Mason Katz

No way he breaks up the Nola/Hanover combination up the middle, inserting Katz there would weaken the defense. Someone has to emerge offensively at third. Katz is no Nola.

A little surprised Dozar is not getting more at bats and you manage third defensively if he hits well enough.

I believe that Katz is more of a utility player. I think he can play anywhere on the field. Coach Mainieri showed last year that he isn't afraid to juggle the lineup. I am pulling for every LSU player currently in the lineup, but eventually, if players aren't producing, Coach Mainieri will turn to the bench to give a young player a shot.

Mason Katz and Jordan Rittner were two of the best players in 5A baseball for the last few years. Their team was in the state finals two years in a row, winning one, and the game they lost Katz hit two HRs and was intentionally walked as the winning run in the 7th inning. Rittner has shown that he has what it takes to contribute on this team. I have a feeling that somewhere down the road Katz will get a shot.

Having said that, all of the other players on the team were studs in high school as well, and I know that there is a big jump from high school to NCAA division 1. But some guys just have "it", and time will tell about what players on the roster will eventually get the job done.

He didn't play last night.

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Katz was on deck, but Hanover popped out and they put Didier in at 3rd. Not sure what that was about.

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ULL had a lefty on the mound at that point. Delatte and Didier both swing from the left side while Katz swings from the right. When Hanover popped out, Mainieri went ahead and inserted Didier into the field.

As for Delatte, I'm sure the 3-1 jam shot into shallow centerfield on his only at bat didn't help him either.

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I thought about trying Katz at 3B and wondered if he could do it. Not sure if Katz has the arm for it or not. All I ever saw him play in practice was 2b.

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I think he is a utility guy, and as I said before, doing it in high school and in division 1 is a different story. But, last year Hanover was hot at the plate, so he got in the lineup. LSU was able to live with a few errors because he was producing runs at the plate. When he slumped late in the year, Coach Mainieri went back with the defensive 3rd baseman because with Coleman/Ranaudo/Ott they didn't need many runs and the 5 or 6 guys in the lineup were tearing it up.

For what it's worth (maybe nothing), when LSU was taking infield before the game yesterday, they had Koeneman taking grounders at third base. Make of that what you will....

A week or two ago, Mainieri said the job was Delatte's and that he didn't have to look over his shoulder. Does he need to worry now since he hasn't improved much since then?

Did he really separate himself enough performing in the fall from Didier, Katz, etc to secure the job for good?

Coach will say things to make the players have confidence. If that player doesn't perform he will pull them. I'm all for trying a new guy for a weekend like Didier or Katz. But don't sit here and say that the bat won't be an issue because neither have any experience at the plate and have a lot to prove. At the very least we need a solid guy on defense like Helenihi did for us. We knew he wouldn't hit a lot but he helped in the field. So far we don't even have that. I gotta see someone show me they can do it before I jump on the bandwagon.

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I'm going to throw this out there...

Today is March 25. I predict that Mason Katz will have a big role for the 2010 LSU baseball team by the time post season comes around.

:save for future bump:

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I told yall I was going to bump this at the appropriate time.

:patsselfonback: