First of all, as always, it was great to be back at Foley. Walking out of the place for the last time each season is always a depressing, difficult thing to do. And, it always seems like it'll be so long before fall practice starts back. And it never is.
-Yesterday was a lot of drill work, following by a fairly brief scrimmage. Things began with a few players working on bunting with Stricklin feeding them pitches through a pitching machine. LJ Talley climbed in the box and Stricklin said "alright LJ... First time in your life you've ever had to do this." He really coached LJ on how to hold the bat, both in terms of hand placement and level, and explained why it was important that LJ demonstrate that he can bunt down the 3rd baseline.
-Then things turned to pick offs/ run downs. This is where Stricklin really shines. I don't care how much baseball you watch or know, you can learn something by listening to Stricklin during segments like this. I've been critical of him in the past (though never of his baseball IQ), but I intensely enjoy watching him coach and instruct during periods like that.
-One thing I found interesting.... Yesterday during the pick off/ run down drill, Michael Curry was at catcher. Stricklin told Curry what he wanted to do, then Curry gave the sign... And Curry looked a little confused in doing it. After giving the sign, he gave it again. Stricklin said (and I'm paraphrasing this, but it's close) "You knew that was the wrong thing to do as soon as you gave the sign. I'm not perfect, I may give you the incorrect sign sometimes. That might happen. When it does, either ask me to do it again or ask me if that's what I wanted. Don't just give everyone the sign that you know to be wrong and hope everything will work out. Ask me. We're not on a clock here." I thought that was a tremendous teaching point, especially with a freshman. Stricklin really wants our guys to understand WHY they are doing things, not just what to do in a given spot. That whole deal with Curry reinforced a few things, all very positive, in my view.
-Curry looks good for a freshman catcher. That's such a tough spot to transition to from high school, but I believe he'll be a good one. Skyler Weber looked extremely comfortable behind the plate as well. No rust at all, that I could see. I believe Weber will be our primary catcher this spring. He's really stroking the ball too.
-Over at 1st, it appears that Adam Sasser is ahead of Patrick Sullivan, at least for the time being. Sasser has a big, long swing, but he appears to keep the bat in the zone for a long time and looks to have some pretty good power. Daniel Nichols, I believe, is the clear cut #1 at 1st base right now.
-I really like LJ Talley, from the little I saw yesterday. He's a big kid... Certainly looks bigger than the 6'2, 199 where he's listed. He played 3rd and some 2nd yesterday and make a couple of really good defensive plays. Whether it's him or Mitchell Webb at 3rd base, we'll be in the best hands in that spot since 2013 when Curt Powell was over there. One thing that got lost in the shuffle going down the stretch last year was just how good Mitchell Webb was defensively at 3rd base. If he can get his bat going (and he showed some good signs in May), he'll be a guy.
-Pitchers looked to only be throwing fastballs and change ups yesterday, so it's hard to say definitively what anyone has. Blakely Brown looks to have a pretty good arm, very loose delivery, and seems to generate a lot of velocity given his size. Kevin Smith is a big guy, especially for a true freshman... Seems to hit his spots well and throws strikes. Long, repeatable looking delivery. Adam Goodman is another guy who doesn't look like a young guy getting off the bus. Saw him get a lot of ground balls yesterday. Trevor Tinder looked good too. Nobody really got squared up, that I saw, and nobody had trouble throwing strikes (it should be noted that there was no umpire yesterday, the catcher was calling balls and strikes).
-One new thing.... All of the catchers were wearing headsets during the scrimmage and Fred Corral was calling pitches to them from the dugout that way. They won't be allowed to wear those in the actual games, but it did seem to speed up practice yesterday. I wouldn't have a problem with seeing that in the spring either, and I'm sure the pitchers would all like the quicker pace. But for now, that's for practice only.
-They're going again today (right now actually) and again tomorrow at 11:00am. Come on by. It's certainly enjoyable.
-Yesterday was a lot of drill work, following by a fairly brief scrimmage. Things began with a few players working on bunting with Stricklin feeding them pitches through a pitching machine. LJ Talley climbed in the box and Stricklin said "alright LJ... First time in your life you've ever had to do this." He really coached LJ on how to hold the bat, both in terms of hand placement and level, and explained why it was important that LJ demonstrate that he can bunt down the 3rd baseline.
-Then things turned to pick offs/ run downs. This is where Stricklin really shines. I don't care how much baseball you watch or know, you can learn something by listening to Stricklin during segments like this. I've been critical of him in the past (though never of his baseball IQ), but I intensely enjoy watching him coach and instruct during periods like that.
-One thing I found interesting.... Yesterday during the pick off/ run down drill, Michael Curry was at catcher. Stricklin told Curry what he wanted to do, then Curry gave the sign... And Curry looked a little confused in doing it. After giving the sign, he gave it again. Stricklin said (and I'm paraphrasing this, but it's close) "You knew that was the wrong thing to do as soon as you gave the sign. I'm not perfect, I may give you the incorrect sign sometimes. That might happen. When it does, either ask me to do it again or ask me if that's what I wanted. Don't just give everyone the sign that you know to be wrong and hope everything will work out. Ask me. We're not on a clock here." I thought that was a tremendous teaching point, especially with a freshman. Stricklin really wants our guys to understand WHY they are doing things, not just what to do in a given spot. That whole deal with Curry reinforced a few things, all very positive, in my view.
-Curry looks good for a freshman catcher. That's such a tough spot to transition to from high school, but I believe he'll be a good one. Skyler Weber looked extremely comfortable behind the plate as well. No rust at all, that I could see. I believe Weber will be our primary catcher this spring. He's really stroking the ball too.
-Over at 1st, it appears that Adam Sasser is ahead of Patrick Sullivan, at least for the time being. Sasser has a big, long swing, but he appears to keep the bat in the zone for a long time and looks to have some pretty good power. Daniel Nichols, I believe, is the clear cut #1 at 1st base right now.
-I really like LJ Talley, from the little I saw yesterday. He's a big kid... Certainly looks bigger than the 6'2, 199 where he's listed. He played 3rd and some 2nd yesterday and make a couple of really good defensive plays. Whether it's him or Mitchell Webb at 3rd base, we'll be in the best hands in that spot since 2013 when Curt Powell was over there. One thing that got lost in the shuffle going down the stretch last year was just how good Mitchell Webb was defensively at 3rd base. If he can get his bat going (and he showed some good signs in May), he'll be a guy.
-Pitchers looked to only be throwing fastballs and change ups yesterday, so it's hard to say definitively what anyone has. Blakely Brown looks to have a pretty good arm, very loose delivery, and seems to generate a lot of velocity given his size. Kevin Smith is a big guy, especially for a true freshman... Seems to hit his spots well and throws strikes. Long, repeatable looking delivery. Adam Goodman is another guy who doesn't look like a young guy getting off the bus. Saw him get a lot of ground balls yesterday. Trevor Tinder looked good too. Nobody really got squared up, that I saw, and nobody had trouble throwing strikes (it should be noted that there was no umpire yesterday, the catcher was calling balls and strikes).
-One new thing.... All of the catchers were wearing headsets during the scrimmage and Fred Corral was calling pitches to them from the dugout that way. They won't be allowed to wear those in the actual games, but it did seem to speed up practice yesterday. I wouldn't have a problem with seeing that in the spring either, and I'm sure the pitchers would all like the quicker pace. But for now, that's for practice only.
-They're going again today (right now actually) and again tomorrow at 11:00am. Come on by. It's certainly enjoyable.
