Cats win today all is forgotten. Nobody expected us to be in this position anyways. Have to knock their ace out early. Their top bullpen arms are toast. It’s baseball. Losses happen. Guess ga tech, fsu, Auburn, Florida and A&M should all fire their coaches too since they are in the if game. UCLA is out. Fire him too.
KY-WVA Regional Championship Game Thread !!
- Thread starter megablue
- Start date
Mingione is simply a horrible in game coach. Poor decisions. The last pitcher he brought in seemed to have his head on straight. Boone did not have the stuff nor a clue. Surely someone better than Cloud is on a high school baseball team in Kentucky. Cannot hit and cannot field. Bring on Sayre's coach and ditch Mingione who seems more like a little league coach.
Mingione has always been too conservative for my tastes. With a 3-run lead in the 9th, you throw strikes, get ahead in the count, and let the chips fall where they may. You don’t pussyfoot around and give free bases playing not to lose.
But also if you are a Power 5 conference infielder, you make ******* plays.
But also if you are a Power 5 conference infielder, you make ******* plays.
Do you think Mingione was telling them not to throw strikes?
The pitching meltdown happened because this team just has crappy relief pitching. It’s been their glaring weakness all season long. It wasn’t a strategy decision.
I don't follow UK baseball that much. But I did watch the WV game yesterday. Can someone tell me why the "closer" that the announcers kept talking about never came in to pitch? Instead they brought out a guy that walked in a run. Then the last pitcher brought in a run on a walk, then another on a balk. Where was the closer? Injured? But they kept showing a guy warming up in the bullpen that was our "closer". Someone explain please.
We don’t have a closer. The guy they was mentioning is our best starter. He pitched Friday. He went to the bullpen to start getting ready and see if he was feeling good enough to pitch im assuming. He either wasn’t ready or wasn’t feeling good enough. I don’t blame him for either. He threw almost 100 pitches Friday. The lefty coming in wasn’t a bad move. He just couldn’t throw a strike all of a sudden. The other guy was a weird choice but I understand Ming has to save arms in the likelihood we lose. We will see tonight if it pays off or not.
Confidence is kind of important in a reliever. Ming recruited relievers who routinely piss down their leg.
As mentioned the bullpen has been weak all season. Alderman and Adcock pitched well in relief yesterday. I thought the error to start the ninth was a killer, their 7, 8 & 9 hitters were up and it kind of opened the door.
As for today our pitching is in as bad a shape as theirs. I hope our bats are hot and we have at least one pitcher pitch well. I look for the game to be similar to the other two in score. Double digit runs will be required to win.
As for today our pitching is in as bad a shape as theirs. I hope our bats are hot and we have at least one pitcher pitch well. I look for the game to be similar to the other two in score. Double digit runs will be required to win.
I thought they said WVU would have their ace available to pitch today. Just like I would expect UK to have their ace available for 30-40 pitches if necessary.
This is the issue right here. I've watched for a long time as our pitchers stuggle with command and control and nothing every changes. There is NOTHING more detrimental in any given game than pitchers who walk batters. Its treated as just part of the game but its not A part its a CRUCIAL part. Our pitching coach doesnt seem to have any affect on making them better and teaching location vs velocity in certain situations. When he comes to the mound I immediatly brace for the worse after. He's just not getting it done and its holdin this program back big time.
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I find myself wondering if a new pitching coach would help, also. In watching college baseball though it seems many teams have the same issue. Better talent evaluation may help also. I'm kind of new to paying close attention to college baseball as my wife is a big fan.
the kid they brought in with bases loaded and no outs in the 9th had both of his hands shaking. Made me think about if that was my son up there. Sad to see that. Hope they flush it all and come out ready to go tonight.
Since tobacco products are out now, it appears Mingione has moved to chewing gum. No surprise there, as in the many years I played baseball, I always enjoyed chewing bubble gum as I played. I migrated to sunflower seeds at the park later in life, as many probably did.
Mingione strikes me as a very aggressive chewer, as compared to Bruiser Flint, but I suspect Flint would easily win the stick count.
Just venturing a guess, Mingione goes with Juicy Fruit, with Flint chewing Spearmint.
I think chewing can calm your nerves a little bit and maybe helps keep your head in the game ... although I don't really know.
I didn't realize that Mark Pope would occasionally chew, as I hadn't noticed it before. In this little clip, it appears he sought a quick sugar lift !!
I can see Pope chewing Teaberry, Beemans or Clove ... for the sophisticated palette. I like all three myself !! The music in the clip is a real trip ... !!
Mingione strikes me as a very aggressive chewer, as compared to Bruiser Flint, but I suspect Flint would easily win the stick count.
Just venturing a guess, Mingione goes with Juicy Fruit, with Flint chewing Spearmint.
I think chewing can calm your nerves a little bit and maybe helps keep your head in the game ... although I don't really know.
