Beaver squad has sights on title No. 3

’08 brings new rep, new faces to repeat national champs

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jan 18, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (6 Reader comments)

WONG

Just before the Christmas holidays, Susan Casey told her husband, “We haven’t had a vacation for two years.”

“Yes, we have,” Pat Casey responded. “We’ve spent it in Omaha.”

The visits to Nebraska were business trips – and very successful ones at that, as Casey-coached Oregon State teams won back-to-back College World Series championships.

After Christmas, Pat, Susan and their four children spent eight days in Hawaii. Besides sun and surf, Pat hooked up with former OSU player Jacoby Ellsbury, played golf with Nike President Charlie Denson, took care of a little Nike business and enjoyed a real vacation for a change.

“First time I’ve been to Maui and Lanai – wow,” Casey says. “It was great to get away for a few days.

“But the second I got back to Corvallis, I was ready to get going.”

Last week, Casey began preparing his Beavers for the impossible – a third straight national title. Individual workouts began Jan. 7. Practice will start Feb. 1 as the Beavers prepare for their Feb. 22 season opener at Tempe, Ariz., against Vanderbilt – featuring Collegiate Baseball’s preseason player of the year, third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

Collegiate Baseball’s preseason rankings have Arizona No. 1, Arizona State third, UCLA 18th and Oregon State 19th. This season, OSU also will face San Diego (seventh), Vanderbilt (11th), Long Beach State (17th) and Pepperdine (29th).

“It’s by far the most difficult schedule we’ve ever played,” says Casey, who owns a 440-271 mark as he begins his 14th season at Oregon State. “The Pac-10 will be the best it has been talentwise since I’ve been here.”

It’s tough on top, too

As he went about recruiting in the offseason, Casey noticed a peculiar phenomenon. Yesterday’s underdog has become king of the hill, and the negative recruiting by rivals of the two-time defending champions has gotten under the coach’s skin a little.

“You feel like you’re forever defending yourself against everybody, whether it’s on a recruiting trip or wherever,” Casey says. “Everybody wants to take a shot at you, and it’s getting worse.

“It’s interesting to me when (an opposing coach) convinces a recruit not to go to your place because the kid can’t make it here, but he can play at their place. You never dreamed that some of the nation’s top programs would say, ‘Hey, why would you want to go to Oregon State? They have so many people at your position.’

“That’s a heck of a compliment, really. But you look for guys who love that challenge and say, ‘I want to run with thoroughbreds.’ ”

Casey believes he has some of them in his 2008 freshman class, by far his most nationally acclaimed group. Among the players who could have gone nearly anywhere are pitchers Josh Osich, Greg Peavey, Kevin Rhoderick and Tanner Robles and infielder Garrett Nash.

Leaders hard to replace

Oregon State must replace the team leaders of 2007, shortstop Darwin Barney and catcher Mitch Canham, along with slugging outfielder Mike Lissman, closer Eddie Kunz and trustworthy arms Joe Paterson and Daniel Turpen.

“Darwin made people better; Mitch made them tougher,” Casey says. “Darwin was the lover, and Mitch was the stinkin’ animal. One guy would cut your throat but put a Band-Aid on it before you bled to death; the other would just walk away.

“We’re going to have a tremendous amount of inexperience on the field. It doesn’t matter how many guys you lose; it’s who you lose. The value of guys like Barney and Canham and Paterson – that’s what our club has to replace. Our biggest challenge will be the chemistry part of it.”

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