in Pitt Football 698 Words

Baseball Diamonds in the Rough or SOP?

Here is a great and detailed piece by our own Erie Kid – Rick. Thanks for the piece and folks, enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed spending four hours proofreading it. Just kidding – 15 minutes top which is pretty fast…🏌️‍♂️

Pitt baseball is currently in the midst of an awful skid, losing their last four and then six of the last eight games. The Panthers are tied for 2nd place in the Coastal division with Miami. GT sits atop the Coastal with a1-1/2 game lead.

This is the final weekend of the regular season for the ACC and once magical season for Panther baseball. Pitt still has a chance to finish on top.

Let’s look at what is at stake this weekend besides a regular season Coastal championship. In my opinion, Pitt must sweep their final regular season series to have a chance at winning the Coastal, along with having a chance to climb back into the Top 25 and to have a chance to host a regional (I know right?)

Pitt has the luxury of playing at home against the last place team, Wake Forest, from the Atlantic Division while Georgia Tech hosts North Carolina at home while Miami travels to Louisville. A sweep would also help gain back some of the magic that this season was experiencing prior to the losing “skid”.

I’m not going to mention any possible excuses, just solutions. First, Bell is known for being a pitching mastermind. He was a pitcher at Florida State and was the pitching coach for the Seminoles before being hired at Pitt as the head coach. During this skid his pitching selections and in game relief choices have been just as bad as the starting line-up’s silent bats.

It started with a poor choice to start the West Virginia CC (WVCC) game and continued with questionable relief choices game after game. This past weekend saw two close games to start the North Carolina State series and Pitt’s best reliever, SR Jordan McCrum, never threw a pitch and that is a serious head scratcher.

In the third and final game with the Wolfpack, McCrum was brought in for mop up duty when the game was out of hand in a horrible drubbing. Pitt needs a focused and masterminded Bell to guide Pitt back to a magical season.

There is no doubt the meat of the order is struggling and has for the past seven games. The #2 hitter Nico Popa was 1 for 12 in the NC State series and is 3 for 21 in his last five games, #3 hitter Kyle Hess is 4 for 20 in his last five games and #4 hitter Ron Washington, Jr is 4 for 18 over the past five games. Combined, these three hitters are 8 for 59 or a hefty .136 batting average. That is horrible…

My solution (or advice to Bell) would be to mix up the batting order and slide our #9 hitter, Jordan Anderson, to the #2 slot (he is hitting282 and is an excellent bunter) and move #5 hitter David Yanni to the #3 slot (he raised his average 14 points in the last seven games). I would then drop the #2, #3 and #4 hitters down to #4 through #6.

That shake-up alone should take some of the pressure off some key hitters and reward two guys who have played well by moving them up to key spots in the hitting order.

The mishandling of ace reliever McCrum needs to be corrected this weekend. I would intentionally bring him in when the game is close, and the current pitcher needs to be relieved (the very first opportunity vs Wake Forest). If we get to Game 2 and that situation does not present itself, McCrum would know he is going in late in Game 2 for “practice reps”.

McCrum will be a key part of wins over the next few weeks if Pitt can salvage the magical season which we once were excited about.

The first pitch vs Wake Forest is scheduled for 6pm on Thursday night (tonight). Bring your dog, bark a lot, and sprinkle some magical dust on the carpeted diamond of Cost Field.

Let’s talk about the game on this thread and see if we fans can help bring home a winner!

150 thoughts on “Baseball Diamonds in the Rough or SOP?”

  1. Read an article on a Wolfpack blog, where they are one of the hotter teams in NCAAB. Think it said they are 13-3 in their last 16 games and really are moving up the rankings.

    So Pitt ran into a really hot teams.

    And we always lose to NC State in every sport. So there’s that too ! Pitt should have been kinder to me !

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    1. Correction, the Pack is an incredible 17 & 3 in their last 20 games. With 2 of those losses to #8 Notre Dame.

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  2. N.C. is a hot team. They are now projected as a number two. So they will probably get to stay in the Carolinas. I’m assuming east Carolina and South Carolina are hosts.

    Pitt is looking like a low ranked two seed or high three right now

    They definitely need to sweep wake and then advance to at least the semi finals in the ACC tournament.

    They won’t be hosting a regional unless they win out impressively. I give them a less than 5 percent chance.

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  4. Dogs have been seen in the stands so they are pitt supporters. I’ve never seen a cat though and pitt football has saved plenty of kittens from the tall cathedral oaks over the past 6 years.