I didn't realize that Mark Pope would occasionally chew, as I hadn't noticed it before. In this little clip, it appears he sought a quick sugar lift !!
I can see Pope chewing Teaberry, Beemans or Clove ... for the sophisticated palette. I like all three myself !! The music in the clip is a real trip ... !!
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this mf chewed a piece of gum for 10 seconds. and people on here try to say he's not weird ...
get this man out of Lexington and into a straitjacket
If it was Fruit Stripe, then I understand his choice. That's about how long the flavor lasts.
All others though are reason for banishment.
Our pitching is in better shape than theirs. They have played one more game than we have, have an ace dealing with possible arm issues, and we didn’t really throw anyone that valuable (except Adcock) yesterday.
Mattison, Bennett (I think he can pitch after Sunday off), Sams, perhaps Jelkin for a few will be the nucleus. Those guys are the best bets at this point. L Harris and T Hunter are available if either are on - short leash there.
We will need to score a lot for sure and will win with adequate pitching.
I agree with others on reevaluating the pitching moving forward. The pen has been a constant weakness and the guys historically seem to get worse as the season progresses. Confidence and throwing strikes always an issue. I don’t know if it’s the coaching or the evaluation, but the bullpen component is curbing our upside.
Based on the highly-abbreviated chew duration in the clip, I concluded that Pope simply wanted a quick sugar lift.
Out of curiosity, I googled "what chewing gums give you the quickest sugar lift ??" I'd never heard of the results mentioned ...
"To get an instant burst of physical energy, sublingual energy gums like Neuro Energy & Focus Gum or Gymgum are your best bet. Because the active compounds are absorbed directly through the mucous membranes in your mouth and bypass the digestive tract, they provide an effect up to 5x faster than coffee or energy drinks.
The top options for a rapid "lift" include:
- Neuro Energy & Focus Gum: Uses 40mg of natural caffeine combined with L-theanine and B-vitamins to deliver a smooth boost of energy and focus within minutes, without the crash.
- Gymgum: Each piece provides 50mg of natural caffeine alongside L-theanine for a quick cognitive and physical kick in about 5-10 minutes. [1]
- Simply Gum: If you are looking for an actual sugar lift, rather than a stimulant, their classic lineup is sweetened with about 1 gram of organic cane sugar per piece for a mild, natural rise.
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I expect Jelkin to start the game, but we'll soon see. I took a look at the season pitching stats and was amazed to see that there are twenty-one (21) players listed as having pitched this season.
While I'm sure many here follow all Kentucky sports much closer than I, it is a nice change of pace to see the UK women's teams and "other" men's UK sports teams out there competing and trying to overcome the lack of direction with the A.D. that needs to be gone post haste.
That said, I hope the baseball team can keep it going and make the super regional. It has been a wild ride getting to this point.
Go Big Blue !
That said, I hope the baseball team can keep it going and make the super regional. It has been a wild ride getting to this point.
Go Big Blue !
I believe Mattison starts with cleaver behind him. Jelkin will come in at some point if he is needed late or a crucial situation possibly.
Mattison's 8.10 ERA is concerning, so I hope Mangione has a quick hook on him if he struggles.
And out of 21 pitchers he sticks a guy in that hasn’t pitched in two months during the 9th with a 3 run lead. You can’t play scared. And that’s exactly what he did. He was saving arms for today in case we lost and that’s playing scared.
Spot on. Couldn’t be said or typed any better. It literally drives me bananas.Yesterday, he had us bunting with 2 outs & a runner on 3rd in a close game. He routinely takes the bat out of his best hitters’ hands in his crusade to manufacture gimmicky runs at every opportunity.
He’s obsessed with bunting & no hitter OR situation is off limits. Countless times he’s had the middle of the lineup bunting with RISP & it doesn’t matter how many outs there are. I don’t think he’s ever passed on the chance to squeeze home a run, either.
At times, I seriously question if he ever played baseball, at any level, before he got into coaching. And, it’s not a given to me that he even watched a game, based on his “strategies”, which are more aligned with 10-under girls softball than D1 baseball. It’s cheap & cringe.
He’s bush league personified, IMO. And, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was mocked & disliked by most other SEC managers. He kinda wipes his a$$ with the integrity of the game & a lot of guys, especially old timers, don’t appreciate it.
I was shocked when he came in. And quickly disgusted. Ming has some very good traits but he is dumb at in game management. Burning two starters in one post season game last year still sticks with me.
You must not follow college baseball much. It's the 4th game in 4 days. This ain't the pros - the 4th starter is always iffy.
That said, Mattison is better than his ERA (hard not to be, right?). He has had some really good outings. Obviously, up and down. Better spot than we were in last year with our arms though. Need to score a bunch and patch together the pitching. We have enough decent pitchers left to do it. Jack Bennett, Sams, and Jelkin could be big today. GBB!