HuskerHacker

I think Osborne knows that making a move into hockey now would be a huge mistake. UNO (University of Nebraska Omaha, meaning part of the Nebraska chain) just dropped its football and wrestling programs to become a division 1 school and more importantly, increased promotion for UNO hockey. (the only current Div 1 sport at UNO). If the skers announce a Div 1 hockey team the the Omaha boosters would likely cry wolf. as for title IX... its absolutely needed but absolutely shouldn't include "all" of the football scholarships. Instead it should be a percentage per required starters. (10% per starting numbers equaling 2.2 scholarships per student year. Include redshirt years that equates to 2.2 x 5 = 11 scholarships annually.) why is it needed? equality and a chance for females to be given equal chances of success. Personal issue with title IX is overall scholarships (both academic and athletic) aren't equated. I'd like the ncaa to enforce equality in both and adjust accordingly. If year one there are 100 academic scholarships offered and 60% are given to females, then allow said university to adjust the athletic scholarships to equal out the overall scholarship gender gap. Couple interesting links below. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-10-19-male-college-cover_x.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-02-09-whyboysfail09_ST_N.htm

Serious issues.. Northern Colorado has one win. They were just swept (17-4, 13-2, 2-0, 9-1) by their weekend opponent South Dakota State and we struggle to win? Seriously, I know this is Anderwatson's Alma Mater but scoring only 5 runs against this team is scary at best. I attended last nights game. Great atmosphere as would be expected. Weather was awesome! and the wind wasn't a factor. Had we been playing a confident team we'd have gone into extra innings. The run in the 9th inning was a result of a kid rushing the throw. He had time to make it but panicked. Newman's pitching philosophy seems to be "throw a fastball first" then "if" ahead, let the pitchers nibble. Seemed to me that Northern's batters were swinging at the first pitch constantly and in the first inning were sitting on the fastball. Our pitching is obviously improved from last year and one wonders if Erstad has had some influence with the improvements. Maybe via a chat with Newman to get him to call for more off speed and not just throw heat. Maybe its just Newman having confidence in those on the mound? Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to the continued maturation of our pitchers. My "pre-conference" play grading (would like to hear from others) Competition: B- (RPI has us in the mid to late 80's. Could be better but could be much worse.) Big 12 caliber competion: C- (Sam Houston State, Texas St, UCLA, Fresno State, Kansas St.) our record is 4-6 against the better competition. This doesn't show much hope. Starting Pitching: A- (no starting pitcher has been rocked and they've faced some strong teams) Bull Pen: B- (without Casey Hauptman the grade would be much lower. I'm concerned his success against the Big 12 will be slow as he's struggled in his last two appearances.) Defense: C+ (we continue to make defense mistakes (errors) and its cost us. In last nights game a defensive hesitation in the first inning led to 3 runs scored. Continue this and our Big 12 success will be at or near the bottom of the conference. On the other hand, our fielding % is up from a year ago.) Runs Scored: C (Anderson is trying small ball and in the big games he's stayed aggressive. Both good things. Still, we seemingly struggle to score and entirely too often we get the lead off runner on and can't get him across the plate. This has to improve for us to make a run in the Big 12) Hitting: B- (Some may see this as a high mark however, our hitters are getting the bat on the ball, drawing walks and showing discipline. This gives us a chance to catch fire. Question is, can we?) Walks / Plate Discipline: B- (Currently 6th in the Big 12 OB% at .382 with a slugging % of .435 and in 4th place within the conference. Those numbers are average and will likely drop in conference play. Improvement must occur if we are to contend for a conference championship.) My projection: (not worth anything but for me to refer back to when the sker's make me eat crow.) 1. I don't see our stats improving as we will be facing much stiffer competition. Against average talent we've struggled to score runs. Yes we scored against North Dakota State but lets face it, they are only recently a Div 1 team. 2. I see us ending conference play at best in 5th place. OU, Texas, A&M and Baylor are all better. The skers first conference foes (Tech and Okie St) should reveal our final standings. Win those series and we contend with Baylor for a regional invite. Split those two and we likely struggle to receive an at large invite. Lose both and our chances for regional play are gone without series wins over the Big 12's top teams. 3. Big 12 talent is deep but not scary deep. Texas is probably the team to beat with A&M close behind. For the skers to get into a regional we will have to win one of those series and avoid a sweep in the other. Texas is home, A&M and OU are on the road. The series loss against Fresno State is looking darker by the day. 4. My conference projection, Texas and A&M contend for the conference championship and super regional host sites. OU and Baylor are regional site hosts. If the skers can win the first two series then NU, Okie State and Tech contend for 2 at large bids. Reality, sadly, NU finishes in 8th place: Texas A&M wins the conference title. Texas OU Baylor Okie State Texas Tech K State Nebraska Kansas Missouri Hope others will also post.

