PITCHING

[Chop]

This is a moment I’d like to remind all we are #13 in ERA in the country. As a team. I’d bet if we had William & Mary’s and Penns schedules we might be ahead of them.

Individually, Gordon is #10 so it can’t be all him.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/baseball/d1/current/team/211

4/27/2023

Team ERA = 3.80
#13 in the Nation

Ahead of some really good teams, such as:
Kentucky
Louisville
DBU
Vanderbilt
Oregon
LSU
NC State
UNC
ND
Indiana
WV

(Wake Forest is ridiculous on the mound this year)

 

[Chop]

So we've got:

Starter 1: Gordon - one of the best in the nation (ERA in the low 2s)

Starter 2: LBJ - smokin' fast stuff and a nasty splitter (Sub 3.00 ERA)

Starter 3: ??????????????????

 

[Chop]

Hurley may be the best we can do as a 3rd starter. Compared to most teams in this conference, he'd look really good as their 3rd starter.

Of maybe out 3 game strategy is: 1. Gordon, 2. LBJ, and 3. Johnny all-staff ?

 

[Your Wrong]

Hurley was infinitely better coming out of the pen. Until he was put as a starter. Now, he’s all messed up.

I’m telling you Sthele is number 3. But I’ll stop after this. I did a quick scan so I could have miscalculated. 10 starts. Only 1 game were runs given up in the 1st. Then he pitched into the 5th allowing nothing more in that game. He’s often pulled after getting into trouble.

Hurley started 4. Gave up runs in 3 of 4. One game was UICW which we got a quick lead. No runs in 1st vs Tech. Did just ok vs KSU. Couldn’t get out of the first vs BU.

Burke. Runs in each of the first two innings vs TCU.

Minchey. 4 runs in 1.1 innings in his start vs OU.

Witt. 3 runs in less than inning in his start.

Tuesday starts are poor indicators for whatever you’d hope on the weekend.

Sthele gave you 3 shutout innings as a regional starter last year. He’s pitched neutral and road games this year and hung in there. He no hit BU on the road for almost 5 (way too many walks which was not a problem prior to this). He was pulled versus OU before giving up a run (very unlikely he gets out unscathed). That ain’t spectacular, but it could have been workable given the makeup of our staff. And if you build confidence, then the game will improve. We were winning games until we started shaking things up.

 

[Chop]

Sthele's got really good stuff. But the numbers don't lie.
He could be our #3 starter, but I think we have better starters on our staff (besides just Gordon and LBJ).

 

[STHAustin]

It seems that Hurley has regressed as the season has gone on. I had high hopes for him. Have any of the pitchers improved over the course of the season except LBJ? I’m not trying to be snotty, I’m really wondering

 

[Chop]

These are all individual young men, each with different mentalities. That being said, I think it's mentally more difficult coming in as a reliever (especially in the middle of an inning rapidly going South) than being a starter. Starters have to have longevity and be able to go deep into games without losing much off their stuff.

 

[Chop]

It seems that Hurley has regressed as the season has gone on. I had high hopes for him. Have any of the pitchers improved over the course of the season except LBJ? I’m not trying to be snotty, I’m really wondering

There was some buzz among the tv announcers one game that Hurley and Coach Pierce had butted heads earlier this season about whether or not Hurley is a starter (Hurley argues that he is a starter).

 

[Chop]

For those who prefer data-driven decision making:

Pitcher......ERA.....WHIP......Inning pitched

Gordon......2.16.....1.01........66.2
LBJ.............2.70......1.26........50.0
Shaw.........1.80......1.00........25.0
Tole...........2.01......1.21........22.1
Burke.........2.22......1.23........24.1
DuP............2.77......1.62........13.0
Hurley........3.70......1.38........41.1
Ace W........3.86.......1.62........21.0
Minch.........4.82.......1.50.......9.1
Lummus.....5.02......1.05.......14.1
Howard......5.14.......2.29.......7.0
Sthele.........6.31.......1.51.......62.1
Zane M.......6.51......1.66........37.1
Stuart.........7.20.......1.67.......15.0


2023 Baseball Cumulative Statistics - University of Texas Athletics

 

[Chop]

If LBJ sticks in there and improves (or even just stays the same), nobody would care to see us in their Regional or in a Super-Regional. That one-two punch, of Gordon + LBJ, will likely take one, or both, of the first 2 games against anyone not named Wake Forest. And our batting lineup is finally gelling.

