Kansas Jayhawk Baseball to Face Road-Shy #2 LSU this weekend.
by James Quinn on Mar 11, 2010 10:51 AM CST
in Baseball
56 comments
The Jayhawks (9-3) travel to LSU (12-0) for a three game series this weekend. The Tigers are the defending national champions and ranked #2 by Baseball America and Rivals (the only college baseball polls that operate on a rational basis). So, it is a big weekend for the Hardball Hawks.
The last time KU visited LSU in 2003 the Jayhawks stunned pretty much everyone by sweeping the series. Over the last few years I have not kept my dislike of SEC baseball a secret, so, not surprisingly, I will be more invested in the outcome of this series than most. SEC baseball teams have rubbed college baseball fans across the nation the wrong way for decades by their refusal to play non-conference road games and the favoritism they receive most years from the NCAA tournament committee. Many college baseball fans think that SEC teams should either prove themselves by scheduling quality non-conference road games or drop their sense of entitlement.
In keeping with their flightless tradition, LSU’s first twelve games were played at home against less than impressive opponents. This season all but 2 of LSU’s 26 non-conference games will be played in Baton Rouge, and the two road games will still be in Louisiana. Last year the first non-conference game the Tigers played outside Louisiana was at the College World Series! If KU can take two of three games in Baton Rouge I am sure they will be back in the national rankings and will have made a lot college baseball fans happy.
Media information, stat links and a recap of KU's mid-week games after the jump.
Obviously basketball will take center stage this weekend. Give yourself a break from the hardwood from time to time and check in on the baseball action. Friday's first pitch is at 7PM CST. Saturday’s game starts at 2PM CST, and Sunday’s contest gets underway at 1PM CST. KU will provide a free audio webcast for all games. For those interested in live video, LSU provides a feed for a $9.95 monthly payment. LSU packs the house, 10,000+ fans per game. The Hawks will have to deal with a lot of noise this weekend.
Find LSU team statistics here.
And stats for the good guys here.
KU won two games this week vs. NAIA foes at Hoglund. Tuesday KU beat St. Mary (KS) 10-0 and then took down Tabor 15-0 the following afternoon. These games will not factor into KU’s RPI rating but gave the Jayhawk bench some valuable playing time and will help keep the pitching staff sharp for the weekend series. Tanner Poppe was impressive in his first collegiate start on Tuesday, throwing five hitless innings. KU hit four homeruns in the first three innings on Wednesday to rout Tabor early. Jimmy Waters hit a grand slam, his third homerun of the season. Brian Heere, Alex DeLeon and Jason Brunansky all hit their first homers of the season in the third inning.
Please keep Jake Marasco in your thoughts. He suffered a terrible loss this week.
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You'll never convince
the SEC to drop their false sense of entitlement.
I think the only way to get that done would be to have SEC teams hit the road a bit more often. When they see conference teams getting beaten regularly whenever they venture out of Dixie they might recognize that most years the SEC is probably the third best conference in college ball now.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
by James Quinn on Mar 11, 2010 12:02 PM CST up reply actions
But we know that'll never happen.
It’s the same with their football teams. Rarely do any of them venture out of state.
Hang onto your hat...
Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo, Florida International… the weakest schedule of a BCS bowl winning team from a major conference in the history of the BCS.
by KULawLSUAlum on Mar 11, 2010 11:38 PM CST up reply actions
Can't all schedule powerhouses like
Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, and Louisiana Tech
This...................
From elsewhere in comments In case you missed it:
So I guess South Carolina’s three-game series at No. 13 East Carolina didn’t count? How about their two games in the Upstate (one at a "neutral" field) against No. 12 Clemson? Or perhaps you missed Georgia’s series at No. 5 Florida State? (In fairness, Georgia fans probably wish they had missed it.) Or Alabama’s sweep at College of Charleston, currently at 27 in the mock RPIs? Did you catch Florida’s three-game series at No. 20 Miami, or its game later this season at Florida State? Notice Tennessee’s trip to Corvallis to play No. 21 Oregon State for a series? Are you aware that Auburn plays No. 11 Arizona State this weekend in Tempe, as Mississippi State goes to Corpus Christi for a tournament that includes No. 15 UCLA and No. 25 Oklahoma? What about the West Coast journeys by Vanderbilt, which included at game at UCLA, and Kentucky, which also won a game at No. 8 Coastal Carolina?
As far as football smart guy, how about these schools that SEC teams have played """"""""ON THE ROAD""""""" at in the last decade, including next year?:
Washington, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Texas, Georgia Tech, Florida State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Ohio State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Clemson, North Carolina (Atl), Wake Forest, etc.
