the just released schedules were a flat-out statement that the B10 doesn't believe SOS will matter in playoff selection
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| Date | Title | Body |
|---|---|---|
| 3 hours 34 min ago | Calling Dave Brandon |
This could be a money maker. I'd love to see a highlights reel as well as the 3 games. If the footage still exists, MGoBlue ought to re-package it and sell to the softball fans. |
| 4 hours 7 min ago | Ragin Cajuns |
The Cajuns are a good team. Michigan can beat them. We've already done so. But:: Their pitcher is the real deal. In softball message boards she is mentioned a lot more than our pitchers. In other words, she's a stud. The Cajuns have been to the WCWS in recent history so they won't be in awe of playing in a super regional. There are 2 unranked teams in the SR this year - UAB (beat UCLA); and UL (beat LSU). There were several nail biters - FSU barely escaped South Alabama and Hofstra beat Missouri in the first game today. So, the mid-majors are all formidable. The mid-majors struggle to be ranked because of the strength of their conferences. UL always slips in rankings once they start playing against their conference opponents. The Cajuns have good team speed - probably better than us. We take pride in being a cold weather school with significant contributions from cold weather players (Doyle, Blanchard, Knapp, Dreisenga, Crummey, and Susalla). The Cajun players are primarily from small towns mostly in Louisiana, but Petal Mississippi for two players, and some Texas towns as well. Wallace is from a suburb of Fort Worth, but most of these players are from places more like Reed City, MI. Our tough regional helped us; better to play 2 games vs Cal rather than the #2 seeds we usually face. But UL has also had the same experience. They were in a tough regional and beat LSU twice. |
| 1 week 3 hours ago | Henderson |
Cal is one of the 1 pitcher teams in the tournament. Others are A&M, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Hofstra, and Baylor. Frankly, Minnesota and Wisconsin could also be classified that way. Henderson was injured and hasn't played much for several weeks. She finally won in their last game of the season: http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-softbl/recaps/051113aad.html She pitched earlier this weekend and got the loss - giving up several runs in the first inning. UM needs to worry about their own pitching, hitting, defense. We don't want to sneak into the Super regional.
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| 1 week 3 hours ago | Super Regionals |
Super Regionals are best of 3. The higher seed hosts unless they lose their regional. So UM would host LSU if both teams prevail in their regionals. If UM doesn't win, LSU would host the winner of the Michigan regional. Last year, Hofstra and South Florida both upset the regional hosts (UCLA & Florida respectively) and South Florida hosted the super-regional and ended up advancing to the College World Series.
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| 1 week 1 day ago | Minnesota |
Assuming Michigan wins, either of the other opponents will be tough. Moulton is the stud pitcher in the Big10; she's the main reason Minnesota is in the mix to get to the NCAA regionals. The pitcher UM will face today is Darragh. She's a junk ball pitcher, which Michigan traditionally doesn't do well against. But, I think we'll prevail. If we play Nebraska, they have seen our pitchers and had success against them. Wagner shut them down in Game 2 but wasn't successful in relief in Game 3. Nebraska pitching also held Romero hitless although she got on base. The conference has improved quite a bit in the past year. It was good to see Purdue battle Nebraska, although ultimately losing. They were tough against us as well although we ended up sweeping them. |
| 3 weeks 5 days ago | Duplicate |
Please delete this entry; was a duplicate |
| 3 weeks 6 days ago | UVA |
It is Teresa Sullivan, not Theresa. Another person out of UVA is James Hilton, her CFO, who she poached from UM. He's a good bit younger and pretty talented. As talented as Dave Brandon is with fund raising and connections, I don't think he's be very popular with the faculty. Faculty relations are pretty important for the President. That's what saved Sullivan at UVA. The faculty had her back as did the students. |
| 5 weeks 8 hours ago | Romero |
Actually, Romero was intentionally walked her first 3 at-bats; she had hit a grand slam in Friday's slug fest. Anyway, when she cam up to bat with the bases loaded they pitched to her and she hit her grand slam. Her next at bat, she was also intentionally walked. However, in game 2, they are pitching to her - at least for now. She is a stud hitter, and only a freshman.
