BB Final: Louisiana 8, Tulane 7

[ManAboutTown]

I was actually responding to one of your posts regarding issues with the team etc. Nothing bad. No personal attack or anything like that. Basically addressed hitting, pitching, SOS, series coming up etc. Nothing terrible at all. Just honest stuff.

I just read the post. I agree with 98% of it.

Nothing like the TSAB WBB post

[Dad04]

I went back and watched the replay and stand corrected on the throw to first. Most everyone in our area believed that he was very non-chalant on the play in real time. He played it right and Rocco should have caught it.

I'll compromise to the point that he plays hard at times and that if it's injury related, I can understand. I along with several others have seen multiple instances where it looks like he is just going through the motions.

Rocco simply whiffed on the ball. Might have took his eye off it for 0.05 sec. It happens. Consistency is what keeps college coaches up at night.

[ZoomZoom]

Maybe because we try to hit it to Drug Emporium every at bat.

I thought they were aiming for the far end soccer goal…

[sportsfanatic21]

This team has a lot of issues. Start on the offensive side. Way too many strike outs. That's just not acceptable. EIGHTEEN K's to App St. against no more than an average arm with a high ERA. That can never happen. We have got to be the only team in the country that had/has a leadoff hitter hitting below .160. Again, that can't happen. Sit the guy down, let him watch a few games and give him a chance to get his mind right for God's sake. This is ridiculous. How long are you going to continue to let a player hang himself ? It's not fair to the kid. We try and steal bases like a 9 year old travel ball team. Everybody gets a turn. I love aggressive base running but you have to have limits. I can't count how many innings we have run ourselves out of. It's getting old. Very old.

Pitching. I could write a damn thesis. We have a closer starting on Friday nights. I could stop right there. That tells you all you need to know. Last year we had 3 weekend starters that had been relievers their whole career here. Again, tells you all you need to know. What on earth makes our "recruiters" think that a kid from a JUCO that couldn't throw strikes will suddenly become a strike thrower here ? As far as pitchers who came from the portal, they're here because they weren't good enough to pitch where they came from. Again, should we expect them to be good here all of a sudden ? This program hasn't had a pitching staff since 2017. That's SIX YEARS AGO. Something isn't right. We're 29 games in and people are still trying to figure out what their roll is. It's unacceptable.

And for all of these people saying 20 wins before 10 losses is where we need to be, take off the rose colored glasses. Losing to Rice, High Point, McNeese and a series to App. St makes that 20 before 10 BS irrelevant. Again, mediocrity rears it's ugly head. There are SEVEN teams in this conference that have a higher RPI than UL. Our SOS sucks. We have 9 games between Troy, Coastal, and S. Miss. in conference. This team has a long way to go to even be on the same field with these teams currently. The only way the word "regional" should even be mentioned is after winning the conference tournament which quite frankly ain't happening.

As bright as the future looks from a position player standpoint with the likes Debarge, Robichaux, Stelly, Higgs, Yuhatz, Lejeune, Taylor, Zambo, Amadee...Without quality arms nothing will change. It's a damn shame. Something has to change.

I have been one of the “it’s not as bad as you think” guys all year. And still am.

That said, I agree with a lot of your thoughts here.

I don’t think anyone could argue that there aren’t a couple guys that keep getting regular starts that just aren’t getting it done. It’s no secret. And having them in prime batting order spots is just baffling.

I also agree with MAT’s comment about how in the world Higgs doesn’t get more opportunities. His strike out rate is high (but no higher than some regulars) but his production when he does make contact is immensely better.

I wonder if having the captain’s “C” on jerseys has kind of bitten Deggs in the butt a little. If I’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of “captains” in baseball. Leaders lead. They don’t need a “C” on their chest. And having SO many of them makes it tough when a few are struggling.

Once Debarge is back, I’d like to see a lineup that consists of:

DH Robichaux
SS Debarge
RF Hood
CF Roccaforte
C Brock
2B Taylor
3B LeJeune
LF Veillon/Higgs platoon
1B Willis or Zambo

Use Marusak as a pinch runner and defensive replacement as long as Lejeune can hold the job at 3B. Stelly and Yuhasz from the right side, and Higgs and Zambo (if not in the lineup) from the left side as pinch hitters. Stick with it and let guys know their roles. And if Roccaforte continues to struggle (which I don’t think he will) swap he and Taylor in the order.