Huskers are looking good this weekend. Unfortunately, we are playing a team that is struggling and is 1-13 overall. I checked the current rpi standings. When comparing the skers against the rest of the big 12 one will notice that our Huskers, even with a series win over Fresno State would still not likely be ranked in the top 20. (We just haven't played the schedule to deserve the ranking.) Big 12 RPI Nat'l - Rating W - L / W - L Team Rank 018 - 0.615 - 13 - 06 / 13 - 06 Baylor 022 - 0.608 - 14 - 05 / 14 - 05 Texas A&M 023 - 0.604 - 14 - 05 / 14 - 05 Texas 029 - 0.589 - 17 - 04 / 17 - 04 Oklahoma 048 - 0.564 - 13 - 03 / 14 - 03 Oklahoma State 057 - 0.557 - 13 - 07 / 13 - 07 Texas Tech 087 - 0.536 - 12 - 07 / 13 - 07 Nebraska 112 - 0.522 - 07 - 10 / 07 - 10 Kansas 124 - 0.514 - 12 - 06 / 12 - 06 Kansas State 183 - 0.477 - 09 - 09 / 09 - 09 Missouri

First inning, 2 runners LOB (could have been a huge inning, 1 run scored) Second inning, 2 runners LOB again but.. 4 runs scored. Looking good. Third inning, 2 runners LOB, scored 3.. Freeman looking strong on the mound.

"Quote from huskers.com write up" 1. AnderWatson blamed the loss on two poor pitches. Personally, I blame it on his arrogance. AnderWatson, I'd think after 7 years of coaching you'd have witnessed other managers using situational pitching to win games. You however don't know what that term means. Change the pitcher, get the out and move on but no.. AnderWatson's theory is arrogance. "I put my pitcher out there, he dug his hole and he'll get out of it". Continue this managing theory and watch your team end up at the bottom of the Big 12 AGAIN! 2. Anderson's comments after the game are the perfect example of his inability to coach/mentor: When was the last time we heard Anderson accept blame for a loss. When has he ever said, I was out managed, I blame myself for this loss, I didn't have the team ready to play to their potential. Never! This is the arrogance we get "I told our club I was not pleased". Well AnderWatson, I'm telling you as a fan that I'm not pleased with your coaching. Maybe you should have said, I told our club I am responsible for this loss because I've not found a solution to the issue that continues to plaque our hitting.

losing the KSU game... give up 2 (3 run) dingers and continue to leave runners on base = typical fashion adding up to another loss. edit: looking more and more like the preseason projections of the Big 12 writers pegged it. We are quickly looking at becoming bottom dwellers in the conference. K State wins!

