(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:46 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:49 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:12 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Actually, Baseball America is the only college baseball site that doesn't predict we'll make the post-season.

The fact someone thinks we won’t make a field of 64 that we’ve made for over 2 decades in a row says a lot. But to my point making the tournament doesn’t make you a contender. D1 baseball didn’t even have us a top 10 “mid major” however stupid that designation is for baseball.

It makes perfect sense they wouldn’t have us in the tournament. We only got in last year because we got hot in the conference tournament. I see no reason why we would be any better this year.

??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:46 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:49 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  The fact someone thinks we won’t make a field of 64 that we’ve made for over 2 decades in a row says a lot. But to my point making the tournament doesn’t make you a contender. D1 baseball didn’t even have us a top 10 “mid major” however stupid that designation is for baseball.

It makes perfect sense they wouldn’t have us in the tournament. We only got in last year because we got hot in the conference tournament. I see no reason why we would be any better this year.

??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Moss is talented, but he hasn't proven anything good yet. Take a look at the freshman year (before they became dominant as sophomores and juniors) ERAs of those guys you mentioned compared with Moss:

Otto 2015: 1.54 ERA
Lemond 2012: 2.52 ERA
St. Clair 2005: 3.26 ERA
Moss 2017: 6.30 ERA

I hope Moss becomes as dominant as those guys were but I don't see how you can possibly count on that kind of transformation happening. If he has to perform in that role, I don't except to be anywhere near as good as those guys were. Is he capable of getting to that level? Maybe, time will tell.

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:46 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:49 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  The fact someone thinks we won’t make a field of 64 that we’ve made for over 2 decades in a row says a lot. But to my point making the tournament doesn’t make you a contender. D1 baseball didn’t even have us a top 10 “mid major” however stupid that designation is for baseball.

It makes perfect sense they wouldn’t have us in the tournament. We only got in last year because we got hot in the conference tournament. I see no reason why we would be any better this year.

??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Ok so after your depth and experience pitch (lol) you refer to both freshman and intrasquad reps. I might be on board with hyper talented freshman coming in as a gain in depth but we don’t recruit well anymore. But you have done nothing to show an increase in depth. I’m not talking about literal bodies to put on the mound but instead people that can come in with the game on the line and perform rather than walking people or throwing BP fastballs. Also who the hell is Lamond? If you are referring to Lemond then you are falling right into my argument. We didn’t make it to Omaha in his final year because we relied to heavily on him. Had we trusted another reliever to come in after he clearly didn’t have his stuff we would have been to the CWS that year. But no, he was our long reliever/middle reliever/closer/mop up duty all in one. And we paid the price for it.

(02-09-2018 11:13 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:46 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  It makes perfect sense they wouldn’t have us in the tournament. We only got in last year because we got hot in the conference tournament. I see no reason why we would be any better this year.

??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Ok so after your depth and experience pitch (lol) you refer to both freshman and intrasquad reps. I might be on board with hyper talented freshman coming in as a gain in depth but we don’t recruit well anymore. But you have done nothing to show an increase in depth. I’m not talking about literal bodies to put on the mound but instead people that can come in with the game on the line and perform rather than walking people or throwing BP fastballs. Also who the hell is Lamond? If you are referring to Lemond then you are falling right into my argument. We didn’t make it to Omaha in his final year because we relied to heavily on him. Had we trusted another reliever to come in after he clearly didn’t have his stuff we would have been to the CWS that year. But no, he was our long reliever/middle reliever/closer/mop up duty all in one. And we paid the price for it.

Spook, I share some of your trepidation with regard to expecting massive improvements from a bunch of JAGs. I do think the staff is deeper than last year, but not sure if it's any deeper than say, 2014, when we gagged at our last regional that we hosted.

I am also skeptical of performances in intrasquad and fall scrimmages as I don't think playing against yourself is always an accurate barometer of future success. That said, one positive that I will say is based on the stats on Roger Tower's website, we are walking a lot, lot, lot less people than we did last year. I think control is something that can be maintained whether the batter is wearing a UVA jersey or a Rice practice jersey.

If we even cut walks and HBPs by 30% from last year, we'll win significantly more games.

(02-09-2018 12:33 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:13 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  ??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Ok so after your depth and experience pitch (lol) you refer to both freshman and intrasquad reps. I might be on board with hyper talented freshman coming in as a gain in depth but we don’t recruit well anymore. But you have done nothing to show an increase in depth. I’m not talking about literal bodies to put on the mound but instead people that can come in with the game on the line and perform rather than walking people or throwing BP fastballs. Also who the hell is Lamond? If you are referring to Lemond then you are falling right into my argument. We didn’t make it to Omaha in his final year because we relied to heavily on him. Had we trusted another reliever to come in after he clearly didn’t have his stuff we would have been to the CWS that year. But no, he was our long reliever/middle reliever/closer/mop up duty all in one. And we paid the price for it.

