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Weekend Baseball/General Thread

220

Beavs vs ‘Cats this weekend, all games on PAC12.
Warm and breezy conditions as the Beavs return to Conf play vs a staff with a 2.67 ERA (fifth in the country).  ‘Cats have averaged 9.9 runs per game over their last eight contests!

Plenty of questions to be answered:
>>Will Luke go tonight? Will he be more effective than the short outing vs Nevada?
>>Will Fehmel and the rest of the staff respond to the warm conditions vs a team hitting .294 and ranked 81st in RPI?
>>Larnach ready for a standout series?
>>Can Adley keep up the pace he has set?
>>As wannabeav mentioned, is Casey correct in thinking Kwan (others?) distracted by draft concerns?
>>Will Casey move Mike Riley into Jenkins spot and let baserunners be on their own?

Football practice today, feel free to go General, especially if Riley and Brenda are seen socializing with the crack investigative journalists from the big zero in Portland.

220 COMMENTS

  1. Deason at 117 pitches, looks like Beavs will see another arm before this one ends; could be good for tonight and for the balance of the weekend. Funny, several Beav hitters didn’t make it all that hard on him.

  2. Nate leaves Bryce in to face the 9 hole hitter. 106 pitches.

    EDIT/ADD: Gives up a single, 16 pitches in the 7th, lots to like about Bryce’s 4 hit night.
    Pearce comes on with 2 down, 1 on.

  3. FEAR THE KWWAAAAAN !! Intentional BB following Grenier’s RBI double, 5-1 good guys.
    ‘Cats playing for a DP with 1 down in the t8.

  4. 5th pitcher for AZ comes on with 2 down and runners at the corners, t8.

    Nice to see so many AZ arms tonight, should be helpful Sat/Sun.

  5. Mulholland in to try to get the last 5 outs. Had hoped he’d not be needed tonight, but he’s shown he can go three days in a row if needed.
    Just get this one, let the rest of the series be dealt with later.

  6. Beavs win 6-2 on ‘Cat errors, unearned runs (2), and a good job by Fehmel.
    We got a few answers tonight, still waiting for Larnach to explode.
    This game should play with the minds of AZ, errors, both charged and mental along with using their ace in a loss.
    And, UCLA beat Tree……what’s not to like?

    • Rough start for Luke, we’ve seen him often get stronger as the innings pass but that’s a very tall order today. Next three batters will determine if he goes 2 innings or, maybe as much as 6. IMHO

  7. Zak strikes out on three pitches, then Grenier gets a gift double to drive in Anderson who was on base due to a WP K. Luck ‘o da Beavs?
    2-2 with 2 down, 2 on t2

  8. Larnach shows how to take charge of a fly ball, closes out the b2, but AZ gets another 2 runs off of Luke. 4-2 Cats going to t3.

  9. Burns on in relief of Luke, so answers the first question posed above.
    Bases full, one down b4, tough spot for the freshman to come into.
    4-2 Cats.

  10. Does it seem to anyone else that Luke’s release is just a bit later and a little flatter than it was last year? It looks almost like he’s trying to put a finishing touch on it before he let’s it go.

    You can tell where the ball will go by his follow through, and it just looks off.

    • Although the dipshit announcers were babbling about all of the “movement” on Luke’s pitches. I didn’t see it last night. Yes, there were strikeouts, but Zona was hitting shots. He was not fooling anyone. He looked the same against Nevada.

    • Parker said that Nate commented that Luke was trying too hard to locate and not just throwing the ball. His ERA now sits at 3.31. The last 5 innings or so have been brutal.

    • And then the axles followed the wheels!
      Surprising (to say the least) to see the ‘Cats come back from the first game; now the Beavs have to make a similar recovery in the final game.
      Wow, 8 in the 8th for AZ, 15-4 going into the t9.

  11. This maybe the beginning of the end for dominant beavers baseball, if you look this bad with this much talent and upper class men good luck winning again, casey may have finally lost his magic, last 7 games is the worst i have seen beaver baseball in the last 15 years, i predict we don’t even sniff the postseason for a long time sadly.

