What will be the pitching lineup this weekend?
What batter order will be use?
I don’t see the rotation or the order straying from what got them to this point. I think they will stick with Isaiah Campbell in the third starter role on the mound and with the same position players as the regional.
The quick leash will remain in effect. I would love to see Campbell have an outing that would reflect his potential. Man he is awesome when he is confident. I thought he tried to nibble with those first 2 batter against DB and walked them. The single was it! He has the stuff to strike anyone out he just has to trust it!
DVH said he wasn’t nibbling, he just couldn’t get the fastball over at all, then hung a slider for their hit. That combination of wild fastballs and hung breakers makes for a short evening.
That was quick and needed at the time!
We all know Campbell is more than capable. If we need a third game, we know he can pitch a beauty, but lord, we also know how fast he can go south. The good news is that we have enough pitching depth that we can withstand a 3 day weekend unless we have something really unusual happen with them. (Knight has had some off nights.)
SC doesn’t have the big name pitchers like Singer, Mize, etc, but they obviously have some guys who can hold us down. Hope we get to them early.
My buddies and I have a little thing we say when Campbell pitches . . . “are we gonna get ‘good Campbell’, or ‘bad Campbell’?”
Of course, we’re not denigrating the kid’s character. It’s just that he, more than any U of A pitcher I can remember in recent years, is either very good or very poor - not much in between. And you know quickly which it’s going to be. No reason for DVH to stay with him once he had seen the first 3 batters. We (my friends and I) were all saying he needed to go get him when he did.
Another thing about Campbell. He can be cruising along 3 or 4 innings, looking like a first round pick. But when he loses it, it’s immediate - just like he started the last game. If two consecutive guys get on base, history shows you probably need go get him or it will be four or five consecutive guys (and 2-3 runs) by the time you do.
That happens to a lot of guys after 7 or 8 innings, or 100 pitches. It happens to Isaiah . . . whenever. It can be the 3rd inning, or (as we saw) to start the game.
I like the kid and can see the obvious talent he has, like everyone else can. However, for him to have the career he’s capable of having, he’s got to find some consistency. Perhaps he can stay healthy for a while, to begin with. That’s got to have had a major impact on him so far.
Ha ha ha . . . I had started the post above, then got pulled off on something for a little while, then came back, finished and posted it. By the time I had done all of that, NEA had made his post and I see he had much the same feeling/concerns about Isaiah. Once again, we think alike.
His starts prior to this weekend if the leash would have been pulled at Georgia Campbell might have won and the same the start prior. A reliever needs to be warm and ready at all times with him starting on the mound.
Matt,
Can you comment on if Turney is off the team or if he is just playing summer ball early?
I was told a few weeks ago that the plan was for him to go to summer ball early. That’s why he was sent to the Northwoods League, because its season starts earlier. As far as I know he is still on the team. I haven’t heard anything about him leaving.
Thanks so much Matt! I believe he’s penciled into RF next year but didn’t know if he got frustrated with lack of ABs