Small ball

[AU64 10,122]

JMO but if we are going to play "small ball" we sure better have some lock-down pitching.  Looks like against good teams, 5-7 runs per game might be the most we can expect ....and that could likely take something on the order of 12-15 base hits to accomplish.   

There is no room for errors and gift runs from AU.  While it might be too early to draw many conclusions, thus far AU does not look like a team that can come back in a game if it is more than 3 or 4 runs behind after the  6th inning.  Pitching will have to keep us in the game right from the start and there looks to be no way AU can give up 6 or 7 runs in the first couple innings and expect to win. 

I'm open-minded about this small ball concept but not very confident at this point. 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

That's kinda what I was thinking yesterday.  AU has to stop all that sloppiness.

I'm not sure what's going to happen with pitching down the stretch, but it does seem slightly better with Koger in the line up. He's really been pretty strong so far.

[kbtiger151345162906 0]

I am not a fan of small ball.  If you play for one run you usually get one run.  I'm a firm believer in the Moneyball view on baseball.  However, some teams are forced to play a certain way.  With the speed and lack of power we have it seems to make sense that we should steal more bases.  Against bad teams like Alcorn State, bunting and running the base paths can really put pressure on your opponent and you can take advantage of bad throws and create more runs.  When we run into good SEC teams we might very well run or bunt ourselves out of innings against fundamentally sound teams. 

Hopefully CJP can find that balance between pressuring your opponent when necessary but not giving away outs when a catcher has a strong arm or a pitcher is quick off the mound to field a bunt. 

Oh and I think our pitching is pretty good.  Caught some tough breaks at Arizona, but I believe Varnadore and Koger could be our best 1 2 punch in a long time (since Bootcheck and Gilemno possibly?).  It'll be interesting to see if Rocky McCord or Chase Williamson can come on strong and really add some electricity to the solid depth we have behind Varnadore and Koger.

[AuburnBasketball 0]

im not a big fan of small ball either we need to let the guys swing away espescially andrews this small ball seems to be messing him up he is only batting like 172 this year so far. But Jay Gonzalez on the other hand is having a stellar year at the plate and on the base paths.

[kbtiger151345162906 0]

After I got done posting I realized another knock against small ball for us this year is our horrid fielding so far. You shouldn't win games when you have 5 errors, we got lucky yesterday.  If we're playing for a 4-3 win you better cut down on the errors.  The more I break it down, the more I dislike it.  But what can you do?  It seems to be who CJP wants us to be.

[AU64 10,122]

No doubt Varnadore and Koger look good so far..problem is what happens when they come out in the 6 or 7th inning after using up the pitching allowance?  JMO but to win with small ball, you need a solid bullpen...guys who can shut things down for an inning or two...or for just a couple batters if necessary.  The coaches can't sit in the dugout and let the starter give up 5 or 6 runs in the first couple innings like in the old days when AU was never out of a game. 

I'm waiting to see if we have more than one strong bullpen guy.    And as noted above, it's unlikely we will be able to run wild on the bases against good SEC teams...the whole process bothers me...but I would be happy for the Tigers to prove me wrong on the subject.

[AuburnBasketball 0]

No doubt Varnadore and Koger look good so far..problem is what happens when they come out in the 6 or 7th inning after using up the pitching allowance?   JMO but to win with small ball, you need a solid bullpen...guys who can shut things down for an inning or two...or for just a couple batters if necessary.  The coaches can't sit in the dugout and let the starter give up 5 or 6 runs in the first couple innings like in the old days when AU was never out of a game.   

I'm waiting to see if we have more than one strong bullpen guy.    And as noted above, it's unlikely we will be able to run wild on the bases against good SEC teams...the whole process bothers me...but I would be happy for the Tigers to prove me wrong on the subject.

yeah the whole strategy on how we have run the bases this year has intrigued me. if Gonzo, Tella or Andrews get on first they try to steal 95% of the time. Gonzo has been very effective so far but we will see how he does against SEC competition.

[mustache eagle 2,408]

havn't the bats made every team a defacto small ball team to some degree?  seems cjp has simply decided to "go with it" and embrace that style of play in lieu of swimming upstream.  once the players "get it", we may have very effective play.  i think our top to bottom pitching by the end of the year will be as good as we have had in a long time. 

but these errors!!!  jeez!!! they are akin to our basketball team shooting bad at the FT line (which they have improved on).  we have had a couple of wins with a bunch of errors.  we gotta stop that.

btw ... i am a fan of power hitting.  not necessarily home runs, but solid hitting deep to the outfield.

[TigerPaw1 0]

When executed correctly small ball is downright dangerous and fun to watch. Texas has been using it effectively for a long time. The key is execution. But in the end it doesn't matter what you do offensively if your pitching gives up 8 runs. Our pitching and defense has to be better down the road. In spurts we look really good and then turn around screw up. This team is loaded with potential. I'm interested to see how it plays out