Texas A&M baseball now sits at 0-6 in conference play after a disappointing weekend in Nashville as Vanderbilt swept the Aggies. Head coach Michael Earley joined Monday's edition of TexAgs Live to discuss the frustrations his club is facing and much more.
Key notes from Michael Earley interview
- I don't think it was a different approach or immaculate pitching. It was a lack of performing. They had some good arms. The strikeouts just piled up. You had multiple guys striking out multiple times, which is just something you can't have.
- The frustrating part for me is just the overall lack of production. You strike out that many times I hope you hit six or seven home runs in the game. You can't punch out without power production. You think about the innings and the amount of times they didn't have to make plays, it's just not conducive to winning. Look what they did off of Luke Jackson, just bopping balls the other way.
- You find one thing to fix, and then you have another you have to fix, and we'll continue to do that. I still have full confidence in this offense and this team. It's back to work. With the off-day yesterday, we'll be able to practice today. Looking forward to working on some stuff.
- It's going to get real competitive. The two strikes we're going to work on. This isn't about hitting. It's about having the mindset and competing the right way. There's no lack of care, but it's taking it to another level, just taking some pride in it and getting some guys on base. Sometimes, you have to get a little nasty with two strikes and do something different. You cannot continue to do the same thing over and over again. For the ones that need it, we're going to challenge them quite a bit.
- The starting and overall pitching staff have done a good job. We're a team. It's not pitchers and hitters. They want to win as bad as anyone, and they continue to give us chances to win. They should be able to make little mistakes here and there and give up a homer and us be able to pick them up, and we're not doing that from the offensive side.
- For our pitching staff, I like where we're at. Jackson walked a guy and a couple of flare hits, but I thought he did well. Caden McCoy, it's nice to see him again. Kaiden Wilson gave up the homer in the strikezone. I mean, our guys are throwing strikes. The strikes haven't been an issue. All three starting pitchers gave us a chance to win. Weston Moss was awesome again. Our pitching staff is what is keeping us in these baseball games.
- Wilson will for sure be getting more calls on the weekend. Gavin Lyons is right there, as well. I want to keep getting Wilson in on innings on Tuesday. Wilson has proved himself, especially this weekend, coming and pitching the way he pitched. He's definitely earned more innings as long as the situation calls for it. He's definitely done an awesome job, and it's about time we start giving him the ball more.
- Yes, the defense now factors into the lineup decisions on who is on that starting nine. It has to, just with our plan, and Ben Royo is not particularly swinging the bat well, but he's playing a really good second base. We have to make him better at the plate, and we will. Defense is definitely a factor. At left field, it's like, "Who wants to take the spot?" It's going to be a revolving door, and even a revolving door in-game more than you're used to seeing. You might get one at bat, and you can argue about being comfortable, this or that. It isn't about being comfortable anymore. It's about production. You better learn to compete and get it done and have a quality at bat, or we're just going to keep passing the baton.
- I think it is very likely you see Caden Sorrell in some capacity this weekend. What that capacity is will depend on him. I cannot run that guy out there for 27 innings. So you could see pinch hit, you could see DH or you may see a game in the outfield. There may be a situation where Hayden Schott may have to go to left field, which is tough on him. He has a torn meniscus. With the situation we're in, we may have to try some things. You'll see Sorrell in some capacity. What that capacity is, the days leading up to it will let us know. He ran on Sunday and felt really good, so that was good to see.
- I don't think you see Josh Stewart this weekend. I think this week will be a major week for him, seeing where we're at. Isaac Morton hurt his oblique, so he was off the roster this weekend. He'll be reevaluated this weekend. We'll see where he's at. Those two guys, I'm not sure, but Sorrell, you'll definitely see him in some capacity this week, barring some major change or setback.
- I have a pretty good idea about the approach and what works. What you do is challenge them more within those confinements because they're not doing it. You make it harder. That's not for everyone. Jace LaViolette is in a really good spot. I don't need to be shooting him 90-95 mph sliders today like some of the other guys are going to get.
- It's about balancing and giving it to the right guys. It's really about the back half of our order. Terrence Kiel II had a rough game or two, but that was bound to happen he was playing great. He was still competitive, even in the last inning, stuck his bat out there and got a hit. I'm not upset with him at all. He's a freshman, and he's been playing incredible. But that bottom half of the order is stagnant and not giving us much at all. Those guys have to get better, and we will make them better.
- Bear Harrison played a lot better. I think when he hit the home run, that might be the first run the bottom of the order had produced in what felt like weeks. He had a big double the other day, too. He's in the six spot. It's just grind time. There's no flight on this ballclub. It's all fight. These guys cared and were devastated after every game.
- They'll be ready to practice today. We'll be ready to go. My confidence in this team has not changed. The ability to turn things around starts today in practice and then tomorrow. We're not going to look past tomorrow. We're going to take care of business there and then keep rolling. That's all we can do. Don't get me wrong. I'm not happy, but it is what it is. We're going to keep pushing and keep going. I believe in these guys and what we're going to do.
- We have to make some adjustments with some guys mechanically, to put them in a better spot. The issue is, before we get to two strikes, it is missing fastballs in the zone to hit earlier in the count, which then gets you to two strikes. Then, when you get to two strikes, you're still taking a swing like you're swinging at a fastball. The first two strikes are for you. The last one is for the team. We're not doing it. It's not acceptable, and it's my fault for letting it get to this point. We'll get it fixed.
- There are definitely mechanical issues. Some guys can make adjustments, some guys, it is what it is for where they are mechanically. We're not going to make some wholesale changes to some of them. You don't have to have a great swing. You don't have to be strong. You don't have to be anything to be a good hitter. You have to be confident, competitive and willing to do anything to get on base. It's about being competitive, having the right mindset and not giving a pitch away.
