Kentucky vs Murray State.....

[CloverforkCat]

tonight at historic Brooks Stadium, weather permitting. Rain showers forcast for Paducah, might be able to get the game in. UK needs every win it can muster. MSU is 20-28 on the season, but always give the Cats all they can handle.
Neither team has announced a starting pitcher, so it's anybodys guess, might be one of those games where multiple pitchers are used by both teams.

 

[CloverforkCat]

UK and Murray St. scoreless heading to bottom of the 3rd. Cats hitters not sharp, neither team got to take batting practice.

 

[Old_Red]

Two errors and giving up two runs. I guess they aren't into the game, but why?

 

[CloverforkCat]

UK getting shut out 3-0 in bottom of the 6th, they have a grand total of 2 hits thru 6 innings. Getting shut out by a team 8 games under .500. This team is a puzzle !

 

[CloverforkCat]

Must have ordered coffee for the dugout, Cats finally woke up. Max Kuhn with a 2 out 3 run homer to tie it at 3 going to bottom of 7th.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Got in a bind with a runner on third in the bottom of the 9th, but Shepherd got out of it and we're going to extras.

 

[CloverforkCat]

MSU wins in the bottom of the 12th by a final of 4-3. Great momentum builder going into the UGA series. Pitiful performance, we might win one game in Athens.

 

[Gabewcat]

No Leadership on this team. MSU starter had an 8.18 ERA & shutout UK for 6 innings. These guys don't deserve to go to the NCAA tournament.

 

[cats1068]

I hate to say it, but I'll be glad when this season is over. This team has worn me out. And Henderson, I'm just done with him. I hope one day they can bring in somebody that knows how coach. But I guess that's wishful thinking.

 

[law1127]

One step forward,two steps back!Like I posted in another thread,something is amiss,there is no consistent effort or intensity!Been the same for six years,need a change!

 

[DubyaT]

UK's bats were red hot earlier in the season, but those bats appear to have gone cold in a big way of late. Just struggling to score unless their opponents help them with walks, hbp's, and errors.

 

[Gabewcat]

There's no sense of urgency. I am disturbed by the wasted at bats by key players like Cousineau, who swings at the first pitch at least 50% of the time. Nobody has bothered to corralled him in. I doubt if Barnhart has the knowledge of the small things about Baseball that affect the entire strategy of trying to win games. Boy, I miss John Cohen because he was an intense baseball coach and that's the type of coach I want at UK.

 

[teach them linear]

Swinging at the first pitch is not bad hitting unless you swing at bad pitches and thats bad regardless of when in the count it occurs. One major league team charted their whole organization and came to this conclusion; when a first pitch fastball is thrown for a strike the hitter hits over 400 for that at bat reguardless if he put that pitch in play when he swings at it. If a batter takes it for a strike they hit 187 for that at bat. Good aggressive hitters swing at the first pitch often. good hitters swing at strikes! Find something to criticize Henderson for that is reasonable there are plenty of other options including playing guys that swing at balls.

 

[CloverforkCat]

Originally posted by Gabewcat:
There's no sense of urgency. I am disturbed by the wasted at bats by key players like Cousineau, who swings at the first pitch at least 50% of the time. Nobody has bothered to corralled him in. I doubt if Barnhart has the knowledge of the small things about Baseball that affect the entire strategy of trying to win games. Boy, I miss John Cohen because he was an intense baseball coach and that's the type of coach I want at UK.

Good points, especially about not being patient in the batters box. Also our pitchers throw 20-25 more pitches than they should by trying to nibble here and there, be agressive and throw strikes, let the defense help you out.
Agree about John Cohen, he was intense, personable, and really knew the ins and outs of hitting. He was not laid back, and got tossed out several times in his 5 years at UK. Personally, I would love to see a similar type coach here in the near future, and see us move into a new stadium ASAP !

