Baseball: Maloney on WTKA
So I was planning on interviewing Michigan baseball coach Rich Maloney tomorrow, but this morning's Michigan Insider with Sam Webb had their time with Rich Maloney this morning and they more than asked pretty much all of my same questions. So I'll summarize Maloney's comments here (full audio):
- The rotation is still up in the air. Oaks and Brosnahan appear to have solidified their spot in the weekend. Burgoon is going back to the closer role for now, but if Miller continues to struggle, Burgoon will be the third guy. If for some reason we don't have to use Burgoon in a Friday and Saturday, we could see him on Sunday as well.
- Ryan LaMarre is due to have the pins out of his thumb tomorrow (Wednesday). It should be at least a week of rehab to build up strength. Maloney expects LaMarre to battle to get in quicker against Indiana, but "but that might be a bit of a reach."
- Coley Crank has been a surprise to Maloney. They knew he'd one day be an offensive force, but his explosion this early was surprising. He's also greatly improved his defense.
- "Chris Berset is playing at an unbelievable level right now. He's truly one of the best catchers in the country right now."
- "Dufek hasn't been hitting them out of the park, but he's been starting to come alive with the bat." We'll have some more on this later in the week here at mgoblog.
- We're playing at Stanford next year, at LSU in 2012.
- Rain delays in Atlanta pushed back getting into Ann Arbor from 10pm Sunday via airplane to 2pm Monday (with a 12 hour bus trip).
- WTKA will broadcast 10 games this season between WTKA and WLBY
So it sounds like LaMarre is still on schedule. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan get a few at bats against Indiana, at least in a DH or pinch hitter role, most likely the latter.
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:44 PM ^
Oaks, Brosnahan and Miller as starters with Sinnery, Woods and Burgoon out of the pen.... That could just work. The more I think about it, that combo is pretty tight. All starters should be able to go 6 plus and all relievers are capable of extended innings as well. Throw in Gerbe who can contribute and the pitching staff should be very tough. We just need to figure it out and get in a groove. Not having any rhythm and not having the players understand what role they play is never a good thing. Hope coach has a plan and starts using it this weekend.
Berset is a wall and love seeing him hit from the left side. Boy, where do you hit him when Ryan comes back? He's been doing a fantastic job in the 3 hole. Coley has it going and hopefully keeps it going. Dennis seems to have picked up some confidence and is seeing the ball much better. I'm liking less and less K's. Defense has been great! Go Blue!
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:34 PM ^
I'm alright with the way it's set up, but I'm partial to Burgoon over Miller. That's no knock on Miller, but I just haven't seen him have success as a starter yet. Even his bullpen work last year was just good, not dominating. I've seen Burgoon do great, which is why I give him the nod. But that's the thing, I don't get to see them as much as Maloney, nor do I get a feel for the players by just watching or listening.
As far as LaMarre, I'm not sure Maloney's plan, but my thought would be give him a pinch hit appearance or two first, then slide him in the 5 hole for a game. Let him hit behind Berset and Crank who are on fire where they're at, but give him Dufek behind him to give him some added protection behind. If Berset keeps his hot streak going, I can't justify LaMarre moving into Berset's 3-hole, but I could see LaMarre being in the clean up behind him.
I think a lot of the move depends on Toth becoming a bit more productive in the 2-spot. Honestly, I'm not opposed to slipping LaMarre in the two spot ahead of Berset, and moving Toth to the 8-spot as a table setter for Dennis. In the stat post I have coming out tomorrow or Thursday, I see Toth as underachieving. LaMarre in the 2-hole would give us a great on-base guy with good power. Not your stereotypical spot for a hitter of his caliber, but I'm starting to like the idea the more I think about it.
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