• You do not need to register if you are not going to pay the yearly fee to post. If you register please click here or log in go to "settings" then "my account" then "User Upgrades" and you can renew.

HuskerMax readers can save 50% on  Omaha Steaks .

NEB vs IND - B10 TOURNEY - GAME #5 - 9 AM -5-26-16 - Thursday - AMERITRADE PARK

And so they couldn't play well why? If you saw motivated play, then we are just not going to agree on this, because I saw a team going thru the motions. This isn't an issue of talent, this is a mental hurdle in the program right now; every time the lights come on, the team fades out.

Agree to disagree. It's mostly an issue of talent in the program. It isn't very deep, and when a couple of guys go down for the season, we're throwing guys out there who aren't very good. Ersty is going to have to amp up the recruiting of position players. His recruiting of infielders for the past 3 years has been especially poor (Placzek playing full time? What happens if Rev doesn't get an extra year--we have no one else to play SS. Schlep? Can't bunt, can't hit.

Losing Bolt has hurt us with position players IMO. We have 3 or 4 good players there, but it's very mediocre after that. We do have a bunch of decent arms in the program. But we better get some more hitters. I think fans and message board posters play the "we didn't show up" card easily, because they don't want to face the thought that our talent is not overall better than many of the other teams in the league.
 
Sounds like the Bo Pelini era. :)

So is that mental hurdle potentially a coaching issue? (I don't think it's lack of motivation -- but it may be lack of being mentally prepared.)

I don't know what the underlying issue is. I guess I'm not intending to suggest that the players don't care or don't have motivation so literally, but the play appears that way. It's probably more an issue of tightening up every time there is pressure and playing more timid (which may give the appearance of lack of "motivation"). Erstad himself described the hitters of playing timid yesterday. The thing is, it seems to happen regularly when the spotlight comes on.
 
Major disappointment but the bats have been a concern all season. We can't expect the pitchers to be close to perfect every outing. College ball doesn't work that way. Runs will be scored...and we weren't doing that.
 
Agree to disagree. It's mostly an issue of talent in the program. It isn't very deep, and when a couple of guys go down for the season, we're throwing guys out there who aren't very good. Ersty is going to have to amp up the recruiting of position players. His recruiting of infielders for the past 3 years has been especially poor (Placzek playing full time? What happens if Rev doesn't get an extra year--we have no one else to play SS. Schlep? Can't bunt, can't hit.

Losing Bolt has hurt us with position players IMO. We have 3 or 4 good players there, but it's very mediocre after that. We do have a bunch of decent arms in the program. But we better get some more hitters. I think fans and message board posters play the "we didn't show up" card easily, because they don't want to face the thought that our talent is not overall better than many of the other teams in the league.

Is there a talent issue or development issue?

Nonetheless, I made it quite clear in my previous post this was not about the loss(es) in and of itself. My point is about showing up and playing fundamentally sound baseball when there is a little bit of an expectation around the program. Talent has nothing to do with the shortcomings in that department.
 
Last edited:



Let me also make a comment about the Husker twitter feed. It sucks.

I knew it was going bad because there were no updates. They only seem to post when something good is happening. They posted the low pitch count through the first two innings and then the 1-0 lead for the Huskers. After that...the final score.:thumbsdown:
 
Sounds like the Bo Pelini era. :)

So is that mental hurdle potentially a coaching issue? (I don't think it's lack of motivation -- but it may be lack of being mentally prepared.)
This is my concern. I don't know. I do know that a coach shouldn't have to get a player stoked in a tournament setting though. The motivation factor should be on the player, unless the coach is burning them out by the end of the season. Who knows. Just very frustrating.
 
Struggling to do well could be confused with being unmotivated, but these guys are competitive (uh, as are their opponents, folks), so let's dispense with the "didn't care" refrain. To explain the shortcomings leading to the "two and 'que", consider the season-long nemeses of inning leadoff BA and OBP. Over the two games, the BA was 0.118 (2 for 17) and the OBP was 0.167 (3 for 18). Not as though the rest of the innings produced much better, but it's tough to get things rolling with a quick out in 15 of your 18 innings. As with all baseball losses, these were pretty frustrating, especially given the promise that closed out the regular season, but they happen and, yeah, as fans they suck. I will contend, though, that the direction of the program is positive despite the week and would guess most everyone felt that way late last Saturday afternoon. It's baseball.

You are exactly right, these guys are competitive; you can therefore understand why one might hope that their play reflected it.
 
You are exactly right, these guys are competitive; you can therefore understand why one might hope that their play reflected it.

I know the results didn't reflect what I hoped. But I would guess the commitment and effort they put into playing doesn't vary as much as the outcomes do.
 



I know the results didn't reflect what I hoped. But I would guess the commitment and effort they put into playing doesn't vary as much as the outcomes do.

On that we agree; I don't question that they are all committed. I do, however, believe there is some disconnect in the program wherein its play is not reflective of that effort when the lights get brighter.
 
Last edited:
On that we agree; I don't question that they are all committed. I do, however, believe there is some disconnect in the program wherein its play is not reflective of that effort when the light get brighter.

That's where a (1) swaggering slugger, (2) pesky speedster with a high BA/OBP, (3) consistent 8-inning Friday nighter with a 2 ERA and (4) lockdown closer come in. The bright lights probably shine on where we are in reality and the league 16-8 was a good outcome this year. Schreiber emerged as (1) and there are signs of (3) and (4) with Waldron and Luensmann, and Meyers is a potential difference maker with his significant two-way contributions. There's no (2) in this lineup such as a Jeff Leise or Will Bolt to constantly stir offense up. Around that, gotta build some quality depth. Management's challenge is to get that talent. I believe *** is right in that some of this and maybe more can be gotten at home: Meyers and the Waldrons are a start, but not a lot.
 
New to this thread. You cannot survive D1 baseball with poor pitching, poor field play, and poor hitting. NU stunk it up pretty badly in Omaha this week. That is all.
 



New to this thread. You cannot survive D1 baseball with poor pitching, poor field play, and poor hitting. NU stunk it up pretty badly in Omaha this week. That is all.


So, tell me, where can you survive with poor pitching, poor field play and poor hitting? ;)

Just kidding ;)

Hopefully, we can snap out of it, if we can make the NCAA tourney. Scott is needed so badly!
He is only one, but he can be the one to inspire the team to get it together.


Everyone, have a good Memorial Day weekend.

God bless all who have served and died for our great Country.

:bow:
 
Well, you made the point that all we had were advantages.
I didn't make that point.

We didn't play unmotivated. We're just not that good. We didn't play well, but the arguments that we didn't show up, didn't care, weren't motivated are not accurate. There is a ton of parity in the league. We need more talent in the program. But the guys tried, and the guys cared.
That is a more damning opinion than observing that the guys mailed it in. If this is truly where the program is at this point in time it is time to find new leadership.

No doubt, losing Schreiber hurts, but it didn't make a difference the way the team played the last two days.

What gets to me is not the losses necessarily (tournaments are tough and there really is a lot of parity in the league this year), but the way NU failed to show up again when it had a huge opportunity in front of it; unfortunately, that has been the most consistent aspect of this program in recent years. As soon as there is any momentum, opportunity or expectations rise, things fall apart, the play becomes very sloppy and uninspired, and frankly the team looks disinterested. The excuses really are getting old.

You are in the post season, with not only a chance to solidify your place in the NCAA tournament, but there is even an outside shot at playing your way into hosting. There really is no excuse to not show up and play so unmotivated.
Well said.
 


GET TICKETS


Get 50% off on Omaha Steaks

Back
Top