Texas @ TCU Series Thread

[DalTxHornFan 3101]

Just now, Had Enough said:

What goals are those?

Omaha. Always Omaha. 

[Hookem2147 21217]

2 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Omaha. Always Omaha. 

Of course the “goal” is always Omaha, but there are certain years where that is more realistic than others. And that goes for any school that is historically strong in baseball. As they said during the broadcast tonight, making it the CWS in 3 of 4 seasons is almost unheard of.

This team making it out of a regional would be a hell of a coaching job considering some of the weaknesses. But maybe this team has some 2018 magic and gets a few bounces to go their way.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Hookem2147

[HenryJames 66048]

4 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

What goals are those?

EGOT

[Valmy77 13226]

3 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Of course the “goal” is always Omaha, but there are certain years where that is more realistic than others. As they said during the broadcast tonight, making it the CWS in 3 of 4 seasons is almost unheard of.

This team making it out of a regional would be a hell of a coaching job considering some of the weaknesses. But maybe this team has some 2018 magic and gets a few bounces to go their way.

Conference title and going to the College World Series.

You might think going to Omaha was a long shot this year but beating 2023 version of OU and Baylor wasn't. And that would have set Texas up for a Big 12 title. Failure to do so was underachievement and failure.

But, as you say, things can still bounce our way. I just don't think they will. I am pretty sure this season is going to be a failure. But I am along for the ride as always. 

Nice win today, let's see what happens.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Valmy77

[Hookem2147 21217]

3 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Conference title and going to the College World Series.

You might think going to Omaha was a long shot this year but beating 2023 version of OU and Baylor wasn't. And that would have set Texas up for a Big 12 title. Failure to do so was underachievement and failure.

But, as you say, things can still bounce our way. I just don't think they will. I am pretty sure this season is going to be a failure. But I am along for the ride as always. 

Nice win today, let's see what happens.

All fair. This team has some clear holes that will be tough to cover up come postseason time. 

Relative to where many expected this team to go after the Fullerton series, they have probably overachieved a tad. But you are right, beating this years OU squad isn’t asking for the moon.

[DalTxHornFan 3101]

1 minute ago, Valmy77 said:

Conference title and going to the College World Series.

You might think going to Omaha was a long shot this year but beating 2023 version of OU and Baylor wasn't. And that would have set Texas up for a Big 12 title. That was underachievement and failure.

But, as you say, things can still bounce our way. I just don't think they will. I am pretty sure this season is going to be a failure. But I am along for the ride as always.

We're Texas!

We need to stop giving up free bases on walks.  Great to see EK coming back with the bat.  Not our best infield, but our E's have not been egregious.

There is no reason that the Horns don't have a good shot at beating any team they line up against the rest of this season.

[Had Enough 2081]

Omaha. Always Omaha. 

Noted. But being literal goals is plural. Reaching Omaha is singular.

Good pitching beats good hitting.

There’s absolutely enough data to say that we can compete in the pitching department. We’ve got righties and lefties. We do have some guys that can throw hard. To date, we don’t allow many homers or hits for that matter.
And they typically keep us in games. And the walks while frustrating are top half in the country on a per inning basis. I’d guess were top 10 in fewest games allowing 10 or more runs.

Teams like Campbell, ECU, Virginia, DBU, Boston College, Miami, Louisville, DUKE, Kentucky, Coastal Carolina are the competition for hosting a regional. They’re all up and down and get blown out.

Whoever plays best down the stretch likely gets to host.

[troph 24789]

Omaha necessarily includes at least 4 goals - post season, regional win, super regional win, CWS appearance. 
 

just saying. 

[HenryJames 66048]

 

[ztejas 43420]

12 minutes ago, troph said:

Omaha necessarily includes at least 4 goals - post season, regional win, super regional win, CWS appearance. 
 

just saying. 

I believe two of those are the same thing, Lou.

[troph 24789]

10 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I believe two of those are the same thing, Lou.

Making sure you’re paying attention. Good job.

[Hookem2147 21217]

Also, just gotta say….Lucas freaking Gordon.

That guy has developed in front of our eyes. Middle reliever as a freshman, midweek starter to #2 starter as a sophomore to Friday night ace this year. He has more than held his own in the role and been better than most of us anticipated.

[ztejas 43420]

4 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Also, just gotta say….Lucas freaking Gordon.

That guy has developed in front of our eyes. Middle reliever as a freshman, midweek starter to #2 starter as a sophomore to Friday night ace this year. He has more than held his own in the role and been better than most of us anticipated.

Yeah he's a legit Texas-level Friday guy. His numbers have kind of snuck up on me with regards to just how good he's been. 

