Why all the scoring lately?

[Danny J]

What has changed? Mind you I haven't really kept up with all the games with work and whatnot but have we been playing less small ball and swinging away more?

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Not sure about everything that has contributed, but the top of the order was changed during the USCe series. Spoon is leading off now and Benintendi dropped to second in the order with Serrano in the 3 hole and Anderson at clean up. 

Never would have thought of putting Spoon as the lead off hitter, but he has done well.
Benintendi is getting on base at about the same clip as he was when he lead off, but is doing so with more base hits instead of walks and HBP's. Beni's BA is up to .263 from around 220.

Serrano and Anderson are both hitting .336 now.

 

[TikiHog]

Vitello took over

[the10mann]

Vitello took over

I wonder if this might not be true.  Over the past week I've definitely noticed we're bunting less early in games and doing a lot more hitting and running.  I haven't looked at the numbers to confirm, but it seems to me we've been attempting to steal with 1 out a bit more too. 

Moving Spoon to lead-off also seems to be working out well.  That was a great move by the coaching staff.

[TuckFexas]

Initially, I thought moving Spoon to leadoff was a reach. Turned out to be a good move. Serrano, IMO is the best hitter we have and moving him to the 3 hole and getting him out of the SAC hole was key. The shift took the pressure off of Spoon and Anderson to drive in runs and I think energized Serrano even more knowing he's now being counted on to drive guys in.

[jacobp]

Moving Spoon to leadoff AND Center is paying dividends. he's making plays in CF right now that I don't think Benintendi can at this point.


Definitely bunted less in the non con games, but we will do it when the situation calls for it. You can almost guarantee if we get a leadoff guy on against Nola tonight, we will be bunting. There was no need to sac bunt on Wednesday. Van Horn knew we were going to score a lot of runs against UNLV's midweek pitching.

[ucahogfan]

I think part of it is we are finally starting to hit to our potential.  I always thought this offense could be the type to hit .280-.290 as a team and we have been doing that the last couple of games.  Serrano and Anderson are heating up at the right time of the year and give us a dangerous 3-4 combo.  Spoon has done well in the leadoff spot while Benintendi has done better in the 2 hole.  Eagan has done a pretty good job at DH in his limited ABs.  Offense should only get better when we get McAfee back as well replacing either Bernal or Wernes.

[dotnet]

Serrano, IMO is the best hitter we have

I've always said that if a basehit was needed and the game was on the line, Serrano is the guy I would want at the plate.

[TuckFexas]

I've always said that if a basehit was needed and the game was on the line, Serrano is the guy I would want at the plate.

Yep, you can tell in his approach that he hits it where it's pitched. He will go oppo if the pitch location warrants it but will yank it if it's on the inner half. He doesn't try and get lift, he just tries to drive it.

[hogman64]

Letting our most consistent hitter ,Serrano , hit rather than bunt has been the biggest part of it.  He delivers.  Separating Spoon and Anderson has helped both.  Also the bottom of the lineup has produced in spots , which is all you hope for, Eagan has hit, Bernal had a 3 run homer and Wise had 2 hits in one game.

[Kevin]

I've always said that if a basehit was needed and the game was on the line, Serrano is the guy I would want at the plate.

totally agree

[Knot2brite]

Blind hog finding the acorn....sorry not trying to bash anyone but it seems that way...and it isn't just the Hogs....it is all of college baseball.....college baseball is becoming unwatchable ....the are going to try to put some lipstick on a pig next year by changing the ball but they are going to be disappointed

[Baseball Hog]

Blind hog finding the acorn....sorry not trying to bash anyone but it seems that way...and it isn't just the Hogs....it is all of college baseball.....college baseball is becoming unwatchable ....the are going to try to put some lipstick on a pig next year by changing the ball but they are going to be disappointed

Solution: don't watch.

[Knot2brite]

I am starting not to...and I have watched or listened to almost every Hog baseball game since 1979. It is getting to the point that it isn't any fun. Your solution is going to cost college baseball a hell of a lot more than you are willin to admit. If the average fan ( the vast majority) stops watching then the money stops coming in. But you will find some damn statistic that says all is well. But when the overall financial support stops...what then. I went to Hog games at George Cole when there might have been 500-600 paying fans there...and they played decent baseball then.

[Danny J]

I am starting not to...and I have watched or listened to almost every Hog baseball game since 1979. It is getting to the point that it isn't any fun. Your solution is going to cost college baseball a hell of a lot more than you are willin to admit. If the average fan ( the vast majority) stops watching then the money stops coming in. But you will find some damn statistic that says all is well. But when the overall financial support stops...what then. I went to Hog games at George Cole when there might have been 500-600 paying fans there...and they played decent baseball then.

I agree for the most part. The NCAA is screwing up a perfectly good game as they almost always do. It is the same for government and I often make the analogy between the two. It is done under the guise of "making things better or for our own good...blah blah blah".

[Knot2brite]

I understand the old bats were nuclear hot and had to be tones down. And just for the record, this isn't about just the Hogs. I watched parts of four games today and it is all throughout college baseball. They want to protect players, I get that concept. They over did it and just changing the seams Of the college ball isn't going to make up for the bats. Got completely to the minor league ball and add a smudge of flex in the bats and we are better

[ucahogfan]

I understand the old bats were nuclear hot and had to be tones down. And just for the record, this isn't about just the Hogs. I watched parts of four games today and it is all throughout college baseball. They want to protect players, I get that concept. They over did it and just changing the seams Of the college ball isn't going to make up for the bats. Got completely to the minor league ball and add a smudge of flex in the bats and we are better

The change in the ball will bring back about 75% of what was lost when the bats changed.  I think that will be a happy medium for the college game and will still emphasize pitching.

[Knot2brite]

I hope you are right

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

The change in the ball will bring back about 75% of what was lost when the bats changed.  I think that will be a happy medium for the college game and will still emphasize pitching.

ESPN may not be happy because it will allow for more scoring which will cause the games to go longer, but the way I see it right now is that SOME fans don't want to watch because they want more scoring. If ESPN influenced the change in the bats and balls they sure shot themselves in the foot at least for a while.

I hope the new ball makes for the right combo.

[Hogpkins]

What has changed? Mind you I haven't really kept up with all the games with work and whatnot but have we been playing less small ball and swinging away more?

After watching the game yesterday, it doesn't appear we are moving away from small ball in the least. I think Tuck nailed it about the lineup change up top, or at least that's the only obvious explanation. Hopefully it is also a sign that our bats are being coached up a little bit.

[TuckFexas]

The problem with most baseball programs is that they lose money. To make it fair, they can't all go to wood bats because of the cost. I think an easy solution (taking $ out of the equation) is to go to wood bats and use the same baseballs MLB uses. Everyone is then on a level playing field and scouts get an accurate look at how guys stack up offensively, ditto for the pitchers. So how do we get to where every program playing D1 can afford wood bats? Well, take some of the football program $ and network $ and give each program say...$10k  for bats. Buying in bulk from Louisville Slugger/Mizuno/Rawlings/etc. should make it around $30-$40 per bat I would think. You could get around 200 bats per season for somewhere around $8k. Then you got a slush fund for extras if needed. 302 teams x 10k = just over 3M. With billions being made throughout all of NCAA, I would think this could be feasible if someone really wanted to do it. Hell, companies already give equipment and the new bats retail for upwards of $300 and they get more than one throughout a season. Am I just pulling this out of my arse or does it sound reasonable?