I'm sorry but it is what it is

[TheRealVille]

A complete team choke job. These two games show it doesn't matter how talented you are, how great a coach you have. If you don't have it between the ears, you will lose. Only Tiberi, McKay and Harrington had it mentally in this series. Ray, Solak, Smith, and Burdi let the pressure get to them. The team was making base running mistakes, swinging at bad pitches with runners in scoring position and popping up bunts.

This should be the last hurdle in the development of this program. Yes, we can win lots of games in the regular season, but we have to get rid of the nerves when postseason starts. This team just lost two games at home to the 3rd place team in the West Coast conference, who had two guys batting under 200 in the starting lineup.

I love em but they choked.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

A complete team choke job. These two games show it doesn't matter how talented you are, how great a coach you have. If you don't have it between the ears, you will lose. Only Tiberi, McKay and Harrington had it mentally in this series. Ray, Solak, Smith, and Burdi let the pressure get to them. The team was making base running mistakes, swinging at bad pitches with runners in scoring position and popping up bunts.

This should be the last hurdle in the development of this program. Yes, we can win lots of games in the regular season, but we have to get rid of the nerves when postseason starts. This team just lost two games at home to the 3rd place team in the West Coast conference, who had two guys batting under 200 in the starting lineup.

I love em but they choked.

Postseason Baseball is totally different. Look at Virginia last season winning it all and remember where they finished in the Regular Season ACC Standings. When you lose 2 of 3 in a weekend series in April, you move to the next midweek game. When you lose 2 of 3 in a Super, your season is over. That creates a different level of pressure. Even the best teams can let that get to them at times. I know there are times when I thought our team has let it get to them.

 

[Louisvillian]

No doubt most of the guys were tight and for the 2nd straight Super Regional, Corey Ray our best player failed to show up and Zack Burdi lost his control (call it a choke if you want to) at the worst possible time. You have a 3-0 lead with one out in the bottom of the 9th with a man on 1st and you walk an average hitter on 4 pitches to bring the tying run to the plate? Then you walk another dead bat to load the bases? Awful.

And of course the coup de gras, going right after a guy with high heat knowing that the only way you can probably lose is to throw smoke to a guy with only one HR all year who is sure to be swinging for the fences with nothing to lose. Season over. Incredible.

I also can't believe how many base runners we stranded during the last 5 innings when we could have drove the nail in. What an incredible opportunity we had with a team loaded with more talent than we may ever see again.

 

[nccardfan]

Well, we will see. I think Coach Mac will need to do a lot of soul searching to see if he really needs to change anything. I think last year you could really say you got beat on an umpires call or lack of a call. This year is and was different. I never liked the two inning save and felt that we never really developed a bullpen except for Burdi.

 

[zipp]

It's pretty clear that the national pundits have been wrong about their ACC-SEC bias. Plenty of good baseball is played west of the Mississippi. Had that perspective been more ingrained in our psyche, there wouldn't be so much disappointment this weekend.

Not to mention we have been inconsistent against good teams on the road this season. This team wasn't built for Omaha, it just had a gaudy record and a lotta individual player recognition...

 

[Legalwolf]

An NC State fan here to say that I was pulling for Louisville once the Pack didn't make it out of the Regional. Let's just say you would find a lot of empathetic reactions from State fans who saw a team that was one strike away from the Super Regional lose in a fashion that may not have equaled the total collapse at the TCU Super Regional last year, but seemed just as bad in some ways.

Incidentally, State fans also appreciate your very observations about the unfairness that the UNC-CHeaters and how they appear headed to yet anothter slap on the wrist for the "worst academic scandal in the history of NCAA athletics...."

 

[Steelers2012]

An NC State fan here to say that I was pulling for Louisville once the Pack didn't make it out of the Regional. Let's just say you would find a lot of empathetic reactions from State fans who saw a team that was one strike away from the Super Regional lose in a fashion that may not have equaled the total collapse at the TCU Super Regional last year, but seemed just as bad in some ways.

Incidentally, State fans also appreciate your very observations about the unfairness that the UNC-CHeaters and how they appear headed to yet anothter slap on the wrist for the "worst academic scandal in the history of NCAA athletics...."

