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Ocalaman

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I would like to have JJ back as well, but I really don't understand why Girard isn't starting at catcher regstdlreg
Yeah - We could have Girand catching an JJ at first. 1st base has been a liability this year. Bell is a great defender, but can't hit good pitching. Brady Smith swings a decent bat, but he's a freshman learning a new position.
 

FireFoley

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Before I start a Supers thread, I wanted to touch on a few things that all 45 of us saw in the late game last nite, and DZ touched most of them.. As the game went on it felt like a mid week game in which we were leading like 11-2, but I kept looking at the scoreboard (sorry JR Douchbag) and could not believe it was 5-2 and the tying run actually came to the plate in the 7th for FAU. Off the top of my head we left 4 runs on the field and that would have been WITHOUT getting a single hit.Trailing 2-0 and runners on 2nd and 3rd, INDY singles to score Liput and Bell holds Nellie at 3rd, but the leftfielder had to go sideways to field the ball and Nelllie would have scored. With one out, we fly out to medium CF and Bell holds Nellie again. what should have been a huge inning netted us one run. Next inning Brady Smith singles, Horvath then singles to left and Brady Smith tries to go from 1st to 3rd with play right in front of him and ZERO outs. Smith the ball was hit to left and you are slow as HELL. Thrown out at 3rd base. I know he got injured (hope not seriously), but I looked at the top step and Sully's inner voice was saying WTF ARE U DOING?????????. Next hitter slams one over the wall for a 2 run homer, (would have been 3). Top of 9th, we load the bases with no outs and 3,4,5 hitters coming to bat. We DON'T score. Sure I credit the FAU pitcher but we had seen him ion Game 1. If we could have moved a runner or hit a SAC fly we win by 10. But at least we won. If we play offensively like that against Auburn we will not win, b/c we will not get multiple chances each game like we did against FAU.

If Leftwich could have thrown strikes from the beginning, it would have been a shutout. 3 walks in the 1st and a sawed off single and you are down 2. After that he threw strikes and got outs. Leftwich throws hard enough that if he throws strikes he will have success. Mace was good and so was Byrne. Obviously Dyson was NOT in the plan last nite and I am wondering if he is in the plan for the Supers, unless it is a blowout either way.

Bottom line better fundamental offense by handling the bat a little better, stop the baserunning BS and we will be fine.

And DZ stole my thunder. I predict also that if JJ can hit, JJ will play 1B and Girand will catch. Sure Girand strikes out, but he can go yard at any time and he is good enough defensively and has a better arm than. JJ.
 

FireFoley

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A quick congrats to the 5 drafted in the first 10 rounds. The 3 1st rounders, JJ in the 8th round to Oakland and Liput to LA Dodgers in 10th. JJ improves by 30 rounds from last year. Surprised he went that high but well done. Good for him. If Liput stops popping up so often and hits the ball on the ground more, I can see him playing in the bigs at 2B.

Be interesting to see when Byrne goes. I love that he throws strikes, but not sure how he is viewed by the pros. Maybe as a 4th or 5th starter or possibly middle relief guy?
 

dz_23

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Before I start a Supers thread, I wanted to touch on a few things that all 45 of us saw in the late game last nite, and DZ touched most of them.. As the game went on it felt like a mid week game in which we were leading like 11-2, but I kept looking at the scoreboard (sorry JR Douchbag) and could not believe it was 5-2 and the tying run actually came to the plate in the 7th for FAU. Off the top of my head we left 4 runs on the field and that would have been WITHOUT getting a single hit.Trailing 2-0 and runners on 2nd and 3rd, INDY singles to score Liput and Bell holds Nellie at 3rd, but the leftfielder had to go sideways to field the ball and Nelllie would have scored. With one out, we fly out to medium CF and Bell holds Nellie again. what should have been a huge inning netted us one run. Next inning Brady Smith singles, Horvath then singles to left and Brady Smith tries to go from 1st to 3rd with play right in front of him and ZERO outs. Smith the ball was hit to left and you are slow as HELL. Thrown out at 3rd base. I know he got injured (hope not seriously), but I looked at the top step and Sully's inner voice was saying WTF ARE U DOING?????????. Next hitter slams one over the wall for a 2 run homer, (would have been 3). Top of 9th, we load the bases with no outs and 3,4,5 hitters coming to bat. We DON'T score. Sure I credit the FAU pitcher but we had seen him ion Game 1. If we could have moved a runner or hit a SAC fly we win by 10. But at least we won. If we play offensively like that against Auburn we will not win, b/c we will not get multiple chances each game like we did against FAU.

