Josh Hatcher

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

There were many huge plays, but don’t forget the top of the 7th: 2 on, 1 out, arguably their best hitter at the plate with arguably their best hitter on deck.

Hatcher gloves a well hit ball deep at first and gets it to Stinnett for the 2nd out. It is a play a lot of first basemen don’t make. Could have easily been a 2-run double. We got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Potentially season changing play.

 

[olblue.sixpack]

There were many huge plays, but don’t forget the top of the 7th: 2 on, 1 out, arguably their best hitter at the plate with arguably their best hitter on deck.

Hatcher gloves a well hit ball deep at first and gets it to Stinnett for the 2nd out. It is a play a lot of first basemen don’t make. Could have easily been a 2-run double. We got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Potentially season changing play.

https://twitter.com/chrisburke02/status/1383786953854783502?s=21

 

[8dog]

And dont sleep on that 6th inning Logan Tanner AB. Down 0-2 and spoiled a few good breaking balls before singling.

 

[Seinfeld]

This was the Hatcher that we need. Don’t need home runs or huge offensive numbers. Just be competitive at the plate, find a hit or walk here and there, and give us solid defense at first. He played great today

James was the one that seemed a little lost today, but that hasn’t been the norm for him. Hopefully, today was an anomaly

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

And dont sleep on that 6th inning Logan Tanner AB. Down 0-2 and spoiled a few good breaking balls before singling.

I agree. Big at bat for Logan. So many big plays, at bats, pitches. Fans tend to remember the mistakes/slumps and the game winning plays/hits/outs, but there are so many moments in the course of a game.

Scotty has struggled at times too, but came up big in the 8th on Friday and the 6th today. That’s why I don’t get down on guys in a slump. I’m behind them as long as they’re battling and ready for their next opportunity.

 

[57stratdawg]

Hatcher made a hell of a play in the Top 8 on Friday night too. Graham hit a missile that was headed for RF and he got a glove on it.

If that ball had gotten down into the corner, who knows how it bounces.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

It’s why anyone with any sense knows he has to stay in the lineup and just hope that he gets hot. The ability is there, and he’s done it before.

Hatcher is by far our best option from a defensive standpoint- and for the people who say defense at first base doesn’t matter, rewatch Saturday’s game. We can’t ask Hancock to do something he is clearly not prepared for, Pimentell would not be better than Hatcher, and Clark is not ready yet.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Hatcher made a hell of a play in the Top 8 on Friday night too. Graham hit a missile that was headed for RF and he got a glove on it.

If that ball had gotten down into the corner, who knows how it bounces.

He also had a timely single.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Hatcher is our lucky charm.

 

[thekimmer]

The defensive angle is still a consideration but for the most part you don't play a guy at first for his glove. He did do a bit better but still just 1 for 6 on the weekend. I think you consider platooning him only starting vs right handers.

 

[Drebin]

The defensive angle is still a consideration but for the most part you don't play a guy at first for his glove. He did do a bit better but still just 1 for 6 on the weekend. I think you consider platooning him only starting vs right handers.

I understand and would generally agree, but Hancock hurt us in the Saturday game over there. Ole Miss scored their first run on a play that Hatcher probably makes routinely. Between that and Rowdey not getting to a ball in CF, our defense put us in a hole, probably contributed to rattling Bednar, and gave Ole Miss the momentum.

 

[thekimmer]

I understand and would generally agree, but Hancock hurt us in the Saturday game over there. Ole Miss scored their first run on a play that Hatcher probably makes routinely. Between that and Rowdey not getting to a ball in CF, our defense put us in a hole, probably contributed to rattling Bednar, and gave Ole Miss the momentum.

True on that one play he did hurt us but most of our defensive worries are on the left side. I think the potential for more production on offense out weighs the defense liability.

 

[MSUDC11]

If there was a better option I feel like they would’ve emerged by now. Rolling with Hatcher is your best option at this point. 1B can’t be a defensive liability. You just have to hope his bat will come on for us late like it did in 2019.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

I read all of this post to see if anyone was going to be really honest about Hatcher's play Sunday... Nothing but praise and bringing up his highlights. While conveniently missing that our 'we play him for his perfect defense, not his .188 hitting' first baseman had two defensive issues in sunday's game alone. He just dropped 2 balls that allowed runners to advance. You gotta evaluate all parts. His drop that went down into the bullpen was at a pivotal point in the middle of the game. Luckily, it didn't come back to haunt us. You cannot tell me that he's our best option over there while NOT being perfect in the field and carrying a .188 average. He made one really great play on the hard hit ball up the line. Not trying to be hard on the guy but we have ANYONE on the bench that can provide what he is providing at this point. y'all are trying hard to praise him and he wasn't even that good yesterday.

