College Baseball 2014 Season

[OleMissCub]

Unfortunately all 3 of the remaining National Seeds are on Ole Miss' side of the bracket.

 

We're gonna take out ULL. Props to them for coming out of the losers bracket like that, but no team deserves to go to the College World Series if they lose a home game to freaking Jackson State University.

 

Ole Miss very well might be the better team but it's a short series and anything can happen. I mean, Fresno State won it all in 2008.

 

Indeed. Judging by overall talent I don't think there can be any doubt that Ole Miss is the more talented team. I'd have to think that any SEC team has more talent than even the best Sun Belt team. But alas, it's baseball.

 

Apparently this is the only Super Regional matchup where both teams were regional host teams. I really want to go down there for the weekend, but Ole Miss is only getting 400 tickets and the University doles those out according to priority donor points and all that. So I certainly won't be getting one of those.

[shnsajax]

Mark Payton extends his onbase streak to 101 games as UT returns to the CWS.

[UK1679666180]

Mark Payton extends his onbase streak to 101 games as UT returns to the CWS.

 

He has been my fav. prep player over the last 10 years, I love watching him play.

[shnsajax]

Mark Payton extends his onbase streak to 101 games as UT returns to the CWS.

 

He has been my fav. prep player over the last 10 years, I love watching him play.

 

Was hoping the Cubs would go after him. Curious to see what he can do away from the Disch.

[Guest]

UC Irvine is going to Omaha for only the second time in school history. USC pushed current UCI coach Mike Gillespie out as their coach in 2006, saying he was too old. USC hasn't made a single NCAA tournament appearance since then and here is UCI (they didn't move to Division I in baseball till the late-70s, didn't have a baseball program from 1992-2002 and didn't make their first NCAA tournament until 2004) going to the College World Series.

[NOLA]

Unfortunately all 3 of the remaining National Seeds are on Ole Miss' side of the bracket.

 

We're gonna take out ULL. Props to them for coming out of the losers bracket like that, but no team deserves to go to the College World Series if they lose a home game to freaking Jackson State University.

 

Ole Miss very well might be the better team but it's a short series and anything can happen. I mean, Fresno State won it all in 2008.

 

Indeed. Judging by overall talent I don't think there can be any doubt that Ole Miss is the more talented team. I'd have to think that any SEC team has more talent than even the best Sun Belt team. But alas, it's baseball.

 

Apparently this is the only Super Regional matchup where both teams were regional host teams. I really want to go down there for the weekend, but Ole Miss is only getting 400 tickets and the University doles those out according to priority donor points and all that. So I certainly won't be getting one of those.

Ooh La La, or ULL if you're no fun, is 1-0 vs LSU and 2-1 vs Bama this year. They are definitely good enough to take 2 of 3 vs OM.

[OleMissCub]

 

Ooh La La, or ULL if you're no fun, is 1-0 vs LSU and 2-1 vs Bama this year. They are definitely good enough to take 2 of 3 vs OM.

 

I get your point, but fwiw, that LSU game was a 5 inning game on a Wednesday night.

[Guest]

Mark Payton extends his onbase streak to 101 games as UT returns to the CWS.

 

He has been my fav. prep player over the last 10 years, I love watching him play.

 

Was hoping the Cubs would go after him. Curious to see what he can do away from the Disch.

 

He was extremely close to attending Illinois, where his dad has some school records I believe.

[Guest]

Congrats, toonster and OMC!

[OleMissCub]

Congrats, toonster and OMC!

 

Thanks!! Feels great

[NOLA]

Congrats guys. Wish we were there with you in Omaha. :|

[toonsterwu]

Congrats, toonster and OMC!

 

Ha. Thanks.

 

I admit, I was worried after Saturday. Kirby looked as bad as he has basically, all year, and I thought UVA let Stinnett get away with some pitches. I was worried that the season-long offensive questions would remain an issue. That said, the way the team played in the last two days was a nice sight to see. For Maryland, no disrespect intended, getting to Supers was a good season. For this UVA team, this loaded UVA team whose pitching really developed this year, having the season end at Supers would've been disappointing. Yet, this team seemed to play loose and aggressive on Sunday/Monday.

 

The team feels like it's peaking, as Aaron Fitt noted in his article on BA. The SP was solid (I may rethink my thoughts on Sborz's future as a pen arm if he can consistently show as well as he did), the pen's strong, the defense is there, and most importantly, the offense is coming together. There were good moments for all the guys this weekend, ranging from studs like Papi/McCarthy/Fisher, to the young Pinero (very curious how he develops - Ryan Flaherty comes to mind as a tall, lanky shortstop), Brandon Downes, and Kenny Towns (still a bit befuddled at how he went absolutely undrafted ... not saying he's going to be anything, but there's a place for a grinder like Towns in the minors. Oh well, less turnover for UVA next year).

