CAL COMES TO TOWN BUT WHEN THE NUMBERS ARE UP I DON'T TRUST WHAT I CAN'T TASTE
In our public policy courses we often use a little paperback entitled “How to Lie with Statistics.” Critics of government (and we know who you are and where you sit) always figured that bureaucrats were up to something sinister but baseball will do that to you as well.
On paper the stats for our scholarly visitors from Cal Berkeley are miserable. Three starters with ERAs between 8.38 and 10.0, a very modest .265 batting average, and every other number (except their SATs) pretty pedestrian. Beware; these Bears are like objects in your rear view mirror, closer than you think. So let’s look at those numbers and names. Tonight the retooled lefty Cesar Ramos (2-1, 3.18) faces Cal righty Adam Gold (0-1, 10.03); tomorrow Marco Estrada (1-0, 1.80) gets moved up into Cody Evans’ place and faces Brandon Morrow (0-0, 8.38), while on Sunday Jered Hughes, off of a strong finish at USC, takes on Bear Eric Dworkis (0-1, 10.00). As a team the Berkeley’s were tabbed to finish seventh in the Pac-10 off of a 25-31 2004 season but they are on a roll beating LMU the final two games at Westchester this past weekend but lost two of three to Irvine the prior weekend. Their coach however has high hopes. “This team has talent - young talent," said head coach David Esquer who aims to bring the Bears back to their first regional since 2001. "We are going to have to rely on the progress of our young position players and improve the quality of our defense. The progress and development of our pitching staff will also be a key to our success. But, this is as motivated and hard-working a group as I've ever had. You mix that with our talent and we have a chance to surprise some people." See, objects can be closer and numbers often lie.
DOPPLER DUSTING-Cal’s amazing soph slugger Brennan Boesch (.385) and freshman infielder Josh Satin (.344) are on fire offensively and fellow sophomore Chris Errecart was picked as the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week for his LMU efforts….he went 7-for-13 (.538) with a double, two home runs and six RBI…and how about a terrible Thursday for UC Irvine...the Eaters were held to four hits and one run as BYU whipped the just nationally ranked Irvines 5-1…and the Cougars were playing their first game…at the same time, we will call it T time, the UCI men’s hoop coach Pat Douglass, who got a technical playing at the Pyramid last year, and has two in his last four games this season, killed his team’s comeback chances in that 55-50 BWC tourney clinching win for the Beach…and as expected the Niner ladies cruised to victory 66-47 despite playing time reductions as punishment to three LB stalwarts, Hollans, Saunders and Mack…and how did the different (7 p.m.) start time for the Thursday TV hoop show go…well KVMD play-by-play guy Geoff Witcher was MIA until the 16:45 mark of the first half and Don Ford had to go solo…and two anthem singers, including a costumed youth group, never got to warble…hope they could come and do a baseball game this spring…last add starting gate…very likely that due to field issues all three games at Pacific will be 11 a.m. affairs which isn’t fun for players or fans…the inside report on Tulo’s surgery is that the broken hamate bone was removed and sutures tie the tissue for ten days, then the first cast is replaced and with normal healing the pain goes away and the hitter returns by the opening BWC series against Riverside…elsewhere on the med front Sean Boatright will DH this weekend and then see when outfielding is back in the picture…Chuck had the same hand injury last year and he and the pro scouts have no concern at all about Tulo’s return to form…”you have to keep your cardio up but jogging is awkward with the cast so mostly you stay on the exercycle”… rain permitting these BWC games this weekend San Francisco at Cal Poly, Fullerton at USC; Northridge at Riverside; more BYU at UC Irvine; Santa Barbara at Fresno State; and Pacific at Hawaii…speaking of good numbers a bunch of Dirtbag baseballers were honored last night as Fall 2004 academic all stars--Boatright, Donnie Ecker, Steve Hammond, Cole Jacobsen, Chris Jones and the LBSU BWC all-academic poster boy Danny Mocny…his mug will be in the lobby at the BWC basketball tournament along with the Beach’s best female academic-athlete Nicole Bouffler who’s Niner tennis team hopes to go tomorrow at No. 67-ranked Pacific (5-1) and Sunday at No. 44-ranked Sacramento State…softball cancelled their trip to San Diego...last add travel…the 2006 D Bag road trips will include two-steppin’ in Texas, a series at Austin with UT and the Rice tourney in Houston—DR. DAN
