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Baseball: USC @ Oregon State

By
angry
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208

The pitching match ups for the weekend look like this:

Date Opponent/Location Pitchers Time
05/20 Corvallis, OR Sam Gaviglio (9-1, 1.85) vs Andrew Triggs (4-3, 3.68) 5:35 p.m.
05/21 Corvallis, OR Josh Osich (6-2, 3.46) vs Austin Wood (4-6, 5.48) 2:05 p.m.
05/22 Corvallis, OR TBD vs Logan Odom (4-5, 3.56) 12:05 p.m.

While the USC rotation looks unimpressive on paper, keep these notes in mind:

  • Andrew Triggs has a 1.11 ERA in his last four Pac-10 Conference starts, allowing only four earned runs in 32 1/3 innings. He has allowed 24 hits with seven walks and 29 strikeouts during that time.
  • Austin Wood is rated as the No. 26 college prospect in the nation by Baseball America.
  • Logan Odom threw a complete-game three-hitter against No. 6 Arizona State on May 15.

USC has good arms, and that makes them a dangerous team.

The Beavs, meanwhile, still haven't figured out their rotation. It's discouraging to see "TBD" as Sunday's pitcher this late in the season. Nobody has stepped up and grabbed that spot. I'm still not convinced we have a #2 starter. Josh Osich has thrown just 4 quality starts in 13 tries. For perspective: James Nygren has thrown 4 in only 8 starts. It's hard to criticize Pat Casey since he has the team sitting at #2, but my knock would be that hasn't developed the starting rotation. Luckily, the bullpen has been dominant. Scott Schultz's ability to eat innings in long relief is a big deal.

Anyway, I promised not to talk about Osich and the rotation. I just can't help myself…grr.

As far as the National Seed…contrary to what some people are saying, it's still within reach despite the weak RPI. That decision will come down to humans vs computers, but as long as the polls and national writers like Fitt and Rogers remain on the Beaver's bandwagon, the committee will not pass them up. Beavs need to take 4 of 6 to cement that reality. Keep in mind that when the wins occur matters, too. The committee is biased toward teams playing well down the stretch, so losing a series would be precarious. In other words, the 4 wins need to be split between USC and Oregon. That's quite a bit of pressure (unless they're content hosting a regional). Curious to see how they handle it…

Mike Riley Described as “Slow” in Oregonian

By
angry
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52

In an article here about Barney Graff and the medical staff.

Riley seemed slow to acknowledge all of this – perhaps because he valued Graff as a co-worker and as a friend – but the school finally acted on all of the unrest in the department.

I'm not exactly sure what the bold portion means. Did Ed Ray override Riley and the AD to demote Graff?

Either way, there are three issues here:

1. The slow adaptation is classic Riley. Clearly the medical staff has underperformed for over a decade, yet change was only made in 2011. Greg Newhouse hadn't signed a recruit for four or five years, but he was only asked to change roles this year. And then there are the players (#28, Pankey, Quizz getting 99% of the carries, etc). Waiting for Riley to make a change is like waiting for watched water to boil.

2. The players (and their families) are victims.

Guys like Jeremy Perry are what make this story sad. A guy with an NFL future who received questionable medical treatment, and ultimately had to retire.

3. With regard to point #2, did Riley know his players felt this way? If "you should ice that" was a running, inside joke, surely he heard it. I mean, yeah, he had to have known. But there will be people who defend him to their death, just like there are still people who condition themselves to believe Nixon didn't know about the Watergate burglaries. Do what you must to get through life, I suppose, but I don't understand how this fits into good management or the "family" atmosphere. If I were injured, mentally or physically, my family would want me to receive top notch care. Or, thinking back to early childhood when we were poor, at least competent care if the best were unaffordable.

Reading between the lines, this is what I'm thinking: OSU hired Graff because he was a Riley crony who came at a cheap price. That's how OSU runs their athletic department: Money is their God and Riley their Jesus. This report leaves many unanswered questions: who stepped in and made this change? Who is the new head trainer for football? Why did this take a decade to sort out? Was this so well known that schools used it against OSU on the recruiting trail? Why didn't Riley protect his players' health, career, livelihood? The answers can mostly be deduced, but I'd rather hear them from the horses' mouths. The (typical) silence leads me to believe there's contention and disarray in the athletic department.

With the windfall profits headed their way, OSU sees an opportunity to ditch the cronyism in favor of a meritocrasy. Of course, this is a good thing, but while the end result is positive, the means is extremely questionable and demands more answers.

Public Embarrassments & Baseball

By
angry
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67

I guess the big news is Castro Masaniai being charged with 5 offenses, ranging from kidnapping to criminal mischief. Uh, what the hell happened there? That's the second public blemish this week. Not good. If he kidnapped a farm animal I'm seriously switching allegiance.

The Mike Parker thing…I didn't/don't care too much, but I've seen people blowing up and saying the guy should be fired since he's the public voice of athletics. Eh, I agree, and wouldn't care if he were fired. But, I also disagree due to pure apathy. Meaning, I just don't care if he isn't fired, either. I'd rather spend energy on other things, but sure, gun to my head I don't see how you can keep a self-proclaimed, public drunkard on payroll. Plus, is it me or has Parker become insufferable? I can't stand listening to the guy…more so than ever. I was actually enjoying the Washington announcers yesterday. They were light-hearted, funny, unemotional, all business, and self-deprecating. It's no wonder Parker gets tight and eats napkins–his entire emotional being is vicariously wrapped into how 18 year old jocks perform.

