DH Game Thread vs USA

[Dad04]

Some positive things.

Julien Brock is among the best catchers UL has ever had. And yes, that includes multiple guys that have had decade long MLB careers.

Carson Roccoforte, while not on the level (yet) that he was last year, is one of the best players that has ever played here.

Heath Hood is a Nathan Nelson clone, just as an outfielder.

Kyle Debarge may be the best SS that’s ever played here by the time he’s done. And there have been some REALLY good ones.

There are DUDES on this team.

Granted there is no true stud Friday night guy. And the staff, as a whole, struggles at times, but this staff’s “stuff” is absolutely legit. When healthy, there is as much quality depth on this staff than there has been in quite a while.

Hopefully some take a step back from every negative e thing they can possibly think of, and realize the positive.

Last years team ended the season in a regional. This years team is better. Where they will end up remains to be seen, but this is a better Cajun team than last years.

After a couple of struggling seasons, Coach Deggs has the team on a very strong trajectory. The future looks very bright.

[sportsfanatic21]

None of the first half of this post is true, lol.

Care to explain?

[zeppelincajun]

I’ve got a question for some of the more knowledgeable baseball people. Keep in mind I’m not complaining about Deggs’ system. We just put up 43 runs in 3 games. Just trying to understand it a little more. What is the thought process on when we decide to start runners/bunt/hit-and-run? There were two instances today where we tried to either bunt or hit-and-run immediately after a walk. One was Debarge at the plate I believe in the 5th. Man before him walks with 1 out. Debarge gets in 1-0 count. Calvi goes out to talk to his pitcher to calm him down. Next pitch Debarge is forced to swing at a ball outside the zone to protect a runner on the hit-and-run. Had to do it again later in the at bat, and he grounds out and runner reaches second. My conventional baseball brain is screaming, “what are we doing?” This guy can’t find the zone, and we run something that is contingent upon the hitter getting a pitch he can hit. The other instance was I think Marusak bunting after a walk early in the game and bunting at balls out of the zone. Again I’m in my old school mindset of, “if they are gonna give you something for nothing, why give them something?” Like I said: I get it. 43 runs. 3 games. Not knocking the system. These are two very specific failures in a sea of successes at the plate. Are our decisions situational at all or is it more of an all out onslaught where we are confident we will come out ahead more times than not? Seems like more of the latter as a lay person like myself but was curious if others had insight.

[JMV JustMyView]

Some positive things.

Julien Brock is among the best catchers UL has ever had. And yes, that includes multiple guys that have had decade long MLB careers.

Carson Roccoforte, while not on the level (yet) that he was last year, is one of the best players that has ever played here.

Heath Hood is a Nathan Nelson clone, just as an outfielder.

Kyle Debarge may be the best SS that’s ever played here by the time he’s done. And there have been some REALLY good ones.

There are DUDES on this team.

Granted there is no true stud Friday night guy. And the staff, as a whole, struggles at times, but this staff’s “stuff” is absolutely legit. When healthy, there is as much quality depth on this staff than there has been in quite a while.

Hopefully some take a step back from every negative e thing they can possibly think of, and realize the positive.

Last years team ended the season in a regional. This years team is better. Where they will end up remains to be seen, but this is a better Cajun team than last years.

JB isn't in the top 3.
CR isn't in the top 10
Never compare HH to Nathan.
KB is early in his career to make that comparison.

[JamesTheJeweler]

You caught me. I have no idea what I’m talking about. That 100+ SOS means nothing. 4+ team era and middle of the pack fielding percentage be damned!

*hard eye roll emoji*

Thank you. Context is important. It's as if you came here and said we suck, and made fun of their mothers. People get weird when you make contextual observations.

[ManAboutTown]

Good morning. Sober now. Reread the thread. I stand by what I posted.
For the people saying we "pass the eye" test, I'd agree. There are some nights where we look really good. And there are some nights, we can't throw strikes, kick the ball around the yard and look dreadful at the plate. Which is why I said we had work to do in order to be a good ball club. If you want to lie to yourself and tell yourselves we're world beaters because we scored 22 on an awful USA staff or run ruled Grambling, that's your prerogative.

