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2024 Texas Baseball


Hookem2147

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4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Is this good?

Nah. But considering it is only factoring in 19 games and one of those was the 20 strikeout performance against LSU, my guess is it evens out a tad and ends up somewhere between 8 and 9. 

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6 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Nah. But considering it is only factoring in 19 games and one of those was the 20 strikeout performance against LSU, my guess is it evens out a tad and ends up somewhere between 8 and 9. 

Depends on context. Strikeouts only bother me if they occur in situations when you absolutely have to put the ball in play.  Otherwise I'll take an 8-pitch whiff over a first-pitch pop up or 2-bouncer back to the pitcher any time (assuming the other team's competent on defense.

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56 minutes ago, zlavydra said:

Depends on context. Strikeouts only bother me if they occur in situations when you absolutely have to put the ball in play.  Otherwise I'll take an 8-pitch whiff over a first-pitch pop up or 2-bouncer back to the pitcher any time (assuming the other team's competent on defense.

We’ve always been a team that strikes out a lot under DP. We’ve also always been a team that hits a lot of HRs under DP. And that matching the style of his teams going all the way back to SHSU. 

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Looking at some stats relative to last year 
-Walks per 9 down from 4.34 last year to 3.97 this year
-Strikeouts per 9 down from 8.90 to 8.47 this year
-Hits allowed per 9 up from 8.25 last year to 8.94 this year
-WHIP is basically the same between both years (1.44 vs 1.40). Makes sense considering the drop in walks but small increase in hits allowed
-Slugging % up from .495 last year to .532 this year
-On pace for 98 homers vs 91 last year
-Offensive walks taken per game down from 4.71 last year to 4.31 this year
-Offensive strikeouts up from 7.84 last year to 9.10 this year 
 

Thanks for the comparison. Seriously.

But to get after you a bit, how come you refer to a “small” increase in hits allowed when it’s actually greater than the decrease in walks? Then no reference to ERA or runs allowed.

Generally it’s the walks that’ll annoy you, but the hits that’ll kill you.

With your affinity for walks killing you, what do you prefer from our offense? The increase in slugging and decrease in walks from our offense this year as compared to last or more walks/less slugging.

Obviously our WHIP this year is similar to last and maybe our opponents against us is too
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7 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


Thanks for the comparison. Seriously.

But to get after you a bit, how come you refer to a “small” increase in hits allowed when it’s actually greater than the decrease in walks? Then no reference to ERA or runs allowed.

Generally it’s the walks that’ll annoy you, but the hits that’ll kill you.

With your affinity for walks killing you, what do you prefer from our offense? The increase in slugging and decrease in walks from our offense this year as compared to last or more walks/less slugging.

Obviously our WHIP this year is similar to last and maybe our opponents against us is too

ERA is 4.34 this year compared to 4.18 last year. No idea why I referred to the hits allowed increase as small. I just saw the WHIPs were almost identical and it made sense since we had decreased our walk rate but our hits allowed rate had increased.

I don't really have a strong preference for how a college baseball offense needs to operate. I do think with the wildness and inconsistencies on the mound at this level, it is smart to force pitchers and teams to prove they can throw the ball in the zone. But if you can hit the ball out of the ballpark, you can score runs in bunches, making life easier. Our 2022 offense walked 4.62 times per game, so less than last year. Not even sure what conclusions to draw from that other than it's an interesting data point and discussion.

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ERA is 4.34 this year compared to 4.18 last year. No idea why I referred to the hits allowed increase as small. I just saw the WHIPs were almost identical and it made sense since we had decreased our walk rate but our hits allowed rate had increased.
I don't really have a strong preference for how a college baseball offense needs to operate. I do think with the wildness and inconsistencies on the mound at this level, it is smart to force pitchers and teams to prove they can throw the ball in the zone. But if you can hit the ball out of the ballpark, you can score runs in bunches, making life easier. Our 2022 offense walked 4.62 times per game, so less than last year. Not even sure what conclusions to draw from that other than it's an interesting data point and discussion.

