Little bit of a mixed bag this weekend. Definitely some positives but areas for improvement also. Important to get the one W but I do feel like the series was really winnable, especially not totally taking advantage of a game that was right there for us yesterday.
A little concerned about Prager... He's been phenomenal and everyone is going to have an off day at some point, but it wasn't just missing over the heart of the plate, his stuff was also not as sharp. Velo was down and he just wasn't crisp like he has been... Hopefully it was just one of those days and he'll bounce back against MSU. Jones fought his command also, some misses over the middle, but stuff was solid and obviously great experience just pitching against that offense on the road. Will only make him better going forward in conference play. Man what a job by Lamkin, he was dealing. Amazing job mixing up his pitches, he had them flummoxed, off speed was dynamite and fastball had life. That's gotta give him a huge shot of confidence going forward to know he's capable of that against Florida in their ballpark. Extremely impressive.
Bullpen was pretty solid overall... Sdao had a tough weekend but he'll be fine. If there was any doubt that Cortes is a different guy this season, put that to rest. Yes he gave up a couple solo shots, tip your hat to that offense. But this dude has turned a corner. That inning where he struck out the side against Caglianone, Heyman and Shelton... Holy s***. 3 plus pitches and that definitely had everyone's attention, including MLB teams. Electric stuff there. I was impressed with Moss on Friday, this kid has guts and a good changeup. Excited to see him as he gets stronger and more experience. Peery was the best I've seen him yesterday. He had it all working. He will be a very reliable arm if he keeps that up. Stewart continues to be a consistent and trusted performer. I really like his demeanor and confidence.
The offense was good overall but definitely left some meat on the bone yesterday. Had some chances with guys on but just couldn't get the big hit. That sequence with 2 on and 1 out, and Laviolette and Montgomery both popped out on 1-0 counts... Not sure if they were trying to do too much there, maybe thinking about winning a big matchup with Caglianone instead of just having a solid AB... But those swings were out of character for those guys. But they are both true superstars and the most dangerous back to back duo in America. Add Grahovac and it's probably the most dangerous trio... This kid is ridiculously good. First SEC series, on the road and he homers in the first two games. He has power to all fields and I continue to be impressed with his defense at 3B. Schott was moved down in the order, maybe he'll feel less pressure... He had some OK swings this weekend but still don't think he's being patient enough and he's also been a little pull happy. Burton is just solid. Dude is always hitting the ball hard and his defense at first has been great, he's really adept at scooping balls out of the dirt. Camarillo was a little off at times in the series, he got into a rut where he was simply swinging at the balls and taking the strikes... But he did get a huge insurance run hit on Saturday after luckily getting a fortunate no call on a potential strike 3. I liked how he was more aggressive in his last AB against Caglianone yesterday, great cut on a good pitch to hit on 0-0 and he did end up chasing a ball 4 but I liked his approach in general that at bat. When his swing decisions are right, Camarillo has a lot of natural hitting ability. And his defense has obviously been super steady. I thought Bard's at bats were solid this weekend and he was seeing the ball well.
The Chestnut injury and Targac not swinging it great have complicated some personnel decisions... Unfortunately Binderup has continued to struggle. Again he has power and a decent swing but he has had issues catching up to velocity and getting to his power in games. If Schloss wants to DH a right handed hitter, I'd like to see Johnston get some AB's in that role. Even could try Sorrell left on left just to get him and Johnston more experience and development... Speaking of Sorrell, tough assignments coming in cold off the bench against Neely. Very difficult against Neely's fastball, kid has a super good arm.
Overall it was a little disappointing to not grab this series by finding a way to win it yesterday but I think A&M is the better team.... Really believe if that series was played at Blue Bell we would've swept and if it was at a neutral site we definitely would have taken 2 out of 3. Just need to keep grinding, a little weird this week playing 4 days straight, I almost wonder if we could find a way to get Wednesdays's game cancelled because I'm not certain how that game helps us at all. If it was played on Tuesday it would probably be fine but it does complicate things some being on Wednesday. Another challenge coming up after against Mississippi State, they will be confident after winning their series against LSU but I really believe in this A&M team and I'm sure we're gonna be fired up in our SEC home opener... Can't wait!!!
