OSU?

I think the main factor in OSU's success is Coach Casey. The Beaver players are all very good, but that can be said of almost all top notch college baseball teams. The difference is that Coach Casey must have a knack for putting together a team of good players who also have good chemistry...really good chemistry.

That good chemistry, in my eyes, is very evident on the the Beaver team...both this year and last. infielddad had it right...they have a wonderful recipe...one that hopefully will stand the test of time and will continue to bring their fans and admirers plenty of satisfaction in the years to come.

I am happy for the Beavers' success, but I am even more happy to see that their style of baseball...in all facets...is successful and can not be ignored...and that, in my opinion, is good for all of baseball.

cbg,
Through our son, I have met and watched one former OSU player. He is an outfielder who was drafted in the 19th round.
In 2005, he didn't get an assignment out of Spring Training. Spent two months in extended which is usually not a good thing.
Today, he is in AA, hitting right around .330 and has to be one of the top prospects who will either be put on the 40 man or taken in the Rule V. in December.
Our son says he plays the game with as much intensity and drive as anyone. Has tremendous mental fortitude. Beside that, he is just plain good. Off the field, he is just a very good guy. No surprise, he is also known as a very good teammate.
From what I can tell, those are the types of players being recruited and playing at OSU.

There are a lot of reasons for OSU' success, and I agree that Casey is one of the biggest ones.

Their facilities are very nice, but not extraordinary. They have access to a nice indoor field-turfed practice facility that is football field size, so they can do what they need to do even if it rains.

There is no special scholarship fund that I know of.

However - let me challenge your premise: I think the Pacific Northwest IS turning out to be a very fertile area foar baseball talent. I think part of Casey's success is that OSU has become pretty much the first choice of most NW players, partly because the other D1 schools have more or less ignored the NW.

For instance, PG doesn't do any regional showcases in the NW. I've personally seen about half this year's OSU recruiting class play this spring, and I can tell you - these guys can play.

So there is plenty of talent, and Casey is a master at bringing it together, creating a TEAM out of the talent, and getting them committed to the same style of ball.

Finally - Casey believes in his players, and that makes them believe in themselves. So they perform.

For instance: In the ASU game, Murphy yanked his starter in the 2nd inning when they were only two runs down. That team scores 9 runs a game and he panicked in the second inning. What does that tell his team about how much he believes in them?

Similarly, Fox yesterday put in his CLOSER in the second inning - same thing - what message does that send to the team?

On the other hand, Casey let Stutes pitch his way out of a jam in the first inning, then again in the third when he loaded the bases with nobody out. Each of those innings, Stutes responded, got the k outs and only one run scored each inning.

Casey's genius is that he believes it IS all about the players, and he allows them to perform. That breeds an incredible level of commitment, trust, and yes, love for each other.

I think that was clearly evident yesterday.

The position from which Coach Fox was working was far different than Coach Casey's with regards to inserting his closer in the 2nd inning. I'm sure the situation had been discussed prior to the game, and the whole team knew what the call would be. UNC had struggled to do the things that helped get them to this point, OSU had not. Coach Casey, IMO had much more latitude than did Mike Fox with a struggling pitcher. Neither team gets to Omaha without their coach being confident in his players.

Let me add one addition that I also commented on in the OSU vs UNC thread.
When OSU played at Stanford, they had an advance scouting report that clearly reflected Stanford tendencies. They adjusted position players for every hitter. Stanford had two hitters who are very much inside out. For the lefty, OSU played him like a right handed pull hitter. Same for the right handed hitter.
I am betting they have similar reports on the pitchers.
No other team coming to Stanford this year did as much as OSU with the scouting reports, not even close.
I think there is something to their scouting preparation that exceeds what is the norm in college baseball.

That's pretty interesting, Infielddad.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Kremer:
That's pretty interesting, Infielddad.

Rob, think of it as just another college fan looking for a head coaching position???

Indeed .... I'm still mystified.

.

Would second IFD's observations....

Had a chance to watch them some last year and I was struck with the same observation as IFD...Have yet to see a college team that uses scouting reports, pitch location/selection and defensive player placement quite as congruently as OSU...

Also have had an amazing run of player leadership and teamwork...I believe that in part to be created: great recruiting, coach emphasis, player chemistry, hard work, ...and in part simply the luck of the right kids meshing...

44
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I also do beleive that Fox was in a much different position than Casey. It was do or die for UNC. In do or die situations you got to go with your gut and what you think will work. There was a lot more frustration from the UNC starting pitcher, they needed to remove him asap, that frustration brings a team down.

