Is anyone knowledgable about the baseball team? I know we were a little thin on pitching last year. I was on the Rutgers website and it sounds like we have some nice additions. Kinda curious, who are some upper and underclass men we should be paying attention to?
Baseball team
- Thread starter biazza38
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I don't see all the coaches as former Rutgers players as a plus. Doesn't sound like a smart approach. Do the assistants have proven recruiting and coaching and winning credentials from other programs? Do any of the coaches and players participate in the summer time Cape Cod league?
Litterio started off 2016 killing another promising inning by sac bunting like a moron. Why did this guy get handed the job again?
RU has been pretty consistent over the years in preferring the build a run vs. going for a big inning approach. And where they are in the lineup seems to make little difference. It also seems that they are as likely to sacrifice with runner on second with none out as runner on first with none out. I wonder if there is any data on the actual production for each of these approaches. I can recall way back to I think it was Fenster's last year when they had one of the best lineups in the country and still approached these decisions pretty much the same. I also recall a couple of years ago thinking about this and going back to look at their W/L% in one run games and the W/L% in other games. I don't remember the actual numbers, but the winning percentage was drastically worse in the one run games. I am certainly no expert, but this indicates to me that maybe the approach needs to be re-explored. I wonder if any of the knowledgeable fans on the board like Zap or one of the ex-players would tell us what they think.
"as expected"? Yeah, no shit, Miami is 6th in the nation. That being said "another" makes ZERO sense as it was the season's opening game.
2-0 in game 2.
Listen, typically if you get one out of three in Miami, you're related. This is the number 6 team in the country, on the road, first series of the season going against their aces and we lost 4 to 1 and 2-0. As weird as it sounds I'm not exactly upset about these losses. Last year we lost 5-2, 9-5, 9-3and 25-4.
Listen, typically if you get one out of three in Miami, you're related. This is the number 6 team in the country, on the road, first series of the season going against their aces and we lost 4 to 1 and 2-0. As weird as it sounds I'm not exactly upset about these losses. Last year we lost 5-2, 9-5, 9-3and 25-4.
I'm very pleased with how they've looked so far this season. The five pitchers we've sent out have all looked really good, especially Kyle Driscoll, who when throwing strikes is incredibly tough to hit, and the freshman lefty Dante Scafidi, who looked virtually unhittable by Miami. I think the fact that five of our pitchers have combined to hold the sixth-ranked team in the country to 6 runs in 18 innings is very encouraging.
Offensively, we have to figure out a way to score some runs. Mike Carter is probably our best pure hitter, and hopefully he isn't out for an extended period of time. Marcinczyk, our most dangerous hitter, has yet to get going. This year's lineup isn't deep with a ton of power, but there is a lot of speed.
That being said, I think Litterio has got to be more aggressive on the base paths. Down 1-0, and DH Milo Freeman gets aboard to leadoff the seventh. Clean-up hitter Chris Suseck, who led the team last year with 14 doubles and was second with 30 RBIs, steps to the plate with speedy Mike Martinez, who runs a 6.9 60 and stole nearly 20 bases each year of his high school career, preparing to pinch run. If Lit lets Martinez lose and he swipes second base early in the count, you have good speed in scoring position with three chances (Suseck, John Jennings, and Jawuan Harris) to get him home. Instead, Suseck sacrifices himself, moving Martinez to second, Jennings grounds out and then Harris Ks with Martinez at third and two outs.
I don't mind the sac bunt in the right spot, but with the speed we have on this year's team, I think we have to be aggressive to score some runs.
Having said that, really pleased with how solid the pitching staff has been through two games and am excited that this could be a nice bounce back year for RU.
Offensively, we have to figure out a way to score some runs. Mike Carter is probably our best pure hitter, and hopefully he isn't out for an extended period of time. Marcinczyk, our most dangerous hitter, has yet to get going. This year's lineup isn't deep with a ton of power, but there is a lot of speed.
That being said, I think Litterio has got to be more aggressive on the base paths. Down 1-0, and DH Milo Freeman gets aboard to leadoff the seventh. Clean-up hitter Chris Suseck, who led the team last year with 14 doubles and was second with 30 RBIs, steps to the plate with speedy Mike Martinez, who runs a 6.9 60 and stole nearly 20 bases each year of his high school career, preparing to pinch run. If Lit lets Martinez lose and he swipes second base early in the count, you have good speed in scoring position with three chances (Suseck, John Jennings, and Jawuan Harris) to get him home. Instead, Suseck sacrifices himself, moving Martinez to second, Jennings grounds out and then Harris Ks with Martinez at third and two outs.
I don't mind the sac bunt in the right spot, but with the speed we have on this year's team, I think we have to be aggressive to score some runs.
Having said that, really pleased with how solid the pitching staff has been through two games and am excited that this could be a nice bounce back year for RU.
Not sure I am supportive of small ball in that situation. Runner on with no one out and your #4 hitter gives himself up? I agree with you that we need to be more aggressive there especially being down a run. From the bigger picture, we won't know how good or bad this team is until after the spring break trip. The early season cluster of road games is usually against some good competition and thus our early season record suffers as a result.
Assuming these annual early season Florida losses at least mean Rutgers comes home with some kind of paycheck that helps fund the program. The southern teams never return north for any games at a later juncture of the season. Losing most of the games can't help with confidence, especially with the pitchers. And the bravado of saying you play the best programs is meaningless if you win one or two of ten games. Might be better off playing neutral site games in Florida against comparable programs.
I have not looked at the schedule and they may have taken your suggested approach of playing more balanced schedule during the break trip that includes other Northern schools at neutral warm weather sites. I know for many years Hill would also play a weekend series at Georgia Tech but not sure that is still the case. I think a weekend trip to George Mason is next.
1) of course you get paid
2) where else are you going to play games this time of year?
Response to 2) ... It's not where you play but who you play. The University of Havana fields a baseball team. One of their better known pitchers is Fidel Castro. I'm guessing Rutgers schedules them when they drop Miami.
I agree with the thought that playing a top 10 program to start the season is probably not a great idea if you are trying to get a team instilled with confidence. Yes, they know that Miami is really good, but a four game series with a team that sports superior depth is a death wish. They have score one run in three games!
This program is predicted to finish last in the BIG. This is not a baseball powerhouse league we are talking about. I would look for some wins early instead.
This program is predicted to finish last in the BIG. This is not a baseball powerhouse league we are talking about. I would look for some wins early instead.
