Outside looking in according to D1Baseball

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

Not even in the first four out.

Not overly surprising, I guess. I'd think we'd have to have a winning record in the BTT, if not just win it outright, to have a chance. I'm not optimistic.

 

[ptrich]

Not even in the first four out.

Not overly surprising, I guess. I'd think we'd have to have a winning record in the BTT, if not just win it outright, to have a chance. I'm not optimistic.

In their Field of 64 prediction, they had Nebraska and Illinois as two-seeds in the tournament. Interestingly, they had Cincinnati and Louisville in their first four out and weather canceled out our games with them near the end of the season. I, as well as others, thought IU needed both of those games to help their postseason resume out, and it was probably the same with those two teams also.

 

[TomEric4756]

Yes, I was thinking IU needed to win vs. Cincy and UL to have a shot … especially dropping the series in Lincoln.

Should IU get the automatic bid … I think both Huskers and Illini get in too. I’d say Husker pitching gives them an edge over the rest of the top 4 seeds.

 

[82IU]

If Luke Sinnard was healthy and Ryan Kraft was pitching up to his potential like last season, we probably would be in with no doubts. Matthew Bohnert's unavailability didn't help us either. Got a lot of things to work on for next season. IU has a world of talent but they cannot just rely on talent alone. Work on the Fundamentals... Fielding, Base running and moving Base runners over etc..! It has been head scratching at times to say the least.
Go Hoosiers... win the B1G Tournament!
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[ptrich]

If Luke Sinnard was healthy and Ryan Kraft was pitching up to his potential like last season, we probably would be in with no doubts. Matthew Bohnert's unavailability didn't help us either. Got a lot of things to work on for next season. IU has a world of talent but they cannot just rely on talent alone. Work on the Fundamentals... Fielding, Base running and moving Base runners over etc..! It has been head scratching at times to say the least.
Go Hoosiers... win the B1G Tournament!
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Northwestern transfer pitcher Ben Grable was supposed to be a wildcard player out of the portal for us and he didn't throw a pitch this season. I never did hear just what kind of injury he had. Does anyone know?

 

[82IU]

Northwestern transfer pitcher Ben Grable was supposed to be a wildcard player out of the portal for us and he didn't throw a pitch this season. I never did hear just what kind of injury he had. Does anyone know?

I was wondering the same thing. I didn't mention him because I wasn't sure how good he was.
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[kraft cheese+macaroni]

If Luke Sinnard was healthy and Ryan Kraft was pitching up to his potential like last season, we probably would be in with no doubts. Matthew Bohnert's unavailability didn't help us either. Got a lot of things to work on for next season. IU has a world of talent but they cannot just rely on talent alone. Work on the Fundamentals... Fielding, Base running and moving Base runners over etc..! It has been head scratching at times to say the least.
Go Hoosiers... win the B1G Tournament!
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I'm afraid the $EC or ACC is going to come running with some NIL money for some of our studs

 

[ptrich]

We had three starters transfer out after last season. Matthew Ellis was the starting catcher to begin last season, but he missed approximately the last 40 games of the season due to injury with Serruto replacing him in the lineup. For Hunter Jessee, it was more of a move to play at home in Cincinnati.

Here were their stats at the end of the regular season:

Bobby Whalen - Played in 49 of 53 games for Virginia and started 34 games in CF. He hit .396 for the ranked Cavs and had 8 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 homers. His batting average was tops for the Cavs among the players with significant playing time.

Matthew Ellis - He started in 51 of 52 games for Georgia Tech as the catcher. He hit .316 and had 15 homers and 11 doubles.

Hunter Jessee - Played in 43 of 54 games and started 39 games in LF for Cincinnati. He hit .245 with 7 doubles and 3 homers.

 

[Next time]

I’m curious if they wanted to leave or were told it was time to move along? Obviously all three continued their college journey and had good years.

 

[biglewexpress]

Not even in the first four out.

Not overly surprising, I guess. I'd think we'd have to have a winning record in the BTT, if not just win it outright, to have a chance. I'm not optimistic.

Metrics look good. 55 RPi, 39 SOS, Big10 #4 conference, good conference record. The bad? 6-10 vs Q1 and 8-4 vs Q4. Those things usually separate in vs out when comparing teams at that line.

