The Book 2007 Ragin' Cajun Baseball

[HTownCajunII]

Danny Farquhar has some nasty stuff. Very good movement on his pitches and difficult to pick up. He was mowing down hitters last season as a true freshman.

Once Moody's arm gets completely back, the rotation looks solid. Starter #1b (with Moody being #1a) Buddy Glass gets the call tomorrow against Clark. Laughter, Pilgreen, and Farquhar should have a few innings in them tomorrow.

BTW, w/respect to Corky Palmer, replacement knee(s)?

Brian

In a post game comment that took me by surprise, Robe indicated that Lil Robe would probably not be a 1B tomorrow so that he could come out of the bullpen. That surprised me because Laughter has yet to thrown and I understand they are not opposed to throwing Farquhar out there on back to back days. With the history of arm problems experienced by Pilgreen, I gather they are not inclinded to throw Pilgreen on one days rest.
I think having Lil Robe ready out of the bullpen tomorrow speaks to how Robe wants to ensure he leaves Hattiesburg 2-1 for the weekend.

[GoneGolfin]

In a post game comment that took me by surprise, Robe indicated that Lil Robe would probably not be a 1B tomorrow so that he could come out of the bullpen. That surprised me because Laughter has yet to thrown and I understand they are not opposed to throwing Farquhar out there on back to back days. With the history of arm problems experienced by Pilgreen, I gather they are not inclinded to throw Pilgreen on one days rest.
I think having Lil Robe ready out of the bullpen tomorrow speaks to how Robe wants to ensure he leaves Hattiesburg 2-1 for the weekend.

That may be the case for Pilgreen. He did throw 56 pitches Friday night. He is looking to be quite an asset in middle relief for the weekend.

Laughter was in the pen warming in the 9th. If Farquhar had gotten into serious trouble (more than the first two batters reaching base), Laughter would have entered the game. I think Laughter can be used as either a setup man for Farquhar tomorrow (if Farquhar can go back-to-back this early in the season) or Laughter will be used to close. I think Farquhar only enters if the Cajuns have a lead in the final inning. If Justin is not starting at 1B tomorrow, I agree that Coach is anticipating using Justin out of the pen. Although, I would really like to see Justin's bat in the lineup.

[Zeebart21]

That may be the case for Pilgreen. He did throw 56 pitches Friday night. He is looking to be quite an asset in middle relief for the weekend.

Laughter was in the pen warming in the 9th. If Farquhar had gotten into serious trouble (more than the first two batters reaching base), Laughter would have entered the game. I think Laughter can be used as either a setup man for Farquhar tomorrow (if Farquhar can go back-to-back this early in the season) or Laughter will be used to close. I think Farquhar only enters if the Cajuns have a lead in the final inning. If Justin is not starting at 1B tomorrow, I agree that Coach is anticipating using Justin out of the pen. Although, I would really like to see Justin's bat in the lineup.

WOW! This sh##s gettin good real early in the season!

Z.

[Pirogue]

Based on the pitching of both squads I felt USM had an edge on Friday and we had the edge on Sunday

Today was the rubber match IMHO...

But it's baseball..

GEAUX CAJUNS!!!

[CajunRed]

This is not the RPI, but the Base RPI. And it is too early to be statistically significant.

Note that there is yet to be an RPI released that includes the required bonuses/penalties that are an important part of the formula.

A quick summary of the three main RPI systems available in a few weeks ...

1) SEBaseball.com -> Base RPI correctly uses tie games in its calculations. It also includes reasonably accurate estimates for the bonuses/penalties portion of the formula used by the NCAA.

2) Boyd Nation -> Same as SEBaseball.com above, except that tie games are not included in the calculation for Base RPI. SEBaseball.com and Boyd Nation have worked together on reverse engineering the bonuses/penalties formula.

3) Warren Nolan RPI -> Only publishes the Base RPI and also does not include ties in the Base RPI calculation. This RPI differs significantly from that which the NCAA uses.

Brian

Brian... when you say BONUSES and PENALTIES, do you mean adjustments for wins/losses at home and away... 60% for a win HOME and 140% for a win on the ROAD... and so forth?