Moving on…

As high as the baseball team was riding (people writing it was a "lock" OSU would be a national seed), they're plummeting just as fast, now sitting 20th+ in RPI and probably out of super regional discussions. Conclusion: people, including Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt, don't understand RPI. News flash: a team can drop significantly despite winning a series. Anyway, it is still possible the Beavs earn a top 8 finish depending on the next six games and how the top 12 teams shake out. GaTech has played strong down the stretch. I think have a shot to overtake the Beavers for a national seed. I'd say the Beavers are 9th or 10th right now, on the outside looking in. They better screw their heads on straight and just worry about hosting a regional, because even that isn't a lock at this point unless they win the conference. The ASU sweep was a long time ago, and people are beginning to notice OSU ambling toward the finish line.

Speaking of ASU, they lost to USC again today. The notion that the Beavers are going to cruise through the USC and Oregon series…well, I don't like it nor am I buying it. That ASU lost again increases the odds of hosting a regional…

Talk about this stuff or anything else you'd like. There's nothing going on for the next week.

Baseball: Oregon State @ Washington

By
angry
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188

Washington poses Oregon State with a tricky series.

Looking at team records and pitching match ups, one would conclude the Beavers should dominate.

Date Opponent/Location Pitchers Time
05/13 Washington (Safeco) Josh Osich (6-2, 3.08) vs Tyler Kane (1-2, 4.18) 6:00 p.m.
05/14 Washington (Husky Ballpark) Sam Gaviglio (9-1, 1.85) vs Jeff Brigham (3-0, 4.12) 1:00 p.m.
05/14 Washington (Husky Ballpark) Ben Wetzler (6-2, 3.76) vs Austin Voth (2-4, 4.92) TBD

However, while the Beavers are an impressive 16-6 on the road this year, all-time they have a paltry 81-102 road record against Washington, and Pat Casey's career mark is 38-40 versus the Huskies. Further, the Beavers last series victory in Seattle came six seasons ago in 2005.

Despite glaring mismatches on paper, the Beavers historical performance versus the Huskies points to them slipping up in at least once this weekend. Anything less than a sweep will be a huge disappointment and jeopardize their National seed, so I'm expecting that motivation to translate into sharp play and three wins, despite underwhelming past results versus this particular opponent.

Interview: Jabral Johnson

By
angry
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20

Jabral Johnson was gracious enough to do an interview for angrybeavs. I thought Jabral would be interesting to interview since he's not from Pac-10 country, and therefore could offer unique perspective. The transcript follows:

Jabral, you committed early to Arizona. How did the Beavers’ recruiters catch up, and ultimately, why did you choose Oregon State over Arizona? Did Arizona do something wrong, or did OSU do something right?

I wouldn't say Arizona did anything wrong. I just think once they received my commitment they felt as if they had the deal sealed and kept going about recruiting others while I had other colleges constantly showing interest …also hearing that Mike Riley had a lifetime contract with Oregon State made me feel more secure about my decision.

How much did Tyrequek Zimmerman’s commitment to OSU factor into your decision?

A lot of people would say that I came to OSU because of Tyrequek, which isnt the case. I have 3 very good friends that attend Texas Tech, but I didn't choose them so Tyrequek didnt have anything to do with my decision, but it does feel good knowing you have someone that you have known attending the same college as you.

You have mentioned in other interviews that weather (i.e. hot & dry) played a part in your commitment to Arizona. Having been through the process, do you think recruits are wary of Corvallis due to its reputation of being a rainy, dreary town? Did schools that were recruiting you use weather (or other “negative recruiting” tactics) against OSU?

Well nice weather is good to have, but after breaking down and really thinking about the future I think I will be able to overcome a little chilly weather, and yes sir a lot of them tried to make me think about how cold it would be and far I would be away from family.

Try not to think too much before answering this question: what was the first thought you, a kid from Oklahoma, had when you first received interest from Oregon State? Did you know anything about the school? Beaver fans would be curious to understand OSU’s reputation or “brand” east of the Rockies.

Honestly the Rodgers brothers came to mind first because I'm originally from Texas, but everyone sees the Beavers on TV here so they're pretty well known.

Talking to your friends, teammates, and fellow recruits, how much do things like co-eds, city life, parties, and other forms of campus life and socializing factor into decisions? On a similar note, are you happy with your social life at Oregon State?

Can't answer that really. When I came to Oregon State they weren't in school, but when I visited other places they were so of course it seems as if the other places partied and had a lot of fun, but i looked at the bigger picture.

My final question is not directly related to Oregon State, but I think it would be interesting if you could shed light on how important the prestige of a recruit’s offer sheet is amongst his peer group. Phrased another way, do kids who receive an offer from Oklahoma look down upon players who don’t get that offer, or receives offers from smaller, less prestigious schools. Or, is it more of a fraternity where players are supportive of each other no matter the offers?

At my school we are all a big family so no matter if you went Division 1or JUCO the love is all the same and we all support each others decisions.

I found a few responses particularly interesting. As fans, we tend to focus on the downside of Mike Riley's long-term deal, but for recruits that stability is a huge positive. It was also interesting to hear about competitors using negative recruiting against Oregon State, and the University's growing reputation in Texas and Oklahoma.

Overall, great insight from Jabral.

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