[BostonCard]

I don't know.... Boyd ranks the Pac-12 as the second best conference, behind the SEC.

http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/confisr.html

As CT notes, in baseball there is a lot more randomness than in any of the other big sports.  MLB uses a 7-game series to determine which is the better team, and plenty of times the less accomplished team will win four games.  It is even worse in a double elimination tournament.

My sense is that CT is right.  This is a good but flawed team.  We had excellent relief pitching, a good but inconsistent offense, and "shaky" (good descriptor) starting pitching. I would add that our baserunning was sometimes questionable, and team defense ranged from iffy (Tawa, lately) to superb (Handley).  The team accomplished roughly what would have been consistent with its underlying quality; we ran into a buzzsaw in Mississippi State.  Under different circumstances, and getting hot at the right time, and a little bit of luck (think FSU) we might have been able to get to the CWS.  But certainly the way we played at the super regional and the way Mississippi State played, there's no doubt about which team deserved to move on.

BC

[BostonCard]

I don't know.... Boyd ranks the Pac-12 as the second best conference, behind the SEC.

http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/confisr.html

As CT notes, in baseball there is a lot more randomness than in any of the other big sports.  MLB uses a 7-game series to determine which is the better team, and plenty of times the less accomplished team will win four games.  It is even worse in a double elimination tournament.

My sense is that CT is right.  This is a good but flawed team.  We had excellent relief pitching, a good but inconsistent offense, and "shaky" (good descriptor) starting pitching. I would add that our baserunning was sometimes questionable, and team defense ranged from iffy (Tawa, lately) to superb (Handley).  The team accomplished roughly what would have been consistent with its underlying quality; we ran into a buzzsaw in Mississippi State.  Under different circumstances, and getting hot at the right time, and a little bit of luck (think FSU) we might have been able to get to the CWS.  But certainly the way we played at the super regional and the way Mississippi State played, there's no doubt about which team deserved to move on.

BC