 

[Drebin]

I read all of this post to see if anyone was going to be really honest about Hatcher's play Sunday... Nothing but praise and bringing up his highlights. While conveniently missing that our 'we play him for his perfect defense, not his .188 hitting' first baseman had two defensive issues in sunday's game alone. He just dropped 2 balls that allowed runners to advance. You gotta evaluate all parts. His drop that went down into the bullpen was at a pivotal point in the middle of the game. Luckily, it didn't come back to haunt us. You cannot tell me that he's our best option over there while NOT being perfect in the field and carrying a .188 average. He made one really great play on the hard hit ball up the line. Not trying to be hard on the guy but we have ANYONE on the bench that can provide what he is providing at this point. y'all are trying hard to praise him and he wasn't even that good yesterday.

I don't think Hatcher is perfect over there by a long shot. But give Lemonis credit....he tried something different saturday......and it just came back to bite him. I think if we had that guy on the bench, you'd have seen him by now.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

But, that is the discussion. We really haven't seen ANYONE yet. We have seen Hancock play there a couple of games and that is it. No one else. And we have just about missed the chance to get anyone else ready for the meat of the season. I hope we don't live to regret it. I REALLY hope Hatcher breaks out of this and gives us the biggest hit in the biggest moment to win... But, I am tired of hearing that we have to play him for his defense. That argument just isn't good enough for .158 or whatever he is in SEC play now. His defense isn't even good enough for .250. Anyone who knows baseball and is honest knows he is probably average at best for the position defensively. Let's stop with the attempt to find a reason why we have stuck it out with him all season. It's not because 'no one else has stepped up'... no one else has even been attempted.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

But, that is the discussion. We really haven't seen ANYONE yet. We have seen Hancock play there a couple of games and that is it. No one else. And we have just about missed the chance to get anyone else ready for the meat of the season. I hope we don't live to regret it. I REALLY hope Hatcher breaks out of this and gives us the biggest hit in the biggest moment to win... But, I am tired of hearing that we have to play him for his defense. That argument just isn't good enough for .158 or whatever he is in SEC play now. His defense isn't even good enough for .250. Anyone who knows baseball and is honest knows he is probably average at best for the position defensively. Let's stop with the attempt to find a reason why we have stuck it out with him all season. It's not because 'no one else has stepped up'... no one else has even been attempted.

If you think Hatcher is "average at best" defensively, I don’t have the time to try to convince you, sorry.

But if you know something Lemonis doesn't, I hope the school you coach for pays you more than we pay him.

 

[olblue.sixpack]

But, that is the discussion. We really haven't seen ANYONE yet. We have seen Hancock play there a couple of games and that is it. No one else. And we have just about missed the chance to get anyone else ready for the meat of the season. I hope we don't live to regret it. I REALLY hope Hatcher breaks out of this and gives us the biggest hit in the biggest moment to win... But, I am tired of hearing that we have to play him for his defense. That argument just isn't good enough for .158 or whatever he is in SEC play now. His defense isn't even good enough for .250. Anyone who knows baseball and is honest knows he is probably average at best for the position defensively. Let's stop with the attempt to find a reason why we have stuck it out with him all season. It's not because 'no one else has stepped up'... no one else has even been attempted.

I'm tired of posts like this. So there.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

I've discussed it and will be glad to point it out again. Better than average first basemen don't drop a lot of throws. They stretch PROPERLY to leave less bang/bang plays. He catches the ball too near his body and without stretching. And he never allows the ball to travel on pick offs from home. These are just the quickest ones that he has done over the past 2 weekends. I am free and have time if you want to break down the position and learn more about what to look for in a 'better than average' first baseman. Go watch some replays of Will Clark, Tommy Raffo, Wes Rea, Richard Lee, Tanner Allen. (I don't know why so many on this board have become so sensitive to hearing anything bad about a senior first baseman... it's really odd to see)

 

[NOATLDAWG]

WHich posts? The ones trying to find ways to praise a .157 senior first baseman even when they don't exist? Or the ones that say 'what game are y'all watching?'