I believe the Huskers have the rare opportunity to begin new traditions with the move to the Big 10. I also think most Husker baseball fans feel as I do in regards to the talent level differences between the Big 12 and Big 10. (Big 10 traditions are much lower then the Big 12) Additionally, I think most of us believe this is a perfect opportunity for the Huskers to make a HUGE splash in the Big 10. The biggest concern I have is in the leadership of our baseball program. The university has spent in excess of $35 million in revenue to ensure we have the facilities to compete with other traditionally rich baseball programs. Our facility is by far the best in the Big 10 and outside of Penn State's increased emphasis on baseball (Penn State's facilities match ours and they could easily turn into a huge rivalry game) the big 10 is behind. Adding the Huskers to the conference and hopefully seeing the profits that baseball can bring to universities wanting to compete in baseball will hopefully create more interest from those schools that are behind and the competition will improve. The Huskers have a chance to rule the roost from the first year but I can't forecast success with Anderson as our leader. (at least not right now, maybe I'll change my opinion as the season progresses.) This isn't meant to be a witch hunt against Anderson. I believe the program needs to believe we the fans will support them through thick and thin. I think we do that and show that well. Still, when one hears the rumors regarding the lack of respect Anderson gives players, (Many rumors of Arrogance exist.) and never hearing any of his players speaking about how much they love playing for him. (Listen to the football players speak of Pelini and their admiration. We never hear that about Anderson.) I do think this season is the season that either stamps out the hot seat or the seat catches fire. I think 40 wins is absolutely necessary and anything less is unacceptable. Anderson has had the time to create a program with tradition and now is the time for it to show. Looking at the schedule (below) I don't see any opponent that should take a series win from us. 4 losses, though disappointing, is acceptable.. more then 4 losses places us as projected by the writers.... at the bottom of the conference and that to me is unacceptable. Hope others will reply to this as I'd like to know if I'm out of line here. Thanks! Tue, Mar 15 South Dakota State - Hawks Field Wed, Mar 16 Kansas State - - at Manhattan, Kan. Fri, Mar 18 North Dakota - Hawks Field Sat, Mar 19 North Dakota (DH) Hawks Field Sun, Mar 20 North Dakota - - Hawks Field Tue, Mar 22 Northern Colorado - Hawks Field Wed, Mar 23 Northern Colorado - Hawks Field Fri, Mar 25 Texas Tech * - - at Lubbock, Texas Sat, Mar 26 Texas Tech * - - at Lubbock, Texas Sun, Mar 27 Texas Tech * - - at Lubbock, Texas Wed, Mar 30 Doane College - Hawks Field Fri, Apr 01 Oklahoma State * - Hawks Field Sat, Apr 02 Oklahoma State * - Hawks Field Sun, Apr 03 Oklahoma State * - Hawks Field Tue, Apr 05 Creighton - - Hawks Field Fri, Apr 08 Kansas * - - at Lawrence, Kan. Sat, Apr 09 Kansas * - - at Lawrence, Kan. Sun, Apr 10 Kansas * - - at Lawrence, Kan. Tue, Apr 12 Wichita State - - at Wichita, Kan. Fri, Apr 15 Kansas State * - Hawks Field Sat, Apr 16 Kansas State * - Hawks Field Sun, Apr 17 Kansas State * - Hawks Field Tue, Apr 19 Creighton - - at TD Ameritrade Park

I think they removed the post. I'd have liked to see the FSU responses.

lol, yes it does... again i hang my head in shame. I blame it on dreaming of sexy irish lassie's and pots of gold

Everyone has mental lapses... not pointing specifically at Coop.. (yes, he deserves a break) but... in conference play it is mistakes like that which can decide the outcome of a game. I'm sure though, after having faced UCLA and Fresno State the team and hitters probably came into this game with a little less focus. Hopefully tomorrow they have their heads screwed on and are ready to make a statement. We will have to score some runs in tomorrow's game to win.

Its not something Husker fans will forget and "if" Fresno State reaches the CWS I'm sure he (Rivero) and the FSU team as a whole will be reminded of the display of character we witnessed Saturday and Sunday.

Cooper's mental error is an example of what we can't have. Pitching is rarely as sharp in midweek games. Tomorrow night's game against KSU will be a test and is a must win as well.

