Explain Keegan James to me...................

[Hanmudog]

I admit I know very little about baseball but how can a guy pitch so badly when he obviously shows the coaches something in practice that justifies starting him?

Is it the yips? Is it mechanical? Is he injured? Does he need to see a sports shrink?

I feel bad for the kid because he looked almost in tears when he got to the dugout after being yanked. Might be time to shut him down for the year.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

I watched him closely after the second walk. He pays WAY to much attention to the runners on base. I just don't think he focuses on the batter enough.

 

[maroonmania]

I don't know but to pitch like he did last night against a mediocre team is pretty inexcusable for a guy that has been in the program as long as he has. Not sure how the coaching staff can have any confidence in running him out there again this year except for mop up duty.

 

[CadaverDawg]

100% mental imo. At this point his location issues have gotten in his head so bad he probably just internally freaks out as soon as he throws the first ball. Unfortunate, because I hear he's a good kid...just can't get over a mental hurdle right now it appears

 

[Wizard.sixpack]

After he went to dugout he didn't say a word. He just had a spaced out weird look on his face, like he was really on edge and sweating profusely. He went into the locker-room and a few minutes later Lemonis went back there. I wonder if he was ill or something.

 

[anon1787432961]

Basically it comes down to pad level. He's got the build to play a solid tight end but if he can't block it really doesn't matter how great his hands are. He really needs to work on his cross-over and pick and roll. He's a great 6th man but he's not going to get there if he can't keep his gloves up.

 

[philduckworth]

I think it's all mental. Sometimes when you are struggling and you want it so bad, you try harder. And that's the last thing you should do. If he could somehow get out of his own way, let his mind slow down and just let his talent take over, he would be find success. I feel for him b/c he is very talented and it's not translating to the games.

 

[Willow Grove Dawg]

He is beginning to remind me of Evan Mitchell. He has tremendous ability and just cannot throw enough strikes to pitch in a meaningful game. He will probably get his **** together in the minors and pitch 5-6 years in the majors.

 

[Seinfeld]

I don't know what's bugging him, but he's had a 10.75 ERA since SEC play started this season, and he's averaged roughly a walk/inning. Last year, he was a little better with an ERA around 7 in SEC play, but if we're being honest, he has a pretty lengthy history of struggling against good to great competition. Maybe he'll just always be a limited inning bullpen guy rather than starting, but in this league, you've either got it or you don't, and he really doesn't have many strong showings from the last two years.

For his own sake, I hope he gets things figured out

 

[Puppychow]

He will make a great BP pitcher in the bigs. Lot of experience.

 

[o_LandDawg]

He appears to be short arming (not sure if right term, but only thing that comes to mind) and trying to place the ball. This as opposed to full arm extension and throwing to a spot. Also, as someone else already pointed out, he worries too much about base runners.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

There are 2 types of pitching mindsets: 1)"Come get you some" (the current Small/Ginn approach) and 2)"I hope you don't get any" (the current James approach).

There's no place for Mr. Nice guy on the mound. Or the batter's box for that matter.

Pitchers: "Come get you some"
Hitters: "You don't want any"

 

[Bulldogg31]

The 6 inches between the ears is much harder to control than to 60 feet between the mound and the plate.

 

[MeridianDog]

I admire players who can see the exact strike zone (it differs with umps and games and times within the game) and are able to "paint the corners". e don't have a lot of pitchers who can do that, and yet every player we have tries. It just kills me to see our guys walking batters, while the announcers say, "That one was on the very edge of the zone.".


To me, we have some good pitchers, and some very good pitchers. We are not blessed with many who will play past college.


I know the wife is tired of me standing in front of the TV yelling, "Just put one over the plate and stop throwing every pitch, two inches out of the strike zone, hoping they will swing away to avoid the embarrassment of getting walked."


Rant over.