[Fumblerooskies]

Thank you Carnac The Magnificant...

...the real key is how the guys bounce back with the final two series. Winthrop is down, compared to past years...and VMI and its young pitching will be tough...in a final series which well could determine who is in the top four and avoids the two play-in games.

[krh44]

Better start today 5-5 in 3rd

[Fumblerooskies]

Solbach on the mound for the good guys...but down 6-5 in the 6th.

[Fumblerooskies]

6-6 in top of the 8th...John in relief of Solbach.

[krh44]

we got a runner on 2nd in 9th w/ 2outs GO FLAMES

[Fumblerooskies]

Dan Schlereth in the game for 'zona...the son of Mark "Stink" Schlereth of ESPN...and former member of the HOGS.

[Fumblerooskies]

Couldn't get the run home...tied at 6 going to the bottom of the 9th.

[krh44]

John popped up to end inning

[krh44]

we leave a runner on 3rd in 10th Wildcats coming to bat

[krh44]

Arizona wins 7-6

[Fumblerooskies]

At least the guys went down with a fight.

[bigsmooth]

amen! im glad we showed up today! now let's get some rest for the upcoming stretch.

[bigsmooth]

the game wrap from libertyflames.com.

http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... 9&TeamID=1

[The Judge]

For all you guys who have ripped Royer and his schedule...I thought I would point out one very interesting stat. Over the entire history of LU baseball...the program has played 40 nationally ranked teams. Of those 40...25 were played when Royer was the coach.

So Superjon...even if your 100 % right about me being biased for my friend Matt. It doesn't change the facts we are not good enough !

[SuperJon]

But you weren't saying that at the beginning of the year. That's my problem with what you're saying now. If you were saying, "Man, our players aren't talented but we just beat ECU, that's great" I wouldn't have a problem with what you're saying now. However, you weren't saying that.

[knobodywest]

we won 39 games last year, every pitcher but two are returning pitchers. We have heard so much on here about Royers wins! and how much success he has had. This is a factual statement and not bias the only difference in this years team and last years team is , well who is the pitching coach this year oh thats right Matt is the pitching coach. The judge does carry a double standard on here. Justs the facts guys. The freshman pitchers should be allowed a grace period, everyone else is returning from last year, the 39 win year! Now all of a sudden we don't have quaility pitching, maybe its the lack of a quaility pitching coach.

[Hold My Own]

The SOS might be a little different too

[Chris Lang]

You folks are not looking at this objectively at all ...

The differences between last year and this year go far deeper than the loss of Randy Tomlin as pitching coach. Just look at your infield ...

You have a shortstop (Gaillard) gamely playing through a bum shoulder.
You have a first baseman (Grijalva) with a bad oblique who hasn't recaptured the hitting stroke he had as a freshman. Anyone you put at first to replace him is an upgrade defensively but can't hit at all.
Second base is a liability. Bussey struggles there and Negron is an outfielder by trade.
Giammaresi is a downgrade at third from Chad Miller.
Keller was seriously sick for half a season and has never found a real groove.
Young has been in and out of the lineup due to illness and injury.
Phil John has been the one steady point in right. Great defensive player with a better than expected bat.

Then the pitching ... I think Solbach has some major arm issues that have yet to be uncovered/diagnosed ... and it has nothing to do with overuse. He lost 10 mph on his fastball in March for crying out loud. He was pitching six innings once a week. Overuse? Come on. You lose Beakler and the Auburn kid basically for the season, leaving you with a converted closer (Umberger) as your No. 2 pitcher. Tyler Light was nothing better than a stopgap weekday starter last season, and now he's a regular part of the rotation. Ryan Page is a two-pitch pitcher who gets hammered if you leave him in longer than a couple of innings because it's ridiculously easy to learn how to hit a two-pitch guy.

Tim John has been stellar. No surprise there.

With all of those factors stated above, you still think LU should be a special baseball team? This team is flawed. Whether that's the coach's fault is not my place to say, and you'll never hear me come out either for or against a coach. But acting like the coaching staff has been dealt a great hand this season and is blowing it is just disingenuous. Let's be real.

[bigsmooth]

thanks for the in-depth unbiased opinion chris!

