Gap said:
Out of the gate, we seemed to have tripped and fallen on our face. A couple of questions:
How often do teams come back and have a good season after they start 1-3 at home against weak competition?
What is the strength of this team?
Who are the stars supposed to be?
Who are the team leaders?
As lackluster as opening weekend was, I still think SP is going to be the strength of this team down the road. That's the M.O. of our head coach and he's going to expect the weekend starters to carry the load. I've got confidence in all three of the starters we sent out against Xavier, and the Detmer kid too once he gets some innings under his belt.
I'd say our second biggest strength is the versatility of so many of our position players (but in the same breath, this may also be our biggest weakness too). On any given day we will have 9 of the most talented players at the park with 6-7 on the bench that arguably deserve to be on the field too. Juggling this is a tough task, and second-guessing becomes commonplace when success doesn't come early and often.
What's the solution? I don't know. In the short 4 game sample size so far, I'm led to believe that this is a team that's inclined to play to the level of their competition. I hope they prove me wrong and learn to dominate the games they're supposed to win, but I haven't seen that instinct yet, and it's going to have to emerge from the younger talent before I'm convinced.
There are no stars on this team right now. I can promise you Childress misses having the last name of a 3-hole hitter he can confidently write down each game on his lineup card as well as a leadoff hitter that he knows is gonna set the tone for the game.
He misses having a Dox or a Lacy that will guarantee you 5-7 innings of solid work and a back end of the bullpen that leaves no room for doubt that the door will be slammed shut when called upon.
Regardless, I'll be pulling for this team through thick and thin and when the weekend starts it will always be Miller-time on my watch.
