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Discussion in 'GatorGrowl's Diamond Gators' started by ocalaman, Feb 20, 2022.

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  1. Mar 19, 2022 #121
    ocalaman

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    Tonight's starting pitchers:
    Bama - Antoine Jean, 6'1", 180 lb. junior LHP. 4 starts, 2.60 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 17.1 innings pitched, 12 hits, 9 walks, 12 K's. 1 wild pitch, .190 batting average against.
    Florida - Brandon Sproat - 6'3" 210 lb. sophomore RHP. 5 appearances, 4 starts, 2.11 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 21.1 innings pitched, 16 hits, 6 walks, 26 K's, 1 HBP, .205 batting average against.
     
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  2. Mar 19, 2022 #122
    gtj31

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    The biggest difference for Sproat: BB.

    Only 6 in 21.1 IP means 2.5/9IP (for contrast he had 15BB in 21.2IP last year!!). He is only giving up 1-1.5 bases per outing and the rest is earned. Huge difference. If he can keep that rolling, maybe good things are ahead.

    To be complete, he also had a .330 BAA last year but that is what happens when you rely on one pitch AND fall behind. Pitching ahead plus the 2 seamer and offspeed, he has been so much better YTD.
     
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  3. Mar 19, 2022 #123
    74nole

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    Greg—

    Good points on Sproat. If he can command/locate the 2-seamer then because of it’s movement the hitters have to respect the slider and change more in my opinion anyway—then he can use his higher velo 4-seamer when he has set that pitch up to succeed i.e. elevated FB.
     
  4. Mar 19, 2022 #124
    shane4three

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    I think ( I know broken record) Nesbit or Pogue would be huge help here. Like to See Nas but get one or two meetings today and then be our midweek starter. Sunday’s game for me has to be to me Mannings spot.
     
  5. Mar 19, 2022 #125
    74nole

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    Again shane—good points throughout your post however I’m not so sure that I can say “Sunday’s game for me has to be to me Mannings spot”—

    I have been thinking the same thing until his last outing—but what we all saw was Manning just completely unravel….
    A whole lot of mechanics to straighten out plus the need to completely reestablish his Command/Control/Confidence into his pitching—it’s all very doable and or reachable—there just are no short cuts. Believing in and executing his pitches and he can be back right where everyone (including himself) wants him to be.
     
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  6. Mar 19, 2022 #126
    shane4three

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    Agree but he was in a different role coming out of pen. The only other I’d like to see in this spot would be Nesbit or Pogue maybe in time. Nesbit needs innings especially after an impressive first outing.
     
  7. Mar 19, 2022 #127
    74nole

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    I agree again but his coming out of the pen was a scheduled thing in relief of Pogue—even though his day didn’t start on a clean inning he knew he was coming in behind Pogue who as everyone knew was on a controlled short outing.
     
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  8. Mar 19, 2022 #128
    ocalaman

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    That's the way Manning was last year in his midweek stints. When he had control, he was excellent. But too often he couldn't consistently find the strike zone and had trouble getting people out.
     
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  9. Mar 19, 2022 #129
    gtj31

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    As discussed above, Sproat has reduced his walks a lot. But Barco…

    “Barco now owns a 1.72 ERA on the season with 44 strikeouts and just two walks, translating to 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings, 0.6 walks per nine and a 22.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.”

    That was from floridagators.com’s write up after the game. 0.6 BB/9IP and 22K/BB ratio. Pretty good I think…
     
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  10. Mar 19, 2022 #130
    gtj31

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    Well not exactly the start UF needed/wanted from Sproat. The walks…
     
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  11. Mar 19, 2022 #131
    ocalaman

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    Summary of tonight's game: The Gators jumped on Bama in the top of the 1st with back-to-back 2 out Home Runs from Wyatt Langford & BT Riopelle. That set the tone for the game, although Brandon Sproat was ineffective as a starter, only going 3+ innings and Bama came back to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the 4th before the Gators exploded with 2 in the 5th, 4 in the 6th and 2 in the 8th while reliever Ryan Slater pitched a solid 5 innings, being charged with 2 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and 6 K's. Sproat gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 2 k's. Blake Purnell pitched a clean 9th to close out the game. The Gators hammered out 18 hits, with Kris Armstrong going 4-5 with a HR and 2 RBI, Wyatt Langford went 3-6 with 2 HR and 4 RBI, Josh Rivera went 3-5, Kendrick Calilao went 2-5 with a HR and 2 RBI, Riopelle went 2-5 with a HR and 2 RBI and Derec Fabian went 2-5 with 2 RBI. Sterlin Thompson is the only Gator player not to get a hit in the game, as he went 0-6, as his batting average continue to fall. Game 3 is at 1 pm Sunday. Would be nice to get a sweep with LSU coming to Gainesville next weekend. It will be interesting to see who O'Sullivan uses on the mound tomorrow, as a lot of arms are available. But who does he trust?
     
