Had Enough

Yeah, I’d say so. At least individual seasons. He’s a run lower than the best team ERA. Almost two runs lower than than #2 then 3 runs lower than his own team. Then when it counted, he got it done in a huge way.

Well I’ve watched them live lose 1-0 and 2-1. They had more opportunities than their opponent those nights. These last two from the Yanks should be wins. That’s 3 due to the bats with the other an assist from the bats. I’d assume they make some moves to shore up the staff but come playoff time they’ll need those big hits. At this point the struggles are probably the ups and downs of baseball. But they have a number of guys who to date have not produced 1 fully successful year in the majors or been consistently solid for multiple years running. I think the talent is there though.

The wildcard is the cost. I think you go after Burns unless the cost is extraordinary and limits other objectives. It’s worth noting that Burns finished giving up 1 HR in his last 25 or so innings. Only 5 runs with 3 in one outing. Also as a team, Tenn was giving up HRs during that time from what I recall. Dollander had a stretch of 10 straight games giving up a HR. He only had 17 more IPs and 4 more HRs given up. You have to at least kick those tires.

Fine. I’m out after this post. I was interested/curious. Since I looked, I thought some might be interested while not interested enough to look themselves. I should know better and forget where I was. And generally try to respond when responded to directly. Again, screw me. I’d whip the shit out of you any day Underdog. To help ensure I stay on top of my game, I’m going to get a workout. Go Gators. Truly hope you win. And handily would be nice.

I said you were likely top 5. I said the conference was the best. Not one time have I said that UF was undeserving this year. Yea, you get credit for FSU and Miami. But Sienna was scheduled for a relaxing intrasquad scrimmage for a weekend. Most of that shit was scheduled for wins. What else do you want? Last years Texas team versus this year is a good example. Last years team had an injury, but generally wore out after a fast start. It was a physical and mental toll. And we backed off that this year. And we benefited. It wasnt as soft as people made it out to be, but it was very soft right when we needed it to be. We did play 14 non-con games versus tourney teams though including 10 out of our first 12. We were 5-7. Then the shit came, we racked up wins, we were ranked, confidence was up, and we’re back. I’m not asking for UF or Texas to apologize for their schedules. But there should be an understanding of the impact on the end result. This year there was no question about UF as a 1 seed. And you proved everyone right. If Bama and UK were truly analyzed, there are absolutely questions about that legitimacy. Had they lost 2-3 mores games, they likely are out of that 1 spot. Or maybe had we scheduled totally trash that opening weekend those wins get us that 1.

You surely see the difference between scheduling a CSF of your own accord versus a committee assigned tournament matchup? That’s two different discussions. In the end, CSF finished 3-7 and did not appear to win their conference based on the conference website. Off the top of my head, no other teams from the conference made the tourney. They got in because the winner is in a mandatory reclassification period. They’re a solid team with some good talent that finished poorly. The committee thought highly enough of the conference to award no other teams a berth in spite of the fact that two teams had better overall records than CSF. And only 1 game in conference difference for one and a tie breaker on the other. What about that indicates a 3 seed is warranted? Contrast that with Oral Roberts. CSF was on that fine line of 3 versus 4 seed presumably. They were in no way a strong 3 seed. TCUs intent in scheduling FSU and CSF was to challenge themselves. FSU faltering should not be considered a scheduling weakness for either team. At that time, I didn’t even look at their record because they are P5 and historically good. Rice was the tourney game. You sign up for the tourney, you play who is assigned/invited. It was only 1 game. Northwestern is P5. They’re terrible. One game though. I see Tarleton at .500. In very close proximity. Personally I encourage these matchups for all teams. One game. San Diego is half a game under .500. Conference website shows as them as .500. Counted them as .500. If that’s the easiest non-conference team you schedule for a series, that’s solid. Quick calc using your numbers of 10 and 15, shows TCU played 10/40 noncon games versus UFs 15/35. That’s 25% versus 43%. That’s 50% more games and even a greater ratio given the fewer non-con games of UF. Obviously a tough opponent is different for different persons and subjective. A road or neutral game is tougher. Scheduling a team that has little to no chance of beating you is different than one that can beat you on a good day.

