5/10, 5/13,14...at USCS (1) and Samford (3)

[lawdog]

Want to sustain momentum.

[lawdog]

http://www.goupstate.com/article/201105 ... once-again

[Denise]

my grandaughter txt me...we are down 6-11 in the 8th

[BGTerrier]

Poor result on Tuesday after playing well over the weekend. Lost 12-7 to Upstate.

[shortstop02]

Poor result on Tuesday after playing well over the weekend. Lost 12-7 to Upstate.

poor result? who cares! beating upstate doesn't get us into the tournament. These guys just played their butts off this past weekend and winning against buttstate is the last thing on their minds. For those of you who don't understand the modern day midweek non conference game let me lay it out for you.

1. a chance to get some pitchers some work wether it be a good or bad outing it doesn't matter
2. A waste of time for position players who have already played just about every inning of every game this year and know in the back of their mind it doesn't matter if you win or lose this game except to the people on this forum.
3. Its also a chance for some guys who don't get to play get a few at bats or plays in the field.

The last part is where I have a problem with the coaching. If it were me I would have sat my starters or at least a few of them to give them a break. We need these guys fresh for the weekend and the following series. Thats just my opinion and Coach I isn't the only one that does things this way.

A midweek game against a team that doesn't matter isn't a game that I care about. Not now and not when I was a player did I give a flip about playing someone outside the conference except the fact that I had a chance to rest and give a guy who doesn't play an opportunity. Let's just take care of business this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ruckus]

Aside from saving our pitching for the weekend, there is no reason we should not make every effort to win every game we play in. If not, why schedule them? I know it's a long hard grind of a season and there are benefits from getting guys some at bats and innings but there was never a game I played in that I didn't want to win as a position player. At some point pride has to factor in. They have a couple days to rest up.
I agree it seems from Coach I's comments that we were saving ammunition and effort for the upcoming weekend series (although he did say he would rather us play than just practice for 4 days). But change the attitude about these games and you may see a few more weekend wins IMO. It's all about competing, learning and expecting to win, and having some pride in what you do. Winning begets winning.
Personally, it rankles this old dog to hear that anybody who suited up in the black and old gold didn't care about losing.

[DiamondTerrier]

I agree Ruckus. If any player takes the field and don't have the desire to win they should never take the field at all. The reason you play the game is to win. You don't always win but you always put forth a winning effort. I think all of our players has the desire. Yes they get frustrated when they lose or don't play well but that doesn't remove the desire to win. Also I have no problem throwing some of our pitchers midweek as long as it is no more that their weekly bullpen session. Every pitcher throws bullpen sessions during midweek. No reason to get their 30-35 pitches in a game situation. We just have to compete hard every time out. At times we don't do that. That starts at the top. That has been our problem. Coaches have to get everyone prepared mentally and physically. Coach is great at chewing someone out. Sometimes a pat on the back will go a lot further. Now, lets go win three at Samford!!! GO TERRIERS!

[BGTerrier]

Shortstop, views like yours are exactly why Wofford baseball has very little success. While some games hold more weight than others, every game on the schedule matters. Winning should be the first priority, whether it’s a midweek game or the conference championship. The mindset of “taking games off” when they don’t matter has plagued this program for a while. Having an “I don’t care” attitude for midweek games, will follow you into conference games and impact results. I agree that resting starters in midweek games is necessary, but we still should have the desire to kick the crap out of the opposing team with whoever is on the field. Winning builds confidence, and confidence is what creates success for players and the program. Every game should be played to win, no matter the game or the opponent. We can have all the funding in the world, but if we have a half-ass approach to winning the game it won’t matter. The right mentality starts at the top, and until it’s engrained in the program, we’ll continue to be below-average at best.

[Hooper's Judge]

Great point BG... Even though the conference games are much more important, deeming these midweek games as pointless is a bit ridiculous.

[Denise]

Poor result on Tuesday after playing well over the weekend. Lost 12-7 to Upstate.

poor result? who cares! beating upstate doesn't get us into the tournament. These guys just played their butts off this past weekend and winning against buttstate is the last thing on their minds. For those of you who don't understand the modern day midweek non conference game let me lay it out for you.

1. a chance to get some pitchers some work wether it be a good or bad outing it doesn't matter
2. A waste of time for position players who have already played just about every inning of every game this year and know in the back of their mind it doesn't matter if you win or lose this game except to the people on this forum.
3. Its also a chance for some guys who don't get to play get a few at bats or plays in the field.

The last part is where I have a problem with the coaching. If it were me I would have sat my starters or at least a few of them to give them a break. We need these guys fresh for the weekend and the following series. Thats just my opinion and Coach I isn't the only one that does things this way.

A midweek game against a team that doesn't matter isn't a game that I care about. Not now and not when I was a player did I give a flip about playing someone outside the conference except the fact that I had a chance to rest and give a guy who doesn't play an opportunity. Let's just take care of business this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

We care!

[Natural]

OMG....Wednesday night the Citadel LOST to Upstate! Appy LOST to High Point! Western LOST to Kennesaw State! THE HORROR

[woffordgrad94]

Well, I can tell you that Upstate cared a lot! From what I hear, they considered beating Wofford a big deal for them. In fact, I think they used their top pitcher to start against us. I get the whole argument that the game is non-conference and though we shouldn't just concede the game, we really need to focus more on Samford...and I do have to agree with that from a purely intellectual standpoint. But still...in my heart I don't like losing to Upstate. I don't want them to ever beat us. I like to keep them in their place, which should be below us in the pecking order. And I really hate that when they do beat us, they brag and act like they won the CWS...I think they have some"inferiority complex" issues that they can only resolve by beating us in a sport. Oh well though, screw it...beat Samford.

[Ruckus]

I guess we can flip on our "win" switch now..........beat Sammy!!!!

[rhfterrier]

OMG....Wednesday night the Citadel LOST to Upstate! Appy LOST to High Point! Western LOST to Kennesaw State! THE HORROR

Oh good. That is so relieving because now that those teams lost it's ok for Wofford to lose and not care. Hopefully the team doesn't take this same attitude. Let's quit making excuses, Wofford just got beat and Upstate was better on Tuesday night. Give them credit and move on to the big weekend series. In the big scheme of things it is not important but you play to win every game you can.


This guy says it a lot better than I can...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj ... re=related

[SC_Terrier]

I agree with Ruckus and BGTerrier - we cannot afford to take any games off during the season...every game is important for our program. I graduated in 2007 and I can say that we never took mid-week games off.

Hopefully we can take two out of three this weekend and put ourselves in a good position for the 8th spot. If past years are a template to follow, 8th seeded teams in the SOCON tournament have a better chance than the No. 1 seeded team .