I like to live in the real world. We've seen one good ball club this year and it was a microcosm of the season. Played hard, looked good at time, looked really bad at times. Lost the series at home. We've blown leads to bad teams multiple times this year. Woefully inconsistent on the mound and on defense. And before someone brings up the record, this is by far the easiest OOC schedule we've played in 6-7 years.

I love our talent. Hoodie & Brock are two of my favorite guys to watch play ball since the 2014 team. Rocc is as clutch as we've seen in recent years. DeBo is on a big league track. I think our crop of youngster might be even better than this core we have now. There is no question we've gotten better, as a roster, year over year since Deggs has been here. By no means am I saying we're bad. I'm just not going to lie to myself with numbers we're putting up against bad teams.

The "eye test" tells me we tend to play reckless baseball, we bludgeon bad teams and we're desperately searching for consistency on the mound. We're 18-7 and we don't know much about our team yet. We're 1-3 against teams that we should consider our peers, to this point.

[CajunStros]

We're 1-3 against teams that we should consider our peers, to this point.

This part. We haven’t played anyone outside of Campbell and Miss State.

The good news is that we are beating the teams we should for the most part. The bad news is when we have been tested by teams we are trying to be….we lost.

[sportsfanatic21]

JB isn't in the top 3.
CR isn't in the top 10
Never compare HH to Nathan.
KB is early in his career to make that comparison.

Who are the top 3 catchers to play here? Lucroy is one, name all the others better than Julien as a Ragin Cajun.

Name the players better than Roccoforte. Remember to consider all around game. Like base running and elite defense at multiple positions.

I’ll get to Hood/Nelson in a second…

How is it too early to compare Debarge with the best Cajun SSs? Trahan is probably the standard. My comment was that Debarge may be the best by the time he’s done. It’s definitely trending that way.

Now as far as my comment about Hood and Nathan Nelson. I know Nelson is one of the most revered players in Cajun history. I loved watching the guy play. But what Heath Hood has done on the field since becoming a full time starter, well….

Nathan Nelson 2000 Omaha Season:
271 ABs
58 runs
101 hits (.373)
47 RBIs
15 doubles
2 triples
7 HRs
15 walks
3 HBP
33 SBs

Heath Hood since becoming a full time starter:
266 ABs
63 runs
100 hits (.376)
59 RBI
20 2B
7 3B
6 HRs
21 walks
9 HBP
38 SB

So tell me, you still gonna stick with “Never compare HH to NN”? I’d say those numbers are pretty darn similar. Nelson had another full season as a Cajun, and a good one, so his career numbers are better. But in the games Hood has played here, he’s been pretty much, as I said in my original post, “a Nathan Nelson clone”.

[angeleast]

Who are the top 3 catchers to play here? Lucroy is one, name all the others better than Julien as a Ragin Cajun.

Name the players better than Roccoforte. Remember to consider all around game. Like base running and elite defense at multiple positions.

I’ll get to Hood/Nelson in a second…

How is it too early to compare Debarge with the best Cajun SSs? Trahan is probably the standard. My comment was that Debarge may be the best by the time he’s done. It’s definitely trending that way.

Now as far as my comment about Hood and Nathan Nelson. I know Nelson is one of the most revered players in Cajun history. I loved watching the guy play. But what Heath Hood has done on the field since becoming a full time starter, well….

Nathan Nelson 2000 Omaha Season:
271 ABs
58 runs
101 hits (.373)
47 RBIs
15 doubles
2 triples
7 HRs
15 walks
3 HBP
33 SBs

Heath Hood since becoming a full time starter:
266 ABs
63 runs
100 hits (.376)
59 RBI
20 2B
7 3B
6 HRs
21 walks
9 HBP
38 SB

So tell me, you still gonna stick with “Never compare HH to NN”? I’d say those numbers are pretty darn similar. Nelson had another full season as a Cajun, and a good one, so his career numbers are better. But in the games Hood has played here, he’s been pretty much, as I said in my original post, “a Nathan Nelson clone”.

