1-4 final. 2 friggin hits for the Owls. Blown hold. Awful.

Bragga should have never thrown Brogdon that many pitches...unbelievable. You have guys that can compete in the bullpen, let’s use it next time.

(04-01-2021 06:09 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  Bragga should have never thrown Brogdon that many pitches...unbelievable. You have guys that can compete in the bullpen, let’s use it next time.

Brogdon threw like 108 pitches or something. Hardly insane for a guy who pitched 2 run ball over 7 1/3. Shall we go back through Wayne Graham’s pitch counts...?

We have guys who can compete in the bullpen? Not sure that’s true.

(04-01-2021 06:09 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  Bragga should have never thrown Brogdon that many pitches...unbelievable. You have guys that can compete in the bullpen, let’s use it next time.

Wish Bragga had used one.

(04-01-2021 06:28 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:09 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  Bragga should have never thrown Brogdon that many pitches...unbelievable. You have guys that can compete in the bullpen, let’s use it next time.

Brogdon threw like 108 pitches or something. Hardly insane for a guy who pitched 2 run ball over 7 1/3. Shall we go back through Wayne Graham’s pitch counts...?

We have guys who can compete in the bullpen? Not sure that’s true.

I never agreed with Wayne’s pitch counts either. Take it from someone who knows a little more about this than you do. Not to be rude but it just doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to see people go down with arm injuries.

We play funny baseball
When are we getting our winning streak?

(04-01-2021 06:56 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:28 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:09 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  Bragga should have never thrown Brogdon that many pitches...unbelievable. You have guys that can compete in the bullpen, let’s use it next time.

Brogdon threw like 108 pitches or something. Hardly insane for a guy who pitched 2 run ball over 7 1/3. Shall we go back through Wayne Graham’s pitch counts...?

We have guys who can compete in the bullpen? Not sure that’s true.

I never agreed with Wayne’s pitch counts either. Take it from someone who knows a little more about this than you do. Not to be rude but it just doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to see people go down with arm injuries.

When Wayne was ignoring pitch counts (up to and including the 2004 season) he was doing nothing that almost every other elite college baseball coach was doing at the time. Times changed as analyst and doctors began focusing on pitch count, and Wayne changed with the times. Very, Very rarely did he have pitcher go beyond 100 - 105 pitches from 2005 onward. Not coincidently, starting in 2005 he frequently had quality depth in the bullpen (3-4+ deep most often). Prior to 2005, we rarely had more than one or two at most reliable or regularly used relievers.

I did not see the game but I would like to know how many arms were in the bull pen as Brogdon’s pitch got around 90 ish? Brogdon pitched a heck of a game but arms should’ve been warming in the 7th to 8th inning as the odds of using them were high. It seems when guys are rushed in they do not do as well as when there seems to be a plan for the bull pen. My opinion there should always be a BP plan (not saying there is not) but rushing relievers is never the best plan. Again, not saying they were not warming but some games it appears rushed. FYI what did unis look like?

Owls were in blue tops and gray pants. Didn’t see enough from my phone to see the details on the tops.

(04-01-2021 10:15 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  Owls were in blue tops and gray pants. Didn’t see enough from my phone to see the details on the tops.

Thanks. Odds are they were the “good” ones!!

Also, can somebody tell us why CUSA has such crappy media???? Texas freaking State is on ESPN+ for most games yet I have to pay CUSA to watch on my phone or computer or, if able mirror to my TV. Kind of getting sick of the hoops you have to go through to watch anything Rice on a screen larger than 5.7”!!!!Rant over.

(04-01-2021 11:44 PM)Musicowl1965 Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 10:15 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  Owls were in blue tops and gray pants. Didn’t see enough from my phone to see the details on the tops.

Thanks. Odds are they were the “good” ones!!

Also, can somebody tell us why CUSA has such crappy media???? Texas freaking State is on ESPN+ for most games yet I have to pay CUSA to watch on my phone or computer or, if able mirror to my TV. Kind of getting sick of the hoops you have to go through to watch anything Rice on a screen larger than 5.7”!!!!Rant over.

Greenwood had been warming since the T8 (came in after 1 out in B8).

(04-02-2021 07:15 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 11:44 PM)Musicowl1965 Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 10:15 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  Owls were in blue tops and gray pants. Didn’t see enough from my phone to see the details on the tops.

Thanks. Odds are they were the “good” ones!!

Also, can somebody tell us why CUSA has such crappy media???? Texas freaking State is on ESPN+ for most games yet I have to pay CUSA to watch on my phone or computer or, if able mirror to my TV. Kind of getting sick of the hoops you have to go through to watch anything Rice on a screen larger than 5.7”!!!!Rant over.

Greenwood had been warming since the T8 (came in after 1 out in B8).

Thanks. I guess the next question is was anyone else warming with him as that would’ve been nice if (as he did) he gets in a bind.

I have felt bullpen management has been an issue since year 1. I believe (and welcome a fact check as it has been a while since I checked it) that Rice lost between 6 and 9 games in year 1 that they either were leading or were tied after 7 innings.

