Baseball guys

[GTHOM]

For the people who know, how good are we gonna be this year on the diamond?

[weblow]

Honestly I think it is too early to tell. If I was forced to say, I think we make a regional but do not host.

I think we will have the arms and worry a little about us at the plate. I don't think we will have much power and will struggle to find a solid lineup that consistently puts balls in play. I think we are a very fast team which I think will probably lead to more of a small ball style this year.

Todd will have an opinion and be able to go more in depth. I am looking forward to catching my first fall scrimmage this weekend. May change my mind watching us play instead of just reading about how our players did in summer ball and in the scimmages this fall so far.

Regardless, it cannot get here soon enough.

[BB30]

Haven't kept up with the fall very much but I actually feel ok with our lineup.i worry about depth on the mound. We have a lot of guys with high ceilings so hopefully someone will step up. Losing 2/3 of your weekend rotation especially as good as those two were will be hard to replace. The talent is there, some guys will have to grow up and continue to mature.

[Taog Redloh]

I think we will have a 2015 type team save for three things:

- 2017 sophomore group will contribute more than the 2015 sophomore group (Hudson, Sexton, Humphreys, Collins, etc.), thus I think we boom at the end rather than bust
- Pitching will be better (w/o the 8th inning meltdowns hopefully, remember that cost us about 10 games that year)
- Brent Rooker alone will carry us to a number of wins himself

[GTHOM]

I think we will have a 2015 type team save for three things:

- 2017 sophomore group will contribute more than the 2015 sophomore group (Hudson, Sexton, Humphreys, Collins, etc.), thus I think we boom at the end rather than bust
- Pitching will be better (w/o the 8th inning meltdowns hopefully, remember that cost us about 10 games that year)
- Brent Rooker alone will carry us to a number of wins himself

Im not sure I can handle 2016 football and 2015 baseball in the same year

[Todd4State]

My general opinion is we should be at least a two seed. I agree that starting pitching is a question mark but I also think our bullpen will be better than it was last year. Hopefully Henderson manages the staff better than Wes Johnson did- which cost us at least 3-4 games last year. Pilkington is a legit ace and that's something we didn't have in 2015. I expect to see a lot of Rigby and Blake Smith next year.

We won't have as much power as we did last year but I think we will have more than I initially thought based on the fall so far. Mangum and Rooker are going to be the leaders but we also have some other experienced guys like Gridley, Cody Brown, Stovall, LA, and Marrero. Poole and Skelton have looked good at the plate so far as well.

Our schedule is easier than last years too- it would be nice if our future AD could finalize it before Christmas. Can't wait to see how he handles football scheduling.

[shoeless joe]

If Cohen is coach I think we're a 2 but could be better...this could be a typical improve as the year goes on and peak at the end, Cohen coached team.

[bulldogcountry1]

If we lost 1/3rd of our roster to the draft in any other year, I would be worried, but we have gotten to the point where recruiting is closer to "reload" than "rebuild". I've always said that the key to consistent success is have true freshmen play a big part every year, so you aren't leaning too heavily on juniors. Despite all the loss in production, we still have a core group of experienced guy that will give us a chance. Hopefully, some new guys can fill in the gaps.

I don't see how this team is like the 2015 team in any way. That was the end of the small ball era, which we weren't prepared for. We had no leadership, and the pitching staff was handled terribly. Let's hope those days are gone.

[preachermatt83]

My general opinion is we should be at least a two seed. I agree that starting pitching is a question mark but I also think our bullpen will be better than it was last year. Hopefully Henderson manages the staff better than Wes Johnson did- which cost us at least 3-4 games last year. Pilkington is a legit ace and that's something we didn't have in 2015. I expect to see a lot of Rigby and Blake Smith next year.

We won't have as much power as we did last year but I think we will have more than I initially thought based on the fall so far. Mangum and Rooker are going to be the leaders but we also have some other experienced guys like Gridley, Cody Brown, Stovall, LA, and Marrero. Poole and Skelton have looked good at the plate so far as well.

Our schedule is easier than last years too- it would be nice if our future AD could finalize it before Christmas. Can't wait to see how he handles football scheduling.

You don't see Blake Smith as the closer?

[Todd4State]

You don't see Blake Smith as the closer?

I think he will pitch a lot. I think he's one of a few guys competing for the closer role. We will see things shake out once the season starts.

[preachermatt83]

I think he will pitch a lot. I think he's one of a few guys competing for the closer role. We will see things shake out once the season starts.

Gotcha

[bulldogcountry1]

Ideally, I'd rather have B Smith as a long reliever or setup guy, if someone else can step up and be a true closer with the closer mentality. Smith can pitch 2-3 innings easily, and we are going to need that type of guy due to our starting pitching likely taking a step back. He could be a Girodo type, with the potential to go 5-6 innings out of the pen on Sunday or in post season.

[Taog Redloh]

If we lost 1/3rd of our roster to the draft in any other year, I would be worried, but we have gotten to the point where recruiting is closer to "reload" than "rebuild". I've always said that the key to consistent success is have true freshmen play a big part every year, so you aren't leaning too heavily on juniors. Despite all the loss in production, we still have a core group of experienced guy that will give us a chance. Hopefully, some new guys can fill in the gaps.
I agree, I think we're nearly there. JUCOs help. I think we were nearly there in 2015 during the down year but our sophomores never stepped up.


I don't see how this team is like the 2015 team in any way. That was the end of the small ball era, which we weren't prepared for. We had no leadership, and the pitching staff was handled terribly. Let's hope those days are gone.
I meant in a way that was comparing the trajectory of the seasons. We fumbled through 2015 until the midway point, then fell off the map, primarily due to pitching. However, we were very close to winning a lot of those games. That is typically how Cohen-coached teams go.....either boom or bust. Either way, that was the analogy.