noladave wrote:
The coaches had to plan around the break, and since school is out Thursday through Sunday, Wednesday was the last day to play a “game” before the break.
In the fall, the guys go ahead and take late afternoon/evening classes, as it minimizes interference with practice times. In the spring, they avoid those, if at all possible.
Additionally, a few of the guys were given permission to fly out Wednesday evening, so that they could enjoy the fall break with their families. I think fans sometimes forget that players do have personal lives, and that “life” happens, even though they are baseball players.
Yesterday was a crazy day - yes the hit batters were an issue, but I think 4 or 5 of them were from 1 pitcher. We also had the first instance of the new “lean in” rule - if the batter attempts to lean into the pitch, to get hit by the pitch, then the umpire can call a strike on the batter, and is not awarded 1st base.
It was nice to see all 18 pitchers throw at least one inning. Some guys looked awesome, some guys, not so much. It is way to early to see which ones are going to compete. I will say a couple of the new guys had some lively stuff, along with some of the returning players. In my opinion, Latham is going to make a big difference.
We really won’t get a good read on either pitchers, hitters, or defense (wind was really crazy yesterday), until we play South Alabama and USM.
Best moment of the day, came after Grant hit a foul ball, was running it out, and came back to the plate. The catcher was giving him the bat, and just as Grant went to grab it, the catcher dropped the bat at his feet. Grant then promptly hit a home run, the only one of the day.
Thanks for the update....mainly to keep the boo birds at bay a little longer....
