In that case DBU is in trouble today
@TPM I looked at that last week. ND has 9 graduates students on their team...most of them pitchers.
Still thinking that the lead question of the CWS is “how can a coach justify putting in an arm that threw 119 pitches less than 48 hours ago?” I was in shock.
@edcoach posted:In that case DBU is in trouble today
If Virginia was hosting I would agree with you. But since it’s at a neutral site DBU has a punchers chance.
@RJM posted:TEXAS TECH getting smoked twice is a shocker.
ARKANSAS has strong potential to win it all. But for the second straight weekend they’re in lose once more and you go home mode.
Considering how many key players Tech lost for the season due to injuries it’s more shocking (to those familiar with their season) that they were able to win a regional. Tech was playing w/o two of their top arms and a couple of their best position players too. Injuries are part of the game but it played out very fortunately for Stanford.
@adbono posted:If Virginia was hosting I would agree with you. But since it’s at a neutral site DBU has a punchers chance.
It's all about selling seats in Omaha. I dont see UVA fans in the seats and they are not far, do they care whether they go or not? DBU is a D2 school with D1 baseball. Are they loyal fans? Would they travel?
@TPM posted:It's all about selling seats in Omaha. I dont see UVA fans in the seats and they are not far, do they care whether they go or not? DBU is a D2 school with D1 baseball. Are they loyal fans? Would they travel?
DBU is a very unconventional school. They have a really good baseball program but the culture of the school is extremely religious - borderline cultish IMO. They don’t have a big fan base. They have a small loyal following. But they play hard and play the game the right way. They are well coached and fun to watch. Hard not to root for them.
These announcers that are announcing these super regional games from Connecticut are just awful. Get the announcers in the stadiums my goodness
Wow! And here comes the questionable calls to help Virginia
@TPM posted:Kevin Kopps is an almost 25 year old 6th year senior ( or graduate). That's AA maybe AAA age. Remember that when your freshman player is sitting on the bench not playing. Arkansas wasn't the only team with older players. ND brought in older players from last years portal. It's going to take a few years until things get back to normal.
The age inequality among teams this year is astounding. Your P5 committed or freshman player may have better chances playing at a Juco or mid D1 to play.
JMO
Kopps is a 6th year senior. He received a medical exemption and a Covid exemption. He turned 24 in March. He’s also 5’10 and throws 90-91.
He is the age of an Advanced A or AA player. He better advanced very quickly or he’ll age out of MLB prospect range. His upside is likely limited due to his size and velocity.
My understanding is once a player hits 27 he better be in AAA or close to returning to AAA. When a friend’s son was in the Mets organization they released every 27yo who wasn’t in AAA.
The VA DBU series has been good. Game one ended with a diving, game saving catch. Game two ended with a long drive to right, down four with the bases loaded. Plus for seven innings (0-0) it was an incredibly pitched game.
The only time I’ve pulled for a team is the one down a game so the series can go three games.
Notre Dame!!!!!
What is Arkansas doing? Is the bullpen that thin they need use Friday night starter in relief on Sunday?
they throw starter tonight 120 pitches after throwing 20 last night in relief, obviously a fake ranking.
Rough day to be an SEC fan.
I wonder how many 24yo college players there will be over the next two, three years. Kopps is 24. I’m watching the Ole Miss-Arizona game. Broadway (P-UM) is 24. All it takes is start school late, come out of high school at nineteen and get a Covid redshirt year.
@RJM posted:I wonder how many 24yo college players there will be over the next two, three years. Kopps is 24. I’m watching the Ole Miss-Arizona game. Broadway (P-UM) is 24. All it takes is start school late, come out of high school at nineteen and get a Covid redshirt year.
And, coaches are manipulating their rosters to accommodate (seemingly) as many 5th & 6th year seniors as they can get. It gives them a better chance to win.
@adbono posted:And, coaches are manipulating their rosters to accommodate (seemingly) as many 5th & 6th year seniors as they can get. It gives them a better chance to win.
It’s all about winning. The coaches pay their bills by keeping their jobs. I wonder how many kids (and their parents) get to college ball before they realize it’s more than an extra curricular activity like high school even at the D3 level.
- @TPM posted:
Notre Dame should have been a national seed.
NC State can hit the ball. Could be anyone's game.
Have no clue what Arkansas was doing, but it didnt work. But that's ok, it won't be the SEC College World Series!
Arkansas didn’t hit tonight. There was no sense saving Kopps to be rested for later in the game. He pitched well.
After all the hype there’s a chance there could be more ACC than SEC teams in Omaha.
@adbono posted:And, coaches are manipulating their rosters to accommodate (seemingly) as many 5th & 6th year seniors as they can get. It gives them a better chance to win.
I was talking with a local kid from our high school after he washed out in A ball. Going in he didn’t understand as a signed out of high school he was going to be competing against 21 and 22yo men in short season and 22 and 23yo men in Low A. He just saw himself as a hot shot high draft choice.
I believe a lot of high school players entering college the next couple of years are going to have the same experience.
@RJM posted:I was talking with a local kid from our high school after he washed out in A ball. Going in he didn’t understand as a signed out of high school he was going to be competing against 21 and 22yo men in short season and 22 and 23yo men in Low A. He just saw himself as a hot shot high draft choice.
