Palo Alto Super Regional: Texas @ Stanford

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

43 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Seems like Dowd or any other LHP is probably the path to victory for Tree.

I would think so. 

[Helobious 9448]

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

[Herpa Derpa 6125]

Well, fuck. Now it is doom and gloom for sure.

[The Original Greaser Bob 2830]

So nine runs should do it for us?

[HenryJames 66041]

17 minutes ago, Helobious said:

They literally have no arms left.

[Native Horn 3500]

19 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

How they gonna swing a bat?

[Kel Varnsen 8459]

30 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

[Bevo&Pevo 5131]

38 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

Maybe, but the real problem is they have bats left.  However, I think we still win.  Sure, would have been nice to get it done in 2 though.

TEXAS FIGHT!

[perfectchaos007 6634]

Our offense definitely needs amnesia from that 16 strike out performance yesterday. First to 10 runs will win tonight 

[BERT 4358]

3 hours ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

Good morning

 

I miss the ping of the old aluminum bats

[Beau Vine 54211]

1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

Feels like we're going to get stomped. Hope I'm wrong.

[Hookem2147 21209]

We really need Powell and Guillmette to break out of their funks. Powell is 3 for 27 in the postseason with 2 RBI's. He has 1 extra base hit in the last month.

[zlavydra 2119]

9 hours ago, dcar00 said:

if we get 5 out of Witt it will be a miracle.

Innings or outs?

I keed.

[dcar00 14181]

stanford has more arms/pitches left than we do(mainly because Shaw and Tole aren't available).  the only guy that can't throw 40-50 or so pitches is matthews.

we need to bring the fucking bats one time and we can be headed to Omaha.

[davi34 80]

1 hour ago, Helobious said:

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

They haven’t used Montgomery all weekend. ESPN has been hyping him up as some force on the mound all weekend?

Edited June 12, 2023 by davi34

[MirrOlure 14760]

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

God help us if they have a backup quarterback though….

[Hookem2147 21209]

3 minutes ago, davi34 said:

They haven’t used Montgomery all weekend. ESPN has been hyping him up as some force on the mound all weekend?

I think there’s a reason he’s only thrown 14 innings all year and it probably isn’t because they are hiding him as their secret weapon.

He has major control issues.

[Lat22 4010]

We need to walk their freshman catcher every time. 

[Tylerocks 2553]

I'm sure it's been covered, so SIAP..

How many 0-2 counts were we in last night?  Seemed like everyone was down 0-2 before stepping in the box.

 

 

[Valmy77 13226]

10 minutes ago, Tylerocks said:

I'm sure it's been covered, so SIAP..

How many 0-2 counts were we in last night?  Seemed like everyone was down 0-2 before stepping in the box.

 

 

Dude was throwing first pitch strike breaking balls all night. We couldn't do anything with it. We would take the first one and then foul off the second basically every at bat, hence our guys being down 0-2 all night.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Valmy77

[Hookem2147 21209]

11 minutes ago, Tylerocks said:

I'm sure it's been covered, so SIAP..

How many 0-2 counts were we in last night?  Seemed like everyone was down 0-2 before stepping in the box.

 

 

14 0-2 counts. Out of 37 plate appearances.

[troph 24783]

I don't think we are going to lose, but I think at best the pitching v. pitching is a draw. offense v. offense goes to stanford. the only good thing is it's not our pitching versus theirs, it's our pitching versus their offense and their pitching versus our offense. so if our guys can step up (and several have already this post season) then we could be ok if the stanford pitchers have an off night.  that said, we have to score more than 5 runs to have a chance. 8 or more and I think we are very much looking at a win unless our 7-9th inning pitching just collapses.  there is no doubt offense wins tonight. and that's the concern given the relative strength of Stanford's offense and what on paper appears to be a draw on pitching.

[NorthLoop 14190]

5 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Dude was throwing first pitch strike breaking balls all night. We couldn't do anything with it. We would take the first one and then foul off the second basically every at bat, hence our guys being down 0-2 all night.

He threw the same 2 pitch combo to start every single batter. It was maddening watching them whiff at that outside slider on pitch 2 after taking the meatball down the middle for strike 1. We could've tee'd off on the guy in the later innings if Pierce had just told them to go up there swinging. 

