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jaymOU

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Not sure if anyone watches the baseball team on this board, but, WOW they are frustrating. Last night the last inning against ORU was botched so bad by Skip Johnson and so was an inning or two against Baylor Sunday.

Bunting with your 4-hole is always an interesting strategy and it lead to the best hitter on the team not even swinging the bat - ugh. Then not sending Muniz from 2nd on a clean single to center, when he appeared to get a good jump, was puzzling to say the least.

Swept by ORU is something that should not happen, but the Eagles keep beating the Sooners year after year.
 
Yes, it has been very frustrating.

FWIW, I started a separate "baseball thread" over on the "Campus Corner" board on this site. So far, it has been mainly reporting on the team, with little discussion. Here is a link to the baseball thread ...

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42797

Anyway, I share your frustrations. The pitching seems good enough, but the lack of hitting when OU runners get into scoring position is my biggest concern. OU leaves lots of runners on base. Against ORU last night, the Sooners left 14 runners on base. That is a lot, but is not uncommon for this team.
 
Pete Hughes pretty much killed any desire I once had to watch OU baseball. I at least have some optimism that we're headed in the right direction with Skip.
 
Generally speaking, college baseball is one of the most over-managed (or over-coached, if you prefer) sports on the planet. The example you gave of bunting a cleanup hitter is a perfect illustration. Most coaches also insist on calling every pitch from the dugout rather than teaching their players to learn the game and allowing the catcher to call pitches.

Worst example I can recall -- several years ago, I went to a WSU game against Creighton. Creighton bunts all the time, but even that didn't prepare me to see them put on a sacrifice . . . with one out and a man at first. The coach might as well have just told the hitter, son, I have no confidence in you whatsoever, so I am going to just hope the next man can drive this run in with two outs. :) Brutal.
 
Never could really get into college baseball. It's the one major sport (baseball, basketball, football) where I prefer the pro game.

Go Cardinals!!!
 
WichitaSooner said:
Generally speaking, college baseball is one of the most over-managed (or over-coached, if you prefer) sports on the planet. The example you gave of bunting a cleanup hitter is a perfect illustration. Most coaches also insist on calling every pitch from the dugout rather than teaching their players to learn the game and allowing the catcher to call pitches.

Worst example I can recall -- several years ago, I went to a WSU game against Creighton. Creighton bunts all the time, but even that didn't prepare me to see them put on a sacrifice . . . with one out and a man at first. The coach might as well have just told the hitter, son, I have no confidence in you whatsoever, so I am going to just hope the next man can drive this run in with two outs. :) Brutal.
Click to expand...

meh. depends on what you're trying to accomplish. I called for a bunt with 2 down and a full count in the last inning against the Puerto Rican national team back in like 95 I think it was. Sammy Sosa was their ass't coach and they were all absolutely stunned. I remember it was JT Buffington from Noble who pulled it off. He laid down the most beautiful bunt down the 3rd base line and it brought in my runners from the corners amidst the confusion and subsequent error. It bought us an extra inning in which we got toasted for 3 runs. They were very good. But we had one shining moment against them and Sammy Sosa called it "brilliant". That team beat Charles Thompson's Sooners team with Kendall the following game to win the title. But those weird bunts can make a difference. I liked calling smallball games.

My cousin Chris (Atchley) played for ORU. They play good ball. His dad Dennis played for OCU back in the day when they and OCC had some excellent teams.
 
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WichitaSooner said:
Generally speaking, college baseball is one of the most over-managed (or over-coached, if you prefer) sports on the planet. The example you gave of bunting a cleanup hitter is a perfect illustration. Most coaches also insist on calling every pitch from the dugout rather than teaching their players to learn the game and allowing the catcher to call pitches.

Worst example I can recall -- several years ago, I went to a WSU game against Creighton. Creighton bunts all the time, but even that didn't prepare me to see them put on a sacrifice . . . with one out and a man at first. The coach might as well have just told the hitter, son, I have no confidence in you whatsoever, so I am going to just hope the next man can drive this run in with two outs. :) Brutal.
Click to expand...

Over-coaching is an epidemic in baseball at all levels - youth through the college game.

I just don't understand OU's offensive approach. They have little power and don't steal bases. Not a good combination. So if you have those two things, then you must be able to manufacture runs - which this team is horrific at doing, from the bunting strategy (or lack thereof) to striking out with runners at third and less than 2 outs they have been terrible at scoring runs lately. Hard for me to watch.
 
Eielson said:
Pete Hughes pretty much killed any desire I once had to watch OU baseball. I at least have some optimism that we're headed in the right direction with Skip.
Click to expand...

Skip Johnson is a good coach and has the program headed in the right direction.
 
SoonerTraveler said:
I am hoping this baseball recruit decides to go to college ...

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/article212812254.html

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/prep-baseball/article213026509.html

https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/PlayerProfile.aspx?ID=386157
Click to expand...

I don't even have to check the link to know that's Bobby Witt, Jr & unless he gets hurt or something awful happens pre-draft, he'll never play for OU. That dude's a stud & will probably go top-10.
 
WichitaSooner said:
Generally speaking, college baseball is one of the most over-managed (or over-coached, if you prefer) sports on the planet. The example you gave of bunting a cleanup hitter is a perfect illustration. Most coaches also insist on calling every pitch from the dugout rather than teaching their players to learn the game and allowing the catcher to call pitches.

Worst example I can recall -- several years ago, I went to a WSU game against Creighton. Creighton bunts all the time, but even that didn't prepare me to see them put on a sacrifice . . . with one out and a man at first. The coach might as well have just told the hitter, son, I have no confidence in you whatsoever, so I am going to just hope the next man can drive this run in with two outs. :) Brutal.
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been spoken.
 
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