PITCHING

[Chop]

I think the "stuff" of all pitchers on the staff at this level is good enough for them to throw strikes that are not just "batting practice" for the other team. In other words, our pitchers are capable of throwing more than meatballs, straight non-moving fastballs right down Broadway, and batting practice pitches.

I get painting the corners--this is good and very important. I would think, at this level, our pitchers are capable of painting the corners for (mostly) strikes. And, indeed, most of our pitchers are--most of the time. Remember: people have bad days. Even Gordon was stinking up the joint (I think it was against Kansas State), and he's the best pitcher in the league.

I like this staff. Some are more trustworthy than others. And some are young and will get more trustworthy with time and experience. A (very) few are only usable to eat innings when we're way ahead, but otherwise you wouldn't want them in the game--not this year anyway. And some of those may kick a$$ by the time they're done here.

'ya bunch of gripers...

 

[ViperHorn]

While I don't like either scenario, the reliever who comes out of the pen walking batters pisses me off more than the reliever who comes out of the pen throwing strikes and getting hit.

What about the. 55-foot-breaking balls?

 

[Your Wrong]

Working through struggles is different than giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th because Pierce refused to pull ZM. After struggling to start the inning the back to back walks should have been enough. But then the hit batter and he still left him in only to bounce it of the ground 15 feet in front of the plate and hit the next batter on the very next pitch. It was clear by the second walk Zane wasn't going to be able to get back in the groove.

I'm all for pitchers working through tough spots, but that absolute failure to recognized the situation or be hard headed was wrong.

I wasn’t referring to Morehouse specifically in that game. It seemed apparent he lost it and needed to be pulled. The general theme is to want to pull guys at the first sign of adversity. Giving up a single then a walk on a close 3-2 pitch is different than struggling to get any strikes and bouncing stuff in the dirt. If a guys lost it that day, he’s not getting it back and needs to be pulled. I won’t disagree with that.

Had Shaw not been hurt and missed playing for several weeks, he’s certainly getting the call over Stuart. His overall usage for the weekend indicated they’re easing him back. That’s perfectly fine.

The pitching decisions may have been off due to Hurley not getting outs and not conceding Sunday. Friday night the wind was blowing out and Saturday it was blowing in. So a guy like Lummus, he’s thinking no walks when you’ve gotta be careful because a fly ball may leave the park on Friday versus the strategy of throw strikes because it’s not getting out of here on Saturday.

 

[aUTfan]

Pitching staff is still TBD. They are learning a lot, we are still in 1st place in the conference and just hope they get it figured out before the playoffs. That’s what matters. All of them are going to stumble I just figured we would have more consistency from the pen by now but doesn’t mean all is lost. I still expect great things from this team when playoff time comes and the pitching could still be a surprise when we get there.

 

[mchammer]

Pitching staff is still TBD. They are learning a lot, we are still in 1st place in the conference and just hope they get it figured out before the playoffs. That’s what matters. All of them are going to stumble I just figured we would have more consistency from the pen by now but doesn’t mean all is lost. I still expect great things from this team when playoff time comes and the pitching could still be a surprise when we get there.

I hope you are right!

 

[Phil Elliott]

You still here mchammer? I guess you excused our inexcusable loss to Baylor on Saturday after all?

 

[Chop]

I think he hangs around waiting for one of our pitchers (especially 1 in particular) to give up grand slams.

 

[mchammer]

You still hear mchammer? I guess you excused our inexcusable loss to Baylor on Saturday after all?

I said in the other thread that Texas had 2 inexcusable conference losses despite being in first place.

 

[Phil Elliott]

I know you did. Im calling into question your use of that word 'inexcusable' and what that actually means WRT your status as a fan of this team.

Nothing like explaining a joke...

 

[Chop]

I personally lean more towards sunshine pumping, but critical fans are still………..fans.

 

[Chop]

Nice pitching by Minchey tonight.

Our team ERA is going back down; 3.68 as of 4/19/2023. WV is 2nd best at 4.39.

 

[Chop]

DuPlantier flirted with some danger tonight, but came out with no damage. He's down to a 2.45 ERA. His WHIP is sub-1.50 at 1.45. Those are good numbers. We'll see more of him, probably in 1-2 inning spurts.

 

[Chop]

Minchey only has 7.0 innings, so we can't put much stock in his 0.00 ERA. However, his WHIP is a very low 0.86, and that does have some relevance--even with only 7.0 innings under his belt.

 

[mchammer]

I know you did. Im calling into question your use of that word 'inexcusable' and what that actually means WRT your status as a fan of this team.

Nothing like explaining a joke...

I have a working theory that the reason pitchers walk or hit their first 3 batters they face is due to putting self (ERA) over team (wins). It’s the pitcher equivalent of a batter swinging for the fences every at bat to pad his HR numbers. If true, these losses were truly inexcusable.

 

[mchammer]

Nothing like explaining a joke...

I was thrown off by the misspelling of “here”, which made understanding the point of your post difficult.

