Weekend Recap (Game Thoughts)

[Comebakatz3]

We had a ton of strikeouts this weekend (28). So, I wanted to break down just when we had those and what the situation kind of looked like when they occurred. So, here is a summary of all of those strikeouts (if you can bear to read it):

Game 1:
Inning 1: Second at bat with a runner on first Wilson (1) attempts to get a bunt down, but fails and ends up striking out. We strand runners on 1st and 2nd.

Inning 2: Carson singled and even advanced to second on a wild pitch before Becker (2) struck out looking. Runner advanced to third by Squires before Heady (3) struck out.

Inning 3: No one on and Wilson (4) and White (5) strike out back to back to go 3 up 3 down.

Inning 4: Pompey is hit by a pitch, but UK doesn't move him over and instead flies out twice before Becker (6) strikes out to end the frame.

Inning 5: Squires grounded out before Heady (7) struck out. Reks reached on a walk and stole second before Wilson (8) struck out.

Inning 6: White grounded out before Pompey (9) and Mahan (10) strikeout in a three up three down inning.

Inning 7: Carson is hit by a pitch before Becker (11) and Squires (12) strike out.

Inning 8: Only frame without a strikeout. We get a double play instead.

Inning 9: Carson (13) and Squires (14) create a strikeout sandwich around Heyer reaching on an error. After two hits, Cottam (15) strikes out to end the game.

So... here is the HUGE deal in this game... we struckout 9 times when runners were on base. Not sure how many of those times we tried to get a bunt down, but I don't think it was very many, and I think that is on the coaches. I think in game like that you have to try to win with small ball because the big inning likely isn't coming against one of the top 10 players in the country. However, you still have to put the ball in play and too many times we failed to force the action and didn't put the pressure on the UNC defense.

Game 2:

Inning 1: Reks again reaches before Mahan (1) strikes out. A two out double by Cottam gave UK the lead before Carson (2) struck out.

Inning 2: No strikeouts.

Inning 3: Heady (3) and Mahan (4) sandwich strikeouts around a Reks single.

Inning 4: No strikeouts.

Inning 5: Heady and Reks reached with two outs before Mahan (5) struck out to end the frame.

Inning 6: No strikeouts.

Inning 7: This was our big inning. No strikeouts.

Inning 8: No strikeouts.

Inning 9: Carson (6) struck out with one out before Marshall walked and Heyer (7) struck out to end the game.

Not as bad in this one, but there was still 5 of our 7 strikeouts that occurred when we had runners on.

Game 3:

Inning 1: Pompey (1) ended the frame with a strikeout after Reks reached and Mahan grounded into a double play.

Inning 2: Cottam (2) struck out to lead off the frame, but with two outs Heyer doubled before McNeill (3) struck out.

Inning 3: Cottam (4) struck out with the bases empty to end the frame.

Inning 4: No strikeouts.

Inning 5: Mahan (5) struck out with one out and no one on.

Inning 6: No strikeouts.

Inning 7: No strikeouts.

Inning 8: No strikeouts.

Inning 9: Strikeout to lead off the inning.

Well, this game was much better. No strikeouts with runners on base. However, we did ground into at least two double plays in this game and that really hurt us. Still, I'd much rather us put the ball into play rather than strikeout.

All in all, these were games we could have won. We were in them. However, we failed to move runners. During the weekend we had just one sac bunt/fly and that was from Carson. While UNC also had the same number, they had half the strikeouts UK did and they had a tie or a lead for the entire series except for our 1 run lead in the top of the 1st in the second game, which promptly went away in the bottom of the first.


Now, for some random stats that I find good and bad:

Good:
1. Extra base hits!! 25 hits on the weekend (just two behind UNC) and 8 of those 25 were extra base hits. 7 doubles and 1 home run.

2. Catchers. Both Cottam and Squires threw out UNC runners. The Squires throw on Sunday was a perfect throw against an extremely fast runner who had a great jump. It was a thing of beauty, and Mahan also picked and tagged perfectly. Tons of credit for this, especially considering that it wasn't that long ago (2015) that teams were stealing on us at almost an 80 percent clip. Also excellent because UNC has a lot of speed.

3. Bullpen. I am going to give them some love. They weren't perfect by any means, but every single pitcher out of the bullpen had an batting average against at .200 or under. They have got to cut down on walks and really need to be able to shut the door in times of crisis, but the fact that they gave up just 1 earned run in about 13 innings of work is also pretty solid. I also have to give them some credit because 4 of the 7 bullpen pitchers we saw this weekend were making their debut for UK.

Bad:
1. Hitting overall. Just terrible. If you take our Reks' outstanding weekend then our team batting average is .191. We had 12 players get multiple at bats this weekend and half (HALF!!!) of those 12 only had either one or no hits. All 6 of these players hit sub .200 for the weekend and they combined for 16 of our 28 strikeouts.

2. Base running. This one is, admittedly, a bit nitpicky. Looking at this team on Friday all you saw was speed. Wilson, Carson, Pompey, White, and Reks all have wheels with Heady, Becker, and Heyer also have some decent speed. In fact, the only ones I wouldn't expect to be able to steal are McNeill and the catchers. However, we went 1 for 3 on the weekend on stolen base attempts. Pompey was also thrown out at home, but I am not holding that against him because video showed he was actually safe. Also, I must point out that UK made a weird, IMO, base running decision at one point yesterday when they started the runners early on an 0-2 count with McNeill at the plate. I am hoping that UK coaches were trying a double steal and that they anticipated McNeill getting something he couldn't hit rather than trying an 0-2 hit and run with a guy who notoriously can't hit sliders. Whatever it was, it almost ended in disaster for UK, and really killed our rally with no outs.

3. Starters. We hit something like .230 against UNC starters, who walked just 5 Kentucky batters through almost 19 innings. On the other hand, our starters walked 7 hitters through 11 innings. UNC hitters also hit .385 against our starters. Obviously, the most disappointing is Lewis who faced 13 hitters and gave up 4 hits and 3 walks, and somehow balked twice in just 2 innings, one scoring a run. I give Hjelle some credit for not walking anyone, but I would have liked to have seen him, and the others go more than just 4-5 innings. I like to at least see them get into the 6th.

Well, we have Liberty on Wednesday. They this past weekend against Virginia and lost 2-10, Kansas and won 6-1 and The Citadel and won 9-1. Hard to say what the pitching will be like for UK on Wednesday, but it looks like Liberty can hit pretty well, getting at least 8 hits in each of their three games this weekend. First baseman Sammy Taormina had 6 hits on the weekend and 4 of those were extra base hits, 3 doubles and a triple, and that was going 3 for 4 against Virginia. Strikeouts should be there for our midweek pitcher (Thompson I presume) to record. They struck out 22 times this weekend, including 11 times against The Citadel. They are a decent team, so it will not be some pushover easy task.

 

[Tskware]

Hate to say it, but think we all need to understand this will probably be a rebuilding year, Henderson did not leave much for the new coach. Given who we played, was not all that disappointed in how close each of the games were, although clearly getting swept is not what we were looking for.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I think this team is the perfect example of why Henderson cannot really be a successful head coach. This team really has little to no identity. We have no real traditional power hitters. We aren't full of arms backed up by excellent defense. We aren't a team that gets singles and runs and moves a lot. We almost just seem like an assortment of guys rather than the result of a coach getting players to fit his vision for his team. I don't really know if Henderson ever had a coaching philosophy when it came to building a team and this year it really shows.

By the way, I have a question for anyone who might know... why doesn't Pop get more press and more fanfare? Remember Scott Green? The kid could throw it hard as heck and was a pretty big kid. As I recall Green had trouble hitting his spots and wasn't the most reliable pitcher, but he could throw gas. Now, we have Pop on our team who has hit triple digits, but he too struggles with hitting his spots. Green ended up going in the third round in 2008 and was spoken highly of quite frequently. Why isn't Pop getting as much fanfare?

 

[rc1126]

As the season progresses and roles firm up, I think it'll show that UNC's pitching staff is pretty stout. I expect better outings ahead for the UK lineup.

 

[Pump4UK]

While it is early and usually pitching is ahead of hitting this time of year. UNC staff is top notch. Even with that, UK should have at least came away with a 1 victory this weekend. May be a long year.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

Good assessment Comeback, while I am disappointed we did not won 1 game, there are things we did that we can build on. Especially with lesser competition coming the next 6 games before UCSB rolls into Lexington.
Having White for only 1 game put us behind the 8 ball for sure. Hopefully he will be back at least by this weekend.

 

[Derek Terry_rivals23489]

I think this team is the perfect example of why Henderson cannot really be a successful head coach. This team really has little to no identity. We have no real traditional power hitters. We aren't full of arms backed up by excellent defense. We aren't a team that gets singles and runs and moves a lot. We almost just seem like an assortment of guys rather than the result of a coach getting players to fit his vision for his team. I don't really know if Henderson ever had a coaching philosophy when it came to building a team and this year it really shows.

By the way, I have a question for anyone who might know... why doesn't Pop get more press and more fanfare? Remember Scott Green? The kid could throw it hard as heck and was a pretty big kid. As I recall Green had trouble hitting his spots and wasn't the most reliable pitcher, but he could throw gas. Now, we have Pop on our team who has hit triple digits, but he too struggles with hitting his spots. Green ended up going in the third round in 2008 and was spoken highly of quite frequently. Why isn't Pop getting as much fanfare?

To the point about Pop, most people who cover the MLB draft have him as the second best pro prospect behind White. He's the 78th best college prospect on D1baseball. My guess is he'll go in the top five rounds in June.

 

[Comebakatz3]

The positive of this weekend is that we were in each and every game. We only had two fewer hits than UNC on the weekend and we were within 1-2 runs every game with plenty of opportunities to win these games. We just have to cut down on the strikeouts and do a bit better at the plate and I think we'll be fine. I doubt that Lewis will have as poor of an outing as he did on Sunday anytime soon, so I think we'll be fine there. It is only opening weekend, and there are positives and negatives, but definitely no reason to think this team can't be competitive and make a run towards an NCAA tournament bid.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

To play devils advocate on moving runners over via the bunt - with a team that looks like it may have the propensity to K up, the staff may want to get 3 swings at a run and not give the D a freebie out.

Runner on 2nd no outs - 3 chances for a hit/run...could also get a productive out via the swing anyways (Deep fly or something on the ground to right side)

Runner on 3rd one out - one chance at the sac fly or something in the INF that will get the run across and chance at a 2 out hit to get run across.

Who knows what the right play is with this group. I don't necessarily favor either philosophy - much more of a game feel thing.

Can see both sides vs a stud pitcher - not going to score many so lets manufacture one, but giving an out to a stud pitcher can also give the inning right back to them. Tough deal.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

To play devils advocate on moving runners over via the bunt - with a team that looks like it may have the propensity to K up, the staff may want to get 3 swings at a run and not give the D a freebie out.

Runner on 2nd no outs - 3 chances for a hit/run...could also get a productive out via the swing anyways (Deep fly or something on the ground to right side)

Runner on 3rd one out - one chance at the sac fly or something in the INF that will get the run across and chance at a 2 out hit to get run across.

Who knows what the right play is with this group. I don't necessarily favor either philosophy - much more of a game feel thing.

Can see both sides vs a stud pitcher - not going to score many so lets manufacture one, but giving an out to a stud pitcher can also give the inning right back to them. Tough deal.

Most coaches/managers will give the batters a chance to swing away with runners on base the 1st 5 innings or so, then in later innings will try to bunt runners along especially in a tight game.

 

[Derek Terry_rivals23489]

I think this team is the perfect example of why Henderson cannot really be a successful head coach. This team really has little to no identity. We have no real traditional power hitters. We aren't full of arms backed up by excellent defense. We aren't a team that gets singles and runs and moves a lot. We almost just seem like an assortment of guys rather than the result of a coach getting players to fit his vision for his team. I don't really know if Henderson ever had a coaching philosophy when it came to building a team and this year it really shows.

To this point, I think Mingione had some bad luck with roster personnel. Joe Dudek left as an undrafted free agent over the summer, T.J. Collett tore his ACL (one coach told me he was a top 10 high school hitter as a senior), Jaren Shelby, basically at the last minute, decided to go JUCO instead, and also J.C. Flowers hopped out of his LOI after Henderson resigned. He's the starting center fielder on a loaded Florida State team.

I know some people hate the 'what if' posts, but an outfield with Reks, Shelby, Flowers, Pompey, Carson, etc. would be very talented. Is there room for Dudek and Collett in the lineup? Not sure, but those would have been the best power threats hitting from the left side.

 

[Comebakatz3]

To play devils advocate on moving runners over via the bunt - with a team that looks like it may have the propensity to K up, the staff may want to get 3 swings at a run and not give the D a freebie out.

Runner on 2nd no outs - 3 chances for a hit/run...could also get a productive out via the swing anyways (Deep fly or something on the ground to right side)

Runner on 3rd one out - one chance at the sac fly or something in the INF that will get the run across and chance at a 2 out hit to get run across.

Who knows what the right play is with this group. I don't necessarily favor either philosophy - much more of a game feel thing.

Can see both sides vs a stud pitcher - not going to score many so lets manufacture one, but giving an out to a stud pitcher can also give the inning right back to them. Tough deal.

I think if you have a leadoff double and you're not late into the game then you're going to try for your big inning and you get out there and swing away. If you get a leadoff single against a top 5 pitcher you might try to move the runner through bunting him over. Of course, as you say, it depends on the flow of the game, personnel, who is up, etc. I think you can certainly argue both ways. However, in games one and two I think there is a good argument that we probably should have tried a bit of small ball in the 7th and 8th innings. We didn't and that is all right, but if you don't play that small ball you've got to put the ball in play (and ideally away from the middle infielders).

This made me think of something as well... the shift seemed to be pretty effective against a UK lineup that was pretty heavy with left-handed (or switch) hitters. Do you think more teams will employ this switch and take away the middle for our lefties?

 

[Comebakatz3]

To this point, I think Mingione had some bad luck with roster personnel. Joe Dudek left as an undrafted free agent over the summer, T.J. Collett tore his ACL (one coach told me he was a top 10 high school hitter as a senior), Jaren Shelby, basically at the last minute, decided to go JUCO instead, and also J.C. Flowers hopped out of his LOI after Henderson resigned. He's the starting center fielder on a loaded Florida State team.

I know some people hate the 'what if' posts, but an outfield with Reks, Shelby, Flowers, Pompey, Carson, etc. would be very talented. Is there room for Dudek and Collett in the lineup? Not sure, but those would have been the best power threats hitting from the left side.

Very true, and I don't put this on Mingione. Flowers and Shelby could have been big boosts because right now Carson, Pompey and Wilson just aren't that consistent. So, some more bodies out there that can push the competition certainly wouldn't hurt. Dudek and Collett would have been big time boosts to DH, and with White injured would have been pretty key.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Most coaches/managers will give the batters a chance to swing away with runners on base the 1st 5 innings or so, then in later innings will try to bunt runners along especially in a tight game.

