Predictability is the word perhaps best fitting former Arizona Wildcat Trevor Hoffman’s professional baseball career. Tomorrow, he will be honored under a predictably pleasant San Diego sky, and receive the same predictably raucous ovation he always got upon taking the field.

Hoffman’s No. 51 will join the numbers of Hall of Famers like Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield, retired and commemorated behind Petco Park’s centerfield wall. And predictably, Hoffman will join those other Padre greats in Cooperstown a few years from now.

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Arizona baseball received approval from the Tucson City Council for a letter of intent to become the primary lessee of Hi Corbett field, according to the Arizona Daily Star's Rob O'Dell. It's yet another bold move in Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne's serious considerations of moving the Wildcat baseball team from Frank Sancet Stadium.

It's a risky move, but one that could reap the benefits of beer and alcohol sales, something the field was well known for in hosted professional teams like the Tucson Toros. Patrick Finley of the Daily Star, who has written on the potential move, tweeted that the move was all about beer sales.

#ArizonaWildcats move to Hi Corbett about changing game experience, sure, but beer sales (and $ from it) is key here

Not only could the fan-draw be larger than the baseball team's games at Sancet because of the improved stadium and beer sales, but the beer sales themselves -- along with food and merchandise, of course -- will generate money that will find its way back into the Arizona Athletic department's pocket. Via the Star:

The UA, which is not subject to sales tax, would pay the city the equivalent of 2 percent sales tax on all food, beer, beverage and merchandise sales, but would not be charged sales tax on tickets. Any third party the UA subleases to would also be required to pay the 2 percent sales tax to the city.

All concessions, merchandise and ticket sales would go to the UA.

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There's been chatter of the Arizona baseball team moving some, if not all, of its games to Hi Corbett Field, the current semi-home to the Tucson Toros. After telling Pat Finley of the Arizona Daily Star that no agreement had been reached two weeks ago, Arizona AD Greg Byrne announced in his Wildcat Wednesday newsletter that the athletic department is indeed believing that such possibilities are "worth seriously considering."

In fact, Byrne said he's already been in discussion with former and current players, along with head coach Andy Lopez and his staff. From Byrne's weekly newsletter:

You often hear me talk about the importance of facilities and the impact they make on our program.  As much as you want to believe that someone will want to attend our wonderful University because it’s the great place that we know  it is, we also have to understand the importance the training and playing environments will have on decision-making during the recruiting process.

There's no easy answers to what the move would mean for attendance. Having the games on the university campus is one thing, but how important is it when the fanbase that attends isn't composed necessarily from students? According to the AD:

You then have to balance the training and playing environments with the need to have a good environment that will attract and retain fans and put the program in the best financial position possible. 

Maybe it's the hopeful college student in me that's reading this the wrong way, but I do believe that the "best financial position possible" might have something to do with beer. Seriously.

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It almost seemed too good to be true. After fighting back from losing its first NCAA Regional game, the Arizona Wildcats won three in a row to force a Monday decision against the Texas A&M Aggies. The starting pitcher was to be seldom-used Vince Littleton. Arizona Daily Star beat writer Ryan Finley's thoughts on it?

Vincent Littleman, as expected, will start for the #ArizonaWildcats. Numbers aren't encouraging: 2-3, 8.10 ERA.

And then came perhaps a blessing in disguise. Rain postponed the game until it was called two hours later. So on Tuesday, the Wildcats could start a rested Kurt Heyer on the mound.

In the end, however, it didn't matter. Arizona fell 3-0 Tuesday afternoon, the same day in which five of its players were taken in the 2011 MLB Draft. The Aggies, not Wildcats, head to Tallahasee to face Florida State while Arizona finishes with a 39-21 record on the year.

Heyer went 7 2/3 innings before being pulled. He struck out six on five hits, but gave up two earned runs in the eighth inning off by Aggy Tyler Naquin and Prey Bratsen. Bryce Bandilla, who was the second Wildcat drafted Tuesday, came on in relief and allowed Jacob House to hit a two-run double that scored Bratsen from second and walked batter Matt Juengel.

The Wildcats had seven hits -- all from different players -- but didn't take advantage.

A disappointing offensive showing similar to what we saw from the Arizona softball team -- lots of a hits and no points to show for it -- came at a poor time in the season. Nonetheless, the Wildcats for the most part got better as the season aged. So what's it mean for the program moving forward?

The Wildcats have improved yet again, making the postseason for the seventh time in nine years. And it was a step in the right direction from last season, when Arizona went to the Fort Worth Regional and only went 1-2 in elimination, finishing with a 34-24. This year they end with a 39-21 record, a hot hit or two away from making the Super Regional for the third time in school history.

Yet, the team is still pretty young, a promising and talented group that won't regress much, if at all, with the losses of guys like senior Bryce Ortega. 

But what's the expectation around the program? Andy Lopez has struggled to get out of the first postseason round, yet recruits a talented roster. Is he under the pressure of Sean Miller, who replaced a legend, or more of Mike Stoops, who like Lopez, is still trying to build a brand of a winner?

