Holbrook was on the air today and repeated how hard it is to hit in baseball. He needed to say how hard it is for our guys. Sounded like excuse central again.
Holbrook says it again.
- Thread starter Garnet chicken
- Start date
I know it is hard but he doesn't need to keep repeating it. Just say what he is doing to fix it. Hopefully using encouragement to his guy's. Hope that doesn't offend you....
So friggin' teach them to hit that's so friggin' what. You ever heard a college football coach talk about how really hard it is to block and tackle? So who are his next recruits, guys who can't hit but it's ok because he understands? Don't give me that don't beat up Chad stuff they could hit before they got to Carolina. I don't care who coaches just talk and act like a coach and not put the hard times on someone else. It doesn't seem to be that hard for Cortes to hit what does he tell him should he stop because he's making the rest of us look bad? PS I'd bet that Tanner made him walk back the fans comment too. Sorry got carried away.
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USCBatgirl21
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Ray...I appreciate that you want to support him. You know I truly do. But even you have to admit that at this point the excuses are just that...excuses. I agree with what Jim said...tell us how you are fixing the problems. Or what you've tried to do to fix the problems. And whether or not it's working.
We have 16 games left. It's past time for statements like he's making. They aren't coming across as he hopes.
We have 16 games left. It's past time for statements like he's making. They aren't coming across as he hopes.
Just imagine then, how hard it is to hit n tha pros...they might as well not play
I'm sorry y'all but I get a little miffed when I read about a coach who in no uncertain terms admits he can't teach a talented college baseball player how to hit. He's about to make me come down there.
Are you kidding me? You of all people should know if someone can hit they will hit anything. Breaking, fast, off speed etc.... You dont have a team full of Walkers, Peters, Smoke etc... on every team. We have to recruit hitters just like we recruit pitchers. But the problem with hitting is the speed of the game and not many high school players can keep up.
We're not talking about high school players we are talking about college players that could hit when they were recruited that's WHY they were recruited in the first place. These guys had team scrimmages facing the best pitching in the SEC and now hitting becomes harder when the other guys pitch? It's a confidence thing now and the coach is not helping.
USCBatgirl21
Well-Known Member
Then explain to me why, as Jim pointed out, they could hit the best staff in the Nation in Fall and Spring scrimmages, but can't hit lesser pitching once the season started? It is a confidence issue now because whatever he was doing didn't work, similar to leaving JJ in the lineup last year, hoping he'd hit his way out of his slump, only to completely destroy his confidence to the point I don't think he'll ever get it back.
jimnasiumWell-Known Member
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SO FRIGGIN WHAT?!!!
So friggin' teach them to hit that's so friggin' what. You ever heard a college football coach talk about how really hard it is to block and tackle? So who are his next recruits, guys who can't hit but it's ok because he understands? Don't give me that don't beat up Chad stuff they could hit before they got to Carolina. I don't care who coaches just talk and act like a coach and not put the hard times on someone else. It doesn't seem to be that hard for Cortes to hit what does he tell him should he stop because he's making the rest of us look bad? PS I'd bet that Tanner made him walk back the fans comment too. Sorry got carried away.
Jim and Batgirl are correct on this. Obviously...The guys have lost their confidence at the plate (except Cortes). Not sure what happened. They could hit in HS and they faced our guys in the fall and could hit (They said Stokes was tearing the cover off the ball). Something needs to be done, because we are running out of games. Now that we have less depth on the pitching staff, we will have to score more runs.
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SO FRIGGIN WHAT?!!!
So friggin' teach them to hit that's so friggin' what. You ever heard a college football coach talk about how really hard it is to block and tackle? So who are his next recruits, guys who can't hit but it's ok because he understands? Don't give me that don't beat up Chad stuff they could hit before they got to Carolina. I don't care who coaches just talk and act like a coach and not put the hard times on someone else. It doesn't seem to be that hard for Cortes to hit what does he tell him should he stop because he's making the rest of us look bad? PS I'd bet that Tanner made him walk back the fans comment too. Sorry got carried away.
Jim and Batgirl are correct on this. Obviously...The guys have lost their confidence at the plate (except Cortes). Not sure what happened. They could hit in HS and they faced our guys in the fall and could hit (They said Stokes was tearing the cover off the ball). Something needs to be done, because we are running out of games. Now that we have less depth on the pitching staff, we will have to score more runs.
Chad should just tell his team to make baseball a game again and just have fun. They CAN hit and they CAN field he's seen them do it. Hitting spreads like wildfire all it takes is for a couple guys to get hot and the whole team catches fire. Relax, swing under control, and make the other team make a play. Never get called out on strikes, protect the plate and be determined to show the pitcher you are the better man. Everybody strikes out sometimes guys it's baseball but it's you against him. Baseball is the only game that when you have the ball you're playing defense so make them play defense by being aggressive and believe you are a hitter. Make the pitcher throw strikes and make him get YOU out. Line drives...hard ground balls. Anyway, that's what I would tell his team. Get in the regionals and anything could happen guys. Forget how hard it is to hit a baseball and make it harder instead to strike you out.
Someone may want to remind him that the opponent plays with the same bats and balls.
Typical weak sounding Chad. Does Muschamp talk about how hard it is to score a TD in the SEC? Or better yet with the struggles of our defense do you hear him say how hard it is to stop an opposing SEC offense?
Chad needs to go. He's killing what was once an elite program. He's blaming the fans and using the game itself as an excuse. Have you ever seen a successful coach with these type of tendencies? Have you ever seen a successful business owner blame customers for his/her lack of success?
Back off ya'll...baseball is a cruel game. That's for the next tee shirt.
I really don't understand why he feels the need to make comments all of the time. Just shut up and coach your team.
And he is our hitting coach...
I guess you can close your eyes and have the same results...
