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Wyldcard

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Feb 12, 2018
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This weekend we play #3 Texas Tech and #12 Mississippi St and the following weekend series at #15 Baylor. We are most definitely getting experience and seasoning for the 1st year players. We have arguably the toughest schedule in the B1G by far. Baseball America has Mississippi St ranked at #9 and Baylor ranked at 13th. I'd say playing 4 teams ranked in the top 15 in consecutive weeks is not only brutal, but pretty badass and huge for RPI which matters at the end of the year. Currently the B1G only has 1 team ranked Michigan at number 20.
 
It's great to play such a tough schedule, if you can maybe pull out a win or two against those tough opponents and it doesn't destroy the players' confidence to get beat. It also puts more pressure on you to win the games you should win so you have a winning record, otherwise RPI isn't going to matter. Back in 2013, we played a pretty tough schedule, but didn't make a regional because we finished 1 game under .500. Had we got one more win, we might have got in.
 
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It's great to play such a tough schedule, if you can maybe pull out a win or two against those tough opponents and it doesn't destroy the players' confidence to get beat. It also puts more pressure on you to win the games you should win, otherwise RPI isn't going to matter much. Back in 2013, we played a pretty tough schedule, but didn't make a regional because we finished 1 game under .500. Had we got one more win, we might have got in.
My prediction is, with this brutal early schedule and the more experience this team gets with growth in the BP and batting, there could be a possibility of us making the B1G our little biotch when all is said and done. OSU's starting rotation and BP is the best we will face the rest of our schedule by far, the 1st 2 games last weekend, we actually out hit the Beavers but just couldn't drive runs and left a shit ton of runners on base which is actually encouraging as we got a bunch of hits against their top 2 arms. We have to clean up fielding more than anything both IF and OF. We do that and Erstad finally figures out a starting rotation, we could be really good by seasons end imo.
 
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It's great to play such a tough schedule, if you can maybe pull out a win or two against those tough opponents and it doesn't destroy the players' confidence to get beat. It also puts more pressure on you to win the games you should win so you have a winning record, otherwise RPI isn't going to matter. Back in 2013, we played a pretty tough schedule, but didn't make a regional because we finished 1 game under .500. Had we got one more win, we might have got in.
That's right, I think we finished with an RPI right around 29 and something like 29-30 (losing to Indiana in the conference title game). I specifically remember starting the season 0-7.
 
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Wyldcard, I appreciate the fandom and it's nice to see someone take interest in the baseball program, but you drive me crazy. You can post the same thing over and over again and copy and paste from RSS to really drive your point home, but at the end of the day we are an average (more than likely below average) baseball team. The program is in shambles and until they hire someone that has more experience than one year as a volunteer assistant we will continue to be in shambles.
 
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My prediction is, with this brutal early schedule and the more experience this team gets with growth in the BP and batting, there could be a possibility of us making the B1G our little biotch when all is said and done. OSU's starting rotation and BP is the best we will face the rest of our schedule by far, the 1st 2 games last weekend, we actually out hit the Beavers but just couldn't drive runs and left a shit ton of runners on base which is actually encouraging as we got a bunch of hits against their top 2 arms. We have to clean up fielding more than anything both IF and OF. We do that and Erstad finally figures out a starting rotation, we could be really good by seasons end imo.
We didn’t out hit the Beavers. I appreciate the optimism but don’t make up stats to try and prove whatever point you are trying to make. That is very unbaseball like. Not only did we not out hit them they out walked us. The OBP differential was night and day.

Another thing I can’t stand is when fans say we “just left too many on base.” I hate to break it to you but hitting in runs is the whole point of the game.

If everything you promise happens, sure we will be ok, but at no point have we “dominated the Big Ten” and if we did have a successful season it still wouldn’t mean because we “dominated the Big Ten.”

Don’t feel obligation to be a cheerleader on this board. Just talk Baseball with us. Good, bad, ugly, everything. If you are optimistic, great! Give factual reasons why. But don’t talk to us like my Kindergarten teacher did when my mom forgot to pick me up from school.

We can handle the ups and downs of baseball just fine. We’ve been a part of this board a long time for a reason. I hope you are 100% correct about this years team and Erstad. I just honestly don’t agree. Which is fine, that’s why we have these discussions. GBR!
 
Wyldcard, I appreciate the fandom and it's nice to see someone take interest in the baseball program, but you drive me crazy. You can post the same thing over and over again and copy and paste from RSS to really drive your point home, but at the end of the day we are an average (more than likely below average) baseball team. The program is in shambles and until they hire someone that has more experience than one year as a volunteer assistant we will continue to be in shambles.
I agree to disagree
 
We didn’t out hit the Beavers. I appreciate the optimism but don’t make up stats to try and prove whatever point you are trying to make. That is very unbaseball like. Not only did we not out hit them they out walked us. The OBP differential was night and day.

