No Pepper! Game 2

[ShockerFever]

Grant has been superb. The bullpen was referenced for the what's left for today. He's obviously wasn't gonna pitch and that's why I said it was a key.

[shox25]

I thought the bullpen being "key" goes without saying.

[DUShock]

B.K. has me inspired talking about the steps needed to "make it now! Not next season or the one after". Put me in touch coach! (Figurative of course)

[Hill Sitter]

Get 'em tomorrow and take the series. Go Shox !

[ddog]

The bullpen let us down, but I think the offense really let us down. Our 3 hole has to step up and produce when given the chance. Confidence breeds results, and our hitters have absolutely none at the plate. Seems to me that if we tack on 2 more runs when we had the chance we take the air out of Pepperdine. They are a good team that we had, period. If we can just focus when we need to, we could very easily be 10-4.

BTW, is it just me or does Baez either position himself out of the way, or does he not have any range. There were at least 2 balls today that Workman, and I believe Sisney would have had standing up. Have to be there when you need to be.

[SB Shock]

If anybody has any expectations for this season, they need to get rid of them because your going to be disappointed.

I did like what I saw in Lowell and Sossamon. Tyler Grimes looks like a competitor at the plate. There will be likely more disappointments than feel good games because there are to many holes and the team doesn't any of those veteran type players who can carry this team.

The hope you have is the young pitchers and positions players can mature and by the time the MVC tournament rolls around they can find a way to win it on their home field.

[gotshocks]

looks to me like Brown should move to 2nd Grimes stays at short and move Baez to the DH role!!!!!!!!

[shock10]

I thought Chance pitched really well there was a little defence let down in the ninth I thought.

[t7017s]

I agree. Chance pitched excellent up til the ninth and then he just pitched really really good. I thought gene make a terrible decision to bring McKeever in. Lets face it... did Chance give up a couple hits in the ninth? Yeah but I know the one he gave up that tied the score should have been fielded. Bringing McKeever in cold at that point was indeed pouring gas on a live fire. He should have left Sossamon in and I think he would have held it to a tie.

Sossamon will not be our Closer until the rest of the relief guys besides Muncrief figure it out. He is to valuable for long relief as it is now. Kid was freaking nails today and really showed poise I thought.

Baez has quite a bit of work to do regarding positioning and situations on defense. Grimes is a much better ss than Brown. Brown is pretty bad on the Basepath's to and that's a liability even when your hitting .500. I'd like to keep Grimes and Jones at the 1 and 2 holes with Baez and his pop in the 3 hole so we can tag up (manufacture) runs. I don't like Baez leading off so much. I don't think I would put Brown at second instead of Baez though because I really think we want Rosecrans as our DH. Kid flat smashes the ball. He needs to develop and when he does hes gonna be very dangerous at the plate. I think its worth the risk to get him pt at dh and keep Baez and his pop at second even though the fielding needs addressed. I think Baez thinks to much in situational defenses. I saw him play a pretty mean second this fall in the intrasquad series so I know he's capable at the position.

[gotshocks]

Routine ground balls should never havta be dove for on the infield, to big of a liability during the course of the game on defense.(BAEZ) Keep his pop put two gnats in the lineup up the middle to gobble up grounders Baez should DH. There is a reason he was a catcher before he got to WSU. (Slow feet work)!!!

[KC Shox]

Baez? Keep in him and his .255 average in the lineup? He is not good defensively either, man I miss Damon and Josh.

[t7017s]

Dude Baez flat hits the crap out of balls. I think Baez had a infield grounder today but that might be the only ball he has hit this year that didn't get to the outfield. Yes I'm exaggerating but honestly... not by much. If you have to plug someone at second and pick between Baez and Rosecrans for DH then I'd have to take Baez. He's faster on the bases than Josh and more consistent at the plate. Man I would have loved to see Grimes and Watkins plugging the middle together.

[WSUwatcher]

Huh?

Not so fast about abandoning those expectations, SB. Pepperdine is a good team, and the Shocks came within one play by a better second baseman of sweeping them.

These guys are going to get better. The young players will become more comfortable, including on the road; the lineup will evolve -- Baez as DH today, for example (that didn't take long) -- and Kemnitz will identify someone besides Muncrief who can help in the pen, in addition to which it's still possible, if unlikely, for the bullpen to be bolstered by a late season return from injury; the starting pitchers, who have been pretty solid for the most part, will get to the point where they can go deeper into games.

I'm disappointed they aren't 10-5 or even 11-4, which they very easily could be -- but later in the year some of these games that have been getting away from them so far will end up in the W column.

All is not lost by any means.

[Hornshock]

Who are you kidding. Pepperdine isnt very good. They beat usc and ucla that both have loseing records. Other than that. They havent beat any one that is any good. Shocks got lucky to win sunday. If it wasnt for the flook play they would have lost.

[ShockerFever]

Who are you kidding. Pepperdine isnt very good. They beat usc and ucla that both have loseing records. Other than that. They havent beat any one that is any good. Shocks got lucky to win sunday. If it wasnt for the flook play they would have lost.

flook?

My God, you suck at life.