Any info on Thad Griffin?

[IHateLaState]

I was soo pumped when this guy signed and stayed after being offered big $$$'s... Along with the rest of the team this past year was a disappointment for Thad

Anyone know what he is doing this summer? Assuming he is playing somewhere....

[CajunRage]

I was soo pumped when this guy signed and stayed after being offered big $$$'s... Along with the rest of the team this past year was a disappointment for Thad

Anyone know what he is doing this summer? Assuming he is playing somewhere....

I heard he missed a lot of class and lost a lot of strength when he got sick during the season. I believe he went to summer school and is working to regain his strength which may have been more important than summer ball. If he wasn't at full strength, he would just be fine tuning any bad habits he already had.

[J-Town Cajun]

I heard from coach Robe that Thad will stay at UL over the summer to work out instead of playing summer ball. He will most likely go out to play next season. Robe likes to keep the true freshman at UL in their first summer then go out later. Pitchers are a different story. Robe believes a pitcher has only so many throw in his arm and may choose to keep a pitcher around unless they really need the work.

[LifeTimeCajun]

that is not exactly Robes philosophy, but Thad is in summer school this summer as well as working on his swing. He could be a big key fator in next years club provided his swing continues to get better

[cajun2bag]

I sure hope we are not counting on him, to come back and hit a solid 136. I know this may start something but, he has serious issues at the plate. I don't want anyone playing the hes a freshman card either, you can either hit or you can't! We will have big problems next year if there aren't some new faces on the field!

[CajunRage]

you can either hit or you can't!

Or you can have a hole in your swing that someone exposed and everyone went after it. This guy is the real deal. There is a big jump from high school to college ball. In college ball, you are getting to the point where you have one pitch per at-bat to hit. Yes, he was a freshman. Crucify me for saying it. I can't think of any off hand, but I'm sure some of the best hitters to ever come out of this program struggled in their first year.

[rgncjn12]

_ Or you can have a hole in your swing that someone exposed and everyone went after it. This guy is the real deal. There is a big jump from high school to college ball. In college ball, you are getting to the point where you have one pitch per at-bat to hit. Yes, he was a freshman. Crucify me for saying it. I can't think of any off hand, but I'm sure some of the best hitters to ever come out of this program struggled in their first year. _

Lucroy was one of the best ever to be a cajun, and he had no struggles as a freshman.

.379 avg 5HR 48RBI .544Slugging .427OBP

If you can hit you may struggle to start your freshman year, but you figure it out quickly. Its true if you can hit you can hit!

GEAUX UL!

[CajunRage]

Lucroy was one of the best ever to be a cajun, and he had no struggles as a freshman.

.379 avg 5HR 48RBI .544Slugging .427OBP

If you can hit you may struggle to start your freshman year, but you figure it out quickly. Its true if you can hit you can hit!

GEAUX UL!

name another; griffin didn't play the second half of the season.

[rgncjn12]

_ name another; griffin didn't play the second half of the season. _

Easy, just look at this year's club. Who carried us at the end and had all the big hits. MATT GOULAS.

He struggled at first but turned it on to finish strong.

.288avg 7HR 31RBI .425Slugging .350OBP

GEAUX UL!

[rhineaux]

_ Lucroy was one of the best ever to be a cajun, and he had no struggles as a freshman.

.379 avg 5HR 48RBI .544Slugging .427OBP

If you can hit you may struggle to start your freshman year, but you figure it out quickly. Its true if you can hit you can hit!

GEAUX UL! _

There are many different sides to this argument. While I'm not a baseball 'expert', allow me to offer a few points.

As a whole, all 9 starters finished the season batting over .300 in 2005 (Lucroy's Fr year). There was only one in 2008. So, one could argue that all of those players protected each other in the lineup. And, Lucroy was an everyday DH (with some sporadic work at Catcher)and lead the team in hitting at .379, not a catcher trying to learn the system and in and out of the lineup. Also, another big difference is the old saying that hitting and slumping are contageous...the hitting in 2005 caught on and the slumping in 2008.

I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone, but I also don't want to discredit Griffen's talent on one poor year, when the entire team played poorly, and it always seemed like there was disorder everywhere with changing positions and lineups. In 2005, the lineup and positions were set from Day 1, and there wasn't a whole lot of change from that point on.

[CajunAmos]

I also think the two are different style hitters. I think Griffin was used to being able to pull all the pitchers he saw in high school, so that's what he did. In college, you need to be able to take what the pitcher throws and hit outside pitches to the opposite field. I think Scott Hawkins had the same issue as a freshman. I think Goulas (and Lucroy) already had the swings to handle pitches in all zones. Just my thought.

[rgncjn12]

_ I also think the two are different style hitters. I think Griffin was used to being able to pull all the pitchers he saw in high school, so that's what he did. In college, you need to be able to take what the pitcher throws and hit outside pitches to the opposite field. I think Scott Hawkins had the same issue as a freshman. I think Goulas (and Lucroy) already had the swings to handle pitches in all zones. Just my thought. _

Amos,

I agree with all you said. Their are many outside factors to hitting besides "if you can hit you can hit" but I just used my examples purely on numbers. I think another big reason Griffin had a tough year is everyone knows how he got sick and never recovered and lost alot of weight and strength. I think he will become a good player, I just dont see him being another Lucroy type hitter.

GEAUX UL!