In this case Brogden pitches an excellent game. If I look at his stats, I see 7 starts and 35.2 innings, of which 7.1 were yesterday. That means he is averaging 5 innings per start. I know he had a strong 7th, but he has not been extended this deep into the game, so I would have been thinking about the pen as early as the 6th. Not saying I would make a change, but would want someone ready in a tie game who could get in the game asap before it was too late.

Next, does it hurt to get two people ready? The bullpen has not been consistent, and with a tie game in late innings, I would think you need to be ready to make a move, as if you react to what happens, it may be too late. I assume that someone is watching these guys warmup. If so, assuming adequate time to get ready, it seems like that person should have a pretty good idea if a guy in the pen has his stuff or not. That person should be able to advise Bragga of that before the reliever gets in the game. If there are two guys, he would be able to see which one looks better. Am I missing something?

I wonder if there is a plan to pitch certain guys in relief in certain games. I think that is fine, but if so, you need to be willing to adapt to win the game at hand.

I wish it showed in the stats, but it does not. I am very interested to know how many inherited runners the bullpen has encountered and how many have scored. It feels like the majority of them. I think you can search the box scores to find out, but I have not had the time to check that out. I think that is one measure of bullpen management.

I'm not saying anything about the current state of baseball at Rice. I haven't seen it so I can't give a good comment, other than the results are 'less than we've come to expect' at Rice.

At this point (and it COULD possibly play into some of the decisions above) I remember us going to Omaha with ridiculously gaudy numbers (50-10??) and playing against lots of teams who finished more like 35-20. Rather than win from the start and play from the front, those schools focused on having fresh arms for the tournaments and Omaha. Of course this was true for the good baseball conferences, but it also seemed true of other g5 schools. That's an advantage of tournament play.

Game 2 has begun. Owls get 1 out single from Gneiting followed by Comeaux looking at 3 straight pitches for out 2 (WHT?) and Garibay going 5-3.

CUSA-TV camera work at MTSU consists of one camera view from high up behind the plate, off to the left side. Cast to a 65” television I can’t read the player numbers. Typical CUSA low quality crap we are asked to fund.

As to the unis, I think the Owls are in all gray.

The graphic at the top of the picture shows Thursday’s final score and winning and losing pitchers. Definitely 1st class!

(04-02-2021 01:05 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  I'm not saying anything about the current state of baseball at Rice. I haven't seen it so I can't give a good comment, other than the results are 'less than we've come to expect' at Rice.
At this point (and it COULD possibly play into some of the decisions above) I remember us going to Omaha with ridiculously gaudy numbers (50-10??) and playing against lots of teams who finished more like 35-20. Rather than win from the start and play from the front, those schools focused on having fresh arms for the tournaments and Omaha. Of course this was true for the good baseball conferences, but it also seemed true of other g5 schools. That's an advantage of tournament play.

Well, we're not going to Omaha, so no reason to save anybody for anything.

Single and a walk followed by a 9-3 double play in the T2. Just bad baseball.

(04-01-2021 08:02 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:56 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:28 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:09 PM)Adams Song Wrote:  Bragga should have never thrown Brogdon that many pitches...unbelievable. You have guys that can compete in the bullpen, let’s use it next time.

Brogdon threw like 108 pitches or something. Hardly insane for a guy who pitched 2 run ball over 7 1/3. Shall we go back through Wayne Graham’s pitch counts...?

We have guys who can compete in the bullpen? Not sure that’s true.

I never agreed with Wayne’s pitch counts either. Take it from someone who knows a little more about this than you do. Not to be rude but it just doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to see people go down with arm injuries.

When Wayne was ignoring pitch counts (up to and including the 2004 season) he was doing nothing that almost every other elite college baseball coach was doing at the time. Times changed as analyst and doctors began focusing on pitch count, and Wayne changed with the times. Very, Very rarely did he have pitcher go beyond 100 - 105 pitches from 2005 onward. Not coincidently, starting in 2005 he frequently had quality depth in the bullpen (3-4+ deep most often). Prior to 2005, we rarely had more than one or two at most reliable or regularly used relievers.

I always remembered Kenny Baugh being an absolute stud for us, pitching count-wise. I think back to the Rice Regional his senior year, where he pitched the opening game, then came back on 2 days rest to pitch another 6 innings against Baylor. Five days later he threw 172 pitches against Nebraska, in the Lincoln Super Regional. I don't believe Kenny ever made it to the Major Leagues, and I know he had arm trouble early in his professional career. Whether those years of heavy use at Rice negatively impacted his professional career, I'll never know. But, to me he was an absolute warrior for us, and will always be one of my all-time favorite Rice pitchers.

(04-02-2021 01:18 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  CUSA-TV camera work at MTSU consists of one camera view from high up behind the plate, off to the left side. Cast to a 65” television I can’t read the player numbers. Typical CUSA low quality crap we are asked to fund.

As to the unis, I think the Owls are in all gray.

I asked this earlier. Why are our viewing options so awful. Heck, Rice just got the CF camera a couple of years ago about 10 yrs after most other programs had it. This is a big deal for those of us that can’t make games or many road trips. I watched a HS game the other night that was head and shoulders better than this CUSA trash. If they can do it why can’t CUSA. Also, is Rice barred from selling broadcast rights on their own to ESPN etc as Tex State has done or do they have to go with the CUSA conference dictators that don’t have a clue how to market a product. I think I know the answer!!!