messageboardsuperhero
04-30-2014, 10:00 PM
Almost every single one of those "swing" things that we said before the season needed to happen for us to be successful has not happened. Think about it:
We needed Woodruff to be our ace. Nope.
We needed our returning veterans in the lineup to continue to improve or at the very least give us similar production as last year. Outside of Pirtle and to an extent Armstrong, that has not happened.
We needed Wes Rea to step up his power numbers to help replace Renfroe and give us 12+ bombs. Outside of one day against Holy Cross, he hasn't hit a single one.
We needed one or two of our catchers to step up and replace Ammo and Slaughter defensively. Nope.
We needed a few of our freshmen to step up and be ready to play. Outside of Collins's bat and some flashes from other guys, this hasn't happened.
Compound all this with three pretty key pitchers going down early in the season and our new Friday night starter going down as soon as he hits his stride- and it's a recipe for an underwhelming season. The only "question" that was answered in a good way was when Heck stepped up and took Frazier's spot. I know he's not quite the player Frazier was, but Heck has done his job very well.
Let's face it- this is just going to be one of those tough transition years. The good news is, most of our most talented players are freshmen, and the guys we're bringing in from the 2014-2015 classes are very talented as well. I really really wish we could have kept the momentum going from last season, but it is what it is. I hope the fanbase doesn't get too discouraged, because the future is still very bright.
Also, we're still likely going to make a regional- so if a down year for us is making a regional as a two or three seed, I think I can live with that in the grand scheme of things.
We needed Woodruff to be our ace. Nope.
We needed our returning veterans in the lineup to continue to improve or at the very least give us similar production as last year. Outside of Pirtle and to an extent Armstrong, that has not happened.
We needed Wes Rea to step up his power numbers to help replace Renfroe and give us 12+ bombs. Outside of one day against Holy Cross, he hasn't hit a single one.
We needed one or two of our catchers to step up and replace Ammo and Slaughter defensively. Nope.
We needed a few of our freshmen to step up and be ready to play. Outside of Collins's bat and some flashes from other guys, this hasn't happened.
Compound all this with three pretty key pitchers going down early in the season and our new Friday night starter going down as soon as he hits his stride- and it's a recipe for an underwhelming season. The only "question" that was answered in a good way was when Heck stepped up and took Frazier's spot. I know he's not quite the player Frazier was, but Heck has done his job very well.
Let's face it- this is just going to be one of those tough transition years. The good news is, most of our most talented players are freshmen, and the guys we're bringing in from the 2014-2015 classes are very talented as well. I really really wish we could have kept the momentum going from last season, but it is what it is. I hope the fanbase doesn't get too discouraged, because the future is still very bright.
Also, we're still likely going to make a regional- so if a down year for us is making a regional as a two or three seed, I think I can live with that in the grand scheme of things.