[Hookem2147 21209]

Good pitching beats good hitting in the postseason. There's a reason you see averages plummet in June. The middle relievers and midweek type starters that dudes pad stats off of don't get used when seasons are on the line. You have to have pitching carry you in the postseason. People will point to our offense output in Omaha the last few trips but you aren't beating anyone when your starter doesn't make it out of the second inning which happened last year against Aggie.

I am usually mr. optimistic but I do not love this matchup for Witt. Especially against some of the lefty bats they have. I also noticed that Gordon struggled finding his footing on the mound and 90% of Witt's buildup to this point has been done at The Disch.

I really do think we are going to be heroic efforts from Hurley and Morehouse, specifically Morehouse.

[Tylerocks 2553]

4 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Dude was throwing first pitch strike breaking balls all night. We couldn't do anything with it. We would take the first one and then foul off the second basically every at bat, hence out guys being down 0-2 all night.

10 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

14 0-2 counts. Out of 37 plate appearances.

 

6 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

He threw the same 2 pitch combo to start every single batter. It was maddening watching them whiff at that outside slider on pitch 2 after taking the meatball down the middle for strike 1. We could've tee'd off on the guy in the later innings if Pierce had just told them to go up there swinging. 

That shit was brutal to watch.

Figured 2nd or 3rd time through the lineup they would've been sitting first ball, breaking ball.

 

Oh well, back at it this eve..

[hobbes2702 13032]

48 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

stanford has more arms/pitches left than we do(mainly because Shaw and Tole aren't available).  the only guy that can't throw 40-50 or so pitches is matthews.

we need to bring the fucking bats one time and we can be headed to Omaha.

I don’t think they have more arms than we do at all. We have 4 solid guys available for tonight. They are likely to start a guy who threw 50 pitches a few days ago

[sidis 9826]

1 hour ago, Helobious said:

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

fuck me.  i don't think even sitting in my car for four hours can overcome this shit.

[jimmyjazz 45899]

32 minutes ago, troph said:

I don't think we are going to lose, but I think at best the pitching v. pitching is a draw. offense v. offense goes to stanford. the only good thing is it's not our pitching versus theirs, it's our pitching versus their offense and their pitching versus our offense. so if our guys can step up (and several have already this post season) then we could be ok if the stanford pitchers have an off night.  that said, we have to score more than 5 runs to have a chance. 8 or more and I think we are very much looking at a win unless our 7-9th inning pitching just collapses.  there is no doubt offense wins tonight. and that's the concern given the relative strength of Stanford's offense and what on paper appears to be a draw on pitching.

I'm not very optimistic, but we do have the edge defensively.  If we can stress their "bullpen" and put bats on balls, there may be a big error or two.

Fuck me.

[WBT 20561]

I don't like our chances.  Maybe 1 in 3.

[Bartles 769]

3 minutes ago, WBT said:

I don't like our chances.  Maybe 1 in 3.

1 in 3 is exactly what we're trying to avoid

[EuroHorn 3260]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

I know it’s “cool” to be doom and gloom here but Stanford is pretty objectively fucked tonight. They literally have no arms left.

Unfortunately Stanford is a great hitting team and our pitching has not been the greatest.   We were given a gift in the first game when they fucked up in the outfield.  Either way, its going to take a lot of runs to win this one.  Hopefully Texas can put up at least 8 runs

[BrazilHorn 6586]

1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

We really need Powell and Guillmette to break out of their funks. Powell is 3 for 27 in the postseason with 2 RBI's. He has 1 extra base hit in the last month.

Powell’s “I’m taking the first two pitches no matter what” approach this post season has been rough to watch. 
It’s like he’s forgotten how to hit after the regular season. 

[Valmy77 13226]

43 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

He threw the same 2 pitch combo to start every single batter. It was maddening watching them whiff at that outside slider on pitch 2 after taking the meatball down the middle for strike 1. We could've tee'd off on the guy in the later innings if Pierce had just told them to go up there swinging. 