Huskers coming schedule is extremely weak. Our current home record is 4 - 3 and overall record is 9-6. (Disappointing but could be worse.) We haven't any schools on the schedule until Oklahoma that can match UCLA and Fresno State's talent. With 23 games before Oklahoma, what would be a respectable record going into the Oklahoma game? Is it entirely to much to expect less then 3 losses? After seeing what the Husker's softball team is doing, I personally think anything more then 2 losses is a let down. (They've rattled off 18 wins and 1 loss of including wins over top 20 teams and ofc over #1 Florida) 28 - 10 = (4 more losses) << to me is way below what our standards and expectations should be. Tue, Mar 15 South Dakota State - Hawks Field Wed, Mar 16 Kansas State - - at Manhattan, Kan. Fri, Mar 18 North Dakota - Hawks Field Sat, Mar 19 North Dakota (DH) Hawks Field Sun, Mar 20 North Dakota - - Hawks Field Tue, Mar 22 Northern Colorado - Hawks Field Wed, Mar 23 Northern Colorado - Hawks Field Fri, Mar 25 Texas Tech * - - at Lubbock, Texas Sat, Mar 26 Texas Tech * - - at Lubbock, Texas Sun, Mar 27 Texas Tech * - - at Lubbock, Texas Wed, Mar 30 Doane College - Hawks Field Fri, Apr 01 Oklahoma State * - Hawks Field Sat, Apr 02 Oklahoma State * - Hawks Field Sun, Apr 03 Oklahoma State * - Hawks Field Tue, Apr 05 Creighton - - Hawks Field Fri, Apr 08 Kansas * - - at Lawrence, Kan. Sat, Apr 09 Kansas * - - at Lawrence, Kan. Sun, Apr 10 Kansas * - - at Lawrence, Kan. Tue, Apr 12 Wichita State - - at Wichita, Kan. Fri, Apr 15 Kansas State * - Hawks Field Sat, Apr 16 Kansas State * - Hawks Field Sun, Apr 17 Kansas State * - Hawks Field Tue, Apr 19 Creighton - - at TD Ameritrade Park

yes, I know that and you burned me... it was late and I had just finished umpiring five softball games.

we win the rubber match... need to do more in order to make the regionals. all momentum from the ucla series is erased.

Turn2, I agree with you.. Witch hunts are degrading and counter productive. However, stats will argue the comment "Anderson has nothing to do with our offense, other than coach third base." Check the stats from the Van Horn era to current and what you'll discover is a manager does have influence. Stats: Van Horn's last three seasons: 2000 - skers were 3rd in the conference's batting average 2001 - 1st w/ the first CWS appearance 2002 - 4th w/ the second CWS appearance Enter Anderwatson: 2003 - 7th 2004 - 9th 2005 - 3rd w/ the third CWS (and our first CWS win) 2006 - 5th 2007 - 7th 2008 - 9th 2009 - 9th 2010 - 7th I too enjoy discussing baseball but one can't ignore the facts. Players play for coaches and for the best coaches, players usually play above their potential. Anderwatson's ability to get the "most" out of his players has to be a concern. Why is it that Van Horns first season nearly doubled the wins with the same lineup from the previous year or how is it that the skers fall from one of the top hitting programs in baseball to the conference bottom when Van Horn leaves? I never support witch hunts but I know (and I'm sure you do as well) that if the fans say nothing. If we accept mediocrity and do so while continually supporting and handing out the cash.. then nothing will change. The program stagnates and over time becomes nothing more then a bottom dweller. The program next year begins a new. We enter a conference that we have zero traditions in and now is the time to begin writing our tradition. Now is the time we step on the field and with our vigor, our confidence and our game play "This is OUR HOUSE". Also, regarding the check swings.. 1. Most happened against an average curve made nasty by the 20 mile per hour north wind that magnified the motion. (excusable through the first rotation.) 2. All week the posters here talked about how FSU wasn't UCLA and that we'd see our bats wake. Hasn't happened and not likely to happen today. (It is however the rubber match so maybe FSU comes in with less focus.) We, the skers, were projected to end the season near the league's bottom. Our pitching staff is dominating so I ask, how long do we continue saying nothing about our lack of offense? Someone is paid a lot of money to make decisions regarding how to improve. If improvement isn't seen then is it not logical to ask why?

after today's performance (well, saturdays 1-0 a$$ whooping and yes, thats what it was.. an embarrassment) I've decided to from here out refer to the coach as Anderwatson and I hope others begin the anderwatson chat. Watson will forever be known as "no offense" in the hearts of huskers and like Watson, Anderwatson should be added to that list of NO FREAKING OFFENSE!!! 1-0, pathetic.. I mean absolutely pathetic.