Thanks for pulling for us and for sharing in our current misery. However, you are probably looking in the wrong place for someone to share in your judgement of the UNC program. Best wishes in all sports matters, unless you are facing us.

 

[JohnKBA]

It's pretty clear that the national pundits have been wrong about their ACC-SEC bias. Plenty of good baseball is played west of the Mississippi. Had that perspective been more ingrained in our psyche, there wouldn't be so much disappointment this weekend.

Not to mention we have been inconsistent against good teams on the road this season. This team wasn't built for Omaha, it just had a gaudy record and a lotta individual player recognition...

Nah, it's just the fact that a best of 3 baseball series is a coin flip.

 

[Cue Card]

That was a heart wrenching loss. Losing that game that way could ruin Burdi's confidence and it sucks he has to wait until next year regardless where he plays to put this behind him. Tough way to go out. Baseball outcomes are always a coin flip but to go out like that stings a lot.

 

[nccardfan]

It's pretty clear that the national pundits have been wrong about their ACC-SEC bias. Plenty of good baseball is played west of the Mississippi. Had that perspective been more ingrained in our psyche, there wouldn't be so much disappointment this weekend.

Not to mention we have been inconsistent against good teams on the road this season. This team wasn't built for Omaha, it just had a gaudy record and a lotta individual player recognition...

Do you even read your posts? The Cards are well aware of the teams out west most recently before Sunday last year against Fullerton or 2009, Arizona in 2012, Oregon state in 2013, Texas in 2014, etc.

This was a decent team in Santa Barbara not a good or great team. They lost 10 players last year to the draft and were considered a rebuilding team. Any more misinformation you want to share?

 

[Knucklehank1]

That was a heart wrenching loss. Losing that game that way could ruin Burdi's confidence and it sucks he has to wait until next year regardless where he plays to put this behind him. Tough way to go out. Baseball outcomes are always a coin flip but to go out like that stings a lot.

Burdi is going to be pitching in the minors this year and quite possibly could be in the big league bullpen by the end of the year.

 

[zipp]

Do you even read your posts? The Cards are well aware of the teams out west most recently before Sunday last year against Fullerton or 2009, Arizona in 2012, Oregon state in 2013, Texas in 2014, etc...

How do those experiences relate to the 2016 baseball season?

...This was a decent team in Santa Barbara not a good or great team. They lost 10 players last year to the draft and were considered a rebuilding team. Any more misinformation you want to share?

Evidently, people like you "considered" wrongly. Can't get much more "misinformed" than that...

 

[zipp]

Nah, it's just the fact that a best of 3 baseball series is a coin flip.

The SEC and ACC combined are 42-37 so far this year in the NCAA. Consider that the SEC alone is 17-19, and ALL of their games were on the SEC home field.

Those aren't random results. Those two conferences were vastly overrated this year, and the results show that...

 

[nccardfan]

How do those experiences relate to the 2016 baseball season?


Evidently, people like you "considered" wrongly. Can't get much more "misinformed" than that...

Well considering that you thought a "gaucho" was a gay cowboy before this weekend.. Don't pretend that you know anything about baseball. All you do is look at the "results" and try to make some analytical conclusion to make you think you know something. What we know is that you don't have much of a life...

 

[Cue Card]

Burdi is going to be pitching in the minors this year and quite possibly could be in the big league bullpen by the end of the year.

Yep. I agree. Still, losing a game in that fashion is going to be a mental hurdle he will have to jump over. Yet to be determined if he can.

 

[zipp]

Well considering that you thought a "gaucho" was a gay cowboy before this weekend.. Don't pretend that you know anything about baseball. All you do is look at the "results" and try to make some analytical conclusion to make you think you know something. What we know is that you don't have much of a life...

And you're an a$$clown. So where do we go from here?...

 

[Sawyer]

It's pretty clear that the national pundits have been wrong about their ACC-SEC bias. Plenty of good baseball is played west of the Mississippi. Had that perspective been more ingrained in our psyche, there wouldn't be so much disappointment this weekend.

Not to mention we have been inconsistent against good teams on the road this season. This team wasn't built for Omaha, it just had a gaudy record and a lotta individual player recognition...

I respectively have to disagree. This team was the best chance we have ever had to do something BIG in Omaha. More than anything, after Vandy went down I think the team, the media and most of our fans thought we were going to sleep walk to Omaha. If we learned anything it is time to give teams from the Big West a little more respect.

