BB: USAC: USA South Athletic Conference

[Back2Back!!]

I believe CNU gets it done vs MU today. They have their 1st Team All-Conference Pitcher, whom should have received much consideration in Pitcher of the Year, on the bump. I think CNU gets it done.

It doesn't surprise me at all to see KA not throw Van Sickler, and I highly doubt Van Sickler will throw today. It's a gutsy move to not throw your #1 in the tournament opener, especially when he could potentially come back on short rest and throw in the championship.

I was just making a bold prediction with the MU/CNU winner. Today's gonna be a good day for baseball, wish I wasn't in this office haha. And isn't that the truth with the Van Sickler situation if that's how it does unfold(him not going in game two) and SU DOESNT get it done the way they planned.....They could be in a world of trouble. 


On a side note PNeal7....Winner of MU/CNU and SU/AU play the late game tonight, which has been moved up a day due to the forecasted bad weather in Burlington according to the tourney site...So, Van Sickler should throw at some point today...

Man, I hope I get an office job that allows me to play on the computer all day...haha.....As much as I would like to see Van Sickler throw against CNU again I dont think it will happen. Van Sickler is a guy who really needs his 4 or 5 days rest to be effective so that is another reason why he didnt throw game 1.

[Will2Win]

Haha, get a comp degree and you can 
Good thing my MU/CNU winner was only a hopeful prediction and not a bet, CNU's all over MU 6-0 bottom 6....ouch.

[PNeal7]

CNU up 6-0 in the 6th over MU. The MIF for CNU have both homered, and Shoemaker hit a 2-Run shot and Steel hit a solo. CNU has to be excited about the type of year their middle infield has had, and both are back next year.

[forheavendial4999]

12-0 now.

Have to ask again, why Goldsmith stayed in the game up 9-0. You may need these guys for an inning or two on the last day of the tournament and if they throw 120-130 pitches in a start it's going to be pretty tough for them to have much.

I can understand not wanting to burn a pitcher but everyone has some guys at the end of their bench that can throw an inning. Heck some relievers probably could use some work.

I just don't get it.

[vabaseball]

Well Chitsaz threw under 100 pitches and I doubt Goldsmith got anywhere close to the 120-130 you mention. Probably well under 100.  He had 2 BBs. Not too many Ks.  70 or 80 pitches is enough to require serious rest so what's the difference?  Hopefully some of those ace relievers will step up now.  They are plenty rested.

Other than that, I guess the only genius coach in the conference is Anderson :-)

[Will2Win]

Well Chitsaz threw under 100 pitches and I doubt Goldsmith got anywhere close to the 120-130 you mention. Probably well under 100.  He had 2 BBs. Not too many Ks.  70 or 80 pitches is enough to require serious rest so what's the difference?  Hopefully some of those ace relievers will step up now.  They are plenty rested.

Other than that, I guess the only genius coach in the conference is Anderson :-)

He was Coach of the Year 

hahahahahahaha

[PNeal7]

I take a different approach. I like what Harvell did with leaving them in the game, that way you do not burn through the bullpen at all. If they are throwing well, leave them out there and don't log IP on the RP that you don't need to. With the Chitaz game, a 7 run ball game is not a given W in the tournament, as all of us know anything can happen. I like the idea of leaving them out there, as not CNU heads into game 3 of the tournament with 0 IP on the best bullpen in the conference.

[forheavendial4999]

Well Chitsaz threw under 100 pitches and I doubt Goldsmith got anywhere close to the 120-130 you mention. Probably well under 100.  He had 2 BBs. Not too many Ks.  70 or 80 pitches is enough to require serious rest so what's the difference?  Hopefully some of those ace relievers will step up now.  They are plenty rested.

Other than that, I guess the only genius coach in the conference is Anderson :-)

You said Chitsaz threw under 100 pitches? Do you have a citation for that? I was going off Boydsworld's estimator which put him at 117. Being under 100 would be a surprising considering the estimator is usually if anything a touch low.

