Posted by  mark bellotti, tennessee on 05/18  at  09:05 AM

So Mr. Richtberg, You mention the team as a family, don’t you think that motivation has to come from the coaches. Oh wait it did, nepostism is Cardieri’s motivation from the get go. So tell me what is your allegence to Coach Cardieri Mr. Richtberg? are you part of his family? Once again you havent’ got a clue! This wasn’t a coaches decision to better the team, this decision ended a promising kids chance for a career and his dream. And certainly did not “better the team” as evidenced by their horrible 21 and 32 season, and possibly missing the Big East tournament as the host team. Educate your brain before allowing your mouth to spew out moere drivel. You obviously do not know the whole story.

Posted by  mark bellotti, tennessee on 05/18  at  08:51 AM

Thank you Mr.Wingert for your comments on JB. I couldn’t say those things as his father for obvious reasons. As for you Mr. Richtberg, you have again stuck your foot in your mouth. JB did exactly as you suggested, he tried to handle it in house and it cost him his career. This garbage happened over a year ago, and is just now hitting the press. As a senior being removed from the team he had zero chance of transfering to another school. No one will take someone for one season, college baseball is not basketball or football. Give the young man credit for prioritizing his education. He wouold have lost upwards of 20 credits transfering.

Posted by  David Richtberg, Tampa, FL on 05/18  at  08:13 AM

Mr. Belloti,

Please congratulate your son on his graduating, that is something that can never be taken from him. 

Your son did play a tremendous outfield, and I liked seeing him out there, and I am not fimiliar with the situation mentioned in the article, so I am not able to comment on that.  And it would appear it is the job of a team voted captain to help players along the learning curve.  If EC took offense to the handling of the situation that is between the parties involved, should it really be aired out in the paper?

Posted by  Larry Stevens, Tampa on 05/18  at  08:03 AM

In the mid-90’s when this program seemed to be at its peek they had a strong contingent of out-of-state talent. Its one thing if you are able to keep the top local talent, but outside of that you have to be willing to put in the time and effort to recruiting kids that may not be on everyone else’s radar. And while costs can be prohibitive, you can use video, referrals, and other less costly methods to find out about these players. The bottom line is that if Cardieri is not able to adequately recruit kids to come play baseball in Tampa, Fl with all the University and City have to offer, then the program needs to find someone who can.

Posted by  Larry Stevens, Tampa on 05/18  at  08:02 AM

Cardieri seems to have little skill in the recruiting arena. And by recruiting I do not mean calling Wharton high school again and asking for the remaining unsigned players on their roster. It is never a good sign when you have 5 scholarship players from a high school team that struggles to compete on that level. He continues to settle for mediocre talent from the Tampa area. Of course this area is loaded with talent, but when you have a losing program and inferior facilities you have to make an adjustment and go after kids that are not being recruited by the other big name schools from Florida.

Posted by  David Richtberg, Tampa, Fl on 05/18  at  05:59 AM

The players at USF used to work hard at what they do, and used to have enough pride in themselves not to let this type of thing happen. 

The student-athletes at USF have done great in graduating, but have forgotten to fight for the school they represent.  I understand many players do not always agree with what a coaches decision is, but that had not stopped people who played there before , to handle problems in the press! 

This is a family at USF baseball.  Do you take your family problems to everyone who will listen, or do you handle it in house?

Posted by  James Wingert, Clearwater, FL on 05/18  at  12:17 AM

Ive been around the game for 45yrs,&to imply that a player like Bellotti wouldnt have been able to play anywhere else at a D1 level is just funny to me.This kid was without a doubt one of the most intelligent&talented players in college baseball,and probably the best defensive CF I have EVER seen!Ive never met the kid,but have heard from many people at the games that everyone(even Cardieri)also knows him for being the hardest worker.I have talked to fans who would come out to games just to watch him play the outfield.These same fans,along with myself,are disgusted with what this program has become and surprised to discover that one of the main attractions to the fans has been taken away pre-maturely because he did his job as a Team Captain.