@Turn, Your post is awesome and does point out the hopes that we (the fans) are hanging our hats on. However, how much longer can we continue to say "chalk this up to a learning opportunity". Truths: Over the last 3 years the skers offense has been at or near the middle of the Big 12 (2009 we were at the bottom of hitting and pitching) 2008 we were second in pitching and last in hitting, we won 41 games but lost the regional as a result of not having the ability to score. (Lost the regional in Haymarket Park) 2006 was much the same scenario as 2008... So.. again I ask, how much longer do we tolerate the mediocre offense? Last year our pitching staff was young and had little depth but through the battles they improved. Pitching continues to be our strength while we continue to lose because we can't produce runs. If FSU's pitching is average then there is NO EXCUSE for yesterdays offensive performance. Rather, there is reason and that reason is reflected in the stats for the past 5 years. Anderson is not able to produce offense and this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Much like the football fans did, its time for the baseball fans to begin asking why? Bo gave Watson 3 seasons to show change and improvement. How many seasons will Anderson get? We have one of the top baseball facilities in the country. The university has spent a large amount of resources to put a competitive and winning program together. The fans have in the past and continue to shell out $$$ in support but seemingly are fine with Cubs type scenario's. I for one am not a Cubs fan mostly for this reason. (The management and owners are fine with mediocrity.) Time for Husker baseball to make its own tradition and put the athletes on the field that have total confidence in their coaching. As it is now, I'm not sure the athletes have the confidence in AnderWatson.

its so frustrating as a fan to see so many opportunities wasted. How many times did we have runners in scoring position with less then 2 outs and were unable to push them across. Was it our inability to hit or FSU's ability to pitch out of trouble. Regardless, the outcome sucked and the more the season progresses the more it appears to be a repeat from the last two. Maybe tomorrow they can again make me eat crow but to be perfectly honest. The only game I thought we could win was the first one. I was wrong and hopefully I'll be wrong about the Saturday and Sunday games as well.

not a promising start to the weekend. Come on!! How many runners left on base?? Shades of the last two years again showing up. Disappointing to say the least.

I think the move to the big 10 should have occurred as soon as the big 12 was formed. Nebraska just fits into the big 10. The benefits are huge both in sports and academics. Also, as previously mentioned, the big 10 network will only aid in recruiting. (Especially in BBall and Football) add in the natural rivalry with Iowa and the past history with Iowa State, Kansas/K State and it places NU in a very high profile position. The media will watch as much as the fans do. Nationally, there will be a split on those who want NU to have success and those who will rejoice with every loss. This, if played right by the coaches, is a very strong recruitment tool. (Tell/show the recruits the media and exploit the haters. Come here and you'll be seen by everyone. More television, more high profile games etc. Exploit it much like the hated Yankee's have for years.) Do I expect to see immediate success? No, I expect the weight of leaving old traditions to creating new traditions wearing heavily on the youth who play the sport but in time (3-4 years), I think many fans in Big 10 (especially OSU, Michigan, PSU) realizing that NU is more then talk. Our athletic program, fan base and alumni are proud. We support our University with a vigor that few institutions can match and we (the fans) do truly consider ourselves a intricate component of the athletic program. When our boys/girls step on the field of play we (the state, the fans, alumni) step on that same field with them. Additionally, Nebraska has long been considered one of the top venues in "all sports" mostly as a result of their hospitality and respect of others. The Big 10 universities embrace and mirror this as well. Rivalries exist but so to does respect. Arrogance is rarely seen in the Big 10 and it is such a breath of fresh air... Huskers will not disappoint. This I can say with absolute certainty.

We are discussing pitching staffs because pitching is the biggest part of the game and... because as good as ucla's staff is, FSU's staff isn't far behind. In fact, as your post indicates, fsu's pitching is highly underestimated and with our struggles at the plate over the last 3 years, pitching will again determine the outcome of this series.

