Miami Baseball Team Batting and ERA Rankings (cringe)

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I thought our hitting would carry us through this season until our arms really caught fire. But I was very wrong.
 
He might, it's not a lock. Truth be told we are wasting him, MSU lets Sims go 4 innings vs teams like Texas and he K's 10. We may want to start Palm on a Friday night and let Rosario and Mederos go Sat-Sun. We just went a whole weekend with our BY FAR best pitcher never throwing a pitch when we we were even or ahead. We are wasting him IMO.
I thought about that too, and then I realized if neither of those 3 threw a CG or we didn’t have a 10 run lead, we’d lose anyway. Our bullpen is that bad.
 
I thought about that too, and then I realized if neither of those 3 threw a CG or we didn’t have a 10 run lead, we’d lose anyway. Our bullpen is that bad.
I think Palm can get 7 on a Friday night, at least let him try, he does no good sitting in the bullpen catching Pitt Panther Grand Slams off our other guys and coming in when the game is over.
 
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Unfortunately that is who we are this season. We were severely over-ranked to start out. Hopefully this last recruiting class pans out and we add add few more elite classes the next 2 years but right now we appear to be a long ways from Omaha for the foreseeable future.
I think this 2021 class can reach Omaha in a year or two. We have a lot of young guys playing that wouldn't be out there in past seasons. Particularly the pitching. Quite frankly, some of the veteran pitchers and position players have been disappointing.

The realistic goal for this year is to somehow win a regional then get the experience of a super regional. I think the team is a lock to make a regional unless the wheels come completely off over the next 3-4 weeks . Forget about hosting. I think that went out the window getting swept by Pitt.
 
I think this 2021 class can reach Omaha in a year or two. We have a lot of young guys playing that wouldn't be out there in past seasons. Particularly the pitching. Quite frankly, some of the veteran pitchers and position players have been disappointing.

The realistic goal for this year is to somehow win a regional then get the experience of a super regional. I think the team is a lock to make a regional unless the wheels come completely off over the next 3-4 weeks . Forget about hosting. I think that went out the window getting swept by Pitt.
Maybe, Mederos would need to get his head right and Born play to his pre season level and we would have an outside shot at Omaha but with this coaching staff I don't see it. Get another Top 5 class and get me a Coach, then we can talk about Omaha.
 
Bingo. The talent argument is probably the worst of all excuses I have seen over last 15 years

it’s not a talent argument, it’s a lack of teaching the fundamentals and development argument that has dated back to mid to late Morris years
Question for you guys that know more than me. I gave up baseball to concentrate on other sports at age 14. The fundamental issues that I’m watching weekend after weekend are things I was taught in little league and by age 13 was just instinct. So my question is should our coaches really need to teach little league fundamentals to high level college baseball players? Why do we seemingly have a team full of guys who were never taught to play baseball the right way growing up?
 
Maybe, Mederos would need to get his head right and Born play to his pre season level and we would have an outside shot at Omaha but with this coaching staff I don't see it. Get another Top 5 class and get me a Coach, then we can talk about Omaha.
We need a 2nd baseman and outfielders next year. IDK what freshman we have that are not playing right now. Kayfus looks solid at 1st and SS and 3rd base are lock for the next two years.

The interesting thing is that all the 4 of the upper class outfielders are eligible for another year (Lala, Rivera, C Del Castillo, and Jenkins. Although CDC and Rivera could get drafted and leave. I'd really like to see Jenkins get his bat going because he covers so much ground in center field and is an important base runner. He just needs to be taught to hit line drives. They're telling him to hit the ball on the ground and that's what he does for outs. I'm not big on Lala. He gives great effort, but somewhere along the line, somebody should have changed his swing. He takes a big swing like a HR hitter. It's long and has plenty of holes in it. He's a dead pull hitter which makes him susceptible to outer edge pitches.

Hopefully Gil returns another year as he is starting to find his swing. I know he wants to get drafted as a junior, but I just don't know if that's going to happen. He could lock up the DH role next year and even split time with Kayfus at 1st base.

I don't know what to make of Toral. Does he get drafted if he finishes with an unspectacular year? Would he sign if he's a 15th-20th round pick?

So, we could be set offensively or looking for power replacements next year. The pitching will be fine with everyone getting their feet wet and feelings hurt this year.
 
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We need a 2nd baseman and outfielders next year. IDK what freshman we have that are not playing right now. Kayfus looks solid at 1st and SS and 3rd base are lock for the next two years.

