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Program Status

coolonetoo

Junior
May 12, 2003
1,740
1,117
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Sadly, the season ended today. So it's time for that annual reflection. First, let's just get this out of the way: Darin Erstad is not getting fired any time soon. And he shouldn't. He took a program that couldn't finish eighth in a ten-team conference three years running and has turned it into an NCAA tournament regular.

Nebraska has made a regional three out of the last four years (and was one win away from another in 2013 or it would be four out of five). That truly is a significant improvement from where the program was as it entered the Big Ten. But I think everyone who follows the team, including those with offices at Haymarket Park, knows the next step has eluded the Huskers. Namely, hosting regionals and/or challenging to win them.

The last time Nebraska did well in the postseason was at the Big Ten tournament in Omaha in 2014. That was a semi-glorious week but since then the record in conference/NCAA tournaments is 1-10. Hot garbage.

So, overall the program is in pretty good shape but the part the majority of us care about most, performing well in the playoffs, has been quite disappointing. I don't know what needs to change but like most everything in this state, I can equate it to football. Is Erstad a Pelini or an Osborne? All three were young, first-time head coaches when they got their gigs. Bo plateaued after 2-3 years, never really changed much and got the axe because he never won anything of substance and had reached his ceiling. Tom twice made radical changes because he couldn't get over the hump and in both cases took the program to new heights. Here's hoping Mr. E. is more like the guy who hired him.
 
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Good post. I think if Erstad wants to continue the style of play he seems to hold in high regard he will need a better pitching coach for sure. If Silva stays I expect more of the same.

Although I feel Kirby is pointless as an assistant the hitting is Erstad's main focus so he will have to decide what to do there. Adding a power hitter or two may not hurt.

Overall he needs to figure out how to help the approach for his guy's mentally. They clam up in clutch situations and it wasn't just the regional. Runners in scoring position was a weak spot all year.

We won the Big Ten and now it's time to take a business as usual approach going forward. It can not be the untilmate goal but rather a norm. I don't hear him talk about the CWS goal like he used to. Has anyone else? I used to feel the passion when he talked about it but now it's just routine coach speak.
 
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Sadly, the season ended today. So it's time for that annual reflection. First, let's just get this out of the way: Darin Erstad is not getting fired any time soon. And he shouldn't. He took a program that couldn't finish eighth in a ten-team conference three years running and has turned it into an NCAA tournament regular.

Nebraska has made a regional three out of the last four years (and was one win away from another in 2013 or it would be four out of five). That truly is a significant improvement from where the program was as it entered the Big Ten. But I think everyone who follows the team, including those with offices at Haymarket Park, knows the next step has eluded the Huskers. Namely, hosting regionals and/or challenging to win them.

The last time Nebraska did well in the postseason was at the Big Ten tournament in Omaha in 2014. That was a semi-glorious week but since then the record in conference/NCAA tournaments is 1-10. Hot garbage.

So, overall the program is in pretty good shape but the part the majority of us care about most, performing well in the playoffs, has been quite disappointing. I don't know what needs to change but like most everything in this state, I can equate it to football. Is Erstad a Pelini or an Osborne? All three were young, first-time head coaches when they got their gigs. Bo plateaued after 2-3 years, never really changed much and got the axe because he never won anything of substance and had reached his ceiling. Tom twice made radical changes because he couldn't get over the hump and in both cases took the program to new heights. Here's hoping Mr. E. is more like the guy who hired him.
Let's be honest...this program is not much better than when Erstad was hired. If we were still in the Big 12 I'd imagine we would be near the bottom most years under Erstad. We say this every year under Erstad but he needs to figure out what our offensive identity it. Minimal power and speed is not going to get you very far. Rinse...repeat. I look forward to Erstad proclaiming he will fix whatever needs to be fixed.
 
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Let's be honest...this program is not much better than when Erstad was hired. If we were still in the Big 12 I'd imagine we would be near the bottom most years under Erstad.
I'm being honest when I say I disagree. The true indicator is position nationally and we are now pretty much a contender for an NCAA tournament bid every year under Erstad. We weren't even close at the end of the Anderson regime. And if playing in a perceived weaker conference is somehow the ticket to getting at-large bids, well, how's that worked out for Creighton?
 
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I'm being honest when I say I disagree. The true indicator is position nationally and we are now pretty much a contender for an NCAA tournament bid every year under Erstad. We weren't even close at the end of the Anderson regime. And if playing in a perceived weaker conference is somehow the ticket to getting at-large bids, well, how's that worked out for Creighton?
At this stage, I'd compare it to UNO hockey in a way. While Erstad didn't start the program from scratch, I think there's a ceiling to Erstad as a coach, just like there was for Mike Kemp. Now that he's established a consistency, after a few more years, we'll need to get someone else that can get the team to the next level.

