(04-09-2024 11:19 PM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(04-09-2024 04:21 PM)Swede Owl Wrote:  Losing streak up to 9 games. As I am morbidly curious (and lazy), does anyone know what the longest losing streak is in Rice baseball history?

13 out of the last 14. Brutal.

Lost 8 in a row at the end of 1991, couldn't find any longer streaks in a quick check.

Not for nothing, that was the end of the Coach Hall era. He was let go following that season, and Coach Graham arrived.

At what point do we cut our losses and start over? 9-24 is flat-out unacceptable. Losing to UIW at home is embarrassing. Some of that is coaching but at some point, it's simply a lack of talent and focus.

RPI sitting at 234!!!

315K/138BB ratio as a team! You could get high-schoolers to do that.

5.50 team ERA

(04-10-2024 11:46 AM)owls_0102 Wrote:  At what point do we cut our losses and start over? 9-24 is flat-out unacceptable. Losing to UIW at home is embarrassing. Some of that is coaching but at some point, it's simply a lack of talent and focus.

RPI sitting at 234!!!

315K/138BB ratio as a team! You could get high-schoolers to do that.

5.50 team ERA

I think you're grossly underestimating the importance and the impact of coaching and player development.

(04-10-2024 11:59 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:46 AM)owls_0102 Wrote:  At what point do we cut our losses and start over? 9-24 is flat-out unacceptable. Losing to UIW at home is embarrassing. Some of that is coaching but at some point, it's simply a lack of talent and focus.

RPI sitting at 234!!!

315K/138BB ratio as a team! You could get high-schoolers to do that.

5.50 team ERA

I think you're grossly underestimating the importance and the impact of coaching and player development.

I certainly understand the importance of coaching. Make no mistake Coach Cruz is one of the most knowledgable hitting guys out there. When you have guys striking out in 60% of their at-bats what coach can help that? When you are starting multiple guys hitting under (or soon to be hitting under) 200? That's a talent issue...

(04-10-2024 12:08 PM)owls_0102 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:59 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:46 AM)owls_0102 Wrote:  At what point do we cut our losses and start over? 9-24 is flat-out unacceptable. Losing to UIW at home is embarrassing. Some of that is coaching but at some point, it's simply a lack of talent and focus.

RPI sitting at 234!!!

315K/138BB ratio as a team! You could get high-schoolers to do that.

5.50 team ERA

I think you're grossly underestimating the importance and the impact of coaching and player development.

I certainly understand the importance of coaching. Make no mistake Coach Cruz is one of the most knowledgable hitting guys out there. When you have guys striking out in 60% of their at-bats what coach can help that? When you are starting multiple guys hitting under (or soon to be hitting under) 200? That's a talent issue...

From what I hear Cruz isn't very actively coaching or recruiting.

I really wanted Cruz to succeed, but I don't think lack of talent is a valid excuse.

When the team gets beat down by the likes of LSU - sure, blame NIL or whatever you can think of besides the coaching.

When the team gets beat down at home by UIW and gets swept by Wichita State, to say nothing of the series losses to other conference mates, how does one stretch the imagination sufficiently to attribute the losses to NIL money?

(04-10-2024 12:08 PM)owls_0102 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:59 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:46 AM)owls_0102 Wrote:  At what point do we cut our losses and start over? 9-24 is flat-out unacceptable. Losing to UIW at home is embarrassing. Some of that is coaching but at some point, it's simply a lack of talent and focus.

RPI sitting at 234!!!

315K/138BB ratio as a team! You could get high-schoolers to do that.

5.50 team ERA

I think you're grossly underestimating the importance and the impact of coaching and player development.

I certainly understand the importance of coaching. Make no mistake Coach Cruz is one of the most knowledgable hitting guys out there. When you have guys striking out in 60% of their at-bats what coach can help that? When you are starting multiple guys hitting under (or soon to be hitting under) 200? That's a talent issue...

Disagree. As mentioned previously, every single player on the team-- pitchers and position players (save for Becker)-- has declined precipitously in performance from last year. We're an embarrassment at executing the sac bunt. That's coaching and practice. The inability to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position is coaching. No one's questioning Jose's knowledge of hitting, but that doesn't necessarily translate into his ability to coach it. As I've said before, sometimes I wonder whether our current coaching staff is over-reliant on analytics and technology at the expense of actual coaching and player development.

(04-10-2024 01:06 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  As mentioned previously, every single player on the team-- pitchers and position players (save for Becker)-- has declined precipitously in performance from last year.

That is perhaps the most perplexing thing of all.

There is very clearly a talent deficit, To what extent the inability to "stack" scholarships is responsible for this is debatable, but clearly it has some significant impact. But when there is a talent deficit, the ability to develop what talent there is in order to reduce or minimize the deficit becomes a primary objectove, and that clearly is not happening. Cheito certainly knows baseball, so is the development failure due to his inability to translate his knowledge, or a suggested lack of effort on his part, or to inability of the coaching staff to perform their jobs?

(04-10-2024 04:00 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 01:06 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  As mentioned previously, every single player on the team-- pitchers and position players (save for Becker)-- has declined precipitously in performance from last year.

That is perhaps the most perplexing thing of all.

There is very clearly a talent deficit, To what extent the inability to "stack" scholarships is responsible for this is debatable, but clearly it has some significant impact. But when there is a talent deficit, the ability to develop what talent there is in order to reduce or minimize the deficit becomes a primary objectove, and that clearly is not happening. Cheito certainly knows baseball, so is the development failure due to his inability to translate his knowledge, or a suggested lack of effort on his part, or to inability of the coaching staff to perform their jobs?

