Any chance we get back to Omaha in 2012?

Is Stilson coming back?

How 'bout Wacha and Stripling?

Wacha coming back. Strip likely returning. Stilson is up in the air.

We have a great shot at making it to O-Town next season again. Even better if Stilly comes back!

We've also got some kids coming in that have looked really good in high school and JC. Have a stud at ss coming from JC.

Looked up Mikey Reynolds and he hit .389 this year in JUCO...but no HR's. He's got some good 2B numbers, though.

We could use some more pop, bats bedamned.

getting Naquin, Bratsen, Juengel, House, hopefully smith, and wood from the starters. Curl and Stein will be just fine replacing collazo and gonzo.

pitching gets wacha, probably stripling, k.mart, hadley, parrent, mendoza, hales (if he gets healthy/figures it out), feckly (he was out with TJ surgery or something this year right???), and if we get lucky maybe stilson.

start your finger crossing and praying.

It will be nice to see what SawDawg can do having an off-season this next year. Hopefully our sticks will improve.

the roster looks good for 2012

need to find another RBI bat to hit 4th or 5th in the order

also need to maintain Kenny's and Gonzo's defensive abilities

How do we look with pitching? LHP? I am asking about recruits.

Gig'em, Ole Army Class of '70

http://www.perfectgame.org/College/CollegeCommitments.aspx
here is our high school commit list. ive heard the pitchers schlottman and stubblefield are good. looks like daniel mengden was a 1st team all-american? im not a PG subscriber so I dunno much about what that says or how much is true.

What about current underclassmen?

Unless he gets a terrible ofer, I can't see Stilson coming back. But I don't know him personaly, so we will see.

We need some pitching depth in the bullpen.

Stripling just posted this on Twitter:

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@RossStripling See ya next year Omaha. #redemption

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Nice to hear that coming from Strip.

talked to both adam smith and stripling last night. Stripling said he'll probably be back, and smith said he's not sure yet, but he'll know in the next few weeks.

something tells me Smith will be leaving

just have a feeling

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something tells me Smith will be leaving

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wouldn't surprise me. i can see the yankees overpaying his slot. and he definitely has the arm to pitch, could be a good move for him

I think the issue with Smith is going to be if he wants to play everyday versus learning to pitch. If he does come back, he is going to need to spend the offseason learning how to hit if he has any plans of being an everyday guy at the next level.

I don't mean this to be inflammatory, but I think Smith is a little bit of a liability defensively and at the plate. I don't know why we can't move him to the pen. We really need some better arms there. I think that move would make the team better in all facets of the game. He has a cannon and if the Yankees see a future there for him, then maybe we should get that future started.

Position play, hitting looks to be solid.

I am very concerned about pitching's 3 and 4 starter spots, as well as the bullpen. If both Strip AND Stilly go pro, I predict, unfortunately, a very toough season.

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Smith is a little bit of a liability defensively and at the plate.

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Smith was playing third because Juengel was a bigger defensive liability. If he makes a play during game two of the sip series, then we win the Big 12 outright. As far as his performance at the plate, I don't agree completely. While the rest of our team seems to be built to take a lot of pitches and put the ball in play, that's not Adam Smith. He sits on pitches, and waits for the pitcher to make mistakes. Good pitchers that don't make mistakes make his life difficult, but if they miss he can make them pay.

Smith hit 3 HR's in the NCAA postseason. And 7 of the teams 30 total for the season (23%). There is great benefit in that.

What Smith brings to the table offensively is just fine if he can hit 7th or lower in the order. The problem is his .238 BA in the 5-hole. That's too low of a BA for a key RBI slot, but the Ags didn't have any better options this season.

If Reynolds can hit, that will push House down to the 5-hole; and if Adam can hit around .270 he would be just fine for the 6-hole, even with the K's

Don't forget about Stein. He may not be the defensive catcher Gonzo is, but he can definitely swing the stick. He may turn out to be a key middle of the order guy. And maybe a year behind Gonzo made him better behind the plate.

Watching smith these Past seasons jh400 is spot on IMO.

I dont think that allowing smith to bat and play 3rd is a bad idea, I like him there. I think if he stays RC might work with him some on pitching. Bring him off 3rd and put him on the bump, could be good.

Smith has a great looking swing sometimes, but seems to strike out a little more than average. I am not looking at comparative statistics right now, so I could be completely wrong.

Smith has all the tools to be an awesome 3B but can't seem to quite put it all together at the same time. I wish he would come back for another year to see if he can't get drafted a lot higher next year and get more $$$$.

If Smith pitches, will he bat? Or, do you keep Juengel at DH, and find another 3B?

I would be shocked if John Stilson decided to come back.

looking back at the Blue Jays' draft, they took 7 guys in front of John Stilson via the supplemental draft and first and second rounders, so there may be a chance they pay all of those guys top dollar and don't have much left for stilson. who knows what will actually happen though...

[This message has been edited by baseballag12 (edited 6/23/2011 9:17a).]