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Oregon State vs Mississippi State

224

Game time is Friday at noon Pacific time.

My observations over the past few days:  Danny Hayes is brutal vs good pitching. Gotta drop him way down to 7th. I’d have Keyes 5th and Barnes or Rodriquez 6th–those guys at least make productive outs. Casey needs to go with the hot bat, not some archaic idea that Hayes must hit 5th because he hits more home runs.

I guess you throw Andrew Moore, but it sucks M State just saw him.

Gotta get Max Gordon in there. He’s a bad hitter, but he can work at walk, and that’s better than auto-out Hendrix.

Over/under on the telecasters calling OSU “Oregon” (or blatantly rooting against them)?

224 COMMENTS

    • I believe an eye injury (?)…gotta get that straightened out. I’d rather see Mathews than Hendrix if need be.

      I don’t want to hear this crap that Hendrix has potential. They were saying the same about Casper.

    • Lindsay reports Max had a “contact issue” and will be ready to go on Friday.

      She also says Casey has hinted at Fry (for 50 pitches) as a possible starter Friday if he doesn’t simply go with Moore. Casey isn’t above putting out stuff just to keep the opposition guessing, I’d actually like to see if Fry could give us 3 or 4 good innings.

  1. We’ll see if they pronounce Kavin Keyes name right. I think I heard about 3 different ways to say his name from Mike Patrick.

  2. Tonight I counted AT LEAST 3 “Oregons,” although I didn’t feel like they were openly rooting against OSU; against Miss ST however, it felt like the announcers were trying to get the Bulldogs to a win through determination, even when they were down, ie blatant rooting.

    I’ll set the over/under, on both combined, at 6.

  3. Hendrix got on base, he’s so fast, he ran out a bunt. I’m a big fan of Gordon, being an Ashland kid and knowing of him since high school, but Hendrix put the ball in play more than once and got a hit. Pretty clutch for being sent in to play in a CWS elimination game.

    I don’t see a huge difference one way or the other.

    That game was the first 1-0 game since 1985. What a game by both pitchers, and especially Matt Boyd!

  4. Regarding Hendrix and Gordon: neither is good, but Gordon walks a lot, and walks are good as hits. Especially for a 9 hitter who can get you to the top of the order. My huge issue with Hendrix today is he hit a weak ground ball to the 2B with a man on 3rd and 1 out. There were so many ways to score that run, yet he managed to find one of the few ways to not score it. Maybe he’ll develop, but right now he stinks, and I don’t see a lot of upside unless he hits the gym. He’s overmatched on fastballs.

    • I’m glad to hear that Gordon will be back in the line-up.
      I thought Hendrix stepped in and did what he was asked to do. Not executing with RISP (specifically with runners on 3rd it seems, but no data to support) is a problem up and down the line-up, but I would rather see Max. He motivates and does the little things for this team.

    • But Casey did not go Hendrix in favor of Gordon, Gordon had an injury. As for not driving in the run, what player has been able to do that during the post season and how many times this season has Max brought in runs? I thought the place we would miss Max the most was in the field, but luckily Boyd made the game pretty easy for all the fielders.

      • I know, but somehow this turned into a Gordon vs Hendrix convo.

        It should probably be Hendrix vs Mathews. I’d still take the latter…he stinks, but I’ve seen him hit before and never looked completely overmatched (just bad).

    • Regarding Hendrix and Gordon-they’re both at baseball than you period, end of story. The highest league you rode that you got to ride the bench in was probably Babe Ruth League. Shouldn’t talk about someone when your not on their level, and if you do, that’s childish.

      • Probably should lay off the meds there rosy. Your flame failed in a major way.

        Come back when string can words period, end of something. Shouldn’t talk to people when yer knot on there level, and if you do, that’s ironic.

        PS… thanks for not going grammer police with that tripe.

        • Jack, he means to say that only professional baseball players can talk about other professionals or college level players, because they “are on the same level”. College players can only talk about other college players and little league… etc on down the line.
          Therefore, no one can talk about Michael Jordan except maybe Wilt, who is dead. So from now on, no one talk about MJ, or you will be considered childish, end of period.

