OK, time to get real

[had1- 2manyCardfan]

Now that our ticket is punched, what are our chances? Not lookin for a generic "why not us" type response. I mean what about the loss of Rux? Are we deep enough even with Rogers? Doesn't seem like CDM has had too much faith in the pen the 2nd half of the season. Can we rely on Harrington if we need to even though he hasn't seen the mound in forever?

Do we hit the ball well enough to score in Omaha? We leave a lot of runners on, can we fix that in a week? Is our fielding % strong enough to match CWS champs of the past? Will we be able to run on the pitchers we will face? Will we be able to stop base running errs that have plagued us all season?

Im not being a downer cause I feel like I can spin all those positive. Im just bringing in the reality and would love some intelligent input. Its time to start making a splash at Omaha instead of just making one on the way there. Is this the team that can do it?

Who claims it if we would win? The 1st ever for the AAC or the 1st in like 50yrs for the ACC?

 

[baseballguy1588]

The key is to stay in the winner's bracket. We have the pitching that will allow us to do that. Last year in Omaha the offense didn't fair well in game 1 but did well in game 2. However, the defense in Omaha was very poor committing 6 errors in 2 games.

When Louisville pitches and defends they are tough to beat. When they pitch, hit, and defend they are unbeatable. Cards haven't lost when they score more than 4 in a long time. Also, the left side has 0 national seeds in it so there is no dominant team, and Louisville is the only team that went in 2013. All 4 are playing well but Louisville matches up with all of them. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Cards have as a good as a shot as anyone to make it to the title.

 

[EasyCard]

if we play like the team since the Cincy series I say we are one of the favorites. if we play like before the Cincy series we won't go far. losing Rux hurt but I have a good vibe about Rogers and mid relievers and I think CDM has finally found his lineup which has been a problem no one has talked about much this year. I look for us to improve our 20% winning percentage in the CWS

 

[Louisvillian]

Originally posted by baseballguy1588:
The key is to stay in the winner's bracket. We have the pitching that will allow us to do that. Last year in Omaha the offense didn't fair well in game 1 but did well in game 2. However, the defense in Omaha was very poor committing 6 errors in 2 games.

When Louisville pitches and defends they are tough to beat. When they pitch, hit, and defend they are unbeatable. Cards haven't lost when they score more than 4 in a long time. Also, the left side has 0 national seeds in it so there is no dominant team, and Louisville is the only team that went in 2013. All 4 are playing well but Louisville matches up with all of them. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Cards have as a good as a shot as anyone to make it to the title.

Well said. I totally agree with what you said about defending and staying in the winners bracket. I think we have a helluva chance to win this thing with the way our starting pitching has been lately, not to mention the best closer in the nation.

To me it's a tough thing to win because to become champions you have to repeat what you just did. That is win a 4 team double elimination bracket and then win a best 2 out of 3 like the Super Regionals only against tougher competition. Like Coach Mac says there is a lot of parity in college baseball this year so I do believe we can win it all. Hopefully we don't run into a buzzsaw like powerful Arizona in the 2012 Regionals, No. Carolina's stellar pitching in 2007 at the CWS or the awesome Oregon St team that eliminated us last year.

I just wish I could go to Omaha, I've got a good feeling.

 

[Bardman]

Going out first vs. Vandy and one of the best pitcher sin the country is no easy task. However, they should be saying the same thung. Funk's last outing was mediocre and I expect him to be ready for Vandy. As others have stated - defense, pitching and then hitting. Also, this team can run in ANYONE. Ultimately - the key is clutch hitting. The Cards have been leaving WAAYYYYYY too many runners on base. Clean that up a bit and they should fare well.

 

[WildCard]

I have not followed the team as closely as some so my observations are limited and my knowledge of the "higher level game" even more limited. But the key to success in any double elimination tournament is to postpone that first loss as long as possible. And it is virtually impossible to overcome a first game loss.

Our first opponent will be Vandy. I know we beat them mid week earlier this year but this team is a perennial power and solid to excellent in every phase of the game. Vandy seems to always have great pitching and usually good hitting.

I don't know if the NCAA was a typical at bat performance but we sure seemed to not get much done with RISP. The "problem" I see with the small ball approach is you always give up one out (and sometimes 2) getting the guy to second or third. If you bunt him over to 2nd, you've got 2 outs to get him home, so somebody needs a hit. And we have been inconsistent so far in getting that key hit. But UCLA won the whole thing last year and they were very similar to our teams of last year and this year.

On defense I like our outfield play and our infield seems good enough. Losing Ruxer hurt the starting rotation but we still look pretty good on the mound. As good as Vandy and teams like that...I don't know. The real strength seems to be the bullpen and McDonnell. Besides a great closer he has A LOT of arms for situation pitching and seems to really push those buttons well.

Peace

 

[Louisvillian]

You guys are right about stranding so many runners on base especially in scoring position. Need to stop doing that and we really need to get Jeff Gardner going again (2 for 19 in postseason).

 

[baseonballs]

How many games in one week could a team play in the winner's bracket before the best 2 out of 3 in the finals? In the loser's bracket?

 

[cardfan1569]

It only takes 3 wins to win a 4 team double elimination tournament format if you stay in the winners bracket. If you make your way to the losers bracket first game, you could play 5 games to win it and would have to win 4 straight.