Have to give credit though, the players and coaches really picked it up halfway through the season and really finished strong and have made a case for an at large bid.

 

[82IU]

Treating some of those mid week games like they were a JV scrimmage came back to bite us in the buttocks. D1 Baseball has us as the #66th team right now. I'm not sure how many bid stealers there are but ISU did us no favors. Nebraska finished PSU off and left the door ever so slightly cracked open but I don't think we will slip through. It will be interesting to see if we can hold on to players like Taylor, Wiggins, Oliver and Sinnard. We have the potential to bring back a lot of talent but could very well lose a lot as well.
By the way, fwiw, Baseball America still has us at #63 and a #3 seed in Lexington.
"So you're telling me there's a chance".
-Lloyd Christmas
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[ptrich]

Treating some of those mid week games like they were a JV scrimmage came back to bite us in the buttocks. D1 Baseball has us as the #66th team right now. I'm not sure how many bid stealers there are but ISU did us no favors. Nebraska finished PSU off and left the door ever so slightly cracked open but I don't think we will slip through. It will be interesting to see if we can hold on to players like Taylor, Wiggins, Oliver and Sinnard. We have the potential to bring back a lot of talent but could very well lose a lot as well.
By the way, fwiw, Baseball America still has us at #63 and a #3 seed in Lexington.
"So you're telling me there's a chance".
-Lloyd Christmas
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It will be extremely surprising, at least to me and probably a lot of others, if we make the field, and I just don't see it. I agree on your comment about the midweek games. We had midweek games where pitchers were being pulled that had a good inning in a non-stop rotation of the bullpen, but also for some reason, our hitting also disappeared in some of those games. Maybe if we were hitting the ball well, some of those midweek rotations would have made some sense.

Our RPI last season was 31 and we were 17-0 against Q4 teams and 8-2 against Q3 teams. This season we are at a RPI of 55 and as it was already pointed out that we were 8-4 against Q4 teams and 12-6-1 against Q3 teams. IMO, our record against Q3 and Q4 teams almost certainly cost us an at-large bid considering how it impacts the RPI.

From what I've seen, Sinnard will probably get drafted despite missing the season with Tommy John surgery, but at what round? If he goes late in the draft, he may want to return to improve his draft standing, and if he does that, hopefully it's at IU.

The portal and instant eligibility have made the off-season in college sports an almost free-for-all, and the B1G lost a few players to the SEC and ACC after last season. Whoever has the most NIL money available for baseball programs will also play a role in the movement, and it stands to reason that with the emphasis they place on baseball at the warm weather schools, that there is probably more NIL money available for those programs. While it wasn't to an ACC or SEC school and it was within the conference, Iowa lost a starter to Maryland in Sam Hojnar at the end of last season, and it was over who could offer the most money. I also posted an item under another thread over how PSU has decided to throw more NIL money into their program in order to compete at a high level. Here's a link to the Hojnar saga at Iowa over NIL bucks:

Iowa's attempt to raise NIL money for Sam Hojnar falls short - Hawk Fanatic

By Pat Harty IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller had a meeting on Tuesday that left him feeling sad, frustrated and even a little angry. Because it was during this meeting that Heller bid farewell to Sam Hojnar as a player. They met for about 45 minutes and that’s when Hojnar told […]

hawkfanatic.com

 

[TomEric4756]

Some of our position players could get drafted too … is there still a three year college rule?

 

[ptrich]

Some of our position players could get drafted too … is there still a three year college rule?

Of the veteran position players Pyne might be back, and who knows about the other veteran players that are draft eligible, and it may depend on where they are drafted.

One of the exceptions to the three-year rule is if a player turns 21 by the date of the draft, and Foley is a draft-eligible soph because of that. I mentioned in an earlier thread that Iowa was probably going to lose all three of their weekend starters and one of those starters, Obermueller, is like Foley and a draft-eligible soph. I saw one mock draft that had all three of Iowa's weekend starters going ahead of Foley.

