On Broadway: Tech baseball, looking to the future
Yes, I was there both on Tuesday and Wednesday for Texas Tech's losses to Grand Canyon. I was at Rip Griffin Park over the weekend for all three games against Oklahoma State, too. Other than that Friday night win against the Pokes, it was a tough fivesome to sit through if you're a Red Raider fan. But at the same time, I don't think it was all that surprising.
As Dickens has said several times this spring throughout baseball season, this Texas Tech team has one vital difference from the Omaha-bound squad of 2014: They make things look hard. Last spring, when Coach Tadlock's boys needed to get a clutch hit in the bottom of the 9th to score a run, or if they had to get a clutch strikeout in a jam, they more often than not succeeded. It's simply been the opposite of that this spring, and while I can't explain entirely why, I think there are certainly several key factors you all can agree create some hairy, sticky, scary, etc., situations for this team.
First and foremost, the youth on this team has been inconsistent all year long, both at the plate and on defense. Yes, Cory Raley was searing the ball early on in the year before getting hurt, Orlando Garcia has shown a knack for clutch hitting and highlight moves in the infield, Quinn Carpenter has been a valuable bat, and Hunter Hargrove has been a versatile piece to move around. But, each of those guys have had some trials and tribulations to go through. Whether it be an untimely error, a bad at-bat, or what have you, things have been up and down. And honestly, it should've been expected. As a culture, we're enamored with new and shiny things. Whether it be football, basketball, or baseball, there are always players that come in each season that fans have big expectations for, as without fail, those players fail to live up to those expectations.
Now I'm definitely not saying that this big crop of contributing freshmen have been a disappointment. To the contrary, they've all shown they are very talented with very bright futures. But with the highs come lows, and that's the way baseball go, as my boy Ron Washington would say.
With the pitching staff, we thought it would be a deep rotation of both starters and bullpen arms, but that simply hasn't been the case. It's been Ryan Moseley and Cameron Smith as the reliable starters, and Corey Taylor and Dominic Moreno on the pen. Other than that, every outing by every other pitcher is a bit of a chuck and duck. You may get something really good, or you might get bases loaded jams. The young arms on this team haven't come along as quickly as many believed they would, and as with the batters, it should've probably been expected. The middle relief has been up and down, too.
So, I think that's really where you end up down this rabbit hole. Inconsistency. But, there's good news, especially on offense. Tim Proudfoot, who's been injured essentially the entire season, and Bryant Burleson are the only two players on defense or on offense that graduate. Gute, Neslony, Smith, Raley, Zach Davis, and the big bunch of youngsters all return. That's extremely encouraging, I think. This lineup will be extremely experienced with a bunch of pieces you can mix and match. Great news there.
The pitching staff will have to get better as a whole, though. Simple as that. Cameron Smith, Dominic Moreno, and Corey Taylor will be gone. As of today, that's worrisome, to say the least. But, what will Dylan Dusek and Ty Damron become next year? We've certainly seen the flashes from them. Then you have a whole host of relief arms returning, and you'd believe they'd take a big step forward as a group.
Something else worth pondering: If catcher Kholeton Sanchez hadn't been injured this season, how different do things look for the guys on the mound? He was the guy that everyone pointed to as the dude behind the plate with Tyler Floyd likely the mid-week catcher. That's another big piece coming back that can't be overlook.
I know people are down on how this season went, and things could turn around here down the home stretch, but I firmly believe greener pastures await Tim Tadlock and his herd.
The Wide World: Best sports weekend of the year?
Seriously, just sit down and look at the Bellagio Buffet - which I'll be consuming like a Mongol - we have just waiting to be devoured this weekend in sports. The NFL Draft - which has become a legitimate event for football fans - starts tonight and will rage on all weekend, we have NBA playoff basketball with a compelling series between the Clippers and Spurs, the Kentucky Derby starts off the day as an appetizer on Saturday, and then the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is the main dish to finish things off on Saturday night.
The biggest thing about the weekend is the variety. Football? Check. Basketball? Check. Baseball - albeit regular season -? Check. Big events? Yessir. There's something for everyone over the next four days, and the most of it is compelling stuff. I'm going to go full on hypnotic-drool for the next few days, and you can find me either zombed out on my couch or sipping on a brew somewhere taking it all in. Let Sportspocalypse commence.
Link Me, Bro
LSU lineman La'el Collins, who was planning on being drafted, is trying to abandon ship in order to clear up a sticky situation with the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Planning to go see Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend? Here's Collider's review.
What happens when you pour molten aluminum into a watermelon? This guy found out.
