2018 season thread

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:57 pm

Cats start the year ranked #36.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:23 pm

Lineup prediction:

C - Cesar Salazar
1B - Alfonso Rivas
2B - Cameron Cannon
3B - Nicolas Quintana
SS - Travis Moniot/Jacob Blas
LF - Mitchell Morimoto
CF - Cal Stevenson
RF - Matthew Fraizer
DH - Ryan Haug

Friday Pitcher - Cody Deason
Saturday Pitcher - Tylor Magill
Sunday Pitcher - Randy Labaut/Michael Flynn
Closer - Randy Labaut/Michael Flynn/Avery Weems

ironj01 · Post by **ironj01** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:14 pm

Actually can't wait

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 12:25 am

Almost bought a 10 pack of tickets the other day

BearDown89 · Post by **BearDown89** » Wed Jan 24, 2018 3:45 pm

Impressive.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Feb 17, 2018 4:55 pm

Cats win game over Bryant 4-0. Game 2 later today.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Feb 17, 2018 4:59 pm

azgreg wrote:Cats win game over Bryant 4-0. Game 2 later today.

Nice outing by Deason but no idea how good Bryant is?

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Feb 17, 2018 5:15 pm

I don't have the first clue about Bryant but I'll take a shutout over anybody especially coming off a day long rain delay.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Cats win game 2 5-1

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:38 pm

Cats win game 3 10-1 and sweep Bryant, up next is a real TOUGH game against Arkansas on Wednesday.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 5:12 pm

Nice to see the bats awaken but it was,against Bryant who I don't know how good they might be. The hogs are a much tougher test and should tell us more.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:50 am

The cats got 2 hit by the Arkansas Razorbacks last night and dropped a tough 1-0 game. Hoping the bats get going. Pitching has been really better than expected but not yet impressed with the bats

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:45 am

Cats lost an extra inning game Friday might to San Diego St on a wild pitch. Once again the bats were quiet.

Yesterday they got a bases clearing double from Rivas in the top of the 8th to beat Michigan 9-5 to salvage one game in this tourney.

Currently 4-2 and the pitching has been very good. Arkansas was ranked #2 and we gave up 4 hits with one being a round tripper. Need the bats to get going

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:00 pm

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Wed Feb 28, 2018 6:05 am

Beat NMSU 5-4 last night. Team still looks pretty rough at the moment.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:09 pm

Deason pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball and left with a 2-1 lead. The pen gives up a dinger to the first batter in the 9th for a blown save. 2-2 now with Minnesota in the 9th. Deason ERA is 0.93 on the year. Impressive

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:22 pm

Bonus baseball tonight.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:26 pm

Cats dropped another 1 run Game last night losing to the gophers in extra innings. They are tied with Illinois in the 8th 3-3. They had a 3-2 lead but Illinois scratched a run across

Illinois took the lead in the 8th and now we are up in the 9th down 4-3. Man we needs our Bat's to get going this year

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 7:01 pm

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 3:58 pm

Beyond frustrated. Cats go into the bottom of the 9th leading 2-0 and promptly give up 3 runs to lose ANOTHER 1RUN game.

JJ prides himself in doing well in 1 rum games. Right now we are 1-5 this year.

The pitching has been incredible while the bats have been sub pa so far. As a team we are hitting .208. Better pick up some wins because close doesn't get us jack shit

Newportcat · Post by **Newportcat** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 9:03 pm

Season certainly not going as expected. I did not expect our hitting to be so weak

Lot of baseball left to be played but not a strong start at all

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:06 pm

The irony of building a new hitting facility and not being able to hit.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:25 pm

After 3 one run losses the cats came home and,avenged a 1 run loss to San Diego St and got the bats going winning 13-4

Afterwards JJ said that this was the identity of the team and that this was the first time they looked like themselves but he said it would not be the last time. He sounded a bit frustrated by the lack of hitting up to this point

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 6:43 am

azcat49 wrote:After 3 one run losses the cats came home and,avenged a 1 run loss to San Diego St and got the bats going winning 13-4

Afterwards JJ said that this was the identity of the team and that this was the first time they looked like themselves but he said it would not be the last time. He sounded a bit frustrated by the lack of hitting up to this point

Jay's bread and butter is hitting, it is legit his complete forte as a coach, and he has PROVEN hitters on his roster that weren't hitting. Add all that to the fact that he has a new toy with the brand new hitting facility and his team couldn't get the bat on the damn ball it's certainly going to frustrate him. The pitchers have more than held their own (surprisingly) so far and the bats are the reason we're only .500 at this point. Let's hope this is the start of a real turnaround. Even after last night there's still some proven guys who still aren't performing, so let's hope that changes soon.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:01 am

Need hats for bats, keep bats warm.

