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More Baseball Frustrations

By
angry
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38

After 11-3 and 14-4 beatdowns by Cal, the Beavers are all but eliminated from tournament play. What has been lost in the ten game debacle is just how bad the pitching has been. Most of us have focused on the (lack of) offense. While it is true they could have scored more runs (an average of 3.3 runs per game over the last eleven games) it is also true that if the Beavers had “elite” pitching they’d win more than one game during that span, even with paltry run support. The bottom line is that one run is enough to win a game, so three is plenty. Look at the Stanford series. In game one the Beavers scored six runs, in game three they scored seven. Should an elite pitching staff win those games? I think so.

So let’s stop focusing on the offense. It is bad, but we knew it would be bad going into the year. Let’s place blame where it’s due during this losing streak.

At the beginning of the season, I thought the pitching staff would be “good”, not “great”, as Brooks Hatch and others in the media touted it. But let’s be brutally honest here. This staff is not even good. It’s at best average, and some might convincingly argue it is a flat out horrible (e.g. an 8.5 run per game average over the past 11 games) staff. Rob Folsom’s boneheaded brain cramp took the spotlight off the pitching staff and placed it squarely on the hitters, but the offense is performing (as ineptly) as we all expected.

As far as making the tournament, yesterday marked the end of that pipe dream. They had to win every series remaining starting with Cal. Their RPI is pretty high and keeping them lingering as the #30 team, but that’s not going to be enough to overcome such a horrendous conference record, and if momentum doesn’t stop soon, a losing record overall.

Beaver Fans Embarrass Yet Again

By
angry
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41

I’m a Beaver fan, obviously, but I don’t like Beaver fans. Using Aristotelian logic, one might deduct I do not like myself. That is up for debate.

So today Rivals published an article about the most balanced offenses of the past decade. #1 was Oregon State. Curious, I then looked at comments from Beaver fans to see how they’d react to that. This is what I found:

1. “Great article outlining the nations most diversified offense throughout the past decade…you guessed it…Oregon State.”

2. “Best family environment in the nation, most diversified offense, and upper-tier defense. Decent facilities in a beautiful campus setting. What else can a top recruit ask for?”

3. “It is a great article and one that should be used in recruting offensive players. The Beavers showcase it all, great passers, great RB’s, and great WR’s. If I’m playing Offense and I want to play in a pro style offense, I’m taking a hard look at Oregon State.”

Something all three of these nitwits failed to ask, or conveniently turned a blind-eye to, is the methodology behind this study.

First off, the link can be found here:http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1079485

As you can see this isn’t NASA level rocket science. When asked their methodology, the publishers confess, “we simply added the number of 1,000-yard rushers, 3,000-yard passers and 1,000-yard receivers.”

Er…

So their #1 school is actually Hawaii, a team with not a single 1,000 yard rusher the last decade, and their #3 team is Texas Tech, a team that also fielded zero 1,000 yard rusher since 2000. Again, let me reiterate, the #1 and #3 teams, using this methodology, had no 1,000 yard rusher in ten years, yet they are listed as two of the most balanced offenses in the nation.

Er…

And Oregon State fans are lapping this up and patting their backs. Begs the questions:

1. A result of orange-colored glasses?

2. Turning a blind eye to an obviously flawed methodology?

3. Other?

I know it can’t be #2, because if the Ducks were the top offense on this list Beaver fans would be sure to point out all the flaws in how the numbers came about, the least of which would be how they never have 1,000 yard receivers. So it’s gotta be #1. Again those pesky orange-colored glasses…

Beaver fans: can you stop giving the fanbase a reputation by being proud of meaningless, fourth-rate achievements that you’d ridicule if touted by another school? For starters, the “best family atmosphere” award, the CBI championship, and this article should be removed from your lexicon.

Latest AD Report

By
angry
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3

In the new AD report, Bob D writes:

*If you would like to make a donation of less than $40, please call 541-737-2370 or mail a check to: Beaver Athletic Student Fund
123 Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, OR 97331

Thank you, Bob D, for hearing our anger and acting.

I’m going to send them a few dollars to help with their 12,000 (donors) by 2012 campaign. Since they’re now accepting smaller donations, I suggest everyone get involved and give what you can. A check for a dollar is still worth sending–if you get a thousand people who do the same it adds up.

NFL Draft & Lol @ The Baseball Team

By
angry
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20

1. Sean Canfield goes in the 7th round to the Saints. That is way too low for an accurate passer who spent four years in a pro system and has an NFL frame. His arm is suspect and he has no mobility, but even still…

2. Keaton Kristick doesn’t get drafted. Is it wrong to be happy about this? The guy is a punk. The other two punks (Taylor Mays and Jimmy Clausen) were showed their place in the world as well, so the message from the NFL is crystal: stop acting like punks. So many Beaver fans were delusional about this guy, thinking he was all-world and a sure NFL pick. Objectivity wins again.

