Time to ask Mac about Williams

[2330859]

The Pitching performance has gone well beyond unacceptable; it’s inexcusable. I am not about to impugn Roger Williams reputation as a pitching coach, as his decades of success exceeds most of those in the profession.

My suggestion here is just confined to judging the product on the field.

This rotation has not improved, instead it has failed to overcome the unprecedented walks, HBPs and wild pitches despite witnessing it repeat itself one after another.

Mac needs to address the obvious flaw, and it should be directed towards Williams.

 

[nccardfan]

The Pitching performance has gone well beyond unacceptable; it’s inexcusable. I am not about to impugn Roger Williams reputation as a pitching coach, as his decades of success exceeds most of those in the profession.

My suggestion here is just confined to judging the product on the field.

This rotation has not improved, instead it has failed to overcome the unprecedented walks, HBPs and wild pitches despite witnessing it repeat itself one after another.

Mac needs to address the obvious flaw, and it should be directed towards Williams.

I'm pretty sure Dan would disagree with this wholeheartedly. This is not last year when we failed to make the postseason. We have been ranked top 25 most of the season and barring an epic meltdown (not impossible) and total bias by NCAA (which has happened before), we have earned postseason play, which is the goal of every U of L team, not just baseball. Expecting them to go to Omaha every year is like expecting basketball to reach the Final Four or football to make the CFP's. I have been critical of Roger as much as anyone but we still have to let the season play out. Right now there's still games to play... and win.

 

[2330859]

It’s not about how the team performed; it’s all about how the pitching performed.

I have no expectation that Dan will make a change, but he should.

 

[73Card]

I don't know.....?? It would appear to me, Rog hasn't had much to work with for a few years. "Projects" for the most part. For whatever reason we are not getting the arms we used to. But what da hell do I know?

 

[Bardman]

I don't know.....?? It would appear to me, Rog hasn't had much to work with for a few years. "Projects" for the most part. For whatever reason we are not getting the arms we used to. But what da hell do I know?

Do you think the pitching coach/asst HC would be directly involved in recruiting pitchers? If he isn’t, that is a problem. If he is, that is a problem.

 

[nccardfan]

I don't know who is responsible for recruiting pitchers/players but I think I know who is responsible for developing them.

 

[earsky]

The struggles we see are just guys that you take a chance on,not really knowing how 80 percent of them will handle one of the biggest stages- ACC.

As it turns out, we really only have half a
dozen that have proven they can. Half of them are Freshmen.

 

[nccardfan]

The struggles we see are just guys that you take a chance on,not really knowing how 80 percent of them will handle one of the biggest stages- ACC.

As it turns out, we really only have half a
dozen that have proven they can. Half of them are Freshmen.

Yes, while we do have a lot of promising freshmen, coming in our starting pitching looked like this:

Forbes - JR
Detmers - SO
Michael - JR
Biven - JR
Hoyt - JR
Lessman - SR

Of those, I think only Forbes and Biven have a real potential for being drafted.

 

[CardX]

Yes, there was an increase in walks compared to last year: 294 - 235. Yes, there were more wild pitches compared to last year: 95 - 58. Yes, there were more HBP's, too. 71 - 57. But, more than anything, a lot of those things happened in untimely situations, making matters worse. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times a UofL pitcher got out of a full count jam. They almost entirely ended up walking the batter, hitting the batter, or giving up a hit.

Strangely, the team ERA was better than last year. 5.64 - 6.50.

 

[2330859]

Must ask the question; what did Roger say to Schlatter? I bet he didn’t ask him if he could throw a strike! You can’t make this stuff up

 

[Bardman]

I mean, too many of HIS oitchers can ot consistently throw strikes. That is a MAJOR problem.

 

[Thecycle27]

It is time to re-evaluate the entire pitching philosophy. You can’t have pitchers that have no clue how to pitch. When the last time we watched a weekend pitcher work batters. Working the edges, changing speeds, and with legit velocity. It has been close to 5 years.

 

[rh62531]

Come back to tie in the 8th, 11 to 11 after being down 8 to 1 in the 7th!!! Then give up 2 runs in the ninth!!! Lose 13 to 11! Pitching has been as bad as anytime in the past of CDM time at Louisville.

