USM pulling out all the stops

[GoneGolfin]

Yes ... I will send them later. I am in transit now. :-)


igeaux.mobi

Brian weren't u at the series this weekend? What were your thoughts


igeaux.mobi

[GoneGolfin]

_ Brian weren't u at the series this weekend? What were your thoughts
igeaux.mobi _

My general thoughts ...

- I really like our starting pitching. Those were some really good bats we faced this weekend. Both the starters and the bullpen held up their end of the deal. Hubbell really kept them off balance in relief.

- Defense was disappointing, obviously. It is not just the errors, there were a number of plays that I thought should have been made, but were not ... plays that did not result in an error that 1) I thought should have been an error or 2) did not deserve an error, but should have been made (even yesterday).

- Staying with defense ... while I love Goulas, he is not a right fielder ... but I understand that putting him in left weakens our offense. I do really like the defensive capabilities of Fuselier and Olasin (all-around stud). I am not enamored with our capabilities at shortstop. Keefer has been impressive gunning down would-be base stealers.

- We really struggle against pitchers that locate well (obviously, all hitters will struggle to some degree ... but it really shows here). I think this offense is going to depend on some freebies to produce (walks, HBPs, errors). As far as pitchers that have decent stuff, but have trouble locating at times ... we were finally able to get out of our weekend slump when we worked some freebies from Thomas and the USM bullpen. In the 3rd, the Cajuns worked two leadoff walks, followed by a bunt single before Porrier took a mistake pitch deep into the RF power alley. In the 5th, a leadoff walk and HBP paved the way for another crooked number.

- USM has an outstanding ace (as we have known since 2007 when he was a freshman, McInnis) and a solid #2 (Copeland). They also have a good closer (Cargill). I like Thomas' stuff (#3 starter), but he struggles with location (not surprising for a freshman). I see USM going in a different direction for their Sunday guy. I am not impressed with the bullpen (apart from Cargill). USM defense seemed mediocre, but the bats are very impressive.

As far as this weekend goes, I was expecting 1/3. I thought that if we could get one of the first two (with Saturday being the best chance), that we had a shot at taking the series ... as we had the advantage (pitching depth) on Sunday. But USM is the better club.

Brian

[LifeTimeCajun]

_ My general thoughts ...

- I really like our starting pitching. Those were some really good bats we faced this weekend. Both the starters and the bullpen held up their end of the deal. Hubbell really kept them off balance in relief.

- Defense was disappointing, obviously. It is not just the errors, there were a number of plays that I thought should have been made, but were not ... plays that did not result in an error that 1) I thought should have been an error or 2) did not deserve an error, but should have been made (even yesterday).

- Staying with defense ... while I love Goulas, he is not a right fielder ... but I understand that putting him in left weakens our offense. I do really like the defensive capabilities of Fuselier and Olasin (all-around stud). I am not enamored with our capabilities at shortstop. Keefer has been impressive gunning down would-be base stealers.

- We really struggle against pitchers that locate well (obviously, all hitters will struggle to some degree ... but it really shows here). I think this offense is going to depend on some freebies to produce (walks, HBPs, errors). As far as pitchers that have decent stuff, but have trouble locating at times ... we were finally able to get out of our weekend slump when we worked some freebies from Thomas and the USM bullpen. In the 3rd, the Cajuns worked two leadoff walks, followed by a bunt single before Porrier took a mistake pitch deep into the RF power alley. In the 5th, a leadoff walk and HBP paved the way for another crooked number.

- USM has an outstanding ace (as we have known since 2007 when he was a freshman, McInnis) and a solid #2 (Copeland). They also have a good closer (Cargill). I like Thomas' stuff (#3 starter), but he struggles with location (not surprising for a freshman). I see USM going in a different direction for their Sunday guy. I am not impressed with the bullpen (apart from Cargill). USM defense seemed mediocre, but the bats are very impressive.

As far as this weekend goes, I was expecting 1/3. I thought that if we could get one of the first two (with Saturday being the best chance), that we had a shot at taking the series ... as we had the advantage (pitching depth) on Sunday. But USM is the better club.

Brian _

Thx for your thoughts...I sat behind the plate friday night and as i mentioned in another post that i thought Osbornes stuff matched or was possibly a little better on accasions that of McInnis friday night. We just didnt play behind him. You are so correct, those guys have a good approach and swing it with a purpose at the plate. Hopefully we can catch fire with the bats tomm and wed to build some confidence going into the weekend

[ManAboutTown]

_ My general thoughts ...

