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5thFloorLee OP
May 12, 2024 at 10:42 AM ET
13-13 with #57 RPI
Winning today or Tuesday at home won't help the RPI much so its going to take a miracle at Charlottesville or Charlotte to play June baseball. - The inability to develop pitchers has to be fixed for next season. Its a short list of pitchers who got better after their 1st year in Blacksburg. - Lack of fundamentals is job # 2. Hitting to all fields, bunting, lining up for the relay throw, charging the ball in the outfield, not skying the throw into the infield, applying a tag, using the warning track to play the outfield wall and the correct stretch on a force out have all been issues this season and need to be cleaned up. - And of course studying opponents outfield so you can better judge when to send a runner, Recruiting more bats will only take us so far.

7 Replies

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Hockeydad
Is the pitching lab not helping?
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NOVAbasebllfan
Good analysis - thanks!
Serious evaluation also needed for the men put in charge of recruiting, developing and leading the players. Although the comments may be factually accurate - seeing the following quote in print from your head coach can’t be terribly inspiring to the players: “We didn’t pitch,” Tech head coach John Szefc said of the five-run sixth after the game. “That was the ballgame, pretty much. If you can’t minimize damage in these kinds of games, that’s exactly what happens.” In contrast - seeing cosches offer some self-criticism might instead be more fruitful. ** Edited by NOVAbasebllfan at 5/12/2024, 1:00:01 PM
Nortazhokie Nortazhokie
We lose the vast majority of our offense in DeMartini, Cannizzaro, Ebel
Micheletti, and Watson. You can't lose that production in one year and expect the same or better results the following year. We will have to mine the portal effectively to be good on offense. Yes I know we have Michel and Martin coming back, but if we have to rely on who we have on the bench this year for next years offense then it could be a long year. Not saying there isn't talent there, but for those guys to step into an everyday role I just don't see good things happening over the long haul without successful portal acquisitions. And yes, the pitching and other issues you mention seem to be a constant so there's that too. ** Edited by Nortazhokie at 5/12/2024, 11:41:28 AM ** Edited by Nortazhokie at 5/12/2024, 11:42:05 AM
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5thFloorLee OP
As a fan, I prefer lack of talent over lack of fundamentals
Multiple times watching a game I hear my Little League coach yelling in my ear As an outfielder: - John, No runner is ever going to be coming out to you. Get the ball back to the infield! - Don't wait for the ball to roll to you. Go get it! - Listen to your cut-off man and come up firing. No one can do anything while you're holding the ball looking around. - Throw it on a line to the base through the cut-off man! No one can do a #@$ thing waiting for your throw to fall back to earth! - John, that fence is not going to move. Know where it is before every pitch. He was10x worse when I moved to the infield. I watch the game a whole lot different because of him.
Nortazhokie Nortazhokie
I agree about fundamentals.....the mental errors drive me crazy more than
physical errors. No matter your skill level, you can still be fundamentally sound.
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5thFloorLee OP
Exactly.
hokiepro hokiepro
Cville is never meaningless but unless we win today and Tuesday
At UVA won’t matter at all Win today and Tuesday, then win 2/3 in Cville and we have a shot