          • Really?
            http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-0621-dodgers-notes-20130621,0,2138391.story

            Mattingly and all the Dodger players should be doing everything they can to keep the spotlight on Puig. They should be hyping him as a once in a generation player who deserves to be in the AS game just for walking onto the field.

            But they’re all too stupid to realize they’ve been given three weeks of peace because Puig is a monster the fans want to see. Soon enough those same fans are going to wonder how they can have this guy on the team and they’re still losing.

            Then we’ll look back on articles like the above and know why Mattingly was fired and many of the players were traded away or not re-signed. It’s because they either know so little about the game they love, or they don’t love the game enough to overcome their own selfish human tendencies.

            Either one means the fans know more than they do about their own sport right now. And they’ll know enough to run these guys out of town if they don’t get on board.

            Besides, nobody’s so moronic as to believe that being a fan means you have to be some drooling joy-zombie who can see no fault in your team. I have faith that idiots like this don’t really exist. They just talk to themselves and others this way as a coping tool for not understanding what eally builds character in sport. These are people who don’t know why Stewart Smalley is considered funny.

      • lololol.
        You’re highest achievement in blogging is your post above, therefore you should not be able to criticize this blogger. How about a bookend lololol for good measure.

  5. “My huge issue with Hendrix today is he hit a weak ground ball to the 2B with a man on 3rd and 1 out. There were so many ways to score that run, yet he managed to find one of the few ways to not score it. Maybe he’ll develop, but right now he stinks, and I don’t see a lot of upside unless he hits the gym. He’s overmatched on fastballs.”

    Yes, if Max Gordon is available to play Friday, he’s a better choice than Hendrix. Gordon is a senior with lots more experience at this level. Gordon is more likely to get on base than Hendrix (given that Hendrix still swings at too many bad pitches, and strikes out too often). Gordon is also less likely — because of his experience — to make a mistake at bat, on the base paths, or in the field.

    But Jeff Hendrix doesn’t stink. As I’ve mentioned before, I watched Hendrix play 50+ games last summer on my son’s American Legion team. Hendrix is a superior athlete who easily wins a skills competition with Gordon. Compared to Gordon, Hendrix has significantly better footspeed, arm strength, and pop in his bat. Yes, Hendrix had a weak at-bat in a key situation, but Gordon has had some of those, too (as have some other — more celebrated — OSU hitters).

    Remember that Hendrix is a true freshman. He needs time and experience to develop. Hendrix has not gotten many at-bats or much playing time this year, and the CWS is not the ideal place to remedy that. All things considered, I thought Hendrix did a very good job last night against Indiana on a very big stage (playing a solid center field, beating out an infield single to go 1-for-3, and making contact in his other two at-bats). Give the kid a break….

    • Baseball is a bit of a supersticious sport as well. I think Gordon could be destined to be the “feel good story” of the CWS, and for that reason alone I want him in there. He is an unheralded kid, playing a key position and in it for the love of the game rather than a shot at the pros.

      The media seems to love the kid, this tournament is the highlight of his career and he is done after this. I think he will come through for us in a clutch situation.

      The future looks solid with Hendrix.

    • Hendrix looks more comfortable in the field. Gordon has a tendency to jump the wrong way on contact then use his wheels to make the play from there. Hendrix seems to be waiting forever for any fly ball. But at the plate Gordon shows a ton more experience than Jeff. It’s only natural when you’re comparing a senior and a frosh. Where Gordon can see the pitches better, adjust better, be more patient and work the P to just get on base, Hendrix moves too quickly to try and hit what he thinks he sees. And Max is a plus on the base paths, again because of experience and leadership.

      We always want Max in there for this tourney. He just couldn’t go. So Hendrix was the best choice because of his D. I don’t trust Matthews in CF as much as I do Hendrix. And they’ve pretty much been equal at the plate. Hendrix does need to work on his strength and bat speed and patience. He looks like he has direction down. He just needs to catch up to the game. And it’s hard to ask him to do it suddenly on a stage where the opposition is not accustomed to losing.

      More of a concern for me is the fielding by Davis and Keyes. They’ve had minimal mistakes thus far. But Davis has spaced out on a couple bouncing balls, and I hold my breath every time Keyes throws to first.