As far as scouting players, that is what good coaches do, that's why they get to advance to regionals and championships. That's why smaller teams often come in and beat the big boys. Lots of stragedy in this game and lots of homework to be done. Most coaches scout but rarely will they share the info with the pitcher/catcher because THEY insist on calling their own game. When you allow players to call their own game, they take on more responsibility to understand and this understanding translates into confidance and success. Maybe this is what infielddad is referring to.
One thing that I did notice yesterday and very unique. It appeared to me that the team was managing themselves. Although leadership comes from the top, player leadership fuels the fire.
As I posted once before when I met Canham last year when they were struggling in Omaha, he said, they were going to win. They did. I am pretty sure he most likely carried over that to this year, knowing the things DK has said about him, he played a major big time role in their success and I will bet, he called the game.

The NW has a lot of very good ball players.
They have also been affected by the youth baseball boom of the last 10 to 20 years.
I do believe baseball in the NW really took off after the Mariner's made the playoffs for the first time in 1995.
As did the Atlanta/ Georgia area did when the Braves were making the playoffs every year in the 90's.

It only take's a couple of Players that really pump up a team to play beyond there wildest dreams. OSU had more then a couple.
They deserve the Championship.
They earned it.
EH

I think the primary reason that OSU is so good is that they score more runs than their opponent.

That usually does the trick.

I thought this article that appeared in the Oregonian was very interesting about what makes OSU tick:

New Major - Team Chemistry Reply

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Nice article on OSU in today's Oregonian by John Canzano. It's pretty apparent that Casey's squad is stacked with team chemistry majors.

There is only one team left in Omaha
Sunday, June 24, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. The game ended. Rosenblatt Stadium emptied. And two armed deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's department found themselves standing near home plate, twiddling their holsters, waiting for the Oregon State baseball team.

College baseball games have been ending all week in this stadium. And when they do, the players from both teams grab their gear, and scatter, one by one, into a sea of waiting friends, family and autograph seekers in the parking lot.

But not Oregon State.

Because on Saturday, after its 11-4 victory over North Carolina in the opening game of the best-of-three College World Series finals, the Beavers watched as the Tar Heels players began peeling off, bleeding into the crowd, one by one, across the way. And the Beavers said nothing, but only because nothing had to be said.

Then, Oregon State's players walked to home plate, set their gear down and waited. And waited. And after about 10 minutes, someone announced that everyone was present, and it was then, and only then, that the team left the field in a single-file line with the dazed deputies marveling at what they'd just witnessed.

You know, a team.

The only team left in this tournament, really. North Carolina didn't leave the field together. And if you ask the deputies in charge of the escort, they'll tell you that neither did Rice, UC Irvine, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, Louisville or Mississippi State.

And this is only to say that the Beavers act as if they're in this thing together, which, along with good pitching, is how you go from being the last team invited into the postseason to the last team standing.

Also, consider that if you'd been in the stadium Saturday, you'd have witnessed four errors -- two by each team. And if you'd been paying especially close attention, you might have noticed that when the Oregon State players made an error in the field, they were greeted as the inning ended at the top of the dugout steps with back slaps and words of encouragement.

Meanwhile, North Carolina reliever Tyler Trice made two throwing errors in a disastrous four-run seventh inning -- including sailing one down the right field line -- and when he was pulled from the game by his coach, not a single teammate moved to the dugout steps.
Trice walked alone. And the Tar Heels are done.

There was a lot of discussion last week about what it is that makes Oregon State special. Casual observers, unfamiliar with the chemistry of a Pat Casey team, fail to understand how it's possible that this group could be the best college baseball team in the country. But what they don't understand is that Casey doesn't need all the best players to win it all, he just needs some of them.

Pac-10 champion Arizona State had more talent than Oregon State this season. So does North Carolina. So does Vanderbilt, for that matter, and it stalled in the opening round.

Also, there were four other Pacific-10 Conference teams that finished higher than the Beavers in the regular season. But none of those clubs walked together -- figuratively, literally or in any other way. None of them figured out how to walk as a team, which is why they're home watching on television today while the Beavers play for the national title.

When you see Darwin Barney screaming around third base, looking to the on-deck hitter to see which side of home plate he needs to slide to, when you see Mike Lissman, the No. 3 hitter, attempting a sacrifice in the first inning, when you see pitcher Jorge Reyes etch his grandfather's initials in the dirt behind the pitcher's mound before every inning, you understand this is a team.

