Expectations

[ZoomZoom]

Yup. Link to all the stats. But I should know better, never let stats mess up a narrative, regardless of sport or application.

[CrazyCajun]

If the SBC will now be a 3,4 sometimes 5 bid league then expecting regionals consistently is reasonable IMO. To expect that from a 1 bid league is probably not very reasonable.

[cajun4life]

If the SBC will now be a 3,4 sometimes 5 bid league then expecting regionals consistently is reasonable IMO. To expect that from a 1 bid league is probably not very reasonable.

The SBC was traditionally a 2-3 bid league. It should be a 3-5 bid league now.

[CrazyCajun]

The SBC was traditionally a 2-3 bid league. It should be a 3-5 bid league now.

It fell off of that for a little while before the additions. There was a pretty bad stretch there for the conference, I remember Tony talking about how they discussed it at coaches conference meetings about scheduling to get away from a 1 bid league. Point remains, that if we are in a league that will consistently put 3,4,5 teams in, that it’s not crazy to expect to consistently be one of those teams given our history, financial support and quality teams available to us to schedule.

[JMV JustMyView]

It fell off of that for a little while before the additions. There was a pretty bad stretch there for the conference, I remember Tony talking about how they discussed it at coaches conference meetings about scheduling to get away from a 1 bid league. Point remains, that if we are in a league that will consistently put 3,4,5 teams in, that it’s not crazy to expect to consistently be one of those teams given our history, financial support and quality teams available to us to schedule.

I agree.

[Dad04]

Bonds was a huge loss no doubt out of the bullpen. Not having theut was also a killer as well. We just have not had the quality of pitching that we need this year. I understand getting hit but the walks and hit batters have been real bad. We need a Friday night type of arm next year bad. NIL shell out some money to get one

Speaking Theut.....any word on his elbow....MRI...

[KajunKrazy]

The topic of expectations has been a frequent discussion over the past several years. Some are of the mindset that expectations are too high while others say the expectations are appropriate and just aren’t being met.

Over the last 22 completed seasons, UL has made at least Regionals 10 times. As you can see below, up until the 2017 - 2021 run it had been since before the millennium when this program missed Regionals more than 2 years in a row.

Of the 10 Regional seasons, 8 of those teams either received an at large bid or were at large level quality. Obviously the landscape is different currently in terms of receiving at large bids. With that being said, I still think 6 of the 8 would have been in the tournament under today’s conditions, with 2002 and 2010 being the exceptions (37 win teams before regionals who got bounced in 2 games of the conference tournament).

It seems to be only the fans who are accused of setting the standard/expectations of the program too high, but I would argue that the fans were not alone in setting this bar. The university made a $15 million+ investment in building a 6,000 seat stadium with luxury suites and a stadium club. That is not an investment made by a program where the expectation is to be in Regionals once every 4 years. That is the investment of a program that expects to be in the postseason consistently and no stranger to hosting postseason play. To this day, the athletic department spends the 2nd most in the conference on its baseball program. We play in a top 3 venue in the conference and draw the 2nd best numbers in the league. Our head coach has never hid from what he believes this program to be and the heights he wants to see it achieve. He has also said in no uncertain terms that he would much rather coach somewhere with expectations as opposed to somewhere without. If the 1999-2000/2013-2016 runs created expectations, the fans are clearly far from the only ones who bought in to them.

• 2000 - CWS
• 2001 - Miss
• 2002 - Regional
• 2003 - Miss
• 2004 - Miss
• 2005 - Regional
• 2006 - Miss
• 2007 - Regional
• 2008 - Miss
• 2009 - Miss
• 2010 - Regional
• 2011 - Miss
• 2012 - Miss
• 2013 - Regional
• 2014 - Super
• 2015 - Super
• 2016 - Regional
• 2017 - Miss
• 2018 - Miss
• 2019 - Miss
• 2021 - Miss
• 2022 - Regional

This season is far from over. Deggs says this is a Regional team, and they could very well prove him right. What they won’t be barring a miracle is an at large team. This marks the 6th straight year of fielding a team that has to win the conference tournament to advance to the postseason. IMO that is a clear step below standards that, again, were not set by just a few loud posters on a message board. Coaches, players, administrators, the media (D1 Baseball and others), and yes…fans believed this program to be something more than what we are now being told is all we can ever and should have ever expected. I disagree with that notion, and I’m not ready to throw in the towel and just say, “well I guess this is it” just yet. It’s a plus to me that we have someone in charge who seems to be unwilling to do this as well. There are absolutely comments that go over the line in in-game threads. That to me is not a clear indication of unattainable expectations for the entire program.

I hope this thread can remain a DISCUSSION and certainly realize there will be opposing points made. The more the merrier. Let’s try and keep it on topic. We don’t care if your best friend’s cousin has a beef with Rando657’s neighbor’s sister-in-law.

GEAUX CAJUNS

You should have started in 1999.

[ManAboutTown]

Speaking Theut.....any word on his elbow....MRI...

Saw he was in a sling Sunday afternoon.

[MelRock]

He was also raking the mound both Saturday and Sunday before the game.

[ManAboutTown]

Expecting to be a top 64 team in the country with everything we have, talent pool, weather, history of success, investment, etc etc should not be some taboo expectation.

Regionals should just be an extension of the season for this program.

[CajunVic]

Satisfying expectations will continue to be tempered by NIL.

Before NIL, Louisiana teams had somewhat of an advantage because of Tops.

That advantage is now dwarfed by the whole country having the uncapped availability to provide NIL.

How does Louisiana compete in the portal when their available NIL offerings (of course from outside investors) is substantially less than all P5’s bidding for the same talent.

Just go into the portal and get talent is not nearly as easy as it is nonchalantly indicated to be here. If you don’t have available NIL $$$, you are sheite out of luck with respect to the best talent.

Our best opportunity for recruiting is to find undiscovered talent and develop then until they are poached. It is what it is.

[CajunRage]

Satisfying expectations will continue to be tempered by NIL.

Before NIL, Louisiana teams had somewhat of an advantage because of Tops.

That advantage is now dwarfed by the whole country having the uncapped availability to provide NIL.

How does Louisiana compete in the portal when their available NIL offerings (of course from outside investors) is substantially less than all P5’s bidding for the same talent.

Just go into the portal and get talent is not nearly as easy as it is nonchalantly indicated to be here. If you don’t have available NIL $$$, you are sheite out of luck with respect to the best talent.

Our best opportunity for recruiting is to find undiscovered talent and develop then until they are poached. It is what it is.

Outside of Campbell and Coastal, are we better than the teams that we lost series to? Are we good enough to sweep some of the teams that we dropped a game to? Answer to the first question is yes on App and JMU, toss up on Troy. Answer to second question is I believe we should have swept at least Rice, High Point or USA. That's 5 wins. We would be leading the 5th best conference in the country. NIL is a red herring at least right now. What the future holds, I don't know.