Do you feel this team has gotten better each year under this staff? And do you feel like this team can win the shit 10 this year and get to where they can host a regional. Sorry I just dont have that confidence in them right now. Its mainly the pitching. Hitting will go in streaks at any level, but you should be able to have a decent weekend rotation by the start of conference play.
I don't know if my long winded answer will help but I am more a wait and see type of guy, with optimism and I'll do my best to explain why.
They had one year in 2020 cancelled I don't read into too much either way. They had one year 2021 they won the Big Ten and took the #1 seed to the wire in the Regional Championship game. Honestly I think we are a couple hits away from possibly making the CWS with that team ironically enough. 2022 was a stink bomb and really no excuse in ever missing the Big Ten Tourney, even with the early injuries to Perry and Bunz. I was actually more disappointed with the hitting and defense in 2022 all things considered.
2023 I have to somewhat split hairs between the previous two seasons. So what I look into is what corrections were made and what adjustments did the staff make to rectify that 2022 outcome. Is their effort and hunger to get better? I also have to be realistic that a one year flip of the roster isn't going to lend itself to a team I'd want to see at its peak.
Everyone who knows me on this board knows I am never afraid to criticize lack of effort or common sense by a Husker staff. I feel like I was probably off the Erstad bandwagon sooner than most. I even remember getting pummeled by some prominent posters for predicting a bad year after we got our butt kicked in a non conference game against Oral Roberts. I felt he was a decent coach but we'd never be successful on a national scale consistently. Mainly because he wasn't at the forefront of his career and was pretty much ready to retire. I mainly state this so you know I have the same expectations for Bolt and crew as I did Erstad's staff.
So the way I look at it:
We hired a young staff who made great strides but some obvious mistakes. They almost set themselves up for an unrealistic build towards a national power in an odd way. Currently I do like the way they worked the offseason regarding recruiting, the portal, and pushing guys out who were not improving, etc.
The positives are they took a poor offense and below average defense and turned it into the best in the league in both categories. I think defensively we lack the great defensive 1st baseman we've had in the past but it isn't enough to hold us back from a chance of potentially winning the league. They have also developed a solid one-two punch in Olson and Kaminska who are a combined 10-2 on the season. They have also shown an improvement in some bullpen arms as of late (although later than any of us would have liked) to improve our chances just in time for the conference season to start.
The biggest negative is the slow start to the bullpen costing us crucial RPI points I mentioned would haunt us at the time. They also have the odd ability to fall asleep for midweek games and close out opponents. So the pitching depth may be the only miss by the staff this offseason. Losing a few pitchers didn't help, I suppose that is on the staff, but if a player wants to leave what can you do? We will always have to fight the fact that the SEC, or the south in general, is more appealing to a pitcher than the Big Ten. So yes, timing hurt with those departures. Imagine this bullpen with Koty Frank?
Another negative I feel has been out of their control and that is the weather and the crazy schedule due to that fact. I think that is a tough thing for a roster that is very new in playing with each other to work through that Southern teams like Albiene Christian and San Diego don't have to worry about. I would actually propose we play down south and even in the SEC until Mid March myself. But, The university loves money and will squeeze any ounce of that potential revenue from its fans in spite of what is best for the baseball team.
So with all of that said, I am in a wait and see but I feel optimistic based on the changes that had been made after last season and the future recruiting classes, but ultimately this is a results oriented business. Bolt and crew will have to win, which includes the Big Ten ever 3rd year or so. A regional most years, etc. Should last year have gotten that bad? Of course not, but I feel like Bolt and crew owned the mistakes and took advantage of the portal more. They also brought in more talent than roster spots and made cuts as needed after fall. They are willing to retool the bullpen knowing they want, and are required, to win now. They stretched out Walsh with very limited opportunities to have him ready for this weekends series on Sunday against Michigan.
Those are just a few examples of things I like to see from a staff, do they care and are the making logical moves based on the cards they have to play. It hasn't been perfect and not all moves have worked, but they haven't been afraid to tinker while knowing what this season means. In the end if they don't win it will take care of itself though.
Whew! I can breath now. haha
