OT: Boogs Not Mens Softball
- Thread starter WDE_Tarp
- Start date
Don’t. It sounds like the Orioles have found the money to match what he’s asking. He is asking for $2.5MM and someone on one of the board is saying the Os came back with a $2.4MM offer. Just can’t imagine him turning that down.
Had three players drafted today. Julien went in the 18th round, Owen went 21st round, and Anderson went 23rd round. Talking with someone fairly close to Julien, it sounds like there’s a good chance he comes back. But others have said they think he will leave. I think Anderson leaves. I think Owen returns.
Also had three signees drafted: Nate LaRue 25th, Ramsey David 35th, and Mason Greer 37th.
Also had three signees drafted: Nate LaRue 25th, Ramsey David 35th, and Mason Greer 37th.
Last pick of the 7th round. Slot value is high $180s, but Dad played in MLB. Will be interesting to see what he does
I’m still sticking to my guns that he comes back, mainly because I think he’s definitely a top 10 round talent. He needs to have a good summer and next season though.
If he had improved from last year then he would have been drafted pretty high and I would have encouraged him to go, but he needs work. It isn't just the slump, he has to learn how to protect the plate. As a sophomore it makes a lot of sense to come back and try to improve that stock IMO.
Last I saw, someone said they agreed to $2.3 million, but I haven’t seen that confirmed by anyone official.
Yeah that's what we need. Delayed a couple of days, beat HELL out of Rameses & have worn out arms going into CWS.
Could be a wet weekend
What read is that it can’t get delayed past Tuesday. Then there’s all sorts of ways to determine who advances
D1Baseball’s writeup of our super regional.
Chapel Hill Super Regional Preview: Scrappy Auburn Takes Aim At Hot-Hitting UNC
POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 6, 2019
Auburn (36-25) at No. 14 North Carolina (45-17)
BRYSON FIELD AT BOSHAMER STADIUM
Saturday: Noon ET (ESPN2)
Sunday: 11:30 ET (ESPN)
Monday (if necessary): 1 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
How Auburn Got Here
Schedule and Results | Team Stats and Leaders
After losing a host of key players from last year’s super regional team, Auburn has had to grind its way to a 33-25 overall record and a 15-18 showing in the SEC, counting a 1-2 week at the conference tournament. Credit Auburn’s fine coaching staff with finding a way to get this team back to super regionals despite key injuries on the mound: flame-thrower Davis Daniel has missed the whole season, lefty Jack Owen missed a big chunk of time in the middle of the season, and ace Tanner Burns missed time down the stretch with shoulder soreness. On top of that, the three most talented players in Auburn’s lineup struggled at the plate for most of the season, as Will Holland, Steven Williams and Edouard Julien are all hitting below .250 and each has a sub-.800 OPS. But all three of them had strong weekends at the Atlanta Regional, highlighted by Williams’ walk-off three-run homer in the ninth to beat host Georgia Tech on Saturday. That big swing helped the Tigers win the regional in three games.
How North Carolina Got Here
Schedule and Results | Team Stats and Leaders
The Tar Heels returned plenty of power arms and several key bats from last year’s Omaha team, and some stellar freshmen helped plug a few holes, allowing UNC to snag a home regional for the third year in a row. That hosting opportunity was in doubt after UNC lost its final series at home against NC State, but the Heels rebounded to play outstanding baseball during a 4-0 run through the ACC tournament, propelling them back into the top 16. This North Carolina team has had its share of challenges — shaky defense, sometimes-erratic strike-throwing, and the loss of rotation stalwart Luca Dalatri to injury — but still grinded its way to 42 wins and a 21-13 aggregate ACC record. Then UNC rode its red-hot offense to a 3-0 showing in regionals, extending its winning streak to seven games in the process.
Chapel Hill Super Regional: Tale of the Tape
Starting Pitching
If Tanner Burns were completely healthy and in midseason form, this category would be close. But Burns missed time in May (including the SEC tournament) with shoulder soreness, and he exited after three rocky innings in regionals, leaving his status cloudy once again. Auburn has announced it will start lefthanders Jack Owen (4-2, 2.46) and Bailey Horn (4-0, 6.10) in the first two games, with Burns possibly an option out of the bullpen and Monday TBA. It helps to have lefthanded pitching against the Tar Heels, so the Owen and Horn have a chance to keep UNC’s potent offense at bay, especially since Horn is peaking at the right time, coming off six innings of two-hit, shutout ball against Georgia Tech.
But the Tar Heels have a super-talented second-round pick fronting the rotation in the electric Tyler Baum, who features a 93-96 fastball, a power curveball that flashes plus and a solid changeup. When he commands the zone — and he’s done a good job with that down the stretch — he’s capable of dominating. Fellow junior righty Austin Bergner also has power stuff, with a 91-94 fastball and a plus changeup, though his breaking ball and control have been inconsistent. Bergner came through with seven innings of two-run ball in the regional clincher against Tennessee, an encouraging sign for the Heels heading into this weekend. Freshman lefty Will Sandy serves as more of an opener who will get the Heels into the third or fourth inning and then hand off to the outstanding bullpen.
