Baseball vs JU, Tue 3/19, 6:30 pm

This might help....

Transfer Portal/MLB Draft/Seniors
Wyatt Langford OF - Drafted 1st Round by Texas - Signed
Hurston Waldrep RHP - Drafted 1st Round by Atlanta - Signed
Brandon Sproat RHP - Drafted 2nd Round by NY Mets - Signed
Josh Rivera SS - Drafted 3rd Round by Cubs - Signed
Philip Abner LHP - Drafted 6th Round by Arizona - Signed
Colby Halter INF - Drafted 17th Round by Oakland - Signed
Rene Lastres C - Transferred to UNC-Charlotte
Salvador Alvarez C - Transferred to Florida SW State
Yoel Tejeda Jr RHP - Transferred to Florida State
Anthony Ursitti RHP - Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast
Deric Fabian INF - Transferred to Auburn
Matt Prevesk OF - Transferred to UCF
Tyler Nesbitt RHP - Transferred to UCF
Clete Hartzog RHP - Transferred to Troy
Carsten Finnvold LHP - Transferred to UCF
Chris Arroyo LHP - TP
Erik Blair OF - TP Transferred to Florida SW State
BT Riopelle (Sr)
Richie Schiekofer (Gr)
Nick Ficarrotta ????
Tucker Talbott ????
Sam Sloan????
Max Brown - TP
Steven Echavarria, Milburn NJ - RHP - Drafted #72 Round 3 - Signed for 3M
Stone Russell, Bradenton FL - SS - Drafted #529 18th Round - Signed for 150K

 

Yes, we have lots of "free swingers" on the team- at the plate that is. Donay most egregious: 18Ks/40ABs = 45% that from your DH? Most concerning is Kurland, our lead-off guy, table-setter for the big guys behind him ... 24Ks/65 ABs = 37%. Plus, Kurland has made several sloppy errors that we did not see last year. Perhaps his hand is not 100%, not sure but maybe the other teams have figured him out some. With his natural oppo swing, one winces when he tries to pull and rolls over or swings and misses trying to pull an outer half pitch. Surprised that the coaches have not cleaned that up.

 

Thanks 87, that is a lot of talent gone at the top of the list and some transfers that could have helped both in the field and on the mound. Since moving back to the area in 2014/15, Langford is by far the best Gators ball player I have had the pleasure of watching. India was excellent but Wyatt is off the charts.
But what we may miss most is BT and Josh's on-the-field and in clubhouse leadership. An underrated intangible for a winning team.
I've not yet seen that fire-in-the-belly from some of the guys this year that we had last year or on the 2017 Championship team. Neely has it but he is only out there 1 or 2 x a week. One or two of the everyday players needs to step up.

 

Thanks for the replies. I was just curious as to why we are struggling against these mid week opponents. Losing Riviera, Riopelle, the starting pitchers, ect. that explains it.

 

Not that it will make any of you feel any better, but in 2017, the only year we won it all, we lost to: jax, ucf, fgcu twice, usf, seton hall, got swept by auburn. We even lost to bethune cookman in the regionals. We get beat by a lot of these lower tier teams every year, yet somehow Sully usually has us where we need to be at the end of the season. Take the series from LSU this weekend, and keep pushing forward in the SEC slate, and anything is still achievable. We certainly have question marks, but so do lots of other teams.

 

Wing, you better be sitting down for this...

As a charter member of the Midweek Games Don't Matter Club, I feel obligated to address a few things.

(1) Are midweek games just as important?

No. You can't have it both ways, if you use midweek games to try out new pitchers and you save your more reliable arms for the weekend, then you are not only allowing for the idea that midweek games are not as important, but you are EMPHASIZING it.

(2) Is the goal to win every game?

No. The goal isn't to win every game, it's to win the last game. Sully has said as much. Everything else is attempting to set the table for that. Doesn't mean we can't complain about what we see or don't see out there in any given game, but don't read too much into the results...or at the very least, don't bemoan the folks who refuse to read too much into these results.

(3) Does midweek success predict anything useful in life?

Undetermined, but a lack of success doesn't seem to have a negative impact on postseason success.

2021: 9-3 midweek record (woohoo!), 0-2 at home in regionals

2017: 8-5
2011: 7-7
2005: 7-5

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Thanks M87 for all the info.
Tucker Talbott is now a UF graduate and is a sales associate for Stryker (Medical devices & supplies) in Jacksonville.
Nick Ficarrotta is a UF graduate working for UF Health

 

My eyes don't lie based on what I have seen to date. This leads me back to my question......is he a knuckleballer based on what it appears to be lack of arm strength?

 

Sully mentioned he has a good slider. Perfect game had him listed with a high 80's FB (top velo 93) and a noteworthy slider.

PG EVENT RESULTS

93 mph

FB VELO3/4/2021

 

We were 11-2 last year in midweek games. They aren't as important as weekend games, especially conference games, but they do matter, IMO.

 

All the games are important, but if you win the last game, nobody really cares how you got there. Nobody is talking about losing to JU in 2017.

 

That's true. But only 1 team in all of D1, 300 or so teams, wins that last game. The first and primary goal in all UF sports is to win your conference. That, to me, is what makes the SEC weekend games more important. Getting to the CWS is icing on the cake and winning it is the ultimate prize. But anytime a player puts on the UF jersey to play a game, it should matter and does. Midweek games give non-weekend starting pitchers a chance to get better and impress the coaches in live competition - plus win games for their team. And it gives relief pitchers a chance for more work to get them ready for stressful weekend situations. Sometimes it gives position players who are competing for weekend playing time a chance to prove themselves and for the regular starters to continue with momemtum or to work out of a slump. All important things for overall team development.

 

I don’t think anyone has made an argument to the contrary. I’ve said the same thing before, almost verbatim.

It’s a long ride. Hold on tight and see where it takes you.

 

Talk is cheap. Just win baby. That includes winning over patsies like JU and St. John with your Friday night start going.

 

JU's win might be the memorable factor that gets them a #4 seed in a Regional. The only way it will be memorable to Gators will be if it's remembered as the game in which young pitchers began to master consistency and confidence. BYTW, neither JU nor StJ are patsies. They're midmajors who schedule tough teams to improve their resumes. They may not beat many of those tough teams, but they do it to build their programs. Frontrunners are fans who don't respect the work of their own teams or opponents- only wins matter. ever.

 

I sit behind home plate and often there are lots of scouts around me. They all were salivating over Waldrup's splitter. One time I asked a scout if he was there to scout Hurston and he said yes, but expected him to be long gone when they made their first round selection.

 

Solid Maxims to Live By

 

You just don’t take that pitch with 2 strikes.

 

In his defense, he protects and the ball stays fair then he gets hammered for "swinging at a ball"

 

I was upstairs, but it looked way outside.