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Spring Ball Week 2:

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Alonzo Alvarez will be a freshman All-American, depending on how many games he starts at C or DH, which will determine if he makes one of the national 1st-3rd team lists. This guy is a beast!!!!!!

Gabo Milano is another beast; the only issue for Gabo is that he has Sheehan and Odgen in front of him. He will find his way in the lineup this season.

Mikey Fernandez looked good again today. Hopefully, he has turned a corner.
 
From Mike Kaffee
PRESEASON: WED 28 JAN 26

The bats finally warmed up as temperatures cooled, and they sizzled tonight by racking up 15 hits, including four for extra bases, with three players recording multiple hits. Leading the offensive effort was Daniel Cuvet, who went 2-3 with a double and two RBIs. Michael Torres also went 2-3, including a double, and Alonzo Alverez matched that feat with another 2-3 performance. Bennett Gary and Brandon DeGoti contributed with doubles as well. Of the 18 batters, only six failed to record a hit; two of those reached base through other means or contributed to scoring with sacrifice flies. As the offense awoke from its dormancy, strikeouts slightly decreased to 11, though that number remains high relative to the innings played.

Opening the evening session under the lights were Lyndon Glidewell and Jake Dorn, both pitchers high on the pitching charts. After tonight, maybe not so for Jake. Whether the temps were just too cold for the Florida-born player or just a horrible, horrible night for him on the mound, he pitched 4 innings, three of which saw the batters take him to the cleaners. It started with the first batter he faced, Michael Torres, who opened with a single. Then Derek Williams and Daniel Cuvet followed with an RBI double. After walking his fifth batter, JD felt enough damage for the inning. In the second inning, things did not improve for Jake, opening with a walk, followed two batters later by Bennett Gary going down the RF line with an RBI double. For the second inning in a row, Jake was unable to record the final third out. In the third inning, he did manage to get the final out, but not before another run scored on an SF by Fabio Peralta. This was set up with an opening drop ball by Mason Greenhouse playing left, with Jailen Watkins ending up standing on second. When one is having a bad night, it doesn't get better with Jackson Hugus with a single and Fabio following through with an SF to center. It took 4 innings, but Jake finally looked like the Jake we expect, retiring the side with a pair of strikeouts and no runs recorded. For Jake, chalk this up to a bad night, forget about it, and move forward.

Lyndon, despite the cold weather, showed resilience and delivered a notably strong performance. Unscored up tonight, he struck out six batters, walked only one, and remained unhit until the fourth inning. Given the challenging conditions, his teammates and coaches probably praised his effort, as he was impressive on the mound tonight.

Jack Durso and Michael Fernandez are next in rotation, just one inning each. Jack got himself in trouble with an opening walking Gabriel Milano, SAC to second on a nicely executed bunt by Jailen Watkins. He relinquished a second walk and was saved by the pitcher's best friend, the 4-6-3 DP.

Michael, on the other hand, had to work through an early mistake by Blylan West on an APO at first. They had Jake Ogden with too much of a lead-off first, but West threw the ball wide to second. A single by Alvarez put runners on the corners. Michael got Cian Copeland to ground out 6-3 to escape a run-scoring threat. Among the pitchers I have seen, Michael has shown the greatest improvement since the fall session, when he had no control and seemed to walk everyone he faced. Not so far this preseason.

Our setup and closing efforts concluded the evening in a manner that was far from ideal for either of them. It was yet another frustrating night for our pitching staff. In fact, ***** Bradley-Conley's performance was so problematic that JD may need to reconsider his options for the setup role. Michael Torres started the 6th inning with a double, followed by four consecutive singles from Williams, Cuvet, Sosa, and West, resulting in two runs. ***** did not manage to record a single out during his outing tonight.

Our closer, Ryan Bilka, delivered a less-than-stellar performance, but it was significantly better than *****'s. Out of five batters faced, three recorded hits, including an RBI single by Gabriel Milano that drove in Brandon DeGoti, who had doubled earlier. This isn't the kind of effort we expect from our setup and closer, and JD might chalk it up to weather or simply a bad night.
The remainder of the week is expected to bring weather similar to tonight's. We hope our pitchers will perform more consistently as our batters work to recover from their slump and begin to challenge a pitching staff that maintained control until tonight. However, our defense continues to make costly mistakes, and they have two more weeks to improve. Failing to do so could lead to another frustrating season filled with errors and missed opportunities.

