2014 Husker Baseball

[huskerbaseball13]

You are wrong if you think this is a young team. Also, i wouldnt say Erstad sucks..thats a bit extreme. More like mediocre. Atleast, thus far he has been. Thats not to say he wont end up doing good work but thus far the results he has produced and the product he has developed is average at best. I dont buy into this being a talent issue so the next logical conclusion is coaching and lack of development. Also, in game coaching is also very questionable.

[HB]

Actually most of our position players are 1st or second year playing D1. 

[huskerbaseball13]

We started 6 guys today who are upper classmen...and our entire rotation plus our anchor are upper classmen. I would hope Erstad is recruiting Juco's that he expects will come in and contribute right away. Not Juco's that he considers "young." You may have a point in regards to leadership...that I don't know. But we are definitely not a young team.

[HB]

We started 6 guys today who are upper classmen...and our entire rotation plus our anchor are upper classmen. I would hope Erstad is recruiting Juco's that he expects will come in and contribute right away. Not Juco's that he considers "young." You may have a point in regards to leadership...that I don't know. But we are definitely not a young team.

"

Well, I don't want to get into a semantics argument between young and inexperienced at this level.  I will be precise:  With regard to position players, we are inexperienced.  Many of them had zero D1 innings before this year.   If you would like me to go through each player, I would be happy to, because these things are facts.  You can argue Jucos and age and any other issue you want, but the fact is most of our position players are very inexperienced at the D1 level. 

[Silverbacked1]

HB you know you can't handle the truth.

[huskerbaseball13]

 

We started 6 guys today who are upper classmen...and our entire rotation plus our anchor are upper classmen. I would hope Erstad is recruiting Juco's that he expects will come in and contribute right away. Not Juco's that he considers "young." You may have a point in regards to leadership...that I don't know. But we are definitely not a young team.

"

Well, I don't want to get into a semantics argument between young and inexperienced at this level.  I will be precise:  With regard to position players, we are inexperienced.  Many of them had zero D1 innings before this year.   If you would like me to go through each player, I would be happy to, because these things are facts.  You can argue Jucos and age and any other issue you want, but the fact is most of our position players are very inexperienced at the D1 level. 

 

 

Please do....outside of Boldt and Reveles the position each position player is either in year 2 or longer in this program.  Coincidentally, those two are not the problem...thus, I'm failing to see how our poor play can be chalked up to inexperience.  But again..this isn't football, Erstad is not recruiting guys that he thinks will only contribute 2-3 years down the road.  Freshman come in and can be impact players right away....JUCO guys are not recruited in hopes that some day they may have enough experience to make an impact.  This is not an inexperienced team, sorry...that's a cop out.  If you think we are inexperienced this year...then you will be saying the same thing next year because in baseball there is always alot of roster turnover with the draft and kids transferring out. 

[HB]

 

 

We started 6 guys today who are upper classmen...and our entire rotation plus our anchor are upper classmen. I would hope Erstad is recruiting Juco's that he expects will come in and contribute right away. Not Juco's that he considers "young." You may have a point in regards to leadership...that I don't know. But we are definitely not a young team.

"

Well, I don't want to get into a semantics argument between young and inexperienced at this level.  I will be precise:  With regard to position players, we are inexperienced.  Many of them had zero D1 innings before this year.   If you would like me to go through each player, I would be happy to, because these things are facts.  You can argue Jucos and age and any other issue you want, but the fact is most of our position players are very inexperienced at the D1 level. 

 

 

Please do....outside of Boldt and Reveles the position each position player is either in year 2 or longer in this program.  Coincidentally, those two are not the problem...thus, I'm failing to see how our poor play can be chalked up to inexperience.  But again..this isn't football, Erstad is not recruiting guys that he thinks will only contribute 2-3 years down the road.  Freshman come in and can be impact players right away....JUCO guys are not recruited in hopes that some day they may have enough experience to make an impact.  This is not an inexperienced team, sorry...that's a cop out.  If you think we are inexperienced this year...then you will be saying the same thing next year because in baseball there is always alot of roster turnover with the draft and kids transferring out. 

 

 

Saying that the bulk of our position players have little division 1 game experience/at bats is not an opinion, it is a fact.  I will detail when time allows. 

