There's not much going on right now, so discuss anything you wish, or have fun sifting through the wonderful archives here at angrybeavs. :D
The only thing bugging me right now is that it's a shame more fans aren't into baseball.
Oh, and for those who missed it, Sean Martin has been suspended indefinitely.
Enjoyed this comment by Jack so much I found it worthy of its own post.
The Oregon schools and Idaho (and Montana?) left the league in 1959 because of the pay for play scandal. Only Stanford re-formed the league with those schools right off the bat because they had nobody else to form with when the league started up again. OSU was actually the premier athletic school on the West Coast during that period with the first Heisman west of the Mississippi and a Final Four run. The league tried for more than a couple years to woo us back into the fold of a league that began in Portland. The stigma of the scandal and the schools involved was enough to keep us at bay for a good three or four years more than we should have stayed away. And I’m not sure that culture ever really abated at UW or USC. They just got better at hiding it.
We’re talking a scandal that made SMU look like patty-cakes.
It’s a fascinating period in fact. Wazzu came back in 1962 because UW was stuck in the scandal-ridden group of four (UW, Cal, UCLA and USC). And Wazzu and UW are joined at the hip for all intents and purposes. OSU wasn’t going to return because the group of four felt that Nikegon was responsible for the scandal turning those four upside down. Oregon was caught in 1951 doing the same thing, and they insisted that the conference look at the rest of the league because they claimed “but everyone else is doing it.”
And Stanford was constantly arguing that UCLA should be expelled and OSU included instead since UCLA was the worst of them all.
But OSU would not return without UO. So the league finally gave in and buried the hatchet for a new start. I know some USC alums of that era who tell me that OSU’s Rose Bowl in 1965 was a gift apparently tied to this whole agreement.
That was just a shady period in the league. If not for regional ties, the Pac might have a vastly different make-up today.
Just something to think about: with an average around 22 million per year via the TV contract, exactly what value do the Beavers contribute?
Tier 1 (aka The teams that matter)
USC
Oregon
Tier 2
Cal
Stanford
UCLA
Washington
Tier 3
Utah
Arizona State
Arizona
Tier 4
Oregon State
Washington State
Colorado
Let's admit something: despite a Pac-12 network that will telecast various sports, this is a football contract. It's the only sport that makes money.
My opinion is the Beavs, Cougars, and Buffaloes contribute little to the current TV deal, yet they profit immensely from it. In this era of "anti-entitlement" politics and "everyone should do their fair share", why are the Beavers receiving 22+ million per year? Further, how long before the teams who are carrying their weight realize they're subsidizing OSU, WSU, CO and balk? The OSU athletic department better get serious, or they're going to start hearing it from fan bases other than their own.
JackBeav asked some questions in the last post. I address those here and added some other observations. Enjoy.
Who is Matt Fielding?
What bats are the Beavs using?
Where was Conforto for the first three games?
Was Montgomery’s fielding so wonderful that he deserved the starts in RF?
Was Dunn’s at SS?
Does Jake look like a C? His lines look like he’s decent, but working too hard and affecting his bat. Back to 3B or 2B with him? Maybe SS?
Is Barnes a good lead-off? His lines look good. So why isn’t Jake at the two hole protecting him with Keyes, Conforto, Davis and Danny in the three, four, five and six?
Are the frosh really liabilities in the OF? It looks like Barnes should move to CF with Conforto in LF and Davis in RF. That’s looking like a solid offensive OF, but are there no gloves for these kids?
Can Dunatov play C? Jk… but a thought?
What happened to our middle defense?
Fielding is a RS freshman. Nice high school stats. That was his first game, and as I noted, I don’t think he did anything to earn pitching in that tight a spot.
They used Easton bats, but some guys had a different brand that began with an “M”…wasn’t sure what it said, but it didn’t look like Mizuno.
