Things to ponder during Red/White series

[TumbleweedDoom]

Here's the top five questions facing the team during the Red/White series in order of importance (at least from my vantage point).

Please comment, ask questions, whatever, let's get some thoughts on all this.

1. Who's manning the middle of infield? Most old coaches will say you build your defense in the middle. With 2B Danny Black gone in the draft and SS Caleb Bushyhead out with injury for at least the first third of the season, who replaces them. I'm hearing about them moving Jack Mayfield at SS and moving Max White from LF to 2B. The obvious questions there are can Jack hit well enough and can Max field well enough? And what about supposed Juco stud Evan Mistich? Does he fit in anywhere? And don't forget returning senior Cale Ellis, who was slated to start at SS last season before fighting a preseason nagging injury.

2. Who's replacing Jeremy Erben? It wouldn't be a hard argument to make in saying that Erben was the team's MVP last season in his set-up/closer role in the bullpen. The guy was absolute nails. So who replaces him? There's no obvious candidates, although Jack Mayfield and Tyson Seng would appear to have the first crack at it. What about Anthony Collazo? The guy could go from absolutely dominant to giving up dingers to Pine Bluff batters, but if he could harness it ... How about any of the incoming guys? Last year, Michael Rocha was slated to be in Erben's role ... could he be moved back there?

3. What's our weekend rotation? It would seem obvious that our starting rotation would be some combination of Michael Rocha, Bobby Shore and incoming JUCO stud Burch Smith. Things rarely go as planned, however. Could Ryan Gibson sneak in the rotation? How about Jordan John? Any of the new incoming guys? Will Rocha move back to the bullpen? Could Ryan Duke move back to a starter's role?

4. Who's our DH? When Ross Hubbard went down to a freak injury before on the last weekend home series last year, nobody really knew how much it would affect the Sooners. It did ... a lot ... and negatively. Although we muddled through with at least some production from an array of DHs in the home regional and the Virginia super-regional, it all went kerplunk in the CWS as we didn't get a single hit from our DH. It would seem DH should be the easiest position to fill on a team. It showed last season it wasn't. Who takes it this year? Is Drew Harrison ready to make the big move? Will Casey Johnson rebound from his lost season a year ago and fill the spot?

5. Who's our backup catcher? This sounds silly at first glance: why are we discussing a backup position? But, as had been illustrated in previous years, our starting catcher can wear down if he's forced to play nine innings in EVERY game. With Tyler Ogle being one of our best hitters, it's imperative for us to keephim fresh. Last season, SG decided to give Ogle a break several times and it paid off in the long run as he was fresh until the bitter end of the year. With Bryan Groth and Ross Hubbard gone, Ogle is the only returning catcher. Can any of the new guys step up and give us a chance to give Ogle a breather?

[rysooner]

Good points to bring up, 'Weed.

1. The Bushyhead injury plays really large in my mind, as I was looking to him to anchor the middle of that infield with Black gone. Not only will we miss the physical aspect of his play, but his leadership role on the field will be missed greatly. Hopefully he can return early in the season, but until then I'm not sure how it plays out. White, by trade, is a third baseman, so the infield shouldn't be a total surprise to him. Having not ever seen him in the infield personally though, I don't know about his range.

Also not sure if Max can carry a big enough stick. He didn't really show that last year, but then he didn't have a large number of at bats either. Hopefully,
with a larger number of at bats, he can get it going. However, he should be pretty steady with the glove with more playing time.

Ellis could be the wild card....

2. You tell me....

3. Gibson came in the program with great expectations and you never know how much a guy "grows up" between his freshman and soph years. Same with Burch Smith - no matter what their previous numbers show, you just never know how well JUCO guys will adapt to D1 play.

It will be interesting to see how the series plays out. Also, remember, that although the fall shows one thing, that doesn't mean that's the way it plays out during the regular season.

[northspeter]

weekend rotation wont be decided during the red white series... it wasn't decided last year till about halfway through the season...

[Gaius_Longinus]

Watched the game with Cal on Monday ...

Burch Smith looks legit

[bcolston15]

Here's the top five questions facing the team during the Red/White series in order of importance (at least from my vantage point).

Please comment, ask questions, whatever, let's get some thoughts on all this.

1. Who's manning the middle of infield? Most old coaches will say you build your defense in the middle. With 2B Danny Black gone in the draft and SS Caleb Bushyhead out with injury for at least the first third of the season, who replaces them. I'm hearing about them moving Jack Mayfield at SS and moving Max White from LF to 2B. The obvious questions there are can Jack hit well enough and can Max field well enough? And what about supposed Juco stud Evan Mistich? Does he fit in anywhere? And don't forget returning senior Cale Ellis, who was slated to start at SS last season before fighting a preseason nagging injury.

