[CTcard]

As posted in the tourney thread, most teams that win regionals lose a game. So this hand wringing that Stanford's pitching is depleted falls on deaf ears to this observer. Pitching depth is part of being a championship level team. If you can't overcome a loss, you really don't deserve to advance, so it kind of takes care of itself.

But I presume Stanford playing its 5th game in 4 days has an advantage facing a "small school" playing its 4th game in 4 days. Both teams have depleted pitching, but Stanford has an exceptionally more potent lineup. This should carry Stanford into the Super Regional.

It certainly may be that Stanford doesn't deserve to advance, I guess by definition that's correct if they don't advance, but a discussion on the state of the pitching staff is merely dealing with reality. 

Your presumption on relative advantage isn't correct. Stanford, with its particular pitching staff and the pitching it has used over the past four games, is currently at a disadvantage versus this particular "small school" and its pitching staff and the pitching it has used over the past three games. Now hopefully, that is only a relative disadvantage versus their own optimal situations - but it is something Stanford will have to deal with. 

The issue isn't really losing a game, the issue is losing one of the first two so that you have to play one more game than your opponent to get out of the regional, and 5 games in four days. College teams are built for playing weekend series of three games, and about half the time they add a midweek game against an out of conference opponent. The three game weekly series is how the season works, how super-regionals work, how the championship series works. However, regionals require as many as 5 games in 4 days. [The first half of the CWS also could require 5 games, but it is spread out over 8 days] Sometimes you have a pitching staff deep enough for 5 games, sometimes you don't. That isn't necessarily fair or unfair, but it is a thing.

[CTcard]

As posted in the tourney thread, most teams that win regionals lose a game. So this hand wringing that Stanford's pitching is depleted falls on deaf ears to this observer. Pitching depth is part of being a championship level team. If you can't overcome a loss, you really don't deserve to advance, so it kind of takes care of itself.

But I presume Stanford playing its 5th game in 4 days has an advantage facing a "small school" playing its 4th game in 4 days. Both teams have depleted pitching, but Stanford has an exceptionally more potent lineup. This should carry Stanford into the Super Regional.

It certainly may be that Stanford doesn't deserve to advance, I guess by definition that's correct if they don't advance, but a discussion on the state of the pitching staff is merely dealing with reality. 

Your presumption on relative advantage isn't correct. Stanford, with its particular pitching staff and the pitching it has used over the past four games, is currently at a disadvantage versus this particular "small school" and its pitching staff and the pitching it has used over the past three games. Now hopefully, that is only a relative disadvantage versus their own optimal situations - but it is something Stanford will have to deal with. 

The issue isn't really losing a game, the issue is losing one of the first two so that you have to play one more game than your opponent to get out of the regional, and 5 games in four days. College teams are built for playing weekend series of three games, and about half the time they add a midweek game against an out of conference opponent. The three game weekly series is how the season works, how super-regionals work, how the championship series works. However, regionals require as many as 5 games in 4 days. [The first half of the CWS also could require 5 games, but it is spread out over 8 days] Sometimes you have a pitching staff deep enough for 5 games, sometimes you don't. That isn't necessarily fair or unfair, but it is a thing.