Clearwater Invitational

[DonnyS]

Shitty umpires that make pitchers put the entire ball over the plate for a strike lead to great hitting and frankly IMHO endanger players. This is especially true with as hot as bats are these days. Not sure this was the the case in Clearwater or not. But the strike zones are ridiculous at times. Zero consistency.

Begin angry umpire posts now...

 

[Tazman]

Shitty umpires that make pitchers put the entire ball over the plate for a strike lead to great hitting and frankly IMHO endanger players. This is especially true with as hot as bats are these days. Not sure this was the the case in Clearwater or not. But the strike zones are ridiculous at times. Zero consistency.

Begin angry umpire posts now...

I think there is some truth. I feared for the OSU pitcher's life as she caught about 5 back at her. Only one that I recall drilled her, but with a zone that tight you get many more up the middle and at the barrel.

 

[BT3100]

Pitching is so hard to get. Mid majors pitchers in the portal last May got 50-60 offers. Aside from the #1 very few top teams have pitching. The depth just isn't there and when you play 5 games in a weekend it really stands out. DDs team beat Arkansas last weekend. Arkansas could have easily lost two that day. Their pitching outside of their #1 was weak. I was very surprised .
There is gonna be a shake up of the top 25 rankings for sure. Look at UCLA and FSU, typical powerhouses who now need pitching. ULL also normally a fast starting team is 5-5. Very uncommon year for sure.

 

[BT3100]

Shitty umpires that make pitchers put the entire ball over the plate for a strike lead to great hitting and frankly IMHO endanger players. This is especially true with as hot as bats are these days. Not sure this was the the case in Clearwater or not. But the strike zones are ridiculous at times. Zero consistency.

Begin angry umpire posts now...

I am biased as my DD pitches but I can attest to this. The strike zone was postage stamp sized the first weekend and she refused to give in. Gave up some walks. This past weekend they were giving the full 17" and no walks... umps control so much more of the game than most people understand.

 

[PharmerBrown]

I agree. I find it exhausting when they refuse to call the top of the zone. So little is called above the belt.

 

[RADcatcher]

I am biased as my DD pitches but I can attest to this. The strike zone was postage stamp sized the first weekend and she refused to give in. Gave up some walks. This past weekend they were giving the full 17" and no walks... umps control so much more of the game than most people understand.

Yep bring that up often about umpire's calling balls and Strikes continual impact on the game...
but people seem to want to Fritter over the pitchers feet


KEEP ON SWINGING OUR BAT!!!

 

[Rolling Hard]

I watched UCLA vs FSU game.14 to 10. Sloppy pitching and defense. 15 walks between them. Box score reads only 1 error but there were a least 5 errors plus 3 or 4 mental mistakes on defense. Example: Super fast slapper hits 2 hopper to UCLA's SS. Instead of coming thru the ball the SS drop steps which gives her zero chance of getting the out. First baseman for FSU did the same thing earlier. I expect more awareness out of players. Outfielders running with their glove out and overthrowing cutoffs. Sloppy.
On pitching, I think coaches recruit velocity to a fault and you end up with pitchers with only 2 pitches (2 speeds) and they get rocked. I would rather have a pitcher that tops out at 63-64 but can throw pitches at 51, 56 and 59 too.
Question: How does FSU give up 14 runs with only 7 earned on 1 error. Seems off.

 

[Traps71]

Pitching is so hard to get. Mid majors pitchers in the portal last May got 50-60 offers. Aside from the #1 very few top teams have pitching

Do you have thoughts on why you think that is or what precisely is lacking? Is it velo? Something else? And do you have a sense of whether this is a new phenomenon?

Softball seems more popular than it has ever been, which you would think would lead to even more girls playing and thus a larger talent pool to ultimately recruit from. You would think that larger pool—just based on math—would produce relatively more elite pitchers than before not less.

 

[Tazman]

Do you have thoughts on why you think that is or what precisely is lacking? Is it velo? Something else? And do you have a sense of whether this is a new phenomenon?

Softball seems more popular than it has ever been, which you would think would lead to even more girls playing and thus a larger talent pool to ultimately recruit from. You would think that larger pool—just based on math—would produce relatively more elite pitchers than before not less.

Looked to me like some lacked a truly effective change that could be located on any count. Biggest issue though seems to be the combination of being unable to precisely locate multiple pitches coupled with the brutal strike zone leaving absolutely no margin for error. So many pitchers gave free passes and got themselves deep into counts and then got barreled up by serving up meatballs in the heart of the zone when hitters were anticipating strikes. Couple that with a really hard ball making even mishits HR liabilities and here we are. I think the availability of technology, scouting reports, and high level hitting training may necessitate some changes in the pitchers favor.

 

[RADcatcher]

About the transfer portal ~
Probability colleges want more stable young adults and so drawing from an older age bracket my offer better stability of a player. At least that they have accomplished some college already and are aware of the rigors.