The A's are still playing moneyball, but the methods change every few seasons depending on what skills are valued or undervalued in MLB. They had a HS drafting phase for a few years but seem to have switched back to college now.

Yeah, for all my HATED of the Giants, they do scout local teams pretty well outside of CAL/Stanford/St Marys/Santa Clara (all of which the A's cover too). The A's and Aggies both have to play moneyball in the sense that Long Beach or Fullerton have the titles and the fanbase in a great league (if Power Conference isn't a requirement). Way back...ten years or so, I took a college tour of Fullerton and our female tour guide was a DIEHARD baseball fan who kept mentioning her Titans and the stadium experience. Keep in mind that this was a college tour for freshman & transfer students. It surprised me. Granted when you think of CSUF, you think baseball and not academics but still.

How can Davis take advantage of their relative isolation without letting the no-lights & no-clubhouse kill them in recruiting? What can we offer recruits that the powerhouses of the Big West don't have? How can we beat Cal or Stanford in recruiting too?

UCD Baseball fans are passionate, but it is niche. When I was a student, I went to quite a number, and even skipped class a few times when Long Beach or Fullerton would visit. I even sat outside the stadium for promos. Most of the non-scout fans who attend (not related or dating the players) go often, but its often the same people. Weekend games are a fun way to enjoy the spring sunshine without going to Raley Field. But weekday games need lights to make it more of an event. Also, most of the students who attend are already die-hard baseball fans who love the game. If you look on campus, you'll see all five mlb teams represented on caps and apparel. The non-baseball fans have no reason to attend, but if they add promos and fight for lights, they could make some sort of party deck and bring apathetic students to cheer on their team. What do you think?

Also, do Slack fans really call their baseball venue "The John"? How appropriate!

You gotta feel for Sac State, at least they show up :D. Its like the kid who insists the adults play him/her (without going easy on them) and then gets creamed before they cry.

They have been aimless for 10 seasons now. Great gesture, but the baseball fan in me dreams of seeing the Aggies in a (Super)/ Regional or the CWS, with the star player being drafted by my beloved Oakland A's. Well we can always watch Descalso and hope for more talent. Maybe dream some more.

Just by looking at the rival institutions offering commits, you can see that we recruit smart athletes who can qualify and play. It makes me proud to see Ivy League and service academies listed as our competition for these young men.

It just depends on the coach. Some do it for leverage (which honestly isn't a bad thing if you win - I mean wouldn't you do that too esp if not your alma mater)? Then there are other coaches like Randy Bennett (St Marys) or Mark Few (Gonzaga) who are happy where they are. Tedford when he was the Cal coach in football was content in Berkeley (before the team started to slip with the academic problems).

Third, some coaches always have an eye on the next best thing and move often (like Nick Saban or Urban Meyer before they became settled in).

I second the idea of some majors (upper division only and not in your first quarter if a transfer student) taking courses in Sacramento. However, this should not replace the main campus. You could hold some Econ, some POL/IR courses, maybe one CRD course (since they usually have projects in Sac anyway). Ummm lets see, maybe a UWP or Engineering class here or there. But essentially limit it because you don't want to detract from what makes us UC Davis, a premier land grant, ag school. The funny thing is whenever I'm on the Cal campus and see Wheeler Hall, I remember how opposed he was to a University Farm. He was forced by the legislature (at that time each county had an equal vote). He did whatever he could to quash it, and barring that keep it close to Berkeley.

6 years to the day when the womens team made NCAAs and the men were terrible. Now we have good teams in both. But we shall never speak of CGS. LES is a real three letter word :D.

I feel like I'll listen but probably fall asleep before it ends #badfan?

Any radio streaming options??? Also if and if if if if if****** we make the tourney, does CBS Sports have a tournament streaming plan?

How can I watch / listen to this game?????? Is there a radio/tv live stream (legal of course)?

We'll probably still sweep them this year.

I thought Cal-Baptist was pretty good in Baseball?

YESSS!!! GO DANIEL!!!!

Keep Hawaii. Don't boot em. They bring lots of fan support and attention to our conference on the islands.

But back to FB, I'd love to see Sac in the BW, but I don't think the BS would let them leave.

Staying out here for now. There was a snowstorm that kept me on the coast, but it works out for some Aggie road games. I think down the road, the idea that UND was even in the Big Sky will seem so outlandish. Currently, who is the closest B.Sky member to them? N. Colorado?

Grand Forks is way too far. A good move for them and perhaps a better move for the Big Sky (and us). I'm probably moving to Fargo, ND so I'd miss our Ags playing up in Grand Forks, but it is better for our budget and athletes to avoid playing so far from home.

I love the credential plan. Hopefully this will draw more fans to our site and encourage the Athletics Dept to treat the comments here as the pulse of Aggie sports.

NVM.