[troph 24789]

Can we expect tanner back full strength by the regionals? If so… hmmm…

[petscii 1189]

1 hour ago, troph said:

Can we expect tanner back full strength by the regionals? If so… hmmm…

I'm skeptical (or afraid of setbacks) but the thing I read said  6 weeks to full steam with a doubling of pitching every week.  

This will be interesting to watch the progression if it goes well.  

[Fletch 5800]

3 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Of course the “goal” is always Omaha, but there are certain years where that is more realistic than others. And that goes for any school that is historically strong in baseball. As they said during the broadcast tonight, making it the CWS in 3 of 4 seasons is almost unheard of.

This team making it out of a regional would be a hell of a coaching job considering some of the weaknesses. But maybe this team has some 2018 magic and gets a few bounces to go their way.

I mean our epic ‘00-‘11 run, we didn’t make it out of a regional 4 times, 3 of which we hosted and lost the supers at home to tcu in 2010. Shit happens in baseball. And those teams minus the 2000 team were arguably worse than our 2018 and this years team. It’s baseball. We just kicked some ass. It’s almost May. Pierce kills it in May and June  

[troph 24789]

7 hours ago, petscii said:

I'm skeptical (or afraid of setbacks) but the thing I read said  6 weeks to full steam with a doubling of pitching every week.  

This will be interesting to watch the progression if it goes well.  

We can be an entirely different team if that could happen. I won’t hold my breath or expect it but man that would be something. Doubling the pitching every week puts him 4 weeks out from effectively pitching 7-8 innings or 80-100 pitches. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by troph

[TornACL 7698]

9 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Also, just gotta say….Lucas freaking Gordon.

That change-up to get the second out in the 8th was disgusting. Love watching him pitch. He has to be frustrating as hell to go up against.

[zlavydra 2121]

That was a great effort last night. Frogs threw almost 200 pitches, and we walloped 8 extra-base hits.  Only one starter (guess who?) didn't have a hit.

Now, who's going to pitch today?

[Hookem2147 21217]

24 minutes ago, zlavydra said:

That was a great effort last night. Frogs threw almost 200 pitches, and we walloped 8 extra-base hits.  Only one starter (guess who?) didn't have a hit.

Now, who's going to pitch today?

If I was the coach it would be LBJ, but we’ll see

[troph 24789]

8 hours ago, Fletch said:

I mean our epic ‘00-‘11 run, we didn’t make it out of a regional 4 times, 3 of which we hosted and lost the supers at home to tcu in 2010. Shit happens in baseball. And those teams minus the 2000 team were arguably worse than our 2018 and this years team. It’s baseball. We just kicked some ass. It’s almost May. Pierce kills it in May and June  

I hope it happens this year. I’m always ready for it, trying not to hope and worse expect it this year. Unexpected runs are so much better than unexpected early exits. 

[Bevo&Pevo 5131]

Forecast for Monday looks like a fantastic day for some baseball.  Anyone considering driving/going (besides me) to see us sweep 'em?  I'm not 100% committed just yet, but it IS on the table.

[Had Enough 2081]

That was a great effort last night. Frogs threw almost 200 pitches, and we walloped 8 extra-base hits.  Only one starter (guess who?) didn't have a hit.
Now, who's going to pitch today?

Just out curiosity, are walks only shitty and critical when we issue them but not when receive them?

[MuellerHorn 4230]

11 hours ago, ztejas said:

Yeah he's a legit Texas-level Friday guy. His numbers have kind of snuck up on me with regards to just how good he's been. 

Imagine if he got to be the Saturday starter with a healthy Witt. Texas' starting staff would be insane. The turbulence with Sthele, LBJ, Hurley, etc., would be much more palatable on Sundays.

Edited April 30, 2023 by MuellerHorn

[MuellerHorn 4230]

9 hours ago, Fletch said:

I mean our epic ‘00-‘11 run, we didn’t make it out of a regional 4 times, 3 of which we hosted and lost the supers at home to tcu in 2010. Shit happens in baseball. And those teams minus the 2000 team were arguably worse than our 2018 and this years team. It’s baseball. We just kicked some ass. It’s almost May. Pierce kills it in May and June  

[NeverMarryAStripper 21905]

28 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Just out curiosity, are walks only shitty and critical when we issue them but not when receive them?

Well they certainly aren’t shitty for us when we receive them

[ztejas 43420]

1 hour ago, zlavydra said:

(guess who?)

Peyton Powell?

[Pato del Muerto 52492]

47 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Just out curiosity, are walks only shitty and critical when we issue them but not when receive them?

