Kentucky at Georgia (Sunday)

[enjyretirement2020]

I think you may very well see a mass exodus of players from this team. I just don't think that Mingione is great to the players and that he's created a lot of dislike and distrust in those players.

For instance... Zeke Lewis returned for his last year at UK after losing much of 2020. He's a senior that is a good defender and has speed to burn. He is also well liked amongst the team. He is from Atlanta, Georgia. This past weekend UK went to Athens and some of his family planned to attend to see him play. UK opted not to take him on the trip. So, even if he hadn't played, some of his family couldn't see him or interact with him after a game or before or just see him lace them up for UK one last time. Just a horrible way to treat a guy who has played for UK since 2016... he's been on UK longer than Mingione has even been here and Ming doesn't reward him at all for that loyalty and hard work.

I don't personally know what effect this had on Lewis or his family and whether he was upset about it or just let it slide or whatever, but I imagine (just pure speculation) that he was upset about it and that his family was upset about it. When you treat a player like that you show very little loyalty and then many of those guys won't want to be loyalty to you.

I think the coach(es) have pretty poor communication skills and do not communicate to the players. So, if they make a decision the player isn't really talked to a whole lot about it... it just happens and the player is left wondering what happened and why. When that occurs fingers start getting pointed and resentment sinks in. For instance... Plastiak lost his starting job after just 1 game. 1. Church came in and did great, but it took a long time of Church struggling to hit (3 of his last 35 in league play I believe) before Plastiak got another chance to really unseat him. So, why did Plastiak lose his role after 1 game, but Church got every chance in the world to prove himself? If the coaches aren't communicating with Plastiak on why he was benched and what he needs to do then Plastiak is going to get increasingly frustrated with Church and the staff and it is going to erode the clubhouse.

I also feel like the fall was irrelevant. You have Schultz in the IF all fall and basically the last minute in the spring, with just a couple weeks before the season, you switch him to OF... where they absolutely refuse to move him from in any situation. That is fine and all, but those guys in the OF that were competing and doing well lost their job to a guy who barely knows how to play out there. This despite telling them all fall that the emphasis is on defense.

I could go on with this rant, but I think you get the point.

BTW... another person that was left in Lex this weekend was Ramsey. Just found that interesting.

Really? Left him at home. That is just not right. Ramsey, eh, I can see, but also why would you not take a pinch runner and a pitcher? Situations will always happen when you least expect them and then what?

Can't blame any of them for leaving. That's a good point with Plastiak. Didn't realize that. If this Coach is such a "stat guy", the decisions he makes are obviously not based on them. Has to be frustrating when you are watching a guy get chance after chance and you get absolute zilch. That is a coach that does not adapt, too set in his ways and is not a good thing. You are absolutely correct, it will carry over into the clubhouse. Frustration will set in and then it will all derail.

The Schultz situation is weird. Why not leave him in the infield? What is the problem,? There has to be a reason we are not seeing. Shelby and Hill are more than capable of being in the outfield; just look at their stats. I would imagine both are frustrated because all you have to do is watch one game and see those players are not outfielders and they might not cost you a run every game, but there are mistakes happening consistently and it looks like they are willing to let it continue.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Really? Left him at home. That is just not right. Ramsey, eh, I can see, but also why would you not take a pinch runner and a pitcher? Situations will always happen when you least expect them and then what?

Can't blame any of them for leaving. That's a good point with Plastiak. Didn't realize that. If this Coach is such a "stat guy", the decisions he makes are obviously not based on them. Has to be frustrating when you are watching a guy get chance after chance and you get absolute zilch. That is a coach that does not adapt and just set in his ways and is not a good thing. You are absolutely correct, it will carry over into the clubhouse. Frustration will set in and then it will all derail.

The Schultz situation is weird. Why not leave him in the infield? What is the problem,? There has to be a reason we are not seeing. Shelby and Hill are more than capable of being in the outfield; just look at their stats. I would imagine both are frustrated because all you have to do is watch one game and see those players are not outfielders and they might not cost you a run every game, but there are mistakes happening consistently and it looks like they are willing to let it continue.

Well, I think Schultz moving to the outfield is fairly acceptable IF (big if here) your infield is just as good or better defensively and offensively than the guys he would replace.