So, I ask you Socrates. what the heck are you talking about ?????
It sure isn’t fact.
Whoa! So when I saw LSU play at Husky Stadium, that was in Louisiana? Come to think of it, that game in Tempe a few years back was also in Louisiana. And the funny thing about that game they have in the Georgia Dome this fall: you might think the Georgia Dome would be in Georgia, but it’s in Louisiana too. Followed by a game next fall against WVU in Morgantown, Louisiana.
Or we could talk about Tennessee’s successive home-and-homes with Cal, UCLA, and Oregon. Or Georgia starting this past year off in Stillwater, having traveled to ASU the year before, Bama heading to Happy Valley next year (while hosting the Nittany Lions this year and travelling to, erm, Duke).
Or we could accept that people who say “The SEC never travels in non-conference” are, simply, wrong. Because they don’t base that statement on facts and looking at the schedules, just on what everyone else has said.
Tracy Porter's gonna score! TRACY PORTER'S GONNA SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (HT Takimoto)
by AllSaintsDay on Mar 12, 2010 10:42 AM CST up reply actions
don't throw stones from glass houses
if anything your house is made of more glass than ours
In the regular season over the last five years LSU has played more (5 – Va Tech, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State) BCS teams out of conference than Kansas… including games @Arizona State, @Washington… obviously I’m not counting bowl games on top of that because those are not so much scheduled as assigned and then accepted.
Next year LSU starts the year on the road to play North Carolina and then plays West Virginia at home… looks like Kansas does play Georgia Tech at home… kudos for a decent opponent there at least
by visiting tiger on Mar 12, 2010 5:20 PM CST up reply actions
you're joking right?
Really? Road-shy LSU? You name me ONE team based in the south that will leave their year-round-baseball weather to go play elsewhere. Just one. As arguably the best NCAA baseball program of the last twenty-five years I think LSU has more than earned the right to stay in the friendly confines of Alex Box Stadium. That Taj Mahal on the Mississippi ain’t cheap, and LSU has led the nation in ticket sales the last thousand years or so…
I look forward to the Jayhawks this weekend though. We’ve yet to face a worthy opponent for a weekend series. We had Pepperdine last weekend for a couple of games, and they were a nice warmup. Good luck! Should be great weather too!
by Justin WhoDat Barbier on Mar 11, 2010 5:06 PM CST reply actions
Tell your RF to get ready...
Hes never gonna stop hearing it from us..lets hope he falls like the Brown RF did..
Pepperdine also beat Cal St. Ful and UCI..scared much?
Why Leave.
It really makes zero sense for LSU to leave Alex Box Stadium and play non-conference teams on the road. LSU sells out every home game double that with concessions and LSU makes the real $$$$$. If LSU hasn’t proven themselves, than there is no proven college baseball team in the country. What was our record in Omaha (Alex Box North) last Year? GEAUX TIGERS
by Neal A Francois on Mar 11, 2010 6:32 PM CST reply actions
This guy serious Clark?
Wait, the guy is bashing LSU and the rest of the SEC for playing too many games at home against lesser D-I NCAA opponents but he finds it perfectly OK that Kansas played 2 games this week against NAIA schools?
Credibility = 0
I am 100% certain that KU would have LOVED to replace home games vs. NAIA schools with games vs. LSU.
KU (along with about one hundred other northern programs) has to schedule NAIA teams because teams like LSU simply refuse to ever travel. KU has a terrible time finding teams decent NCAA teams willing to visit Lawrence for mid-week games. Kansas has never backed down from a chance to schedule the toughest opponents possible. Just look at their willingness to fly to Louisianna this weekend. Would LSU ever accept a similar challenge?
With all the money LSU baseball makes each year it would be pretty easy for the Tigers to afford plane tickets to Lawrence for a few games. What do you say? Can we put LSU down on the 2011 schedule? Hell, I am certain KU would even pick up LSU’s travel costs.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
If you're so certain...
Since you’re so certain… ask big Lew Perkins… if he’s willing to pay for the travel costs of LSU in a non-money making sport for KU… when KU could get paid for going to LSU instead?
by KULawLSUAlum on Mar 11, 2010 11:42 PM CST up reply actions
Looks like you touched a nerve JQ : )
Nice work!!
53 Conference Championships!! and now 6 IN A ROW!!! Holy Hell...Good Luck with That!!
Yeah, this conversation happens every year.