 

Whether it matters, or should be a factor to look at with regard to what is happening on the field, or is an "excuse/cop out", is a matter of opinion.   The inexperience issue with regard to position players was just one of my points above in a couple of recent points about the team (in which I agree with much of what you have been saying), and it has taken on a life of its own greater than intended.  it is clear from listening to Erstad that he is frustrated that the team isn't buying into our offensive approach.  The fact that many of the players have no or few D1 at bats was just offered as a reason for THAT (not all things concerning the team).  It took Miles 3 months and a lot of strife to get the basketball players to accept their roles and to play in a way for them to be successful.  While that is ultimately the job of the coach, it also takes things to happen over  time--that is, to have players who have always been successful meet with some failure.  These guys are resisting right now, and are learning the hard way.   Will they come together?   Usually they do, and the talent then takes over.  But some years it just doesn't happen for whatever reason.  In baseball, it's a little harder because its more difficult to get the point across through dramatically reduced playing time, due to numbers.

 

I suspect there will be some cathartic moments (some probably already happened on the way home from Iowa City).  Hopefully leaders will emerge on the team and they will get things turned around.  We improved greatly during the season last year so hopefully it will happen again.  But you are correct in that a big hole has been dug with regard to an at large bid.  We may have to win the tournament, which would be sweet at TD Ameritrade.

[HB]

Nice win tonight.  Nice gumption coming back from an early deficit.  Glad to see Pritchard get it going.

[hskr4life]

Big game at KSU.... Whose gunna be there

[huskerbaseball13]

Huskers on Fox Sports KC this evening vs K State.   Would be nice to get a midweek sweep after a dismal weekend. 

[huskerbaseball13]

Bad News Erstads showed up tonight. 4 errors in 5 innings thus far. Down 11-2.

[Bugeaters1]

Bad News Erstads showed up tonight. 4 errors in 5 innings thus far. Down 11-2.

 

Bad News Erstads showed up tonight. 4 errors in 5 innings thus far. Down 11-2.

BITCH BITCH BITCH GET OVER IT DUDE.

[hskr4life]

Well... I left the game early and I was.... Mildly disappointed. Granted it was a crappy day... But that doesn't excuse errors, base running errors, and our falling behind in the count almost every batter. It's pretty easy to know what's coming when the counts 2-0. Sucky night all around.

[huskerbaseball13]

Bad News Erstads showed up tonight. 4 errors in 5 innings thus far. Down 11-2.

Bad News Erstads showed up tonight. 4 errors in 5 innings thus far. Down 11-2.

BITCH BITCH BITCH GET OVER IT DUDE.

Get over what dude?The fact that you are delusional dude? What exactly was I bitching about? Posting facts in regards to tonight's game? This team is not a good baseball team right now nor has the Erstad hire panned out thus far. FACT.

[huskerbaseball13]

Well... I left the game early and I was.... Mildly disappointed. Granted it was a crappy day... But that doesn't excuse errors, base running errors, and our falling behind in the count almost every batter. It's pretty easy to know what's coming when the counts 2-0. Sucky night all around.

Sounds like the Erstad years in a nut she'll thus far. Better not post that though, bugeater may get mad for calling it like it is. This team can get better, but by that time it may be too late.

[HB]

I too am frustrated by poor pitching and base running, but at the risk of being called delusional, I'll focus on a  couple of positives: Ryan Boldt is a good baseball player.  Really good.  Jake Plazcek is playing good baseball.

 

OK, carry on.

[hskr4life]

Well tonight was the first game I have been able to watch in person. I follow the team though, and must say I think this team is underachieving. We are way better than we are playing right now, but I don't think it's all on coach Erstad. I think the guys just need some confidence coming from somewhere.

As HB said Boldt is an excellent player. Very impressed with him thus far. Lotta season left, and we can and I think will improve. All it takes is some confidence and MO because the talent is there. The only thing I would be suspect with is pitching, but if we can just find the zone we'll be alright!

