Rebel Insider: Big park won’t change Ole Miss pitching approach and philosophy much, if at all
The dimensions of Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, where the College World Series will be played starting Friday, are bigger than Swayze Field at OU Stadium.
Ole Miss Hitting Coach Mike Clement explained earlier in the week the dimensions really won’t change the approach of the Rebel batters.
Even though Ole Miss could be labeled a power team – with 99 home runs on the year while playing in a relatively spacious home park – it may play out differently in the CWS with 408 dead center and 375 power alleys.
But what of the Rebel pitchers?
Will the big park make the coaches call a more aggressive game? Will it change their approach or is it like the hitting – it’s too late in the year to change what they have been doing and you have to “dance with who brought you?”
There’s some word from the inside that the Rebs are in a wait-and-see mode for the CWS strategy on the mound.
It’s hard to know, they say, what they will do at this point.
Because even though the park is bigger, the ball seems to be playing livelier this year so the threat of the long ball might be just as prevalent as in Swayze.
The Rebs will make some final tweaks and adjustments, if needed, after a BP session to see how the ball is carrying.
But at this point, don’t look for major changes in the approach for the Rebels on the mound despite the bigger park.
At this point, like Clement is with the hitting approach, it’s probably too late to make wholesale changes in the pitching approach as well.
“I think by this time of year you are who you are as a staff,” said Rebel Pitching Coach Carl Lafferty.
“We are still going to attack hitters based on our strengths and the scouting report we have on batters and basically do what got us to Omaha.”
Could that change during the course of the tournament?
Certainly.
At this point, although everything is fairly established in what the Rebels want to do in Omaha, baseball is a fluid sport and everything is determined by the environment that moment in time.