The interesting thing is that all the 4 of the upper class outfielders are eligible for another year (Lala, Rivera, C Del Castillo, and Jenkins. Although CDC and Rivera could get drafted and leave. I'd really like to see Jenkins get his bat going because he covers so much ground in center field and is an important base runner. He just needs to be taught to hit line drives. They're telling him to hit the ball on the ground and that's what he does for outs. I'm not big on Lala. He gives great effort, but somewhere along the line, somebody should have changed his swing. He takes a big swing like a HR hitter. It's long and has plenty of holes in it. He's a dead pull hitter which makes him susceptible to outer edge pitches.

Hopefully Gil returns another year as he is starting to find his swing. I know he wants to get drafted as a junior, but I just don't know if that's going to happen. He could lock up the DH role next year and even split time with Kayfus at 1st base.

I don't know what to make of Toral. Does he get drafted if he finishes with an unspectacular year? Would he sign if he's a 15th-20th round pick?

So, we could be set offensively or looking for power replacements next year. The pitching will be fine with everyone getting their feet wet and feelings hurt this year.
You are a bit more optimistic than I am, lol. I like Rosario but not as a Friday night guy for a CWS caliber team. Mederos seems to have some issues and Dubbs is just OK. For sure they all may improve but they have a long way to go to get to a BVB/CMac/Slade level if they can ever get there nevermind the CBB elite.

We need a leadoff hitter and more power in the OF as well. I have given up on Jenkins, and hope Born and Kayfus can get there, they are still young so plenty of time Overall alot of question marks on this team and *** in the coaching I'm not feeling Omaha anytime soon. Hope I'm wrong because I go there every June for opening weekend
 
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Maybe, Mederos would need to get his head right and Born play to his pre season level and we would have an outside shot at Omaha but with this coaching staff I don't see it. Get another Top 5 class and get me a Coach, then we can talk about Omaha.
There are really only two things I gripe about the coaching staff. They wait too long to make pitching changes. Sunday's game was indicative of their decision making as I commented Smith had been hit hard by all four batters in his last inning even though two of them were outs. I would have made a change after the 3rd hard hit ball. They made the change 2 batter too late after Pitt had tied the game. If they made the change sooner and got out of the inning with no runs, the perhaps there's a different outcome.

Secondly, I don't like the hitting approach. I've been watching for several years and it's obvious that the approach is to take a lot of pitches and force the pitcher to throw you fastballs. Well, that only works against inferior pitching that we see during the midweek games. Miami takes pitches and gets into favorable hitting counts. During ACC games, the pitchers are sharper and throw strikes. They know Miami takes a lot of pitches so they'll fire a 0-0 fastball or get-me-over curveball for strike 1 because we're not swinging either way. I get so upset watching the let hanging curveballs go for strikes without offering a swing. You are not going to get a better pitch to hit with 2 strikes than you did with one or not strikes. Look how Pitt was aggressive in the strike zone against us. It didn't matter what the pitch was. If it's a good pitch to hit within the strike zone then they swung. The team needs to be a lot more aggressive early in the count. That's what I would change if I'm the hitting coach.
 
There are really only two things I gripe about the coaching staff. They wait too long to make pitching changes. Sunday's game was indicative of their decision making as I commented Smith had been hit hard by all four batters in his last inning even though two of them were outs. I would have made a change after the 3rd hard hit ball. They made the change 2 batter too late after Pitt had tied the game. If they made the change sooner and got out of the inning with no runs, the perhaps there's a different outcome.

Secondly, I don't like the hitting approach. I've been watching for several years and it's obvious that the approach is to take a lot of pitches and force the pitcher to throw you fastballs. Well, that only works against inferior pitching that we see during the midweek games. Miami takes pitches and gets into favorable hitting counts. During ACC games, the pitchers are sharper and throw strikes. They know Miami takes a lot of pitches so they'll fire a 0-0 fastball or get-me-over curveball for strike 1 because we're not swinging either way. I get so upset watching the let hanging curveballs go for strikes without offering a swing. You are not going to get a better pitch to hit with 2 strikes than you did with one or not strikes. Look how Pitt was aggressive in the strike zone against us. It didn't matter what the pitch was. If it's a good pitch to hit within the strike zone then they swung. The team needs to be a lot more aggressive early in the count. That's what I would change if I'm the hitting coach.
Baserunning? Agree on taking too many fat pitches early, been our Achilles heel for years. Guys like Yo, Toral, Gil, Rivera need to hack early and often at close pitches, not hit defensive down 1-2.
 