The next scrimmage is scheduled for Friday at 4PM and will last 7 1/2 innings. Expect similar weather conditions, with temperatures in the low 60s—please bring warm clothing. On Saturday, temperatures are forecasted to drop into the 50s. The game will start at 5:30PM, and activities will conclude on Sunday around 11:20AM
 
ErickMarreroU said:
From Mike Kaffee
PRESEASON: WED 28 JAN 26

The bats finally warmed up as temperatures cooled, and they sizzled tonight by racking up 15 hits, including four for extra bases, with three players recording multiple hits. Leading the offensive effort was Daniel Cuvet, who went 2-3 with a double and two RBIs. Michael Torres also went 2-3, including a double, and Alonzo Alverez matched that feat with another 2-3 performance. Bennett Gary and Brandon DeGoti contributed with doubles as well. Of the 18 batters, only six failed to record a hit; two of those reached base through other means or contributed to scoring with sacrifice flies. As the offense awoke from its dormancy, strikeouts slightly decreased to 11, though that number remains high relative to the innings played.

Opening the evening session under the lights were Lyndon Glidewell and Jake Dorn, both pitchers high on the pitching charts. After tonight, maybe not so for Jake. Whether the temps were just too cold for the Florida-born player or just a horrible, horrible night for him on the mound, he pitched 4 innings, three of which saw the batters take him to the cleaners. It started with the first batter he faced, Michael Torres, who opened with a single. Then Derek Williams and Daniel Cuvet followed with an RBI double. After walking his fifth batter, JD felt enough damage for the inning. In the second inning, things did not improve for Jake, opening with a walk, followed two batters later by Bennett Gary going down the RF line with an RBI double. For the second inning in a row, Jake was unable to record the final third out. In the third inning, he did manage to get the final out, but not before another run scored on an SF by Fabio Peralta. This was set up with an opening drop ball by Mason Greenhouse playing left, with Jailen Watkins ending up standing on second. When one is having a bad night, it doesn't get better with Jackson Hugus with a single and Fabio following through with an SF to center. It took 4 innings, but Jake finally looked like the Jake we expect, retiring the side with a pair of strikeouts and no runs recorded. For Jake, chalk this up to a bad night, forget about it, and move forward.

Lyndon, despite the cold weather, showed resilience and delivered a notably strong performance. Unscored up tonight, he struck out six batters, walked only one, and remained unhit until the fourth inning. Given the challenging conditions, his teammates and coaches probably praised his effort, as he was impressive on the mound tonight.

Jack Durso and Michael Fernandez are next in rotation, just one inning each. Jack got himself in trouble with an opening walking Gabriel Milano, SAC to second on a nicely executed bunt by Jailen Watkins. He relinquished a second walk and was saved by the pitcher's best friend, the 4-6-3 DP.

Michael, on the other hand, had to work through an early mistake by Blylan West on an APO at first. They had Jake Ogden with too much of a lead-off first, but West threw the ball wide to second. A single by Alvarez put runners on the corners. Michael got Cian Copeland to ground out 6-3 to escape a run-scoring threat. Among the pitchers I have seen, Michael has shown the greatest improvement since the fall session, when he had no control and seemed to walk everyone he faced. Not so far this preseason.

Our setup and closing efforts concluded the evening in a manner that was far from ideal for either of them. It was yet another frustrating night for our pitching staff. In fact, ***** Bradley-Conley's performance was so problematic that JD may need to reconsider his options for the setup role. Michael Torres started the 6th inning with a double, followed by four consecutive singles from Williams, Cuvet, Sosa, and West, resulting in two runs. ***** did not manage to record a single out during his outing tonight.

Our closer, Ryan Bilka, delivered a less-than-stellar performance, but it was significantly better than *****'s. Out of five batters faced, three recorded hits, including an RBI single by Gabriel Milano that drove in Brandon DeGoti, who had doubled earlier. This isn't the kind of effort we expect from our setup and closer, and JD might chalk it up to weather or simply a bad night.
The remainder of the week is expected to bring weather similar to tonight's. We hope our pitchers will perform more consistently as our batters work to recover from their slump and begin to challenge a pitching staff that maintained control until tonight. However, our defense continues to make costly mistakes, and they have two more weeks to improve. Failing to do so could lead to another frustrating season filled with errors and missed opportunities.

The next scrimmage is scheduled for Friday at 4PM and will last 7 1/2 innings. Expect similar weather conditions, with temperatures in the low 60s—please bring warm clothing. On Saturday, temperatures are forecasted to drop into the 50s. The game will start at 5:30PM, and activities will conclude on Sunday around 11:20AM
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Sounds similar to last year's "rust-filled" Jan reports, so, maybe there's hope. Thanks Mike.
 
