An interesting observation about the last play...

[JohnathanHeels]

I've seen a lot of social media negativity towards the USC center fielder who didn't lay out for the last play, and the third baseman who didn't make the play in foul territory on the previous pitch. What's interesting is that neither player started the game at that position:

- Junior Andrew Lamb started the game in left field for USC. (On their roster, he's listed as C/1B/OF)
- After he singled in the top of the 7th, he was pulled in favor of a pinch-runner.
- USC obviously did not score in the top of the 7th.
- After he was pulled, starting center fielder Walter Urbon moved to left field in the bottom of the 7th.
- Starting third baseman Kevin Takeuchi then moved to center, and Maddox Riske was brought off the bench to play third.

All this being said, neither of the last two defensive plays were made/not made by starters at those positions. You hate to see any individual player get attention after a loss like that, but USC's head coach made some interesting decisions that really impacted the team down the line, all for a pinch runner who never scored.

 

[JoeyPowell]

Yeah, feel for the player dealing with his coach’s choice. He was playing shallow too. Just an amalgam of bad for him.

 

[rc1126]

Funny how this discussion took me back to a certain play in June of 2006 when our starting catcher was playing first base.

 

[JCTarHeel]

Funny how this discussion took me back to a certain play in June of 2006 when our starting catcher was playing first base.

 

[HeedHeel]

The ESPN crew wouldn’t shut up all weekend about what an elite defensive player Takeuchi is and how they routinely move him to CF late in games because he’s so good there. He’s no stranger to the position (and apparently skilled there), but that was not his finest moment.

 

[goheels1117]

They apparently did this all the time, but I do think the 3B and CF’s unfamiliarity with the ballpark played a factor in the last two plays.

Another result of the play is Lamb’s spot came up in the 9th with a runner on 1st and we got an easy groundout. I think we’d have stuck with Rose for two more batters if Lamb had still been in the lineup, though.

 

[LJMadeMeAJetsFan]

The ESPN crew wouldn’t shut up all weekend about what an elite defensive player Takeuchi is and how they routinely move him to CF late in games because he’s so good there. He’s no stranger to the position (and apparently skilled there), but that was not his finest moment.

He was playing shallow to throw the guy out at home on a base hit?? Any other time of the game that would have been a routine flyout. I’m confused on what you are talkin about…

 

[cucampbe]

I've seen a lot of social media negativity towards the USC center fielder who didn't lay out for the last play, and the third baseman who didn't make the play in foul territory on the previous pitch. What's interesting is that neither player started the game at that position:

- Junior Andrew Lamb started the game in left field for USC. (On their roster, he's listed as C/1B/OF)
- After he singled in the top of the 7th, he was pulled in favor of a pinch-runner.
- USC obviously did not score in the top of the 7th.
- After he was pulled, starting center fielder Walter Urbon moved to left field in the bottom of the 7th.
- Starting third baseman Kevin Takeuchi then moved to center, and Maddox Riske was brought off the bench to play third.

All this being said, neither of the last two defensive plays were made/not made by starters at those positions. You hate to see any individual player get attention after a loss like that, but USC's head coach made some interesting decisions that really impacted the team down the line, all for a pinch runner who never scored.

There was A LOT of over managing going on with USC defensively. Felt weird given they had played really solid defense all weekend before that.

 

[unctarheel1984]

They apparently did this all the time, but I do think the 3B and CF’s unfamiliarity with the ballpark played a factor in the last two plays.

Another great reason to HOST!

 

[TommyAshley]

They were playing in to prevent a routine single from scoring French. Dude in center ran damn near a mile trying to get the ball.

the foul pop was big but it was in the Bermuda Triangle and that brick has taken a many chunks of flesh over the years. Was very Arkansan though

everyone always looks for someone to blame rather the seeing the effort from all sides. Someone has to win and lose but the hacks that sit on message boards and social media that criticize the players in personal ways in the arena are pretty dang sorry in my book.

 

[Heelium1]

They apparently did this all the time, but I do think the 3B and CF’s unfamiliarity with the ballpark played a factor in the last two plays.

Another result of the play is Lamb’s spot came up in the 9th with a runner on 1st and we got an easy groundout. I think we’d have stuck with Rose for two more batters if Lamb had still been in the lineup, though.

I agree with your first paragraph. USC, during the whole series, did not play the brick walls well--either on the 3B or the 1B side. The last play by the CF made it appear that he, too, thought he had to slide to avoid brick.

 

[heelscolts]

There was A LOT of over managing going on with USC defensively. Felt weird given they had played really solid defense all weekend before that.

Piching to hull was his biggest blunder.

 

[floridahighschoolcoach]

He had to play in the try to throw French out ( good luck with that) and Tommy is right that ball just fell perfectly in the right spot. I don't know why they didn't walk Hull other than the wild pitch the previous inning spooked him and he didn't want to lose on a passed or hit batter , walk , error etc .

 

[BullHeel]

Funny how this discussion took me back to a certain play in June of 2006 when our starting catcher was playing first base.

Sometimes coaches outsmart themselves.

 

[95Heel]

Piching to hull was his biggest blunder.

This. Particularly once they fell behind 2-0 against Hull. You walk the guy with three doubles and a .390 average to face a freshman who likely has fewer than 30 at bats on the season. Their coach over-coached a lot of things the last few innings except where it made the most sense.

And I suspect with the CF playing shallow that once he ran that far he assumed he was much closer to the wall than he was and slid 2-3 steps too early. Wonder how many reps he took out there prior to the start of the series (assuming they were able to work out at the Bosh on Wed or Thu)?