Posted by  mark bellotti, tennessee on 05/17  at  11:56 PM

Apparently Mr. Richtberg you missed the part of the article where Coach Cardieri lashes out at Jeremy for approaching his son Nick with some fundamental instruction in Hawaii. From that point on the lashing out never ceased. Not only to jeremy but to other players as well just not in the same context. EC may know baseball, although I dissagree, but he knows nothing about integrity and honesty to his players. You Mr. Richberg should be more informed before speaking out. By the way, JB went to USF for his degree, he graduated in May with a 3.4 GPA.

Posted by  Jim Martin, Tampa, FL on 05/17  at  10:35 PM

Hey David from Tampa, feel free to get a clue. To say that you can only throw all the blame on the players for their performance but then try to give the credit of them graduating college to their baseball coach “EC” by stating that “How many players has EC graduated is a better question” is ridiculous. It totally contradicts your former comment. You argue that Cardieri has never taken the field or had an at-bat, well I could venture to say that he has never went to a class or taken an exam over the past 21 years either. If I had to make a suggestion for you, it would be to think about some of your comments before you make them.

Posted by  Alan T., Tampa on 05/17  at  08:43 PM

Just read lots of comments below.  Stadium issue is huge because.  Those who disagree, if given a choice would you pick staying at the Embassy Suites on campus or the Super 8 in East Tampa.  Safe bet that most sane people wouldn’t think twice.  By the way, you don’t just play at USF, you also serve as the grounds crew.  So what quality recruits are fighting for the honor to pull the tarp.  Does he had a budget to attract quality assistants?  And I can’t remember ever seeing marketing for his program.  You would be hard pressed to find a coach that could win and hang in there like Cardieri under the conditions he has to work with.  And by the way - Softball’s Eriksen is another great coach who is still underappreciated at USF!

Posted by  David Richtberg, Tampa, FL on 05/17  at  08:22 PM

So, no blame goes on the guys playing the game?  I do not hear EC going to the press saying anything about the players not performing.  How many times has EC come up to bat in the last 5 years with runners in scoring position and struck out?

EC knows the game of baseball.  He has always taken the criticism that you parents and press place on him and never lashed out towards the players. 
Mr. Belloti what made your son decide to go to USF?  THe chance to play as a freshman, where he probably never would have had the chance anywhere else?

Posted by  Thomas, Sarasota on 05/17  at  08:11 PM

Brett, Doing an excellent job as a reporter won’t always make you popular, but this was good journalism. Keep up the good work.

Posted by  Brett McMurphy,  on 05/17  at  01:56 PM

First, I appreciate all the feedback. I agree 1,000 percent that it’s difficult to fairly judge Cardieri because of the stadium. Of course, you can look at what Ken Eriksen has done in softball (seven NCAAs in 10 years) with a softball field that is basically a glorified intramural field. David, this article was in no way written “to attempt to remove Cardieri.” It was an honest assessment at where the program is now. I interviewed at least three dozen people - current and former players, high school coaches, pro scouts, USF administrators and others trying to get a balanced, fair look at this situation. Hopefully that was accomplished.

Posted by  Eric S, Tampa, FL on 05/17  at  01:37 PM

It does not matter if a person has not played D-I college sports to recognize a failure in leadership.

How many people have worked for ineffective leaders in whatever job?  For example, who is to blame for the disaster at Enron?  Many lower level people are to blame for that disaster, but ultimately, the leaders must answer for the failures.  That is the responsibility of becoming a leader.  If the leader cannot accept the responsibilities, then that person does not deserve the leadership position.
No body says that Cardieri is a bad guy.  I am not trying to say Cardieri is corrupt like Lay.  However, Lay, whatever he knew about Enron’s operations, lost control of the company. 

IMHO, Cardieri has lost control of the USF baseball team.

Posted by  mark bellotti, tennessee on 05/17  at  01:08 PM

Coach Cardieri has lost control of his team, his players, his staff, and his respect. Non of that can be blamed on the facilities or the administration. The blame for nepostism and favored discipline rest solely on his meager shoulders. The losing and lack of coaching abilities is his problem alone to bear. The cancer is not in the player ranks but rather it is in the coaching ranks and needs to be erradicated. Doug Woolard should not let emotions cloud his vision of what needs to be done to bring the baseball program to a competitive level. How many more players have to suffer, Enough already!

