Super Regional Game 1 v. Stanford: Game Preview and Open Thread

One day after being picked #14 overall by the San Francisco Giants, and one week after a dominant 8 inning, 14 K, 0 R performance against the "Inquisitioning Jesuits" of Xavier, Tyler Beede takes the mound.

Last night, during my draft coverage marathon, a question was posed as to whether being picked in the first round would be a good or bad thing, noting the "if it were me..." truth that pretty much all of us would have partied our balls off last night and would be dragging a severe amount of ass this morning.

Here are my thoughts: 1) Tyler Beede knew he was going to be taken in the first round, and in the approximate range he was taken.  2) In fact, there was more pressure on him earlier in the season when there was a distinct possibility he would be a top 5 pick if he was absolutely perfect this season.  3) He wasn't perfect this season, and that MSU debacle had a huge effect on him mentally.  4) He somehow managed to shake all of that loose and be the lock-down Ace we know he's capable of last week in the last start before draft day.  5) He now gets to exhale.

In short, I don't think it's going to have an effect on him.  Had he somehow tumbled precariously down draft boards and was still available today, then yes, I would understand if he was a mess.  For that reason, I don't think we should pitch either Jared Miller or Adam Ravenelle (despite Rav being our best bullpen option of late) today.  Though neither fully expected to go in the first two rounds, I would imagine, both have to be chewing their nails and grinding their teeth to nubs at the moment.  Once both are taken today, feel free to pitch them tomorrow, or (if necessary) Sunday.

Back to Beede...

Young Beedah will face a Stanford line-up that's basically Alex Blandino (.312, 12 HR, 42 RBI), Danny Diekroger, and a bunch of patient, high OBP singles hitters.  As always, if Beede can harness his stuff, stay in the strike zone, and doesn't have an inning where he decides to walk the whole line-up, we should be in a good position to take a 1-0 series lead.  However, as Christian D'Andrea reminds us, "apparently, Tommy Edman is made of magic."  Against Indiana, he was their Rudy Ruettiger.  Of course, we all know what happened to the real Rudy.

Pitching Match-Up

Vanderbilt RHP Tyler Beede (8-7, 3.20 ERA)
v. Stanford LHP John Hochstatter (10-2, 2.84 ERA)

When he last faced Stanford, Beede went 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K for a 4-1 win in a pretty dominant 99 pitch outing.  Hochstatter did not pitch in that series.

*Additional Anchor of Gold Vanderbilt v. Stanford Coverage:

Christian D'Andrea's "Better Know a Super Regional Opponent: The Stanford Cardinal"

VandyImport's Oddly Comprehensive "Stanford v. Vanderbilt: Tale of the Tape"

My very own "Baseball, Bourbon, and Bad Decisions" Series Preview of the late February series in which we would go on to sweep Stansbury