Rob Childress Head Coach- Texas A&M (Courtesy of Eric Sorenson)
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – At the conclusion of fall practice, Texas A&M head baseball coach Rob Childress sat down to discuss his team and where things stand following an extremely competitive fall season.
The back-to-back Big 12 Champion Aggies open the 2009 season on Feb. 20 against Wright State at Olsen Field.
What were your overall impressions of the fall?
“You know, this is the third year we’ve done the fall the way we have, where everything the kids do is a competition. I’ve got to feel, without question, that this fall was the most competitive. I think part of that was because there were only two teams competing, not three. But they were so even in everything we did. We had our major grade check right at the end of the Fall World Series, and the difference in the cumulative GPRs was five-one hundredths of a point. On the field, one team ended up 14-13-2 and the other 13-14-2, with all the games we played-both nine-inning contests and the two weeks of playing two-inning games.
“I don’t think you could have asked for a better effort from either one of the teams. After the fifth and deciding game of the World Series, the disappointment on the Plowboys’ faces was equally matched with the excitement on the Farmers’ faces. To feel that way when a fall season ends…it tells you it meant something to them. When this team comes together as one group, we have a chance to have a lot of fun together.
“One thing we’re looking forward to is going into the next phase of our season-speed, agility and strength-and really focusing on trying to make ourselves stronger and faster. This year we have a little over six weeks of time away from Texas A&M, so there is going to have to be a commitment on their part when they are away from one another, to continue to improve in every area. When we get back, it’s kind of like a spring training before we get going.”
When you step back and look at the effort you saw out of the team this fall, does it make you proud as a coaching staff to see the kind of effort you preach all year long?
“Without question. What we expect day in and day out is something that three years ago we were trying to teach an entire team. Now, we’re teaching 10 to 12 newcomers, plus we’ve got another 15 to 18 coaches out there in returning players that know what is expected on a daily basis. When there are expectations not only in the coaches’ offices but in the clubhouse, you have things heading in the right direction. And I’m not talking about results. I’m talking about how you are expected to go about your business on a daily basis. That’s when you know you have it going in the right direction.”
And is that really the philosophy of why you build the fall the way you do, to show that if you put in the time, baseball will pay you back?
“It’s a great point to drive home. Each of the last three falls, the most talented team hasn’t won-it’s always been the team that’s taken care of its business in every area. This year, it was sad to see someone lose. I feel like the Farmers were a little more talented, at least at the start of the fall, and the Plowboys were kind of the underdogs that went above and beyond in everything they did. But by the end of the fall, the Farmers had a pitcher playing third base, their shortstop had to move to second because of a shoulder problem, their second baseman was playing short, they had a catcher that couldn’t throw, and they had a pitcher in the outfield and another at DH. For them to win it with what they had…you know, it’s what is going to happen in the spring. We’re going to have to overcome some injuries and have to go through a tough stretch.
“I always say this-how you handle failure is going to determine your success. We had some guys that fell on their face this fall, and they picked themselves up and finished strong. That again proves to you that if you keep grinding, baseball will pay you back.”
Looking at your returning players, did anyone really stand out to you and maybe have a better fall than you expected?
“Out of all of our returners, Kyle (Colligan) and Luke (Anders) did exactly what we expected and wanted them to do, and that’s lead their respective teams. Nick Fleece really came back and proved he’s as good a hitter as we had recruited, and he’ll be a guy that will hit in the middle of our lineup. He can play either corner spot in the infield, he can go to the outfield, and has totally sold out to our way of doing things. Kevin Gonzalez is one young man that, if you look at his stats, you may say he didn’t have a great fall. But he stayed here this summer and got himself in the best shape of his life. His main contribution to the team will be his defense. For him to go through the fall and do what he did behind the plate was great. His offense-and he is going to hit-is a bonus for us. But I think every pitcher on this staff would tell you Kevin Gonzalez is the best receiver they’ve ever thrown to.