[Silverbacked1]

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

[huskerbaseball13]

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

The team has had plenty of practices outside. That's not why they look like they are going thru the motions in some of these games. They are 24 games into the season...we are a mediocre baseball team because they will do not do the little things well. As I noted in the past in which I was told that I was wrong...it's the same thing that has been happening for three years now. I don't believe it's a talent issue...not sure how much of it is coaching. Either way, this staff hasn't got it done so far and year 3 is looking like more of the same. There haven't been very many major leaguers who had good look coaching college ball....still too early to say Erstad will be a failure of a hire but the early results don't look very good right now. It's one thing to lose but when you have multiple games where your team looks disinterested then something is wrong. Last night we looked like we didn't want to be there.

[huskerbaseball13]

I too am frustrated by poor pitching and base running, but at the risk of being called delusional, I'll focus on a couple of positives: Ryan Boldt is a good baseball player. Really good. Jake Plazcek is playing good baseball.

OK, carry on.

Not delusional to say Boldt is a good baseball player. He is, and it's one of the few positives this team had right now. Sinclair has also been very good, but if he comes back for his senior year I'm sure Silva will find a way to make him worse.

[Silverbacked1]

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

The team has had plenty of practices outside. That's not why they look like they are going thru the motions in some of these games. They are 24 games into the season...we are a mediocre baseball team because they will do not do the little things well. As I noted in the past in which I was told that I was wrong...it's the same thing that has been happening for three years now. I don't believe it's a talent issue...not sure how much of it is coaching. Either way, this staff hasn't got it done so far and year 3 is looking like more of the same. There haven't been very many major leaguers who had good look coaching college ball....still too early to say Erstad will be a failure of a hire but the early results don't look very good right now. It's one thing to lose but when you have multiple games where your team looks disinterested then something is wrong. Last night we looked like we didn't want to be there.

Thye have been outside but in 30 degree temps. Hard to get good when you have three layers of clothes on to stay warm, and the ground is as hard as playing in the street. I thought we played better this year in the warmer weather. I would not have wanted to be at KSU last night either. We might be just an average team, but I think we will get better.

[Bugeaters1]

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

The team has had plenty of practices outside. That's not why they look like they are going thru the motions in some of these games. They are 24 games into the season...we are a mediocre baseball team because they will do not do the little things well. As I noted in the past in which I was told that I was wrong...it's the same thing that has been happening for three years now. I don't believe it's a talent issue...not sure how much of it is coaching. Either way, this staff hasn't got it done so far and year 3 is looking like more of the same. There haven't been very many major leaguers who had good look coaching college ball....still too early to say Erstad will be a failure of a hire but the early results don't look very good right now. It's one thing to lose but when you have multiple games where your team looks disinterested then something is wrong. Last night we looked like we didn't want to be there.

Thye have been outside but in 30 degree temps. Hard to get good when you have three layers of clothes on to stay warm, and the ground is as hard as playing in the street. I thought we played better this year in the warmer weather. I would not have wanted to be at KSU last night either. We might be just an average team, but I think we will get better.

[Bugeaters1]

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

The team has had plenty of practices outside. That's not why they look like they are going thru the motions in some of these games. They are 24 games into the season...we are a mediocre baseball team because they will do not do the little things well. As I noted in the past in which I was told that I was wrong...it's the same thing that has been happening for three years now. I don't believe it's a talent issue...not sure how much of it is coaching. Either way, this staff hasn't got it done so far and year 3 is looking like more of the same. There haven't been very many major leaguers who had good look coaching college ball....still too early to say Erstad will be a failure of a hire but the early results don't look very good right now. It's one thing to lose but when you have multiple games where your team looks disinterested then something is wrong. Last night we looked like we didn't want to be there.

Thye have been outside but in 30 degree temps. Hard to get good when you have three layers of clothes on to stay warm, and the ground is as hard as playing in the street. I thought we played better this year in the warmer weather. I would not have wanted to be at KSU last night either. We might be just an average team, but I think we will get better.

to add to this it was 28 degrees with a wind chill of 18 in Iowa City on Sunday I'm sure Huskerbaseball would have been able to play his best in those conditions. Give it a rest already

[huskerbaseball13]

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

The team has had plenty of practices outside. That's not why they look like they are going thru the motions in some of these games. They are 24 games into the season...we are a mediocre baseball team because they will do not do the little things well. As I noted in the past in which I was told that I was wrong...it's the same thing that has been happening for three years now. I don't believe it's a talent issue...not sure how much of it is coaching. Either way, this staff hasn't got it done so far and year 3 is looking like more of the same. There haven't been very many major leaguers who had good look coaching college ball....still too early to say Erstad will be a failure of a hire but the early results don't look very good right now. It's one thing to lose but when you have multiple games where your team looks disinterested then something is wrong. Last night we looked like we didn't want to be there.

