Oregon @ Hawai'i (Ducks win series 4-0)

[oregontrack]

very interesting. guess they just didn't trust chase behind the plate. graham is/was the best catching prospect out of this state i've seen in quite some time, he was awesome defensively and was a monster with the bat (.354/4/39) with a very mature eye for the ball (.519 OBP, 26 walks to only 4 K's). just for good measure, he was 10-1 w/ a 0.95 era on the mound, w/ 113 ks in only 65 innings. only 11 walks, too. carson kelly deserved player of the year, but this kid was not far behind.

i would assume that just about locks up the positions, assuming chase slides to DH. heineman moving to the outfield was not something i saw coming.

[greenyellow]

very interesting. guess they just didn't trust chase behind the plate. graham is/was the best catching prospect out of this state i've seen in quite some time, he was awesome defensively and was a monster with the bat (.354/4/39) with a very mature eye for the ball (.519 OBP, 26 walks to only 4 K's). just for good measure, he was 10-1 w/ a 0.95 era on the mound, w/ 113 ks in only 65 innings. only 11 walks, too. carson kelly deserved player of the year, but this kid was not far behind.

i would assume that just about locks up the positions, assuming chase slides to DH. heineman moving to the outfield was not something i saw coming.

Didn't he play 3B quite a bit last year? Who starts over there now? Heineman may still work in as a back-up catcher, which would allow Packard and Hoffman to also rotate into the outfield. Also, Horton spoke highly of one of the JC transfers in the outfield. Seems like that may be the area we could see a different starter set every game.

[oregontrack]

hambright should get the nod at 3B.

you're right, the outfield is pretty stacked. hopefully it proves to be a good problem to have.

[oregontrack]

according to the uo's official release:

1b healy
2b payne
ss alto
3b hambright
lf thomas
cf heineman
rf packard
dh garlick

no catcher listed but lists chase as a 'probable', which would seem to indicate, based on adam jude's tweet about josh graham, that chase is the immediate backup.

the release specifically mentions sherfy and freshman garrett cleavinger having specific roles in the bullpen, which would seem to indicate cleavinger is being looked at as a top set-up guy. christian jones + brando tessar, and cole wiper and darrell hunter are listed as likely contributors.

garlick played a flawless right field last year. i wonder if packard's arm is just that much better.

[oregontrack]

(last year's stats)

rhp jake reed, so (8-4, 2.92, 114 IP) vs. lhp scott squier, so (3-4, 3.50, 64.1 IP)

lhp tommy thorpe, so (2-0, 2.11, 42.2 IP) vs. lhp quintin torres-costa, fr (--, --, --)

lhp cole irvin, fr (--, --, --) vs. rhp connor little, sr (--, --, --)

rhp jeff gold, jr (8-4, 3.66, 76.1 IP) vs. rhp corey macdonald, sr (1-0, 6.23, 8.2 IP)

two young pitching staffs going at it, but oregon has the edge in ability and experience. neither torres-costa or little pitched last season for hawaii, and macdonald was a little-used reliever. we'll be breaking in cole irvin, but everybody else has been through the grind.

squier has good stuff. he didn't factor into the decision, but he pitched well against us last year (sherfy's 13k/5 inning game).

last year we were so damn thin i was always afraid that a quick exit by one of our starters would destroy our bullpen for the weekend, but it's great knowing we have arms to spare now.

[UOducksTK1]

I was looking at our pitching staff, and even with Jones out, we look pretty loaded. Yes, some young/unknown talent in there, but overall I really like our pitching staff. It's just a matter of finding who fits best in those last couple starting spots.

[TheMaehlMan]

Yesterday Horton said they are going to slowly build up Jones' innings and that he definitely has a shot to break the regular rotation at some point.

[thomas time]

I was thinking they played Hawaii a lot and then I see it's the fourth straight year going there. Hopefully ducks can win at least 3 and win the series to start the season

[oregontrack]

don't look now, but we'll be playing baseball this time tomorrow.

[cordy02c]

apparently tessar has a bad shoulder which answers why gold over him

[Coastal Duck]

(last year's stats)

rhp jake reed, so (8-4, 2.92, 114 IP) vs. lhp scott squier, so (3-4, 3.50, 64.1 IP)

lhp tommy thorpe, so (2-0, 2.11, 42.2 IP) vs. lhp quintin torres-costa, fr (--, --, --)

lhp cole irvin, fr (--, --, --) vs. rhp connor little, sr (--, --, --)

rhp jeff gold, jr (8-4, 3.66, 76.1 IP) vs. rhp corey macdonald, sr (1-0, 6.23, 8.2 IP)

two young pitching staffs going at it, but oregon has the edge in ability and experience. neither torres-costa or little pitched last season for hawaii, and macdonald was a little-used reliever. we'll be breaking in cole irvin, but everybody else has been through the grind.

squier has good stuff. he didn't factor into the decision, but he pitched well against us last year (sherfy's 13k/5 inning game).

last year we were so damn thin i was always afraid that a quick exit by one of our starters would destroy our bullpen for the weekend, but it's great knowing we have arms to spare now.

