Seddon's shuffle doesn't work

Two different balls. Two different batters. Two different games. Two different teams. The same exact result. Two top-of-the-seventh, slicing shots to Penn's Russ Farscht in leftfield broke ties on Saturday and yesterday, handing the Quakers two of their three Ivy League losses this weekend. Those two balls also opened a Pandora's Box worth of almost impossible questions the coaching staff needs to address immediately. Nevermind that the Red and Blue lost 8-5 and 3-1 (in a one-hitter) to Harvard yesterday and split 6-1 and 3-4 with Dartmouth on Saturday -- the real issue facing Penn is how to configure the lineup. "We have some real coaching problems," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "How to put the best team on the field and put people in the right position -- and we can't seem to do it." The focus of the problem is Farscht, whose prodigious performance at the plate (.348 batting average) is second to only Penn designated hitter Mark Nagata (.414). Essentially a first baseman playing in the outfield, Seddon and assistant coach Bill Wagner have been using him in the outfield to maximize the Quakers' offensive output. Not as agile as Farscht, Trent Nagata has played first base lately and has hit the ball well, as Saturday's two-run homer indicates. But if Farscht is replaced by a true outfielder, then the Quakers' already-struggling offense suffers some more. "We've gone with the offense and the defense," Seddon said. "For instance, that ball that was hit to left field in that last out -- it wasn't an easy play, but it should've been caught. But if you take Farscht out after he hit the home run for the sake of a fielder, then you've taken [DH Mark] Nagata out for a pinch runner, and we're in a tie game -- you've totally taken away part of your offense. So, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't." The aforementioned ball that should have been a third out bounced off of Farscht's leg, allowing the two go-ahead runs to score, putting Harvard up 3-1 -- which three outs later would be the final. "I didn't misplay it," Farscht said. "I just didn't make the play. It just came in -- a hard line drive -- and I missed it." In that same game, Crimson pitcher James Kalyvas -- the fourth pitcher in Harvard's rotation -- completely shut down the Red and Blue, only allowing Farscht's then-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth. Kalyvas spoiled Penn pitcher Alex Hayden's impressive showing, as he only allowed four hits over the course of the game. The only difference was that with two outs in the top of the seventh, Hayden allowed the bases to get loaded, before the ball was hit to left. The day before, Simonian was purely dominating on the mound, but also got the run support he needed. Captain Joe Carlon, whose throws from shortstop to first looked a bit shaky on Saturday, fired up a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance to lead the Quakers past the Big Green for Penn's only win of the weekend. But during the course of these games, Seddon had players in all sorts of new positions. Farscht moved to leftfield, Armen Simonian proved to be the most versatile Quaker, playing centerfield, first base and second base after pitching a complete game in the weekend opener against the Big Green. Penn had a chance to gain the lead in the bottom of the sixth in the second game, but with Jeremy Milken on third, Penn freshman Oliver Hahl bunted a pitch foul -- ruining the suicide squeeze attempt that would have put the Quakers up a run. Third baseman Glen Ambrosius sat out at the end of the opener, as freshman Shawn Spezio took his place for an inning. Outfielder Drew Corradini sat out Saturday's second game. And in an effort to free up the designated hitter position, the coaches will try Mark Nagata at catcher on Wednesday against La Salle, if the Explorers lose their second-round Liberty Bell Classic game and aren't committed to the final that day. These position changes are necessary for a Penn team that is struggling at the plate as well. "We took Corradini out, because he's struggling mentally," Seddon said. "We've got guys in major slumps. Oh, man. Ambrosius hasn't had a hit -- he was our leading scorer -- in 20-plus at-bats." While the Quakers' struggles surfaced this weekend, the coaches stressed to the team after the Harvard doubleheader that the Gehrig Division is still up for grabs. And the Gehrig winner has a legitimate shot at playing Harvard in the Ivy playoffs, as the Crimson are favored to win the Rolfe Division, according to Seddon. "Our division's going to be a run for the marbles up until the last four games against Princeton," Penn pitching coach Bill Wagner said. "We can win it." Indeed they can, as Princeton -- the team picked to compete with Penn for the top spot -- also lost its Saturday doubleheader to Harvard and split with Brown yesterday.