Florida Thoughts

[ShotgunDawg]

You need to step away from trying to give hitting advice.

You're right. I'm probably not qualified

[I seen it dawg]

Shoved it up Florida's ****ing ass. Thank you.

[I seen it dawg]

Small and Ginn make us a National seed. Period. No one has that as good as we do.

Skelton has turned it on and has become a player. Light bulb went off for him early this year and he coming into his own as a leader and now the talent is showing. By end of the season he will be one of our top 3 most important position guys. Our catcher position is maybe as good as it's ever been.

Jake and Mac are the true leaders that championship teams have to have. Jake has taken his game to the next level and harnessed his swing at everything at the plate mentality. He is now the guy no one wants to see at the plate when it's nut time. Bad thing for our opponents we have more than one. Mac is also a nut hitter at this point. They just believe they will get it done.

Our IF is really good offensively. Halter is starting to settle in as an SEC player. He is perfect down in the 9 hole. Tanner, Westburg and Foscue on any team without Jake and Mac would be the superstars.

Rowdey is an issue obviously. I still think he will get it figured out by May but if not it's a problem. Cumbest just isn't ready along with no one else and we would have to move some pieces to go to Tanner. Honestly at this point until someone steps up (Cumbest best option) we need to just ride Rowdey and hope he comes around. His defense and baserunning doesn't slump luckily and if he can somehow get his average up in the 220s or so it will be ok.

With our studs going deep on fri and sat it really helps us piece Sunday together. Liebelt and Barlow are really good guys from Right and left. White and Gordon will be fine. The rest is gravy. Keegan can get us 2 times thru the order and most Sundays that will be plenty. And don't let Cerantola figure it out by May....

We are really ****ing good. Like really. Like late June really ****ing good. Keep it rolling.

[MarketingBully]

I think we could have 5 in the lineup with 10+ HR: Westburg, Allen, Mac, Foscue, and Skelton. This lineup can hit for power and average and once everyone is clicking (we had 10 and 17 hits in the first two games of the Florida series) our hitting could match our pitching.

[CadaverDawg]

The last several years I could come away from every series with some criticisms of the coaches....but this weekend I dont really have any. Lemonis seems to be pushing most of the right buttons. Leaving in Gordon too long didn't cost us the game, and leaving Ginn in too long didn't either. The one thing I questioned was bringing in Cumbest vs the flat fastball throwing lefty in game 3....It was a crucial point in the game if we were to come back, so i'd have liked to see a veteran or guy with more ab's hitting in that spot, but I understand why they went with Cumbest....they figured his big ass could turn around a 95 mph heater and give us a quick lead. Cumbest just isn't quite there yet.
I'm super encouraged with Hatcher, he looked great this weekend.
We need Westburg and Halter to tighten up the fielding, and we need to figure out Sunday's starter bc James may not be it. But we are talking about things that can be fixed and we have the talent and coaching to fix them. Most teams would kill for our list of "need to fix" right now. I'm impressed with Lemonis and Foxhall, and if you had told me we'd have 27 hits through 2 games at Florida I'd have said you're insane after how our O had been looking. These coaches and players deserve a lot of credit, and support...and the scary thing is, I don't think we have nearly played our best yet. This could be a really fun year, but the schedule is an absolute beast, so dont get discouraged if we drop a few here and there. We have the tools to make another deep run.

[I seen it dawg]

To Cadavers point Haven't played our best and not totally clicking yet....which we want in May June not March April.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Rowdey will come around. He showed real toughness and competitiveness last year, I dont know much about his load and swing mechanics but I can tell you that toughness and willing to fight doesnt go away

[biggun]

Pitching is and always has been the key. Our bats are becoming a huge positive. Made them pay for mistakes. The only glaring negative I?ve seen so far...and I haven?t watched a ton...is we are WEAK up the middle on the infield compared to years past. We win even more lopsided in game 1 if we do a couple routine things there.