On paper the stats for our scholarly visitors from Cal Berkeley are miserable. Three starters with ERAs between 8.38 and 10.0, a very modest .265 batting average, and every other number (except their SATs) pretty pedestrian. Beware; these Bears are like objects in your rear view mirror, closer than you think. So let’s look at those numbers and names. Tonight the retooled lefty Cesar Ramos (2-1, 3.18) faces Cal righty Adam Gold (0-1, 10.03); tomorrow Marco Estrada (1-0, 1.80) gets moved up into Cody Evans’ place and faces Brandon Morrow (0-0, 8.38), while on Sunday Jered Hughes, off of a strong finish at USC, takes on Bear Eric Dworkis (0-1, 10.00). As a team the Berkeley’s were tabbed to finish seventh in the Pac-10 off of a 25-31 2004 season but they are on a roll beating LMU the final two games at Westchester this past weekend but lost two of three to Irvine the prior weekend. Their coach however has high hopes. “This team has talent - young talent," said head coach David Esquer who aims to bring the Bears back to their first regional since 2001. "We are going to have to rely on the progress of our young position players and improve the quality of our defense. The progress and development of our pitching staff will also be a key to our success. But, this is as motivated and hard-working a group as I've ever had. You mix that with our talent and we have a chance to surprise some people." See, objects can be closer and numbers often lie.
DOPPLER DUSTING-Cal’s amazing soph slugger Brennan Boesch (.385) and freshman infielder Josh Satin (.344) are on fire offensively and fellow sophomore Chris Errecart was picked as the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week for his LMU efforts….he went 7-for-13 (.538) with a double, two home runs and six RBI…and how about a terrible Thursday for UC Irvine...the Eaters were held to four hits and one run as BYU whipped the just nationally ranked Irvines 5-1…and the Cougars were playing their first game…at the same time, we will call it T time, the UCI men’s hoop coach Pat Douglass, who got a technical playing at the Pyramid last year, and has two in his last four games this season, killed his team’s comeback chances in that 55-50 BWC tourney clinching win for the Beach…and as expected the Niner ladies cruised to victory 66-47 despite playing time reductions as punishment to three LB stalwarts, Hollans, Saunders and Mack…and how did the different (7 p.m.) start time for the Thursday TV hoop show go…well KVMD play-by-play guy Geoff Witcher was MIA until the 16:45 mark of the first half and Don Ford had to go solo…and two anthem singers, including a costumed youth group, never got to warble…hope they could come and do a baseball game this spring…last add starting gate…very likely that due to field issues all three games at Pacific will be 11 a.m. affairs which isn’t fun for players or fans…the inside report on Tulo’s surgery is that the broken hamate bone was removed and sutures tie the tissue for ten days, then the first cast is replaced and with normal healing the pain goes away and the hitter returns by the opening BWC series against Riverside…elsewhere on the med front Sean Boatright will DH this weekend and then see when outfielding is back in the picture…Chuck had the same hand injury last year and he and the pro scouts have no concern at all about Tulo’s return to form…”you have to keep your cardio up but jogging is awkward with the cast so mostly you stay on the exercycle”… rain permitting these BWC games this weekend San Francisco at Cal Poly, Fullerton at USC; Northridge at Riverside; more BYU at UC Irvine; Santa Barbara at Fresno State; and Pacific at Hawaii…speaking of good numbers a bunch of Dirtbag baseballers were honored last night as Fall 2004 academic all stars--Boatright, Donnie Ecker, Steve Hammond, Cole Jacobsen, Chris Jones and the LBSU BWC all-academic poster boy Danny Mocny…his mug will be in the lobby at the BWC basketball tournament along with the Beach’s best female academic-athlete Nicole Bouffler who’s Niner tennis team hopes to go tomorrow at No. 67-ranked Pacific (5-1) and Sunday at No. 44-ranked Sacramento State…softball cancelled their trip to San Diego...last add travel…the 2006 D Bag road trips will include two-steppin’ in Texas, a series at Austin with UT and the Rice tourney in Houston—DR. DAN
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