I see a lot of good from the year. Bragga sure can teach hitting, yes it fell off the last third. But some guys who were clueless under OG hit great. Bragga has a HR powerhouse at TT, you can see that starting to kick in. At the beginning of the year one wondered if this team would hit a single HR. They proved me wrong.

2-2 in the C-USA tournament is certainly better than chalk would have it.

It was overall a positive experience. We scratched for runs but we were ahead again in all but the last game. A journeyman pitcher no hit us. Perhaps you could call in tiredness. But pitching was actually pretty good, guys not expected to do well at least kept us in the game early. Just needed run support.

Fielding has greatly improved over the year. Hitting greatly improved. We had three good starters. And Jeffries for a while. I think his arm got tired, perhaps a nagging injury. Gayle was inconsistent.

I'm a little more optimistic than I was after Graham left. Bragga is not bad but we have had "not bad" coaches in that past. But Graham was unique, Graham was a genius. We may never see his like again.

Journeyman pitchers don't throw 97, 98. He's a freshman coming off Tommy John surgery - seems like we might have to deal with him as the USM ace for the next two seasons.

I agree with your other points (and the other thread which talks about how we need the conference tournament at other sites besides Biloxi). But hopefully Bragga gets this program back to the point where it really doesn't matter where the tournament is held.

Actually the other point I don't necessarily agree with is trying to become a home run hitting squad. I still don't think that's the best strategy for Rice/Reckling Park. Pitching, defense and getting on base offensively are the keys.

(05-27-2019 10:01 AM)bbaker4311 Wrote:  I see a lot of good from the year. Bragga sure can teach hitting, yes it fell off the last third. But some guys who were clueless under OG hit great. Bragga has a HR powerhouse at TT, you can see that starting to kick in. At the beginning of the year one wondered if this team would hit a single HR. They proved me wrong.

2-2 in the C-USA tournament is certainly better than chalk would have it.

It was overall a positive experience. We scratched for runs but we were ahead again in all but the last game. A journeyman pitcher no hit us. Perhaps you could call in tiredness. But pitching was actually pretty good, guys not expected to do well at least kept us in the game early. Just needed run support.

Fielding has greatly improved over the year. Hitting greatly improved. We had three good starters. And Jeffries for a while. I think his arm got tired, perhaps a nagging injury. Gayle was inconsistent.

I'm a little more optimistic than I was after Graham left. Bragga is not bad but we have had "not bad" coaches in that past. But Graham was unique, Graham was a genius. We may never see his like again.

??? I was far less impressed with Bragga impact on our offense, and especially, our plate discipline. Aside from Cox, do tell which player who were clueless suddenly became quality college hitters. IMO, Collins was a disappointment given the expectations heading into the season. Comeaux, Dunlap and Edwards were all proven hitters, and Braden and Andrew ended up hitting for lower AVGs than the previous year. Trei Cruz had an expected second year improvement in performance. Yes, Gneiting had a horrific 2018 season-- both offensively and defensively, but what he did this year simply improved upon his solid Freshman season in 2017...and he absolutely fell off the table the final 3 weeks of the season. The frequency of strikeouts up and down our lineup was alarming, and the incredibly high number of strikeouts looking-- which continues through the season with no improvement-- was inexcusable and at least somewhat a reflection of the coaching.

Save for Canterino and the one feel good story of the season with Kravetz, the pitching was a MAJOR disappointment. Parthasarathy was solid, but inconsistent after the first month of the season, and Jefferies was good for the first half before pitching the worse he has his entire career at Rice the final 5 weeks of the season. Gayle was Gayle-- erratic and inconsistent at best, with across the board stats (ERA, BAA, WHIP, K:BB ratio) that were below average for a college pitcher. And non of our newcomers stepped up, though Wood started to show promise the second half of the season (as did Soph Bordwine).

Yes, the defense improved dramatically the final third of the season, and actually became a team strength, but there was no excuse for the Little League caliber fielding we showed the first half of the season. It was downright embarrassing. Fundamentals was an issue the final several years under The OG, and it continued to be a problem this year. Situational hitting was non-existent. Bunting was again a sore point. Fielding bunts left much to be desired.