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Thoughts on Texas Longhorn baseball

Posted by HenryJames on April 21st, 2009 under Baseball

I’ve seen about a dozen baseball games this year, most recently two games of the OU series sweep this weekend. It looks like Texas is finally becoming the team everyone expected them to be the last two years.

Hitting

Texas has been a bunch of slap hitting faggots for most of the season, but they finally turned it around about three weeks ago.

Brandon Belt is the team’s best hitter, and he is a fantastic opposite field hitter. Maybe too good in fact. I wish he would pull the ball more, but he’s maybe the only guy on the team who hits it where it’s pitched.

Last year Kevin Keyes was Pedro Cerrano from ‘Major League.’ If you threw him anything other than a fastball, the chances were pretty good that you’d get him out. I watched him have some absolutely brutal at bats. But he has become a much more patient hitter and that has made him a better hitter. Dude’s got great power.

Cameron Rupp is a masher. Yeah, he strikes out and can’t run for shit, but he’ll get on base and drive in runs.

Preston Clark and Russell Moldenhauer have really struggled at the plate. Clark has had too many injuries to count, and they’ve taken a toll. Moldenhauer just doesn’t look the same since his offseason surgery.

Pitching

What a difference a year makes. I didn’t think Skip Johnson would survive last year, but he has the staff wrecking shit this year. Texas leads the nation with a team ERA of 2.17 (2.86 in conference).

Chance Ruffin is the guy you want to take the mound in game seven of the World Series. Pencil him in for seven innings.

Brandon Workman has lost the ability to throw his fastball for strikes consistently, and he hasn’t lasted past the fourth inning in any of his last four starts. I don’t know if it’s his mechanics or not, but he hasn’t been worth a damn in conference. He was flat out dominating earlier this season.

Cole Green has struggled as well in conference except for a complete game win against Nebraska. I think his problems are mental. Whenever the leadoff man gets on first base, Green comes unglued. Like Bill Paxton in ‘Aliens.’ He loses his concentration at various times throughout the game.

The most important players on the team right now are relievers Taylor Jungman, Austin Dicharry and Austin Wood. Freshmen Jungman and Dicharry are able to pitch long middle relief, and they’ve been dominating in conference.

Jungman has a great fastball and breaking ball, but he is also mature for his age and can still get guys out when he doesn’t have his best stuff as he did against OU on Sunday. He may get moved into the starting rotation at some point.

Dicharry has a good fastball and a fantastic change up. I can’t say enough about his change up. He makes guys look like Stevie Wonder playing wiffleball trying to hit it.

Austin Wood has been dominating in conference as the closer. He put on about 10 pounds over the offseason and got stronger. He doesn’t have a dominating out pitch like Huston Street or J Brent Cox, but he has been just as good. Twenty one strikeouts and only two walks in conference.

Fielding

Texas is in the Top 10 in the nation in fielding percentage. The biggest change has been at shortstop where Augie has inserted freshman Brandon Loy. He hasn’t made a single error in conference.

Michael Torres and Tant Shepard have been solid enough at third base, and Travis Tucker has been great at second base.

Clark is a much better defensive catcher than Rupp, but Rupp isn’t exactly a liability.

Kyle Lusson and Connor Rowe have played error free baseball in place of Jordan Danks in center.

Overall

Texas is in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 with six of their last nine conference games at home. They’ve won ten games in a row and fifteen of their last seventeen.

If Workman and Green can regain their early season form and if Clark and Moldenhauer can start hitting, this team will be even harder to beat. Even if they don’t, this team is looking good enough to make it to Omaha.

Be sure to check out Huck’s thoughts on run generation.

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25 Responses

  1. Watcher said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 5:26 am

    It’s about time someone talked about baseball on this site. Lots of boxing crap, movies, junk like that, and no Texas baseball? If you don’t love Texas baseball then F you.

  2. Huckleberry said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:25 am

    Through the DBU game, we were 15-6 and scoring 4.38 runs per game. Over that time frame we bunted 45% of the time we were in a runner on 1st and nobody out situation.

    Since then we are 14-2 and scoring 6.69 runs per game. Over that time frame we have bunted 30% of the time we were in that situation.

    I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

  3. CloseToJumping said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:48 am

    Thanks for the write-up. I usually don’t get much of a chance to watch the team until the postseason unless they come to Houston and I am knee deep in life. It is nice to read from someone that has nothing better to do and takes jocksniffing seriously.