You understand it when you see Casey gather the Beavers players immediately after the game, cutting off the hand-shaking and smiling, to say, "We need to finish this thing." And then, when Casey walked away and was out of his sight, the players turned to one another, not to laugh or continue shaking hands, but to say, "Let's close this deal."

You get it, when you see second baseman Joey Wong walk through the parking lot after the game, his right elbow wrapped in a bag of ice after being plunked in the late innings, with teammates asking, over and over, "Hey, you alright?" And you get it when you ask Lissman what he thinks about who North Carolina might start on the mound in game two, and he says, "Don't care . . . don't matter . . . it's about us."

What we have here is a team that has outgrown its individual performances before our very eyes. A band that has been infected with confidence and is playing so loose and free that when Jordan Lennerton, who is Canadian, hit a two-run home run in the second inning Saturday, his teammates came climbing out of the dugout with their hands on their heads, fashioned into moose horns.

When Lennerton crossed home plate, he saw his teammates, smiled and put his horns up, too.

Oregon State hasn't trailed in this College World Series. In fact, the Beavers haven't been behind in a game since the eighth inning of their victory over Virginia in the regional on June 4 -- 55 innings ago. It's remarkable, because you can make the argument that they're not good enough to have done any of this, but before you do, understand that they just did.

When this season is over, the Beavers should become a case study for us all. Teams, companies, societies and civilization could learn something about themselves by watching this group walk out of the building together.

John Canzano: 503-294-5065; JohnCanzano@aol.com To read his blog, go to http://blog.oregonlive.com/ johncanzano; Catch him on the radio on "The Bald-Faced Truth,"

KFXX (1080), weekdays at 5:25 p.m.

To insinuate that the other participants in the CWS are not, "teams" based on a couple of observations is ridiculous. My hat's off to a fine OSU baseball team that performed nearly flawlessly in the post season, but I have already grown weary of the gushing over these guys. That can be attributed to ESPN announcer Mike Patrick, who is quite possibly the worst play-by-play guy I have ever heard---in any sport.

Please enough already! All the teams that made it to the CWS were great teams. They all had great seasons. They all have great coaches. And they all have great kids who are also very talented at baseball. OSU won because they simply outplayed the competition. They will have the same coach next year. They will have to replace some key players once again. Will they win a third straight NCAA title because they leave the field together? Will they win it again because they pat the guy on the back that makes an error? I can tell you NC has a bunch of team players. They care about each other as much as OSU cares about each other. OSU just outplayed UNC. Its as simple as that. To say they won because they were the only "real" team at the CWS is a slap in the face to everyother team at the event. Is Coach Casey still going to be a genius if they fail to make the tourney next season? Is it going to mean they dont have a true team if they fail to win it again next year? Please! This stuff is ridiculous.

You're right Coach May. OSU outplayed the rest of the field. All of the teams that made it to the regionals and beyond are very good teams...some better than others and some peaking at the right time of the season.

The article in the Oregonian made some great points about the OSU team, but I agree that reference to the other teams perhaps lacking what OSU has was too much. Closer inspection and scrutiny of any other team or teams might well have borne out some superior traits to OSU's. Who knows?

OSU has a good thing going, but that doesn't mean that others don't have great things going as well.

I agree Coach May.

Sometimes teams peak just when they need to. If OSU played like they did earlier in the season, then who knows. Yes there is team chemistry, but something else has to be present. OSU got it all together at the right time. Good for them!!! and I just can't believe I'm saying this: Go Heels!

(that hurt)

When you play a short series the better team does not always win---it is usually the "HOT" team at the time that wins

When you reach the title round it is usually the two hottest teams playing and both are excellent teams

That's true TR.

And Coach Casey deserves a whole lot of credit for getting his team hot at the right time.

Coach May - I agree with your comments, completely.

infielddad - I agree with yours too...regarding the scouting of tendencies. I think they're very good at it.

And...I agree that the hottest team at the right time wins. But that is true in EVERY SINGLE sport...it takes nothing away from OSU nor any past Super Bowl or MLB World Series champs either.

No one will ever remember that Vanderbilt and/or Rice spent much of the season considered the best team. They will only remember that OSU won the national championship...for a 2nd year in a row. That is special.

I do have to admit I was not rooting for them...but I do fully respect what they have accomplished. Congratulations to the Beavers!