Talk about mixed emotions…for those who don't know, I live in Santa Barbara and have a hard time rooting against the Gauchos. The one team that trumps them, however, is the Beavers. If this game were in SB, that my friends would be the definition of "hog heaven."
Anyway, back to reality. The pitching matchups for Saturday and Sunday have not yet been determined. Figure Josh Osich will get one of the starts. I'm unsure who gets the other. Maybe Booser if he is truly back and healthy. Right now this is what it looks like:
| Date | Opponent | Pitchers | Time (PT) |
| 03/25 | UC Santa Barbara | Sam Gaviglio (4-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Jesse Meaux (1-1, 3.48 ERA) | 5:35 p.m. |
| 03/26 | UC Santa Barbara | Josh Osich vs Matt Vedo (2-2, 3.57 ERA) | 2:05 p.m. |
| 03/27 | UC Santa Barbara | James Nygren vs Greg Davis (2-0, 2.86 ERA) | 1:05 p.m. |
I feel like I've seen (*cough*…heard) enough Beaver baseball to make some judgments and criticisms.
- Brian Stamps strikes out way too much. He truly is a modern day, real life "Willie Mays Hayes". Yes, he is fast. But, he is a flawed player. He will struggle mightily in conference play.
- Susac is a liability behind the plate. 4 passed balls is 4 too many. It's a very high number for this early in the year.
- Outside of Sam G, the starting pitching staff is unpredictable. We have "great arms", but right now they are throwers rather than pitchers, and I can foresee them getting themselves into trouble once the real season begins.
- Ryan Gorton has decent numbers, but I feel like something goes wrong every time he's in the game. He reminds me of Tyler Waldron last season. Tony Bryant looks to be the one right-handed reliever we can trust.
- If Boyd is now the closer, we're sorely lacking a lefty specialist. Casey can get away with this now, but again, once we start facing good teams…
- Wetzler and Osich have combined for 10 starts, but only 2 have been quality starts. Granted, Osich was on a pitch count, but he appears to be an inefficient pitcher who gets himself into trouble. Meaning, even when he isn't on a pitch count, I envision heavy bullpen usage the games he starts.
- The offense is weak ("Duh, Angry"). I still have to say it. Scoring 4 runs versus a second year DI school (Seattle) is putrid no matter how you frame it. A .371 team slugging percentage is the main culprit, and negates a very respectable .382 team OBP.
I'm not sure how much baseball coverage I will do once conference play starts. This is the first year I've put effort into covering baseball, and honestly not many fans seem to care about the sport, so I wonder if I am wasting time. My severance pay ends in a week, and as it is I spend much of my day looking for jobs, so researching teams like Seattle University gets a bit tedious, especially if nobody cares about the sport. I am not asking you to care or respond to posts; I am just saying why I might cut back on doing write ups for baseball.
On a similar note, things have been awfully quiet of late. Even football coverage at the Oregonian and the pay sites is slow. I guess it's the calm before the storm (i.e. spring practice)? I'm not sure, but for whatever reason apathy is king right now.
I continue to read your site multiple times everyday. Just waiting for updates and posts from other readings to perhaps break some news I have not found myself. That being said I completely understand you scaling back your writing. I will continue you lurk in the forums looking for breaking news. :-)
Best wishes on the job search, the work you’ve done here should be a real positive in your favor even if the job is unrelated. IMHO you are doing the right thing by rootin’ for the Beavs over the Gauchos.
Thank you.
I might still cover baseball if something is really pissing me off, or I have the time/interest. It’s hard to say, but figured I’d let people know what is up in the event things are quiet.
Also, how about Arizona destroying Duke? I can’t believe the Wildcats have elite 8 talent. The Beavers beat them!
And we played them tough in the Pac 10 Tourney. The hoops team has always been four seniors and sliver of confidence away from being good. And it’s not far beyond that to greatness. You see way MomoJones is playing as a soph? Remember how much he sucked last year? Imagine how much Starks will improve his play after a year under his belt.
March Madness has a way of killing all other sports news. I’m just waiting for KU and tOSU to go down and completely kill my brackets.
Yes, but what would Momo Jones have done with CR for a coach? Can Stark improve with CR as his coach?
Did Cunningham?
I think Cunningham did improve but was also wildly inconsistent and actually started losing confidence with his shot towards the end of the season. Mostly though I about choked on my bagel when i read the article about Calvin Haynes being a mentor to Cunningham!!! Hopefully, that ends next year unless Haynes hangs around the team.
