I haven't posted as much because I've had an eye injury and as you might imagine looking at something bright like a computer screen hurts it. It could have possibly been caused in part by posting here so much, and since I post so much at work, I'm trying for workman's comp. So, DS, if you get something in the mail from my insurance co., head's up. Oh and thanks for the prayer's sent from all of you.
Now to baseball.
First of all, our problem with pitching is basically due to talent. It's not necessarily because we don't throw all that hard, in general. The problem is we don't have very good control and then we have to come back with an 85 MPH fastball over the heart of the plate because we're behind in counts and then we get ripped. We have very few pitchers that can throw any breaking balls for strikes to. How much of that is due to coaching? Probably some of it has to fall back on the pitching coach, but the fact of the matter is the players make coaches look good or bad to. I don't think it has much to do with what Thompson is calling pitch wise, it's about execution. I actually think the pitching staff in general has improved with a couple of exceptions, namely Bowen. The only way to fix this, is to bring in guys that can execute. That's why I think that our middle relief is going to be made up of a lot of Fr. next year, and why I think that some of these players like Greg Houston stand a better than average chance of getting cut. Nothing against Houston, but if we can get better talent in, the axe is going to have to fall on someone because of the roster limits.
Now as far as getting thrown out. One thing I haven't seen discussed here, and I noticed on Tues. against USM- but Mingoine was coaching third and Burroughs was coaching first. At the very beginning of the season at least through the Nicholls State series it was the opposite. This is possibly because guys getting thrown out at third fall on one of two people- either the runner or the third base coach. Maybe Cohen is blaming the coach here and is adjusting accordingly. Now, playing aggressive baseball can have some big or bad consequences. The upside is you put pressure on the defense and can steal some runs. I think we've done that at times this year. the problem is sometimes you run yourself out of innings. We've all noticed that. One thing I have noticed from watching our team is that I think they are trying to do what Cohen wants them to do, but they don't seem very comfortable playing aggressively. Part of playing aggresively is attitude, and it just seems like there's a little bit of doubt in the back of their minds when they are running the bases. And here's the thing about playing aggressive baseball- it requires all out hustle all the time. It also requires the attitude of I'm going to make something happen, and it's going work. Some of that is because Polk- right or wrong, I'm not bashing him here at all- wanted a certain type of player. He wanted guys that were going to listen and be hard workers and do what they were told. Cohen is going to try to get guys that are aggressive and that play with their hair on fire. I think Cohen is going to value skill a lot more than Polk did. So, yeah some of it is "Polk's fault", but at the same time, Cohen needs to realize that his team doesn't have a lot of speed and he probably needs to take it down a notch when we're behind. Coaching baseball is in part knowing your players and what they can and can't do, and then maximizing what they can do in certain situations.
Now, about getting thrown out at third part II. Here's what Cohen is thinking. Unless I'm mistaken, the longest throw in baseball is from RF to third base. Regardless, to throw a guy out from there, the odds are in the favor of the runner. To throw a guy out there it's going to take either a perfect throw from the RF or a perfect relay from the second baseman after a perfect throw from the RF. Now, from the perspective of the runner, to get there, you've got to make up your mind very quickly, and maybe even more importantly, you've got to be going ALL out to get there, or you reduce your chances of making it. Now the third base coach, and the runner have to factor in 1.) the arm strength and more importantly accuracy of the RF and relay man 2) the game situation, ahead or behind and how many outs there are. Rule of thumb is you do not want to make the first or last out of an inning getting thrown out while trying to take an extra base. 3) the third base coach has to factor in the speed of the baserunner. 4) Finally field conditions. If the OF is wet vs dry and then grass vs turf, and also how the field plays. If the in field is wet, that's going to make it less likely that you take a chance. Somewhere in all of that there is a disconnect. Based on what I've seen, I think it's more to do with the baserunners than anything. My two cents.
Finally, and I haven't seen this discussed on here. We have not learned how to win on the road yet. I think we've made strides at Dudy-Noble, but when we're on the road we really seem to blow up. Unless I'm mistaken, we've won one game away from Dudy-Noble. That's certainly not uncommon to not play as well on the road as you do at home. I think that is part of the learning process of how to win. We have to develop some swagger when we're on the road, and we just haven't figured out that yet. We will in time, and unfortunately it may not be this season.