2. Who's replacing Jeremy Erben? It wouldn't be a hard argument to make in saying that Erben was the team's MVP last season in his set-up/closer role in the bullpen. The guy was absolute nails. So who replaces him? There's no obvious candidates, although Jack Mayfield and Tyson Seng would appear to have the first crack at it. What about Anthony Collazo? The guy could go from absolutely dominant to giving up dingers to Pine Bluff batters, but if he could harness it ... How about any of the incoming guys? Last year, Michael Rocha was slated to be in Erben's role ... could he be moved back there?

3. What's our weekend rotation? It would seem obvious that our starting rotation would be some combination of Michael Rocha, Bobby Shore and incoming JUCO stud Burch Smith. Things rarely go as planned, however. Could Ryan Gibson sneak in the rotation? How about Jordan John? Any of the new incoming guys? Will Rocha move back to the bullpen? Could Ryan Duke move back to a starter's role?

4. Who's our DH? When Ross Hubbard went down to a freak injury before on the last weekend home series last year, nobody really knew how much it would affect the Sooners. It did ... a lot ... and negatively. Although we muddled through with at least some production from an array of DHs in the home regional and the Virginia super-regional, it all went kerplunk in the CWS as we didn't get a single hit from our DH. It would seem DH should be the easiest position to fill on a team. It showed last season it wasn't. Who takes it this year? Is Drew Harrison ready to make the big move? Will Casey Johnson rebound from his lost season a year ago and fill the spot?

5. Who's our backup catcher? This sounds silly at first glance: why are we discussing a backup position? But, as had been illustrated in previous years, our starting catcher can wear down if he's forced to play nine innings in EVERY game. With Tyler Ogle being one of our best hitters, it's imperative for us to keephim fresh. Last season, SG decided to give Ogle a break several times and it paid off in the long run as he was fresh until the bitter end of the year. With Bryan Groth and Ross Hubbard gone, Ogle is the only returning catcher. Can any of the new guys step up and give us a chance to give Ogle a breather?

I'll start with #5. Casey Coyle. He's a freshman from Putnam City and I think he's the kind of guy who can step in and hit right away. He'll probably need some time for to hone his defensive skills, though.

#4. I think Cayle Shambaugh and/or Drew Harrison will be the front-runners but, Casey Johnson, Ricky Eisenberg and Evan Mistich will be in the mix too.

#3. I'm not even going to guess what the rotation will look like other than to say Burch Smith will be in there somewhere.

#2. Tyson Seng and Jack Mayfield are the obvious choices here and with that said they probably won't end up in the role. That's just how it goes. I really like Cale Coshow and Steven Bruce. I don't know if they have the makeup to be in a pressure role just yet but, they're really talented.

#1 As you stated, the middle of the infield is very important and right now very unsettled unfortunately. I think there is a legitimate chance Max White sticks at 2nd if for no other reason than to open up left field for Eric Ross. He's having a HUGE fall and i'm predicting a Brett Gardner like impact for him next season. I think SG's love for Mayfield will get him on the field somewhere and SS makes the most sense however, Cale Ellis is rock solid and would really solidify us on D until Bushyhead returns.

[TumbleweedDoom]

Jack's not having much of a Red/White series at the plate so far: 0-for-7 in two games. Ellis doesn't have a hit, either, but has been on base a few times.

Still, between those two, Max White and Evan Mistich, and the fact Bushyhead will hopefully be back for a good chunk of the season, makes me feel better about the IF position. I guess now my main worry is pitching -- specifically the middle relief and set-up roles.

[bufsa]

What about Burch Smith at middle reliver? Everything I have read about him is that he has great speed but still needs work on movement and breaking balls. He has good control but his pitches might be a little flat for more than one ore two times through a line up. This is not a knock on him as Erban proved how important the middle reliver is. I think Erban probably had impact on more games than any of the starters. Of course that would then change it to who fills his spot on weekends.

[bcolston15]

Middle relief will not be an issue, we have too many talented arms waiting to contribute.

The setup role worries me a little, maybe we see Duke for two innings at a time more often next season? Especially if we can discover someone that can come in and save an occasional game if Duke needs some rest.

[bufsa]

Didn't they try Collazo at that last year?

