Rice currently stands at 12-18 after a sweep of Old Dominion. Despite Canterino's dominance and the presence of quality hitters on the roster, the overall performance of the team has been lackluster. As we all know, the main culprits are our atrocious defense and a lack of depth across the board (especially in the pen).
So...where do we go from here?
Even if a C-USA championship and a regional appearance are out of the question, this team can still finish strong while striving to correct the blunders that have plagued us all year. Here are my goals for this team for the remainder of the year; I feel like they are all achievable.
Note: I will make my goals tangible but anyone who wants to post their own goals may do so however they desire.
1.
Attain a fielding percentage of .970 or greater from this day forward
Heading into last weekend, our defense was ranked #275 in the country, down there with programs like Iona and St. Peters. There are differing opinions on the true talent level of this team, depending on who you ask, but we can all agree we are not THAT bad. Defense is largely fundamentals...I see no reason why we can't field .970 (a slightly above average number) the rest of the way.
2.
Find two reliable relievers besides Jeffries that can pitch to an ERA of 3.50 or below (again, from this day forward)
The bullpen has been disappointing, to say the least, but they showed improvement last weekend and have had their moments vs. strong competition. Tyner is my breakout candidate and the player I am giving a #MambaMentality challenge. The dude has good stuff but simply hasn't had the command or composure; if he can throw strikes I think he can help win quite a few games down the stretch. Gayle is a more obvious breakout candidate...hopefully he can turn it around.
3.
Average 8 or less strikeouts per game
The strikeouts have frustrated me more than anything, especially the backwards K's. I get that our power heavy approach will lead to more strikeouts than Rice fans were accustomed to in the Graham era, but this season has been ridiculous. Square up with two strikes and get the damn bat off your shoulder.
4.
Either execute sacrifice bunt attempts or stop sac bunting altogether
This one doesn't have a numerical goal attached because I am extremely anti-bunt myself, but if I were to attach a percentage, I'd like to see at least 66% of our sac bunt attempts land on the ground in fair territory. We don't bunt religiously or anything, but when we do bunt we need to get it down.
This does not include bunting for a single, which is naturally harder to get down due to the change in reaction time.
5.
Finish the season with 30 or more wins
Yes, we can do it. Here's how.
-Go 3-2 in remaining midweek games.
-3-0 vs. struggling FIU at home
-2-1 vs. MTSU at home
-2-1 vs. Charlotte on the road
-3-3 vs. LA Tech and USM at home
-3-3 vs. Marshall and WKU on the road
That puts us at 28-28 for the regular season, at which point we would need to win 2 games in conference tournament play. If we can get to 30 wins on the season, the new staff would have some momentum going into next year & on the recruiting trail.
Feel free to add your goals, thoughts, etc. I have been wanting to post this thread for weeks now but waited until we had a nice weekend :)