Sane Todd4State version of what we learned this weekend

[Todd4State]

The bad

1. We had four errors and put ourselves in a bad spot against Purdue on Saturday. Based on what I have seen, I think that is an anomoly.

2. Evan Mitchell is looking more like Devin Jones than Chris Stratton.

3. Wes Rea didn't play very much.

4. Kendall Graveman was shaky- part of that was due to the defense letting him down however.

5. Johnathan Holder has yet to go out to the mound with an American flag as a cape thus far this year.

The good

1. The hitting was pretty good- especially considering we didn't have Rea and we didn't have Renfroe for a game.

2. Renfroe looked like he might bust out this weekend- he should have had three home runs, but we'll certainly take the two.

3. The fans showed up. I've been critical of this in that past, so kudos for getting out and supporting the team. Now, we still have to try to top it next week.

4. I thought the pitching was better from a control standpoint. Lindgren and Ross Mitchell were both outstanding. But Will Cox deserves special mention for his performance today. The guy that hit the home run off of him was the MVP of the Cape Cod League.

5. Speaking of, what was really impressive is there were quality teams in this tournament. At the very least Samford is- we'll see what happens to Purdue. Oh- and by the way, Grambling won their series against Georgia State on the road and then Portland State is 2-5. I'm curious to see how things play out down the road with those teams.

6. Back to the offense, one thing that I saw this weekend that really pleased me more than anything was the aggressiveness and the balance. What I means is, we didn't just ****, we also did some hit and runs, we stole home once, we had some key stolen bases- Derrick Armstrong's steal was ultimately, the play call that made the difference Friday night. At the same time, we had Renfroe knocking balls out of the park, and today we had several doubles to go along with the small ball stuff. That, my friends is a winning offensive combination.

7. The comeback win against Purdue was HUGE for us from a confidence standpoint, as well as kicking Samford's *** on Saturday. I knew after we won that last night, we were sweeping Samford today. The team didn't disappoint one bit. Actually, Samford should count their blessings that we sat Rea and Renfroe out- or it would have been worse for them.

8. Our bullpen is sick. We have Holder doing his Kenny Powers impression- which I love by the way, you have Bracewell setting him up, and now we have Girodo who is becoming our left handed set-up guy. Not to mention Myles Gentry has been very good and you have CT Bradford coming in spots and he has been very effective. I haven't even mentioned Pollorena. If we have a lead after five, there is a very good chance we're winning the game.

9. Alex Detz had a good weekend. I have been advocating that Nick Flair should play more- and I think he should somewhere, be it DH, 3B, or 1B- but Detz has played very well. Thing is, he is a second baseman by trade. If it were me, I would make Detz the second baseman once Rea comes back. So, our answer to the second base question may have actually been playing first base.

Maybe once SEC play starts:

1. Frazier SS
2. CT CF
3. Rea 1B
4. Porter/Flair DH
5. Renfroe RF
6. Norris 3B
7. Slauter/Ammiratti C
8. Detz 2B
9. Henderson/Robson LF

Fri.- Woodruff
Sat.- Lindgren/Cox
Sun.- Graveman

Midweek- Pollorena and the Southbound and Out Bullpen.

 

[missouridawg]

Agree on Mitchell. Was disappointed to see him throw so wildly.

Luckily we're really deep on the staff, but having him be effective could really help.

 

[57stratdawg]

If Cox is throwing like he did today, he's a weekend starter. I feel like Lindgren, Cox, and Woodruff have higher ceilings than Gravemen.

 

[Will James]

If Cox is throwing like he did today, he's a weekend starter. I feel like Lindgren, Cox, and Woodruff have higher ceilings than Gravemen.

Graveman is going to be a weekend starter. Short memories forget Cox struggling his first start. Kendall had a sub 3 era in league play last year. That's where it matters.

 

[drt7891]

Cox has great stuff, but he's a bit unproven in tough situations. He basically was on cruise control most of the day today. Graveman will get the nod over Cox, for now, but if Cox can show he can keep his head together in tough situations, I feel his stuff is more solid than Graveman. Cox has great location at the bottom of the zone.

 

[dawgatUSM]

To me Detz is the key to the lineup. If he hits anywhere near what he has shown thus far we could have a great great year

 

[shoeless joe]

i liked the way we swung it today and yesterday. i was impressed with pyrtle's D and he had a good hit today after choking with 'em loaded in the first. also like detz swing...hit a missile saturday then drove one oppo today.

best part of the day may have been seeing nick flair have a laugh with the ump about the crowds reaction to him being announced.

really like this group.