A little concerned about Prager... He's been phenomenal and everyone is going to have an off day at some point, but it wasn't just missing over the heart of the plate, his stuff was also not as sharp. Velo was down and he just wasn't crisp like he has been... Hopefully it was just one of those days and he'll bounce back against MSU. Jones fought his command also, some misses over the middle, but stuff was solid and obviously great experience just pitching against that offense on the road. Will only make him better going forward in conference play. Man what a job by Lamkin, he was dealing. Amazing job mixing up his pitches, he had them flummoxed, off speed was dynamite and fastball had life. That's gotta give him a huge shot of confidence going forward to know he's capable of that against Florida in their ballpark. Extremely impressive.
Bullpen was pretty solid overall... Sdao had a tough weekend but he'll be fine. If there was any doubt that Cortes is a different guy this season, put that to rest. Yes he gave up a couple solo shots, tip your hat to that offense. But this dude has turned a corner. That inning where he struck out the side against Caglianone, Heyman and Shelton... Holy s***. 3 plus pitches and that definitely had everyone's attention, including MLB teams. Electric stuff there. I was impressed with Moss on Friday, this kid has guts and a good changeup. Excited to see him as he gets stronger and more experience. Peery was the best I've seen him yesterday. He had it all working. He will be a very reliable arm if he keeps that up. Stewart continues to be a consistent and trusted performer. I really like his demeanor and confidence.
The offense was good overall but definitely left some meat on the bone yesterday. Had some chances with guys on but just couldn't get the big hit. That sequence with 2 on and 1 out, and Laviolette and Montgomery both popped out on 1-0 counts... Not sure if they were trying to do too much there, maybe thinking about winning a big matchup with Caglianone instead of just having a solid AB... But those swings were out of character for those guys. But they are both true superstars and the most dangerous back to back duo in America. Add Grahovac and it's probably the most dangerous trio... This kid is ridiculously good. First SEC series, on the road and he homers in the first two games. He has power to all fields and I continue to be impressed with his defense at 3B. Schott was moved down in the order, maybe he'll feel less pressure... He had some OK swings this weekend but still don't think he's being patient enough and he's also been a little pull happy. Burton is just solid. Dude is always hitting the ball hard and his defense at first has been great, he's really adept at scooping balls out of the dirt. Camarillo was a little off at times in the series, he got into a rut where he was simply swinging at the balls and taking the strikes... But he did get a huge insurance run hit on Saturday after luckily getting a fortunate no call on a potential strike 3. I liked how he was more aggressive in his last AB against Caglianone yesterday, great cut on a good pitch to hit on 0-0 and he did end up chasing a ball 4 but I liked his approach in general that at bat. When his swing decisions are right, Camarillo has a lot of natural hitting ability. And his defense has obviously been super steady. I thought Bard's at bats were solid this weekend and he was seeing the ball well.
The Chestnut injury and Targac not swinging it great have complicated some personnel decisions... Unfortunately Binderup has continued to struggle. Again he has power and a decent swing but he has had issues catching up to velocity and getting to his power in games. If Schloss wants to DH a right handed hitter, I'd like to see Johnston get some AB's in that role. Even could try Sorrell left on left just to get him and Johnston more experience and development... Speaking of Sorrell, tough assignments coming in cold off the bench against Neely. Very difficult against Neely's fastball, kid has a super good arm.
Overall it was a little disappointing to not grab this series by finding a way to win it yesterday but I think A&M is the better team.... Really believe if that series was played at Blue Bell we would've swept and if it was at a neutral site we definitely would have taken 2 out of 3. Just need to keep grinding, a little weird this week playing 4 days straight, I almost wonder if we could find a way to get Wednesdays's game cancelled because I'm not certain how that game helps us at all. If it was played on Tuesday it would probably be fine but it does complicate things some being on Wednesday. Another challenge coming up after against Mississippi State, they will be confident after winning their series against LSU but I really believe in this A&M team and I'm sure we're gonna be fired up in our SEC home opener... Can't wait!!!