[zlavydra 2121]

48 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Just out curiosity, are walks only shitty and critical when we issue them but not when receive them?

Not sure if this is directed at me, but I think I value OPS more than most, and that certainly takes walks into account.

[Had Enough 2081]

Not sure if this is directed at me, but I think I value OPS more than most, and that certainly takes walks into account.

Well I was being a smartass, but it was in a general sense. To you and others.

We shit ourselves with the walks we issue. And you called out one dude. A dude who’s repeatedly called out. Yep need more production out of Daly. He’s only 2-12 in the last 4 conference games, but he walked 5 times including 2 last night. Strike outs often are suboptimal but Daly did soak up 25 pitches which is better than 2-5 with 2 singles and drawing 10 pitches. Assuming those singles were non run scoring.

We had 18 base runners but only 8 scored, which means take away the home runs and we scored 2 of 13 runners. That will almost always be less about your 7-9 hitters and more about 1-6. We’ve had other games that this was an issue.

It’d be great if we can get 2/3rds of the lineup hitting at the same time. It’s capable, but we’ll see.

[ClubWhatever 12139]

The lineup is too easy to shut down by lefties.  So when we do draw consecutive walks the opposition just puts in a lefty who can throw a curve for a strike and we’re done.

[Had Enough 2081]

If Carlson can hit, that’ll help. Looks as though he’s the primary DH now. Stack the lineup at the top with righties.

EK is largely a bunter against lefties so drop him like last night even though that was a righty. When he’s not on, he sees too few pitches, has some ugly swings and whiffs too much.

Powell can hit lefties if he’s staying on the ball and going the other way. O’Dowd is less defender than Daly and his offensive numbers aren’t better overall. Bring a righty there. Maybe it’s Carlson then Galvan slides into the DH slot. JD can fill one of those too.

We still have some growth potential from our hitters. Hot hand versus set lineup is who this team is.

[zlavydra 2121]

34 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Daly. He’s only 2-12 in the last 4 conference games, but he walked 5 times including 2 last night. Strike outs often are suboptimal but Daly did soak up 25 pitches which is better than 2-5 with 2 singles and drawing 10 pitches. Assuming those singles were non run scoring.

Excellent point. I'll take a 10-pitch whiff over a first-pitch pop up most of the time.

In any case, a three-year starter with a sub-.550 OPS in conference play is hard to stomach.

[Had Enough 2081]

I know. It’s frustrating to watch. He’s got pretty good pop. His homers aren’t exactly cheap ones. He’s pretty balanced at the plate and doesn’t chase terrible pitches all the time. He watches too many 3rd strikes as the counter to that though.

I’m a big fan of average with RISP. He is terrible there. And he’s poor in conference.

His OBP is in the .340s which isn’t terrible. Overall. I know his conference numbers are way less than that.

I do think he has a positive run at the plate before seasons end.

[ClubWhatever 12139]

I think I've probably watched 80% of Daly's at bats at Texas.  Pathetic, yes.  But here's the deal with him.  He does not see the spin of the curve and he does not generate great bat speed.  So, when he gets a hittable fastball he must do something with it to be a successful hitter.  His freshman year he had an inside out swing.  He took pitches the other way with regularity.  That enabled him to overcome lack of bat speed by being able to wait a nanosecond more on pitches.  For whatever reason, he started trying to pull the ball .  I forgot exactly when he started this but I think it was last year.  Probably in an effort to make himself more draftable.  And he doubled down with it this year because the team was losing pop and he probably thought (or was coached) that he could contribute.  Terrible idea.  Probably seemed great in intrasquad, but doesn't work for him in the real deal.  He fouls off so many hittable fastballs because his bat just isn't into the hitting zone yet.  That sets him up for the curve, which I'm convinced he cannot pick up.  Result:  0.243 with 16 RBI.

Edited April 30, 2023 by ClubWhatever

[Hookem2147 21217]

I guess we will worry more about this when the time comes, but Pierce is going to have to make some tough decisions this offseason in the middle infield. 

O’Dowd and Daly are obviously not getting drafted. You need more out of those two spots if you are going to win at a high level. You have Flores who is taking his lumps but is likely better long term than both along with some other young players set to return and a few incoming freshman who could push for time. Daly is obviously respected in the program, is solid defensively and has played a lot of college baseball, but at some point you may have to make a tough call.

 

[Hookem2147 21217]

Burke starting game 2

[petscii 1189]

8 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

I guess we will worry more about this when the time comes, but Pierce is going to have to make some tough decisions this offseason in the middle infield. 