- I really like our starting pitching. Those were some really good bats we faced this weekend. Both the starters and the bullpen held up their end of the deal. Hubbell really kept them off balance in relief. Hubbell in Relief has looked good, as has Dayton Marze. But honestly, who else has been impressive? I think our relief pitching is not as deep as people originally thought. Hopefully Traffica and Satriano can improve and stabalize the pen

- Defense was disappointing, obviously. It is not just the errors, there were a number of plays that I thought should have been made, but were not ... plays that did not result in an error that 1) I thought should have been an error or 2) did not deserve an error, but should have been made (even yesterday). This team just doesn't have the bullets in the field. We can make excuses and adjustments, but at the end of the day, the ability is just not there. Fontenot overahceived dramatically last year; Bostick will see limited playing time as long as he struggles at the plate and Poirrier continues to produce; We still don't have a true 1st baseman (although Guillory might be coming on); Trask is an upgrade at 3rd, but there will be an adjustment period; and Matt Goulas is a flat out liability in the outfield. He's misplayed pop flies and line drives his whole career. Kyle Olasin is going to cover up some mistakes, but the half of the lineup is average at best on defense.

- Staying with defense ... while I love Goulas, he is not a right fielder ... but I understand that putting him in left weakens our offense. I do really like the defensive capabilities of Fuselier and Olasin (all-around stud). I am not enamored with our capabilities at shortstop. Keefer has been impressive gunning down would-be base stealers. Matt Goulas is not a consistent batter. He's streaky. We've looked to him for clutch hits for a while now (down the stretch of last season, and early this year) and he just can't shoulder the load. He needs GREAT hitters around him to get pitches to drive. Other than that, he should be a 6-8 hitter in this lineup. Alex and Greg also have no business batting high up in the order. Those 2 are also streaky hitters. Like I said before, Greg Fontenot grossly over acheived last season, and we all know it. Counting on him to hit .300 again is just bad judgment.
- We really struggle against pitchers that locate well (obviously, all hitters will struggle to some degree ... but it really shows here). I think this offense is going to depend on some freebies to produce (walks, HBPs, errors). As far as pitchers that have decent stuff, but have trouble locating at times ... we were finally able to get out of our weekend slump when we worked some freebies from Thomas and the USM bullpen. In the 3rd, the Cajuns worked two leadoff walks, followed by a bunt single before Porrier took a mistake pitch deep into the RF power alley. In the 5th, a leadoff walk and HBP paved the way for another crooked number. I agree %100 percent. If teams don't beat themselves, we won't beat them. Hard to swallow, but dead on.
- USM has an outstanding ace (as we have known since 2007 when he was a freshman, McInnis) and a solid #2 (Copeland). They also have a good closer (Cargill). I like Thomas' stuff (#3 starter), but he struggles with location (not surprising for a freshman). I see USM going in a different direction for their Sunday guy. I am not impressed with the bullpen (apart from Cargill). USM defense seemed mediocre, but the bats are very impressive.

As far as this weekend goes, I was expecting 1/3. I thought that if we could get one of the first two (with Saturday being the best chance), that we had a shot at taking the series ... as we had the advantage (pitching depth) on Sunday. But USM is the better club. 1/3? At the Tigue, with Zach, Jud, and Geith going, we should (and the team should) at least expect 2/3! Even against a good team like USM. I'll take Jud over their #2 anyday, and that goes for Geith as well. In fact, I'd take Hubbell over their #2. Even after the struggles lately, I fully expected the Cajuns to win 2 ball games this weekend. But hey.. Now we know..
Josh_

[GoneGolfin]

_ Thx for your thoughts...I sat behind the plate friday night and as i mentioned in another post that i thought Osbornes stuff matched or was possibly a little better on accasions that of McInnis friday night. We just didnt play behind him. You are so correct, those guys have a good approach and swing it with a purpose at the plate. Hopefully we can catch fire with the bats tomm and wed to build some confidence going into the weekend _

I did not get to see the first four innings Friday night (heard it on the radio), but I was quite impressed with Osborne (as I always am). He certainly gave us a chance to win. McInnis, while overall pitching a stellar game, got behind on more hitters than I have seen him do in the past. We just did not take advantage of it.

Brian