joeywa
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Joeywa's Not-So-In Depth Look at the 2015 Texas Baseball team
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armadillo slim
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this is outstanding. good work, joey.
now that i'm through with the niceties, i have a couple of comments:
1. if i can't bitch about small ball, i'm going to have more medical issues than i already have
2. clemens DH'ing--no......not unless he gets a whole lot better than he was last year. making contact with the ball should be a requirement of DH'ing. he's a great first baseman, but surely there are better hitters on the bench. same for mcguire. i hope you can tell me they've gotten a whole lot better, but my impression in watching the fall WS was that there were a bunch of kids that can hit this year. let's not turn the DH slot into an automatic out.
3. hopeful for the new ball, but i still think we should have moved the fences in 20 feet during the off season
4. looking for CJ to really blossom this year
5. agree completely on Gurwitz. kid's a baller.
6. and last but not least, what in the ever loving hell does Travis Duke have to do to get more mound time. kid puts up 0's every damn inning he's in there and he can't get more time as either a starter or a reliever? Geezus. Pitch this kid, Skip!
i think you do a great job on the PBP and am very hopeful for the upcoming season. for those of you I see at the ballpark from time to time, my seats have moved ever so slightly. section 106 now, row 12, middle of the section. directly behind the catcher so i can still give Tim Henderson directions on balls and strikes.
now that i'm through with the niceties, i have a couple of comments:
1. if i can't bitch about small ball, i'm going to have more medical issues than i already have
2. clemens DH'ing--no......not unless he gets a whole lot better than he was last year. making contact with the ball should be a requirement of DH'ing. he's a great first baseman, but surely there are better hitters on the bench. same for mcguire. i hope you can tell me they've gotten a whole lot better, but my impression in watching the fall WS was that there were a bunch of kids that can hit this year. let's not turn the DH slot into an automatic out.
3. hopeful for the new ball, but i still think we should have moved the fences in 20 feet during the off season
4. looking for CJ to really blossom this year
5. agree completely on Gurwitz. kid's a baller.
6. and last but not least, what in the ever loving hell does Travis Duke have to do to get more mound time. kid puts up 0's every damn inning he's in there and he can't get more time as either a starter or a reliever? Geezus. Pitch this kid, Skip!
i think you do a great job on the PBP and am very hopeful for the upcoming season. for those of you I see at the ballpark from time to time, my seats have moved ever so slightly. section 106 now, row 12, middle of the section. directly behind the catcher so i can still give Tim Henderson directions on balls and strikes.
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armadillo slim
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hookemhorb
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Great preview...and much appreciated.
I agree with the pitching. I think we should be fine. Trust in Skip.
Now for the hitting...hmmm. Year in and year out, I keep hearing the same thing. We got some great hitters. I'm not really seeing it though. I hope you're right but I got to see it to believe it. Too me if you have a regular batting .230, that's a problem. Heck in the college, I'd say anything around .250 is a problem unless they have power, catching or a middle infielder with exceptional defense.
It's a new season, so I'm hoping are bats come alive this year.
I agree with the pitching. I think we should be fine. Trust in Skip.
Now for the hitting...hmmm. Year in and year out, I keep hearing the same thing. We got some great hitters. I'm not really seeing it though. I hope you're right but I got to see it to believe it. Too me if you have a regular batting .230, that's a problem. Heck in the college, I'd say anything around .250 is a problem unless they have power, catching or a middle infielder with exceptional defense.
It's a new season, so I'm hoping are bats come alive this year.
streettopeschel
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OP just blew it off with a wise-ass answer. I don't think he really knows the game very well. Seems to like scotch though.
Duke C #11
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Slim,
I believe the plan for Clemens is for him to lead the nation in sacrifice bunts.
I believe the plan for Clemens is for him to lead the nation in sacrifice bunts.
armadillo slim
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armadillo slim
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Slim,
I believe the plan for Clemens is for him to lead the nation in sacrifice bunts.
well, that's one way to get the ol batting average up. i never thought of that.
SFlonghorngirl
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Baseball's not my forte, but if this team is like the SF Giants, playing small ball and defense/pitching, then I know we're winning the WS.
streettopeschel
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the team that took em to GM 7 was pretty good at it as well. i kinda like it compared to 'gorilla ball'.
that being said, bunting over leadoff doubles is stupid (for you slim) and having a hot hitter ALWAYS giving himself up (think mark payton last year or others thru history) doesn't make sense to me either.
SFlonghorngirl
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Why can't Texas recruit "scorers?"
In basketball, we have a hard time recruiting shooters. In baseball, no one can get past 1st base in one hit.
joeywa
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There are books written about this.
Short answer, hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. To do so consistently is even more difficult. Add to that you need to hit it a long way and/or away from one of the 9 defensive players to get an extra base hit, well, you get the idea.
On top of all of this, you have new, (translated: crappy BBCOR with no pop) bats that were implemented a few years ago, and pitchers that are throwing in the 90+ MPH range with all kinds of movement on their pitches, hitting is a premium skill set. It's why you see kids out of HS that can hit being gobbled up by the MLB in the summer draft.
It's not as simple as recruiting 'scorers.' There's quite a bit that goes into it.
SFlonghorngirl
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joeywa
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Just a figure of speech Jim, letting Shan know that the answer to her question is not an easy and short one.
Its not so important how much pop we have in our bats but how much sense we have between our ears. Poor at bats were a bigger problem than not being able to hit the ball the last few years. aka .....Swinging at crap ( especially the first pitch ) after a pitcher just walked a guy and seemed to be struggling on the hill. That was more frustrating than not hitting for RBIs when it was clutch time.
joeywa
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You do realize that these same guys that you're describing, the ones that were not supposed to make it out of the conference, let alone get to a Regional, Super Regional or Omaha, were a game away from playing in the CWS Finals? Just checking.
I'm all for critical baseball discussion, but this is a bit much.
joeywa
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I wouldn't dare take small-ball-bitching away from you. It'd be like taking your razzing of the umpires away.
Don't close the door on Clemens or McGuire at the plate. I wouldn't be surprised to see either at times this season. While they'll both contribute on the bump, they are still solid options with the lumber. They both had some moments last season where they flashed postive and also struggled at other times. A year of college and work under their belts will hopefully pay dividends.
I left closer fences up to you to discuss with Patterson. I'm guessing you failed to get that done?
Travis Duke. I think he will give us a lot of innings this year, but not in a starter or closer role. I don't think he has the stuff for those spots. He is a middle-relief, setup type guy.
Thanks for the thoughts.
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