Now that I’ve had a horrible night’s sleep, and consumed way too much caffeine, here’s my thoughts on Virginia’s late bullpen collapse against Florida that resulted in a shocking 6-5 defeat in the opening game of the College World Series.
Virginia should have never turned things over to bullpen in the seventh inning.
Darn that UVA offense that erased a 1-0 deficit with a four-run barrage, taking a 4-1 lead. A long inning for sure, 20 minutes possibly. Enough of prolonged at bat, coupled with the fact that Cavalier starter Nick Parker had thrown 90 pitches. Virginia coach Brian O’Connor felt like Parker was at the end of the line.
So, O’Connor turned to the bullpen. The bullpen that often this season was, well, shaky.
That’s where I have the problem with the Virginia coaching staff.
Consider these facts, if you will.
Parker left as the pitcher of record after six innings of one-run baseball. The righty had set down the final seven Gator hitters he faced. It wasn’t as Florida had figured him out, the opposite, actually.
Parker was in the process of his third quality start of the postseason. He was orchestrating the Virginia pitching strategy to precision, in that he was pitching the cavernous Charles Schwab Field to his advantage, producing 12 flyball outs, and only needing one strikeout.
Also, something to consider, Parker was making his 56th career start, tied for the most among all active D-1 NCAA hurlers. Bottom line, this wasn’t Parker’s first rodeo. He was in command of Florida, both on the field and in their minds.
Ninety pitches. Come on, really, 90 pitches, and he’s done.
Earlier in the Super Regional action, Stanford hurler Quinn Mathews tossed 156 pitches against Texas. While many baseball observers think that Cardinal coach David Esquer should face criminal charges for allowing a young arm to throw that many pitches, Esquer said this in his defense: “He (Mathews) wasn’t cranking off a majority of sliders and fastballs.“
OK, but 156 underhanded softball lobs are a lot.
Point here is, Parker wasn’t forced to overpower Florida hitters. He was inducing harmless flyball outs. Pitching deep into games wasn’t unchartered water for Parker; he went five or more innings 10 times this season. He had pitched into the seventh inning in six of his last seven starts.
He deserved to go back out in the seventh.
It’s fun to manage a baseball game from the press box or the comfort of your own home. I do it almost nightly when watching my favorite MLB team, the Baltimore Orioles.
If I were manager of Virginia last night, having watched my squad fight back and take the lead, I would have talked with my pitching coach and Parker, an honest conversation about whether there was still something in Parker’s tank. If the answer was yes, then I would have sent him back out to the mound, at least providing him with the opportunity to show me the tank was empty or on fumes.
Remember, UVA held a 4-1 advantage.
Remember also, Parker is a competitor. In April against Florida State, he was struck in the right cheekbone of a line drive, lying motionless on the field. I was at the game; I was horrified.
Parker eventually walked off the field under his own power. Requiring surgery to reposition the cheekbone, Parker was back pitching for the Cavaliers in about three weeks.
Yes, he has something extra within him.
If I’m the manager, I’d have let the nation see that in the seventh last night.
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