 

[Your Wrong]

It seems that Hurley has regressed as the season has gone on. I had high hopes for him. Have any of the pitchers improved over the course of the season except LBJ? I’m not trying to be snotty, I’m really wondering

I’d say Gordon has too. Probably Whitehead, but he’s a situational guy for the most part.

 

[Phil Elliott]

Id like to see Whitehead in a closer role. His stuff is not unhittable, but hes got the right mentality IMO.

 

[Chop]

For the first time this season, our team ERA has gone North of 4.00. We're now at 4.02. Yet, that's still the best in the conference. WV is the only team that's close at 4.20.

On the brighter side, the offense continues to improve overall.

Big 12 Conference

 

[Your Wrong]

These are all individual young men, each with different mentalities. That being said, I think it's mentally more difficult coming in as a reliever (especially in the middle of an inning rapidly going South) than being a starter. Starters have to have longevity and be able to go deep into games without losing much off their stuff.

This may be at the center of my issue with Pierce. All dudes are different. Some need structure and consistency. Routine matters. Some are give me the ball whenever, wherever. He gives little indication in his decision making that he understands this.

Morehouses usage has been all over the place. Starter. Long relief. Closer. Back to long relief. Maybe 1 inning. Maybe 2. Maybe more. That’s ok for some. It’s proven detrimental to him.

Hurleys gone from excellent long relief to starter to nothing. We completely went away from what was working.

Stheles ERA puts him at the average team ERA of number 100. Top 3rd in the country. People need to get over their preconceived notions of what is good because that’s no longer the case. We score 7 runs per game so on average he’s giving you a chance to win. His last two starts were TBD. That absolutely can impair preparation.

We don’t have a perfect staff. But they are capable. We have gone away from what was working well hoping for something better in traditional baseball sense. That being we need starters to throw and go deep into the game. That is ideal, but it’s not the way things actually work right now. Less than 1% of teams have an ERA below 3.5. We are 10th when talking major conference schools.

 

[Chop]

We could do a lot worse than Sthele for our 3rd starter, but the data shows we could also do better. Travis Sthele is just a Sophomore, so I would expect him to continue to get better and better. Fortunately, if you've watched his games this year and last year, you can see how much more relaxed he is on the mound this year. Last year, he looked like he could use a tranquilizer.

 

[aUTfan]

Its obvious where Stehle stands after this weekend. He didn't see the mound at all. Something weird happened the last time he was on the mound and I'm not sure it went over well with the coaches. He kept shaking off the called pitch and when his time was running down, he would toss over to 2nd. Eventually Woody came out to talk to him and he did it again i think. I don't know. He may be in the doghouse? I like Stehle's stuff but honestly, we have only one starter, Gordon. LBJ showed promise in his last outing and deserves another opportunity and I bet he gets it this next three game set.

For any third game, its johnny all staff and honestly probably just need to go with a different pitcher every 6 outs. For the first two games to finish you probably need Shaw, Tole and Burke and maybe they could go in the third game depending on how long they went in the first two. After that, its Hurley, Dup, Whitehead and Lummus but none of these guys can go very long and I mentioned Minchey before but that was a mistake.

 

[Chop]

For those who prefer data-driven decision making:

Pitcher......ERA.....WHIP......Inning pitched

Gordon......2.16.....1.01........66.2
LBJ.............2.70......1.26........50.0
Shaw.........1.80......1.00........25.0
Tole...........2.01......1.21........22.1
Burke.........2.22......1.23........24.1
DuP............2.77......1.62........13.0
Hurley........3.70......1.38........41.1
Ace W........3.86.......1.62........21.0
Minch.........4.82.......1.50.......9.1
Lummus.....5.02......1.05.......14.1
Howard......5.14.......2.29.......7.0
Sthele.........6.31.......1.51.......62.1
Zane M.......6.51......1.66........37.1
Stuart.........7.20.......1.67.......15.0


2023 Baseball Cumulative Statistics - University of Texas Athletics

In defense of Hurley:

He has a 3.70 ERA and a sub-1.50 WHIP with 41.1 innings (a lot of work on the mound). Some outings are better than others. That's true for all pitchers. He started at USC, and threw well there against good competition.