As for the pitching, I agree with a lot of what’s been said. Hammond is a good arm. But he’s a pen guy, not a starter, and definitely not a Friday night guy. Nezuh has had a great outing, a couple solid ones, and a couple stinkers. He’s a Sunday guy at best. Hopefully McGehee stays healthy the rest of the way and can settle in. Rawls has to be the guy on Fridays. He was solid last year, and if he wasn’t bothered by some nagging injury, underutilized. Like with some of the hitters, production matters. And we are now into the 2nd half of the season. The guy has been lights out. He’s allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 Ks per 9 innings. Those arent eye popping strikeout numbers, like it seems everybody is awed by in today’s game, he just makes pitches and gets outs. There’s been some VERY successful pitchers here in the last decade or so that didn’t have big K numbers. But they got people out, and ate up quality innings. Robichaux, Baranik, Boutte, Leger, Schmidt, etc. All of those guys were VERY successful starting pitchers. None of them were big strikeout guys.

How I would line them up would be:
Fri Rawls
Sat McGehee
Sun Nezuh
Midweek Ray/Hill

That leaves you with solid options in the pen. Hammond, Fluno, Moody, and Christie from the right side. Tate, Marshall, possibly Lafleur, and hopefully Theut soon, from the left side. All of those guys are capable. And there are some other pen guys that can get an out or two. Things spun on Moody last night but he’s a good option down there and will bounce back.

I think the pitching will be better once McGehee and Theut are both back. It’s been painfully obvious that the staff is trying to sneak innings out of guys the last few weeks. Once a solid foundation of what roles each guy will fill is established, and hopefully that begins THIS weekend, this staff can be effective.

Last thing, in response to the poster saying that UL hasn’t had a pitching staff since 2017….go check the 2021 staff. You had two pros leading the way (Cooke and Arrighetti) that were both great. Carter Robinson was the 3rd guy and had a good year. Schultz and Perrin had good years out of the pen and Talley had a great season as the closer. I know it seems like forever, but it was just two years ago. That staff pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 2021. It was really good. Unfortunately the offense wasn’t very good.

[RAGINCAJUN11]

I have been one of the “it’s not as bad as you think” guys all year. And still am.

That said, I agree with a lot of your thoughts here.

I don’t think anyone could argue that there aren’t a couple guys that keep getting regular starts that just aren’t getting it done. It’s no secret. And having them in prime batting order spots is just baffling.

I also agree with MAT’s comment about how in the world Higgs doesn’t get more opportunities. His strike out rate is high (but no higher than some regulars) but his production when he does make contact is immensely better.

I wonder if having the captain’s “C” on jerseys has kind of bitten Deggs in the butt a little. If I’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of “captains” in baseball. Leaders lead. They don’t need a “C” on their chest. And having SO many of them makes it tough when a few are struggling.

Once Debarge is back, I’d like to see a lineup that consists of:

DH Robichaux
SS Debarge
RF Hood
CF Roccaforte
C Brock
2B Taylor
3B LeJeune
LF Veillon/Higgs platoon
1B Willis or Zambo

Use Marusak as a pinch runner and defensive replacement as long as Lejeune can hold the job at 3B. Stelly and Yuhasz from the right side, and Higgs and Zambo (if not in the lineup) from the left side as pinch hitters. Stick with it and let guys know their roles. And if Roccaforte continues to struggle (which I don’t think he will) swap he and Taylor in the order.

As for the pitching, I agree with a lot of what’s been said. Hammond is a good arm. But he’s a pen guy, not a starter, and definitely not a Friday night guy. Nezuh has had a great outing, a couple solid ones, and a couple stinkers. He’s a Sunday guy at best. Hopefully McGehee stays healthy the rest of the way and can settle in. Rawls has to be the guy on Fridays. He was solid last year, and if he wasn’t bothered by some nagging injury, underutilized. Like with some of the hitters, production matters. And we are now into the 2nd half of the season. The guy has been lights out. He’s allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 Ks per 9 innings. Those arent eye popping strikeout numbers, like it seems everybody is awed by in today’s game, he just makes pitches and gets outs. There’s been some VERY successful pitchers here in the last decade or so that didn’t have big K numbers. But they got people out, and ate up quality innings. Robichaux, Baranik, Boutte, Leger, Schmidt, etc. All of those guys were VERY successful starting pitchers. None of them were big strikeout guys.

How I would line them up would be:
Fri Rawls
Sat McGehee
Sun Nezuh
Midweek Ray/Hill

That leaves you with solid options in the pen. Hammond, Fluno, Moody, and Christie from the right side. Tate, Marshall, possibly Lafleur, and hopefully Theut soon, from the left side. All of those guys are capable. And there are some other pen guys that can get an out or two. Things spun on Moody last night but he’s a good option down there and will bounce back.