 

Looking ahead, I'm going to be curious about a couple small things with the Ole Miss matchup -

 

a) Without knowing a ton about them, outside of what's out there, I tend to think lefties have a better shot against UVA so I wonder if Trent might be a better option than Ellis. If your righty isn't on, the heart of the lineup can eat you up fast, and force the bullpen to get over-extended.

 

b) I wonder if UVA goes with Nate Irving to try and control Ole Miss on the basepaths. Coman isn't bad defensively, but Irving is very strong at controlling the run game. Of course, they put Coman in there in the final two games partly for the need for offense, so here's hoping the other bats stay strong.

 

Should be a fun CWS to cap off a crazy two weeks.

[OleMissCub]

a) Without knowing a ton about them, outside of what's out there, I tend to think lefties have a better shot against UVA so I wonder if Trent might be a better option than Ellis. If your righty isn't on, the heart of the lineup can eat you up fast, and force the bullpen to get over-extended.

 

Yeah, if you've got more lefties, then I really hope they go with Trent. As good as Ellis is, he nearly lost us the super regional when he developed a slight case of Steve Blass disease and was throwing balls over and behind batters. Cruising along and then walks 4 straight batters on 16 pitches. Then gives up a grand slam. Weirdest stat line ever for a starter: 2.2 IP, 1 hit, 5 runs.

 

So ya, I don't know if I trust Ellis right now to win that all important game 1. Whereas Trent is just really stinking good at this point. He's now sitting at 9-0, 2.21 era.

 

I don't care if Kirby looked bad in his last start, he is still gonna scare the hell out of me.

 

I will say that we are definitely on the right side of the bracket. I think either UVA or Ole Miss advances to the Champ series from our bracket.

 

This is also an intriguing matchup because, as you may recall, UVA put Ole Miss out in Oxford in 2009 in the Supers. Ole Miss was 5 outs away and an inexplicable error by our second baseman gave y'all the momentum to pull ahead. There's actually a 30 minute documentary about the series and the error called "Five Outs from Omaha". It's really a sad story, Evan Button, the second baseman who made the error suffered a lot of emotional trauma from that because he was unnecessarily blamed for losing the whole series.

 

[OleMissCub]

toonster, couple of questions about UVA.

 

Is Derek Fisher like Griffey Jr defensively in the outfield? His stats don't seem to reflect those of a first round pick. It appears he missed a good many games this year, so his stats aren't eye popping in part because of that, but still...

[toonsterwu]

OMC, Fisher was a high pick because of his offensive potential. Some would argue that he's never shown enough to justify the hype (I mean, McCarthy and Papi were probably the best two overall hitters on the team), but his combination of bat speed and power has had him on the radars since his prep days. Fisher's been banged up a bit the last two years. Off the top, I don't recall his injury this year (hand?), but it's on the web somewhere. He was drafted in the 6th round by the Rangers out of HS, but IIRC (and Raisin might have a better memory on this than I do), he was viewed as a late first/early 2nd type, but due to the UVA commitment, wanted big, big money (say, top 10 type money). Defensively, he's no where near Griffey Jr. in his prime. He has the potential to man RF, but my hunch is that he's going to end up in LF over the long haul. I mean, he probably has the raw speed to handle CF in a pinch now (akin to say, Brandon Guyer back in the day), but he really shouldn't be your CF for any long stretch. Basically, it was his offensive potential that had him ahead of a much, much more polished hitter in Mike Papi. Fisher, though, is probably at his best when he's aggressive. He has a solid enough eye at the plate, but sometimes, that works him into bad situations when he gets a bit passive. Sun/Mon against Maryland, he was aggressive and caused a lot of damage. It isn't really a Brett Jackson situation as he's just a better overall hitter than Jackson, with better bat speed.

 

OMC, UVA's heart of the order is three straight lefties (at least, this past weekend ... there have been some instances where Papi led off, but due to Downes struggles this year, they tend to go with the three lefties in the middle). Mike Papi is usually in the 3 hole, followed by Joe McCarthy, and Derek Fisher. To be quite honest, I do wonder if sophomore McCarthy might end up being the best pro of the trio. He has excellent athleticism, really handles the bat well, hits for average, and has an excellent approach. Excellent bat control - perhaps too good. There's some raw power there, but he rarely goes for the big swings. That said, reason why I think he might be the best is because I think that power is better than Papi's and might be, for lack of a better term, more capable of unlocking his power potential, and he's got a better approach than Fisher. Leading off, you have a "grinder" in Branden Cogswell, another lefty who has a good eye, works the count, and finds ways to get on. Not great speed, but good enough, and a solid baserunner. Thus, 1-5 could be 4 lefties (Daniel Pinero is largely in the 2 hole now), with John LaPrise often batting 7th in the lineup, another "grinder" contact lefty. Ideally, I guess, this sets up an opponent to go with situational relief pitching and bring in a lefty, but all these guys have good approaches, and if your starter is shakey and these guys cause damage, it could really wreck things. Hence why I sort of wonder if Trent if the better fit to get the nod over Ellis.

