Tennessee Tech, Baseball

[FredJacket]

I wonder if Hall is somehow thinking Vaughn is related to the guy in Major League who became their ace reliever?

Learned (just today) Vaughn is a living miracle (literally). Pulling for that dude harder than anyone out there.

 

[gville_jacket]

Learned (just today) Vaughn is a living miracle (literally). Pulling for that dude harder than anyone out there.

Is there a story here? Any news article to link?

 

[gville_jacket]

Not so much whether or not it's deserved, but I thought we were somewhere in the 25-30 "receiving votes" category, before a sweep, with some ranked teams taking the L.

Depends which site. One had us at 49 others don’t go out that far and no votes. While we’re undefeated, the competition hasn’t been great besides georgia southern.

 

[FredJacket]

Is there a story here? Any news article to link?

You made me look.

Wiley covered it during the broadcast today.

Jackson Vaughan Endures 2 Liver Transplants - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper

baseballnews.com

 

[gtbeak]

I know it's meaningless at this point in the season, but we should be ranked this time tomorrow, no?

I will patiently wait for @FredJacket to update the number of undefeated teams in D1 now that we have completed the sweep!

I hope I'm not stealing FredJacket's thunder here. By my count we are one of 14 undefeated teams remaining.

 

[FittedJacket]

 

[GTNavyNuke]

My opinion, NO.

Agree. Sweep uGag and we'll be in. Sweeping a 235 and 125 RPI team at home doesn't move the needle much.

Don't get me wrong winning beats the crap out of losing and we did get an unearned win. Plus we had to come back three times this weekend; starting pitching overall is our weakness (statement of the obvious). But other than starting pitching overall and injuries, I'm very pleased with the other aspects of our game this year. Even Quicker Hook Hall yesterday.

 

[MWBATL]

Agree. Sweep uGag and we'll be in. Sweeping a 235 and 125 RPI team at home doesn't move the needle much.

Don't get me wrong winning beats the crap out of losing and we did get an unearned win. Plus we had to come back three times this weekend; starting pitching overall is our weakness (statement of the obvious). But other than starting pitching overall and injuries, I'm very pleased with the other aspects of our game this year. Even Quicker Hook Hall yesterday.

dibaseball poll is out. We're not ranked by them (yet)

 

[bensaysitathome]

dibaseball poll is out. We're not ranked by them (yet)

They are notoriously slow to react, too. Lot's of inertia in the D1 poll.

#10 TCU (4-3)
#12 OK St (4-3)
#13 UNC (4-3)
and worst of all - #15 TA&M (4-3) that needed 9th inning heroics to avoid being swept by Portland.

 

[gtbeak]

They are notoriously slow to react, too. Lot's of inertia in the D1 poll.

#10 TCU (4-3)
#12 OK St (4-3)
#13 UNC (4-3)
and worst of all - #15 TA&M (4-3) that needed 9th inning heroics to avoid being swept by Portland.

D1Baseball ranks based on how good they believe a team is, not based on the actual records. Obviously at some point they will cry uncle if the on field results don't match their opinions, but it takes more than one weekend to change their opinions. If they think Texas A&M (just as an example) is a top team, they aren't going to change that view based on a bad weekend.

In past seasons they actually worked through the rankings, with their reasonings, on a podcast. The podcast, I thought, was entertaining and informative. However, I haven't seen it released yet this year.

 

[FittedJacket]

I’d rather be undefeated than ranked by D1 Baseball..that’s just me

 

[GT33]

@gtbeak I get it and anyone can have a “Portland” weekend. The question that will work itself out over time is was Portland a sign of things to come or an aberration.

What I personally don’t like is the propensity to rank teams at the end of the season based on their starting season position like CFB tends to do. If a team started #5 and they find themselves 7-5 having beaten nobody of consequence they need to be unranked compared
to a team that was expected to suck and ends up 8-4. The preseason underdog team typically takes all season to break into the “other teams receiving votes” category and the minute they lose a tough match up fall back off the list.