Amen. We looked very shaky at SS and 2nd base in all 3 games

[maroonmania]

Rowdey will come around. He showed real toughness and competitiveness last year, I dont know much about his load and swing mechanics but I can tell you that toughness and willing to fight doesnt go away

Something changed in Rowdy's swing from last year. I haven't gone back and looked at what he was doing last year but he could not have hit .220 with his current swing last year, much less .320. He looks to me like he is late getting the bat into the zone and the bat is not coming through in a straight plane but rather flopping down during the swing. That looks like why he is hitting SO many pop ups in the times when he actually makes contact. He has got to sit and go work with Gautreau to see what he can get corrected and try it out in some midweek games. Until then he really should not be starting SEC games because he's a decent defensive player but nothing like would be needed to make up for his current total futility in the batter's box.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Something changed in Rowdy's swing from last year. I haven't gone back and looked at what he was doing last year but he could not have hit .220 with his current swing last year, much less .320. He looks to me like he is late getting the bat into the zone and the bat is not coming through in a straight plane but rather flopping down during the swing. That looks like why he is hitting SO many pop ups in the times when he actually makes contact. He has got to sit and go work with Gautreau to see what he can get corrected and try it out in some midweek games. Until then he really should not be starting SEC games because he's a decent defensive player but nothing like would be needed to make up for his current total futility in the batter's box.

He will be ok. Like I said, he's a tough kid. Hell it could be as simple as he needs new contacts or something you never know

[shoeless joe]

Do y’all not think rowdy and gotro have been workin their asses off to get him on track?

And if you think a timing or hitch issue can’t be fixed then you don’t know what you’re talking about...at the same time if you think those issues can be corrected quickly then you fall into that same category. If I had to guess he’s prolly worked on a fix in practice but hasn’t yet been able to translate that fix to the games. That’s how the process goes...if he wasn’t improving in practice then he wouldn’t be playing.

[ShotgunDawg]

And if you think a timing or hitch issue can’t be fixed then you don’t know what you’re talking about...

This is complete stupidity & an attempt to generalize every issue into one.

Can Rowdy's hitch be fixed? maybe. Can it be fixed without screwing up a bunch of other stuff & creating significant thinking & mental issues at the plate? Probably not.

Furthermore, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how to fix it? &, while your at it, please provide an example of a player that you have seen fix it & be better for it.

[shoeless joe]

This is complete stupidity & an attempt to generalize every issue into one.

Can Rowdy's hitch be fixed? maybe. Can it be fixed without screwing up a bunch of other stuff & creating significant thinking & mental issues at the plate? Probably not.

Furthermore, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how to fix it? &, while your at it, please provide an example of a player that you have seen fix it & be better for it.

I haven’t watched enough games to say what his exact problem is. I’ve seen one game in person and one on tv. That said, if you read my post I said it wasn’t an easy fix and would take time...but a hitch in a swing most certainly can be fixed. Unlike some I prefer not to talk out of my ass about which I do not know. And I stand 100% behind what I posted.

One thing you actually are correct about is that it is mentally tough to work thru this stuff...multiplied 10 fold for it being in season.

[ShotgunDawg]

I haven’t watched enough games to say what his exact problem is. I’ve seen one game in person and one on tv. That said, if you read my post I said it wasn’t an easy fix and would take time...but a hitch in a swing most certainly can be fixed. Unlike some I prefer not to talk out of my ass about which I do not know. And I stand 100% behind what I posted.

One thing you actually are correct about is that it is mentally tough to work thru this stuff...multiplied 10 fold for it being in season.

Ok. If you get a chance to watch some Rowdy at-bats, let me know how you would fix it.

Also, please provide an example of someone who has successfully fixed it. I'm dying to know because I would like to know how to fix it.

[PMDawg]

You need to step away from trying to give BASEBALL advice.

FIFY

[smootness]

Jake and Mac are the true leaders that championship teams have to have. Jake has taken his game to the next level and harnessed his swing at everything at the plate mentality. He is now the guy no one wants to see at the plate when it's nut time. Bad thing for our opponents we have more than one. Mac is also a nut hitter at this point. They just believe they will get it done.

Totally nailed it.

