Baseball thoughts for the Dodgers Tournament

[dawgday166]

Rooker isn't going to see many fastballs no matter where you put him. I'd never throw him one. Ok maybe one a series. He no like slider...

Might if you protect him with Kruger right behind him.

[dawgday166]

Your #3 is dead on. Move outfielders around if you need to but there are way too many instinctive plays that have to be made on the infield in a multitude of different situations to have people having to think out there on the field not knowing what to do. If you are not comfortable and have not had enough repetition at a position you are not going to know what to do without thinking it through and there isn't time for that. Yes, Collins was caught completely clueless on the double steal and it cost us. Not sure if we get the out if he covers but 100% you don't get the out when he doesn't.

I think so. When you can't count on your offense to consistently produce runs, then you can't allow so many runs due to mental mistakes IMO. Giving runners extra bases or any base from being unsure of where to go with ball, whose responsibility is what, etc. will kill you if you can't produce offensively consistently.

[Homedawg]

Might if you protect him with Kruger right behind him.

I don't care if robson's on first or not. I would throw him a thousand sliders. Strike him out and if robson's steals never pitch to Kruger. If robson's not on even better...

[maroonmania]

I don't care if robson's on first or not. I would throw him a thousand sliders. Strike him out and if robson's steals never pitch to Kruger. If robson's not on even better...

If I was an opposing coach, until something shows differently, I would pitch around Kruger most every time. Nobody else in our lineup would scare me besides him.

[dawgday166]

I don't care if robson's on first or not. I would throw him a thousand sliders. Strike him out and if robson's steals never pitch to Kruger. If robson's not on even better...

I was thinking Rooker in 3 and Kruger in 4 hole. Don't know for sure since I haven't seen enough to know the hitter's strengths & weaknesses.

[maroonmania]

I was thinking Rooker in 3 and Kruger in 4 hole. Don't know for sure since I haven't seen enough to know the hitter's strengths & weaknesses.

Normally you want your best overall hitter in the 3 hole. That way he has some folks in front of him to drive in but he also comes up to bat as often as possible. But if we want to force people to pitch to Kruger over the long haul of the season we are going to have to find a solid hitter to put behind him. With what I had heard in the preseason Lowe was going to be that guy but so far he hasn't produced much. Then we moved Rooker to 4 but he had a bad weekend himself.

[baseballfan]

Lots of talented freshmen that need time in lineup.

[dawgday166]

Normally you want your best overall hitter in the 3 hole. That way he has some folks in front of him to drive in but he also comes up to bat as often as possible. But if we want to force people to pitch to Kruger over the long haul of the season we are going to have to find a solid hitter to put behind him. With what I had heard in the preseason Lowe was going to be that guy but so far he hasn't produced much. Then we moved Rooker to 4 but he had a bad weekend himself.

Ok ... I'll buy all that.

[Brando]

I agree, put Collins in the 2 hole, if not him, put Magnum. Lowe hit some balls very hard this wknd, but they just went right at people. He will turn it on i believe. If/When thats happens, leave him alone. Let him get comfortable and play the game. We are 1 hit against UCLA from winning. Even with 200 K's. We are one hit away from winning against OK. Could have been a great wknd. Still was a good one tho, we played some very good teams.

[msstate7]

I agree, put Collins in the 2 hole, if not him, put Magnum. Lowe hit some balls very hard this wknd, but they just went right at people. He will turn it on i believe. If/When thats happens, leave him alone. Let him get comfortable and play the game. We are 1 hit against UCLA from winning. Even with 200 K's. We are one hit away from winning against OK. Could have been a great wknd. Still was a good one tho, we played some very good teams.

We're also one hit from Oklahoma and usc from losing all 3

[Coach34]

I agree, put Collins in the 2 hole, if not him, put Magnum. .

Noooo, nooooo, noooo

In John Cohen's offense- the 2-hole guy bunts alot. Putting a guy like Collins there is a waste. You need a guy like Brown, Stovall, Gridley, or Mangum there.