Somebody better go tell Reed Rohlman how hard it is to hit.
Chad saying those kind of things is very immature as a coach.
I hope Tanner's public support of Holbrook is just Tanner trying to say what he is supposed to say publicly.
Note to Ray, change is obviously necessary.
Chad saying those kind of things is very immature as a coach.
I hope Tanner's public support of Holbrook is just Tanner trying to say what he is supposed to say publicly.
Note to Ray, change is obviously necessary.
This isn't anything more than him telling the fans they have no idea what they are talking about.
Not defending him but Roth once said that it should be impossible for a batter to hit a ball if the pitcher is pitching correctly. (Or something like that)
What's hard is to coach players to approach each bat with a correct mentality on what needs to be done. And that's exactly what is not being done.
USCBatgirl21
Well-Known Member
I get that, but as mentioned elsewhere, if these guys were hitting what was supposed to be the best pitching staff (not just starting rotation) in Fall and Spring, why can they not hit what should be lesser pitchers? I know midweek junkballers have always given us fits, but we aren't even hitting them after 1 round through the lineup.
I saw it for years in my job - men/women who have dug a hole for themselves get weird towards the end of their tenure due to failure to perform. They often say/do things that only serve to hurt their cause - call it losing their grip. Meanwhile, coaches who have equaled or excelled expectations in their careers hold press conferences that are GEMS of celebration and great material for recruiting (FM) or they address legislative bodies with victory wreaths draped around their necks (DS).
I have a theory on this. If you prepare batters for what you think you might see prior to a game, odds go up you hit better when you face said pitcher. If you prepare the same way every time regardless of who you are about to face, you might struggle out the gate. If you are not used to adjusting for pitchers in practice or warm ups, you may not be able to do so even if you've already gone through the lineup once. With that said, I don't have any idea how we prepare.
I do know this, you can gear guys up and down through hitting stations. We used to do it all the time. I really mean all the time. Our job was to get the kids ready to play and gearing them for what they may see was a big part of it. I remember one time specifically in tournament play where one of the teams I coached faced the best hitting team I had ever come across. This team had our best pitchers dialed in. I had never seen our pitchers get beat like that. That team was good and they were ready. After an inning of teeing off on us and me already going through two pitchers, I put what amounts to our #5 pitcher on the mound and had him throw about 90% changeups with an occasional fastball to keep them honest. They still beat the crap out of us, but it stopped the bleeding. That team wasn't ready for that and had a super hard time adjusting. I still laugh to this day when I remember the look on my catcher's face when I'd call the pitch. They hate catching changeups because they can be so hard to stop. Good news for the catcher was I never had to do anything like that again.
The basic rule in hitting is to know the strike zone and recognize what the umpire will call that game. We seem to swing at too many high pitches or balls in the dirt or way off the plate. That is coaching. The hitting coach needs to know each players weakness (the other teams sure do) and work on that aspect.
We also must be the worst base stealing team in the SEC. Speed doesn't always dictate success. You must pick out the pitchers moves and tendencies in order to get a good lead and increase your chance for success. Does anyone on our staff teach this? It appears not.
We also must be the worst base stealing team in the SEC. Speed doesn't always dictate success. You must pick out the pitchers moves and tendencies in order to get a good lead and increase your chance for success. Does anyone on our staff teach this? It appears not.
Hit the nail on the head as far as the coach needing to identify the batter's weakness. The weakness determines the pitch. At the very least, the coach needs to help disguise said weakness if not correct it. Right on about speed too. Speed is great but you don't necessarily need it to be aggressive.
I'm sure about their practice during their fall scrimmages but during the season...
I'm sure they aren't facing them their practices. During the season in high school, we never had any batting practice against our pitchers. The idea was to save their arm for the actual games. They would do a little warm up and pitch 3 or 4 of all their pitches and they were done for the day for defense.
I think the root problem continues to be that they are struggling with their approach to the plate. When you step into the box, you have a plan.
Your position in the box, grip on the bat, and posture to the pitcher all are crucial to your approach. These things are dictated by the type of pitcher, current count, runners on base, current score... even the pitcher pitch count.
If you are approaching these things carefully and you are a decent batter, there is absolutely no reason why you can't be putting the ball in play with a metal bat. The only exception I can think of is if you got a guy that can blaze a 94 mph fastball and follow it up with a perfect 20+ mph change up pitch. Then it's simple, you either go for the big hit or choke up and poke at the ball.
Worrying about the umps strike zone is a catch 22. If you are spending more time worrying about the umpire's zone instead of what the pitcher is about to pitch you, you've already lost the battle.
Umps make mistakes all the time, putting your faith in particular parts of the strike zone that the ump will call a ball or strike isn't a good approach.
You need to be aware of what he's calling but 95% of your attention should be on the pitcher and what he's about to throw.
I used to try to keep it simple.
If we are about to face an ace with high speed, non-stop tee swings at different heights.
Ace with lots of junk pitches? Soft toss by a teammate on all parts of the plate.
Couple of things I'd do... If we meet junk, soft toss from a few feet away while sitting off to the side. I could get the players to soft toss that. If we met speed, get in real close and basically toss the ball up only a few inches and swing just above my release. ( I didn't want to put tossers in harms way so a coach would do it). This speeded up their bat. It also eliminates "casting" as to not hit a coach in the body. Casting's a bad thing if you're going to hit speed pitchers. Another thing is I'd take two wiffleballs (get in close again) and toss them up at the same time with one hand. While at their highest peak, I'd tell the batter which one to hit. They better speed up to hit the right ball. lol
Seems to be a problem WE have more than our opponents! They don't seem to struggle the great majority of the time hitting like we do and we have the higher ranked recruiting classes in most of these cases! It all goes back to coaching since we have such a huge problem here!
