Let’s Play Two!

Say Hey, Baseball has gotten underway. Check it out here if you haven’t made the trip to the Doak already. It’s a double-dip and it started around high noon. Did I mention that it’s against the pesky Mountain folk of Boone (they probably like these thick, peat smellin’, dreary days being from the highlands and all)?

Avent should give the ball to Surkamp in the first game. He is such a mirror opposite of Brackman that is nearly impossible to think they were teammates at the same HS in Cincy. He is flawlessly under control with his pitches and mechanics nearly always. That not only bodes well for pitch count but also keeps the defense sharp (as opposed to K’s, which are for pretty boys and facist according to Crash Davis). Also his sound mechanics have made him incredibly durable, another sharp contradiction to our last ace thats now trying to earn his pinstripes (God save him!).

In the second Ole’ Elliot will probably turn to Eryk McConnell , which could get interesting considering we would like to see our starter go more then a few innings.

Go Wolfpack!

Update, Pack splits against ASU 8-1 & 5-7
Thought we had ’em in the night cap, bottom 8 with the sacks full and Poulk at the plate. Credit to the App pitcher for gutting it out. One bright spot in the game was the 3.1 shut down innings by Jim Gilheeny.

Sunday’s rubber match is set for 1:30 at the Doak @ Dail. Get there if you can, it sounded over the airwaves like there were alot cobb pipe smokin’ weido’s that needed to be offset. Our starter is true frosh name of Buchanon. I was going to link his bio here but won’tGO.Pack was at it’s old tricks again.

Baseball

28 Responses to Let’s Play Two!

  1. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 1:45 PM #

    Good 7-0 start… Surkamp with 4 scoreless so far. Ferguson (returning HR leader from last year if I recall) with the pop. Interesting to see Ryan Pond in the 6 hole; he was very solid on offense last year. Dallas Poulk picking up where he left off as a freshman (get on base, score runs, repeat).

    McConnell (whenever he starts) shouldn’t tax the bullpen too much when he does pitch. You figure this team has 6-7 guys who started a game last year available in the bullpen, and Surkamp (provided he isn’t lifted early for “safety” reasons) shouldn’t tax the pen in game 1.

    Stallings I would guess gets the nod tomorrow, so McConnell’s game (in a perfect world) would go something like McConnell (3), Schunick (3), Gilheeney (3)– or perhaps find a freshamn an inning or two (although if 7-0 keeps up or increases, the first game is a perfect spot to break in the young arms).

    Yeah, I gab a lot about baseball– freakin’ love it.
    Doc, I can gab about the subject until I am blue in the face or my audience has passed out from my tedious racket, so bring it on.

    Fergueson had only 3 dingers so if he lead the team then my recollection of how futile a run producing club we were last year was understated. The blast sounded good over the air waves and is always a positive when it’s opposite field power.

    The triple play with two men on in the fourth was a thing of beauty. SS ice cream cones a low liner, tags out the nearby base runner and guns over to first to seal the deal (no effort or apparent focus on the part of the happy Appy base runner). Great stuff so far. Go Pack

  2. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 1:48 PM #

    Of course as a type the above, Surkamp is lifted to start the 5th and in enters Shunick.

    Not terribley surprising, although I would have liked to see 5 from Surkamp. First series of the year, want to give a lot of arms a look and not tax anyone. When I coached doubleheaders though, I liked to keep a good thing going in game 1 (unless pitch count became a problem) ’cause you never know what game 2 will bring.

  3. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 2:56 PM #

    Yeah, Ferguson only had three last year– I was going from memory. I guess Pond’s whopping 7 led the returners from last season (man I miss Aaron Bates, Colt Mangum et al.) Hence my further amazement Pond is in the 6 hole.

    And that’s your 8-1 ballgame. Good opener for the Pack!

    Thought I’d comment on your analysis of Surkamp’s control– yeah, I hate walks. But, in college I think a little wildness (or some seriously filthy breaking stuff) is a big help. It’s really hard to jam a guy with an aluminum bat. By and large, batting average on balls put in play is roughly the same for most pitchers, so K’s certainly help in that respect. But, as you correctly note, not walking anyone means you can give up a hit or two an inning and be OK (how Maddux made his living… how many 8 IP, 1 ER, 11H, 3K, 0BB lines did that guy put up?)