[NewsCopy]

The best solution for a one-game deficit in a weekend series is a strong pitching performance, and that's what UL's baseball team got Saturday afternoon. Junior lefthander John Zorich handcuffed Southern Mississippi for almost eight innings and the Ragin' Cajuns pushed across the game's only runs in a four-run fifth inning on the way to a 4-0 victory against the hosting Golden Eagles. UL (11-1) had dropped a 7-4 decision Friday night at USM's Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss., falling from the unbeaten ranks. But Saturday's win in front of 3,527 fans evened the series heading into today's 1 p.m. finale. Zorich (3-0) fanned eight while scattering six hits over seven and two-thirds innings. Southern Miss (9-2) threatened in both of the final two innings, but reliever Danny Farquhar got out of two jams to record his third save of the year. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[GoneGolfin]

Brian... when you say BONUSES and PENALTIES, do you mean adjustments for wins/losses at home and away... 60% for a win HOME and 140% for a win on the ROAD... and so forth?

No. Under the NCAA Baseball RPI, you get bonuses for non-conference road wins against Top 25 (Base RPI), Top 50, and Top 75 opponents. A top 25 opponent yields a higher bonus than a Top 50 opponent. Similarly, a Top 50 opponent yields a higher bonus than a Top 75 opponent. There are also penalties for non-conference home losses against the bottom 25/50/75 in Base RPI.

It is the estimation of these bonuses and penalties that is at the heart of the reverse engineering effort to obtain the actual formula used by the NCAA.

Brian

[Zeebart21]

No. Under the NCAA Baseball RPI, you get bonuses for non-conference road wins against Top 25 (Base RPI), Top 50, and Top 75 opponents. A top 25 opponent yields a higher bonus than a Top 50 opponent. Similarly, a Top 50 opponent yields a higher bonus than a Top 75 opponent. There are also penalties for non-conference home losses against the bottom 25/50/75 in Base RPI.

It is the estimation of these bonuses and penalties that is at the heart of the reverse engineering effort to obtain the actual formula used by the NCAA.

Brian

What time do you think you'll be out there today?

Z.

[GoneGolfin]

What time do you think you'll be out there today?

Z.

I will probably get out there around 12 and talk w/Stevie again. Come on over.

Brian

[NewsCopy]

I'll cut this absurd argument off as someone in the field. Each paper has its own style, which is usually a slightly modified version of associated press style. What is "style?" It's a uniform code of word usage in newspapers with the goal of making the work: 1. Totally accurate. 2. Totally clear to anyone with a high school education. 3. As tight as can be, given No. 1 and No. 2. 4. Inoffensive, unless there is an overriding reason, central to a significant news story, to include potentially offensive words or concepts. (the above from http://www.usu.edu/journalism/facult...sources/ap.htm) AP issues a new stylebook every year. That is mostly adhered to by most papers and additional styles are on issues that are local and, as a result, not covered by AP's book. What is "name" style based on? Generally on a mix of proper name and common usage. At our paper, our style is to refer to McNeese as McNeese State in first reference, then McNeese in subsequent references (as a general guideline, but not a rule, we shy away from MSU, because there are so many MSUs). In what I consider a quirk, we call LSU LSU on first reference. I disagree with it, but the argument is that LSU is so commonly called LSU, that using "Louisiana State" would only be cumbersome. Our style is to call UL University of Louisiana, then ULL because, well, that's what people call it. We avoid just saying "Lafayette" because there is a Division I school by that name. If something is submitted for publication in a paper, the understanding is it will be edited to conform to that paper's style for the sake of consistency. I think Louisiana - Lafayette or ULL is what it's called in every Louisiana paper outside of Acadiana proper. And for certain, it's the News-Star's style. The only thing the News-Star is guilty of is a poor edit of Dan's Advertiser story to make it conform to the News-Star's style. I'm sure he's not offended. If I was asked to string a story for the Advertiser and I had a reference in the story to University of Louisiana and they changed it to "UL" I wouldn't care one bit. Hope that helped.

[LongTimeCajun]

UL 0
USM 1
Final

[Zeebart21]

Absolutely NO need to hang our heads. Todays game was awesome! USM folks are a classy bunch!

Up until the bottom of the ninth we had held them scoreless for 17 consecutive innings.

Congrats USM, you ought to be 3-1 minimum over the next 7 days!

Z.

[southernmiss]

thanks by far one of the best series we have ever played. all the alumni are talking about how good this series is going to be over the next 4 years. look forward to visiting ul next year. if i had to gues at this point i would say with the pitching you guys have you should be up around 45 to 50 wins. that closer is wicked.

best of luck to you fellas

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

[Zeebart21]

thanks by far one of the best series we have ever played. all the alumni are talking about how good this series is going to be over the next 4 years. look forward to visiting ul next year. if i had to gues at this point i would say with the pitching you guys have you should be up around 45 to 50 wins. that closer is wicked.

best of luck to you fellas

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Ya'll take care of business this week. It'll be good for both of us! LOL!

Z.

[Zeebart21]

maybe we can Trseno's input as well.