 

[nccardfan]

It’s not about how the team performed; it’s all about how the pitching performed.

I have no expectation that Dan will make a change, but he should.

Don't shoot the messenger but Dan has basically come out and said the issue with pitching is not just the coaching, its not having enough NIL funds. Someone posted our pitching staff ERA since Covid and there's obviously something there. Most of us assume Roger forgot how to coach...

 

[Rollem Cards]

Do we know the budget for NIL?

That will determine what we get talent wise.

I’m reminded of a book written many years ago by former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton titled:

“I Coached Good, But Boy, Did They Play Bad”

Lot of questions with no answers. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[2330859]

The best way to determine if indeed CDM is correct when pointing to the lack of NIL financial support explains the poor pitching performance since Covid era, is by posting the respective NIL funds for the other ACC school baseball programs. That comparison would be interesting to see and could help identify the source of this problem.

I clearly do not have possession of those numbers, but if someone has that data and can post them; it could answer the question very quickly. My suspicion is that UL’s NIL for baseball will be equal to the vast majority of ACC teams, but likely we below that of FSU and Clemson.

 

[Thecycle27]

Hard to tell. I don’t get being vague when you have the opportunity to tell everyone what you are up against. Go ahead and say elite pitchers are getting X. Pitchers in the ACC average NIL deal is X. We can’t touch that. Fans would be OK with knowing and maybe they would want to help. Look fans get it you need players to compete at a high level. To me he is just complaining because he is making a general statement.

The roster size is problematic in a non revenue sport. You need 13-18 arms especially if you aren’t getting the upper end guys. You may need all 18 at some point. They definitely went the developmental route and it hasn’t worked. Their approach supports his claim but without data it does leave fans to question are they really pushing the right buttons or are they still in the world of I don’t like playing players.

 

[Bardman]

Even average talent should be able to throw the ball a ross the plate. I’d rather the other team hit the ball versus getting walked, getting plunked by pitches and advancing on wild pitches.

 

[CardX]

Don't shoot the messenger but Dan has basically come out and said the issue with pitching is not just the coaching, its not having enough NIL funds. Someone posted our pitching staff ERA since Covid and there's obviously something there. Most of us assume Roger forgot how to coach...

We all reach a certain point when we are not as good as we used to be. The pitchers on the roster are D1 level athletes. You don't get to that level unless you have the talent. There is something fundamentally wrong with the rotation and bullpen. It is 100% coaching. The injuries haven't helped.

 

[PushupMan]

We all reach a certain point when we are not as good as we used to be. The pitchers on the roster are D1 level athletes. You don't get to that level unless you have the talent. There is something fundamentally wrong with the rotation and bullpen. It is 100% coaching. The injuries haven't helped.

Not buying what you’re trying to sell here. 77% of those D1 athletes did not play on a team with as good of a record as UofL has this year. So you can’t just pick any group of D1 baseball players, coach em up, and expect elite level results. To go above and beyond the 77th percentile in WL percentage and be truly elite is very much dependent on talent as well as great coaching.

 

[CardX]

Not buying what you’re trying to sell here. 77% of those D1 athletes did not play on a team with as good of a record as UofL has this year. So you can’t just pick any group of D1 baseball players, coach em up, and expect elite level results. To go above and beyond the 77th percentile in WL percentage and be truly elite is very much dependent on talent as well as great coaching.

I'm not selling anything. I watch the games, I look at the stats, and everything adds up to bad pitching. Most WP's in school history. The pitchers have been throwing a baseball since Pee Wee League, but once they get on the mound for the Louisville Cardinals, they fall short time and time again. What's changed? Nothing but their coach. <EDIT> Specifically, I'm talking about Roger. I don't have issues with Mac, except I wish our guys hit with more power.

 

[2330859]

No reasonable UL fan can deny the pitching stats; the ridiculous number of walks, HBPs and wild pitches resulting in opponent’s runs tells the story on this team. This rotation is the reason we are not still playing in this tournament, pure and simple.