Not sure I would change a thing about yesterday's game. What happened was one-in-a million but that is baseball. There is a reason they call the bottom of the 9th the hardest three outs of the game.

 

[zipp]

I think it was HoustonCard who made this point in another thread... We don't even know that we would have won a Game 3. I certainly have my doubts today, and no way did I think we were built for Omaha. I said that before this weekend's games.

We ended up 3-8 against teams that made it to the Sweet 16 of this year's tourney. Yes, most of those games were away from Patterson, but so is Omaha. And I know of no better stat to ground you about how good (or not) this team really was...

 

[nccardfan]

I think it was HoustonCard who made this point in another thread... We don't even know that we would have won a Game 3. I certainly have my doubts today, and no way did I think we were built for Omaha. I said that before this weekend's games.

We ended up 3-8 against teams that made it to the Sweet 16 of this year's tourney. Yes, most of those games were away from Patterson, but so is Omaha. And I know of no better stat to ground you about how good (or not) this team really was...

Again you don't know much about baseball and even less about our team. Yeah we don't know if we would have won a game 3 but we would have had Funk going, a senior who's been to Omaha and has been pitching much better lately. Also the odds were in our favor that Corey Ray, Solak, will smith, rosenbaum etc. was going to come up big. Why? They did it all year. Santa Barbara was going to be all hands on deck pitching wise. They didn't have Kershaw or Bumgardner on the bench.

 

[zipp]

Again you don't know much about baseball and even less about our team. Yeah we don't know if we would have won a game 3 but we would have had Funk going, a senior who's been to Omaha and has been pitching much better lately. Also the odds were in our favor that Corey Ray, Solak, will smith, rosenbaum etc. was going to come up big. Why? They did it all year. Santa Barbara was going to be all hands on deck pitching wise. They didn't have Kershaw or Bumgardner on the bench.

All of those factors were in your camp in Games 1 and 2. But the better team--at least this weekend--beat you. Doesn't take much knowledge of baseball to know that.

Like Coach says, "tip your cap"...

 

[nccardfan]

Must not have watched the games. Yeah the cards were outplayed in game 1 and as statistics played out, the team who wins the first game usually wins the series (80%). But we weren't outplayed in game 2 except for 1 bad inning. As like last year we basically lost on one pitch. That's baseball. But that's a far cry from saying we didn't deserve to go to Omaha. This was Dans most talented team and until I hear differently from Dan not you, I believe we had a chance along with several teams to win it all. I'll bet you $100 that Santa Barbara doesn't win it?

 

[Knucklehank1]

Does Dan get any heat for the poor base running and conservative approach at the plate? ...or is that just baseball?

 

[nccardfan]

Part of the reputation of west coast baseball is the small ball approach, get on base, either steal or sac bunt to 2nd and then base hit for a score. As a few have alluded, we have preyed on teams that can't control our run game, but stealing bases against a western Michigan is different than stealing against teams with good pitchers/catchers. I think Dan gives the green light to almost every base runner with maybe the exception being rosenbaum and McKay. The problem is if you play that way all season long it is difficult to change your game in postseason. I also don't think we were being conservative at the plate, we are typically too aggressive and it gets compounded when we get behind and try to force things. Even though we were ahead in game 2, we couldn't add anymore because we weren't patient, not because we got conservative. I think Dan can be very predictable at times but it's that cockiness that gets us 40+ wins every year.

 

[zipp]

...we weren't outplayed in game 2 except for 1 bad inning. As like last year we basically lost on one pitch. That's baseball. But that's a far cry from saying we didn't deserve to go to Omaha. This was Dans most talented team and until I hear differently from Dan not you, I believe we had a chance along with several teams to win it all. I'll bet you $100 that Santa Barbara doesn't win it?

There are no mulligans during a baseball game. They last nine innings, and you don't get to drop an inning to make yourself look better.

We ended up 3-8 against the teams in the Sweet 16. That tells me in hindsight that we were an underdog to get to Omaha. Did I know that in advance? No, but I sure know it now.

And Coach isn't going to tell anyone we didn't deserve to be in Omaha anymore that to say we were a shoo-in. That's not coachspeak.