 

[Comebakatz3]

Originally posted by teach them linear:
Swinging at the first pitch is not bad hitting unless you swing at bad pitches and thats bad regardless of when in the count it occurs. One major league team charted their whole organization and came to this conclusion; when a first pitch fastball is thrown for a strike the hitter hits over 400 for that at bat reguardless if he put that pitch in play when he swings at it. If a batter takes it for a strike they hit 187 for that at bat. Good aggressive hitters swing at the first pitch often. good hitters swing at strikes! Find something to criticize Henderson for that is reasonable there are plenty of other options including playing guys that swing at balls.

Your premise might hold true, but it is extremely hard to compare college to the majors, especially pitching. There is a huge difference in talent and ability. Just think of all the guys that are picked up by colleges or are drafted early that have no idea how to throw strikes, but they know how to throw 95 miles per hour. Those guys either learn to throw strikes by the majors, are in the minors, or are no longer playing baseball. So, I imagine that those numbers might change, at least a bit, due to the pitching ability. That being said, I agree that it isn't bad to swing early. I just dislike when the guys watch a pitcher walk a guy, hit a guy and then they decide to get aggressive and swing at the first pitch. It is there, I think, that you should make the guy work and see if he can throw strikes.

 

[teach them linear]

Originally posted by Comebakatz3:

Originally posted by teach them linear:
Swinging at the first pitch is not bad hitting unless you swing at bad pitches and thats bad regardless of when in the count it occurs. One major league team charted their whole organization and came to this conclusion; when a first pitch fastball is thrown for a strike the hitter hits over 400 for that at bat reguardless if he put that pitch in play when he swings at it. If a batter takes it for a strike they hit 187 for that at bat. Good aggressive hitters swing at the first pitch often. good hitters swing at strikes! Find something to criticize Henderson for that is reasonable there are plenty of other options including playing guys that swing at balls.

Your premise might hold true, but it is extremely hard to compare college to the majors, especially pitching. There is a huge difference in talent and ability. Just think of all the guys that are picked up by colleges or are drafted early that have no idea how to throw strikes, but they know how to throw 95 miles per hour. Those guys either learn to throw strikes by the majors, are in the minors, or are no longer playing baseball. So, I imagine that those numbers might change, at least a bit, due to the pitching ability. That being said, I agree that it isn't bad to swing early. I just dislike when the guys watch a pitcher walk a guy, hit a guy and then they decide to get aggressive and swing at the first pitch. It is there, I think, that you should make the guy work and see if he can throw strikes.

Obviously, thats not the situation referenced, the quote was 50% of the time he swings at the first pitch. Swinging in your example should occur much the same way that it would in a 3-0 count. The whole point of being patient at the plate is to get a pitch you can handle or like to hit, if you get the fast ball first pitch in the zone you should be swinging at it over 50% of the time imo. Good hitters square the ball up more often when they swing it doesnt really matter when in the count they swing because they more often than bad hitters square the ball when they do swing. Both are going to miss more often when they swing at bad pitches or are fooled but the good hitters put more "around the zone" pitches in play. If you are patient at the plate ie take a lot of pitches early you will be more often forced to swing at bad pitches late and less often get a good fast ball in that at bat. Therefore good hitters make that approach look appealing but it in essence has a lower yield than swinging at good pitches early in the count.

Your other point that it is hard to compare I dont really understand because it is the same game. The strike zone is the same. Playing against less talented players should make the good players more aggressive not less aggressive. I would argue the approach at the plate is fundamentally the same and the MOST IMPORTANT premise is to swing at strikes. Which btw is something a coach has very little control over.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Originally posted by teach them linear:

Originally posted by Comebakatz3:

Originally posted by teach them linear:
Swinging at the first pitch is not bad hitting unless you swing at bad pitches and thats bad regardless of when in the count it occurs. One major league team charted their whole organization and came to this conclusion; when a first pitch fastball is thrown for a strike the hitter hits over 400 for that at bat reguardless if he put that pitch in play when he swings at it. If a batter takes it for a strike they hit 187 for that at bat. Good aggressive hitters swing at the first pitch often. good hitters swing at strikes! Find something to criticize Henderson for that is reasonable there are plenty of other options including playing guys that swing at balls.