41°F @ 8:30 this morning in Omaha... High sun and south winds should make the game time temp perfect for springtime fun. as for the case on pitching. Actually, I'd disagree with you havoc and only because that which matters to us (the skers) is simply who is playing better when we face them. Yes, UCLA's duo is by far better then any 1, 2 punch we'll face this year but... when they arrived here to play, both were coming off losses and both have been suffering from lack of offensive support. Fast forward to this series and the early stats indicate that FSU's pitchers are having the same "early" pitching success that UCLA's pitchers are with the luxury of getting offensive support as well. Do I think FSU's pitchers are equivalent to ucla's? umm... NO I do however think FSU's team as a whole, at this time, is playing equally as well if not better then ucla and therefore I feel the skers need to pick their game up to win this series.

Lets do some comparisons shall we? UCLA: Top Starters / Relievers: Player ERA W-L APP GS CG SHO/CBO SV IP H R ER BB SO Plutko, Adam..... 0.47 2-0 3 3 0 0/1 0 19.0 12 1 1 5 15 Cole, Gerrit..... 1.16 1-1 3 3 1 1/1 0 23.1 11 5 3 4 25 Bauer, Trevor.... 1.85 1-1 3 3 0 0/0 0 24.1 14 7 5 11 33 Griggs, Scott.... 2.16 1-0 3 2 0 0/1 0 8.1 5 3 2 11 11 Weiss, Zack...... 2.45 1-0 7 0 0 0/2 0 11.0 6 4 3 5 12 Vander Tuig, Nick 2.70 1-1 6 0 0 0/2 2 6.2 6 2 2 3 11 Fresno State: Top Starters / Relievers: Player era w-l app-gs cg sho sv ip h r er bb so Robertson, Charlie 0.00 0-0 4-0 0 0/0 4 6.0 1 1 0 3 6 Haley, Justin 0.00 0-0 1-0 0 0/0 0 2.2 1 0 0 0 3 Garrison, Taylor 0.00 1-0 2-0 0 0/0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 Kendall, Cody 1.08 1-0 4-0 0 0/0 0 8.1 9 4 1 3 6 Gonzalez, Greg 1.31 2-0 3-3 0 0/0 0 20.2 12 4 3 5 16 Harlan, Tom 1.59 2-0 3-3 0 0/0 0 17.0 21 4 3 5 11 Benny, Derek 2.70 3-0 3-3 0 0/0 0 20.0 12 6 6 10 9 Huskers: Top Starters / Relievers: Player era w-l app-gs cg sho sv ip h r er bb so Jon Keller 0.00 1-0 3-3 0 0/1 0 14.1 4 0 0 11 15 Tyler King 0.00 0-0 5-0 0 0/0 0 7.1 4 0 0 5 5 Casey Hauptman 0.54 2-1 5-0 0 0/0 1 16.2 11 3 1 1 17 Matt Freeman 0.57 2-0 4-2 0 0/1 0 15.2 11 1 1 2 16 Dylan Vogt 4.00 1-0 4-0 0 0/0 0 9.0 5 4 4 2 9 Brandon Pierce 5.62 0-1 5-1 0 0/1 1 8.0 10 5 5 5 11 Khris Tate 2.25 0-0 2-0 0 0/0 0 4.0 2 1 1 3 1 In the comparison one can argue that Fresno State is only a "tad" less of a pitching staff. If one goes further and compares the Batting Averages, Fresno State has the lead. My point in the original post (that you seemingly jumped on) was that FSU, though not ucla, is a talented pitching staff as well and "if" the skers bats don't produce we will lose this series. No, I'm not saying FSU is the second coming of UCLA but they (FSU) won't be pitching in sub 30°F weather either. UCLA made our hitters look silly and through it all, our hitters stayed focused and won. Hopefully, FSU's pitchers are less intimidating and our bats come alive. Time will tell but we do need to take this series. Losing it would eliminate the momentum gained with last weekends heroics. Edit: Looking at strike outs only, one could say between the skers and FSU, we have the better pitching staff. Hope it proves true.

I think at this time and within the near future that Nebraskaball will struggle however, the new arena and new basketball training facility will do two things. 1. Show to the recruits that Nebraska is pushing its basketball programs to be more competitive and.. 2. Will allow Nebraska to approach a higher level recruit. I think the long range future is looking up but I am concerned about Doc's ability to recruit the east coast. If he finds a method to do so, Nebraskaball will improve exponentially.