First off, let's talk facilities:
1. The fences were NOT moved in. Foul Poles are still at 330 and 326, Power Alleys are still 374 and 376, and CF is still 390. There are new OF fence padding (that looks very good, BTW... much cleaner and up to par). The batters eye has been repainted (Dudy Noble Field is not painted on it, don't know if it will). As it stands now, it is solid green. Hope to see "Dudy Noble Field" painted on it aGAIN.
2. The scoreboard is also being upgraded and will hopefully be complete by next weekend. The existing HD screen and lower "ribbon board" are still there, but a new scoreboard portion will be added. From what I understand, it will be a full HD board, top to bottom with advertisements on the side and fake brick at the bottom (same as always).
Now, to the game itself...
1. Our pitching will be just as deep this year as it was last year. Kendall Graveman had a decent outing today, gave up some hits... but the standout during spring ball is definitely Will Cox. The guy has great location, a solid fastball, and can literally pound you to death at the bottom of the zone. As long as he stays relaxed, he will be a force to be reckoned with. I'm not sure how he will be used, but he is a high point. Pollo had a great outing the other day, but really seemed to be a step behind today. Gave up some key hits. Holder is the same beast he was last year (last week, was brought in with runners on first and second, no outs and a one run lead, and gave up 0 runs). Expect to see low scoring games this year.
2. Hitting seems as if it will be a SLIGHT improvement to last year, but still no power added (granted, they were hitting against our pitchers). Expect to see much of the same thing... aggressive baserunning, a lot of hit and runs, some bunting (we have TONS of speed on the bases this year), and bottom half of the SEC in home runs. Our lineup should look very similar to last year.
Overall, this is will be much the same in terms of "style" this year. We don't have much power hitting, so expect to see a lot of attempted steals, bunting, hit and runs, and other small ball antics. This team is clearly built around a strong pitching staff that will be very deep. We should have a very solid club this year and am excited to see us play.
ETA: I thought we struggled today with "count management." We worked our way quickly into a lot of 1-2 and 2-2 counts. If we are going to be a small ball team, I hope to see us manufacture walks to get runners on base. I really hope to see a guy in our lineup take control and work his way into an on-base machine, and hopefully others will follow suit.
Also ETA: Wes Rea still tend to swing over curveballs late in the count and Matthew Britton will be Matthew Britton.
In Cohen We Trust (taken from you, C34)
1. The fences were NOT moved in. Foul Poles are still at 330 and 326, Power Alleys are still 374 and 376, and CF is still 390. There are new OF fence padding (that looks very good, BTW... much cleaner and up to par). The batters eye has been repainted (Dudy Noble Field is not painted on it, don't know if it will). As it stands now, it is solid green. Hope to see "Dudy Noble Field" painted on it aGAIN.
2. The scoreboard is also being upgraded and will hopefully be complete by next weekend. The existing HD screen and lower "ribbon board" are still there, but a new scoreboard portion will be added. From what I understand, it will be a full HD board, top to bottom with advertisements on the side and fake brick at the bottom (same as always).
Now, to the game itself...
1. Our pitching will be just as deep this year as it was last year. Kendall Graveman had a decent outing today, gave up some hits... but the standout during spring ball is definitely Will Cox. The guy has great location, a solid fastball, and can literally pound you to death at the bottom of the zone. As long as he stays relaxed, he will be a force to be reckoned with. I'm not sure how he will be used, but he is a high point. Pollo had a great outing the other day, but really seemed to be a step behind today. Gave up some key hits. Holder is the same beast he was last year (last week, was brought in with runners on first and second, no outs and a one run lead, and gave up 0 runs). Expect to see low scoring games this year.
2. Hitting seems as if it will be a SLIGHT improvement to last year, but still no power added (granted, they were hitting against our pitchers). Expect to see much of the same thing... aggressive baserunning, a lot of hit and runs, some bunting (we have TONS of speed on the bases this year), and bottom half of the SEC in home runs. Our lineup should look very similar to last year.
Overall, this is will be much the same in terms of "style" this year. We don't have much power hitting, so expect to see a lot of attempted steals, bunting, hit and runs, and other small ball antics. This team is clearly built around a strong pitching staff that will be very deep. We should have a very solid club this year and am excited to see us play.
ETA: I thought we struggled today with "count management." We worked our way quickly into a lot of 1-2 and 2-2 counts. If we are going to be a small ball team, I hope to see us manufacture walks to get runners on base. I really hope to see a guy in our lineup take control and work his way into an on-base machine, and hopefully others will follow suit.
Also ETA: Wes Rea still tend to swing over curveballs late in the count and Matthew Britton will be Matthew Britton.
In Cohen We Trust (taken from you, C34)
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