Geoff Haxton Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Coming home tonight. Hax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Any updates, Geoff? The video feed shows the home plate and mound with a tarp, but not the infield. Does that mean that there's hope - or that they are the only tarps NDSU owns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 There is no doubt that ORU needed to play these games today. We needed the games for the experience, for conference record, and to make travel to the northern extreme of the conference worth it, and so on. But one of my boys suggested at lunch that NOT playing NDSU, win or lose, may be beneficial to our RPI. Think how many times in the past we've WON conference games in basketball only to see our RPI DIP. When playing a team with a very low RPI, even a win against them can be costly, and it's possible that even had we beaten NDSU twice today our RPI may have dropped further. There's no way of knowing for sure, since RPI is such a complex and non-intuitive calculation, but it's possible that we are actually BETTER off, at least with regard to RPI, not playing those two games today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 The split this weekend dropped our RPI from 45 to 54 while raising NDSU up to 264 (from 282). We're lucky that we didn't drop more, but NDSU needs to win a lot of games in the next three weekends since most everyone in the League is at a higher RPI and would elevate them and us with the wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 So both teams are better off NOT having played, ORU because of their RPI, and NDSU since it avoids two likely losses? If neither team benefits from playing the series, tell me again why we even bothered with the expense of going up there when the weather looked so dicey beforehand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 So both teams are better off NOT having played, ORU because of their RPI, and NDSU since it avoids two likely losses? If neither team benefits from playing the series, tell me again why we even bothered with the expense of going up there when the weather looked so dicey beforehand? Nice job of totally twisting what I was saying, OT !! I listed several reasons why we NEEDED the games, and only one where be benefited NOT playing. I was trying to put a positive spin on a bad situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Nice job of totally twisting what I was saying, OT !! I listed several reasons why we NEEDED the games, and only one where be benefited NOT playing. I was trying to put a positive spin on a bad situation. And I respectfully submit that your reasons for playing the games are out-weighed by the reason not to: they are an utter waste of time and do nothing to improve our team. At the risk of sounding like Jonathan Swift in A Modest Proposal, maybe we should calculate the bare minimum of victories needed to secure the 4th Seed for the Summit League tournament, forfeit our remaining league games, and spend those dates playing the likes of Dallas Baptist, Texas Arlington, or even Southwestern (OK), rather than wasting every other weekend in April sitting in some Best Western in the Dakotas watching it sleet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Amen, OT....+1.......again TheEagleman says...who voted to let these teams in the league?.....ugh!..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 The Summit League is a very good fit for ORU in everything except baseball. We are simply too dominant for the level of competition the rest of the Summit offers. As a result, our goals (advancing to the CWS) and that of our league brethren (winning a league title) are at odds with one another. They can't win the league title (because we're too good) and our seeding for the NCAA is hurt (because they're so bad). There's really no solution unless the other league teams commit more resources to baseball (which again is unlikely, as the gap between "them and us" is so wide - and they're primarily from non-baseball friendly northern locations). The situation is bad, but could even get worse, as Centenary and SUU (the best of the worst) are probably at greatest risk for leaving the conference. Ouch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 ORU needs to go elsewhere for baseball....the sooner the better!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FargoBison Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think NDSU baseball could improve, the school is working on a few things(more money and facility improvements), but it is going to take some time. Believe it or not, there is a decent amount of talent up here, NDSU just needs to keep more it in-state. Baseball isn't easy to do up here but at least NDSU is committed, more and more schools are dropping the sport. I think the only schools that have it up here are Iowa, UNI(but they are dropping the sport after this year), Minnesota, SDSU, NDSU, and UND. I kind of wonder how long UND will have it, the weather is worse up there and their facility is pretty much a high school field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Baseball isn't easy to do up here but at least NDSU is committed, more and more schools are dropping the sport. I think the only schools that have it up here are Iowa, UNI(but they are dropping the sport after this year), Minnesota, SDSU, NDSU, and UND. I kind of wonder how long UND will have it, the weather is worse up there and their facility is pretty much a high school field. That phrase made me laugh....you can't get much more "up there" than Fargo without being in a different country!! With all due respect, unless you're playing baseball all year long (or any sport for that matter), a team is not going to be competitive at any level - regardless of how much money you throw at the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think NDSU baseball could improve, the school is working on a few things(more money and facility improvements), but it is going to take some time. Believe it or not, there is a decent amount of talent up here, NDSU just needs to keep more it in-state. Baseball isn't easy to do up here but at least NDSU is committed, more and more schools are dropping the sport. I think the only schools that have it up here are Iowa, UNI(but they are dropping the sport after this year), Minnesota, SDSU, NDSU, and UND. I kind of wonder how long UND will have it, the weather is worse up there and their facility is pretty much a high school field. I agree with everything you say, FargoBison. The problem is, with the nothern tier of schools, spring just comes too late for them to have the opportunity to hone the skills they need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FargoBison Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I know the late start is a problem, one that will always hamper NDSU baseball. The saying about conference titles being the dream is definintely true. That said, baseball at NDSU is one of the last sports to recieve a funding boost, the extra funding paid off this year in landing Zach Wentz. Each year 2 or 3 very solid recruits leave ND to play baseball elsewhere, so it is nice to have the ability to keep at least one in state now. I do know that baseball is a part of the 25 million dollar BSA renovation, so they'll at least have an area to practice in when the weather is terrible. Like I said before NDSU isn't in the position to be any kind of world series contender but I think the days of the 260+ RPI can be a thing of the past in the not so distant future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FargoBison Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 That phrase made me laugh....you can't get much more "up there" than Fargo without being in a different country!! With all due respect, unless you're playing baseball all year long (or any sport for that matter), a team is not going to be competitive at any level - regardless of how much money you throw at the problem. UND and their fans definitely seem like they are from a different country or planet for that matter. I think the NDSU softball team might disagree with having to play year round, I don't know how they do it but that program rarely has an off year. In the past two years NDSU softball is 65-33 overall and 29-5 in the Summit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I have to admit, Bison, I don't know or follow Women's Softball much. I went out to look at your schedule and was blown away that tomorrow is the team's first home (Fargo) game of the season - and only six home games the whole season - all this week! I feel sorry for those ladies having to travel out every weekend since February and, in many cases, having to get to mid-week games in South Bend, Ames, Cedar Falls and Omaha. That's a tough college experience for them, but I'm sure you get used to it after a while. If they have to travel that much, it's good to see that they are having some success along the way. If you're going to be successful in a sport, Women's Softball is probably a good one to put some resources in and get some results as I have to believe that the sport would not exist without a school's football program that requires Title IX gender equality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svandyke Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 And add University of North Dakota baseball next year that is located in Grand Forks, 78 miles north of Fargo!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 And add University of North Dakota baseball next year that is located in Grand Forks, 78 miles north of Fargo!!!! Point well made, svd!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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