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Re: Softball - d4cohn - 04-13-2017

Stanford loses again in Pac-12 play to fall to 0-10 in conference, after a 10-0 5-inning run rule loss to ASU. 4th straight 5-inning run rule loss after going the first six games of conference play without getting run-ruled.

Re: Softball - BobK - 04-13-2017

We shut them out innings 3-4-5 🤓

Re: Softball - Cred - 04-14-2017

(04-13-2017, 06:19 PM)d4cohn link Wrote:Stanford loses again in Pac-12 play to fall to 0-10 in conference, after a 10-0 5-inning run rule loss to ASU. 4th straight 5-inning run rule loss after going the first six games of conference play without getting run-ruled.

Recall that Coach Culture Builder (the descriptor "Culture Builder" borrowed from Coach Hanson's twitter page) anticipated that 2015 would be "a $%#@ year" with respect to team culture. (BTW, I don't share the seemingly infinite tolerance for (her own*) failure expressed on Coach Hanson's twitter page, from "Transformation doesn't happen overnight, but as a result of faithful progress in the right direction over time" (May 27, 2016) to " 'The competitor gets more determined the more she fails.' Love this...!" (April 10, 2017).) Recall, also, that there was a sense among some of year 2015's players that "the season was being used as a waste year to get rid of the seniors." (source: http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/05/28/stanford-softball-in-shambles-after-infighting-controversial-resignation)

Can't help but wonder how many of the current team's players have by now acquired something of a "waste it" mindset with respect to the remainder of this season (in the face of rotten coaching staff culture and perpetual manifestations of a most severe paucity of coaching talent) with eyes fixed, hearts set and minds focused on a 2018 season and beyond without Hanson & Co.

Noting that Oregon State in particular seems to have made strides in recent weeks, a Pac-12 record of 2-70 under Hanson now looks like a distinct possibility. Surely 2-70 (or anything approaching such a stark manifestation of coaching ineptitude) would guarantee that the current staff shall be timely issued a one-way ticket out of Palo Alto.

* Could hardly say that Hanson demonstrated anything short of zero-tolerance, punitive excess in the case of a certain apologetic 2015 player when that player failed to tell her brother to get lost when he approached and began talking to her during a particular No Family Allowed period of time when players were free to do most anything else, including wasting that time away.



Re: Softball - paloalto - 04-14-2017

I watched the first inning of the ASU match.  It looked like we were pitching batting practice to the ASU players.  What little I know about the sport is that 90% of the outcome depends on pitching.  Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

Without the pitching talent, no amount of coaching ability is going to win games.  At this point it is all about recruiting. 

Re: Softball - BobK - 04-14-2017

We have a very good pitcher coming in and 2 younger committed.



Re: Softball - d4cohn - 04-14-2017

(04-14-2017, 08:49 AM)paloalto link Wrote:I watched the first inning of the ASU match.  It looked like we were pitching batting practice to the ASU players.  What little I know about the sport is that 90% of the outcome depends on pitching.  Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

That was our ace starting against ASU, who earlier in the year held Cal to 1-run on 2 hits in 6 complete innings (of a 7 inning game). She pitched great in non-conference play, with close to a 3.00 ERA.

Obviously, the competition is a lot stronger in Pac-12 play, though based on what I saw, I have to say that I unfortunately thought of the same thing that Cred commented on with respect to mindset at this point in the season.

With regards to pitching talent, we already have a Top 100 pitcher on the staff (with a Top 50 pitcher in Maddy Dwyer, who is part of next year's recruiting class). The pitchers that we have may not be elite, but we should not be giving up 9+ runs in this many games in a row, particularly to a team like ASU, who is nearly last in the Pac-12 in multiple offensive categories. The strength of this ASU team is their pitching, not their hitting.

Based on this, I would simply add one point to your thoughts paloalto. At this point it is all about recruiting and development.

Re: Softball - Cred - 04-14-2017

(04-14-2017, 08:49 AM)paloalto link Wrote:I watched the first inning of the ASU match.  It looked like we were pitching batting practice to the ASU players.  What little I know about the sport is that 90% of the outcome depends on pitching.  Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

Without the pitching talent, no amount of coaching ability is going to win games.  At this point it is all about recruiting.

Absolutely no doubt, pitching is far and away THE biggest element of the game. And that's where our agreement ends.

While I very much doubt the best coach in the nation could have squeezed double-digits conference wins out of this team this year, I also very much doubt that that coach would even have sniffed the stench of 0-24 last year.

Tell me if you think a coach of at least microscopically detectable competence might have stood a chance of pulling a win out of the following game from last season's simply inexcusable 0-24 performance:

A career sub-.200 hitter mired in a 5 for 45 slump finds herself starting in the "clean up" position. She goes 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts in the heart of the lineup, as Stanford loses 3-2 in 10 innings.

