Before this season got going, I really thought in the past that Joe Simeone would turn into a very useful part of the pitching staff. He seemed to be making some slow progress last season in his starting role, and two summers ago he had a terrific stint as a starter in collegiate summer ball in the NECBL. Coach Penders had some interesting things to say about Simeone during a postgame interview prior to Simeone’s start at Saint Joseph’s. It is an interview that is worth listening to if you haven’t done so, I believe it was after the Friday game. In it, Coach Penders was talking about how Simeone has brilliant stuff in between starts when he is doing his work in the bullpen, but somehow it just doesn’t carry over to games. Penders indicated that Simeone needed to relax more during actual games and not get so worked up. I thought it was very interesting stuff.
I have my own theory on Jimmy Wang. The guy simply needs a lot more game pitching experience than he has gotten so far. This is a guy who did not pitch much in high school (he did not pitch his senior year), had a very brief fall ball fling with UConn baseball the following year, before he totally committed to joining UConn baseball the year after that. I don’t believe Wang has ever pitched in any of the summer ball leagues. To me this is a guy who is really still learning the craft. Problem is, with his current effectiveness, it isn’t as if the coaching staff can commit to using him more and give him the game experience he needs.
I can’t add much more on Colby Dunlop, but of the these three he has had the widest fluctuation in effectiveness. He has had some absolutely terrific outings, but you just never know when they might pop up. In the preseason pitching interview, Coach Mac said that they were moving Dunlop to the bullpen because they thought that with his stuff he would be effective in shorter stints.