Angry, thanks for all you do. This blog isn’t just about the beavs – it contains other insights and I find it a bit of an oasis in a crazy world; interesting links, for example. Speaking of craziness, I’ve come late to reading Scoreboard, Baby. (Armstrong and Perry). Sweet old Oregon State in comparison – may it have major, winning seasons whilst playing by the rules. I can only hope.
I think lots of people read this blog who don’t admit it. It seems to me that PB’s pieces have picked up a little and have a sharper edge. Could that be from comments here?
Good luck with the job search – I hear Portland is picking up.
I think that Beaver fans are still reeling from a combination of gut-punches (the injury to James, leading to a disappointing football season, capped off with the departure of Quizz; an even more disappointing basketball season, featuring the unwatchable Calvin “gimme the ball” Haynes, etc.)
If the baseball team does well in PAC-10 play and makes the NCAA tournament, I think you’ll see Beaver fans start getting very excited about baseball again. But too soon right now, after so many disappointments this year. Perhaps wouldn’t be a bad idea to save your time and energy and put off Beaver baseball coverage for a while.
As for spring football practice, the absence of James Rodgers and Ryan Katz and Jordan Bishop (as well as others) takes away some of the pizzazz. Still, I am excited about seeing some of the other offensive players strut their stuff (e.g., Obum Gwacham, who I watched closely last year during practices, and who seems to me to have a huge upside). And, probably more important, I am eager to see what some of the younger defensive players can do (e.g., Shaydon Akuna). I know that I will be checking your site each day during spring football practice, and I’ll bet a lot of other Beaver fans will be doing the same thing. If it were up to me, that’s where I’d want you to focus the bulk of your available time and attention (as time permits, during your job search).
Angry,
Recently discovered this site and have been reading it daily ever since so I finally decided to register. Great info and insight from you and other posters. I am a big beaver baseball fan and enjoy your write-ups, you do a great job. Good luck with the job search. Hopefully you can stay on the west coast.
I always check for updates, don’t always comment though. I am leery about getting to confident about baseball in fear of my gut getting punched again by disappointment. I was so excited for football and basketball this year but what huge letdowns those teams were. If our baseball team makes some noise in league play, I’ll be excited to see what they can do in the tournament. Sam G. has been interesting so far this season. I would love to see him break that scoreless innings streak. ESPN might even talk about that for a couple seconds. It would be nice to hear Oregon without ducks following right after.
I think Wetzler and Osich have more than two quality starts between them. And I think Nygren is coming on as well. I liked the way Casey went with Schultz/Wetzler in the second game. Everyone not named Gaviglio is teetering on the fence between mediocrity and greatness. They’re just not quite focusing on the task at hand. I have faith that Wetzler will be in groove for league play, but I don’t know how consistent he’ll be. He has the talent to dominate, but his head has been lost at raid times. It’s almost like he’s afraid to throw strikes to some guys because he’s afraid he’s going to be hit. He needs to get the ball down in the zone and invite the batters to just put the ball in play. I know we’ve suffered through a couple poor fielding days, but this team is infinitely better with defense than last year’s team was.
Casey should instruct Stamps to lay down bunts until further notice. He’s Delino DeShields incarnate.
In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing some manufactured runs coming across. Only good things happen when you draw the infield in and get in the pitcher’s head.
Remember that Seattle has a higher RPI than most expect. They have a solid group of starters and decent middle relievers.
According to the official statistics, they have 2 quality starts between them.
Angry,
This is just a suggestion…find some one to share the load (hint: BB20). There’s good knowledge and desire for the sport from some of the Angryites…see if one of them is interested in doing a write up for you so you can have a break.
I check this site routinely for baseball updates. Also…keep in mind that we’re in the full swing of march madness…most sports nuts are following online updates/blogs about that.
I think there is more interest than you might think. I for one, miss you putting the link up. I had not bookmarked it because it was here and I always enjoyed coming to the site for my pregame warmup. I appreciate what you do.
I will however say that you put a little too much stock in 1 game. Scoring 4 against Seattle means very little. Baseball is a game where 35/100 success is an all-star.
I think our starting pitching is going to be fine, I hope we can get some consistency in our pen and close games.
I don’t know why baseball makes those poor at stats stand out like bird droppings on wet slate, but it does.
Apparently, Gaviglio can break the scoreless innings record tonight. He is currently at 38.2 scoreless innings, and Paul Buker reports that Todd Helton’s record is 47 1/2 innings.