 

[78pike]

Call me old fashioned if you like, but I believe results that don't meet expectations should cause a team to drop in the polls and require them to start beating teams of consequence in order to rise back upon the polls. I can see a single loss to an unranked team not being cause to drop in the polls. But when you lose a series or get swept by a team that has no business beating you then your team should suffer in the polls. If you are as good as the original rankings then you should rise back up over time. If not, then you weren't as good as projected. As far as Tech not being ranked I don't really care. Just keep winning. And I love the fact that up to this point we aren't intimidated by anyone jumping out to a 4 or 5 run lead on us. And I really love it when our pitcher is the one that leads the offensive comeback!

 

[Home Park Jacket]

Let's sweep uga and screw the polls!

 

[CINCYMETJACKET]

Nice sweep! The defense was not good today, but it was nice to win a game where the defense let the staff down.

Almost responded to this yesterday, but wanted to double check my recollections, since I was listening to the game on the ramblinwreck app while driving. And the driving part consumed most of my attention.

First of all, yes, GREAT Sweep!

Yes, the defense made a few mistakes, but I think they were solid overall after the first inning. The first error on Diamant sounded like it could have gone either way. If I'm not mistaken, WREK originally called it as an infield hit, later changed to an error. I was not watching, so others may have a better feel for how difficult the play was. The error on the DP ball was the big one that inning. But even after that error and a SAC Fly, you have 2 on with 2 outs and only 1 run in. There are times where pitchers will have to pick up their fielders, just as fielders pick up their pitchers by making nice plays to get out of innings. Finley did not do that in the first. That's also one of my pet peeves about the way earned and unearned runs are booked. If a pitcher has an opportunity to get out of an inning with 2 outs and only 1 run scored due to an error, and they then give up 6 with no further errors, those are all unearned runs... I call BullS#!t on that, but that's the way it is.

The other error was on Romano in the 4th, which the radio broadcast indicated that he had to go a long way to get to the ball and had it bounce off the heel of his glove. Again, those that were there or watching on TV may have a different perspective. Romano also made a nice, over the shoulder, sliding catch in the outfield later in the game, according to the radio broadcast. We turned 3 DP's, and as Hall noted in his post game presser, Diamant handled all of the opportunities that came his way after the first inning.

Defensive miscues, yes. But I wouldn't call it "not good", or say that they let the staff down. In my opinion, Finley did as much to not "pick the defense up" as the defense did to "let him down" in the first inning yesterday.

My major concern is that we can dig ourselves out of 4 or 5 run deficits against Miami University, Georgia Southern, and Tennessee Tech. Not sure that will work as well in ACC play.

 

[LargeFO]

Almost responded to this yesterday, but wanted to double check my recollections, since I was listening to the game on the ramblinwreck app while driving. And the driving part consumed most of my attention.

First of all, yes, GREAT Sweep!

Yes, the defense made a few mistakes, but I think they were solid overall after the first inning. The first error on Diamant sounded like it could have gone either way. If I'm not mistaken, WREK originally called it as an infield hit, later changed to an error. I was not watching, so others may have a better feel for how difficult the play was. The error on the DP ball was the big one that inning. But even after that error and a SAC Fly, you have 2 on with 2 outs and only 1 run in. There are times where pitchers will have to pick up their fielders, just as fielders pick up their pitchers by making nice plays to get out of innings. Finley did not do that in the first. That's also one of my pet peeves about the way earned and unearned runs are booked. If a pitcher has an opportunity to get out of an inning with 2 outs and only 1 run scored due to an error, and they then give up 6 with no further errors, those are all unearned runs... I call BullS#!t on that, but that's the way it is.

The other error was on Romano in the 4th, which the radio broadcast indicated that he had to go a long way to get to the ball and had it bounce off the heel of his glove. Again, those that were there or watching on TV may have a different perspective. Romano also made a nice, over the shoulder, sliding catch in the outfield later in the game, according to the radio broadcast. We turned 3 DP's, and as Hall noted in his post game presser, Diamant handled all of the opportunities that came his way after the first inning.

