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Post by Outsider on May 3, 2022 20:29:40 GMT -6
Certainly digging our feet in and fighting hard.
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Post by bogeyman on May 3, 2022 21:24:23 GMT -6
At some point in time our inability to throw strikes has become ridiculous.
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Post by Outsider on May 4, 2022 7:12:54 GMT -6
Just a quick morning thought after last night's game. We HAVE to correct the pitching issues after the 6th inning fiasco last night. Our guys need to learn to settle down and become more consistent. That said, they showed toughness and grit to not give up and keep digging away. To go that deep and still keep the game as close as we did says a lot. To be able to do it in front of a record 4k+ home crowd is even more historic. We lost. but we split the series and showed a lot of people that there is a legit D1 baseball program right here in Abilene. Time to focus on finishing conference play strong and carry momentum into the tourney.
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Post by texas48 on May 5, 2022 14:16:21 GMT -6
I was excited at the effort put in to stay in this game and keep fighting. Also, we had to save arms for this very important WAC weekend series. You don't want to use everything to win a mid-week game if you don't need it. We need the wins in the conference standings.
I'm also not one to throw blame, but there were several pitches that I and many people around me were pretty good that were called balls and some that should have been balls called strikes, both when we were at the plate and pitching. I am not saying that is what cost us the game, but... we had already beaten No. 9 once...that's all I'm going to say.
Other than... I think it was Eager's drive down the right field line with two on that on video and in person landed inside the right field foul line that was called "foul" by the umpire at first base could have changed the outcome of the game. That would have scored two runs in the bottom of the frame and would been just one out instead of two (he struck out on either the next pitch or the one after that), and we would have had 4-5-6 coming to the plate. That call probably erased at least two runs if not three. It was frustrating, but proud of them for the fight.
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Post by rc on May 5, 2022 16:39:44 GMT -6
You were not the only one to think the umps were inconsistent. But our problem still remains--dependable relief pitching. Quality pitchers can throw strikes and hit targets, and the best do not overthrow. I was again impressed with Huffling. He is getting better and better. Let's hope his high standard continues.
Pitching excellence to me is someone like Greg Maddux who threw with complete comfort. Maddux rarely topped 90 miles per hour and worked the corners with his changeup. It was said he could throw a ball in a tea cup. Watching him was like a symphony of pitching. He was born just down the road in San Angelo by the way. Not everyone has the power of a Randy Johnson, but greatness requires control.
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Post by Cap'n on May 5, 2022 19:19:10 GMT -6
Perhaps Maddox could give our pitchers a seminar on the effective use of Vaseline. 😳
We beat Tech the first time, in part, because we had an open weekend and could use our front line guys. Let’s face it, besides Huffling, we were pitching 8-10 on the depth chart on Tuesday.
I’m more excited for our fight than worried about our pitching. Tournament games will more often than not be slugfests because nobody really has pitching depth with only 11.5 scholarships.
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Post by rc on May 5, 2022 20:25:57 GMT -6
A valid observation Cap'n. In a way. Texas Tech has the same problem -- they are looking for a third starter. Molina was their Sunday starter, or had been earlier in the year. The good thing is come tournament time, we know we have a lot of offensive power, and our "bottom of the order" pitchers are getting lots of opportunities to get better. I used to watch Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, but they had another guy named, I think, Avery, who was quite good. That may have been the dominant pitching group in MLB history. There was another guy who was a good reliever but I cannot remember his name. Think I have mentioned a friend at the time was Drayton McClane, who owned the Astros. He would invite me to sit in his box and you could lean over by the radar gun and watch those Braves pitch. It was unforgettable, they truly were unique talents. I learned a lot watching how they set batters up and could hit the pitch they needed, and to my surprise, it was not so much about speed (but Smoltz could bring it when needed.)
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archsimon
arm chair Grad Assistant
Posts: 244
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Post by archsimon on May 6, 2022 0:40:29 GMT -6
A valid observation Cap'n. In a way. Texas Tech has the same problem -- they are looking for a third starter. Molina was their Sunday starter, or had been earlier in the year. The good thing is come tournament time, we know we have a lot of offensive power, and our "bottom of the order" pitchers are getting lots of opportunities to get better. I used to watch Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, but they had another guy named, I think, Avery, who was quite good. That may have been the dominant pitching group in MLB history. There was another guy who was a good reliever but I cannot remember his name. Think I have mentioned a friend at the time was Drayton McClane, who owned the Astros. He would invite me to sit in his box and you could lean over by the radar gun and watch those Braves pitch. It was unforgettable, they truly were unique talents. I learned a lot watching how they set batters up and could hit the pitch they needed, and to my surprise, it was not so much about speed (but Smoltz could bring it when needed.) Early on it was Mike Stanton closing games and later it was Mark Wohlers. Kent Mercker also pitched well out of the Atlanta bullpen.
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Post by rc on May 6, 2022 7:49:51 GMT -6
A valid observation Cap'n. In a way. Texas Tech has the same problem -- they are looking for a third starter. Molina was their Sunday starter, or had been earlier in the year. The good thing is come tournament time, we know we have a lot of offensive power, and our "bottom of the order" pitchers are getting lots of opportunities to get better. I used to watch Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, but they had another guy named, I think, Avery, who was quite good. That may have been the dominant pitching group in MLB history. There was another guy who was a good reliever but I cannot remember his name. Think I have mentioned a friend at the time was Drayton McClane, who owned the Astros. He would invite me to sit in his box and you could lean over by the radar gun and watch those Braves pitch. It was unforgettable, they truly were unique talents. I learned a lot watching how they set batters up and could hit the pitch they needed, and to my surprise, it was not so much about speed (but Smoltz could bring it when needed.) Early on it was Mike Stanton closing games and later it was Mark Wohlers. Kent Mercker also pitched well out of the Atlanta bullpen. Wohler was one I remember!! Thank you.
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Post by mavsman53 on May 6, 2022 8:03:19 GMT -6
Help me understand why we are talking about the Atlanta Braves pitching staff on this ACU Baseball 2022 page?
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Post by rc on May 6, 2022 16:21:36 GMT -6
For me the reason is that control (location) is a critical requirement of good pitching and Greg Maddux was a great example of not overthrowing but using location and varying speed.
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Post by Outsider on May 6, 2022 20:19:18 GMT -6
ACU's turn to have an explosive inning and then hold on for the win against Tarleton.
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Post by bogeyman on May 6, 2022 20:19:50 GMT -6
Cats take game #1 from Tarleton 11-7. Great relief job by Sam Berberich. #13 for Tatrow. We get 14 hits and leave 17 runners on base.
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Post by rc on May 6, 2022 20:45:33 GMT -6
Berberich was outstanding.
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Post by rc on May 7, 2022 12:15:46 GMT -6
Cats take game #1 from Tarleton 11-7. Great relief job by Sam Berberich. #13 for Tatrow. We get 14 hits and leave 17 runners on base. 17 runners LOB sounds remarkable. That is almost two per inning, amazing.
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