We have officially reached the halfway point though conference play and it is hard to justify any reason to be optimistic at this point. Sitting at 4-11 in conference play and 13-25 overall is not going to cut it. This is the worst season in the Graham era by far. There have been very little signs of improvement and I worry things will only get worse as the pressure comes to a head. It is obvious that we HAVE to win the conference tournament to make it to the post season. However we could potentially fall short of that and miss the conference tournament all together. That would be catastrophic. There is also little reason to think that "it is just a down year" and that things will drastically turn around next year. Yes I know we have a great recruiting class coming in next year and that is a great start. Yet we have never had this issue under Graham so why now?

Something that seems to be the most disturbing is the leadership in the locker room. I am not necessarily talking about the players. I mean more of what goes on behind the scenes and how things are handled. The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

We all know the players want to win more than anyone on these boards. You are kidding yourself if you do not believe that. The conference tournament can still be reached and we can still make the tournament. However if the leadership does not have their heads on straight that will derail any remaining chance we have.

I don't know what's wrong, but I do know that something is badly wrong. I don't know enough about the situation to make any specific allegations, but what has happened is incredibly disturbing.

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  We have officially reached the halfway point though conference play and it is hard to justify any reason to be optimistic at this point. Sitting at 4-11 in conference play and 13-25 overall is not going to cut it. This is the worst season in the Graham era by far. There have been very little signs of improvement and I worry things will only get worse as the pressure comes to a head. It is obvious that we HAVE to win the conference tournament to make it to the post season. However we could potentially fall short of that and miss the conference tournament all together. That would be catastrophic. There is also little reason to think that "it is just a down year" and that things will drastically turn around next year. Yes I know we have a great recruiting class coming in next year and that is a great start. Yet we have never had this issue under Graham so why now?

Something that seems to be the most disturbing is the leadership in the locker room. I am not necessarily talking about the players. I mean more of what goes on behind the scenes and how things are handled. The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

We all know the players want to win more than anyone on these boards. You are kidding yourself if you do not believe that. The conference tournament can still be reached and we can still make the tournament. However if the leadership does not have their heads on straight that will derail any remaining chance we have.

Panic time was a month ago. It's over now. The pressure is off. It was a good ride. Now this program is just like all the others at Rice. Those programs seem content. We should just relax and enjoy the last couple weeks of the season.

(04-17-2017 12:11 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  We have officially reached the halfway point though conference play and it is hard to justify any reason to be optimistic at this point. Sitting at 4-11 in conference play and 13-25 overall is not going to cut it. This is the worst season in the Graham era by far. There have been very little signs of improvement and I worry things will only get worse as the pressure comes to a head. It is obvious that we HAVE to win the conference tournament to make it to the post season. However we could potentially fall short of that and miss the conference tournament all together. That would be catastrophic. There is also little reason to think that "it is just a down year" and that things will drastically turn around next year. Yes I know we have a great recruiting class coming in next year and that is a great start. Yet we have never had this issue under Graham so why now?

Something that seems to be the most disturbing is the leadership in the locker room. I am not necessarily talking about the players. I mean more of what goes on behind the scenes and how things are handled. The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

We all know the players want to win more than anyone on these boards. You are kidding yourself if you do not believe that. The conference tournament can still be reached and we can still make the tournament. However if the leadership does not have their heads on straight that will derail any remaining chance we have.

Panic time was a month ago. It's over now. The pressure is off. It was a good ride. Now this program is just like all the others at Rice. Those programs seem content. We should just relax and enjoy the last couple weeks of the season.

I know this is a slam against football, and Bailiff in particular, maybe JK too.

BUT: Which other programs do you think seem "content"? "all the others"? Really?

I'll start by saying that ERA is not a great stat. There are much better stats that are harder to calculate, and frankly, I don't care enough to try and calculate them. That said, Rice team ERA's over the past few years (I have also included extra-base hits allowed per game; followed by walks allowed per game):
2012 - 2.85 (1.3) (3.6)
2013 - 2.83 (1.5) (3.2)
2014 - 2.56 (1.5) (3.1)
2015 - 3.16 (1.8) (3.3)
2016 - 3.76 (2.1) (3.8)
2017 - 5.25 (2.4) (5.3)

Pitching - While I didn't include the numbers, the pitchers are striking out opposing batters at roughly the same rate. However, look at the walk rates and extra-base hit rates! Bad combination.

