Baseball question for our gurus...

[Phil Wenneck.sixpack]

Based on Gene's stats through 17 scrimmages, we've only hit 1 home run. Is this concerning? I know the bats changed but damn, that just sounds crazy. Based on last year, I'm pretty certain our pitching can't be THAT dominating. Panic button time?

 

[rawdawg14]

really, but I wouldn't put too much stock into stats during those scrimmages. The bats are horrible beyond any belief, I hit with one the other day, they absolutely suck! I much prefer a wood bat over them any day. When looking at these stats remember, they can often be biased to one side or another, it's just really hard to tell...You're playing against guys that you know their tendencies, you know what they have a hard time hitting, etc etc....I wouldn't hit the panic button, and I definitely wouldn't say our pitching is that dominant yet, but I think home runs are going to be cut down across the country this year at least early in the season til players have more and more experience with these bats. What I would be more concerned about are just simply base hits, and extra base hits...Old saying between baseball players "Home runs don't win ball games" I would also look at how many BBs we are giving up, those are bigger concerns.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

..if only 1 HR has been hit in 17 scrimmages, then it means there are no power hitters on this team.


I don't give a damn what kind of bats are being used.

 

[bulldogcountry1]

I always thought it was a legal option. Seems like a remember hearing about guys using them on ocassion to impress scouts.

 

[RobbieRandolph]

..

 

[Todd4State]

I think it's a combination of the bats, the ballpark, and having a lot of young players.

We were going to lose a lot of power regardless of what kind of bats that we're using.

Is it concerning? To a degree. Home runs don't necessarily = good hitting team. Home runs = good power hitting team. I remember the Detriot Tigers in 1991 had a lot of power hitters like Cecil Fielder, Rob Deer, Mickey Tettleton, and Pete Incaviglia. They hit a ton of home runs, but they also struck out a lot to. They had some high home run totals, but some guys with some fairly pedestrian batting averages.

State's team next year is going to be all about speed and creating runs. Like the Cardinals in the 1980's under Whitey Herzog. You can win doing this, and have an offense that is actually pretty good. I know the Cardinals in 1985 only had two guys that hit more than 10 home runs in Jack Clark and Andy Van Slyke and maybe Darrell Porter, but they also had a ton of guys that had high averages and even more stolen bases.

I will say this though- the lack of power is concerning because in an ideal world you would like to have a lineup that can do both- at least I would on a note of personal preferance. If we get into a slugfest, it's going to be hard for us to win. People can sugarcoat that with bats, the ballpark, and etc. but I do think that it is a concern.

I will also say this in regards to power with the current MSU players- power is something that is usually developed over time and one of the last things to "come" to a player. That's why I made note of the fact that we have a lot of young players as a factor in our lack of power. But, I do think that some players such as Hunter Renfroe, Wes Rea, Daryl Norris, and maybe even DeMarcus Henderson will develop power over time. But as of now, they are freshmen trying to adjust to the college game, and in Rea's case, he is trying to get healthy. And when they develop that power, I think we will have a much more balanced lineup because we should also still have guys like CT Bradford and Adam Frazier that are more speed guys.

 

[ScoobaDawg]

The bat is a equalizer across the NCAA and will reduce homeruns..this is a given.
That creates a LOT more hits inside the park which puts a higher premium than ever on playing good defense.
This is what worries me the most about this season.. not our offense or even pitching... the success of this season will lie on our defense.

 

[Todd4State]

but I am expecting our defense to be better.

Thigpen is a solid defender, Ogden, Jarrod Parks, Shepherd, Frost, CT Bradford, and Brent Brownlee are all guys that are pretty good defensively. First base I'm not so worried about defensively.

Our pitching should be better as well. I do think that the new bats and a year of experience will help them out.

Also, most of the new freshmen are pretty good defensively as well, so we should be good there in the future as well.

I think the biggest thing with defense is making sure that we have guys that have the range to cover the ground in the outfield to get to the balls. And we have that now.