Purdue vs Shox - DH (gm 3 & 4)

[SPEShockAlum]

We also can't lay an egg in our midweek games like we have some of the past years.

I'm with you, but with the way our pitching staff is set up this season, I'm confident that whomever we put on the bump will put us in a position to win. In recent seasons our best pitchers have been the Fri - Sun trio, which is to be expected, but we have considerably more depth this year IMO.

[shox1989]

I'm with you, but with the way our pitching staff is set up this season, I'm confident that whomever we put on the bump will put us in a position to win. In recent seasons our best pitchers have been the Fri - Sun trio, which is to be expected, but we have considerably more depth this year IMO.

I would agree with that. Kris Gardner and AJ Ladwig have been very impressive. These are the 2 guys you would normally expect to be our midweek guys.

[Ed Harley]

Really happy to see how our inexperienced team bounced back. They have some fight in them.

With more AB's, the hitting should only get better. The talent seems to be there, it's just an experience/confidence issue.

The new pitchers sure don't pitch like newbies. If the new hitters catch up to where the pitchers are, we could be pretty decent.

This feels like a team that could peak late.

[shox1989]

Gene mentioned tonight on his show that TJ McGreevey is having some ankle problems. So he feels like the only long reliever we have available right now is Foster Vielock.

I hope TJ recovers quickly.

[shox1989]

Any word on Harbutz (shoulder) or Baker (maybe pulled his hamstring)?

On his show tonight, Gene mentioned Harbutz and said his shoulder soreness is of great concern but didn't give much more detail about it. He said that Baker did pull a hamstring when he bunted in that last game. He said Baker will be out for a couple of weeks maybe more.

He added that Harbutz would not play on Tuesday. Maybe on Wednesday.

He also said that Garrett Bayliff and TJ McGreevy had ankle injuries.

[shox1989]

Thanks for they eyewitness repors guys.

Hope Eric Harbutz' shoulder tenderness is just some soreness that will resolve itself.

With our pitching we can win a lot of games with the kind of offensive production we had Saturday.

It will be interesting to see if Tobin Mateychick can step up and give us some effective innings this year. Should be a good chance to get him some work against Alcorn State.

Coach said tonight that the plan is for Tobin Mateychick to start on Wednesday. They hope he goes a least 5 innings.

He said that the plan is to start Mitch Mormann on Tuesday (3 innings on a pre-determined split), Mateychick on Wednesday, then we would go with Josh Smith on Friday, Albert Minnis on Saturday and Mormann again on Sunday. Just a reminder we play Long Beach this weekend.

Although he did emphasis that it was very tentative and could change.

[shox1989]

I'm with you, but with the way our pitching staff is set up this season, I'm confident that whomever we put on the bump will put us in a position to win. In recent seasons our best pitchers have been the Fri - Sun trio, which is to be expected, but we have considerably more depth this year IMO.

The coach tonight talked about how impressive AJ Ladwig has been this year. He then said that for now anyway he is more valuable to the team coming out of the bullpen (because of the ankle injury to TJ McGreevey, Vielock was the only other long reliever that we have).

He also commented on the good innings that we have gotten out of Kyle Bouman in relief.

[shox1989]

Really happy to see how our inexperienced team bounced back. They have some fight in them.

With more AB's, the hitting should only get better. The talent seems to be there, it's just an experience/confidence issue.

The new pitchers sure don't pitch like newbies. If the new hitters catch up to where the pitchers are, we could be pretty decent.

This feels like a team that could peak late.

Gene sounded pretty confident tonight that he thought our hitting is going to continue to improve. He said the guys were much more relaxed on Saturday and he thinks if they stay relaxed like that, they should be fine. He said they have been thinking too much and make themselves flustered when batting. He added that it was a learning processes and they will continue to improve.

He also kind of took a swipe at the pro scouts. He said that the pressure is on players to hit for power, he said that is the last thing that comes for hitters. He said that comes with experience. He said that many times hitters really come into their own during their senior year. He said that is why Purdue had so many good hitters (they have a lot seniors).

[shoxlax]

What can we expect from our future opponents 89?

[shox1989]

I was so pissed after yesterday I stayed home and did chores around the house. Nice to hear Shane and Mike call a couple wins.

Shox commit exactly one error in both games. First time they've done that all season. Must be the key to success!?! Much better hitting with RISP today as well. Doggett should be an every day player. Nice to see a few slump-busters today in the box score.

--'85.

Tonight during the coaches show, Mike Kennedy said he is falling in love with Tyler Doggett. He commented what a tough battler he is at the plate. Gene said he was going to be a good hitter. Gene also added that Casey G and Tyler Baker are going to be really good hitters too. He said don't pay attention to the batting averages. They are going to be good. He also added that Mikel Mucha and Connor Knight are also going to be good.

They also commented about how Kevin Hall and Donnie Lambert are starting to relax and hit better.

[shox1989]

What can we expect from our future opponents 89?

The only mention of the future opponents tonight was that we had a 5 game week coming up with Alcorn St and Long Beach coming in. Gene went through the scheduled pitching rotation and said it was tentative. That was about it. (They were running out of time so there really wasn't time for Gene to say any more).

[shocker3]

On his show tonight, Gene mentioned Harbutz and said his shoulder soreness is of great concern but didn't give much more detail about it. He said that Baker did pull a hamstring when he bunted in that last game. He said Baker will be out for a couple of weeks maybe more.

He added that Harbutz would not play on Tuesday. Maybe on Wednesday.

He also said that Garrett Bayliff and TJ McGreevy had ankle injuries.

Thanks for the injury update. None of them sound too bad. Hopefully they will all heal quickly.

[shocker3]

89- Thanks for the tidbits from the Gene Stephenson show. I only heard the last 15 minutes or so tonight driving home from dinner. Now I know the rest of the story.

[shox1989]

In the past that has been very true. But this year several MVC teams are doing well in non-con play. In fact we have the worst record of any Valley team (but the best rpi).

While we usually have some Valley teams near #300 in the rpi this year the 2 worst are: UE at #168 and Cu at #165 (lol).

Several Valley teams are in the top 100: MoSt #43, Illinois St #68, Indy St. #79, The remaining 2 teams are decent: Bradley #109 (that is amazing, they are usually near #300) and SIU at #123.

So if this trend holds, the Valley should not be a rpi killer this year.

Just checked the rpis today. WSU is at #36. The Valley is still at #9. Not a lot of changes from a couple of days ago. The two bottom teams in the Valley (in terms of rpi) have both improved significantly: UE has moved up to #146 (a 22 point improvement) and Cu now has the worst rpi in the Valley at #156 (a 9 point improvement).

Alcorn State is just 3-16 with an rpi of 262. We might be better off if one or both of these games gets rained out tonight and we can replace the games with a Baker or Friends (won't affect the rpi).

[KC Shox]

I know it's probably just me, but I hate games against RPI killers. It does nothing for the team in terms of improving their hitting. Facing guys who throw 80 mph tops and serving soft ball practice, although raising stats, does nothing to get this guys prepared for real pitching.