Come to think of it, a parallel of Anderson/Erstad/<next coach> with Callahan/Pelini/Riley may be more apt given Pelini took a team that was in shambles, built them up but wasn't an elite recruiter, then hit a 9- or 10- win wall and no major accomplishments on the big stage.
 
I'm being honest when I say I disagree. The true indicator is position nationally and we are now pretty much a contender for an NCAA tournament bid every year under Erstad. We weren't even close at the end of the Anderson regime. And if playing in a perceived weaker conference is somehow the ticket to getting at-large bids, well, how's that worked out for Creighton?
The Big East is not the Big Ten. And the Big Ten is not the Big 12. We are fooling ourselves if we think overall we would be in the upper echelon of the Big 12 with this staff. It doesn't really matter though, because after six years all we have to show for it is a win over Binghamton.
 
I'm being honest when I say I disagree. The true indicator is position nationally and we are now pretty much a contender for an NCAA tournament bid every year under Erstad. We weren't even close at the end of the Anderson regime. And if playing in a perceived weaker conference is somehow the ticket to getting at-large bids, well, how's that worked out for Creighton?
The comparison at this point shouldn't be to MA's worst years though. It should be to how we compare nationally and right now we really don't. Creighton sucks and has a ceiling.

I think Erstad has a lot to look at if he wants to compete nationally in the post season and I'm not sure if he will. I hope he does.
 
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Let's be honest...this program is not much better than when Erstad was hired. If we were still in the Big 12 I'd imagine we would be near the bottom most years under Erstad. We say this every year under Erstad but he needs to figure out what our offensive identity it. Minimal power and speed is not going to get you very far. Rinse...repeat. I look forward to Erstad proclaiming he will fix whatever needs to be fixed.
Unfortunately that is the same BS we heard from Anderson. I still,believe fans like Erstad but get the gag reflex on Silva and the hitting coach. AND, I said 3 years ago to win big time they need to recruit somepower!
 
Gotta have a balance of power with speed and base hitting. Having nobody that can be a threat to hit a bomb is crap. Pitching is not very good when considering starters and consistency. My biggest thing is I Think we had the players this year to do some damage but I don't think the coaching staff gameplans very well. Most of the losses late in the year were being outcoached.

If you think barely winning the big ten is some major accomplishment, you are nuts. And thnk god we played the worst team in the conference the last weekend. If we play a team that had gotten hot at the end, we most likely don't win the conference. He'll Iowa may have very well swept us If we play them the last weekend. If the football program was competing for wins against Ball State and Middle Tennessee Tech, people would be freaking put. Just like if Nebraska made the B1G CCG 4 out of 5 years and got destroyed each time, it wouldn't be good enough. How many years does this poor performance have to go on before Eichorst turns up the heat?

But since Erstad is a former Husker many give him a longer leash. Nope, he won't be going anywhere soon but I would hope that Eichorst is telling him that we need to continually get better even if staff changes are what it takes. Make sure he knows that the goal is competing in the NCAA tourney. Going 0-2 95% of the time is not competing.
 
Unfortunately that is the same BS we heard from Anderson. I still,believe fans like Erstad but get the gag reflex on Silva and the hitting coach. AND, I said 3 years ago to win big time they need to recruit some power!

There is a thing about power that kinda baffles me. I get it that we don't have it and 25 home runs put us at 234th in the rankings. but in our 58 games our opponents have only 28 home runs for a 216 rank. Hardly any better than us. There just isn't many home runs in our games and that's what baffles.

And that has been going on for the past six years since the bat changed.

We had a couple decent years like last year with 43 home runs and the Christensen, Kelly, Scheffert 2012 team with 47 long balls. But our opponents have been lousy at this for all six years.

YEAR... N/OPPONENT HOME RUNS
2012..... 47/27
2013..... 15/21
2014..... 19/18
2015..... 22/24
2016..... 43/28
2017..... 25/28
........... 171/146
For all our poor home run production since the bat change we have actually out slugged our opponents 171 to 146. For some reason, home runs are scarce in our games.

So then I decided to look at the stats for the top 10 home run teams. Guess what? There is a ton of home runs hit in their games.

Tennessee Tech leads the nation with 99 long balls but their opponents smashed 66 of them too. 165 home runs in those games. But there's more. Austin Peay knocked 84 over the fence and Eastern Illinois hit 83 HRs.... and their opponents matched both of those numbers. Morehead St also hit 83 but their opponents hit 95. Yeah, the Eagles' opponents hit 12 more home runs than did the number 10 home run team. In fact, Morehead St opponents hit more home runs than did the number 3 team.

The top ten long ball teams averaged 87.1 home runs this season but their opponents averaged 61.5. Go to all those games - see a lot of balls go over the fence.

Got it! Nobody hits home runs in our games, everybody hits home runs in the leaders' games. It has to be the ball parks. What else could account for this?

One last thing, Oregon St may be the best team of the last decade. They have 26 home runs, one more than us.
 
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H ow does Oregon State do on playing small ball? Hit and runs,blunts, able to hit the ball where they want?
 
