I know its Football season

[earsky]

But just like Coach Mac says 'The future starts tomorrow '

Tbs, even though we're cranking up for football around here and ready to hear some pads crunching, The Program over at 3rd and Central is coming together after the dust has settled after the draft last month.

Fall Ball is right around the corner as we welcome in the Freshmen that didn't ink contracts to start their careers and the others that didn't sign or didn't get drafted.
Right now it looks like we lost three Freshmen to the draft. That's the most I can remember ever in one draft,but let's don't sleep on the others that will be in Red and Black in another month or so.
We'll try to get acquainted with those that will be here to compete for spots and fill out what promises to be another wild ride next Spring.

 

[earsky]

Rode past the park yesterday,but didn’t stop. As classes start,it looks like Fall ball is officially underway. I’m anxious to see just who actually is on the field and how a couple of redshirt guys look,most notably King and Cook.

 

[nccardfan]

Rode past the park yesterday,but didn’t stop. As classes start,it looks like Fall ball is officially underway. I’m anxious to see just who actually is on the field and how a couple of redshirt guys look,most notably King and Cook.

Keep the updates coming. Pizza Bowl should be interesting.

 

[Bardman]

Pitching, pitching and pitching. Can our weekend rotation be good? If yes, we have can have a competitive team and win a decent amount of games. Making a regional should be expected. Can the rotation be great? Now we are talking hosting regionals and getting to the supers (maybe host). Can the rotation be elite? Now we host all the way to playing in Omaha. An elite weekend rotation wins championships. With that being said very few teams have truly elite weekend rotations. I hope for a Great weekend rotation supporting by a good to great bullpen. Let’s face it - the last two years our pitching has been good and even great in spots. Consistency has been the issue.

 

[earsky]

I know we have already talked about some that went into the transfer portal. I showed up a little late yesterday towards the end of practice. I'll try to nail that down 😂 I did spot Killen #5 taking infield at ss.
I saw a first baseman wearing #32(Wescott's number) but Coach Snider confirmed Wescott to Illinois.
Lots of new faces,but I did spot King and Cook.
As far as the pitching, couldn't agree more. See Ole Miss.
Right now, I'm leaning hard on two lefties to anchor the weekend rotation in Phillips and Kuehner.

 

[earsky]

Caught some batting practice today. Lots of new faces to go with lots of experience coming back. You guys know how the system works. Tru Freshmen gonna have to barrel their way into a lot of playing time, unless you can pitch.
King looked good. He was shagging balls in left. Benson in cf and Hawkins in rf doing the same.
Gillen joins Knap and Smith taking balls at ss. Cook and Anderson basically both playing 1st and 3rd with Beard at second and third.
You can already see some of the possibilities that Coach will be experimenting with this Fall.
Calise nursing some type of injury.

 

[2330859]

Thanks Earsky; if you were pressed to compare upcoming season with last year, would you say better, the same or not as good?

 

[earsky]

Thanks Earsky; if you were pressed to compare upcoming season with last year, would you say better, the same or not as good?

I think the pitching will be better. We have the parts in the staff to be excellent,including several 4 year guys. Although we lost Miller to the draft,there are a host of newcomers to the staff that could help right away. Watch for Biven from New Albany,Patera from Illinois and our own Patrick Forbes (Mr Baseball) from Bowling Green to make an impact right away. All three were ranked #1 at their position in their state. If they do,barring injuries,could be an excellent season for the pitching staff.
I’m curious to see if any of the fielders will be able to push any of these vets out at their positions. The most likely candidate is Dickerson in the outfield,but there are holes at first and backup catcher. Third base looks like Anderson or Cook.
We lose home runs but the overall team speed is scary good. The coaches have to love where they’re sitting,looking at the injection of talent despite losing three to the draft.

Pressed,I’d say we’re better because of pitching depth and there’s a legitimate chance that there won’t be a musical chairs situation for starting weekend spots on the mound,barring injuries.
Right now,it’s probably Kuehner,Phillips and Hawke.

 

[2330859]

As always, excellent work Earsky, I appreciate all of your posts and place high credibility on content.

 

[earsky]

So I'm watching BP the other day and I noticed that Payton is shagging balls in left field after he gets his hacks in and he makes a couple of decent plays out there. I later get to thinking that there's some intention to what he was doing. Not just lazily going after balls,but maybe showing his Coach that if needed,he could play out there too.
Now, I believe that Benson and Humphrey probably are locked in at CF and RF and that Left is open,but will probably be won by either King,Hawkins or Dickerson.
I can however see a scenario where Payton may be in the lineup on his off catching days,but maybe not as a dh🤔.
Trying to get Noah Smith on the field more may require some thinking out of the box and the Cards have two new catchers that were the best in their states in Vierling and Klein 🤔
Should be an interesting Fall...