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Bullpen
Auburn’s bullpen is built around sophomore righty Cody Greenhill (3.23 ERA, 11 SV), a big ox who simply overpowers hitters with a high-spin-rate fastball that can bump the mid-90s. Jr. LHP Elliott Anderson is another weapon against UNC’s lefthanded hitters, with an 88-90 fastball and a good 78-80 slider that eats up lefties. And loose-armed freshman lefty Brooks Fuller has good sink on an 86-89 fastball along with a nice, sharp curveball at 75-78, making him another good weapon against lefties. Ryan Watson and Richard Fitts give the Tigers a pair of righties who can work multiple innings — Fitts went six shutout in relief of Burns on Saturday. It’s become a capable enough bullpen group after struggling earlier in the year, but it’s far from elite.
UNC does have an elite bullpen, with three big-time power arms from the right side in Joey Lancellotti (6-2, 2.08, 56 K in 52 IP), Austin Love (7-4, 3.23, 60 K in 61.1 IP) and Hansen Butler (5-0, 1.80), along with a funky lefty who came up huge in last year’s postseason in Caden O’Brien (4.91 ERA).
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Offense
The Tar Heels have a clear advantage in this category as well, ranking 20th in the nation in scoring (7.4 runs per game), while Auburn ranks 138th (5.8 runs per game). North Carolina has ridden a power surge through the postseason, hitting 14 homers in its last six games dating back to its second conference tournament game. ACC freshman of the year Aaron Sabato (.341/.342/.677, 16 HR) and first-round pick Michael Busch (.290/.441/.567, 16 HR) give UNC a pair of premium sluggers who can both drive the ball out to any part of the ballpark, and both are tough outs. Danny Serretti, Ike Freeman and Ashton McGee form an outstanding supporting cast, and all of them are hot. Veterans like Brandon Martorano and Dallas Tessar also have shown a knack for delivering timely hits, and Dylan Harris is a hard-nosed spark plug. As always, UNC is exceptionally patient at the plate and leads the country with 388 walks.
The Tigers are a different team when Williams, Holland and Julien are locked in, as they were in regionals — especially the first two. Underclassmen Judd Ward, Ryan Bliss and Kason Howell bring exciting athleticism and speed to the mix along with Holland. Conor Davis and Rankin Woley provide veteran presence and physicality. This team will grind out at-bats and manufacture offense by any means necessary, but it’s not a scary lineup unless the Williams-Holland-Julien trio is rolling.
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Defense
Defense has been UNC’s most glaring weakness this year, as the Tar Heels are fielding just .968 (146th in the nation). This team is simply prone to lapses in concentration and tends to make errors in bunches — but the defense has been better the last two weeks. Serretti and Freeman are good on the left side of the infield, but second base has been a problem spot, and the Tar Heels do a poor job controlling the running game, throwing out just 15.5 percent of basestealers.
Auburn’s defense is built around Holland, an elite talent at shortstop with premium range and a strong arm, though he’s fielding a modest .942, in part because he gets to balls that other shortstops can’t reach. Bliss gives him a super-athletic and reliable double play partner, and catcher Matt Scheffler does a great job handling the pitching staff, though he’s thrown out just 10 of 66 basestealers. Howell and Ward have excellent range in the outfield.
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EDGE: AUBURN
Experience/Intangibles
Toughness has carried Auburn a long way this year, helping the Tigers overcome adversity all season long. They played with heavy hearts last weekend after the tragic death of longtime radio voice Rod Bramblett and his wife in a car wreck, but they did a good job channeling their emotions in regionals. The Tigers have plenty of holdovers from last year’s super regional run, and they’ve proven they can win on the road at ACC venues in the postseason, having won a regional at NC State last year and another at Georgia Tech last week.
But UNC is well stocked with College World Series veterans, led by Busch, Freeman, McGee, Martorano, Bergner, O’Brien and Lancellotti, all of whom have valuable experience on the sport’s biggest stage. Boshamer Stadium is no SEC venue, but the Tar Heels do play very well at home, where they went 31-6 in the regular season. Auburn went 10-12 on the road.
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Chapel Hill Super Regional Preview: Scrappy Auburn Takes Aim At Hot-Hitting UNC
POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 6, 2019
Auburn (36-25) at No. 14 North Carolina (45-17)
BRYSON FIELD AT BOSHAMER STADIUM
Saturday: Noon ET (ESPN2)
Sunday: 11:30 ET (ESPN)
Monday (if necessary): 1 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
How Auburn Got Here
Schedule and Results | Team Stats and Leaders
After losing a host of key players from last year’s super regional team, Auburn has had to grind its way to a 33-25 overall record and a 15-18 showing in the SEC, counting a 1-2 week at the conference tournament. Credit Auburn’s fine coaching staff with finding a way to get this team back to super regionals despite key injuries on the mound: flame-thrower Davis Daniel has missed the whole season, lefty Jack Owen missed a big chunk of time in the middle of the season, and ace Tanner Burns missed time down the stretch with shoulder soreness. On top of that, the three most talented players in Auburn’s lineup struggled at the plate for most of the season, as Will Holland, Steven Williams and Edouard Julien are all hitting below .250 and each has a sub-.800 OPS. But all three of them had strong weekends at the Atlanta Regional, highlighted by Williams’ walk-off three-run homer in the ninth to beat host Georgia Tech on Saturday. That big swing helped the Tigers win the regional in three games.
