Around the Diamond

[FredJacket]

Part 1 - Catchers
http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/013018aaa.html

 

[FredJacket]

Part 2 - The Infield

No surprise... 2B (Bailey) & SS (Wilhite) are set.

3B ... Sounds like it's TBD among three freshman fighting for the spot.

1B... TBD but likely an experienced guy (English, Johnson, or McCann). English's pitching status will play into this.

It's fair to say 3B & 1B are big question marks for the defense.

I'd say the mildly "breaking" news here is CDH's comments affirming that English will be "needed" on the mound. I cannot tell from his comment what role he plans for English.... starter or bullpen? Anyone know?

http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020118aac.html

 

[augustabuzz]

Part 2 - The Infield

No surprise... 2B (Bailey) & SS (Wilhite) are set.

3B ... Sounds like it's TBD among three freshman fighting for the spot.

1B... TBD but likely an experienced guy (English, Johnson, or McCann). English's pitching status will play into this.

It's fair to say 3B & 1B are big question marks for the defense.

I'd say the mildly "breaking" news here is CDH's comments affirming that English will be "needed" on the mound. I cannot tell from his comment what role he plans for English.... starter or bullpen? Anyone know?

http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020118aac.html

I like the potential of the infield.

 

[MWBATL]

A ton depends on whether the 3rd baseman can contribute better D than we saw last year....actually, 1st base too, now I think bout it

 

[THWG]

A ton depends on whether the 3rd baseman can contribute better D than we saw last year....actually, 1st base too, now I think bout it

Our offense is already stacked like usual, so I would really like to see Hall put the best defensive player that he possibly can at 3rd base. As for 1st, I would give it to Johnson if English is a starter this year. If not, make Johnson DH and play English at 1st.

 

[RoosterJacket]

English was pretty good defensively at 1B as a freshman. Much better than anyone we had out there last season. Even if English pitches, I’d go with him playing 1B when not on the mound.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

English was pretty good defensively at 1B as a freshman. Much better than anyone we had out there last season. Even if English pitches, I’d go with him playing 1B when not on the mound.

Isn't this against general baseball orthodoxy? Almost as bad as playing two QBs in a game and sticking with the better one that day. But wasn't there a third baseman who also pitched for us? (And is pitching MLB A+?) So it may happen.

Of course the answer is it depends. That's why Hall gets paid the small bucks. (I assume almost all college baseball coaches get paid little.) Depends on:

• How much playing first base is perceived to decrease English's pitching performance.
• How desperate we are for English's arm.
• How good fielding and hitting the first base alternatives are to English.....

Overall, I'd feel better with English at first till we have a proven alternative. Last year the D was awful and made our stats even worse since the D screwed the pitchers rather than bailing them out.

 

[FredJacket]

@GTNavyNuke
Clearly the exceptional exception... but McKay did it quite fine last year with Louisville.

He played in every game. 1B or starting
pitcher (17 starts on mound). He even remained in batting order on days he pitched.

Definitely the exception,.. but I also think young kids begin to "specialize" in pitching so early... it's now so rare to have a player so valuable in every phase.

To English's situation specifically... it can't be any easy call especially with his injury history now. You nailed it... that's why coaches get paid the "little" bucks. Their livelihood resting on 18-22 yr old's staying healthy & playing for ....what really boils down to ... fun & each other.

McKay...
Closed collegiate career with an 11-3 record, 2.56 ERA and school record 146 strikeouts on the mound during final season with the Cardinals

At the plate, the 2017 ACC Player of the Year had a .341 batting average, 18 home runs, 15 doubles, 57 RBIs and a .457 on-base percentage in 63 starts as a hitter this season.

http://gocards.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6788

 

[senoiajacket]

@GTNavyNuke
Clearly the exceptional exception... but McKay did it quite fine last year with Louisville.

He played in every game. 1B or starting
pitcher (17 starts on mound). He even remained in batting order on days he pitched.

Definitely the exception,.. but I also think young kids begin to "specialize" in pitching so early... it's now so rare to have a player so valuable in every phase.

