Ongoing UF Baseball Commentary

At least there is that……

 

The veterans have to get it going at the plate or sit. Calilao and Armstrong seem befuddled. I am particularly concerned about Armstrong. His only "hit" was a wind blown pop up to right that was misjudged by RF and Liberty second baseman had to run over 100 feet and almost made the play- but it was not a clean hit. Plus he had not hit well in Spring scrimmages. Jud is being more patient and it shows with BB but he's still waving at pitches he should hit- saw him swing through 91-92 mph FB this weekend. In my view, jury is still out on Langford- though his pop is undeniable.
Thompson is a star and I've expected a breakout year and also expected Halter to have a major tick up with the bat-- so far so good. Rivera coming on - and seems recovered from his wrist surgery. Riopelle a very pleasant surprise and D Fabian has played well in the field and found ways to get on base- he's earned the hot corner slot. Encouraging performance by Sproat- and fully agree he should throw the 2 seamer far more and only show the 4 seamer to keep 'em honest. Slater and Purnell look like good 1-2 inning guys. Hartman long relief for now and need Abner to find his footing- kid has talent. Hoping Manning gets it going as he did in the Spring scrimmages. Barco and Coppola- say no more-- need the 3rd weekend guy- ideally RHP- so maybe Sproat at some point very soon.

 

Not sure we will ever see the production expected from Calilao or Armstrong. Both have received plenty of chances in their careers but outside of Calilao’s FR season (which was decent but far from great), neither has been consistent enough to stay in the starting line-up for a whole season. They have the ability to help this team but after starting a combined 2-34, they both need to get going quickly.

 

Really liked what I saw from Mr. Ficarrotta. '74 interested in your thoughts as to whether he projects as a starter or if he is better as a bullpen piece.

 

Bullpen piece

 

Kinda what i was thinking too - a 2 inning bridge between the starter and the closer.

 

Definitely bullpen guy

 

Hartman and Ficarrotta as bridge guys- 2 maybe 3 innings. Though would like Harman to get a mid week start soon.

 

Mat—

I agree with I really liked what I saw from Ficarrotta—but to be honest I’m gonna say that I will need to see him a few more times to feel right about saying starter or pen guy.

He did show good stuff to compete with and his approach/demeanor was to me on the plus side.

 

As for the veteran struggles noted-
I recall, KC got off to a very slow start last year also, was benched early, but eventually picked it up and had some big hits late. He did have a double last night and hit a shot to the warning track in an earlier game that almost went out, so that is a plus.
Armstrong's struggles are a little more concerning, tho he has always been a big blast or K kind of guy. Just a lot of weak swings so far. He certainly looks the part of a cleanup hitter, hopefully it comes together soon. His play at first last night did look improved over last year.
I long ago gave up trying to figure out our CFs bat. He does seem to have a better approach this year and has been robbed of a couple of hits, maybe his luck will soon change.

On the other hand, the young pitchers have been quite encouraging so far and Riopelle's bat has been a big positive. Maybe because he is a stocky lefty, but BT reminds me a bit of Hickey.

 

USCe has started a doubleheader today vs George Washington— evidently they must have some weather moving into their Sunday.

Bottom of the 3rd USCe is up 3-0, however they had to pull their SP unexpectedly in the 2nd (unspecified injury) which from the TV guys comments is the second SP to go down with an injury for the Gamecocks rotation.

 

Yeah, he will be drafted higher than you might think. Start this year both offensively and defensively is much different than last year. Josh is different than 97% of college baseball players and that he actually hits better against better competition as evidenced by last year‘s performance

 

It is funny. 1 ER in 4 innings seems really good but 10 base runners in 4+, not good. So I agree he didn’t have his best but he limited the damage and the bullpen really limited a tough spot. I don’t feel great about the starting rotation right now, especially with Miami on deck, but the results were solid.

 

I find it interesting Miami has no mid week game. Maybe the days off will put rust on them??
nothing like live action!!
Just hope we don’t use a bunch of arms

 

Some of those Georgia State baserunners were due to fluke hits. That's baseball.

I liked Manning's curveball. He needs a little work for complete control, but it was impressive.

 

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1498360776708534277/pu/vid/720x720/X0jXTeV11Psrwvdu.mp4?tag=12

Week 2: Baseball Players of the Week

Halter Collects SEC Co-Player of the Week Honors, Earns National Player of the Week Mention - Florida Gators

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS