245 COMMENTS

  1. As I posted at the end of the last thread, I find it beyond belief that Wetzler threw against ULM, a .500 Sun Belt team on it’s 3rd pitcher. Let me say that again, the Beavers threw their Friday starter against a team with a .500 record in the Sun Belt.

    Before you peons spout off about “well you have to win this game to get to the next game”, save it for the rest of the losers who believe that tripe. It was evident that ULM was tapped out on pitchers after the Belmont game, I figured Starr would give up 5 or 6 runs and the Beavers would still win handily. Not even going to bother following the LSU game now, it was already given away.

      • Starr has good “stuff”. Let’s see what he does. Who knows, maybe Jonah Nickerson has 3 innings left of eligibility for Casey left somewhere.

    • you’re not wrong, but when your team has scored three runs in the past two games, the team you’re playing played LSU tougher than you did and the season’s on the line as a manager i think it’s fair if you think of it a little bit differently. i’m expecting starr to be overmatched as well, but maybe casey takes him out at the first sign of trouble and bryant, davis and schultz can perform. you never know, even if you’re a beaver fan.

      • I was hoping to see a by committee approach of Schultz, Bryant, Boyd. Let Davis close if it gets to that point. Those are the 3 best pitchers remaining, so use them.

      • Well said slam.

        I guess Quatre is not around anymore but must say that he seems to be assuming that Wetzler would do quite well against LSU; not so sure that is a “given” seeing how shaky he looks for the first few innings and how much pressure there is in this ballpark when LSU is playing.

        Tough go for either Wetzler or Starr, I wouldn’t miss this game because of a difference of opinion with Casey.

    • This OSU team is extremely inconsistent. The “peons” like Pat Casey would sure feel stupid if they overlooked ULM and didn’t field the best team they could to win their first elimination game. Obviously it would be nice to have one of the regular starters but Starr has some good stuff so we’ll see what happens.

  2. Beavs should have had Fry and Child pitching vs LSU. Casey butchered the rotation.

    Their Friday and Saturday pitchers went against the two worst teams in the bracket. Bizarre.

    • I know, I don’t like the regional format because it forces you into situations like this. You have to play your best pitcher in each game because you can’t afford to lose the current game. That said, I totally agree with Quatre’s logic about saving Wetzler today from a fan perspective but in reality downside in that situation is seriously bad.

      Does it seem weird to anyone that the measuring stick for the playoffs has a format that favors endurance and a deep pitching staff in the regional but in the SR it favors a team that can win a series? I have always felt like each is a different measuring stick and a weird way to set up a playoff.

      • Well, he could have at least pitched Schultz, Bryant, Boyd 3 innings a piece and worry about Monday if it happens…at that point maybe you have to throw Starr, but don’t do it until necessary.

    • If the Beavs could manage a consistent offense I believe the rotation would not have been butchered, however lately, they don’t have any consistency

  3. Nice, solid DP to finish the Tigers in their half of the third. Important to keep a little mo going by picking up even just 1 run in B3.

  4. Tommasini’s RBI single ties it at 3. Beavers with two, two out RBI singles tonight. Hitters are coming up clutch tonight.

  5. Now I see the Beavs are burning Schultz, who should have been starting tomorrow after Wetzler went 6-7 tonight. Gotta hope Schultz gives a long outing now and Davis throws his heart out tomorrow.

    • it’s totally unfair to assume that wetzler would’ve gone six or seven innings. just appreciate the way schultz is throwing and MAYBE there will be a tomorrow.

    • Inquiring minds want to know:
      1) How many coach of the decade awards does Quatre have in the closet?
      2) Is Quatre related to Wetzler?

  6. Smith 2RBI single with bases loaded, runners on 1 and 2 for Conforto. 5-3 good guys.

    Quatre missing some clutch offense.

  7. The hot girls they use to pick up the loose balls at tiger stadium dont look so hot with those giant special ed helmets on

  8. this would be a tough way to end the year. casey put too much on davis putting him in here. should have been bryant. i’m off to taco bell to get my ass some comfort food before this inning gets worse.

  9. Can’t believe they threw away Schultz’s performance. Then again you ain’t going to win many on the road commiting 4 errors.

  10. I am a real Pat Casey fan….BUT what the hell is Davis doing in when there is no tomorrow…have we lost so much confidence that Boyd, Bryant and Bayliss are not being called upon in favor of a freshman with control problems 100 mph is not anygood when you can’t get it over the plate or the opponent uses it as batting practice. Nice season Beavs…hope we can get some confidence in the bullpen (by the coaches) you can not do it without them! Let’s go in 2013!

  11. Wow, they had 0 outs and bases loaded at one point… now only down by 1 still… AMAZING. If the Baseball Gods are real, then let’s hope for a win.

  12. now I know how Carolina fans felt like in 06 when they threw away that game. Dreadful way to end a season. but it can get worse, like seeing Oregon in Omaha.

    • I think we had the Ducks number. I would’ve loved to have seen them and eliminated them in the CWS, now that would be some revenge for football.

    • Well, and that looks probable as ducks beat Austin Peay today and Kent State knocks of Kentucky to take that regional and will face the ducks,.

  13. Ryan Dunn with one of the all time poor performances. Beavers lose 6-5, his errors in the 7th allowed LSU to stay within a run and Schultz made a mistake with a runner on and LSU tied it. Then LSU won it an inning later.

  14. I do feel bad for Dunn, he was a big part of the Beavers’ success this season, but one night where he just couldn’t do anything right and the season is over. Have to think he’s blaming himself and feels terrible. It just sucks.

      • tonight’s game was almost of Greek tragic dimensions. And we shouldn’t have been in Baton Rouge to begin with. De Carolis is such a sad sack the way he lets OSU get pushed around.

        • Agreed. How do we get a draw against a national seed when we finish ranked around 16 (bottom end of a regional host)? But you have to play the hand you are dealt and they didn’t get it done. Ugh

  15. heartbreaking loss… BUT damn LSU is good. We had a terrible draw. This team had the game. It feels like they deserve one more. I very much enjoyed this season, however. i like our crew next year just hoping for a bolstered bullpen. Ouch. It’s gotta end somewhere along the line unless you win it all.

    • Hopefully Duke comes back and lives up to the hype. Conforto and Frye were studs as freshmen.
      Who do we lose to graduation and the draft?

      • Boyd and Bryant will likely be gone, Dunn is gone, Smith will be gone, Tommasini is gone, Hayes and Barnes will probably be gone. Gorton is gone. But Fry, Wetzler, Child, Schultz, Conforto, Davis, Rodriguez are back. Beavers have some freshman coming in(The ones who don’t go pro) and they got some real hitters and some good pitchers coming in. Duke being healthy we’ll big. Look out for Nate Esposito next season. He’s playing with the Knights this summer and has talent. He’ll get some playing experience as everyday catcher for them, he should have a good sophomore season.

        • I guess we will know more after the draft tomorrow. I think Hayes and Barnes will be back. Hayes has an injured arm and no one will draft him. Barnes is underrated but I don’t see him getting drafted very high to leave. Plus he just strikes me as a guy that loves the college game and won’t leave early. I could see Barnes hitting .320 next year as a lead off guy.

          DH – Hayes/Keyes
          C – Esposito
          1B – Keyes/Hayes
          2B – Rodriguez
          SS – ?? I believe we have a big recruit coming in
          3B – ??
          LF – Conforto
          CF – Gordon/Matthews….although I would love to see Dylan Davis here, and have Davis be the closer
          RF- Barnes

          That’s a pretty solid lineup. Need to find 2 infielders.

          Friday – Fry
          Saturday – Child
          Sunday – Wetzler
          Weekday starter/long reliever – Schultz
          Weekday starter/long reliever – Duke???
          Relievers – Rodriguez, Wilkerson, Brocker, Freshman???
          Closer – Davis

          assuming the draft doesn’t annihilate our team like it has in the past, we may open the year top 10

          • Jerad Casper is a guy I think will be the third baseman, he’s transferring from a CC. He hit .270 with 4 home runs and 35 RBI’s at Bellevue college. Clay Bauer will be a Beaver and he can really help in the ‘Pen. I think if Zach Green comes to OSU, he’ll be the SS. Some key positions will have to be filled by young guys, but they’re capable. As a whole it will be a veteran team. A lot of experience and I think they’re ready to have a great season. Conforto will get better and Davis will get better at the plate and on the mound.

          • Dylan Lavelle is the SS recruit and Zach Green is the 3B recruit. Both are projected to go in the top 15 rounds. Mason Felt from Georgia is a big time RHP and could boost the bullpen.

          • Zach Green is a shortstop, I suppose they’ll just move him over. I hope they don’t get drafted too high, would really like them to be Beavers.

          • Sounds like Lavelle and Green are both SS/3B types. Lavelle is 6-2, 185, and Green is 6-3, 190. Both are 3rd team All-Americans. It would be HUGE to keep both of them away from the Pros.

    • There is more to life than sports, so I hope you made good use of the time.

      However, the “peons” who followed the whole game got their money’s worth too. And, yes, the Beavs put up a heck of an effort in a pressure situation at the end of a very long day. Weather, fatigue, hostile fans all made for an experience these young guys will remember and benefit from.

      Don’t think the LSU faithful weren’t sweatin’ it, and not due to the weather!

  16. Imagine how much better this team would have been if both Andrew Susac and Carter Bell had stayed. Our program has been ravaged by the draft since the 2 national titles

    • Next year’s team will be the best since 2007. They will be LOADED. If Hayes or Barnes somehow comes back or just one, OSU will be a national title favorite. Some writers have already said they have Beavers as a Omaha favorite. They’ll be so good. Also, have to think Keyes will bounce back, just had a tough year, maybe playing ball for a summer league will help to get him back on track.

  17. Tough loss, but I wouldn’t have seen them getting passed LSU tomorrow if they played. All I can say is that was a hard fought game and I think they learned a lot, especially about pressure and noise with the Box going crazy at key points in the game. Next year should be a force and I can say this has been a successful year.

  18. I can’t get too bummed about OSU baseball. They played great in a tough league and made the tourney once again. Although what the hell is up with Baton Rouge and bizarre individual performances?

    I just need the Ducks to crash and burn in the Super Regional. God forbid if they manage to win the CWS because it will somehow carry greater importance than the Beaver back to back championships here in Oregon.

    • The only thing that pissed me off was Casey’s handling of the rotation. I thought we’d win this regional going in because I thought the match ups would be completely different than what they wound up being. I also thought Starr would get creamed and Schultz should have started today (this isn’t Monday Morning QBing; I wrote it before the game started). Casey has not impressed me the past couple years. Not sure if his ego is getting to him or he trusts his gut too much or what not, but he’s made more and more questionable decisions.

      • I think being around Mike Riley has something to do with lack of performance. Riley is a non performer and rubs off on others in the Athletic department. It’s like a slow killing cancer……mind set.

  19. Ducks in.. Beavs out, what else is new? Definitely takes the gloss off the season ending sweep.

    Oh well… the excitement is building for the fall!!! I can’t wait to get down to Corvallis and take in some exciting soccer. There is nothing like a three hour 0-0 tie. JB

  20. My best friend from back home used to give cello lessons to the new Miss USA. Said she really was a chubby little kid. Their friends daughter.

  21. Any chance that everybody who can come back does with the mission of erasing last nights bitter taste from their mouths and getting back to the CWS?

      • i don’t think starr should be bitter to a lesser extent than dunn, lasting just one third of an inning is the pitcher equivalent to committing four errors.

  22. Angry – would love a post season-wrap up post about baseball that focuses on the future. The guys returning should have us ranked top 15 going into the year, and I really like the recruiting class we have coming in:

    http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/111711aaa.html

    It’s a very even class (usually we are very pitcher-heavy, which has hurt us offensively for the past 3-4 years). One thing I noticed is that we recruited quite a few IFs. Also there is some major height from the pitchers (6-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-6, 6-0).

  23. For his draft slot, Zach Green’s bonus is $272,300. I don’t know…I’ve known guys who have turned down a lot more than that. That number isn’t necessarily what they would offer him, but it’s his slot number. They can offer more or less, depending on how signable he is.

    For comparison, Carson Kelly’s bonus slot is $574,300

    For folks who haven’t seen the new bonus rules, here’s a description ripped from baseballamerica

    One of the most significant provisions of the new draft rules is the creation of prescribed bonuses for every pick in the first 10 rounds. Major League Baseball had tried for years to curb draft spending with recommended bonus amounts, but those proved ineffective with no real punishment to back them up. With a punitive tax and the possibility of losing picks in future drafts behind the numbers now, teams are expected to stick to them much more closely.

    The numbers build off the bonus set for the No. 1 pick, which is $7.2 million this year. Every pick from 2-338 is expressed as a percentage of the No. 1 pick, down to $125,000 for the final picks of the 10th round. A team’s total budget for the first 10 rounds is the sum of the numbers for all of its picks, so teams that have extra picks and early picks have more money to spend. The Twins have the highest budget this year, with the second overall pick as well as extra picks.

    Teams can spread the money among their picks in the top 10 rounds in different ways so long as they stay under the total budget. For example, the Astros could sign their No. 1 pick for $5.2 million and spread the extra $2 million among other players. However, if a team fails to sign a player, it cannot apply the budgeted amount for that pick to other players and loses that amount from its overall budget.

  24. The fat lady sang,… no joy in Mudville,….Well….sheeeit. Hey, at least we didnt lose to a nobody.

    But there is a progression of improvement. The football team stepped on its own dick, the basketball team got a 21 win season but only via the CBI, and the Baseball team got into the playoffs but lost in the regional….. so is it lookin like the football team will win more than 3 games? You know, continure the improvement???

    And when is that NCAA investigation of the Ducks gonna get reported? Wasnt that supposed to be this month? Now that might be fun….

  25. Today has been good for the Beavers. 13 rounds in, they will likely lose Green an Felt to the pros, but a guy they really wanted in LaVelle looks like he’ll be a Beaver. He’s a big time talent and was projected to be a top 7 round pick by some. That’s great news, I thought he would go high and go to the pros but looks like that won’t be happening. Also, only one Beaver was selected in first 13 rounds and that was Matt Boyd. That’s good news. Getting Hayes, Barnes and Smith back was something the Beavers needed to truly reach their goals as a team. Things are looking good there.

    • There are no guarantees that either Green or Felt sign, particularly with the new rules on bonuses. I played with a guy who turned down close to a million dollar offer to go to college. Weird stuff happens.

      Jace Fry was a 9th round pick last year while Jordan Dunatov went in the 14th round and neither signed. That was under the old rules where you could give a guy anything you wanted to give him to get him to sign.

      Zach Green was the 5th of 6 HS players picked in the first 5 rounds by Philly. HS players are typically a lot more expensive to sign and they only have a finite amount of money to spend. It’s very likely that at least one of those HS players will opt for college. I watched a couple interviews and he *sounds* like a kid who wants to go to school. You never know, but he just didn’t seem like he was itching to go pro immediately.

      I’m not so sure about Felt, I haven’t seen any interviews with him. Cincy picked 5 HS players in the first 10 rounds. Again, they can’t sign everybody they drafted and we don’t often lose guys who have verbally committed, with a few exceptions. Felt also needs to add velocity before he’s a really, really strong prospect. I have a feeling he may opt to go the college route.

      I say we’ve got a chance with both of them.

      We’ll see.