H ow does Oregon State do on playing small ball? Hit and runs,blunts, able to hit the ball where they want?

Don't know all that much about their game except, man, do they pitch. Team ERA of 1.79. Heckuva number which accounts for their opponents lousy .195 batting average.

Offensively they hit well (.294). They have fewer doubles than we do but more triples.

They have 46 sac bunts putting them in the top 40 but a long way back of the leader who has 76. We have 22 of them. We have identical FLD% at .977.

They are just a well rounded team with spectacular pitching.
 
Don't know all that much about their game except, man, do they pitch. Team ERA of 1.79. Heckuva number which accounts for their opponents lousy .195 batting average.

Offensively they hit well (.294). They have fewer doubles than we do but more triples.

They have 46 sac bunts putting them in the top 40 but a long way back of the leader who has 76. We have 22 of them. We have identical FLD% at .977.

They are just a well rounded team with spectacular pitching.
The way Erstad likes to play we need a better pitching coach is the way I see it. I don't even get as upset about the hitting as others do, though it is an issue when we have runners in scoring position (psychological mostly).

Defense is also solid most years. My main issue is we have never had a true ace and have never looked to develop our pitchers from year to year. Between the development, bullpen management, and strikeout to walk ratio it puts a lot of pressure on a team that relies on a dink and dunk style of play.
 
The way Erstad likes to play we need a better pitching coach is the way I see it. I don't even get as upset about the hitting as others do, though it is an issue when we have runners in scoring position (psychological mostly).

Defense is also solid most years. My main issue is we have never had a true ace and have never looked to develop our pitchers from year to year. Between the development, bullpen management, and strikeout to walk ratio it puts a lot of pressure on a team that relies on a dink and dunk style of play.

One thing for sure, scouts are not knocking down our doors to get in and watch our pitchers. Not any for a long time.
 
The way Erstad likes to play we need a better pitching coach is the way I see it. I don't even get as upset about the hitting as others do, though it is an issue when we have runners in scoring position (psychological mostly).

Defense is also solid most years. My main issue is we have never had a true ace and have never looked to develop our pitchers from year to year. Between the development, bullpen management, and strikeout to walk ratio it puts a lot of pressure on a team that relies on a dink and dunk style of play.
I don't like it when good coaches get fired because their assistants suck. Erstad is not getting fired, but I also hear internally that Silva is not well liked.
I am sick and tired about our lack of competitiveness in all sports. For all our facilities and money, we need to toughen up! Our Big Ten regular season championship is a distant memory after this postseason.
 
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I don't like it when good coaches get fired because their assistants suck. Erstad is not getting fired, but I also hear internally that Silva is not well liked.
I am sick and tired about our lack of competitiveness in all sports. For all our facilities and money, we need to toughen up! Our Big Ten regular season championship is a distant memory after this postseason.

Yep, no way Erstad's head is anywhere near the chopping block. But if Eichorst has any plans to change those assistants and DE gets his back up over that, it will cause a rift. And I have no idea how that would play out.

Now I say this without a clue what Eichorst thinks about those assistants. Just spit balling here.
 
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Yep, no way Erstad's head is anywhere near the chopping block. But if Eichorst has any plans to change those assistants and DE gets his back up over that, it will cause a rift. And I have no idea how that would play out.

Now I say this without a clue what Eichorst thinks about those assistants. Just spit balling here.
Definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things and expecting different results. From a probability standpoint, things are not looking good based on postseason results!
 
I met Kirby shortly after he started working here and I really liked his personality and passion but, I am honestly not sure what he brings to the team. If he truly directs the offense then I think it might be time to part ways and look for a new offense/hitting coach. We don't hit for power and we don't play small ball well. Hitting singles only gets you so far, i.e. the Iowa game in the B10 tournament. We had like 1 extra base hit in 4 games to end the year including games against Yale and HC...
 
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I met Kirby shortly after he started working here and I really liked his personality and passion but, I am honestly not sure what he brings to the team. If he truly directs the offense then I think it might be time to part ways and look for a new offense/hitting coach. We don't hit for power and we don't play small ball well. Hitting singles only gets you so far, i.e. the Iowa game in the B10 tournament. We had like 1 extra base hit in 4 games to end the year including games against Yale and HC...
Kirby should be the first one out the door. Not sure at all what brought him here except Erstad knew him.
 
I met Kirby shortly after he started working here and I really liked his personality and passion but, I am honestly not sure what he brings to the team. If he truly directs the offense then I think it might be time to part ways and look for a new offense/hitting coach. We don't hit for power and we don't play small ball well. Hitting singles only gets you so far, i.e. the Iowa game in the B10 tournament. We had like 1 extra base hit in 4 games to end the year including games against Yale and HC...

He doesn't. That would fall on Erstad's shoulders. Not sure exactly what Kirby does for the program but Erstad is responsible for the offense and the lackluster recruiting.
 
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