i was wrong

Base meet ball. This may not be how it works. Baseball plays for a spot in the championship series at 2 today. Michigan will start Karl Kauffman and has authorized extreme measures if and when Kauffman doesn't turn in a CGSO:

Karl Kauffmann will start tomorrow for Michigan, coach Erik Bakich said. Expect Jeff Criswell in relief, if needed.

— Abby Snyder (@abbyhsnyder) June 20, 2019

Texas Tech risked their third starter against the punchless FSU bats and got five innings out of him before burning out Tyler Floyd, their top reliever, in four scoreless innings. Michigan will get freshman Micah Dallas again. Dallas got chased after three innings on on Monday in his worst start since he emerged from the bullpen. He also pitched against Michigan in March, where he was much better but not particularly long-lived. He struck out 7 and walked none as he gave up one ER in five innings.

So far Micah Dallas is 91-93 FB, 81-84 SL. Good velo but the SL really sticks in his hand, doesn’t show much bite. Would guess he can keep RHB at bay with just the FB if he maintains velo. The SL to lefties deep in counts looks like a mistake waiting to happen.

— Manuel Excel (@colintj) June 15, 2019

For the season Dallas has a 3.6 ERA, a WHIP of 1.37, and 84 Ks in 75 innings. He went 7 innings in 3 of his 12 starts and usually gets to 5 or 6 so the bullpen will very likely get a significant amount of action. Even if Floyd is out, Tech has another couple of guys who made a ton of appearances in Dane Haveman and John McMillon—seems like everyone in the tournament has a much deeper bullpen than Michigan.

FWIW, Texas Tech's leadoff hitter returned from a broken finger against FSU. He's not healthy. He's wearing what his coach called "a contraption." He had a single in five plate appearances.

Come to the library! Tonight at 7:

The Shutdown Fullcast LIVE

When

Friday June 21, 2019: 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Where

Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Description

Billed as “the internet’s only college football podcast,” the Shutdown Fullcast has been entertaining and antagonizing college football fans worldwide since 2013.

This summer, for the very first time, they’re venturing into the wild heart of Big Ten country in celebration of the internet’s only college football team: Michigan. Join Spencer Hall, Jason Kirk, Ryan Nanni, and Holly Anderson for an evening of only the most dignified and sporting giggles at lesser teams’ expense.

The MGoBlog podcast crew will also be there, so this is going to be a chaotic hydra of a thing. Do you like coherence, reason, and order? If so I recommend the Sushi Demo & Workship, which goes from 6-7:30 at the downtown branch. Come to our thing if you go to the zoo and think "I wish the monkeys threw more poop."

[After the JUMP: it rattles home!]

[Fuller]

I scrapped the original question because there's a burning one out there:

Gardner or Morris? Who should start, who will start?

Ace: Before the press conferences this week, I'd still have gone with Gardner—despite his awful performances against Notre Dame and Utah, I think he still gives Michigan the best chance to win. We've seen him at his best—and playing at his best while overcoming injury and a horrendous O-line—and that best is right up there with any college QB, while Morris has yet to show much other than similarly inconsistent, turnover-prone play in his short time on the field. If this team needs to win now, and to save Brady Hoke's job they clearly do, I think Gardner is the play unless he's so broken physically/mechanically that it's impossible for him to scrape his ceiling. (I'm about 80% there on thinking this is the case, by the way, but last year's Ohio State game lingers in my mind as a strong counterpoint—remember, that performance came out of nowhere, and he had a broken foot to boot.)

That said, the way this has been handled publicly makes me believe Morris will be the starter—why not dispel the speculation if there isn't going to be a change?*—and at this point I think they have to go with that. Most fans believe Morris will be the starter and most are ready for the change now whether or not they were on board; if they head into the Big House thinking that way and Gardner is announced as the starter, there are going to be boos directed at that decision—which is basically booing Gardner, probably the person associated with the football program who least deserves that treatment—and that's just not going to help anything. I understand the reasoning behind putting Morris in—he's the future, the present option isn't going so well at all, and he gets the chance to learn on the fly in a game setting and hopefully improve before our very eyes—but it's a huge risk for Hoke if he goes there, especially if he sticks to his word that he won't rotate QBs.

Playing Gardner comes with its own risks, of course, but the biggest risk is still playing a QB with this career stat line: 36/67, 340 yards (5.1 YPA), 0 passing TDs, 4 interceptions.

----------------------------

*Since the most common response I've seen to this is "so Minnesota has to prepare for Gardner," I'll note that there's no way in hell Minnesota isn't preparing for Gardner—and Morris, too—no matter what Brady Hoke says in a press conference.

----------------------------

[jump for the rest of us]