Every year SEC baseball teams refuse to play away games. And every year people point out that SEC team’s records are padded because they are built on very friendly schedules. Since the baseball RPI does not effectively factor in home field advantage, SEC baseball teams have a built in advantage in that area as well come tournament selection time.
If SEC teams refuse to travel, that is their choice. They are free to stay at home all year and play lesser opponents. But SEC baseball fans should not get bent out of shape when college baseball fans from the other 280 programs point out that SEC teams are probably are not as good as they look on paper because they play almost every non-conference game with home field advantage.
If SEC baseball teams are tired of hearing that criticism, there is a simple solution. All they need to do it schedule a few tough road games a year. I am sure Kansas would be thrilled to host LSU next year. After this weekend KU will have played nine games at Baton Rouge. It seems entirely fair to expect a return visit at some point. I am not holding my breath, but it is nice to dream. How many years has it been since LSU has played a non-conference weekend series on the road? Maybe ten years? It’s crazy to think something like that will not be a topic of discussion.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
Wrong...
LSU baseball played Stetson in 2007 (16 NCAA appearances), Houston in 2005 (18 NCAA appearances), UCF in 2004 (9 appearances), Long Beach State in 2003 (17 appearances in the 20 seasons), Houston in 2002, Arizona State in 2001 (33 appearances 5 titles), UCF in 2000…. We haven’t been on the road the last couple years because we’re paying for a stadium.
What has KU done in its history to warrant LSU going to Hoglund to play games?
All those schools are also warm weather locations as well. There’s absolutely no reason to travel up to Lawrence for series in February or early March. Have you been in Lawrence for the last 6 weeks? There’s constant ice, snow, wind, and potholes all over town the size of Honda Civics. It’s not exactly predictable weather. Why travel when there’s a good chance the series would be cancelled?
Don’t lump LSU baseball with the rest of the SEC. Our 6 national titles… and our willingness to play weekends on the road against big time programs (aside from ’06, ’08, ’09, and this year).
by KULawLSUAlum on Mar 11, 2010 11:31 PM CST up reply actions
“SEC teams are probably are not as good as they look on paper because they play almost every non-conference game with home field advantage.”
that is nonsensical. If we arent as good as on paper, why do we get 8-9 teams in the 64 every year? why were 4 of the 8 cws teams sec teams a few years ago? why did alabama meet lsu in the 97 title series? south carolina made the title game in 2002, florida in 2005, georgia in 2008 and we last year?
"
Yeah, this conversation happens every year
When SEC teams go on the road and play decent teams in their OOC schedules, but are accused of not doing so, it can, in fact, touch a nerve.
Tracy Porter's gonna score! TRACY PORTER'S GONNA SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (HT Takimoto)
by AllSaintsDay on Mar 12, 2010 10:55 AM CST up reply actions
Whoa whoa whoa, easy there big fella
I’m not sure a blog writer for a school that just played teams that sound like they belong in the next Harry Potter book has any business questioning the scheduling tactics of the defending national champions. LSU sells out every weekend series to the tune of 10k people each game. When was the last time 10k Jayhawk faithful showed up for any baseball game? Going on the road without having to is akin to me going out to the bars looking for a fat girl to bring home. Sure I get to prove I can handle the disgusting environment, but I’d rather just keep banging OT rated 10s.
As for the SEC’s sense of entitlement, we’ve earned it. If yyou don’t believe me, look up the last 4 football national champions. And as for baseball, we don’t get so many teams to the college world series by inflated rankings due to playing home games. We get there by beating the best teams from all the other conferences in the regionals and super regionals. If you don’t like it, step your game up and beat us.
What if you go out to the bar...
and realize you’re just a fat guy and the ones you thought were 10’s turn out to be the fat girls? Guess you’d never know if you’re sitting on your couch eating lays potato chips and pretending the porn on your computer scratches back.
I’m only kidding, relax.
53 Conference Championships!! and now 6 IN A ROW!!! Holy Hell...Good Luck with That!!
...pretty good humor for a trucker chasing tornadeauxs!
♫ just saying … ♫
LSU fans can type in complete sentences?
must be Northern transplants.
Beadlemaniacs - Award winning* college basketball blog (new and improved!)
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KU fans are kidding right?
For the last 3 years, I have either parked my car in the Burge Union or along Hoglund Field. My car has taken dings from the baseball team hitting batting practive. I’ve been to handful of games each season.
I go because I love college baseball, but the KU fans who have posted thus far must be delusional to think LSU would play non-conference games on the road. LSU has led the national in attendance for 14 straight seasons. They just built a brand new stadium. A weekend series has 30k fans show up.