Same warning with this one. Errors are a very subjective stat, making unearned runs fraught with problems. Still, it isn't entirely without use for a quick calculation. Unearned runs per game (along with errors per game):
2012 - 0.45 (1.0)
2013 - 0.66 (1.1)
2014 - 0.53 (0.9)
2015 - 1.05 (1.4)
2016 - 0.65 (1.1)
2017 - 1.11 (1.3)

Defense - After atrocious defense early, I think the defense has at least stabilized the past month.

One final warning. Batting average is close to a garbage stat. OBP and SLG are better. OPS (on-base + slugging) is probably better than just OBP or SLG, but has its own imperfections. That said, it is easy to calculate and provides some useful information:
2012 - .774
2013 - .741
2014 - .748
2015 - .747
2016 - .711
2017 - .733

Offense - the offense is playing at the same general level as the past half-decade. I think it is fair to expect that to continue to improve (or at least maintain) with Gray heating up and the lineup healthy.

If the team wants to get itself playing at the still-very-good-but-no-longer-elite tier that it had been playing at the past half-decade, the pitchers need to walk fewer guys and allow fewer extra-base hits. Tough combination though, because throwing more strikes (fewer walks) might lead to opposing batters pounding the ball. Nibbling on the edges to avoid extra-base hits likely leads to more walks.

I don't think we can place the pitching woes on any 1 guy. There is both a lack of elite production from the best pitchers on the roster this season and a lack of depth. The question is whether the talent has dropped off this far, whether the off-season coaching change hurt the program, whether these were latent problems that exploded this year with Duplantier & Fox leaving, or whether it is something else. I'm not close enough to know why the problem exists, but the problem is the pitching.

I guess a second question is whether the problem can somehow be fixed in time to make the conference tournament and perhaps make a run. Haven't seen signs of it yet.

(04-17-2017 02:14 PM)mrbig Wrote:  I'll start by saying that ERA is not a great stat. There are much better stats that are harder to calculate, and frankly, I don't care enough to try and calculate them. That said, Rice team ERA's over the past few years (I have also included extra-base hits allowed per game; followed by walks allowed per game):
2012 - 2.85 (1.3) (3.6)
2013 - 2.83 (1.5) (3.2)
2014 - 2.56 (1.5) (3.1)
2015 - 3.16 (1.8) (3.3)
2016 - 3.76 (2.1) (3.8)
2017 - 5.25 (2.4) (5.3)

Pitching - While I didn't include the numbers, the pitchers are striking out opposing batters at roughly the same rate. However, look at the walk rates and extra-base hit rates! Bad combination.

Same warning with this one. Errors are a very subjective stat, making unearned runs fraught with problems. Still, it isn't entirely without use for a quick calculation. Unearned runs per game (along with errors per game):
2012 - 0.45 (1.0)
2013 - 0.66 (1.1)
2014 - 0.53 (0.9)
2015 - 1.05 (1.4)
2016 - 0.65 (1.1)
2017 - 1.11 (1.3)

Defense - After atrocious defense early, I think the defense has at least stabilized the past month.

One final warning. Batting average is close to a garbage stat. OBP and SLG are better. OPS (on-base + slugging) is probably better than just OBP or SLG, but has its own imperfections. That said, it is easy to calculate and provides some useful information:
2012 - .774
2013 - .741
2014 - .748
2015 - .747
2016 - .711
2017 - .733

Offense - the offense is playing at the same general level as the past half-decade. I think it is fair to expect that to continue to improve (or at least maintain) with Gray heating up and the lineup healthy.

If the team wants to get itself playing at the still-very-good-but-no-longer-elite tier that it had been playing at the past half-decade, the pitchers need to walk fewer guys and allow fewer extra-base hits. Tough combination though, because throwing more strikes (fewer walks) might lead to opposing batters pounding the ball. Nibbling on the edges to avoid extra-base hits likely leads to more walks.

I don't think we can place the pitching woes on any 1 guy. There is both a lack of elite production from the best pitchers on the roster this season and a lack of depth. The question is whether the talent has dropped off this far, whether the off-season coaching change hurt the program, whether these were latent problems that exploded this year with Duplantier & Fox leaving, or whether it is something else. I'm not close enough to know why the problem exists, but the problem is the pitching.

I guess a second question is whether the problem can somehow be fixed in time to make the conference tournament and perhaps make a run. Haven't seen signs of it yet.

I do agree that ERA does not always tell the full story but over the course of a season the law of averages does its work. I would argue the best stat to look at is WHIP. I am not sure how far back we could go with that though. Either way our team ERA really does stand out. With all the excessive errors (even though subjective) you would think that would protect the ERA. It is good to look at these numbers.

