Knee Jerk Baseball Reaction

[Todd4State]

Very good start for our baseball team! I think Texas Tech will prove to be a very good team later in the year, so the win today was HUGE- especially with a depleted bullpen and coming off of an extra inning win. And it was a comeback win over Texas Tech at that- which I think is a very good trait to develop as a team. Going extras against Directional Illinois- who I do not think is a good team all due respect to them- was not good, but you also have to look at the context. We used them to get a look at some different pitchers in live action and some of them like Riley Self stepped up and some did not. And that's how it is this time of year until they allow NCAA teams to play exhibition games like every other sport besides football. Once we figure out who can do what- we would dominate a team like Western Illinois.

I think too many people have looked at our team and focused on what we lost and not enough on what we have. We have a few players that are All-American, draft pick possibly MLB player types and now that our fans have started to see some of them perform I think people are going to start to feel better. That said, it's a small sample size and as I have said before- we will know really where we are when we play Oregon in a couple of weeks. What we need to do in the present until then is focus on getting our guys even better and try to improve or build on what we did this weekend. We play Morehead State on Tuesday and we need to try to get a couple of guys into the game like Billingsley and Breaux. We also play Indiana State and Marist this weekend and we need to win all of those while at the same time continuing to develop and build.

I thought our bullpen would be better than last year- and if this weekend is any indication that looks to be a correct assessment. Actually, the more reliable guys struggled some in Rigby and Smith. I just think with Smith he's a clean inning guy and not a jam guy. IMO Jacob Barton should be the closer. He was really impressive on Friday night. And I know the question everyone is thinking is what about Riley Self? Well, I really think we need to strongly consider moving him to the rotation and while I believe that will eventually happen, we still need to wait until after Oregon before making that move to see who can do what. At the same time, I think I would move Ashcraft to the bullpen and see how he does with that. It's just tricky sometimes because how you prepare being a relief pitcher vs. as a starter is totally different and you really don't know how someone will respond until they're actually put into that situation. I think Spencer Price is going to be very good for us as well and he did a great job today. But the way I see it right now we have at a minimum four really reliable relief guys- Rigby, Smith, Barton, and Price. I think Billingsley will be in that equation as well and then at least one of the freshmen in Ashcraft and Self.

The starting pitching was hit or miss- and if we had our guys healthy this staff would be filthy. But it isn't and we're just pretty good. Pilkington started off well and then had the bad inning. He really needs to have a good start Friday. Cyr also started off pretty rough- but he settled down once he figured out the umpires strike zone. Between Plumlee and Ashcraft I thought Plumlee was the better of the two at the moment. Plumlee doesn't blow up the radar gun like Ashcraft but he throws strikes and has some nice movement. Ultimately, based off of this weekend I think by the time we play LSU in May it's going to be Pilkington, Self, and Cyr with Plumlee pitching midweek. That group isn't going to get quite as deep into games like last years starters- but we have enough relief pitching to overcome that.

It was good to see Parker Ford on the mound even though he didn't get anyone out. To me, it really takes two years to recover from Tommy John because the first year is the surgery, the PT/OT, and getting back on the mound. The second year is learning how to trust the arm and the surgery and getting your confidence back. That's something to keep in mind when our four guys come back next year.

We're also pretty deep at catcher. Lovelady, Marrero, and Skelton are very solid. I don't like DH'ing a catcher because if the starting catcher gets hurt it can kind of put you in a pickle potentially. Skelton has the least amount of experience but I think he's the most talented and he might start by the end of the year - we'll see. Starting a freshman at catcher is sort of like starting a freshman at quarterback- it's not ideal because you have things happen like Skelton getting called for CI this weekend.

Cole Gordon needs to give up pitching and focus on playing first base as I have said for the past THREE years now. See his pitching appearance and also his home run that landed in Tupelo as Exhibit A as to why I feel that way. My only guess is that he really wants to pitch and so the coaches give him that opportunity but I don't think that's his pro future. Cody Brown however has looked pretty solid at first base and he's probably going to start there most of the season anyway. He's the kind of guy that you like to have on your team. He plays hard and does whatever the team needs him to do. I think everyone saw this weekend why I think Stovall and LA are better than Gridley. Although to be fair it doesn't help Gridley when we're asking him to hit in the 3 hole. I can not figure that one out. Hunter played well, but his base running mistake killed any chance we had of coming back Friday night. He wasn't the only one that had trouble with that on our team though- and we need to clean that up before SEC play. Aggressive does not mean running through the third base coaches stop sign- and if you do you better score. Harrison Bragg probably should be redshirted- unfortunately he had an AB against Texas Tech so nevermind. We need to find a JUCO third baseman- one that can actually play defense.

