Starting pitching?

[floridahighschoolcoach]

My biggest concern is our starting pitching. Sounds crazy but we are not getting deep into games and DeCaro and Lynch have to go deeper than 4 or 5 innings. Honestly we lost today because our two starters in the first two games went no
Deeper than 4 innings and Glob was out and McDuffy very limited. Get good starts from Decaro and Lynch next weekend and we move on to the super regional round but get 4 innings only out both it gets very difficult.

 

[KenansDad]

My biggest concern is our starting pitching. Sounds crazy but we are not getting deep into games and DeCaro and Lynch have to go deeper than 4 or 5 innings. Honestly we lost today because our two starters in the first two games went no
Deeper than 4 innings and Glob was out and McDuffy very limited. Get good starts from Decaro and Lynch next weekend and we move on to the super regional round but get 4 innings only out both it gets very difficult.

Starters this weekend combined for 10 innings total. Tough weekend for them

 

[BigGame12330]

Never would have thought pitching would be our biggest concern, but here we are. Worried that we have rode our horses too much and they are tiring down the stretch. The other problem is not developing depth along the way and now we need those guys more than ever. Hoping we can get re-charged and find that second wind as we head into the tournament.

 

[ranzino4three]

I think they are going to have to get creative with game 3. Boaz seems to be good once through the order. Rose looked good his first inning. Maybe alternate lefty/righty and just tell the guys to get you three outs. Stick with the plan and maybe they can get you deep enough where you can use Mcduffie or Glauber late. I’m a little worried headed into next weekend

 

[Easy Game]

Not sure if it is our approach or just a lack of control, but all of the starters seem to get behind the count with 80% of the batters. Those pitches accumulate, resulting in 4-5 innings of work. Was at the game yesterday right behind home plate. Lynch’s body language was bad from the first several pitches forward. Could not land a change up to save his life, so they sat on his fastball. Felt bad for him as he was a sitting duck all day.

 

[floridahighschoolcoach]

We got to throw strikes early in the count. Get ahead use Lynch's fastball early in the count and then the hitter has to defend against every pitch but fall behind and they sit fastball.

 

[HeelYeah2012]

We feel vulnerable in a regional with the lack of pitching depth. I feel better about a Super (3 games max) and Omaha (with days off) but a regional could really expose our inability to trust anyone beyond our best 4 arms.

 

[bluebooksandbluecups]

I will say that I actually felt good about how Boaz and Rose threw today. I know that sounds weird. But I really did.

 

[goheels1117]

If Glauber or McDuffie were struggling, I would understand saying we’ve rode them too much. But we haven’t pushed the two starters very hard at all. Both guys are around 75 innings. Neither has gone over 110 pitches in any start. DeCaro over 100 four times, Lynch only two. They just have to be better.

It would be nice to beat the hell out of a 4-seed so we can use relievers we don’t need the rest of the weekend. But that certainly hasn’t happened the last two years.

 

[wsdog]

Why do I feel better when McDuffie comes in than I did with the starter that he’s replacing. Love that guy.

 

[GoHeels834]

We have done a poor job all year at developing bullpen arms. We relied on McDuffie and Glauber to do everything all year. I know some of the other guys they have tried have been shaky but the only way to make them consistent is to get them innings. I don’t know why Forbes has been afraid to give other guys consistent innings when he lets Boaz get crapped on every week with no hesitation.

 

[TarPat]

Other teams seem to like doing it, don't recall us doing it, but I feel like starting Boaz or Rose against the 4 seed in the regional may be the way to go.

 

[heelforlife15]

Just start Rose on Sundays

 

[floridahighschoolcoach]

We got go deep Fri to have Glob and McDuffy fresh Saturday night. We have no control over what we get as a four seed ? Hopefully we catch a big break and get a weak four seed with no dominant starting pitcher.

 

[premn]

Just start Rose on Sundays

Great plan for next season

 

[ranzino4three]

We have done a poor job all year at developing bullpen arms. We relied on McDuffie and Glauber to do everything all year. I know some of the other guys they have tried have been shaky but the only way to make them consistent is to get them innings. I don’t know why Forbes has been afraid to give other guys consistent innings when he lets Boaz get crapped on every week with no hesitation.