The rub on Hurley is largely from the sort of guys who think a pitcher sucks if he can't throw a 95 mph + fastball. Hurley is a crafty curveball/breaking ball pitcher with good control (usually), whose fastball is lucky to even touch 90 mph. Hurley doesn't overpower anybody. But he's effective. His numbers are pretty good, after quite a few innings.

 

[Chop]

He kept shaking off the called pitch

In defense of Sthele:

I know this is college, and the coach is boss in a way that's not like MLB. But..........it's not the coach or the catcher who gets the W or L, or the ERA or WHIP stats. And it's not the coach or the catcher who has the feel for which pitch(es) he's got, or feels comfortable with, on a given night against a given batter. At this level, the pitchers should have a fair amount of autonomy. They are grown men. Just saying...

 

[aUTfan]

A little off topic on this thread but I've mentioned earlier in the year to give Carlson the nod at DH, to move EK down in the order and he's finally done both and to some success. EK should be directly behind Porter Brown though. I still think Galvan can be helpful in the lineup, hes definitely an improvement over Daly. Someone needs to be PHing for Daly. Wouldn't mind seeing Behyeu get some more at bats but I don't think he's going to, he seems stuck on getting Flores as many at bats as possible, i'm beginning to think Flores must have some saucy pictures of coach Pierce that he doesn't want to get out. lol

 

[Chop]

Don't anybody sweat Witt's first appearance back from surgery. After Tommy John surgery, sometimes a pitcher isn't quite the same as before. Also, he's obviously quite a bit rusty after over a year on the bench. But, he's still Tanner Witt, and he'll still be really, really good. It just may take a little time. He's on the comeback trail.

 

[aUTfan]

Witt gets a break until he's had sufficient time to work but we don't have much time to give him. He has three games to get up to speed and then however long we last in the Big XII tournament. So what? 4 games minimum to get up to speed before the playoffs? 5 if he's fortunate?

 

[Chop]

A little off topic on this thread but I've mentioned earlier in the year to give Carlson the nod at DH, to move EK down in the order and he's finally done both and to some success. EK should be directly behind Porter Brown though. I still think Galvan can be helpful in the lineup, hes definitely an improvement over Daly. Someone needs to be PHing for Daly. Wouldn't mind seeing Behyeu get some more at bats but I don't think he's going to, he seems stuck on getting Flores as many at bats as possible, i'm beginning to think Flores must have some saucy pictures of coach Pierce that he doesn't want to get out. lol

I'm also glad Carlson is finally getting at bats. He's been grossly underutilized this year. Maybe try Flores at SS some games. Or Powell at SS and Carlson at 3B for maximum bats. Or Carlson at SS. There are so many personnel experiments that could have been done back when we were playing non-conference series against Manhattan, Mercer, etc.

 

[Your Wrong]

Its obvious where Stehle stands after this weekend. He didn't see the mound at all. Something weird happened the last time he was on the mound and I'm not sure it went over well with the coaches. He kept shaking off the called pitch and when his time was running down, he would toss over to 2nd. Eventually Woody came out to talk to him and he did it again i think. I don't know. He may be in the doghouse? I like Stehle's stuff but honestly, we have only one starter, Gordon. LBJ showed promise in his last outing and deserves another opportunity and I bet he gets it this next three game set.

For any third game, it’s johnny all staff and honestly probably just need to go with a different pitcher every 6 outs. For the first two games to finish you probably need Shaw, Tole and Burke and maybe they could go in the third game depending on how long they went in the first two. After that, it’s Hurley, Dup, Whitehead and Lummus but none of these guys can go very long and I mentioned Minchey before but that was a mistake.

Yes. I’d agree on this. And I think it can work. The reason I keep harping on Stehle is that he’s proven he can get out of the 1st, and he’s had moments where he can get you 3/4.

LBJ can get you 5/6 so to me I don’t particularly care if it’s the first 6 or the middle 6.