    I pick up exactly what your putting down. Me thinks a little “effectively wild” goes a long way in pitching at any level, but especially on the NCAA circuit.

    I definitey think you could see where I’m coming from on the control mechanics issue. Another physical growth stage seems to hit baseball players who are good enough to move up from prep and American Legion to the big time (NCAA, minor’s, Sanskatoon Church leauge Slow Pitch). I think a pitcher with discipline in his mechanics has a MUCH greater chance of being more serviceable to their ball club because this physical growth (weight lifting, pitching coaches) is less likely to derail them.

  4. Pack92 02/23/2008 at 3:31 PM #

    Hey Doc, Pond may not have had huge HR numbers last year but he can absolutely kill a ball. He hits more line shots and I think that hurts his HR numbers somewhat.

    BTW, I love it too. Keep talking!

  5. tooyoungtoremember 02/23/2008 at 3:36 PM #

    Yay baseball! I would love to see this become a regular subject on SFN throughout the spring and early summer.

  6. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 3:37 PM #

    Oh, I definitely wasn’t knocking Pond– I mentioned a few times I thought he’d be batting in a higher slot. His OPS killed last year if I recall correctly (1.000 or greater).

  7. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 3:40 PM #

    To make clear my earlier comments on pitching: a little wildness IN AND AROUND THE STRIKEZONE helps. I’m not talking Nuke LaLoosh wild.

    “Why does he keep calling me meat? I’m the one driving the Porche.”

  8. wirogers 02/23/2008 at 4:33 PM #

    You guys are showing OUR ages with the Bull Durham comments, keeps me laughing and loving baseball the way it should be played. Would love to see college go to the wood bat.

  9. cowdog 02/23/2008 at 4:48 PM #

    Boys, how refreshing to see some pill talk. Nothing wrong the the six hole…RBI factory hitting there though five hole is the classic ribbie spot. Line ups and batting order are fluid. ‘Specially since it is February? We never started ’til first week in March when our annual opening day opponent Dartmouth started their swing south. Thank God for golf gloves back then ( used only to keep the bees out of the bat.) Dartmouth had this flame thrower by the name of Pete Broberg, 6’6′ 95mph and wild as hell. Washington Senators, then Rangers.

  10. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 5:00 PM #

    I probably shouldn’t have harped on the lineup spot SO much it being games 1 and 2. I just hope, based on the way he raked last year, he hits higher on a routine basis. Over 60-70 games, the difference between 3 and 6 is what, 20-30 At-Bats. I wouldn’t even bring it up if I knew we had lineup depth, but we haven’t had a consistenly good offense for a while. (Which sucks given how good the pitching has been the last 3-4.)

  11. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 5:03 PM #

    Russell Wilson, for those scoring at home, doubled in his first AB of game 2.

  12. cowdog 02/23/2008 at 5:08 PM #

    I think statistically you’ll find 3-5 with a slightly higher AB ratio than 6-7. Would not expect Pond to stay in 6 hole for very long at all…loved his stroke since frosh yr. Looking forward to see who may be the guys over the season holding 3 and 4.

  13. branjawn 02/23/2008 at 5:55 PM #

    Not to toot my own horn, but I had well over 20 posts on NCSU baseball on my blog last season including exclusive player interviews. Heck, that’s the whole reason I started blogging was b/c SFN didn’t talk baseball. Anyways, just responding to the guy who said “Yay baseball! I would love to see this become a regular subject on SFN throughout the spring and early summer.” SFN does a great job with the big two sports, don’t overlook the rest of us covering baseball, etc. GO PACK!

  14. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 6:23 PM #

    Oh, and my most oft used Bull Durham quote– especially when I coached– is “Don’t think. It can only hurt the ballclub.”

