NU vs Fresno State

[HuskerHacker]

Three things:

 

1. Our pitchers arms seemingly have came alive and I find myself wondering what Anderson's weekend rotation will be. Will Yost be our Friday starter or do we use last weekends. My thoughts are that we should keep last weekends rotation. Lets give it time to see if it works.

 

2. The bats; They were given a pass last weekend as they were facing a tremendous pitching staff. This weekend however isn't much different. The staff is nearly as capable as last weekends and... they are on a winning streak. Add in this weekends weather should be much warmer and suddenly we have the same magnitude of competition facing us.

 

Hopefully our players accept the challenge much the same way the pitching staff did last week. Come on boys, the time to hit has arrived.

 

3. The home stand. This home stand makes (or breaks) the team. This is "our" home and nobody should walk into this ballpark and "expect" to win a series. Teams hated to visit Lincoln in the Van Horn era. Time for teams to loath Lincoln trips again. It begins with the boys having that "it" factor and ends with the presence of a fan base that weighs heavily on the opposing team. I for one will try to do my part while attending Friday's and Saturday's games. Hope 3500 others join me.

 

Prediction:

Friday - Huskers win

Saturday - Fresno State win

Sunday - Fresno State win

 

(until the skers show we can hit its nearly impossible to project a series win against a top 20 caliber team)

[dixie normous]

The rotation should be Keller, Freeman, Lemke; with Hauptman coming out of the pen and dominating. I say we take 2 out of 3.

[Turn2]

Three things:

 

1. Our pitchers arms seemingly have came alive and I find myself wondering what Anderson's weekend rotation will be. Will Yost be our Friday starter or do we use last weekends. My thoughts are that we should keep last weekends rotation. Lets give it time to see if it works.

 

2. The bats; They were given a pass last weekend as they were facing a tremendous pitching staff. This weekend however isn't much different. The staff is nearly as capable as last weekends and... they are on a winning streak. Add in this weekends weather should be much warmer and suddenly we have the same magnitude of competition facing us.

 

Hopefully our players accept the challenge much the same way the pitching staff did last week. Come on boys, the time to hit has arrived.

 

3. The home stand. This home stand makes (or breaks) the team. This is "our" home and nobody should walk into this ballpark and "expect" to win a series. Teams hated to visit Lincoln in the Van Horn era. Time for teams to loath Lincoln trips again. It begins with the boys having that "it" factor and ends with the presence of a fan base that weighs heavily on the opposing team. I for one will try to do my part while attending Friday's and Saturday's games. Hope 3500 others join me.

 

Prediction:

Friday - Huskers win

Saturday - Fresno State win

Sunday - Fresno State win

 

(until the skers show we can hit its nearly impossible to project a series win against a top 20 caliber team)

 

Rotation has been announced (via twitter) and is the same rotation as last weekend. Don't know what this means regarding Lemke? Is he available to pitch this weekend or is he still hurt? Regardless, pitching is significantly better and we have more and better options than last year. Because there are more options, the coaches are doing a better job of mixing it up; power pitcher (92-94) on Friday, thumber (pitches off change-up) Saturday, Power (92-96) Sunday. Add Ehlers to this pitching staff in April and we will be even better.

 

Like everyone else, I to am a little worried about the hitting. However, would like to point out a few things for everybody to think about. Last year OU hosted UT and got humbled. Scored 3 runs in 3 games. They were completely dominated by the Texas pitching, yet they made it to CWS and then some. Point being, there aren't that many pitching staffs out their like UCLA's...Darin Erstad said on Sports Nightly last night that both Bauer and Cole have good enough stuff that they could go win an MLB game right now. Facing that pitching last weekend and winning 2 of 3 might be a real positive for this club. I don't care what kind of numbers Fresno State has, they ain't as good as UCLA. Also, if you have some free time, look up the hitting stats of Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State. Not very good and their level of competition is mediocre to bad (UT mediocre to A&M bad).

 

Oh by the way, Sam Houston State is 11-2 with a 9 game winning streak...includes 7-0 win over Rice last Tuesday. Texas State is 9-3 with a 10-11 loss to Rice and 13-2 win over Baylor and a 4-6 loss to Baylor. Both these teams are pretty good. I think there is a different outcome if we pitch Lemke or Freeman or Keller or Hauptman against these two teams....if's and nut's. Bottom line is they appear to be pretty good and I think over the course of the season this will be proven.

[huskerswrkhavoc]

Whoa just a second there.. While I understand some of your points... Fresno's staff is not even CLOSE to UCLA's.. unless I misread what you were saying, not even close.. However, their bats are way better, but probably their best hitter, Ribera, has been absolutely sucking it up this year hitting .132 and 1 HR.. This is the same guy that LED the cape cod league in home runs this past summer and tore us up last year, so hopefully we can keep him at bay this weekend.. If we can get good pitching performances, we should be able to take 2 of 3 this weekend.. HOWEVER, we cannot expect to let runners get into scoring position and not come around like they did last weekend against UCLA.

