Give it away, give it away now…

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. A week ago Carlos Gutierrez proved to be the hero, with a series-saving fielding effort to drive the final stake in Arizona’s heart – sending the Miami Hurricanes to Omaha.

What a difference a week can make.

A 4-3 ninth inning lead turned into a 7-4 loss in a matter of minutes.

It wasn’t bad pitching. It wasn’t even horrible defense. It simply was a string of bad luck at the worst possible time – with everything on the line.

The more I watch college baseball, the more I realize rankings and statistics are worthless.

Miami sported a 45-0 record when leading after eight innings. Stat geeks choose to chest-thump over that kind of stuff, but what does it really all mean when you’re now 45-1, with that lone loss coming during the most important game of the season?

Timing is everything. Especially in Omaha. This isn’t the first time a great Miami team has faceplanted or blew an opportunity. Lesser Canes teams have won it all, while some of the supposed best Miami squads have gone home empty-handed.

The faint of heart should steer clear of the message boards today. The folks with the biggest mouths, choosing revisionist history (instead of logic) are out in full force.

Some of their knee-jerk thoughts? Jim Morris should be fired. Yasmani Grandal should be benched. Gutierrez is a worthless closer. Morris should’ve left Kyle Bellamy in the game, instead of doing what he did all year – going to his closer in the ninth.

Can it, haters.

Miami had their worst inning of baseball at the worst possible time. Sucks, but it happens. Welcome to Omaha.

Stanford whooped higher-seeded Florida State, 16-5 yesterday, hours before Miami was upset by lower-seeded Georgia. Today, it’s out-of-nowhere Fresno State taking it to a favored Rice squad, 17-5.

Florida State, Miami and Rice in the losers’ bracket – with Stanford, Georgia and Fresno State moving on. Programs with some rich CWS history will now need to scrap their way out of an 0-1 hole, while some newbies are in the driver’s seat.

It is what it is, people.

The Canes gave it away last night. It wasn’t Morris’ decision to go with Gutierrez. It wasn’t even Gutierrez’s errant throw or Grandal’s untimely miss behind the plate.

It was simply bad luck. Bad timing. An imperfect storm when Miami could least afford to weather it.

The odds of yesterday’s ninth inning collapse are almost infinitesimal. A runner reaching first after a strike out, due to a wild pitch? Almost unheard of. Especially in the ninth, with a first round CWS berth on the line. A pitcher – known for his fielding abilities – sailing the ball past his first baseman, allowing the game-winning run?

Inconceivable, and hardly characteristic of a team destined to win it all.

In college baseball more than anything else, it’s about getting hot at the right time and getting the lucky bounces. Such isn’t the case for Miami right now. Sad but true, as bitter as that pill may be to swallow.

The Canes caught some bad luck in game one of the Super Regionals, endured a shoot out in game two and staved off execution in game three, allowing them to advance. It took everything in the tank for a top-ranked Miami team to even reach Omaha.

It’s been a while since the Canes have looked like a ‘hot’ team. Before struggling with Arizona in the Super Regionals, Miami had some shaky moments in the Coral Gables regional – needing to rally for wins over Bethune-Cookman and Missouri, before beating up on a run down and depleted Ole Miss bunch.

The last time the Canes truly looked like the ‘Canes’ was the ACC tourney – with convincing wins over Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State and Virginia. Even when a few of those games had their close moments, Miami still looked in control. The bats were hot, the pitching clamped down when it needed to and The U was still the team to beat.

That simply hasn’t been the case these past few weeks.

As has been the case lately, Miami has been stranding runners on base. Against Georgia, the Canes left seven on and never capitalized when they needed to. Seven total hits? Guys like Mark Sobolewski, Dennis Raben and Dave DiNatale going 0-for-12 on the day?

Blake Tekotte, Jemile Weeks and Yonder Alonso being the only Canes productive at the plate all day? Where was the middle and bottom of the order? This is Omaha. Teams are putting up four-run innings and double-digit victories.

Four runs and seven hits against the likes of Georgia is as unacceptable as a ninth-inning collapse – buy a team applauded all season for its stellar defense.

Chalk this one up to wrong team at the wrong place at the wrong time. The regular season means nothing when you get to Omaha – where everyone starts out 0-0 and all eight teams are capable of winning it all.

Miami choked in a game when you can’t choke. The Canes went cold at a time when teams in the hunt are supposed to get red hot.

It’ll now take four straight victories to simply reach the title game – and two more to win the whole damn thing.

Impossible? No. Likely? An even bigger ‘no’.

The challenge begins Monday with an elimination game against arch-rival Florida State, another 0-1 bunch looking to stay alive in Omaha. From there, the loser of the Georgia/Stanford contest and from there, two straight victories over the Dawgs/Card winner.

A team with Miami’s pitching and hitting has the ability to make it happen – but do they have the heart? Losing 7-4 is rough enough, but having your guts torn out in the top of the ninth after an uncharacteristic defensive meltdown? Doesn’t exactly leave Miami faithful feeling solid about the chances.

This thing ain’t over… but it’s definitely on life support.

Win or lose in Omaha, this season isn’t a loss – contrary to today’s popular opinion. Only one team wins it all every year. The Canes have reached the College World Series twenty-three times and came home winners a mere four times.

The odds of winning it all are slim – no matter what you are ranked in early June. You can’t throw out a 52-10 season if the Canes don’t bring home one for the thumb.

Disappointment in yesterday’s collapse is understandable, but don’t let it take away from the accomplishments of 2008. A better outcome was expected, but it was never promised. Great teams sometimes go cold in Omaha. Look no further than some great Miami teams last decade for further proof.

Right now, it’s a one-game season and Florida State is on deck. Beat the Noles, hope to get hot again, regroup and see what happens next. Both UM and FSU lost ninth inning heartbreakers. Who can shake it off and who comes to play tomorrow? Tune in at 2:00pm EDT to find out.

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