      • Exactly. The experience factor of Senior vs Freshman is on Max’s side. But still don’t get the Hendrix stinks idea.

        But speaking of Keyes…

        That’s a guy that could get more of my ire. A perfect example is his presumed HR, where he flips his bat and struts, only to see it not clear the fence and he tries to stretch it to a triple? Really? Dude, you lost 20 seconds admiring the hit, you’re not fast enough to make up that time. THAT is a bonehead play.

        Come on, bro.

        • Re: Keyes, He has shown to be a smart (not especially fast) baserunner and a focused player all year, I seriously doubt you’ll ever see him pull that bonehead, lack of hustle play again. He has made several very good plays at third but, like Jack said, I hold my breath every time he makes a throw to first. With his BA I agree with Angry, he ought to be hitting fifth.

          • Keyes is not fast but is a good base runner, he does a great job with his leads and reading the ball off the bat. By doing that he gives himself extra steps to make up for his lack of speed. His fielding has improved throughout the season and he has made some tough plays on bunts lately but last night on the final out he shortarmed his throw and almost threw it away.

      • Agree on Keyes arm. On the last out vs. Indiana I could virtually see him growing alligator arms and was sure he was going to short hop it.

    • Based on the current roster, he’s the CF next season, so we’ll see what he can do. I look at approach, bat speed, clearing the hips, etc. It’s why I never got down on Keyes last year even though he stunk (unlike many people here). I felt his issue was mental.

      Hendrix might be lighting up legion, but so did I….

  6. Anybody heard anything related to Oregon’s dealing with the NCAA lately? Last we heard, Rob Moseley was predicting they would be handed their sanctions “within 2 weeks”, but that was 3 weeks ago. By the time they get this thing finalized, all of the people involved will be dead.

    • Do we know who’s starting for Miss. St? Maybe if they don’t go with their #1 or #2 guys, I could see how Fry with a short leash would be tempting. He really hasn’t had much of an opportunity this season so I can’t imagine he’d be able to last very long. That’s asking alot of a guy who’s still rusty after TJ surgery.

    • You can’t go with a guy who has only thrown 50 pitches all season. This late in the season facing an elimination game you need to go with what has been working and has gotten you to this point. I’d be shocked if we saw anyone but Andrew Moore.

      • Seems like Moore, with 5 days rest is a no brainer.
        The interesting thing will be (if Beavs beat MSU on Fri.) the decision for Saturday. Wetzler with 4 days rest; might make sense to start Fry with the plan to go through the order once and then turn it over to Ben.

        BTW, Schultz missed practice today. Too much cold, midnight pizza! He’ll be ready Friday, as will Max Gordon.

        • I agree that it’s a no-brainer that Moore starts. How much of it do you think is some sleight of hand. Does Casey talk up Fry just to get the opponent to do extra scouting? Does he do it as round about encouragement to Fry? All the while knowing he is starting Moore.

          Last night the sideline reporter (certainly no Erin Andrews) asked the UNC head coach about the ‘surprise’ of NC State starting Rodon, as they had been saying they were starting someone else. The UNC coach said something like, “If you really thought they weren’t going to start Rodon, then you’re the only one.”

          • If Fry comes back and has his stuff, this would be the drop-jaw story of the CWS. Only those who see his work-up know for sure if he’s 100% and geared to play. I would love love love to see him come out and pitch like we know he can. And if he does I’ll be chewing my fingernails to the nub hoping on every pitch for his success. Historically, success doesn’t follow in these situations. So the odds would be one big shadow hanging over us all.

            But man! What a neat story it would be.

  7. I know we’re all focused on baseball right now, but Riley sent out the bat signal. Beavs get verbal from their 2nd quarterback of the 2013/14 class. Dual threat Marcus McMaryion.

    Angie Machado ?@AngieMachado1 7m

    NEW COMMIT: #OregonState offered QB Marcus McMaryion this morning and he committed on the spot. More coming soon.

    http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Marcus-McMaryion-142240

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5w5ckSC-m8

      • He sure does take alot of chances while trying to outrun opponents. There were several times I thought he was going to get leveled by the defender but he somehow squeaked away and stayed on his feet. In the NCAA, he’s bound to get hurt that way.