I think Estep, Grace, and Lewis are all good defenders. Grace and Lewis have struggled at the plate, as has Estep at times. Estep can also play 3rd. Grace and Plastiak leave some to be desired at third defensively. So, I think your absolute best defense is probably Schultz at second, Estep at third, and Hill in center.
However, do you give up some defense to possibly get a better bat than Hill's? Do Church/Plastiak provide a better bat? What about Estep, considering he is hitting .185 in SEC play? Is their hitting so much better that it warrants making this move and sending Schultz into the OF?

So far... the combination hasn't been right and proven that it is. However, I think they also went about it wrong. If they really wanted to do that then they should have really moved Schultz in the fall. Give him more time. They also, if they can help it, shouldn't have him in center, where you're required to communicate even more with both sides. A lack of, or poor, communication in the outfield can lead to missed balls because they aren't helping each other with depth and the fence, and can lead to injuries if they aren't calling off one another or, again, calling out distance to the fence. So, having him in center can be problematic, even moreso if you have two guys out there beside him who aren't as seasoned or as good.

With this move, you'd also think that Mingione and staff would be more flexible with Schultz and move him as a utility guy as needed, but that really hasn't been the case. We saw that on Sunday... Shelby PH for Estep and rather than just move Schultz to 2nd and Shelby to CF, they took out Shelby... brought in Church to play 3rd and moved Plastiak to 2nd. Plastiak has not played second (to my recollection) this year, but they still tried that, which arguably made our defense worse. Which also makes you wonder whether they might try that more going forward?

I mean, if we just went by the absolute numbers right now... it would make the most sense for Plastiak to play 3rd, Schultz 2nd and Hill CF. Kessler and Rubalcaba switching who is catching and who is DH.

 

[SeanCain]

I think you may very well see a mass exodus of players from this team. I just don't think that Mingione is great to the players and that he's created a lot of dislike and distrust in those players.

For instance... Zeke Lewis returned for his last year at UK after losing much of 2020. He's a senior that is a good defender and has speed to burn. He is also well liked amongst the team. He is from Atlanta, Georgia. This past weekend UK went to Athens and some of his family planned to attend to see him play. UK opted not to take him on the trip. So, even if he hadn't played, some of his family couldn't see him or interact with him after a game or before or just see him lace them up for UK one last time. Just a horrible way to treat a guy who has played for UK since 2016... he's been on UK longer than Mingione has even been here and Ming doesn't reward him at all for that loyalty and hard work.

I don't personally know what effect this had on Lewis or his family and whether he was upset about it or just let it slide or whatever, but I imagine (just pure speculation) that he was upset about it and that his family was upset about it. When you treat a player like that you show very little loyalty and then many of those guys won't want to be loyalty to you.

I think the coach(es) have pretty poor communication skills and do not communicate to the players. So, if they make a decision the player isn't really talked to a whole lot about it... it just happens and the player is left wondering what happened and why. When that occurs fingers start getting pointed and resentment sinks in. For instance... Plastiak lost his starting job after just 1 game. 1. Church came in and did great, but it took a long time of Church struggling to hit (3 of his last 35 in league play I believe) before Plastiak got another chance to really unseat him. So, why did Plastiak lose his role after 1 game, but Church got every chance in the world to prove himself? If the coaches aren't communicating with Plastiak on why he was benched and what he needs to do then Plastiak is going to get increasingly frustrated with Church and the staff and it is going to erode the clubhouse.

I also feel like the fall was irrelevant. You have Schultz in the IF all fall and basically the last minute in the spring, with just a couple weeks before the season, you switch him to OF... where they absolutely refuse to move him from in any situation. That is fine and all, but those guys in the OF that were competing and doing well lost their job to a guy who barely knows how to play out there. This despite telling them all fall that the emphasis is on defense.

I could go on with this rant, but I think you get the point.

BTW... another person that was left in Lex this weekend was Ramsey. Just found that interesting.

I take it

I think you may very well see a mass exodus of players from this team. I just don't think that Mingione is great to the players and that he's created a lot of dislike and distrust in those players.

For instance... Zeke Lewis returned for his last year at UK after losing much of 2020. He's a senior that is a good defender and has speed to burn. He is also well liked amongst the team. He is from Atlanta, Georgia. This past weekend UK went to Athens and some of his family planned to attend to see him play. UK opted not to take him on the trip. So, even if he hadn't played, some of his family couldn't see him or interact with him after a game or before or just see him lace them up for UK one last time. Just a horrible way to treat a guy who has played for UK since 2016... he's been on UK longer than Mingione has even been here and Ming doesn't reward him at all for that loyalty and hard work.