Defensive miscues, yes. But I wouldn't call it "not good", or say that they let the staff down. In my opinion, Finley did as much to not "pick the defense up" as the defense did to "let him down" in the first inning yesterday.

My major concern is that we can dig ourselves out of 4 or 5 run deficits against Miami University, Georgia Southern, and Tennessee Tech. Not sure that will work as well in ACC play.

Exactly. I see some folks complaining we aren't ranked. The pitching has been atrocious. It isn't gonna last against the ACC slate.

 

[78pike]

Exactly. I see some folks complaining we aren't ranked. The pitching has been atrocious. It isn't gonna last against the ACC slate.

Atrocious?? Have you watched any of the games? Or are you just looking at stats that are bloated because a couple of pitchers blew up and greatly inflated the ERA? We have 36.1 innings pitched by 8 different pitchers who all have ERA's below 2.0 (6 of them with an ERA of 0.0). The rest of the pitching staff, most of them freshmen, have bloated ERA's that have predominantly come in mop up time at the end of games when we have had big leads. Admittedly there have been a few starts that have been below par, but in each case the relief pitching has bailed them out. When was the last time we have been able to say that? I have watched every game and the pitching has been much improved from previous years. Like I said previously, have you even watched the games?

 

[FittedJacket]

Atrocious?? Have you watched any of the games? Or are you just looking at stats that are bloated because a couple of pitchers blew up and greatly inflated the ERA? We have 36.1 innings pitched by 8 different pitchers who all have ERA's below 2.0 (6 of them with an ERA of 0.0). The rest of the pitching staff, most of them freshmen, have bloated ERA's that have predominantly come in mop up time at the end of games when we have had big leads. Admittedly there have been a few starts that have been below par, but in each case the relief pitching has bailed them out. When was the last time we have been able to say that? I have watched every game and the pitching has been much improved from previous years. Like I said previously, have you even watched the games?

Totally agree. We have been ahead in games in which they are trying to get the younger pitchers innings and not using our high leverage relievers. It’s a long season from an innings perspective. Hopefully the pitching progresses.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Totally agree. We have been ahead in games in which they are trying to get the younger pitchers innings and not using our high leverage relievers. It’s a long season from an innings perspective. Hopefully the pitching progresses.

Our starting pitching has been very inconsistent, some good and some atrocious. As I said before, we have a barbell distribution on ERAs (see below). I give a pass to opening night since it was too cold to feel the baseball. After that, no love for walks.

I think we hve the pieces to have a reasonable pitching staff and come in the middle of the ACC in ERA rather than second worse which is what I remember last year. Another factor helping the pitchers is the DPs turned. That makes a big difference. Realize you can only turn a DP with runners on and 0 or 1 outs. So they are massive and we've already turned 9 compared to 28 all of last year.

The trick is going to be NOT pitching the guys who don't throw strikes when we get to ACC play. And IMHO have a two walk / batter leash which we saw on Sunday. It hasn't been that short a leash in the past but we'll see. I've seen other coaches whose teams have lower ERAs have that short a leash. But there is a lot to ERA other than leash length. (D, depth, etc)

 

[FredJacket]

Our starting pitching has been very inconsistent, some good and some atrocious. As I said before, we have a barbell distribution on ERAs (see below). I give a pass to opening night since it was too cold to feel the baseball. After that, no love for walks.

I think we hve the pieces to have a reasonable pitching staff and come in the middle of the ACC in ERA rather than second worse which is what I remember last year. Another factor helping the pitchers is the DPs turned. That makes a big difference. Realize you can only turn a DP with runners on and 0 or 1 outs. So they are massive and we've already turned 9 compared to 28 all of last year.

The trick is going to be NOT pitching the guys who don't throw strikes when we get to ACC play. And IMHO have a two walk / batter leash which we saw on Sunday. It hasn't been that short a leash in the past but we'll see. I've seen other coaches whose teams have lower ERAs have that short a leash. But there is a lot to ERA other than leash length. (D, depth, etc)

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If I'm interpreting your "hook speed" / "leash length" philosophy (over time), I'll push back a "little" on it. Here's my 2 cents (no particular order):

1) Hall's trend IS to replace struggling pitchers quicker. Over the last few seasons (since DBo arrived), I think we've seen a clear change in how fast pitchers are replaced. I believe this is directly related to deeper bullpens over the last few years... credit recruiting and DBo. There are still specific scenarios you can point to where he's been slow; but the trend is certainly that he is faster (more on that follows).

