TropicalSooner wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:10 am
So, how did all these guys really make it into the pros? Because of their bats?
I can't imagine a big game on the line and somebody with the yips throws a ball into the stands....??
They either eventually overcame them (Sax), had to change positions (Ankiel), or never were able to overcome them & they washed out of the game completely. Lester stayed @ pitcher & was elite even with the yips. At first, teams ran on him willy-nilly. Then he started randomly changing his time between pitches - quick-pitch, then wait forever, etc. - that teams quit running on him. Wouldn't be able to do that now with the pitch clock.
TN Sooner wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 4:06 pm
Who was the Cub shortstop that couldn’t conquer his yip throwing to 1B? Wound up having to play first base. Really impacted his career.
Don't remember a Cubs Shortstop with the yips, but Jon Lester had them when he was with the Cubs. Couldn't throw to 1st base from the mound. Rick Ankiel had them with the Cards. Had to change positions from P to OF.
Steve Sax is the most "famous" player I can remember with the yips. Fans along the 1st base line at Dodger Stadium wore helmets in the stands as a joke for protection.
Softball: Bottom of the 4th inning, Baylor and OU tied at 1. OU up to bat. Sanders leads off. She pops out to SS. Ludlam at bat. She walks on 4 pitches. Bland is pinch running for Ludlam. Avery Hodge at bat. I'm getting bad vibes here. We have a force out at 2nd, then a tag out at 3rd. Inning over. On to 5th inning.
Baylor lost all 3 of their last series last weekend, with effing Kansas. Maybe they were totally focused on their upcoming series with OU?!?!?
Baylor up in 5th inning. First batter grounds out to Sanders. Next batter gets a single up the middle. One out and one on base. Another ground out. 2 out, now. Ludlam gets a play, out to First base, for out #3. Still tied at 1 apiece. Sooners up in bottom of 5th.
Coleman at bat. She walks! Tiare BLASTS ONE for homer! Now 3-1 OU! We are really gonna miss her next year. Brito pops out for out #1. Parker at bat. She gets a single to center field. Pickering up, and in a recent slump. She blasts a single down the 3rd base line. Runners on first and 2nd base. One out. Baylor changing pitchers. Binford pitching for Baylor. Sanders batting for OU. Full count. Sanders walks. Bases loaded and Ludlam batting. SHE WALKS! A run comes in for OU. Torres at bat. We're up 4-1. TORRES GRAND SLAM!!! 8-1 OU. WOWEE!!! Can't we somehow get another year out of Torres?! Another new pitcher for Baylor. Boone up and she hits a double. One more run now and we Run-rule! Coleman batting and she walks. Baylor losing their collective minds, it seems. Tiare batting again. She walks. Brito at bat, with bases loaded. Line drive out to right field. Parker at bat. She grounds out. Inning over. We stay up 8-1.
6th inning. A pop out to Boone for out #1. We pull Maxwell, and Monticelli comes in. Now one out and one on base. Liner to Jennings and she doubles up the runner. Baylor at bats is over, and on to bottom of 6th inning. OU at bat. Somebody hit a homer, and let's end this game. Coor grounds out. Lillio at bat. She grounds out to the pitcher. Ludlam is up. She pops out to RF. On to 7th inning.
Twice this game and too many times in the last two weeks, the Sooners have failed to bring home a runner from third with one out. Just needed a flyball to get those runs in. Against better teams in the future, those opportunities lost could ruin us.
For a clutch HITTING team (often with two outs), it surprises me that this happens so often.
I get frustrated, too. I have been trying to balance my concerns with a close look at the game stats. Many times the stats are more comforting than my feelings in the moment.
It is Spring Break at OU, right?
Nevertheless, I wonder why the team starts so slowly at times, and pokes along for several innings with seemingly no fire or urgency? Maybe I am reading it wrong. Maybe not.
Until recently, the Sooners were 4 of 22 with bases loaded (I think that is the stat '56 revealed). That's a .181 BA. I think OU has been doing better lately, but I had a Curse of The Bases Loaded theory for awhile. Ha! Maybe I was not all wrong. I want to be wrong about that going forward! Torres Grand Slam granted my wish tonight!!!
Seems like out of the blue - BAM! OU suddenly goes crazy for a big, crooked number inning. Game over! What happened? Maybe Coach gets tired of the lethargy and starts lighting some fires between innings? I'd love to hear what JT says when the team is not hitting well for stretches of the game.
Maybe that's just the nature of the game itself? I have no idea.
Funny how Baylor only scored one, skinny, grubby little run....and yet it felt like the game was a real nail-biter for awhile. (I kept fearing Govan would tee-off on a pitch and give Baylor a 2 or 3 run lead. Didn't happen, but that nervous feeling lingers awhile.) I am grateful that the squad has the talent and ability to go BAM! even if it takes awhile for the fuse to hit the dynamite. Many other teams have a fuse that burns into a lump of Play Dough.
We did have some hard hits that got caught by some good defensive work.. And Baylor's starting pitcher was having a good game for a few innings.
OU may be so powerful that they can just grind down their opposition, even if they are not playing their best. When the dust settles, there are little hoof-prints and Schooner tracks all over the other teams uniforms.
OU seems to make a fair few base-running errors this year (over-aggressiveness or blown hit and runs) that cost us outs and take runners off bases. Can we clean that up a bit? Those hurt double.
Seems like the Sooner hitters are all taking turns with hot streaks. Torres is on fire right now! Go Girl! Jennings may be heating up. Pickering is cooling off a bit lately. Meanwhile, Boone just keeps getting on base game after game - what a consistent player! Still lots of .400 hitters in the line up.
Here are the numbers about runners in scoring position. (From third party stats online)
With runners in scoring position w 2 outs: .387 BA, .500 OB%, .720 slug%
With runners in scoring position: .400 BA, .522 OB%, .816 Slug%
With 2 outs: .392 BA
While I know it seems to be an problem because we remember a specific game or inning, the numbers do not represent there is a problem. The numbers logged simply represent a very consistent team as far as their hitting is concerned.
My stats show that the first batter for Oklahoma every inning is batting .484.
OU is great with 2 outs. Great at big rallies. My point remains - a simple fly ball scores a runner from third. It is not one game, but several with that happening.
If there is a site with stats on scoring with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs, I would like to see it. With so many power hitters, I understand not bunting the run in, but J T might need to work on situational hitting and get flyballs.
The facts tell the story better than my perceptions. This is exactly what I mean when I say the stats can be a comfort. Looks like OU is doing very well hitting the ball in many different situations.
Maxwell also pitched a gem of a game giving up only one run on three hits. Her accomplishment was over-shadowed by it being a 1-1 tie game into the 4th inning, IMO. I'll take a game like she threw yesterday all day, everyday!
