Va Tech - ACC Weekend #8

[FredJacket]

B.I.G. series in Blacksburg.

IIRC... Wiley said (on Tues) Ga Tech has never lost a series in Blacksburg.
[editorial note... Wiley is constantly testing the DUE FACTOR v the Jinxter Monster... which is a legit EPIC historical battle]

Jackets come in 2 games behind the jokies in the ACC standings. Translation... only way to wakeup Monday ahead of them is by sweeping them. G.O.A.L.S.

I want to see positive progress... we're riding a 1 game ACC winning streak... let's just add to that. I'm still not convinced Va Tech is better than any other team in Coastal... so, a good weekend to do something positive.

GO YOU YELLOW JACKETS GO!!

 

[senoiajacket]

Welp, I see where Wiley is doing the Play-by-play on WREK for all three games, so I am predicting a GT sweep. He did the Sunday ND game and got us a win there. The other kid that they have doing play by play tries hard ....... but he is just not very good.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Welp, I see where Wiley is doing the Play-by-play on WREK for all three games, so I am predicting a GT sweep. He did the Sunday ND game and got us a win there. The other kid that they have doing play by play tries hard ....... but he is just not very good.

Brant is doing a lot better. Wiley is a natural though.

Last week I "pointed out" that given NDs rpi of 10 and ours of 72, that ND winning 2 of 3 would be expected @ND.

For some reason, without historical basis, I'm optimistic about this weekend. I guess it's reversion to the mean. We aren't as bad as we have been playing and just need to turn in the right direction and get some mo.

Anyway, my not posting is due to work and will be all weekend. Have a ship to get out on Sunday and too busy. Have to go out tonight but will be watching score ......

Sting 'em Tech.

 

[FredJacket]

 

[FredJacket]

Archer starting tonight. Crawford tomorrow.

Hurter not feeling well. If he gets right... may start Sunday

 

[Deleted member 2897]

8-6 T7. Damned good baseball game so far.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

8-6 T7. Damned good baseball game so far.

Up 11-6 B7 and what do we do? Walk, walk, hit by pitch to load the bases with no outs. This is ridiculous.

 

[awbuzz]

Fudge!

 

[bensaysitathome]

Very swingy game. 2-2, then a 4-0 VT run, then a 13-1 GT run.

And it's only the 8th.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th. A win is a win, but damn. Gave up 11 runs again.

 

[eokerholm]

Yes a win is a win, but the 9th for Huff was unnecessary.
Nuke and I mentioned we both would have liked to see some of the new/other arms get some reps and a chance to shine vs bringing Huff back out.
Just like Mannelly, have a decent speed hook but would have been great to see what some of the others could have done.
Couldn't have gone worse with someone else and might have given someone a breakthrough opportunity to show their stuff.

 

[THWG]

Yes a win is a win, but the 9th for Huff was unnecessary.
Nuke and I mentioned we both would have liked to see some of the new/other arms get some reps and a chance to shine vs bringing Huff back out.
Just like Mannelly, have a decent speed hook but would have been great to see what some of the others could have done.
Couldn't have gone worse with someone else and might have given someone a breakthrough opportunity to show their stuff.

Exactly. It also seems like Huff is a guy who can't sit and come back out and pitch. He has had several outings this year (including the last 2) where he has pitched a great inning, then CDH brings him back out for the next one and Huff can't find the zone. He just needs to be a 1 inning guy.

 

[FredJacket]

Exactly. It also seems like Huff is a guy who can't sit and come back out and pitch. He has had several outings this year (including the last 2) where he has pitched a great inning, then CDH brings him back out for the next one and Huff can't find the zone. He just needs to be a 1 inning guy.

Perhaps he brought him out for that exact reason. "Develop" him thru that problem.

I am really just playing devil's advocate... We need every arm today (maybe). No need to use one extra last night. Winning the series is priority over getting guys time in my opinion. If it were Sunday... maybe different decisions.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Yes a win is a win, but the 9th for Huff was unnecessary.
Nuke and I mentioned we both would have liked to see some of the new/other arms get some reps and a chance to shine vs bringing Huff back out.
Just like Mannelly, have a decent speed hook but would have been great to see what some of the others could have done.
Couldn't have gone worse with someone else and might have given someone a breakthrough opportunity to show their stuff.

First off great win. I had the feeling we were going to do well this weekend, not based on facts but just that we would.

Three phases - hitting, defense & pitching.

• Hitting.
  • Good of course with 14 hits and 9 walks.
  • But what was best was the return of plate discipline. VT threw 232 pitches over 38 hitters or 6.1 pitches per AB. Compare to Auburn where we were about 4 as I recall.
  • I had been questioning having a .189 player as DH (Jenkins), but he showed out last night and why Ramsey had him in there.
• Defense -
  • "only" 1 error which is below our dismal 1.7 per game. I only watched end of game so I don't know how many makeable plays we didn't make or how many great plays we made to rob VT. So errors is really a weak statistic, fielding % is better but not for an individual game.
  • I do know we left 7 on base and VT left 12 on base, so don't break out the champagne, VT is for real.
  • We gave up 1 unearned run. Contrast to VT with two errors that also gave us 1 unearned run.
• Pitching - ahhhh where to start
  • I thought ND and UVa are better coached than we are in "Hook Speed"* before they flame out and destroy the game. I think our overall pitching staff is as good or better than those two but the difference is not riding a pitcher too long. ND pulled one pitcher after 4 pitches.
  • We left Hurter in too long on Friday and that was one (of many) reasons we collapsed and lost the game. Fact remains that GT pitching has been substandard for decades with a few bright spots. I think DBo will turn it around, I really do it just takes time to build a foundation. ANd I don't know who is responsible for Hook Speed, but our Slow Hook has predated DBo.
  • The Slow Hook has the benefit of developing the player to work through really tough spots. But hurts the team as he is learning. If he gets good, he gets drafter after catching on. If he doesn't, then we just have the losses.
  • The Slow Hook also prevents other players from coming in and showing their stuff, good or bad. You'd never know we have 23 pitchers (less on the road) from our stats.
  • We may ***** about the lack of mid-week games to develop pitchers, but riding Huff last night in the ninth was a perfect opportunity missed to develop someone else. Sure we were going to win, but that practice will leave us wanting again in post season.
  • But I do have to say that Bartnicki showed incredible toughness in the 7th. After loading the bases with free passes, a single left the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate with no outs. Bartnicki came back with 3 SOs. Massive. Bartnicki has had his ups and downs, and I think has been left in too long before which contributes to his 6.23 ERA (21.2 IP). But that was still incredible toughness last night. Glad he was pulled for the 8th so he left in a good mental place.

*Hook Speed should be a new Sabermetric IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

First off great win. I had the feeling we were going to do well this weekend, not based on facts but just that we would.

Three phases - hitting, defense & pitching.

• Hitting.
  • Good of course with 14 hits and 9 walks.
  • But what was best was the return of plate discipline. VT threw 232 pitches over 38 hitters or 6.1 pitches per AB. Compare to Auburn where we were about 4 as I recall.
  • I had been questioning having a .189 player as DH (Jenkins), but he showed out last night and why Ramsey had him in there.
• Defense -
  • "only" 1 error which is below our dismal 1.7 per game. I only watched end of game so I don't know how many makeable plays we didn't make or how many great plays we made to rob VT. So errors is really a weak statistic, fielding % is better but not for an individual game.
  • I do know we left 7 on base and VT left 12 on base, so don't break out the champagne, VT is for real.
  • We gave up 1 unearned run. Contrast to VT with two errors that also gave us 1 unearned run.
• Pitching - ahhhh where to start
  • I thought ND and UVa are better coached than we are in "Hook Speed"* before they flame out and destroy the game. I think our overall pitching staff is as good or better than those two but the difference is not riding a pitcher too long. ND pulled one pitcher after 4 pitches.
  • We left Hurter in too long on Friday and that was one (of many) reasons we collapsed and lost the game. Fact remains that GT pitching has been substandard for decades with a few bright spots. I think DBo will turn it around, I really do it just takes time to build a foundation. ANd I don't know who is responsible for Hook Speed, but our Slow Hook has predated DBo.
  • The Slow Hook has the benefit of developing the player to work through really tough spots. But hurts the team as he is learning. If he gets good, he gets drafter after catching on. If he doesn't, then we just have the losses.
  • The Slow Hook also prevents other players from coming in and showing their stuff, good or bad. You'd never know we have 23 pitchers (less on the road) from our stats.
  • We may ***** about the lack of mid-week games to develop pitchers, but riding Huff last night in the ninth was a perfect opportunity missed to develop someone else. Sure we were going to win, but that practice will leave us wanting again in post season.
  • But I do have to say that Bartnicki showed incredible toughness in the 7th. After loading the bases with free passes, a single left the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate with no outs. Bartnicki came back with 3 SOs. Massive. Bartnicki has had his ups and downs, and I think has been left in too long before which contributes to his 6.23 ERA (21.2 IP). But that was still incredible toughness last night. Glad he was pulled for the 8th so he left in a good mental place.

View attachment 10352

*Hook Speed should be a new Sabermetric IMHO.

Bartnicki’s comeback in the 7th was absolutely amazing. I mean he loaded the bases with no outs with a walk, walk, hit by pitch...but still. That was the ballgame right there.

 

[FredJacket]

First off great win. I had the feeling we were going to do well this weekend, not based on facts but just that we would.

Three phases - hitting, defense & pitching.