So kiss 1-23 goodbye. Not that that would have been anything to write home about.

No telling, however, what difference a season-long ineffective utilization of players, the virtual absence of "small ball" and base-stealing, intangibles (e.g., “You need to feel the confidence coming from your coaches. You need to feel like they want you to do well, and I definitely did not get that this year, whatsoever." (source: http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/05/28/stanford-softball-in-shambles-after-infighting-controversial-resignation)), etc.--things pointed out multiple times here--might have made in other tight games.



Re: Softball - BobK - 04-14-2017

Anyone at the game now?

Re: Softball - d4cohn - 04-14-2017

(04-14-2017, 05:02 PM)BobK link Wrote:Anyone at the game now?

I am watching the game on the Pac-12 app. Unfortunately wasn't able to make it to today's game. Hope the bacon for Bacon Night is good.  :)

Re: Softball - BobK - 04-14-2017

Mercy again

Re: Softball - BostonCard - 04-14-2017

Can we invoke the mercy rule on the season?

Re: Softball - Goose - 04-14-2017

(04-14-2017, 07:01 PM)BobK link Wrote:Mercy again
FWIW, I have always wondered about the "mercy" rule, even in little league. It seems to be saying that you are so bad you can't bear up to "real" competition. It is kind of insulting in that sense. Then again, in this case, it may be true.

Re: Softball - Cred - 04-15-2017

(04-14-2017, 10:14 PM)Goose link Wrote:[quote author=BobK link=topic=16598.msg191706#msg191706 date=1492221680]
Mercy again
FWIW, I have always wondered about the "mercy" rule, even in little league. It seems to be saying that you are so bad you can't 59er up to "real" competition. It is kind of insulting in that sense. Then again, in this case, it may be true.
[/quote]

The "mercy" rule does serve a practical purpose in tournament play, as it helps keep the games on schedule.

Generally speaking, I'm pretty okay with the rule anyway. It not only spares the losing team from absorbing an unnecessarily prolonged beating but spares the losing team's fans further exposure to the slaughter.

Though this act of invoking "mercy" might seem a little insulting, the fact that the actual play on the field beats the "mercy" rule to the punch in suggesting that the losing team doesn't belong on the same field with the competition, I think, takes a lot of the sting out of the insult.  :)

Re: Softball - Mick - 04-15-2017

(04-15-2017, 08:36 AM)Cred link Wrote:[quote author=Goose link=topic=16598.msg191713#msg191713 date=1492233247]
[quote author=BobK link=topic=16598.msg191706#msg191706 date=1492221680]
Mercy again
FWIW, I have always wondered about the "mercy" rule, even in little league. It seems to be saying that you are so bad you can't 59er up to "real" competition. It is kind of insulting in that sense. Then again, in this case, it may be true.
[/quote]

The "mercy" rule does serve a practical purpose in tournament play, as it helps keep the games on schedule.

Generally speaking, I'm pretty okay with the rule anyway. It not only spares the losing team from absorbing an unnecessarily prolonged beating but spares the losing team's fans further exposure to the slaughter.

Though this act of invoking "mercy" might seem a little insulting, the fact that the actual play on the field beats the "mercy" rule to the punch in suggesting that the losing team doesn't belong on the same field with the competition, I think, takes a lot of the sting out of the insult.  :)
[/quote]

My youngest had played in a Little League tournament for 8 year olds representing our little area against Los Gatos, and our team wasn't very good.  Theirs was terrific.  At one point, we were behind 22-1.  We got a player on first base, and he dances off the bag.  The pitcher had taken the ball, but wasn't yet on the pitching rubber.  He throws the ball into right field, our runner runs all the way around and scores.  Umpire pronounces him safe.  LG coach stops the game so he can find the tournament director and get him to remove the run scored, ensuring that it remains 22-1 and not 22-2.  Makes a big stink, lots of yelling and arm waving.

Re: Softball - terry - 04-15-2017

(04-14-2017, 08:49 AM)paloalto link Wrote:Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

I wonder why nobody thought of that.

Re: Softball - paloalto - 04-15-2017

(04-15-2017, 11:09 AM)terry link Wrote:[quote author=paloalto link=topic=16598.msg191671#msg191671 date=1492184969]
Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

I wonder why nobody thought of that.
[/quote]


I realize I was stating the obvious.  It is easy to take one sentence out of context for the purpose of ridicule.

Re: Softball - Cred - 04-15-2017

(04-15-2017, 12:37 PM)paloalto link Wrote:[quote author=terry link=topic=16598.msg191731#msg191731 date=1492279799]
[quote author=paloalto link=topic=16598.msg191671#msg191671 date=1492184969]
Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

I wonder why nobody thought of that.
[/quote]

I realize I was stating the obvious.  It is easy to take one sentence out of context for the purpose of ridicule.
[/quote]

I took the words "I wonder why nobody thought of that" to mean Just where are these desperately needed elite pitchers among Hanson's inaugural class of NINE recruits?