I think the pitching will be better once McGehee and Theut are both back. It’s been painfully obvious that the staff is trying to sneak innings out of guys the last few weeks. Once a solid foundation of what roles each guy will fill is established, and hopefully that begins THIS weekend, this staff can be effective.

Last thing, in response to the poster saying that UL hasn’t had a pitching staff since 2017….go check the 2021 staff. You had two pros leading the way (Cooke and Arrighetti) that were both great. Carter Robinson was the 3rd guy and had a good year. Schultz and Perrin had good years out of the pen and Talley had a great season as the closer. I know it seems like forever, but it was just two years ago. That staff pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 2021. It was really good. Unfortunately the offense wasn’t very good.

A+ on your article. Good stuff.

[LifeTimeCajun]

I have been one of the “it’s not as bad as you think” guys all year. And still am.

That said, I agree with a lot of your thoughts here.

I don’t think anyone could argue that there aren’t a couple guys that keep getting regular starts that just aren’t getting it done. It’s no secret. And having them in prime batting order spots is just baffling.

I also agree with MAT’s comment about how in the world Higgs doesn’t get more opportunities. His strike out rate is high (but no higher than some regulars) but his production when he does make contact is immensely better.

I wonder if having the captain’s “C” on jerseys has kind of bitten Deggs in the butt a little. If I’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of “captains” in baseball. Leaders lead. They don’t need a “C” on their chest. And having SO many of them makes it tough when a few are struggling.

Once Debarge is back, I’d like to see a lineup that consists of:

DH Robichaux
SS Debarge
RF Hood
CF Roccaforte
C Brock
2B Taylor
3B LeJeune
LF Veillon/Higgs platoon
1B Willis or Zambo

Use Marusak as a pinch runner and defensive replacement as long as Lejeune can hold the job at 3B. Stelly and Yuhasz from the right side, and Higgs and Zambo (if not in the lineup) from the left side as pinch hitters. Stick with it and let guys know their roles. And if Roccaforte continues to struggle (which I don’t think he will) swap he and Taylor in the order.

As for the pitching, I agree with a lot of what’s been said. Hammond is a good arm. But he’s a pen guy, not a starter, and definitely not a Friday night guy. Nezuh has had a great outing, a couple solid ones, and a couple stinkers. He’s a Sunday guy at best. Hopefully McGehee stays healthy the rest of the way and can settle in. Rawls has to be the guy on Fridays. He was solid last year, and if he wasn’t bothered by some nagging injury, underutilized. Like with some of the hitters, production matters. And we are now into the 2nd half of the season. The guy has been lights out. He’s allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 Ks per 9 innings. Those arent eye popping strikeout numbers, like it seems everybody is awed by in today’s game, he just makes pitches and gets outs. There’s been some VERY successful pitchers here in the last decade or so that didn’t have big K numbers. But they got people out, and ate up quality innings. Robichaux, Baranik, Boutte, Leger, Schmidt, etc. All of those guys were VERY successful starting pitchers. None of them were big strikeout guys.

How I would line them up would be:
Fri Rawls
Sat McGehee
Sun Nezuh
Midweek Ray/Hill

That leaves you with solid options in the pen. Hammond, Fluno, Moody, and Christie from the right side. Tate, Marshall, possibly Lafleur, and hopefully Theut soon, from the left side. All of those guys are capable. And there are some other pen guys that can get an out or two. Things spun on Moody last night but he’s a good option down there and will bounce back.

I think the pitching will be better once McGehee and Theut are both back. It’s been painfully obvious that the staff is trying to sneak innings out of guys the last few weeks. Once a solid foundation of what roles each guy will fill is established, and hopefully that begins THIS weekend, this staff can be effective.

Last thing, in response to the poster saying that UL hasn’t had a pitching staff since 2017….go check the 2021 staff. You had two pros leading the way (Cooke and Arrighetti) that were both great. Carter Robinson was the 3rd guy and had a good year. Schultz and Perrin had good years out of the pen and Talley had a great season as the closer. I know it seems like forever, but it was just two years ago. That staff pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 2021. It was really good. Unfortunately the offense wasn’t very good.

They are all capable and servicable. They have proven that most of the year. They just are not consistent enough to not lose game when you not suppose to lose them. Or not give up a 6 run lead with 3 outs to go. Or have a great outing one day and walk the park and not able to get out of 1 inning of work. Thats the pitching issue for sure. If a weekend starter cant give u 5 innings, he isnt a weekend arm. And when that happens on a friday night it sure makes for a long weekend bc you never know what the saturday guy is gonna be able to do. No reliability or consistency. We all wanna blame the coaches and they do deserve some of it…they signed these guys. But in the end they have not thrown a pitch all year. At some point as a player it falls on you.