Spook, I share some of your trepidation with regard to expecting massive improvements from a bunch of JAGs. I do think the staff is deeper than last year, but not sure if it's any deeper than say, 2014, when we gagged at our last regional that we hosted.

I am also skeptical of performances in intrasquad and fall scrimmages as I don't think playing against yourself is always an accurate barometer of future success. That said, one positive that I will say is based on the stats on Roger Tower's website, we are walking a lot, lot, lot less people than we did last year. I think control is something that can be maintained whether the batter is wearing a UVA jersey or a Rice practice jersey.

If we even cut walks and HBPs by 30% from last year, we'll win significantly more games.

Completely agree with the walks. The only problem is the real game with fans (even if they are crusty and old) can give you enough of an adrenaline spike to lose some touch on the ball. So we won’t really know until we know. Also we have had all Star fall ball pitchers and hitters before that have failed to make any impact in a real game. So it should be taken with a bucket of salt.

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:46 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:49 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  The fact someone thinks we won’t make a field of 64 that we’ve made for over 2 decades in a row says a lot. But to my point making the tournament doesn’t make you a contender. D1 baseball didn’t even have us a top 10 “mid major” however stupid that designation is for baseball.

It makes perfect sense they wouldn’t have us in the tournament. We only got in last year because we got hot in the conference tournament. I see no reason why we would be any better this year.

??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

The improved starting pitching will have a positive effect on the bullpen, too. The deeper the starters can go, the less taxed the bullpen can be.

Thanks for the write-ups Walt. I mostly just lurk nowadays but am still up to date on Rice baseball because of your posts!

Hambone anonymous? Now that's funny.

(02-09-2018 08:22 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  Hambone anonymous? Now that's funny.

It's not like he's played pro ball or anything.

Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.
[/quote]

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.

(02-09-2018 11:02 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:46 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  It makes perfect sense they wouldn’t have us in the tournament. We only got in last year because we got hot in the conference tournament. I see no reason why we would be any better this year.

??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Moss is talented, but he hasn't proven anything good yet. Take a look at the freshman year (before they became dominant as sophomores and juniors) ERAs of those guys you mentioned compared with Moss:

Otto 2015: 1.54 ERA
Lemond 2012: 2.52 ERA
St. Clair 2005: 3.26 ERA
Moss 2017: 6.30 ERA

I hope Moss becomes as dominant as those guys were but I don't see how you can possibly count on that kind of transformation happening. If he has to perform in that role, I don't except to be anywhere near as good as those guys were. Is he capable of getting to that level? Maybe, time will tell.

Have you seen him pitch last Fall or so far this Spring? Yes, he's been that dominant; every bit as much as Canterino has been.

(02-09-2018 01:28 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 12:33 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:13 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Ok so after your depth and experience pitch (lol) you refer to both freshman and intrasquad reps. I might be on board with hyper talented freshman coming in as a gain in depth but we don’t recruit well anymore. But you have done nothing to show an increase in depth. I’m not talking about literal bodies to put on the mound but instead people that can come in with the game on the line and perform rather than walking people or throwing BP fastballs. Also who the hell is Lamond? If you are referring to Lemond then you are falling right into my argument. We didn’t make it to Omaha in his final year because we relied to heavily on him. Had we trusted another reliever to come in after he clearly didn’t have his stuff we would have been to the CWS that year. But no, he was our long reliever/middle reliever/closer/mop up duty all in one. And we paid the price for it.

Spook, I share some of your trepidation with regard to expecting massive improvements from a bunch of JAGs. I do think the staff is deeper than last year, but not sure if it's any deeper than say, 2014, when we gagged at our last regional that we hosted.

I am also skeptical of performances in intrasquad and fall scrimmages as I don't think playing against yourself is always an accurate barometer of future success. That said, one positive that I will say is based on the stats on Roger Tower's website, we are walking a lot, lot, lot less people than we did last year. I think control is something that can be maintained whether the batter is wearing a UVA jersey or a Rice practice jersey.

If we even cut walks and HBPs by 30% from last year, we'll win significantly more games.

Completely agree with the walks. The only problem is the real game with fans (even if they are crusty and old) can give you enough of an adrenaline spike to lose some touch on the ball. So we won’t really know until we know. Also we have had all Star fall ball pitchers and hitters before that have failed to make any impact in a real game. So it should be taken with a bucket of salt.