Another thing I can’t stand is when fans say we “just left too many on base.” I hate to break it to you but hitting in runs is the whole point of the game.

If everything you promise happens, sure we will be ok, but at no point have we “dominated the Big Ten” and if we did have a successful season it still wouldn’t mean because we “dominated the Big Ten.”

Don’t feel obligation to be a cheerleader on this board. Just talk Baseball with us. Good, bad, ugly, everything. If you are optimistic, great! Give factual reasons why. But don’t talk to us like my Kindergarten teacher did when my mom forgot to pick me up from school.

We can handle the ups and downs of baseball just fine. We’ve been a part of this board a long time for a reason. I hope you are 100% correct about this years team and Erstad. I just honestly don’t agree. Which is fine, that’s why we have these discussions. GBR!
In the 1st 2 games we did have more hits as which I literally stated in my post, but not the last 2. There's the Box from the 1st 2 games We had 14 hits and they had 13

https://osubeavers.com/documents/2019/2/22//190222_OSU_8_NEB_2.pdf
https://osubeavers.com/documents/2019/2/22//190222_OSU_5_NEB_3.pdf
 
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In the 1st 2 games we did have more hits as I stated, but not the last 2
The 1st game they had more hits technically. The 2nd game we had more hits but they had more hits/walks. Yes, that was our best loss. I hope Chad keeps up the good work because he looked great out there last week.

As they say in Money Ball though, “do I care if it’s a walk or a hit?”

The point is, I want to see the proof from Erstad and crew on the field. Getting swept 0-4, even if it is Oregon’s State, doesn’t make me want to start handing out lollipops and rainbows. If what you say is correct then we should see it on the field so no worries. We just need to be patient I guess.

Another quote from As Good As it Gets:

“Sell crazy somewhere else, we’re all stocked up here.”
 
The 1st game they had more hits technically. The 2nd game we had more hits but they had more hits/walks. Yes, that was our best loss. I hope Chad keeps up the good work because he looked great out there last week.

As they say in Money Ball though, “do I care if it’s a walk or a hit?”

The point is, I want to see the proof from Erstad and crew on the field. Getting swept 0-4, even if it is Oregon’s State, doesn’t make me want to start handing out lollipops and rainbows. If what you say is correct then we should see it on the field so no worries. We just need to be patient I guess.

Another quote from As Good As it Gets:

“Sell crazy somewhere else, we’re all stocked up here.”
Combined between the 2 games we had more hits. 1st game 6 to 5 OSU Game 2 9 to 7 NU
 
The 1st game they had more hits technically. The 2nd game we had more hits but they had more hits/walks. Yes, that was our best loss. I hope Chad keeps up the good work because he looked great out there last week.

As they say in Money Ball though, “do I care if it’s a walk or a hit?”

The point is, I want to see the proof from Erstad and crew on the field. Getting swept 0-4, even if it is Oregon’s State, doesn’t make me want to start handing out lollipops and rainbows. If what you say is correct then we should see it on the field so no worries. We just need to be patient I guess.

Another quote from As Good As it Gets:

“Sell crazy somewhere else, we’re all stocked up here.”
No one here at least is giving them any part of a chance as most have already written them off in only week 2 and it's pretty pathetic if you ask me. The fans that piss me off the most are bandwagon fans that jump on when everything is hunky dory and then jump off when a team is down, which to me are the garbage of fan bases. I'm not referring to you at all. You and others believe what you believe, and I believe what I do and I believe we will be just fine when all is said and done at the end of the season.
 
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Combined between the 2 games we had more hits. 1st game 6 to 5 OSU Game 2 9 to 7 NU
If you only count the 3rd game we tied in homeruns at zero as well. If we had 4 Chads we would have had 4 great starts. I guess I don’t see the point in pidgin holing stats unless you have a point to be made.

For example, if you said we would have faired better in a 3 game series instead of a 4 game series based on the 1st two games then yes, that would be a good point and one I could get behind.
 
No one here at least is giving them any part of a chance as most have already written them off in only week 2 and it's pretty pathetic if you ask me. The fans that piss me off the most are bandwagon fans that jump on when everything is hunky dory and then jump off when a team is down, which to me are the garbage of fan bases. I'm not referring to you at all. You and others believe what you believe, and I believe what I do and I believe we will be just fine when all is said and done at the end of the season.
This bandwagon you speak of isn’t for those who are only “hunky dory.” You are fan if you watch, follow, and root for the team. Just because you feel they will dominate the Big Ten based on what you’ve seen so far and I don’t doesn’t mean I root for the team any less.

