[MVC Tournament-Championship] WSU vs sCUm

[GoShockers89]

I'm guessing history buys Gene one more season.

Unfortunately, he'll probably use it to squeeze out another 33 wins instead of leaving with dignity.

[WSUwatcher]

Hall

Alright Hall, you've been saving it up for this at bat.

Hey, Go, I got frustrated and left to empty stuff out of the car (we just returned to town from a trip today -- not to Omaha, fortunately), and as a result I missed the Shocker 8th except on Live Stats.

So tell me: did Hall actually sacrifice on the first pitch, down three runs in the eighth inning against a pitcher who had just given up a double and walked a guy? If he did that on his own, he needs a very large transfusion of baseball IQ; if he did it because he was told to, the coaches have some 'splainin to do. Such as (a), do they really think Hall is a good enough bunter, even as fast as he is, to beat one out in that spot? And (b), if they didn't have enough faith in him to swing the bat and do something constructive -- and after three K's in three tries, I can see why they'd be concerned -- why didn't they pinch hit? (And, yes, I know he's their best defensive outfielder.) Did they actually look down the bench and conclude that the best they could hope for was to trade an out for a base in a spot where they needed another runner instead of a sacrifice? Of course, I won't bother to mention (c), why the hell is Hall still batting second?

On a night where the team strikes out 14 times and really doesn't put up much of a fight at the plate, and when the 5-9 hitters are 0 for the game, it probably isn't fair to focus so much on one guy. But still, I keep coming back to the same question: how bad do things have to be to sacrifice in that spot?

[sdshox]

Re: Hall

Alright Hall, you've been saving it up for this at bat.

Hey, Go, I got frustrated and left to empty stuff out of the car (we just returned to town from a trip today -- not to Omaha, fortunately), and as a result I missed the Shocker 8th except on Live Stats.

So tell me: did Hall actually sacrifice on the first pitch, down three runs in the eighth inning against a pitcher who had just given up a double and walked a guy? If he did that on his own, he needs a very large transfusion of baseball IQ; if he did it because he was told to, the coaches have some 'splainin to do. Such as (a), do they really think Hall is a good enough bunter, even as fast as he is, to beat one out in that spot? And (b), if they didn't have enough faith in him to swing the bat and do something constructive -- and after three K's in three tries, I can see why they'd be concerned -- why didn't they pinch hit? (And, yes, I know he's their best defensive outfielder.) Did they actually look down the bench and conclude that the best they could hope for was to trade an out for a base in a spot where they needed another runner instead of a sacrifice? Of course, I won't bother to mention (c), why the hell is Hall still batting second?

On a night where the team strikes out 14 times and really doesn't put up much of a fight at the plate, and when the 5-9 hitters are 0 for the game, it probably isn't fair to focus so much on one guy. But still, I keep coming back to the same question: how bad do things have to be to sacrifice in that spot?

FWIW, my car had the same discussion on the ride home from the game. We concluded that it was a sign given by the coaches, but was a "base-hit" bunt, as opposed to a true sacrifice.

[Shocker85]

Re: Hall

So tell me: did Hall actually sacrifice on the first pitch, down three runs in the eighth inning against a pitcher who had just given up a double and walked a guy? If he did that on his own, he needs a very large transfusion of baseball IQ; if he did it because he was told to, the coaches have some 'splainin to do. Such as (a), do they really think Hall is a good enough bunter, even as fast as he is, to beat one out in that spot? And (b), if they didn't have enough faith in him to swing the bat and do something constructive -- and after three K's in three tries, I can see why they'd be concerned -- why didn't they pinch hit? (And, yes, I know he's their best defensive outfielder.) Did they actually look down the bench and conclude that the best they could hope for was to trade an out for a base in a spot where they needed another runner instead of a sacrifice? Of course, I won't bother to mention (c), why the hell is Hall still batting second?

But still, I keep coming back to the same question: how bad do things have to be to sacrifice in that spot?

My guess: it was a desperate situation and the best anyone could come up with was a sacrifice or bunt for a hit. It is better than a double play, right? You sure can't do anything creative with Hall at the plate. Pinch hitter? Sadly, there weren't many options available.

The whole Kevin Hall thing has driven me crazy all season. I can't even guess how many balls Kevin Hall has gone and gotten in CF and how many runs and even games he has saved with his unbelievable range in the outfield. That said, holy cripes, he quit hitting 2 months ago. When he doesn't strike out, he drops his back shoulder and pops the ball up. In case anyone on the staff hasn't figured it out, YOU CAN'T STEAL FIRST BASE.

Hall hit .226 in conference play and was 2 for 17 in the tournament. His trend has just gotten worse and worse as the season progressed.

Once Lambert worked through his mid-season slump, I'm surprised he didn't move up to the 2 hole and Hall down to 9. Lambert is probably 2nd or 3rd on the team speed-wise and a fair base stealer. In fact, he was 2nd in league-only games with 9 steals. He also strikes out too much, but certainly the last month of the season was far better in all offensive respects than Hall.

Just another mystery surrounding this team and the sanity of the coaching staff.

--'85.

[shox1989]

Kevin Hall is a tremondous asset to this team. His speed in the outfield is invaluable. He has made many great catches that have saved many runs this season.

We have had many speedy players in the past who weren't great hitters who learned to bunt for hits or just choke up on the bat and hit the ball where the fielders weren't.

If Kevin would just learn to do that, he might become a .400 hitter. And then once on base he could steal second and maybe third.

How many of us remember Randy Young? He wasn't a great hitter. But he eventually learned to hit well enough to put the ball in play and get on base. He had many infield hits.

Once Randy got on base he turned his single into a triple by stealing second and third.

I believe Kevin Hall could turn into that kind of player if would be willing to work on his hitting and just work on tapping the ball to where the players are not.