Routt starting tonight

[AlCoDog]

Stratton and Graveman to start the Friday and Saturday games. This is a good move. Stratton has been great, so I would hate to move him from Saturday, but something had to be done with Routt. Hopefully he'll be back and better on Sunday.

 

[8dog]

are the guys that are not showing improvement. However, i like that we are not just going to keep trotting Routt out there hoping he'll figure it out again.

Of course, Routt had a 5 conference ERA last year so its not like he's Dubose or Maholm.

The hitting is probably the most puzzling thing of all, particularly the strike outs. And most disturbing is that our pitchers couldn't get Trey Johnson out in the fall---well, they are in the minority. He has K'd 14 of 26 ABs. Classic juco.

And Russ Sneed's year may be the most baffling thing of all.

 

[Goat Redux]

for the improvement of Powers, Adkins, Freeman, Houston and Reed. They've all gotten significantly better. Not saying you don't have a legit gripe, but remember Jones and Routt weren't players Cohen recruited. And has Whitney ever really been any good? JUCO is always a dice roll, and the freshmen brought in have been lights out. Sneed, Butler and Duffy have always disappointed when put in a position to lead and carry the team. They are great supplements, just can't be the stars.

 

[Todd4State]

Your point about Routt raises an interesting point- I think Routt may have looked better than he actually was in part because the rest of our pitchers were so bad. Sort of an Archie Manning with the Saints effect.

I'm not saying that Routt is bad, but he simply doesn't belong in the same category as Maholm, DuBose, or Brantley. He is a four year guy who will be a solid pitcher for us.

Sneed has had some hip problems and I think his confidence is shot. He has trouble during infield practice.

As far as the strikeouts- I think that's from being overly aggressive and chasing pitches- up in particular plus a game where we struck out 16 times in one time.

 

[Todd4State]

is they only have one or two tools.

Duffy has power, but he's not going to hit for average and he simply can't play defense or run.

Butler has some power, can hit for average, but is a poor defender and was atrocious on the base paths.

Sneed also has some power and can hit for average, but again, even when healthy he wasn't a great defender, and he is not a burner on the basepaths either.

It's a LOFT problem. Lack of <17> talent.

 

[GloryDawg]

anyone know when the baseball games will be aired on 105.9FM in Jackson or will it be 620AM? I apologize just did not want to start a thread for a one answer question.

BD

 

[8dog]

http://www.mstateathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16800&KEY=&ATCLID=926133&SPID=10993&SPSID=90863

 

[8dog]

I would have guessed the opposite---that we are taking too many pitches and getting behind in the count b/c of it. But I readily admit that I don't have any evidence to prove that and I wasn't able to track any of the games this weekend so you could very well be right.

I know Cohen had been disappointed in our decision making on 1st pitches.

 

[GloryDawg]

I hope it starts this weekend. 105.9 has not aired a game yet.I might have missed it in your link.

bd</p>

 

[8dog]

http://www.mstateathletics.com/fls/16800/pdf/bb_10bcastsched.pdf?SPSID=90863&SPID=10993&DB_OEM_ID=16800

 

[Todd4State]

I would have guessed the opposite---that we are taking too many pitches and getting behind in the count b/c of it. But I readily admit that I don't have any evidence to prove that and I wasn't able to track any of the games this weekend so you could very well be right.



I know Cohen had been disappointed in our decision making on 1st pitches.

every game, but the ones that I have seen, I noticed that we were chasing a lot of pitches up. That was about two weeks ago though.

The reason we had a bad game against UCLA was because their pitcher is good. He was a former first round pick by the Yankees.

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

The guy from UCLA that threw against us was there number 2, the number 1 Cole was drafted by the Yankees in the first round. But in actuality Bauer has been as good if not better than Cole this year.

As for the players, I think Duffy could hit for power and average if given regular at bats, I dont see that happening with Freeman needing at bats as a DH, though I dont see the point of ever playing Thigpen other than a late game defensive replacement, putting him and Frost in the lineup is putting outs in there. Sneed's hip has ruined him I dont think he is ready but he doesnt have a choice but to play. Butler can hit too, but his defense is just as bad as Duffy's, you can only have so many DH's. Second, and third base have killed us, but if Vickerson can continue to hold down third that should help a lot. Wouldnt it be nice to bring back Rea to play second.

Oh and Whitney is just not good, throwing 82 with limited off speed is not going to get outs, this is a case of the tards recruiting lefties like Pigott because he had one good year, and they thought the solution was to recruit soft tossing changeup type lefties.

Edited To Add: Stratton is filthy, when he gets a changeup to throw to lefties he will be one of the top 3 or 4 pitchers in the SEC, also Graveman has as equally as good stuff, his two seam/sinker is a groundball machine, much like Webb from DBacks, if Cohen can bring in some Infielders, then they should be very good next year.

 

[AzzurriDawg4]

Another factor being that lefties with a decent amount of talent seem to always do better out of the gates...first time through the league, etc. I haven't lost hope in Routt, but I had my doubts coming into the season that he was a lights-out Friday starter.

I was talking to a buddy that played for Georgia a few years back and I was telling him that we had a really good freshman pitcher last year. First question he asked me - Is he a lefty? He said any time he hears of a freshman taking the league by storm he would bet his life it is a lefty. They just have a tendency to perform better early on, before the learning curve catches up.

 

[8dog]

I'd love think he and Frazier are the infield of the future, but I've learned not to get that excited. Thanks Bunky and Rutledge.

 

[Todd4State]

that he will.

Also, the fact that he was announced as part of our signing class is a good sign. See Donnie Tabb last year.

I think our infield of the future is

1B- undecided because of Ethan Bright being kicked off of the team. Brandon Woodruff (JR from Wheeler)? JUCO? Luke Bole? Wes Rea? This is a need for us for sure.

2B- Lewallen. I think he outperforms Frost at the plate. If he doesn't we have Frazier and Rawdow if he recovers as well as Frost.

3B- As of now I would say Braydon Jones. If we offer and get Jackson Posey, I would say that he would be the frontrunner.

SS- DeMarcus Henderson.

I think one major difference between Cohen and the Polk II regime as far as recruiting is the belief of competition for spots vs. promising spots. What happens is you end up with guys that want to compete and aren't afraid to do it, and you also end up with depth. It also prevents you from telling Stephen Head that you don't want him because you have Brad Jones at first base. It also prevents complacency.