Yeah, I know the tendencies (I do dislike when coaches take it so black and white though)...my style probably would've been to try and manufacture early vs a team of UNC caliber...get the scoreboard to give the team a little confidence. I can't blame them for swinging away, bc I can certainly argue for that strategy all day long as well.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

I think if you have a leadoff double and you're not late into the game then you're going to try for your big inning and you get out there and swing away. If you get a leadoff single against a top 5 pitcher you might try to move the runner through bunting him over. Of course, as you say, it depends on the flow of the game, personnel, who is up, etc. I think you can certainly argue both ways. However, in games one and two I think there is a good argument that we probably should have tried a bit of small ball in the 7th and 8th innings. We didn't and that is all right, but if you don't play that small ball you've got to put the ball in play (and ideally away from the middle infielders).

This made me think of something as well... the shift seemed to be pretty effective against a UK lineup that was pretty heavy with left-handed (or switch) hitters. Do you think more teams will employ this switch and take away the middle for our lefties?

Would think college offenses would be able to fight back against some of the defensive shifting because egos aren't as big. You never know though - but our team shouldn't be above lefties push bunting, some slappy h&r etc.

Speaking of H&R...if our strikeouts are coming due to being too selective and getting behind in the count, I'd employ a lot more H&R...can spark a hitters confidence when you take their choice of taking a pitch away...if we just have a bunch of swing and miss guys I guess you can forget it.

 

[Tskware]

Most coaches/managers will give the batters a chance to swing away with runners on base the 1st 5 innings or so, then in later innings will try to bunt runners along especially in a tight game.

I would hope so, think the bunt is an awful decision until late in the game, unless you get the first two men on, with no outs, and a weak hitter at the plate, then a bunt to get 2nd and 3rd with one out makes sense.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Would think college offenses would be able to fight back against some of the defensive shifting because egos aren't as big. You never know though - but our team shouldn't be above lefties push bunting, some slappy h&r etc.

Speaking of H&R...if our strikeouts are coming due to being too selective and getting behind in the count, I'd employ a lot more H&R...can spark a hitters confidence when you take their choice of taking a pitch away...if we just have a bunch of swing and miss guys I guess you can forget it.

I would think so, but UNC was playing a huge shift against us with the SS played right behind 2nd base and the 3rd baseman practically playing SS. Almost any of our lefties could have put down a bunt towards third and beat it out easily. Or just kind of slap the ball to the left side and we are getting a single. If I am not mistaken we put down one bunt and got there easily and UNC moved a bit, but it seemed like it was there all weekend.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

I would think so, but UNC was playing a huge shift against us with the SS played right behind 2nd base and the 3rd baseman practically playing SS. Almost any of our lefties could have put down a bunt towards third and beat it out easily. Or just kind of slap the ball to the left side and we are getting a single. If I am not mistaken we put down one bunt and got there easily and UNC moved a bit, but it seemed like it was there all weekend.

Would think first weekend most of this would need to be directed by the dugout...maybe have some gun shy coaches early on...would explain this and lack of other action making moves from the weekend.

 

[Comebakatz3]

The great thing about playing in the SEC is that it can make or break you. Yes, a win or two this weekend would have helped a lot, but it was a much bigger deal to really figure out what our team can do. So, even if the coaches were testing our guys more than actually trying to scheme wins then I can understand that. We can make the NCAA tournament by having a good SEC showing. However, for now I think it is a bigger deal for our coaches to put our players in positions and get an understanding of roles and what each of them can do. So, I can somewhat understand them not really trying to get too cute with managing the game.

 

[Gabewcat]

What struck me about the weekend was that mth9s team does not have a big bat that they can rely on. The starting pitching was very disapointing. The bullpen walked too many guys. It seemed that Carolina got all the timely hits. I think it is going to be a long year.Losing Evan White hurt us a lot hopefully he will be back soon.
Hope I am wrong but Coach Mingione has a lot of recruiting to do if he is going to match what John Cohen established and Gary Henderson sustained to an acceptable level.

 

[law1127]

This is on Henderson , not Mingione. Hangover from previous regime!

