Baseball beats OSU and roster question

[Loyal Coug1]

I'm bored this AM, and I know nobody gives a shit about Cougar Baseball (sorry Bobo), but the Cougs did hold off #6 OSU last night 10-9 after allowing 7 runs in the 9th inning.

So roster question - and I never looked at this before. We have 39 players on the team (OSU has 41 and UO 40 so WSU is not abnormal). With 11.7 schollies to give out, that means, well you get it. Very few if any full rides, lots of non-scholly players.

But why so many players? we have 4.5 catchers. And 20(!) pitchers. And we usually play 4 games/week. MLB rosters are limited to 26. Typically 2 catchers, 13 pitchers, etc. And they play 5-7 games/week. Yeah MLB also has an expanded roster of 14 contract players that can be called up. That's still a total of 40, and only 26 can suit up for a game.

But WTF? How do you even hold practice with 39 players? Seems to me you need to cut it down to less than 30 and spend your time developing those players.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I'm bored this AM, and I know nobody gives a shit about Cougar Baseball (sorry Bobo), but the Cougs did hold off #6 OSU last night 10-9 after allowing 7 runs in the 9th inning.

So roster question - and I never looked at this before. We have 39 players on the team (OSU has 41 and UO 40 so WSU is not abnormal). With 11.7 schollies to give out, that means, well you get it. Very few if any full rides, lots of non-scholly players.

But why so many players? we have 4.5 catchers. And 20(!) pitchers. And we usually play 4 games/week. MLB rosters are limited to 26. Typically 2 catchers, 13 pitchers, etc. And they play 5-7 games/week. Yeah MLB also has an expanded roster of 14 contract players that can be called up. That's still a total of 40, and only 26 can suit up for a game.

But WTF? How do you even hold practice with 39 players? Seems to me you need to cut it down to less than 30 and spend your time developing those players.

Did you watch the series? They must have gone through 15-18 pitchers for the 3 games - that's half the roster.

As for the fielders - I don't know. Maybe they're looking for the 3rd baseman/ shortstop that can actually get the ball to first on time and on target...

 

[Loyal Coug1]

Did you watch the series? They must have gone through 15-18 pitchers for the 3 games - that's half the roster.

As for the fielders - I don't know. Maybe they're looking for the 3rd baseman/ shortstop that can actually get the ball to first on time and on target...

OMG a poster? Shit I thought I singlehandedly shut this site down!

I did not watch the series, nor did I look at the box scores. and again it's not just us. For fun I just looked up Georgia. 45 players, 25 pitchers. You have to be f-ing kidding me.

I know this is not relevant at all - but I was a pitcher in HS and American Legion. Basically our ace as a HS senior and the workhorse of the Legion team for 3 years. By my calculations when I was 16 I pitched almost 1/4 of our innings the entire summer. Good times. Basically, the coach would ask "Loyal can you throw?". If yes, out I went. If no, he looked farther down the bench. We had this one 9 inning game, which we won 16-12. I walked 10 guys and gave up like 15 hits. And we won! I would have to say that I threw 150 pitches that day - maybe more.

Sorry, Glory Days. Anyway, 20-25 pitchers is a joke. Get 10-12 and fricking work 'em. Going to pitcher #18 is no strategy.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

Loyal, I played back then, as well. But we did not ask our relief pitcher to throw max speed on every pitch, which is where a lot of these kids are these days. We weren't throwing sliders at nearly the speed of a fastball. We didn't throw many breaking fastballs. Look at the pro's...they seldom have a relief pitcher throw more than 2 innings, and often only 1, even if they are doing well. The theory as it was explained to me is that you want to be able to use a reliever potentially every day...situationally, sure, but also as part of a regular rotation. You also are trying to minimize injuries. Yes, it is different. I think that explains a lot of the pitching numbers.

As to the team as a whole, today you have to build your own minor league. If a kid has some potential and can cut it academically but might previously have gone to JC, today I see him being near the bottom of a 4 year school's roster...at least it seems that way from what I've seen. Lots of kids who don't expect a scholly for the first year and are trying to earn at least a part of a scholly in a future year.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

Loyal, I played back then, as well. But we did not ask our relief pitcher to throw max speed on every pitch, which is where a lot of these kids are these days. We weren't throwing sliders at nearly the speed of a fastball. We didn't throw many breaking fastballs. Look at the pro's...they seldom have a relief pitcher throw more than 2 innings, and often only 1, even if they are doing well. The theory as it was explained to me is that you want to be able to use a reliever potentially every day...situationally, sure, but also as part of a regular rotation. You also are trying to minimize injuries. Yes, it is different. I think that explains a lot of the pitching numbers.