It’s the first week of March. In Lawrence this weekend, it’s in the 40’s and rainy. In Baton Rouge this weekend, the highs will be about 70 and sunny. That’s just the reality of an outdoor sport where the non-conference schedule is only February and March.
There’s two major and logical reasons right there: money and weather. As for baseball, what has KU done? 1993 CWS… 4 tournament appearances. Sure, SEC teams get an advantage of playing at home and artificially inflated RPI.
BUT ASK YOURSELF… Is LSU’s baseball program overrated? Does it unfairly benefit from an artificially inflated RPI? 6 national championships in the past 19 seasons. 11 CWS appearances in that same stretch. If you want to claim the SEC is overrated in the regular season, fine. But LSU has won 11 regionals and 11 super regionals in past 19 seasons. Would KU’s basketball team travel to the University of Wyoming to play a game? Wyoming did win a national title in 1943 and made a Sweet 16 in 1987. No… KU wouldn’t. Why should LSU’s baseball team travel?
Spring break starts tomorrow, drive down and experience Alex Box first hand. I’ll be the guy wearing purple and gold whose girlfriend is wearing crimson and blue.
In all fairness...
KU’s basketball team did play 3 OOC road games this year. Against a down UCLA team (granted, they weren’t down when they were sceduled), powerhouse Temple, and an SEC foe in Tennessee. How’d that work out for you guys?
Well enough to earn the #1 overall seed in the tournament.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
you have a girlfriend?
I dont believe that for a second
Beadlemaniacs - Award winning* college basketball blog (new and improved!)
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You have a college hockey blog?
I can’t believe someone as far south as Lawrence would bother following college hockey. Do you also think that’s bulls*** that Maine, Michigan, and BC don’t play away hockey games in June in the SEC? I think they are artificially jacking up their RPI’s since they are too scared to plays teams from the south.
by KULawLSUAlum on Mar 12, 2010 1:55 AM CST up reply actions
well
I’m not from Lawrence. But yeah.
Beadlemaniacs - Award winning* college basketball blog (new and improved!)
Olympics!
It's pretty simple
Play here:
or here:
Trash talk aside, Is Tony Thompson back healthy again?
by Big McLargeHuge on Mar 11, 2010 10:36 PM CST reply actions
but we have $.25 hot dog night!!!!
James will have to chime in because he’s more up to date on baseball but I don’t believe Tony is back just yet. That’s a heck of a stadium you guys have down there without a doubt.
53 Conference Championships!! and now 6 IN A ROW!!! Holy Hell...Good Luck with That!!
Hopefully he makes it back in time for big 12 play. Honestly, having the more northern schools start to compete in postseason would be really good for the sport but between the cold weather and lack of any real publicity or support, there’s just too much to overcome. Good luck.
by Big McLargeHuge on Mar 12, 2010 12:09 AM CST reply actions
So I guess South Carolina’s three-game series at No. 13 East Carolina didn’t count? How about their two games in the Upstate (one at a “neutral” field) against No. 12 Clemson? Or perhaps you missed Georgia’s series at No. 5 Florida State? (In fairness, Georgia fans probably wish they had missed it.) Or Alabama’s sweep at College of Charleston, currently at 27 in the mock RPIs? Did you catch Florida’s three-game series at No. 20 Miami, or its game later this season at Florida State? Notice Tennessee’s trip to Corvallis to play No. 21 Oregon State for a series? Are you aware that Auburn plays No. 11 Arizona State this weekend in Tempe, as Mississippi State goes to Corpus Christi for a tournament that includes No. 15 UCLA and No. 25 Oklahoma? What about the West Coast journeys by Vanderbilt, which included at game at UCLA, and Kentucky, which also won a game at No. 8 Coastal Carolina?
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
Also
In all seriousness, thanks for caring enough about college baseball to write posts like this one. I mean that.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
I read the response, and got a chuckle from that last line. Yeah, it is grey here in Lawrence this weekend, but you know, it is possible to play baseball even in less then perfect conditions. KU went 25-3 last year at Hoglund. The team protects it home pretty well, even if it isn’t always the most comfortable place to play.