BP Joe said:
Sounds similar to last year's "rust-filled" Jan reports, so, maybe there's hope. Thanks Mike.
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Compared to the last two years, he is a lot more positive about this year's team. When you talk to him in person as well, he is more confident and has more belief in this team than in the last two seasons. O M A H A
 
Interesting situation with Pack. He really struggled with Alabama last year, falling to a place where they simply didn't use him. He was strong at Campbell- a very good baseball program- and he seems to have the stuff to fill a role. I worry he's a bit stretched at this level, but we will see how it plays out.

This bullpen is a bit thin right now for my liking, with the obvious caveat that two of the best guys are hurt right now.

How has Michael Taylor looked transitioning from UNLV? Felt like he had development runway and might step into a role early on.

Bilka is best used as a swing man, rather than a closer, where he might be a bit more wasted in a late inning only role.
 
Lance Roffers said:
Interesting situation with Pack. He really struggled with Alabama last year, falling to a place where they simply didn't use him. He was strong at Campbell- a very good baseball program- and he seems to have the stuff to fill a role. I worry he's a bit stretched at this level, but we will see how it plays out.

This bullpen is a bit thin right now for my liking, with the obvious caveat that two of the best guys are hurt right now.

How has Michael Taylor looked transitioning from UNLV? Felt like he had development runway and might step into a role early on.

Bilka is best used as a swing man, rather than a closer, where he might be a bit more wasted in a late inning only role.
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*****'s stuff is great, his issue is the two-pitch mix --- with how his arm angle is obvious to differentiate each pitch. His velo looked good, but fell off after more than one inning.

Bullpen is relying on freshmen to step up, but there's also been good growth from guys like Fernandez and Collera.

Taylor got injured in the fall, unlikely to play.

Bilka is a really interesting case. I agree about his value to start games in general, but to this team's situation specifically it makes more sense to have him as the closer (which is where they plan to start him out).
 
The bridge role in college baseball (5th to 8th innings) is more important in my view than any other role on a staff. If a team has a guy who can be the 9th inning piece to free up their best arm to be the bridge guy, they will win a lot of games. You see so many teams lose games in those bridge innings trying to get to their best guy as the "closer" and they let the game get tied or fall behind before they even get the chance to use their best arm. So silly to me and the data bears it out.

I'm not calling for Bilka to start (though I believe his results would be among the three best of starters we have). I believe Bilka should be the bridge guy who comes in as early as the 4th and fills multiple innings where Miami can steal games against teams without a Bilka bridge.

I want my best arm throwing lots of innings for me and too many times you see these stud relievers throwing 25-30 innings at the college level because coaches treat their bullpens like paint-by-numbers decisions. Creative ones steal wins for their teams.
 
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Lance Roffers said:
Sad to hear on Taylor. Felt like he was going to be a really interesting piece.
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Taylor would have been one of the guys cut if we had to trim down to 34. He did not look good or competitive at all in his three outings. in the last outing vs FAU he got hurt and is done for the year
 
Lance Roffers said:
The bridge role in college baseball (5th to 8th innings) is more important in my view than any other role on a staff. If a team has a guy who can be the 9th inning piece to free up their best arm to be the bridge guy, they will win a lot of games. You see so many teams lose games in those bridge innings trying to get to their best guy as the "closer" and they let the game get tied or fall behind before they even get the chance to use their best arm. So silly to me and the data bears it out.

I'm not calling for Bilka to start (though I believe his results would be among the three best of starters we have). I believe Bilka should be the bridge guy who comes in as early as the 4th and fills multiple innings where Miami can steal games against teams without a Bilka bridge.

I want my best arm throwing lots of innings for me and too many times you see these stud relievers throwing 25-30 innings at the college level because coaches treat their bullpens like paint-by-numbers decisions. Creative ones steal wins for their teams.
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JD said 4 days ago that Bilka will be the closer
 
ErickMarreroU said:
Taylor would have been one of the guys cut if we had to trim down to 34. He did not look good or competitive at all in his three outings. in the last outing vs FAU he got hurt and is done for the year
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Hopefully he gets better
But we can't afford projects after last years run
 
ErickMarreroU said:


JD said 4 days ago that Bilka will be the closer
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I understand he said this and it will be this. I'm saying I disagree with it. One of my critiques of Arteaga is he is paint by numbers in his bullpeb usage and allows lesser players to blow games in the middle innings in his insistence to stick to rigid roles.

He's the HC and he knows more than I do, but those are my thoughts on it.
 
Lance Roffers said:
I understand he said this and it will be this. I'm saying I disagree with it. One of my critiques of Arteaga is he is paint by numbers in his bullpeb usage and allows lesser players to blow games in the middle innings in his insistence to stick to rigid roles.

He's the HC and he knows more than I do, but those are my thoughts on it.
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Maybe he's planning on/hoping for a lot of 6 out saves.
 
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