If Leftwich could have thrown strikes from the beginning, it would have been a shutout. 3 walks in the 1st and a sawed off single and you are down 2. After that he threw strikes and got outs. Leftwich throws hard enough that if he throws strikes he will have success. Mace was good and so was Byrne. Obviously Dyson was NOT in the plan last nite and I am wondering if he is in the plan for the Supers, unless it is a blowout either way.

Bottom line better fundamental offense by handling the bat a little better, stop the baserunning BS and we will be fine.

And DZ stole my thunder. I predict also that if JJ can hit, JJ will play 1B and Girand will catch. Sure Girand strikes out, but he can go yard at any time and he is good enough defensively and has a better arm than. JJ.

Good stuff brother, as always. I envie you for being able to make it out to the games. I know yesterday was not easy for the fans.

Couple questions:

Do you get the sense, like me, that we haven’t played enough “small ball” and it will bite us? I did the research, I understand the probabilities of “big innings”. Sully knows his teams better than me, I just think we miss opportunities, especially with two on to move runners.

Do you think Liput will go or try to up his stock? Looking at Leftwich, Byrne, Lang, Nelson, Baker, Mace, Bell, Smith, Reece, Dyson, Baker, Girand, and Dalton; it may not be a total “rebuild” next year. Although, I have no concept of next class or how they are affected by the draft.

Dz
 

Ocalaman

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Mar 7, 2018
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Bottom line is that this year's team played like #1 champions the first 2/3 of the season and have been very average the last 1/3. Brady Singer has been the only consistently reliable starting pitcher. Jordan Butler has been solid as a mid-game reliever and Byrne had 2 really bad outings, but has been a reliable closer. India has made a bunch of errors at 3rd down the stretch and as great as he's been his bat has cooled off almost 100 points from 6-7 weeks ago. Dalton strikes out a ton and his average has come down quite a bit late season as well. Schwarz was our best hitter when he got hurt and I'm hoping he can pick up where he left off when he re-enters the lineup.

I think Liput goes pro. Unless we have a stud in the incoming class, I think next year's starters on the mound will be between Leftwich, Mace, Dyson & Butler. IF Byrne decides to return for his senior year, he could move into the starter's mix, as I've heard several commentators say the pros are looking at him as a starter. I wonder about Maldanado. He's a steady hitter, but has played almost none in the outfield. Could he come back for his senior year? And don't forget about Langworthy. He'll be in the middle of the batting order playing left field again. Brady McConnell had won the SS job in the fall, but got off to a slow start his first few games, then hurt his wrist and has not played since. He'll be the starting SS next year. I predict the opening day lineup will be Girand at catcher, Bell at 1st, Reese at 2nd, McConnell at SS, Smith at 3rd, Langworthy in left and Dalton either in center or right, depending on what Maldanado does. Shane Shifflet will be in the hunt for playing time, either at 2nd or in the OF. And don't forget about Garrett Michlin. He was a solid contributor last year as a pinch hitter and spot reliever, but has been hurt all year. He'll be looking for a way to contribute and O'Sullivan was high on him as an incoming freshman. And maybe there's a new freshman coming in who beats somebody out. We lose a lot of talent, but we do every year. We'll be good again next year and the year after that as long as Sully is the coach and recruiter.
 

GatorBart

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Do you think Liput will go or try to up his stock? Looking at Leftwich, Byrne, Lang, Nelson, Baker, Mace, Bell, Smith, Reece, Dyson, Baker, Girand, and Dalton; it may not be a total “rebuild” next year. Although, I have no concept of next class or how they are affected by the draft.