That’s where hitting hasn’t changed. Make the pitcher bring it to you as the hitter. If you can make that happen, your success rate should go up. Obviously the reverse is true for a pitcher.

From what I’ve seen this far, it feels like last year our pitchers got ahead then struggled to finish batters. This year a bit more of getting behind.

Lots of runs scored in the SEC this weekend. Less so it seemed in the Big 12. May need to switch up philosophy based on opponent.
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Posted (edited)
55 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Lots of runs scored in the SEC this weekend. Less so it seemed in the Big 12. May need to switch up philosophy based on opponent.

Yep. Will need to be a philosophy and mindset shift both on and off the field. You are going to give up runs in that league often. Have to be able to swing it to keep up. If you are hovering around a 4.5 ERA or below by the end of the year you are probably living pretty good. Average SEC ERA last year was 5.09. Two teams who played for the national title had a 4.47 (LSU) and 4.65 (Florida). For reference, the last time Texas had a team ERA above 4.50 was….1999.

Edited by Hookem2147
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1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

Yep. Will need to be a philosophy and mindset shift both on and off the field. You are going to give up runs in that league often. Have to be able to swing it to keep up. If you are hovering around a 4.5 ERA or below by the end of the year you are probably living pretty good. Average SEC ERA last year was 5.09. Two teams who played for the national title had a 4.47 (LSU) and 4.65 (Florida). For reference, the last time Texas had a team ERA above 4.50 was….1999.

That’s a fucking crazy stat. 

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2 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Yep. Will need to be a philosophy and mindset shift both on and off the field. You are going to give up runs in that league often. Have to be able to swing it to keep up. If you are hovering around a 4.5 ERA or below by the end of the year you are probably living pretty good. Average SEC ERA last year was 5.09. Two teams who played for the national title had a 4.47 (LSU) and 4.65 (Florida). For reference, the last time Texas had a team ERA above 4.50 was….1999.

The quality of hitting in the SEC and ACC is way above the B12.

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Posted (edited)
27 minutes ago, HTXfan said:

The quality of hitting in the SEC and ACC is way above the B12.

Correct. It’s a different ball game. The days of winning games 3-2 repeatedly are over. You don’t see that in the conference we are headed to.

We better be ready 1 through 9 in the order just as much as on the mound.

Edited by Hookem2147
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4 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Correct. It’s a different ball game. The days of winning games 3-2 repeatedly are over. You don’t see that in the conference we are headed to.

We better be ready 1 through 9 in the order just as much as on the mound.

Really missing the days of JP Howell and Sam Lecure going 7 with J Brent and Huston taking care of the 8th and 9th. Can we go back to that, please?

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9 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Correct. It’s a different ball game. The days of winning games 3-2 repeatedly are over. You don’t see that in the conference we are headed to.

We better be ready 1 through 9 in the order just as much as on the mound.

I prefer 3-2 games, the drama is like edging but only watching. But I prefer winning over style it’s more guaranteed orgasmic. Do what you gotta do CDC. We belong on the top. 

Edited by troph
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#13 SS/RHP Bryce Rainer (signee)

#30 SS/OF Theo Gillen (signee, Austin Westlake)

#42 RHP Levi Sterling (signee)

#79 OF Jared Thomas

#189 RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr.

#195 3B Jalin Flores

#214 RHP Kyle DeGroat (signee)

#235 RHP Jason Flores (signee)

#288 OF Sam Richardson (signee)

 

 

 

 

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Posted (edited)

Will be more of a conversation closer to draft time, but I think Flores could really benefit from 1 more year in college. The strides he made this year are notable. If he makes another leap he is a top 100-125 selection in '25. I felt the same way about Trey Faltine and now he is hitting .144 in pro ball after being a 7th round pick.

Also might benefit from a year at 3B if we can get one of the HS SS to campus or attract a portal guy.

Edited by Hookem2147
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9 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'd love to know how NIL money at Texas crosses over with signing  bonuses and salary for each round.  I assume the bonus puts us out of reach but that might be a bad call on my part.

Bonus is all that matters. All minor league guys make the same "salary" depending on the level the are playing at. The signing bonus is where the real money is and what most guys live off of as they chase the majors.

