Since the game 1 thread has 150 comments, this will be the placeholder for game 2 comments.

I don't have much to say. Last night's game was another great comeback. It's become the norm. The Beavs are never out of any game.

Today's game is fascinating. Josh Osich is a thrower who believes he's a (power) pitcher. To me, he is KRhod, light edition. Now he's going up against, arguably, the best true power pitcher in America. Even though UCLA pitches Cole on Fridays, Bauer is their ace. That's just bad coaching, but it's a UCLA issue so I won't expound; hopefully for their sake they have a guy blogging about that decision.

The one positive for Osich: the Bruins can't hit. That should allow him to keep the charade going for another week, so long as he throws strikes. The only way I'm super gluing orange-colored glasses to the bridge of my nose and offering an apology is if Osich gives up fewer than 2 runs, has a sub 1 WHIP, and goes the distance. Given UCLA's porous bats, that's my expectation from Saturday's starter. Yes they are high, but the goal is now a National Title, folks, so raise your expectations accordingly.

As Guns N' Roses once crooned, "Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse!"

The big news is that the Beavers get Jake Rodriguez back this week. At least as a fielder. The guy is a masher, so if his hand is well enough that he can hit it would be a huge lift. Both UCLA and OSU have very similar offenses (OSU has a few more HRs/pop, but otherwise the offenses are identical). Therefore, I'll focus on pitching. It's what will determine this series.

The weekend rotation hasn't been announced yet, but my guess is it will look like:

Game 2 is a perfect example of why OSU isn't built for the post-season. Say Gerrit Cole wins game 1. The pressure shifts to Josh Osich to beat Trevor Bauer in game 2. Bauer's statistics run deep. 127SO/82IP, .145 batting average against, .80 WHIP. The strategy should be to take pitches, work long counts, and try to get Bauer out of the game by the 7th. Osich is "gutty" and described as a power arm, but the statistics don't back up the latter. He has 45 strikeouts in 46 innings, 21 walks, and 39 hits. That is a poor WHIP, and a .231 batting average against is fairly high for a Saturday starter. These numbers explain why Osich constantly finds himself in trouble.

The Beavers are going to run into this problem often in the post-season where every team has two good/great starters, and they only have one great starter and an unpredictable headcase in the Saturday slot.

I know I am on record saying the Beavers have the team chemistry to win a title. I think that is true, and it's why I'm not making a bigger deal about Osish. The Beavs can (and have) overcome him to this point, and Pat Casey seems intent on leaving him there. But I'll say it again: Boyd needs to be the Saturday starter. Pat Casey's strategy right now is to start Osich and have a quick hook. That's a good way to blow up your bullpen, and in a tight three game playoff, that could be the difference between advancing and going home. Eventually Casey's strategy will backfire.

It seems like the Beavers matchup poorly with UCLA in every sport. Even when OSU has a better team, the Bruins seem to win. I see this series being no different. In fact, even though I've been burned by predictions of late, I feel enough conviction to say OSU will be lucky to win one. I'm not going to hear the end of it if Osich dominates game 2 and wins the series for the Beavs, but even if that happens, the problem would just be disguised and the solution delayed.

What's there to be angry about?

This team is pacifying even the harshest critics. Hell, I might as well shut down this site.

Beavs will try for their third straight sweep today, and now hold a 3 game advantage in the loss column. Last night's attendance of 2,843, the highest of the year, supports what media outlets have been printing–that interest in this team is growing rapidly.

I think there are two interesting aspects of today's game:

1. When will the Beavers get national respect? The Beav's strength of schedule is 38. Virginia and Vanderbilt have an SOS of 68 and 54, respectively. Neither can claim sweeping 3 straight conference series, and two of those against ranked opponents. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll might be the biggest joke. They have the Beavs at #15, and Oklahoma (yes, Oklahoma!!) at #11. The Sooners are 8-7 in the Big12, and have a 64 SOS. That is horrible. Top 25 is questionable, #11 is a flat out punchline. But, ACC, SEC, and Big12 schools are being inflated due to time zone bias and conference RPI (Pac-10 is 4th, despite having six teams ranked). Baseball America and USA today are the two most accurate polls right now. Boyd's World's ISR is very accurate as well.

2. Team chemistry has grown to the point where fans (and players) expect a victory every day. Last night I never felt as if that game was over. Would I have felt that way against a great pitching staff like UCLA? I don't know…I'm very curious to see how the Beav-os stack up against that trio of elite, shut down pitchers.

The polls are out of our control. Point #2 is more important. The Beavers have been slacking in the early innings this series. It's almost as if there is a mindset of, "if we have to, we'll figure a way to pull it out at the end." That kind of confidence is great and all, but a better attitude would be, "let's put teams away early, and if we have to pull it out at the end we can." Subtle difference, but an important one.

Osich is always a story. Last game he pitched well and threw over 100 pitches, so his arm is no longer an excuse. His fastball has a reputation for being elite (you hear the term "power pitcher" thrown around with Josh), but the reality is he's in the low 90s, sometimes topping 94 or so. In that range, control/location trump velocity. I want to see fewer walks from the guy. I want to see development as a pitcher rather than thrower. The guy needs to accept his talent level and work within that. These macho/power arms take a while to figure that out. Another thing with Osich is he should be mixing up pitches more. These numbers are not precise, but my estimates put him at about 80% fastballs, 15% curveball, and 5% changeup. His fastball looks like a four-seem variety (i.e. straight). I'm hoping the guy had an enlightening, educational experience at Stanford, and today we see some artful pitching.