MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS WEEK:

My apologies for being a bit inconsistent with this post. Some work travel pulled me out of my routine in getting it to you on Tuesdays. Now that we’re in the middle of a midweek series I won’t go too in-depth about the Rice weekend as it was covered extensively in the Dinger Derby podcast. But I will say two things:

1. There exist in my opinion, both positives and negatives from the Rice series. I think that starting pitching could be something to be slightly concerned about. You appear to have two guys experiencing some inconsistencies in Bryce Bonnin and Austin Becker. I’m not saying they need to be replaced, but there could be some shakeups on the way to give some other guys opportunities. Clayton Beeter has been exceptional, really a true Friday starter in every sense. I would have preferred to boat-race Rice, as with every opponent. I just don’t know that they were good enough to play you that tough. Credit to them though for playing their best baseball of the season on the road against a quality opponent. Credit to the Red Raiders as well for having what it took to come from behind in back-to-back days (and once in awful weather) to get Tadlock’s 300th win and the series sweep.
2. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve had some questions about RPI from folks and there’s nothing to be concerned about in my opinion. You just need to keep playing this tough schedule and winning the ones you’re supposed to. Florida State knocked off #1 Florida, I think that Seminole team will continue to help your RPI throughout the season. Baseball is one of those sports where you need to root for your previous opponents and you need to root for your conference in their early season non-conference games. Once the Big 12 gets rolling and beating on each other, the early season is where you make hay in the RPI that pays out the rest of the season. The strength of schedule is still in flux as well and will settle down as the season progresses.

A few things about the rankings:

DO THEY ALL MATTER?

No, absolutely not, most of them are worthless and only exist because a baseball/statistics nerd decided to make them. Some are an attempt by various outlets to keep RPI live rather than updated weekly by the NCAA. Many are wholly subjective in the case of those from various news outlets or composites of many rankings affected by outliers. Some also update at odd times, like on Friday.

WHICH ONES ARE MOST IMPORTANT?

There are six rankings in college baseball that are recognized and respected: D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA, USA Today Coaches Poll. In my humble opinion D1 Baseball is the single most reliable source of information and reasonable rankings in the sport, the rest overreact and treat baseball as a short season sport.

DOES THAT MEAN I WON’T INCLUDE THEM?

Also, absolutely not. I’m going to include every ranking, RPI, composite, and strength of schedule I can find. It doesn’t matter how “legit” they are, I’m going to put them on the list. I like seeing them change and move fluidly over time. It’s also nice to see that even some of the top recognized lists are subject to knee-jerk reactions.

WHY INCLUDE IT IF IT DOESN’T MATTER?

Because we count everything in baseball.