Charles Fischer

I wrote a post the other day about what the principals at one of the pay sites have been hearing as the Ducks' new recruiting strategy--and their use of NIL. They are NOT going to get into bidding wars for unproven freshmen, and will spend the majority of their NIL dollars trying to retain the current team, (since the majority are still young) and to use a major portion of the rest on Portal Transfers to fill holes. This made sense, and a couple of us suggested that maybe it is a short-term strategy based upon the relative youth of the team, with more going to HS recruiting later as the classes balance out. This is a strategy that is a step ahead of other schools, as they get into massive bidding wars, and this explains all the lost high-profile recruits, and the decommits from Oregon. But what if...the Oregon staff is thinking out even further ahead? That when the NIL caps are actually set...that so many of these schools will have to go back and change those 2 million contracts to $80,000 per year? How will THAT go over with players and parents? But the schools will have no choice! So now, a player is soured on that school that is changing the deal on his former big contract, and now, for the same new money being offered....the Ducks are looking good between the same NIL offer, access to Nike, the uniforms, the staff, etc. Oregon could then pick up a TON of portal transfers. And they will HAVE the money set aside for those elite portal transfers! Are the Ducks thinking two steps ahead, or am I so bored with Baseball ending so soon that I am hallucinating tactics that don't exist?

The linked article refers to a 50 million package, so I believe it very well might be 10 million a year...

The majority of verbals do stick, but they are certainly more fluid these days!

Absolutely crazy and unsustainable. This is one way to get legislation figured out!

It is so complicated now...you gotta feel for the coaches. All that work...

Take on a powerhouse program when they're mad? NOT!

10-8 Cal Poly wins. I am locking the thread, as I do not need to see people post who never do unless it is negative. And I don't need "Nah-Nah" posts that are meant as salt-on-the-wound, as I've already deleted one of those. We had a great season, but fell short. It happens.

10-8 Cal Poly after eight innings. Boy our pitching...

9-8 Cal Poly after seven innings, as Oregon's Drew Smith and Jeffery Heard hit back-to-back home runs over center field! Who would have thought that the replacement for Aroz would hit two dingers today? But then the worst of two worlds happened...the Ducks put in Ian Umlandt--which I cannot understand, as we will need him as a starting pitcher in a later game...and then the Mustangs hit-the-heck out of him.

6-5 Ducks! This is after six innings, as the replacement for Anson Aroz...Jeffrey Heard, got a dinger over the center field fence to tie it. Then Oregon's Burke-Lee Mabeus got a blooper single in shallow left field to set up The Pride of Portland Oregon, Ryan Cooney, who blasted a two-run homer over center field as well. The crowd went nuts... There is a stiff wind blowing out toward center field, so anything up in the air can get carried long, and Cal Poly got a HR that way.

4-3 Cal Poly after five innings, as the Ducks' Carter Garate singled to get to first, got to second on a wild pitch, and then was advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Then came a LONG at-bat with Dominic Hellman, who fouled off tons of pitches, and with two outs and a runner on third...we needed this. He got the pitch he wanted and blasted it out of the park and into the left field scoreboard for a two-run homer! The crowd was razzing the pitcher, and went crazy with the HR. The Mustangs are hitting Oregon's Grinsell much more than I would have thought...

3-1 Cal Poly after four innings. Sigh…

3-1 Cal Poly after three innings. Oregon's Ryan Cooney got a double to center field, got sacrificed to third, and Dominic Hellman hit him with a single to left field. Left two stranded!

2-0 Cal Poly after two innings. They caught a Grinsell fastball for a two-run HR.

0-0 after one inning, and Grayson Grinsell looks good.

Be a Good Fan... ------------------------------------------------------ I will be watching and reporting, even if through slits of the fingers... Coach Waz says this Cal Poly coach is very, very good. They barely lost to Arizona yesterday 3-2, and this team won the Big-West Tournament against teams like UC Irvine and Santa Barbara. Forget about the future...let's win a game! Grayson Grinsell pitching!

Yes, and no. It cost the game, but Oregon should have pitched better, hit better, and not made one play decide the game. I better really soak up and enjoy this weekend, because it is probably the last of Oregon baseball for this year. I just do not think we have enough pitchers to win four games straight, especially when we’re playing Arizona in the last two games, with the worst of our pitchers by that time. Oh well, I still love my Ducks, and got to see a lot of winning baseball this year…

Well…Oregon would have to win four in a row, and I am afraid we don’t have enough pitchers for that. Although freshman Tanner Bradley was a bright spot…

Oregon loses 6-5. We play Saturday at noon.

6-4 Utah Valley after eight innings. Drew Smith homers, and then a massive play which turned this game occurred. Chase Meggers flied out to left field and Anson Aroz tagged from third base. The throw to home was not secured by the catcher and bounced up. While the catcher was reaching for it--he blocked the plate and Aroz ran into him trying to get to the plate. They called him out, and instead of 6-5 with one out and a runner on second, it was two outs and a runner first while stil 6-4. Teams have great games against us...

6-3 Utah Valley after seven innings. Not good…

4-3 Utah Valley after six innings. Reitz has struck out an incredible 14 batters with 104 pitches.

4-3 Utah Valley after five innings. Jason Reitz is doing well pitching, while Oregon batters...not so much yet.

4-3 Utah Valley after four innings. The Wolverines exploded on Reitz in the third inning, and while he kept them scoreless in the fourth--it was heavy damage. Meanwhile the Ducks got going with a Jacob Walsh single to opposite side, and the Drew Smith did the same past the right field fence for a two-run homer! Anson Aroz got under the first pitch to send it over the left field fence to score three in the inning.

0-0 after two innings. Ducks are getting on base, but not doing much with it. Jason Reitz put them down 1-2-3 again, and a hint given by the sportscasters as to why he started? He has not pitched in nearly two weeks..