[TumbleweedDoom]

I'd like to think that Collazo could be the man in that role. He's got the talent: if I had to have a guy throw one pitch to decide a game and I knew everyone on the staff was going to be able to throw their best pitch, I'd take Collazo. The guy is filthy. Unfortunately, he wasn't very consistant AT ALL.

When I watched the Sooners play up at KU this past season, there was a two batter stretch that summed up Collazo at one point. He came in and faced Tony Thompson, one of the best hitters in the conference. And he absolutely made Thompson look FOOLISH while striking him out. But, then, he let the next guy, some nobody scrub who came in as a replacement late in a blowout game, crush a pitch right up to the wall in the left field alley.

If he could ever find consistency, there's no doubt in my mind he could be the guy for us in the set-up role. But finding that consistency is the problem.

[StoopTroup]

http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Florida+State+v+North+Carolina+State+N_IpzsfCJQml. jpg

[TumbleweedDoom]

OK, I'll bite -- why the pic?

[StoopTroup]

It's something to ponder.

[Gaius_Longinus]

I'd like to think that Collazo could be the man in that role. He's got the talent: if I had to have a guy throw one pitch to decide a game and I knew everyone on the staff was going to be able to throw their best pitch, I'd take Collazo. The guy is filthy. Unfortunately, he wasn't very consistant AT ALL.

When I watched the Sooners play up at KU this past season, there was a two batter stretch that summed up Collazo at one point. He came in and faced Tony Thompson, one of the best hitters in the conference. And he absolutely made Thompson look FOOLISH while striking him out. But, then, he let the next guy, some nobody scrub who came in as a replacement late in a blowout game, crush a pitch right up to the wall in the left field alley.

If he could ever find consistency, there's no doubt in my mind he could be the guy for us in the set-up role. But finding that consistency is the problem.

Not too mention he apparently got one of his front teeth punched out, but does not remember it happening

[bufsa]

It's something to ponder.

You do know that this is the Baseball site? Also Oklahoma?

[bufsa]

Not too mention he apparently got one of his front teeth punched out, but does not remember it happening

But he is also reponsable for one of the funniest crowd reactions I have seen when at the A&M game they started chanting "ours is better".

[TumbleweedDoom]

But he is also reponsable for one of the funniest crowd reactions I have seen when at the A&M game they started chanting "ours is better".

I remember this! Yes, that hilarious!

[bufsa]

Rocha had a few good outings at the end of the year and people started touting him as the best picture on the team. Unfortunantly he still has too many games like this in him. I don't see him being a consistant weekend pitcher. I know that it is way early but does anybody have a good idea of what the weekend rotation will be?

[rysooner]

But he is also reponsable for one of the funniest crowd reactions I have seen when at the A&M game they started chanting "ours is better".

What was it? Guess I missed it when it happened.

[bufsa]

Collazo's cousin plays for A&M. When our Collazo came into the game the crowd started chanting "ours is better".

[TumbleweedDoom]

Rocha had a few good outings at the end of the year and people started touting him as the best picture on the team. Unfortunantly he still has too many games like this in him. I don't see him being a consistant weekend pitcher. I know that it is way early but does anybody have a good idea of what the weekend rotation will be?

Hmm, well I'd say it this way. It's about 100% chance Bobby Shore will be one of the three starters. So that's one spot.

I'd say about 80% chance Burch Smith is another one. So there's two-thirds of the rotation.

The final spot, I still say is 70% chance it remains Michael Rocha. I know he gave it up on Saturday in the Red/White game, but he was arguably our most consistant starter in the posteseason last year. However, I still think there's a chance he could go to shore up our middle relief and we'd give one of the youngsters (Kindle Ladd?, Dillon Overton?) a shot at the spot.

The good thing is the compressed schedule early in the season. I figure ALL those guys will get a chance to start a game here or there, so it won't be guesswork that decides the final rotation for when conference play starts -- it'll be performance.

[rysooner]

Collazo's cousin plays for A&M. When our Collazo came into the game the crowd started chanting "ours is better".

Yep, know about his cousin, but what was Anthony's reaction?

[bufsa]

I'm not sure but I think Anthony shut them up by striking out the batter he faced. Other than the stupid bunny drawings I liked the A&M crowd and had fun at the games.

[bcolston15]

Burch Smith showed why he's so highly touted today. 8 K's and 1 hit over 4 innings.

[TweenerTues]

Here's the top five questions facing the team during the Red/White series in order of importance (at least from my vantage point).

Please comment, ask questions, whatever, let's get some thoughts on all this.

