2 Weeks into the schedule ...

[Shocker85]

Offensively:
- Hall, Grimes, O'Brien, Davidson, and Coy are doing what they need to do offensively for this team to win games.
- Strikeouts seem to be down (could be a function of opp. pitcher, though).
- Nearly everyone is staying behind the ball and driving it hard up the middle.
- I thought Springer and Lambert got into "drop and drive" mode late in the ND series and started popping up.

Defensively:
- The defense this team is playing is probably the highlight of the season so far.
- All the Grimes/Davidson hype might be legitimate. Walker gets to balls that have been hits the last few years. Grimes has worked on his fundamentals and his arm is still just unbelievable. Why didn't Walker Davidson start at 2B last season?
- Dayne Parker might complete the infield trifecta. He made a throw yesterday from behind 3B to get a runner I thought would be safe FOR SURE. Another cannon of the left side of the infield. Expect him to see more and more action as the season progresses.
- Johnny Coy is the most improved player, hands down, on defense. His footwork has improved A LOT and he doesn't look awkward at all around 1B.
- The starting infield has not committed an error through 7 games.
- OF hasn't been tested much. Hall has had a few nice plays, especially going back to the fence. Lambert let 2 balls get by him Sunday that shouldn't have. There may be a merry-go-round until someone does something to make Crusty happy in LF. A few OF errors is a bit of a concern.
- Team Fld% so far of .985 is stellar.

Pitching
- Starters look solid, as expected.
- There may be a mindset change by the coaches as to how to use the rotation. We'll see if they stick to it.
- Flynn is good when he stays in the strikezone. That can be an issue for him. A solid long-relief guy is sure a nice thing to have available.
- Middle relief has been good so far. Muncrief looks good. Sossamon had a bit of a stumble in 1 game, was very good on Saturday.
- What's not to like about Cale Elam?
- A bunch of pitchers have gotten a look-see and most everyone has looked good.

Just some observations after watching this team play 6 games (I didn't go to ORU) against mediocre competition. The next 7 games and really the entire month of March will be a true test after the Shox spend most of the month on the road.

--'85.

[KC Shox]

I'll just post it here. In regards to G. Bayliff, is he eligible to be medically redshirted, or it he not since he played in a handful of games this season?

Omitting ORU, I wouldn't say our competition has been mediocre. Niagra and ND haven't won a game at all this season. Niagra just got swept this weekend by VT. I would say our competition has been piss poor.

I was looking at the records of UTA and New Orleans and they stink too. I'm looking at a sweep by the Shox in the next set up games.

[JaminShock]

Re: 2 Weeks into the schedule ...

Offensively:
- Hall, Grimes, O'Brien, Davidson, and Coy are doing what they need to do offensively for this team to win games.
- Strikeouts seem to be down (could be a function of opp. pitcher, though).
- Nearly everyone is staying behind the ball and driving it hard up the middle.
- I thought Springer and Lambert got into "drop and drive" mode late in the ND series and started popping up.

Defensively:
- The defense this team is playing is probably the highlight of the season so far.
- All the Grimes/Davidson hype might be legitimate. Walker gets to balls that have been hits the last few years. Grimes has worked on his fundamentals and his arm is still just unbelievable. Why didn't Walker Davidson start at 2B last season?
- Dayne Parker might complete the infield trifecta. He made a throw yesterday from behind 3B to get a runner I thought would be safe FOR SURE. Another cannon of the left side of the infield. Expect him to see more and more action as the season progresses.
- Johnny Coy is the most improved player, hands down, on defense. His footwork has improved A LOT and he doesn't look awkward at all around 1B.
- The starting infield has not committed an error through 7 games.
- OF hasn't been tested much. Hall has had a few nice plays, especially going back to the fence. Lambert let 2 balls get by him Sunday that shouldn't have. There may be a merry-go-round until someone does something to make Crusty happy in LF. A few OF errors is a bit of a concern.
- Team Fld% so far of .985 is stellar.

Pitching
- Starters look solid, as expected.
- There may be a mindset change by the coaches as to how to use the rotation. We'll see if they stick to it.
- Flynn is good when he stays in the strikezone. That can be an issue for him. A solid long-relief guy is sure a nice thing to have available.
- Middle relief has been good so far. Muncrief looks good. Sossamon had a bit of a stumble in 1 game, was very good on Saturday.
- What's not to like about Cale Elam?
- A bunch of pitchers have gotten a look-see and most everyone has looked good.

