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2023 Texas Baseball


Fletch

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Some upcoming opponent info:

-Fullerton dropped game 1 to Michigan earlier today 9-5. Game 2 just started and game 3 is being played tomorrow since the weather pushed everything back. They also play a midweek game on Tuesday against USC.

-Manhattan lost 3 of 4 to Cal State Bakersfield to drop to 1-6. They are hitting .175 as a team with an ERA over 9. Our stat padding series is a few weeks away.

-Mercer lost 2 of 3 to Rhode Island

-SHSU won 2 of 3 in Round Rock, beating Iowa and K-State while getting blown out by LSU. They are definitely the favorite in the WAC and can hit.

-New Orleans won 2 of 3 in the something called the Andre Dawson Classic. Beat Florida A&M and Alabama State. 3-4 on the season.

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22 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

I feel pretty good about going 2-2 against LSU and Fullerton. We will see how it goes. 

This team needs to win the Fullerton series. I would not trade a win over LSU for losing that series. From an RPI standpoint we need road wins considering we didn’t get squat in Arlington at a neutral site and aren’t playing a super strong out of conference schedule compared to last year.

This is an interesting 6 game stretch with LSU, Fullerton and then back to back midweek games against SHSU and Mercer. If we somehow found a way to go 4-2 I would be very pleased because the next 9 games after that are Manhattan for 3, North Dakota State for 2, New Orleans for 3 and Incarnate Word.

Edited by Hookem2147
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6 hours ago, Js1 said:

It’s not just baseball. He and that Loop 1604 guy must be conjoined twins with 1 brain or something 

Pretty sure he's Austin Orange from TOS. @NorthLoop will know who I'm talking about

3 hours ago, Valmy77 said:

I feel pretty good about going 2-2 against LSU and Fullerton. We will see how it goes. 

2-2? Fuck you. 4-0

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9 hours ago, Fletch said:

Pretty sure he's Austin Orange from TOS. @NorthLoop will know who I'm talking about

2-2? Fuck you. 4-0

Man that guy was a beating. Thankfully he would disappear every year during our postseason runs until we got eliminated - then he'd show up again and bleed out for a couple more days. 

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Maybe we just have had crap luck with the run of left handed starters/relievers we've seen against our lefty bats but we have to figure out a way to hit lefties better. The good news is the Big 12 is right handed heavy outside of Hampton at WVU and Boerema at K-State, but we will still have to face some tough ones (including Fullerton's Friday night guy).

He shat his pants in his first start in the field but maybe we need to start sprinkling in younger Duplantier at 2B against lefties. If we want to get faster/more athletic then he's a good option.

Thomas has drawn the short end of the stick having to face some tough lefties but we don't really have any other options there I guess.

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7 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Pitching looks a bit stronger than I expected, both Fri/Sat/Sun and the bullpen.  Top of the lineup isn't bad with the bat, Dylan coming around will help.  Not much hope past that.

Why in the world are Pierce's teams so awful on the basepaths?  Yesterday was a steaming shitshow.

It’s very strange. He’s had bad hitting teams with good pitching and vice versa, and still found a way to win. The one consistent throughout that has been poor base running. I don’t get it. One would think figuring out base running would be a lot easier than putting together at lack luster lineup/staff that can get to the CWS but I guess not. 

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Thomas swinging through the hit and run and Guillemette getting thrown out on the dirt ball read were 100% on the players and that happens. Just part of baseball and college baseball especially.

Pierce claimed after the game that there were several missed signs on the other stuff (I’m assuming the Duplantier steal was one). I wonder if the pitch clock is having to speed up offenses on receiving signs, making players process faster and causing mental lapses. I watched some OU games this past week and they were running into outs on the bases often too.

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Ultimately, it was always a rebuild year. We almost completely turned over one of the best Texas teams of recent memory and the best hitting one of a long time.

That said, Pierce absolutely does deserve hard questions about the HS recruiting the last couple years. 2020 class was ranked 25th in the nation according to Perfect Game. 2021 was ranked 60th, and will likely only yield one productive player (Luke Harrison). Other programs signed ~30 players, 5-10 T100 in the nation over that period. We signed 20 (Witt only T100). All of our talent was arms with Daly, Arthur, and Campbell the only position players of note. That’s the foundation of what Pierce is working with talent wise. 2022 (30th) has more mid-level talent and bats, but again, 11 signed and no T100.

He’s got a great track record, has built consciously through transfers, and is coming off 2 great years. So a down year with a young team happens and don’t need to doom and gloom. But he’s gotta get more aggressive on getting the best talent to Texas, across HS, JUCO, and the portal.

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32 minutes ago, Spaceman_Spiff said:

Ultimately, it was always a rebuild year. We almost completely turned over one of the best Texas teams of recent memory and the best hitting one of a long time.