• Hitting.
  • Good of course with 14 hits and 9 walks.
  • But what was best was the return of plate discipline. VT threw 232 pitches over 38 hitters or 6.1 pitches per AB. Compare to Auburn where we were about 4 as I recall.
  • I had been questioning having a .189 player as DH (Jenkins), but he showed out last night and why Ramsey had him in there.
• Defense -
  • "only" 1 error which is below our dismal 1.7 per game. I only watched end of game so I don't know how many makeable plays we didn't make or how many great plays we made to rob VT. So errors is really a weak statistic, fielding % is better but not for an individual game.
  • I do know we left 7 on base and VT left 12 on base, so don't break out the champagne, VT is for real.
  • We gave up 1 unearned run. Contrast to VT with two errors that also gave us 1 unearned run.
• Pitching - ahhhh where to start
  • I thought ND and UVa are better coached than we are in "Hook Speed"* before they flame out and destroy the game. I think our overall pitching staff is as good or better than those two but the difference is not riding a pitcher too long. ND pulled one pitcher after 4 pitches.
  • We left Hurter in too long on Friday and that was one (of many) reasons we collapsed and lost the game. Fact remains that GT pitching has been substandard for decades with a few bright spots. I think DBo will turn it around, I really do it just takes time to build a foundation. ANd I don't know who is responsible for Hook Speed, but our Slow Hook has predated DBo.
  • The Slow Hook has the benefit of developing the player to work through really tough spots. But hurts the team as he is learning. If he gets good, he gets drafter after catching on. If he doesn't, then we just have the losses.
  • The Slow Hook also prevents other players from coming in and showing their stuff, good or bad. You'd never know we have 23 pitchers (less on the road) from our stats.
  • We may ***** about the lack of mid-week games to develop pitchers, but riding Huff last night in the ninth was a perfect opportunity missed to develop someone else. Sure we were going to win, but that practice will leave us wanting again in post season.
  • But I do have to say that Bartnicki showed incredible toughness in the 7th. After loading the bases with free passes, a single left the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate with no outs. Bartnicki came back with 3 SOs. Massive. Bartnicki has had his ups and downs, and I think has been left in too long before which contributes to his 6.23 ERA (21.2 IP). But that was still incredible toughness last night. Glad he was pulled for the 8th so he left in a good mental place.

View attachment 10352

*Hook Speed should be a new Sabermetric IMHO.

I'll add baserunning. Had 3 guys thrown out "stealing"... all 3 slightly different scenarios. All early in game. One was pickoff attempt in 1st inning (0 outs)... head scratcher. 2nd one was bad read on a ball the catcher mishandled... out by a mile. 3rd was safe until runner slid thru bag (presumably unaccustomed to the surface at VT).

 

[eokerholm]

Given the issues with our anemic bullpen I would think you’d try to get looks on the others in live game situation. Huff has had plenty and proved reliable for 1 inning. Also hard to not pitch for a month.
I’ll take what I can get and we need all the arrows in our quiver we can get. Missed opportunity to see whose arrow could fly true and hit the target...we need more reliable bullpen contributors.....

 

[randerto]

Welp, I see where Wiley is doing the Play-by-play on WREK for all three games, so I am predicting a GT sweep. He did the Sunday ND game and got us a win there. The other kid that they have doing play by play tries hard ....... but he is just not very good.

Wiley is the best - he's going to end up making a long career in the business... Love it when he's teamed with Poole or Roddy - high-level broadcasting teams then! Poole reminds me of Glavine's style - pitching knowledge/strategy is through the roof. Listened to Roddy a few weeks back on 680 The Fan morning show (guest) and he blew away the normal broadcasting team...

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Hopefully heading into B9 it will be 8-2 and we can try some new pitching blood.

 

[Sportsfan!]

Given the issues with our anemic bullpen I would think you’d try to get looks on the others in live game situation. Huff has had plenty and proved reliable for 1 inning. Also hard to not pitch for a month.
I’ll take what I can get and we need all the arrows in our quiver we can get. Missed opportunity to see whose arrow could fly true and hit the target...we need more reliable bullpen contributors.....

Do you know why he didn’t pitch for a month? I really feel like there is so much more to the story than we know about. Unless you’ve been a college coach/pro coach, I don’t think you can fully comprehend all that is going on behind the scenes or why certain choices are being made. To my knowledge they are only allowed to take 27 kids on the road....less than half of that number being pitchers. You have to imagine they have to be very cautious and methodical in their choices of who to bring out each inning with it being a 3 game series on the road. Maybe they left Huff in for a specific reason we don’t know about. These men are in their positions for a reason. Let’s trust they know what they are doing. Instead of trying to comment and coach from the sidelines, let’s let them do their job without condemning their choices. We may not like their record or the outcome of each game, but that’s any sport and that’s baseball. Give the kids and coaches a chance after coming off a shutdown Covid year...give development a chance. Greatness doesn’t happen overnight. Let’s cheer them all on instead of trying to breakdown every bit we don’t like.