    • “i predict we don’t even sniff the postseason for a long time sadly.”
      Certainly a sad prediction; while I’d like to write off a 15-4 drubbing as just a laugher, it is sobering to note the record over the recent past. OSU is 4-4 in its last eight games with a 6.25 team ERA. 37 walks and 14 hit batters during the stretch.

      Time for Nate to show why he is so highly regarded, time for Larnach to return to form, time to see the Beavs turn a DP or two. But NOT time to suppose that the postseason is (and will remain) out of reach.

      Hard to put this situation on Casey’s warts. Still, watch for lineup changes today.

      BTW: Madrigal should be given time, once he returns, to get back into a groove. Anyone think he may see very limited playing time (DH?) vs Missouri State next week?
      GO BEAVS!

      EDIT/ADD:
      And, right on cue, the lineup is posted. Zak Taylor rides the pine, Claunch to C, Adley at 1b, Preston Jones LF.

      • I watched several full games recently, Beaver pitching is not impressive. They try to nibble too much, thus throwing lots of pitches and none of them seem to have overpowering stuff this year. The “good” pitches are fouled off, giving the batter another chance. Hitters seem comfortable against this staff most of the time. I guess we assumed too much going into the season regarding the staff?

    • Been waiting for an Eggers piece since it was mentioned on JBS that he and Jim Wilson drove down to Corvallis for Friday’s practice. Pretty well balanced report, no emphasis on the ‘ol gum chewer.

      Noticed this:“The 6-4, 370-pound Lavaka needs to get himself in better shape, though, before fall arrives. The same can be said, incidentally, for 6-3, 380-pound junior nose tackle Elu Aydon. “

    • Didn’t like reading that O will be a blend of what Smith/Lindgren/Riley ran at their previous stops. That’s more than TE coaching, which of course has become obvious over months and a point raised here…

      Also didn’t realize Matt Moore’s brother transferred in and will redshirt, anybody know anything about him?

  12. Adley and Larnach both K for the last two outs in the t5 with runners on 2 and 3; missed opportunity, again. Both have been sub par this weekend.
    But, it’s 4-2 Beavs going to the b5, Gambrell still on the mound at 81 pitches.

  13. Just turned the game on and thought Arizona had a midget pitching for a second. That dude sure looked like he had short arms and a really big head.

      • That was apparent with the 15 years comment.

        A true Beav would have remembered that stretch of games in 2010 that began with the Saturday UCLA game where we failed to wave a run home and ended with some pathetic baseball against a mediocre Nikegon squad. The wins against Nevada were reminiscent of those home wins in the CW that year, so one would have to extend that losing streak to include those games if one were to want to compare this season with that.

  14. Ri-damn-diculous.

    This loss is on Yeskie/Casey for leaving Abel in.

    Also shut up and play the damn game instead of popping off to your opponent and getting them fired up walking off the mound.

    • Yup. One of the coaches should have talked to him well before Adley did.
      Not a lip reader, but pretty sure he said “we don’t fucking do that shit here.” Good for Adley.
      As soon as he walked the first guy they should have pulled his ass out of there.

    • Couldn’t be more clear, Casey/Yeskie lost this one exactly as you said.

      I suspect Able was left in after the jabbering at the end of the 7th in an effort to build his confidence for the future. Even if that were the thinking, can’t explain the long leash in the 8th.

      Poor decision(s). Certainly, in hindsight, the better response to the jawing was to let that end the day for him; lesson would be learned.

  15. Predictions as a result of this game:
    Casey will retire at the end of this season
    Yeskie will jump to an SEC or sunshine state job.
    Mike Parker will spend a week spinning this into a renewed focus, determination for this group and their coaches.

    Observations:
    Heimlich is pressing and not the same pitcher.
    Upper classmen are more worried about draft stock, than winning
    Madrigal’s injury likely sunk any focus this team had.
    Pitching staff is over-rated,
    Bats are inconsistent,

    If the Nevada centerfielder hadn’t played like a little leaguer for the 9th inning of 2 games last week, the Beavs would be 2-7 in the last 9 games.

