Golden Eagles @ Cats
- Thread starter Comebakatz3
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Surprised TN Tech didn't offer more of a game. They beat TN in a wood bat game that broke the Juicers long winning streak and lost to Vandy but only allowed them 5 hits. Proves the old saying...."Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug."
Just 25 wins for Tennessee Tech so far. Not a real good season. 9-12 in league play.
They were UK's first Quad 3 win of the year, having gone 0-3 prior to last night.
You're right, just thought they'd hit better last night(Bragga's teams usually hit). Their bug-a-boo has been pitching, really poor all year. And those 25 wins....don't forget they opened the season 10-0.
Chase Estep is for 38 for 86 in OOC play. That is a .441 average. In league play he is hitting just 23 of 111 for .207.
I don't know that I have ever seen such a huge contrast and it is wild that Chase is hitting so well during the week and struggling on the weekends. Kind of makes me think that some of it is mental at this point.
Plastiak isn't far behind, hitting .366 in OOC play and just .179 in league play.
Here is the craziest part... they both lead the team in RBIs in conference play despite hitting just .179 and .207 respectively.
I don't know that I have ever seen such a huge contrast and it is wild that Chase is hitting so well during the week and struggling on the weekends. Kind of makes me think that some of it is mental at this point.
Plastiak isn't far behind, hitting .366 in OOC play and just .179 in league play.
Here is the craziest part... they both lead the team in RBIs in conference play despite hitting just .179 and .207 respectively.
Are the discrepancies for everyone else similar?
OOC vs. SEC
In the past 3 years they have been.
Do you mean for other teams or for other people on our team?
I think it is relatively standard for averages to be lower in league play versus overall or in OOC play. Most of the players' averages are propped up more by OOC play than they are league play.
So, it isn't unusual to see a person hitting really well overall and hitting good or average in league play. What is more unique about these two is that it is a big step down. Estep hitting over .440 against OOC competition, but that drops to .207 against the SEC. That is a difference of .234. Massive difference. Plastiak a difference of .187.
Compare that to say, Rubalcaba, who is struggling this season and hitting .243 overall and .220 in league play. His average against OOC opponents only is something like .275, so .055 higher than his league average. Still a good size drop, but nothing compared to .234 or .187.
For UK this isn't necessarily a completely new phenomenon. Estep, a year ago hit .258 overall and .333 in OOC, but those dropped to .202 in conference.... a difference of .122. Shelby hit .329 in OOC in 2019 and just .215 in conference play, a difference of .114.
So, it isn't necessarily entire new that there are some big drops, but these two from Estep and Plastiak this year are just huge drops, and I think it is even a black mark on the rest of the team that despite these horrible numbers from them, they still lead the team in RBIs.
Also, give some credit to Estep for leading in walks and runs scored and stolen bases. So, he is struggling to get hits in league play, but he still makes his presence felt when he gets on base.
This is what pisses me off about Plastiak, he has not done any of the “other things” to make himself worthy of an everyday lineup position but we still run him out there. He has now set the record for most strikeouts in a season and we still have the 3 games to go.
But then who are the options to run out there at 1st? We have been trying Church over the last two weekends, we even moved Fogel there in one of the mid-week blowouts but neither have look comfortable. That’s why I asked about Lieberman being MIA, figured if he can move from catcher to outfield that maybe he could find some time at 1st too?
Plastiak has made some beautiful plays at first, including last night. That may be hard to replace.
I don't know. I think part of it really highlights our faults as a team and as a program. That Plastiak has started 50 games out of 51, and the only one he didn't start or play in was on Sunday highlights, to me, how we've struggled to find and develop depth. That he and Estep are at the top, or near the top of several offensive categories in league play despite struggling highlights many of the weaknesses of the team, even on those who might have higher averages. I think Estep struggling in this second half and rarely moving down in the lineup (if ever?) and never coming out of a single game all season highlights some of our odd/poor coaching decisions. The fact that Plasitak and Estep rarely, if ever, came out of games while we did a merry-go-round with other players/spots is, again, a highlight of that weird/odd/poor coaching.
Liebert has a stress fracture (i think) in his wrist/hand. He was in plain clothes and in a brace when I was at the games Columbia