(04-17-2017 12:23 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 12:11 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  We have officially reached the halfway point though conference play and it is hard to justify any reason to be optimistic at this point. Sitting at 4-11 in conference play and 13-25 overall is not going to cut it. This is the worst season in the Graham era by far. There have been very little signs of improvement and I worry things will only get worse as the pressure comes to a head. It is obvious that we HAVE to win the conference tournament to make it to the post season. However we could potentially fall short of that and miss the conference tournament all together. That would be catastrophic. There is also little reason to think that "it is just a down year" and that things will drastically turn around next year. Yes I know we have a great recruiting class coming in next year and that is a great start. Yet we have never had this issue under Graham so why now?

Something that seems to be the most disturbing is the leadership in the locker room. I am not necessarily talking about the players. I mean more of what goes on behind the scenes and how things are handled. The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

We all know the players want to win more than anyone on these boards. You are kidding yourself if you do not believe that. The conference tournament can still be reached and we can still make the tournament. However if the leadership does not have their heads on straight that will derail any remaining chance we have.

Panic time was a month ago. It's over now. The pressure is off. It was a good ride. Now this program is just like all the others at Rice. Those programs seem content. We should just relax and enjoy the last couple weeks of the season.

I know this is a slam against football, and Bailiff in particular, maybe JK too.

BUT: Which other programs do you think seem "content"? "all the others"? Really?

I'm not sure what made that a post against football or Bailiff in particular. It wasn't. Many of our sports have been mediocre to terrible for years. Some with intermittent success. Others had shades of relative success. None have been close to the caliber of baseball any year, much less as consistently has baseball has. Despite that, few have seen noteworthy changes in attempt to reach the level of expectation baseball has set. Pardon me for taking that as content...but it's not an outrageous assumption. All along, those kids seem happy, proud of their accomplishments and their coaches (for the most part) keep their jobs. So baseball can and should too. Right?

Again, panicking a month ago made sense. Now. Its time to enjoy the accomplishments we do have and appreciate the seniors for their great work on campus.

(04-17-2017 04:07 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  I'm not sure what made that a post against football or Bailiff in particular. It wasn't. Many of our sports have been mediocre to terrible for years. Some with intermittent success. Others had shades of relative success. None have been close to the caliber of baseball any year, much less as consistently has baseball has. Despite that, few have seen noteworthy changes in attempt to reach the level of expectation baseball has set. Pardon me for taking that as content...but it's not an outrageous assumption. All along, those kids seem happy, proud of their accomplishments and their coaches (for the most part) keep their jobs. So baseball can and should too. Right?

Again, panicking a month ago made sense. Now. Its time to enjoy the accomplishments we do have and appreciate the seniors for their great work on campus.

Maybe for the fans. But I imagine the players and coaches are continuing to push and try to improve themselves. First step to anywhere is making the CUSA tournament.

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

wait, what???

(04-17-2017 05:01 PM)BSWBRice Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

wait, what???

Coach K calls a full team meeting at his house and tells players they can't wear the Duke D until they better compete and he's applauded. Herman shows up at UofH and chains up the locker room until the players earn they're way back in and it makes him a refreshing change of culture. Coach Graham sends home players that won't play anyway when the whole team clearly isnt competing hard enough and he's old, senile and losing control.

Give it a rest. He should have done that a month ago. The only shame is he was too nice to these kids all fall and through the early part of the season because nobody wanted to hurt there feelings. Now it's over. Too late. Nice try.

(04-17-2017 05:11 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:01 PM)BSWBRice Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

wait, what???

Coach K calls a full team meeting at his house and tells players they can't wear the Duke D until they better compete and he's applauded. Herman shows up at UofH and chains up the locker room until the players earn they're way back in and it makes him a refreshing change of culture. Coach Graham sends home players that won't play anyway when the whole team clearly isnt competing hard enough and he's old, senile and losing control.

Give it a rest. He should have done that a month ago. The only shame is he was too nice to these kids all fall and through the early part of the season because nobody wanted to hurt there feelings. Now it's over. Too late. Nice try.

Well they clearly would play otherwise he would not have brought something up based on their performance. That has not happened here at Rice either. When have you ever heard of a player being sent home based on a performance? Also your coach comparisons are taking place in the off season. This is mid season when the pressure to perform is higher than it has been. Say the season is over all you want but they are still playing for a spot to get into the conference tournament. This is actual panic. Also no one in this thread has suggested anything about Graham's age or mental state. You are the one coming up with that on your own.