That said, Pierce absolutely does deserve hard questions about the HS recruiting the last couple years. 2020 class was ranked 25th in the nation according to Perfect Game. 2021 was ranked 60th, and will likely only yield one productive player (Luke Harrison). Other programs signed ~30 players, 5-10 T100 in the nation over that period. We signed 20 (Witt only T100). All of our talent was arms with Daly, Arthur, and Campbell the only position players of note. That’s the foundation of what Pierce is working with talent wise. 2022 (30th) has more mid-level talent and bats, but again, 11 signed and no T100.

He’s got a great track record, has built consciously through transfers, and is coming off 2 great years. So a down year with a young team happens and don’t need to doom and gloom. But he’s gotta get more aggressive on getting the best talent to Texas, across HS, JUCO, and the portal.

2021 class was weird due to numbers (knowing we were returning 90% of the roster and didn't have many spots available) and the fact it was coming off the covid year where coaches couldn't go out on the road. If you look at the top classes from that year the majority of kids flamed out or ended up at a different school. The hit rates were historically low all around. Pierce has done a nice job of using the juco ranks to supplement key areas while he's been here but that's not reflected in the recruiting rankings.

No doubt we need to get more top 100 kids on campus but that is the hardest part of baseball recruiting. Only 5 programs in the country last year got more than 2 top 100 kids on campus (LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State, Louisville and Duke). Hell, Augie's last 5 recruiting classes featured 5 total top 100 players making it to campus and 2 of them were Kacy and Kody Clemens. 

Ironically, the recruiting on the mound has been much more suspect than the hitters the last 2-3 years. It's part of the reason why I think Allen was pushed out the door and it makes me wonder if Texas struggled recruiting high level arms with him as pitching coach (as an overall recruiter I've heard he was good). We had 2 pitchers committed last year (Pierce George and Max Grubbs) when Allen was let go and then added Kobe Minchey very late in the summer. This is following a 2021 class where the only pitcher left is Luke Harrison and he's not even available this year. That's walking a dangerously thin line. Thankfully, we seem to be doing a much better job in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes of balancing the high end dudes who will likely never step foot on campus with the good players who are good enough to contribute early but probably not good enough to go in the draft.

Hopefully we see the results soon.

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Baseball recruiting will always be hard when you are in a position to land top shelf high school athletes Jared Kelly and Jared Jones both committed and were drafted and signed as pitchers.  Imagine them as an option for FridaySaturday starters… also Brett Baty and Helpin both drafted high…. now thats 4 guys that got drafted that you had to backfill after they were drafted.  

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21 minutes ago, Rholl said:

Baseball recruiting will always be hard when you are in a position to land top shelf high school athletes Jared Kelly and Jared Jones both committed and were drafted and signed as pitchers.  Imagine them as an option for FridaySaturday starters… also Brett Baty and Helpin both drafted high…. now thats 4 guys that got drafted that you had to backfill after they were drafted.  

It’s hard, but these coaches know who the true draft risks are vs the ones who are just using their college commitment as insurance. They know Travis Sykora from this class is never stepping foot on campus. They build classes with that in mind. But you still take their commitment because if something weird happens like he fails his physical or something you will gladly find room. Then every once in a while you get punched in the gut when you don’t expect it like last year when we lost Brenner Cox in the 4th round.

It’s an inexact science. The hope going forward is that more of the borderline guys end up on college campuses due to NIL and MLB teams leaning more heavily to the college ranks in recent years. The shorter draft (20 rounds vs 40 rounds) has also caused some MLB teams to be less aggressive with toolsy HS players with long developmental curves.

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8 hours ago, Spaceman_Spiff said:

Ultimately, it was always a rebuild year. We almost completely turned over one of the best Texas teams of recent memory and the best hitting one of a long time.

It is a rebuilding year. But, as always, what matters most is where we are at the end of it. Sure it may be a little rough now, but if they are kicking ass come April and May than that will justify whatever moves Pierce made. If they aren't...well then yeah he will receive plenty of well deserved criticism for how he built this roster.

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Wind blowing out, eh? Need a big night from Porter and would be nice if Campbell finally breaks out

I think LBJ should be able to hold his own. I'd like Hurley to be the first out of the pen. Should be a fun night. A win would be a huge and much needed confidence boost for these guys. 

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28 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

It is a rebuilding year. But, as always, what matters most is where we are at the end of it. Sure it may be a little rough now, but if they are kicking ass come April and May than that will justify whatever moves Pierce made. If they aren't...well then yeah he will receive plenty of well deserved criticism for how he built this roster.

Getting Witt back in April is gonna be huge. Him, Hurley, Stuart, Heston and Burke are gonna shorten the game. 

