Texas Vs. Baylor Scrimmage

[dbfootball]

Made the Drive up to Waco for a 14 inning contest;

STORY IS UPthecollegebaseballblog.com/2008/10/12/texas-vs-baylor-fall-game/

 

[Truck's Son]

Very weird box score, in my opinion.

No Preston Clark - what's that about?

Looks like the Austin Wood experiment at closer may not be over - he pitched the last two innings.

Connor Rowe and some kid named Tim Maitland in CF. Moldenhauer at DH. I guess I thought we'd see Moldenhauer in RF, Keyes in CF and Lusson in LF.

Chance Ruffin gave up 5 hits and 2 runs in 3 innings!!!! Who knew he wasn't perfect?

LOTS of new names. Someone fill me in here. I don't follow baseball recruiting all that much.

 

[Truck's Son]

Oh, and this is my favorite part of the write up:

In reply to:

---

---

 

[iowahorn11]

In reply to:

---

---

 

[PitchingGuru]

Preston Clark is still rehabbing from surgery and wasnt playing. Moldenhauer is hitting but not playing the field or running the bases as he is also still recovering from surgery this past summer. Dont know about the Austin Wood experiment at closer but not sure pitching the last two innings of a scrimmage really means anything along those lines.
The following is from Orangebloods:

Talk about it in Inside the 40 Acres
Morale and championship aspirations weren't the only things injured during the Longhorns' 2008 regional loss at Rice. Head coach Augie Garrido watched as two key members of his lineup were victimized by injuries that turned out to be more serious than the skipper undoubtedly wanted them to be. How serious? Both Preston Clark and Russell Moldenhauer went under the knife this summer, and in Clark's case the veteran catcher had multiple operations. The health of these two sluggers is still an uncertainty as fall practices and scrimmages begin to heat up.

Preston Clark went through multiple surgeries this off-season.
That brings us to the number four question facing the Texas Longhorns baseball team this off-season. How will the health issues surrounding Moldenhauer and Clark affect this Texas baseball club, and what do they mean to the 2009 lineup?

As of right now the status of both veterans remains up in the air. Obviously, the Longhorn coaching staff wants to ease both of them back to full speed. There really is no need to rush either one of these guys. To be honest, neither one of them needs to prove a lot this off-season. The only question boils down to their health. That's it.

The condition of both players right now is encouraging. Moldenhauer is fully participating in activities, but hasn't been cleared to go full speed just yet. You could possibly see the junior appear in a scrimmage later this fall even though it wouldn't make a huge difference either way. He's coming off a knee injury, so it's something you don't want to rush. But, he is on schedule and close to full speed.

Clark is a guy you probably won't see suited up in any scrimmages this fall. The more rehab time he gets the better, and like Moldenhauer, there is really no need to rush things. It sounds like the senior catcher is coming along nicely with his rehabilitation.

If they're healthy …

Well it's not rocket science to the average fan. You play them both. We're talking about two very talented veteran players that add a much needed punch to the lineup; a lineup that is very talented. But also this is a lineup that will depend on some new blood to step up after losing a lot of firepower.

Could the Longhorns survive without them? Sure. But would it be easy? Absolutely not. Interestingly, a healthy Clark and a healthy Moldenhauer create quite the logjam within the lineup. These two are simply too talented with a bat in their hands to keep Garrido from consistently penciling them into that lineup card.

Position wise, it's not hard to figure out where Moldenhauer fits. He's a designated hitter that can play some outfield. If the injury never happened the Boerne native would be the clear favorite to start in left field. Now, he's going to have to distance himself from Kyle Lusson who is emerging as a possible frontrunner for the starting spot in left. Moldenhauer, a former high school catcher, is not the greatest defensively in the outfield, but he more than makes up for it at the plate.

Clark's situation on the other hand isn't so crystal clear. In fact, it's going to be something that Texas fans are going to follow throughout the spring. In terms of experience, Clark probably has the most of it out of anybody on the current roster. The situation would be a lot easier on the 5-foot-11 senior from Rockwall if it weren't for one thing … he's a catcher. Anybody who has squatted behind the plate for nine innings in the Texas heat knows that it's not undemanding. It's exhausting work. Catchers depend on their knees and leg strength to keep them fresh behind the dish and Clark is rehabbing that area right now.

If the season rolls around and the senior is healthy, you want him behind the plate. With the departure of Kawika Emsley-Pai from the program, the Horns find themselves already thin at the catcher spot. The new schedule filled with five games in a week makes it even tougher. Sophomore Cameron Rupp filled stepped up to fill the void some last season, and a healthy duo would allow the Longhorn coaches breathe easier. However, if Clark is healthy, but not healthy enough to take the beating behind the plate where do you play him? I'll get to that …

If they're not healthy …

While, it's not the end of the world, it certainly would sting some though. In Moldenhauer's case I feel like the Horns would be okay if for some reason he had a setback. Lusson is a veteran in his own right who has been poised to breakout for three years now. For some reason Lusson hasn't been able to turn the corner, and even though the lineup would get weaker without Moldenhauer's presence from the left side of the plate, Lusson would give the Texas defense a decent upgrade defensively. In a right-hand heavy lineup, Moldenhauer's left-handed bat could be very useful to split up those righties in the middle. That being said, I don't think Longhorn fans should worry too much about Moldenhauer's injury right now. If the fall passes by, and he's not full speed that would be a cause for concern.

As I alluded to earlier, the Clark situation could turn out to be a complex one because there is a very realistic chance that he could be healthy enough to play, but just not strong enough in the legs to work behind the plate. Where do you move the senior if this is the case? That's a tough question. I'm going to go ahead and say right now that Tant Shepherd has third base locked down, and he's one of the best candidates, if not the best candidate, to burst onto the scene. That means you have Travis Tucker at second base, and Michael Torres at designated hitter. In my eyes I'd shift Clark over to first base to keep his big bat in the lineup, and move Brandon Belt to the bullpen. Augie Garrido probably doesn't agree with me, but that move makes the most sense. If the legs are keeping him from catching the chances are they aren't in shape to chase down fly balls in left field.

Losing Clark at catcher would be an enormous blow to the Longhorns. Let me say that again … an enormous blow. Rupp would be depended on to catch pretty much every game in 2009 and all the able bodies in the infield would most likely keep Clark from getting consistent at bats. Longhorn fans really need to keep their fingers crossed that Clark is able to give them something behind the plate next season. They are a much better and deeper team when he's able to catch three games a week.

 

[dbfootball]

In reply to:

---

---

 

[torre]

I saw the first 7 innings of the exhibition game. Clark's injury leaves a void in on-the-field leadership, especially in handling the young pitchers. With a year's experience, Rupp will improve in this area. We have 5 or 6 catchers listed on the roster.

We are going to miss Russell and Danks in the outfield, offensively and defensively. You may not realize how good those guys were with the diving catches and speed and power at the plate.

Jungman is a stud and probably will start on Sat or Sun. I was disappointed that we did not recruit a JUCO pitcher with experience and mentaility to be the closer.

It's early, but my initial impression is our success will depend on pitching.

 

[Truck's Son]

Thanks for the great responses guys - good to see people following baseball so closely this time of year.

I had forgotten about Clark's injury and didn't realize it was so serious. However, it does sound like he's on the path to recovery and should be ready to go when the season begins. His leadership would be hugely missed, not to mention his glove at 3B and hitting of course.

The pitching absolutely has to carry this team if we're to compete for a College World Series Crown. The pitching staff hasn't gotten it done since 2005, and 2008 was just painful. I expect big things from Ruffin and Co. this year and I think you'll see the most dominant staff in the Big 12.