I believe a lot of high school players entering college the next couple of years are going to have the same experience.
I think so too. It’s going to be much harder for HS players to find opportunities to play too. I posted in another thread about a mid major PC telling me last week that they weren’t even recruiting HS players right now. Only JuCo players.
@JCG posted:I was glad to see Arkansas go home. If that’s how they manage their arms, their pitchers are better off watching it on TV.
My husband said that he read somewhere that if they didnt use him then they would always wonder if they made the right choice to use their best guy. However their best guy wasn't a starter, he had even said he didnt like starting.
So now they know that they didnt make the right choice.
@adbono posted:I think so too. It’s going to be much harder for HS players to find opportunities to play too. I posted in another thread about a mid major PC telling me last week that they weren’t even recruiting HS players right now. Only JuCo players.
That's why you are going to see JUCO/Portal camps and not just in mid D1 programs.
However, big programs will alway recuit talented HS players, so that they can develop them as the type of player that fits their program.
JMO
@TPM posted:That's why you are going to see JUCO/Portal camps and not just in mid D1 programs.
However, big programs will alway recuit talented HS players, so that they can develop them as the type of player that fits their program.
JMO
For the sake of discussion let’s say that the most talented HS players make up 10% of all the HS players that are good enough to play college baseball. That top 10% is not going to have any problems finding good opportunities. It’s the other 90% that will.
And back to the topic of Super Regionals and CWS. I watched most of the UVA/DBU game and it was a fantastic pitchers duel. Griff McGarry pitched the game of his life. He was 0-5 on the year with an ERA over 6.0. He was fantastic yesterday and kept UVA (the cockroaches of the ACC...they can't be killed!) alive for a College World Series bid. I also watched the NC State/Arkansas game and that was incredible as well. The Wolfback broke the hearts of the Razorbacks. Just a great game.
Attachments
Images (1)
In a winner take all game 3 in a Super Regional DBU has 4 freshmen position players in the starting lineup - hitting in the 3, 4, 5, & 9 holes. Very, very unusual
@RJM posted:I was talking with a local kid from our high school after he washed out in A ball. Going in he didn’t understand as a signed out of high school he was going to be competing against 21 and 22yo men in short season and 22 and 23yo men in Low A. He just saw himself as a hot shot high draft choice.
I believe a lot of high school players entering college the next couple of years are going to have the same experience.
I think you are also going to see the birth of the "career college players" at the highest level. Players who normally would have gone in the 25th round and signed for 60k but now choose to play college ball over the 10-20k bonus. Instead of the minor league grind they play in front of packed college stadiums and get their masters degree. College baseball will look a lot more like you described and how college basketball now looks. 21-23 year old grown men dominating the sport with impact Freshmen sprinkled in.
@adbono posted:I think so too. It’s going to be much harder for HS players to find opportunities to play too. I posted in another thread about a mid major PC telling me last week that they weren’t even recruiting HS players right now. Only JuCo players.
It makes perfect sense for the mid majors. If you are a mid major you can grab a 2019 HS grad from JUCO who has 4 years of eligibility. Typically those guys don't have a lot of pro potential so you may end up with a 24 year old man on your team who dominates.
@adbono posted:In a winner take all game 3 in a Super Regional DBU has 4 freshmen position players in the starting lineup - hitting in the 3, 4, 5, & 9 holes. Very, very unusual
USF has 10, 11 true freshman on their roster but not sure who is or is not playing. It's not unusual, IMO, to see freshman in the lineup this time of year. Technically this time of year they aren't even considered freshman anymore.
I'm watching the DBU/UVA winner take all on ESPN3. Good game so far as it is 2-1 in the top of the 6th with DBU leading. Apparently, the English broadcast is not available through my provider and I'm forced to listen to the Spanish broadcast. Remind me again, why I took 6 years of French? I should have listened to my best friend's mother and taken Spanish in junior high. These guys are so entertaining to listen to, but i have no idea what they are saying.
They're saying "great play by the shortstop!" :-)
@fenwaysouth posted:I'm watching the DBU/UVA winner take all on ESPN3. Good game so far as it is 2-1 in the top of the 6th with DBU leading. Apparently, the English broadcast is not available through my provider and I'm forced to listen to the Spanish broadcast. Remind me again, why I took 6 years of French? I should have listened to my best friend's mother and taken Spanish in junior high. These guys are so entertaining to listen to, but i have no idea what they are saying.
I bet they went nuts on that play by the DBU SS.
And the second baseman
and then the CF. What a game.
@fenwaysouth posted:I'm watching the DBU/UVA winner take all on ESPN3. Good game so far as it is 2-1 in the top of the 6th with DBU leading. Apparently, the English broadcast is not available through my provider and I'm forced to listen to the Spanish broadcast. Remind me again, why I took 6 years of French? I should have listened to my best friend's mother and taken Spanish in junior high. These guys are so entertaining to listen to, but i have no idea what they are saying.
Where are you that you dont get english on espn3?
Kinda disappointed that half inning ended with a routine pop fly to left. Defense this whole game has been outstanding!