WSU vs. ISUb, REMATCH at 12:30 CST

[WSUwatcher]

There is nothing standard about bunting for a base hit in that situation. The by the book play would have been a straight sacrifice. Bunting for a hit makes it a little more difficult to make sure the bunt is properly placed. Fortunately for the Shocks the INS pitcher took care of that failure to execute and the Shockers were able to cash in when given the opportunity.

Probably true about going by the book, which is no doubt one of the reasons Gene annoys so many on here; he hates to give away outs by the book, and much prefers to have his guys try to bunt for a hit, which is admittedly more difficult to do successfully -- although certainly not at all beyond the capability of a good bunter, which Dearman had damn well better be given his size and speed.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of "the book" -- it's too much like "the card" that football coaches love to invoke when they brainlessly chase a two-pointer way too early in the game, get the expected none, and then find themselves later really needing that extra point that they wasted going for two. It's actually been a factor in the outcome of the Super Bowl.

[WuDrWu]

Who all is burned for tomorrow?

Brummett, Gardner, Minnis for sure and probably Ladwig.
With 43 pitches today, I gotta think Peterson is done.
Palmer is out for the year and McGreevey sounds like he's done for the weekend.

Who does that leave?

Elam (probable limited pitch count)
Mateycheck, Sanders and Beringer are all okay to go, but none have been effective.

LaBrie and Vielock should be okay for an inning or 2 each.

Honestly, I hate to lose Cale early. I think I'd roll out one of the other 3 and just see how it goes. Everyone's going to have a short leash anyway.

Perfect scenario...Beringer, then Sanders and Mateycheck if we need long relief. Labrie in the 6th with a lead, Vielock in the 7th and Cale to close it.

[Cdizzle]

Hadn't considered moving Cale back to the closer for this one. Interesting thought. I think it's all about scoring first, though I was impressed with the late rally today.

Personally, I vote for Garrett Brummett's left arm.

[GoShockers89]

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[1972Shocker]

Probably true about going by the book, which is no doubt one of the reasons Gene annoys so many on here; he hates to give away outs by the book, and much prefers to have his guys try to bunt for a hit, which is admittedly more difficult to do successfully -- although certainly not at all beyond the capability of a good bunter, which Dearman had damn well better be given his size and speed.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of "the book" -- it's too much like "the card" that football coaches love to invoke when they brainlessly chase a two-pointer way too early in the game, get the expected none, and then find themselves later really needing that extra point that they wasted going for two. It's actually been a factor in the outcome of the Super Bowl.

I'm not proposing you never go against the book. I think you should go against the book, but there are appropriate times to to that and at other times going by the book is the absolute right thing to do. IMHO getting those runners moved into scoring position down 2-0 that late in the game and not having done anything to that point offesnively was critical and the best and least risky way to that would be a straight sacrfice, although bunting for a hit is OK but increase the risk of failure (which happened to the Shocks today). Fortunatley, INS did for the Shocks what the Shocks could not do for themselves and it lead directly to the Shocks tying the game.

If that had been in say the 4th inning than what the heck for for it if you want to, but in that particular situation you absolutely have to get those runners moved over. Thank you Sycamores for taking care of that.

One thing, in general, that we don't seem to do as much as we used to and perhaps we just don't have the trust in our hitters to make contact is to hit and run. I really like the hit and run. Maybe it's just my imagination but it just doesn't seem to be a tool used much by the Shocks in recent years. Or maybe, like bunting, we do use it but simply don't execute it consistently well.

Another thing I would do a lot more of, especially in the college game and with my better hitters up, is to turn them loose on 3-0 counts. I just hate seeing guys like Gillaspie and Coy take batting practice fastballs down the middle. But again the game situation will dictate whether you go by the book or against the book.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Found this on Twitter for those of you who didn't see the Mucha's catch.

Mike and Shane tried to describe it for us, but these photos tell the full story about a terrific catch.

Thanks, Kai.

[Ricardo del Rio]

http://www.ncaa.com/content/di-baseball-scoreboard

[_kai_]

[cmoore]

It looks like the athletic trainer took his time to make sure that Mucha was all right. It didn't look like he even hit his head. I hope he's okay. Shox need him in the lineup.

[_kai_]

When I saw it, and he didn't get up, the way Bruce was talking it sounded like a head injury. After watching the replay I wonder if he got the wind knocked out of him.

[WSUwatcher]

Whatever it was, he seems to be okay, which is great news, because he's been the man this week. A marvelous play -- not quite Matt Jones, but not far behind. Could it make Sports Center?

[Shockerman]

Where is the Brown video for comparison?

[WuDrWu]

Whatever it was, he seems to be okay, which is great news, because he's been the man this week. A marvelous play -- not quite Matt Jones, but not far behind. Could it make Sports Center?

Matt Jones? Matt Brown? Perhaps this is a King of the Matts challenge?

[WSUwatcher]

Matt Jones? Matt Brown? Perhaps this is a King of the Matts challenge?

No, just a memory lapse as I approach my umpteenth birthday next week -- another year older, another senior moment. Thanks for the correction.

[shocker3]

It looks like the athletic trainer took his time to make sure that Mucha was all right. It didn't look like he even hit his head. I hope he's okay. Shox need him in the lineup.

I had a chance to talk to him after the game and he said that he felt fine. Man that was a great catch!