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  5. Our AD better pull some strings to make sure pitt isn’t stuck in Eugene. First time in 25 years and pitt fans won’t be able to travel. Needs to be a driveable southern venue with 100 percent capacity.

    https://d1baseball.com/postseason/projected-field-of-64-may-18/

    Directors can exert pressure directly and subtly on the selection committee as well as letting their conference president know what they would like to see happen.

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  7. Switching up the lineup should be tried

    I’m thinking the pitching staff has some tired arms, maybe minor injuries or recovering from covid. There’s an explanation. I don’t think Coach Bell just went stupid or full meat product.

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    1. Let’s hope whatever it is, we won’t see again until the FR are long gone and Bell is the HC at Texas

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      1. I’ll probably attend a Texas game in Austin with my son and daughter during regionals. But Pitt is priority. Hoping it’s tennessee. I won’t travel to the Carolinas unless it’s obx or myrtle.

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  11. Seems like Coach Bell only has 3 pitchers he has confidence in – the #1 and #2 starters and the McCrum, the closer. That worked for a while, but the depth just doesn’t appear to be there to handle rough patches.

    As Yogi would say: “Hitting is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” Easy to press when the hits aren’t falling…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Gomez pitched well in his few starting appearances – he is a SR who was on the team prior to Bell’s arrival.

      Gomez pitched a beautiful game vs the hoopies for an early season win. Bell failed to call on Gomez (who was well rested) in game 2 of the Backyard Brawl, which was a curious decision and helped start the current awful skid of losing.

      JR Myers should start tonight, JR Gilbertson tomorrow and SR Gomez in the third game.

      Anything other than that starting rotation should be explained to the fans.

      Go Pitt!

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  13. ACCNX – I’m sure there are streaming links, but I don’t have one

    Pitt losing 2-0 to last place W_F after 2 innings. No change to the batting order – stubborn HC – must be a Pitt thing…

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  14. Keep me posted on the score Rick…. thanks for the write-up and give Rachel a hug from me n JeanieB.

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  15. Pitt down 4-0 to the Demon Deacons

    The Panther lead off hitter is 3-3 with 2 doubles – the 2,3 and 4 hitters couldn’t drive home a stolen car from Capel’s basketball team if they were handed the keys.

    This past inning, the lead off hitter drilled his 2nd double of the night with no outs. The next 2 batters struck out without advancing the runner and the #4 hitter made the 3rd out quietly.

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  16. Not looking good..to the last place team in the ACC. 7th inning.

    Kitty Cats have lost their mojo, have struck out 8 times tonite….in that 2 week period they didn’t play.

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    1. 9 strikeouts as of 7 innings

      Pitt down 6-0

      The W_F player with 3 home runs tonight and 6 RBI’s is from Beaver Falls, PA

      Bell brought in a reliever I never heard of with a 6.70 ERA and he proceeded to hit the first batter and gave up a 2 run homer shortly there after.

      S O P !!!

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  17. Pitt has scored the least runs of any team in the ACC. And we got ZERO tonight. In fact we’re near the bottom in just about every team hitting category. Amazing this team has won as many as they have.

    2 run homer for the Deacs,,,,6-0. And we had one of our 2 aces pitch tonight, Myers.

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  18. Pitt baseball is on the ACC Network tomorrow afternoon at 3pm for all Pitt fans to watch.

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    1. Hopefully Gilbertson is pitching, cause we need a shutout from him, since the Runs are few and far between.

      This WF pitcher tonite, Cusick avg’s 14 K’s per start, to lead the ACC.

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  20. Rick, despite the rough outing tonight by the PITT baseball team your article is top notch! Thanks for the great read. iek/ike

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Thanks Ike – hope you are feeling ok. Many friend and family are praying for you.

    The 10th strike out by a Panther was just wrung up.

    Some of us fans need to change our underwear color or socks to help break this bad mojo – HC Bell sure ain’t willing to make any changes. NIL (a little soccer lingo)

    Pitt’s lead off hitter just got on base for the 4th time tonight. Let’s see if 2,3 & 4 can come through.

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    1. A one out rally is in the works – the #2 hitter just lined a single to right field.

      Bases loaded in the top of the 8th with one out.

      Stay tuned – down 6 runs with 5 outs left.

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  22. Wow, your best hitter whiffs with the bases loaded. 3 outs left..down 6-1.