How North Carolina Got Here
Schedule and Results | Team Stats and Leaders
The Tar Heels returned plenty of power arms and several key bats from last year’s Omaha team, and some stellar freshmen helped plug a few holes, allowing UNC to snag a home regional for the third year in a row. That hosting opportunity was in doubt after UNC lost its final series at home against NC State, but the Heels rebounded to play outstanding baseball during a 4-0 run through the ACC tournament, propelling them back into the top 16. This North Carolina team has had its share of challenges — shaky defense, sometimes-erratic strike-throwing, and the loss of rotation stalwart Luca Dalatri to injury — but still grinded its way to 42 wins and a 21-13 aggregate ACC record. Then UNC rode its red-hot offense to a 3-0 showing in regionals, extending its winning streak to seven games in the process.
Chapel Hill Super Regional: Tale of the Tape
Starting Pitching
If Tanner Burns were completely healthy and in midseason form, this category would be close. But Burns missed time in May (including the SEC tournament) with shoulder soreness, and he exited after three rocky innings in regionals, leaving his status cloudy once again. Auburn has announced it will start lefthanders Jack Owen (4-2, 2.46) and Bailey Horn (4-0, 6.10) in the first two games, with Burns possibly an option out of the bullpen and Monday TBA. It helps to have lefthanded pitching against the Tar Heels, so the Owen and Horn have a chance to keep UNC’s potent offense at bay, especially since Horn is peaking at the right time, coming off six innings of two-hit, shutout ball against Georgia Tech.
But the Tar Heels have a super-talented second-round pick fronting the rotation in the electric Tyler Baum, who features a 93-96 fastball, a power curveball that flashes plus and a solid changeup. When he commands the zone — and he’s done a good job with that down the stretch — he’s capable of dominating. Fellow junior righty Austin Bergner also has power stuff, with a 91-94 fastball and a plus changeup, though his breaking ball and control have been inconsistent. Bergner came through with seven innings of two-run ball in the regional clincher against Tennessee, an encouraging sign for the Heels heading into this weekend. Freshman lefty Will Sandy serves as more of an opener who will get the Heels into the third or fourth inning and then hand off to the outstanding bullpen.
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Bullpen
Auburn’s bullpen is built around sophomore righty Cody Greenhill (3.23 ERA, 11 SV), a big ox who simply overpowers hitters with a high-spin-rate fastball that can bump the mid-90s. Jr. LHP Elliott Anderson is another weapon against UNC’s lefthanded hitters, with an 88-90 fastball and a good 78-80 slider that eats up lefties. And loose-armed freshman lefty Brooks Fuller has good sink on an 86-89 fastball along with a nice, sharp curveball at 75-78, making him another good weapon against lefties. Ryan Watson and Richard Fitts give the Tigers a pair of righties who can work multiple innings — Fitts went six shutout in relief of Burns on Saturday. It’s become a capable enough bullpen group after struggling earlier in the year, but it’s far from elite.
UNC does have an elite bullpen, with three big-time power arms from the right side in Joey Lancellotti (6-2, 2.08, 56 K in 52 IP), Austin Love (7-4, 3.23, 60 K in 61.1 IP) and Hansen Butler (5-0, 1.80), along with a funky lefty who came up huge in last year’s postseason in Caden O’Brien (4.91 ERA).
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Offense
The Tar Heels have a clear advantage in this category as well, ranking 20th in the nation in scoring (7.4 runs per game), while Auburn ranks 138th (5.8 runs per game). North Carolina has ridden a power surge through the postseason, hitting 14 homers in its last six games dating back to its second conference tournament game. ACC freshman of the year Aaron Sabato (.341/.342/.677, 16 HR) and first-round pick Michael Busch (.290/.441/.567, 16 HR) give UNC a pair of premium sluggers who can both drive the ball out to any part of the ballpark, and both are tough outs. Danny Serretti, Ike Freeman and Ashton McGee form an outstanding supporting cast, and all of them are hot. Veterans like Brandon Martorano and Dallas Tessar also have shown a knack for delivering timely hits, and Dylan Harris is a hard-nosed spark plug. As always, UNC is exceptionally patient at the plate and leads the country with 388 walks.
The Tigers are a different team when Williams, Holland and Julien are locked in, as they were in regionals — especially the first two. Underclassmen Judd Ward, Ryan Bliss and Kason Howell bring exciting athleticism and speed to the mix along with Holland. Conor Davis and Rankin Woley provide veteran presence and physicality. This team will grind out at-bats and manufacture offense by any means necessary, but it’s not a scary lineup unless the Williams-Holland-Julien trio is rolling.
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Defense
Defense has been UNC’s most glaring weakness this year, as the Tar Heels are fielding just .968 (146th in the nation). This team is simply prone to lapses in concentration and tends to make errors in bunches — but the defense has been better the last two weeks. Serretti and Freeman are good on the left side of the infield, but second base has been a problem spot, and the Tar Heels do a poor job controlling the running game, throwing out just 15.5 percent of basestealers.
Auburn’s defense is built around Holland, an elite talent at shortstop with premium range and a strong arm, though he’s fielding a modest .942, in part because he gets to balls that other shortstops can’t reach. Bliss gives him a super-athletic and reliable double play partner, and catcher Matt Scheffler does a great job handling the pitching staff, though he’s thrown out just 10 of 66 basestealers. Howell and Ward have excellent range in the outfield.