I’m getting a little fired up about this shit as I peruse various schedules. Again, I’m not arguing the SEC is not the best. Intuitively, the ACC is vastly overrated and their record is a metric used to support. If you get 6-8 teams in a regional and many of them home series, you will hit pay dirt on occasion. In a limited sample, the numbers have limited value without additional context. I haven’t viewed all SEC schedules but a majority. I don’t recall seeing many travels to Texas or west other than early season tourneys. Auburn played the USC Trojans in Alabama. The Aggies played Seattle and Portland (lost two). That’s damn near it for the western half of the US. Oh wait, Tenn went west for a tourney. Lost 2 of 3. They invited Gonzaga over. Swept them. I think Gonzaga was 0-7 versus Big 12 teams. MSU 3-3 in a tourney and home series versus P5 teams. Of those 4 teams, only ASU finished top 5 in their conference at 5. Georgia barely left that huge state. 5 non-con games versus ACC. Otherwise, nada. I’m not sure UF left the state. They played like 13 games in non-conference against sub.500 teams. Missouri played Texas Southern in a 3 game series for heavens sake. Ole Miss challenged themselves with a home series versus Maryland and a tourney against Big 10 teams. I’ve highlighted Bamas and UKs mighty schedules. Arkansas was decent, but they had some ugly losses. There were numerous comments about our schedule and Techs as well but damn if the SECs aren’t worse. Fullerton is not great, but they’re capable. And they’re half way across the country. And it’s their place. Our mid week games versus LSU, the Ags, TxSt and SHSU are solid to strong. When we played weak stuff, we ran off 15 in a row with few of them close. Tech and OU battled Stanford. It’s not all about who you play but where and the sequencing. This is just one year, but my guess it’s a bit similar from year to year.

The point is that it was a close game. One in which the teams were comparable. A middle tier big 12 team. Your winning run scored on well placed hopper so let’s not forget that. The truth is that TCU has good talent, is up and down, and ran through their regional and super regional in pretty easy fashion then in their two CWS losses gave their opponent all they could handle. Their overall and probably conference record is mediocre because they actually challenged themselves. No easy ass series. Mid weeks presented some challenges. They played in two neutral site tournaments sandwiching an ACC opponent and tourney team DBU on the road. Played CSF and San Diego as weekend series too. They did have two games against sub-500 teams (one in a tourney and one Big 10) and a few midweek games versus .500 teams. One versus Tarleton who is 30 minutes away, and I don’t remember who else. I’m not sure the metrics say it, but that’s likely the most difficult schedule in the country. Lots of potential losses if you don’t come to play. No 14-41 Sienna or 22-28 Charleston Southern 3 game series to right the ship and gain confidence. Nice two games road series to USF. 18 games under .500 USF. Then there’s sub .500 Cincy. 9 games under Cincy. Jacksonville and FAU were above .500. And you did play Miami and FSU.

Yeah that game 2 versus Wake has to be one of the all time worst performances in a super regional. The regional was uninspiring too starting with the big 4-3 walkoff win over Nicholls State.

Too simplistic. I’m talking in general terms and not specific to Daly/Flores. With NIL, that should give pause to the younger guy because there is no guarantee that they’ll stay 3-4 years. The truth of the matter is equally productive will very rarely be the case because it is not only about the numbers. The veteran will more often do the little things that won’t show up on any stat sheet but that are important in the bigger picture. Not always but that’s a benefit of maturity that comes with experience.

