Cats vs Dores (Do we even want a game thread?)
- Thread starter Big_Blue_1018
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I didn't go to the game today, last night did me in. At least Rubo got a hit so we are off the schneid.
This is what worries me. I’ve said in the past I will never hope for any Kentucky team to lose. But what I’m afraid of is UK is going to get just enough wins to sneak into SEC tournament and Barnhartt is going to go see, without the injuries this team could have gone somewhere. And we will be in the same position next season.
Would there be truth to that narrative, that UK would've/could've finished higher if healthy? Can't always blame injuries on the coach. Because you and I aren't pleased with NM isn't reason to replace him.
Im not blaming injuries on the coach. Every team deals with them. But, forget injuries for a moment. Can you point to anything in the last three seasons that gives you any hope that Mingione is the right coach to take UK to the next step? The reason to replace him is the product that’s on the field. He’s clueless as a coach. Recruiting has been a joke. He has shown zero ability to develop players.
Don't disagree with anything you've said but we can assume had UK stayed healthy they would've had a better year. Is that enough to save NM? I'm ready for a change too but it isn't my decision to make.
OT: Thank you for using the word “gone” instead of ”went”. I haven’t seen it on this board in a long time, thought it was gone.
I don’t know if we can assume anything or not.
Offensively, outside of Anu UK has been fairly healthy. In SEC play, Kentucky is hitting .249 as a team which is 10th out of 14. But, based on last year I’m not sure Anu really improves on your offense but that’s pure speculation. You have three guys in the starting lineup that is hitting under .200 in conference play. That tells me one of two things. Either, they’re are best hope or there is no one else to play those positions. Question, who is UKs backup first baseman?
Pitching is another thing in itself. Losing Williams does hurt. He was a guy that came in on the weekend rotation and looked the part. I don’t think losing Stupp has really been that big of an issue. He really wasn’t a typical Friday night SEC starter. But UK hasn’t had one since maybe Zack Thompson. And that’s not meant as a dig at him. He’s a heck of a pitcher but just not what you see around the conference in a Friday night guy. Losing Harney was a big blow as well.
An interesting stat I found. You know Kentuckys starters as a whole only average 5.33 innings per start for the year? To me, that’s where the injuries on your pitching staff show up the most. You lean on a ton of guys who really don’t have a good grasp on what their role is. Are they a middle relief? Long relief? Closer? Just a fill in. It’s hard to tell.
If I’m Barnhartt, I have to look past the injuries and look at the product on the field as a whole. If Kentucky had been to the tournament and had some momentum from previous years, then absolutely the case is there to keep Mingione. But his resume since 2017, to me and I’m not the one making the decision, does not warrant him to be here next season. If I were being honest, he should have been replaced last year.
Anu would not be replacing anyone with a low batting average. They'd still be playing. He'd replace Church, who is hitting well.
You seem to have a lot of pull/respect on this board. What would you do after this year? Do you give Mingione a pass for injuries or make a change?
Nope. He would have been gone last year had it been up to me. We might do better without injuries, but the issue is that everyone has dealt with them. Tennessee lost their ace pitcher and they plugged in a freshman that hasn't pitched in 2 years and he's dealing. You have to deal with it and UK had more depth than most and more ability to deal with it than most. Yet we're not dealing with it.
Yep. Lack of depth is not an excuse. Went up to the Reds game tonight but kept tabs on the Cats on my phone at the ballpark. Glad to see we got the W tonight. Getting the series W tomorrow would be fandamntastic
The current pitching woes are one thing. The team likely to be on the field next year, we have no clue about. It will necessarily be a transfer portal team. Mingione is not building a team. This year's team is at least trying most of the time. There were several excellent plays today. They are definitely inconsistent in their effort though.
I don't think this team loses from a lack of effort. I think it's poor coaching more than anything. The most simple example I can give is with Ritter. It's obvious that Ritter has a big swing. It's a bad habit that he goes back to. When he shortens up he hits for a high average and quite well. Yet he only shortens up when he has 2 strikes. His approach should be to always have a short simple swing in order to get on base, especially as a 1 hole hitter. Yet, in 2 years we haven't corrected this or the approach.
Harris has a similar issue. It's talked about frequently and yet never been fixed.
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