Any of those three should be enough to make a change.

(04-10-2024 04:16 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 04:00 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 01:06 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  As mentioned previously, every single player on the team-- pitchers and position players (save for Becker)-- has declined precipitously in performance from last year.

That is perhaps the most perplexing thing of all.
There is very clearly a talent deficit, To what extent the inability to "stack" scholarships is responsible for this is debatable, but clearly it has some significant impact. But when there is a talent deficit, the ability to develop what talent there is in order to reduce or minimize the deficit becomes a primary objectove, and that clearly is not happening. Cheito certainly knows baseball, so is the development failure due to his inability to translate his knowledge, or a suggested lack of effort on his part, or to inability of the coaching staff to perform their jobs?

Any of those three should be enough to make a change.

And if a change is in order, the hiring committee should consis of one person--Wayne Graham--the way it should have been done in the first place. And Rice needs to offer a solution to the scholarship stacking problem as part of the new coach's package.

(04-10-2024 04:27 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 04:16 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 04:00 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 01:06 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  As mentioned previously, every single player on the team-- pitchers and position players (save for Becker)-- has declined precipitously in performance from last year.

That is perhaps the most perplexing thing of all.
There is very clearly a talent deficit, To what extent the inability to "stack" scholarships is responsible for this is debatable, but clearly it has some significant impact. But when there is a talent deficit, the ability to develop what talent there is in order to reduce or minimize the deficit becomes a primary objectove, and that clearly is not happening. Cheito certainly knows baseball, so is the development failure due to his inability to translate his knowledge, or a suggested lack of effort on his part, or to inability of the coaching staff to perform their jobs?

Any of those three should be enough to make a change.

And if a change is in order, the hiring committee should consis of one person--Wayne Graham--the way it should have been done in the first place. And Rice needs to offer a solution to the scholarship stacking problem as part of the new coach's package.

At this point I'm not sure I agree that Wayne should be involved. Having said that, I'm pretty sure his pick would be the same as mine-- Patrick Hallmark. Yes, he's got a cushy job at UTSA, but both he and his wife are Houston natives and Rice grads, and Pat certainly check off every single box.

(04-10-2024 04:51 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  At this point I'm not sure I agree that Wayne should be involved. Having said that, I'm pretty sure his pick would be the same as mine-- Patrick Hallmark. Yes, he's got a cushy job at UTSA, but both he and his wife are Houston natives and Rice grads, and Pat certainly check off every single box.

At this point I am quite certain that Wayne should never have been not involved. I am also quite certain that unless and until there is a successful resolution to the scholarship stacking issue, nobody is going to be able to win big as baseball coach at Rice.

(04-10-2024 10:06 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 04:51 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  At this point I'm not sure I agree that Wayne should be involved. Having said that, I'm pretty sure his pick would be the same as mine-- Patrick Hallmark. Yes, he's got a cushy job at UTSA, but both he and his wife are Houston natives and Rice grads, and Pat certainly check off every single box.

At this point I am quite certain that Wayne should never have been not involved. I am also quite certain that unless and until there is a successful resolution to the scholarship stacking issue, nobody is going to be able to win big as baseball coach at Rice.

Define win big? There's a big difference between returning to the Top 25 and having an RPI above 200. IMO, a good, proven coach such as Hallmark could get us back into the Top 50, and back into post-season play. The talent is not anywhere near as bad as you and some others make it out to be.

(04-10-2024 12:16 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 12:08 PM)owls_0102 Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:59 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(04-10-2024 11:46 AM)owls_0102 Wrote:  At what point do we cut our losses and start over? 9-24 is flat-out unacceptable. Losing to UIW at home is embarrassing. Some of that is coaching but at some point, it's simply a lack of talent and focus.

RPI sitting at 234!!!

315K/138BB ratio as a team! You could get high-schoolers to do that.

5.50 team ERA

I think you're grossly underestimating the importance and the impact of coaching and player development.

I certainly understand the importance of coaching. Make no mistake Coach Cruz is one of the most knowledgable hitting guys out there. When you have guys striking out in 60% of their at-bats what coach can help that? When you are starting multiple guys hitting under (or soon to be hitting under) 200? That's a talent issue...

From what I hear Cruz isn't very actively coaching or recruiting.

I really wanted Cruz to succeed, but I don't think lack of talent is a valid excuse.

When the team gets beat down by the likes of LSU - sure, blame NIL or whatever you can think of besides the coaching.

When the team gets beat down at home by UIW and gets swept by Wichita State, to say nothing of the series losses to other conference mates, how does one stretch the imagination sufficiently to attribute the losses to NIL money?

Unfortunately that is what I’m hearing too. Acts like a pro manager and shows up and writes the lineup cards and that’s about it. Unfortunately that isn’t gonna get it done.

(04-10-2024 10:17 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Define win big?

Conference champion, post-season bid.

Quote:
IMO, a good, proven coach such as Hallmark could get us back into the Top 50, and back into post-season play.

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it.

Is there a site which lists programs that allow scholarship stacking? It would seem reading here that Rice is the only school that doesn’t. I’d be interested in seeing a list for the top 75 schools currently in the rankings. Particularly interesting would be non P4’s and private institutions like DBU where the tuition is:


Average annual cost
Before aid
$49,257
After aid
$26,929
Aid includes grants and scholarships from the institution, state, and federal government