If Gordon gets 7, LBJ 6 then there’s a chance to piece the rest together particularly if Witt builds up to 2 innings and same for Shaw. Lummus I’m maxing at 1 inning per outing - not up to 7 batters like yesterday. Whitehead is mostly situational too, but I’d extend him more than I would Lummus. Then you have Tole and Burke who could work 2-3 innings at a time. Duplantier actually has some positive numbers. Then you have Hurley, Morehouse and Sthele if you could get them on track to contribute in a positive way.

It is not ideal, but it’s not terrible either. I’d lock them in roles and leave them. If you bring them and after two batters they show nothing, pull them. Maybe tomorrow is a better day.

 

[Chop]

Witt gets a break until he's had sufficient time to work but we don't have much time to give him. He has three games to get up to speed and then however long we last in the Big XII tournament. So what? 4 games minimum to get up to speed before the playoffs? 5 if he's fortunate?

Right. We'll see what the MLB teams do with him in the draft. If he doesn't go in the early rounds, maybe he'll be back for another year. Obviously, he's got knock-out stuff that scouts drool over. Will the surgery and recovery spook them off enough? We'll see.

 

[aUTfan]

In defense of Sthele:

I know this is college, and the coach is boss in a way that's not like MLB. But..........it's not the coach or the catcher who gets the W or L, or the ERA or WHIP stats. And it's not the coach or the catcher who has the feel for which pitch(es) he's got, or feels comfortable with, on a given night against a given batter. At this level, the pitchers should have a fair amount of autonomy. They are grown men. Just saying...

Yeah but Stehle isn't going to get fired if the team has a losing season. Something was very odd about that sequence. Attitude matters. Morehouse probably hasn't performed any better than Stehle but we saw Morehouse yesterday, Morehouse has a better attitude, i can see the difference between the two on the mound in just attitude (body language). At least I think i see a difference, i could be wrong.

 

[Chop]

Yeah but Stehle isn't going to get fired if the team has a losing season. Something was very odd about that sequence. Attitude matters. Morehouse probably hasn't performed any better than Stehle but we saw Morehouse yesterday, Morehouse has a better attitude, i can see the difference between the two on the mound in just attitude (body language). At least I think i see a difference, i could be wrong.

When coach goes to the mound to get Morehouse, and the camera zooms in, it looks like Morehouse is holding back emotions (and holding them back pretty well).

Zane has the best "stuff" on the team, although LBJ may be making his case...
And, of course, Geno's changeups have bewitched many a good batter.

 

[aUTfan]

I like all our pitchers, they all look very promising but we have to win now. Its time to throw strikes and work ahead on the hitter and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Your Wrong]

In defense of Hurley:

He has a 3.70 ERA and a sub-1.50 WHIP with 41.1 innings (a lot of work on the mound). Some outings are better than others. That's true for all pitchers. He started at USC, and threw well there against good competition.

The rub on Hurley is largely from the sort of guys who think a pitcher sucks if he can't throw a 95 mph + fastball. Hurley is a crafty curveball/breaking ball pitcher with good control (usually), whose fastball is lucky to even touch 90 mph. Hurley doesn't overpower anybody. But he's effective. His numbers are pretty good, after quite a few innings.

We need to find good Hurley. That would be a huge key. I may be pulling it out of my backside, but I think Hurley was better out of the pen in part because the opponent has less preparation for him. I’m not anti-can’t throw a fastball guy either. If they know he’s starting or even pitching that day, it’s easier to have a focused approach at the plate.

Unfortunately his confidence has eroded some. And he just lost his groove.

 

[aUTfan]

We need to find good Hurley. That would be a huge key. I may be pulling it out of my backside, but I think Hurley was better out of the pen in part because the opponent has less preparation for him. I’m not anti-can’t throw a fastball guy either. If they know he’s starting or even pitching that day, it’s easier to have a focused approach at the plate.

Unfortunately his confidence has eroded some. And he just lost his groove.

Anyone thats seen Greg Maddux throw among many, many others knows you don't have to have heat, just have to locate exceptionally well which is what we need any of our pitchers to do, even the flame throwers.

 

[Chop]

Lummus' 1.05 WHIP is outstanding, and the sort of thing you look for in a relief pitcher. I don't know how many innings he can go without losing effectiveness, but that 1.05 WHIP means he's not putting many runners on base.

We may see Lummus more in these weekend series in 1-2 innings batches.