Marcus Mariota got some pretty fresh custom kicks from Nike for the draft this weekend.
The dough is rolling in for Mayweather, Pacquaio, and boxing for this weekend's gigantic fight.
Looks like Minnesota rookie Andrew Wiggins is the NBA rookie of the year.
Power Rankings: Walkout Songs
With the end of Tech baseball's regular season slate at home, I was thinking back on the year and the various walkout songs used throughout the season. So, naturally, everyone always ponders what they might use as their walkout song. So, here are my top five walkout songs that I'd use as I prepare myself to drop bombs on fools. Just a public service announcement: There's going to be a LOT of rap.
5. God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash - I'll start this off with a song that's not necessarily a "get-hype" song. Instead, it's got that ominous tone, and the guitar riff with Cash's voice is just awesome.
4. IV. Sweatpants by Childish Gambino - If you know this song, you know it's one you just can't help but bob your head to when it gets into the flow. I would have a hard time picking at the hook or just starting at the beginning, though.
3. Can't Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West - Just with the way this song starts, "La, la, la, la wait til I get my money right." This song gets me going, no doubt.
2. Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine - Just start this bad boy up from the beginning. Yup, time to go yam on some pitches.
1. X Gonna Give It To Ya by DMX - Unquestionably, this is my first choice for a walkout song for baseball. Old school, and it's very clear in its message. Some might call that being too cocky. I say bring it on.
Off The Reservation
I have a big pet peeve that I wanted to talk about this week, and that's driving. Yes, I covered my eternal struggle with the four-way stop last week, but I just want to talk about the act of getting behind a wheel in and of itself. Since I've been 16 years old, I've almost always been the person that drives. With my family, friends, girls, acquaintances, etc, I've always been the one to hop into the driver's seat. It just kind of started happening with my buddies because I was the first one in my squad to get a driver's license.
Then it just took off from there. In fact, even now, if I go hang out with my buddies for a weekend, no matter if it's my car or not, we all just muscle-memory our ways to where I end up driving. But, where I'm going with this now is that I HAVE to drive when I go places. Sure, I don't mind riding every once in a while, but I must be behind the wheel 90 percent of the time. It's like I got hooked on the power and don't want to get rid of it. I also think it's a comfort thing knowing I'm in control, you know? Now all of our resident physiologists can rip me to shreds.
So, what pet peeves do you guys have?
Yes, I was there both on Tuesday and Wednesday for Texas Tech's losses to Grand Canyon. I was at Rip Griffin Park over the weekend for all three games against Oklahoma State, too. Other than that Friday night win against the Pokes, it was a tough fivesome to sit through if you're a Red Raider fan. But at the same time, I don't think it was all that surprising.
As Dickens has said several times this spring throughout baseball season, this Texas Tech team has one vital difference from the Omaha-bound squad of 2014: They make things look hard. Last spring, when Coach Tadlock's boys needed to get a clutch hit in the bottom of the 9th to score a run, or if they had to get a clutch strikeout in a jam, they more often than not succeeded. It's simply been the opposite of that this spring, and while I can't explain entirely why, I think there are certainly several key factors you all can agree create some hairy, sticky, scary, etc., situations for this team.
First and foremost, the youth on this team has been inconsistent all year long, both at the plate and on defense. Yes, Cory Raley was searing the ball early on in the year before getting hurt, Orlando Garcia has shown a knack for clutch hitting and highlight moves in the infield, Quinn Carpenter has been a valuable bat, and Hunter Hargrove has been a versatile piece to move around. But, each of those guys have had some trials and tribulations to go through. Whether it be an untimely error, a bad at-bat, or what have you, things have been up and down. And honestly, it should've been expected. As a culture, we're enamored with new and shiny things. Whether it be football, basketball, or baseball, there are always players that come in each season that fans have big expectations for, as without fail, those players fail to live up to those expectations.
Now I'm definitely not saying that this big crop of contributing freshmen have been a disappointment. To the contrary, they've all shown they are very talented with very bright futures. But with the highs come lows, and that's the way baseball go, as my boy Ron Washington would say.
With the pitching staff, we thought it would be a deep rotation of both starters and bullpen arms, but that simply hasn't been the case. It's been Ryan Moseley and Cameron Smith as the reliable starters, and Corey Taylor and Dominic Moreno on the pen. Other than that, every outing by every other pitcher is a bit of a chuck and duck. You may get something really good, or you might get bases loaded jams. The young arms on this team haven't come along as quickly as many believed they would, and as with the batters, it should've probably been expected. The middle relief has been up and down, too.