I don't personally know what effect this had on Lewis or his family and whether he was upset about it or just let it slide or whatever, but I imagine (just pure speculation) that he was upset about it and that his family was upset about it. When you treat a player like that you show very little loyalty and then many of those guys won't want to be loyalty to you.

I think the coach(es) have pretty poor communication skills and do not communicate to the players. So, if they make a decision the player isn't really talked to a whole lot about it... it just happens and the player is left wondering what happened and why. When that occurs fingers start getting pointed and resentment sinks in. For instance... Plastiak lost his starting job after just 1 game. 1. Church came in and did great, but it took a long time of Church struggling to hit (3 of his last 35 in league play I believe) before Plastiak got another chance to really unseat him. So, why did Plastiak lose his role after 1 game, but Church got every chance in the world to prove himself? If the coaches aren't communicating with Plastiak on why he was benched and what he needs to do then Plastiak is going to get increasingly frustrated with Church and the staff and it is going to erode the clubhouse.

I also feel like the fall was irrelevant. You have Schultz in the IF all fall and basically the last minute in the spring, with just a couple weeks before the season, you switch him to OF... where they absolutely refuse to move him from in any situation. That is fine and all, but those guys in the OF that were competing and doing well lost their job to a guy who barely knows how to play out there. This despite telling them all fall that the emphasis is on defense.

I could go on with this rant, but I think you get the point.

BTW... another person that was left in Lex this weekend was Ramsey. Just found that interesting.

I take it you must have an inside source for that kind of information. My interactions with Mingione has primarily been at UK’s baseball camps. I have read some past players with negative comments about him on Twitter.

If several players transfer, you pretty much have to let Mingione go. A situation like that would turn into a huge rebuild project. It would be tough to find another coach in that situation.

Comebak thanks for sharing that information.

 

[Comebakatz3]

One thing to note... I believe that Ritter might be out a little bit of time because of the collision with Anu.

If that is the case, what does UK do? Do we just play Grace at SS or does that finally push Schultz back into the IF and Shelby/Hill into the OF again?

 

[Comebakatz3]

I take it

I take it you must have an inside source for that kind of information. My interactions with Mingione has primarily been at UK’s baseball camps. I have read some past players with negative comments about him on Twitter.

If several players transfer, you pretty much have to let Mingione go. A situation like that would turn into a huge rebuild project. It would be tough to find another coach in that situation.

Comebak thanks for sharing that information.

A lot of it, to be fair, is speculation and not from any source. I know that Lewis was left in Lexington this past weekend. However, I don't know how he or his family took that. I am purely guessing that they were not happy about it. Even still, even if they don't take offense, or didn't outwardly express any anger over it, I think it is a bad thing to do to your 6th year senior who has seemingly been very selfless and has dedicated a ton of time to the team, and came back for a 6th year when he didn't have to, etc. I think it just hurts team morale to do something like that.

Some of it, I have either seen or heard from different places/people that there were some issues. For instance, I have heard that in the past there are some weird or poor communication issues. However, I, to be clear, have not heard that Plastiak or Church had that issue with their situation(s) this season. I was just kind of giving an instance for which, if there is poor communication, it can have a negative effect on the team as a whole.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

Something I want to add to piggy back off what Comeback said. Watching all three games this weekend, every time they showed a camera angle of UKs dugout, Minge was staring off into LaLa land. Now, as someone who has attention issues, I can sorta understand that. But he’s being paid to coach a baseball team and he at times looked so disinterested into what was going on. It seems to me that all he wants to do is argue with the umpires. The decisions that this staff has made have been head scratchers at best. This is a bad time of the season to still be trying to figure out your group.

 

[enjyretirement2020]

Well, I think Schultz moving to the outfield is fairly acceptable IF (big if here) your infield is just as good or better defensively and offensively than the guys he would replace.

I think Estep, Grace, and Lewis are all good defenders. Grace and Lewis have struggled at the plate, as has Estep at times. Estep can also play 3rd. Grace and Plastiak leave some to be desired at third defensively. So, I think your absolute best defense is probably Schultz at second, Estep at third, and Hill in center.
However, do you give up some defense to possibly get a better bat than Hill's? Do Church/Plastiak provide a better bat? What about Estep, considering he is hitting .185 in SEC play? Is their hitting so much better that it warrants making this move and sending Schultz into the OF?

