I hate it but knowing Rice not surprised. Run the program into the ground before making a change and save some money at the same time.

(05-17-2021 02:38 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Kendall Rogers just said in his D1Baseball weekly chat that he expects Bragga to be retained for another year.

(05-17-2021 04:35 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  Situational hitting is more than getting a hit. It includes putting the ball in play, sac flies, hitting the ball up the middle to allow a runner to score from third with less than 2 outs, hitting to the right side with a runner on 2nd or 3rd, hitting behind a runner, etc., none of which necessarily mean getting a hit, although hits are always welcome. It does not include striking out, hitting the ball back to the pitcher or third baseman with a runner at 3B and less than 2 outs or other such rally killers.

I understand, but I think at this level what you describe is more of a hope than a realistic expectation. Mine is more limited - "make solid contact" or simply "put the ball in play".

Offense against the shift is illustrative. If a hitter has sufficient bat control, timing, etc to reliably hit to one side or the other, he could probably hit .500 against a shift, but it doesn't happen. Gneiting is the only Owl I've seen do it.

Speaking of shifts, Charlotte ran a shift against LH hitters with runners on 2nd or 3rd. In at least two cases they conceded 3rd to the runner on 2nd. When the runner is on 3rd, taking a lead gauged by the distance the 3rd baseman is from the bag, the runner is 1/3 of the way to the plate. Makes stealing home a realistic possibility. Opinions on whether what Charlotte did is wise?