24.Apr.2012 Baseball: Oregon State @ Oregon

Civil War game thread.

Starr gets the start for OSU.

Go Beavs!

4-Star LB Sean Constantine

Has legitimate interest in the Beavers.

He's 6-3/218, which is light for a MLB, but he has a handful of big-time offers. He is from Washington, but his mother lives minutes from Corvallis, which could tilt him in that direction. He is a blue collar, throwback type player who hopes to make a decision this summer.

Given what looks like years of softness up the middle, this guy would be a great get.

Beavers Feigning Attitude

Interesting article by Cliff in which he backhandedly criticizes the program. Hey, it's a start for the mainstream media.

Some noteworthy quotes:

Poyer said. “I look back at the film when they were a great team, back in 2001. They had that swagger.”

Does anyone else feel it would be best to look at 2000 as an aberration and just let go of it? Too many fans (and now players) cling to that blip of success. It was an anomaly.

Poyer goes on to say:

“Coming into this season, I feel we can be that team,” Poyer said. “Confidence is that key. If you have that you can be a great team."

While I agree with him that confidence makes a great team, I disagree that they can be that kind of team. What breeds confidence is positive reinforcement. From where is that going to come? Since the Beavers recruit 2 and 3 star athletes, the positive reinforcement doesn't come from the National media et al during the recruiting stage. Underdogs need to find that confidence from within, and I don't see the passion in these guys to do that. I expect to see a team with low confidence this season. The bookend DEs have confidence and Wynn shows leadership, but can they inspire subpar talent to rise above their ability? That's a lot to ask.

Another Poyer quote:

“You can be nice, but on the field it’s the game of football,” Poyer said. “You need swagger and cockiness. You can be as mean as you want on the field. We don’t need to talk trash. I can hit you and not say anything.”

What Poyer fails to understand is that jawing at a guy gets in his head more than just hitting him. There is a psychological and physical component to this game. If a player hits someone hard and says, "Next time it's going to be even harder.", then the opponent becomes fearful. If they hit someone and say nothing, then the opponent might think it was a lucky hit, or the opponent might jaw and get in the defender's head. Poyer is justifying his passive nature. It's not good.

And finally, Poyer essentially slips and admits he is a soft player:

“In the trenches you have to be violent,” Poyer said. “I see where he’s coming from. You have to be violent with your hands in your technique (in the secondary). You can’t let the other guy know you are soft. If you do, it’s over.”

"Know"?? I think Poyer meant "think", but this is a classic slip. Poyer is a good college corner, but he doesn't have the killer instinct. He's "nice"…just like his coach.

It's good to see Cliff backhandedly criticize, even if he has to backtrack and blame the "naysayers"

However, Riley has now had all his recruits the last three-four years. And they are too nice, just like Riley. At least that’s what a naysayer would say. -Cliff

The bottom line is that, as always, this starts with the type of player the head coach targets. Riley has a comfort zone. You see it in the coaches he hires, and you see it in the players he recruits. He likes nice guys with high character. The reality is that those guys, many times, lack the sociopathic tendencies (e.g. aggressiveness, callousness, lack of empathy, etc) that drive people to greatness (or in Riley's case, even mediocrity).

19.Apr.2012 Baseball: UCLA @ Oregon State

Huge series this weekend. The season will likely go one of two ways from here.

Some random notes:

UCLA leads the conference by 2.5.  Aka a sweep and the Beavs are in first.

Beavs 6 game winning streak (that some are raving about) has come versus three opponents who average 142 RPI. Nevada being the best of the bunch at 64.

Conforto is second in the nation in RBIs with 51.

Pat Casey is 20-21 all-time versus UCLA.

Saturday's game will be televised on ROOT.

Beavs dropped out of the top 25 on Baseball America. Oregon now ranked #8. Changing of the guard after just a couple years? Too early to conclude, but the gap has closed, and the Ducks are at least as good. Beavs are #35, which is exactly where I slotted them in the pre-season.

Friday's matchup is: Ben Wetzler (4-1, 2.98) vs Plutko (4-2, 3.40). Child and Fry will pitch Saturday/Sunday, but I'm not sure who will throw for UCLA, as I haven't followed the rest of the league too closely this year.

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Beavs haven't exactly played well lately. I'm nervous about this series…I think UCLA has a good chance to sweep. This is a strange team. The season is more than half over and Pat Casey is still unsure who his CF or C are. Team chemistry is okay, but they seem unable to bring all three facets of the game to the park each day. Starting pitching has been the most consistent group of late. Defense (especially up the middle) continues to be poor. There is more to defense than fielding percentage–"range" is more important, but there is no official stat for that (assists/9 innings is probably the best simple measure).

Go Beavs??

17.Apr.2012 Mixed Reports: Cade Cowdin (Pankey Revisited?)

From Paul Buker:

A lot of eyes will be on Cowdin, a cerebral sideline-to-sideline player.

From Cliff Kirkpatrick:

He decided to walk on at Utah State, but couldn’t qualify academically.

“I’m just trying to learn the defense right now,” Cowdin said. “It’s not overwhelming but it’s a lot to learn. It’s a totally new defense for me. But it’s a good scheme and I’m trying to take it all in.”

From Rivals:

Watching Cade Cowdin closely you can see that his added weight has slowed him down a half step. His eyes seem to be in the right place, but in space in coverage he had a tough time staying with the offensive player.

Buker's interpretation implies Cowdin is (a) smart and (b) fast, while Kirkpatrick's and Rival's writings suggests Cowdin is a (a) a dullard and (b) slow.

Here's his film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHrLazAo36w

So if the reports that he's added 20lbs are true, then I'd wager he's gotten slower. In his highlights, he looks slow, but more obvious is how awkward/herky-jerky he plays. Definitely not a fluid linebacker. Close your eyes and try to imagine Cowdin trying to chase down Barner or James…eek. Pankey revisited?

What do you think? Another wasted scholarship, or a player who can contribute?