WSU vs Long Beach State

[1972Shocker]

Yes. I'm on #teamparker but he's gonna have to take that spot back after today.

I would be tempted to move him over to 2nd base, at least for a while, where he won't be quite as rushed and stresed and perhaps will start to play a little more relaxed.

[1972Shocker]

A couple of key things today was that Tommy LaPour provided some confirmation that he is figuring it out and Dobbs and Adler were excellent out of the pen today.

[WuDrWu]

Weird game. Shocks scored single runs in 3 different innings on exactly ZERO hits.

Then in the middle of that we scored 3 runs on ONE SINGLE. 6 runs over 4 innings utilizing 1 single.


Series wins work. Pitching, again, was outstanding.

[shoxlax]

Defense was good too.

[Seagull]

The infield pop fly missed by the LBS shortstop in the 3rd inning must have been the highest popup I've ever seen. That would have hit the roof in a domed stadium. Glad to see the hitter hustle and end up on second base. Great pitching and defense by the Shockers.

[Ashockalypse]

Fun to beat the Dirtbags. Could turn into a decent year!

[SB Shock]

It was good to see this team take advantage of what was given to them. Walks and HBP are just as good as a single.

[WuDrWu]

It was good to see this team take advantage of what was given to them. Walks and HBP are just as good as a single.

I know the team tracks "quality at bats" although I don't know how they define one. To me, it's like pornography, I know it when I see it. But you don't see these guys very often go up there swinging at multiple bad pitches in one at bat. They foul pitches off, look at balls and make the pitcher work. That's an effective approach when you get it done.

[WuDrWu]

Bottom line, we're not good enough to gift a team 5 runs like we did today, and run ourselves out of at least one, if not 3 more.


This team needs to be very clean to win consistently. Today was an excellent example of how not to do it.


Winning the series tomorrow has to be considered a good thing. But it's also a long way from happening.

And today was an outstanding example of how TO do it.

Pretty much reversed game 2. Yesterday we walked 5 and hit 3. 6 of those scored.

They walked us just 3 times and none of those scored. Also had 1st & 2nd with 1 out and got nothing, later 2nd & 3rd NO outs and only got one home.


Today just the opposite.

Not sure what we're going to do vs Nebraska. Tyler only threw 16 pitches so I assume he's good to go Tuesday. Wednesday might be Johnny Wholestaff. The Huskers are formidable. A split is more than acceptable against these guys.

[pogo]

Fun game today. An announced crowd of 1,000+ and a series win over the DB's. Agree with the thinking of the failed steal attempt at third and I was thinking I thought we were beyond doing things like that. Maybe due to youthful exuberance,,,yeah lets go with that. Seth looked like he was trying to lift the ball up and out each at bat which resulted in some very short but high fly balls one of which was not handled well. I did like the way after a Shocker strike out the batter seemed to tell the next in line what he saw on his at bat. I like the way the team stands pretty much at attention during the National Anthem and during a pitching change by the opposition the base runners and batters and others gather around HC Green to talk about what I assume is either the new pitchers tendencies or situational ball. I have enjoyed this brand of Shocker Baseball more this year than any in recent memory. The pitching has been a very nice surprise given the relative youth. Go Shocks.

[1972Shocker]

It was good to see this team take advantage of what was given to them. Walks and HBP are just as good as a single.

Not always, depends on the circumstances, but a lead off walk is always as good as a single if not a little bit better.

Bill James Loves a Base on Balls, but a Single Is Often Better

A single is better than a walk.

A walk is as valuable as a single only when a batter leads off an inning or walks with the bases loaded, but even then, a single with the bases loaded might score two runs. (Or more if the a fielder makes an error on the play).

A single may allow runners to advance two bases, which can occur with a walk only if ball four is a wild pitch or passed ball. With a runner on third, a walk will not drive in a run.

With a runner on second, a runner on third, or runners on second and third, a walk will not advance the runner(s).

However, walks can be valuable. Statistics reveal that if a team draws one or no walks a game, it is expected to win about 33 percent of its games. Walking two or three times increases the chances of winning to 45 percent, while teams that walk four or five times a game should win 57 percent of their games. Teams that walk six or more times play .646 ball.

Before on base average advocates jump all over those numbers, they must put them in context.

Do teams that don't walk have weak hitters that allow pitchers to be aggressive?