    In terms of the national picture, obviously with surreal pitching and outstanding defense, Texas can go pretty damned far. Is the hitting consistently good enough to get them to the title? Is there another behemoth out there that is just flat out wrecking shit right now?

  4. CloseToJumping said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:49 am

    Should have read “and I am *not* knee deep in life…”

  5. HenryJames said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 7:07 am

    I don’t follow college baseball much outside of Texas, but a look at the polls show that there really isn’t a dominant team out there right now.

  6. Vasherized said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 7:13 am

    That’s an interest stat, Huck.

    A month ago our chances at hosting a regional looked pretty slim.

    We’ve got a good shot now if the current trends hold up. They’re a fun team to watch right now. Get out there while the weather’s nice.

  7. maninblack said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 7:24 am

    I’ve been waiting for Jungmann to get his shot all year. I thought he would when Green and Workman began struggling in conference but it just hasn’t happened.

    I hope that are Saturday and Sunday guys regain their early season form b/c I think we’ll have to wait til next year or even beyond to see Jungmann as a starter.

  8. bat said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 8:09 am

    The emergence of Dicharry and Carrillo in relief and as a Tuesday starter may let Jungmann move into the starting rotation. If Workman or Green do put it together, they’re going to have to do it against a good-hitting team. Rice, KSU, Baylor, and A&M can all hit.

  9. Steve Nebraska said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 8:19 am

    I could be wrong, but 2.17 seems like a ridiculous team ERA for college baseball.

  10. HenryJames said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 8:29 am

    It is ridiculous. Even more so when you look at how far #2 and #3 are from Texas.

    Texas 2.16
    Arizona St 2.43
    Virginia 3.12

  11. Nordberg said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 8:42 am

    Kind of a big ‘if’, but if it weren’t for the Kansas series (three one-run losses) we’d be the #1 team in the country right now.

  12. Vasherized said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 9:09 am

    It is ridiculous. Even more so when you look at how far #2 and #3 are from Texas.

    Especially in comparison to last year’s team ERA of 4.46, with only one guy logging a sub 2.0 (Ruffin / 1.96).

    Cutting a team’s ERA in half in just one season is crazy talk but the stats don’t lie.

  13. Iceberg said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 9:57 am

    Freshman Kevin Lusson could emerge down the stretch as another producer for the offense. Garrido burned his redshirt on Wednesday against A&M Corpus and all he did was reach base in his first six collegiate at bats. Very Impressive. Michael Torres has also gotten his shit together and was mashing the ball against OU.

  14. Texoz said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 10:53 am

    Saw the 1st game of the Saturday doubleheader. It was my first time to the park since the remodel. Looks great and seems very family friendly. Reminds me a little of the Round Rock park.

    I haven’t followed them closely this year, but they looked pretty sharp & aggressive during the 1st game. Seemed very business-like in their demeanor.

    That ERA differential between the top three teams is sick. If the bats stay active this team definitely has a shot at winning another NC.

    There was a head scratcher in the first game. Ruffin was pitching to OU’s Baker and threw him a breaking ball (I think) and Baker hit a long foul down the right field line, almost a homer. Next pitch, same pitch, this time Baker took it over the right field wall for a homer. I was sitting with some guys right behind home plate and they were pretty sure it was the same two pitches. If true, wtf? Anyone see that sequence?

  15. HenryJames said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 10:54 am

    I watched that at bat online and wondered the same thing. It looked like the same pitch in the same location.

  16. maninblack said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 11:20 am

    Huck, I wonder if the drop in percentage had to do with execution. I do not think Augie had an epiphany or read your column. I think he got tired of piss poor bunt attempts and he is calling it less.

  17. Texoz said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 11:21 am

    Maybe Ruffin had a brain fart, but if throws a different pitch UT may have only given up 1 run in that first game.

  18. Nordberg said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 11:33 am

    “I do not think Augie had an epiphany or read your column. I think he got tired of piss poor bunt attempts and he is calling it less.”

    We fucked up a couple of sacrifice attempts pretty well on Sunday too.

  19. Huckleberry said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    mib – The percentage dropped later in the year last year, too. I think Augie uses it more early in the year as practice for occasions later where he will want to use it in a more important game.

