Gm 46 - vs Bradley (1 of 3)

[tru2thaduce]

Now we get the lead off double.

[tru2thaduce]

Dearman wins it.He should still sit tomorrow.

[1972Shocker]

Haven't had many walks off to celebrate this year. Another high quality start for A.J. and finally a clutch hit although it probably never should have come to that.

Any win is a good win the way we are going.

[Ricardo del Rio]

It's kind of amazing that the Shocks are 22-23 yet they have outscored their opponents 227-177 on the year. As a team we are hitting 0.281 (not great) and holding our opponents to 0.261. Our OPS is 0.756 and our opponents OPS in those 45 games is 0.670. Our fielding percentage is about the same as our opponents. We have 27 home runs and have only allowed 9 home runs. We have drawn 162 walks and given up 132 walks.

Simply put this team just doesn't make sense. Part of it is that we win bigger and lose smaller. In our 22 wins the average score is 8.1 to 2.7 for an average winning margin of 5.4 run. In our 23 losses the average score is 5.0 - 3.9 for an average losing margin of 1.1 runs.

I guess the numbers pretty much back up what our eyes are telling us. This team simply does not perform well under pressure and in the clutch. In tight games when we really have to come through with big pitches or a key hit with RISP we simply can't get it done.

Last night's loss to OSU was a perfect example. While Kris Gardner pitched very well he could not get a big 3rd out in 4th inning instead giving up a 2-out, 2-run double on an 0-1 pitch.

In the Shocker 4th we had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Koeiman struck out looking and Dearman went down swinging on 3 pitches.

Then in the Shocker 7th Koeiman doubled and Dearman reached on an infield single with one out showing that yes they are capable of putting the ball in play. But Dearman get's thrown out at 2nd attempting to steal on a pitch in the "dirt" that didn't get very far away IIRC. Then Kihle strikes out.

These kind of circumstances have played out all too often this season.

The bottom line is that for some reason this team just doesn't respond well to pressure situations and simply performs very poorly in clutch situations.

Perhaps it is a team that doesn't have a brain, a heart or courage. Unfortunately, the Wizard of Oz doesn't seem to be around to fix it.

Another thoughtful post from '72.