 

[Obxheel]

Who cares we won.

 

[AntNews?]

Most the social media negativity is degenerate gamblers mad they lost money on USC. It’s ruining sports, especially sports social media which is now just providing a platform for gamblers.

 

[uncbornbred]

They were playing in to prevent a routine single from scoring French. Dude in center ran damn near a mile trying to get the ball.

the foul pop was big but it was in the Bermuda Triangle and that brick has taken a many chunks of flesh over the years. Was very Arkansan though

everyone always looks for someone to blame rather the seeing the effort from all sides. Someone has to win and lose but the hacks that sit on message boards and social media that criticize the players in personal ways in the arena are pretty dang sorry in my book.

voice of reason TA … excellent points all around

especially … “everyone always looks for someone to blame rather the seeing the effort from all sides”

GO HEELS

 

[Tarheelgrad90]

Who cares we won.

Good point, but it is fair to discuss the behind the scenes portion.. and the part about the lineup switches- seem to have gotten overlooked. As Tommy noted... sometimes things happen that don't require blame being established.

 

[AntNews?]

They were playing in to prevent a routine single from scoring French. Dude in center ran damn near a mile trying to get the ball.

This is spot on. I pointed the OF positioning out to my buddy while Owen was hitting. We both agreed that it was technically the right call, going by the book, to play in, but because Owen had already burned the outfield at least twice we both wondered how risky it was. I don’t know that the CF makes that catch if he’s playing normal depth but it certainly would have made it easier.

Then again if they are playing normal depth and Owen hits a flair that scores French people would wonder why the outfield wasn’t playing in. Great hitters make teams pay regardless and that’s what Owen did.

 

[goheels1117]

They were playing in to prevent a routine single from scoring French. Dude in center ran damn near a mile trying to get the ball.

the foul pop was big but it was in the Bermuda Triangle and that brick has taken a many chunks of flesh over the years. Was very Arkansan though

everyone always looks for someone to blame rather the seeing the effort from all sides. Someone has to win and lose but the hacks that sit on message boards and social media that criticize the players in personal ways in the arena are pretty dang sorry in my book.

I thought the LF should have caught the foul pop-up, if you watch it he looks unsure of himself as he runs towards the 3B and wall.

Neither was an easy play, that’s for sure, but it’s very baseball that the 3 guys who were put in or moved for defensive reasons were involved in the last 2 pitches of the game.

 

[JimmyDaHeel]

Their manager actually played the averages. He didn't walk Hull because you don't move the winning run to third base. Wild pitch, passed ball, walk, balk or hit batter and you lose the game.

He played the outfielders in to give them a chance to prevent French from getting home on a single through the infield. And a kid who has hit three straight doubles is FAR more likely to hit a single than a FOURTH double.

He made late game substitutions that he had made all year long. He honestly didn't do anything out of the norm for what got them there.

But with baseball, you can play all the averages and still lose. And you can go against the grain and win. What a great game!

 

[BostonHeel]

He just took a poor path tracking to the ball didn’t get a good read on it and then he obviously thought he was closer to the wall than he was

 

[mpaer]

They were playing in to prevent a routine single from scoring French. Dude in center ran damn near a mile trying to get the ball.

the foul pop was big but it was in the Bermuda Triangle and that brick has taken a many chunks of flesh over the years. Was very Arkansan though

everyone always looks for someone to blame rather the seeing the effort from all sides. Someone has to win and lose but the hacks that sit on message boards and social media that criticize the players in personal ways in the arena are pretty dang sorry in my book.

They were playing in to prevent a routine single from scoring French. Dude in center ran damn near a mile trying to get the ball.

the foul pop was big but it was in the Bermuda Triangle and that brick has taken a many chunks of flesh over the years. Was very Arkansan though

everyone always looks for someone to blame rather the seeing the effort from all sides. Someone has to win and lose but the hacks that sit on message boards and social media that criticize the players in personal ways in the arena are pretty dang sorry in my book.

My ticket buddy for decades never stopped complaining about Bruce Buckley-ever And that was just a missed shot with odds of about 50-50. I never understood his obsession

 

[4d4evr]

Their manager actually played the averages. He didn't walk Hull because you don't move the winning run to third base. Wild pitch, passed ball, walk, balk or hit batter and you lose the game.

He played the outfielders in to give them a chance to prevent French from getting home on a single through the infield. And a kid who has hit three straight doubles is FAR more likely to hit a single than a FOURTH double.

He made late game substitutions that he had made all year long. He honestly didn't do anything out of the norm for what got them there.

But with baseball, you can play all the averages and still lose. And you can go against the grain and win. What a great game!

round ball meets round bat

 

[PonsterM]

Anyone complaining that Takeuchi didn't lay out to try to catch that is crazy. He was running almost straight towards the outfield wall. Laying out would have meant diving head first towards the wall. I get that they were trying to get to Omaha, but no baseball victory is worth risking a head/neck injury. It would have been brave to the point of insanity for Takeuchi to have forced his body to dive head first towards a wall.

USC can hold their heads high. They played their asses off. Baseball is just a cruel sport sometimes.

 

[premn]

Anyone complaining that Takeuchi didn't lay out to try to catch that is crazy. He was running almost straight towards the outfield wall. Laying out would have meant diving head first towards the wall. I get that they were trying to get to Omaha, but no baseball victory is worth risking a head/neck injury. It would have been brave to the point of insanity for Takeuchi to have forced his body to dive head first towards a wall.

USC can hold their heads high. They played their asses off. Baseball is just a cruel sport sometimes.

Yeah, he would have really hurt himself if he laid out. We just got lucky on where the ball went.