 

And WHERE are you getting the idea that we can't hit? Because we didn't put up numbers against the TWO BEST pitchers in college baseball? C'mon man.. That is pass worthy.. The bats will be better, they were solid the first 2 weekends.

 

 

As far as the rotation goes.. Yost shouldn't be in the rotation until he proves he can keep the ball down with movement and not get jacked.. I think we will be seeing Keller, Lemke and Freeman also as we come into the beginning of conference play, but as Turn2 said, we have Ehlers coming back for Wichita St on April 12th, and I would expect to see him get some time that day, as well as the next weekend, and be in the rotation come the following weekend. Our pitching could be tough down the stretch, which we really need. Thankfully, despite the NCAA cluster-eff with the Ehlers situation, we still will have him for the toughest part of the big 12 slate, when we have UT, OU, Baylor, and A&M... Hopefully he's ready to go.

[Turn2]

Whoa just a second there.. While I understand some of your points... Fresno's staff is not even CLOSE to UCLA's.. unless I misread what you were saying, not even close.. However, their bats are way better, but probably their best hitter, Ribera, has been absolutely sucking it up this year hitting .132 and 1 HR.. This is the same guy that LED the cape cod league in home runs this past summer and tore us up last year, so hopefully we can keep him at bay this weekend.. If we can get good pitching performances, we should be able to take 2 of 3 this weekend.. HOWEVER, we cannot expect to let runners get into scoring position and not come around like they did last weekend against UCLA.

 

And WHERE are you getting the idea that we can't hit? Because we didn't put up numbers against the TWO BEST pitchers in college baseball? C'mon man.. That is pass worthy.. The bats will be better, they were solid the first 2 weekends.

 

 

As far as the rotation goes.. Yost shouldn't be in the rotation until he proves he can keep the ball down with movement and not get jacked.. I think we will be seeing Keller, Lemke and Freeman also as we come into the beginning of conference play, but as Turn2 said, we have Ehlers coming back for Wichita St on April 12th, and I would expect to see him get some time that day, as well as the next weekend, and be in the rotation come the following weekend. Our pitching could be tough down the stretch, which we really need. Thankfully, despite the NCAA cluster-eff with the Ehlers situation, we still will have him for the toughest part of the big 12 slate, when we have UT, OU, Baylor, and A&M... Hopefully he's ready to go.

 

Not sure who you were talking to huskerswrkhavoc, but my comparison of UCLA and Fresno was strictly pitching comparison. You are right, Fresno will be a better hitting team than UCLA. They will pitch good, but not close to what UCLA can pitch. Still may see same results that UCLA saw, but not because their pitchers are the same as UCLA...because they aren't

[HuskerHacker]

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.

[huskerswrkhavoc]

Turn2, I was talking to the OP with that, sorry..

 

And hacker.. You can't base your case this early in the season simply off those numbers... UCLA is above and beyond pitching wise anything fresno can offer.. There is a reason bauer and cole are both first round picks... Who does fresno have of that caliber? Who cares if they put up good numbers against mediocre competition. UCLA has one of if not the best staff in the nation, Fresno isn't even in that conversation...

[HuskerHacker]

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.

[huskrplaya]

Why are we talking about pitching staffs when this series will be about the bats? We all know UCLA's pitching is ay better than Fresno States but UCLA's offense was terrible.

[HuskerHacker]

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.

[HuskerHacker]

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.

[Turn2]

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.

 

Husker Hacker, do you have an apple? I have an orange, maybe we can compare!

 

13 hits, 7 walks, 3 HBP, 1 error....and we score 5 runs...WOW! Must of been the Fresno pitching staff.

[HuskerHacker]

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.

[Turn2]

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.

 

Don't know why you thought game 1 was the only game we would win? Regarding the fan frustration of hitting, or lack there of in key situations. I can promise you that the coaches and players are more frustrated than the fans. It was not the pitching, but lack of execution by the hitters. 3 K's with at least 2 runners on base and a bases loaded, no out, full count, ground into double play. By the way, Fresno scored at least 3 runs on plays that our defense should of made. Fresno did not win the game yesterday....Nebraska lost the game.

 

I will say this, IMHO, this season does not have the same feel as last two years. I expect this team to battle every Big 12 team and win more than they lose in conference. Everything we are going through right now is a learning opportunity; situational hitting, starting pitching, relief pitching, base running. Players and coaches are learning what this team can and cannot do and what this team needs to do a better job of.

[HuskerHacker]

@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.