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| 6 weeks 1 day ago | Grand Slam |
Ohio State pitchers walked 7 UM hitters today and gave up 3 homers (Blanchard, Lawrence, and Susalla). It was nice to see Blanchard hit a grand slam after they pitched around Romero to force in a run. And, those 7 walks and 3 HRs were in 5 innings. |
| 6 weeks 1 day ago | Grand Slam |
Ohio State pitchers walked 7 UM hitters today and gave up 3 homers (Blanchard, Lawrence, and Susalla). It was nice to see Blanchard hit a grand slam after they pitched around Romero to force in a run. And, those 7 walks and 3 HRs were in 5 innings.
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| 7 weeks 17 hours ago | Trade defense for offense |
I think we have always traded defense for offense; it doesn't hurt too much if the pitchers are really sharp and can handle the 4 out innings. Our pitchers were not all that sharp yesterday; PSU is a really bad team so you don't want to be giving up that many runs to them, even if some were unearned. Likewise, while our bats came out this weekend, it was also against subpar hitting. It will be interesting to see the team against better pitching - e.g., Darragh at Wisconsin or Moulton from Minnesota. I still think this team is really good. They showed grit in coming back against Purdue when the defense was shoddy and the pitchers were not sharp. In years past, we struggled to come back from 2, not to mention 5. Wagner is still in spring training having not pitched for the first 15 games or so of the season.
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| 7 weeks 4 days ago | Big10 |
UM used to have very little competition in the Big10 in softball. Northwestern was our main rival, but they've struggled with pitching in the past few years and pitching is the most important commodity a team can have. UM was beat in a Super Regional by Virginia Tech when all they had was a stud pitcher & good defense. Minnesota has a great sophomore pitcher and even though they don't have hitting they hit/scored plenty this past weekend. Wisconsin has a good pitcher and is in the top half of the conference. And, newcomer Nebraska is a pretty good team as well. Here's the RPI for the season so far (listed below). The teams playing tough competition will be our toughest competition this year. I'd be surprised if we went undefeated int he conference this year; mostly looking to sweep the series which will also be hard. We fell behind twice to Purdue but due to their poor defense and somewhat shaky pitching we won. But, our pitchers were hit pretty hard as well and we made defensive miscues. We always trade offense for defense, which matters in the World Series, e.g., it can hurt us. Anyway, here's the RPI rankings I mentioned earlier: 17. Nebraska
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| 8 weeks 1 day ago | Comparison |
I agree that Knapp's hitting has really improved, but both she and Blanchard will have a tough time challenging for First Team. They don't hit with enough power for 3rd and 1st. For most teams those are power positions with players that produce lots of RBIs and home-runs. But, their play is important to the team. One other thing Hutch has done differently this year is switch the line-up around, mostly batting order rather than players. #1 - #3 has been set, but we've had lots of shuffling around with #4 - #9. It even happened today with Blanchard and Dreisenga swapping slots. Sweet has been in #8 and is finally climbing out of the season-long slump she's been in. She had a 2-run homer in Game 2 today and is cutting down on her Ks.
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| 8 weeks 1 day ago | Gritty |
Both of the wins today were come from behind. In the first game, UM got behind by 5. Wagner was hit hard, but there was an error and some passed balls in the mix as well. She settled down and had 2 scoreless innings. We chipped away at the lead and then Purdue made some costly errors and UM wins by a mercy. The second game was pretty similar; our pitcher was hit hard and we made some errors. Again, we chipped away and tied it late in the game. By this time Romero wasn't getting anything but intentional walks - including in the last inning, which put a runner on 3rd with less than two outs. Blanchard hit a single up the middle to end the game. It's nice to see contributions from a variety of players; to see the team come back and win after some solid hitting by Purdue and some errors by UM. Both of the Sierras are good additions to the team.
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| 9 weeks 7 hours ago | Substantive |
What's the love with Northwestern? Their pitching is weak. I'd swap Minnesota with Northwestern any day. I agree with the criticism of the prose - using Sara, Ashley, etc. For most men's sports the players are known by their last names, with the exception of "Denard." And, I wouldn't keep mentioning how young our team is. For a team like Wisconsin, the young players are replacing less-skilled older players.Plenty of teams have young, stud players who start as freshman. Michigan softball has had its share of 4-year starters. The only reason freshmen start for a team is that they have beaten out an older player.
