may struggle against UT because we have not yet been exposed to the type of pitching talent we would see this weekend. I think he was right - and I think we will progress significantly as the season goes along. I like this team and will definitely come back and see several more games this season. I think we are going to pleasantly surprise a lot of the early season naysayers.

What’s a reasonable projection for the team this year, do you think? I’d love to see a return to the tourney, but my thoughts are that that’s out of reach for this year’s team with their pitching.

Well, the conference tournament champion makes it automatically, and anything can happen in one weekend in Biloxi (remember, Wayne's SWC tournament champion finished last in regular season play, although that team had more talent than I see here). The trick would be to see how much we can improve between now and then. But I just doubt we have the Jimmies and Joes. We were recruiting with one hand tied behind our backs for the better part of a decade, and it's going to take at least a couple of really strong recruiting classes to get us back into play.

I don't think we will spend this season trying to figure out where we go for regionals, or whether we get to host a super. We're just not there yet. This will be more about watching the youngsters grow and develop. That can be fun too, although that process inevitably includes a few weekends like this last one.

(02-16-2020 08:15 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  The bottom line is that we just don't have the kind of talent we had 10-15 years ago. We just flat don't. And I don't know whether we can make up the ground or not. I'm not going to call out the players, I truly believe that they are being as good as they can be. But they can only be so good, and that's not as good as the best or even near-best.

Maybe the way we treated Wayne Graham is going to come back in the form of a curse to rival the billy goat in Chicago or the Bambino in Boston. Karma can be a witch sometimes. I still think that what Wayne did for Rice University entitled him to go out on his own terms. I'd have offered him the right to name his own successor (which I usually think is a terrible idea, but this was such an exceptional case that I would go there) and to have that successor on campus for a year that would be Wayne's sundown cruise. And I would have offered Wayne a position in the Athletic Department doing fundraising and alumni relations. There is probably nobody since Jess in Rice athletics who was more respected by more alumni. So put that to use. Too late now, it's water over the dam (or maybe the dam burst, although I still hold out hope that it didn't).

I still fully support Bragga and the team, but I wonder if we aren't kidding ourselves about where we are and where we can go. I think it will take a very special leader to get Rice baseball back to Omaha. Those tend to come around once in a lifetime. When he did for us, his name was Wayne. And we treated him like crap in the end. I can see where any of his former players would be livid about it. Wade clearly fits that bill.

Agreed, word for word...

However, to give the guys at least a fighting chance, I’ve gone ahead and made plans to be out of the country during the weekends of the conference tournament and the regionals....

(02-17-2020 09:17 AM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  However, to give the guys at least a fighting chance, I’ve gone ahead and made plans to be out of the country during the weekends of the conference tournament and the regionals....

Prague? Enjoy. I may be there about a month later.

FYI ... Conference USA teams' first weekend results ... copied from the Conference board (and re-ordered to put winners at the top):

(02-17-2020 09:50 AM)EagNBran Wrote:  So at the end of the weekend, this is where we stand:

La Tech at Southeastern/ULL - 3-0
UTSA host Quinnipiac - 3-0
FIU host Fordham - 3-0
USM host Murray St - 3-0
FAU host Delaware - 3-0
ODU host Towson - 3-0
WKU host Valpo - 2-0 (still one today)
UAB host Notre Dame - 1-2
Charlotte host VCU - 1-2
Marshall at Florida - 0-3
MT at North Carolina - 0-3
Rice host Texas - 0-3

(02-17-2020 09:09 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(02-17-2020 01:03 AM)mhatter106 Wrote:  

(02-16-2020 09:58 PM)Minnewaska Owl Wrote:  Walt said before the series started that we have a much better hitting team this year, but that we may struggle against UT because we have not yet been exposed to the type of pitching talent we would see this weekend. I think he was right - and I think we will progress significantly as the season goes along. I like this team and will definitely come back and see several more games this season. I think we are going to pleasantly surprise a lot of the early season naysayers.