I am no baseball expert but I am pretty sure if the guys could have hit that thing they would have been swinging. I don't think goiing down 0-2 was Pierce's plan.

But I don't know. It was sure frustrating either way.

[Hookem2147 21209]

2 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Powell’s “I’m taking the first two pitches no matter what” approach this post season has been rough to watch. 
It’s like he’s forgotten how to hit after the regular season. 

I got no issues with his approach. He is someone who is comfortable hitting in 2 strike counts and that is a good trait to have. He has almost as many walks as strikeouts this year and is hitting .338 so it hasn't hurt him much.

[n64ra 1081]

Would be nice to have a lead for more than part on an inning.

[Had Enough 2081]

fuck me.  i don't think even sitting in my car for four hours can overcome this shit.

You should try it anyway.

[hobbes2702 13032]

This is one of the most bitchass pregame threads we’ve ever had. We are Texas. Going to Omaha is what we do. Quit with the doom and gloom and let’s actually throw a pitch before we quit.

[Big Frog II 511]

You are going to win.  The NCAA is already selling t-shirts to the CWS with the Stanford logo along with Oregon, oops, and Tennessee.

[jimmyjazz 45899]

4 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

This is one of the most bitchass pregame threads we’ve ever had. We are Texas. Going to Omaha is what we do. Quit with the doom and gloom and let’s actually throw a pitch before we quit.

It's understandable -- last night was beyond demoralizing.  But I get it.

[dcar00 14181]

47 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

I don’t think they have more arms than we do at all. We have 4 solid guys available for tonight. They are likely to start a guy who threw 50 pitches a few days ago

I'm not talking about the quality of arms.  we've pitched 8, they have pitched 5(4 of those went Monday),  sthele and LBJ went 71 and 97 last night and Tole and SHaw are out.

their guys pitched 60 or less 2 days ago.  50 pitches 2 days ago is nothing.

they have more arms and pitches(unless them have some post season injuries I'm unaware of like we do) but if Witt and Hurley can give up only 2 or 3 thru 6 I like our chances.  They have to hold them down and hopefully we keep seeing "Playoff Zane".

We can certainly do this, it's baseball. Bring the sticks.

[hobbes2702 13032]

3 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

I'm not talking about the quality of arms.  we've pitched 8, they have pitched 5(4 of those went Monday),  sthele and LBJ went 71 and 97 last night and Tole and SHaw are out.

their guys pitched 60 or less 2 days ago.  50 pitches 2 days ago is nothing.

they have more arms and pitches(unless them have some post season injuries I'm unaware of like we do) but if Witt and Hurley can give up only 2 or 3 thru 6 I like our chances.  They have to hold them down and hopefully we keep seeing "Playoff Zane".

We can certainly do this, it's baseball. Bring the sticks.

50 pitches two days ago is not nothing, especially for guys who don’t regularly throw 75+ pitches.

They may have more arms but that doesn’t mean they have any good arms left. They only have a pitching staff of like 6 guys total that actually ever pitch for them.

[Hookem2147 21209]

15 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

It's understandable -- last night was beyond demoralizing.  But I get it.

Demoralizing would be if that performance ended the season. Beauty of baseball is you oftentimes get a chance to redeem yourself the very next day.

[Had Enough 2081]

Yeah, play the game.

We have the best arms available of the two teams when you talk stuff, experience and achievement. Morehouse and Witt are those guys. Then we have Hurley. You’ve got probably Gordon, Lummus and Whitehead to knock out some lefties. If we can’t put together a respectable effort out of that, then multiple dudes just flat out didn’t get it done.

Dowd hasn’t pitched multiple games in one weekend when he throws 50+ pitches very often. So he’ll have to do something he hasn’t all year if he’s to have success beyond one inning. Dugan is likely a guy that we will need to succeed at hitting today. He was big for them in the regional and will be fresh. Stanford will have capable arms, but those same arms are capable of mediocre to poor performances too.

We need to hit. It’s been the story all season. If the top of the lineup produces, we succeed. Here lately even if the top 4 gets hits, they aren’t big ones - extra bases or with runners on. One big inning versus Miami but other than that offensive production has been pretty poor. The game 1 9th inning was incredibly effective, but it wasn’t due to hitting the ball.