So, I think that's really where you end up down this rabbit hole. Inconsistency. But, there's good news, especially on offense. Tim Proudfoot, who's been injured essentially the entire season, and Bryant Burleson are the only two players on defense or on offense that graduate. Gute, Neslony, Smith, Raley, Zach Davis, and the big bunch of youngsters all return. That's extremely encouraging, I think. This lineup will be extremely experienced with a bunch of pieces you can mix and match. Great news there.
The pitching staff will have to get better as a whole, though. Simple as that. Cameron Smith, Dominic Moreno, and Corey Taylor will be gone. As of today, that's worrisome, to say the least. But, what will Dylan Dusek and Ty Damron become next year? We've certainly seen the flashes from them. Then you have a whole host of relief arms returning, and you'd believe they'd take a big step forward as a group.
Something else worth pondering: If catcher Kholeton Sanchez hadn't been injured this season, how different do things look for the guys on the mound? He was the guy that everyone pointed to as the dude behind the plate with Tyler Floyd likely the mid-week catcher. That's another big piece coming back that can't be overlook.
I know people are down on how this season went, and things could turn around here down the home stretch, but I firmly believe greener pastures await Tim Tadlock and his herd.
The Wide World: Best sports weekend of the year?
Seriously, just sit down and look at the Bellagio Buffet - which I'll be consuming like a Mongol - we have just waiting to be devoured this weekend in sports. The NFL Draft - which has become a legitimate event for football fans - starts tonight and will rage on all weekend, we have NBA playoff basketball with a compelling series between the Clippers and Spurs, the Kentucky Derby starts off the day as an appetizer on Saturday, and then the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is the main dish to finish things off on Saturday night.
The biggest thing about the weekend is the variety. Football? Check. Basketball? Check. Baseball - albeit regular season -? Check. Big events? Yessir. There's something for everyone over the next four days, and the most of it is compelling stuff. I'm going to go full on hypnotic-drool for the next few days, and you can find me either zombed out on my couch or sipping on a brew somewhere taking it all in. Let Sportspocalypse commence.
Link Me, Bro
LSU lineman La'el Collins, who was planning on being drafted, is trying to abandon ship in order to clear up a sticky situation with the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Planning to go see Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend? Here's Collider's review.
What happens when you pour molten aluminum into a watermelon? This guy found out.
Marcus Mariota got some pretty fresh custom kicks from Nike for the draft this weekend.
The dough is rolling in for Mayweather, Pacquaio, and boxing for this weekend's gigantic fight.
Looks like Minnesota rookie Andrew Wiggins is the NBA rookie of the year.
Power Rankings: Walkout Songs
With the end of Tech baseball's regular season slate at home, I was thinking back on the year and the various walkout songs used throughout the season. So, naturally, everyone always ponders what they might use as their walkout song. So, here are my top five walkout songs that I'd use as I prepare myself to drop bombs on fools. Just a public service announcement: There's going to be a LOT of rap.
5. God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash - I'll start this off with a song that's not necessarily a "get-hype" song. Instead, it's got that ominous tone, and the guitar riff with Cash's voice is just awesome.
4. IV. Sweatpants by Childish Gambino - If you know this song, you know it's one you just can't help but bob your head to when it gets into the flow. I would have a hard time picking at the hook or just starting at the beginning, though.
3. Can't Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West - Just with the way this song starts, "La, la, la, la wait til I get my money right." This song gets me going, no doubt.
2. Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine - Just start this bad boy up from the beginning. Yup, time to go yam on some pitches.
1. X Gonna Give It To Ya by DMX - Unquestionably, this is my first choice for a walkout song for baseball. Old school, and it's very clear in its message. Some might call that being too cocky. I say bring it on.
Off The Reservation
I have a big pet peeve that I wanted to talk about this week, and that's driving. Yes, I covered my eternal struggle with the four-way stop last week, but I just want to talk about the act of getting behind a wheel in and of itself. Since I've been 16 years old, I've almost always been the person that drives. With my family, friends, girls, acquaintances, etc, I've always been the one to hop into the driver's seat. It just kind of started happening with my buddies because I was the first one in my squad to get a driver's license.
Then it just took off from there. In fact, even now, if I go hang out with my buddies for a weekend, no matter if it's my car or not, we all just muscle-memory our ways to where I end up driving. But, where I'm going with this now is that I HAVE to drive when I go places. Sure, I don't mind riding every once in a while, but I must be behind the wheel 90 percent of the time. It's like I got hooked on the power and don't want to get rid of it. I also think it's a comfort thing knowing I'm in control, you know? Now all of our resident physiologists can rip me to shreds.
So, what pet peeves do you guys have?
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