 

[RougeDawg]

I like Robson over Henderson based on what I've seen...

Seems to have a much better approach at the plate and a very quiet stance/swing that has less chances of putting a bad swing on the ball (ie for you non baseballers: very little motion throughout entire bat, short and quick to point of contact, and perfect swing slot). Over the long haul of a season, based on his mechanics, he should be more successful at the plate.

On a second note, see what happens when Cohen allows our hitters to use the bats got their intended purposes!!!!

 

[Railin Jemmye]

Evan Mitchell is looking more like Devin Jones than Chris Stratton.

Agreed. I'm nervous every time he takes the hill.

Kendall Graveman was shaky- part of that was due to the defense letting him down however.

Yeah, we made errors, but he got raked. Just a bad day though....we know what he can do. He's a weekend starter.

The fans showed up. I've been critical of this in that past, so kudos for getting out and supporting the team. Now, we still have to try to top it next week.

Yes they did....but the double header helped too....still a good crowd, especially for February in the cold and wind.

The guy that hit the home run off of him was the MVP of the Cape Cod League.

That guy can pitch too.

Back to the offense, one thing that I saw this weekend that really pleased me more than anything was the aggressiveness and the balance. What I means is, we didn't just ****, we also did some hit and runs, we stole home once, we had some key stolen bases- Derrick Armstrong's steal was ultimately, the play call that made the difference Friday night. At the same time, we had Renfroe knocking balls out of the park, and today we had several doubles to go along with the small ball stuff. That, my friends is a winning offensive combination.

Some of the **** Cohen called that inning was stupid. Is what it is, though, can't make all the correct calls all the time.

. Alex Detz had a good weekend. I have been advocating that Nick Flair should play more- and I think he should somewhere, be it DH, 3B, or 1B- but Detz has played very well. Thing is, he is a second baseman by trade. If it were me, I would make Detz the second baseman once Rea comes back. So, our answer to the second base question may have actually been playing first base.

Yes, he did. Becoming apparent that he needs to be on the field. If he can play 2B flawlessly, then we just got a big problem figured out. If it's not him, Frost honestly may be the best option there at this point. At least he has maturity.

Henderson/Robson LF

That LF battle is now between Henderson and Armstrong IMO. Robson and Hann are going to be stars, but they just aren't ready. I like to see them play....but they aren't ready to be full time starters.

One thing to add.....an interesting battle brewing between Ammo and Slauter at C.

 

[Will James]

Seems to have a much better approach at the plate and a very quiet stance/swing that has less chances of putting a bad swing on the ball (ie for you non baseballers: very little motion throughout entire bat, short and quick to point of contact, and perfect swing slot). Over the long haul of a season, based on his mechanics, he should be more successful at the plate.

On a second note, see what happens when Cohen allows our hitters to use the bats got their intended purposes!!!!

Armstrong made quite a statement tht his name shouldn't be left out. I think Hendersons offseason plays a big role in Cohens thinking plus Robson and Armstrong will go through struggles when we would face seasoned SEC arms

 

[missouridawg]

Being this deep in several positions is a great problem to have.

that'swhatshesaid

 

[GOOD_DAWG2.0]

8. Our bullpen is sick. We have Holder doing his Kenny Powers impression- which I love by the way, you have Bracewell setting him up, and now we have Girodo who is becoming our left handed set-up guy. Not to mention Myles Gentry has been very good and you have CT Bradford coming in spots and he has been very effective. I haven't even mentioned Pollorena. If we have a lead after five, there is a very good chance we're winning the game.

Careful, don't say that Chad Girodo is gonna be a breakout player or Will James will jump yo ***!!!!1!!1!1!1****

 

[jeremyrbrown]

I agree that Robson is probably the better long term prospect. But until he starts getting walked more frequently, he's not going to start regularly over Demarcus.

 

[MzTerry]

in general at bats I agree - I like Robson's approach & he doesn't seem like he gets fooled as often as Henderson seems to get fooled. My key word there is seems - Henderson will look like he has no idea whats going on and then on a 2-2 count he lines one up the middle. I haven't looked it up, but will if I'm challenged, but I would say last half of the year to the beginning of this year that Henderson has been as clutch as anyone w/ RISP.

