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Topic: What happened?

Topic: What happened?

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Andrew Ruck
General User

Member Since: 12/22/2004
Location: Columbus, OH
Post Count: 4,957

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What happened?

Posted: 4/25/2015 10:21:11 PM

I continue to be amazed that we've went from 11-40 to 25-15, or from an RPI of about 290 to about 100, with a lot of the same roster, as most of the key contributors are upper classmen. So I decided to dig into the numbers a bit and pull out what has changed from last year to this year:

- I would argue it has nothing to do with strength of schedule, and could argue this year has been tougher than last year.
- It isn't really defense related from an error sense...the fielding percentage went from .960 to .963. But you could make the argument the range has improved, particularly in CF.

- There was just 2 newcomers to the mostly everyday lineup, but they've been huge additions. It starts with Junior transfer Manny Dejesus, who has been an awesome leadoff man and center fielder. A .399 OBP with a mere 12 strikeouts all season, a huge asset at the top of the lineup. Last year the leadoff slot was a rotating problem, with either bad fits (Longo/Madsen) or ineffective others there.
- The other largely new addition to the lineup has been Junior Cody Gaertner. He is far from a new face, as he missed all of last season due to injury, and returned to be the promising catcher he was his freshman and sophomore years. He has a .360 OBP and has some pop and has been a very solid middle of the lineup hitter that was missed last year.
- The Bobcats lost some hitters that were very very unproductive last season - Emody, Geller, Bredeson, Winthers, Rieman, Callery, etc. These guys logged serious ABs last year and mostly really struggled to get on base.
- Then there is sophomore Mitch Longo and Senior Jake Madsen, our diamonds in the rough last year. Longo has continued to progress to OMG production - He went from a .890 OPS to a .940 OPS, and has already surpassed his extra base hits from last year. Could he continue to progress his Junior year and get some looks for the draft? And Madsen improved even more, going from his .752 OPS last year to .898 this year.
- Other guys are fairly stable with last year (Wells, Ardyan, the Blacks, etc) but most everyone has improved their plate discipline. Our walk rate has went from 7.2& to 9.7%, and our strikeout rate has went from 14.9% to 12.7%. That may not sound big, but it is.

- As for pitching, it is tough not to think where we would be if Sophomore Jake Rudnicki even just matched his freshman season. he had a 4.62 ERA last year and showed promise, but his wild tendencies only got worse this year and he has had a very rough go of it this year with a 7.83 ERA. He might be the only remotely significant regression on the entire roster.
- Junior Conor Sitz has improved a lot, from a .327 BAA to a .283 this year, and an ERA from 5.94 to 4.53 and striking more guys out.
- Junior Jake Miller went from bad (8.16 ERA) to fantastic (2.76 ERA), and may have staked a claim on a regular rotation spot after starting the year in long relief. His improvement can be mostly pinpointed to significantly better control.
- The bullpen and spot starters were just atrocious from top to bottom last year. Guys like Corey Wells, Christian Botter, & Spencer Sapp have just simply improved greatly.
- Then there is Senior Logan Cozart, who was one of the many struggling relievers last year (his 2nd year after converting to pitching), and has absolutely turned it on this season and been MASSIVE out of the pen. 53 strikeouts in 39 innings - 5 wins and 7 saves.

So basically we picked up a sweet leadoff hitter, and got our injured catcher back...but mostly, guys have just gotten better. Bottom line - Hats off to the coaching staff on this, it has to be immensely satisfying to see so many guys have things start to click for them.

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

Deciduous Forest Cat
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Ohio
Post Count: 4,399

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 4/25/2015 11:06:15 PM

Thanks for the detailed analysis. that's really helpful. Returning experience must be a factor. third year with the new coaching staff(it was really time for them to show big progress) is helpful too. I have to think the pitching and hitting both benefited from having an indoor facility leading to a much more productive winter.

UpSan Bobcat
General User

Member Since: 8/30/2005
Location: Upper Sandusky, OH
Post Count: 3,800

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 4/26/2015 1:45:58 PM

Good work with that, Andrew. I really didn't pay as much attention the last couple of years because things were so bad. Hopefully Rudnicki can get things figured out - today would be a great start. That would be key to have three starting pitchers who can get the job done.

Deciduous Forest Cat
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Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Ohio
Post Count: 4,399

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 4/26/2015 4:24:15 PM

Break out the brooms, bitches. Akron sucks.

BillyTheCat
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 9,943

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 4/26/2015 11:15:55 PM

That is some great research, and the best way to describe it, is "that's" baseball. One of the things that makes baseball such a great game. Things falling into place and they are battling, even though the statistics are not greatly improved the results are, hard work, great attitudes and improvement. Well done! Keep it going

Last Edited: 4/26/2015 11:17:46 PM by BillyTheCat

doubledribble
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2010
Post Count: 556

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 4/28/2015 8:08:28 AM

Thanks for the summary Andrew. Interesting info for sure. I also agree with others who have credited the new indoor facility with an assist for our improved play.
Winning certainly has a positive impact on attitudes and confidence levels!
Hopefully we can keep things going down the stretch ! Hats off to our kids and our coaches. See ya at Bob Wren stadium !

ts1227
General User

Member Since: 2/28/2006
Location: Tallmadge, OH
Post Count: 869

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 5/2/2015 9:39:54 PM

Does any of it have to do with the fact that at 3 years in, you've pretty much flushed out most (if not all) of what was left of the Carbone era?

BillyTheCat
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Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 9,943

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 5/19/2015 12:38:33 AM

ts1227 wrote:

Does any of it have to do with the fact that at 3 years in, you've pretty much flushed out most (if not all) of what was left of the Carbone era?

Some of the key players are Carbone recruits.

doubledribble
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2010
Post Count: 556

Status: Offline

RE: What happened?

Posted: 5/19/2015 10:23:43 AM

ts1227....you are caught way off base with that comment. The senior class that was recruited by the previous staff has carried the load of this turn-around in many ways. Let's just move on, and continue to enjoy what has happened this season. It would be great to get a win Wednesday morning over B.G. and get on the "win" side of the bracket !

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