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EDGE: AUBURN
Experience/Intangibles
Toughness has carried Auburn a long way this year, helping the Tigers overcome adversity all season long. They played with heavy hearts last weekend after the tragic death of longtime radio voice Rod Bramblett and his wife in a car wreck, but they did a good job channeling their emotions in regionals. The Tigers have plenty of holdovers from last year’s super regional run, and they’ve proven they can win on the road at ACC venues in the postseason, having won a regional at NC State last year and another at Georgia Tech last week.
But UNC is well stocked with College World Series veterans, led by Busch, Freeman, McGee, Martorano, Bergner, O’Brien and Lancellotti, all of whom have valuable experience on the sport’s biggest stage. Boshamer Stadium is no SEC venue, but the Tar Heels do play very well at home, where they went 31-6 in the regular season. Auburn went 10-12 on the road.
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EDGE: NORTH CAROLINA
Chapel Hill Super Regional: Views From The Dugout
AN OPPOSING COACH BREAKS DOWN AUBURN
“THEY’VE GOT GOOD CULTURE OVER THERE. THEY GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS IN A REAL COOL AND CALM MANNER, AND I THINK THEY’RE AN EASY TEAM TO ROOT FOR.
“You’ve gotta love [head coach] Butch [Thompson], because he’s just good old boy that, you feel like, ‘Man, I don’t know who I’m gonna root for, but I think I’m gonna root for his team.’ I think his players got big-time buy in. Plus if you’ve got a dude-dude like Burns, it just gives your team such an identity, like [Casey] Mize did before him. When you’ve got one of those guys, it puts everybody in their right roles, people don’t have to step out into an uncomfortable position. They’ve got that little juco catcher too [Scheffler], he’s a maniac, he gets after their pitchers. We had all that talk about the third coach — they’re lucky, shoot, they got their third coach in that juco catcher. He’ll challenge them, I thought he was really impressive. Skill-wise I would not rate him as one of the top SEC catchers, but he handles the baseball, he competes, and he gives the staff no leeway to screw up. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for, somebody getting after it and keeping the pitchers in line. He made a big impact on me when we played them.
“Defensively Holland and Bliss have got good range in there. Woley’s athletic on the right side. The Howell kid can get after it in the outfield, he’ll make some really big time catches. I think he’s going to be a really good center fielder in this league for a while. Julien is fine at third, I don’t think he’s great or bad, just does his job at a good enough level.
“Williams and Julien were in a funk there for a while this year. Against Julien, you have to get the ball in, because more than any lefty you’ll see he tries to drive the ball left-center. I know they tinkered their lineup a little bit as the year went on, their lineup looked a lot different late. But I like those two freshmen, Howell and Bliss, they have good energy and compete in the box really well. Will Holland was really bad for a long stretch this year, but that guy’s too talented to struggle all year and I know he’s started to get it going a little bit, which he should. I think he’s really, really unique, really athletic. You know how it is, guys get in funks, but he appeared to kind of get it rolling.
“I LIKE RANKIN WOLEY, I THOUGHT HE WAS TOUGH AND HAD A NICE APPROACH.
The big man, Conor Davis, he scares you, it’s not like he’s a guy that’s hitting 30 homers or whatever, but he makes you very uncomfortable because he’s so big, he can do different things, he can drive the ball to right-center, he can pull it. You’ve got to be careful with him. Steven Williams against us would take the pitches that were hittable and he swung out of the zone. It kind of continued as the year went on, I think probably just trying to do a little more than he’s capable of. He’s certainly a talented dude, he’ll figure it out. But this game is so mental, and if you get into a funk and get out of your approach, you’ll end up crushing yourself for a while. But it ain’t like a big league year with 162 games where you’ll eventually get back to where you are. Sometimes in 56 games, you might not get all the way. But he had that big swing when it mattered against Georgia Tech.
“The only thing about that team I would say is they can be executed against. If you can pitch up in the zone and you can get in there and jam some balls glove-side on those lefties, if you’re a righthander, just to make them a little uneasy, they can go out there and get diced up a little bit. They can still beat you 2-1 or 3-2, but they don’t put the fear of God into you offensively like some of these SEC teams. Especially compared to like Vanderbilt or Mississippi State, it’s not even close. But good team speed, they’re athletic. I think they have an identity. They grind. And they’ve got a head coach who’s real consistent, keeps them even-keeled, doesn’t let anything negative snowball on them. I think in the end that gives them a chance, that’s all you can ask for.
“JACK OWEN IS A REAL CRAFTSMAN WITH A VERY GOOD CHANGEUP.
Burns is really good, he can be crazy fastball-heavy sometimes and it works. I didn’t see the elite offspeed ability against us, but I see that as a compliment, he just out-competed us. It was 93-97, really good stuff, ran it in there against righties on the inner half, up in the zone effectively. And he does have a good slider, we’ve all seen it.