Sometimes I think the assumption is ‘blind faith makes you a fan.’ That just isn’t the reality with many fans. Most of us sit back, watch the games, root on the team, hope for the best, but at the end of the day results on the field, and especially in the post season matter. He hasn’t done it yet. Will he? I sure hope so.

But it isn’t my job as a fan to “will” them to victory. It is Erstad’s job as a coach to prepare the team to accomplish that goal. Until they do, I’ll just watch, listen, and root for the team. But I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade at the end of the day.
 
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Combined between the 2 games we had more hits. 1st game 6 to 5 OSU Game 2 9 to 7 NU
We should keep in mind that we batted in nine innings every game, they batted in just eight innings, right? We had more at bats.

In the first two games they hit .217 (13/60) and we hit .206 (14/68). I think that's the right way to look at this. They out hit us.
 
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I think what worries me most about this past weekend is we averaged over 10 K’s a game at the plate, and most were looking. Ouch, and when we did hit they were all singles. I think we had 5 extra base hits?

My hope is Oregon State is just on a whole other level as a team nationally speaking and we can call it a fluke at the end of the day. Time will tell.
 
If you only count the 3rd game we tied in homeruns at zero as well. If we had 4 Chads we would have had 4 great starts. I guess I don’t see the point in pidgin holing stats unless you have a point to be made.

For example, if you said we would have faired better in a 3 game series instead of a 4 game series based on the 1st two games then yes, that would be a good point and one I could get behind.
My point is, in those 1st 2 games against their best arms we got 14 hits which is encouraging with the number of first year players that played. Baby steps, and growth by fire. I'm not worried about Tech, Miss St and Baylor as I consider these games a wash but would be good if we won some of them and even losing this early season schedule is invaluable experience that is only gonna be beneficial the rest of the season especially in our own conference.
 
My point is, in those 1st 2 games against their best arms we got 14 hits which is encouraging with the number of first year players that played. Baby steps, and growth by fire. I'm not worried about Tech, Miss St and Baylor as I consider these games a wash but would be good if we won some of them and even losing this early season schedule is invaluable experience that is only gonna be beneficial the rest of the season especially in our own conference.
I tell you what, it is invaluable experience if we go on to have a great season and make a regional. If we don’t, then the experience was pretty much moot.

Maybe it will light a fire for the underclassmen? I sure hope so, because most development comes from players willing to take that on themselves up until this point.
 
It's great to play such a tough schedule, if you can maybe pull out a win or two against those tough opponents and it doesn't destroy the players' confidence to get beat. It also puts more pressure on you to win the games you should win so you have a winning record, otherwise RPI isn't going to matter. Back in 2013, we played a pretty tough schedule, but didn't make a regional because we finished 1 game under .500. Had we got one more win, we might have got in.
To me that was actually a reason to schedule harder to start the year. That team was by far the best team at the end of the year Erstad has had since he's been here. I absolutely believe that team would have won a regional. They nearly best a really good cws team in Indiana in the B1G championship
 
This weekend we play #3 Texas Tech and #12 Mississippi St and the following weekend series at #15 Baylor. We are most definitely getting experience and seasoning for the 1st year players. We have arguably the toughest schedule in the B1G by far. Baseball America has Mississippi St ranked at #9 and Baylor ranked at 13th. I'd say playing 4 teams ranked in the top 15 in consecutive weeks is not only brutal, but pretty badass and huge for RPI which matters at the end of the year. Currently the B1G only has 1 team ranked Michigan at number 20.
No argument that the Huskers have a very tough schedule, but not the toughest in the B1G by far. Minnesota plays Gonzaga twice, Oregon St. twice, Dallas Baptist 3 times, NC State 3 times, and Long Beach St 3 times and Pepperdine once all on the road and Oklahoma 3 times at home. I would say a pretty similar schedule as the Huskers.
 
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Robster giving lessons ITT :)
Sometimes I might come across as a jerk which isn't my intention, I find myself trying to tread lightly when I post (as best I can). I like @Wyldcard bringing discussion to the board because it adds another element.

I just get tired of being called negative or a bandwagon fan if I don't enjoy getting swept. All any of us can do is base our opinion on what we've seen. So far we have seen us beat bad team in Riverside 3 games out of 4, which is good, it means we are not as horrible as they are. However, this last weekend was another unfortunate reality check on how far we really are from the elite teams. I don't think it changes who we are by sugar coating that reality.

I'd say we look like an average team so far. Some feel we will finish strong but based on where our strengths and weaknesses are I just don't see it yet. Like I said, I'm in a more "wait and see it," or "prove it on the field" mind frame right now. Regardless, I'll be listening to the games this weekend assuming my kiddo schedule allows it.