    This isn’t simply a slump. The pitching is horrible and the hitting is rarely timely. Coaching was suspect today on many counts. I think we are at the end of Casey’s run.

    • Parker already beating the “rough to play on the road” drum.

      Another prediction: Many will be disappointed in the performance of Madrigal for the first couple weeks of his return.

  16. In case you wondered, through today, after the last 9 games Beav pitching has averaged 6 2/3 free passes per game. 45 BB’s and 15 HBP.

  17. This was definitely a team loss in a game they had for the taking. Plenty of chances for the offense to take control, 2 RISP in the 5th for Adley and Larnach, two one one out in the 8th and don’t get anything in either situation. Pitchers gave up 9 free passes and 3 WP. Bullpen blows a 3 run lead. And I really am baffled with leaving Abel in after the first walk in the 8th.

    Eisert must be dinged up or in the doghouse.

    I’ve always thought that this would be Casey’s last season. No inside info, just made sense to me.

    If my memory serves me correctly when Madrigal went down against UP the team tanked but when he came back he played at a very high level. Here’s hoping he returns for the quack series and leads the sweep.

  18. So now all 3 major mens sports are in the gutter:
    Football is in a 10 yr rebuild and has brought in the albatross of the program,
    MBB is in a prove it year,
    Baseball is in a freefall and Casey likely retires from the headaches of PAC12 tv, Pac12 umps, and NCAA/ESPN/SEC east coast bias & outright fraud

    I know someone will say “over-reaction to say in the gutter”, but this is not a good staff. Omaha is a long-shot for this team. I think they are lucky to finish in the top half of the conference at this point and no one gives a rip about PAC12 baseball east of Salt Lake City. Pac 12 will get hosed in seeding/regionals as usual, and likely get shorted a couple of deserving teams. So Beavs need to finish top 4 in conference which may be a stretch with this pitching staff.

  19. If y’all aren’t in a bad enough mood, there is this from a letter to the GT from a student/fan about his experience with the Clear Bag Policy:

    “…my wife was asked to remove everything that was in the clear bag you gave us to use…it was indeed confirmed that she was attempting to bring in two pairs of glasses!…I stated very loudly: “My God, I’m so glad you looked in there, there could have been a BOMB!” To which the “security personnel” responded, “We were looking for a candy bar.”

    More here, including a cost/benefit analysis of the value of “looking for candy bars”:
    http://www.gazettetimes.com/opinion/columnists/as-i-see-it-osu-athletics-and-the-seizure-of/article_21783e92-9c26-576f-a0c9-b3f0b31826de.html

    • I’m going to Husky Ballpark this weekend and their tickets state the clear bag policy is in effect there as well. But, when you read into their policy, you’ll notice it is nearly identical to Oregon State’s(including the same clip art images to describe what is ok and what is not) but one glaring difference is the food rule. Oregon State does not allow outside food unless it’s for infants or dietary reasons(vague description)
      Husky clear bag policy allows you to bring food/snacks for a single person/serving per bag.
      Supports the theory this is more about boosting concession sales at OSU rather than just safety.

  20. OT: UW is considering switching to adidas from Nike. Also, Under Armour is apparently not biding on college apparel rights as of now, likely because they feel their current number of clientele is fine.

    https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/nike-adidas-university-of-washington-athletics-closing-in-on-major-payday-with-new-apparel-deal/

    As much as I loath the Huskies, at least it seems their fans recognize the foolishness of having an apparel deal with a company currently all-in for their biggest rival, not to mention adidas would love to sponsor one of Nike’s biggest rivals (and splash out tons of cash to do it).

    If only OSU and its fanbase would recognize that as well.

    Of course, we’re not in a position of strength to negotiate right now (unlike UW). Could be looking at another 15 years of using Nike if we continue to be stuck in the doldrums, if only because we’ll have no other choice.