We’re lucky to be in game 3. It is a toss up. Which players have a day? Who knows. I think Pierce has the tougher job getting his team mentally focused simply because we don’t have many confident hitters right now.

[jimmyjazz 45899]

5 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Demoralizing would be if that performance ended the season. Beauty of baseball is you oftentimes get a chance to redeem yourself the very next day.

I'm so very sorry you disagree with my assessment of last night.  News flash:  it was demoralizing for ME and a bunch of other 'horns fans.  You don't get to define it for us.

[Hondo 682]

1 hour ago, NorthLoop said:

He threw the same 2 pitch combo to start every single batter. It was maddening watching them whiff at that outside slider on pitch 2 after taking the meatball down the middle for strike 1. We could've tee'd off on the guy in the later innings if Pierce had just told them to go up there swinging. 

Pitch 2 was usually the changeup.  They were watching the 1st pitch belt high breaking ball and then swinging for the fences at what they thought was a fastball on pitch 2.  Then he'd show the fast ball out of the zone (usually outside) and strike them out with another changeup.

The changeup was the only pitch he had that was any good (and it was absolutely nasty).  Everything else was to set up the change.  And we fell for it inning after inning after inning.  O'Dowd and Daly were the only 2 who consistently had the right approach (probably because they aren't power hitters who look for fastballs to begin with).  Everyone else acted like they were facing Paul Skenes and looking to hit fastballs, only to be fooled by the changeup.  

It was maddening to watch.  Zero adjustments made and we lost the game because of it.  Nothing he threw was unhittable if they would have just treated him like the pitcher he is instead of looking for fastballs.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Hondo

[hobbes2702 13032]

5 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Yeah, play the game.

We have the best arms available of the two teams when you talk stuff, experience and achievement. Morehouse and Witt are those guys. Then we have Hurley. You’ve got probably Gordon, Lummus and Whitehead to knock out some lefties. If we can’t put together a respectable effort out of that, then multiple dudes just flat out didn’t get it done.

Dowd hasn’t pitched multiple games in one weekend when he throws 50+ pitches very often. So he’ll have to do something he hasn’t all year if he’s to have success beyond one inning. Dugan is likely a guy that we will need to succeed at hitting today. He was big for them in the regional and will be fresh. Stanford will have capable arms, but those same arms are capable of mediocre to poor performances too.

We need to hit. It’s been the story all season. If the top of the lineup produces, we succeed. Here lately even if the top 4 gets hits, they aren’t big ones - extra bases or with runners on. One big inning versus Miami but other than that offensive production has been pretty poor. The game 1 9th inning was incredibly effective, but it wasn’t due to hitting the ball.

We’re lucky to be in game 3. It is a toss up. Which players have a day? Who knows. I think Pierce has the tougher job getting his team mentally focused simply because we don’t have many confident hitters right now.

This guy gets it. Welcome to baseball 🤘

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2943]

What is with this weak bullshit negativity in here this AM? C'mon now.

 

Reminder that the 2005 team wasn't a top 8 national seed, but mowed down a few so-called "unbeatable" teams on the way to the championship. They were absolutely battle-tested after that Oxford Super Regional...if we get past these douchers I like our chances in Omaha.

[chase25 2048]

13 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

50 pitches two days ago is not nothing, especially for guys who don’t regularly throw 75+ pitches.

They may have more arms but that doesn’t mean they have any good arms left. They only have a pitching staff of like 6 guys total that actually ever pitch for them.

Dowd and Dixon will both be available, Dixon probably in an extended capacity, Dowd probably more limited. Dixon has thrown 100+ pitches 3 times this year, Dowd has thrown 50+ pitches 9 times. They will both be ready and available for them.

Key for Texas is capitalizing on the arm, like a Nick Dugan, who Stanford throws tonight trying to steal innings. I’d be surprised if Stanford tested the waters with Ryan Bruno again

These games where it’s all hands on deck are impossible to predict. There is a good chance Lucas pitches for us tonight

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2943]

 

[DanTheHorn 4922]

3 minutes ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

 

CJ is not finding this funny.