O’Dowd and Daly are obviously not getting drafted. You need more out of those two spots if you are going to win at a high level. You have Flores who is taking his lumps but is likely better long term than both along with some other young players set to return and a few incoming freshman who could push for time. Daly is obviously respected in the program, is solid defensively and has played a lot of college baseball, but at some point you may have to make a tough call.

 

I don't get the impression there is a better player currently on the bench to replace him.  This is already a cruel game and if there was a player who was better, that person would be playing and not purposely being sat because it's not his turn.

[Hookem2147 21217]

7 minutes ago, petscii said:

I don't get the impression there is a better player currently on the bench to replace him.  This is already a cruel game and if there was a player who was better, that person would be playing and not purposely being sat because it's not his turn.

Yeah, that’s sorta my point in a roundabout way. If you tell both to take a hike or move on to try to replace them, you are likely looking to the portal (or juco ranks) if you want a surefire upgrade.

Flores likely slots in somewhere next year. Where that is remains to be seen. One of the benefits of him going to college was he was going to be old enough to be a draft eligible sophomore, so if he doesn’t have a path to the field entering next season he will likely leave.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Hookem2147

[ClubWhatever 12139]

Personally, I would keep Daly at second and make him go back to the inside out swing.  You can win with him doing that approach.  He's a plus fielder, not great but solid.  They have to find a short stop.

[Horny Bull 2759]

 

[ztejas 43420]

7 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

Personally, I would keep Daly at second and make him go back to the inside out swing.  You can win with him doing that approach.  He's a plus fielder, not great but solid.  They have to find a short stop.

I would say he's absolutely a great fielder at 2nd. He's been a plus SS this season. He's fielding .977 with 25 DPs to 4 Es. Unless he forgot how to play 2nd you'd expect him to be very good to elite there in the field. 

[jimmyjazz 45919]

13 hours ago, Fletch said:

I mean our epic ‘00-‘11 run, we didn’t make it out of a regional 4 times, 3 of which we hosted and lost the supers at home to tcu in 2010. Shit happens in baseball. And those teams minus the 2000 team were arguably worse than our 2018 and this years team. It’s baseball. We just kicked some ass. It’s almost May. Pierce kills it in May and June  

[Had Enough 2081]

Y’all must have slept thru the Augie years.

2014. A bunch of .260 hitters. Clemens started 63 games. Hit .212 with 1 homer.

2015. Hinojosa hit .242 with a .321 OBP. Cantù .249 with 1 homer. Shaw .243 and .312. Marlow .251 and .322.

2016. Kody .242, .306, 5 HRs. Tyler Rand .265, .324, 1 HR.

2017. Reynolds .212, .346, 5 HRs. Hamilton .218, .305, 0 HRs. Cantù .222, .308.

2018. Reynolds .247, .351, 4 HRs. McKenzie .252, .341, 0 HRs. Shaw .252, .355, 0 HRs.

2019. MCCann, Shaw, Hibbeler. All lower averages. All lower OPS. Todd and Ford similar.

2021. EK .253, .333, 4 HRs, 13 XBHs. Silas .239, .704 OPS.

We’ve always had mediocre to poor hitters in the lineup. These are just the years I found on texas sports.com. We have guys that could tank further.

[Herpa Derpa 6125]

3 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Y’all must have slept thru the Augie years.

2014. A bunch of .260 hitters. Clemens started 63 games. Hit .212 with 1 homer.

2015. Hinojosa hit .242 with a .321 OBP. Cantù .249 with 1 homer. Shaw .243 and .312. Marlow .251 and .322.

2016. Kody .242, .306, 5 HRs. Tyler Rand .265, .324, 1 HR.

2017. Reynolds .212, .346, 5 HRs. Hamilton .218, .305, 0 HRs. Cantù .222, .308.

2018. Reynolds .247, .351, 4 HRs. McKenzie .252, .341, 0 HRs. Shaw .252, .355, 0 HRs.

2019. MCCann, Shaw, Hibbeler. All lower averages. All lower OPS. Todd and Ford similar.

2021. EK .253, .333, 4 HRs, 13 XBHs. Silas .239, .704 OPS.

We’ve always had mediocre to poor hitters in the lineup. These are just the years I found on texas sports.com. We have guys that could tank further.

Pretty sure Augie was also sleeping during these years.

[texastroubadour 1210]

The play by play guy is so annoying to me. Almost as much as the color guy

[Horn80 6119]

Glad DC at bat called hit but that was an error.

[Horny Bull 2759]

Campbell is stranded at second T1.

[Hookem2147 21217]

First highlights they show from game 1 is TCU hitting homers in a game they lost…..

[Horny Bull 2759]

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