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1 hour ago, PantsTent said:

Can I say fuck dish network?  I mean I would never pay for their product but my parents do and I use there login for LHN, and it hasn't worked since Thursday and doesn't appear they will be up and running by tonight.

 

I'm in the same boat.  We have Dish at the ranch and I use that login for LHN.

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While I recognize this is a rebuilding year and I have to be patient to see where this team is eventually going to be and all...it is almost physically painful to see Texas Baseball sitting at 3-5. Ouch.

Between this and women's basketball blowing it yesterday I need Men's Basketball to come up big tomorrow and right the ship for this week.

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44 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

While I recognize this is a rebuilding year and I have to be patient to see where this team is eventually going to be and all...it is almost physically painful to see Texas Baseball sitting at 3-5. Ouch.

Between this and women's basketball blowing it yesterday I need Men's Basketball to come up big tomorrow and right the ship for this week.

Relax, we'll be 4-7 by Sunday night!

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Posted in the game thread but prolly shoulda posted here.
Took the boy to his 1st game. He loved it. Hated it ended that eay.
That fuckin ball was bombed out. Fuckin thing just drifted outta the lighted sky.
My kid wanted to get his baseball signed after the eyes. I told wed try but since we list it might be hard. Could tell the guts were down and didnt really want to come iver but a few did. Stabd up dudes doing it for the kids. Campbell, Porter and LBJ came over. Super cool guys and were great with not only my kid but a few others that were also there. Signed autographs and took pics. Told them thanks and they all replied, no thank yall for coming out and supporting the team.
My boy was super pumped.
Andcyes pierce is just a stupid mfer. Lucked into the job andbin over his head. He reminds of cowboys McCarthy. No fire, no energy. Sat on his ass as lsu pulled the timeout and time wasting bullshit. Mound decisions were so inconsistent and just plain stupid. Offense looked turrible.
I was pissed.
But hey the boy is a true longhorn and bleeds burnt orange.
Hook em

Oh and fdp

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Quotes:

 

"At the end of the day, you walk two guys and had to groove a pitch and that's the bottom line," UT coach David Pierce said. "So we didn't make them earn the three runs in the ninth."

 

So, it is too early to start asking if Johnson could contend for a spot in UT's weekend rotation?

"No, it's not too early to say that," Pierce said. "It's electric. It's real stuff. That's Friday night stuff for anybody in the country. I think for him it's just repeatability and being able to just feel more and more comfort."

Down by three runs, Texas was retired in order in the ninth inning. Facing LSU hurlers Thatcher Hurd, Nate Ackenhausen and Christian Little, a trio that Pierce said could be "very potentially a big league staff," Texas mustered four hits on Tuesday.

https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/longhorns/baseball/2023/02/28/lsu-bests-texas-in-ninth-inning-of-tight-baseball-game/69956279007/

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There seems to be a notion that this team is 'young', and I do not think that is entirely true.

We have a handful of freshman who are receiving playing time, but 90% of the contributors on this team are upperclassmen. We are 'inexperienced', and that is both frustrating and promising because it can be easier for guys who have been around the game for 3 or 4 years to adjust quicker than a wide-eyed freshman.

I know we were in on several middle of the order type bats from the portal that would have completely changed the lineup outlook. Could have allowed us to ease Flores in towards the bottom of the order and gotten protection for Campbell/Brown/Guillemette. 1 or 2 players can change a team completely.

Not giving up hope yet. Take the series this weekend and then get into the easy part of the schedule and build confidence.

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My 10 minute researched scouting report of Cal State Fullerton

-2-4 on the season. Had their final game against Michigan canceled a few days ago and the game against USC last night was also postponed

-Should have taken 2 of 3 from Stanford. Gave away game 3 in the 9th.

-We will see another tough lefty on Friday night, Tyler Stultz. Fastball probably won't touch higher than 90 but has good secondary stuff. Throws 4 pitches. Was really good against Stanford but walked 5 in 4 innings against Michigan. Preseason All-Big West selection

-RHP Trevor Hinkel has started both their Saturday games. Pepperdine transfer. 90-93 on the fastball. Good slider. Doesn't walk or strikeout many guys, which probably means he will punch out 10 against us.

-Rest of the staff is a bunch of JAGs. 6 game sample size but their staff ERA is over 7.00 and they are prone to give up the long ball (11 on the year). This staff walks a lot of guys.

-Hitting .284 as a team (again, small sample size). Caden Conner (.346) and Zach Lew (was on the team that came to Austin in 2020) are probably the two main guys to worry about.

-They don't run a ton (4 SB's), are prone to throwing the ball away if you put pressure on them and will have played 2 games in the span of 10 days when Friday rolls around (might be a little rusty).

-There will probably be more Texas fans in the stands than Fullerton fans, which will be nice. Will be anything but a hostile environment.

-I'll say we win 2 of 3 because why not

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