    FYI – Disch-Falk’s park factor is 0.86 while ASU’s Packard Stadium has a 1.20 PF. That means that all else being equal, only 72% as many runs will be scored at the Disch as at ASU home games. Assuming a mix of roughly 2 out of every three games at home for each school (don’t feel like looking it up) and a 1.00 average park factor for road games, the adjusted team ERAs are:

    ASU – 2.14
    Texas – 2.38

  20. Mysterious Package said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    Wow. Thats a stat. Either we have a hitters park with high averages and sexy numbers or a pitchers park with much lower ERA’s. We often say we do not have much power because of the Disc but fail to see that because of the Disc we have better pitchers too. Good find. It goes both ways and its nice to see an effort in finding the medium.

  21. Texas Wahoo said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    “FYI – Disch-Falk’s park factor is 0.86 while ASU’s Packard Stadium has a 1.20 PF. That means that all else being equal, only 72% as many runs will be scored at the Disch as at ASU home games. Assuming a mix of roughly 2 out of every three games at home for each school (don’t feel like looking it up) and a 1.00 average park factor for road games, the adjusted team ERAs are”

    What is the factor for the Pac 10 sucking this year?

  22. Huckleberry said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    Opponent strength is certainly a factor that should always be considered and the Pac-10 is definitely down this year overall.

    According to my ratings:

    Pac-10 offenses:

    Arizona St. – 27
    Oregon St. – 11
    Washington St. – 31
    Southern Cal – 82
    UCLA – 75
    Stanford – 38
    California – 9
    Arizona – 60
    Washington – 78
    Oregon – 264

    Average (of teams ASU has played) = 57.8

    Big 12 offenses:

    Texas – 97
    Oklahoma – 14
    Baylor – 45
    Kansas St. – 20
    Texas A&M – 103
    Oklahoma St. – 66
    Kansas – 74
    Missouri – 104
    Nebraska – 40
    Texas Tech – 89

    Average (of teams Texas has played) = 77

    ASU is #1 in the Defense rating, which accounts for the number of runs a team prevents its opponents from scoring. I was actually expecting this to look different, but there are the numbers.

  23. Skip Johnson's Dad said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    If you had been sitting in Section 11 right behind the Blow U dugout, you’d have seen the ass chewing my boy gave Rupp from our dugout for calling that backdoor curve after Baker had tattooed it the first time. Chance had struck out quite a few of the simple-minded Okies with that pitch and they finally figured out he was throwing it every time he had two strikes and less than three balls on them.

    I guess one could say Skippy should have mentioned beforehand about going to the well once too often, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

  24. Mike Hinsley said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    slow down son! there is still a long hill to climb!!!!

  25. ChicagoTTU said:

    April 30th, 2009 at 9:46 am

    The Augie Garrido Doc. that aired on ESPN is available for Pre-order, releases early June…
    http://www.virgilfilmsent.com/store/product.php?pid=219

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  • GoHornsGo90 commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   4 hours, 15 minutes ago

    Barnes’ three “strengths”:

    Defense, rebounding, recruiting.

    This team just proved the first two are non-existent (out-rebounded by 25; fucking KIDDING me?) and the last one is over-hyped as well. Every ESPN basketball recruiting analyst who actually had Bradley ahead of Wall should be taken out back and executed Inglourious Basterds style.

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  • skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   4 hours, 59 minutes ago

    a Good System will usually beat a talented team that does not play together and are thinking instead of playing basketball ,over a season the system wins more then they will give away.
    A team that is scared to make a mistake and thinks before they react is going to lose to a confident but

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 33 minutes ago

    Nordberg,

    Ironic indeed……teachable moment, I guess….

    NY Horn,

    I hope your drunk, because Izzo ain’t coming to Texas……Why don’t we just get Coach K. I mean Coach G came from Duke, they have to be dying to get out of Durham….