3. Speaking of Clausen, funny how pundits are already crowning him the starter. Heard a lot of “all he has to do is beat out Matt Moore, an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State.” Clearly said in the pejorative. It’s worth noting that a 5-star Notre Dame QB who hasn’t played a down has the edge, perception wise, over a Oregon State transfer who played to a 98 QB rating last season. I wonder if that would be the case if Moore remained a 4-star recruit who played in the more glamorous UCLA program. Bottom line, the national media is pathetic in their knowledge, objectivity, and integrity; and, it is slowly being realized by the populous as they, the media, work their way around the country spurning one fan-base at a time. There’s a reason blogs are becoming a valid source of information and opinions and gaining more traction with each passing day.

4. Damola Adeniji should have been drafted. I think this is a player who would thrive with certain organizations. The Colts come to mind.

5. The baseball team is about to get swept by Washington State. When you move beyond the rage, anger, frustration, etc, all you can do is laugh at these bums. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: everything has to go right for this team to win a game. If one of the three facets of the game is off they lose. They got away with this kind of play out of conference, but the Pac-10 is too good. You can’t blame Casey for this mess, but he hasn’t exactly handled the lineup well and he hasn’t been very creative in trying to generate runs. The law of averages will result in a small run by the Beavers at some point, but even that might be too little too late.

Some Football Notes

By
angry
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16

1. Moving Frahm to the inside is a positive. Many of us thought he should have been a tackle from the start. This is another instance where the staff was proven wrong. Do I think Frahm will be a major player inside? No. But I do think he can play a bit part as a backup and maybe contribute five serviceable plays per game.

2. Wheaton has come on strong and secured the split end job barring injury. This is a good thing. His emergence takes the offense from serviceable/good to the next level, possibly even potent if Katz can orchestrate it.

3. The wide receivers, as a group, are the strongest part of this team. I’d like the Beavers to take advantage of that by incorporating more 3, 4, and even 5 WR sets. Why not go with an attack spread through the air and play to your strongest attribute? Langsdorf and Riley have changed with the times (e.g. incorporating the fly sweep, wildcat, etc), but they always seem reluctant and conservative in their implementation. It makes me think we won’t see many interesting WR sets, but we should, so long as Katz can run it without being overwhelmed. Knowing your roster and playing to strength is an excellent way to overcome deficiencies, while remaining stubborn and true to a (somewhat outdated) “pro offense” that chains some of your best athletes to the sidelines greatly benefits the opposition.

4. The offensive line, for the second year in a row, is the major concern. You should be worried about the names we’re hearing of late: McAndrews, Ellis, and Lamb are being mentioned as possible starters, and that portends bad fortune ahead.  Thank God it’s April. There is still enough time for the universe to align properly.

5. The starting defensive line is good, but depth is an issue. Devin Kell is garbage and currently fighting a fellow maladroit in Andrew Seumalo for the backup left defensive end position. John Braun is the backup right end. He has some ability and should be moved to left end should anything happen to Miller. We simply cannot have Devin Kell or Andrew Seumalo on the field at any point in their tenure at OSU. People will say that is harsh. Well, if it’s any consolation, I’d be equally harsh on myself if I were trying out for DE. I’d simply accept that some people are not meant to play the sport and go home–these two should do the same.

6. McCants–For the 3rd spring in a row we’ve heard the raves.  Ha ha. Come on, I am not falling for this again. While I do concur the man has shown glimpses, until he is performing at a high level/on a regular basis and in real games I am not going to take the bait. Under the bright lights, this guy crumbles like feta on a Greek salad. Still can’t help but chuckle when I think of the Steven Jackson comparisons…

7. Word is that Hekker is kicking the ball well. I sure hope so. The ire of this blog on many occasions, my wrists could use the rest and my liver could do without the gin and tonic.

8. Took eight bullets to get to the “QB Battle”–I think that says it all, right? Katz is the starter, so please beat writers, let this die.

9. On a positive note, I’ve come around a little bit on the Ungas. I thought they weren’t good enough to make a DI roster, but I concede the point; they’re good enough to be third string.

10. They don’t go into effect until 2011, but I’m already worried about the new rules regarding the wedge formation and taunting and how they are going to screw us in (a) games where we play powers like TCU, USC, etc, and (b) away OOC games (e.g. phantom PI call on Laybourn at Utah).

As always, feel free to discuss anything football related in the comment section.

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