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  23. The W_F reliever (FR) mowed down the meat of Bell’s order with the bases loaded.

    Only one run came in on what should have been a double play ball – the deacon could not get the ball out of his mitt.

    Bell should visit the Outer Banks with other Pitt employees tomorrow and let the captains run the team.

    Shake it up or the losing will continue until there is no regional bid in 2021.

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    1. Do they give bids to teams that finish below .500 in conf games ? As Pitt will be 16-15 after tonight.

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    1. They still don’t have the money to pay for all of their 35? Sports.

      Hate to be a student there. Tuition increases on their way.

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  26. The top of the 9th and Pitt is down 6-1 with the bottom of the order coming up.

    Current batting averages of the three

    .266
    .224
    .094

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    1. And the other team has a player from Beaver Falls who hit 3 home runs and drove in 6 runs tonight.

      Go figure!

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  28. Another 3-2 strike out.

    The .094 batter was not pinch hit for.

    Bell just lost me…

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    1. I stand corrected, as I typed that he made the switcher-roo.

      Finally a good decision. Two out rally – Let’s go Pitt!

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  30. Guys, There is a reason why I never got too excited. They would be 16-18 if they played L’Ville but was cancelled. 16-20 if they get swept by Wake. This team doesn’t deserve a regional bid. Maybe in a year or two but the reason they did okay this year is because of Corona and all the Seniors who stayed bc they won’t get drafted.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. From PSN –

    “With this loss, the Panthers drop from second to third in the Coastal Division standings and, with just two games left to play, their hopes of matching first-place Georgia Tech’s 19 wins and capturing a division title have been dashed.

    Their odds of securing a winning conference record for the first time since 2013 have also suffered a serious blow. Pitt will need to win the next two games against Wake Forest in order to secure that milestone.

    But that will prove a serious challenge. Assumed games two and three starters Matt Gilbertson and Billy Corcoran are not available this weekend, presumably in an effort to keep them fresh for the ACC Tournament which begins this coming Tuesday.

    Game two between the Panthers and Demon Deacons is slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon and will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.” (Originally slated for regular ACC Network tv for all to see – bumped for a meaningful game that ACC Network paying customers will need to pay extra to stream).

    HC Bell has lost his ability to affectively manage this team, IMO.

    The 12 teams in the championship will be grouped into four pools of three teams apiece. Pool play will take place Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with three games per day. Each pool will play a round robin, with the top team advancing to the semifinals. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, followed by the championship on Sunday.

    Pitt will probably be a 6, 7 or 8 seed and be pooled with a top team such as ND, GT, Miami or FL State.

    What is the old saying, you have to beat the best to be the best. Pitt lost last night to last place W_F in the Panthers quest to win the Coastal division championship. The HC did nothing (nil) to shake up the line-up, nor did he use his best reliever.

    The season comes down to four games now – win the last two regular season games to stop the bad mojo and stay above .500 with the conference record for the first time since joining the ACC. That gives momentum as they enter a tough ACC tournament where 2 and done may end the season.

    HC Bell needs to find a way to win a few games down the stretch to extend the season to regionals.

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  32. This would be an epic crash and burn if pitt loses the last two to wake and then fails to advance out of their pod in the tourney.

    You can kiss any regional goodbye since their rpi would be in the 70’s. Which is probably the correct rpi based on their talent. Pitt has over performed this year but are regressing to the mean.

    I’d love to see pitt stuck as a low four seed in Austin or Fort Worth. They would be pitted against top 5 schools in the country. So selfishly I hope for some self destruction. Just not complete.

    And remember the crazy talk just two weeks ago about Pitt hosting. Embarrassing at this point.

    If Texas, the heat will be a factor. They need to hydrate unlike the football team so they don’t cramp. And they need a few days to acclimate. Similar to altitude.

    But Pitt deserves this fate at this point.

    I’m beginning to think Coach Bell is as stubborn as Narduzzi.

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  33. English pointer: what is going on with this baseball team?

    German Shepard: not enough discipline and tenacity

    Labrador retriever: the game isn’t fun anymore…where’s my ball.

    Bull dog: pitt is becoming a pushover

    Mexican chihuahua: I’m thinking a good breakfast burrito should do the trick

    Beagle: this team has gone to the dogs

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    1. Italian Greyhound – give me a plate of meatballs and I’ll settle for whatever, win or lose.

