Husker Baseball picked to finish 4th in Conference?

[Jaybird]

So the Conference released its preseason rankings and it has us as 4th.

 

Linky:

http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021412aaa.html

 

I personally think that is a bit low and really have high expectations for this year!

 

What do you think?

[huskerswrkhavoc]

A little low I would agree.. I don't think we are going to come in and absolutely run the conference over, but I think 4th is low.. 2nd, maybe 3rd in the regular season, depending how quickly we adapt.

[VectorVictor]

Agreed. A little low...but then again, we did lose what was going to be one of our key cogs this year (Cooper) to injury.

 

I have a feeling there will be more than one game where we will be saying 'it's too bad Khiry couldn't play this year...'

[knapplc]

We have a completely unproven manager in Erstad. I don't care how great he was in the majors, he's never coached anywhere at any level. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm not expecting anything from this team.

[HuskerHacker]

knapplc, I can't even begin to fathom why you have such a doom and gloom outlook?

 

Erstad might not have coached anywhere or at any time in his carreer but then again, he knows how to win. Also, Bolt has coaching experience and is very respected by the players and Erstad alike. Furthermore, the sker's largest hurdle last year wasn't the talent level that was placed on the field but rather, the coaching staff's lack of abilities to bring the potential out. Effort at times last year was pathetic. Players new before the season began that Anderwatson had his favorites and chances were, those players would play regardless of effort. Erstad is exactly the breath of fresh air this organization needed. He's brutally honest, he's humble, he's fair and probably the most important thing is, he knows he doesn't have all the answers and he put together a staff of young guns that have high expectations and are motivated by carreer goals. Personally, IMO, anyone who thinks this team is less likely to get to regionals then last years team is hilariously insane and quite frankly, I'll hold the door open for them to jump "OFF" the husker bandwagon. Anderwatson destroyed our program more so then BC did the football program and Erstad is exactly the coach needed to return the program to the Vanhorn era expectations. Bolt, Christy, Silva and Ledbetter are the perfect mix of assistants to make the return happen much faster. There is a reason for everything I'm sure of and having one of our own return to revitalize this program will indeed be something I'll eagerly watch.

[knapplc]

It's not doom-and-gloom at all. In fact, I'm hoping for the best. But nobody can possibly claim with any sense of certainty that Erstad will be successful in his first year coaching, ever. Absolutely I hope it's true, and for the first time in a couple of years I'm planning to go to at least a couple of games, so it's not like I don't support Erstad and/or the team.

 

Just "knowing how to win" doesn't mean he'll be a great coach. Tommie Frazier knew how to win like nobody else and was a terrible coach.

 

I have nothing but great things to say about Erstad, but the reality is that we do not know what we're getting with him as this team's manager. Could be wildly successful, could be mediocre.

 

 

 

Also, the operative word in my other post, which I didn't stress properly, is EXPECTING. I don't expect this team to do anything - win or lose. I literally have zero idea what we'll see this year.

[bball_backer]

Seems low to me as a fan, but looking at it objectively, they're giving NU a heckuva lotta respect. A team that missed out on it's conference tourney last year and hired a guy who has zero HC experience is picked to finish fourth? I'll be disappointed if they finish that low, but that's still a lot of respect. Also, I think it's better for this team to have lower expectations in the media so when they stumble - which they will this early in a new era - they don't blow up.