How important was the change in the scheduling???

T

TheFied

2,500+ Posts
It seems that our team put it together too late and had they got in their groove sooner could have hosted a regional to make things easier.

But how much was the scheduling change (by the NCAA) important vs. our pitchers getting healthier (ie, most of these surgeries really take longer than 12 months to recover)?
 
I think it was important from the standpoint of having an experienced pitching staff. People say "well, everyone had to play by the same rules, so it shouldn't have mattered." Not true.

The northern teams have been playing this kind of schedule forever. They're used to it, so they had an inherent advantage. But the fact that Austin Wood was the only upperclassman on the staff (starter or otherwise) who actually got legit experience in 2007 really hurt the Horns. Too many freshmen, sophomore transfers, and pitchers coming off injury to be able to handle 5 games a week, and not everyone had that problem.
 
I would love to know what Augie's self evaluatin about this year is. I think he had trouble adjusting to the new schedule and has to be concerned about the development of our pitchers. I think he will make some adjustments in this offseason because he cannot be happy with his or our performance this year. I have confidence he will make a comeback and I am an Augie fan all the way.
 
I think that our pitching staff was very young. Riley B. and Kasparek's injuries aren't easy to get over in 12 months. They needed more time.

We will be losing (likely) Russell, Danks, Muldenour (sp?) and Clark I believe. Who else?
 
For a coaching staff that doesn't over-use its pitchers, I think the scheduling might have played a role. Augie has never been one to wear out pitchers during the regular season. His philospohy has generally been to allow them to come into their own as the season progresses. A young pitching staff combined with the change in scheduling might have had a negative effect on this philosophy.
 
these guys played the same this year as they performed in 06 and 07.
The schedule is Bill Little and AG's excuse to whine.
EVERYBODY did play with the same schedukle and teams that were always good before are still good today ( glance at the brackets at who is winning.)
Is the new schedule bad? Absolutely !!..... but to harp on it is just whining IMHO.
 
I guess I am just all over the place in how I feel about these past few seasons. I think the entire "Augie has won 5 NC, I'll trust what he does over some internet poster" is most definitely true, but it is starting to lose luster. Actually, it is getting kinda old. I agree with Sua, this excuse about the schedule is just whining.

We did get 39 wins though, and I am proud of the team and the coaches. I just wish we could get back to dominating the country. Is that too much to ask?
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Relax. This was a tough year and the reality is the Horns managed to come in 5th in a pretty crappy league before they got hot. How the b12 got four host spots is beyond me and the agroids are the only one left and that will end soon enough. The chemistry was just wrong this year and it is no fun to be paired with Rice. That said, if Texas is a host, they might still be alive this year, but I think some of Texas fans assumed that Rice was an easy draw and clearly that is not the case. IMO the Texas team lost this regional when they lost to St. Johns. The horns can't match the owls arm for arm and have not since 2005. Keep in mind that not very many programs can. That said, Texas can recruit pitching and they will. Thankfully, there are many good HS pitchers out who can't get into Rice and they need a place to play too.
 
IMO we lost due to hitting.....not pitching . Pitching in the reg was fine....offense and executionm were poor
Skip isn't the problem at Texas
 
On a national level, pitching is one argument that might be justifiable. You cannot expect a pitching staff that has ONE upperclassman with reasonable PT from 2007, 2 pitchers coming off medical redshirts, and 10 freshmen to adjust very well to a 45 inning per week schedule. It just doesn't happen. I'm not happy with Skip Johnson's handling of the pitching staff, but it was not an easy situation to deal with in this particular season, and most schools were not starting off behind the eight-ball in that way.

On an institutional level, I think scheduling definitely made a difference for the coaches. The NCAA requires that the players get one day off per week (meaning no games, no practices, no team meetings, etc.). They were playing a game 5 days per week, so that left only 1 day a week for practicing. You can't tell me that not having more time for instruction didn't play a role in the performance of some of the players, particularly the freshmen and the pitchers.

It's easy to look back at the season now and say "maybe they just weren't that good, and anyone who wants to talk about the schedule is just whining." But I'll be more inclined to believe a man who has been coaching college baseball for 4 decades and has won 5 national titles when he says that practice time, especially with new players, is crucial to success.
 
Fan boards - especially when fans of opponents are posting - have a very hard time distinguishing between reasons and excuses/whining. If we're saying something is a factor, it's a reason - opponents view it as whining or an excuse.

If Augie says it was a factor, it's just that - a factor. Sometime late in the season even Childress was quoted on the negative impact.
 
By the way, Moldenhauer is not eligible to leave early (this year). You must either be a junior, 21 years old, or turn 21 within 45 days after the draft, which is late July. He will not be 21 until late September. David Hernandez and Brandon Belt are in the same boat, I believe.

Tucker and Torres are both juniors. Among the starters, they are the only possibilities, aside from Russell, Danks, and Clark.

Pitching-wise, Wood, Kasparek, Boening, Whitmer are all possibilities. There may be some other obscure guys in the pen who qualify.

And remember the new rule (in effect since last year) is that they have only until August 15 to sign a contract.
 
Yes, everybody played with the same schedule. Not everyone needed the practice time to allow newcomers to come into their own. Practice time was cut by over 50%.

Starting line ups - 2007/2008
C - Preston Clark/Cameron Rupp
1B - Chance Wheeless/Brandon Belt
2B - Travis Tucker/Travis Tucker
SS - Chais Fuller/David Hernandez
3B - Bradley Suttle/Preston Clark
LF - Jordan Danks/Russell Moldenhauer
CF - Nick Peoples/Jordan Danks
RF - Kyle Russell/Kyle Russell

2007 Top 5 Pitchers in order of number innings pitched
1. James Russell
2. Adrian Alaniz
3. Joseph Krebs
4. Austin Wood
5. Randy Boone

2008 Top 5 Pitchers in order of number innings pitched
1. Austin Wood
2. Chance Ruffin
3. Kenn Kasparek
4. Cole Green
5. Brandon Workman

By my count, there were 7 players new to their positions and 4 different pitchers who were relied upon the most. When there are that many players new to their positions at D1 baseball, more practice is needed and the new schedule doesn't allow for it.

That being said, with such a young team this year, the future looks bright.
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UT Horn Fan. Your analyissi is valid and good but it still is probative of nothing.
How do you explain that a team with essentially the same "leadership" has performed this way for 3 years in a row now. ....long before the "new" scheduling.
My point is that everyone plays under the same rules and rebuilding is part of life everywhere. It is an excuse/factor/ reason/whatever.
 
Granted we don't know who is coming back, but is there a chance that next year will be able to go further into a regional or Omaha than the three previous? There are a ton of teams that are just reloading every year like we were.
 
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