NC State - Game 1

Once again the coaching staff over extends our starter and fails to make a pitching change until after more runs are surrendered.
 
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Coaching isn’t much better. Base running isn’t much better. Team is just a little better. It is what it is. We are a tournament team but no better than a 2 or 3 seed.
 
As expected, people got a little too excited over the series against Rutgers and UMBC and the midweek wins over horrid teams. This program wasn't going to be fixed in one offseason.
 
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We're young, we're this, we're that. When do the excuses stop with this team? The play has been poor for years, so is it the players we are recruiting or the coaching? I understand even the best player make errors, and have slumps, but the collective mistakes on this team make you wonder.
 
Need a Diaz type of coach for the baseball team.team seems to pack focus at times especially when it comes to fielding and running bases.mistakes you should see out of little leaguers not div 1 players.evidently the team doesn't make these mistakes in practice but has trouble making them during the game.our players may lack the ability to perform under pressure in game like situations.
 
I don't think this team is far off from success. There are a few glaring areas that need improvement.

The biggest glaring need for improvement is defense. As talented as this team is, this is probably the worst fielding team in the ACC with a .965 fielding percentage. They have got to get better. It puts too much strain on the pitchers giving the other team extra outs and adding to the pitch count. It also causes more runs to be scored which puts more pressure on your offense.

Hitting with with runners in scoring position. Against the better teams, the Canes are terrible at getting the runners home which is part of a bigger hitting problem and that is approach. Our guys are talented, but young. Most do not have a very sophisticated approaches at the plate. After all, they were facing HS pitching just 1-2 years ago. They have good swings, but the approach needs refinement. Far too many guys are taking 1st pitch fastballs for a strike. They need to be sitting "dead red" fastball with a 0-0 count. Better hitters just look for location and will adjust to the speed. Raymond Gil seems to have this approach as he as hit several of his home runs early in the count and have been on both fastballs and curveballs which tells me he's looking location. That's next-level hitting. Don't give the pitcher a free strike. When you have guys in scoring position, you have to make solid contact. At times, hitters look like the leadoff guy taking a lot pitches. I had a simple rule when I played D-1 ball, "Never get to 2 strikes with runners in scoring position." You have greater odds of making solid contact when it's early in the count or you are ahead in the count. If you can drive the ball in what you think is a borderline strike with runners in scoring position, then do it. Miami hitters are taking the borderline hitable pitches for strikes with runners in scoring position which gets them behind in the count. It's fine with nobody on, but with runners on, that's a NO-NO!!!

Hitting with 2 strikes. This has been better than last year, but not good enough. I don't see enough guys adjusting their approach with 2 strikes. The adjustment I do see (which is a bad one) is guessing. Too many guys guessing whether its going to be curveball or fastball coming. You have 2 strikes, you can't guess. The approach good hitters make is to let the ball "get deep" and hit the ball to the opposite field. NC State players were doing this even without 2 strikes and I'll explain why later. Most pitchers will pitch away with 2 strikes. A pull hitter (which most guys are) can't hit a good fastball on the outside because they have to swing around the ball in order to pull it. This is a longer route to the ball. Secondly, on curveballs or change-ups thrown outside. The hitter's bat will be out in front of the plate in an attempt to pull the ball, but the ball is tailing away to the outside. Physically, the bat is on a different plane as the tip of the bat is pointed towards the pitcher just in front of the center of the plate which is the perfect swing when it's a fastball, but it not a fastball so the bat is literally 2-6 inches from even making contact., let alone the fact that the batter is way out in front of the pitch. When you hit a fastball, contact is normally made out in front of the plate and always for a ball pulled or hit up the middle. For curveballs and change-ups, the ball is hit at the back center of the place. Thus, the term "letting the ball get deep." Because McKendry was throwing his nasty change-up so well, some NC State hitters had the approach to hit everything to the opposite field. They were letting the ball "get deep." It didn't matter if the pitch was a fastball or a change-up. Because the ball was getting deep, they would swing late on fastballs, but kind of pushing it to the opposite field like a tennis player lets the ball get into the body and hits it opposite corner for a winner. If they were fooled and it was a change-up or curveball and since they let the ball "get deep", they had better timing which means better contact. Not all of their hitters had this approach. Many looked silly as McKendry had 11 strikeouts. He has one of the best change-ups in all of college baseball.