To English's situation specifically... it can't be any easy call especially with his injury history now. You nailed it... that's why coaches get paid the "little" bucks. Their livelihood resting on 18-22 yr old's staying healthy & playing for ....what really boils down to ... fun & each other.

McKay...
Closed collegiate career with an 11-3 record, 2.56 ERA and school record 146 strikeouts on the mound during final season with the Cardinals

At the plate, the 2017 ACC Player of the Year had a .341 batting average, 18 home runs, 15 doubles, 57 RBIs and a .457 on-base percentage in 63 starts as a hitter this season.

http://gocards.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6788

Weiters used to catch for 8 innings and then go in the dugout, take off the gear & come in & close for us .......... surely that would be just as hard if not harder than doing the 1b/p thing

 

[FredJacket]

Part 3 - The Outfield

http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020618aaa.html

Lot of left-handed hitters in this group.

...also, not sure if CDH is assuming, guessing, or preparing for worst case; but he mentions facing UConn's ace on Sunday of opening weekend. I'm sure we'll get to talking more about opening weekend soon enough ... but I do wonder if CDH will attempt to "matchup" our best pitcher against the best opponent that weekend. I assume the order of difficulty opening weekend is UConn, Minnesota , Bradley (with those first 2 close in talent/expectations).

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/012318aaa.html

 

[FredJacket]

Part 4 - Starting Pitching
http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020818aac.html

Much anticipated info on pitching staff.

Interesting tidbits (to me):
- English will be brought along "slowly"...not sure what that will mean exactly.
- Curry starting opening day.
- While these guys (English, Curry, Hughes, Thomas) are a year older, the starting rotation is going still be relatively inexperienced.
- Lee's role not set... could be just about anything (weekend starter, mid-week guy, bullpen).

Success in 2018 really does lie squarely on how well our pitching (particularly starters) staff performs... such a big question mark right now.

 

[FredJacket]

Part 5 - The Bullpen
http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021318aaa.html
Coach Hall doesn't owe me any clarity on what he plans to do with the bullpen... as such, he provided none (well... very little).

One would assume Datoc will close at this point....but those words have not come out of anyone's mouth. Interesting details on Winborne working a new arm-slot. It also appears Plan A is to have Schniederjans and Gibson be relief pitchers (vice starters...they had 17 starts combined in 2017). Same deal... all this is talk/info; but the proof will be in the pudding.

Opening Day is closer and closer. Go Jackets!!

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Part 5 - The Bullpen
http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021318aaa.html
Coach Hall doesn't owe me any clarity on what he plans to do with the bullpen... as such, he provided none (well... very little).

One would assume Datoc will close at this point....but those words have not come out of anyone's mouth. Interesting details on Winborne working a new arm-slot. It also appears Plan A is to have Schniederjans and Gibson be relief pitchers (vice starters...they had 17 starts combined in 2017). Same deal... all this is talk/info; but the proof will be in the pudding.

Opening Day is closer and closer. Go Jackets!!

Yup, other than Datoc it's all fluid. I posted an update to The Arms 2018 with the info from the starting and relieving pitchers segments....... The Arms 2018

One thing that struck me looking through this info was how little proven LHP (Left Handed Pitching) we have. Really need for Connor Thomas to come through. And maybe Hurter and Shirav to be a pleasant surprise.

Damn, three days to go!

 

[RoosterJacket]

Yup, other than Datoc it's all fluid. I posted an update to The Arms 2018 with the info from the starting and relieving pitchers segments....... The Arms 2018

One thing that struck me looking through this info was how little proven LHP (Left Handed Pitching) we have. Really need for Connor Thomas to come through. And maybe Hurter and Shirav to be a pleasant surprise.

Damn, three days to go!

We do have more LHP this season than last though. Only had Parr for the first couple of weeks last year when injury forced him to be shut down. Then we didn’t have another LHP until Thomas was eligible the last few weeks of the season.

We have arms that should give us the ability to stay in just about every game but as has been mentioned, the walks and HBP have to go down dramatically.