I don’t know if this game goes off. We’re dead center under the low pressure system dumping all over the West at moment. With eight hours before the game, who knows where the rain will be? I know it’s going to be cold for anyone from SoCal. So I hope the game goes off. But I’m not holding my breath.
Baseball has been my #1 sport since 2005, even in the off years I thought it provides more excitement than hoops or Riley’s mediocre teams. Love watching Omaha.
Am more upbeat than the write up, I think pitching continues to be strong and I like Osich up to this point. Bats are better than they have been at situational hitting, sacrifices, etc. but there is room for improvement.
Can’t wait for Pac 10, not sure we will finish higher than 4th but even that will be an upgrade from any year since 06 I think.
BTW I have seen Stamps bunt three times and every time it is sharp to the pitcher.
The bats are better compared to last year. Last year we couldn’t get a bunt down. This year we’re not great at it, but we’re at least pretty good. That makes a big difference. In Pac-10 play getting those bunts down and subsequently driving home the run will be key. If we’re good at that, we’ll be a good enough offensive team to compete. If we leave men stranded at 2nd, obviously we will not score runs.
BTW, I hate saying “we”, as if we are on the team. Replace all “wes” with “Beavs”–hey, that sort of rhymes.
Thank you, thank you for pointing out the “we” syndrome. Little League Mothers are generally afflicted with it. They also suffer from a condition wherein they refer to a team as belonging to their offspring i.e., “Amanda’s team has won its last 3 game.”
I hate the “we” stuff as well. I always say Beavers or the team. I never say we because I’m not on the team, so it would sound really strange. The Ducks broadcasters feel the need to ALWAYS say we no matter the sport.
You mean e.g.
…and I agree. But it is natural to say “we” or “us.” I don’t mind it too much until I hear things like “we worked hard this season” or other such attachment to the actual effort. I try to limit my “we’s” as much as I can, but sometimes it seems to fit. Like..”We suck this year.”
angry,
What do you think of Joel Skotte?
I haven’t seen his film yet. Has anyone found it online?
I like that he has interest from Dartmouth and Princeton. That is some serious intelligence. If he has any athleticism he should be very good. Can’t say until I see that, though.
Skotte would be about fourth on a pretty good list of LB’s in Oregon next year. I think it’s Bafaro, Halverson, Brenner then Skotte or a kid from West Linn named Byrne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qct4TKUtX3g
aDo you think he deserves an offer? I know he wants to be a Beav real bad.
He is probably a high major prospect. i think his junior year was better than Michael Balfour’s junior year and close to Balfour’s senior year. And i think highly of Balfour. There are probably a good dozen or so high major prospects in Oregon next year with maybe more playing their way to that level during the season. The I listed above are good.
Espitia, Sly-Cain, Dunmore and Rothstein are excellent as athlete prospects. I think Dunmore is a Duck lean as is Rothstein. But i think Espitia and Sly-Cain might be leaning to us.
I’m not up on o-linemen yet, but there’s a kid at Ranier named Staeffler who’s pretty good to go along with Griffin from Liberty and a kid at West Salem I really like named Kreitzberg (LG on the tape).
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/202899/carl-kreitzberg
But the biggest haul is going to be d-linemen. Seumalo, Deeks and Balducci are all national recruits. And Nall and Milburn are high major prospects.
Sorry, I got Brenner wrong. He’s a 2013 recruit, and he will likely be a national recruit. His sister is a junior on the softball team, so we may have an in with him.
And I forgot the WR at Grant. Probably because I can’t remember his name right now. He’s tall, physical and fast.
Espitia is a BEAST. I really hope we offer him soon.
If I remember correctly, most the softball players hate their coach. The sister of Brenner may not be too up on OSU if this is still the case. May actually hurt us in recruiting.
Now I feel like an idiot for asking if anyone had game film…haha.
He looks pretty good. A bit undersized and more of a “high motor” guy than a pure athlete. You can see his IQ even on film, anticipating plays well. I wouldn’t have a problem with offering him, but he can’t be a cornerstone. It also depends how many scholarships we have to offer. If we’re under ~18ish I’d only offer him preferred walk-on status. I haven’t researched how many we’ll have next year. I believe it will be a fairly big class from what I remember.
I just decied I am going to the game tonight, anyone else going to be there?
I hope you continue to cover baseball. While I rarely (never) post. I really enjoy your insight, and the insight of other posters. I check the website daily, and very often during games.
So… Hope you continue to provide your insight!
Craig Beaver standing by.
At the risk of being labeled a desperado, I must admit the stream is flowing just fine.
3 1/2 innings done, Sam gives up sac fly to score runner from 3rd. 3-0 Gauchos.
