Well.....season starts anew this week...

[jadubya]

and this team just is NOT playing very good baseball right now. I am certainly not jumping ship or anything of the sort....but our bats, once we started facing quality pitching.....have come back to earth.

Pitching and defense win games....especially against tough teams. Right now, outside of Rocha, we have nobody that we can consistently count on to toe the rubber in a big game. Overton has been a pleasant surprise thus far. Shore has been an unpleasant one. Rocha and Shore were to anchor our weekend rotation...which would allow Coach Bell to mix in Smith/Overton/John etc and see who emerges. As it stands right now, none of that group has gotten over the hump.

During our 1-5 stretch, we are several key defensive plays....or a good pitch away.....from being 5-1. That situation must be rectified if we hope to have success in conference this year. The Big 12 will not allow for "gimme" games on the diamond this year.

Outside of Buechele, we do not currently have a consistent stick in the lineup every at bat. We have had a few get hot....while others are ice cold....during this stretch. Scoring 4 runs over 3 games isn't gonna get it done with this pitching staff.

We aren't as good as our lofty rankings earlier...but we aren't as bad as the last 6 games indicate. It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks hold for this crew.

Mission critical:
Rocha continue to perform
Shore return to form
Smith & John improve
Reine, Ellison, White, Ogle, Bushy, & Mayfield - start hitting consistently

Boomer!

[NickDangerThirdEye]

It is true that averages will come down in Big-12 play, but everyone knew that. OU just faced one of the best pitching staffs in the country. They hit the ball better today. Reine broke a slump this series. Bushyhead did. Buchelle found a tater shot. Duke looked good.

But I think the defensive play has looked sloppy at times, and execution offensively and defensively needs to improve. Sacrifice bunts not being executed properly are tough to overcome when a team is in a hitting slump.

It nothing to panic about (and not suggesting that you are). It is a long season. But play definitely needs to improve.

[rysooner]

Yep, you're right on, Nick. As someone else said after Saturday's game, I would rather slump in March then May/June.

[Sooner11JK]

Yep, you're right on, Nick. As someone else said after Saturday's game, I would rather slump in March then May/June.

:bow: :bow:

You're welcome, sir.

Signed,

Someone :D

[jadubya]

That is the most encouraging thing about this group....we have seen them play much much much better. I think this current funk will work itself out as the lineup and rotation gets settled. Gotta get Shore back on track....

[bcolston15]

A couple of thoughts: Moving Shore out of the rotation was a total panic move by SG. Cole Green has sucked the entire year and is still in UT's rotation. Rocha-Shore-Smith with Overton and John midweek.

And for the love of God can we please stop changing the lineup every game?! I think some continuity would be good for everyone.

I still feel good about this team, because there's too much to work with for it to go south.

Two of three at Mizzou is a must, and really, we should sweep. Missouri sucks.

[bufsa]

Prediction, we still win the Big 12 but A&M comes in ahead of Texas. In other words A&M is a good team and although I think we should have beaten them this is not the end of the world.

[TumbleweedDoom]

A couple of thoughts: Moving Shore out of the rotation was a total panic move by SG. Cole Green has sucked the entire year and is still in UT's rotation. Rocha-Shore-Smith with Overton and John midweek.

And for the love of God can we please stop changing the lineup every game?! I think some continuity would be good for everyone.

I still feel good about this team, because there's too much to work with for it to go south.

Two of three at Mizzou is a must, and really, we should sweep. Missouri sucks.

I dunno -- Shore was really struggling. Full disclosure: it's known I've never been a fan of Shore and always kinda felt he was in the perfect spot at the perfect time to have those good postseason outings he had last year -- I really think three or four others guys on the staff could have done the same things he did in the same particular situations. Still: Shore had been struggling something terrible with all his walks and his location when he DOES throw strikes (hence the shot he gave up for two runs yesterday that put the game essentially out of reach). Cole Green still leads in the league in strikeouts so he's at least doing something right -- Shore only leads our team in walks.

I think they should move Mayfield back to the rotation. Let him concentrate on his pitching. He's not doing anything at the plate and hasn't shown he's more than a .250 hitter basically in his career. Plus, he doesn't walk at all. Let him pitch and put Cale Ellis over there at 2nd -- I can't believe he didn't play all weekend!

