Cats vs USC game 1....

[CloverforkCat]

UK opens up SEC play at Columbia tonite @ 7:00 pm. Hendo will send Zack Brown 1-1 (1.74 era ) against the Gamecocks Will Crowe 2-1 ( 3.47 era ) in the lid lifter.
USC comes in at 14-3 on the season, while UK is now 13-3, and winners of 11 straight, hope the Bats stay hot, as they will need to be against the highly ranked Gamecocks.

 

[timocee]

anybody steaming this besides watchespn? live link please

 

[CloverforkCat]

Cats get an unearned run in the top of the 1st, courtesy of 2 errors by Carolina SS. Lead 1-0 going to bottom of the 1st.

 

[cats1068]

3 walks lead to a GS. Wow! The SEC is just another level. You have to make them earn it!

 

[DubyaT]

Cats give up a grand slam. 4-1 Carolina.

 

[CloverforkCat]

5th inning spells doom for Cats, give up a GS homer after error and walks. USC up 4-1 going to the 6th, Cats still with only 1 hit in the game.

 

[cats1068]

This is what I was afraid of. Feasting on lesser competition allowed them to win despite mistakes. You can't make mistakes vs SC and expect to win.

 

[CloverforkCat]

Now trail 8-1, offense is non existant. Brown did very well until the 5th inning, then the wheels fell off.

 

[KYBallCoach]

We will live to play another day! Today was not our day!! Keep believing BBN!!! Go BatCats!!!!

 

[sluggercatfan]

Originally posted by cats1068:
This is what I was afraid of. Feasting on lesser competition allowed them to win despite mistakes. You can't make mistakes vs SC and expect to win.

^^^^^^^....We can try to keep our heads buried in the sand or after this season is finished think it will be quite apparent that some changes need to be made

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

One hit. One measly hit. Grant it, Will Crowe is a great pitcher but come on. I hate to be that guy, but it may be a long season.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Well, part of that game was on Henderson. Has he not learned by now that you cannot ever go into the 5th inning without having someone ready and waiting in case your pitcher loses his stuff? Last night according to Price we didn't even have our pitching staff in the bullpen in the 5th inning. So we had to run people down there to even warm up. He was apparently that comfortable thinking he didn't need to have anyone down in the pen in one of the most crucial innings for a starter. I mean, with a tiny bit of research I can see that when Brown starts the 5th inning is usually where he struggled a bit. Of the 11 runs he has given up this season 7 of them have been in the 5th inning. I know last Saturday he went 9, but all of last year he never went deeper than the 5th inning. You have to know your player's limits and be prepared, especially when you're playing one of the best teams in the nation. Also, Brown has been a pretty good starter for us this year, but I do not think he is an SEC Friday starter. I like Beggs or Cody better for that.


Either way, you're never going to win a game with just 1 hit, so it was bad all around.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Originally posted by Comebakatz3:
Well, part of that game was on Henderson. Has he not learned by now that you cannot ever go into the 5th inning without having someone ready and waiting in case your pitcher loses his stuff? Last night according to Price we didn't even have our pitching staff in the bullpen in the 5th inning. So we had to run people down there to even warm up. He was apparently that comfortable thinking he didn't need to have anyone down in the pen in one of the most crucial innings for a starter. I mean, with a tiny bit of research I can see that when Brown starts the 5th inning is usually where he struggled a bit. Of the 11 runs he has given up this season 7 of them have been in the 5th inning. I know last Saturday he went 9, but all of last year he never went deeper than the 5th inning. You have to know your player's limits and be prepared, especially when you're playing one of the best teams in the nation. Also, Brown has been a pretty good starter for us this year, but I do not think he is an SEC Friday starter. I like Beggs or Cody better for that.


Either way, you're never going to win a game with just 1 hit, so it was bad all around.

CB3...Your first sentence says it all and why I made my earlier statement...It is time to build the new baseball stadium ...clean house and go out and find us some new blood to lead this baseball program...

 

[CatsFanGG24]

This team is going to struggle IMO all season...the players returning on offense just have never impressed me.

About the Henderson deal on the bullpen...by my count the pitchcount was at 48 going into the 5th - and he had only faced 2 more batters than the minimum possible. IMO it would be kind of wild to send someone down to the bullpen in the 5th as well.

Having said that, may need some new management to take another step forward...I don't see how we can expect much improvement with Henderson anymore...I used to back him, but I just don't like this style of ball.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Originally posted by CatsFanGG24:

This team is going to struggle IMO all season...the players returning on offense just have never impressed me.

About the Henderson deal on the bullpen...by my count the pitchcount was at 48 going into the 5th - and he had only faced 2 more batters than the minimum possible. IMO it would be kind of wild to send someone down to the bullpen in the 5th as well.

Having said that, may need some new management to take another step forward...I don't see how we can expect much improvement with Henderson anymore...I used to back him, but I just don't like this style of ball.

That's a very good point, but those middle innings are where most pitchers struggle. Partly because they begin to get tired and partly because the hitters have seen their stuff several times around. I think you have to be prepared for that. Maybe you don't have to have someone 100 percent game ready to start the 5th, but at least have your guys out there loosening up and ready in case we begin to struggle. In this instance, Brown may not have thrown a lot of pitches and done a fine job getting batters out, but he walked the bases loaded in the 5th before giving up the grand slam, and every hitter he faced in that inning drew a 3-2 count except one. So, his control, for whatever reason, seemed to go a bit sour there in the 5th. When your're a team built like Kentucky is our pitching has to be excellent and our staff has to be well managed. We're not likely to be a team to put up a whole lot of runs so the pitching has to be much better. With Henderson it has never been above average in the SEC.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Originally posted by Comebakatz3:

Originally posted by CatsFanGG24:

This team is going to struggle IMO all season...the players returning on offense just have never impressed me.

