2008 NCAA Regionals

The Regional sites were listed yesterday, and today the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee announced the field of 64 teams.

As reported yesterday, Miami (47-8) was granted the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. That means they get to host Regionals and – if they make it that far – Super Regionals. (I know I said it almost verbatim yesterday, but it is true.)

The last time Miami was the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament was in 1999 – the first year the NCAA went to a 64-team field – and we all remember that glorious year, right? If not, here’s a refresher: It was the first National Title under Jim Morris for the Hurricanes.

The other seven national seeds, in order, are: North Carolina (46-12), Arizona State (45-11), Florida State (48-10), Cal State Fullerton (37-19), Rice (42-13), LSU (43-16-1) and Georgia (35-21-1).

Some things to consider here: 1. Rice plays in a very awful conference, even with the presence of Tulane in it, Conference-USA. 2. How does Georgia get a top-eight seed despite going two-and-out in its conference tournament? 3. (A carry over from yesterday’s list of host sites) How in the blue hell is Michigan (45-12) hosting a Regional as a No. 2 at its own site? (Get it? Blue hell.)

The baseball committee is getting just as bad as the hockey committee. I know probably nobody follows NCAA Hockey here, but let me tell you a similar situation. This past season, when the Regionals were announced, the Midwest Regional was hosted by and held at the University of Wisconsin. The only caveat? The Badgers were two games under .500. Even if they did win a first-round game, they shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with.

(I know, I know. Get back to baseball. Sorry, I tend to wander.)

Okay, let’s get back to the Regionals, and, more importantly, the Coral Gables Regional. No. 2 Missouri (38-19) will face off against third-seeded Ole Miss (37-24) at noon, and Miami will face No. 4 Bethune-Cookman (36-20) at 4 p.m. Both games are Friday and can be seen on ESPNU.

That’s right. Take a good, hard look at this regional – Mizzou, Ole Miss and Bethune-Cookman.

Some might mindlessly mention, “Hey, it’s just Bethune-Cookman.” Yeah, sure. That’s all fine and dandy until you mention the fact that the pitcher Miami will be facing Friday afternoon will be right-hander Hiram Burgos, which boasts a 1.20 ERA in 12 starts. You know, the best in the country and all that jazz.

Not to mention, that they will face either a very tough Mizzou team, or a very tough Ole Miss team – a similar Rebel team that the Hurricanes went to three games with in Oxford, Miss., during the 2006 Super Regionals.

The good news, if any out of this, is if Miami captures the Coral Gables Regional it will face-off against the Ann Arbor Regional champ – which could be Michigan, No. 1 Arizona (38-17), No. 4 Eastern Michigan (25-32), or No. 3 Kentucky (42-17).

I expect left-handed freshman phenom Chris Hernandez to go on Day 1 for the Hurricanes, with Eric Erickson, another left-hander, to go on Day 2 and, of course, right-hander Enrique Garcia going Day 3.

If it’s a clean sweep, Hernandez would have three days rest before coming back for Game 1 of the best-of-three Super Regional series against (insert Ann Arbor Regional champion here).

I expect Hernandez, as he’s done all year long, to deliver a solid performance and even go about 6-8 innings, with six being on the “bad” side of the equation.

The wild-card, I think, will be Erickson. Can he bounce back from his atrocious start in the ACC Tournament against Georgia Tech? Only time will tell, but Miami could sure use the 1-2-3 punch they’ve had most of the season with Hernandez-Erickson-Garcia.

The addition of David Gutierrez as a possible No. 4 starter or a long reliever is clutch for Miami. Although, as he’s shown in the ACC Tournament, he’s not terribly good at coming out of the bullpen for relief.

Should be an interesting Friday, and one where live updates will happen every three innings.