Wow stats don't lie. All things being equal.

[ManAboutTown]

Who are the top 3 catchers to play here? Lucroy is one, name all the others better than Julien as a Ragin Cajun.

Name the players better than Roccoforte. Remember to consider all around game. Like base running and elite defense at multiple positions.

I’ll get to Hood/Nelson in a second…

How is it too early to compare Debarge with the best Cajun SSs? Trahan is probably the standard. My comment was that Debarge may be the best by the time he’s done. It’s definitely trending that way.

Now as far as my comment about Hood and Nathan Nelson. I know Nelson is one of the most revered players in Cajun history. I loved watching the guy play. But what Heath Hood has done on the field since becoming a full time starter, well….

Nathan Nelson 2000 Omaha Season:
271 ABs
58 runs
101 hits (.373)
47 RBIs
15 doubles
2 triples
7 HRs
15 walks
3 HBP
33 SBs

Heath Hood since becoming a full time starter:
266 ABs
63 runs
100 hits (.376)
59 RBI
20 2B
7 3B
6 HRs
21 walks
9 HBP
38 SB

So tell me, you still gonna stick with “Never compare HH to NN”? I’d say those numbers are pretty darn similar. Nelson had another full season as a Cajun, and a good one, so his career numbers are better. But in the games Hood has played here, he’s been pretty much, as I said in my original post, “a Nathan Nelson clone”.

You see, this is the kind of stuff I wish we'd talk about 24/7. That's a fun comparison. Obviously, stats aren't created equally. It's easy to compare sheer numbers and make an argument, but its all we have for historical perspective, statistically speaking. Hard to argue against the results.

But Nate Nelson was revered because of his leadership on and off the field. Legendary _______ in the clubhouse. Flat out willed teams to victories. I like the comp otherwise, but I don't know enough about HH leadership. Seems more of a "do it on the field" type guy.

DeBo isn't BT. Not yet, at least. BT was the best defensive short stop we've had here. He also put up numbers (albeit it in a crowded lineup) offensively. All American. Top 3 rounder in the draft. But that's just recent memory. We've had some dudes here. DeBo needs to sure up his defense. Offensively, he's already looking like a top 5 all time Ragin Cajun SS.

The Julian convo is awesome too. Defense has slipped this year, I don't think thats a controversial stance. (He was other worldly last year) Right now he's on a heater, so it's easy to get caught up. Last year, offense was hit and miss. Hit like .303 with 30 RBI. (Which is still good from the catcher position but not all time). For me, it's Luc & Danny, and then everyone else. right now. If JB continues this type of season, he'll be an All American and high round draft pick, which obviously changes this conversation completely. He definitely projects though.

[JMV JustMyView]

Good morning. Sober now. Reread the thread. I stand by what I posted.
For the people saying we "pass the eye" test, I'd agree. There are some nights where we look really good. And there are some nights, we can't throw strikes, kick the ball around the yard and look dreadful at the plate. Which is why I said we had work to do in order to be a good ball club. If you want to lie to yourself and tell yourselves we're world beaters because we scored 22 on an awful USA staff or run ruled Grambling, that's your prerogative.

I like to live in the real world. We've seen one good ball club this year and it was a microcosm of the season. Played hard, looked good at time, looked really bad at times. Lost the series at home. We've blown leads to bad teams multiple times this year. Woefully inconsistent on the mound and on defense. And before someone brings up the record, this is by far the easiest OOC schedule we've played in 6-7 years.

I love our talent. Hoodie & Brock are two of my favorite guys to watch play ball since the 2014 team. Rocc is as clutch as we've seen in recent years. DeBo is on a big league track. I think our crop of youngster might be even better than this core we have now. There is no question we've gotten better, as a roster, year over year since Deggs has been here. By no means am I saying we're bad. I'm just not going to lie to myself with numbers we're putting up against bad teams.

The "eye test" tells me we tend to play reckless baseball, we bludgeon bad teams and we're desperately searching for consistency on the mound. We're 18-7 and we don't know much about our team yet. We're 1-3 against teams that we should consider our peers, to this point.