Even if my enjoyment for updating the stats/scores each inning has waned. Laughing
 
Sometimes I might come across as a jerk which isn't my intention, I find myself trying to tread lightly when I post (as best I can). I like @Wyldcard bringing discussion to the board because it adds another element to the board.

I just get tired of being called negative or a bandwagon fan if I don't enjoy getting swept. All any of us can do is base our opinion on what we've seen. So far we have seen us beat bad team in Riverside 3 games out of 4, which is good, it means we are not as horrible as they are. However, this last weekend was another unfortunate reality check on how far we really are from the elite teams. I don't think it changes who we are by sugar coating that reality.

I'd say we look like an average team so far. Some feel we will finish strong but based on where our strengths and weaknesses are I just don't see it yet. Like I said, I'm in a more "wait and see it," or "prove it on the field" mind frame right now. Regardless, I'll be listening to the games this weekend assuming my kiddo schedule allows it.

Even if my enjoyment for updating the stats/scores each inning has waned. Laughing
I didn't call you a bandwagon fan as I know you're not but I see an awful lot that are, go look.

The fans that piss me off the most are bandwagon fans that jump on when everything is hunky dory and then jump off when a team is down, which to me are the garbage of fan bases. I'm not referring to you at all.

This is the section of that post.
 
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This weekend we play #3 Texas Tech and #12 Mississippi St and the following weekend series at #15 Baylor. We are most definitely getting experience and seasoning for the 1st year players. We have arguably the toughest schedule in the B1G by far. Baseball America has Mississippi St ranked at #9 and Baylor ranked at 13th. I'd say playing 4 teams ranked in the top 15 in consecutive weeks is not only brutal, but pretty badass and huge for RPI which matters at the end of the year. Currently the B1G only has 1 team ranked Michigan at number 20.

Erstad is 29-68 against top 50 RPI teams. That’s sweet that we try to beef up the schedule some. But, it really only matters if you actually fair well against said teams. Considering Erstad winning percentage is right at 30% against those said teams it makes him look even more mediocre.

Essentially, it’s a way for him to get all his BS coach speak in early while his team gets their brains beat in by Oregon St. The lessons and coach speak sounded great in year 1-2 but we have had quite a few years where it has proven to do nothing on the field.
 
Erstad is 29-68 against top 50 RPI teams. That’s sweet that we try to beef up the schedule some. But, it really only matters if you actually fair well against said teams. Considering Erstad winning percentage is right at 30% against those said teams it makes him look even more mediocre.

Essentially, it’s a way for him to get all his BS coach speak in early while his team gets their brains beat in by Oregon St. The lessons and coach speak sounded great in year 1-2 but we have had quite a few years where it has proven to do nothing on the field.
I actually think the problem is he's only scheduled difficult a couple of times. If you do it year in and year out it will pay massive dividends in future years imo
 
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I didn't call you a bandwagon fan as I know you're not but I see an awful lot that are, go look.

The fans that piss me off the most are bandwagon fans that jump on when everything is hunky dory and then jump off when a team is down, which to me are the garbage of fan bases. I'm not referring to you at all.

This is the section of that post.
Correct, I wasn't referring to you directly with that 2nd paragraph. I did see you made sure to mention that I was not who you were referring to when mentioning bandwagon fans. I honestly think most Husker fans are Football Fans first and bandwagon baseball fans 2nd/3rd/4th.
 
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I’m the eternal optimist and I see potential in this team but I think we’ve overscheduled the non-con this year and throughout most of Erstad’s tenure. This year is more difficult than even what was planned. We were supposed to be playing two of last weekend’s games against Utah but they pulled out. Baylor is better than expected and now we’re playing at their place because of bad weather.

If I were in charge of scheduling, Here’s a sample of what I would try to set up the first five weekends:

Week 1: Four games vs. North Dakota State, Tempe, AZ
Week 2: Four games vs. Stetson and Ohio, DeLand, FL
Week 3: Texas Tech, Sam Houston State and Mississippi State, Frisco, TX
Week 4: Home series with Boston College
Week 5: Home series with Baylor.

It’s good to challenge yourself against strong competition. But I was pretty discouraged by the games against OSU and I fear the players are, too. We shouldn’t have agreed to a four-game series against the defending champs.

I would rather have 41wins and an RPI in the 40s than 32 wins and an RPI in the 30s.
 
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As mentioned above there is 2 components here. You have to win some of these games you're scheduling against superior competition for it help your RPI and to give your guys any confidence. Playing close and finding ways to lose late is not going to do anything for them and likely starts a self fulfilling stigma in their minds.
 
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