3-0? I thought it was 1-1?
4 1/2 done, tied up at 1 each (typo on last entry ha ha). Norris RBI sgl scored Beavs run.
Yeah. It’s 1-1… I’m at the game and looking at the scoreboard.
Was the run earned? i.e. is the streak over?
Yeah, sac fly.
Runner who scored for SB was on base because of a walk, earned run, but those walks seem to come back to bite.
This just in, Bell held up rounding third, the right thing to do this time.
Yeah that was the correct decision.
The crowd is raucous tonight–sounds like a bunch of angrybeavs in the stands!
3-1, Beavs. Good small ball right there with a bases loaded walk and sac-fly
HBP as well, BB20 would be proud.
Baseball knowledge fail… What inning does it have to be for them to end the game for rain? It’s starting to sprinkle pretty good here…
In this case, since the Beavs have the lead, top of the 5th.
Lol. Is there not a certain inning? I thought it had to be past a certain inning to be called a “complete” game and not be a no contest and rescheaduled.
5 innings is an official game. If the home team is losing they must complete the full 5 innings. If the home team is winning, top of the 5th will suffice.
Yeah the fans are loud tonight, they were giving the ump the business on a strike call.
It looked like a strike to me… Lol
Alright it just graduated from sprinkle to rain. FML. First game I go to and it’s raining!
Susac lets one past. Runner advances then scores off a single. ugh!
Bell gets a double to rt ctr which probably could have been caught, how’d it look Afghan?
5-2, Beavs…small ball strikes again…looked like a suicide squeeze.
It should have been caught, cf gave up on the ball and slowed down. Barely got over his head.
It was a suicide squeeze, very well done.
Weather Channel says 45% rain now, 10% in an hour. Looks like all of the 45% is hitting the field now!
It’s raining really hard my girlfrinrx has had enough. Making me leave :(
Norris RBI double
Ugh!
Bell flys out to rt rt ctr, hit a little deeper than the double he got as a gift.
Two outs and Joe Wallace gets RBI double for Gauchos.
Smart call off by Smith to finish game with a catch right behind 1st baseman.
Well played by the Beavs tonight. I wish I could catch the game tomorrow, but I have a Hurling match at the same time. Anyone in the Corvallis area want to come check it out. We are playing at the Western View Middle school Soccer fields @1pm. My team wears all black and I am #48 :-)
And for those of you who say… Hurling? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurling
Afghan: I am familar with hurling…we hosted the 1982 OSU Rugby team Christmas party. Keg(s?) of beer, then they all exchanged gifts-which were various bottles of booze. Good thing it rained that night!
Good luck today
Thanks alot! I played some rugby when I was in the army, so I know all about the crazy parties that go with it. We won our match today beating a team from Portland by 5 points! Now off to Block15 for a BBQ cheeseburger and some beer!
For those that haven’t been able to see the stream…………http://ohlulz.com/ncaaf/flash.php?lulz=rtmp://cp98724.live.edgefcs.net:1935/live&id=orst_m-basebl@31490
There you go. Sorry I haven’t been able to post the stream sooner, just haven’t had any time.
I have just been going back to Angry’s previous write-ups where he posted the stream, the link from there still works ;-)
BB20 hates on Norris, but he’s been hitting well of late.
Just hit a two run double. Beavs lead 3-0 in the 1st.
I’m willing to give him props when necessary, and yes, Jared has hit the ball well the last 2 weeks or so. That two run double was aided a bit by the wet grass. If he doesn’t slip that ball is probably caught.
4-0, Berberet with an RBI single.
“Wetzler and Osich have combined for 10 starts, but only 2 have been quality starts. Granted, Osich was on a pitch count, but he appears to be an inefficient pitcher who gets himself into trouble. Meaning, even when he isn’t on a pitch count, I envision heavy bullpen usage the games he starts.”
Hm.
4-2 Beavs. SB with the bags full.
Update: Beavs get out of it.
Mike Parker is awful…he’s whining about that damn Osich pitch. Umpires miss pitches…it’s like the guy has never watched baseball.
6-2, Beavs
As soon as I say anything nice about Jared Norris he makes a bad mistake. Never fails.
Bell scoring, an example of making your own breaks or luck??
Both. He faked like he was going back to third which made the catcher turn his body and prepare to throw but it was luck because the catcher didn’t realize what was going on and just stopped.
Yes, error on catcher.
Bell’s head is really in the game both on the basepaths and in the field. Seems to apply to most of the team and will pay off over the season. Focus/desire missing in FB and BB.
