Tidbits from Coach Golloway

[Sooner11JK]

Per Kendall once again on Twitter:

-Spoke with #Oklahoma coach Sunny Golloway. Days away from hire, thinking outside the box on pitching coach, and will hire a great one.

-Asked Golloway about RHP Damien Magnifico. Said he has solid command. #Jays gun got him at 100, stadium gun at 102.

-Golloway added Magnifico has 3 quality pitches , but will mainly FBs as closer. Thinks he's going to be huge in '12.

[TumbleweedDoom]

So Magnifico is definitely going to be a closer? I hoped, when he started during the Red/White Series, he'd be a starter. Not sure how I feel about that ...

[Sooner11JK]

I missed one.

-#Oklahoma feels like weekend rotation will be better than it was in '11. Also, Max White moved from OF to 1B, Cody Reine has lost weight

[IndySooner]

Cody losing weight is a big deal for sure. I think he may have realized how bad he screwed himself last year by not working hard.

I also don't know what to think of Magnifico as a closer. I would think we would want our most dominant pitcher (based on the scrimmages, which obviously aren't a true indicator) as a starter, but......

[TumbleweedDoom]

Magnifico has had a intense recent history of shoulder/arm woes and maybe they think he can last the season longer in short spurts as the closer, rather than in longer stints as a starter. It really depends on the individual when asking the question: which is harder on a shoulder/arm -- throwing 100-plus pitches on a single night, but only once a week; or just throwing 20 pitches on a night, but maybe two or three times a week?

[rysooner]

Heard Sunny the other day on KREF talking about how Cody had lost weight and was swinging it much better now. Said Cody had come to him and took responsibility for the weight gain and apologized. Said Cody had really worked hard and had jacked about 5 or 6 during the fall workouts.

Also menitoned that Mag would probably be the closer. Not exactly sure how I feel about that, but I don't know enough about the incoming pitching staff to question the decision right now. I know a guy who comes in throwing 98-100 should be hard to catch up to after seeing other guys throwing 88-92 the entire game :hopelessness:

[IndySooner]

That pretty much gives us Gray, John, Overton in the rotation with Magnifico as the closer. That's not a bad staff at all. If Cody is swinging the bat, White improves the way he did at the Cape and Caleb gets on base the way he can, we might have a chance at scoring some runs. I'm not expecting an Omaha run this year, but I do think the program is at a point where we shouldn't be missing NCAA tourneys anymore. Will be an interesting season for sure!

[rysooner]

Agree, that's not a bad staff at all. Hoping Gray and Magnifico both produce like we think they will, I always worry about new guys coming in and adjusting to D1 ball. Everyone talks about Mag's speed, but I've not heard anything about movement. As we all know, the ball can go out pretty quick at 100 mph and no movement.

Sunny said Cody was even moving better in the outfield. He sounded like he was pretty pleased with the way he had worked.

[IndySooner]

Agree, that's not a bad staff at all. Hoping Gray and Magnifico both produce like we think they will, I always worry about new guys coming in and adjusting to D1 ball. Everyone talks about Mag's speed, but I've not heard anything about movement. As we all know, the ball can go out pretty quick at 100 mph and no movement.

Sunny said Cody was even moving better in the outfield. He sounded like he was pretty pleased with the way he had worked.Given that our hitters couldn't touch either Gray or Magnifico the other day, I have high hopes.

[rysooner]

Given that our hitters couldn't touch either Gray or Magnifico the other day, I have high hopes.

Good point...

[TumbleweedDoom]

I'm still not sold on Overton as a starter. He was mediocre when starting games last year, and has been mediocre in his two starts in the Red/White Series. I hope guys like Steven Bruce and Kindle Ladd and the other new guys can push him for the spot. I'm not saying throw Overton in the trash heap or anything dumb like that -- I just think maybe he'd be better utilized in a Jeremy Erben role, like he was for part of the season last year when he was most effective.

[IndySooner]

Don't disagree at all, TD.

[bcolston15]

SG says a lot of things in the fall, let's see what happens when the rubber hits the road. I bet Magnifico is in the rotation.

[perryj]

I know this staff has to replace a lot of innings from a year ago but the talent brought in is awfully exciting to think about. I'm excited about the thought of having a dominant closer and a legit Friday night guy. It sure changes the complexion of each weekend series when you have both.