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OT- Uconn Baseball - BE & Regional Champs !

Geno on Jim Penders: "best coach ever to coach at Connecticut in any sport"

"Auriemma had high praise for the UConn baseball team, which faces Stanford in the NCAA Super Regionals this weekend.

“I like our team now against Stanford. You’re playing the No. 2 seed in the country on their home field. Tough task, right?” Auriemma said. “But I think Coach (Jim) Penders’ kids, I think, relish the opportunity and I think they relish being the underdogs. They’re the underdogs all the time when they get to the NCAA Tournament because of where they’re from. … I like their chances. I like our chances. …

“I think (Penders is) the best coach ever to coach at Connecticut in any sport. To be able to go where they went, playing on a baseball field that was not as good as some of the high school fields these kids played on and guys practiced in the rain and snow before they got the indoor place, come on. No one has done more with less than that guy and now that he has more, it’s gonna be unbelievable. I think the world of Jim and his staff and his kids."
 
Geno' speaks the truth regarding what Penders was up against just a few years ago before Elliot BP. I've been to a bunch of games there and it's amazing the players he was able to get to play at Uconn with literally no facilities in the J.O. Christian days. And also to see the scouts and MLB guys like Theo Epstien, etc., coming to watch guys at a glorified HS field.
 
Yep..... Uconn bats had a nice blowout going vs. Stanford's best starter until the bullpen almost imploded and some how hung on for a game 1 win.

 
On the mound is #22 - FR Ian Cooke ( 7-1 / 3.38 ERA---- 53 IP w/ 54K - 16 BB ) who started last Monday vs. Maryland.
4PM- EST
 
Some clueless Michigan writer thinks Warde Manuel has some great connection to Penders....not !!!!...but if Warde likes he can have the 2 retreads he hired for Uconn....Diaco or Ollie anytime he wants, LOL ! Warde had to be one of the worse Uconn AD's ever, while he just monitored as CR left Uconn out. (probably tied w/ Hathaway). And no offense but the Hockey coach that Warde hired for Uconn has a career record of 123-151-33 and it took 7 years to finally have a record over .500 as a HE team (18-15 last year)

Got to LOL that the MU writer is so informed he had to delete his tweet.....SMH !



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Michigan people will tell you Schembechler came before Calhoun and was "sampled":
Well Woody Hayes says Bo lied and him and Calhoun were better -;)
" his Michigan teams never won a NC, but in all but one season they finished ranked "
 
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Michigan people will tell you Schembechler came before Calhoun and was "sampled":
I posted this on the FB board but-
Speculators without a clue need to stop posting click bait and fake news.......so I love this line from Michigan Insider-

"Penders — publicly..... said no to Michigan's interest......, a Connecticut native, UConn alum and UConn's head coach for nearly two decades, announced his return in a written statement. Figuratively twisting the knife, his message closed with a familiar line to not only Michigan fans, but to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the former UConn Athletic Director who courted him in the past week. "

 
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I posted this on the FB board but-
Speculators without a clue need to stop posting click bait and fake news.......so I love this line from Michigan Insider-

"Penders — publicly..... said no to Michigan's interest......, a Connecticut native, UConn alum and UConn's head coach for nearly two decades, announced his return in a written statement. Figuratively twisting the knife, his message closed with a familiar line to not only Michigan fans, but to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the former UConn Athletic Director who courted him in the past week. "

When you originally posted this it sounded to me like Penders' quote, which in Michigan would evoke the name of only one coach who is a revered legend there, was "twisting the knife" and saying "no" cleverly and with tongue in cheek.
 
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I guess not, still doubt he stays in college if he's a high MLB pick, but who knows-
Looks like Reggie may have put his name in "the Portal" for NIL leverage ( ie. bidding possibilities on the current open college market) vs. signing with an MLB team. But if this tweet is true, it seems highly unlikely he plays another game in college.
 
I would like to see him fall to where the Yankees are picking, but that may not be realistic. I just hope he doesn't end up with a suck-ass, pitching ignorant organization like the Pirates or the Reds. The Reds seem to be doing a good job destroying the confidence of top 5 pick Hunter Greene, whom they are clearly force feeding despite Greene not being ready to be force-fed.
 
Yep, Reggie's transfer portal move seems to be working out very favorably. Don't know if you caught it but supposedly he "committed " to spend next year in the SEC..... but as the Courant's Don Amore wrote before the draft, it's complicated and seems like it was more an NIL leverage move vs. MLB. Crazy that an amateur can now use a pro agent:

" Crawford, who is being advised by former MLB outfielder Kenny Felder and Excel Sports Management, offered a pre-draft curve ball this week, announcing his decision to transfer to Tennessee. It could prove to be a strategic move and a message to interested teams; if he is not drafted high enough, or offered enough money for his liking, Crawford could develop his pitching ability next year against the powerful lineups of the SEC and try the draft again in 2023. And there would be greater name-image-likeness income opportunities playing baseball in that conference, perhaps equaling an MLB offer....... "

“I think he knows the best way to develop is in professional baseball if there is a suitable offer for him,” ESPN's McDaniel said. “I am not hearing the buzz that he is un-signable and throwing out $6 million [as a demand], but maybe all the offers come in a little lower than he wants and he says, ‘maybe there is something I can do here.’ I don’t think it’s a game-changer, but maybe it helps him feel a little better about turning down offers.”

 
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The Giants have a total bonus pool of $5,793,200 this year, including a recommended slot value of $2,485,500 for the No. 30 pick. Crawford had committed to transferring to Tennessee, but he confirmed that he planned to sign with the Giants and turn pro this summer.

Now eight months removed from Tommy John surgery, Crawford is throwing out to 150 feet and expects to be cleared to throw off the mound in the next few weeks, though he probably won’t pitch competitively until Spring Training 2023. He could make his return as a hitter before then, as he’s on track to take live batting practice toward the end of July and could see game action in Arizona as a designated hitter later this year.

“I’m really happy and I’m really thankful that they are willing to let me try it out,” said Crawford, who was ranked the No. 80 prospect in the 2022 Draft class by MLB Pipeline. “It’s one of those things where whatever works works and whatever doesn’t doesn’t. You have to live in reality about it. Initially, I am so thankful that they’re allowing me to do both.”
 

 
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