Va Tech - ACC Play Begins

[senoiajacket]

This forum is strange at times….Baseball is clearly one of the best programs at the Institute and in the nation, yet the negativity in here is palpable…I can’t imagine what the football forum is like …

I can only comment on my on personal perspective …….. so I will.

I have been following tech athletics for 55 years. The first tech sporting event I can remember going to was the 66-67 orange bowl (Bobby Dodd’s last game). Tech lost to a Steve Spurrier led FLA team. Over those 55+ years there have been plenty of thrills, but way more disappointments.

Over the years I have found ways to “cope” with the disappointments (mellowed, some would say). For me it is a balance between trying to remain passionate About tech sports, but not let it ruin my day when it turns out disappointing. One way (not the best way) is to reduce expectations. A better way is just to try and enjoy the experience of “being there” (whether “there” is at the Rusty C or in front of the television set). However, 55+ years of tech sports has burnt a cynicism and/or bent towards “expecting the worst” that I have to continually work to root out & overcome.

GT baseball is in a really good place. I believe in Ramsey & Dbo. I think that CDH has been smart enough to not only hire an excellent staff, but listen to them! I love that D1 baseball is still an “amateur sport” (unlike college basketball & football). There is tons of positivity around the baseball program (especially compared to b-ball & football) that makes the future bright. All that gives me hope …….. but sometimes the 55+ Years is too much to overcome.

I don’t think I am overly negative (as in continually running the program into the ground) but I can’t be blindly optimistic either. So while some would say we are 13-3, #1 in RPI, On top of the costal, beat Georgia, etc, etc, the negative (rational) side tells me not to get my expectations too high, continued last inning come from behinds are not sustainable ……. That the law of averages will catch up and that the bubble will burst. So while I do think the future is bright, I love the fight of this team and will cheer for them madly until the last out of the last game (not only b/c that’s what I do but because they have “proven” that there is no game they are out of), I do see significant “chinks in the armor” including a starting pitching, relief pitching, strikeout/contact rate, and baffling base running IQ blunders that will tend to make me think that right now the expectations for the team seem too high for me. All of those things are correctable. And I do see bright spots (like Reid’s AB in the 14th & the stellar relief pitching in the 10-14 last night) that make me think we “could” continue to improve (this year, I’m talking about) and have a really special year …….. it’s just that I have experienced that before with tech (most recently 2019) and I guess I am protecting myself against it again.

So mainly, I just try and stay quiet and not be “that guy”, but every once in a while I will make comments that are negative. Next time I do, please try to understand the perspective and put up with any “character flaws” that I have developed over the years and years of watching Tech athletics.

 

[GTJon]

A lot of good pitching yesterday. It again makes me wonder why we haven't seen more of Dalton Smith and McGuire so far this year.

Interesting even with all the pitchers used in the weekend, no McNamee, Bartnicki, or Roedig.

I would really like to see at least one, if not both, of Bartnicki and Roedig get starts against Jackson St for these midweek games. With as many pitchers used over the weekend, nobody is going to be in line for a long outing midweek. If we're ever going to get them some confidence and straightened out, this midweek series seems like the best chance. Let them start so they know what to prepare for and don't have enter a game with runners on, holding a lead, etc.

 

[78pike]

While I understand some of the negativity with regard to certain aspects of the pitching and base running, I find myself with more optimism than past years. I think the addition of Borrell and the pitching lab are just beginning to show what the future holds. We are getting much more talented pitching recruits as a result. Keep in mind, it takes a season or two for word to spread throughout the high school/travel ball circuits. The showing of the freshmen to date has been a real bright spot. How much of that is due to the opposition not having any significant scouting on them will be curious to see as the season progresses. IMO it is more their talent level combined with the coaching they are receiving. Now that many of them have proven themselves in live competition I think we will see them get more innings and opportunities. I think we have to credit CDH for putting together an aggressive early schedule with some weeks having as many as eight games in 10 days to give more pitchers a chance to show what they can do. I think this was intentionally done with him knowing we have a deep and talented staff.

Regarding the base running blunders, I believe much of this can be attributed to us intentionally pushing the players to be more aggressive on the base paths. Sure it sometimes shows up in us giving away outs, but many times it benefits us by having runners standing on third instead of second when the following batter hits a ground ball or deep fly scoring a run instead of getting stranded on second base. Personally I love the aggressiveness. We are not a team like we have been in the past that sits back and waits on the three run homer to score. We can still do that, but the aggressiveness on the base baths puts pressure on opposing defenses in a way that we haven't done before. This, I think, is Ramsey's doing. And kudos for CDH giving him the power to implement it.

Maybe some of us have negativity that stems from our teams in the past and I understand that. But I don't think that this team is like our past teams. Sure we still rely on our hitting to a large extent and it's great to have that. But we are evolving into a much more well rounded team that is built not only for the present but also the future. All of the credit for that goes to our excellent coaching staff. So many times I read on other teams' message boards that things never change and they are the same team they have always been. Honestly, I don't think you can say that about us. Sure we have concerns about the things that have troubled us in the past and that is reflected by some of the posts above. But it seems to me we have the ability to win games in ways we couldn't have done in the past.

 

[GT Bravo]

@GTJon Agreed that these two mid week games provide perfect opportunities to get Roedig and Bartniki back on track with some confidence building. With the raw stuff both possess, they could be so valuable over the haul.