You're right about Goldsmith. I didn't realize they would stop the game after 7, which might be the most amateur thing I've ever seen in tournament baseball. Estimator for him is 90. I'll now agree that for him it wouldn't have mattered much because they got the mercy rule. But they could have saved a good 30-40 pitches on Chitsaz.

And Averett could have taken Moore out after 5 and he would have only thrown I'm guessing 50-60 pitches, easily making him available later on.

As for Anderson, if he doesn't throw Van Sickler that's a huge risk. With his offense, maybe it's one worth taking, but I'm guessing until a dropped fly ball, it wasn't looking like it in the first game.

ETA: Obviously in this situation you don't throw anyone you feel like you're going to need for enough time to wear them out. 1 inning, 2 innings at most.

IMO with the way things have changed, 7 runs in a professional-sized ballpark is pretty safe.

The way I've always looked at it...if those guys were better than your weekend starters, they wouldn't be bullpen guys no matter how "good" they are. I want my aces available as often as possible, even if it's for just an inning.

Sometimes I think the southern teams aren't as adept at this sort of thing because they don't have to deal with it during the year. Maybe that's why the only recent southern team to win the championship was one that had such a good overall pitching staff that it just didn't matter.

[vabaseball]

I misread the game report on Chitsaz: (sorry)

"He was efficient, tossing just over 100 pitches in the shutout, and kept the ball on the ground, recording 13 groundouts. "

But only 1 BB and 5Ks. So I would say he didn't throw too many over 100.  Regardless, he may not be a guy who can come back on extremely short rest even after 60, 70 or 80 pitches.

[vabaseball]

I too have faith in Coach Harvell's decisions, mensa or not.

[narch]

the captains sure do have the monarchs number this season...in 3 games, the monarchs have scored a grand total of 0 runs

i think ka feels pretty confident about his chances of guiding the hornets into the regional, regardless of what happens this weekend, so keeping van sickler rested and on his normal "routine" is probably a bigger priority than winning the tournament - if they can win the tournament while doing so...bonus

that being said, i picked cnu before the tournament because i thought they had superior pitching depth, and i'm thinking that way even more after having seen the way they've played offensively in these two games...

the monarchs get to play the bishops for the 4th time this year...ugh...at least knowles won't pitch this evening

[PNeal7]

I agree Narch. I think it's obvious that regardless of the tournament outcome, both CNU and SU are into Regionals. Boths teams certainly would love to get that ring on their finger though; I know I sure would have loved more than 1!

[forheavendial4999]

I misread the game report on Chitsaz: (sorry)

"He was efficient, tossing just over 100 pitches in the shutout, and kept the ball on the ground, recording 13 groundouts. "

But only 1 BB and 5Ks. So I would say he didn't throw too many over 100.  Regardless, he may not be a guy who can come back on extremely short rest even after 60, 70 or 80 pitches.

Has there ever been opportunity to find out? CNU hasn't thrown their top guys in relief (outside of early in the year before they've become the top guys, or just getting early season work) since 2006. They apparently just don't do it.

ETA: Both teams are surely in the regional, but only 1 can be the top seed, which is certainly worth playing for, especially with the 7 team regional out there. Since they split the regular season, I would imagine the tournament winner or whoever makes it furthest would end up being that top seed. Doesn't look to be too much opportunity for one of them to be a top seed elsewhere.

[vabaseball]

The game is underway and Van Sickler is on the mound. (At least according to live stats)

[forheavendial4999]

The game is underway and Van Sickler is on the mound. (At least according to live stats)

Averett throws a bit of a curveball though, going with Matt Mitchell. He is their ERA leader and is 5-0, but only 4th on the team in innings pitched. Looks like usually a midweek guy. Guess the multiple plasterings they took in the regular season to Shenandoah convinced Ed Fulton to maybe try changing it up and see if that works better.

And he starts with your everyday 1-2-3 inning: HBP, 1-3 picked off, BB, F-8, then the guy that walked is out 2-4 caught stealing. Every day.