Time to pray to Jobu.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:30 pm

Cats up in Phoenix taking on the devils. Bases loaded in the 5th and we lead 2-1.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:36 pm

Walk and an error and we get 3. 5-1 cats and runners at the corners

TatetheGreat · Post by **TatetheGreat** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:57 pm

Let's go, Cats!

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 10:24 pm

Cats get the win 6-2 there 5thnin a row

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 12:51 pm

Open PAC 12 action tonight up in Washington. Hopefully baseball can restore some wildcat pride.

As an aside, the winningest coach in college baseball, Augie Garrido passed yesterday. Great coach and great man

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:07 am

azcat49 wrote:Open PAC 12 action tonight up in Washington. Hopefully baseball can restore some wildcat pride.

Arizona lost 7-1, No Wildcat pride here.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Mar 17, 2018 6:40 pm

Bats are silent again today. Cats go into the 9th in a scoreless Game and give up two walks followed by a walk off single to lose 1-0.

1 run in 18 innings? Got to get the Sunday gane. Tough road if you start 0-3

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:23 pm

Bottom of 4 and we are scoreless on a Sunday? Where are the bats this year?

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:36 pm

Cats give up a 2 run dinger in the 7th but scrape across 2 in the 8th and show some resiliency. Batting now in the top of the 9th tied 2-2

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:02 pm

Get 2 on in the 9th but can't push one across. Into extra innings

Irish27 · Post by **Irish27** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:13 pm

Cats lose 3-2 in 10 and get swept by a mediocre Washington team. Could be a long conference season if the bats don't come to life.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:30 pm

Perfect ending to a perfectly SHITTY weekend

RynoatSecond · Post by **RynoatSecond** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:10 pm

Hate to say it, but I think Arizona's chances of making the NCAA tournament this year are just about nil, and it's only March 20th. They are 111th in RPI and 92nd in ISR (Boyd's world). They basically have to win the Pac-12 to have a chance, and they are already 0-3. Not good! Does anyone know why the Pac-12 does not have a baseball tournament at the end of the regular season? Almost every other major conference does. The positive of it is that although the deserving teams are already getting in, you may sneak in another conference member who might not make it in otherwise but for winning the tournament.

I'm afraid that brand spanking new Terry Francona hitting facility may be a detriment to a team playing at Hi Corbett Field. I'm sure it has all the bells and whistles (launch angle, swing velocity, exit velocity monitors, as well as pitching machines that can be programmed to throw various types of pitches and speeds). It all sounds great. Here's the problem. Hi Corbett is the place where fly balls go to die. I remember Andy Lopez talking specifically about getting his hitters to beat the ball into the hard ground, rather than taking uppercuts i.e. launch angle, especially given how deep Hi Corbett's fences are. That was the key in 2012. If all the U of A hitters are following modern hitting philosophy to keep bumping up your launch angle, it could be a problem. I think thinking about increasing launch angle can work for some hitters, but for many, it can be a real detriment.

OK, one more thought. Those away tournaments really turned out to be a season-killer. Only won one game in San Diego, and got swept in Minnesota by some mediocre Big 10 teams. Why aren't we hosting an annual tournament here at Hi Corbett Field? Instead we are schlepping it all over the country, getting our butts beat. We only have 28 home games this year. We should have 35, every year! Arizona baseball is the only game in town now. Great weather. Great facility. More home games! It's not that hard...

RynoatSecond · Post by **RynoatSecond** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:35 pm

Boyd's World estimates that Arizona needs to win 27-29 of their last 37 games to make the top 45 in RPI, a common cut off point for an at-large selection.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:41 pm

RynoatSecond wrote:Hate to say it, but I think Arizona's chances of making the NCAA tournament this year are just about nil, and it's only March 20th. They are 111th in RPI and 92nd in ISR (Boyd's world). They basically have to win the Pac-12 to have a chance, and they are already 0-3. Not good! Does anyone know why the Pac-12 does not have a baseball tournament at the end of the regular season? Almost every other major conference does. The positive of it is that although the deserving teams are already getting in, you may sneak in another conference member who might not make it in otherwise but for winning the tournament.