Baserunning?
Yes. forgot about that. We need to be stealing bases. There doesn't seem to be any emphasis on stealing bases. Louisville leads the league and is 2nd in the country in stolen bases. Pitt surely took advantage of that several times against us. That has to change.
 
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Question for you guys that know more than me. I gave up baseball to concentrate on other sports at age 14. The fundamental issues that I’m watching weekend after weekend are things I was taught in little league and by age 13 was just instinct. So my question is should our coaches really need to teach little league fundamentals to high level college baseball players? Why do we seemingly have a team full of guys who were never taught to play baseball the right way growing up?
When we are discussing approach and hitting, no it’s not taught in little league. That gets so overplayed when guys mention fundamentals. Yes there are times when guys don’t get around balls or stop their feet, or miss cutoff men. That stuff is taught in little league, yes.

We talk about approach, not necessarily the fundamentals of their swings. Everyone is a good hitter or they wouldn’t have gotten a scholarship. It’s knowing counts, recognizing pitches, not being selfish with runners on, etc. That is stuff you learn depending on how good you are and who you work with outside of school ball. Normally the better you are the earlier you learn that stuff. And it’s not that our guys don’t know how to do that little stuff, it’s a combo of showcase ball where nothing matters except launch angle, bat speed and exit velo, and coaching. There’s plenty of schools who have kids who grew up worrying about that, but are still getting the most out of them once they get them on campus. It’s a culture and accountability. That’s what matters.
 
When we are discussing approach and hitting, no it’s not taught in little league. That gets so overplayed when guys mention fundamentals. Yes there are times when guys don’t get around balls or stop their feet, or miss cutoff men. That stuff is taught in little league, yes.

We talk about approach, not necessarily the fundamentals of their swings. Everyone is a good hitter or they wouldn’t have gotten a scholarship. It’s knowing counts, recognizing pitches, not being selfish with runners on, etc. That is stuff you learn depending on how good you are and who you work with outside of school ball. Normally the better you are the earlier you learn that stuff. And it’s not that our guys don’t know how to do that little stuff, it’s a combo of showcase ball where nothing matters except launch angle, bat speed and exit velo, and coaching. There’s plenty of schools who have kids who grew up worrying about that, but are still getting the most out of them once they get them on campus. It’s a culture and accountability. That’s what matters.
Appreciate the reply. I guess to me the things you mentioned (knowing counts, adjusting approach based on situation, etc) are also basic and taught at a young age. I get maybe a guy or two struggling with this kind of stuff but how can we have a team that almost to a man are below average in these areas.
 
The jury is out on Gino but he might have to make some tough decisions at the end of the year.

I’ve never been real high on JD as a pitching coach and seeing guys like Rosario, Mederos, McFarlane struggling isn’t helping. I believe we decided he has sent all of 2 pitchers to MLB in 20 years as our pitching coach (Garcia and Suarez).

In terms of Lopes, I think anybody who watches us try to hit would reasonably question what our approach is and what is being taught. Even ADC seems to be regressing year over year. This isn’t nearly good enough.

It’s been a very disappointing season so far.
 
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Appreciate the reply. I guess to me the things you mentioned (knowing counts, adjusting approach based on situation, etc) are also basic and taught at a young age. I get maybe a guy or two struggling with this kind of stuff but how can we have a team that almost to a man are below average in these areas.
It can all go out the window when you have a bunch of guys being selfish and things never being corrected. Which I think most of us agree are where we are
 
And that's with us averaging 13.8 rpg (3.4 opposing rpg) in our mid-week games.
 
It can all go out the window when you have a bunch of guys being selfish and things never being corrected. Which I think most of us agree are where we are
That and guys like Toral, Morales, ADC, etc never had to "learn", they just outtalented other kids. That don't cut when the pitchers are on the hitters level skill wise and know how to work a batter (see BVB last year), not just throw the ball (see Slade last year and Mederos this year)
 
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Yesterday, I looked at those stats versus the rest of the ACC. What I found was that we are, out of 14 teams,

8th-10th in
Batting Average
ERA
Fielding %age

No way are there 7-9 ACC teams with more talent than this team

We have underperformed and are the definition of mediocrity
 
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