re: SS Jordan Thompson experiment over yet?

quote:

---

So you’re almost surely going to need Hurd for a few innings. Why not early ones rather than the late ones? I

---

I can’t believe I’m entertaining this stupidity, but because if you start him early, it may be too late by the time you pull him. This has been a low scoring CWS—no team has scored more than 6 runs—so potentially spotting them a 3-run lead in an elimination game would be pretty devastating. It would put all the pressure on us, when it’s currently on them.

And I’m not saying Hurd would definitely give up runs, but he’s certainly more likely to than Skenes. And not just because Skenes is better, but because Skenes throws strikes. Hurd has a tendency to let a walk—certainly one where a borderline pitch doesn’t go his way—to get to him and it blows up on him. But even more than that, let’s say Hurd is absolutely dealing and has perfect command. Part of his game is throwing that nasty slider just off the plate and getting guys to chase it. Wake Forest has shown they’re disciplined and don’t chase much of anything even slightly off the late. It’s made for some backwards Ks for them, but also kept them in ABs. How many times in just the 2 games we’ve played them have they turned an 0-2 count into a walk? Or laid off close pitches that most teams would whiff on, foul a few off, and even if they eventually strike out, they’re making guys do it 5,6,7 pitches rather than 3. That adds up.

And they’ve ALREADY SEEN HURD. Just 3 days ago. They’ve seen his fastball, they’ve seen his slider, seen everything he has. So they’ll be even less likely tonight to chase stuff off the plate than they would have been the 1st time they faced him. If we’re gonna need Hurd tonight—and I think we will—I’d much rather it be with a lead late where the pressure is higher on Wake.

Which is another reason to start Skenes. They already started feeling the pressure yesterday. I think they felt it before the game—they wanted no part of a 2nd game today against Skenes. It’s why I thought the 1st couple of half innings last night were gonna be so crucial. I mean I thought that before the game. Don’t let them get any confidence going, don’t give them any hope. Well, we spotted them 2 runs and the pressure was back on us. But you could see it shift after we just got 1 run and were still down 2-1. I’m pretty sure Herring came back out with a quick inning right after. They were feeling the pressure already. Their dude couldn’t throw a strike in the bottom half. He walks a couple, Tanks sandwiches a single in there, he wild pitches and Crews scores. And you could see their whole team get scared. Even their coach succumbed to the pressure and fricked up and didn’t walk Beloso with a base open and he made them pay with the bomb. Their coach admitted as much in the postgame presser.

Every team in Wake’s position would feel pressure. But they are even more susceptible to it because they simply aren’t used to having to deal with it at this level, against this good of a team. Then there’s the added pressure of being #1. Even more pressure knowing they could be about to squander a 2-0 start and not even get out of their bracket.


So you take advantage of all of that and go with your best. Step on their neck, choke the life out of them, whatever phrase suits you, but DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY HOPE. Not even the slightest, tiniest, itty-bittiest glimmer of hope. None. Zero. Because the pressure gets exponentially heavier the longer the game goes and they don’t have the lead.

You can live with getting beat with Skenes. You absolutely cannot live getting beat with Paul Skenes available. Can’t do it. Absolutely cannot do it. It spits in the face of the baseball gods. You have to play this game like it’s the championship game. The Finals do not exist. Jay cannot make any decision—not one—based on the fact that we might be playing Saturday. That’s the best way to ensure you’re not playing Saturday. There simply has never been an easier decision in baseball history than to start Skenes today.