Their closer, Greenhill, that guy really competes. It’s kinda weird, I don’t think he actually has the most incredible stuff, but man, he just gets after it. I don’t know this for a fact but I feel like the team just kinda knows when he’s pitching that it’s winning time. You can just kinda feel it when you watch him. Every winning team, you need that guy at the end of the game that makes everybody comfortable, and he does that. They can throw a ton of lefties out there, so it’s kind of unorthodox. Let’s say you have a lefthanded loaded lineup or your guys just don’t seem to react very well too it, they can go out there and dice you up for five or six innings. You get pressured up and next thing you know, you’re done. The Anderson kid, he was OK. When he gets his delivery on time and simplifies it, I think he’ll be just fine down the road. Looks like an SEC guy, got some arm-side run.
“I think Brooks Fuller is gonna be pretty good, he flashed some all right stuff, just doesn’t always have command. I don’t know how much they’ve thrown Richard Fitts, he’s a little unorthodox from the right side, weird how he hides it. The kid I saw in the SEC tournament that was good was that Bailey Horn kid, that physical lefthander. He was really good in the SEC tournament, throws some fastballs in there at 91, a little curveball that I think has gotten better as the year’s gone on. He spun off some tight curves in the SEC tournament, got some guys in some real trouble.”
AN OPPOSING COACH BREAKS DOWN NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina righthander Tyler Baum (Aaron Fitt)
“I WASN’T SOLD ON THEM TO THIS LEVEL WHEN WE PLAYED THEM IN THE REGULAR SEASON. I THOUGHT THEY WERE PRETTY GOOD BUT JUST DIDN’T KNOW THAT THEY HAD QUITE ENOUGH, BUT I’LL TELL YOU WHAT, I THINK THEY’VE RAISED THEIR GAME TO ANOTHER LEVEL.
“I think they’ve got a bunch of gamers on that club. Obviously a couple of freshmen are nice looking players and real productive for them. But they’ve got some of those older guys like Busch that just know how to win, it seems like. I don’t think they have any really great frontline starters. I think Baum can be if his stuff’s on, but past that, they kind of have to mix and match it, and they’ve done a nice job of figuring what guys roles are on the mound. I don’t know, they just seem to have something special going on, and most teams do this time of year, they’re playing well. But they’re like Florida State, I think they’re playing their best baseball of the year.
“BAUM’S STUFF IS REALLY SOME OF THE BETTER STUFF YOU’LL SEE RIGHT NOW.
But sometimes you look up and he’s knocked out of the game in the fourth or fifth inning. I think it just depends which guy shows up. I think the offspeed stuff is pretty good. They do a really good job there overall with their guys with their changeups and all that. The fastball’s really good, the breaking ball and changeup are solid. I think he still has to get outs with the fastball, but he’s able to use those pitches to set it up to get outs with the fastball. And I think the guy competes, I do. Put it this way, I think he’s gonna be one of the tougher guys to face in an opener of a super regional.
“I’m not afraid of Bergner. I think his stuff is definitely beatable. He doesn’t spin the breaking ball that consistently, and I think that he gets fairly predictable. The information now that everybody has access too, we all have access to stuff like, what pitches these guys are throwing at what percentages with runners in scoring position, different counts, all that stuff. You’ve either got to be really unpredictable, or your stuff has to be at an extremely high level. I do know Bergner threw well in the regional. Based on the velocity, 91-94, and his changeup and his size, feels like he should be dominant. But I’ve always felt like there’s something missing for him to be an elite guy. For him it’s got a chance to blow up on him.
“They started Will Sandy in the second game last week, and they must feel like they’re better off chopping the game up with those relievers, and they’ve got some pretty darn good relievers in that pen, starting Sandy and chopping the game up. Sandy’s a standard three-pitch lefty, fastball can be scattered a little bit at times, but the breaking ball’s more like a slurvish breaking ball, he’ll throw it both to right and lefthanded hitters. The changeup he’ll use in fastball counts.
“I love Lancellotti in that bullpen. I think that the stuff is high-end stuff, the slider’s good and the fastball’s 92-96. I think he’s a real competitor. His slider’s his go-to pitch with the game on the line, but I think the guy’s a bulldog. He’s got an occasional change that he uses, but I like the way that he’s pitched in key spots. I know Austin Love pitched well in the conference tournament, I got 90-93 with a slider 80-84 and a change 83-86. His changeup when it’s on can be his best pitch. Bansen Butler, man was his stuff good. He was like 91-94 with a good curveball and changeup, he was dominant. O’Brien, he’s the guy that every pitching staff needs, in my opinion. As much as you’d want the guy to be as good as he was in Omaha last year, he’s the lefty you can bring out of the pen and eat up some innings. It’s not overpowering, but good changeup and knows how to pitch a little bit. Those are the kind of guys that, it’s funny, all of a sudden you look up and that is the guy that pitches those pivotal three innings in a super regional and you get to Omaha. All of a sudden a starter goes out and doesn’t pitch too well, you go to a guy like O’Brien and he keeps you in the game and you come back and win the game. Unless you have a whole staff of really really high-end guys, a guy like this can make the difference for you. I like O’Brien, I do.
North Carolina’s Aaron Sabato (Aaron Fitt)
“SABATO’S HAVING AN AWESOME YEAR, WHAT A GREAT FRESHMAN BAT THAT IS.