Our OF looks very good. Brant Blaylock and Tanner Poole both have five tool potential. We'll see if they can put it all together and go from potential five tool guys to actual five tool guys but I thought both had great weekends. I liked the OF combination of Poole, Mangum, and Blaylock. LOTS of speed. Mangum looks like he has picked up about where he left off of last year. Brent Rooker's defense is going to sink him in the draft. I've heard he doesn't look good at first base either. He also had a bad strikeout on a 3-2 count looking to end a rally. We can't have that from an upperclass player. Good to see him come back from that and get the game winning hit in game one. He said in an interview that he is going to be "looking for his pitch more" and I hope that doesn't translate into him guessing more. I don't know why anyone would change much with him after last year. It does look like his batting stance might be a little bit different this year- like his hands are a little lower or something. Maybe it's just me.

I thought the coaching this weekend was overall pretty good. Obviously I and pretty much everyone else disagree with hitting Gridley third. And honestly, I would probably disagree with it if Gridley was hitting .600 right now. I think it hurts Rooker some too. I thought the bullpen management was MUCH better than last year. Lest we forget the circus that was FAU this time last year. As I said we still have some things to clean up on the base paths and a few fundamental things like popping up a bunt or two and an occasional defensive miscue. It was good to see us steal bases more than I think we would have last year to balance out the bunting component and totally utilize our speed. I think we'll see even more of that going forward because we were behind a lot this weekend and that limits the running game some. So I think the thing with Cannizaro now is to see how he does correcting those things going forward. Anytime we get a win over a top 15 team- it's a great job of coaching and some of the National writers were taking note on Twitter. I think we made a little bit of a positive statement this weekend and in all honesty had a chance to take all four games had it not been for one bad inning and a base running mistake. It's a long season- but I think we will get better and we will end up being pretty good and probably at least in a regional if not more. Also great to see John Cohen supporting Cannizaro on Twitter as well. Very different from our last coaching change. Now when our fans hear Cohen cussing it will be in the seat next to them and they won't have to lean into the dugout to hear it.

Hail State my friends!

PS- I LOVE how we got into that Texas Tech pitcher's head late in the game. Memo to TT- you don't throw at people when you're down two runs and sure don't hit the coldest hitter on the team. Great job by our team of handling it by running at will on that douchebag which I'm sure just made him even more pissed off. Stuff like that is how team's develop swagger.

[HoopsDawg]

It's easy for me to say, but I'm turning over catcher to Skelton.

Canny had a poor lineup for game 1 but I'm glad he adjusted for game 4.

We just don't have a clear no 3 hitter so I don't have a huge problem with the order right now.

Barton and Self were the big bright spots for me.

Good post Todd.

[maroonmania]

It ended up being a successful weekend. I think most of us would have taken 3-1 from the outset. I do think RH pitching we should play Gordon or Brown at 1st and DH the other. Marrero being a DH just doesn't make a lot of sense. Not only is he not producing (he only hit .230 last year) but as you say you don't want to have one of your backup catchers tied up in the DH spot. For LH pitching I would DH Rooker and play both Blaylock and Poole in the OF. Mangum, Blaylock and Poole would give you a terrific defensive OF.

[Activated Alpha]

I'm sorry, but until I see better games from Marrero I don't want him playing down the season stretch. At the end of last season he was a sure out for most teams and it seems like that trend has continued. If he can perform during our midweek games then maybe he can have a longer leash.

[preachermatt83]

Great post Todd

[Ari Gold]

It's four games.. and 3-1 is very good.
Nate Lowe last year after 8 games was hitting about .230. And now one knew who Jake Mangum was. So everyone relax on some guys
After or around the trip to Eugene the sec weekend lineup will start to take form.

[CadaverDawg]

My thoughts:

I was wrong about Blaylock. I knew he had potential, I just thought he would take a few years to develop. Nope, kid is ready.

Poole has to keep playing

Skelton is our catcher. Period.

Cody Brown has got to be in the lineup. He's a gamer.

Stovall is the guy you hate if he's not on your team. We have several of those, and I love it.

We went 3-1 and Rooker and Gridley didn't have huge weekends. That's big bc they will turn it on.

I didn't think I'd leave the weekend feeling really good about so many pitchers, but I do. Pilk, Plumlee, Ashcraft, Cyr, Self, Barton, Price, Rigby, and I'm sure I'm missing some...all looked dependable for this season. That's big

[louisvilledawg]

So where are we on Marrero? I got to watch a few innings over the weekend, but didn't he go 0-10 this weekend? I'm just not a huge fan of him. I thought Skelton looked good what little I saw of him.

[msstate7]

My thoughts:

I was wrong about Blaylock. I knew he had potential, I just thought he would take a few years to develop. Nope, kid is ready.

Poole has to keep playing

Skelton is our catcher. Period.

Cody Brown has got to be in the lineup. He's a gamer.

