I also like the idea of Varela as a specialist. Bring him in to pitch to one guy while someone else is getting hot. I think he will see some inning work. Just can’t afford to let the lineup see him twice. The second time will be not so Bueno.
Yeah, he thumbs it up there and is a nice change of pace. Obviously he can’t overpower anyone, but his offspeed is ok. Like you mentioned, that 2nd time through the order has never been too kind to him. I still have high hopes for Mitchell Stone too. I keep waiting for him to be one of the guys where Walton tweaks the arm slot a bit and he becomes unhittable because he has all of the tools. He has a fuller frame, but he has serious shades of Michael Freeman to me. He has just had issues locating the zone and the fastball is pretty flat at times. He needs to find some more consistent run or a little bite on it. I know that is easier said than done though.
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Yeah this guy knows what he’s talking about. Said just like my high school ball coach.
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This has me rolling 
I am just imagining you listening to your coach say this going “hehehe” in the back of the dugout
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Yeah, I don’t know that I would go that far.
Thumbing it up there was a classic from our high school coach too. That, and asking the freshmen to go to the shed and find the box of curveballs and the left-handed fungo.
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This is probably a really dumb question. How is that center field roof going to work at O’Brate? Every rendering makes it look like it’s overhanging center field, which doesn’t make sense. Am I just looking at it wrong?
There is a little bit of an overhang in centerfield. It is only a couple of feet. I’m sure the ground rule will be that if you hit a ball into the awning it will be ruled a home run. I’m sure they worked through the geometry of it and it would be basically impossible for a ball to hit the awning and still stay in play if the awning was removed. I don’t know this for sure, but this would be my guess.
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If a ball hits the roof it was a) absolutely CRUSHED and b) clearly on its way out of the park. I am sure it will be deemed a home run.
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The awning is around 40-45’ in height from field level apparently. With a (405?) foot center field wall, that would mean a ball would have to be hit as if would travel approximately 480 feet in the air to strike the overhang. This is presuming these are still the correct dimensions, and is just quick finger math but… Yea that would have to be an absolute rocket of a ball.
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It should count for double runs if you hit the awning. Or maybe a free steak like Bull Durham.
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I’ll provide the steak from my own cattle for any OSU players that hit a ball that far. Bookmark that.
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The NCAA might try and give you the actual death penalty depending on the quality of the cut.
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The NCAA can kiss my…
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Some nice recognition for some of our guys. Also, “Mid-America’s Baseball School” is an interesting tagline.
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Bryce got drafted in the 35th round of the MLB draft, but he was a consensus Top 100 prospect going into the draft. It seemed liked teams weren’t taking him because he made it clear he wanted to play in Stillwater. Polcovich is another interesting guy. He is definitely going to play. They may move him around middle infield/outfield/DH some, but I think he swings it well enough that they will find a position for him. Carson really made strides last year in putting the ball in play I thought. Carson is Carson. Hopefully he continues to improve at putting the ball in play and not striking out so much, but he has easy power as big as he is and is a good hitter.
Are we going to be able to hit an off-speed pitch this year? It seemed like all our big bats last year (Boone, Simpson, Funk) never could. I know our approach was usually all or nothing, but sometimes it was tough to watch.
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Yeah, usually HS guys like him will have a pick#/dollar minimum they are looking for to forego college and will tell the teams that, and if they don’t fall in that slot then they are on the 3 year plan. Then teams will just take a flyer in the upper rounds.
bump
What’s the best game this year to see in Stillwater? Texas Tech?
For best competition, probably. They also will host a conference Bedlam game in baseball at O’Brate. I can’t imagine how rowdy that environment is going to be. Obviously the TCU series will be huge with it being the first games in O’Brate. They also host Oregon State in May. They won’t be quite as good as they have been, but they are one of the premier programs of the West Coast.
Tech is the best opponent coming to town this year, yes? Is Oregon State in a rebuild/reload type year?