1. Who's manning the middle of infield? Most old coaches will say you build your defense in the middle. With 2B Danny Black gone in the draft and SS Caleb Bushyhead out with injury for at least the first third of the season, who replaces them. I'm hearing about them moving Jack Mayfield at SS and moving Max White from LF to 2B. The obvious questions there are can Jack hit well enough and can Max field well enough? And what about supposed Juco stud Evan Mistich? Does he fit in anywhere? And don't forget returning senior Cale Ellis, who was slated to start at SS last season before fighting a preseason nagging injury.

2. Who's replacing Jeremy Erben? It wouldn't be a hard argument to make in saying that Erben was the team's MVP last season in his set-up/closer role in the bullpen. The guy was absolute nails. So who replaces him? There's no obvious candidates, although Jack Mayfield and Tyson Seng would appear to have the first crack at it. What about Anthony Collazo? The guy could go from absolutely dominant to giving up dingers to Pine Bluff batters, but if he could harness it ... How about any of the incoming guys? Last year, Michael Rocha was slated to be in Erben's role ... could he be moved back there?

3. What's our weekend rotation? It would seem obvious that our starting rotation would be some combination of Michael Rocha, Bobby Shore and incoming JUCO stud Burch Smith. Things rarely go as planned, however. Could Ryan Gibson sneak in the rotation? How about Jordan John? Any of the new incoming guys? Will Rocha move back to the bullpen? Could Ryan Duke move back to a starter's role?

4. Who's our DH? When Ross Hubbard went down to a freak injury before on the last weekend home series last year, nobody really knew how much it would affect the Sooners. It did ... a lot ... and negatively. Although we muddled through with at least some production from an array of DHs in the home regional and the Virginia super-regional, it all went kerplunk in the CWS as we didn't get a single hit from our DH. It would seem DH should be the easiest position to fill on a team. It showed last season it wasn't. Who takes it this year? Is Drew Harrison ready to make the big move? Will Casey Johnson rebound from his lost season a year ago and fill the spot?

5. Who's our backup catcher? This sounds silly at first glance: why are we discussing a backup position? But, as had been illustrated in previous years, our starting catcher can wear down if he's forced to play nine innings in EVERY game. With Tyler Ogle being one of our best hitters, it's imperative for us to keephim fresh. Last season, SG decided to give Ogle a break several times and it paid off in the long run as he was fresh until the bitter end of the year. With Bryan Groth and Ross Hubbard gone, Ogle is the only returning catcher. Can any of the new guys step up and give us a chance to give Ogle a breather?

1. I think It will Be Mayfield and White up the middle, which will be interesting to see since Mayfield helped on the pitching staff late in the year. I've heard of SS that also close but never heard of a SS also be a starter, would put alot of strain on an everyday player so it seems unlikely Jack would start or contribute much to the staff. White more than likely won't make jawdropping plays in the field but he can play adequate defense with concentration on the postion. White is RAW and an Athlete so anything is possible.

2. Has to be Seng, if you rememeber two yrs. ago Seng was First out of SG's pen, however he did battle injury midseason. However watch for Kendall Ladd

3. ROCHA, SHORE, SMITH in no particular order.

4. Good Question!

5. Toal, is the only choice here because he has the most experience, and he has caught Smith at Howard. He can fill a void but I don't see Ogle recieving many days off unless injured or fatigued. Wise was rarely out of the lineup during his campaign.

[TumbleweedDoom]

1. I think It will Be Mayfield and White up the middle, which will be interesting to see since Mayfield helped on the pitching staff late in the year. I've heard of SS that also close but never heard of a SS also be a starter, would put alot of strain on an everyday player so it seems unlikely Jack would start or contribute much to the staff. White more than likely won't make jawdropping plays in the field but he can play adequate defense with concentration on the postion. White is RAW and an Athlete so anything is possible.

2. Has to be Seng, if you rememeber two yrs. ago Seng was First out of SG's pen, however he did battle injury midseason. However watch for Kendall Ladd

3. ROCHA, SHORE, SMITH in no particular order.

4. Good Question!

5. Toal, is the only choice here because he has the most experience, and he has caught Smith at Howard. He can fill a void but I don't see Ogle recieving many days off unless injured or fatigued. Wise was rarely out of the lineup during his campaign.

You're probably right on the infield, but Max did make two errors in that last Red/White game so that makes me a little nervous there. Personally, I'd rather see him in the outfield, although he's no great shakes defensively out there either (he does well at the END of plays in the outfield, but that just makes up for the fact he doesn't do well at the BEGINNING of plays out there. In other words, he doesn't read the ball well right off the bat.) Maybe if he just gets time to practice at 2B, he'll be solid because, you are absolutely right in saying he's a real athlete.