What MAT said.

[MWolf]

You see, this is the kind of stuff I wish we'd talk about 24/7. That's a fun comparison. Obviously, stats aren't created equally. It's easy to compare sheer numbers and make an argument, but its all we have for historical perspective, statistically speaking. Hard to argue against the results.

But Nate Nelson was revered because of his leadership on and off the field. Legendary _______ in the clubhouse. Flat out willed teams to victories. I like the comp otherwise, but I don't know enough about HH leadership. Seems more of a "do it on the field" type guy.

DeBo isn't BT. Not yet, at least. BT was the best defensive short stop we've had here. He also put up numbers (albeit it in a crowded lineup) offensively. All American. Top 3 rounder in the draft. But that's just recent memory. We've had some dudes here. DeBo needs to sure up his defense. Offensively, he's already looking like a top 5 all time Ragin Cajun SS.

The Julian convo is awesome too. Defense has slipped this year, I don't think thats a controversial stance. (He was other worldly last year) Right now he's on a heater, so it's easy to get caught up. Last year, offense was hit and miss. Hit like .303 with 30 RBI. (Which is still good from the catcher position but not all time). For me, it's Luc & Danny, and then everyone else. right now. If JB continues this type of season, he'll be an All American and high round draft pick, which obviously changes this conversation completely. He definitely projects though.

In my lifetime as a Cajuns baseball fan, Nick Thurman might be the most under appreciated player to ever do it. Brock is better, but I want to show thurm some love.

[ManAboutTown]

In my lifetime as a Cajuns baseball fan, Nick Thurman might be the most under appreciated player to ever do it. Brock is better, but I want to show thurm some love.

And I almost posted something about that guy. Still see him around from time to time, he was the glue to a couple of those teams. Great defensively, iron man and got big hits when you needed them.

[sportsfanatic21]

Nm. Responded to wrong post

[sportsfanatic21]

You see, this is the kind of stuff I wish we'd talk about 24/7. That's a fun comparison. Obviously, stats aren't created equally. It's easy to compare sheer numbers and make an argument, but its all we have for historical perspective, statistically speaking. Hard to argue against the results.

But Nate Nelson was revered because of his leadership on and off the field. Legendary _______ in the clubhouse. Flat out willed teams to victories. I like the comp otherwise, but I don't know enough about HH leadership. Seems more of a "do it on the field" type guy.

DeBo isn't BT. Not yet, at least. BT was the best defensive short stop we've had here. He also put up numbers (albeit it in a crowded lineup) offensively. All American. Top 3 rounder in the draft. But that's just recent memory. We've had some dudes here. DeBo needs to sure up his defense. Offensively, he's already looking like a top 5 all time Ragin Cajun SS.

The Julian convo is awesome too. Defense has slipped this year, I don't think thats a controversial stance. (He was other worldly last year) Right now he's on a heater, so it's easy to get caught up. Last year, offense was hit and miss. Hit like .303 with 30 RBI. (Which is still good from the catcher position but not all time). For me, it's Luc & Danny, and then everyone else. right now. If JB continues this type of season, he'll be an All American and high round draft pick, which obviously changes this conversation completely. He definitely projects though.

I also love these types on convos.

And yes, in my comparison of Hood and Nelson, I specifically said “what Heath Hood has done on the field”, because I also know nothing about him off the field. I do believe he is wearing a C on his jersey though so there’s that.

And again, my comment was Debo being the best by the time he’s done. He’s not the best defensively, but the way his bat is trending, and still with another year and a half, he’s trending to be, at least arguably, the best SS that’s played here.

As for Brock, I don’t think anyone can argue against Lucroy being the best catcher. There have been others too. Ken Meyers was really good. Danny Massiate, as you mentioned, Paul Bako. Some others as well. My comment was that Julien is “among the best” that have played here. I don’t think that’s arguable at all. I agree he’s not as good defensively this season as last year, it would be almost impossible to be.

And to the Nick Thurman point, spot on. He was a DUDE.