And he’s tough, he’s tough to pitch to. He’s not one of these freshmen you can just get up there and spin it all the time and he’ll swing and miss a lot. He’s pretty advanced, does a nice job of making adjustments. I think Ike Freeman is one of their key guys, I really do. He’s at that spot in the lineup, fifth or something, he’s just that gritty veteran that seems to get big hits. He’ll safety squeeze on you with first and third and one out, he knows how to play, seems like he’s playing great defense at third base.
“They’ve certainly had better clubs offensively than this team. I know they’ve hit a fair amount of home runs, but they just seem overall like a tough, gritty, find-a-way-to-score-some-runs type club. Serretti’s a nice looking freshman. He’s got some swagger to him that I like. I mean hey, to come in and hit 4-hole and play shortstop at North Carolina as a true freshman, that says something. He doesn’t look to me like a kid that lacks any confidence. I like the way the kid plays. To be in a super regional with two freshmen in the middle of the lineup? That’s not an easy thing to do. A lot of the other guys don’t wow you, they’re role kind of guys, like [Caleb] Roberts, and I like Ashton McGee. They seem to be doing a good job of knowing their role.
“WHAT’S THE KEY AGAINST MICHAEL BUSCH? WALKING HIM. MAKING SURE THERE’S A BASE OPEN.
You can’t be predictable with him. I can’t sit here and tell you, ‘Hey, you can throw him offspeed and you’ve got a better chance.’ I think he’s a really, really advanced hitter. He’s a little more susceptible to lefthanded pitching, I don’t know what his splits are now, but I remember when we played them, I think he was far less dangerous facing lefthanded pitching than righties. I think it’s at least 100 points. But that’s the guy, him and Sabato are the two kids that can beat you. I’m not that scared of the rest of them, but they have a role. Martorano, sometimes he looks overmatched but he seems to get a big hit every now and then. This time of the year, most of these teams have somebody like Tessar that’s making those winning plays. Kudos to Coach [Mike] Fox for making the move with him. I’ve seen Tessar’s defense in right field win games for them.
“But the defense would be a concern of mine overall. It seems like it hasn’t hurt them lately, but it appears that that could be one of their real weaknesses that could cost them, but they’ve been able to overcome it. And you can run on them. Baserunners are 49 of 58. I think second base is a hole for them, but they’ve been able to overcome it, hasn’t cost them enough yet.”
“I WASN’T SOLD ON THEM TO THIS LEVEL WHEN WE PLAYED THEM IN THE REGULAR SEASON. I THOUGHT THEY WERE PRETTY GOOD BUT JUST DIDN’T KNOW THAT THEY HAD QUITE ENOUGH, BUT I’LL TELL YOU WHAT, I THINK THEY’VE RAISED THEIR GAME TO ANOTHER LEVEL.
“I think they’ve got a bunch of gamers on that club. Obviously a couple of freshmen are nice looking players and real productive for them. But they’ve got some of those older guys like Busch that just know how to win, it seems like. I don’t think they have any really great frontline starters. I think Baum can be if his stuff’s on, but past that, they kind of have to mix and match it, and they’ve done a nice job of figuring what guys roles are on the mound. I don’t know, they just seem to have something special going on, and most teams do this time of year, they’re playing well. But they’re like Florida State, I think they’re playing their best baseball of the year.
“BAUM’S STUFF IS REALLY SOME OF THE BETTER STUFF YOU’LL SEE RIGHT NOW.
But sometimes you look up and he’s knocked out of the game in the fourth or fifth inning. I think it just depends which guy shows up. I think the offspeed stuff is pretty good. They do a really good job there overall with their guys with their changeups and all that. The fastball’s really good, the breaking ball and changeup are solid. I think he still has to get outs with the fastball, but he’s able to use those pitches to set it up to get outs with the fastball. And I think the guy competes, I do. Put it this way, I think he’s gonna be one of the tougher guys to face in an opener of a super regional.
“I’m not afraid of Bergner. I think his stuff is definitely beatable. He doesn’t spin the breaking ball that consistently, and I think that he gets fairly predictable. The information now that everybody has access too, we all have access to stuff like, what pitches these guys are throwing at what percentages with runners in scoring position, different counts, all that stuff. You’ve either got to be really unpredictable, or your stuff has to be at an extremely high level. I do know Bergner threw well in the regional. Based on the velocity, 91-94, and his changeup and his size, feels like he should be dominant. But I’ve always felt like there’s something missing for him to be an elite guy. For him it’s got a chance to blow up on him.
“They started Will Sandy in the second game last week, and they must feel like they’re better off chopping the game up with those relievers, and they’ve got some pretty darn good relievers in that pen, starting Sandy and chopping the game up. Sandy’s a standard three-pitch lefty, fastball can be scattered a little bit at times, but the breaking ball’s more like a slurvish breaking ball, he’ll throw it both to right and lefthanded hitters. The changeup he’ll use in fastball counts.