 

[Phil Elliott]

inexcusable

Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

 

[1sahorn]

Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

You killed my Father...prepare to die.

 

[mchammer]

Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Nothing is set in stone.

 

[Vol Horn 4 Life]

This pitching staff has regressed. The era was faked up with that 15 game run against nobodies. I don't know what the pitching coach is doing but I've seen 16 games in person and I see it on their faces, body language and most importantly in the pitching. When they are on they are really good but as soon as they make a mistake they completely fall apart. Not just one or two but just about the whole lot of them. I believe that's coaches getting in their head...gotta be perfect or something.

 

[Chop]

Weekend starters should be: Gordon, LBJ, Hurley

Go with the ones that have worked out the most often.

 

[Chop]

4/23/2023

Ranking of our pitchers by the "Moneyball" stat WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched); this tells us who is putting runners on the bags. Below 1.50 is pretty good or better.

1. Lummus...............0.85
2. Shaw.....................0.99
3. Gordon.................1.04 (Starter)
4. Tole.......................1.16
5. Burke....................1.18
6. Hurley...................1.29 (Starter)
7. Minchey................1.32
8. LBJ..........................1.37 (Starter)
9. DuPlantier............1.45
10. Sthele...................1.51 (Starter)
11. Morehouse...........1.54
12. Whitehead............1.63 (Starter; sometimes)
13. Stuart....................1.71
14. Grubbs..................1.89
15. Walbridge..............2.04
16. Howard..................2.29
17. George...................4.00
18. O'Bannan...............4.50

2023 Baseball Cumulative Statistics - University of Texas Athletics

 

[Chop]

The numbers don't lie, we should be seeing more of Andre DuPlantier. Fans may get a tad nervous when he takes the mound, but statistically, he's less likely to crap all over the mound than half of our pitchers, including Morehouse, Sthele, and Ace Whitehead...

This ain't last year folks.

 

[Chop]

Sub-3.00 ERA
Sub-1.50 WHIP
2023 Baseball Cumulative Statistics - University of Texas Athletics

 

[Vol Horn 4 Life]

In Big XII play Texas has given up 77 runs with 74 of them being earned for an ERA of 4.93. I don't know how to calculate WHIP for those games, but all I care about is how many runs they score. That 14 game cupcake non conference stretch where I personally thought we got things together really helped us statistically, but the reality is this pitching staff has become mediocre against good competition.

I thought only 3 unearned runs in 15 conference games is pretty impressive though.

 

[Your Wrong]

How do you define mediocre?

Before this weekend, we were 13th in the country in ERA. Only one team, Wake Forest, has a sub 3 ERA. At least two teams ahead of us gave up more runs this weekend than us. Quite a few teams win 2 of 3 this weekend with our pitching performances.

We are out of sorts right now. Can we get it back?

 

[Your Wrong]

Going into the weekend we were 17th in the country in hits allowed per 9 innings. It will go down as we only allowed 21 this weekend. We’re in the 7 per 9 innings range. We were 121 in walks per 9 at around 4.5 per 9. That’ll go up.

Walks are killers. See ACU versus us.

Interestingly enough 6 of the top 50 teams in the country in being walked are Big 12 teams. We’re not one of them. Baylor and Kansas aren’t either. Three in top 10. We’ve now played them all.

 

[Vol Horn 4 Life]

How do you define mediocre?

Before this weekend, we were 13th in the country in ERA. Only one team, Wake Forest, has a sub 3 ERA. At least two teams ahead of us gave up more runs this weekend than us. Quite a few teams win 2 of 3 this weekend with our pitching performances.

We are out of sorts right now. Can we get it back?

As stated in my post above, I define mediocre as having almost a 5 ERA in Big 12 play. I don't consider 15 games in conference a slump and I don't care if we had a 1.00 ERA against Mercer and the likes in that 14 game stretch. That's not who we compete against in the post season.

 

[Vol Horn 4 Life]

Going into the weekend we were 17th in the country in hits allowed per 9 innings. It will go down as we only allowed 21 this weekend. We’re in the 7 per 9 innings range. We were 121 in walks per 9 at around 4.5 per 9. That’ll go up.

That's right, because we walked or hit the rest. We're 3rd in conference in highest walks at 198 and #1 in hitting batters at 50. They don't need to hit the ball.

 

[Your Wrong]

Ok. It’s just that the bar of mediocrity has moved. We’re still 1st in conference in ERA. I’m not sure when the dam broke but runs are being scored in bunches across the country. You’ve got a winning team if your ERA is 4.

Our bigger problem is the hitting.

 

[Vol Horn 4 Life]

Ok. It’s just that the bar of mediocrity has moved. We’re still 1st in conference in ERA. I’m not sure when the dam broke but runs are being scored in bunches across the country. You’ve got a winning team if your ERA is 4.

Our bigger problem is the hitting.

The bar hasn't moved, the Big 12 seems like pitching across the board is just not very good. Would you say a 5.01 ERA is good or mediocre?