Luna not starting?

Right now we probably don't have a #1 pitcher; I guess it would all depend on who the opponent was, but it seems like the situation is pretty fluid at this point. We still have a great ptiching staff IMO. It's just that with Luna struggling in some situations, the way each game (and in particular, each series) is approached isn't as obvious as it might have been otherwise. That's my take anyway but I'll guess we'll have to see how things look in upcoming post-season play.
 
The red flag for me is that Luna is starting to break down big time. She was a pre-season All-American and is having the worst of her 3 years at UT. 8 walks in one game? There was a time when she MIGHT have 8 walks in 4-5 games.

What boggles my mind is she seems so fatigued and she hasn't pitched nearly as many innings as she did last season. Common sense says she would be fresher, not more tired. IMO her main focus in the off-season should be conditioning.

We are blessed with pretty good pitching depth. I just wonder if this average stretch toward the end of the year will cost us a top 8 seed. Our RPI is top 5, which is a huge plus.
 
If we don't know who is our #1 pitcher at this time, we got a problem. Coaching 101: always start your ace in the most important game unless she is hurt or sick. If she struggles and cannot get out of the first inning; fine, just relieve her with other pitchers. But not starting your "ace" sent a terrible message to the whole team. The players may feel they are not trusted (imagining what happens if Tom Brady gets benched after throwing a couple of picks) and start to respond passively to the coaches' instructions/decisions; then the team would not win many games. (I don't think "fatigue" should be an issue; every team plays about the same number of games)
 
It is up to coaching staff to get the players prepared physically and mentally. What happens to our conditioning program?
 
Continuing to start a player who is not effective will gut a team faster than anything else. Just because someone was designated #1 or All American or whatever doesn't mean that they should be out there if they aren't performing.

Late in the season, things change. Tension increases, and teams really step up the intensity as they start moving towards the end of the season. February and March performance isn't necessarily indicative of how teams play the closer you get to June. Since the California game, here are the lines for Luna:

IP R ER
Cal 3.0 6 6
ISU 7.0 4 4
UH 2.0 0 0 (relief)
Tul 6.0 1 0
UNM 7.0 0 0
UM 7.0 5 3
UM 0.1 4 4 (relief)
TT 3.2 3 3
KU 7.0 3 3
KU 4.2 6 5
BU 7.2 5 4
OSU 2.2 0 0 (relief)
OSU 1.1 0 0 (relief)
OSU 7.0 1 0
AnM 2.1 5 5
AnM 1.1 0 0 (relief)
BU 3.0 0 0 (relief)
OU 7.1 5 5
OU 4.0 4 4

Over that period,

Overall ERA: 3.81
Relief ERA: 2.62
Starting ERA: 3.99

We don't have a number 1 pitcher. We have a former #1 who hasn't been that effective as a starter for a couple of months, and some other pitchers who can battle, but will not always be able to deliver against top teams. I like what Bruins and Fox try to do, but I don't think they are physically capable of carrying the number 1 load. So, you do what we've been doing - use your former #1 in relief, and hope she can get back to being able to provide effective starts.

It's a shame, because this is a really gutsy team. I think it's the best team since 2003, where we were one pitch away from playing a Cal team we owned for a national championship. This team battles, they hit the crap out of the ball, and they are only missing one piece to make some noise in the post season. But.... it all starts in the circle, and there are obvious problems there now.

And as I said, there isn't anything in The Coach's Handbook about this. When your all-American junior cannot consistently get through a start in April and May, you just have to try anything and everything to try to stay alive.
 
Thanks for the post, bclarke, your comments make a lot of sense. The truth is none of us really knows what's going on with Luna. A few posts have speculated about fatigue, while others have mentioned confidence. Of course there could also be some minor injury, or physical issue that no one is aware of. And she's still throwing some good pitches, but clearly the consistency isn't there. Even with her current struggles she's still better than most pitchers in the league, but against the top teams, and hitters, we're going to have trouble. Even in game three vs. the sooners, she had 7 K's in 4 innings compared to 4 in three innings for Ricketts. We also got 6 hits and 4 ERs off of Keilani, whereas ou only got 2 hits and 4 ERs from Blare. But those 8 walks...ouch...we're very lucky to have won that game by such a big margin. I'm still hopeful that Luna's troubles are short-lived and that she will be better, and more consistent in post-season play. A lot of players, both hitters and pitchers, go through occasional slumps, but I think Luna will be on track before long.
 
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