re: Starting Poche was the correct decision, even in hindsight

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Because a best-of-7 series is exactly the same as a 4-team double elimination bracket... you have to win both of the first two to gain any real advantage. If we win tomorrow with Lange, we're still in the same spot as if we'd beaten TCU with Lange and lost tomorrow with Poche. CPM pitched the two in the order that gave us the best chance to win both. Starting Poche was the right call, even though it didn't work out. Now leaving him in that long, that's another story.

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100% correct.

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CheerWhine

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Because a best-of-7 series is exactly the same as a 4-team double elimination bracket... you have to win both of the first two to gain any real advantage.

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Absolutely untrue. If you win your first game and then lose your 2nd, then instead of being forced to win 4 straight elimination games, you only have to win three straight. Winning 4 straight games is more difficult than winning 3 straight games. My math maybe off (I did graduate from Livingston Parish Public Schools).

But let's push the nuance a tad further. In a series like this, even the top flight teams have-at best-two front line starters. Winning game one guarantees you at least a third game. Which means if you win game 1, and then lose game 2, you're in the loser's bracket yes. You have to win 3 straight games yes. But-unlike if you lose the 1st game-you're in the loser's bracket in an elimination game with the least reliable starter for these teams.

Which means-if you have the sticks-you can slug your way out from there the rest of the way facing sub-par pitching.

Now, let's backtrack back to the reality of our situation. With us losing Game 1, we have to win 4 games instead of 3 straight, and the first one we have to win against a top-line starter which is far from a guarantee.

So to recap:

Win game 1/lose game 2 = Facing lower tier talent on the mound the rest of the way over 3 games with a great offense

Lose game 1 = Face top tier talent on the mount in the 1st game of 4 straight must-wins with a great offense that may be stifled in the 1st game

There is absolutely an advantage in winning Game 1 and that should have been apparent to Mainieri. He coached to win two games and by not focusing on the task at hand-beating TCU-he's screwed LSU into a more difficult position than necessary.

Coaching. Matters.