What Did We Learn From the Arizona Series?

Hello again. Long time no see. Yes, I admit, I have been slacking. Life has gotten busy and in the way, so there hasn't been a "WDWL" in quite a few weeks, but that changes now. If you are new here, this is a weekly article where I talk about what fans can take away from the past week's performance that doesn't show up in the box score or in a recap article. So, let's get to it, shall we?

The quest for perfection in a sport that praises mediocrity

The TCU Horned Frogs are coming off a series loss against Arizona, which is ranked in the top-25. They salvaged Game Three but dropped the first two games in what, in all honesty, they should have won.

After publications released their updated field of 64 projections, the Frogs became a two-seed and out of hosting capability. With that said, there are still two weeks left in the regular season, and the Big 12 Championship remains to be settled, so things could change. However, for now, this is the situation Kirk Saarloos' team is looking at.

Is hosting really that big of a deal? Wouldn't you rather be a two-seed in a "weaker" regional? Then, maybe you could have a shot at hosting a super regional? Does it even matter? Shouldn't all that matters be winning, so you can move on to the next round?

Frog fans should know better than anyone that when a team is hot, no environment can slow them down, hosting or not. So why, as fans, do we obsess over whether teams should host or not?

There are two reasons for this. One, baseball Regionals are one of the best fan experiences you could have outside of a Super Regional, and two, there is comfort in one's home. You could even go further and say a Fort {Worth} is to be defended, right? Ok, a stretch, I digress. Yet the point still stands.

This is a sport in which, when a batter hits the ball three out of ten times, we consider him pretty good. Four out of ten times, we are ready to give them the award for national player of the year. When these players, whom you, the fans, spend three to four months out of the year cheering, can be okay with success less than 50% of the time, then maybe in the grand scheme of things, whether you host or not isn't a big deal.

Now I'm not saying there is a right way to believe, if hosting matters or not. My point is simply, why obsess over it? Why not just enjoy the path of getting to a regional? The Frogs, barring a complete meltdown in the season's final three weeks, will be in postseason baseball for the first time in two years.

So yes, cheer for the Horned Frogs loud this weekend in the final series at Lupton. Cheer on the seven seniors who will be graduating after this season. Enjoy what could be the last weekend in the stadium for eight months. Enjoy the now, embrace mediocrity if it happens, the mistakes that may occur from the crop of freshman still in their first year of college ball, because if you are looking for perfection, then unfortunately, this is the wrong sport for you.

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