Hey John I was referring to 1977's question when will spring practices start. Do you have any info yet a date when spring practices start? Speaking of young eyes....
All American Honors Gators Duo Named Perfect Game Preseason All-Americans - Florida Gators Barco received second-team honors, while Fabian hauled in a third-team nod. I get the feeling Jud is going to have a big year to get back up on the first team after the season's over.
41 days until Opening Day. Here's #41 for the Gators from St. Thomas Aquinas. Blake Purnell - Baseball - Florida Gators
If anyone else is interested this Saturday at Florida Ballpark is the January Prospect Camp. I'll be there keeping an eye on the pitchers and catchers that start at 10:30. Fielders get going around 12:30 and then hitting ends the day. Hopeful I'll see a few youngsters with potential.
I was really hoping to post this one yesterday. With 34 days left until opening day, here's number 34. Kris Armstrong - Baseball - Florida Gators I say this because with the fire power on this year's team I wouldn't be surprised to see him have his best year.
That last post is something I've been been pondering about. Last year's stats may not show the power this team is capable of but when you start Jud Fabian, Kris Armstrong, Sterlin Thompson, and Kenny Calilao, we should have some pop in the order. Now you add the hot bat of Wyatt Langford and see Deric Fabian making good opposite field contact. Plus we add catchers like Riopelle and Lastres. This team could challenge for the SEC HR lead. That said I would rather they be better hitters going with the pitch and hitting line drives into the gaps (keeping 74nole happy). All that to say we could get off to a hot start if the pitching can come through. I leave that problem for @74nole to handle.
87– I agree that it’s always nice to get off to a strong start but across the schedule consistency is the key. We all know exactly when we want our team to peak… Hopefully our hitters that you mentioned have matured and have a more determined confidence that will both carry them and be contagious to our newer hitters as well. Just my humble opinion here but pitching hasn’t really changed-the names of our pitchers does but pitching will always remain the three C’s-Confidence, Command, and Control. Each element feeds the next bringing an aggressive mentality to our pitchers which again IMHO feeds off of the three C’s. Obviously the next most important piece is maintaining good health-there are no shortcuts-put the work in from stretching/conditioning to building flexible body strength, to all areas of throwing, to proper maintenance behind each throwing session. I believe that this is a team of winners—put the work in and enjoy the results. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Great comment, that's another aspect that inspire both the hitters, the pitchers, and even the fans. Its about time to ramp up everyone's interest since they start practice on the 28th.
Great job. Thanks. I’m just now turning my attention to soft and baseball, having given up on basketball.
Looks to me Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Georgia Tech are all too highly ranked. Its Pre-season so what do I care. Things will start to shake out come April then we can discern where we stand.
As to pitching, I hope many of the questions we have will start to clear up as practice starts ramping up and we see how some of the unknown arms are progressing. After Barco our other weekend starters could come from 5-6 other players, each with lots of potential but each lacking confidence at this point. Speaking of confidence Sproat is A Number 1 who needs lots of early season confidence. I'm hoping we get a few surprises along the way from Pogue, Abner and a lesser known Hartman. I remind everyone, we start against Liberty who played well in the Tennessee Regional last year. Yes they lost their ace pitcher in the first round but this team plays well together. If our pitching falters the first weekend we have to give Sully a few weeks to work things out.
87– We agree again. I believe that consistency in every facet of our game is key. It’s never a preferred outcome IMHO when you hook the wagon up to just one horse. Stating the obvious I know, but— Pitchers gotta pitch- Fielders gotta defend-field-throw- Hitters gotta hit- Base runners gotta bring their “A” game with every opportunity- Team success takes team efforts, executions, and drive. I think that there are some that more or less demand perfection-if that is not achieved it is looked on as failure. I’ll say it again-consistency is the key. It’s a marathon not a sprint. That is also why it’s our greatest team game. 87–when it comes to evaluating our own pitchers it reaches the point where our guys need to face the competition to get a real gauge on our effectiveness. Everyone sees the same thing every year-pitchers start out with the advantage but as the season draws closer our hitters have seen our pitchers repeatedly and know more of what to expect. It’s a process.
Preseason rankings don’t “matter” but the champ at the end is typically top 5-7 preseason. MSU was 7th in last year’s D1 preseason poll. Didn’t look up the others. Vandy was 4. Obviously there were some big misses but if you aren’t top 10ish, you aren’t winning the NC. Even Coastal was a top 13-16 give or take and they are the most “out of nowhere” team in quite a while. Maybe Zona in 2013?? Don’t know. Maybe USCe in 2010?? Not sure. There aren’t many “random” champions.