Comebakatz -gotta get your take on the A&M matchup
- Thread starter Kybluedude
- Start date
Don't have a breakdown at all. Baseball is a different sport, the best team doesn't always win. A team can get hot, a team can have mental breakdowns, etc. From what I have seen of UK, they are pretty mentally tough, don't know about A&M. I'm sure every team is at this point in the season. Hell, I thought Rory was mentally tough until yesterday.
Let's go Big Blue!
Let's play for each other and the name of the front of the jersey, just like we have all year! LFG!
Let's go Big Blue!
Let's play for each other and the name of the front of the jersey, just like we have all year! LFG!
Some good points so far. I think that our team is as gritty as any team in the nation and despite what might be less talent than some of the other teams, we just never seem to go away. That bodes well for us in every game we play.
As far as TAMU... they hit well. 299 as a team with 132 home runs. They have three guys with 20+ dingers, Montgomery (27), LaViolette (28) and Grahovac (22). They also like to run with 78 stolen bases on 91 attempts with Chesnut (16-17), Appel (15-17), and Burton (10-11) leading the way. I think most of them will be willing and able to run though, so Moore needs to keep a good eye on most runners. However, their hitters will strike out a pretty good chunk (about 26 percent of their at bats end that way).
On the mound for them will be the lefty Prager with a 3.10 ERA across 17 starts and 87 innings of work. He has struck out 114 and walked just 19. Those numbers are stupid good. Opponents hitting .225, so he really limits damage. However, he really struggled on 6/8 against Oregon and only went 1.2 innings having given up 6 runs on 7 hits, including a double and a home run. He also walked 4 against Texas on 6/1, which was the most he'd walked in a game all season. It was in 6.1 innings of work and he only gave up 2 runs, but there is a part of me that is wondering if the guy is maybe having a bit of arm fatigue. His pitch counts aren't gaudy by any means, but lately he threw 53, 87, and 41, so those numbers aren't real high and aren't real indicative of a guy they want to ride late into ball games. So, maybe there is something to that, but that is just speculation and he might feel fresh again after this somewhat longer layoff.
They have a team ERA of 3.91, so the bullpen won't provide a huge drop in talent. However, they did use some of their best bullpen arms early on Sunday morning to get the win against Florida, so at least a couple of them may not be available on such short rest. Their stud, Aschenbeck threw 51 and on a day or less of rest, that is a lot. Maybe he could be an emergency use. Cortez is the other stud and he threw 65, so again, a lot on short turnaround. Still, they have 4 more guys who have ERAs under 3.00 who have all thrown over 15 innings this year. So, those guys are seasoned enough to come in and do some work.
This TAMU team is uber talented and not going to be a walk in the park. However, just something about this team also doesn't feel dominant. They were 19-11 in league play, which is by no means bad, but for a team that just sat at the top of the rankings all year it felt like they should be really dominating the SEC and they really didn't do that. They got to 50 wins oveall, but the overall schedule was not great with an NC SOS of 81. 18-13 against Q1 teams, so the only games they lost were against Q1 opponents, which is certainly impressive, but is also a reminder that they aren't invincible.
UK has not fared overly well against Schlossnagle (sp?) the TAMU head coach as they faced him last year in his first year at TAMU and went 1-3 in College Station, and they faced him last year and went 1-3 in Lexington. They also they faced him in 2020 in the first weekend and went 0-3 in Fort Worth when he was at TCU. That is the past, but the point is that these head coaches are familiar with one another and their styles.
Feels like UK is going to have to bring their A game in this one. TAMU was on top of the rankings for a large part of the year because they are just that talented, but as I said... UK is just one of those gritty teams that refuses to lose and I think even small leads given up to UK can feel bigger as they continue to put pressure on you in a lot of ways. That will have to be the style again today, but TAMU does a good job controlling the bases with just 19 stolen bases on 33 attempts against them.
Sorry this is a bit short and not as detailed, but got a late jump on it.
As far as TAMU... they hit well. 299 as a team with 132 home runs. They have three guys with 20+ dingers, Montgomery (27), LaViolette (28) and Grahovac (22). They also like to run with 78 stolen bases on 91 attempts with Chesnut (16-17), Appel (15-17), and Burton (10-11) leading the way. I think most of them will be willing and able to run though, so Moore needs to keep a good eye on most runners. However, their hitters will strike out a pretty good chunk (about 26 percent of their at bats end that way).