 

[Orbit7958]

#FireMercer

 

[82IU]

Tyler Cerny will be a draft eligible Sophomore (7/13/04). B. Risedorph will be 21 on July 30th... just past the cut off.
With the Portal and the MLB Draft it could become a real nightmare for some Coaches especially the Northern Colleges and Mid Major Schools to construct the next year's Roster.
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[ptrich]

Both D1Baseball and Baseball America have IU in their final projection and they both have IU as a 3-seed in the Knoxville Regional.

I hope they are correct, but most of us probably don't believe it will happen.

The selection show is on ESPN2 on Monday at noon ET.

Carl James of iubase.com does an interesting analysis of IU's chances of making the tournament and he was negative on IU making it before some results were made clear after all of the tournaments were finished and here is the link to that if you haven't seen it. Maybe there is a chance.

Resume Analysis Selection (early) Morning – iubase.com

iubase.com

 

[TomEric4756]

Of the veteran position players Pyne might be back, and who knows about the other veteran players that are draft eligible, and it may depend on where they are drafted.

One of the exceptions to the three-year rule is if a player turns 21 by the date of the draft, and Foley is a draft-eligible soph because of that. I mentioned in an earlier thread that Iowa was probably going to lose all three of their weekend starters and one of those starters, Obermueller, is like Foley and a draft-eligible soph. I saw one mock draft that had all three of Iowa's weekend starters going ahead of Foley.

IA and NEB had some fine pitching. I expect many of them to move on.

 

[TomEric4756]

#FireMercer

Don’t think he’s earned that yet, despite this year’s disappointments.

 

[Im4iu89]

Don’t think he’s earned that yet, despite this year’s disappointments.

Especially if they do make the field. While the team definitely struggled this year, the pitching improved the last third of the year. If hitting had remained constant, there would be no doubt. And man, those mid-week games killed us this year. That is the one area where I feel Mercer failed significantly. I don't know if he did not take them seriously, but they are the difference between this year and last year.

 

[biglewexpress]

Ouch, in at Knoxville. They made it though.

 

[82IU]

I wonder how far along Luke Sinnard is in his recovery? If he is healthy(ready to try his arm out) and is looking to go in the draft, send him out to the mound during the Regional for a couple of innings and see what he can do. I know this is a pipe dream but we have to figure he will probably not be a Hoosier next Season anyway. Would love to see him pitch as a Hoosier at least one more time. His injury was right at a year ago. The projection for his injury can vary but most predict around a year do they not? No sense in trying to save a redshirt for him. I would not want to see him ruin his career just for our selfish reasons but if there is a sliver of a chance he is cleared and up to it we could really use his talents. I know, I'm eating a lot of Dream Sickles! VBG.

 

[muubell]

#FireMercer

#qualityanalysis

 

[ulrey]

Not even in the first four out.

Not overly surprising, I guess. I'd think we'd have to have a winning record in the BTT, if not just win it outright, to have a chance. I'm not optimistic.

Good call!

 

[Orbit7958]

#qualityanalysis

As quality as Mercer's coaching

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

I wonder how far along Luke Sinnard is in his recovery? If he is healthy(ready to try his arm out) and is looking to go in the draft, send him out to the mound during the Regional for a couple of innings and see what he can do. I know this is a pipe dream but we have to figure he will probably not be a Hoosier next Season anyway. Would love to see him pitch as a Hoosier at least one more time. His injury was right at a year ago. The projection for his injury can vary but most predict around a year do they not? No sense in trying to save a redshirt for him. I would not want to see him ruin his career just for our selfish reasons but if there is a sliver of a chance he is cleared and up to it we could really use his talents. I know, I'm eating a lot of Dream Sickles! VBG.

No

 

[82IU]

No

I know, but I can dream can't I. VBG. Even a Luke Sinnard at 75% is probably better than most of our Pitching Staff. I would not want him to become the next Wale Ogunleye (although his situation turned out to be ok).
I know there is just too much at stake in today's world. Back when I was a kid the average Baseball Salary was nothing, now the Bench Players start out at ridiculous money. Luke should be able to get a super nice signing bonus and be set for life if he manages his finances. I hope he can fully recover and pitch in the Big Show.
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[Bucket Getter]

#qualityanalysis

You like what you’ve seen this year? Most here were expecting this to be a banner year. Still can be with today’s news, but it’s been a very uneven season to say the least. I’d at least like to see him make some staff changes, but I doubt even that is in the cards.