How to win a National Championship

[Todd4State]

Now that we're here...

The thing about Omaha is it is a really spread out tournament. That's a good thing if you have pitching depth issues. It's going to be all hands on deck almost all the way through except for maybe game one.

TD Ameritrade Park is a pretty deep ballpark and is a pitchers park with big power alleys. It's 335 in the corners, 375 in the power alleys and 408 to CF. It's not like it was in 2013. I found an article that talked about how 15 home runs were hit in the CWS in 2015 compared to the three in 2013. So you can't just totally groove it anymore.


To me, as far as MSU goes our biggest disadvantage is we do not have just absolute lights out starting pitching. So, for us we need to have a quick hook and rely a lot on guys like Cole Gordon, Riley Self, Zach Neff, and JP France in order to have a good chance to win. So, if we manage it well we may have a good chance to make a run.

Mangum will really help us out in the OF with his range. The wind can do things with the baseball sometimes- sort of like Dudy-Noble Field. The infield there seems to play pretty fast. But after our infielders made it through that infield at Vandy we should be better. We need to stay the hell away from that shift where we totally open up the middle of the infield completely. I would strongly consider starting Gilbert instead of Skelton- especially if we play Oregon State. Gilbert is way better at throwing out baserunners. Offensively- he's a little bit better too. There is a lot of room in the outfield and I could see Mangum, Allen, and Rowdey getting some triples. MacNamee may not see another breaking ball this year. Westburg had a good game three at the plate so hopefully he carries that over and really the same could be said for LA who has struggled a lot this year but has also had some really clutch hits for us.

It's a shame that Gautreau wasn't our hitting coach in 2013- I think we would have a National Title if we did. That could be a big difference for us this time around- if we have success at the plate I don't think Gautreau will let our guys get away from their approach for long- which is ultimately why we lost in 2013 IMO along with bad defense. I do wish that we had Butch managing our staff because that is a big reason why we made it to the finals in 2013 although I will say Henderson managed our staff better in the SR. I just hope Henderson plays to win the moment and not worry about saving guys because there really isn't a point in doing that in this tournament. It's likely too late to do anything about our defense at this point but we could use this week to shore up some things. Especially at catcher. Not playing in the worst collegiate baseball stadium in America will probably help our defense some too.

Let's get it done!

[MetEdDawg]

I really think this ballpark gives us an advantage. We've shown on a number of occasions that we are a team that can manufacture runs without the home run. Yes we hit a bunch in Tallahassee but in our 10 run game 3 against Vandy we hit no homers. We are good defensively in the OF and can cover ground. And we give up homers so the bigger park should help us out.

I like our first game matchup. Washington is good but I would much rather be playing them than anyone else in the tournament. I think we have to throw Pilk because we are going to need Small for either Oregon State or UNC.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Good Points Todd:

(1) What happened to Blake Smith?
(2) You right, Skelton absolutely cannot play against a running team
(3) TD Ameritrade is the perfect stadium for Jordan Anderson also - Westy's wheels are not 100% and he is just a 250 hitter, why not play Anderson at DH?
(4) Anderson vs LH and Hatcher vs RH
(5) Even Vanderbilt, with all their Pitching All Americans and Draftees, likes to switch pitchers in clean innings. Do we think that Hendo got the message there?

It would be cool if we could hire Corbin, Manieri, and O'Connor as dial-up lifelines for Henderson during the CWS. Those guys know how to make Omaha decisions.

[BrunswickDawg]

I think playing at Vandy and now moving to TD Park will help on a lot of issues. I despise the all turf fields. Vandy's is particularly fast and hard - kind of like Riverfront in Cincy was back in the old AstroTurf days (that park almost killed Eric Davis). I think that is why we all the sudden saw crazy defensive shifts we haven't seen all season. We can play normal baseball again at TD.

Pitching will be key. Hendu can't let us fall behind 3-4 runs before he brings a hook. You lose a lead or get behind by 2 after the 4th inning or so, you yank the pitcher. Because TD is so big and we don't have a ton of power, we have to have great situational hitting - which means you can't get down too many runs because it takes more AB's to manufacture runs. Hopefully Hendu, Jake G and the guys are already talking about these things.

[KOdawg1]

I like our first game matchup. Washington is good but I would much rather be playing them than anyone else in the tournament. I think we have to throw Pilk because we are going to need Small for either Oregon State or UNC.
This is what I would do, but Gary will probably keep it the same as last weekend and throw Small in game 1

[Jarius]

I really feel like we will win game 1. The entire tournament is going to revolve around winning game 2. Pilk is going to need to pitch his ass off against what will probably be Oregon State. If we win the first 2 I think we will win the entire thing. If we lose either of the first 2 we are done.