As to the team as a whole, today you have to build your own minor league. If a kid has some potential and can cut it academically but might previously have gone to JC, today I see him being near the bottom of a 4 year school's roster...at least it seems that way from what I've seen. Lots of kids who don't expect a scholly for the first year and are trying to earn at least a part of a scholly in a future year.

Meh. Pretty sure the MLB relievers throw max speed on their FB's and sliders. and get by with 13 pitchers while playing more games/week.

And what do you mean you didn't ask your relief pitcher to throw max speed? When in relief I threw max speed on every pitch except my change up and nascent knuckleball. Should have worked more on that one.....

 

[95coug]

Meh. Pretty sure the MLB relievers throw max speed on their FB's and sliders. and get by with 13 pitchers while playing more games/week.

And what do you mean you didn't ask your relief pitcher to throw max speed? When in relief I threw max speed on every pitch except my change up and nascent knuckleball. Should have worked more on that one.....

My sophomore year I played against a pitcher who got drafted by the Rangers (or so I heard). I didn’t crowd the plate, but I was a magnet for HBPs (11 that season, I believe) and I got one from him in my first AB.

I don’t know for sure that he was throwing max speed, but I hope so. I’m pretty sure the stitches of the ball are stamped into my lower ribs.

 

[Coug90]

My sophomore year I played against a pitcher who got drafted by the Rangers (or so I heard). I didn’t crowd the plate, but I was a magnet for HBPs (11 that season, I believe) and I got one from him in my first AB.

I don’t know for sure that he was throwing max speed, but I hope so. I’m pretty sure the stitches of the ball are stamped into my lower ribs.

That was before all that shit they got to put on their body. Pitchers can’t even brush dudes back anymore because they wear full body armor.

 

[95coug]

That was before all that shit they got to put on their body. Pitchers can’t even brush dudes back anymore because they wear full body armor.

Yeah, I had a helmet. That’s it. Took an HBP off of it once and it sounded like a had bees in it for the next few minutes. All the other times I got hit was a body part.

The one against the Rangers guy was the only time I was looking for an exit wound.

 

[Coug90]

Yeah, I had a helmet. That’s it. Took an HBP off of it once and it sounded like a had bees in it for the next few minutes. All the other times I got hit was a body part.

The one against the Rangers guy was the only time I was looking for an exit wound.

Yeah if you ask me they should outlaw the body armor. Let the pitchers buzz guys back and make them think about crowding the plate. Now they just stick their elbow out and let it hit them

I saw a HS JV team do this when my son was playing. Up 28 runs, every one of the kids had an elbow guard, we had kids pitching that weren’t pitchers, and they were still throwing their elbows out. Granted that type of Busch league shit is on the coaches, but getting hit by a pitch should hurt.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

Yeah if you ask me they should outlaw the body armor. Let the pitchers buzz guys back and make them think about crowding the plate. Now they just stick their elbow out and let it hit them

I saw a HS JV team do this when my son was playing. Up 28 runs, every one of the kids had an elbow guard, we had kids pitching that weren’t pitchers, and they were still throwing their elbows out. Granted that type of Busch league shit is on the coaches, but getting hit by a pitch should hurt.

At high school and below I tend to favor a good helmet with partial jaw shield, a good cup, and that is it unless the kid has an injury. I could probably be persuaded that a shin guard on the front leg is a good idea, but that would take some statistics supporting that sort of injury being serious.

 

[95coug]

At high school and below I tend to favor a good helmet with partial jaw shield, a good cup, and that is it unless the kid has an injury. I could probably be persuaded that a shin guard on the front leg is a good idea, but that would take some statistics supporting that sort of injury being serious.

An HBP on the leg doesn't hurt that much, unless it hits right on the ankle or knee. At worst you get a charleyhorse for a bit and you're not stealing 2nd. I got where if it was coming at my legs, I'd barely move - just turn to keep the ball from hitting the bat. Hits to the upper arms seemed to sting longest.

Ranger dude hit me at the bottom ribs, over the kidneys. No other HBP even compared.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

An HBP on the leg doesn't hurt that much, unless it hits right on the ankle or knee. At worst you get a charleyhorse for a bit and you're not stealing 2nd. I got where if it was coming at my legs, I'd barely move - just turn to keep the ball from hitting the bat. Hits to the upper arms seemed to sting longest.

Ranger dude hit me at the bottom ribs, over the kidneys. No other HBP even compared.

I can't remember if I ever got hit by a pitch. Long forgotten if so. As a pitcher I did hit a few. My biggest lament was in Legion when one of our guys got hit, and the next inning coach (At the time WSU Asst Ralph Dick doing summer duty) told me to throw at the first batter. I got one chance and missed him G-D it. Dick's wife was a honey. That I remember. And he was a dick.