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  34. Back to football, Ghost mentioned that Pitt’s success has run in cycles. I think maybe it has more to do with who is the Chancellor and Pitt wanting to save money. Going back to Litchfield and Michelosen, after the ’63 year, Michelosen seemed to go downhill in ’64 and ’65 with consecutive 3 win seasons before resigning. Litchfield nearly bankrupted Pitt and resigned in ’65 just before Michelosen’s last season started. Pitt had two acting Chancellors in the next two years (one died while in office), but during these two years (right before Posvar) Pitt moved to state related status to survive. This probably affected the way they replaced Michelosen.

    After Michelosen came Dave Hart and Carl DePasqua as head coaches, and Pitt must have really hired them on the cheap since it had no money. Posvar arrived in ’67 and after a few years seemed to have had enough embarrassment (although he did hire DePasqua after Hart failed) that he hired Johnny Majors in ’73. Pitt was starting to recover financially by then , and Posvar is credited with rebuilding Pitt’s finances and endowment.

    Posvar retired in ’91, after seeing some great football, but also watching the program deteriorate. After Sherrill, he picked Gottfried in between Foge and Hackett, two assistant coaches who probably came cheap. Gottfried had jumped around from college to college before Pitt, and may have also come cheap. With Majors achieving success as an outside hire from a major conference, it is surprising that so many bad choices were subsequently made.

    Perhaps it was because Sherrill did so well as an assistant who became head coach, and they apparently thought it was the name Pitt and not the coaching skills that won games. The lesson here is that they succumbed to doing things on the cheap. Most of these hires seemed to be about money and not wanting to pay for top caliber coaches. Too many assistant coaches failed as head coach along the way.

    Dennis O’Conner succeeded Posvar in ’91, and was responsible for the failed Majors II era, but did also bring in Walt Harris (another assistant coach) who did pretty well and stayed a while. But this was an exception. I point all this out because there are some on this blog that seem to think that Pitt is paying too much for its head coach, and is keeping him too long.

    The history of cheap hires and short tenures at Pitt is not a good one. They now finally seem to be on the right track and don’t need to go back to hiring on the cheap. Let’s give it time to work.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I have no problem with money spent as long it’s on the right coaches and right facilities. Moreover, there is a plan to pay for it. That’s an important piece that people conveniently gloss over. The mentality is ‘well it’s not my money’

      To me, Narduzzi is not the right coach to spend the money on. Pitt sure can’t afford it based on their revenues and financial situation unless they continue to borrow monies or raise tuition and fees. And I’m not even factoring in return on investment.

      And I think victory Heights is money not well spent and is being financed with far too much debt. Moreover, outdoor track still remains trackless. This project generates negative cash flows. Pitt is going into debt to go more into debt.

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      2. Bizarre he butted heads with the BoT. Maybe the BoT hated football being as bad as it was at that time and O’Connor wanted it to die and blow away. One correction further above, O’Connor did not hire Harris. That was Nordy.

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        2. J Dennis was no fan of football. And totally ignorant of college sports. There are stories. I know a few.

          Pitt regretted that hire the moment he walked on campus.

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  36. Right now Pitt is a three seed and falling fast. It would be unprecedented if they didn’t make the tourney after having been ranked for two months. No more gravy train with biscuit wheels.

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  42. Pitt baseball is losing 8-3 in the 4th inning. Another really poor performance all around.

    Still time to mount a comeback.

    The Panthers dropped last night from 2nd in the Coastal standings to 4th place.

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  43. There is an outside chance that Pitt could drop to 6th place in the Coastal if swept by last place W_F – other teams would need to win and do their part, but it is possible.

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  44. W_F scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 4th to lead 12-3

    Pitt with 3 hits on the afternoon.

    The announcers says there are many Pitt fans in attendance who are probably heading to Charlotte for the ACC tournament. If I was there I’d change my plans.

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  45. Pitt is currently the 8th seed for the ACC tourney. The ACC is projected to receive 6 bids to the NCAA regionals.

    If Pitt loses today, currently down 12-3 in the sixth inning, their conference record will be a mediocre 16-16. With a lose today, Pitt will have lost it’s series to both the Atlantic & Coastal division basement dwellers in W_F and Duke.

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    1. So ACC schools get a $30 million payout. What do sec and big ten schools get

      I’m thinking $50-$60 million per team

      ACC has a bad tv contract.

