NCAA Appeals Process Ongoing…

Sun Devils head coach Tim Esmay

They have notable series wins against New Mexico, Auburn, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, and Arizona, which all made the 2010 NCAA Tournament field. They also split a recent two-game set at Cal State Fullerton.

ASU may seem plenty motivated for the season, but right now there actually is reason to believe the Sun Devils could play in this year’s tournament.

In December, when the NCAA hit the program with the postseason ban for lack of institutional control charges, the school planned to appeal. When a school appeals an NCAA penalty the charges do not go into effect until after the appeals process is completed. According to the Arizona Republic, the appeal hearing is set for May 16.

Though the chances of the postseason ban being lifted are still slim, the May 16 date is significant because it comes two weeks before the selection for the 64-team NCAA field.  If the appeals committee does not rule on the case before May 30,  Arizona State may end up in the tournament.

There is current precedent to believe the committee will not have made its ruling before the 30. Southern California went before the appeals committee for its football postseason ban on January 22 and has yet to hear back almost two months later.

If the appeals committee rules against ASU after the start of the 2011 tournament then the team would not be eligible for the 2012 tournament.

Regardless of what happens to the team with the NCAA, second-year head coach Tim Esmay has done a great job steering the team through another year of questions and hardships. Last year it was how the team would handle Pat Murphy leaving the team suddenly because of the NCAA investigation.

In 2011, other than the possible tournament ban, the team has had to deal with the serious injury to freshman outfielder Cory Hahn, who injured his neck February 20 sliding into 2^nd base against New Mexico. He had surgery and is currently rehabbing at home in California, but few other details have been made public. The team has honored Hahn by wearing wrist bans and his number on their hats and socks.

A Few Things I’m Thinking About Right Now…

1.  A new year is here, but the question is how do you say the year?  You would think “2010” is pretty simple, but maybe not.  I guess ESPN has directed its employees to say “Twenty-Ten”.  I prefer “Two Thousand Ten”.   I think most people say “N-C-Double-A” when referring to the “NCAA”, but I have know some people who call it the “N-C-Two-A”.   It’s all “tomato-tomahto” to me.

2.  There’s a big part of the Mike Leach/Craig & Adam James situation at Texas Tech that hasn’t been talked about much that applies to all sports.  First a disclaimer, what Leach did with Adam James was wrong, so I am not condoning Leach putting Adam in a closet by any means.  That said, Leach and his staff have characterized Craig James as a “helicopter dad”.  They say he has hovered around the practice field, called repeatedly and lobbied for more playing time for his son, Adam.  James has downplayed that characterization, but there has to be something to it.  My point is, by the time a parent send their kid to college that “kid” is a young adult.  At that time it’s time for “junior” to take care of things on his own.  If Adam James or any other 18-22 year old has playing time issues they should approach their coach themselves.  Is Craig James preparing Adam for life if he’s still calling coaches to talk about playing time?  I’ve seen and heard too many instances of parents crossing the line to think there’s nothing to Leach’s claim.  From parents calling the press box during a game to question a hit/error scoring decision to a high profile booster verbally lambasting a head coach for not playing his silver spooned kid more.  If the Adam James’ of the world can’t take care of themselves without hiding behind their parent’s coat tails by their third year in college, when are they ever going to take care of themselves?

3.  I love college baseball and college football, but I don’t love college football overtime rules.  I’m not a huge hockey or soccer fan, but I follow them a little bit, and I don’t like their OT rules either.  I wish both college football and the NFL would just go to a system where they kickoff in overtime and just ensure that both teams get the ball at least once.  Hockey and soccer at least play overtime periods, but if things still are not resolved they go to a shootout to break the tie.  What if baseball did something similar?  What if they started an extra inning with one out an a runner at second base like they do in some little leagues?  The epic Texas-Boston College 25-inning game might have ended after 12 innings.  Are you kidding me?  It’s not natural.  It’s not the real game.  The other sports should take a lesson from baseball (and basketball as well).  Either play the game from start to finish by one set of rules or just let it end in a tie.

4.  There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks about teams like the Colts and Saints not playing their starters at the end of the NFL season.  Things like competitive fairness and fairness to fans paying for tickets to a game absent of stars are being looked into by the NFL.   College baseball (and really most college sports) really doesn’t have the luxury to sit players regularly, because every game really does mean something.  The best players typically play almost every game.  What about the MLB though?  Big League baseball players get frequent rests throughout the season, and that’s just the way it is.  I’ve gone to a Cubs-Giants game expecting to see Barry Bonds in the line-up only to see him sit on the bench for nine innings instead.   I might not like it, but that’s the way it goes.  To the victor go the spoils, and resting players is the spoil of teams that win.

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

Murphy Was 629-284-1 In 15 Seasons At ASU

Nothing has been confirmed, but the two most prevalent theories are that Murphy’s resignation either had to do with possible NCAA infractions, a dispute over a contract extension with ASU Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love or some combination of the two.

In the time since his resignation I have talked to several people who know Murphy, and while most of them were “shocked” to hear of his depature, most of them were not shocked at the idea that Murphy might have left ASU in a huff after a disagreement with his AD.

Tim Prister played baseball at Notre Dame in the 1980s.  He currently writes for Irishillustrated.com, and he covered Murphy when Murphy was the head coach of the Irish.  When I asked Prister this week if he would be surprised at such a scenario Prister said with a wry grin “I would not be surprised at all if that were the case.”

Brian Cleary counts himself among Murphy’s supporters.  The current Cincinnati Bearcats head coach was a Murphy assistant in 1993 & 1994 in South Bend.  Cleary credits his mentor for “kick-starting” his coaching career and said that Murphy has been good for the game “There probably isn’t a more colorful personality on the national stage.  He’s passionate about college baseball and about coaching and about what we all do as coaches.  He is willing to speak on behalf of the sport”, he said.