    • A mobile qb? Will PettiboneHead be announced as head coach next?!?

      Seems to run the play action OK, and stand stall and set his feet when he throws from the pocket. Once he decides to throw, he doesn’t seem to rush his throw or get happy feet.

      This team…I keep swearing I’m going to stop watching college football and then there’s enough players each year they keep me interested…Cooks, Chricton, Nelson, incoming WRs…the QB transfer, Mattison…hopefully this kid shows up and pans out.

      Looks like a good pick up to me.

      • His other offer so far was from Arizona, but he said today on twitter he was offered today by OSU and accepted the offer on the spot. A little surprised a mobile QB would choose OSU over Rich Rod’s system. Good news for the Beavs.

    • Couple observations,

      1. Good touch. Almost all the passes are over the top throws or hitting the WR in stride.
      2. Smart feet. On broken plays he looks to pass first and then takes off. Not a true dual threat.
      3. Looks to be still growing. Thin build. Putting on 25 pounds looks doable. Can always hope for some height too.

      Only a couple question marks,
      1. Can he drive the ball with velocity? His team runs very few comebacks or deep outs. He’ll need to show he can make these throws. His deep ball floats a little bit but it is accurate. The film give little about how hard he can throw the ball.
      2. Hard to tell the level of competition but 43tds vs 3 interceptions says he doesn’t make a lot of bad decisions.

    • Still only one “home” team has won a CWS game. “Away” teams are 9-1 so far.

      Moore and Graveman both on five days rest. Both pens on three games rest (OSU’s pen being just Schultz).

      Who’s up for a little noon ball?

  8. Looking forward to today’s game. Expecting Andrew Moore to pitch better than he did last Saturday, and specifically to have better control of his off-speed pitches. Also expecting a big game from Dylan Davis (who is batting .091 so far in the CWS, and would be batting .000 if the first base umpire had made the right call on an infield squib where replays showed DD was erroneously called safe).

  9. Oregonian laid off beat writer Paul Buker today. John Hunt got axed too, while in the middle of covering the CWS in Omaha. I’m hoping they at least paid for his flight home…..that’s harsh.

    Sounds like they’re changing their printed newspaper to a 3 day a week delivery, and there are massive layoffs happening today. Newspaper is nearly dead….

  10. dang, Gordon hits to right but 1st baseman snags the line drive out of the air and throws out rodriquez at 2nd for double play to end inning. great defensive play on what looked like a scoring hit at first.

  11. Beavs not sharp at all today. Other than Conforto’s catch, fielding has been pretty suspect. Lots of bobbling of the ball

  12. MSU seems to be hitting the ball pretty sharply fairly often Moore’s not really fooling anyone right now; they’ve just hit to OSU fielders. Hope I’m wrong….

    • If you don’t have Conforto’s arm, that catch is always a tough decision. You catch it, a guy scores. It drops and everyone lives to see another pitch. No one ever would let it drop foul, but its an interesting scenario.

  13. Mississippi State looking like the better team today. Still only a 1 run game, but it feels like that margin should be larger.

  14. Beavs are going to lose this game.
    Unless conforto wins it with a HR. The rest of the O can’t string together enough hits vs these more elite pitchers. M St getting pretty good swings and men on base vs Moore, so they’re winning that tug of war.

    • I wouldn’t even include Graveman in the elite pitcher category, but he’s shutting OSU down and they’re gonna bring in that dominant bullpen which has much better arms. Extremely difficult to come back.

  15. That does it. Game one loss comes back to bite us…no room for a game like this after dropping the winnable game.

  16. Moore hasn’t struggled like this the entire season, obviously bad timing to do it in the CWS. He had a great year, just hasn’t been at his best in Omaha, unfortunately.

  17. And MSU BP continues…this could get ugly. Hasn’t fooled anyone since the second inning…they’re just starting to drop in.

  18. I’d like to see Gordon steal a bag here and get a RISP without the standard bunt/out.

    And walk Gordon in 4 pitches? Trying to stay away from him?