 

(of course, the best hitter Monday was probably righty Kenny Towns, who went undrafted. 8th hitter tends to be the high upside Brandon Downes, who has good power (took Hoffman deep to start the year), but struggled this year, partly due to injury. 9th hitter is the catcher, either Irving or Coman this year, with Coman the better offensive player, but Irving probably the far superior defensive guy. Betting money is still Irving getting the nod.

[Guest]

Looks like Ellis will face Virginia.

[OleMissCub]

Looks like Ellis will face Virginia.

 

Bad decision. Guess Bianco just doesn't want to rock the boat regarding the rotation.

[toonsterwu]

Tough game OMC ... I think you guys probably get through with Trent for another game. Ellis pitched ... not well, but he got out of jams, helped by that wonderful catch by ... uh ... your CF's name is slipping me atm ... Bousfield? Kirby pitched a heck of a game, though. What I didn't understand was why you guys were so aggressive. Maryland was a bit more patient against Kirby, and it led to mistakes ... and your lineup is far better than Maryland's. The aggressiveness sort of played well for Kirby ... but then again, the way he was pitching, it might not have mattered either way. He was just on with that slider.

 

I'm awfully worried about facing a rested Finnegan. That's the type of arm that I think can cause a ton of trouble for this UVA lineup, and the righties will have to come through, IMO.

[OleMissCub]

Tough game OMC

 

Eh, not really. If you only get one stinking hit in a game you deserve to lose.

 

My guess is that they were so aggressive because you don't want to get into a hole against Kirby because he is likely to strike you out at that point with that slider. They made decent contact on a number of pitches I felt, but they just didn't find any holes and that's just baseball.

 

Ellis isn't that great to be honest. He has dodged fire a LOT this season. 1.27 WHIP compared to Trent at 1.05. Trent is the true ace of the staff.

 

A lot of Ole Miss folks, myself included, would have rather walked Papi there at the end. His run was irrelevant and it would have put the force out at any base. But oh well.

 

I don't envy you guys facing Finnegan. He is a tough cookie.

[toonsterwu]

Yeah, I'll be honest, don't understand why you didn't walk him. I guess I do ... but walking him made more sense just for the force out possibility. Hell, had you guys gotten behind McCarthy, walking the bases loaded wouldn't be the worst thing. Papi's just been on, and I think I under-rated his MLB potential.

[Guest]

Yep, I would have walked Papi there if it were up to me.

[Guest]

OMC, UVA's heart of the order is three straight lefties (at least, this past weekend ... there have been some instances where Papi led off, but due to Downes struggles this year, they tend to go with the three lefties in the middle). Mike Papi is usually in the 3 hole, followed by Joe McCarthy, and Derek Fisher. To be quite honest, I do wonder if sophomore McCarthy might end up being the best pro of the trio. He has excellent athleticism, really handles the bat well, hits for average, and has an excellent approach. Excellent bat control - perhaps too good. There's some raw power there, but he rarely goes for the big swings. That said, reason why I think he might be the best is because I think that power is better than Papi's and might be, for lack of a better term, more capable of unlocking his power potential, and he's got a better approach than Fisher. Leading off, you have a "grinder" in Branden Cogswell, another lefty who has a good eye, works the count, and finds ways to get on. Not great speed, but good enough, and a solid baserunner. Thus, 1-5 could be 4 lefties (Daniel Pinero is largely in the 2 hole now), with John LaPrise often batting 7th in the lineup, another "grinder" contact lefty. Ideally, I guess, this sets up an opponent to go with situational relief pitching and bring in a lefty, but all these guys have good approaches, and if your starter is shakey and these guys cause damage, it could really wreck things. Hence why I sort of wonder if Trent if the better fit to get the nod over Ellis.

 

Ok, toonster. I see why you like Joe McCarthy - sure looks like a first rounder in 2015.

[OleMissCub]

TCU really needs a logo on their helmets. The TCU just looks dumb.

[Guest]

This game is never going to end, is it?

 

Poor toonster. Reminds me of the epic Virginia-South Carolina game in Omaha a few years ago. Hope this one ends better for you.

[toonsterwu]

Ha, I went to sleep Raisin. Then, around 1am, got up to go to the bathroom, decided to flip on the TV and saw the end.

 

I'm going to be fairly surprised if it's not UVA vs. Vandy in the finals. I still think Ole Miss made a mistake not going with Trent vs. UVA.

 

Finnegan looked good, but UVA made some solid contact. Actually, I was fairly impressed with how Cogswell seemed to get a good read on his pitches.

 

Ferrell was nasty. He looks like a possible 1st round closer. Howard was good as well, and the breaking ball was really on. Was surprised Lewicki hit 95 on some pitches - that said, could be because he was coming out of the pen.

 

For all the talk about TD being awful for offenses (and it is ... still no home runs, I think), I was more bothered by how UVA hitters were being very aggressive and not working up the pitch counts for Finnegan and Ferrell.

 

Good for Pinero to be the one that drove in the runs. Fascinated how he turns out in 2 years - I see a bit of Ryan Flaherty in there, although perhaps not Flaherty's pop.