So, basically the "oppo" hitting approach means better plate coverage and better timing because you see the ball a split second longer. You give up pulling the ball, but you have better timing and contact on offspeed pitches. With the "oppo" approach, you let the ball get deep. You will drive fastballs to the opposite field gap or foul them off. If you are fooled on a curverball or change-up with the "oppo" approach, you wind up pulling the ball, but with authority. MLB hitters with this approach have the mindset that, "I'm going to drive fastballs to the opposite field gap and I'm going to hit curveballs for home runs." All good hitters (high avg) have this approach with 2 strikes and some have this approach all the time. Not a bad idea when teams are now playing "pull" shifts in the infield.

The "oppo" let the ball "get deep" approach is next-level hitting. I'd really like to see Miami hitters take this approach with two strikes and guys like Vilar, Escala, Amdidas, and Jenkins should have this approach all the time. They are not going to hit many home runs, but can drive the ball into the gaps with this approach. When this approach is mastered, strikeouts drop and hits increase. Therefore, avg goes up.
 
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I don't think this team is far off from success. There are a few glaring areas that need improvement.

The biggest glaring need for improvement is defense. As talented as this team is, this is probably the worst fielding team in the ACC with a .965 fielding percentage. They have got to get better. It puts too much strain on the pitchers giving the other team extra outs and adding to the pitch count. It also causes more runs to be scored which puts more pressure on your offense.

Hitting with with runners in scoring position. Against the better teams, the Canes are terrible at getting the runners home which is part of a bigger hitting problem and that is approach. Our guys are talented, but young. Most do not have a very sophisticated approaches at the plate. After all, they were facing HS pitching just 1-2 years ago. They have good swings, but the approach needs refinement. Far too many guys are taking 1st pitch fastballs for a strike. They need to be sitting "dead red" fastball with a 0-0 count. Better hitters just look for location and will adjust to the speed. Raymond Gil seems to have this approach as he as hit several of his home runs early in the count and have been on both fastballs and curveballs which tells me he's looking location. That's next-level hitting. Don't give the pitcher a free strike. When you have guys in scoring position, you have to make solid contact. At times, hitters look like the leadoff guy taking a lot pitches. I had a simple rule when I played D-1 ball, "Never get to 2 strikes with runners in scoring position." You have greater odds of making solid contact when it's early in the count or you are ahead in the count. If you can drive the ball in what you think is a borderline strike with runners in scoring position, then do it. Miami hitters are taking the borderline hitable pitches for strikes with runners in scoring position which gets them behind in the count. It's fine with nobody on with nobody on, but with runners on, that's a NO-NO!!!

Hitting with 2 strikes. This has been better than last year, but not good enough. I don't see enough guys adjusting their approach with 2 strikes. The adjustment I do see (which is a bad one) is guessing. Too many guys guessing whether its going to be curveball or fastball coming. You have 2 strikes, you can't guess. The approach good hitters make is to let the ball "get deep" and hit the ball to the opposite field. NC State players were doing this even without 2 strikes and I'll explain why later. Most pitchers will pitch away with 2 strikes. A pull hitter (which most guys are) can't hit a good fastball on the outside because they have to swing around the ball in order to pull it. This is a longer route to the ball. Secondly, on curveballs or change-ups thrown outside. The hitter's bat will be out in front of the plate in an attempt to pull the ball, but the ball is tailing away to the outside. Physically, the bat is on a different plane as the tip of the bat is pointed towards the pitcher just in front of the center of the plate which is the perfect swing when it's a fastball, but it not a fastball so the bat is literally 2-6 inches from even making contact., let alone the fact that the batter is way out in front of the pitch. When you hit a fastball, contact is normally made out in front of the plate and always for a ball pulled or hit up the middle. For curveballs and change-ups, the ball is hit at the back center of the place. Thus, the term "letting the ball get deep." Because McKendry was throwing his nasty change-up so well, some NC State hitters had the approach to hit everything to the opposite field. They were letting the ball "get deep." It didn't matter if the pitch was a fastball or a change-up. Because the ball was getting deep, they would swing late on fastballs, but kind of pushing it to the opposite field like a tennis player lets the ball get into the body and hits it opposite corner for a winner. If they were fooled and it was a change-up or curveball and since they let the ball "get deep", they had better timing which means better contact. Not all of their hitters had this approach. Many looked silly as McKendry had 11 strikeouts. He has one of the best change-ups in all of college baseball.

So, basically the "oppo" hitting approach means better plate coverage and better timing because you see the ball a split second longer. You give up pulling the ball, but you have better timing and contact on offspeed pitches. With the "oppo" approach, you let the ball get deep. You will drive fastballs to the opposite field gap or foul them off. If you are fooled on a curverball or change-up with the "oppo" approach, you wind up pulling the ball, but with authority. MLB hitters with this approach have the mindset that, "I'm going to drive fastballs to the opposite field gap and I'm going to hit curveballs for home runs." All good hitters (high avg) have this approach with 2 strikes and some have this approach all the time. Not a bad idea when teams are now playing "pull" shifts in the infield.