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

I've discussed it and will be glad to point it out again. Better than average first basemen don't drop a lot of throws. They stretch PROPERLY to leave less bang/bang plays. He catches the ball too near his body and without stretching. And he never allows the ball to travel on pick offs from home. These are just the quickest ones that he has done over the past 2 weekends. I am free and have time if you want to break down the position and learn more about what to look for in a 'better than average' first baseman. Go watch some replays of Will Clark, Tommy Raffo, Wes Rea, Richard Lee, Tanner Allen. (I don't know why so many on this board have become so sensitive to hearing anything bad about a senior first baseman... it's really odd to see)

lol just tell us who you coach for

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

lol just tell us who you coach for

I have no idea whether he is right or not, but this is just weak.

This is a sports message board. We all ***** about players and coaches. None of us coach at a high level. If you disagree with him, then back it up with something other than this.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

I have no idea whether he is right or not, but this is just weak.

lol you have no idea whether this guy or Chris Lemonis is right?

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

lol you have no idea whether this guy or Chris Lemonis is right?

I have no idea whether he is right about Hatcher being an average at best 1st baseman.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

Clear Rule 7 violation... And possible Rule 1F as well.... But, most of all, I agree, It's just WEEEAAAKKK....

 

[Drebin]

WHich posts? The ones trying to find ways to praise a .157 senior first baseman even when they don't exist? Or the ones that say 'what game are y'all watching?'

He's probably talking about the ones that continue to beat a dead horse over something that's not going to change.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

Clear Rule 7 violation... And possible Rule 1F as well.... But, most of all, I agree, It's just WEEEAAAKKK....

Rule 7 says that you can say what you want despite not knowing anything. It doesn't say that I have to pretend like you know what you're talking about.

 

[johnson86-1]

But, that is the discussion. We really haven't seen ANYONE yet. We have seen Hancock play there a couple of games and that is it. No one else. And we have just about missed the chance to get anyone else ready for the meat of the season. I hope we don't live to regret it. I REALLY hope Hatcher breaks out of this and gives us the biggest hit in the biggest moment to win... But, I am tired of hearing that we have to play him for his defense. That argument just isn't good enough for .158 or whatever he is in SEC play now. His defense isn't even good enough for .250. Anyone who knows baseball and is honest knows he is probably average at best for the position defensively. Let's stop with the attempt to find a reason why we have stuck it out with him all season. It's not because 'no one else has stepped up'... no one else has even been attempted.

I think this is right at this point. I really am curious as to what in the world Cumbest has done to convince Lemonis that he would be unlikely to to stay above .200 if he were getting regular at bats. From the game stats, it doesn't look like he is just cleaning up against ****** competition.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

The ones that keep trying to find ways our 1b isn't really the liability that he is?!?!?

 

[NOATLDAWG]

THIS!! We have not seen anyone get quality at bats so it is impossible to say 'no one has shown the ability'... Apparently the only way you can earn a spot is to hit a homer in your first AB like Skinner had to do at LSU

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

And since then Skinner has been over matched against all comers. We have better players and hitters than Skinner and Hatcher. Play them!

 

[olblue.sixpack]

And since then Skinner has been over matched against all comers. We have better players and hitters than Skinner and Hatcher. Play them!

What happened to bench Scotty Dubrule?

Oh wait.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

Here is what I would say to that... Dubrule was still getting some walks when he was slumping and didn't have a lot of 3 and 4 pitch at bats where he looked completely overmatched. As well as he IS the defensive 'better than average' player.

I really don't think you understand how your comparison isn't close to working for your argument. Dubrule has been hitting above .250 for most of the season... And he has a 1/1 k/BB average...

Hatcher hasn't hit .250 since LSU (and that was after a surge). His k/BB for the season is 22/8. Anyone watching his ABs knows he is just not seeing the ball at all right now. Again, I just don't know why people are so sensitive to the truth. We aren't talking about a 10 game stretch at this point. We are 35 games in. We won't go far this year (or any year) if we play a senior 1b that is striking out almost 3/1, hitting sub .200, and is on track to have 25RBIs.

 

[johnson86-1]

What happened to bench Scotty Dubrule?

Oh wait.

He was benched and seems to have responded? Was benched against Southern and the Auburn series, and starting with Southern I think has gone 9 for 20 with 3 walks? Hasn't been a murderer's row of pitchers (did go 1 for 5 in the first two games against Ole Miss with no walks which was the only plus pitchers he faced I think), but still, I think everyone would love for Hatcher to show some signs of life like that.

