(04-30-2016 11:01 AM)mrbig Wrote:  

(04-30-2016 10:20 AM)Old Sammy Wrote:  

(04-29-2016 11:31 PM)jhruzek Wrote:  I sure wish OG and Berkman could kiss and make up. We really needed his coaching this year.

Not sure why you think that. Any evidence to support the idea that Berkman is a good coach? A great player, to be sure, but that doesn't necessarily translate to improving the performance of players with less natural ability.

As a team, Rice is hitting .254/.325/.329, with a 120 BB and 207 K and 23/44 on SB attempts. That is really bad. Sure, the team has faced some good pitchers, but they have also faced a lot of pitchers that other teams hit hard, and Rice did not. It is virtually impossible to imagine the offense being much worse than it has been. Either the guys do not have talent, or the coaching and off-field conditioning have added little on top of whatever talent they have. With that as the current baseline, it is virtually impossible to imagine Berkman making the offense worse. Its like Rice's football defense last year. If it can't really get worse, then making some changes and hoping for improvement can't really hurt.

Particularly annoying that the main power hitters apparently have a terrible combination of batting eye and plate discipline. Only 3 guys with an ISO >.100:
Dunlap: .250 ISO, 0 BB, 22 K, .196 OBP
Wunderlich: .104 ISO, 7 BB, 20 K, .270 OBP
Gray: .121 ISO, 1 BB, 14 K, .338 OBP (I imagine his BABIP is very high, too lazy to calculate)

3 guys that are essentially starters have an OBP <.285. That is black hole territory. 2011 was the first year with the new bats. Rice had a team OBP of .387 (which is great) and only 1 starter below .339 (Hamilton at .301). 2012? No starters below .337 and .379 team OBP. 2013? No starters below .347 and .369 as a team. I think you get the picture.

so what is the issue w Berkman?

(04-30-2016 11:01 AM)mrbig Wrote:  

(04-30-2016 10:20 AM)Old Sammy Wrote:  

(04-29-2016 11:31 PM)jhruzek Wrote:  I sure wish OG and Berkman could kiss and make up. We really needed his coaching this year.

Not sure why you think that. Any evidence to support the idea that Berkman is a good coach? A great player, to be sure, but that doesn't necessarily translate to improving the performance of players with less natural ability.

As a team, Rice is hitting .254/.325/.329, with a 120 BB and 207 K and 23/44 on SB attempts. That is really bad. Sure, the team has faced some good pitchers, but they have also faced a lot of pitchers that other teams hit hard, and Rice did not. It is virtually impossible to imagine the offense being much worse than it has been. Either the guys do not have talent, or the coaching and off-field conditioning have added little on top of whatever talent they have. With that as the current baseline, it is virtually impossible to imagine Berkman making the offense worse. Its like Rice's football defense last year. If it can't really get worse, then making some changes and hoping for improvement can't really hurt.

Particularly annoying that the main power hitters apparently have a terrible combination of batting eye and plate discipline. Only 3 guys with an ISO >.100:
Dunlap: .250 ISO, 0 BB, 22 K, .196 OBP
Wunderlich: .104 ISO, 7 BB, 20 K, .270 OBP
Gray: .121 ISO, 1 BB, 14 K, .338 OBP (I imagine his BABIP is very high, too lazy to calculate)

3 guys that are essentially starters have an OBP <.285. That is black hole territory. 2011 was the first year with the new bats. Rice had a team OBP of .387 (which is great) and only 1 starter below .339 (Hamilton at .301). 2012? No starters below .337 and .379 team OBP. 2013? No starters below .347 and .369 as a team. I think you get the picture.

Bigs, IMO, our approach at the plate and woeful lack of plate discipline is on the coaching staff as much as the players. Ditto for our total lack of fundamentals. I cannot believe the players are simply going against the coaching staff's game plan. For a team that hits as poorly as we do, we should be maximizing the number of free passes; something that's very hard to do when you're constantly first-pitch swinging (including guys leading off innings) and never going deep in the count. I think the world of The OG, but it's a head scratcher the way we're managing the offense this season. In addition to Hunter's season-long woes, Chandler is hitting below .100 since Warren left the lineup 3+ weeks ago, and his AVG has plummeted from .379 to .278 over that period.

"Changes need to be made in our recruiting..."

