------------------- good and bad things got exposed. Most of the bad are fixable.
Adjusting to the new hurry up pitch clock is a work in progress for everybody. It seemed to distract our pitchers from holding the runners close on base. Those were some huge leads and breaks mostly TCU got and I don’t think we threw anybody out trying to steal second. I suspect TCU has elite speed that few of our opponents except maybe Vanderbilt will match the rest of the season. They were smart on the bases and took advantage of our inattention with two double steals. Our catcher seemed quick getting the throw away and they seemed to be strong throws but none came close to getting the runner out.
Hobbs and DVH handled Woods great when the moment became too much for him. They got him right back up on that horse the next game and you could see he was fired up and confident. Looks like a huge talent got some tough love seasoning over the weekend and he will come out tougher next time the heat is on.
Looks like Cali will need to re-group and come back concentrating on hits not homers. Obviously a good strong hitter just trying too hard to live up to his hype after each strikeout. DVH handled this well with Stovall, Slavens, and many others in the past and Cali will be fine.
Pitchers don’t always have their best stuff for every game but this is an amazingly deep staff so Hobbs and DVH won’t have to wait long to try the next man up when any do struggle.
Stovall seemed fine at 2nd but Bolton at short seemed a little wobbly a lot of the time. Several missed double plays due to a shortstop fumble before getting rid of the ball. He seemed to double clutch before throwing to first several times. He seems to have good range and good arm strength and many of those slight struggles were on hard hit balls, but many were routine and there just seemed to be a frequent hitch in his giddy up.
We had some good hitting this weekend (Wagner, Jones) and there are several really good hitters (Slavens, Stovall) who are due to do lots better to add to that. This looks like it is going to be a fun team to watch.
Oops. Thanks. Have you heard the old joke question: “If a man dares to go into the forest and speak alone without a woman there to correct him, is he still wrong?” Answer: “Always!” As is obvious by some of my posts, I need lots of correcting and truly do appreciate it.
I think the TCU game just got out of control. It happens sometimes.
I think Bolton will be OK. We do miss Battles/Moore though.
I’m not sold on Cali, but I’ve not watched him anywhere else. It seemed like he was overwhelmed. it wasn’t going for home runs, he looked lost and overwhelmed. not sure you can coach that out of him. I do reserve the right to be horribly wrong on this take. It won’t be the first or last time for me.
Wegner is a stud. So is Diggs
Our Centerfielder is just another great one in a long line of great ones.
We are going to have a really good team this year. I can’t wait to see where we end up.
Hey, some use voice to text when creating posts. Siri would think it was Wagner. I tried to text someone the other day on my watch. When I said the name of my puppy (Dude) I got weird entries, like “Do you”. I’m not sure how to fix that.
I believe Cali will be fine. I thought there were not many mistakes for him to hit early on and he began chasing bad pitches. Then he was off balance and often early or late. He will get his timing if he is good as most think.
I think on steals against TCU several were against Morris and freshman Parker Coil. They went 1st move on lefties and we had no answer. Agreed on pitch clock and also holding runners, expect both to improve. TCU does have really good speed.
Cali seemed to be pressing for sure, timing appeared off for sure.
I don’t understand what the pitch clock has to do with stealing bases at all. The Pitcher can still throw over to first base,.He doesn’t have to make a pitch in 20 seconds he just has to do something… I have never understood that excuse so far.
Mcentire will have a lot to do with our success this year I think. I for some reason have bad vibes about him and have all off season and he has done very poorly in the off season and even worse the other night. I’m not sure who we could put in that third spot, possibly Adcock because he’s done it before in the SEC at Ole Miss. We really need him to take the third spot so we can save Adcock for possibly long relief
This team can hit the ball I think and can be just as lethal as we have been.Cali is a very good hitter and everybody will see that before it’s all said and done.
The one thing that scares me the most about this team is defense. We have been so spoiled with the absolute best in college baseball in the infield for 3 years. There is no way we’re going to come close to replicating that but we cannot miss the routine play like we did against TCU because it absolutely got the ball rolling downhill when it really shouldn’t have.
The schedule this year is the hardest I can ever remember because we have to go on the road to three or four of the best teams in the SEC and we’re bringing in some very good teams in the midweek.
Yeah I think Webb started off last yr 0-20 if I’m not mistaken and and nobody wanted to face him in the Regionals or Omaha I can guarantee you that. He let off several games with a bomb or a blast off the Wall.
Partially correct. The pitcher can only step off the rubber or fake a throw once per batter. After that, they must make a pickoff throw to a base or pitch to the batter.
If I’m a baserunner, I’m getting as big of a lead as I can to test my ability to get back to the bag. I want the pitcher making pickoff attempts. If I’m a pitcher, I want to see just how far off the bag a runner will get. If I can tempt him further and further off the bag without making a throw (stepping off or faking in this case), that runner probably won’t have as big of a lead.
I think what you’re going to see is a lot of lazy balls lofted to the bag instead of what used to be step-offs.
At least (per the college rules) the pitcher can continue to attempt a pickoff. In MLB, there is a limit. Remember that “After two ‘disengagements,’ a pitcher can no longer throw over to first base — or any base — unless he then picks off the runner. If the runner isn’t out, it’s a balk. And that is going to dramatically alter pitching, base-stealing and the art of controlling the running game.”
What is a disengagement? "One would be a pickoff throw. That’s easy enough to grasp. What’s harder to remember is that every time a pitcher steps off the rubber, even if it’s merely to gather his thoughts, that is also considered a ‘disengagement.’”’
Yeah the MLB has a set number of pickoffs but not college and why I said I don’t understand people making a big deal about the pitch clock and stealing bases bc in college you can throw over as many times as you want.
MCEntire helped put himself in the jam in the first inning. Getting to first base is his job! He knows that too! He will remember that and I doubt that happens to him again. He left some pitches up in the zone and TCU hammered them. It happens.
A lot of young pitchers got a chance to take the mound and get their feet wet.
Wood had 2 outing and he looked really sharp on Sunday. Let’s wait and see how he cares when he is out under game pressure.
Tygart has the snap gratin working on Friday!
Hagen Smith looked sharp!
The lefty on Sunday was good but not great.
The pitching staff is deep and strong.
At the plate there’s no way to know how things will go but if late inning Sunday is an indication when the players came off the bench to hit they were sure ready. The offensive power is there and they can score some run.
We are in for a treat this season watching our hogs.