Thye have been outside but in 30 degree temps. Hard to get good when you have three layers of clothes on to stay warm, and the ground is as hard as playing in the street. I thought we played better this year in the warmer weather. I would not have wanted to be at KSU last night either. We might be just an average team, but I think we will get better.

to add to this it was 28 degrees with a wind chill of 18 in Iowa City on Sunday I'm sure Huskerbaseball would have been able to play his best in those conditions. Give it a rest already

So Iowa didn't play in the same conditions? Is that what you are arguing? Or gasp....could it be this team is mentally weak which is why they are wildly inconsistent? Think before you post. The weather is just another bogus excuse for an under achieving program right now. Nobody expects this team to win every single game...but there have been times were they have looked disinterested on the field. That couples with the little league mistakes this team continues to make into year 3 is why you are starting to see many question this coaching staff. The honeymoon is over. Time for the team and staff to wake up.

[HB]

 

 

 

 

 

Needs to warm up so they can get outside and play. It isn't fun or good to play indoors or in weather where you can see your breath.

The team has had plenty of practices outside. That's not why they look like they are going thru the motions in some of these games. They are 24 games into the season...we are a mediocre baseball team because they will do not do the little things well. As I noted in the past in which I was told that I was wrong...it's the same thing that has been happening for three years now. I don't believe it's a talent issue...not sure how much of it is coaching. Either way, this staff hasn't got it done so far and year 3 is looking like more of the same. There haven't been very many major leaguers who had good look coaching college ball....still too early to say Erstad will be a failure of a hire but the early results don't look very good right now. It's one thing to lose but when you have multiple games where your team looks disinterested then something is wrong. Last night we looked like we didn't want to be there.

Thye have been outside but in 30 degree temps. Hard to get good when you have three layers of clothes on to stay warm, and the ground is as hard as playing in the street. I thought we played better this year in the warmer weather. I would not have wanted to be at KSU last night either. We might be just an average team, but I think we will get better.

to add to this it was 28 degrees with a wind chill of 18 in Iowa City on Sunday I'm sure Huskerbaseball would have been able to play his best in those conditions. Give it a rest already

So Iowa didn't play in the same conditions? Is that what you are arguing? Or gasp....could it be this team is mentally weak which is why they are wildly inconsistent? Think before you post. The weather is just another bogus excuse for an under achieving program right now.

 

 

Well, have you considered the chance that things may not be as bleak as you portray them? 

 

We get it by now:  You don't like Erstad and think he was a bad hire. You think 2 1/2 seasons post-Anderson is enough to know, and you have no problem personally going after the coaches at every turn.  You have every right to have those opinions.  And, you may be right.  But you're getting personal about it, and you've flogged the horse within an inch of its life if it isn't dead already.  It's a message board of Husker fans.  It's only natural that you get a little push back to a relentless, unabridged negative attack on "our"  team and coaches.

 

I've expressed concern about some of the same things you notice with the team.  There are some ominous signs with fundamentals and mental errors.  But I'm not ready to conclude that we have bad coaches and things won't improve.   Even if I'm wrong with a more balanced perspective than you have, I'm still going to go to the home games, and watch and listen to the away games, to enjoy them and look for improvement.  And I will try to not let your decidedly negative viewpoint take the fun out of the baseball board.  The latter may be easier said than done. 

 

If I had to predict, for this year, I'm very confident we will play better baseball, reduce physical and mental errors, and be more consistent with our offensive approach.  I do think we'll struggle on the mound from a depth standpoint all year.  I think the coaches know we have issues there.  They wouldn't be giving a true freshman like Hohensee so many chances, and bringing a brand new guy (Austin Christensen) to the mound for the first time this late in the season, if they didn't have concerns about the number of guys they have who can do the job.  Ultimately we'll be pretty good in conference.  Hopefully enough to make a regional, but if not, I'm not going to declare that 3 years is a magical time frame in which we have to declare the Erstad hire a failure.  I'm still glad he's our guy.