I do agree with this for sure. Bad pitching and bad defense could certainly end our post-season early and we have seen too much of that this year. Statistically we are 22nd in fielding percentage but I think we were near the top last season. We are #14 in team ERA. I think the problem is when it goes bad, it goes way bad and we end up losing because of it. More of a consistency issue I'd say.
Texas vs. Baylor. Weekend baseball series
- Thread starter david ficken
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And I would say the lack of consistency is a result of less than top-notch recruiting.
I haven’t forgotten Java. But last year was last year. As I said, the University of Texas baseball program should never have to rebuild.
Baron
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Didn't we lose some big recruits to MLB? Perhaps Pierce should put more emphasis on 4 stars instead of 5 stars so to speak.
If it was that simple, perhaps you would have something objective to point to.
My point about recruiting in baseball is that it is very hard to judge and to follow who is doing well. I can't find anyone who is ranking recruiting classes in a similar fashion as to the multiple sites that rank football recruiting. PerfectGame has free rankings by year, but they include all the top notch recruits that end up drafted. Have you heard of Brett Baty? Or Jared Kelly? Both top 10 recruits nationally when they came out that committed to Texas but both went pro.
So, I don't really have a measuring stick for college baseball recruiting. Perhaps some of the paysites put out more useful rankings or guys who follow real close like Dustin McComas could shine light on it but unless you have a good way to judge recruiting, criticizing the job Pierce is doing seems like an empty statement.
College baseball recruiting is tough, probably the hardest of the big 3 sports. Football - just go get as many 5 and 4 stars as you can. Basketball, you have to deal with pro leagues and the 1 and done players. In baseball, you've got the MLB, JUCO (players can go pro after 2 years) and players on campus highly incentivized to leave after junior year for the pros as they lose all leverage as seniors. All that with 11.2 scholarships.
Overall, I find the overall tenor of complaints against Pierce to be silly at this point. In his 5 seasons he has made a regional final and 3 CWS (with a 3rd place finish). Thats like a basketball coach having a 2nd round, 2 elite 8s and a final 4 on his resume. Or a football coach playing 2 new years 6 games and making the CFP.
The current team leads the big 12 and is ranked #14. They aren't as great as we want them to be but, once again, let's let the season play out before being disappointed in a team that is probably 50/50 to make it to Omaha.
Jeezus
you look at the product on the field. to narrow it down for you, just look at the pitching staff. not a single arm you can have confidence in.
up and down the lineup it means you have players on the bench who will be good starters for those who graduate or go pro.
you judge recruiting, not by services, but by what you see on the field. you recruit good classes. Top classes every damn year. It’s not that hard.
I’m finished.
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Eastexhorn
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Sweep the dirt theves this week end and things will be better.
Eastexhorn
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Gordon says hi.
Pitching staff is #14 in the nation based on ERA. #22 Fielding percentage.
Offense is scoring 6.6 runs a game. Not elite but not anemic either.
Leading the conference, on pace to host a regional. If things don't pan out that good or better, I'll be disappointed to but I'm not going to complain at this point.
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MBHORNSFAN
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Eastexhorn
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To keep things in context, Tuesday night games:
#1 LSU loses to UL-Lafeyette, #4 Vanderbilt loses to Indiana State, #9 Stanford loses to Sacremento State, #12 Louisville loses to Indiana, #15 Uconn loses to northeastern, #22 UCLA loses to UC Irvine, #23 Oregon loses to Portland, #24 Southern Miss loses to La Tech, #25 UTSA loses to Texas State, Tennessee (Preseason #2) loses to Tennessee Tech, TCU loses to Lamar.
There is no overly dominant team in college baseball. Everyone will have 10 or so losses at the least.
#1 LSU loses to UL-Lafeyette, #4 Vanderbilt loses to Indiana State, #9 Stanford loses to Sacremento State, #12 Louisville loses to Indiana, #15 Uconn loses to northeastern, #22 UCLA loses to UC Irvine, #23 Oregon loses to Portland, #24 Southern Miss loses to La Tech, #25 UTSA loses to Texas State, Tennessee (Preseason #2) loses to Tennessee Tech, TCU loses to Lamar.
There is no overly dominant team in college baseball. Everyone will have 10 or so losses at the least.
Wednesday night - #17 Miami loses to FAU, #19 Arizona State loses to Arizona, and #20 Boston College gets run ruled at home by #15 UConn (who got beat by Northeastern on Tuesday night).
Thursday night conference games - #5 Arkansas gets beat by Georgia and #3 Florida gets run ruled by #6 South Carolina.
That's losses by #1, #3, #4, #5 and #9 plus 9 more ranked teams losing. 14 teams in the top 25 lost, most to unranked schools and many to low tier schools.
I won't keep beating the dead horse but just wanted to remind everyone that we see every wart on this Texas team but we don't know about the negatives of the other top schools as well.
hookemhorb
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Not disagreeing with you, but sometimes, losing the middle week games is a matter of teams looking for that 4th and 5th starter. They may not need them now, but you will need them when it comes to tournament play.
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