It’s like this every year and why I was saying let some other guys throw early in the year and caught some flack for it.

 

[premn]

It’s like this every year and why I was saying let some other guys throw early in the year and caught some flack for it.

They did throw early in the year, and everyone walked a bunch of batters. Flannery and Rose had many opportunities to show they could start and they couldn’t do it consistently.

 

[premn]

I think people forget what it looked like 2 months ago when those guys were getting worse outing by outing. Padgett and Flannery started off pretty well and then got to be unplayable. Rose also struggled badly his last few outings before today, where he also got hit as much as Boaz did. There isn’t a magic bullet the coaches are refusing to use.

 

[furrdawg]

Simply, DeCaro and Lynch have to go further in the game. We have four guys you can rely on in a high leverage situation. We need Glauber free to start, and the only way to do that is if those two are more efficient.

We essentially burned our first and third starter in game one.

 

[premn]

Simply, DeCaro and Lynch have to go further in the game. We have four guys you can rely on in a high leverage situation. We need Glauber free to start, and the only way to do that is if those two are more efficient.

We essentially burned our first and third starter in game one.

Game one wasn’t managed like the first game of a regional or super regional would be

 

[furrdawg]

Game one wasn’t managed like the first game of a regional or super regional would be

I assume he’s had a quicker hook for decaro and lynch to try and keep them somewhat fresh, but to me it’s still big unknown. Regardless, the number of guys he seems to truly trust is ….not enough

 

[GoHeels834]

I think people forget what it looked like 2 months ago when those guys were getting worse outing by outing. Padgett and Flannery started off pretty well and then got to be unplayable. Rose also struggled badly his last few outings before today, where he also got hit as much as Boaz did. There isn’t a magic bullet the coaches are refusing to use.

I agree there isn’t a clear cut guy but that’s where we have to develop guys. Forbes seemed to give up on guys quickly early on and then they get spot innings and they have to no flow when they get in there. I just don’t understand how the guy with the 2nd worse ERA on the team continued to get ran out there on the weekend. We were better off making Sunday’s a bullpen games and let Flannery, Padgett, seagraves, Matthijs get innings and see who consistently deliver. Now every team is going to be good. We just better hope the big 4 can carry

 

[Sandheel21]

I agree there isn’t a clear cut guy but that’s where we have to develop guys. Forbes seemed to give up on guys quickly early on and then they get spot innings and they have to no flow when they get in there. I just don’t understand how the guy with the 2nd worse ERA on the team continued to get ran out there on the weekend. We were better off making Sunday’s a bullpen games and let Flannery, Padgett, seagraves, Matthijs get innings and see who consistently deliver. Now every team is going to be good. We just better hope the big 4 can carry

It would have been nice to have Olin Johnson this year. He flashed a bit last year.

 

[ranzino4three]

It would have been nice to have Olin Johnson this year. He flashed a bit last year.

Does anyone have access to super premium and know what happened to OJ?

 

[topoftheheel]

I think people forget what it looked like 2 months ago when those guys were getting worse outing by outing. Padgett and Flannery started off pretty well and then got to be unplayable. Rose also struggled badly his last few outings before today, where he also got hit as much as Boaz did. There isn’t a magic bullet the coaches are refusing to use.

Agreed but I will say Forbes has had a pretty long leash and higher expectations for Boaz than most others it seems

 

[TommyAshley]

Does anyone have access to super premium and know what happened to OJ?

We’ve (and Forbes in interviews) told you repeatedly he’s been out and wouldn’t be ready to pitch until he was healthy. What do you need beyond that? You aren’t going to get the young man’s medical chart so I’m not sure why you continue to ask the question.

 

[ranzino4three]

I understand and respect the privacy involved. My intention wasn’t to ask for personal medical information, only to clarify availability and timeline expectations since there’s been discussion about it publicly. I appreciate the clarification and won’t press the issue further.

 

[HeelTrip3]

We have done a poor job all year at developing bullpen arms. We relied on McDuffie and Glauber to do everything all year. I know some of the other guys they have tried have been shaky but the only way to make them consistent is to get them innings. I don’t know why Forbes has been afraid to give other guys consistent innings when he lets Boaz get crapped on every week with no hesitation.