  15. cowdog 02/23/2008 at 6:39 PM #

    Tell ya what Bull durham did to me. The night after seeing it, I dreamed that I was on the bench at my current age then smoking a cig and the Skip comes over and says get a bat. So I toss the smoke and get ready to PH wearing only my jock./ Woke up from that one dozed off and found myself bussing through Dixie at night tryin’ to get some sleep in the seat. My usual position was feet over the headrest in front of me, head resting where my ass should have been. Wife woke me up cussing wondering why my feet were draped over her noggin..damn what a great BB movie.

  16. Dr. BadgerPack 02/23/2008 at 7:17 PM #

    I hate doubleheaders when I have the stronger team… darn hard to sweep them.

    The other fun part of Bull Durham for me is seeing Mitch’s Tavern (formerly ACC Tavern)… I used to head over there on Fridays after research. Fun times.

  17. highstick 02/23/2008 at 9:17 PM #

    Keep up the baseball talk! And let’s beat Carolina at this sport!

    Loved Bull Durham and it meant even more to me being an ex-catcher!

  18. LRM 02/23/2008 at 9:38 PM #

    “Well, he really hit the shit outta that one, didn’t he?”

    “I held it like an egg.”

    “Yeah, and he scrambled the sonuvabitch. Look at that, he hit the f****** bull! Guy gets a free steak!”

  19. vtpackfan 02/23/2008 at 9:51 PM #

    Highstick, I to did some time behind the plate strapping on the equipment of ignorance. One of my favorite lines from BD was immediately after Crash told La-Loosh to hit the Bull. As the batter stepped back into the batters box Crash hit him with the-
    “I wouldn’t dig in too much, I have no idea where the next one is going.”

    As a player who did many seasons with my father as either the Manager or third base coach, I heard this one alot in front of the team-
    “Baseball is an easy game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.”

    That one was for you Doc.

  20. LRM 02/23/2008 at 10:22 PM #

    Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.

  21. Ed89 02/24/2008 at 11:05 AM #

    The other fun part of Bull Durham for me is seeing Mitch’s Tavern (formerly ACC Tavern)… I used to head over there on Fridays after research. Fun times.

    Hmmmm….ACC Tavern and Mitch’s were two separate places when I was at State. At least that’s what I recall, but my memory could be a little fuzzy when thinking about Mitch’s and ACC Tavern. 🙂

    Not that I mind the baseball talk, but I hope we start a gameday thread soon for the Uva. game.

  22. RAWFS 02/24/2008 at 11:27 AM #

    Would love to see college go to the wood bat.

    I love the wood bat, and would love to see it back in the college game. The crack of the bat, not the ping of the metal and all that. There are also safety considerations too: ball can travel at speeds of 100-125 mph off a high tech aluminum bat, something that HBO’s “Real Sports” covered twice.

    The other fun part of Bull Durham for me is seeing Mitch’s Tavern (formerly ACC Tavern)…

    Remember in the movie that they all went out the back door at Mitch’s and we outside, downstairs in an alley? It always made me laugh because Mitch’s is of course up a flight of stairs. Easy up, careful coming down.

    I’ve some great memories of that place, and its two personalities — one in the day another at night.

    I’ve heard from more then one source that’s Mitchs’ is going out of business sometime in the not too distant future

  23. Dr. BadgerPack 02/24/2008 at 1:07 PM #

    RAWFS^ I thought they did have a ground level delivery door in back…

    Wood bats in college would be great to watch– unfortunately I don’t think it’s economically viable. Baseball at probably 95% of schools is non revenue. What’s the cost of 100-150 aluminum bats for a season versus conservatively 10 times that number of wooden bats. I often think about how to get it to work. One reasonable possibility is getting Major League clubs to help foot the bill. Afterall, it would help immensely with their scouting, and save them money in the long run with fewer “bad signs/drafts”– each of those is about a 3-4 year investment and depending on the bonus can be quite steep.

  24. highstick 02/24/2008 at 1:18 PM #

    A hard throwing pitcher who wore glasses and was a little bit wild made for a really “fun” game behind the plate. Throw one a little “tight and inside” every once in a while and you’d get everyone to back off the plate a little.

  25. Dr. BadgerPack 02/24/2008 at 1:42 PM #

    First inning of game three… both pitchers are fascists…

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