Just some observations after watching this team play 6 games (I didn't go to ORU) against mediocre competition. The next 7 games and really the entire month of March will be a true test after the Shox spend most of the month on the road.

--'85.

I would agree with everything, except that Springer should be on that first list. He's definitely doing what he needs to do- hitting .407 and having exactly zero K's in 27 AB's when every other regular has at least 2.

[WSU_Mom]

Re: 2 Weeks into the schedule ...

I would agree with everything, except that Springer should be on that first list. He's definitely doing what he needs to do- hitting .407 and having exactly zero K's in 27 AB's when every other regular has at least 2.

+1

:goshocks:

[Shocker85]

Re: 2 Weeks into the schedule ...

I would agree with everything, except that Springer should be on that first list. He's definitely doing what he needs to do- hitting .407 and having exactly zero K's in 27 AB's when every other regular has at least 2.

Springer was on the list the first time I typed it and he has produced. I saw some bad habits late Sat. and on Sunday with him trying to mash the ball and hitting popupe. He is expected to produce and has to stick with the plan like everyone else and stay on top of the ball.

One more thing I forgot to mention is that the 2-out and 2-strike hitting has been pretty good so far.

--'85.

[Hill Sitter]

Great write up '85. Thanks.

WSU has done everything we're supposed to do to this point. The competition is what it is, but many top 30 type clubs have had slip ups to lower tier opponents and we have taken care of business nicely.

Also a correction to a post above saying Niagra got swept by Va Tech: Niagra won the last game of that series.

[Wuzee]

To answer your question on Walker ...

Walker didn't start last year because he wasn't ready to start. He's improved his skills and has much more confidence at the plate.

Baez, for all his faults, was a necessary evil. With a team-leading 21 steals and a .400 on base pct., was easily our best option leading off. Hall (.243 BA, .303 OB%) didn't hit well enough to hold down the position, and Grimes (.421 OB%) was only 7-14 in stolen bases.

Also, until a 4-error meltdown in the last two games of the season, Baez was fielding .965 with 7 errors for the season. Yes, he was shaky in decision-making and didn't get great jumps -- but he just wasn't enough of a disaster to outweigh offensive considerations.

BTW ... Grimes contributed to our suckfest up the middle, too. He had 14 errors last year and a .950 fielding pct. I'm glad to see that he's got his head together. It's clear that he and Walker are a cohesive unit and that they're having fun out there.

[Hovpen]

I would say a medical redshirt is in order.

While it is yet to be determined on the hitting, perhaps the guys are so scared of the new bats and not producing home runs every swing that they are actually hitting to put the ball in play, going with the pitch, and doing all the little things necessary to come up with base hits and not home runs. We'll see how this goes in the upcoming two weeks but this is a good start for them.

[1972Shocker]

I'll just post it here. In regards to G. Bayliff, is he eligible to be medically redshirted, or it he not since he played in a handful of games this season?

The cutoff to be able to apply for a medical redshirts is if you participate do not play in more than 20% of your teams games for the season. Garrett will be well under that if he is out for the year so he is eligible for a redshirt. Whether the Shocks ultimatley benefit from an additional year remains to be seen on how good Garrett is and what his future draft status will be.

[Shocker85]

Great write up '85. Thanks.

Thanks. I just love baseball. Especially Shocker baseball.

The great thing about baseball is that you can sit there and absorb what is going on at a pace you can digest. You talk to the people around you who have watched hundreds, if not thousands, of games and cuss and discuss what you see going on before you. You can move from place to place in the stadium and get different perspectives on the game, both visually and in discussion with the people there. There aren't periods of deafening music and crowd noise where you can't hear yourself think (although, I will say on Saturday, the PA guy was trying to make us all deaf), or some fan(s) standing in your way half the time. You see these young guys doing what young men have been doing for many years and compare it to what you have seen before.

--'85.

[kstarheel]

I've seen 3 of the games and was impressed with this squad, especially with what they did in Tulsa. There is a 'vibe' with this group that I think is going to lead to a very, very good season. I think they are going to win a lot of the 4-3, 3-2 games this season. Solid pitching, timely hitting and great defense.

No pressure shox. ;-)

[shocker3]

I've seen 3 of the games and was impressed with this squad, especially with what they did in Tulsa. There is a 'vibe' with this group that I think is going to lead to a very, very good season. I think they are going to win a lot of the 4-3, 3-2 games this season. Solid pitching, timely hitting and great defense.

No pressure shox. ;-)

I feel the same vibe. :wsu_posters: