Baseball season is close. Anyone going to Spartanburg for the series opener? I will be there Friday & Sunday. Might be able to swing Saturday, but have a work event I ill have to get out of first. @Comebakatz3 you ready my friend?
Almost time. 1 month away.
- Thread starter MAYHOO22
- Start date
Hopefully it's a beautiful start to season for you.I will Hopefully be able to get to Lexington for the Home opener with me coming out of retirement , again
I am gearing up. In the meantime, here is some light reading to keep us all occupied:
Can't wait!
Off topic - why oh why can't our dear university get involved in something like this? Awesome threads, kids sizes, things our university seems completely averse to.
Off topic - why oh why can't our dear university get involved in something like this? Awesome threads, kids sizes, things our university seems completely averse to.
I highly doubt we see many, if any, of the recruiting class make an impact this year. I think it is going to be common practice to redshirt almost all incoming freshmen unless one just makes it impossible to do so in the fall.
With the transfers... I don't know. A part of that could just be that we might have less reliance on them this year than last year. This year we already have returning starters at C, 2nd, SS, LF, CF and RF. So, offensively we might need to fill 2-3 spots total. RF we could conceivably move McCoy to 1B and plug RS freshman Schramm in at RF. So, if that is the case we really only needed to get a 3B and a DH. Schramm could also DH and McCoy stay in right. So, either way we probably only need to fill 1B and 3B, two spots. So, getting guys to come into UK from the portal was probably more difficult because they had less PT to offer. Still, they filled those holes pretty well I think with Daly pretty quick to come on board and take one of those spots (3B) and then UK grabbed 2-3 1B possibilities (I think 1 didn't make it to campus due to eligibility issues).
The transfers on the mound are probably similar. UK already has two projected starters in Smith and Moore. So, only one spot is available there. So they probably couldn't attract the most top tier talent. Even still, I think Roszel has proven to have an eye for collegiate talent and for getting the most out of it. So, I would imagine that he could do some good things with these guys. I think he looks for control out of players and demands they throw strikes and that is what most have done when coming on board.
I think there is still a lot of question marks for this team, as there always is going into a year. However, I think there are some good bones on this team. How far they can go will depend on how the bone part developed in the off season and if they can find the right guys to step up to fill in the gaps. I think they could have a bit more power offensively than a year ago, but I still expect they'll be the 'chaos,' style as Mingione has described it. I don't think he'll go away from that being the identity anytime soon as I think that is what he wants it to be.
Can’t wait for the season to start! Any way too early guesses at the opening day lineup? Assuming Waldschmidt is out for a bit below would be my guess:
1. Crittenberger CF
2. Pitre 2B
3. Burkes C
4. Nicholson 1B
5. McCarthy LF
6. Lopez DH
7. McCoy RF
8. Daly 3B
9. Smith SS
SP:
Fri. Smith
Sat. Moore
Sun. Niman
1. Crittenberger CF
2. Pitre 2B
3. Burkes C
4. Nicholson 1B
5. McCarthy LF
6. Lopez DH
7. McCoy RF
8. Daly 3B
9. Smith SS
SP:
Fri. Smith
Sat. Moore
Sun. Niman
I think there's a lot of truth to the lower number of transfers affecting the lack of acknowledgement from national media, although there are several who will tell you the class is being overlooked. Think about needs and gets though:
SP? Brought in a LHP who had some AA love last season and a veteran in the Dub Williams mold.
Speed/Versatility - Yep.
Small Ball? - Yep.
Defense? - Yep. It might be better than a year ago.
Power? - Nicholson should provide some. Higdon was incredible in JUCO.
Swing and miss on mound? - Look at Hummel's numbers and Robinson has been mid-90s.
Locker Room fits? - Yep.
So, no, maybe not AS good on paper but didn't need to be either with returning starters at C, 2B, SS, 3B (Church will get a long look, I'd bet), LF and RF. And a Friday night SP. Think back to a year ago, the proven guys were basically Dub (off TJ), Bosma and Hagenow. Even Burkes was relative unknown. Add the staff's track record with impact transfers and I wouldn't worry about that part.
But need to be good again this year because next year likely will have growing pains. Could lose Burkes, Nicholson, Pitre, G. Smith, Church, Daly, McCoy, McCarthy, Waldy, Crittenberger, Lopez, Moore, T. Smith, Hagenow, Hummel, Pooser, Robinson, Niman, etc.
SP? Brought in a LHP who had some AA love last season and a veteran in the Dub Williams mold.
Speed/Versatility - Yep.
Small Ball? - Yep.
Defense? - Yep. It might be better than a year ago.
Power? - Nicholson should provide some. Higdon was incredible in JUCO.
Swing and miss on mound? - Look at Hummel's numbers and Robinson has been mid-90s.
Locker Room fits? - Yep.
So, no, maybe not AS good on paper but didn't need to be either with returning starters at C, 2B, SS, 3B (Church will get a long look, I'd bet), LF and RF. And a Friday night SP. Think back to a year ago, the proven guys were basically Dub (off TJ), Bosma and Hagenow. Even Burkes was relative unknown. Add the staff's track record with impact transfers and I wouldn't worry about that part.
But need to be good again this year because next year likely will have growing pains. Could lose Burkes, Nicholson, Pitre, G. Smith, Church, Daly, McCoy, McCarthy, Waldy, Crittenberger, Lopez, Moore, T. Smith, Hagenow, Hummel, Pooser, Robinson, Niman, etc.
I think Pitre leads off and Church plays a lot.
Add Waldschmidt when he returns and Church and I think that’s a squad that can be really good in the league again. Need some guys to step up out of the pen, but I’m pretty optimistic about this group even without the national love.
The NCAA added a rule that a tournament host site must be able to provide hotel availability for visiting teams and that dorms will no longer cut it, assuredly due to the IU whiners in Lexington last year. Obviously being considered as a regional host is a huge accomplishment and tough hill to climb, but does this become an issue for us again in the future if we get back into that position? If I remember right, the reason for this was Railbird, the state high school track meet, the state high school softball tournament, etc. all in Lexington that same weekend. Are these all scheduled to be in Lexington the same weekend in the future? Railbird certainly seems here to stay on that weekend.
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That would be absolutely wild if UK builds this stadium in large part to be able to host such events. Ensuring they have expanded capacity and the like so they are at a higher probability of being a host. Then it's entirely ruined by outside events and a lack of hotels.
I just read the article myself. It said that you could provide hotel rooms within 30 miles, which would take in Richmond, Frankfort, Georgetown and quite a few other communities surrounding Lexington, so surely we would not be disqualified.
I'm not sure it would prohibit housing teams in a dorm if they chose to do so, the dorms at UK are within walking distance of the stadium and are actually quite nice and new.
I'm not sure it would prohibit housing teams in a dorm if they chose to do so, the dorms at UK are within walking distance of the stadium and are actually quite nice and new.
I would imagine that the school immediately went ahead and booked 3 suitable room blocks in Lexington. I would imagine after the surprise season last year, moving forward they will plan to submit a bid yearly.
It would be administrative malpractice for the school not to have figured something out for 2024 after last year's uproar with Indiana.
Hosting was beyond awesome and was a huge advantage for UK in winning the regional. Pull out every stop to make it possible in the future.
Hosting was beyond awesome and was a huge advantage for UK in winning the regional. Pull out every stop to make it possible in the future.
It should be another fun season. Lots of bunting and base stealing, again. I’m worried about pitching and depth but it always seems like someone is better than we expect with Roszel.
Watched the Pitre clip posted to social media today. Looks like they're having a scrimmage. So, here are some interesting things I pulled out from it:
Reuben Church was playing 1B for black
Patrick Herrera was playing SS for black
Landon Franklin was playing 2B for black
Kyus Gargett was playing 3B for black
Jacob Price was pitching for blue at one point, shows him seemingly making a play at first.
He praises a throw from James (presumably McCoy) playing for blue and from context clues it sounds like McCoy throws someone out at the plate from RF.
Grant Smith was SS for blue
My thoughts:
Church playing first is a sign of things IMO. Some here have said that it is going to be hard to keep Church off the diamond. The question then became... where does he get on it at? DH? 3B? 1B? OF? Well, this might be the answer. Now, I don't know what this does for Ryan Nicholson. Of course, this was just a scrimmage and they probably moved people around, but this might also be a little hint.
Another question mark was the outfield, particularly RF. I think Waldy staying in left makes the most sense. Center could be McCarthy or Crittenberger. RF could be Ben Higdon, James McCoy, Reuben Church, Lukas Schramm. However, McCoy being in RF makes it seem like that might be the choice out there. Of course, this is just some speculation using bad context clues. At one point he seems to look around and name off people he sees wearing ski-masks. When he seemingly looks to the OF he mentions, "Ben," which I presume is Ben Higdon while looking towards what looks like center and "Griff," which I assume is Griffin Cameron, while looking towards left. So, we could see Higdon playing around the OF and maybe Griff is a backup in left?
The black infield is interesting in general. Two freshmen out there with Herrera at SS. Imagine we see Herrera as a sub this year, but not sure about seeing too many freshmen out there.
Reuben Church was playing 1B for black
Patrick Herrera was playing SS for black
Landon Franklin was playing 2B for black
Kyus Gargett was playing 3B for black
Jacob Price was pitching for blue at one point, shows him seemingly making a play at first.
He praises a throw from James (presumably McCoy) playing for blue and from context clues it sounds like McCoy throws someone out at the plate from RF.
Grant Smith was SS for blue
My thoughts:
Church playing first is a sign of things IMO. Some here have said that it is going to be hard to keep Church off the diamond. The question then became... where does he get on it at? DH? 3B? 1B? OF? Well, this might be the answer. Now, I don't know what this does for Ryan Nicholson. Of course, this was just a scrimmage and they probably moved people around, but this might also be a little hint.