 

[thekimmer]

Here is what I would say to that... Dubrule was still getting some walks when he was slumping and didn't have a lot of 3 and 4 pitch at bats where he looked completely overmatched. As well as he IS the defensive 'better than average' player.

I really don't think you understand how your comparison isn't close to working for your argument. Dubrule has been hitting above .250 for most of the season... And he has a 1/1 k/BB average...

Hatcher hasn't hit .250 since LSU (and that was after a surge). His k/BB for the season is 22/8. Anyone watching his ABs knows he is just not seeing the ball at all right now. Again, I just don't know why people are so sensitive to the truth. We aren't talking about a 10 game stretch at this point. We are 35 games in. We won't go far this year (or any year) if we play a senior 1b that is striking out almost 3/1, hitting sub .200, and is on track to have 25RBIs.

I get the angst over benching Hatch. For one thing its the tragedy of seeing a successful multi-year starter's career end like that. Another is the lure of knowing he has hit .300+ over several years and that surely he can get that going eventually. Its really down to this question, is the chance of him being able to get the bat going worth the risk if he never does and you enter post season with a gaping hole in an already challenged lineup. All I can say is we have played 2/3rds of the season. He has 123 ABs and a .195 BA. The prospects do not look good at this point I would hate to reach the end of the season with him having his ABs outnumber his batting average.

 

[anonymous.sixpack]

Let’s hope they all get clicking on all cylinders at the same time.

 

[o_HuntDawg]

I get the angst over benching Hatch. For one thing its the tragedy of seeing a successful multi-year starter's career end like that. Another is the lure of knowing he has hit .300+ over several years and that surely he can get that going eventually. Its really down to this question, is the chance of him being able to get the bat going worth the risk if he never does and you enter post season with a gaping hole in an already challenged lineup. All I can say is we have played 2/3rds of the season. He has 123 ABs and a .195 BA. The prospects do not look good at this point I would hate to reach the end of the season with him having his ABs outnumber his batting average.

Hatcher has never hit anywhere close to 300 over several years. He's been a subpar hitter his entire career.

Should have never moved Tanner Allen off 1B to hand this guy a position. Tanner Allen was every bit as good if not better than Hatcher at 1b. Thee simple move is to move Allen back to 1B and open up an outfield spot. If not a permanent move, then at least can be done in certain matchups to get a better offensive team on the field.

 

[o_HuntDawg]

He was benched and seems to have responded? Was benched against Southern and the Auburn series, and starting with Southern I think has gone 9 for 20 with 3 walks? Hasn't been a murderer's row of pitchers (did go 1 for 5 in the first two games against Ole Miss with no walks which was the only plus pitchers he faced I think), but still, I think everyone would love for Hatcher to show some signs of life like that.

Hatcher started every single game until game 2 against Ole Miss. He's 1 for 6 since. Wouldn't call that a response.

His 9 for 20 stretch game against Grambling and Eastern Michigan

Since SEC play has started his average has dropped from 259 to 195 and he's only had one week where he brought his batting average up to even show signs of life and that was a week went 4 for 15 and that brought his average from 200 to 209

He shouldn't be starting or starting daily at all

 

[thekimmer]

Hatcher hit above .300 his last two seasons...

Hatcher has never hit anywhere close to 300 over several years. He's been a subpar hitter his entire career.

Should have never moved Tanner Allen off 1B to hand this guy a position. Tanner Allen was every bit as good if not better than Hatcher at 1b. Thee simple move is to move Allen back to 1B and open up an outfield spot. If not a permanent move, then at least can be done in certain matchups to get a better offensive team on the field.

He hit .311 in 2020 and .321 in 2019, He did hit .259 in 2018 his freshman year. His overall average coming into 2021 was .287 so I will concede the point that he was not a career .300+ but his career average was heavily influenced by his freshman year and the expectation would be that a guy who has hit above .300 the last two years would do so this year also.

With all that said he is far, far below where he should be and we can agree that a decision needs to be made quickly.

 

[Drebin]

The ones that keep trying to find ways our 1b isn't really the liability that he is?!?!?

You can keep digging and "finding ways" all you want. It's not going to change anything. We have what we have and Lemonis is going to keep trotting him out there. You mention it once or twice, that's fine. We all can agree that Hatcher is underperforming. There's no point in continuing to rehash it. It is what it is.