Post UCSB's odds to win it all now, and I may take that bet. You'll have to also find an escrow agent to hold our money, most of which will be yours...

 

[BPGhost]

Does Dan get any heat for the poor base running and conservative approach at the plate? ...or is that just baseball?

UofL works on baserunning as much or more than literally any other high D1 program - it is an absolute staple as DM knows how important it is. Any heat goes into the players.

 

[BPGhost]

All of those factors were in your camp in Games 1 and 2. But the better team--at least this weekend--beat you. Doesn't take much knowledge of baseball to know that.

Like Coach says, "tip your cap"...

So your point is - whoever wins is the "better team" - at least "this weekend"? Lol - that's solid post event analysis.

 

[zipp]

So your point is - whoever wins is the "better team" - at least "this weekend"? Lol - that's solid post event analysis.

The SEC and ACC went 43-38 the last two weekends playing a lot of better teams. That's my point.

"Solid" enough for you?...

 

[nccardfan]

The SEC and ACC went 43-38 the last two weekends playing a lot of better teams. That's my point.

"Solid" enough for you?...

What other conference won more than 6 games?

Tip my hat is also "coach speak" Dan knows who should have won...

 

[zipp]

Here's a stat for ya...

The ACC had 10 teams invited to the NCAA and the SEC had 7. Each conference had one team make it to the CWS, or 2 of 17.

The Big XII had three teams invited, and they all made it. That's 3 of 3. They had one-sixth the number of teams invited, and more made it to the CWS. Freakin' amazing...

Sorry folks, that's not "just baseball" or random results. Not THAT many games and teams. That's a clear indication of where the best baseball was being played by season's end (and where it was not)...

 

[zipp]

What other conference won more than 6 games?...

And without doing the math, I'm sure the Big XII did...

 

[BPGhost]

The SEC and ACC went 43-38 the last two weekends playing a lot of better teams. That's my point.

"Solid" enough for you?...

Umm, no.

1. Everyone is "better" this time of year.
2. Baseball is a completely different sport relative to W-L records for its "best" teams than really any other. For example, the average winning percentage for the 6 division champs in the 2015 MLB season was .574.
3. Your "point" in this instance is like many of your conclusions - derived by a misunderstanding of the data and sport of which you speak.

And now you may proceed with the classic Zipp double down or in lieu of that - the equally classic Zippism of moving the goal posts.

 

[zipp]

Umm, no.

1. Everyone is "better" this time of year.
2. Baseball is a completely different sport relative to W-L records for its "best" teams than really any other. For example, the average winning percentage for the 6 division champs in the 2015 MLB season was .574.
3. Your "point" in this instance is like many of your conclusions - derived by a misunderstanding of the data and sport of which you speak.

And now you may proceed with the classic Zipp double down or in lieu of that - the equally classic Zippism of moving the goal posts.

Then why doesn't "better this time of year" apply to the SEC and ACC? Want a stat for how many of those games were played on the SEC and ACC home field? You likely don't, and it was 100% for the SEC. I'll crunch it for the ACC if you're curious.

Home field doesn't matter, you say? Are you a U of L fan?? We ended the season 36-3 at home and 14-11 away from home. Omaha would have been "away from home" by quite a few miles.

I understand the data just fine, although I am a little curious why I would look at MLB stats when I have the more relevant NCAA stats to look at. Or maybe you just don't like the NCAA stats.

But keep treading water with those insults and personal attacks. I mean, if I had to argue against me, that might be my best move as well...

 

[BPGhost]

Then why doesn't "better this time of year" apply to the SEC and ACC? Want a stat for how many of those games were played on the SEC and ACC home field? You likely don't, and it was 100% for the SEC. I'll crunch it for the ACC if you're curious.

Home field doesn't matter, you say? Are you a U of L fan?? We ended the season 36-3 at home and 14-11 away from home. Omaha would have been "away from home" by quite a few miles.

I understand the data just fine, although I am a little curious why I would look at MLB stats when I have the more relevant NCAA stats to look at. Or maybe you just don't like the NCAA stats.

But keep treading water with those insults and personal attacks. I mean, if I had to argue against me, that might be my best move as well...