[Hold My Own]

Good points Chris

[sitemdown77]

OK.....I know there are a lot of problems on the team, but I'm just curious about all the ripping on Ryan Page on this board?? First off, there is NOONE on the staff who is a above average three pitch guy! Alex Wilson is a two-pitch pitcher w/only a fastball and slider. Solbach is a two-pitch guy, his fastball and his change-up, his slider/curve is very very average. Jason Jones was a two-pitch guy, with fastball and slider, who has now developed. So, where did this "it's easy to figure out how to hit a two-pitch pitcher come from??" that's a load of crap, I'm sorry. He wasn't a two-pitch guy last year as a starter??? 9-2 with a 3.8 ERA, and the year before that when he shoved against Coastal in the Big South Tournament?? What about the beginning of the year when he was absolutely lights out and FRESH. I had talked to scouts and seen him pitch, the kid was a very strong possible draft guy, TRUST ME. The kid has two ABOVE average pitches, and his slider is very very good, close to a plus pitch. The kid is extremely worn down though. He either threw or warmed up in about 8 of the first 10 games, and has had to throw a ton in very short time periods. I'm not on here to rip down Royer and start crap about mismanaging the bullpen w/overuse and underuse, and I'm not on here to push blame on who's fault it is. I am just saying the facts when you are trying to rip on kids. What happened to 4th best prospect in summer ball league? Guys a ton of pitchers in college are one pitch pitchers......2 pitch pitchers are very good college guys, and once you get to a good 3 pitch guy, most of the time their draft guys. A left who SHOULD be throwin 87-89 with a very good changeup, and a plus slider, with ABOVE average command, is a plus college pitcher and a good draft guy (I've talked to the scouts about him, and quite a few, so don't come on here and try and call me out on it). I'm not saying the kid is that quality right now, I haven't seen him in a while, but I know he's worn down, some kids just aren't good relievers, some kids arms work different and handle under different stress of throwing.

Converted closer (umberger) Chris?? Converted since when?? He's never closed. He had 2 saves last year early, but was never the closer. He started every weekend in conference last year. No one said anything about converted closer when we has shutting teams down last year, and getting called on to come back on three days rest for the conference championship against UNCA??

I just don't want people throwing out random stuff, b/c they think they know what they are talking about here. The arms are stellar arms on the staff, but they are not know (agreed). When they are tired and run down, they become average. Don't come on here and try to say "well other teams", "well other teams", and show stats of championship games at the END of the season to try and prove a point. B/c other teams arms DON'T wear down like ours do.

[Chris Lang]

Yes, I was going on Dustin's experience from the beginning of last year. I think he's got good stuff and has been a fine starter, especially the times I've seen him this year. (And he was gutty as heck during that UNCA game last year, pitching on absolute fumes.) Maybe my problem is that I've only ever seen Ryan Page's bad outings. Maybe that's bad luck on my part, but I've never seen him be a lights-out pitcher like some claim him to be. Every time I've watched him pitch, he's gotten hit hard.

My sample size is small, admittedly. I have other job responsibilities that prevent me from attending every home game. Such is the life. I just go by what I see and what I hear from people in the know. That's where my opinion of Page comes from.

That wasn't really meant to be a rip on Ryan. Sorry if it came off that way.

Good points on three-pitch guys mostly being draft guys.

I'm just as mystified as everyone else on Solbach. He doesn't throw a ton of innings. He was shut down (briefly) this season to try to recover some arm strength. Tests apparently say nothing is wrong with his arm. Yet he's somehow worn down. I don't get it. He says he feels good. His mechanics are solid. I don't know the answer to that one.

[sitemdown77]

And Judge, I understand what you were trying to get at with the scouts saying some of the guys didn't even belong at the D-I level pitching/infield/whatever. I know what point you were trying to make, but I think it said something a lot louder. Early to mid of the season scouts were saying LU was more than likely the most talented team in VA beside UVA (w/13 possible drafts, lol). Fumble, HMO, SJ, can all say I know what I'm talking about with that too, and talking to scouts. The team has now fallen to the point that some guys don't even belong at the D-I level, and the effort lately has been sad, and extremely subpar?? I understand a injury riddle team, and things going wrong, but how can things fall that quickly and hit rock bottom? Judge and proto, I'm not on here trying to rip on Coach Royer, believe me. I'm just trying to make a point and state the FACTS, as you always say......

[sitemdown77]

Hey Chris, the whole conversation there wasn't directed at you, and I knew you weren't ripping Page. I was just trying to make a point, b/c I have read other comments about Page this year on year from others. He may seem like a two-pitch guy this year with his fastball and change b/c the change is a feel pitch. If you lose power and have some dead arm, the change can still be there b/c it's not a power pitch. On the other hand, the slider is, which Page used to use very effectively down and in to righties to keep them honest, and away from lefties. If a pitcher has some dead arm and can't find the power in his pitches, so goes the slider many times. It will flatten out and lose the bite it should have. The righties aren't worried about that ball biting in hard down and in and keeping them honest off the plate, so goes some of the effectiveness of the change-up as well.