Too Small To Be Its Own Country...

Sigh...

"I think the thing that stands out the most with me is as an assistant coach there for [Sammy Esposito's] dad and then being a head coach we not once bid for a regional, not once, and we had some pretty good teams," Tanner said.

"It was a matter of the administration at that time not being committed enough and maybe the facility wasn't good enough. So we've come a long way, and I say 'we' as an alum. So I'm excited for N.C. State to be hosting right now."

[snip]

"The one thing that stands out for me from an emotional standpoint (is) we finally, the Wolfpack, finally got a chance to host, and it's been a long time coming."

It's unfathomable how we could let someone like this get away. Wait--no it isn't. I'm talking about NC State here.

Next thing you'll tell me is he's at least a little sabermetrically-inclined.

Much of this new view is detailed in "Moneyball," the best-seller that takes the reader behind the scenes of Oakland`s 2002 draft when the A`s turned over the apple cart in talent selection.

"That was a great book," Tanner said. "I can`t say I agree with every single thing they do (in evaluating talent), but when it comes to the value of on-base percentage, taking walks and scoring runs, it opened my eyes. Those guys know what they`re doing."

Wonderful.

[Quick aside: Elliott Avent has done a fine job of constructing lineups that walk frequently. NC State's national ranking in total BBs since '02:

2002: 22nd
2003: 10th
2004: 100-something (like everybody from the year prior was gone)
2005: 29th
2006: 7th
2007: 6th
2008: 33rd

We just haven't had the wealth of power hitting that Tanner has had at South Carolina.]

        G     RS    RA   Diff   ExpW-L   ActW-L  1RunGms    AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   SOS  ISR
JMU    55    419   342    77    33-22    38-17     7-2     .322  .411  .518  .929   195   81
NCSU   58    403   237   166    43-15    38-20     7-8     .301  .393  .460  .853    70   42
USC    59    416   289   127    40-19    38-21     5-5     .299  .390  .503  .893    66   43  

This year's USC team ranks 3rd nationally in total home runs with 103; this is nothing new for the Gamecocks:

HOME RUN TOTALS IN LAST NINE SEASONS

Year  Total  NCAA Rnk (in total)
2008   103     3rd
2007   113     1st
2006    92     4th
2005    73   T14th
2004   106     2nd
2003    68   T32nd
2002   122     2nd
2001   110     2nd
2000   105     2nd

(source)

The heart of South Carolina's order is about as scary as it gets:

                          AVG     OBP     SLG    HR    XBH
Justin Smoak     USC     .377    .502    .745    21    39
Reese Havens     USC     .363    .490    .637    16    30
James Darnell    USC     .310    .385    .584    18    31
Phil Disher      USC     .309    .390    .614    19    29

"Ho. Lee. Fuck."

"Oh god ... oh god ... oh god."

With guys like Andrew Crisp (.302/.356/.360) and Harley Lail (.235/.308/.358) hitting at the back end, their lineup isn't as deep as it has been in the past, but the middle's premium quality makes this easily the best offense in the regional.

Baseball America projects both Smoak and Havens as first round draft picks, and Darnell is expected to be gone by the 3rd.

What with all that power hitting, they generally don't bother to run, and they aren't very successful when they do (31 stolen bases on 53 attempts; 58.5% success rate).

The pitching...

       HR/9IP   K/9   BB/9   K/BB   dERA   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   ISO
JMU     1.0     8.1    3.4    2.4   4.86  .275  .363  .426  .789  .151
NCSU    0.65    8.4    3.5    2.4   4.24  .239  .322  .353  .675  .114
USC     0.97    8.0    3.4    2.3   4.85  .259  .343  .386  .730  .127 

Starters...

                 IP   HR/9   K/9   BB/9   K/BB    ERA   dERA
Nick Godwin     86.3  0.52   8.0    2.3    3.5   3.02   3.57
Blake Cooper    85.3  0.95   5.3    2.4    2.2   4.22   5.11
Will Atwood     75.7  1.43   7.3    3.7    2.0   5.47   5.92
Sam Dyson       44.0  0.61   8.8    5.3    1.7   3.27   4.90

These are the guys people seem to think will make or break South Carolina this weekend (which you could say about anyone's starting pitching, but moreso about USC's starters, or something). According to Gamecocks beat writer Scott Hood, Sam Dyson will get the nod against Charlotte, which I guess means Tanner is saving Nick Godwin for a potential winner's bracket game against NC State. It gets shaky for USC after that, as neither Cooper nor Atwood have been very good this year; Atwood's been absolutely hammered.