Need to stretch Ryan Duke out more -- he should have been in there instead of Shore on Sunday, at least for the second inning that Shore pitched. It didn't do much good to put Duke in with us already down three runs.

They have to figure out what they're doing with the lineup. I'm still not convinced you don't play Mistich at 2nd, DH Max White and then throw your three best outfielders out there, whatever combo that may be. I know Mistich isn't a defensive whiz, but he's better than Max and has acquitted himself well during his short tries there. Then you could get both Stich and Max's bat in there, as well as another solid outfield bat like Ross, Casey Johnson or Eisenberg (any of which are also a defensive upgrade over Max, which would help balance out the defensive downgrade at 2B from Ellis or Mayfield to Stich.)

Those are all just my two cents from watching this team all year. It's easy to be a sideline manager, though, of course! :)

[hvhurricane]

As much as I would like to see it, I don't think you are ever going to see Ryan Duke stretched out. If it hasn't happened by now, it isn't going to happen. I am not sure he would be very effective the second time around anyway. Either he never uses it, or he just can't throw a third pitch.

The lineup has got to stay the same at some point in time. For the life of me, I can't understand why we decided to make Max White the leadoff man again and move Ellison deep in the lineup. Ellison should be the leadoff man, period. Whatever the answer is, and I am not sure I know at this point, there has got to be more consistency in the order. We have played too many games to change everything up so drastically each night. With that said, if I see CJ get the chance to start, when he can't hit an off speed pitch from a RH to save his life, I am going to gouge my eyes out with my thumbs.

I don't necessarily have a problem with moving Shore out of the rotation, but I don't think it was handled in the right way. They guy struggles with confidence. Pulling him after one inning and making him the Tuesday starter was a bad move. I think SG knew what he was doing all along. He knew ASU was going to throw weekend guys and thought he could pull a fast one back at them. It has obviously backfired. Whatever the reason, there has to be a way to get him back into the grove. I think the kid has completely psyched himself out at this point.

[bufsa]

In looking at the pitching, I think Smith might be more suited for the bullpen. I have noticed a pattern where he is totally dominant in the first inning, often striking out the side. By the second time around the lineup he is in trouble. It seems like having a guy who can come in and totally blow the opposition away for an inning or two would be a good thing. As for Shore, I don't think what he accomplished at the end of last year should be minimalized. Even this year, he has been dominant at times. I don't think the ASU game move backfired. The third inning, when ASU scored their runs, was a defensive comedy of errors, including two balls misplayed at first base and a catcher’s throw off the bat and into the dugout. After that disaster Shore struck out three of the last four batters he faced. Remember, at this time last year no one here trusted Rocha with the baseball. Rocha completely turned it around.

Overton should be given another shot at starter. He appears to be the real deal. I wish we could see Gibson and John develop. They could really help this team. I am actually expecting big things out of John this year.

As for Duke, he looks really good. I suspect the suspension ended any chance he had of becoming a starter. If I am not mistaken, I don’t think he was allowed to participate in the inter-squads in the fall. This probably ended his opportunity for more time on the mound.

Finally, on Sunday Shore came in and got us out of a jam in the 6th. It seems they could have to gone to Collazo or another lefty in the 7th, since the line-up was mostly lefties. What bothers me is that Golloway appears to not trust his bullpen. If we are to be successful, the bullpen needs to be a part of that success.

[C&CDean]

I think the problem is not pitching. Yes, Shore is fragile right now (as are a couple of the boys). It's the bats. This team should score 3-4 against the best pitchers, and about 15 against the dogs. We ain't. We need to fix that. We start hitting, and let a guy win a game giving up 7 hits and 3 runs and our pitching will miraculously come around.

[SOONER STEAKER]

Hang in there guys!! Mizzou's pitching will wake up our bats.

BOOMER!!!!

[bcolston15]

I dunno -- Shore was really struggling. Full disclosure: it's known I've never been a fan of Shore and always kinda felt he was in the perfect spot at the perfect time to have those good postseason outings he had last year -- I really think three or four others guys on the staff could have done the same things he did in the same particular situations. Still: Shore had been struggling something terrible with all his walks and his location when he DOES throw strikes (hence the shot he gave up for two runs yesterday that put the game essentially out of reach). Cole Green still leads in the league in strikeouts so he's at least doing something right -- Shore only leads our team in walks.