About the Henderson deal on the bullpen...by my count the pitchcount was at 48 going into the 5th - and he had only faced 2 more batters than the minimum possible. IMO it would be kind of wild to send someone down to the bullpen in the 5th as well.

Having said that, may need some new management to take another step forward...I don't see how we can expect much improvement with Henderson anymore...I used to back him, but I just don't like this style of ball.

That's a very good point, but those middle innings are where most pitchers struggle. Partly because they begin to get tired and partly because the hitters have seen their stuff several times around. I think you have to be prepared for that. Maybe you don't have to have someone 100 percent game ready to start the 5th, but at least have your guys out there loosening up and ready in case we begin to struggle. In this instance, Brown may not have thrown a lot of pitches and done a fine job getting batters out, but he walked the bases loaded in the 5th before giving up the grand slam, and every hitter he faced in that inning drew a 3-2 count except one. So, his control, for whatever reason, seemed to go a bit sour there in the 5th. When your're a team built like Kentucky is our pitching has to be excellent and our staff has to be well managed. We're not likely to be a team to put up a whole lot of runs so the pitching has to be much better. With Henderson it has never been above average in the SEC.

It's probably true that after a few full counts and loading the bases someone should've been up and close to ready...I was more speaking to start the inning. When I managed high school (only freshman), I'd go more based on feel than numbers in a scenario like that...and sometimes you wait too long. I wont bash Hendo for that - but I am with everyone else who has been on here a couple years saying we need change.

AJ Reed had one of the best years in college baseball history - and we don't have anything to show for it. If you cant take advantage of that, plus the natural talent we had in CF + other upper class leadership, how in the world are we going to do this year and in the future?

 

[Comebakatz3]

Cousino and Reed are two that have pretty much saved Henderson's job. Without the NCAA tournament appearance in 2012 I think he would have been fired. Now that he has 2 of them he'll be here for a long time. It's ridiculous considering that his success has been minimal at best. I am one to always harp against him. I've heard bad things about him and I don't like what he has done for us. As proof of his inability to perform at a high level I must always point to the fact that UK's pitching has never, to my knowledge, been a top 5 SEC pitching staff in the over 10 years since he's been at Kentucky, and his strength is supposed to be as a pitching coach.

I agree that Henderson should go on feel instead of numbers. Part of me just doesn't believe that he has any feel for his pitchers. I've personally never managed baseball on a high level, but I feel like you have to be prepared in cases where you're statistically more likely to need changes. The 5th inning of one of those. You can feel out and let your guy go a bit further if it feels right, but you also have to be prepared to make a change if your feeling is wrong. Henderson in this game, and many others, might go with that feeling, but if it backfires he never seems prepared and it often spirals out of control for us.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Originally posted by Comebakatz3:
Cousino and Reed are two that have pretty much saved Henderson's job. Without the NCAA tournament appearance in 2012 I think he would have been fired. Now that he has 2 of them he'll be here for a long time. It's ridiculous considering that his success has been minimal at best. I am one to always harp against him. I've heard bad things about him and I don't like what he has done for us. As proof of his inability to perform at a high level I must always point to the fact that UK's pitching has never, to my knowledge, been a top 5 SEC pitching staff in the over 10 years since he's been at Kentucky, and his strength is supposed to be as a pitching coach.

I agree that Henderson should go on feel instead of numbers. Part of me just doesn't believe that he has any feel for his pitchers. I've personally never managed baseball on a high level, but I feel like you have to be prepared in cases where you're statistically more likely to need changes. The 5th inning of one of those. You can feel out and let your guy go a bit further if it feels right, but you also have to be prepared to make a change if your feeling is wrong. Henderson in this game, and many others, might go with that feeling, but if it backfires he never seems prepared and it often spirals out of control for us.

Maybe the problem with Henderson is that he WAS a pitching coach before being the head man...he seems to give pitchers the benefit of the doubt, instead of opting for an earlier yank. I guarantee the other night he was optimistic that with bases load he could get a ground ball and out of the inning.

In contrast, I have seen Dan McDonnell with some early yanks to get a plus matchup for his team, more often than not working for him and his team. I have heard that ULs pitching coach is the man that REALLY makes that operation work, but McDonnell has a great feel for the game both offensively and making the call to keep or change pitchers.

 

[Comebakatz3]

There are a whole lot of outstanding pitching coaches out there at the college level. Vanderbilt has consistently had an excellent pitching staff. Their current pitching coach is in just his third year, but he's done excellent there so far. The guy before him, not sure of his name, was also outstanding. Williams has done excellent for Louisville. Think about this for a moment... UK has not had a pitcher as an All American in the 11 years Henderson has been here (unless you count Reed). Williams had Burdi and Funkhouser as All Americans just last year, Thompson was an All American in 2013 (along with Burdi again), and Amlung was an AA in 2012. His staffs have been top 10 in the nation several times over the years. Yet, Henderson has never been in the top of the SEC. Just sad that we continue to stick with a guy that just isn't getting it done.