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  12. Mar 19, 2022 #132
    ocalaman

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    Agreed. We saw Good Brandon in the 1st inning and Bad Brandon in the 2nd and 3rd and the 2 batters he faced in the 4th. Not good going forward, as most quality teams have their weekend rotation pretty well set.
     
  13. Mar 20, 2022 #133
    shane4three

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    With the season over a third done I’d say today’s starter is huge. It’s either Manning or Nesbit to me. Not that it can’t be Pogue, he’s just not there yet.
    I’d like to see a Manning and Nesbit split today. Still think Nesbit needs a start.
    Thompson starts going with pitch and he will be fine. Seems to try to pull almost everything.
     
  14. Mar 20, 2022 #134
    74nole

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    I agree with Nesbit for the start. I also agree with Thompson will be fine—just a couple of weeks ago everyone was liking how he was hitting the pitch wherever it was pitched and beating the shift with that approach. IMHO that’s what he needs to get back to in order to take care of the pressures he puts on himself in a pull mode.
     
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  15. Mar 20, 2022 #135
    ocalaman

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    Sunday's game was weird and sloppy and the Gator defense and pitching failed in the end, as we blew a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the 9th and lost 8-7. Tim Manning had a solid 1st inning and then couldn't find the strike zone in the 2nd inning, leaving with the bases loaded and no outs. He was charged with 2 runs, 1 earned. Brandon Neely went 3.2 innings, giving up 3 runs, all earned, on 3 hits and a walk. At one point Bama had 4 runs on 1 hit, a 2-run HR. Garrett Milchin tossed 2 innings and gave up 2 hits, including a solo HR that got him out of the game. Nick Ficarrotta threw the 8th inning, easily retiring the 3 batters he faced. But carrying a 7-6 lead to the bottom of the 9th, O'Sullivan brought in Blake Purnell for his 3rd appearance vs. The Tide to close out the game. He got the 1st out, then hit a batter, gave up a single, then a bunt that might have rolled fould was grabbed by Purnell to load the bases. The next batter hit a hard grounder than bounced off the chest of Derec Fabian that was ruled a hit, scoring the tying run. With 5 infielders and only 2 outfielders, the final batter lined a single to right scoring the winning run. The Gators had 11 hits, led by Wyatt Langford at 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBI, Sterlin Thompson at 2-4 with a HR and RBI, Jud Fabian with a HR and 2 RBI, Kendrick Calilao at 2-4 with an RBI and Josh Rivera at 2-4. UF is now 15-5, 2-1 in the SEC. They host Bethune-Cookman Tuesday at 7pm on SEC+ and then LSU comes to town, with Friday's game at 7 pm on the regular SEC Network, Saturday's 6:30 game and Sunday's noon game on SEC+.
    The hitting has been stellar, especially the power, but the defense showed some kinks this weekend and the pitching other than Hunter Barco remains a questionable work in progress.
     
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  16. Mar 20, 2022 #136
    GatorLurker

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    Sproat had a similar problem the night before. Great first inning and then lost command.

    Thinking back to Brady Singer he was much more effective after his freshman year throwing 92-93 instead of 95-96. He had a lot more armside motion as a freshman, but he lacked command. Then he changed his release (I think) and got more sink and control, but lost a few MPH's on his two seamer. I say "I think" because his pitches looked like he had more middle finger action. Kind of hard to actually see that from the seats or even on TV so I am basing my guess on the results of the pitches.

    Manning has a great curve if he can ever command it.
     
  17. Mar 20, 2022 #137
    Matherly87

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    Both Manning and Purnell seem to hit a lot of batters.
     
  18. Mar 20, 2022 #138
    gtj31

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    Purnell has a lot of run on his pitches and he wants to control the inside on righties. As such, you will issue some HBP. The cost of his movement.

    Manning simply can’t control his breaking ball yet imo.
     
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  19. Mar 20, 2022 #139
    74nole

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    Purnell has good run on his pitches from his arm slot. If he can master turning his wrist over hard counterclockwise upon release he has a great chance of creating late run and sink which when located well will give him really good success vs both RHH and LHH.

    I look forward to seeing that develop for him.
     
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  20. Mar 20, 2022 #140
    ocalaman

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    Will be interesting to see how he mentally bounces back from today.
     
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