  19. 3 runs usually wouldn’t be game, but it’s nearly impossible to string together a rally with guys like Hayes and Barnes and Rodriquez who average 1 hit per game (.250) and a bullpen that doesn’t walk guys. So it’s up to the top 4 guys, and once M State gets through them there’s almost no chance to score.

    Meanwhile, M St has guys on base every inning. Beavs need to recruit offense….that’s the bottom line. Their lineup is average, so against the good pitching it actually becomes bad.

  20. Does Danny Hayes know how to choke up or shorten his swing?
    It’s like he’s swinging a ten foot garden hose, and he keeps that approach with 2 strikes. wtf.

    • That’s what my brother has been saying…”why don’t they choke up?” Especially when somebody’s throwing some 70ish ball they can sit and wait on…

      • No, those are excuses. Humidity doesn’t make a guy stop running, or bunt in the first place (horrible decision), or take a bad approach (i.e. swinging for the fences) vs a soft tosser.

        • Agree, a lot more than humidity at work here. At this point guys are mentally drained. I’m disappointed too, but can’t evaluate this team based only on the CWS. It is a shame that more power hasn’t been recruited, the lack of O (most of the season) has been a big factor in the mental stress obvious now.

        • the lack of O (most of the season) has been a big factor in the mental stress obvious now.

          Agree. More a drain on the pitchers, though…

          Anyone have theories on why they can recruit elite pitching but not hitting?

          • Re: Hitters vs Pitchers…

            The current make-up, roster building, has been successful and with the Death Valleyesue park in Omaha not sure ‘big hitters’ are needed.

            As you have pointed out on several occasions in this thread alone, what is needed is good at bats– working the pitch counts and smart hitting. As well as good base running, fielding etc.

            Or better put, baseball IQ. ;^)

  21. No reason not to run hard all of the way. Probably his final college at bat, he’s gonna think back to that one for a long time.

    • I can see why Smith thought the ball was going foul; the trajectory was seemingly inevitable; but it took a bounce on the line and thrust back into fair territory. Still, no excuse for not running it out. If only we had gotten one of those bounces when Peterson was trying to lay one down in Game 1.

    • Yes, great season. It’ll take a long hike to work the stress out of this oldbeav…….and awhile to regrow those bitten off nails! GO BEAVS!

  22. Tough ending, but that was a great season regardless and the Beavers will be really good next year as well. Now that the baseball team’s season is over, football season can’t get here soon enough.

  23. So is this where we reminisce on the season and rationalize that the body of work makes up for low IQ play in the CWS?

    Okay, have at it guys. That was brutal, low IQ baseball in the biggest game of the year. Real talk.

    • I think this is where I realize the Beavs got beaten by a pretty damn good team. No reason to bitch about a team finishing in the top 4 in the nation. Definitely exceeded expectations next year. I’m looking forward to having Moore, a healthy Fry, and hopefully Wetzler again next year pitching.

      • I’d tend to agree, “Final four,” 52 wins…I wish there was more emphasis on recruiting some hitters but Casey favors pitching and defense over hitting(ers).

      • Agree, absolutely! But this is a critical discussion blog, so nitpicking is what you do when success is achieved but not 100%. I bet Casey has done some such on his various decisions. A coach is never perfect.

    • Really? We were one of the last four teams in the nation to be playing. This was an elite team coached by an elite coaching staff. Obviously it’s disappointing, but in sports only one team can be champion. Mississippi State was shockingly good. I like our chances to get back to the CWS next year though. Should be another stacked squad (with hopefully a little more clutch hitting).

    • I don’t think it was low IQ; fatigue, if anything. Tough conference race; Tough regional; even tougher Super; tough loss in Game 1. Three of four games in the day time heat; combined with an obviously worn out Moore. With complete 20-20 hindsight we can say Casey should have started Boyd in Game 1.

  24. Great season with lots of excitement. I would like to soften a few of the observations by Angry and not be quite so edgy. But he is essentially correct. Machismo batting all year long with very little effort to work pitch counts and use situational hitting. This is puzzling to me because in the old days, when Casey had no big boppers, the Beaver teams scratched out runs by situational swinging and by grinding out the opposing pitchers. Looking back, I think that the early win streak was not a good thing. It may have slowed the substitution patterns for both hitters/pitchers and kept roll players from emerging. In the end, who did they have to come off the bench to get that clutch pinch hit? And who were the guys that could get the one batter out in the righty-righty or lefty-lefty situations? Who was willing or able to just keep the inning alive? Almost, but not quite. Congratulations for climbing back atop the PAC-12 mountain and for getting to the final four!!!