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| 9 weeks 16 hours ago | Schedule |
I disagree with your assessment that the new schedule favors us; this year it is a series of single games. That favors teams that have one stud pitcher. A double-header schedule favors a team like Michigan, which has always used two pitchers, even when the #2 is really not all that strong. In the end, it saves wear/tear on the stud and the stud often comes in to relieve the #2 starter. An example of this was the Tay,lor/Speierman year. I'm impressed with the increased strikeouts by Dreisenga. Last year she was much more of a pitch to contact pitcher and since UM's defense is never top notch, that's a risky situation to be in. And, she was the clear #2 last year; ideally, we have more of a 1a/1b situation this year. |
| 14 weeks 1 day ago | Guess/Hope |
Let's hope it is something contageous like the flu and Wagner was left in Ann Arbor. I think the team has too many players to travel, but I'm also pretty sure that when the travel roster is made up you include 2 pitchers, 2 catchers, and the regular defensive starters (still in flux). The left-at-home player is never a key player.
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| 14 weeks 1 day ago | Good Question |
Hutch is a real believer in using two pitchers, even when one is struggling. She usually sets up the starts to the stronger/better pitcher faces the tougher compeitition. But, we haven't seen Wagner at all this trip as a pitcher or DH. We may find out as USF has tied UM 2-2 in the bottom of the 1st.
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| 32 weeks 2 days ago | Schedule |
For those who think the Traverse City games were weak, this is pretty traditional. This is like the spring football game in football. It is a way to get some live competition and to try to fill the holes in the line-up from graduation and/or the influx of new players. Romero, the new shortstop, is the real deal. She is excellent defensively - great range and a quick release. Every ball she hit against the pro team was hit hard. She's hitting in the 3-hole. The game against the NFP was unusual. This was a real test - and UM won. They out-hit the NFP game and came through with the victory.
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| 51 weeks 3 days ago | Disagree |
Ala bama's offense is really good; defense not so much. They have two hitters with almost 20 HRs and 2 hitters with around 40 stolen bases. Traina is good but she's hittable. UM actually has more trouble with "pitchers" - those that have lots of changes of speed, good location, drop balls, etc. One of their losses this year was to the University of South Florida. Everyone says WTF but USF is in the sweet 16 as an unranked team vs Hofstra, another unranked team with a great pitcher (Galati). UM needs some offense; great defense (go KP); and good pitching. |
| 51 weeks 5 days ago | Stats |
Here are comparables for both teams: Alabama definitely has the edge on speed, but it is less critical if they speedsters don't get on base. Our pinch runners are fast, but mostly in comparison to the folks they replace. They aren't SEC-fast.
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| 51 weeks 5 days ago | Thoughts |
One thing you didn't mention in your summary is team speed. In general, the SEC has faster players than the BIG. Our fastest players - Doyle, Evans, and Sappenfield - are all slower than Alabama's two fastest players. In addition, Hutch is a bit old school and bunts rather than letting her players steal. And, we don't even bunt all that well, turning a bunt into a fielder's choice more often than we shold.I Nonetheless, I beleive Alabama has two players with 40+ steal attempts. Bottom line is that team speed means our defense has to be even better/more composed than it was vs Louisville. KP at 3rd base is a godsend. She is mobile and has a great arm. We'll need her to have the same good defense she had last weekend. She wants the ball so let's hope she gets it. On a message board, Alabama folks talked about their troubles with lefties. Hope that is true. They have also struggled with defense occasionally. Let's hope that is also true. UM has nothing to lose. We're a 20+ seed going in to play the #2 seed. We should be loose. Pressing never helps. We had 2 walk-offs in the regional. The team knows they can come from behind. Go Blue.