Last Spring we had major control problems during intrasquads, which then carried into the season.

(02-09-2018 11:38 PM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.
[/quote]

Since when is Top 40 (out of some 310 D1 baseball progreams) "slightly above mediocre" ? As for no shot at competing with the top, we were .500 against Top 25 teams last year. I'd say we competed against them.

(02-10-2018 12:18 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:02 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:35 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 10:30 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 08:58 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  ??? Do you even follow the team? There are a number of reasons why we'd be better this year, not the least of which is experience and depth in our pitching staff (especially of Salinas and Parthasarathy are back in form as they appear to be)...and improved infield defense with 3B Comeaux (who brings a reputation for his glove work) and 2B Cruz (who has considerably more range than Gneitting or Gray).

DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW THE TEAM? What pitching depth and experience have we gained? We used Otto for nearly every situation that wasn’t a start. This is why we can’t get through regionals anymore. There is too much of an emphasis on 1 reliever that works as a long reliever/closer for the last 6 weeks of the season. If you look at top teams they have 3-4 guys that they use as relievers but typically have a defined closer. We have failed to do this even with the stacked pitching teams we have had in the past. Explain how we have guys in AA that were 10th out of the pen. But anyways as I was initially saying...because of our over reliance on a single all purpose reliever we have little experience to be gained. Also we do not have the arms coming out of the pen like we used to so we have little depth. Remember this when you are angrily posting about our late inning struggles this year.

What depth and experience have we gained?

1. Salinas and Parthasarathy back healthy and in form.

2. Moss, Jefferies, Silber, Gayle, Garcia and Canterino all with a year of D1 ball under their belts...and Moss, Silber, Garcia, Gayle and Jefferies have impressed in both Spring and Fall intrasquads.

3. Freshmen Akers and Bordwine will help bolster the pen. And Amador and Esquivel will likely move from starters to the bullpen, given the pen much needed big game experience. Kravetz also appears vastly improved and in much better shape than previous seasons. If Garcia and/or Gayle falter, we can move Moss back to the pen, and he's capable of stepping into the CSC/Lamond/Otto role.

As for Otto, though he pitched for all but the first several weeks of the season, he wasn't fully health until the second half of last year.

Moss is talented, but he hasn't proven anything good yet. Take a look at the freshman year (before they became dominant as sophomores and juniors) ERAs of those guys you mentioned compared with Moss:

Otto 2015: 1.54 ERA
Lemond 2012: 2.52 ERA
St. Clair 2005: 3.26 ERA
Moss 2017: 6.30 ERA

I hope Moss becomes as dominant as those guys were but I don't see how you can possibly count on that kind of transformation happening. If he has to perform in that role, I don't except to be anywhere near as good as those guys were. Is he capable of getting to that level? Maybe, time will tell.

Have you seen him pitch last Fall or so far this Spring? Yes, he's been that dominant; every bit as much as Canterino has been.

That's great. In games last year he was bad. Until I see him do it in a game against someone in a different color jersey, I'm not willing to say he's going to dominate.

(02-10-2018 12:22 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:38 PM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.

Since when is Top 40 (out of some 310 D1 baseball progreams) "slightly above mediocre" ? As for no shot at competing with the top, we were .500 against Top 25 teams last year. I'd say we competed against them.
[/quote]

We weren’t top 40 last year. Top 40 teams do not struggle to stay just above .500.

depend on how do you define top 40, in my mind ,
we were

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/ranki...d/10031000

(02-10-2018 05:45 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 12:22 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:38 PM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.

Since when is Top 40 (out of some 310 D1 baseball progreams) "slightly above mediocre" ? As for no shot at competing with the top, we were .500 against Top 25 teams last year. I'd say we competed against them.

We weren’t top 40 last year. Top 40 teams do not struggle to stay just above .500.
[/quote]

(02-10-2018 05:45 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 12:22 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:38 PM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.

Since when is Top 40 (out of some 310 D1 baseball progreams) "slightly above mediocre" ? As for no shot at competing with the top, we were .500 against Top 25 teams last year. I'd say we competed against them.

We weren’t top 40 last year. Top 40 teams do not struggle to stay just above .500.
[/quote]

I see. So we should take away Oregon State's second title and Fresno State's title since both just barely qualified for those post-season runs with .500 records? I guess we should judge a season on post-season success crowd only means that when talking about Rice?

(02-10-2018 08:05 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 05:45 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 12:22 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:38 PM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.