I could be wrong.

Re: Softball - STG50 - 04-15-2017

One thing's for sure this yr. They need a change in direction in their coaching! Run ruled in 5 straight games and a precipitous drop off in league BA is not acceptable!

Re: Softball - d4cohn - 04-15-2017

(04-15-2017, 04:04 PM)Cred link Wrote:Just where are these desperately needed elite pitchers among Hanson's inaugural class of NINE recruits?

We have a Top 100 player and pitching prospect (she was a Top 25 pitcher in her class) in this freshman class of nine who has a 6.08 ERA, while allowing an opposing batting average of .376. We have a Top 50ish (#52 exactly) player and pitching prospect (she is a consensus Top 15 pitcher in her class) who will be a freshman next year. To say nothing of our ace, who put up a near 3.00 ERA in non-conference play, and our reliever/long reliever who started today and went 6 innings, allowing only 3 earned runs against ASU.

We did not lose today because of our pitching. We lost today because the opposing ASU pitcher had a perfect game going against us through four innings, and we weren't able to generate any offense in the first sixth innings, or in the bottom of eighth when scoring one run would have won us the game. Of our 24 runs scored in 12 Pac-12 games so far (an alarming statistic on its own), only 10 runs have been scored on non-extra base hits, and of those 10, 4 have scored due to defensive errors. As such, because of the coaching staff's offensive philosophy, we rely on power, rather than small-ball, to score runs, even though we are slugging only .249 in conference play.

Recruiting pitching talent is one facet of the game, albeit a very important one. However, focusing only on pitching recruiting is too simplistic, and obfuscates other areas where this staff has struggled greatly, namely pitching development and developing a consistent offensive strategy that doesn't strand a lot of runners and fail to score runs. The latter two reasons explain why, barring a road win against Oregon State next weekend, we are likely headed toward a second consecutive 0-24 Pac-12 record, not the number of stars associated with our pitching staff.

Re: Softball - Cred - 04-15-2017

(04-15-2017, 08:30 PM)d4cohn link Wrote:[quote author=Cred link=topic=16598.msg191755#msg191755 date=1492297475]
Just where are these desperately needed elite pitchers among Hanson's inaugural class of NINE recruits?

We have a Top 100 player and pitching prospect (she was a Top 25 pitcher in her class) in this freshman class of nine who has a 6.08 ERA, while allowing an opposing batting average of .376. We have a Top 50ish (#52 exactly) player and pitching prospect (she is a consensus Top 15 pitcher in her class) who will be a freshman next year. To say nothing of our ace, who put up a near 3.00 ERA in non-conference play, and our reliever/long reliever who started today and went 6 innings, allowing only 3 earned runs against ASU.

We did not lose today because of our pitching. We lost today because the opposing ASU pitcher had a perfect game going against us through four innings, and we weren't able to generate any offense in the first sixth innings, or in the bottom of eighth when scoring one run would have won us the game. Of our 24 runs scored in 12 Pac-12 games so far (an alarming statistic on its own), only 10 runs have been scored on non-extra base hits, and of those 10, 4 have scored due to defensive errors. As such, because of the coaching staff's offensive philosophy, we rely on power, rather than small-ball, to score runs, even though we are slugging only .249 in conference play.

Recruiting pitching talent is one facet of the game, albeit a very important one. However, focusing only on pitching recruiting is too simplistic, and obfuscates other areas where this staff has struggled greatly, namely pitching development and developing a consistent offensive strategy that doesn't strand a lot of runners and fail to score runs. The latter two reasons explain why, barring a road win against Oregon State next weekend, we are likely headed toward a second consecutive 0-24 Pac-12 record, not the number of stars associated with our pitching staff.
[/quote]

I was with you all the way up to your last statement.

The quote you pulled from my post was my "interpretation" of  terry's reply to paloalto's claim that "Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers..." The term "elite" here refers specifically to "top 10" pitchers. None of the pitchers you mention qualifies (or even comes close). I find it next to impossible to conceive of this team going winless in 2017 Pac-12 play were it blessed with a pitching staff anchored by a single elite (top 10, as defined by paloalto) pitcher, not to mention a pair of them.

Therefore, I would reject the following claim:

"The latter two reasons explain why, barring a road win against Oregon State next weekend, we are likely headed toward a second consecutive 0-24 Pac-12 record, not the number of stars associated with our pitching staff."

I would add, however, that I doubt the quest to acquire a pitcher or pitchers of such caliber in recent years has been a whole lot more of a realistic goal than will be acquiring a top 10 coach this summer.