Stay with me here, as this is so long-winded you would’ve thought Purp took over my computer. Let me say first that I am a homer. I have never predicted us to finish with less more than 1 loss in football or anywhere short of a national championship in baseball. So yes, I am an optimist and quite insane with purple glasses.
Second, Darn Tech. WRTMFS! And we host them for 3 at Lupton this year.
Now, baseball is such a magical sport because you cannot predict what will happen in the end. So, while we all have aspirations of winning in Omaha, you cannot predict that far out. I’ve always said, you play roughly 60 games, (Complain about playing UTRGV on a Tuesday, drive to Abiline the following Tuesday, hunker down by the radio during away games in Lawrence, and wait out snow delays in West Virginia) and it all comes down to 3 days in June (which you cannot predict). One pitch in June and you could be on your way to the promise land or sitting at home. Where would we be without Skoug’s bomb in the 8th against Missouri State? That crushed their soul and carried on to the next day. One missed pitch, one booted ball at third (thank you Boomer), or one bounced throw home that gets through the catcher (thank you Aggie) can send you to Omaha. The goal now should be getting to 40+ wins with a hope of hosting a regional. How do we get there?
A lot of folks are freaking out about the lineup. At this point in the season I’m sure everyone would rather have a well-established promising rotation, ahead of a salty lineup. And that is certainly what we have. Heck, we’ve made it to Omaha with a mediocre lineup before. Our pitching can certainly carry us towards 40 wins. Now, my thoughts (which means more questions than answers):
Scattershooting pitching: Two weekend starters return. Janczak was a stud last year (9-2; 2.31 era) & I expect Lodolo to take the leap into legendary status. We’ll miss Brian Howard (especially if we make it to postseason) but I think everyone is excited about Wymer. The dude was really good in the postseason. Just guessing he slides into the weekend rotation, and I would not be too worried with a trio of JJ/Lodolo/Wymer. I don’t follow High School recruits around the country, but who’s not to like a 6-9 lefty? I am sure I am forgetting somebody, but I predict either Russel Smith fills in the Tuesday spot or Charles King figured a few things out and starts the weekdays? Add to that our all world closer and I feel pretty good about the arms. Does Cal Coughlin move into the setup role or the Tuesday roll? He was salty as hell last year too. Our bullpen was strong last year as we went 36-2 when leading after 6. That’s unreal!
Batting: This is where I think folks are freaking out too much. First, I stated earlier that I am the type of fan to always expect the best, and that includes when we lose folks. Even last year when Baker got hurt, I curled up in the fetal position for a few hours and then told myself for the next month or so that “he is just another hitter and we’re going to be okay”. Well, we were “okay” until we got to Omaha and then we really missed him.
With the fear of sounding like I’m bashing some of the dudes that left, we aren’t exactly replacing the 1927 Yankees lineup. Stats can be misleading but in baseball I like to look at avg. (because I’m old school), slugging pct. (because it takes into account power #s) and on-base % (because I just loved Brad Pitt in Moneyball). So, let’s go around the horn (Take into account that I usually siphon down a few IPA’s before each game, so corrections done in a polite way are certainly welcome) :
(Batting Avg/ Slugging %/ On Base Percentage)
1B- Returning: Luken Baker
(.317/.528/.454) I love you Baker! The dude was on fire and we relied on him heavily before he got hurt last year. I can’t wait to watch this dude punish darn a few baseballs this spring.
2B- Need to replace: Cam Warner (
.284/.384/.364) A solid batting average and on base percentage. The dude was pretty good throughout the year. Sounds like we got 2 options to attempt to fill Cam’s shoes but I expect a drop-off.
SS- Need to replace: Ryan Merrill (
.243/.372/.333) Merrill was a badass in Omaha, but his offensive numbers were a bit pedestrian from the months of February-May. Someone with more baseball knowledge can dissect his .950 fielding percentage, but from what I’ve heard of Oviedo, we’ll be just fine at SS, which is what we were (or better than) last year.
3B- Need to replace: Elliot Barzilli
(.242/.367/.304) Barz struggled mightily for a lot of the season, led the team in GIDP and kept finding himself moving down the order. While I loved Barzilli as a player, and his dreamy hair, he took a step back in 2017, so I don’t think it will be hard to replace his production at the plate.
C- Need to replace: Evan Skoug
(.272/.544/.378) Skoug was a beast and one of my favorite frogs. Ice water in his veins. It’s hard to replace a guy that started 68 of 68 games. Zach Humphries has promise but we will be comparing catchers to Skoug for years.
OF- Need to replace: Austen Wade
(.332/.486/.442) Dude was a stud last year and, along with Baker, carried us in the first half of the season. I think we’ll miss his production and Skoug’s the most. Possible Replacement: Connor Wanhannen?
OF- Need to replace: Nolan Brown (
.277/.388/.369) Our far-and-away leader in stolen bases and a solid batting average, but you would love to have seen a higher OBP from a guy with such speed. NB was a bit frustrating at times, but pretty salty in center.
OF- Returning: Josh Watson (
.239/.309/.370) Here’s hoping that Watson find his former self and raise his batting and slugging by 50 points each.
DH- Returning: Connor Wanhanen
(.281/.341/.430) I know Luken will be DHing a lot, but Connor is returning and he had a pretty solid year last year with a .430 OBP in limited time. I feel good about CW.
Fun to look at if you are interested in last year from go frogs:
2017 stats
I guess what I’m saying is don’t freak out about the lineup. Skoug and Wade will be sorely missed, but I think when all is said and done can improve on some of the spots from last year. We have great pitching and the best motherdarning coach in the land. Hallelujah! Holy boat! Where's the tylenol ?