Baseball Thoughts- Pre-Exams

[Homedawg]

Why have dubrule hit leadoff over Jordan? From any statistical metric that's wrong.

[HoopsDawg]

Why have dubrule hit leadoff over Jordan? From any statistical metric that's wrong.

Crazy talk. Our top 5 is correct.

[HoopsDawg]

Cumbest wouldn't be that tough of a call. Playing Clark would. In a big way.

Not really. The bar isn't that high. We know Clark is talented. At least play him vs RHP

[Coach34]

Debrule is a classic 2-hole guy. He needed time to adjust to SEC pitching. He seems to have adjusted.

Rowdey
Debrule/Leggett
Allen
James
Hancock
Tanner
Cumbest
Anybody but Hatcher
Forsythe

[HoopsDawg]

Debrule is a classic 2-hole guy. He needed time to adjust to SEC pitching. He seems to have adjusted.

Rowdey
Debrule/Leggett
Allen
James
Hancock
Tanner
Cumbest
Anybody but Hatcher
Forsythe

You just moved our current most dangerous hitter to the 6 hole. And if you are going to platoon Leggett, you can't have him in the 2 hole.

Also, this isn't 1995. Analytics have shown that you should put your top hitter in the 2 hole.

This team has some issues. 1-5 isn't one of them.

[Homedawg]

Legget is a k machine against good pitching. I like the top 5. Not perfect but it's what we have. And the left right spilt keeps teams from using a guy for two people out of the pen. The rest is what it is. Timely hits some luck and good pitching can get us to Omaha....

[Coach34]

You just moved our current most dangerous hitter to the 6 hole. And if you are going to platoon Leggett, you can't have him in the 2 hole.

Also, this isn't 1995. Analytics have shown that you should put your top hitter in the 2 hole.

This team has some issues. 1-5 isn't one of them.

I dont care what year this is- with our line-up we need somebody in the 2-hole that can bunt so TA can drive some runs home. Leggett will be fine vs LHP's but unfortunately Lemon for some unknown reason has been batting Debrule vs LHP's and Leggett vs RHP's. It's like dude- wtf? Hatcher bats 6th or so and he strikes out at about the same rate with a much lower OBP. Hell- Vandy started 3 RHP's so Leggett wouldnt have even started this past weekend. Dont create problems that arent there.
Inserting Debrule into the 2-hole now that he has adjusted will do nothing but help this offense. Leggett's OBP is .429- he would be fine in the 2-hole vs LHP's.
Tanner has some pop but with the guys in front of him it's the right move. We are just moving Debrule into the 2-hole who has a higher OBP anyway. Better RBI chance for LoTan.

[Really Clark?]

Debrule is hitting .188 in SEC play with an OBP of .235. He had a nice weekend vs OM but 1-11 vs Vandy last weekend brought him back to where he has been all year. You can?t put that in your 2 hole.(Forsyth actually has better SEC AVG and OBP). Tanner Legget is striking out 35% of the time vs SEC pitching.

Hancock has played and started in every game and has 126 AB on the season. Tanner Allen actually missed a game and has 140 AB?s. Putting TA in the 2 hole is giving him more chances through the year to do damage. Our 2 best hitters are hitting 1-2 and with limited offense we have, this maximize their chances to score runs

[Commercecomet24]

This is one of the best threads of the year. Nothing like a great baseball discussion.

ETA Your #'s 1-3 hitters always get an extra at bat per game, so you've got to have the 3 best in those spots in the order particularly in 1 and 2.

[Coach34]

Debrule is hitting .188 in SEC play with an OBP of .235. He had a nice weekend vs OM but 1-11 vs Vandy last weekend brought him back to where he has been all year. You can?t put that in your 2 hole.(Forsyth actually has better SEC AVG and OBP). Tanner Legget is striking out 35% of the time vs SEC pitching.

Hancock has played and started in every game and has 126 AB on the season. Tanner Allen actually missed a game and has 140 AB?s. Putting TA in the 2 hole is giving him more chances through the year to do damage. Our 2 best hitters are hitting 1-2 and with limited offense we have, this maximize their chances to score runs

Soooooo you’re saying we are better off keeping him 6th in a major RBI slot instead of the 2 hole where he could bunt and help move runners? Ok.

[Really Clark?]

Soooooo you’re saying we are better off keeping him 6th in a major RBI slot instead of the 2 hole where he could bunt and help move runners? Ok.

I’m saying I’m keeping my best hitter in a spot that will give me a lot more opportunities for my best hitter to knock in and score runs vs a below .200 hitter who is also not getting on base. Your premise of bunting has 2 major flaws in this scenario. We don’t bunt runners over very often even at the bottom of the order. So why are you going to take away AB’s from TA on the off chance that coach might decided to bunt with Debrule maybe once during entire series on average, at most. The other flaw is, Rowdy is scoring without needing to bunt him over. 78% of the time that Rowdy gets on base, he scores. That is no where close to an issue. Our offense has a a lot of problems, tinkering to solve a problem that we actually DON’T have is way off base.