Look at the make-up of our team and who we have as recruits coming in, this year. Outside of pitchers, we recruit middle infielders and center fielders, which is great for fielding as you can move both down the defensive spectrum (a SS should be able to play 2b and 3B, well, and a CF should be able to play LF and RF, well), but we just do not seem interested in kids who can drive the ball. Last year, even with JC Reeves (a JUCO I think, who could hit) we were out-homered 16-26, and remember, we are the elite program here. The lack of a 3,4 and 5 hitter in the line-up is a choice we make, on how we allocate our resources. I remember a Rice team where people bragged that the entire infield had been originally recruited to Rice as a shortstop. Really? Unless you are lucky enough to find a Rick Hague in the mix (and his type are foregoing Rice for MiLB these days), you are going to have a bunch of .280 kids without pop in your line-up, and if they cannot run well, you end up with the Rice offense of 2016.

(04-30-2016 11:45 AM)owlsfan Wrote:  "Changes need to be made in our recruiting..."

Look at the make-up of our team and who we have as recruits coming in, this year. Outside of pitchers, we recruit middle infielders and center fielders, which is great for fielding as you can move both down the defensive spectrum (a SS should be able to play 2b and 3B, well, and a CF should be able to play LF and RF, well), but we just do not seem interested in kids who can drive the ball. Last year, even with JC Reeves (a JUCO I think, who could hit) we were out-homered 16-26, and remember, we are the elite program here. The lack of a 3,4 and 5 hitter in the line-up is a choice we make, on how we allocate our resources. I remember a Rice team where people bragged that the entire infield had been originally recruited to Rice as a shortstop. Really? Unless you are lucky enough to find a Rick Hague in the mix (and his type are foregoing Rice for MiLB these days), you are going to have a bunch of .280 kids without pop in your line-up, and if they cannot run well, you end up with the Rice offense of 2016.

You do realize that in high school ball many SSs and CFs are power hitters, and frequently the best hitters on their teams? DiCaprio, Proctor and Gray all hit for power in high school, as did Gavin Johnson and Khevin Brewer. The JUCO transfer from Weatherford CC, who will be coming in next year, is a power hitting corner OFer. Again, I can envision Gray moving over to 1B next year, with DiCaprio our everyday catcher (Johnson as backup) and an OF of the JUCO transfer, Chandler and Warren, with Wunderlich in reserve. 2B goes to either Jefferies or one of the incoming Freshmen. Offense should be markedly better than this year, barring injury, especially with a full year of at bats under the belts of Proctor, Myers and DiCaprio.

"You do realize that in high school ball many SSs and CFs are power hitters, and frequently the best hitters on their teams? "

Many are, and many are not. The results of this line-up speak for themselves. I just took a quick glance at the USM roster and stats and looked at the 4 guys on that roster who have 7+ HRs already, this year. Those type of kids, by size, do not exist on our roster (unless they are pitchers); look for yourself. Maybe we do not want slow LFs or lumbering IB, because of what it does to our pitching. But again, those type of kids (at least on the USM roster) are not on this Rice team.

(04-30-2016 12:14 PM)owlsfan Wrote:  "You do realize that in high school ball many SSs and CFs are power hitters, and frequently the best hitters on their teams? "

Many are, and many are not. The results of this line-up speak for themselves. I just took a quick glance at the USM roster and stats and looked at the 4 guys on that roster who have 7+ HRs already, this year. Those type of kids, by size, do not exist on our roster (unless they are pitchers); look for yourself. Maybe we do not want slow LFs or lumbering IB, because of what it does to our pitching. But again, those type of kids (at least on the USM roster) are not on this Rice team.

Anthony Rendon, Michael Aquino, Jeremy Rathjen were not lumbering physical specimens, but they all hit for power.

"Anthony Rendon, Michael Aquino, Jeremy Rathjen were not lumbering physical specimens, but they all hit for power."

I agree; you can somehow find them, every once in a while, and when you do, good for you. Nolan Ryan and Billy Wagner were RHP who had a great fastballs and were not tall; the search for right-handed pitchers who throw hard does not start with short guys, though. What Rendon and the others were does not change the fact that most elite college teams seem to find power hitters to man the 3,4 and 5 slots and when you like at their body types, you do not find that type of kid on the Rice roster.