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      1. Seems like the ACC has done a horrible job squeezing money from networks by not using Duke and Carolina basketball. Not sure it could be used for football negotiations, but those two are royalty in college sports simply due to basketball.

        The ACC really needs Texas and ND to command more money for football. I don’t think the Coastal will have a team make a meteoric rise and have staying power. Only Miami has a chance and the school doesn’t have the money, fanbase, resources, etc. to do it.

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  49. Can someone please explain what has happened to Pitt baseball? Things haven’t been right since the COVID break. How could the pitchers have tired arms and the hitting go so bad? Coach Bell wouldn’t make lineup changes and seems to have lost this team..

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    1. VoR – some hitters (about three) have swung the bat well since the awful skid began –

      Leadoff hitter Sky Duff has been the teams hottest hitter.

      The 5 hitter David Yanni cracked a home run today and has raised his average over the losing span.

      The 9 hitter Jordan Anderson has hit ok of late, bunts well and steals bases with ease.

      I suggested before the W_F series that Anderson be moved to the 2 slot and Yanni to the 3 slot to shake up the line-up. A teams best hitters are usually 1 thru 4 – for Pitt, 2 thru 4 were their weakest throughout the skid, continuing today.

      Bell did not make a move until today and it was a head scratcher. He moved Duff to the 3 spot and Anderson up to the 7th spot. The three guys struggling the most actually moved up for more at bats and were 1-9 today or .111 batting average, so their combined .135 coming into this series during the skid actually got worse today because dumbBell refuses to make the move.

      Pitt slipped to 16-16 in league play and sits in 5th place in the Coastal division – 9th seed in the ACC.

      Regarding the pitchers, because they have very little hitting support, they try to be perfect and thus the other team is getting slot of good pitches to drive.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. These pitt players would get a splinter and be on IR.

      May even cut themselves.

      Heck these guys can’t even swing a bat. You want them swinging an axe. 🤠

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  51. I think some of what UPitt says is actually spot on. This is a senior team. Pitt has a bunch of 23 year old men going up against 18-19 year old boys. But these men aren’t very talented. And what you are seeing is regression to the mean.

    They will be fortunate to go to a regional now. And if they do, it will be as a 4 seed in some far away location…like Texas. Tech, longhorns and horned frogs would slaughter Pitt. All top ten teams.

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    1. Actually, there are only 2 SR’s starting – Popa and Yanni, both from Pittsburgh.

      Pitchers Gomez and McCrum are seldom used by dumbBell and they are two of the better relief pitchers. Gomez started and beat the hoopies.

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  53. Erie, you have really helped us to understand this team, it’s strengths and weaknesses, and it is very much appreciated. One last request: please opine on if Bell is the right guy to coach this team going forward. No lineup changes, questionable pitching assignments. Is there any logical reason for his personnel moves, or non-moves in the past few series? I get the feeling that he lost control of the situation, maybe the team.

    Liked by 1 person

  54. You guys are really tough on some of the coaches… Remember, our two top pitchers are Juco transfers.

    Here’s one sentence from Coach Bell’s bio: “Since 2005, Bell has helped lead three teams to four College World Series appearances – Tennessee (2005), Oklahoma (2010) and Florida State (2012 & 2017). “

    I don’t know, but I generally give the coaches — who know these guys way the hell better than we do — the benefit of the doubt…

    I know, I must be drinking Kool-Aid…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Your key word is ‘helped’

      Bell is now the man in charge getting help from his assistants

      All those other schools had tons of talent

      There is a reason why pitt was picked last in the ACC

      Pitt over performed for most of the year. They are regressing to the mean.

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  55. Majors – He has lost 10 of 11 games. The coach deserves criticism. If they would focus on baseball and not social media BS maybe they would be the worst teams in the ACC. The end of season crash is embarrassing and Bell deserves much of the blame.

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  56. Reminds me of many of Dixon’s bball teams. They faded at the end of seasons and limped into the NCAA Tournament. Many lost in the 1st round or soon thereafter.

    Capel’s teams have all ended seasons on massive losing streaks or 10 of 11’s, 10 of 12’s losses.

    2021 – 10 losses in last 12 games
    2020 – 11 losses in last 14 games
    2019 – 14 losses in last 16 games

    Football generally fades too !

    Must be a Pitt thing ! The Soccer team was the exception. The Euro guys aren’t infected with SOP.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I would put the volleyball team in the same category as the men’s soccer program (non-faders).