Cleary also added “Certainly I think his personality adds to whatever event it is.  Be it a three game Pac-10 series or Omaha.  One of the things I think Murph brings is the willingness to speak his mind and speak on behalf of college

Brian Cleary

baseball.  I think the head coach at ASU is different than the head coach at a lot of places, because that program in relation to football and basketball is probably a lot different than it is at a lot of schools.  I think he was really a great ambassador for college baseball during his time there.”

Certainly Murphy’s departure at one of the premiere programs in college baseball (and possible return…somewhere) will have a ripple effect throughout the coaching ranks, whether it’s this year or next.

Here’s a “By The Numbers” look at Murphy’s career:

10…wins in his first season (1983) as a college head coach at Maryville (Tenn)

51…wins in his 25th season (2009) as a head coach at ASU

49…consecutive 30 win seasons by ASU baseball teams

2…head baseball coaches (Bobby Winkles and Jim Brock) in Sun Devil history prior to Murphy’s arrival in Tempe

17…NCAA Tournament appearances in 22 seasons as a Division I coach

12…NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 seasons at ASU

18…years between NCAA Tournament appearances for Notre Dame before earning a berth in 1989, Murphy’s second season at the Fighting Irish helm

4…College World Series appearances by ASU in the last 15 seasons

113…combined home wins by the Sun Devils over the last three seasons

12…ASU home losses in that span

441…wins since 2000 by ASU, the most by any Pac 10 team in that stretch

7…ASU players named Pac 10 Player of the Year in the last 15 seasons

506…games Arizona State played without being shutout between April 7, 1995 and February 15, 2004-an NCAA record

9.4…runs-a-game the Sun Devils scored in that 9-year stretch

119…Arizona State players taken in the MLB draft during the Murphy era-the most of any school

1…of those players tabbed a big league MVP-Boston Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia-2008 AL MVP

914…games played in Murphy’s 15 seasons at ASU

914…home runs hit by the Sun Devils in those 15 seasons

8,084…runs scored in those games-an average of 8.8 runs-a-game

We took a little time off after the end of the College World Series, but Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires is back with a few final thoughts on the 2009 event.

Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires with his thoughts from Wednesday’s CWS action…

• Arkansas’ Mr. Clutch is at it again…Andrew Darr’s 12th inning RBI double ended-up being the game-winner in the Razorbacks’ 4-3 win over Virginia in Wednesday’s CWS elimination game. Darr entered the game in the 9th inning as a defensive replacement after Virginia loaded the bases. Darr’s walk-off double vs. Florida State ended the Super Regional nearly two weeks ago & sent Arkansas to the College World Series. (Podcast with Darr is available by clicking HERE.)

• Brett Eibner more than atoned for his short start on the mound vs. LSU Monday when his 2-out 9th inning home run tied the game 3-3 to send it to extra innings.

• ESPN’s Mike Patrick was half correct when he talked about the importance of Zach Cox’s 2-out, 2-strike single that came just before Eibner’s HR.  However, Patrick said it was important, because if Cox hadn’t singled Eibner’s HR would have just been a solo shot.  It was more important than that though, because if Cox hadn’t reached base the game would have been over, and Eibner wouldn’t have even come to the plate again until 2010.

• Speaking of TV…wouldn’t it be nice to make as much money as ESPN analyst Orel Hersheiser makes to butcher players’ names?   In his time in Omaha he has incorrectly pronounced: Arkansas pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Brett Eibner, Virginia pitcher/DH Danny Hultzen, Arizona State SS Drew Maggi, and MLB’s #1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg.  His analysis is usually spot-on, but c’mon Orel is it too hard to just write the names pho-net-i-cal-ly?  Is it a wonder Howard Cosell used to opine about the “jockocrasy” in TV sports?

• Speaking of TV II…it was pretty touching to see and hear business owners from the Rosenblatt area getting choked-up while trying to talk about the CWS moving to downtown Omaha after next year.

• Speaking of TV III…Pretty cool North Carolina’s Garrett Gore got to man one of ESPN’s TV cameras for a spell during the game.  Gore said afterward “That was it, took control, my show”.  I’m sure Cosell would have been appalled though!

• Good job by the umpires in the Arkansas-UVA game to make sure they got John Hicks’ fifth inning home run call correct.  They conferred after it was originally not called a home run, but Hicks got credit for the round-tripper after they correctly decided the ball hit a fan’s hat and then another fan’s glove and not Arkansas left fielder Chase Leavitt’s glove before it caromed back onto the field.

• Great piece of bunting by Virginia’s Keith Werman.  The pinch-hitter entered the game in a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 9th with runners at first and second and no outs.  Werman bunted the first two pitches of the at-bat foul and then took two balls from fellow lefty Dallas Keuchel before he finally dropped down a two-strike bunt to move the runners to second and third.

• How about Keuchel’s relief appearance just two days after starting against Cal State Fullerton?  The southpaw tossed four shutout innings, while fanning five and giving-up just three hits to improve to 9-3 this season.  It was the junior’s first relief outing this season.

• Speaking of pitching…a tip of the hat to starters Drew Smyly of Arkansas and fellow freshman lefty Danny Hultzen of Virginia.  The two combined to pitch 11.0 innings with 14 strikeouts and no walks on 13 hits. Smyly’s string of 19 straight shutout innings in the NCAA Tournament ended on the previously mentioned fifth inning HR by Hicks.  He was starting for the first time since losing a no-hitter in the ninth inning of the Razorbacks’ Regional Championship game vs. Oklahoma. (Podast with Smyly is available by clicking HERE.)

It’s been great having Green Day’s music playing into breaks during Super Regional and now College World Series games on ESPN.