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| 1 year 6 days ago | Conference |
Our conference is weak this year so almost contending for the conference title doesn't count for much. The selection is based quite a bit on RPI. Northwestern, which had a pretty miserable conference record, ends up getting in, based on their better RPI. I don't like lots of the match-ups. It seems as though the NCAA is trying to hype the tournament based on past opponents rather than just letting the seeds fall into place more naturally. UM is matched up against KY, who we played in the SR last year. Likewise, the year before we were paired with TN in the SR. That was the team we had to beat to get into the World Series back in 2005. |
| 1 year 6 days ago | Tough regional; tougher than |
Tough regional; tougher than many. And, if UM wins they face the #2 regional - Alabama is the likely winner of that region. This will be a good experience for the team. They can win the regional, but it would be an upset if they do.
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| 1 year 3 weeks ago | Re-Building |
My point is that every year is a rebuilding year. We always lose at least a few starters. This year is no different, except that we haven't been as successful at the task. Starting two freshmen pitchers is no excuse. Often the freshman pitcher/slugger on a team is more skilled than the older players. And, that is the case for UM. We have a junior pitcher that was our #2 last year but hasn't seen a lot of playing time this year. Lots of teams have stud freshman pitchers - Florida, Alabama, Washington - last year, Louisiana Lafeyette this year. Our freshman pitchers aren't quite at that level this year, but frankly it is the offense that is killing us. As to our likely seeding in the regionals - I'd say #2 in a regional. That draws from the 17th - 32nd place team. We should go in with some attitude - frustrated that we're #2. There's not a lot of pressure on the team. Lots of times we're ranked something like #4 and there is whispering that UM isn't really that strong; the Big10 is a weak softball conference; we're overrated, etc. This time we can be on the other side of the argument and show folks that we're better than our record shows.
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| 1 year 3 weeks ago | Rebuilding |
I'm not sure why folks keep framing this year as a re-building year. In 2007, after Ritter graduated the team had a very respectable year - made it to the Super Regionals vs Baylor with a freshman pitcher (Nemitz) and a non-stud senior (Wilson). The following year they lost the Super Regional vs Virginia Tech (Tincher) with a freshman pitcher (Taylor) and Nemitz. In 2006, a big rebuilding year - losing lots of offensive starters, but still having Ritter, they made it to the Super Regionals vs Tennessee. This is a disappointing season record-wise. I'm sure the coaches were not anticipating this. Nor are they making excuses of having to replace a dominant pitcher. I hope the players loosen up and have fun. They will not be a #1 seed in the regionals, but plenty of lower seeded teams advance. And, they can host. The NCAA has to distribute sites all of the nation; they can't all be in the SEC or PAC. I'm pretty sure that Cal played at Louisville last year as the #1 seed and Hofstra often hosts as a #2 seed. |
| 1 year 3 weeks ago | Illinois |
While Illinois is in the bottom third of the BIG it gave Purdue a loss. And, we struggled against Illinois last year, although we beat them. Illinois has two reasonable pitchers - Guy and Gay. Michigan is in the driver's seat for the conference title. They need to play good defense (4 of the 6 runs we gave up in Game 2 were unearned); put the ball in play - cut down on Ks. Our pitchers, especially Wagner, are doing their jobs. They could easily host, but I doubt they'll be a #1 seed. That is not an uncommon scenario for cold weather sites, but it would be big change for UM. I'm not even sure we'd want host under those circumstances. |
| 1 year 4 weeks ago | PH for Evans |
I don't think Evans being pinch hit for is any indication of a hand injury. Hutch has been pinch hitting for the slappers any time she needs a power bat - for a sacrifice fly or a homer. I think Evans batted 9th in Game 1 because her average is lower than the other two slappers. However, she was the only slapper to get a hit in that game, so Game 2 was back to the beginning of the season order with Evans, Sappenfield at the top and Doyle batting 9th.
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| 1 year 4 weeks ago | PH for Evans |
I don't think Evans being pinch hit for is any indication of a hand injury. Hutch has been pinch hitting for the slappers any time she needs a power bat - for a sacrifice fly or a homer. I think Evans batted 9th in Game 1 because her average is lower than the other two slappers. However, she was the only slapper to get a hit in that game, so Game 2 was back to the beginning of the season order with Evans, Sappenfield at the top and Doyle batting 9th.
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| 1 year 5 weeks ago | Academically Ineligible |
The real kicker will be that he'll come back, but because he's been toying with entering the draft perhaps he's blown his classes off. And, thus he'll be on campus - just not able to help the team by playing. |