      Mrs. Erie and I were going to try to catch an ACC tournament game next week, but for me the entertainment value went way down these past two weekends with the awful losing skid we have witnessed.

      Tex – while I’d enjoy meeting you at a regional to watch some good college baseball, two of those last three words do not describe Bell’s current team – they are far from good and their play does not resemble the baseball they played when they rose to #14 in the polls. I’ll pass on the regional and frankly, with a mediocre .500 record they probably won’t receive a bid.

      My entertainment dollars will be spent on golf – heading to an 8am tee time vs two pedo enablers – that gives me an extra edge of competitiveness, plus the fact that they talk trash on Pitt FB. The comeback of “our 6-6 record is better than your 4-5” doesn’t do it for me.

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      2. I’m probably going to limit my travel after all this. Pitt might not win another game. There is a baseball team in town worse than the Pirates now. I thought that was impossible. Team seriously needs a priest or witch doctor. There is some demon or curse plaguing this team. The doctor I know charges by the chicken.

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  58. Pitts rpi is 47 now. Places them as a low ranked three seed and playing in a far away regional.

    They are falling fast and could be out of the top 60. The selection committee looks at rpi as the primary criteria. They also look at momentum. Pitt has none.

    This could be the best choke job in the history of college baseball. Pitt was ranked for nine weeks. Was going to host just two weeks ago.

    Don’t know what it is with pitt teams fading down the stretch. Soccer and volleyball are the exceptions.

    But football fades. Capel fades. Men’s swimming did. Wrestling disappointed in the tourney. Track disappointed at acc’s. Ladies softball stunk all season and basketball.

    Yet heather wins AD of the year. I just don’t understand.

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    1. They were ranked as high as 14 this year. In top 25 for nine weeks. They should have finished the season ranked and going strong into the ACC. Wake is a horrible team. Means pitt is double horrible right now.

      If they don’t win another game, I don’t see them going to regional. Just two weeks ago heather was talking crazy smack about hosting in front of 450 spectators.

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  61. It appears that Pitt’s baseball team was playing over its head for most of the year, and as other teams prepared for the end of the season the Pitt team was regressing to their norm as Tex would say. I would like to hear Bell’s explanation of what happened. I wonder if he will have a post season presser to help the fans understand where they are as a team and a program, because these losses have left a very bad taste.

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  64. But what is the common denominator behind all collapses? I’m asking. I don’t know. I have a hypothesis.

    Being most collapses are due to exceeding expectations early on. So a collapse shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Water seeks its own level.

    Experts are seldom wrong. They are experts for a reason or they lose that title quickly. Pitt was picked preseason for the basement.

    The winds aren’t blowing favorably for Pitt now.

    I see them losing out. Hope I’m wrong since I want to see the longhorns play the panthers.

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  65. I tasted burnt orange ice cream the other day. Real good. Has an orange almost spicy flavor.

    What would pitt ice cream taste like?

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  67. I think Pitt ice cream would be creamy BLUEberry and a hint of GOLDschlager liquor.
    If you have ever had cinnamon blueberry muffins you know what I mean.

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    1. I was thinking blueberry but I couldn’t fathom the gold or yellow. Maybe lime. But my first thought was pee. 🤠

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    2. schlager and Yeager were the drinks in my day. Ice Chilled to perfection. The shots went down smooth. I had a few before throwing darts. I was dart champion of the pub.

      Experienced that in buffalo. Molly’s Pub on main near old main campus. Then on the south side of the burg during my returns.

      I’d coach darts for free if pitt made that a scholie sport. Cold liquor would be my only comp.

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  68. Wake has a nice field

    Pitt is too artificial.

    And Pitt soccer has no business playing on rubber and plastic.

    Yet heather is AD of the year

    Did I mention floor condensation issues for volleyball? I just did.

    Keep rubbing it in VOR. I mean that as a friend. I like a good ribbing. My Texas ribs always turn out well. Sauce on the side.

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  69. I do like the uniforms. No anthracite ever please. Pitt really needs to get off the snide.

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  73. Tex, I was paying you a compliment. It is not at all surprising that a team with average players in any sport will initially play above its pay grade so to speak, believing the hype, only to drift back down to their norm as water seeks its own level and other teams learn about them.