Posted by  David RIchtberg, Tampa, FL on 05/17  at  12:12 PM

Players get down on themselves all the time when they are struggling.  What is surprising about that?

Players transfer all the time, this is nothing new.  Ask Miami how many players transfer every year from there?

Posted by  David Richtberg, Tampa, FL on 05/17  at  12:09 PM

How many of you pointing fingers have ever played college baseball at a division 1 level?
That is what I thought.  EC is a great baseball man, and he does not step foot on the field when the game starts.  He had his playing days as I did,and it was not his fault when I gave up a home run to a hitter in the 9th inning to lose a game.
I was talking with another coach last night and he made a great point.  Why is it when a team wins and the coach gives all the credit to the players he is gracious in victory and when some parents are disgruntled and players feel they should be playing over someone else, that newspaper articles are written to attempt to remove him.
How many players has EC graduated is a better question?

Posted by  T. Bever, Tampa on 05/17  at  12:04 PM

I think Eric nailed the stadium issue - it didn’t effect Softball negatively.  Can the Pryor transfer, or the team giving up, or morale described as cancerous be blamed on the stadium?  If Cardieri is kept on, it is probably time to reevaluate the coaching philosopy at a minimum.

And RB - I’m pretty sure McCullum was Selmon’s hire and not Woolard’s.

Posted by  Eric S, Tampa, FL on 05/17  at  11:18 AM

The “Career At A Crossroads” story is what I call investigative reporting.  It is nice to read a thought-provoking article instead of a “rah rah cheerleader” article.  I always suspected that something more was going on with the baseball team than just a string of bad luck.

While the facilities are less than spectacular, the other teams like softball have out performed the baseball team.  What evidence do we have that new baseball facilities would spark a new era of winning at USF?

Cardieri has been loyal to USF for a long time, but that does not mean he deserves an automatic contract extension.  I have the impression that he has lost control of the team.  I think it is time for a coaching change.

Posted by  Brad Meyer, Phoneix, AZ on 05/17  at  09:54 AM

I think the story exposed many underlying issues of the program.  The nepotism and lack of mature leadership by EC alone would undermine him even in a brand new stadium. 

I agree, the stadium argument is lame.  No doubt the Red could use some work, but to use it as a crutch is old. Sell a dream not an excuse.

Good story.  It’s nice to see a thorough examination of the situation and not a knee-jerk facilities related piece.

Posted by  RB, West Palm Beach on 05/17  at  08:40 AM

USF baseball has thrived against all odds with Cardieri.  He cares about USF & his players.  Cardieri never enjoyed the same home field advantages to advance in the NCAAs as UF, Miami and FSU since USF couldn’t host in the dumpy facility. How embarrassing is it for Cardieri to show a recruit this dump of a complex.  It is a testament that Cardieri has the most NCAA tournaments at USF.  Woolard already showed his evaluation skills of coaches with McCullum, a coach who has never won at USF & it’s unknown if he ever will.  DW needs to redeem himself to USF faithful. Show Cardieri he is tuned in and give him a new contract and a facility. If DW makes another bad judgement, the firm that recommended him to USF should refund their fees.

Posted by  Matthew Yoder, St Petersburg on 05/17  at  08:37 AM

Great story Bett!! Its clear that you gave EC every chance to come off well in the story and its just as clear that EC has lost the team and should lose his job. 

When USF moved into C-USA, EC moved out of his competency level (Metro/Sun Belt) and has had almost no success taking the next step.

I am also sick of hearing about that “decrepit baseball stadium” and it being used as an excuse. I think its clear that CJL has all but BUILT his practice facuility and that “sparkling 2-year-old, $15 million athletic facility.” EC has had 21 years, what has he built besides quickly fading program and an established culture of complacancy? 

If his contract is extended I will consider it an indictment of the whole athletic administration.