So far... the combination hasn't been right and proven that it is. However, I think they also went about it wrong. If they really wanted to do that then they should have really moved Schultz in the fall. Give him more time. They also, if they can help it, shouldn't have him in center, where you're required to communicate even more with both sides. A lack of, or poor, communication in the outfield can lead to missed balls because they aren't helping each other with depth and the fence, and can lead to injuries if they aren't calling off one another or, again, calling out distance to the fence. So, having him in center can be problematic, even moreso if you have two guys out there beside him who aren't as seasoned or as good.

With this move, you'd also think that Mingione and staff would be more flexible with Schultz and move him as a utility guy as needed, but that really hasn't been the case. We saw that on Sunday... Shelby PH for Estep and rather than just move Schultz to 2nd and Shelby to CF, they took out Shelby... brought in Church to play 3rd and moved Plastiak to 2nd. Plastiak has not played second (to my recollection) this year, but they still tried that, which arguably made our defense worse. Which also makes you wonder whether they might try that more going forward?

I mean, if we just went by the absolute numbers right now... it would make the most sense for Plastiak to play 3rd, Schultz 2nd and Hill CF. Kessler and Rubalcaba switching who is catching and who is DH.

What they did there, moving Estep and Plastiak, that must be telling of what they think of Shelby or Hill or is it Schultz? Two outfielders that never go into the outfield? Why can't Schultz relocate back into the infield? He was a shortstop and 2nd baseman, correct? Hmmmmmm

 

[Comebakatz3]

What they did there, moving Estep and Plastiak, that must be telling of what they think of Shelby or Hill or is it Schultz? Two outfielders that never go into the outfield? Why can't Schultz relocate back into the infield? He was a shortstop and 2nd baseman, correct? Hmmmmmm

Schultz was a SS originally. I don't think he really had the arm strength to be a SS professionally, and so he was kind of moved to second. He was certainly capable at SS, and could be serviceable at third even. However, I think second is where he is most suited. I think (and I believe even Doug Flynn has said this) that second is where he is likely best and where he will play professionally.

Why they leave him out there is beyond me. I don't know if it is because they just love Schultz out there, or they don't like Hill/Shelby out there or because they are stubborn or what.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Hill injured again?

 

[Comebakatz3]

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Hill injured again?

Hill jammed his hand against Bellarmine. Not sure of the extent of it, but they seem like they've wrapped it heavily and he's able to play, or at least he played some on Friday.

 

[167Hike]

To me the difference between Hill and Shelby is Hill will do anything to get on base (take a walk, get hit by a pitch, put down a bunt when the 3rd baseman plays back, etc) where Shelby is always swinging to take the cover off the ball.

At this time I would play Schultz at 2nd, Hill in cf (to cover up Rhodes/Anu inexperience) and some combo of Plask, Church, Rubo and Kess at 3rd/catcher/DH....depending on matchu.

 

[Comebakatz3]

To me the difference between Hill and Shelby is Hill will do anything to get on base (take a walk, get hit by a pitch, put down a bunt when the 3rd baseman plays back, etc) where Shelby is always swinging to take the cover off the ball.

At this time I would play Schultz at 2nd, Hill in cf (to cover up Rhodes/Anu inexperience) and some combo of Plask, Church, Rubo and Kess at 3rd/catcher/DH....depending on matchu.

I'd love to see Shelby get going though. It's been a shame for him to be in the role he's in. It's hard to be successful at pinch hitting. I think if he hits regularly for a week or so he fills that role much better, but it's a bit too late for that now.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

I'd love to see Shelby get going though. It's been a shame for him to be in the role he's in. It's hard to be successful at pinch hitting. I think if he hits regularly for a week or so he fills that role much better, but it's a bit too late for that now.

I really thought Shelby would be a better player here. But it just hasn't worked out. Wether that's on him or not can be debated all day.

 

[enjyretirement2020]

Schultz was a SS originally. I don't think he really had the arm strength to be a SS professionally, and so he was kind of moved to second. He was certainly capable at SS, and could be serviceable at third even. However, I think second is where he is most suited. I think (and I believe even Doug Flynn has said this) that second is where he is likely best and where he will play professionally.

Why they leave him out there is beyond me. I don't know if it is because they just love Schultz out there, or they don't like Hill/Shelby out there or because they are stubborn or what.

Doesn't have the arm for SS but has it for the outfield?

 

[Comebakatz3]

Doesn't have the arm for SS but has it for the outfield?

🤷‍♂️