Montgomery looked fine in the field. Didn't pay much attention to him, though. I just kept wondering where Conforto was…
Dunn was at SS, and played well for the most part. He made a really bad throw on an easy double play ball in the 8th inning of game 4. SB made the game close partially due to it, but also because the 3rd base ump called a “20 second rule” on Brocker. Basically, Brocker took > 20 seconds to deliver a pitch after receiving it from the catcher. Apparently this rule is never/has never been called in history, because everyone went ballistic. The batter flew out on that pitch, so he got to hit again, and ripped a double and then scored—SB was gifted a few runs late.
Jake is fine as a catcher in terms of throwing (below average arm at C, but a very quick release and accurate arm). His biggest problem is receiving. I didn’t look at the stats, but I believe I saw 5 passed balls, and 4 in game 4. SB fans kept saying, “man, they sure have a lot of passed balls”. It really was alarming. Anything near the dirt (even catchable low pitches) went right by him.
Barnes is a good all around player. Watched him closely. Good in every department, but not great in any. Tomassini and Dettman had the best eye and ability to draw walks. Matthews was good at working counts, too. Not sure any of them hit enough to bat 1, though, so Barnes might be the guy.
Based on Davis’s stature, I don’t see him playing much outfield. He’s very stout and lacks wheels. I can only see him at DH and 1B. Could be wrong, but I just don’t see it. Conforto looked okay in his limited OF time. Looked like he lacked range but could play a little.
The backup catcher (Espisito?) looked good receiving and throwing between innings.
IMO, Smith needs to play 2B. Tomassini is known for his glove, but his bat was more impressive this series, and I don’t see that continuing (if history is any indicator). After a horrible start, Smith hit something like .330 in Pac-10 play last year, and he has a great glove. Not sure why he didn’t see any time in the IF this series. Really disappointing.
Other notes: Tony Bryant actually throws two change ups. Watched the gun, and one comes in at 72, and the other at 64 (looks sooo slow). The latter could be an old school palm ball. I say this based on the speed, dip, and rotation. Doesn’t quite look like any of the standard change ups. His fastball tops out at only 85-86.
Boyd was the only Beaver to hit 90mph on the gun. Wilkerson was at 87-88. Rodriguez at 87 max (he looked good, though). Brocker looked to have the most “electric stuff”, but the gun only had him at 88 (looked more like 92 to me). His off speed pitch (looked like a slider) was incredible. Could have been a hard curve, though, because he’d throw it at the batter and have it catch the inside corner. Usually a slider starts down the middle and goes outside/away. It was hard to see from my angle.
Davis looked poised at the plate. Didn’t see any nerves. Haven’t looked at any of the box scores, but I believe he had 5 hits or so in the series. He also hit a lot of balls hard. Seemed very hard on himself. If he swung and missed a pitch he’d hit his head, etc. That’s a good trait.
These are just the mental notes I made while watching. Any other questions just ask.
Yesterday's double header will be finished off at 11:30am. Game 4 starts at 1:00pm.
Couple notes:
Beaver's defense has been surprisingly bad. There's a reason Keyes DH'd last year, and he's still a liability in the field this year. Tyler Smith needs to play infield, whether it be 2B or 3B. Michael Conforto has been surprisingly absent the first three games. If he can't play the field adequately, then that is a big offensive loss. Beavs have been scoring some runs because Santa Barbara has no pitching, but against good teams they're going to need a couple middle of the lineup guys. I was figuring on Davis and Conforto providing that, but so far it hasn't panned out that way.
While the results have been good to date, there is reason for concern. Keep an eye on the defense and middle of the lineup the next two days. Finally, I question Pat Casey's call to bring in Fielding yesterday. Rodriguez pitched a strong inning. Why not leave him in there? If Casey was willing to go to Bryant after Fielding imploded, why not go to him before? I mean, I know the answer–he was hoping to rest Bryant. But it was clear Fielding was imploding, and the move should have come one or two batters sooner. On the flipside, in game 2, Casey managed the 8th and 9th inning like a pro, having Boyd move to 1B so he could return to pitch. Considering the downside is losing the DH, and Boyd is a very good hitter, I thought the move was what we would call in chess "a brilliancy". It semi made up for the Matt Fielding disaster.
Website says I can't buy tickets, but I'm going to try to get in somehow. If I do, I'll try to get some action shots.