UConn vs. Memphis @ J.O.C. (Fri. 4/1/19 @ 3p, Sat 4/13 @ 1p & Sun. 4/14 @ *11:00am*)

[huskymedic]

Pitching stats after the weekend:

 

[uconnbaseball]

6 guys in the bullpen with an ERA or less. That will win you ballgames.

Our line-up needs 1 more guy to break out like Nuce did. I feel Gozzo is a candidate to do just that.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Thinking about it, next week at ECU is hardly make or break series for UConn. No matter what happens, this road series against a team that is currently rated at 13 in the RPI should not have a negative effect on UConn's RPI. The only problem is that if East Carolina comes up with a sweep, then UConn will be under .500 in the AAC, and that is not a marker that you want for an NCAA tourney bid. Still, UConn would have three more conference weekends plus the conference tournament to make up for it

However, just one win over ECU keeps the Huskies over the .500 mark in conference. On the plus side, road wins over ECU would be provide some more nice markers for an NCAA resume that already has quality wins to it, plus it would provide probably a nice boost to the RPI. If you ask me, the potential gain for UConn out weighs the potential loss in this series.

Completely agree from an RPI perspective. However, this is the toughest true road series we have played in all year. I will feel much better about our chances of winning a regional if we can go into this kind of environment and either win the series or come close.

 

[dbmill]

6 guys in the bullpen with an ERA or less. That will win you ballgames.

Our line-up needs 1 more guy to break out like Nuce did. I feel Gozzo is a candidate to do just that.

Randy Polonia is currently heading in the wrong direction after a nice start. It's odd, but as he is dropping down the bullpen totem pole, Avery Santos is rising, and they are the two guys who are basically making comebacks from arm surgery. The biggest difference seems to be that Santos is now one more year removed from being on the shelf than Polonia, and it is probably helping his arm strength. I suspect we will start seeing Polonia closing out not so close out of conference games, similar to what Santos had been doing recently, while Santos may end up joining Gardner and Simeone in the type of work they get. It seems that recently Santos has turned around his less than stellar start to the season.

As far as position players go, while Chris Winkel is not a great offensive player, I definitely think he can do better than the .245 that he is currently hitting. Also possible that Moriarty can get his batting average over the .200 mark. Also think that Kyler Fedko could be the one to emerge out of the D.H. spot, but we'll have to see with that one. Overall, I'm half thinking that if UConn can get a gradual improvement from the bottom 4 in the batting order, that will be a big help right there.

Also, while Nucerino has come on with a big rush, it would not surprise me if his average slips below .300. Still, as we have discussed, given all his other attributes, he still should be an effective offensive player.

 

[dbmill]

UCF up 15-0 at Cincy in the 8th. I guess the Bearcats gave us their best effort of the year.

They may have lost one game big, but Cincy took the series and that is the more important thing. Cincy got off to a horrible start, but they have been playing much better since conference play started. Even if you take the UConn series out of the mix, Cincy still has an over .500 record in the conference. They must be doing something right. The Bearcats still have the worst RPI in the conference, but to have 129 as the worst RPI in the conference is not all that bad at all. Overall, it is still a tough conference to play in.

 

[hardcorehusky]

If I were putting together the lineups- I would move Nucerino to Center- Kyler to right, Woody to second base and make Christian the full time Dan Hurley. Then, I would rotate Gozzo and Winkel behind the plate. I like C Mo at third but during the week give Philllips another shot there - or even first base. C Winkel has had a rough year at the plate and we need production from 1st base. I would use Chiovitti as a defensive replacement in late innings.

 

[uconnbaseball]

I know everyone likes slotting Woody at second base, including our coaching staff, but that dude is a vacuum cleaner out there. I myself am in no hurry to move him.

 

[huskymedic]

Daily Campus: Baseball: Huskies escape weekend with series win

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

If I were putting together the lineups- I would move Nucerino to Center- Kyler to right, Woody to second base and make Christian the full time Dan Hurley. Then, I would rotate Gozzo and Winkel behind the plate. I like C Mo at third but during the week give Philllips another shot there - or even first base. C Winkel has had a rough year at the plate and we need production from 1st base. I would use Chiovitti as a defensive replacement in late innings.

I know everyone likes slotting Woody at second base, including our coaching staff, but that dude is a vacuum cleaner out there. I myself am in no hurry to move him.

I concur with @uconnbaseball, as good as Woodworth was at 2B last season, he is even better in center field. If you buy into that opinion, then the result of the above moves would be to have a weaker defensive player at every position a move is made with the exception of 2B. In my mind, at the same time, the offensive improvement to the lineup as a result of these moves would be minimal. It is not the direction I would go.

 

[hardcorehusky]

I concur with @uconnbaseball, as good as Woodworth was at 2B last season, he is even better in center field. If you buy into that opinion, then the result of the above moves would be to have a weaker defensive player at every position a move is made with the exception of 2B. In my mind, at the same time, the offensive improvement to the lineup as a result of these moves would be minimal. It is not the direction I would go.

The reason I like my lineup is when you have a ground ball pitcher like Kersten on the mound, infield defense is paramount. Look what happened Saturday: C Mo doesn't make a play, Fedko makes the wrong decision on a fielders choice and 3 runs later we are out of the game. Had Woody been at second- that would have been a 1 run inning as the last RBI came in with 2 outs and the second run would have been erased on the fielders choice to first. Woody is a great CF, but Nuce isn't bad and Chiovitti is a defensive replacement anyway.

 

[dbmill]

The reason I like my lineup is when you have a ground ball pitcher like Kersten on the mound, infield defense is paramount. Look what happened Saturday: C Mo doesn't make a play, Fedko makes the wrong decision on a fielders choice and 3 runs later we are out of the game. Had Woody been at second- that would have been a 1 run inning as the last RBI came in with 2 outs and the second run would have been erased on the fielders choice to first. Woody is a great CF, but Nuce isn't bad and Chiovitti is a defensive replacement anyway.

Still don't buy into it, but at least I can understand your reasoning.