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Message: [QUOTE="dbmill, post: 3084002, member: 2504"] A few words on the relief pitching. I agree with [USER=412]@uconnbaseball[/USER], the bullpen corps is developing nicely and is as deep as I have seen since I started following UConn baseball. This season both Jacob Wallace and CJ Dandeneau have developed into top notch relievers who are incredibly dependable. I expect that the redshirt freshmen will have their bad moments mixed in with success, but overall Wang, Wurster, and Johnson are all looking better as the season progresses. We'll see what happens with Randy Polonia, but that first appearance sure was nice. At the beginning of the year I figured Chase Gardner would be used for an inning or two out of the pen, and that the coaching staff would avoid using him for longer stretches. Instead, it seems to be evolving that Gardner is being turned into a lefty specialist who will be used to get a couple guys out, and then he will come out of the game. In games where he has his control (and that can be iffy), I think he is capable of more than that, but there are already a bunch of guys coming out of that pen capable of doing well for a couple of innings. And to that bunch of guys, I think we can add Joe Simeone. Last season Simeone played with a hip injury that helped to hamper his effectiveness. He had the hip operation over the summer, and missed fall ball. He was just really getting back pitching in preseason when he was thrust into a starting role, probably because Penders didn't want to do that to any of the freshmen. With no built up arm strength and just coming off the injury, the result was not good. His solid 2 inning relief appearance over the weekend left me encouraged that he can join the effective masses of pitchers coming out of the bullpen for the Huskies. At the very least, he seemed like he was back in his comfort zone. The only bullpen guy who has really had a bad time of it is Avery Santos (some might include Angus Mayock as well, but being a redshirt freshman he has plenty of time to grow out of it). At the beginning of the season, it seemed like the coaching staff felt that they had the big three out of the pen (Wallace, Dandeneau, and Gardner), and that Santos would be the next guy in line, being the bridge between the starters and the trio in back of the pen. Instead, in between fits of wildness, Avery Santos has had a tough time getting guys out. As a result, a whole bunch of guys have leaped over him in the bullpen hierarchy, and that is not a good place to be when you are a senior. Unlike Angus Mayock, time is not on his side, but is starting to count down rapidly on his UConn career. [/QUOTE]

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