 

[STUCKNBIG10]

The great thing about playing in the SEC is that it can make or break you. Yes, a win or two this weekend would have helped a lot, but it was a much bigger deal to really figure out what our team can do. So, even if the coaches were testing our guys more than actually trying to scheme wins then I can understand that. We can make the NCAA tournament by having a good SEC showing. However, for now I think it is a bigger deal for our coaches to put our players in positions and get an understanding of roles and what each of them can do. So, I can somewhat understand them not really trying to get too cute with managing the game.

I don't agree with this. A sweep is a sweep, and I don't think a team with good talent like this should get swept by a team that probably won't finish in top 4 of ACC. Tired of moral victories, this weekend was a huge downer. IMO, UK needed to win at least one game in Chapel Hill.

 

[Comebakatz3]

It has been my belief that the out of conference games don't hold a whole lot of water compared to the conference games. You make your season in the conference schedule and the OOC helps to boost it. A win could have boosted us, but getting swept in the first weekend isn't going to kill us.

Also, you have to remember that few, if any, teams went through the adversity that UK did this weekend. New coaches, three new starting pitchers, playing a top 10-15 ranked team on the road, only playing one game with their best player, even the victim of a couple bad calls like Pompey getting called out at home, having to face a top 5 pitcher in the nation on Friday night. That is a lot.

Also, while I agree that UK has some talent, we have to be honest about what it is. Perfect Game ranks recruiting classes and UK has not had a top 25 recruiting class since 2012, and that was ranked 25th. In fact, according to Perfect Game, UK has only had 1 recruiting class inside the top 40 since 2012, and that was the 2014 class ranked 39th. Meanwhile, UNC has brought in a top 10 recruiting in every year since at least 2012 and hauled in the number 1 class in 2016. I don't know if UNC will finish in the top 4 of the ACC, but they are a damn good team with a whole lot of talent.

I was disappointed that we didn't win any of the three. It could certainly have been a better weekend, but I am also not throwing in the towel and taking this as a bad sign. I'm just evaluating how we did and I will continue to evaluate the season as a whole as we continue to play. We'll know more tomorrow night as we play a fairly scrappy OOC team that we should beat. Lose again and some worry will set in for me, but I'm not going to do a lot of worrying about getting swept against a top 10 team.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

It has been my belief that the out of conference games don't hold a whole lot of water compared to the conference games. You make your season in the conference schedule and the OOC helps to boost it. A win could have boosted us, but getting swept in the first weekend isn't going to kill us.

Also, you have to remember that few, if any, teams went through the adversity that UK did this weekend. New coaches, three new starting pitchers, playing a top 10-15 ranked team on the road, only playing one game with their best player, even the victim of a couple bad calls like Pompey getting called out at home, having to face a top 5 pitcher in the nation on Friday night. That is a lot.

Also, while I agree that UK has some talent, we have to be honest about what it is. Perfect Game ranks recruiting classes and UK has not had a top 25 recruiting class since 2012, and that was ranked 25th. In fact, according to Perfect Game, UK has only had 1 recruiting class inside the top 40 since 2012, and that was the 2014 class ranked 39th. Meanwhile, UNC has brought in a top 10 recruiting in every year since at least 2012 and hauled in the number 1 class in 2016. I don't know if UNC will finish in the top 4 of the ACC, but they are a damn good team with a whole lot of talent.

I was disappointed that we didn't win any of the three. It could certainly have been a better weekend, but I am also not throwing in the towel and taking this as a bad sign. I'm just evaluating how we did and I will continue to evaluate the season as a whole as we continue to play. We'll know more tomorrow night as we play a fairly scrappy OOC team that we should beat. Lose again and some worry will set in for me, but I'm not going to do a lot of worrying about getting swept against a top 10 team.

We could have done like most of the SEC, except for Ole Miss, and played some mid-major school. That would have resulted in wins most likely, but maybe a false sense of confidence when tougher opponents are on the schedule.