The "oppo" let the ball "get deep" approach is next-level hitting. I'd really like to see Miami hitters take this approach with two strikes and guys like Vilar, Escala, Amdidas, and Jenkins should have this approach all the time. They are not going to hit many home runs, but can drive the ball into the gaps with this approach. When this approach is mastered, strikeouts drop and hits increase. Therefore, avg goes up.

The 2-strike approach is nothing new. Most of us grew up learning to play baseball that way. But, as I have said many times, travel ball is ruining the sport, and they don't teach or expect guys to play for the team in travel ball. It's all about seeing how far you can hit it, no matter what the count is.

This is why I have been so critical of our recruiting for several years now. Instead of landing more guys like Jordan Lala who know how to play team-based, winning baseball, we have relied on Perfect Game rankings to take the showcase heroes.
 
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The 2-strike approach is nothing new. Most of us grew up learning to play baseball that way. But, as I have said many times, travel ball is ruining the sport, and they don't teach or expect guys to play for the team in travel ball. It's all about seeing how far you can hit it, no matter what the count is.

This is why I have been so critical of our recruiting for several years now. Instead of landing more guys like Jordan Lala who know how to play team-based, winning baseball, we have relied on Perfect Game rankings to take the showcase heroes.
Yes. It is not new. I learned this in HS by my coach that played triple A baseball. In college, I hit as many home runs to opposite field as I did pulling the ball. I was a "location" hitter. I hit the curveball really well so I didn't care what pitch was thrown. Just look location. However, this approach has somehow been lost in the age of "long ball hitting". Most analyst have acknowledged that MLB players are swinging for the fences and not worried about strikeouts. Nobody "chokes-up" with 2 strikes anymore either. So, we see more home runs, higher strikeouts, and lower batting avgs in MLB than ever.
 
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Yes. It is not new. I learned this in HS by my coach that played triple A baseball. In college, I hit as many home runs to opposite field as I did pulling the ball. I was a "location" hitter. I hit the curveball really well so I didn't care what pitch was thrown. Just look location. However, this approach has somehow been lost in the age of "long ball hitting". Most analyst have acknowledged that MLB players are swinging for the fences and not worried about strikeouts. Nobody "chokes-up" with 2 strikes anymore either. So, we see more home runs, higher strikeouts, and lower batting avgs in MLB than ever.

This program has problems. Obviously. And they've been glaring for several years.

The sad thing is, nobody seems to be doing the things that are required to fix it.
 
Yes. It is not new. I learned this in HS by my coach that played triple A baseball. In college, I hit as many home runs to opposite field as I did pulling the ball. I was a "location" hitter. I hit the curveball really well so I didn't care what pitch was thrown. Just look location. However, this approach has somehow been lost in the age of "long ball hitting". Most analyst have acknowledged that MLB players are swinging for the fences and not worried about strikeouts. Nobody "chokes-up" with 2 strikes anymore either. So, we see more home runs, higher strikeouts, and lower batting avgs in MLB than ever.
That's also why nobody can bunt anymore when it used to be you couldn't swing UNTIL you laid down a couple of good bunts.

Great post, info @Number1CanesFan !
 
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Yes. It is not new. I learned this in HS by my coach that played triple A baseball. In college, I hit as many home runs to opposite field as I did pulling the ball. I was a "location" hitter. I hit the curveball really well so I didn't care what pitch was thrown. Just look location. However, this approach has somehow been lost in the age of "long ball hitting". Most analyst have acknowledged that MLB players are swinging for the fences and not worried about strikeouts. Nobody "chokes-up" with 2 strikes anymore either. So, we see more home runs, higher strikeouts, and lower batting avgs in MLB than ever.

Votto and Rizzo do and, no surprise, they are two of the best hitters in baseball. But ya, your comment is accurate for the vast majority of MLB hitters these days. I guess it's economics - they don't get the big contract for BA.

Toral is the biggest concern - he'll never see another fastball in critical situations unless he changes his approach.
 
Yeah...exactly PUCK. Bunting and the like are that, but too bad, because Wiz and company used to win doing just that.
 
Votto and Rizzo do and, no surprise, they are two of the best hitters in baseball. But ya, your comment is accurate for the vast majority of MLB hitters these days. I guess it's economics - they don't get the big contract for BA.

Toral is the biggest concern - he'll never see another fastball in critical situations unless he changes his approach.
Come on...how can you even put Rizz in same sentence with Joey Bats smh
 
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Wonder how many times we can throw down to first and let the runner advance. We are great at that.
 
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