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 37 minutes ago

    Egg, that’s fine, but at what point do you blame Barnes? Seriously, man. You’ve thrown players under the bus left and right, but at a certain point, doesn’t the buck stop somewhere. I know you’re more of an NBA guy so it begins and ends with players there, but we need fucking

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 37 minutes ago

    Egg, that’s fine, but at what point do you blame Barnes? Seriously, man. You’ve thrown players under the bus left and right, but at a certain point, doesn’t the buck stop somewhere. I know you’re more of an NBA guy so it begins and ends with players there, but we need fucking

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 38 minutes ago

    Trips,

    I hear ya. I’m frustrated as well. I guess I just don’t prescribe to such a black and white characterization of the situation. I do know that no matter what happened in the huddle, JCB made a dumb play. If Rick didn’t explain or remind him of the situation, then I

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 46 minutes ago

    Pat, know I don’t, but I’ve had coaches draw up plays to free up the best foul shooter and then tell that guy they’d put their foot up his ass if they passed the ball. It’s funny, but as a fans of football we nitpick blitz pickup and shit like that. Shit that’s

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 46 minutes ago

    Pat, you know I don’t, but I’ve had coaches draw up plays to free up the best foul shooter and then tell that guy they’d put their foot up his ass if they passed the ball. It’s funny, but as a fans of football we nitpick blitz pickup and shit like that. Shit

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 46 minutes ago

    Pat, you know I don’t, but I’ve had coaches draw up plays to free up the best foul shooter and then tell that guy they’d put their foot up his ass if they passed the ball. It’s funny, but as fans of football we nitpick blitz pickup and shit like that. Shit that’s

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 48 minutes ago

    Shitty season…..Rick needs to hire some offensive help and someone needs to say it to him. Deloss?

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 51 minutes ago

    Trips,

    Do you know that he didn’t? JCB has made bad decision all season, why would this be any different. Barnes coached a shitastic game, but on the teams I was the best FT shooter, I never game up the ball unless it was an uncontested layup…..It’s not hard and it doesn’t take a

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 51 minutes ago

    mcpayne, yes, you don’t leave that shit to chance. You don’t let your guys break the huddle or dead ball not knowing precisely what’s expected from them. Barnes doesn’t get 2 mil for coaching PE where he’s hoping the right guy gets fouled.

  • uthookem commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 53 minutes ago

    mpayne, I’d agree with you if J’Covan had been playing all season and had been in situations to make that decision. Like, you know, against Baylor, when he played all of 3 fucking minutes thanks to rick.

    So yes, it is rick’s fault.

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 53 minutes ago

    With 15 seconds left, out of a dead ball, most coaches would make it perfectly clear who they wanted to be fouled.

  • uthookem commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 56 minutes ago

    Stupid decisions by Brown are one of the reasons he sat on the bench for most of the season…lack of coaching maybe, or just a lack of basketball IQ?

    Oh well, if Brown doesn’t go off in the 2nd half, we aren’t even playing in OT. Too bad he didn’t get much of a chance

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 57 minutes ago

    Pat, if you were making 2 million a year, would you leave that up to chance?

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 57 minutes ago

    Actually, if your a PG and the best FT shooter on the team and played basketball your entire life, you’d pretty much know not to give up the ball if you had any brains…..Such a dumb play…..

  • D W commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 58 minutes ago

    Oh, and a stupid decision by Brown in giving up the ball to Johnson.

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 58 minutes ago

    Be nice if we’d coached our 90 percent foul shooter not to give the ball up.

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 59 minutes ago

    Ransom,

    1 for 2, that was not shitty defense……

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  • uthookem commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 59 minutes ago

    The line kills us, as it should have.

    Fuck Rick Barnes, as this was the worst coaching I have seen in all my years of watching UT sports.

    This saved us from Kentucky, but I feel bad for Damo, he was a hell of a Longhorn.

    Hook ‘em!

    And FUCK RICK BARNES!

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 59 minutes ago

    Feel bad for Damion…..Dexter and Mason, not so much….

  • D W commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   6 hours, 59 minutes ago

    So the season ends with missed free throws and shitty defense by Bradley. Pretty fitting.

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   7 hours ago

    Yup……We knew that FTs would get us….

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   7 hours, 1 minute ago

    F’n Gary’s been awful tonight….

  • uthookem commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   7 hours, 1 minute ago

    GJ at the line…big heart needed!

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   7 hours, 2 minutes ago

    Why does Brown give it up there?

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   7 hours, 2 minutes ago

    Bilas explaining why we’re not a smart team…Oh good, I want Gary at the line…

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest Open thread   7 hours, 2 minutes ago

    The good news is that now I know to fill out the census, so i’m not going to jail…not for that anyway.