(04-17-2017 05:20 PM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:11 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:01 PM)BSWBRice Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

wait, what???

Coach K calls a full team meeting at his house and tells players they can't wear the Duke D until they better compete and he's applauded. Herman shows up at UofH and chains up the locker room until the players earn they're way back in and it makes him a refreshing change of culture. Coach Graham sends home players that won't play anyway when the whole team clearly isnt competing hard enough and he's old, senile and losing control.

Give it a rest. He should have done that a month ago. The only shame is he was too nice to these kids all fall and through the early part of the season because nobody wanted to hurt there feelings. Now it's over. Too late. Nice try.

Well they clearly would play otherwise he would not have brought something up based on their performance. That has not happened here at Rice either. When have you ever heard of a player being sent home based on a performance? Also your coach comparisons are taking place in the off season. This is mid season when the pressure to perform is higher than it has been. Say the season is over all you want but they are still playing for a spot to get into the conference tournament. This is actual panic. Also no one in this thread has suggested anything about Graham's age or mental state. You are the one coming up with that on your own.

A few things:
1. Duke's story was mid year this year. Check it out before popping off.
2. Before you arrived here, this did happen. Just because you don't know about it and some whiney poster didn't run to the boards doesn't mean it never did.
3. Seeing as how no program at Rice is as good as those programs (wait except baseball the past 22 years) maybe the other programs should do some of this.
4. I'm not arguing it's not panic. I'm saying they should have panicked a month ago and now is too late. So relax, play baseball and maybe they'll get lucky. Otherwise, try to enjoy a couple more weeks of baseball and wait til next year. Panic now is futile. So is creating drama on these message boards.

(04-17-2017 05:32 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:20 PM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:11 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:01 PM)BSWBRice Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 11:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  The fact that coach Graham sent players home before a game is ridiculous. Yes you have read that correctly, sent players home before a game. Not for trouble with the law or violation of team rules but simply because he was not happy with how they performed and their reasoning as to why. As an avid fan I like to think that I panic when things get tough. We all want the best for the team and the kids. No one wants to see them fail. However screaming and throwing a tantrum then telling SIX players to go home means you are panicking. You have lost control of yourself as well as the team. You have given up and see no solution.

wait, what???

Coach K calls a full team meeting at his house and tells players they can't wear the Duke D until they better compete and he's applauded. Herman shows up at UofH and chains up the locker room until the players earn they're way back in and it makes him a refreshing change of culture. Coach Graham sends home players that won't play anyway when the whole team clearly isnt competing hard enough and he's old, senile and losing control.

Give it a rest. He should have done that a month ago. The only shame is he was too nice to these kids all fall and through the early part of the season because nobody wanted to hurt there feelings. Now it's over. Too late. Nice try.

Well they clearly would play otherwise he would not have brought something up based on their performance. That has not happened here at Rice either. When have you ever heard of a player being sent home based on a performance? Also your coach comparisons are taking place in the off season. This is mid season when the pressure to perform is higher than it has been. Say the season is over all you want but they are still playing for a spot to get into the conference tournament. This is actual panic. Also no one in this thread has suggested anything about Graham's age or mental state. You are the one coming up with that on your own.

A few things:
1. Duke's story was mid year this year. Check it out before popping off.
2. Before you arrived here, this did happen. Just because you don't know about it and some whiney poster didn't run to the boards doesn't mean it never did.
3. Seeing as how no program at Rice is as good as those programs (wait except baseball the past 22 years) maybe the other programs should do some of this.
4. I'm not arguing it's not panic. I'm saying they should have panicked a month ago and now is too late. So relax, play baseball and maybe they'll get lucky. Otherwise, try to enjoy a couple more weeks of baseball and wait til next year. Panic now is futile. So is creating drama on these message boards.

Well first off coach K did that while the interim coach (Jeff Capel) was serving in his absence due to a back surgery so that is a bit of a different situation. Also before I arrived here suggests that you know when I "arrived" which you do not and when has this happened before? The drama was not created here either. These are facts that came from a situation that happened Sunday.

(04-17-2017 05:40 PM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:32 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:20 PM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:11 PM)BufflOwl Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 05:01 PM)BSWBRice Wrote:  wait, what???

Coach K calls a full team meeting at his house and tells players they can't wear the Duke D until they better compete and he's applauded. Herman shows up at UofH and chains up the locker room until the players earn they're way back in and it makes him a refreshing change of culture. Coach Graham sends home players that won't play anyway when the whole team clearly isnt competing hard enough and he's old, senile and losing control.