[FriarsPoint]

I really feel like we will win game 1. The entire tournament is going to revolve around winning game 2. Pilk is going to need to pitch his ass off against what will probably be Oregon State. If we win the first 2 I think we will win the entire thing. If we lose either of the first 2 we are done.

Great summation. Agree 100%.

[MarketingBully]

We need our bullpen to win a 1 run game. There’s going to be a game in the CWS that we will need to win 4-3 or 5-4. If we can do that, we will win an NC.

[yjnkdawg]

I think Gilbert has some type of injury. Otherwise, I believe Skelton would have been pulled after Vandy showed they could run on him anytime they wished too.

I hope we start Pilk, because if we do win the first game, then it's pretty safe to say that Oregon State will probably be our next opponent.

I believe our coaching staff and players are focused and on a mission to prove all doubters wrong and get MSU our first CWS NC. I also believe the players want to win this for Henderson whether he remains as their coach or not.

[shoeless joe]

Some good points here but a lot of over thinking. It's going to come down to starting pitching getting us into the fifth. Thatta really it. When we made our run they barely got us into the third. Our bullpen issues are ALMOST wiped away based on the schedule. However we cant afford for a France or Gordon to come in and just flat not have it that day. This team is built for a run but could also be built for an early exit. All comes down to 3 things pitching, pitching, and pitching.

[MarketingBully]

Some good points here but a lot of over thinking. It's going to come down to starting pitching getting us into the fifth. Thatta really it. When we made our run they barely got us into the third. Our bullpen issues are ALMOST wiped away based on the schedule. However we cant afford for a France or Gordon to come in and just flat not have it that day. This team is built for a run but could also be built for an early exit. All comes down to 3 things pitching, pitching, and pitching.

Agreed.

[Pinto]

Read somewhere that the wind will be a south wind and blowing in for the first 4 days of CWS. Home runs will be at a premium.

[Bdawg]

I really think this ballpark gives us an advantage. We've shown on a number of occasions that we are a team that can manufacture runs without the home run. Yes we hit a bunch in Tallahassee but in our 10 run game 3 against Vandy we hit no homers. We are good defensively in the OF and can cover ground. And we give up homers so the bigger park should help us out.

I like our first game matchup. Washington is good but I would much rather be playing them than anyone else in the tournament. I think we have to throw Pilk because we are going to need Small for either Oregon State or UNC.

Not sure if I go Pilk or not. Doesn't Washington have a stud starter that has thrown a perfect game this year and had one working till the 7th inning in their last SR game. If I'm mistaken, then maybe we could go with Pilk.

[yjnkdawg]

Read somewhere that the wind will be a south wind and blowing in for the first 4 days of CWS. Home runs will be at a premium.


Yeah, TD Ameritrade Park faces more south eastward, which is unusual for a baseball stadium. As normally a south wind helps the hitters.

[Cooterpoot]

Pitching and defense. We've not been great at either. We have to be great at both next week. The bats will be there. And with this many good teams, we also need some breaks and a lot of luck.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Teams with the best pitching usually win. We were rolling in 2013 until we ran into the UCLA bandsaw. With that being said, I am not saying this team can't do anything. They have proven me wrong time and time again.

[preachermatt83]

You throw your best pitcher in game one. Washington is very good. This is not regionals, it’s the college World Series. Who ever you pitch in game one can feasibily pitch three times. Gotta go small and it’s not even debatable imo

[Jarius]

I think Gilbert has some type of injury. Otherwise, I believe Skelton would have been pulled after Vandy showed they could run on him anytime they wished too.

I hope we start Pilk, because if we do win the first game, then it's pretty safe to say that Oregon State will probably be our next opponent.

I believe our coaching staff and players are focused and on a mission to prove all doubters wrong and get MSU our first CWS NC. I also believe the players want to win this for Henderson whether he remains as their coach or not.

I actually feel the opposite. Pilk is kind of boom or bust and I think he has the best chance at a dominant outing against Oregon State. He also has a higher chance at a dud. Hopefully the extra rest will do him well. Small is going to give you a really solid outing every time, but not very many dominant ones.

[Bdawg]

You throw your best pitcher in game one. Washington is very good. This is not regionals, it’s the college World Series. Who ever you pitch in game one can feasibily pitch three times. Gotta go small and it’s not even debatable imo

Think I'm throwing my best too. Got to stay in the winners bracket and that starts with game 1.

[Political Hack]

We'd better do whatever we can to win game 1. Game 2, winner or loser, is going to be incredibly tough.