Do you think the Arizona baseball team is on the upswing?

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Here's a list of the Wildcats taken in the draft:

RHP Kyle Simon, 125th overall, Baltimore Orioles

LHP Bryce Bandilla, 147th overall, San Francisco Giants

1B Cole Frenzel, 222 overall, New York Mets

SS Andy Burns, 349 overall, Toronto Blue Jays

LHP Matt Chafee. 386 overall, Atlanta Braves

The pressure and threat of the offseason upon them, the Arizona Wildcats baseball team now sits on a three-game winning streak. All were elimination games.

After falling to Seton Hall in their first postseason game, Arizona (38-20) trounced Wright State 13-0 before winning Sunday's double-header against, once again, Seton Hall and then host Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. A 6-0 victory against Seton Hall saw freshman pitcher Konner Wade go a season-high seven innings in the shutout.

Take a glance at their loss in their first postseason game. A 4-0 loss to Seton Hall was perplexing and confusing considering the Wildcats are one of the most offensively-driven teams in the nation. Since, they've awaken back into the form that saw them make a strong streak entering the postseason.

But the biggest surprise came Sunday evening, when the Wildcats stunned the home team with a 7-4 victory in a game that saw them turn to little-used reliever Nick Cunningham for 5 1/3 innings following a line drive hit that caught pitcher Tyler Hale's arm.

Hale left in the third, and the injury could be a big one should the Wildcats steal tomorrow's 4:30 p.m. finale against the Aggies.

Finley later Tweeted the following:

Correction: Hale has a NONdisplaced radial fracture. Still no surgery. There's a reason I'm in journalism,not medicine. :)#ArizonaWildcats

All night long, Arizona was playing catch-up. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Arizona's Robert Refsnyder, Bobby Brown and Jett Bandy all scored thanks to RBIs by Bandy, Alex Mejia and Seth Mejias-Brean. They added some cushion in the next inning to give themselves room for the Aggies to score two more runs.

It's a testament to coach Andy Lopez's firm grasp on preparation and team building. It was just a few years ago that the UA coach gutted the roster, telling the kids that didn't take their school-work and team attitudes seriously to find somewhere else to play.

Now what's he have on his hands? A group of players that, while young, don't lack confidence in their abilities and don't fold when their backs are against the wall.

Andy Lopez's Arizona baseball team will play its NCAA Regional round tournament in College Station, Texas, it was announced Monday.

As the No. 2 seed, the Wildcats are pitted against No. 3 seed Seton Hall on Friday, and in the double elimination, four-team tournament, both winner and loser will face either No. 1 seed and host Texas A&M or No. 4 seed Wright State.

Ryan Finley, the beat writer for the Arizona Daily Star, tweeted Monday that the tournament, all-in-all, could have ended up worse from the Wildcats perspective. In his news article, he wrote the following:

"However, many believe the short-series nature of the regionals could play to the UA's strengths. Ace Kurt Heyer and No. 2 starter Kyle Simon are a combined 18-6 this season. Reliever Bryce Bandilla and Tyler Hale combined to pitch five scoreless innings in Sunday's win; closer Matt Chaffee, the star of the bullpen this season, warmed up late in the game but was not needed."

The Wildcats finished up a 36-19 season on a hot streak, winning 12 of its last 15 games. They swept a lowly Washington Husky squad in the regular season's final series, but going into a regional that actually seems favorable, Arizona will still need to bring its A-game.

Though that doesn't mean the Wildcats don't have a good shot at winning. Even as a No. 1 seed, Texas A&M and its 42-18 record won 11 of its final 13 contests, surprised many in scrounging through a tough Big 12 Tournament. But like Arizona, the Aggies are turning the heat up when it counts.

Winning four games at the conference tournament, the Aggies posted a 9-8 victory against Kansas State in 11 innings before willing their way to a 10-9 win over Missouri. And that's if the Wildcats can get past Big East Conference Champion Seton Hall (33-23).

TUCSON, Ariz. - With an 8-5 victory over San Francisco on Monday afternoon, the No. 15 Arizona baseball team improved their record to 16-5 on the season.

The Cats' sweep of the visiting Dons puts an end to non-conference play. Pac-10 action begins this weekend with a battle against in-state rival No. 6 Arizona State. 

After pitching back to back shutouts in the first two games of the series, the Cats found themselves down early after giving up a first inning run to the Dons.

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Arizona fell to TCU on Saturday night 11-4 and are now facing elimination in today's rematch with Baylor at 2:00 CDT.  The Cats fell behind early in this one 5-2 after the top of the fourth inning and clawed their way back to within striking distance of 8-5 in the bottom of the eighth but couldn't muster enough offense to keep up with TCU.  Kyle Simon takes the L, pitching only 3.2 innings and giving up 6 runs, all earned on 6 hits and 4 walks.   The night was started out by Simon hitting two TCU batters.  Not a good way to get a game going. TCU only sent two pitchers to the mound all night versus the Cats who pitched seven.  Matt Purke got the win for TCU going 6.1 innings and giving up only 4 runs, 3 earned on 6 hits and 2 walks. 

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