Give it a rest. He should have done that a month ago. The only shame is he was too nice to these kids all fall and through the early part of the season because nobody wanted to hurt there feelings. Now it's over. Too late. Nice try.

Well they clearly would play otherwise he would not have brought something up based on their performance. That has not happened here at Rice either. When have you ever heard of a player being sent home based on a performance? Also your coach comparisons are taking place in the off season. This is mid season when the pressure to perform is higher than it has been. Say the season is over all you want but they are still playing for a spot to get into the conference tournament. This is actual panic. Also no one in this thread has suggested anything about Graham's age or mental state. You are the one coming up with that on your own.

A few things:
1. Duke's story was mid year this year. Check it out before popping off.
2. Before you arrived here, this did happen. Just because you don't know about it and some whiney poster didn't run to the boards doesn't mean it never did.
3. Seeing as how no program at Rice is as good as those programs (wait except baseball the past 22 years) maybe the other programs should do some of this.
4. I'm not arguing it's not panic. I'm saying they should have panicked a month ago and now is too late. So relax, play baseball and maybe they'll get lucky. Otherwise, try to enjoy a couple more weeks of baseball and wait til next year. Panic now is futile. So is creating drama on these message boards.

Well first off coach K did that while the interim coach (Jeff Capel) was serving in his absence due to a back surgery so that is a bit of a different situation. Also before I arrived here suggests that you know when I "arrived" which you do not and when has this happened before? The drama was not created here either. These are facts that came from a situation that happened Sunday.

1. The point of the story is he took away their Duke branded equipment until they earned it back. Not where the meeting was.
2. Every time you post there is a little number we can all see that increases saying how many times you posted. Right by that, it says when you joined. At least with this username. Before that, this happened a couple times before.
3. You posting locker room drama is creating unnecessary additional drama. When you do so you create new drama. You don't take locker room talk or locker room drama out of the locker room. If it's bad enough, and you have to, you take it to administration or the police. You don't post locker room drama on message boards. Ever. Therefore, I won't share stories here from before you were born. If you do know this team as well as you say you do...you should know better.

After the Texas and Stanford series I was optimistic. Early in the season. Good offense. Potential in the pitching. Defense needed work. But, hey... it was early.
And then the wheels came off. And we hit a wall. And never recovered any consistency at all. The
Like Owl69 has said. It's inexplicable.
But you have to think it's something pretty fundamental. Because we have not even sniffed a bit of success in weeks. No.. months.
The season is a loss. At least compared to our last almost quarter century standards. The post season is nothing but a dream.
I hope the players are finding something to strive for at this point. I really feel for them.

I've seen disappointing performances at the plate over the last 10 years or so, on the mound for approximately the last 5 years, and in the field (with regard to the inexplicable frequency of errors) for the last 2 or 3 years. This is judging against Rice Baseball standards going back to 2003, so it is a difficult criteria. Every year I have read about the outstanding group of new recruits on the way, only to be greeted by a continuation of the slide downhill. Some of this is likely just a return to the Rice athletics norm due to a number of factors beyond the coaches' control. I don't know how much. But it does seem like some things have been going clearly downhill, even accelerating, in the most recent years. One could argue with good reason how difficult it is for any program to remain at the elite level the Rice program had been at for the length of time it was there. But this year something has completely jumped off the tracks. It seems like the athletes have clearly not been performing to their potential, or even as well as they did in high school when it comes to errors in the field. Even the best chief executive begins to look bad when middle management isn't doing its job. And that is a reflection on that executive's ability to attract and retain talent, and their overall business processes.

(04-17-2017 10:44 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  I've seen disappointing performances at the plate over the last 10 years or so, on the mound for approximately the last 5 years, and in the field (with regard to the inexplicable frequency of errors) for the last 2 or 3 years. This is judging against Rice Baseball standards going back to 2003, so it is a difficult criteria. Every year I have read about the outstanding group of new recruits on the way, only to be greeted by a continuation of the slide downhill. Some of this is likely just a return to the Rice athletics norm due to a number of factors beyond the coaches' control. I don't know how much. But it does seem like some things have been going clearly downhill, even accelerating, in the most recent years. One could argue with good reason how difficult it is for any program to remain at the elite level the Rice program had been at for the length of time it was there. But this year something has completely jumped off the tracks. It seems like the athletes have clearly not been performing to their potential, or even as well as they did in high school when it comes to errors in the field. Even the best chief executive begins to look bad when middle management isn't doing its job. And that is a reflection on that executive's ability to attract and retain talent, and their overall business processes.