“I love Lancellotti in that bullpen. I think that the stuff is high-end stuff, the slider’s good and the fastball’s 92-96. I think he’s a real competitor. His slider’s his go-to pitch with the game on the line, but I think the guy’s a bulldog. He’s got an occasional change that he uses, but I like the way that he’s pitched in key spots. I know Austin Love pitched well in the conference tournament, I got 90-93 with a slider 80-84 and a change 83-86. His changeup when it’s on can be his best pitch. Bansen Butler, man was his stuff good. He was like 91-94 with a good curveball and changeup, he was dominant. O’Brien, he’s the guy that every pitching staff needs, in my opinion. As much as you’d want the guy to be as good as he was in Omaha last year, he’s the lefty you can bring out of the pen and eat up some innings. It’s not overpowering, but good changeup and knows how to pitch a little bit. Those are the kind of guys that, it’s funny, all of a sudden you look up and that is the guy that pitches those pivotal three innings in a super regional and you get to Omaha. All of a sudden a starter goes out and doesn’t pitch too well, you go to a guy like O’Brien and he keeps you in the game and you come back and win the game. Unless you have a whole staff of really really high-end guys, a guy like this can make the difference for you. I like O’Brien, I do.
“SABATO’S HAVING AN AWESOME YEAR, WHAT A GREAT FRESHMAN BAT THAT IS.
And he’s tough, he’s tough to pitch to. He’s not one of these freshmen you can just get up there and spin it all the time and he’ll swing and miss a lot. He’s pretty advanced, does a nice job of making adjustments. I think Ike Freeman is one of their key guys, I really do. He’s at that spot in the lineup, fifth or something, he’s just that gritty veteran that seems to get big hits. He’ll safety squeeze on you with first and third and one out, he knows how to play, seems like he’s playing great defense at third base.
“They’ve certainly had better clubs offensively than this team. I know they’ve hit a fair amount of home runs, but they just seem overall like a tough, gritty, find-a-way-to-score-some-runs type club. Serretti’s a nice looking freshman. He’s got some swagger to him that I like. I mean hey, to come in and hit 4-hole and play shortstop at North Carolina as a true freshman, that says something. He doesn’t look to me like a kid that lacks any confidence. I like the way the kid plays. To be in a super regional with two freshmen in the middle of the lineup? That’s not an easy thing to do. A lot of the other guys don’t wow you, they’re role kind of guys, like [Caleb] Roberts, and I like Ashton McGee. They seem to be doing a good job of knowing their role.
“WHAT’S THE KEY AGAINST MICHAEL BUSCH? WALKING HIM. MAKING SURE THERE’S A BASE OPEN.
You can’t be predictable with him. I can’t sit here and tell you, ‘Hey, you can throw him offspeed and you’ve got a better chance.’ I think he’s a really, really advanced hitter. He’s a little more susceptible to lefthanded pitching, I don’t know what his splits are now, but I remember when we played them, I think he was far less dangerous facing lefthanded pitching than righties. I think it’s at least 100 points. But that’s the guy, him and Sabato are the two kids that can beat you. I’m not that scared of the rest of them, but they have a role. Martorano, sometimes he looks overmatched but he seems to get a big hit every now and then. This time of the year, most of these teams have somebody like Tessar that’s making those winning plays. Kudos to Coach [Mike] Fox for making the move with him. I’ve seen Tessar’s defense in right field win games for them.
“But the defense would be a concern of mine overall. It seems like it hasn’t hurt them lately, but it appears that that could be one of their real weaknesses that could cost them, but they’ve been able to overcome it. And you can run on them. Baserunners are 49 of 58. I think second base is a hole for them, but they’ve been able to overcome it, hasn’t cost them enough yet.”
That’s a lot of words. I’m more of a picture guy myself and looks like we have the edge on defense which wins championships. See y’all in the CWS.AN OPPOSING COACH BREAKS DOWN NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina righthander Tyler Baum (Aaron Fitt)
“I WASN’T SOLD ON THEM TO THIS LEVEL WHEN WE PLAYED THEM IN THE REGULAR SEASON. I THOUGHT THEY WERE PRETTY GOOD BUT JUST DIDN’T KNOW THAT THEY HAD QUITE ENOUGH, BUT I’LL TELL YOU WHAT, I THINK THEY’VE RAISED THEIR GAME TO ANOTHER LEVEL.
“I think they’ve got a bunch of gamers on that club. Obviously a couple of freshmen are nice looking players and real productive for them. But they’ve got some of those older guys like Busch that just know how to win, it seems like. I don’t think they have any really great frontline starters. I think Baum can be if his stuff’s on, but past that, they kind of have to mix and match it, and they’ve done a nice job of figuring what guys roles are on the mound. I don’t know, they just seem to have something special going on, and most teams do this time of year, they’re playing well. But they’re like Florida State, I think they’re playing their best baseball of the year.
“BAUM’S STUFF IS REALLY SOME OF THE BETTER STUFF YOU’LL SEE RIGHT NOW.
But sometimes you look up and he’s knocked out of the game in the fourth or fifth inning. I think it just depends which guy shows up. I think the offspeed stuff is pretty good. They do a really good job there overall with their guys with their changeups and all that. The fastball’s really good, the breaking ball and changeup are solid. I think he still has to get outs with the fastball, but he’s able to use those pitches to set it up to get outs with the fastball. And I think the guy competes, I do. Put it this way, I think he’s gonna be one of the tougher guys to face in an opener of a super regional.
“I’m not afraid of Bergner. I think his stuff is definitely beatable. He doesn’t spin the breaking ball that consistently, and I think that he gets fairly predictable. The information now that everybody has access too, we all have access to stuff like, what pitches these guys are throwing at what percentages with runners in scoring position, different counts, all that stuff. You’ve either got to be really unpredictable, or your stuff has to be at an extremely high level. I do know Bergner threw well in the regional. Based on the velocity, 91-94, and his changeup and his size, feels like he should be dominant. But I’ve always felt like there’s something missing for him to be an elite guy. For him it’s got a chance to blow up on him.