 

[CadaverDawg]

I may be dead wrong on this, but I feel like Graveman was helped out a lot by Stratton last year. After seeing a pitcher like Stratton on Friday night, teams would come out looking to try and put the bat on the ball at all costs, because they were silenced the night before. Graveman did a good job of keeping the ball down with that sink last year, and what you got were over aggressive teams pounding the ball into the ground. Without a power pitcher going on Friday night, Graveman is going to really have to locate and stay ahead of hitters while keeping the ball down, or he will get shelled this year. Just an observation though.

I really hope Graveman has a good year. He has been solid for us during his career, and it seems like he wants so bad to be that Friday guy, but he just doesn't quite have "ace stuff". You gotta admire the way he competes though, and I feel like he maximizes his talent out there.

 

[CadaverDawg]

I was VERY skeptical of Girodo coming into the season (despite everyone saying he looked good over the off season), and I'm still not completely ready to say he is a go-to guy in relief....but no doubt he has been impressive so far. I even thought we yanked him a little too soon in his last appearance, but it worked out well. It will be interesting to see how he performs against SEC bats, but I do not want us to find out in a close SEC ballgame. We need to work him into games that we have a nice lead in first. The last thing I want is for everyone to think he has flipped a switch, and then Butch put him in a 1 run game and him lose it for us. He is still Chad Girodo, but so far so good.

 

[Tds & Beer]

I like Robson over Henderson based on what I've seen. Seems to have a much better approach at the plate and a very quiet stance/swing that has less chances of putting a bad swing on the ball (ie for you non baseballers: very little motion throughout entire bat, short and quick to point of contact, and perfect swing slot).

Yeah, I wanted to see Henderson come out this season and have a better approach. Keep that shoulder in and do a better job of staying inside and not rolling over weak hits to the left side. He doesn't seem to have adjusted too much in the off-season. I don't hate seeing him at the plate or anything but he didn't improve as much there as I was hoping. He seems to see the ball well though and is an athlete. He will get his hits but Robson might be the guy.

 

[CadaverDawg]

Yeah, I wanted to see Henderson come out this season and have a better approach. Keep that shoulder in and do a better job of staying inside and not rolling over weak hits to the left side. He doesn't seem to have adjusted too much in the off-season. I don't hate seeing him at the plate or anything but he didn't improve as much there as I was hoping. He seems to see the ball well though and is an athlete. He will get his hits but Robson might be the guy.

Yea, I think Robson could be a better hitter by year end than Henderson. In other words, it appears that what you see is what you get when it comes to Henderson. He will make contact a lot, but will never be a Great player for us...just good/solid. Robson on the other hand, may take a little while to get going as a freshman, but he appears to have the swing and tools to be a Great player for us. He just needs reps. You will get the guys saying Henderson's average is better right now, and he's had some key hits, and I agree....but long term Robson is the better player.

 

[CEO2044]

Henderson isn't a great hitter, but he hits okay. What I like about him is he'll get timely hits.

 

[CEO2044]

.... and I'm not saying Robson isn't better. I was surprised Cohen took Henderson out to let Robson PH, but it worked.

Just saying, sometimes Henderson won't get his due. But he's been key in a few really big games in the past.

But I'm just fine with a battle for the spot.

 

[Bacon.sixpack]

SEC Stats

SEC Stats through week 2.

#1 in pitching, batting avg., and ****ing to name a few.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

Not surprising that the same people who think Prescott should start over Russell, are saying Robson should start over Henderson.

Ludicrous.

 

[CadaverDawg]

Not surprising that the same people who think Prescott should start over Russell, are saying Robson should start over Henderson.

Ludicrous.

As usual, knowing you disagree makes me feel even better about my thoughts on the topic.

 

[Will James]

As usual, knowing you disagree makes me feel even better about my thoughts on the topic.

Based on everything from the offseason and also thus far this year how anyone calling for Robson over Hendo is asinine. This is one area where me and Goat have agreed for a while. He is a FRESHMAN who has not been through any SEC battles and will go through the pains of every young player. Frazier hit .274 as a frosh and CT .303 and Robson is just not where they were as freshmen. Henderson has shown great improvement in his all around approach at the plate. Robson will be a player but Hendo is ready right NOW