I think they should move Mayfield back to the rotation. Let him concentrate on his pitching. He's not doing anything at the plate and hasn't shown he's more than a .250 hitter basically in his career. Plus, he doesn't walk at all. Let him pitch and put Cale Ellis over there at 2nd -- I can't believe he didn't play all weekend!

Need to stretch Ryan Duke out more -- he should have been in there instead of Shore on Sunday, at least for the second inning that Shore pitched. It didn't do much good to put Duke in with us already down three runs.

They have to figure out what they're doing with the lineup. I'm still not convinced you don't play Mistich at 2nd, DH Max White and then throw your three best outfielders out there, whatever combo that may be. I know Mistich isn't a defensive whiz, but he's better than Max and has acquitted himself well during his short tries there. Then you could get both Stich and Max's bat in there, as well as another solid outfield bat like Ross, Casey Johnson or Eisenberg (any of which are also a defensive upgrade over Max, which would help balance out the defensive downgrade at 2B from Ellis or Mayfield to Stich.)

Those are all just my two cents from watching this team all year. It's easy to be a sideline manager, though, of course! :)

We've been asking for more of Duke seemingly since he arrived here; I have given up hope that it'll ever happen.

It seems like a no-brainer to move Mistich to second, Max to DH and as you said, play whoever you'd like in the outfield. My personal preference is Ross, Ellison, Reine.

I also wish we'd stop using Mistich and White as leadoff hitters. I think Ellison is far better suited for that role.

I have to disagree with you about Shore. SG yanked him out of the rotation one week after he had pitched a complete game. That's an overreaction. I have no problem with taking him out of the game, but you can't take him completely out of the rotation.

I like that Sunny has high expectations of the team, I just think he's going about it the wrong way. There has to be some continuity, these guys have earned the right to struggle some and still remain in the lineup.

[IndySooner]

I said this on Sunday:

You can't argue with Sunny's success at the end of the season. This season is following the same path the seasons have in the past. Start hot, go through a mid-season swoon, then get hot at the end.

This year is different, though, and Sunny should be managing things differently. This team SHOULD be fighting for a national seed, which requires you to avoid the mid-season follies that we're used to. Instead, he's "breaking down" the players to build them up at the end, like he always does. We can't afford that this year.

Shore should be in the weekend rotation. Period. We know what we get from Bobby. Solid, minus one inning. We can all see that. The coaches should see it. It is what it is. The only way I change that line of thinking is if they stretch out Duke. Hell, I'd like to see a rotation of Rocha, Duke, Shore with Smith as the closer. I think that would be our best possible scenario, but hell, I'm just a fan.

I can't, for the life of me, figure out why Max White is still in the field. DH him. If he can't hit as a DH, bench him. We have lost how many runs due to the errors and misplayed balls this year? Personally, I'd like to see Ellis in the field. Hell, throw Mistich out in left field.

This is a huge two weeks for this team. Frankly, we have to go 5-2 in the next 7 games, @Mizzou, @Arkansas and vs. Tech. Hopefully, the staff is ready to go into their "late season" mode and let these boys loose.

[btk108]

Sunday was a death blow fail of both pitching and hitting. It's early, they'll be playing in Omaha, step away from the ledge.

[rysooner]

Sunday was a death blow fail of both pitching and hitting. It's early, they'll be playing in Omaha, step away from the ledge.

To me, Sunday was more frustrating than anything else. Got the feeling several times that the bats were getting ready to break out, and then didn't.
These guys can play, we've seen it, and as in the past, the lineup has changed daily. Time for Sunny to pick his guys, step back, and let 'em play.

[badger]

They were so much fun to watch last month. Are there any upcoming games on ESPN3 or televised? Any good sites I can visit to see updated college baseball rankings/conference standings and player statistics?

Thanks! :)

[Sooner11JK]

They were so much fun to watch last month. Are there any upcoming games on ESPN3 or televised? Any good sites I can visit to see updated college baseball rankings/conference standings and player statistics?

Thanks! :)

Look at http://www.chasingomaha.com

Great site with lots of great info.

[Battersbox]

Lets see if the game notes will be correct but I like seeing Rocha, Shore and Smith all back