  26. Green was offered above-slot and signed last night. The same Phillies scout who drafted Susac wasn’t going to lose another sure-fire talent to OSU.

    • Still can’t understand putting Davis. Wasted an all time performance by SS.
      Glad to hear he is coming back. Should help with recruiting.

  27. If we only lose Green, Felt, and Boyd to the draft, this team will be stacked next year. Already to round 19, and Danny Hayes, Tyler Smith, and Tony Bryant haven’t been picked up. The slot money is not life-changing in those rounds so all three may be back.

    • Halfway through round 22 and Boyd is the only current Beaver with eligibility left who has been taken. I really like the Beavers’ odds in only losing Green, Felt and Boyd. Things are looking good. If that’s all they lose, OSU very easily is the Pac-12 favorite next season and a top 10 team.

  28. Well, if all goes as planned and we only lose Boyd, plus recruits Green and Felt (they both have signed), then this is what we’re looking like next year:

    DH – Danny Hayes
    C – Nate Esposito
    1B – Kavin Keyes
    2B – Jake Rodriguez
    SS – Tyler Smith
    3B – Jerad Casper (.297 with 11 HR as a Frosh at JC), or Dylan Lavelle (#1 HS player in Wash)
    LF – Mike Conforto
    CF – Dylan Davis
    RF – Ryan Barnes

    That’s essentially our lineup from last year except you’re replacing Gorton with Esposito and Casper/Lavelle with Dunn.

    Friday – Fry
    Saturday – Child
    Sunday – Wetzler
    Weekday starter/long reliever – Schultz
    Weekday starter/long reliever – Duke???
    Relievers – Rodriguez, Wilkerson, Brocker, Englebrecht (Frosh), Bauer (JC transfer), Moore (Frosh)
    Closer1 – Bryant
    Closer2 – Davis

    If Adam Duke is healthy, is this the best pitching staff in the country?

    • Would have to be close to the best. Offense is going to be really good. I think LaVelle takes the starting 3B job early on and I think he will come. Offense is gonna have a bunch of guys who an hit for average and power and have good plate discipline. Conforto will get even better which is scary. Hayes will get a full year to show what he can do. I’m expecting about 10+ bombs from him. Barnes really started showing what he can do at the end of last season. I expect a bounce back year from Keyes, Davis will get a lot better. He didn’t make adjustment to Pac-12 pitching like Conforto did but I expect him to be a lot better in conference play in 2013.

      Bullpen figures to be a lot better. Bryant will have something to prove and Schultz will be better and Davis will more than likely be a lot better. He just needs to work on his control. Rodriguez figures to pitch a lot more. And the rotation will be great. I love next year’s team. I really don’t see many holes on next year’s team. They will be as complete of a team as Pat Casey’s had since winning b2b national titles.

  29. On paper there is reason to be optimistic for Baseball. Relief should be better, passed balls issue needs to improve, defense needs to improve and need for consistent sticks off the bench must improve. Overall team batting was concentrated in too few spots. Casey has options and will tailor his approach to the talent that he has available. He tries things during the season that sometimes backfire (like Conforto bunting) but how are you going to know what tools you have without testing and without keeping the opposition guessing?

    On the Mwanga front, he was being wasted in Philly by the changing style of play and lack of a true playmaker after they dumped Le Toux. His strength is speed and he is good with give and go in the box. Playing with longball target Boyd on the Timbers may allow Mwanga to roam and picik up the loose change.

    • Fielding actually wasn’t bad. They finished 5th in the conference in fielding percentage and that was after the tough weekend in Baton Rouge. That regional made them look poor but they were actually solid this season. That will improve as guys gain more experience. As far as consistent bats off the bench, that’s not as needed in the college game like it is in the pros. They will have some though. Joey Matthews and Jerad Casper are guys who come to mind for that.

      The batting on this team was actually better than you think. They had 7 regular starters who hit .280+. They just didn’t get enough clutch hits overall as a team. I think with the maturity of players next season, they will definitely get better at that and less runners will be left on base.

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