Texas vs. Arizona State, Game 2

Scip, is Augie in the Joe Morgan camp as far as the Moneyball theory of baseball goes?

Augie’s a lot brighter than Joe, obviously. But his actions are Morganesque in the realm of hitting. I think Augie believes sacrificing creates team play and sublimation of ego. It fosters team unity, builds spirit, and teaches lessons bigger than baseball. I think he’s totally right. I also think it has diminishing returns in building team unity and teaching lessons in its overuse when it runs up against statistical objectivity.
 
Divorced of obvious run manufacture contexts – the bunt to advance a runner tied 2-2 in the 9th – you sacrifice run production with sacrifice baseball. You prevent the big inning. You also send a pretty clear message to hotshot high school hitters what value you place on a big bat.
 
Basically, I want Augie to optimize in all areas. I perfectly understand a manager who will sacrifice hitting for defense at SS, 2B, CF, C, but when he’s doing it at DH, 1B, LF….it just doesn’t pass the logic test. You should be recruiting guys there whose primary job is putting balls off and over the fence. Even if they don’t fit your aesthetic sensibilities of what a complete baseball player should look like. The science has been done on this. A fat piece of shit with a big bat at those positions will garner your more wins with his bat than losses with his glove and base running.
 
Especially given that the statistical truths of hitting are only amplified in college baseball, even in today’s toned down offenses.
 
It’s frustrating, but Augie maximizes so well in so many other areas that he can run a marathon wearing ankle weights and still lap most of the competition.

In the past couple of hours, I’ve seen at least two guys use their metal stick thingies to club a ball that goes over that fence dealy out that away.

And when it happens, it seems that it helps their teams in the course of winning the contests, and it also appears to excite their teammates and fans.

This is unethical, right? It seems unfair for these guys to subject their fans and teammates to enjoyable events. I always thought the point of baseball was to punish the spirit and encourage young men to adopt the philosophies of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius in between treatments of chewing on tinfoil and shaving their heads with a cheese grater.

If we somehow beat ASU and wind up playing Florida, we are going to see an extreme contrast in styles. Despite the loss today, Florida was still raking, just like they have been the whole tournament.

I don’t want to see them.

We have got to get something going early against this Champlin guy, give our players a little confidence. Our offense has shown an ability to be effective in fits and spurts, but so much is dependent on their mindset and if we go down 1-2-3 for several innings or hit into some more DPs and leave guys stranded, they’ll start getting tight and pressing, and I don’t think we have the ability to rally against top-flight competition the way some past Texas teams have. Obviously we need a nails game from Cole, and I think he’ll deliver, but we have to give him a lead to work with.

Absolutely hate it that Jungmann’s last 2 starts ever at the Disch were losses; he deserved so much better. The kid’s one of the best ever at UT.

Hook ’em Horns! Texas Fight!

Good pitching beats good hitting, but I’m sick of the early 80’s Astro approach to offense. I’ve had my fill of Dickie Thon batting cleanup.

We need the Big Bopper Glen Davis.

As an Orioles fan, I’d be happy to send Glen Davis back.

We’re SUPPOSED to win with pitching and defense. Yesterday, we actually outhit ASU 8-5, but we clustered our errors and pitching mistakes in the third inning, while NOT clustering our own, limited offensive success, leaving runners stranded.
Now our backs are to the wall and we’ve burned our pitching ace. Not exactly what I’d hoped for, but this team’s only lost one 3-game series all year—and we WON the fist game of that one. I guess that’s the good news. The bad news is, we NEVER lost the opener of a 3-game series all year.

Scip, is Augie in the Joe Morgan camp as far as the Moneyball theory of baseball goes?

I wish Billy Beans never wrote that book. Everyone who played the game at a championship level knows the three keys to winning baseball games are cosistency, baseball IQ, and Dave Concepcion.

WTF was that backpack?

College baseball is a hitter’s game. You have to be able to swing a bat hard enough to break a pinata. Not sure there is a player on our team that can do that

Thank-you, Mr. Ump, for missing that tag at first. Might be the only way we score …

Great at bat Loy. Two men in scoring position, in an elimination game, and he watches 3 straight 45 mph pitches go by in the strike zone. Brilliant

Dammit, well that’s our offense for ya…bottom 3rd and we load the bases without a hit, then score on a sac fly but that’s it. 1-0 Texas going to bottom of the 3rd.

Are these guys just afraid to draw Augie’s ire by watching pitches that are outside the strike zone? I remember Augie in Alaska, too, when he was at Cal Fullerton and managed the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. He always believed in taking pitches to get the pitcher’s count up but I don’t recall him managing with near the stick-up-the-ass small ball control that he seems to have brought to UT.

What was so bad about 1974 again?

Shit, another chance blown. First and second, no outs and we hit a limp popup and a double play ball. Still 1-0.

Quick 1-2-3 inning for Cole. He looks dialed in right now.

Yet another DP, this one hit by Shepherd, wasting an actual base hit by Etier. Shit.

Nice piece of hitting by Weiss, 2-0 Texas. Of course we left 2 more on base, but hey we got a run.

Green out bottom 6th, Milner in, promptly allows inherited runner to score on a sac fly, but Felts comes up huge, throwing out a runner trying to take 3rd on a WP; 2-1 Texas going to the 7th.

Why are we sending a slow footed runner from second to third with two outs on a shallow fly ball?

Beautiful …. just beautiful.

Wow, great block of the plate by Felts to preserve the 2-1 lead. Going to the 8th.

We’re gonna win this and then win the finale and then fuck all you doubters.

I’ve seen the light!

Bomb by Etier, how does my ass taste?

Jordan fucking Etier!!! 3-run homer, 5-1 Texas top of the 9th! Has the kid made up for last night or what?

Beautiful!

You’re money, Trips. Money. (Well you and the Gasoline Can ASU put on the mound.)

The devil made him do it …

Cool stuff happens when you swing the bat and stop looking at pitches

Etier’s redemption in this game is sweet.

Etier = Bucky Dent?

San Jacinto Street?

Was that a two-strike home run? Hook ’em.

It’s over, 5-1 Texas. Very cool to see Etier bounce back in such a big way. As Ron Wash likes to say, “That’s how baseball go.” Texas is alive and well…see ya tomorrow night, bitches!

Jesus, these guys are killing me. Let the waterboarding continue until morale improves (no politics intended, BTW).

Oh, and go Mississippi State!

Great win for the ‘horns. The “back in Bristol” analysts summed up tomorrow’s matchup as, “Texas has better game 3 pitching available. Advantage TEXAS.” Me likey.

Yep, can someone give the announcing crew the runs before tomorrow’s game? I miss my Craig Way.

Let’s go to fucking Omaha tomorrow.

ASU is apparently starting their stud closer Mitchell Lambsdon against Stafford today. Dunno what Lmbsdon’s longest outing of the year is, but he threw 2.1 innings Friday night. Hopefully he’ll tire early.

Hook ‘em Horns! Let’s do it!

Texas once had a guy throw 12 no-hit innings coming off three innings the day before. So they say.

Something like that, anyway.

Looking at the ASU season stats he has started twice, appeared in 28 other games, and has 51.1 total innings pitched this year. I am too lazy to go through each of their games, but it appears this isn’t the first time he has started this season.

Well, I might not be a fan of our pansy ass approach to hitting, but…at thank God that our coach doesn’t act like that jackass at Florida. I will take great joy at flexing our muscles, bringing the lumber and woodshedding that loser, 2-1.