Honestly, I like Debrule and Forsythe better as a 9 hole guys with this team as long as this is the lineup coach keeps putting out there. As long as we keep playing Hatcher and Skinner, they have to be 7-8 in the line-up. So then for me, I play match-up. LH starters, Forsythe, RH starters, Debrule as 6th hole hitters. We shouldn’t be hitting either one at 6th but we should have made changes a month ago when most of us not named Rex realized Hatcher was on the verge of being beyond a slump. Just like he is now. Brad Cumbest would have at the very least been starting vs LHP for me for a while now. But doesn’t seem like coach is in agreement and may have better reasoning but that’s what I would have already done. If Clark was healthy enough I’d probably would have worked him in some more to see what he looks like vs SEC pitching.

[Really Clark?]

Soooooo you?re saying we are better off keeping him 6th in a major RBI slot instead of the 2 hole where he could bunt and help move runners? Ok.

I?m saying I?m keeping my best hitter in a spot that will give me a lot more opportunities for my best hitter to knock in and score runs vs a below .200 hitter who is also not getting on base. Your premise of bunting has 2 major flaws in this scenario. We don?t bunt runners over very often even at the bottom of the order. So why are you going to take away AB?s from TA on the off chance that coach might decided to bunt with Debrule maybe once during entire series on average, at most. The other flaw is, Rowdy is scoring without needing to bunt him over. 78% of the time that Rowdy gets on base, he scores. That is no where close to an issue. Our offense has a a lot of problems, tinkering to solve a problem that we actually DON?T have is way off base.

Honestly, I like Debrule and Forsythe better as a 9 hole guys with this team as long as this is the lineup coach keeps putting out there. As long as we keep playing Hatcher and Skinner, they have to be 7-8 in the line-up. So then for me, I play match-up. LH starters, Forsythe, RH starters, Debrule as 6th hole hitters. We shouldn?t be hitting either one at 6th but we should have made changes a month ago when most of us not named Rex realized Hatcher was on the verge of being beyond a slump. Just like he is now. Brad Cumbest would have at the very least been starting vs LHP for me for a while now. But doesn?t seem like coach is in agreement and may have better reasoning but that?s what I would have already done. If Clark was healthy enough I?d probably would have worked him in some more to see what he looks like vs SEC pitching.

[maroonmania]

You know looking at things from the macro level, I almost feel like we are a bit of a top 8 seed team with a little bit of smoke and mirrors. I hate saying that because I love when we have a team I have full confidence in (like 2019) but this year it just seems like we aren't totally solid in many areas. Our pitching obviously is the best part of this team, but while the starting pitching is very good its not always consistent every weekend and then our bullpen is a little up and down as well except for Sims who is absolutely dead solid seemingly every time he comes out. But looking at our lineup, outside of Rowdey and TA, who else can you really count on to be productive week in and week out? Seems every time we have a hitter that show signs of life we have 2 others that go in a slump. And our defense is certainly nothing to write home about. We've probably cost ourselves 2 or 3 ballgames because we can't make routine plays on the infield or catch routine popups or Rowdey is out there misjudging a ball out to CF. Heck, Sims has had to pitch around defensive miscues multiple times already this year at the end of games. I know every team has flaws, we just seem to have more than I would expect from a Top 8 ranked MSU baseball team. Is this team really capable of making a deep run in Omaha this year playing like we are currently playing? I tend to think not.

[HoopsDawg]

Soooooo you’re saying we are better off keeping him 6th in a major RBI slot instead of the 2 hole where he could bunt and help move runners? Ok.

We've bunted 6 times all year. LOL. Again this isn't 1995. Teams don't bunt with their 2 hole hitter.

People will distort reality to keep themselves from being right than they ever will to not admit they were wrong. It's amazing when presented with contrary evidence, posters/people just can't admit when they are wrong.

[KOdawg1]

Dubrule in the 2 hole would make sense if we bunted. But we don't. Lemonis is new school. I don't like him in the 6 hole though. If he continues to hit, you could put him at 9 so he can get on base for Rowdey and TA to drive him in.

I can be swayed on a lot, but one thing I'm adamant about is that we've got to try something else out at first. I don't care if it's Clark, TA, or Pimentel. There's unknown in those three but you know what you're getting from Hatcher, and it's virtually nothing, so it literally can't get worse as long as they can halfway play defense.

[Johnson85]

You know looking at things from the macro level, I almost feel like we are a bit of a top 8 seed team with a little bit of smoke and mirrors. I hate saying that because I love when we have a team I have full confidence in (like 2019) but this year it just seems like we aren't totally solid in many areas. Our pitching obviously is the best part of this team, but while the starting pitching is very good its not always consistent every weekend and then our bullpen is a little up and down as well except for Sims who is absolutely dead solid seemingly every time he comes out. But looking at our lineup, outside of Rowdey and TA, who else can you really count on to be productive week in and week out? Seems every time we have a hitter that show signs of life we have 2 others that go in a slump. And our defense is certainly nothing to write home about. We've probably cost ourselves 2 or 3 ballgames because we can't make routine plays on the infield or catch routine popups or Rowdey is out there misjudging a ball out to CF. Heck, Sims has had to pitch around defensive miscues multiple times already this year at the end of games. I know every team has flaws, we just seem to have more than I would expect from a Top 8 ranked MSU baseball team. Is this team really capable of making a deep run in Omaha this year playing like we are currently playing? I tend to think not.