We saw it last year with MacNamee, but those are the guys you have to have to make a deep run in the postseason. We are set up very, very well.

[shoeless joe]

Ok. If you get a chance to watch some Rowdy at-bats, let me know how you would fix it.

Also, please provide an example of someone who has successfully fixed it. I'm dying to know because I would like to know how to fix it.

1) I have nothing to prove to anyone when it comes to this game

2) based on #1 I refuse to get into a pissing match or try to bigdick anyone...even tho nothing brings out the bigdickers quicker than a baseball strategy or mechanics argument.


All that said, I do enjoy a good baseball conversation...so in light of that I’d like to ask a couple questions. Since rowdy obviously performed well last year do you think he didn’t have this same issue last year? Did this develop since last year? Has he developed another issue that has exaggerated the first? In other words...why is this an issue now but wasn’t one, or as big of one, last year?

[SheltonChoked]

Ok. If you get a chance to watch some Rowdy at-bats, let me know how you would fix it.

Also, please provide an example of someone who has successfully fixed it. I'm dying to know because I would like to know how to fix it.

No Dog in this but to say " nobody ever changed their swing in baseball for better" is foolish....

https://www.mlb.com/news/ronald-acun...nge-c295464814
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/r...TeO/story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/s...r-dodgers.html
https://www.thenewstribune.com/sport...209258964.html
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...522-story.html
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...nge/vp-AAxl5rs
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...s-change-swing
https://www.johnmallee.com/change-in...career-year-2/

[Gutter Cobreh]

The last several years I could come away from every series with some criticisms of the coaches....but this weekend I dont really have any. Lemonis seems to be pushing most of the right buttons. Leaving in Gordon too long didn't cost us the game, and leaving Ginn in too long didn't either. The one thing I questioned was bringing in Cumbest vs the flat fastball throwing lefty in game 3....It was a crucial point in the game if we were to come back, so i'd have liked to see a veteran or guy with more ab's hitting in that spot, but I understand why they went with Cumbest....they figured his big ass could turn around a 95 mph heater and give us a quick lead. Cumbest just isn't quite there yet.
I'm super encouraged with Hatcher, he looked great this weekend.
We need Westburg and Halter to tighten up the fielding, and we need to figure out Sunday's starter bc James may not be it. But we are talking about things that can be fixed and we have the talent and coaching to fix them. Most teams would kill for our list of "need to fix" right now. I'm impressed with Lemonis and Foxhall, and if you had told me we'd have 27 hits through 2 games at Florida I'd have said you're insane after how our O had been looking. These coaches and players deserve a lot of credit, and support...and the scary thing is, I don't think we have nearly played our best yet. This could be a really fun year, but the schedule is an absolute beast, so dont get discouraged if we drop a few here and there. We have the tools to make another deep run.

The only issues I have with Lemonis is that he seems to be too eager to schedule Saturday doubleheaders and he is leaving pitchers in too long.

I looked yesterday and I didn't see that it had rained it Gainesville. It may have done so early that morning, but I doubt enough to cancel the game. I realize they are making the best decision they can at the time, but I think we would have fared better if we didn't play a double header.

If Gordon would have blown a 4 run lead in the 9th, I would have come unglued. I trust Lemonis and Foxhall, but they're playing with fire. With a lead like that, you simply need someone to throw strikes. Walks = runs.

Regarding Game 3, I don't see the issue with James that others do. We simply didn't hit enough to win the game. It wasn't James' fault that didn't happen. If the first two games are any indication, we needed to score at least 6 runs to win. Had we done that, we sweep.

[Scared_Hitless]

I think with Gordon, Lemonis trusted him and did not want him to lose his confidence. That is the first time he has been in a situation to blow a save in a long time. Let the kid feel the pressure and push through. Which Cole did so that is a positive. Westburg and Halter are shaky but they just need more practice and reps. I think losing Stovall was a big one, guy had some range last few years. Westburg has a chance to be elite batting so you live with a few mistakes.

Other than that we will see how Keegan and Rowdey progress, I do not think we have better options at this point and we are still winning so let them work through and hopefully the light comes on.