I know that a lot of this will not go over well with some of you, but this is my brief take on the season.
First, this was truly a great year, probably the greatest in NU baseball history, congratulations to the whole team. I think that for any of us to be upset about going to the CWS and getting the first win in Omaha would be pretty bad, but to go out the way they did was pretty disheartening. Beginning the CWS, my thoughts were that NU’s bracket was a tossup. I would not have been surprised to see NU make it to the championship game, and I would not have been surprised to see them go 2 and Q. I had no clue who was going to come out of that side. As for the other bracket, it is playing out exactly how I figured, as I feel that UT is the favorite in this CWS. They don’t have eye-popping numbers, but the do everything fundamentally correctly, and just win.
Congrats to Gordon being the #2 overall draft pick, but I really wish that the draft would be held later in the year, as it sure would have been nice if he would have stayed with the team after the regionals. Heck, with him, Duensing (sp?) and Ledbetter all leaving for their respective teams after the regionals, it left NU will 3 huge holes to fill. I’m glad that at least Kroenke (sp?), Simo, and Jensen stayed with the team through the CWS.
This team was very, very good, but they are kind of the opposite of UT, as I don’t feel that they are very fundamentally sound. Sure, their pitching was good all year and the D was good (up until the CWS). The O put up some good numbers (mostly against bad teams), but failed to produce well consistently against top competition. I have said it since the Big 12 season started: NU has not hit well all year with runners in scoring position, and they fail to do things fundamentally to manufacture runs. Look at what UT does, heck look at how ASU and BU ended their games: Get a runner on with no outs, bunt to second, a little base hit---game over. NU failed to do that time and time again. NU has been horrible all year scoring runners and leaving guys on base. Also, that guy playing for Ledbetter was not very good, booting balls, not catching pop flys, and striking out against top-level pitching, as it did not help NU at all. Opitz may end up being a pretty good player, but his 2 fielding miscues were huge today. NU looked scared to face the top of the other teams lineup, where as the other teams went right through NU’s 1-4 hitters (except for Simo), and showed no fear in facing them. When your .230 hitting 9-hole guy has more quality at bats and big RBIs than your Player of the Year, it should tell you something. It sure seemed like any pitching change by opponents (ASU, UF, UM) just messed NU up and threw them out of wack. I mean, these guys that were coming in had ERAs from 4.50 to 6.00, and NU made them look like freaking Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Curt Schilling. At least they didn’t have any horrific base running errors like they had been having most of the year. It seems like NU is missing something fundamentally, but I’m not sure if it is a reflection of the players, or of the coach.
I guess that during the CWS, Anderson made some pretty weird calls, too. Pulling Buckman for that other first baseman was pretty bad. Pulling Dorn for that one left-handed pitcher was also questionable. Putting in pinch-hitters who were hitting below .260 just to get the correct righty-lefty “advantage” never really did seem to work out, either.
On the bright side, NU looks like they may be pretty good next year, as they should be upper level in the Big 12, and should make it to NCAA regional play. Gerch was wonderful all year, Christy was great behind the dish, and was the best clutch hitter on the team. Werhle (sp?) and Opitz should be good up the middle, and Buckman should be solid at 1st. Adam Moore should contribute somehow, and Bohannon (sp?) should be able to either be very good at 3rd or on the mound. NU needs to find some more outfielders (Nimmo is supposed to be very good), and get some pop in the middle of the lineup (3rd, 1st, or DH). The pitching again looks good, as Joba and Dorn were wonderful, I just hope that they don’t go Jamie Rodrigue. I think that Watson may be able to get that 3rd starter job, and Weurtz (sp?) looks like he should be good, too. Jensen should return, which would be great, but they need to get some more bullpen depth, as hopefully Timm can get a 6th year.
All in all, great year, just disappointed about the ending, as those little fundamental mistakes really get to me. Great season guys, come back and get them again, next year!
First, this was truly a great year, probably the greatest in NU baseball history, congratulations to the whole team. I think that for any of us to be upset about going to the CWS and getting the first win in Omaha would be pretty bad, but to go out the way they did was pretty disheartening. Beginning the CWS, my thoughts were that NU’s bracket was a tossup. I would not have been surprised to see NU make it to the championship game, and I would not have been surprised to see them go 2 and Q. I had no clue who was going to come out of that side. As for the other bracket, it is playing out exactly how I figured, as I feel that UT is the favorite in this CWS. They don’t have eye-popping numbers, but the do everything fundamentally correctly, and just win.
Congrats to Gordon being the #2 overall draft pick, but I really wish that the draft would be held later in the year, as it sure would have been nice if he would have stayed with the team after the regionals. Heck, with him, Duensing (sp?) and Ledbetter all leaving for their respective teams after the regionals, it left NU will 3 huge holes to fill. I’m glad that at least Kroenke (sp?), Simo, and Jensen stayed with the team through the CWS.
This team was very, very good, but they are kind of the opposite of UT, as I don’t feel that they are very fundamentally sound. Sure, their pitching was good all year and the D was good (up until the CWS). The O put up some good numbers (mostly against bad teams), but failed to produce well consistently against top competition. I have said it since the Big 12 season started: NU has not hit well all year with runners in scoring position, and they fail to do things fundamentally to manufacture runs. Look at what UT does, heck look at how ASU and BU ended their games: Get a runner on with no outs, bunt to second, a little base hit---game over. NU failed to do that time and time again. NU has been horrible all year scoring runners and leaving guys on base. Also, that guy playing for Ledbetter was not very good, booting balls, not catching pop flys, and striking out against top-level pitching, as it did not help NU at all. Opitz may end up being a pretty good player, but his 2 fielding miscues were huge today. NU looked scared to face the top of the other teams lineup, where as the other teams went right through NU’s 1-4 hitters (except for Simo), and showed no fear in facing them. When your .230 hitting 9-hole guy has more quality at bats and big RBIs than your Player of the Year, it should tell you something. It sure seemed like any pitching change by opponents (ASU, UF, UM) just messed NU up and threw them out of wack. I mean, these guys that were coming in had ERAs from 4.50 to 6.00, and NU made them look like freaking Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Curt Schilling. At least they didn’t have any horrific base running errors like they had been having most of the year. It seems like NU is missing something fundamentally, but I’m not sure if it is a reflection of the players, or of the coach.
I guess that during the CWS, Anderson made some pretty weird calls, too. Pulling Buckman for that other first baseman was pretty bad. Pulling Dorn for that one left-handed pitcher was also questionable. Putting in pinch-hitters who were hitting below .260 just to get the correct righty-lefty “advantage” never really did seem to work out, either.
On the bright side, NU looks like they may be pretty good next year, as they should be upper level in the Big 12, and should make it to NCAA regional play. Gerch was wonderful all year, Christy was great behind the dish, and was the best clutch hitter on the team. Werhle (sp?) and Opitz should be good up the middle, and Buckman should be solid at 1st. Adam Moore should contribute somehow, and Bohannon (sp?) should be able to either be very good at 3rd or on the mound. NU needs to find some more outfielders (Nimmo is supposed to be very good), and get some pop in the middle of the lineup (3rd, 1st, or DH). The pitching again looks good, as Joba and Dorn were wonderful, I just hope that they don’t go Jamie Rodrigue. I think that Watson may be able to get that 3rd starter job, and Weurtz (sp?) looks like he should be good, too. Jensen should return, which would be great, but they need to get some more bullpen depth, as hopefully Timm can get a 6th year.
All in all, great year, just disappointed about the ending, as those little fundamental mistakes really get to me. Great season guys, come back and get them again, next year!
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