^^^THIS^^^

We are obviously good, but when I look at the team as a whole and our stats, it makes me wonder how in the hell we are good. I think our pitching is better than our stats look because our starters have just had bad outings that make the averages not really reflective of how well they have pitched? AFter that? No clue.

[HoopsDawg]

You know looking at things from the macro level, I almost feel like we are a bit of a top 8 seed team with a little bit of smoke and mirrors. I hate saying that because I love when we have a team I have full confidence in (like 2019) but this year it just seems like we aren't totally solid in many areas. Our pitching obviously is the best part of this team, but while the starting pitching is very good its not always consistent every weekend and then our bullpen is a little up and down as well except for Sims who is absolutely dead solid seemingly every time he comes out. But looking at our lineup, outside of Rowdey and TA, who else can you really count on to be productive week in and week out? Seems every time we have a hitter that show signs of life we have 2 others that go in a slump. And our defense is certainly nothing to write home about. We've probably cost ourselves 2 or 3 ballgames because we can't make routine plays on the infield or catch routine popups or Rowdey is out there misjudging a ball out to CF. Heck, Sims has had to pitch around defensive miscues multiple times already this year at the end of games. I know every team has flaws, we just seem to have more than I would expect from a Top 8 ranked MSU baseball team. Is this team really capable of making a deep run in Omaha this year playing like we are currently playing? I tend to think not.

coming into the season, there was talk of Cerantola being a top 5 pick and the coaches were raving about his bullpens and scrimmages. as of today, he has been a non-factor. Then you had MacLeod coming off a 4-0 shortened season with a 0.86 ERA and projected as a 1st rounder. So the thought was that he was going to be a dominant SEC Friday night starter. That's hasn't been the case either. We lost Foscue and Westburg and really only added Dubrule and Skinner so the offense has been inconsistent at best, but we've found a way to score runs for the most part.

then we had the situation where James didn't work out at SS, Landon Jordan transferred, and Hatcher has struggled.

Bottom line, we have flaws, but so does everyone else not named Vandy or Arkansas. We are good enough to get to Omaha if the things fall right. And anything can happen in Omaha unless you play Vandy.

[basedog]

I do think our pitching will be somewhat better the rest of the way on our Sec schedule. S. Carolina looks like the best team and we play them on the road. Hitting should be a little better as well, but I got respond or answer how our defense will be going forward. Walks and defense make pitchers look worse.

[HoopsDawg]

Dubrule in the 2 hole would make sense if we bunted. But we don't. Lemonis is new school. I don't like him in the 6 hole though. If he continues to hit, you could put him at 9 so he can get on base for Rowdey and TA to drive him in.

I can be swayed on a lot, but one thing I'm adamant about is that we've got to try something else out at first. I don't care if it's Clark, TA, or Pimentel. There's unknown in those three but you know what you're getting from Hatcher, and it's virtually nothing, so it literally can't get worse as long as they can halfway play defense.

I'm with you on first base. In my mind there are 2 options: TA at first with Cumbest and Skinner in the corner outfield spots. Or Clark at first. That's it. Those are the only 2 options.

[Really Clark?]

Soooooo you?re saying we are better off keeping him 6th in a major RBI slot instead of the 2 hole where he could bunt and help move runners? Ok.

I?m saying I?m keeping my best hitter in a spot that will give me a lot more opportunities for my best hitter to knock in and score runs vs a below .200 hitter who is also not getting on base. Your premise of bunting has 2 major flaws in this scenario. We don?t bunt runners over very often even at the bottom of the order. So why are you going to take away AB?s from TA on the off chance that coach might decided to bunt with Debrule maybe once during entire series on average, at most. The other flaw is, Rowdy is scoring without needing to bunt him over. 78% of the time that Rowdy gets on base, he scores. That is no where close to an issue. Our offense has a a lot of problems, tinkering to solve a problem that we actually DON?T have is way off base.

Honestly, I like Debrule and Forsythe better as a 9 hole guys with this team as long as this is the lineup coach keeps putting out there. As long as we keep playing Hatcher and Skinner, they have to be 7-8 in the line-up. So then for me, I play match-up. LH starters, Forsythe, RH starters, Debrule as 6th hole hitters. We shouldn?t be hitting either one at 6th but we should have made changes a month ago when most of us not named Rex realized Hatcher was on the verge of being beyond a slump. Just like he is now. Brad Cumbest would have at the very least been starting vs LHP for me for a while now. But doesn?t seem like coach is in agreement and may have better reasoning but that?s what I would have already done. If Clark was healthy enough I?d probably would have worked him in some more to see what he looks like vs SEC pitching.