I'm afraid that brand spanking new Terry Francona hitting facility may be a detriment to a team playing at Hi Corbett Field. I'm sure it has all the bells and whistles (launch angle, swing velocity, exit velocity monitors, as well as pitching machines that can be programmed to throw various types of pitches and speeds). It all sounds great. Here's the problem. Hi Corbett is the place where fly balls go to die. I remember Andy Lopez talking specifically about getting his hitters to beat the ball into the hard ground, rather than taking uppercuts i.e. launch angle, especially given how deep Hi Corbett's fences are. That was the key in 2012. If all the U of A hitters are following modern hitting philosophy to keep bumping up your launch angle, it could be a problem. I think thinking about increasing launch angle can work for some hitters, but for many, it can be a real detriment.

OK, one more thought. Those away tournaments really turned out to be a season-killer. Only won one game in San Diego, and got swept in Minnesota by some mediocre Big 10 teams. Why aren't we hosting an annual tournament here at Hi Corbett Field? Instead we are schlepping it all over the country, getting our butts beat. We only have 28 home games this year. We should have 35, every year! Arizona baseball is the only game in town now. Great weather. Great facility. More home games! It's not that hard...

Rumor is a Pac-12 baseball tournament will be starting next year in Sacramento. I don't know if all 11 teams will be invited or if it's like a top 4/top 8 type deal, but it is in the cards.

Yeah the baseball team is going to have to catch some fire up their ass to make the tournament. The bats have been putrid to say the least. We're playing well at Hi-Corbett and absolutely awful every where else though, so I don't know if the TF hitting facility is the issue you're making it out to be, but it is certainly ironic that we get that new facility and our hitting just goes to absolute dog shit the same year.

RynoatSecond · Post by **RynoatSecond** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:32 pm

They exploded for 14 runs tonight against New Mexico State, but the Aggies RPI is not very good so that probably didn't help much. Hopefully, they keep swinging it against Wazzu this weekend. They need a sweep.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 4:08 am

Welp we lost one of our starters for the rest of the year. I doubt a comeback is in the works.

https://twitter.com/MichaelJLev/status/ ... 35456?s=19" target="_blank

RynoatSecond · Post by **RynoatSecond** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:22 am

Just reading that link about Randy Labaut, had no idea what Compartment Syndrome was. Scary serious. Pray and hope for the best for a quick recovery for the young man.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 3:23 pm

Cats win 2 of 3 against Wazzu. Lost another 1 run game in Friday night. 3 Easter weekend games against a OOC opponent so hopefully we pad the record some

RynoatSecond · Post by **RynoatSecond** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 6:29 pm

Nice to see Quintana break out today with a homerun and other hits, he really struggled Saturday night, coming up empty with RISP. 2-4 in conference, ideally would have been at least 4-2, considering the tough part of the schedule is coming up: Oregon State, UCLA, and Stanford all look very tough this year. Good news is we get them all at home, got to make Hi Corbett a tough place for visitors to get a win. Oregon and Cal are pretty decent this year too.

RynoatSecond · Post by **RynoatSecond** » Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:50 pm

Huge series for Arizona coming up this week. They play at New Mexico Monday, a mediocre team, but then they host the Oregon State Beavers for 3 at Hi Corbett. I think they need to take 3 of 4 this week to keep post-season hopes alive. The Cats took care of business against Nicholls this week, but now the schedule starts getting tough, which is a good thing to help out their RPI and ISR rankings.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:13 pm

No doubt the next 3 weeks will tell the tale about our post season for this year. Really bummed we didn't sweep Wazzu and our record at home is outstanding but if we don't get the Bats going against the better teams then all this good pitching will be for nasught

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Apr 02, 2018 10:06 am

Ultimately I don't think this is the year, but things are looking up in the near future with young bats like Blas, Paugh, Soderstrom, Quintana, Cannon, Fraizer, and Williams getting tons of work and experience. Pitching should be the best it's been in a long time too next year regardless if Deason goes pro or not.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Apr 04, 2018 11:11 am

Big series.

Siempre Verde · Post by **Siempre Verde** » Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:59 pm

Hitting. Too bad UofA doesn’t have a top notch place to work on that.

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