    I think this is really the general explanation for Pitt’s fading basketball teams over the years, especially this year. The initial excitement and promise that produce some early victories will eventually give way to superior talent, and lead to demoralization and finally disagreement and conflict. I believe that is what happened this year, as other teams with more talent began to wear Pitt down, which eventually created some infighting and individual play that affected their team play, even against some teams they should have been good enough to beat.

    It takes a special coach to keep kids focused when adversity hits. There was already some team dissension over X Man, and the fans’ mid-season focus on Champ may have hurt team chemistry as well. A good coach will teach the Xs and Os at the beginning of the season, and then be a friend and disciplinarian toward the end. Coach K is a good example of a coach who is used to having superior talent but who couldn’t prevent the free fall at the end of this year when they started losing to teams like Pitt.

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  79. Dear god. The wheels have come completely off. Pitt baseball is the definition of crash and burn. I’m attending a longhorn game in Austin. I’ll see y’all come October for clemson.

    To be serious and joking. Texas would have fired Pitts coach after this. I’m not being too far off with that comment. Just a difference in mentality. Risk taker versus risk adverse with a lame stability excuse.

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  80. Keep in mind that wake is one of the worst teams in baseball. So what does that make pitt?

    These games aren’t even close.

    Heather hired this guy right. Our AD of the year.

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    1. Yes, Bell who was never a HC was hired by Heather.

      He lost the team, the fans and many games in the last 3-1/2 weeks.

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  82. 16-20 if that played L’Ville in ACC and not cancelled. Not sure we ever beat ‘L’Ville. Honestly that is as good as Baseball will get at Pitt and that is okay.

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  83. I need some mushrooms after this series. Erie mentioned sprinkling some magical dust. I’ll snort that stuff up. Pitt tears your heart out and beats your soul. I’m thinking I’m dead and in Hell. What did I do to deserve this?

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    2. I totally detached from Pitt baseball today and focused on golf. Never turned on the game and only know the score because I tuned in to POV.

      UPitt did not care for the previous HC – my son went to his camps as a young lad on up to HS ball. I don’t know Bell other than he never was a HC and with the dive to the bottom he seemed to do nothing to stop it. He did not shake up the line-up, use proven pitchers in obvious moments.

      I’ll be on vacation in ACC country so I may watch a game on TV, just won’t carve out time to go to the ballpark in person.

      I feel that way about FB and mBB too. Looking forward to tailgating in the Fall but no plans to travel to away games.

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  86. I spent years in my thirties on Tobacco Road selling. I went to baseball game after game. NC is a hotbed of baseball with more talent in 15 square miles than all of PA.
    They start practicing in late November in college. I pitched batting practice at a few of the minor league parks and watched many college games. It’s no disgrace for Pitt to lose to these teams! They are way more talented than Pitt will ever be.

    Best thing that happened to me on Tobacco Road was listening to NC State Coach Jimmy V’s nightly call in talk show. He was funny, arrogant and took no crap from the Southern callers who think they know every last thing about basketball!

    Liked by 2 people

  87. Not that it matters much with way we’ve been playing but Pitt is placed in Pool C after falling all the way to the #10 seed.

    Others in Pool C….include NC State (who just swept us) and UNC.

    A win is not likely unless we get a amazing effort (like a shutout) from whoever pitches.

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  88. The Wake player(Mike Turconi) who had Three 2 run Home Runs against us is from Beaver Falls and went to Blackhawk HS. He is their 2nd best player. Their best player (Bobby Seymour) is from Illinois.
    The pitcher who led the ACC in K’s per game, (Kusick) is from Sudburry, Mass.

    27 of their 37 players are not from NC or SC. Most of them(21) are from the North or Florida.

    I don’t think the Carolinas has any more baseball talent than any other area.

    Michigan reached the last CWS finals, ND is the best team in the ACC this year.
    Both Northern Teams.

    Sorry No excuse for Pitt.

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  89. Little Wake Forest has 13 coaches and support staff members.
    Including a full-time Sports Psychologist MD.

    Compare that to Pitt, with only 7 coaches and support staff members.

    Pitt is even small-time to Little Wake Forest with it’s 5400 undergrads when it comes to baseball.

    And boy could have we used the Sports Shrink. (we need one for football and hoops too)

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  90. Baseball update: the ACC normally receives about six entries to the regional field of 64. Pitt has fallen all the way down to 10th in the ACC standings with back to back weekends of being swept in 3 game series with NC State and W_F.