Last pick of the first round was slotted at $2.2 million bonus last year. Last pick of the second round was slotted $1.04 million. Jay Johnson tells kids they need to go to LSU if they aren't picked in the top 15-20 overall. Obviously no one is working on the same playing field as they are. 98% sure Witt turned out 7-figures in the draft last year. I don't think anyone is making 7-figures in college baseball but the ability to make money and play your way into a bigger signing bonus down the road is appealing. 

Personally, I think it would be nice if we got to the point where if a kid isn't a 1st or 2nd round pick, he is headed to Texas. The ability to fill in the gap and make a player not have to pay anything out of pocket in a sport that doesn't give many full-ride scholarships has been the stated goal for a while. 

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Florida: 12-8 (2-1), 37th in the RPI, 2-4 against Q1 teams, #8 SOS, ranked #6 by D1 baseball

Texas: 12-8 (2-1), 48th in the RPI, 3-4 against Q1 teams, #14 SOS, unranked

Obviously this is going to change a lot but 20 games in I just found this comparison interesting. Goes to show the fault in how humans judge things and how weird baseball can be

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Where the haters at now? Scraped by 2 of the nastier teams in the country the last 2 games. Bet you mother fuckers didn’t see that coming. 

Let’s look at it on a percentage basis. We outscored UW 33% and AF 20%. Is that really scraping by?

Pretty sure we all take that return on our investment portfolio for a days work.
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7 hours ago, chase25 said:

Florida: 12-8 (2-1), 37th in the RPI, 2-4 against Q1 teams, #8 SOS, ranked #6 by D1 baseball

Texas: 12-8 (2-1), 48th in the RPI, 3-4 against Q1 teams, #14 SOS, unranked

Obviously this is going to change a lot but 20 games in I just found this comparison interesting. Goes to show the fault in how humans judge things and how weird baseball can be

Florida: took 2 of 3 from undefeated aggy,  2/3 from Miami

Texas: lost 2 of 3 to UW.... at home

Edited by Js1
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Florida: 12-8 (2-1), 37th in the RPI, 2-4 against Q1 teams, #8 SOS, ranked #6 by D1 baseball
Texas: 12-8 (2-1), 48th in the RPI, 3-4 against Q1 teams, #14 SOS, unranked
Obviously this is going to change a lot but 20 games in I just found this comparison interesting. Goes to show the fault in how humans judge things and how weird baseball can be

Polls hang on desperately to previous year’s teams even though 50% of the squad turns over. And discount midweek games far too much to fit their narrative.
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And a very affordable cologne which smells lovely.  

csb/ Made it to the last cut of walk-on tryouts there under Coach Dunn.  Had good first week of BP/1b but stunk it up second week.  But they let me keep my ballcap.  Still have it somewhere.  And yes, I know you're referring to cowboy hats.

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32 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Would have preferred to see Whitehead stick in some sort of long relief role where we can bring him in after someone as already given a lineup a different look, but I guess options are limited at this point.

Wonder if he’s gonna go 3-4 and let the bullp….sorry I couldn’t finish that sentence 

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1 minute ago, Fletch said:

Wonder if he’s gonna go 3-4 and let the bullp….sorry I couldn’t finish that sentence 

The bullpen is coming together. We don’t have a shutdown arm with wipeout stuff but Lummus and Hudson were both really encouraging. Boehm and Tole have been good all year with each having one dud. Can’t believe I’m saying this but Duplantier has been impressive this year as well, he may have the best slider on the team. It’s interesting to watch Pierce try and replicate past pitchers with some of the current guys. I see a lot of Lucas Gordon in Ace Whitehead and it looks like they have molded Chase Lummus to Pete Hansen (before they scrapped his curveball).

With Ace only sitting around 84-86 he can probably throw 100 pitches and not feel it like someone throwing 90+. I imagine the plan with Ace will be to try and get 6-7 innings knowing he’s going to throw a lot of strikes, probably give up 3-4 runs, but you’ll take that any day of the week if he can give you 6-7 innings.

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