Since when is Top 40 (out of some 310 D1 baseball progreams) "slightly above mediocre" ? As for no shot at competing with the top, we were .500 against Top 25 teams last year. I'd say we competed against them.

We weren’t top 40 last year. Top 40 teams do not struggle to stay just above .500.

I see. So we should take away Oregon State's second title and Fresno State's title since both just barely qualified for those post-season runs with .500 records? I guess we should judge a season on post-season success crowd only means that when talking about Rice?
[/quote]

Walt, you are a very loyal Rice fan. I get that and that is great! Rice baseball and Wayne Graham have had a very great run! He means a lot to the school! I get that! However, the last 4-5 years the program has taken a major step back. Depending on who you believe, they had a chance for a good succession plan with Berkman coming in and being the next guy. [b]It is time for a change.[/b] I am just not sure you get that. Should Wayne be sent out in the proper way? Absolutely, if he will agree to it. The problem is that he does not seem to be open to it (supposedly asking for an extension after last year).

(02-11-2018 02:12 AM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 08:05 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 05:45 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 12:22 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-09-2018 11:38 PM)AggieOwl01 Wrote:  Geez. Keep tearing down our baseball team. It's still one of the best and certainly one of the very most consistent programs in the country.

Sorry, Rice baseball was one of the best. For the last few years it has been slightly above mediocre. About the equivalent of A&M in football. Above average, but no shot at competing with the top. Just like with Sumlin, it is time for a change.

Since when is Top 40 (out of some 310 D1 baseball progreams) "slightly above mediocre" ? As for no shot at competing with the top, we were .500 against Top 25 teams last year. I'd say we competed against them.

We weren’t top 40 last year. Top 40 teams do not struggle to stay just above .500.

I see. So we should take away Oregon State's second title and Fresno State's title since both just barely qualified for those post-season runs with .500 records? I guess we should judge a season on post-season success crowd only means that when talking about Rice?

Quote:Walt, you are a very loyal Rice fan. I get that and that is great! Rice baseball and Wayne Graham have had a very great run! He means a lot to the school! I get that! However, the last 4-5 years the program has taken a major step back. Depending on who you believe, they had a chance for a good succession plan with Berkman coming in and being the next guy. [b]It is time for a change.[/b] I am just not sure you get that. Should Wayne be sent out in the proper way? Absolutely, if he will agree to it. The problem is that he does not seem to be open to it (supposedly asking for an extension after last year).

[/quote]

As most posters on here will acknowledge (and Tanya has crucified me because of this position), I have long been advocating for a succession plan. At one point I even suggested we hire a "coach in waiting" to fill the then vacant Assistant Coach spot. However, I do think Wayne deserves a final, one-year extension, which from everything I've heard is what he was requesting by late last Summer. Second, while I'd certainly be comfortable with Berkman being given an opportunity to replace Wayne, I am not convinced he's the "right" choice or the "best" choice, and I don't think he should be given the head coaching job without serving at least one year as an Assistant Coach at the D1 level.

(02-08-2018 05:49 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:12 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:07 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 05:01 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 04:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  So breaking it down by level from information provided (without verification on my part):

T25 8-9 (.471)
26-50 4-7 (.364)
T50 12-16 (.429)
51-100 10-9 (.526)
T100 22-25 (.468)
101+ 11-6 (.588)
Total 33-31 (.516)

I would say the records against 51-100 and 101+ were more concerning than the records versus 1-25 or 26-50. Two more wins would have made us .500 against T50. Our record against 51+ (21-15) is .583. Those numbers would suggest that somewhere between 51 and 100 was our logical level.

And that's not reflective of last season either. 2017 was a tale of two season: our horrendous first half when we played .333 ball-- even against weak opposition-- and the home stretch when we went 18-4, including wins against UH, USM and FAU.

It is reflective of last season. You can’t discount the entire first half of the season. I want us to be back on top of the college baseball world but it’s pretty clear we’ve been going in the wrong direction no matter how you spin it. There’s a reason we’re excluded from all of the pundits rankings and playoff contender predictions.

Actually, Baseball America is the only college baseball site that doesn't predict we'll make the post-season.

The fact someone thinks we won’t make a field of 64 that we’ve made for over 2 decades in a row says a lot. But to my point making the tournament doesn’t make you a contender. D1 baseball didn’t even have us a top 10 “mid major” however stupid that designation is for baseball.

CUSA is a major conference in baseball, not a mid-major.

(02-11-2018 01:19 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  CUSA is a major conference in baseball, not a mid-major.

Yes, it is a mid-major. Otherwise, Southern Miss wouldn't have been included in this article.

https://d1baseball.com/season-preview/fi...l-coastal/