Your premise might hold true, but it is extremely hard to compare college to the majors, especially pitching. There is a huge difference in talent and ability. Just think of all the guys that are picked up by colleges or are drafted early that have no idea how to throw strikes, but they know how to throw 95 miles per hour. Those guys either learn to throw strikes by the majors, are in the minors, or are no longer playing baseball. So, I imagine that those numbers might change, at least a bit, due to the pitching ability. That being said, I agree that it isn't bad to swing early. I just dislike when the guys watch a pitcher walk a guy, hit a guy and then they decide to get aggressive and swing at the first pitch. It is there, I think, that you should make the guy work and see if he can throw strikes.

Obviously, thats not the situation referenced, the quote was 50% of the time he swings at the first pitch. Swinging in your example should occur much the same way that it would in a 3-0 count. The whole point of being patient at the plate is to get a pitch you can handle or like to hit, if you get the fast ball first pitch in the zone you should be swinging at it over 50% of the time imo. Good hitters square the ball up more often when they swing it doesnt really matter when in the count they swing because they more often than bad hitters square the ball when they do swing. Both are going to miss more often when they swing at bad pitches or are fooled but the good hitters put more "around the zone" pitches in play. If you are patient at the plate ie take a lot of pitches early you will be more often forced to swing at bad pitches late and less often get a good fast ball in that at bat. Therefore good hitters make that approach look appealing but it in essence has a lower yield than swinging at good pitches early in the count.

Your other point that it is hard to compare I dont really understand because it is the same game. The strike zone is the same. Playing against less talented players should make the good players more aggressive not less aggressive. I would argue the approach at the plate is fundamentally the same and the MOST IMPORTANT premise is to swing at strikes. Which btw is something a coach has very little control over.

It is the same game, but ability is a big deal. I suppose I am looking more at getting on base as opposed to getting a hit. To me, in college baseball you have a lot of pitchers that are going to throw a lot of balls and lose control because they cannot effectively and consistently locate pitches. So, you're much more likely to draw a walk and get on base in college baseball than you are in professional baseball. I suppose that is where we are looking at different aspects. You're looking at just straight hits and I am looking at getting on base.

 

[teach them linear]

MLB team walks per 9 innings range from a team low of 2.4 to a high of 4.3 walks per 9 innings. The median team is 3.18

In College thru may 15 they range from a high of 5.5 per 9 innins or 288/52 games vs 83/43 to low of 1.9 per 9 innings.
The median team was 175/50 games or 3.5 per 9 innings.

Because there are 300 College teams the median is probablly most comparative and it is about .3 or three tenths difference per nine innings. not much difference at least not enough to change your approach in my opinion.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

It is all relative...college will have an expanded strike zone compared to the MLB.

Take your hacks at a first pitch fastball all day long...easier to hit 0-0 than 0-1

 

[teach them linear]

Thats my point look fastball thats why you are patient to get into 2-0 3-1 counts to wait for a fastball in the zone why not look for it just as aggressively on the first pitch. the only reason not to is if a pitcher is throwing much >5 mph faster than you are accustomed to hitting against which taking would help acclimate your eyes to the new speed.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Originally posted by teach them linear:
Thats my point look fastball thats why you are patient to get into 2-0 3-1 counts to wait for a fastball in the zone why not look for it just as aggressively on the first pitch. the only reason not to is if a pitcher is throwing much >5 mph faster than you are accustomed to hitting against which taking would help acclimate your eyes to the new speed.

My main goal was to work pitchers to a fast ball count...0-0 is already a fastball count...so I agree with you, take your hacks at that. If they throw a get it over curve ball then tip your hat and take the pitch.

Pitchers are taught to get ahead...they use fastball to do that. I wouldn't let them steal that first strike from me.

 

[teach them linear]

I dont understand why commentators bemoan hitters swinging at the first pitch but you almost never hear them criticize them for missing earlier pitches for strikes after they whiff at a slider late in the count.