What’s a reasonable projection for the team this year, do you think? I’d love to see a return to the tourney, but my thoughts are that that’s out of reach for this year’s team with their pitching.

Well, the conference tournament champion makes it automatically, and anything can happen in one weekend in Biloxi (remember, Wayne's SWC tournament champion finished last in regular season play, although that team had more talent than I see here). The trick would be to see how much we can improve between now and then. But I just doubt we have the Jimmies and Joes. We were recruiting with one hand tied behind our backs for the better part of a decade, and it's going to take at least a couple of really strong recruiting classes to get us back into play.

I don't think we will spend this season trying to figure out where we go for regionals, or whether we get to host a super. We're just not there yet. This will be more about watching the youngsters grow and develop. That can be fun too, although that process inevitably includes a few weekends like this last one.

Chip, save for the pitching staff, this is an upperclass-laden team with 7 Seniors/Grad students and another 12 Juniors. You're also underestimating the position player talent on this team. Tre Cruz is a stud and likely Top 3 round draft pick come June. Comeaux, Edwards and Bulman are all well above-average college players...and Gneiting is above average.

I was encouraged and discouraged all at once this weekend. We are definitely better than last year but we are not at the same level as Texas. Several times we had chances to blow the game wide open and each time we let the moment be bigger than us. The Longhorns were making mistakes and we did not make them pay.

Pitching was the worry going into the year and to be honest it was not that bad. We were in every game and the lineup just did not hit as expected. Friday got a bit out of hand late but Saturday and Sunday were winnable. The pitching staff held up on their end of the bargain (=<5 runs).

I said this leading up to the weekend and so did several others - run support is going to be a big deal for our pitching staff. We are supposed to hit well and if we can score 5-7 runs a game we will win more than we will lose. Run support builds confidence. Great example of this would be Blake Fox - a great pitcher that really turned it on when the bats got going.

Need a bounce-back tonight. We should expect to be better than Sam Houston.

Tonight’s game has been postponed.

(02-18-2020 12:54 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Tonight’s game has been postponed.

Guess we'll watch the Horns host UTSA on the LHN instead

I think we could have played it in Houston but they're getting quite a bit of rain up in Huntsville tonight.

Former Rice position player Kelby Weyler was named Southland Player of the Week.

Not that I think our current players are bad but it makes you scratch your head as to why he was run off after Graham’s departure.

(02-18-2020 11:08 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Former Rice position player Kelby Weyler was named Southland Player of the Week.

Not that I think our current players are bad but it makes you scratch your head as to why he was run off after Graham’s departure.

He was overmatched both offensively and defensively the 2 - 3 times he actually played for Rice.

(02-18-2020 11:57 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-18-2020 11:08 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Former Rice position player Kelby Weyler was named Southland Player of the Week.

Not that I think our current players are bad but it makes you scratch your head as to why he was run off after Graham’s departure.

He was overmatched both offensively and defensively the 2 - 3 times he actually played for Rice.

<Cue up the obligatory defense of running off kids and cutting scholarship offers to kids who honored their commitment to Rice University>

(02-18-2020 11:08 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Former Rice position player Kelby Weyler was named Southland Player of the Week.

Not that I think our current players are bad but it makes you scratch your head as to why he was run off after Graham’s departure.

What's the background on his departure?

(02-19-2020 09:30 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(02-18-2020 11:08 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Former Rice position player Kelby Weyler was named Southland Player of the Week.

Not that I think our current players are bad but it makes you scratch your head as to why he was run off after Graham’s departure.

What's the background on his departure?

No idea. I just know he left the program after one season in the summer of 2018 (tweet posted in 7/2018 a few weeks after Bragga was hired).

Also speaking of attrition over the past couple of years, I see that Dane Acker is in OU's weekend rotation and threw 5 innings this past weekend, only giving up one run.

It is nice to see kids succeed post-transferring. Good for them.

Wish them nothing but the best.