Stovall is the guy you hate if he's not on your team. We have several of those, and I love it.

We went 3-1 and Rooker and Gridley didn't have huge weekends. That's big bc they will turn it on.

I didn't think I'd leave the weekend feeling really good about so many pitchers, but I do. Pilk, Plumlee, Ashcraft, Cyr, Self, Barton, Price, Rigby, and I'm sure I'm missing some...all looked dependable for this season. That's big

I thought rooker had a good weekend...

.286 avg
.444 obp
3 runs
3 RBI (game winner)

[CadaverDawg]

I thought rooker had a good weekend...

.286 avg
.444 obp
3 runs
3 RBI (game winner)

Didn't say he didn't have a decent weekend. I said "HUGE". Because he's capable of .400 + weekends with a bomb or two.

[msstate7]

Didn't say he didn't have a decent weekend. I said "HUGE". Because he's capable of .400 + weekends with a bomb or two.

Yeah, he's certainly capable. I do wonder how many shots he'll get to hurt teams though... we need someone behind him to put fear in teams. I suspect rooker will have more than a few walks this year

[DeviousDawg]

So where are we on Marrero? I got to watch a few innings over the weekend, but didn't he go 0-10 this weekend? I'm just not a huge fan of him. I thought Skelton looked good what little I saw of him.

I've been waiting for Elih's bat to come alive for more than a year now. I like that he can hit from both sides, and I think he has a good swing, he just hasn't put it together yet. Maybe he will figure it out this year. I noticed he cut his purple hair off this weekend, so maybe that's a good start.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Great post - Somebody said this last year when Cody Brown hit the grandslam against Oregon, "the team grew a set"

I think coming back from 0-4 in the 1st inning and holding TT for 8-innings to a pair of hits, is the equivalent of a clutch grand-slam for this pitching staff. Same for Barton in game-1. The bullpen is better than last year. Riley even looks like Jonathan Holder and he has a 12-6 that reminds me of JH.

[wmccgc]

Henderson looking good as a pitching coach. Liked what I saw for the most part. Threw strikes in tough situations. That was a good-hitting TT lineup we dominated after the first lining. Cyr and Self very impressive. For Cyr to get hit that hard in the first inning and then shut them down showed a lot about him, and I think probably tells us something about Henderson as well. The whole staff just looked like it had an edge that has been missing. Saw some fearlessness. Small sample, I know, but liked what I saw in the grown-man dept.

[louisvilledawg]

Henderson looking good as a pitching coach. Liked what I saw for the most part. Threw strikes in tough situations. That was a good-hitting TT lineup we dominated after the first lining. Cyr and Self very impressive. For Cyr to get hit that hard in the first inning and then shut them down showed a lot about him, and I think probably tells us something about Henderson as well. The whole staff just looked like it had an edge that has been missing. Saw some fearlessness. Small sample, I know, but liked what I saw in the grown-man dept.

Didn't we walk 8 in the first game?

[smootness]

Self looks like a stud in the making. Poole and Blaylock looked very good. Ashcraft has the stuff, just needs to work on command. Skelton looks like he belongs. Plumlee was solid, and Barton looked great. Overall, I really like what we saw from the newcomers. I'm especially excited about Poole and Blaylock.

[Tbonewannabe]

Rooker needs to DH or figure out 1st base. Having Poole, Blaylock, and Mangum in the outfield might be the best defensive outfield in baseball.

[smootness]

Rooker needs to DH or figure out 1st base. Having Poole, Blaylock, and Mangum in the outfield might be the best defensive outfield in baseball.

Yeah, I think that's our best bet going forward. And you might as well just DH Rooker. The other DH options are Brown, Bragg, and Gordon, and they can all play 1B.

[SandlotDawg]

I'm sorry, but until I see better games from Marrero I don't want him playing down the season stretch. At the end of last season he was a sure out for most teams and it seems like that trend has continued. If he can perform during our midweek games then maybe he can have a longer leash.

While I agree that I want to see him do better in games, the kid has a lot of talent. Cohen said last year before the season that he was one of the top 3 hitters on the team. Eventually talent wins out, and I believe he'll be a great player for us soon.

[WSOPdawg]

Henderson looking good as a pitching coach. Liked what I saw for the most part. Threw strikes in tough situations. That was a good-hitting TT lineup we dominated after the first lining. Cyr and Self very impressive. For Cyr to get hit that hard in the first inning and then shut them down showed a lot about him, and I think probably tells us something about Henderson as well. The whole staff just looked like it had an edge that has been missing. Saw some fearlessness. Small sample, I know, but liked what I saw in the grown-man dept.

Definitely agree, but I would have like to have seen how Denver McCrary handled a 2nd inning as opposed to just a single 3-up, 3-down inning.