the feelings of the SEC overhype machine go back beyond 10 years. And the overhyped of the prior 10 years absolutely elevated the teams in the conference the most recent 10 years. I gave credit for improvement in the last decade. Just this season, Auburn, Arkansas and Vandy, if you go by post season results, were considerably overseeded. That’s 30%. You will not find a shittier effort from any conference at that high a clip this year. It’s not that Arkansas lost. It was the manner in which they lost. Auburn was handled in their two games. Vandy battled, but they didn’t hang a loss on their #2. A 6th place Pac12 team. All indications of not playing to your seed. Or stated otherwise, overseeded. A&M was absolutely over seeded. Congrats on them beating CSF, a team that was 3-7 in their last 10 against no tourney teams. CSF didn’t even win their conference but got in I assume because the actual winner was not eligible. Bama and UK were likely overseeded based on their post season efforts. They did win their regionals but barely put up a fight beyond that and didn’t beat anyone of note in their regional. That’s 60%. Lsu is clearly a top 5 team. UF is likely as well. Tenn played above their seeding but has significant talent. Kentucky swept Indiana State in 3 games by a total of 4 runs. Beat Indiana and Xavier in non-con. They also lost to Elon, Wright State and Louisville. That ISU team was rolling too seeing as how Northeastern swept them at home the week prior by 10 runs. Bama lost 2 of 3 to Columbia. Gave up 10+ runs twice. Lost by 12 once. Their big non-con wins were Troy x 2 and Southern Miss. Also lost to UAB. They played about 3 non-con road games. All midweekers. There’s no doubt both are good teams, but there’s not a damn thing that says they’re absolutely top 16 and deserving of hosting. And that matchup versus the 4 and playing at home are major advantages. The SEC can be the best conference and receive preferential treatment. Same as in football. And a continuation of that over time creates a greater divide. Again, that’s not the only reason, but it is one reason.

It’ll be interesting. I don’t particularly like the sound of that. Also curious if say Ohio State wakes up and thinks, we can throw money to bring in talent we never have or if they just say screw it, more money for football.

Is the divide between the haves and have nots going to be greater in baseball than other sport?

Tis long post. Sorry. Don’t blame everyone for skipping to the end. I did just get a refresher on results. I had my years all jacked up. In the early 2000s, the SEC and ACC generally had good representation at the Cws, but they got drilled quite a bit. And the ACC didn’t win one for a long time. It is the last 10 years or so that has changed. ACC finally won shit. SEC has kinda overrun teams. They absolutely get the benefit of the doubt, but their top end results are much better now. This year. A&M with a 3 seed that was flailing at the end of the season. Actually A&M played to seed. Arkansas, Vandy did not play to their seed beaten by T-4th Big 12 and 6th PAC-12, respectively. LSU, UF, USC, Kentucky, Bama played to their seed. UTenn above seed. Auburn. Worst performance of the tourney. Kentucky, RPI kings, lost as many games to WVU and Indiana as we did but fewer wins. Ball State as a 4. Pretty easy draw. Lost 1. Got rocked by LSU next round. Likely overseeded as top 16. Bama. Beat Nicholls State in a nail biter. Troy as the 3. Then BC. 6th best record in the ACC. Tough draw? Hung with Wake for one game. Then didn’t. Likely overseeded as top 16. USC got Campbell and essentially 9th place ACC. Hung in pretty well with Florida. They were faltering late but probably top 16 and seeded well. Tenn outplayed their seed. Who did they beat though? ACC. Then Sun Belt. They did earn it. Big 12. Texas played above seed. Only team traveling coast to coast. TCU played above seed and lost to your Florida Gators because you got an out on a fly ball that was a homer 97% of the time in major league parks this year. Tech played above seed. OSU and WVU played below seed. OU to seed. Not even sure why OU got the nod over KSU. Those 3 teams playing over seed went 6-3 versus ACC/SEC. with all 3 losses to UF. OSU. Well they did lose to a team that was one of the final 6 so is that bad? ACC. Wake, UNC, NCSU, BC and Virginia played to seed. Duke played above seed but Rider did some of their work for them. Miami below seed. Texas and OU were the only teams left of center in any of these regions. PAC 12. Stanford, Washington, Oregon State to seed. Oregon above seed. Arizona below seed. Oregon was the only team to play in a regional with teams east of Ark/La. They won. Arizona only lost to teams west of Ark/La. As best I can tell of the P5 conferences, the Big 12/PAC 12 are the only two conferences that had teams finish lower in the conference standings get selected over teams higher in the conference standings. It’s gotten to the point that the western half of the US has little representation. The representation they do have is not underachieving either. It’ll probably get worse. I don’t find that good for the sport. The selections are reflected in RPI, but that’s a big circle jerk. 11 of the top 12 in RPI are ACC/SEC. The other is Indiana State. This absolutely affects hosting and seeding. We’re trending to less diversification across the country. The circle jerk is because east coast teams play east coast teams so they prop each other up. When you drill down into their non-con schedules, it’s a ton of meh. There’s no doubt some SEC teams deserve to achieve, but there’s a lot of favorable matchups and opportunities that quite simply others are not afforded. And a bit of that is this attachment at the hip with the ACC.