    • The only thing I don’t like is that the forced etiquette (something I agree with) only included the players. Tracy should have received a letter from everyone in the program if I’m to believe this isn’t just doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

      While the players are the focus, it’s the GAs, program coordinators, analysts and non-coach coaches (tutors and academic coordinators too) who are the static culture of the program. And the culture is often the issue with most of this stuff. Cover-ups, rainbow and unicorn reporting from cronies (or disunity in response to bombastic ignorance) and institutional opacity are the enemies of this subject, as they are with most subjects.

    • She seems more popular than ever, despite the flaws in her argument being pointed out. It’s strange. I guess emotion wins again over reason and people want to root for her and that narrative.

      • You hold weird grudges sometimes.

        Nobody’s claiming she’s the brightest soldier for good. But she is one. Being a tool for the evil that is Canzano is a forgivable offense. If it becomes a habit, then we can revisit her tool status.

        • Or we can follow the path you set above, and we can talk about how Breitbart et al use Nazi propaganda almost verbatim to sway their readers.

          Then again, pointing out truth would just be construed as cultural Marxism.

          Oh well. Carry on.

        • She is the Al Sharpton of sexual assault, which on on a campus these days could be defined as getting kissed without having a triple notarized consent form drafted by attorneys of both parties.
          Guilty until proven innocent is her mantra.

          • Since you have zero clue what her job entails (per your words), how do I begin to try to inform you?

            What are you even talking about?

            If you’re talking about false claims of rape, then you would be best served by the numbers. The numbers say 2-5% of all claims are false, depending on what numbers you’re looking at. I say the latter because cases like Tracy’s would be counted as false in some studies because it had no legal resolution against the alleged attackers That’s your innocent until proven guilty right there. If you want to hold on to that piddly point to feel good about railing against something of which you don’t (or choose not to) exhibit any knowledge, go right ahead.

            They also say a vast majority of rapes are not reported. I’m skeptical about anyone who provides a hard number to prove that negative, but compiled data says men, women and children don’t come forward for a variety of reasons. But the majority of rapes against each of those demographics are not reported. Sexual assault is the same.

            I remember watching Al Sharpton when he wanted to run for POTUS. He was being interviewed by Fox, and he was asked how much he thought the top 10% of income earners should pay… presumably to make people think that the poor should be squeezed for something they don’t have. Instead of starting with a calculated talk about how those numbers Fox and the hive were spewing were only income taxes on wages and not all other forms of taxation on all other forms of income.

            So yeah… if he doesn’t get the difference between nominal and effective taxes, I don’t expect his followers (who I guess think he’s smart… because he knows Jesus), to know that either.

            When people use terms and ideas that are lockstep with some kind of celebrity or media outlet or what have you, it’s noticeable. Defending them with weird analogies does not make your non-argument an actual one. I don’t know why you wanted to talk about Al Sharpton, but I’ll oblige your logic. You could have replaced him with Dumbshit Donnie and been just as effective.

          • It is valid to point out that while Dolphin Boy was using her as a blunt tool against Luke, she should have just stayed in her lane and refused to comment. She pretty much did anyway, talking about nothing but campus rape and making little sense regarding the subject… and generally providing cover and a distraction for the evil Dolphin Boy continued to exude.

            But if you want to paint her efforts with that tiny-dicked brush, then you also have to apologize to Riley for every time you were disgusted about how he handled her rape way back when. You can’t have it both ways forever.

  21. Interesting read on the lack of strength and conditioning situation in Nebraska.

    https://huskercorner.com/2018/04/09/nebraska-football-strength-conditioning/

    >The defensive player claims he gained exactly one pound of muscle over the last year under Riley. On the flipside, he claims in just seven weeks of Strength and Conditioning coach Zach Duval’s program has helped him add 23 pounds of muscle.

    I know nothing about our current strength coaches but the alleged gains in strength under Andersen certainly didn’t result in more wins, so who knows what it’s worth.

    • True, but GA did comment on how weak and out of shape our players where. While it didn’t translate to wins, I’m not sure it hurt. GA’s biggest problem was booze, chasing tail, and never finding a QB. No amount of strength and conditioning is going to overcome a HC with those problems.