During his final seasons, Mickey Mantle played on some bad New York Yankees teams. In 1968, the Yankees batted .214 (that's not a typographical error) and scored only 3.27 runs a game, but Mantle walked 106 times because he was the only power threat on the team.

Are teams that don't walk too aggressive and swing at bad pitches? Do they have poor pitching staffs that lose the games for them?

Do teams that draw a lot of walks have some great power hitters that pitchers tend to pitch around? Do teams that draw a lot of walks have a great pitching staff that would allow them to win even if the offense walked less?

Bottom line: Walks are great, but singles are better

[WuDrWu]

Fun game today. An announced crowd of 1,000+ and a series win over the DB's. Agree with the thinking of the failed steal attempt at third and I was thinking I thought we were beyond doing things like that. Maybe due to youthful exuberance,,,yeah lets go with that. Seth looked like he was trying to lift the ball up and out each at bat which resulted in some very short but high fly balls one of which was not handled well. I did like the way after a Shocker strike out the batter seemed to tell the next in line what he saw on his at bat. I like the way the team stands pretty much at attention during the National Anthem and during a pitching change by the opposition the base runners and batters and others gather around HC Green to talk about what I assume is either the new pitchers tendencies or situational ball. I have enjoyed this brand of Shocker Baseball more this year than any in recent memory. The pitching has been a very nice surprise given the relative youth. Go Shocks.

The actual people, butts in seats etc, seems so much more than recent years already. I look forward to the crowds if this team continues to build on little early success.


The kids deserve the support.

[Cdizzle]

That was one of the least exciting series wins over a name team I can remember. Just ugly baseball by one or the other team most of the weekend. Glad the Shox played only 1 game of ugly. Both squads must be feeling like a sweep was right there if they play even remotely cleanly all weekend. College baseball is like that though. To be Top 25 you have to be good and not screw up very much. To be a winning team contending for a league title and post-season berth you mostly just have to not screw up very much.

[pogo]

I'll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week and twice on a double header.

[1972Shocker]

RH: Senior Pitcher Seizes Big Role in Bullpen - Adler's Big Opportunity

Baseball success, Nate Adler knows, is often about simple, subtle alterations in how one places fingers on a baseball or moves while throwing that baseball.

It is also about opportunity.

Adler, a senior pitcher from Andover, is using both to move into a prime role in Wichita State's bullpen. On Sunday, he closed a series win over Long Beach State with three scoreless, hitless innings in an 8-2 win.

"Baseball is a game of minor changes that can make a big difference," he said.

Adler is making a much bigger difference for the Shockers this spring. Last season, he appeared in five games and totaled 3 2/3 innings. On Sunday, he earned his fourth save of the season in his fifth appearance in Wichita State's 8-2 win over Long Beach State.

"He's been one of our go-to arms," catcher Mauricio Millan said. "He embraced the fact he had to be one of our guys. A big part of it was understanding we had an entirely new team, and he was going to have to step up and take a bigger role."

This spring, Adler has thrown 8 2/3 innings and hasn't allowed an earned run or an extra-base hit. At Oral Roberts, he stranded runners in scoring position with a flyball and a groundout to preserve a 3-1 win. On Sunday, he worked around two walks in the seventh with WSU up 6-2 and retired the Dirtbags in order in the eighth and ninth.

The work of turning Adler into a helpful part of the bullpen started last summer with new pitching coach Anthony Claggett. Throughout the summer and the fall, they changed the grip on his slider to improve that pitch and worked on the timing of his windup to get his legs in sync.

Those changes help Adler throw the baseball the same way consistently, which helps his control.

"They helped me settle down on a slider," Adler said. "Coach Claggett was here over the summer, so we got some early work in. I felt good going into the fall, because we had already talked on what he needs me to work on. It was nice to see that come to fruition."

Coach Brian Green sees the improvement in the slider as key to Adler's progress.

"Coach Claggett was on him pretty early that he thought he could help because of how heavy his ball is," Green said. "We liked the fact that he's older and experienced. He doesn't get rattled or flustered."

---

I am definitely warming up to this coaching staff. It is next to impossible not to like Coach Green's personality, although that in, and of, itself won't win ball games. Also, there was some consternation about Coach Green binging Anthony Claggett with him as his pitching coach to replace Shocker legend and bullpen namesake Mike Pelfrey. So as much, if not more, than any of the guys on this staff Claggs was under the microscope and would be on a short leash with Shocker fans. I like what I am seeing from him so far as well.