BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

Last year we were exactly .500 against preseason Top 25 teams.

(02-04-2018 10:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

Last year we were exactly .500 against preseason Top 25 teams.

In that case, I want us to be .625, 10-6. We must improve.

Matt Canterino named 3rd team preseason all-american by the writers...

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2018...announced/

(02-02-2018 08:50 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Talk about no respect, even Eric Stitchhead Sorensen has dissed us royally...

https://d1baseball.com/season-preview/fi...l-coastal/

Stitchhead trying to make ammends and earn back our love-- he's included us in his list of 5 teams poised to go "from ordinary to extraordinary:...

https://d1baseball.com/analysis/fives-or...aordinary/

Quote:– RICE
2017 Record: 33-31, 16-14 CUSA
Finish: A 15-3 finish, including the C-USA tourney title earned their 23rd straight NCAA bid
Why They’ll Be Extraordinary:
Yes the Owls made the Big Dance again, but it took a near-miracle. And even making the Regional title round won’t quell the fact that they lost 31 games in 2017. This year, expect a return to the good old Owls with a dominant won-loss mark. There are some legit All American candidates in key positions, like SS Ford Proctor, C Dominic DiCaprio, ace Matt Canterino and RHP Ricardo Salinas, who was All-CUSA in 2016 but missed nearly all of 2017. The incoming class will play a big part but won’t need to be leaned on. Still, look for 2B Trei Cruz and 3B Braden Comeaux to be future leaders.

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

I think winning 10+ of those games is possible given the arms of the staff and key lineup pieces. That being said, I do worry about any of the midweek games, as historically they have never been our strength.

That leads to the question of who are the potential mid-week starters? (sorry, did not go back and re-read prior posts to see if this was discussed)

(02-06-2018 03:00 PM)RiceOwl Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

I think winning 10+ of those games is possible given the arms of the staff and key lineup pieces. That being said, I do worry about any of the midweek games, as historically they have never been our strength.

That leads to the question of who are the potential mid-week starters? (sorry, did not go back and re-read prior posts to see if this was discussed)

The midweek games will be a problem. However I am more concerned about our pitching depth. It’s a reoccurring issue that hasn’t been fixed the past few years. After barely making the .500 mark last year, I don’t see how we could pull 10 wins out of those games.

(02-06-2018 03:41 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 03:00 PM)RiceOwl Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

I think winning 10+ of those games is possible given the arms of the staff and key lineup pieces. That being said, I do worry about any of the midweek games, as historically they have never been our strength.

That leads to the question of who are the potential mid-week starters? (sorry, did not go back and re-read prior posts to see if this was discussed)

The midweek games will be a problem. However I am more concerned about our pitching depth. It’s a reoccurring issue that hasn’t been fixed the past few years. After barely making the .500 mark last year, I don’t see how we could pull 10 wins out of those games.

I agree with your comments about pitching depth. There have been years where we’ve had a bunch of really solid guys at the top and NO depth (2015/16), and then years where we’ve had lots of arms but only a couple usable ones (2017).

I’m fairly confident that we have #’s this year. Less sure about quality.

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

??? Since when have we ever taken issue with being .500 against the Top 25? You do realize that indicates we belong in the Top 25.

(02-06-2018 03:46 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 03:41 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 03:00 PM)RiceOwl Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

I think winning 10+ of those games is possible given the arms of the staff and key lineup pieces. That being said, I do worry about any of the midweek games, as historically they have never been our strength.

That leads to the question of who are the potential mid-week starters? (sorry, did not go back and re-read prior posts to see if this was discussed)

The midweek games will be a problem. However I am more concerned about our pitching depth. It’s a reoccurring issue that hasn’t been fixed the past few years. After barely making the .500 mark last year, I don’t see how we could pull 10 wins out of those games.

I agree with your comments about pitching depth. There have been years where we’ve had a bunch of really solid guys at the top and NO depth (2015/16), and then years where we’ve had lots of arms but only a couple usable ones (2017).

I’m fairly confident that we have #’s this year. Less sure about quality.

I'm not sure why mid-week games will be an issue, and they certainly have not been in the past. It appears Moss will likely start the season in the bullpen since he only just got back the other day after missing a month with a sore arm. I think that means our starting weekend rotation will be Canterino-Salinas-Jefferies/Amador, with the two mid-week arms being Amador/Jefferies and either Parthasarathy or Esquivel....though if Stanford has a left-hand heavy lineup it would not shock me if Kravetz is our 4th starter in that series. He did throw 4 lights out innings in yesterday's intrasquad.

Starting bullpen: Parthasarathy/Equivel (who doesn't get the mid-week start), Kravetz, Aker, Bordwine (who continues to throw well), Moss, Garcia and Gayle.

If Garcia and Gayle demonstrate consistency, I can see Moss moving into the weekend rotation once he regains arm strength sufficient to go 5+ innings.

(02-04-2018 10:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...
Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

Last year we were exactly .500 against preseason Top 25 teams.

That's okay, that's not the problem. The problem is that we were 2 games above .500 against teams who were NOT in the Top 25. Looks like 56 games, if we go 8-8 in those and 30-10 in the rest, we are 38-18 going into the conference tournament, that is more like it.

Midweek records the last few years (it's possible I may have miscounted somewhere):

2017: 5-7 (started the season 0-6)
2016: 8-3
2015: 6-5
2014: 8-7
2013: 11-3
2012: 12-4

I'm not sure if there is or is not a problem. I'm not trying to judge top 25 or not, but there does seem to be a bit of a drop off, but then there was 2016's midweek results (which unfortunately ended with 2 routs by Houston). I'm sure we'd all like Rice to be closer to that 8-3 record this year in midweek games than the barely .500 (or worse) in other recent seasons.

(02-06-2018 04:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

??? Since when have we ever taken issue with being .500 against the Top 25? You do realize that indicates we belong in the Top 25.

Probably since we have had championships set in our sights. The fact that you think .500 is good enough shows where expectations for the season are.

(02-06-2018 11:53 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 04:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 09:09 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  BTW, with UCF, SHS and USM all Top 25 ranked in multiple preseason polls, we are now scheduled to play 16 regular season games (30% of our schedule) against Top 25 caliber opponents...

Stanford x 4
UH x 3
USM x 3
SHS x 2
UVA
UCF
TCU
A&M

It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

??? Since when have we ever taken issue with being .500 against the Top 25? You do realize that indicates we belong in the Top 25.

Probably since we have had championships set in our sights. The fact that you think .500 is good enough shows where expectations for the season are.

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, it would be great to be above .500 against Top 25 opponents, but let's face reality-- of those 16 upcoming games against Top 25 teams, only 4 are at home at Reckling (all midweek games against UH, SHS, TCU and A&M). Given that, I think a .500 recordf over those 16 games would actually be pretty impressive....and it would likely mean we'd be well over .500 in our other 40 regular season games; 25 of which are at home.

(02-07-2018 12:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 11:53 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 04:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 10:44 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  It will be interesting after this season to see what our record is in these 16 games.

I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

??? Since when have we ever taken issue with being .500 against the Top 25? You do realize that indicates we belong in the Top 25.

Probably since we have had championships set in our sights. The fact that you think .500 is good enough shows where expectations for the season are.

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, it would be great to be above .500 against Top 25 opponents, but let's face reality-- of those 16 upcoming games against Top 25 teams, only 4 are at home at Reckling (all midweek games against UH, SHS, TCU and A&M). Given that, I think a .500 recordf over those 16 games would actually be pretty impressive....and it would likely mean we'd be well over .500 in our other 40 regular season games; 25 of which are at home.

You realize the Owls play better away from home right? Also UH, SHS would have been layups just 5-6 years ago. TCU is about to be relevant for its 9th year, and A&M is an instate rivalry that we need to win. The only reason .500 sounds impressive is because of how far from the top we have fallen.

(02-07-2018 11:09 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 12:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 11:53 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 04:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 01:50 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  I wouldn’t be overly optimistic, 8-8 would be a positive. Barely above .500 is the new norm.

??? Since when have we ever taken issue with being .500 against the Top 25? You do realize that indicates we belong in the Top 25.

Probably since we have had championships set in our sights. The fact that you think .500 is good enough shows where expectations for the season are.

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, it would be great to be above .500 against Top 25 opponents, but let's face reality-- of those 16 upcoming games against Top 25 teams, only 4 are at home at Reckling (all midweek games against UH, SHS, TCU and A&M). Given that, I think a .500 recordf over those 16 games would actually be pretty impressive....and it would likely mean we'd be well over .500 in our other 40 regular season games; 25 of which are at home.

You realize the Owls play better away from home right? Also UH, SHS would have been layups just 5-6 years ago. TCU is about to be relevant for its 9th year, and A&M is an instate rivalry that we need to win. The only reason .500 sounds impressive is because of how far from the top we have fallen.

No, I didn't realize that. Just B.S. As for UH, they have been a Top 25 caliber team for the past 20 years, with the exception of a 5-year period from 2008 - 2012. And please tell me when SHS has EVER been a "layup" for us. We have rarely swept our home and home with them, even in our glory years. Again, a .500 record against Top 25 opponents would be considered by most to be quite positive, especially when 75% of those games are away from home, And that would be true for ANY program in the country; not just Rice.

(02-07-2018 04:46 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 11:09 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 12:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 11:53 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 04:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  ??? Since when have we ever taken issue with being .500 against the Top 25? You do realize that indicates we belong in the Top 25.

Probably since we have had championships set in our sights. The fact that you think .500 is good enough shows where expectations for the season are.

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, it would be great to be above .500 against Top 25 opponents, but let's face reality-- of those 16 upcoming games against Top 25 teams, only 4 are at home at Reckling (all midweek games against UH, SHS, TCU and A&M). Given that, I think a .500 recordf over those 16 games would actually be pretty impressive....and it would likely mean we'd be well over .500 in our other 40 regular season games; 25 of which are at home.

You realize the Owls play better away from home right? Also UH, SHS would have been layups just 5-6 years ago. TCU is about to be relevant for its 9th year, and A&M is an instate rivalry that we need to win. The only reason .500 sounds impressive is because of how far from the top we have fallen.

No, I didn't realize that. Just B.S. As for UH, they have been a Top 25 caliber team for the past 20 years, with the exception of a 5-year period from 2008 - 2012. And please tell me when SHS has EVER been a "layup" for us. We have rarely swept our home and home with them, even in our glory years. Again, a .500 record against Top 25 opponents would be considered by most to be quite positive, especially when 75% of those games are away from home, And that would be true for ANY program in the country; not just Rice.

Though those 16 games may be against the preseason top 25, I would bet you pretty good money that not all will be in the top 25 RPI come seasons end, which is what really matters.

Let's generously say that all are in the top 50 RPI and we go 8-8 against them, that is not going to get us a regional hosting spot, much less a national seed (which was the expectation in the "glory years").

(02-07-2018 04:53 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 04:46 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 11:09 AM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 12:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-06-2018 11:53 PM)SpookSkywalker Wrote:  Probably since we have had championships set in our sights. The fact that you think .500 is good enough shows where expectations for the season are.

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, it would be great to be above .500 against Top 25 opponents, but let's face reality-- of those 16 upcoming games against Top 25 teams, only 4 are at home at Reckling (all midweek games against UH, SHS, TCU and A&M). Given that, I think a .500 recordf over those 16 games would actually be pretty impressive....and it would likely mean we'd be well over .500 in our other 40 regular season games; 25 of which are at home.

You realize the Owls play better away from home right? Also UH, SHS would have been layups just 5-6 years ago. TCU is about to be relevant for its 9th year, and A&M is an instate rivalry that we need to win. The only reason .500 sounds impressive is because of how far from the top we have fallen.

No, I didn't realize that. Just B.S. As for UH, they have been a Top 25 caliber team for the past 20 years, with the exception of a 5-year period from 2008 - 2012. And please tell me when SHS has EVER been a "layup" for us. We have rarely swept our home and home with them, even in our glory years. Again, a .500 record against Top 25 opponents would be considered by most to be quite positive, especially when 75% of those games are away from home, And that would be true for ANY program in the country; not just Rice.

Though those 16 games may be against the preseason top 25, I would bet you pretty good money that not all will be in the top 25 RPI come seasons end, which is what really matters.

Let's generously say that all are in the top 50 RPI and we go 8-8 against them, that is not going to get us a regional hosting spot, much less a national seed (which was the expectation in the "glory years").

To throw some numbers on this debate, NCAA saved most of their Nitty Gritty Reports. Records versus Top 25/50 in RPI are below.

2017: 8-9/12-16
2016: 5-10/15-16
2015: 5-4/5-6
2014: 3-7/9-13
2013: 2-4/2-7
2012: XXX/13-9 (No Nitty Gritty Sheet saved, used Warren Nolan)
2011: 8-6/13-12
2010: 2-4/9-12
2009: XXX/14-8 (For some reason, no top 25 not broken out)
2008: 11-5/20-11
2007: 7-9/20-10
2006: 11-9/22-11
2005: 6-8/12-9
2004: 2-6/11-7
2003: 16-4/20-6
2002: 10-5/13-5
2001: 3-2/15-6