    • Jealous. The Huskies clearly have a plan to differentiate themselves and capture Pac12 dominance again. We have a 2 year old banner and some AD scribble. Time for some action.

    • Another deal that ought to be good for the game…

      “The Huskies will earn $119 million over 10 years from adidas. That nearly quadruples the $3.5 million in products and cash they had been receiving from Nike. As detailed by Adam Jude, the influx includes $5.275 million annually in cash, $5.58 million annually in product, and $1.1 million annually for marketing. That’s in addition to hefty bonuses for success nationally by the football and basketball programs.”

      But wait! There’s more! Ethics!

      “The Huskies believe they are covered by a “mutual ethics clause” that gives either side a chance to revisit the terms at any time. That topic will no doubt come up on Thursday when the UW Board of Regents meets to approve the terms of this deal. I’ll be interested to hear how Cohen justifies doing business with adidas while the company is under siege.”

      https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/all-due-credit-to-ad-jennifer-cohen-for-huskies-massive-119-million-payday-from-adidas/

  22. So next year’s MBB roster will be without the following players:
    Manuel, Kone, Eubanks, McGlaughlin, Stacy, Sanders

    Besides Eubanks athleticism, it won’t be much of a loss to replace any of those guys. Eubanks had as many negatives as positives IMO so bring in a big guy with game instincts and you are already better off.

      • Weather permitting, the wife and I are planning on driving down to Springfield to see da Beav’s play Mizzu State. Saw them last year against my Gophs. Really good team and they took the series 2-1.
        They are sort of like Gonzaga in BB ten years ago. Legit team with some nice arms last year.
        I will get the boys back on track! Saw Nick get hurt and hopefully will see him return.
        The weather has sucked so bad they have cancelled BB and SB series all over the B1G and several teams have cancelled their spring FB games for this weekend. Hopefully we can make the trip and set Casey and Yeskie straight. Go Beavs!!!

  23. I have a confession, I accidentally clicked on a fishwrap article today. They will now be in business another week due to the spike in clicks.

    • Did you click on Moran’s newest article extolling the virtues of Mike Riley? Moran just won’t give it up! I’ve never seen a TE coach get so much press!

      • It was a link about the qb OSU send the cool poster to. The link didn’t look like a fishwrap link. They are now trying to trick us. Does seem to be alooooot of interest in how the TE are looking.

  24. I know you guys hate giving Olive clicks, but there are some real gems in the Riley article:

    “The available vacancy [for Riley] ended up being tight ends, which is why Noah Togiai is often next to Riley to hear his idiosyncratic comments about an appreciation for Oregon.”

    Sounds about right….

    “Without Togiai or junior Tuli Wily-Matagi for the spring, Riley is tasked with building depth behind them so OSU can exploit multiple tight end sets that Smith utilized as offensive coordinator at Washington.

    Riley is spending the bulk of his time working with five tight ends, only one of whom has played at the Division I level. Senior Quinn Smith was a special teams contributor last season. Ralph Taufa’asau, Bryce Bramscher and Jack Holum all redshirted last season. Isaiah Smalls is a freshman early enrollee who turned 18 last week.”

    OK, so we’re really shallow and need an experienced coach and teacher to bring the raw guys up to speed, right?

    “After spending 20 of the past 21 seasons as a head coach, Riley has told Togiai he is less familiar with specific tight end techniques. Quality control assistant and former Wisconsin tight end Brian Wozniak and Togiai himself have helped Riley absorb details.”

    *facepalm*

    • So we have a quality control coach(who should be the position coach) teaching the position coach how to coach his position?
      My guess is the only reason Riley is given the position coach title with Tight Ends is so he is allowed to hit the road for recruiting. Wozniak must love that he worked hard for this job the past few years, only to be undercut by Mike.

  25. Mike Parker wasted a segment interviewing Ken Goe on JBS today. I don’t understand why OSU athletics is willing to give access to anyone from that failing paper/click-bait web-site. Goe, Moran, Canzano should all be shunned until there iis a real admittance/apology regarding the sensationalized coverage of Heimlich last year. It should be an Athletic Department policy.

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