[sportsfanatic21]

They are all capable and servicable. They have proven that most of the year. They just are not consistent enough to not lose game when you not suppose to lose them. Or not give up a 6 run lead with 3 outs to go. Or have a great outing one day and walk the park and not able to get out of 1 inning of work. Thats the pitching issue for sure. If a weekend starter cant give u 5 innings, he isnt a weekend arm. And when that happens on a friday night it sure makes for a long weekend bc you never know what the saturday guy is gonna be able to do. No reliability or consistency.

I agree with you, especially regarding starters not giving you 5-6 innings every time. That’s why I would like to see guys settled into roles.

For instance, there are guys who can go multiple innings down there. But that doesn’t mean they should. Having a guy like Hammond out there would be your guy to eat up innings if a starter is getting knocked around. And you have “stuff” guys that can be used to get out of the soup and end an inning when a strikeout is needed. Have a guy from each side (depending on what the opposing team has coming up that half inning) designated for the 7th, 8th and 9th. That said, I’m not a huge lefty/lefty, righty/righty guy. I like guys who get outs. Let them do their jobs and move on to the next guy. Obviously there will be some that struggle at times, but every bull pen arm (or at least most) should be fresh if they are pitching an inning at a time. And you can use your best guys more often.

Now that is all much easier to do when everyone is healthy and available. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the season’s game 2 starter has thrown just twice since then. And a guy you were counting on to be one of, if not THE, most reliable bullpen guys hasn’t pitched in the last 3 1/2 weeks.

[LifeTimeCajun]

Id like to think guys could pitch thru a left right situation once in a while. That really comes down to if u have a 2nd pitch or 3rd pitch. Thats usually what separates D1 arms from the rest. If u dont have at least a 2nd pitch at this level you dont stand much of a chance. Goes back to what i said earlier…pitchability.

[cajunref]

Last thing, in response to the poster saying that UL hasn’t had a pitching staff since 2017….go check the 2021 staff. You had two pros leading the way (Cooke and Arrighetti) that were both great. Carter Robinson was the 3rd guy and had a good year. Schultz and Perrin had good years out of the pen and Talley had a great season as the closer. I know it seems like forever, but it was just two years ago. That staff pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 2021. It was really good. Unfortunately the offense wasn’t very good.

BJ Ryan was also the pitching coach.

[JMV JustMyView]

BJ Ryan was also the pitching coach.

With handcuffs on.

[ManAboutTown]

I have been one of the “it’s not as bad as you think” guys all year. And still am.

That said, I agree with a lot of your thoughts here.

I don’t think anyone could argue that there aren’t a couple guys that keep getting regular starts that just aren’t getting it done. It’s no secret. And having them in prime batting order spots is just baffling.

I also agree with MAT’s comment about how in the world Higgs doesn’t get more opportunities. His strike out rate is high (but no higher than some regulars) but his production when he does make contact is immensely better.

I wonder if having the captain’s “C” on jerseys has kind of bitten Deggs in the butt a little. If I’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of “captains” in baseball. Leaders lead. They don’t need a “C” on their chest. And having SO many of them makes it tough when a few are struggling.

Once Debarge is back, I’d like to see a lineup that consists of:

DH Robichaux
SS Debarge
RF Hood
CF Roccaforte
C Brock
2B Taylor
3B LeJeune
LF Veillon/Higgs platoon
1B Willis or Zambo

Use Marusak as a pinch runner and defensive replacement as long as Lejeune can hold the job at 3B. Stelly and Yuhasz from the right side, and Higgs and Zambo (if not in the lineup) from the left side as pinch hitters. Stick with it and let guys know their roles. And if Roccaforte continues to struggle (which I don’t think he will) swap he and Taylor in the order.

As for the pitching, I agree with a lot of what’s been said. Hammond is a good arm. But he’s a pen guy, not a starter, and definitely not a Friday night guy. Nezuh has had a great outing, a couple solid ones, and a couple stinkers. He’s a Sunday guy at best. Hopefully McGehee stays healthy the rest of the way and can settle in. Rawls has to be the guy on Fridays. He was solid last year, and if he wasn’t bothered by some nagging injury, underutilized. Like with some of the hitters, production matters. And we are now into the 2nd half of the season. The guy has been lights out. He’s allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 Ks per 9 innings. Those arent eye popping strikeout numbers, like it seems everybody is awed by in today’s game, he just makes pitches and gets outs. There’s been some VERY successful pitchers here in the last decade or so that didn’t have big K numbers. But they got people out, and ate up quality innings. Robichaux, Baranik, Boutte, Leger, Schmidt, etc. All of those guys were VERY successful starting pitchers. None of them were big strikeout guys.

