Ok, now that we took game 1, I ask again....

[CadaverDawg]

Do you risk burning Hootie in Game 2 if it means getting to 2-0 potentially?

Say we come out and grab an early lead and MacLeod implodes in the 2nd or 3rd inning, and they have 1st and 2nd with no outs after 8 straight balls and he falls behind 2-0 on the next guy....

Do you send Hootie out there if we still have a lead and it's clear Mac doesn't have it? Or do you use every other arm possible and try to save Hootie for game 3?

[preachermatt83]

I wouldn’t be shocked to see hootie start this game just to be honest

[Rex54]

You go all out to win Game 2. I wouldn't mind using Houston if we are ahead of the circumstance dictates.

Hopefully though Mac-PJ-Stinnet/Smith/Stone-Sims suffices though.

[confucius say]

Hootie was up throwing in the pen last night fwiw.

But I think that's bc he could have thrown 1-2 last night and still started Thursday. I don't expect to see him Tuesday unless he starts, which is possible.

[StarkVegasSteve]

An emergency situation such as the one you mentioned and I think you absolutely use him. It's imperative to get to 2-0 to start. Obviously that puts you in a bind come Friday but at this point you have to play the game in front of you. We can't worry about the next one. Also, if you only used him for 30-40 pitches and were able to win I don't see why you couldn't start him again Friday. Again, we can't worry about that problem unless it pops up. Hopefully we see good Mac and it's a non issue.

[smootness]

If it's truly early, you could bring Harding in and still have MacLeod come back and pitch in the next one. But it's hard to see us making a move like that before MacLeod is at least to 50 pitches or so.

If you burned both enough that you couldn't use them in the next one, you better make sure you win it because if you lose you're completely toast. I understand the argument that a win in Game 2 is huge, but the reality is that if you win Game 2 but burn both MacLeod and Harding, it's going to be tough to win on Friday regardless so you're likely looking at needing to go Saturday as well, and you'd probably bring Bednar back for that one and blow him for the championship series.

If you lose but hold Harding back, you would throw Harding on Thursday, then need to win one with an all-staff day and then have Bednar back on Saturday. So there's not a ton of difference there.

I think you play it by ear and have Harding as a possibility but only use him if you need him early and you're not already down 2-3 runs.

[WinningIsRelentless]

I would start Hoot tomorrow. With the shadows being and issue they are going to have trouble picking up the spin on the ball. We know hoot throws strikes and will get a lot of swinging misses.

[smootness]

I would start Hoot tomorrow. With the shadows being and issue they are going to have trouble picking up the spin on the ball. We know hoot throws strikes and will get a lot of swinging misses.

No, stick with MacLeod. Virginia doesn't hit too many HR or even XBH, so I think that matchup actually works very well for him. They also have a solid number of lefties in the lineup.

I'd rather roll with MacLeod against a weaker hitting lineup and have Harding ready to go potentially against Texas or Tennessee.

[StarkVegasSteve]

No, stick with MacLeod. Virginia doesn't hit too many HR or even XBH, so I think that matchup actually works very well for him. They also have a solid number of lefties in the lineup.

I'd rather roll with MacLeod against a weaker hitting lineup and have Harding ready to go potentially against Texas or Tennessee.

Agreed. Stick with what got you to this point. Looking back at it, Mac really didn't pitch bad against ND. He was getting squeezed and they were having a bunch of dink hits. I think you have Hootie available, but start Mac. He's been a better pitcher away from DNF this season anyways.

[ScoobaDawg]

No, stick with MacLeod. Virginia doesn't hit too many HR or even XBH, so I think that matchup actually works very well for him. They also have a solid number of lefties in the lineup.

I'd rather roll with MacLeod against a weaker hitting lineup and have Harding ready to go potentially against Texas or Tennessee.

Agree. Just have to win this 2nd game tomorrow so don't have to rush Bednar back to get to the finals.

[Johnson85]

If it's truly early, you could bring Harding in and still have MacLeod come back and pitch in the next one. But it's hard to see us making a move like that before MacLeod is at least to 50 pitches or so.

If you burned both enough that you couldn't use them in the next one, you better make sure you win it because if you lose you're completely toast. I understand the argument that a win in Game 2 is huge, but the reality is that if you win Game 2 but burn both MacLeod and Harding, it's going to be tough to win on Friday regardless so you're likely looking at needing to go Saturday as well, and you'd probably bring Bednar back for that one and blow him for the championship series.

If you lose but hold Harding back, you would throw Harding on Thursday, then need to win one with an all-staff day and then have Bednar back on Saturday. So there's not a ton of difference there.

I think you play it by ear and have Harding as a possibility but only use him if you need him early and you're not already down 2-3 runs.

I think this is the answer. If you get in a situation where McLeod has somehow imploded early without putting us badly behind the 8 ball, you bring in Harding. It's essentially like you're starting him, so you're not "wasting" him on 3 innings of relief. And if you do that, McLeod would be available pretty quickly because of his low pitch count.

I'm just not sure I see a scenario where you give up on McLeod before we've gotten behind, so I don't think it happens unless McLeod has something bothering him physically such that he more or less tells the coaches he needs to come out.

ETA: If we have a lead and McLeod needs to come out in the 5th or 6th, I just don't see how you burn our most reliable third starter. Yes, winning is important, but we know we have bullpen arms that can get the job done at that point. They may not be as reliable as we'd like, but we know we have options. I'm not sure what the option is for game three starter if Harding is burned in game 2. And you also bring in the potential for the disaster scenario where you burn harding and McLeod and still lose.

[Coach34]

Win tomorrow and we dont play again until Friday

[KOdawg1]

Just win tomorrow and you're in the driver's seat. We were in 2018, but we just ran into a phenomenal Oregon State team who won a national championship. There's not a team like that on our side of the bracket.

[Rex54]

Win tomorrow and we dont play again until Friday

And you put Bednar back out there