Dz
You said Baker twice, I presume one was supposed to be Butler.
 

ChiefGator

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A quick congrats to the 5 drafted in the first 10 rounds. The 3 1st rounders, JJ in the 8th round to Oakland and Liput to LA Dodgers in 10th. JJ improves by 30 rounds from last year. Surprised he went that high but well done. Good for him. If Liput stops popping up so often and hits the ball on the ground more, I can see him playing in the bigs at 2B.

Be interesting to see when Byrne goes. I love that he throws strikes, but not sure how he is viewed by the pros. Maybe as a 4th or 5th starter or possibly middle relief guy?

I wonder why baseball does not move their draft until after the tourney is over.
 

dz_23

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I wonder why baseball does not move their draft until after the tourney is over.

Because only a handful of blue chippers are still playing baseball, most of the players season has ended. MLB won’t change this for Florida :lol2:
 

ChiefGator

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Because only a handful of blue chippers are still playing baseball, most of the players season has ended. MLB won’t change this for Florida :lol2:

Well it is not just UF, Auburn for one has a pitcher involved and I bet there are many other potential major league players who are still playing.

I would hope that players could keep their focus, but I heard that they don't.
 

Towels 'N Sporks

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May 19, 2016
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Before I start a Supers thread, I wanted to touch on a few things that all 45 of us saw in the late game last nite, and DZ touched most of them.. As the game went on it felt like a mid week game in which we were leading like 11-2, but I kept looking at the scoreboard (sorry JR Douchbag) and could not believe it was 5-2 and the tying run actually came to the plate in the 7th for FAU. Off the top of my head we left 4 runs on the field and that would have been WITHOUT getting a single hit.Trailing 2-0 and runners on 2nd and 3rd, INDY singles to score Liput and Bell holds Nellie at 3rd, but the leftfielder had to go sideways to field the ball and Nelllie would have scored. With one out, we fly out to medium CF and Bell holds Nellie again. what should have been a huge inning netted us one run. Next inning Brady Smith singles, Horvath then singles to left and Brady Smith tries to go from 1st to 3rd with play right in front of him and ZERO outs. Smith the ball was hit to left and you are slow as HELL. Thrown out at 3rd base. I know he got injured (hope not seriously), but I looked at the top step and Sully's inner voice was saying WTF ARE U DOING?????????. Next hitter slams one over the wall for a 2 run homer, (would have been 3). Top of 9th, we load the bases with no outs and 3,4,5 hitters coming to bat. We DON'T score. Sure I credit the FAU pitcher but we had seen him ion Game 1. If we could have moved a runner or hit a SAC fly we win by 10. But at least we won. If we play offensively like that against Auburn we will not win, b/c we will not get multiple chances each game like we did against FAU.

If Leftwich could have thrown strikes from the beginning, it would have been a shutout. 3 walks in the 1st and a sawed off single and you are down 2. After that he threw strikes and got outs. Leftwich throws hard enough that if he throws strikes he will have success. Mace was good and so was Byrne. Obviously Dyson was NOT in the plan last nite and I am wondering if he is in the plan for the Supers, unless it is a blowout either way.

Bottom line better fundamental offense by handling the bat a little better, stop the baserunning BS and we will be fine.

And DZ stole my thunder. I predict also that if JJ can hit, JJ will play 1B and Girand will catch. Sure Girand strikes out, but he can go yard at any time and he is good enough defensively and has a better arm than. JJ.


I was also there among the 45 fans. The thing I liked about that is that the entire crowd and everyone on the field could hear whatever you wanted to say. It's kind of fun that way. Anyway, I definitely saw lots of concerning things that night. Missed opportunities at the plate and on the base paths as you mentioned, and more errors in the in-field. What sort of error-ridden disease did our team catch from Blake Reese? I hope JJ is back for the supers... his dad and brother were sitting in the row in front of me and I could tell that dad was about to blow his lid when we were trailing 2-0 early.
The positive thing is that Girand has come up huge from us off the bench and honestly has done better at the plate than just about anyone in the tournament. Maybe next weekend is the weekend when our bats get hot again in those big time situations. We will need it against Auburn!
 

dz_23

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Well it is not just UF, Auburn for one has a pitcher involved and I bet there are many other potential major league players who are still playing.