“On the pitching side of things, all of our pitchers came back and picked up right where they left off. Brooks Raley has really improved and is still extremely competitive as he’s ever been. Kyle Thebeau pitched the way a senior should pitch. Probably the biggest surprise on the mound as far as returners is Shane Minks. He made a commitment to Texas A&M, and things hadn’t gone his way the first couple of years, but he never wavered in his wanting to help the team and his commitment to our program. Late last spring we changed his arm slot-and for a lot of pitchers, that means you’re either going to do it or you’re not going to pitch. But he went out and had an incredible summer in Beatrice (Nebraska). He made the All-Tournament team in the NBC World Series, and was named the most valuable pitcher in that entire tournament-and there’s well over 300 pitchers there. That’s a tribute to him and his work ethic, and that’s baseball paying him back. He had an incredible fall. His numbers were outstanding in the closing role for the Farmers, and he’ll be a guy that we’ll lean on heavily in the spring in the back end of our pen.”
How about the new faces on the team this fall?
“On the mound, Chad Sherman from Panola Junior College had an incredible fall for us. He had some injuries late in the summer, but he got himself healthy and I thought he was a very consistent starter for us. Ross Hales and Denny Clement didn’t start the fall the way that maybe they wanted to, but they sure finished strong in my eyes. They’re going to be big parts of our staff not only this year but in the future.
“Positionally, several junior college transfers really stick out in my head. Joe Patterson, who’s a catcher from Seminole Junior College, had a great offensive fall for us. It’s an adjustment sometimes for junior college players, but offensively he was very productive for us. Nick Anders (Temple College) had a great fall, and I think he’s just a ‘baseball player’ that you could put anywhere on the field. You could put him at short, second or third, anywhere in the outfield-he could probably even catch if you wanted him to. He brings toughness to our team. Here’s a kid that got hit in the mouth this fall with a fungo bat and two days later is playing. That’s how tough he is. Dylan Petrich (Butler Community College) had an incredible fall for us playing left field. Brett Parsons finished strong. He’s a big, strong, physical guy from Navarro Junior College. Those four guys are going to be big parts of our offense in the spring. When you go and recruit a junior college guy, you expect him to step in and play.
“Shortstop is probably the biggest position to fill on the field for us, where we have had an All-Big 12 Newcomer of the Year there the last few years and lost them after each year. There we’ll have a true freshman in Adam Smith from Klein. He has all the physical tools you look for, it’s just a matter of him being consistent there and executing the routine. Zach Luther is a kid that’s a defender. He ended up having a pretty good fall offensively, but was hampered with shoulder problems all fall that didn’t get any better. He still though came out there every day and found a way to help his team win. He’s a guy that we have to get healthy because he adds depth to our infield. And who knows, if he gets healthy and gets in a comfort zone he could continue to push Adam Smith.”
You knew you had a nice core of guys coming back that knew what it meant to win and play Aggie baseball. It’s early, but are you seeing this group’s chemistry developing into something that could be special this spring?
“We’ll see. We’re in a stretch now where we have four weeks or so to focus on speed, strength and agility. Then when we come back we’ll have a few weeks of skill instruction in January. Come February 1, we have 20 days to get ready for Wright State. That will continue to develop, now that we’re one team and one group and not split up and competing against each other. I know there was mutual respect on either side in the fall, but now that we’re one team I expect us to come together and do what we expect to do. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we have to focus on improving each and every day, because everybody else is trying to work just as hard as we are. We need to make sure that’s not happening.”
How excited are you personally to get the 2009 season underway?
“I’m excited. I like our schedule. We do have 15 conference games on the road, compared to 12 at home, which is always tough. This league is committed to winning, top to bottom, and there are no easy weekends. But in a way I do like the condensed schedule, because we’re going to get to find out early where we’re going to put the pieces of the puzzle on the mound. We’ve got a lot of options for starters, and we have a good core group of five or six guys that can really fit in well on the back end of the pen. It’s going to be interesting to see, by the time we get to the Baylor series, where each of those guys fit and what lines up best for us. There’s no doubt that Brooks Raley came back and was just as good in the fall, if not better, than he was last spring. Barret Loux didn’t pitch this fall, but we all know what we’re going to get out of him-a big arm with good command and a competitive spirit. Clayton Ehlert is back as well, and he fit in nice in our Sunday rotation. Alex Wilson definitely improved as the fall went along. Ross Hales is a young man that in any other year would be a guy that we’d be talking about as a big part of our weekend rotation. Now, he will be in that weekend mix, but where he’s going to fit I don’t know. Denny Clement, Shane Minks, Hank Robertson, Kyle Thebeau, Travis Starling…there’s just a lot of guys that fit in there at the back end of the pen and will do a great job. It’s just a matter of finding the right place for them to be the most successful individually for our team.”