    In the ACC tournament, #10 seed Pitt has #4 NC State and #6 UNC to contend with in its pool. If a team goes 2-0 they move on to the final 4 of the ACC tournament. If 1-1 the highest seed moves on to the final 4.

    Pitt must beat both Carolina teams to have a shot at a regional bid. The last time Pitt won 2 games was May 7th and 8th vs BC, who did not even qualify for the ACC tournament.

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  91. So Pitt will go from the 14th ranked team in the country just 6 weeks ago to outside the top 64. Since generally teams ranked 1-64 get regional bids.

    That’s a steep fall in just 6 weeks. Typically people get fired for a performance like that. Bell probably gets an extension knowing heather.

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    2. That extension is being worked out at the Outer Banks vacation home of ADHL this weekend.

      We’ll find out about it next season when Pitt baseball has a losing record and is one of two teams who misses the ACC tournament.

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      1. Most of those seniors will probably move on. I don’t see any big time recruits coming in. Pitt will need to get lucky with junior college guys and transfers. But these free agents are no way to build a team long term. Pitt will stink next year. The stench still won’t be as bad as basketball.

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  92. When was the last time Pitt landed the top recruit in the state? I’m thinking Wanny or gottfried.

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    1. Rutgers gave Shiano money for assistants and Greg hired a terrific recruiter in Fran Brown. Not sure if Pitt had a gem in Canada, but being content offering a guy a million a year and saying “we tried” isn’t the best way of doing business in cutthroat college football.

      Then Narduzzi followed up by hiring Watson for a million a year. Terrible! That is why there needs to be some football men on the BoT, or a sports BoT. Covert is on there, but his number was wrongfully retired so he will stay quiet.

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      1. Pitt had a chance to steal talent from that state when Rutgers was down. Pitt blew that chance.

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    2. It actually was Whitehead in 2015. But I have to seriously say he should not have been ranked ahead of who was number two. And it’s not debateable.

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  93. NCST won their series with Florida State this weekend. They are not the slouches some people here thought.

    Just our luck, we peak mid season then free fall to the bottom at the end. Funny how many were saying what a good coach Mike Bell was earlier in the season, but now criticize his every move. Maybe the fall has to do with lingering effects of covid on the players. We don’t know who was sick or how badly, so everything is speculation at this point. Our pitchers are getting lit up for sure.

    I wish there were easy answers to this, but there aren’t any. Probably a combination of coaching, player fatigue, and playing hot teams at the end. Just our luck. SOP.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Bell was a good coach getting the team to over perform. But to stay a good coach he needed to make sure the performance didn’t slip too much. Some slippage was inevitable. But we are talking crash and burn now. That’s poor coaching. And he’s made no significant changes to the batting order or rotation. That’s stupid stubborn. Very similar to a grossly overpaid coach at Pitt.

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    2. And I think covid struck this team bigger than anyone knows.

      But it’s unacceptable that only half of all pitt athletes are vaccinated at this point. That’s on heather.

      Heather the AD of the year.

      Like

    3. Or the effects of being vaxed. As those are having lots of effects on many people. Young & old alike.

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  94. It is probably a combination of things. And state is the hottest team in the land

    But you saw the wheels coming off in West Virginia. You saw more in the BC series. Bell had plenty of time to correct things. But no, pitt gets blown out of the water by both state and wake. They have completely fallen apart. That’s coaching.

    And I know what many will say. But Bell doesn’t bat. Bell doesn’t pitch. He’s the damn coach in charge of the lineup, rotation and practices. He’s 100 percent responsible.

    And I got all excited about seeing pitt in Texas. For nothin.

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  95. Always assume it can be done. And then find a way to do it.

    My deep thoughts for the day.

    You honestly think Pitt thinks this way

    It’s the difference between a winner and a loser.

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  96. All has been quiet with regard to Pitt basketball recruiting lately, since the Hugely reinstatement. Last I checked, they still had 2 scholarships to award, and Heather sounded like they planned to fill them. Pitt still needs a point guard and a center for depth and development. It seems too late to pick up a reclassification, so they have to would come from the JC ranks, overseas, or off the transfer portal.

    At this point, they are probably not looking for immediate contributors, but maybe a transfer with 3 years left. Does Capel have any history of recruiting overseas players?

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    1. Overseas is where pitt can strike gold. Balkan, Baltic and Russians. Even the south americas like Brazil and Argentina

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    2. I don’t remember any Euro players at Duke or Oklahoma when Capel was there.

      So no.

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