This is our longest road stretch away from Dudy-Noble not counting a game thrown in against Memphis tommorrow. I think our team has improved over last year, and I think that they will continue to get better. Don't be discouraged by this "speed-bump" as Cohen calls them right now.
Now to baseball.
First of all, our problem with pitching is basically due to talent. It's not necessarily because we don't throw all that hard, in general. The problem is we don't have very good control and then we have to come back with an 85 MPH fastball over the heart of the plate because we're behind in counts and then we get ripped. We have very few pitchers that can throw any breaking balls for strikes to. How much of that is due to coaching? Probably some of it has to fall back on the pitching coach, but the fact of the matter is the players make coaches look good or bad to. I don't think it has much to do with what Thompson is calling pitch wise, it's about execution. I actually think the pitching staff in general has improved with a couple of exceptions, namely Bowen. The only way to fix this, is to bring in guys that can execute. That's why I think that our middle relief is going to be made up of a lot of Fr. next year, and why I think that some of these players like Greg Houston stand a better than average chance of getting cut. Nothing against Houston, but if we can get better talent in, the axe is going to have to fall on someone because of the roster limits.
Now as far as getting thrown out. One thing I haven't seen discussed here, and I noticed on Tues. against USM- but Mingoine was coaching third and Burroughs was coaching first. At the very beginning of the season at least through the Nicholls State series it was the opposite. This is possibly because guys getting thrown out at third fall on one of two people- either the runner or the third base coach. Maybe Cohen is blaming the coach here and is adjusting accordingly. Now, playing aggressive baseball can have some big or bad consequences. The upside is you put pressure on the defense and can steal some runs. I think we've done that at times this year. the problem is sometimes you run yourself out of innings. We've all noticed that. One thing I have noticed from watching our team is that I think they are trying to do what Cohen wants them to do, but they don't seem very comfortable playing aggressively. Part of playing aggresively is attitude, and it just seems like there's a little bit of doubt in the back of their minds when they are running the bases. And here's the thing about playing aggressive baseball- it requires all out hustle all the time. It also requires the attitude of I'm going to make something happen, and it's going work. Some of that is because Polk- right or wrong, I'm not bashing him here at all- wanted a certain type of player. He wanted guys that were going to listen and be hard workers and do what they were told. Cohen is going to try to get guys that are aggressive and that play with their hair on fire. I think Cohen is going to value skill a lot more than Polk did. So, yeah some of it is "Polk's fault", but at the same time, Cohen needs to realize that his team doesn't have a lot of speed and he probably needs to take it down a notch when we're behind. Coaching baseball is in part knowing your players and what they can and can't do, and then maximizing what they can do in certain situations.
Now, about getting thrown out at third part II. Here's what Cohen is thinking. Unless I'm mistaken, the longest throw in baseball is from RF to third base. Regardless, to throw a guy out from there, the odds are in the favor of the runner. To throw a guy out there it's going to take either a perfect throw from the RF or a perfect relay from the second baseman after a perfect throw from the RF. Now, from the perspective of the runner, to get there, you've got to make up your mind very quickly, and maybe even more importantly, you've got to be going ALL out to get there, or you reduce your chances of making it. Now the third base coach, and the runner have to factor in 1.) the arm strength and more importantly accuracy of the RF and relay man 2) the game situation, ahead or behind and how many outs there are. Rule of thumb is you do not want to make the first or last out of an inning getting thrown out while trying to take an extra base. 3) the third base coach has to factor in the speed of the baserunner. 4) Finally field conditions. If the OF is wet vs dry and then grass vs turf, and also how the field plays. If the in field is wet, that's going to make it less likely that you take a chance. Somewhere in all of that there is a disconnect. Based on what I've seen, I think it's more to do with the baserunners than anything. My two cents.
Finally, and I haven't seen this discussed on here. We have not learned how to win on the road yet. I think we've made strides at Dudy-Noble, but when we're on the road we really seem to blow up. Unless I'm mistaken, we've won one game away from Dudy-Noble. That's certainly not uncommon to not play as well on the road as you do at home. I think that is part of the learning process of how to win. We have to develop some swagger when we're on the road, and we just haven't figured out that yet. We will in time, and unfortunately it may not be this season.
This is our longest road stretch away from Dudy-Noble not counting a game thrown in against Memphis tommorrow. I think our team has improved over last year, and I think that they will continue to get better. Don't be discouraged by this "speed-bump" as Cohen calls them right now.