20 years this shit has been happening. When Texas beat Floridas ass in the final. Who was the shittiest team we played in the CWS? That’s right the Gators. While Rice, Texas and Baylor loaded up the other side. Maybe Stanford too. Gators finished ranked 2nd I believe. During the Augie era, we annihilated quite a number of SEC/ACC teams. That tide has shifted but often those SEC wins are by narrow margins now. Over representation and over seeded during this time period absolutely increased interest and ultimately now the willingness and ability to pay today. The ACCs representation on the tourney and respective titles is not good. Absolutely the SEC is better. The SEC is not overrated. Their tops of all conferences. But that’s happened in part due to the seedings/matchups over the years. When you match a #1 seeded Sec team versus a #1 seeded ACC team in the supers, there’s a significant chance one makes the CWS. The western half of the country is often less respected and has for 20 years. The tourney is good entertainment. I’m done watching. Go Gators.

Like it or not the ACC and SEC have been getting preferential selections, seedings and matchups for years. That is certainly not the only reason these programs have achieved, but it is one. And it’s one that allows them to separate themselves from other conferences. Both conferences load up on wins against shitty and/or overrated smaller schools. You play in your shitty, little ball parks to load up on stats. All this has a cumulative effect. Fair is an overused term in my house. There’s a lot of greatness in the NCAA tournament, but it’s not always fair. I’m not sure it’s fair that Texas had to go about as far east one week then almost as far west the following week. Anybody else do that? Ever? Whatever year we lost to Irvine or whomever it was when game 3 ended at 1 am our time was bs. This year you, as every year, have a number of examples in which the fairness didn’t play out so well. Auburn backed up their hosting selection. Is it fair that OSU got a team that knows them as a 4 seed that actually had the ability to run it all the way to the CWS? That’s got to be one of the biggest failures in seeding history. That is impactful for the #1 seed. Most 1s get a gimme game. But you are right. They are the last two standing and earned their way to this point. I don’t like the fact that one team bought their way in. I’ll make use of my freedom and not watch the finals. That said there is only one team to hope wins.

What was the rationale? Obviously offense related.

That wouldn’t be surprising at that time. Probably had some major league instruction and didn’t take off in football until the Chiefs.

Just checking in punks. I’m a bandwagoner sort of. Don’t post during the games or really ever here. I need to cut back on my internets rather than increase them. 162 games is a lot. But this Ranger team. They are pleasant to watch.

At least that go ahead single to short was more legit than the shit Vandy pulled on us in 2014 or whenever that was.

I did not. I know many will have a dollar figure that causes them to leave, but it’s hard to know what the dollar difference is. I’m not sure whether I’d jump for a $5,000 pay raise but that depends on many factors. Now $50k is a whole different story. Just reading here, I know LSU has been quite generous in their giving.

Why would someone leave a place like NCState or even Bama after having a great year? Wsu and Baylor you can understand. The teams had positive seasons. The two most high profile conferences. Schedules and stadiums generally conducive to productive seasons. What else besides an NIL deal?

Daly obviously reads here and knew he needed to move on. Pierce obviously doesn’t read here because he didn’t know he had to move on.

He’s got kids performing in 17 different sports so forgive him for missing the past two trips.

There’s nothing you can do about it. 10-12 conferences are done. 10 is ideal for my preferences but that doesn’t matter. Otherwise you have unbalanced schedules. Unbalanced schedules render conference championships flawed. These are less important as times passes. Play for the national title not the conference one. In all sports I like the non conference aspect of it. You can’t give all that up for 45 baseball games. It is what it is.