Now that the Turf has settled what have we learned?

I mentioned on another thread that the Pac-12 looks strong than it has been since at least 2010.

In 2010, Arizona State won the Pac-10 and was given the #1 overall seed.  UCLA finished second and was given the #6 overall seed.  Three Pac-10 teams were given two seeds in regional, and another three were given three seeds.  Eight invites.  Only USC and Washington did not merit invites.

The Bay Area teams each went 2&Q.  Arizona and Oregon State each beat the two-seed before losing the next two.  Oregon and Wazzu played in the Tallahassee and Fayetteville Regional Championship Game and both lost.  Arizona State went 2&Q in Omaha.  UCLA went to the NCAA Championship Series, but South Carolina was able to defeat Gerrit Cole in game one and won the National Championship in game two 2-1 in 11 innings.  The Gamecocks were thus able to avoid having to hit against Trevor Bauer in game three.

That 2010 Wazzu team, which lost in Fayetteville, was the last good Cougar team.  the team basically regressed until the end of the decade.  Green seems to be building something quite quickly in Pullman.

We are lacking a firecracker to get the guys going on offense. Donkey is steady and stoic, but we need someone to turn up the amps. Meckler was our guy last year. Everyone knew he'd get on base somehow and get the rally going.

I don't know if we aren't playing small ball because it isn't Coach's thing, but I could see clearly how Wazzu kept pressure on us in both Sat and Sun games. Wish we could have had a few more base runners.

Our pitching is good. It's still settling in, but it will be good.

I like Donkey at 3b or 1b. He plays both positions well.

If Turley and Bazzana are so easily shut down, we're going to have a long, miserable season.

It is more than those two. It will get better, it almost has to!

But, the initial selection of OSU 5th felt right considering all the talent OSU had to replace. IMHO it was just not possible to get that much improvement from the returners and for the new comers to excel anywhere near that well vs Pac12 competition.

It's only one series, but again it was at home vs what coaches considered a bottom tier team. Not that they are always correct, but conference stats so far leave a ton of room for concern as well as improvement.

Pitching vs WSU is about what I'd expect from this group on a cold/wet weekend... 2.67 ERA, 28 K's vs 11 BB, .225 BAA , and 9 total runs. Just those #s alone should be good for a series win.

Offensively was surprisingly embarrassing in many ways. It was not the level of most of the NC pitching, but... Team BA .169, just two regulars over .300, 30 K's vs 12 BB, and of course with the BA so goes the key hits and % with RISP.

It is far too early, but getting at least one game at the Sunken Diamond this weekend is very important. It's my fav baseball/football Pac12 roadie by far, hopefully with better weather the bats come alive...

Well Forrester had plenty of chances too, only (1) K, but 2/8 isn't what I'd expect from him either.

Turley... is a frosh and was overhyped by many on this board. Pac12 play/scouting is going to find and use the holes in his swing against him. Tons of tools, but unless he adjusts in a hurry he'll be overmatched in Pac12 play. His average will prob end up in the .265-285 range depending on his ability to adjust and not lose confidence. But, with 23 K's, 7 out of his 10 Pac12 ABs,  MC can't keep him at the top of the lineup for long.

Travis... hmmmm, not sure about his mental focus right now. The easy answer is he seems to be pressing to be a team leader by example, vs just letting the game come to him... both at the plate and in the field! With (4) E's already in 51 chances in addition to the baserunning gaffes he just doesn't seem relaxed.

Turley struck out 30% of the time during his elite travel ball in high school against high school Pitching. That is a huge red flag. Lots of work for him to do

Billy Beane and I had a great laugh at your first sentence.

Forrester scored the first and fourth runs in the series.  He reached in eight of 12 plate appearances.

His one strikeout was up 5-1 in the seventh of game one.

He hit a line drive that was smoked.  The shortstop jumped and caught the ball and threw to second to double off McDowell to end the first in game two.

Forrester's third out was a ground ball to short with nobody on and two outs in the third in game two, and Forrester's fourth out was a flyball to right center to start the sixth of game three.

Forrester was carrying the team.  Not enough hits to drive in Forrester more often.  Brady Kasper stranded Forrester in the sixth and then stranded McDowell and Forrester in the eighth.  

In game three, Forrester broke up the perfect game with a walk in the second, and Kane flew out to third, Guerra struck out looking, and Cedillo flew out to right.  Kane then grounded out to third with the bases juiced (McDowell, Turley, and Forrester) in the third.  Only one runner between the third and ninth (Dernedde in the fifth), and Bazzana struck out and Turley flew out to left.  Forrester started the ninth with an HBP.  Kasper brought the winning run to the plate, but Cedillo hit an infield fly, and Talt flew out to left to end the game.

The rest of your post is very solid, per usual.

Turley looked great against nonconference competition.  But it would appear that there is a very obvious reason that he was not drafted higher.  We'll see what Mitchy Slick can do with him.  Maybe he will heat up.

At the Battle of Leipzig (the Battle of the Nations), Corporal Lafontaine was left in charge of the Bridge over the Elster.  Corporal Lafontaine appears to have gotten spooked and blew the Bridge early, which caused the loss of at least 30,000 French troops.  Napoleon tried to buy time in the face of the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians thereafter but failed.  Napoleon abdicated the throne less than six months later after Paris failed.

Bazzana gives me a Corporal Lafontaine vibe.  He plays so great for the most part, but it seems like, when you need him most, he is going to implode at the worst possible time.  My personal working theory is that he is trying to play more experienced than he actually is.