2) When (how quickly) to replace a pitcher is situationally dependent. This is probably where I disagree with you the most. It cannot and should not be as black/white as 2 walks and replace him. You'll burn through too many pitchers... I believe. A lot of factors go into managing a pitching staff and bullpen. There are a finite number of arms available any given day (and that number changes depending on previous days' work and future schedule). Anytime you have a guy throwing the ball whether in the game... in the pen... or on off days, you're impacting the number of innings/pitches he's available 'in game'. [the info the coaches have regarding availability on a given gameday is not something we (as fans) are privy to] The fact we seem to be as deep this year as we've ever been with our pitching should translate to more guys seeing the mound than we've ever seen before... a good sign... and likely will result in one of the best years (statistically) for Ga Tech pitching in a long long while. …but it's very early yet. But... again, I believe Hall's/Ga Tech's reputation (going back years) on pitching is related a lack of talent... not coaching philosophy. [of note.. the lack of talent is on Hall too; but that's a different discussion]

3) Early inning struggles v mid/late inning struggles. To emphasize my point about situations. NOBODY (especially me) likes to see free bases given up anytime during the game. It's always been a point of emphasis.. yet, we still see it from time to time.. which is extremely frustrating. However, if the starting pitcher walks 1-3 guys in the 1st inning... the decision to get someone up 'right away' is not something "most coaches" do. It simply isn't. Basically this scenario is one of those "worst case" situations and the team giving up the freebies is screwed (usually). Unfortunately (or fortunately... depending on how you look at it), Ga Tech seems more than capable of scoring runs over 9 innings of offense to overcome a big crooked number in the early innings. Are the coaches 'smart' to not use up another bullpen arm to get out of that worst case scenario? So far (this season), yes... they look like geniuses (tic). I cannot think of a single time this year where the game was close (within 3 runs) beyond the 4th inning and Coach Hall was not very quick to get guys ready in the pen and replace a pitcher giving up baserunners. His trend is to pull pitchers faster when the situation dictates it. OTOH, when the game is quite lopsided... I give the coaches the benefit of the doubt too... on exactly what they may be "thinking" regarding managing the pitching. It is an opportunity to give guys chance to work on things (like fixing control issues) with the luxury of live action and a large lead (or deficit). I also REALLY HOPE that how any decision like that may effect (negatively) a player's stats for draft purposes has little to no impact on those decisions. A player's draft status can/will be play out as it should based on a bunch of factors; and theoretically the only way to improve your stats is to pitch. The "that messed up his ERA" is a hindsight thing.

4) Seeing a bad outing coming? Some have suggested the coaches should somehow know before the game even starts (based on pre-game warmup? I guess?) if a guy just "doesn't have it" for that outing. I have heard many pitchers after 'career outings' (i.e. no-hitters in MLB) be asked if they knew before the game if something great/different was in the works. Several times guys said the opposite... the bullpen pregame "sucked... I was all over the place"... yet, they ended up figuring something out. Besides... it is speculation to say there was any indication pregame those guys who struggled this year.

5) Now... I'm just an old man watching from my couch 600 miles from Atlanta trying to keep my beer/game quotient as low as possible... 4hrs is a long time to have to spread the cold ones out. I also find myself appearing to be 'defending' our coaches when I don't want to... really. Our program has been consistently GOOD for over 40 years now...from the time Jim Morris arrive in 1982. Think about that. It just hasn't managed to be as GREAT as is probably could have / should have been at times... given the talent. I want more too... but baseball is a fickle little lady.

6) I agree with others too that as the competition rapidly begins to improve (over Miami Ohio & Tenn Tech) here immediately... hopefully, the trend of getting behind early is reversed. Not sustainable.

7) I made that too long... apologies.

GO JACKETS!!!