“They started Will Sandy in the second game last week, and they must feel like they’re better off chopping the game up with those relievers, and they’ve got some pretty darn good relievers in that pen, starting Sandy and chopping the game up. Sandy’s a standard three-pitch lefty, fastball can be scattered a little bit at times, but the breaking ball’s more like a slurvish breaking ball, he’ll throw it both to right and lefthanded hitters. The changeup he’ll use in fastball counts.
“I love Lancellotti in that bullpen. I think that the stuff is high-end stuff, the slider’s good and the fastball’s 92-96. I think he’s a real competitor. His slider’s his go-to pitch with the game on the line, but I think the guy’s a bulldog. He’s got an occasional change that he uses, but I like the way that he’s pitched in key spots. I know Austin Love pitched well in the conference tournament, I got 90-93 with a slider 80-84 and a change 83-86. His changeup when it’s on can be his best pitch. Bansen Butler, man was his stuff good. He was like 91-94 with a good curveball and changeup, he was dominant. O’Brien, he’s the guy that every pitching staff needs, in my opinion. As much as you’d want the guy to be as good as he was in Omaha last year, he’s the lefty you can bring out of the pen and eat up some innings. It’s not overpowering, but good changeup and knows how to pitch a little bit. Those are the kind of guys that, it’s funny, all of a sudden you look up and that is the guy that pitches those pivotal three innings in a super regional and you get to Omaha. All of a sudden a starter goes out and doesn’t pitch too well, you go to a guy like O’Brien and he keeps you in the game and you come back and win the game. Unless you have a whole staff of really really high-end guys, a guy like this can make the difference for you. I like O’Brien, I do.
North Carolina’s Aaron Sabato (Aaron Fitt)
“SABATO’S HAVING AN AWESOME YEAR, WHAT A GREAT FRESHMAN BAT THAT IS.
And he’s tough, he’s tough to pitch to. He’s not one of these freshmen you can just get up there and spin it all the time and he’ll swing and miss a lot. He’s pretty advanced, does a nice job of making adjustments. I think Ike Freeman is one of their key guys, I really do. He’s at that spot in the lineup, fifth or something, he’s just that gritty veteran that seems to get big hits. He’ll safety squeeze on you with first and third and one out, he knows how to play, seems like he’s playing great defense at third base.
“They’ve certainly had better clubs offensively than this team. I know they’ve hit a fair amount of home runs, but they just seem overall like a tough, gritty, find-a-way-to-score-some-runs type club. Serretti’s a nice looking freshman. He’s got some swagger to him that I like. I mean hey, to come in and hit 4-hole and play shortstop at North Carolina as a true freshman, that says something. He doesn’t look to me like a kid that lacks any confidence. I like the way the kid plays. To be in a super regional with two freshmen in the middle of the lineup? That’s not an easy thing to do. A lot of the other guys don’t wow you, they’re role kind of guys, like [Caleb] Roberts, and I like Ashton McGee. They seem to be doing a good job of knowing their role.
“WHAT’S THE KEY AGAINST MICHAEL BUSCH? WALKING HIM. MAKING SURE THERE’S A BASE OPEN.
You can’t be predictable with him. I can’t sit here and tell you, ‘Hey, you can throw him offspeed and you’ve got a better chance.’ I think he’s a really, really advanced hitter. He’s a little more susceptible to lefthanded pitching, I don’t know what his splits are now, but I remember when we played them, I think he was far less dangerous facing lefthanded pitching than righties. I think it’s at least 100 points. But that’s the guy, him and Sabato are the two kids that can beat you. I’m not that scared of the rest of them, but they have a role. Martorano, sometimes he looks overmatched but he seems to get a big hit every now and then. This time of the year, most of these teams have somebody like Tessar that’s making those winning plays. Kudos to Coach [Mike] Fox for making the move with him. I’ve seen Tessar’s defense in right field win games for them.
“But the defense would be a concern of mine overall. It seems like it hasn’t hurt them lately, but it appears that that could be one of their real weaknesses that could cost them, but they’ve been able to overcome it. And you can run on them. Baserunners are 49 of 58. I think second base is a hole for them, but they’ve been able to overcome it, hasn’t cost them enough yet.”
WAY to much serif font.
Not surprised.
Wow. You feel like you know a guy.
The Boogs out of whack athletic department is actually making these brave young men BUS 485 miles one way, all the while Gus rides round in his jet airplane. Paying him too much also has caused shortfalls such as this. Need to put that goob back on his Gus Bus and ship him somewhere. Sorry for getting OT there towards the end.
Edit to say, the more I think about this the more ruselt I get
Edit to say, the more I think about this the more ruselt I get
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No turkey today. Gonna fry some wings (still poultry) and hope the good luck continues
Here we go
Like UNC’s stadium. Always a fan of the brick backdrop
Like UNC’s stadium. Always a fan of the brick backdrop
Anyone just see the byline at the bottom that said “Jets looking at Todd McShay for front office” source Todd Mcshay. Lolling