1. 5 of the last 7 NCAA titles were won by ACC or SEC teams. 5 out of the last 7 runners up were ACC or SEC teams - notice a trend? Perhaps that's why those two conferences receive the respect that they get? Just a thought.
2. Home field means less in baseball than in other major sports - maybe check out the footage of the Royals celebrating at Citi Field last year on YouTube.
3. Omaha is away from home "by quite a few miles" for every team that makes it - but wouldn't you know it? Someone wins every year.
4. MLB stats were more readily available and unlike some, I'm not about scouring the Internet for obscure bits of data that I can shape to fit an agenda.
5. How is stating the truth an insult or, personal attack? There has never been a time that I can recall that you didn't dig your heels in and double down when someone had an opposing viewpoint. Multiple posters - literally double digits - UofL fans and non-fans alike have all come to this same conclusion and called you out in it.

Have you ever been wrong?

 

[nccardfan]

The SEC and ACC combined are 42-37 so far this year in the NCAA. Consider that the SEC alone is 17-19, and ALL of their games were on the SEC home field.

Those aren't random results. Those two conferences were vastly overrated this year, and the results show that...

"For the second straight year, the ACC will send a conference record tying four teams to the Super Regionals"

To me that's not being overrated..

 

[zipp]

"For the second straight year, the ACC will send a conference record tying four teams to the Super Regionals"

To me that's not being overrated..

It's semantics, but that's the result of being OVER-SEEDED.

BTW, that's just 40% of the teams from the ACC that were invited, and only 4/7ths of the teams that hosted--played at home--the first weekend. It's all relative.

And did you lift that quote from the ACC website?...

 

[zipp]

...5 of the last 7 NCAA titles were won by ACC or SEC teams. 5 out of the last 7 runners up were ACC or SEC teams - notice a trend? Perhaps that's why those two conferences receive the respect that they get? Just a thought...

And I'm just curious... Do you take the side of LPT fans in a contemporary basketball debate when they talk about how many titles they have? That data is just about as relevant.

...Home field means less in baseball than in other major sports - maybe check out the footage of the Royals celebrating at Citi Field last year on YouTube...

Youtube video is anecdotal... I can just as easily repeat 36-3 at home and 14-11 away from home for us THIS year. If you wanna take the opposing side, let's have more data from more teams that's not cherry-picked...

...Omaha is away from home "by quite a few miles" for every team that makes it - but wouldn't you know it? Someone wins every year...

And based on the tourney to date, it's not likely to be an ACC team. But I'll be rooting for the Canes...

...MLB stats were more readily available and unlike some, I'm not about scouring the Internet for obscure bits of data that I can shape to fit an agenda...

Like I said, there's data you like and data you don't like. I choose at least to go with what's more relevant if the discussion is about college baseball. You don't see me trotting out NBA or NFL home-away data.

...How is stating the truth an insult or, personal attack? There has never been a time that I can recall that you didn't dig your heels in and double down when someone had an opposing viewpoint. Multiple posters - literally double digits - UofL fans and non-fans alike have all come to this same conclusion and called you out in it. Have you ever been wrong?

Well let's quote you...

"...Your "point" in this instance is like many of your conclusions - derived by a misunderstanding of the data and sport of which you speak.

And now you may proceed with the classic Zipp double down or in lieu of that - the equally classic Zippism of moving the goal posts."

So, many of my points in this space are incorrect because I don't understand the sport or the underlying data. And to mask those deficiencies, I simply add more effort, evidence, whatever the hell "double down" means, to the discussion. Or I simply change the debate because it's hopeless for me to win the one as originally based. By all means, correct me if I'm paraphrasing you wrongly. And how the hell is most of that not a personal attack?

As I understand, there's no relief from following policy that involves conducting a vote of fellow posters on whether others agree with you. Nice try though, and what I might do debating me.

And yes I have been wrong--yet another veiled personal attack. Hasn't happened yet on this subject except that I thought the home field advantage was enough to win this past weekend Even I was too optimistic...

 

[BPGhost]

And I'm just curious... Do you take the side of LPT fans in a contemporary basketball debate when they talk about how many titles they have? That data is just about as relevant.

Youtube video is anecdotal... I can just as easily repeat 36-3 at home and 14-11 away from home for us THIS year. If you wanna take the opposing side, let's have more data from more teams that's not cherry-picked...