How I would line them up would be:
Fri Rawls
Sat McGehee
Sun Nezuh
Midweek Ray/Hill

That leaves you with solid options in the pen. Hammond, Fluno, Moody, and Christie from the right side. Tate, Marshall, possibly Lafleur, and hopefully Theut soon, from the left side. All of those guys are capable. And there are some other pen guys that can get an out or two. Things spun on Moody last night but he’s a good option down there and will bounce back.

I think the pitching will be better once McGehee and Theut are both back. It’s been painfully obvious that the staff is trying to sneak innings out of guys the last few weeks. Once a solid foundation of what roles each guy will fill is established, and hopefully that begins THIS weekend, this staff can be effective.

Last thing, in response to the poster saying that UL hasn’t had a pitching staff since 2017….go check the 2021 staff. You had two pros leading the way (Cooke and Arrighetti) that were both great. Carter Robinson was the 3rd guy and had a good year. Schultz and Perrin had good years out of the pen and Talley had a great season as the closer. I know it seems like forever, but it was just two years ago. That staff pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 2021. It was really good. Unfortunately the offense wasn’t very good.

Lots of good stuff here.

[RedTails]

I have been one of the “it’s not as bad as you think” guys all year. And still am.

That said, I agree with a lot of your thoughts here.

I don’t think anyone could argue that there aren’t a couple guys that keep getting regular starts that just aren’t getting it done. It’s no secret. And having them in prime batting order spots is just baffling.

I also agree with MAT’s comment about how in the world Higgs doesn’t get more opportunities. His strike out rate is high (but no higher than some regulars) but his production when he does make contact is immensely better.

I wonder if having the captain’s “C” on jerseys has kind of bitten Deggs in the butt a little. If I’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of “captains” in baseball. Leaders lead. They don’t need a “C” on their chest. And having SO many of them makes it tough when a few are struggling.

Once Debarge is back, I’d like to see a lineup that consists of:

DH Robichaux
SS Debarge
RF Hood
CF Roccaforte
C Brock
2B Taylor
3B LeJeune
LF Veillon/Higgs platoon
1B Willis or Zambo

Use Marusak as a pinch runner and defensive replacement as long as Lejeune can hold the job at 3B. Stelly and Yuhasz from the right side, and Higgs and Zambo (if not in the lineup) from the left side as pinch hitters. Stick with it and let guys know their roles. And if Roccaforte continues to struggle (which I don’t think he will) swap he and Taylor in the order.

As for the pitching, I agree with a lot of what’s been said. Hammond is a good arm. But he’s a pen guy, not a starter, and definitely not a Friday night guy. Nezuh has had a great outing, a couple solid ones, and a couple stinkers. He’s a Sunday guy at best. Hopefully McGehee stays healthy the rest of the way and can settle in. Rawls has to be the guy on Fridays. He was solid last year, and if he wasn’t bothered by some nagging injury, underutilized. Like with some of the hitters, production matters. And we are now into the 2nd half of the season. The guy has been lights out. He’s allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 Ks per 9 innings. Those arent eye popping strikeout numbers, like it seems everybody is awed by in today’s game, he just makes pitches and gets outs. There’s been some VERY successful pitchers here in the last decade or so that didn’t have big K numbers. But they got people out, and ate up quality innings. Robichaux, Baranik, Boutte, Leger, Schmidt, etc. All of those guys were VERY successful starting pitchers. None of them were big strikeout guys.

How I would line them up would be:
Fri Rawls
Sat McGehee
Sun Nezuh
Midweek Ray/Hill

That leaves you with solid options in the pen. Hammond, Fluno, Moody, and Christie from the right side. Tate, Marshall, possibly Lafleur, and hopefully Theut soon, from the left side. All of those guys are capable. And there are some other pen guys that can get an out or two. Things spun on Moody last night but he’s a good option down there and will bounce back.

I think the pitching will be better once McGehee and Theut are both back. It’s been painfully obvious that the staff is trying to sneak innings out of guys the last few weeks. Once a solid foundation of what roles each guy will fill is established, and hopefully that begins THIS weekend, this staff can be effective.

Last thing, in response to the poster saying that UL hasn’t had a pitching staff since 2017….go check the 2021 staff. You had two pros leading the way (Cooke and Arrighetti) that were both great. Carter Robinson was the 3rd guy and had a good year. Schultz and Perrin had good years out of the pen and Talley had a great season as the closer. I know it seems like forever, but it was just two years ago. That staff pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 2021. It was really good. Unfortunately the offense wasn’t very good.

Know a few guys have already gave props, but kudos on the points made in here.