I think you are right mentioning how difficult it is for any program to remain at an elite level for so long. Even if this is a return to the norm as you put it, you would not expect to go from just missing a 40 win season to barely having double digit wins at this point in the season. Also why do you think these athletes are not performing as well as they did in high school? What could cause talented individuals to consistently regress year after year? Also just to note, the chief executive in athletics would be the AD making the coaches the middle men. So you are saying they are making the AD look bad correct?

(04-18-2017 08:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 10:44 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  I've seen disappointing performances at the plate over the last 10 years or so, on the mound for approximately the last 5 years, and in the field (with regard to the inexplicable frequency of errors) for the last 2 or 3 years. This is judging against Rice Baseball standards going back to 2003, so it is a difficult criteria. Every year I have read about the outstanding group of new recruits on the way, only to be greeted by a continuation of the slide downhill. Some of this is likely just a return to the Rice athletics norm due to a number of factors beyond the coaches' control. I don't know how much. But it does seem like some things have been going clearly downhill, even accelerating, in the most recent years. One could argue with good reason how difficult it is for any program to remain at the elite level the Rice program had been at for the length of time it was there. But this year something has completely jumped off the tracks. It seems like the athletes have clearly not been performing to their potential, or even as well as they did in high school when it comes to errors in the field. Even the best chief executive begins to look bad when middle management isn't doing its job. And that is a reflection on that executive's ability to attract and retain talent, and their overall business processes.

I think you are right mentioning how difficult it is for any program to remain at an elite level for so long. Even if this is a return to the norm as you put it, you would not expect to go from just missing a 40 win season to barely having double digit wins at this point in the season. Also why do you think these athletes are not performing as well as they did in high school? What could cause talented individuals to consistently regress year after year? Also just to note, the chief executive in athletics would be the AD making the coaches the middle men. So you are saying they are making the AD look bad correct?

1. Each head coach is the CEO of a wholly owned subsidiary.
2. I think we have had a perfect storm of problems this year.
3. it is true that it is hard to maintain an elite level in any sport. See USC and UT in baseball, UCLA in basketball, OU and UT in football. Many others. Not an excuse, though.

(04-18-2017 08:50 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(04-18-2017 08:38 AM)DirtyBirds52 Wrote:  

(04-17-2017 10:44 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  I've seen disappointing performances at the plate over the last 10 years or so, on the mound for approximately the last 5 years, and in the field (with regard to the inexplicable frequency of errors) for the last 2 or 3 years. This is judging against Rice Baseball standards going back to 2003, so it is a difficult criteria. Every year I have read about the outstanding group of new recruits on the way, only to be greeted by a continuation of the slide downhill. Some of this is likely just a return to the Rice athletics norm due to a number of factors beyond the coaches' control. I don't know how much. But it does seem like some things have been going clearly downhill, even accelerating, in the most recent years. One could argue with good reason how difficult it is for any program to remain at the elite level the Rice program had been at for the length of time it was there. But this year something has completely jumped off the tracks. It seems like the athletes have clearly not been performing to their potential, or even as well as they did in high school when it comes to errors in the field. Even the best chief executive begins to look bad when middle management isn't doing its job. And that is a reflection on that executive's ability to attract and retain talent, and their overall business processes.

I think you are right mentioning how difficult it is for any program to remain at an elite level for so long. Even if this is a return to the norm as you put it, you would not expect to go from just missing a 40 win season to barely having double digit wins at this point in the season. Also why do you think these athletes are not performing as well as they did in high school? What could cause talented individuals to consistently regress year after year? Also just to note, the chief executive in athletics would be the AD making the coaches the middle men. So you are saying they are making the AD look bad correct?

1. Each head coach is the CEO of a wholly owned subsidiary.
2. I think we have had a perfect storm of problems this year.
3. it is true that it is hard to maintain an elite level in any sport. See USC and UT in baseball, UCLA in basketball, OU and UT in football. Many others. Not an excuse, though.

Agree with the perfect storm analogy somewhat, but the reality is that you can only patch and paint for so long. The perfect storm this year is when it was completely and totally exposed for the disaster that it has been that folks like owl69 has been explaining for years. For every step forward, there have been two backwards. Simply put we aren't just keeping up with the Jones', we are even in the same city anymore. Drastic measures have been needed for way too long.

Sadly, does anyone see any kind of path forward away from the drain down to D3?

Not seeing the connection between bad baseball and D3.