I also worry about Seng. He got lit up pretty well in the every game he pitched in the Red/White series. I gotta think they'll start looking elsewhere with all those young arms they have.

[oldtimer]

duplicate

[oldtimer]

Here are a few personal observations and arm-chair predictions for the Spring based upon watching the 2010 OU Fall baseball season wind down and the recent Red/White series come to close:

1. Line-up. There are several positions pretty much fixed barring unforeseen injuies or poor player personal decisions made before February: Ellison in LF, Reine in RF, Buechele at 3B, Ogle at C, Seitzer at 1b, White at 2B. With Bushyhead out, Mayfield appears to be the strongest backup at SS. So those 7 give SG the envious option of having 75% of his batting line-up in place with 3 lefties and 4 righties and the heavy 5 sluggers from last year.

2. OF and DH. Four outfielders are viable candidates for LF: Johnson, Eisenberg, Blair, and Ross. I give strong votes for Ross's speed and fielding but I predict Johnson may win the position because of his batting. At the start of the season, my guess is SG will use senior CJ as his DH against starting righty pitchers and Harrison as his DH against lefties. Using Johnson as his DH, leaves Ross, Eisenberg, and Blair competing for LF. As a senior Blair doesn't have Ross's speed but he's a pretty good outfielder, can hit, and a smart ball player. Same is true for Eisenberg. Blair or Eisenberg's batting average may prove to be the edge over Ross. Ross would be my designated runner without question.

I'd really love to see Harrison and Johnson get hot this spring. Drew struggled against off speed and sliders last year, so hopefully Tadlock can bring him around. Johnson finally got his wrist operated on last summer, so he can hit the ball for power again. If Drew struggles, I like the newbee Mistich in the DH vs. lefty role. Mistich has good size, shown some potential to be a break-out offensive player, and could fill-in in the infield if Mayfield needs to pitch or White gets dinged up. SG also has the option of making Ogle his DH on days he wants to give him a rest from behind the plate. Unfortunately our back-up catchers don't swing the bat yet at the level needed against D1 starters. Not a strong criticism, just noting they need a lot more work in the cages with Tadlock.

3. Pitching. Shore for sure. Rocha will get his share of starts with hopes he can last 5 innings, and Smith will be on the bump. I see Gibson, Collazo, and John in relief with them getting mid-week starts as well. Some of the righty freshmen pitchers have shown promise, unfortunately they don't have enough pitches or throw hard enough (83-85) to be a weekend contender just yet. The jury is still out on Duke. Part of me wants him to fill Erben's role from last year, but the other part says leave him as the closer. Duke was suspended for the fall season (poor personal decisions) so we have to assume he'll return in the Spring in the same role as last year. I know he's working out - just not playing. Not sure Duke has the physical strength and ability to pound the zone like Erben did to be a strong 3-4 inning reliever. Duke's pitches are good enough to get once through the opposing line-up pretty well "IF" he's on and can throw the slider for a strike.

Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

[bufsa]

Duke is on the bubble of doing something 80% of the men and 40% of the women in the U.S. would give anything to be able to do. Play proffesional baseball. Why would he risk that?

[TweenerTues]

Eric Ross is a valid choice to hold down the left field spot against RHP, but i do not see him being a full time guy. SG really likes to flex his muscles by making switches in the lineup and likes the match up game, with that being said I can see a bat like Mistich moving to the outfield to hit lefty pitching. Just a suggestion, heard he had some time in the OF at Tulane.

Also would like to CJ be the everyday guy at DH, he has shown too much promise to sit the bench. Wish he could figure it out!

[Collier11]

You do know that this is the Baseball site? Also Oklahoma?

As one of the few guys on this site that ever talks about or keeps up with OU baseball I have to say, chill out. It was a joke

[bufsa]

Actualy Collier mine was more of a joke or humerous reply, so chill out.

[hvhurricane]

As I suspected, Seng doesn't look like he is going to be the guy in middle relief.

The FR from Flower Mound may have thrown his name into the hat, though.

[bufsa]

Does Seng have the stuff needed and after a year off just needs to get back into it? Or is it the team is better than it was two years ago and he just isn't at the level the rest of the players are? If you throw 90 on a team where everyone else is throwing 88 your the star. On a team where everyone else is throwing 92 you sit the bench. Not a knock on Seng but last years team was one of the best in a while and I think they have improved even more this year.