And based on the tourney to date, it's not likely to be an ACC team. But I'll be rooting for the Canes...

Like I said, there's data you like and data you don't like. I choose at least to go with what's more relevant if the discussion is about college baseball. You don't see me trotting out NBA or NFL home-away data.

Well let's quote you...

"...Your "point" in this instance is like many of your conclusions - derived by a misunderstanding of the data and sport of which you speak.

And now you may proceed with the classic Zipp double down or in lieu of that - the equally classic Zippism of moving the goal posts."

So, many of my points in this space are incorrect because I don't understand the sport or the underlying data. And to mask those deficiencies, I simply add more effort, evidence, whatever the hell "double down" means, to the discussion. Or I simply change the debate because it's hopeless for me to win the one as originally based. By all means, correct me if I'm paraphrasing you wrongly. And how the hell is most of that not a personal attack?

As I understand, there's no relief from following policy that involves conducting a vote of fellow posters on whether others agree with you. Nice try though, and what I might do debating me.

And yes I have been wrong--yet another veiled personal attack. Hasn't happened yet on this subject except that I thought the home field advantage was enough to win this past weekend Even I was too optimistic...

1. The point of the recent historical information provided was to highlight the rationale for the respect that those two conferences are afforded by the national media that cover NCAA baseball. You know, those people who do it for a living and immerse themselves in the entirety of the sport, rather than make some drive by conclusions.

2. Of course the YouTube video of the Royals winning the WS in NY is anecdotal - it was simply used to to illustrate the point that in baseball - unlike other sports, when good teams get together, home field is far less a factor in who wins and loses.

3. As Louisville is out, though I'll watch, I don't care care who wins. I care even less who you're rooting for.

4. Actually, I think there's data that fits one's agenda and data that doesn't. It's fairly obvious which you give more weight to. I'm sorry if this offends you but, if you don't have a real understanding of the game, the likelihood that you will misinterpret the data increases exponentially.

5. Taking offense to a statement is not the same thing as being attacked. Your paraphrasing of my meaning was fine - truthfully I wasn't going for ambiguity. I understand that you don't like the characterization of your methods that I put forth - however that doesn't make them untrue or, make it a personal attack. No poll was needed, or taken - just simple observations of comments made to you by other posters (again UofL fans and non-fans alike) when opinions vary from yours.

BTW - "double down" is a gambling (blackjack) term.

 

[zipp]

At the risk of getting personal, you don't know jack about me nor do I about you. All you know is what gets posted here. And if you wanna generalize, offer some proof. Not veiled personal swipes. I know an a$$hat when I see/hear one, and my apologies if that comes thru in my posts.

I respect data and evidence and little else. Your personal testimonials and cherry-picked examples are pretty much dismissed without consideration. If you're gonna reply to me, understand those are my filters. And you may not wanna bother to respond with anything else.

Have a good evening...

 

[BPGhost]

At the risk of getting personal, you don't know jack about me nor do I about you. All you know is what gets posted here. And if you wanna generalize, offer some proof. Not veiled personal swipes. I know an a$$hat when I see/hear one, and my apologies if that comes thru in my posts.

I respect data and evidence and little else. Your personal testimonials and cherry-picked examples are pretty much dismissed without consideration. If you're gonna reply to me, understand those are my filters. And you may not wanna bother to respond with anything else.

Have a good evening...

Nothing personal taken. I'm commenting on your posting style - nothing more, as you are correct - we don't know one another. I'm not offering veiled personal swipes, I'm saying what I mean - if that causes you to feel in an untoward manner about me - no worries on my end.

It's clear that you respect data - as we all do but, data without complimenting context is often not worth very much. It's also clear that you don't respect context - particularly when it doesn't coincide with your data. If you truly dismissed personal testimonials without consideration, you simply wouldn't reply.

In conclusion, it's a public message board - I (or anyone) am free to post, comment or, respond in whatever manner that doesn't violate the TOS - without the need to understand your filters. Feel free to put me on ignore.

You have a good evening as well.

 

[Senore2006]

Yes, it was a choke job, but by one guy. Sadly enough, 2 years in a row.

Both times the "choking team" gave an All American closer the ball with a lead, this time of 3 runs.

The team did its job. He didn't. That is what it is - nothing more.