I would hope that players could keep their focus, but I heard that they don't.

Understood, I don't care for it either but its one of those “can’t please everyone” decisions. I actually hate it
 

FireFoley

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Good stuff brother, as always. I envie you for being able to make it out to the games. I know yesterday was not easy for the fans.

Couple questions:

Do you get the sense, like me, that we haven’t played enough “small ball” and it will bite us? I did the research, I understand the probabilities of “big innings”. Sully knows his teams better than me, I just think we miss opportunities, especially with two on to move runners.

Do you think Liput will go or try to up his stock? Looking at Leftwich, Byrne, Lang, Nelson, Baker, Mace, Bell, Smith, Reece, Dyson, Baker, Girand, and Dalton; it may not be a total “rebuild” next year. Although, I have no concept of next class or how they are affected by the draft.

Dz

Regarding small ball, this as you know, is often debated about Sully especially at tourney time. When you get to that big park in Omaha, small ball can be big. But in fairness only 3 of our guys can bunt: Horvath, Liput ans Langworthy. The rest of them have awful technique, including Nelly, who tried to sacrifice Monday and looked lost doing it. I think Sully has just adopted the Earl Weaver mantra to wait for the 3 run homer. I am concerned about simple fundamentals. Smith's baserunning blunder, India having to run from 3B to try and catch foul pop near the first base dugout, Bell coaching at 3B box and Reese throwing the ball away. Indy had a few errors but I think he will be fine.

Regarding the draft I think Liput leaves. He improved about 19 rounds and he was suspended for a 1/3 of the year. So any "sniff" of a problem and he would be booted off the team. Plus we will probably take a step back next year
 

dz_23

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Haha, I fogot about India trying to catch that pop up between 1st, P, and catcher, thanks for reminding me...LoL
 

FireFoley

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Haha, I fogot about India trying to catch that pop up between 1st, P, and catcher, thanks for reminding me...LoL

It is a LOL b/c we won the game, but in all seriousness he ran about 120 feet to try and catch a foul pop where he literally should have been a spectator to that play. Brady Smith is not a 1st baseman and it was clearly his ball. After Smith it was Girand's ball but I am going to give him a slight pass. That gave the hitter another life and at this time of the year each out is precious. It is why I was so surprised at how poorly Indy threw the ball to 1st base this weekend. The topic of JJ at 1B came up today and if you go for an offensive lineup then JJ at 1st and Girand catching is it. You can always move Bell in early for defense and shift JJ behind the plate then. But Bell can't hit lefties or offspeed righties and Smith blows defensively.
 

Ancient Reptile

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Mar 4, 2015
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It is a LOL b/c we won the game, but in all seriousness he ran about 120 feet to try and catch a foul pop where he literally should have been a spectator to that play. Brady Smith is not a 1st baseman and it was clearly his ball. After Smith it was Girand's ball but I am going to give him a slight pass. That gave the hitter another life and at this time of the year each out is precious. It is why I was so surprised at how poorly Indy threw the ball to 1st base this weekend. The topic of JJ at 1B came up today and if you go for an offensive lineup then JJ at 1st and Girand catching is it. You can always move Bell in early for defense and shift JJ behind the plate then. But Bell can't hit lefties or offspeed righties and Smith blows defensively.
That's a hard ball for the catcher to corral. It's usually curving back on him.
 

MADGator

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I'll be there Monday night, I can't imagine there won't be a game Monday night, and it makes me reallll nervous that a freshman will be on the hill to get them back to the CWS. I imagine it will be Mace/Leftwich and if the one struggles then maybe the other can bail him out.
 

Ocalaman

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If our guys don't clean up their defense and baserunning, they will lose this series. And Kowar MUST pitch much better than he did last weekend. Singer will be good. He's been consistently good all year. But with Mize opposing him that game will probably come down to 1 or 2 plays or at bats. Could go either way. And a 3rd game concerns me as well. Wish the Dyson of last post season was available.
 

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