Oops, jinxed him.
haha
8-2, Beavs for those following
10-2, Beavs in the 6th.
Osich is out of the game. Another underwhelming, inefficient performance. 5 innings, 86 pitches. I’m curious to see if his pitching in warm weather next week yields better results.
Yes, but he is in control more than he’s not. Warmer weather should help, but strength is what he really needs. If he continues to play like his rehab is complete, then he will never advance. The way Casey plays him, I don’t think he’ll be allowed to stop his rehab until coach is satisfied.
I like Osich, Wetzler and Nygren because they can manage about five innings each. Schultz getting time in a blowout should help his confidence. Again, he should have a short leash until he proves he can manage himself. And I think we have several middle relievers who are better than our closers were last year. I know it’s not saying much, but last year’s closers were slightly better than the middle relief sans Boyd. The jump in pitching talent is quite noticable.
Butler beats Florida in OT to go to the Final Four. And the Zonies are busting UConn down to start their game. My brackets are fried except for Kansas. Oddly enough, I had Richmond and VCU in the Sweet 16. But I had them both losing in that round. Maybe VCU can beat KU?
Nah. Never mind.
“I know it’s not saying much, but last year’s closers were slightly better than the middle relief sans Boyd”
Bryant has been pretty good. I trust him more than a guy like Gorton or Waldren (from last year). Schultz has promise, but he’s got a ways to go. We’re sorely lacking a lefty specialist in the pen. I never thought I’d say I miss Craig Sitton…
11-2 beavs, berberet home run
I don’t understand Baylis coming in for Schultz. Didn’t I just mention last year’s relievers?
11-5, top of the ninth
Nice DP to end the game.
Well weather here is looking SHITTY… Not sure if we are going to get any baseball played :-(.
Rain Delay… It does not look like it will stop anytime soon.
Weather prediction fail… Game is starting. If you can hear Mike Parker, he agrees with me… I thought there was no way the game was going to happen.
Nygren is terrible.
Nygren out after 1/3 of an inning 3 hits 1 run.
Wetzler on.
top 1 over 2 runs off 3 hits.
Beavs leave 2 in scoring position, 2-1 Gauchos end of first.
Really bad conditions at Goss. Norris falls down and there is a lead-off double for UCSB. Realy tough to see the teams playing in these conditions.
Tough play, but Parker B. may have been able to make the tag if he left his feet.
Don’t see any way this game becomes official. Rain has been consistently pouring, don’t expect it to let up either.
Agree on the weather, TWC even shows lightning in next hour or so.
The Beavs are getting shelled… Wow.
6-1, Gauchos. Good job, Nygren & co.
Bodes well for conference play, guys.
Yeah, they are just destorying anyone not named Sam G. Hell even he gave up 5 hits and run…
The Beavers haven’t into this game mentally, that’s obvious. Just didn’t feel like playing considering the awful conditions. I wouldn’t take much from this game.
Yeah, good/elite teams don’t decide they don’t want to play, though.
Beavs just have bad pitching after their #1 guy. There is going to be a ton of pressure on Sam G to win game one of every series in order to take 2 of 3 each weekend.
Michael Miller is a terrible hitter.
Beavs leave the bases loaded. Miller Ks with the bags full (no idea why he is up in that situation)
Haha. The ump pointed at the batter then back to the box and said “get back here, you didn’t even try to move”. Then be blasted a base hit. :-(
Michael Miller is the Keith Panker of college baseball lol
(leaves the bases loaded, then totally misplays a fly ball, another run scores…)
This looks like Summer league slow pitch, everyone is hitting doubles.
Boyd warming up.
Gotta say, this home plate ump is terrible with balls/strikes.
Beavs leave the bases loaded again. Can we rely on anyone for a clutch hit?
Just playing flat uninspired baseball.
Ouch. To hit a ball that hard and be put out on a crazy diving catch, that sucks.
Really have to question hitting Norris here. Isn’t Acosta on the bench?
update: grounds out to end the threat. Casey with a bad move going lefty/lefty there.
I don’t know how you guys feel, but to me it seem like the Beavs are limping into Pac-10 play. I’m pessimistic and skeptical after this last weekend. Sam G is like the Greek figure, Atlas. If he loses game 1 of any series, said series will be lost. The middle and back of the rotation cannot be counted on to pick up any slack. Boyd needs to move into the rotation. Worry about closing if/when it gets to that point.
Nate Yeskie got a DUI.
He’s not a very good pitching coach…maybe they’ll let him go and upgrade.