Well, the Yardcocks dropped the weekend series to LSU by a 2-1 margine. After starter Sam Dyson pitched well in the Friday contest, the freshman starting pitchers failed to hold up on Saturday and Sunday. Although, it should be noted that Freshman hurler Nolan Belcher performed considerably better this time around than in his other outings. Belcher left with the score knotted at 3 in the 5th inning.
One of the bright spots this season, aside from the new Carolina Stadium, has been the play of Freshman Jackie Bradley, Jr. The kid's got all the makings of a college star in the making. This weekend Bradley hit .500 with 2 HRs. Two weekends ago, vs. Long Beach State, I had the opportunity to take in a game at Carolina Stadium. Even though the Gamecocks lost, Jackie Bradley, Jr. put on a show for fans. During the game he laid down a text book bunt (more on Ray Tanner's propensity to bunt in another post), coaxed out a walk, singled, and showed off his cannon for a arm from right field. He's going to be a good one, folks.
Also, per the article above, it appears Ray Tanner is finally playing around with the 2B spot. Whit Merrifield moved there Sunday in what could very well be a permanent move. Scot Wingo (So.) has held that position since last year. However, Wingo's AVG has hovered around the .240s in both seasons (I think, I don't have stats in front of me). That's just not going to get it done in college ball. The difference was, last year Wingo's OBP was helped by a ridiculously high 30 hit-by-pitches. This year, pitchers have not been so kind (or unkind, depending on your point of view) to Wingo. If USC is going to make any noise in the SEC or even make the post season, they are going to have to get more production out of their second baseman.
6 comments:
That's interesting about Wingo. There are a couple of MLB players (Biggio, Utley) who have consistently demonstrated an HBP "skill".
Where is Merrifield moving from?
Merrifield (So.) moved from CF. He's a stud too, by the way. Actually, when Whit was in center, we had one hell of an outfield.
Interesting... For what it's worth, the move goes against the grain of Bill James' defensive spectrum:
1B—LF—RF—3B—CF—2B—SS—C
... with the positions toward the left being less defensively demanding while requiring more offensive production
Although I guess if Merrifield is up to the task of playing second, we'd be getting more value out of his bat at that position.
Whoul would be taking Merrifield's place in CF?
Adam Matthews moves to center. I posted the wrong link in the entry. Its supposed to be: http://www.thestate.com/gogamecocks/story/724086.html
Knoblauch is another 2nd baseman who consistently would get hit by pitches (to go with Biggio and Utley). Jeter is a good example of such a shortstop.
If it were to count extra if Clemens hits you, then Piazza would also be in this category....
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