On the mound for them will be the lefty Prager with a 3.10 ERA across 17 starts and 87 innings of work. He has struck out 114 and walked just 19. Those numbers are stupid good. Opponents hitting .225, so he really limits damage. However, he really struggled on 6/8 against Oregon and only went 1.2 innings having given up 6 runs on 7 hits, including a double and a home run. He also walked 4 against Texas on 6/1, which was the most he'd walked in a game all season. It was in 6.1 innings of work and he only gave up 2 runs, but there is a part of me that is wondering if the guy is maybe having a bit of arm fatigue. His pitch counts aren't gaudy by any means, but lately he threw 53, 87, and 41, so those numbers aren't real high and aren't real indicative of a guy they want to ride late into ball games. So, maybe there is something to that, but that is just speculation and he might feel fresh again after this somewhat longer layoff.
They have a team ERA of 3.91, so the bullpen won't provide a huge drop in talent. However, they did use some of their best bullpen arms early on Sunday morning to get the win against Florida, so at least a couple of them may not be available on such short rest. Their stud, Aschenbeck threw 51 and on a day or less of rest, that is a lot. Maybe he could be an emergency use. Cortez is the other stud and he threw 65, so again, a lot on short turnaround. Still, they have 4 more guys who have ERAs under 3.00 who have all thrown over 15 innings this year. So, those guys are seasoned enough to come in and do some work.
This TAMU team is uber talented and not going to be a walk in the park. However, just something about this team also doesn't feel dominant. They were 19-11 in league play, which is by no means bad, but for a team that just sat at the top of the rankings all year it felt like they should be really dominating the SEC and they really didn't do that. They got to 50 wins oveall, but the overall schedule was not great with an NC SOS of 81. 18-13 against Q1 teams, so the only games they lost were against Q1 opponents, which is certainly impressive, but is also a reminder that they aren't invincible.
UK has not fared overly well against Schlossnagle (sp?) the TAMU head coach as they faced him last year in his first year at TAMU and went 1-3 in College Station, and they faced him last year and went 1-3 in Lexington. They also they faced him in 2020 in the first weekend and went 0-3 in Fort Worth when he was at TCU. That is the past, but the point is that these head coaches are familiar with one another and their styles.
Feels like UK is going to have to bring their A game in this one. TAMU was on top of the rankings for a large part of the year because they are just that talented, but as I said... UK is just one of those gritty teams that refuses to lose and I think even small leads given up to UK can feel bigger as they continue to put pressure on you in a lot of ways. That will have to be the style again today, but TAMU does a good job controlling the bases with just 19 stolen bases on 33 attempts against them.
Sorry this is a bit short and not as detailed, but got a late jump on it.
Terrific report but concerning. They sound like a complete team.
However, I played on a really good team that occasionally lost to teams we ended up beating 4 of 5 so it happens.
Watched the Red Sox last night dominate the Yankees which was a surprise.
However, I played on a really good team that occasionally lost to teams we ended up beating 4 of 5 so it happens.
Watched the Red Sox last night dominate the Yankees which was a surprise.
Don't know much but it appeared Grant Smith was playing behind second instead of the hole. I know one time he was keeping a runner on, but when the pitch is called for outside, don't you move your SS closer to third? Also looked like McCarthy took a step in when the ball went over his head. First step has to be back. I'm sure the wind blowing in played a big part of that.
Not sure what happened with Smith on that one roller that could have at least been an out but he moved to the inside more. Could have been a scouting thing, where the middle is where the guy hits it most. One thing that was odd was that we never moved the infield in. Getting no hit in the 6th and knowing that 1 or 2 runs probably decides the thing with runners on 2nd and 3rd and UK doesn't walk the batter to load them and get a double play ball, but they also don't go infield in. Was a weird strategy decision.
As far as the McCoy play in right... I sympathize with that one. It is hard to tell which way a ball hit right at you is spinning. If it has forward spin or no spin then it is likely going to fall short and you've allowed them to get a hit because you didn't read the ball and see that it would fall short. Sometimes they have backspin and they look like they will fall short, but the backspin causes the ball to keep rising and what looked like a dying quail into right is suddenly over your head. It is extremely tough and can be extremely frustrating for a fielder because either way you can end up looking silly, but yea, first step needs to be back because it is better to let that fall short and give up one base than to let it get over your head and give up two or three. He was trying to make the play on the short one and save a run though, and I get it... just a really tough spot there.
Similar threads