Given baseball's "credo" of going righty-lefty-righty-lefty on the mound, it appears Hawai'i is going against the grain, opting for a talent-oriented rotation.

Do you have a quick take on that, ot?

[UOducksTK1]

according to the uo's official release:

1b healy
2b payne
ss alto
3b hambright
lf thomas
cf heineman
rf packard
dh garlick

no catcher listed but lists chase as a 'probable', which would seem to indicate, based on adam jude's tweet about josh graham, that chase is the immediate backup.

the release specifically mentions sherfy and freshman garrett cleavinger having specific roles in the bullpen, which would seem to indicate cleavinger is being looked at as a top set-up guy. christian jones + brando tessar, and cole wiper and darrell hunter are listed as likely contributors.

garlick played a flawless right field last year. i wonder if packard's arm is just that much better.

No Hofmann in the outfield either. Surprising considering how much time he spent out there last year. I guess the coaches liked Heineman better. Would that be because of his defense or offense (or both?)?

[ducksin2010]

according to the uo's official release:

1b healy
2b payne
ss alto
3b hambright
lf thomas
cf heineman
rf packard
dh garlick

no catcher listed but lists chase as a 'probable', which would seem to indicate, based on adam jude's tweet about josh graham, that chase is the immediate backup.

the release specifically mentions sherfy and freshman garrett cleavinger having specific roles in the bullpen, which would seem to indicate cleavinger is being looked at as a top set-up guy. christian jones + brando tessar, and cole wiper and darrell hunter are listed as likely contributors.

garlick played a flawless right field last year. i wonder if packard's arm is just that much better.

No Hofmann in the outfield either. Surprising considering how much time he spent out there last year. I guess the coaches liked Heineman better. Would that be because of his defense or offense (or both?)?

Heineman brings more to the table offensively. He has a really strong arm (started one game at pitcher last year) and has enough speed for CF. Hofmann is the fastest guy on the team and could be used in pinch running situations or a defensive sub if they want the most range in center at the end of a game.

[greenyellow]

according to the uo's official release:

1b healy
2b payne
ss alto
3b hambright
lf thomas
cf heineman
rf packard
dh garlick

no catcher listed but lists chase as a 'probable', which would seem to indicate, based on adam jude's tweet about josh graham, that chase is the immediate backup.

the release specifically mentions sherfy and freshman garrett cleavinger having specific roles in the bullpen, which would seem to indicate cleavinger is being looked at as a top set-up guy. christian jones + brando tessar, and cole wiper and darrell hunter are listed as likely contributors.

garlick played a flawless right field last year. i wonder if packard's arm is just that much better.

No Hofmann in the outfield either. Surprising considering how much time he spent out there last year. I guess the coaches liked Heineman better. Would that be because of his defense or offense (or both?)?

I'd imagine he'll still get a lot of playing time since they probably have enough talent in the OF to rotate around as starters and as DH. Plus, never hurts to have players that could come in as pinch hitters/runners and then go play the field with only a little drop-off.

[oregontrack]

Given baseball's "credo" of going righty-lefty-righty-lefty on the mound, it appears Hawai'i is going against the grain, opting for a talent-oriented rotation.

Do you have a quick take on that, ot?

i think you hit thd nail on the head. the rainbows are just trying to run their best arms out there in an attempt to match our rotation. we're going against the grain too, righty/lefty/lefty/righty.

No Hofmann in the outfield either. Surprising considering how much time he spent out there last year. I guess the coaches liked Heineman better. Would that be because of his defense or offense (or both?)?

sounds like offense, from what i've put together. horton said he wanted his bat in the line-up.

he started off last season really well, then hit the rookie wall hard. despite an ever-plummeting batting average, though, his on-base % was still relatively high. he's got a great eye for the ball. that's why i like him in the 2-hole. you know payne will get on base, heineman should be good at further setting the table for the heart of our order. he didn't strike out a lot, put the ball in play, etc. all things you want in a 2-hole hitter.

hoffman's a good 4th or 5th outfielder. he started a lot last year because we didn't really have a lot of options. good defensive player.