And thanks for the fellow college baseball blogger support. I’ve been covering KU Baseball for four years and a really nice community of hardball fans has developed here at Rock Chalk Talk during that time. I hope both teams show up with their best games this weekend and it is a good series. A couple of wins would certainly be huge for the Kansas program.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
by James Quinn on Mar 12, 2010 10:26 AM CST up reply actions
So after reading all of the comments here,
looks like JQ was pretty much spot on. LSU will continue to refuse to play on the road unless they have to.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
yep spot on
The weather in Kansas is so conducive to playing baseball this time of year. I can’t for the life of me understand why LSU would turn down playing baseball in 40 degree weather and force themselves to play in 70 degree weather in the best stadium in the country. All while making a pile of money. What are those crazy cats thinking? Looks like they’re even afraid to schedule NAIA teams too. Pansies. Rock Chalk.
You see that big sign up there in right field?
The one that says NATIONAL CHAMPIONS? Right above the brand-new bleachers we’ve just put in our 10,000 seat cathedral to college baseball that is Alex Box Stadium? The same stadium that sells out EVERY GAME, and leads the nation in attendance EVERY YEAR. I would think the reason we don’t travel to OOC games very much would be pretty obvious.
"Tiger Stadium is by far the worst place to play for a visiting team. It's like being inside a drum." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Chinese Bandit on Mar 12, 2010 5:40 PM CST up reply actions
So you'd have no problem with LSU never playing a better non-con team at home in basketball?
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
We played UCONN at home last year in basketball, as I recall. Does that count?
But, I don’t really see your point. Baseball is our No. 2 sport, basketball is your No. 1. I would imagine the circumstances are a bit different between the two.
"Tiger Stadium is by far the worst place to play for a visiting team. It's like being inside a drum." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Chinese Bandit on Mar 12, 2010 11:17 PM CST up reply actions
Sounds to me like..
Kansas is going to continue to whine and cry for having a subpar baseball team this year and doesn’t want to play big and bad lsu.
Btw you didn’t grab the picture of Alex box with the new stand and intimidator in rf!! Geaux tigers!
Sir, I think you may be over-simplyging things a tad......
i can understand your frustration with teams not wanting to come to Kansas in February and March, but LSU """""HAS""""" played non-conference games on the west coast and in Texas and Arizona before. It’s not simply of matter of deciding “I want to play there on this date” – BOTH schools’ coaches and ADs have to agree and sign a contract – it doesn’t just happen automatically.
Paul Mainieri has tried to schedule more west coast road trips, but, ironically Pepperdine wanted to come to Baton Rouge this year.
BTW, you can thank one Stanley “Skip” Bertman for the current SEC Baseball landscape. Before he came to Baton Rouge in 1983, LSU had more people in Medieval History class than at baseball games.
As LSU grew into a power (made CWS in ‘86) through the late 80’s and 90’s, the rest of the SEC followed suit.
Thus we have the monster that is SEC baseball today.
Why don’t you come down to Alex Box and have a blast.
The Tiger faithful would show you a good time.
The KU players would probably rather play on the road
at LSU and Arkansas. At least they’ll get to play in front of some fans that way. In all seriousness, KU will probably play in front of more total fans at the LSU series than the entire KU home schedule.
Also, most SEC schools do go on the road. It just happens to be with other southern schools or west coast schools. Why would anyone in their right mind want to go up to Big-10 country in February to play baseball?
Lawrence is Big 10 country?
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Cal-Berkeley
Did they move the University of California-Berkeley branch to Western Arkansas? The Hogs took two of three there last weekend! Facts, smacts, leave my opinion alone?
Also, just to get this out there
Sunken Diamond > Alex Box
Beadlemaniacs - Award winning* college basketball blog (new and improved!)
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I have been to Sunken Diamond
And it’s better than the old Box, but the new Box is light years ahead.
Corazon y Alma
false
thanks for trying
Beadlemaniacs - Award winning* college basketball blog (new and improved!)
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Nice post JQ.
Making lots of new friends from down south I see!
by hunter s. royal on Mar 12, 2010 4:25 PM CST reply actions
Do you realize you sound like Boise State football fans?
Do you guys really think you’ve been wronged?
Would you really think it makes sense for a team like Texas to go to Boise and play in their football stadium? Why should they? There are other equally entertaining match-ups that would make tons more money.
Granted football is the major money sport in college- but LSU actually makes money from their baseball (good thing with all the state budget cuts). They have a passionate fan base that has embraced the best program in college baseball over the last 20 years (6 NCS in that time) – and actually regularly fills their stadium
And regarding Kansas baseball or football to a lesser extent (unlike Boise football) there’s a fail-proof way of winning their way to the world series and earning a NC… just be better than the teams you compete against… win your in conference games, win your regional and go to the world series
If you’re worried your neighbor’s grass is greener then work on the lawn or move somewhere warm enough to grow grass
awfully quiet in here now.....
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