[msstate7]

Noooo, nooooo, noooo

In John Cohen's offense- the 2-hole guy bunts alot. Putting a guy like Collins there is a waste. You need a guy like Brown, Stovall, Gridley, or Mangum there.

The 2-hole is the best spot to hit in our lineup sandwiched between Robson and Kruger... Bunting in that spot should be a crime

[Coach34]

The 2-hole is the best spot to hit in our lineup sandwiched between Robson and Kruger... Bunting in that spot should be a crime

I agree- but that's what we do at Miss State now. We have 7+ years of evidence

[Backwoodsdawg]

I agree, put Collins in the 2 hole, if not him, put Magnum. Lowe hit some balls very hard this wknd, but they just went right at people. He will turn it on i believe. If/When thats happens, leave him alone. Let him get comfortable and play the game. We are 1 hit against UCLA from winning. Even with 200 K's. We are one hit away from winning against OK. Could have been a great wknd. Still was a good one tho, we played some very good teams.

What is wrong with yall!? Collins is the 3rd worse hitter on the team statically look it up. He has made 3 or 4 more errors than those stats show because they score generously and he is a cancer! He has been suspended 3 times and tossed out of a game already. He has done nothing to help the team for 2 years. The best thing he could do is sign a free agent deal at the end of the year and quit taking up a spot on our roster that could be occupied by a better player/person.

[Coach34]

What is wrong with yall!? Collins is the 3rd worse hitter on the team statically look it up. He has made 3 or 4 more errors than those stats show because they score generously and he is a cancer! He has been suspended 3 times and tossed out of a game already. He has done nothing to help the team for 2 years. The best thing he could do is sign a free agent deal at the end of the year and quit taking up a spot on our roster that could be occupied by a better player/person.

Collins sux at 3B- but he has the potential to be one of our top hitters. Give him a little longer to see if he can get it going. Ouir Freshmen will struggle in the SEC over the course of a season- we need Collins to hit the ball.

[I seen it dawg]

Collins in the 2 hole. Jesus

[mic]

Collins in the 2 hole. Jesus

Hahahah... Kruger lead off..

[Todd4State]

The biggest thing you want in a number two hitter is someone that handles the bat well. In other words doesn't strike out a lot and is able to put the ball into play because then you can utilize hit and run plays with a fast runner a little bit better. Plus, you ideally get two runners on for your power guys to drive in, and two runners > one runner for a power guy to drive in. The two hole guy doesn't necessarily have to be a guy that bunts well.

So for us, someone like Gridley, Cody Brown, or Mangum would be a better fit in the two hole than Collins.

About Collins and third base. Some people have talked about guys getting reps and that sort of thing- Collins missed most of the fall with his hand and that's possibly why we are seeing some of the errors- mental and scored- from him over there. I also have to wonder if he really wants to catch and that could explain some of his behavior issues this year as well as his play at third base. And that's just conjecture on my part.

[Todd4State]

We're also one hit from Oklahoma and usc from losing all 3

The reality is we went 1-1-1.

The other reality is last years team wouldn't have even been in any of the games at all would have lost all three rather than be in a one run win/lose swing situation. And as I said that's encouraging to me given how I don't think this team has come even close to peaking yet.

[dawgday166]

The reality is we went 1-1-1.

The other reality is last years team wouldn't have even been in any of the games at all would have lost all three rather than be in a one run win/lose swing situation. And as I said that's encouraging to me given how I don't think this team has come even close to peaking yet.

I thought last year's team started 13-0 and had beat Arizona twice, which is usually a good team but not so much last year. Then somehow lost 18 of last 21 games. To me losing 18 of 21 sorta implies things aren't too great in the clubhouse. That's losing a lot of games. I don't know for sure though.

Looking at all 3 teams we just played, it seems kinda hard to figure out how good they are. We'll have a better feel in next couple of weekends I believe.