    • concur. no bench strength and the spotty bull pen play late in the season took its toll, most clearly
      on Moore, but more profoundly on the rotation in Omaha; no Boyd, the “last chance senior” in Game 1 but a younger player probably a little awed by the circumstances or, overly confident about getting to Omaha again.

  25. Hey, great year for us baseball Beavers!! Huge kudos, congrats, and HI Fives!!!

    ….but that said, this same team might still be playing if the same players just played smart ball. Dont forget these are kids, still working out of the hi adrenaline available in that part of your life. So not playing smart can be expected. and there seemed to be lapses in coaching judgement … not pulling pitchers soon enough, chosing lineup not based on actual recent hitting performance. ,….. and not getting the team to play smarter. Thats on the coaches, I think.

    But still….great year!

  26. No national seeds in the finals.

    Nobody winning through the loser’s bracket.

    No chance for the ACC to double their one championship… from 1955.

    My father got his undergrad degree at UCLA, so I have to root for them. And they’re in good position since they pitched their Sunday P tonight.

    UNC is really really smart at the plate in the ninth inning. I watched them in their regional, and they were gone before they stopped swinging. Walk a couple rune in, and it’s a different ball game. They looked like they were going to do it again. Despite angry’s insistence that bunting when behind is bad joo-joo, I think UNC could have shaken Berg by just showing bunt. I would have to say that a SO with runners on the c

  27. Very good year Beavs….I get the feeling we all thought this team was better than the product on the CWS field. What happened to the team that went to UCLA’s house and grinded out two five run victories. I’m fustrated at the coaches for not pulling Moore sooner, obviously three hits in a row he’s done, but five!!!! But alas, it wasn’t the pitching that doomed us, but impatient at-bats (example, Dylan Davis swinging on 0-0 pitch with two on….WTF dude!, don’t help out the opposing pitcher). Like others have posted, we can’t get upset at these kids, but I do blame the coaches for situational errors — why were we not walking Wes Rea, MSUs hottest hitter (seemed to almost work for Indiana when they walked our leading RBI guy). Sometimes it’s not all about power, but patience and the ability to wear out the other guy until the runs pour in, ala 2007. Seemed like DD, DH, and RB were trying too hard. (it’s late and I’m ranting….LOL)

    Oh well, there is aways next year….great run, let’s do it again!!!

    Go Beavs!!!

    • Yes, he’s CV’s QB. Dad is former Beav and developer in town, as well as CV’s Head Coach.

      Athletic, smart kid.

      • Tanner Sanders is another kid I know well. Played with my son at CV. He will try out for WR at OSU. Tanner Sanders has good hands, jumps well, and is a legit 6’4″ or 6’5″. Decent speed. He’s definitely a playmaker. Biggest problem with TS is that he is fragile. Has been injured multiple times the past few years (including a serious shoulder injury), and missed substantial playing time for both the football and basketball teams.

        • Hey Silverstream,

          Sry to bug you, but did you have any plans on watching The Beavs in Summer/Fall camp? I only ask, as the information and write up provided is great. My thanks with what ever you decide to do.

          2 months until kick off….Go Beavs!

  28. Sorry to hear of the Beavs demise. I was looking forward to spending days in front of TiVo watching the Beavs add another CWS title when I return stateside next month.

    Angry may come across as a little harsh but sounds like he’s right on. It is after all “a critical view of Oregon State athletics.” From where I’m at it looked like it came down to two things, 1) BA with RISP was horrible, the middle of the lineup couldn’t string hits together. Conforto starts out the CWS 4-4 and ends it with an 0-4 performance. I can’t believe there wasn’t an oppertunity for Day to PH. And 2) the bigger issue in my opinion is the complete lack of faith Casey had in his BP by the end of the season. Even though they started the season looking good (maybe inferior competition?) it was a complete collapse by season’s end. The injury to Englebrekt was a bad break but he wouldn’t have saved the day. The bullpen colored every decision Casey made and is probably the reason he stuck with Moore too long. On a positive note it was nice to see that Fry had 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. I’m looking forward to see if his stuff was good or MSU hitters figured they had game won at 4-1.
    At the end of the day though when you see how the average Indian lives that the Beavs didn’t play their best at the CWS isn’t the end of the world and I like their chances to get back next year.