This

 

[premn]

How many more losses this season would you be willing to tolerate to /maybe/ have other pitchers in the bullpen be marginally better?

 

[oldwell]

Forbes knows the pitchers more than anyone on this board.

If there were other guys in the pen that would be better than Boaz, they would be pitching. Forbes hasn’t had any issue switching up the lineup/staff in his career.

Rose, Boston, Padgett and Seagraves have had a ton of opportunities during midweeks. They haven’t shown they can be depended on.

The Boaz situation is not ideal but it makes sense why Forbes has stuck with the vet on a short leash.

 

[oldwell]

Agreed but I will say Forbes has had a pretty long leash and higher expectations for Boaz than most others it seems

Boaz is a veteran. It makes sense why there’s higher expectations for him.

 

[NoHighHeels]

Never would have thought pitching would be our biggest concern, but here we are. Worried that we have rode our horses too much and they are tiring down the stretch. The other problem is not developing depth along the way and now we need those guys more than ever. Hoping we can get re-charged and find that second wind as we head into the tournament.

This is what I've been concerned with most of the season, but most here don't agree with our take. I think in some of these situations throughout the season, we should have risked taking a loss and not pitch our horses 4 or 5 innings (especially after they already went 3 innings earlier on that weekend). It would've given other pitchers the opportunity to get more comfortable in big situations. Some say it was to stretch out our relievers. But it seems a bit like overworking to me.

I guess we'll see how they perform over the next few weeks. This team definitely has the talent.

 

[ranzino4three]

I agree with you @NoHighHeels but we are in the minority for sure.

 

[HeelYeah2012]

Also worth noting we didn’t have a lot of breathing room in many of our series’ this year to get guys work just for the sake of getting them work. We won a lot of key rubber games (Clemson, BC, Louisville) that tilted our season from good to great. We badly needed the Sunday UVA game just to salvage something.

There may have been some opportunities against Pitt, ND, NCSU for example when we had already taken the first two games of a series.

 

[OldLeaguer]

It’s like this every year and why I was saying let some other guys throw early in the year and caught some flack for it.

You have banged on this theme for a good part of the year. What do you think constitutes development? I would love to hear some details. Perhaps you could include how few chances each of our key relievers have received both this year, and since you mentioned it's like this every year, include the opportunities the chances the returning pitchers got. While you're at maybe include the decision process the coaches go through and some of the data they collect and evaluate when making their decisions as well as how they collect that data. What factors do they consider when decided who gets to pitch and who doesn't. Don't forget to include the obligation of the player to apply what they've been taught when they are given the (few) chances they've been given. Oh, and be sure to include a metric for the coaches in-game decision process as to when enough is enough should a pitcher not actually be at the point of peak performance.

 

[premn]

Also worth noting we didn’t have a lot of breathing room in many of our series’ this year to get guys work. We won a lot of key rubber games (Clemson, BC, Louisville) that took our season from good to great.

There may have been some opportunities against Pitt, ND, NCSU for example when we had already taken the first two games of a series.

Look at game 3 of ND

Baseball vs Notre Dame on 03/29/2026 - Box Score - University of North Carolina Athletics

University of North Carolina Athletics

goheels.com

 

[HeelYeah2012]

Look at game 3 of ND

Baseball vs Notre Dame on 03/29/2026 - Box Score - University of North Carolina Athletics

University of North Carolina Athletics

goheels.com

Yep good call. We got lots of guys work that game. Seagraves was awesome that weekend.

 

[premn]

Yep good call. We got lots of guys work that game. Seagraves was awesome that weekend.

Interesting game because it was a bad Boaz start but we still went with bullpen depth. Issue has been most of our games have been close, or we run rule and lose innings where guys could get work in the 8th and 9th.

 

[topoftheheel]

Boaz is a veteran. It makes sense why there’s higher expectations for him.

It’s been that way for years imo

 

[oldwell]

It’s been that way for years imo

This year sure, but he only pitched 30 innings last year and was the 4th reliever by the end of the year?