Another question mark was the outfield, particularly RF. I think Waldy staying in left makes the most sense. Center could be McCarthy or Crittenberger. RF could be Ben Higdon, James McCoy, Reuben Church, Lukas Schramm. However, McCoy being in RF makes it seem like that might be the choice out there. Of course, this is just some speculation using bad context clues. At one point he seems to look around and name off people he sees wearing ski-masks. When he seemingly looks to the OF he mentions, "Ben," which I presume is Ben Higdon while looking towards what looks like center and "Griff," which I assume is Griffin Cameron, while looking towards left. So, we could see Higdon playing around the OF and maybe Griff is a backup in left?
The black infield is interesting in general. Two freshmen out there with Herrera at SS. Imagine we see Herrera as a sub this year, but not sure about seeing too many freshmen out there.
I wouldn't read too much into it, IMHO. Staff firmly believes in moving guys around unfamiliar places during scrimmages to maximize versatility. Often, guys will play 3 positions in a practice or a position will have a different guy every inning. Likely depends on what day of the week (Friday & Saturday are the ones most like game day) the video was shot and how deep into the scrimmage it might have been. Nicholson is undoubtedly the 1B to start but Church and McCoy being options there as backups is important. Same at catcher, Fawley needs to be able to spell Burkes. Third appears to be toss up between Church/Daly/Lopez/Herrera.
Best guess:
C - Burkes
1B - Nicholson
2B - Pitre
SS - G. Smith
3B - Church (to start)
LF - Nolan (until Waldschmidt returns in, likely, March)
CF - Critt
RF - McCoy
DH - Lopez
Herrera/Daly next in line. Then Higdon/Fawley/Schramm. Hindle/Small break glass in emergency.
Best guess:
C - Burkes
1B - Nicholson
2B - Pitre
SS - G. Smith
3B - Church (to start)
LF - Nolan (until Waldschmidt returns in, likely, March)
CF - Critt
RF - McCoy
DH - Lopez
Herrera/Daly next in line. Then Higdon/Fawley/Schramm. Hindle/Small break glass in emergency.
LF to start. I'd guess they'll re-evaluate the hot hands when Waldy can play the field again.
You listed Higdon in left to start, but I am guessing that maybe you're suggesting that McCarthy would matchup against lefty starters and start in left against them while Higdon (who hits lefty) would start against righty starters and play left?
By the way, some other random interesting things as I randomly look around:
We have 11 lefties on the roster, 5 of which are freshmen.
James McCoy is listed as both an infielder and a pitcher. He's probably starting in OF though.
Blake Bowen is the only utility player listed on the media guide. The roster on UKathletics.com mentions 2 others Skowronski and Gargett, both freshmen that are listed in the media guide as OFs. As mentioned, though, in the video earlier we saw Gargett at third.
We have 11 lefties on the roster, 5 of which are freshmen.
James McCoy is listed as both an infielder and a pitcher. He's probably starting in OF though.
Blake Bowen is the only utility player listed on the media guide. The roster on UKathletics.com mentions 2 others Skowronski and Gargett, both freshmen that are listed in the media guide as OFs. As mentioned, though, in the video earlier we saw Gargett at third.
Daly possibly not starting is wild. Could be a real good sign that UK gets a former freshman All American to transfer in and they might not even start him.
This was my original best guess lineup post. Nolan is the LF, Higdon a reserve.
Best guess:
C - Burkes
1B - Nicholson
2B - Pitre
SS - G. Smith
3B - Church (to start)
LF - Nolan (until Waldschmidt returns in, likely, March)
CF - Critt
RF - McCoy
DH - Lopez
Herrera/Daly next in line. Then Higdon/Fawley/Schramm. Hindle/Small break glass in emergency.
He can’t hit, at all. It was always weird to sign someone who can’t hit when you return your SS.
It is a bit of a weird pickup when we already have Herrera in the hole who can also play SS. I don't mind taking him, but I also think we should have looked for a proven backup catcher that can spell Burkes. Maybe Fawley can be that guy, but would probably have still preferred someone to come in that we know has a history of hitting the ball well at the collegiate level.
I am worried about the pitching. Having 3 backup IFs who are all upperclassmen instead of 3 more pitchers is odd to me.
Maybe with Smith’s surgery there was concern about having another SS, which I understand, but it’s still someone who doesn’t hit very well. Maybe he will come around.
One would think the University could make a fortune if they were to build an on campus hotel that can be used for a variety of reasons but restricted on who can stay. the hotel wouldn't be available to the general public for the most part. Visiting teams from all sports could stay there, visiting faculty, guests, recruits and their families, Some students families depending on the reason, etc. There are a number of ways to utilize such a facility.
FWIW I recall the West Virginia coach said the dorms were fine. Very close to the stadium and no problem with accommodations.
I think it was really an Indiana problem.
Could even start a hotel hospitality program at the university to manage the hotel. I believe Memphis has a program like this.
This is an interesting development. Big praise for Niman, who might be our Sunday starter.
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