  29. Look it is easy to nitpick the performance and second guess Casey, but I don’t think any it would have mattered. The Beavs had some glaring weaknesses depth and bullpen. Many fans have been critical of the non-use of the bullpen, but that ‘pen had not been very good against WSU blowing one game and almost a second. It couldn’t close the door in game 1 of the regional. The bulllpen was a real question mark, so I thought Casey was correct in not going too it.

    As far as Conforto goes, he was the best position player at the CWS. Okay so he goes 0-4, but he made his third highlight catch in left field, and threw another runner out. Where the offense staggers is 6-9 they are well subpar hitting or moving runners. We were one foot of winning game 1 with a walk-off from Hayes that was crushed but the wind blew it back enough in that graveyard of a field. Win that and we are in the winnners bracket and have a rematch with the Bruins. We just didn’t get enough to go our way. I know Angry dismissed it, but I do think it was a successful season, and the team went as far as it should have. We like to see us get a little better power or at least production from the bottom of the order. We could be back with next yrs team.

  30. Who will be reporting on Beavs football from Corvallis now that Cliff is heading out to Mecca? I thought Cliff got a little edgier towards the end of last season, maybe he was already out applying for other jobs. I think Kerry Eggers gets the best “inside” information on the Beavs making The Oregonian redundant, but Schnell can keep doing her features.

    • Let’s not forget our biggest media loss. Jordan Whitley will not be here any longer either.

      Eggers is the best at getting inside info, but he also isn’t critical of the team. Lindsay has been flip flopped between Oregon and OSU the past couple of years, so not sure which team she’ll be covering this year. Canzano, Joe Freeman and Jason Quick might be pulling double duty this year with Blazers and college football.

  31. Honestly thought Hunt was the best of the Oregonian lot in terms of getting and reporting solid info. Wished he reported on Beaver football more often.

    Eggers is great but he reports on football so infrequently…plus the search function on the Portland Tribune website sucks. To those who post Eggers links, how do you know when he posts a football article?

        • http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9419383/sources-schools-interested-kyle-wiltjer-leaves-kentucky
          I’m surprised Cal isn’t on this list. Cal and Zags were the two most likely places for him to end up other than UK when he was in HS. We’re “showing interest,” but we don’t have any open ships.

          Ducks? You mean the sanctions or their hoops recruiting? Sanctions tomorrow will determine how seriously the NCAA wants to treat street agents in the future. If schools can use them then hire lawyers and get away with just calling them boosters and losing one or two ships for a couple years, then why not make it an “everyone does it” league? Hell, they did it while on probation. So what message would that send?

          My friend in the Nikegon AD says nothing (read: not even one eye blink for yes) about this. I highly doubt any Duck “insiders” have “leaked” anything other than FOI releases. The NCAA may go light on some of this stuff, but lying to them and disobeying their gag orders are two things no school wants to do.

          • No, I meant Wiltjer going to Oregon. Saw some internet babble about him being a nice replacement for Mosier, don’t know if Altman is already working it or if it’s just talk. Of course, Oregon St. was also mentioned, so maybe CR is putting out feelers?

  32. Will be interesting if NCAA ruling includes anything related to Lyles “mentor” relationship with LMJ while being paid by the school. Lyles accompanied James on trips for awards presentations and was in constamt contact with him clear up to draft day ( with photos to proove it). Sure Swastrunk never played as a duck, but James their MVP for 3 major bowl seasons. That is where I think a bowl ban could be appropriate, but not sure if any of that made it into the NCAA reports behind all those redacted lines

    • I don’t think any scholarship reductions would really hurt their program. If they got a 2 year bowl ban, that would be sufficient. No extra practices, no post season exposure and recruiting would be hurt just as much as reducing scholarships.

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