TCU Media Relations recently sat down with Jim Scholossnagle to discuss how the fall schedule went and his expectations for the 2010 season. TCU made the Austin Super Regional where they pushed Texas to an elimination game before bowing out of the NCAA Tournament. You can check out the full article below.
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
FORT WORTH, Texas – The baseball team wrapped up its fall practice schedule last week. Gofrogs.com sat down with head coach Jim Schlossnagle to get his thoughts on the 2010 squad.
GF: For the second straight season you changed up how you ran the scrimmages. This fall it seemed the team put more emphasis on overall play and execution and less on runs scored. How do you feel that benefited the team?
JS: "We were again fortunate this year to be able to split our team into two equal squads. Since the changes in the NCAA fall practice rules, we are now able to spread our practices and intrasquads over a longer period of time (45 days) so we are able to play better, more competitive games. With this in mind, our goal was to make everything we did in practice or a game as competitive as possible so that we could evaluate the players in the most "spring-like" environment as possible.
"We always try to teach and coach the "process" more than necessary game results so teams were awarded points in areas that the coaching staff determined to be most important to winning. For example, an errorless game in the infield was worth two points, two or more aggressive base running plays was worth extra points as was the team with the most "hard contacts" at the plate.
"It benefited our team in that we really had the chance to see them compete and they were able to buy into the process of playing aggressive baseball on offense and conservative baseball on defense…throwing strikes, getting an out when you have the chance, having competitive at bats and being aggressive on the bases…controlling only what you can control."
GF: There are a lot of holes in the lineup following graduation, how do you see the batting order shaping up?
JS: "There is no question we lost a lot of talented players from last year’s team, not just in their ability, but their experience and leadership. I really like the new players along with several really good players that have been in our program, but have been playing behind the guys that were seniors last year. Although you can’t replace the experience that guys like Matt Carpenter, Ben Carruthers, etc. had, we are excited about the ability level of the guys competing for those open positions.
"Certainly, we are going to lean on returning guys like Taylor Featherston, Matt Curry, Bryan Holaday andJason Coats but it’s too early to say who will fill in the other spots. We’ll know more in the three weeks of spring practice we get leading up to the season. Everyone knows what jobs are open and that no one has anything locked down just yet."
GF: What players have stepped up to fill the voids in the field?
JS: "Again, we don’t know just yet but guys like Jantzen Witte in the infield and Kyle Von Tungeln in the outfield were very impressive this fall and, if they keep working, will likely play important roles in the spring."
GF: What kind of offensive team do you see out of your roster this season?
JS: "Depends who wins the open jobs. The thing I like about some of our position players is that we have several versatile players that can play multiple positions. Davy Wright, Brance Rivera, Aaron Schultz, Josh Elander and Jerome Pena can all play multiple positions in the infield and outfield which, depending who is swinging the bat the best, will give us some options.
"This is the fastest team, in terms of 60-yard dash times, that I’ve had at TCU. That doesn’t always translate to great base running or base stealing, we need to improve in that area, but it’s nice to have athletic guys. I don’t know that we will hit with as much power as last year because we lost some older guys who were 22 and 23 years old and are replacing them with younger players. However, Holaday hit ten home runs last year and we think Coats, Curry, Elander, Joe Weik and Von Tungeln can drive the baseball for extra base hits.
"One thing to remember is that the NCAA continues to tighten the restrictions on the aluminum bat and, in 2011 possibly, they will change again. So, the home run is going to play less and less a part of your offense. We have enough power to be a threat and the next six weeks or so in the weight room will hopefully aid that too."
GF: Pitching depth seems to be one of the strengths of this club. What are your impressions of the pitching staff as a whole?
JS: "Our pitching staff is easily the strength of our club, for now. You always are hesitant to talk about it because injuries and subpar performances are always a question mark but in our first ten pitchers or so, we can run a lot of quality arms at the other team with live fastballs in the low 90s and most of them have at least one quality off-speed pitch.
"Coach Todd Whitting has done a good job of recruiting those guys to campus and Coach Randy Mazey has done a great job of coaching and refining their deliveries and pitches to the point where we think that the pitching staff will match up with just about anyone we play. Steven Maxwell has easily been the most impressive pitcher of the fall. Matt Purke, Erik Miller, Greg Holle and Kaleb Merck also really stood out."
GF: Defense has been one of the staples of this program, do you see the squad maintaining that level of play in 2010?
JS: "That was my biggest concern going into the fall, frankly. In 2007 and 2008, we were in the top 10 each year in fielding percentage and we were so consistent on defense. Last year, we weren’t nearly as good but we played much better later in the season after some of our younger players gained more confidence and adjusted to the speed of the game.
"I feel good about where we are right now, however, I believe we have much work to do to be ready for the season. Jantzen Witte is very sound defensively, as is Jerome Pena, and Matt Curry has made a total transformation with his body, which has really elevated his agility and defense.
"Certainly, we have, in my opinion, the best defensive catcher in all of college baseball so that is a great foundation. The outfield defense is solid but not where I want it to be yet, depending on who we play out there…the goal is to have the best hitters also be the best defenders so we are still working on that."
GF: Any other thoughts?
JS: "We are excited about our team and think, if we continue to get better between now and the start of the season, we have a chance, at some point, to make a pretty good run. It all starts with good pitching, so we think if we stay healthy, we should have a legitimate chance in each ball game.
"The toughest thing to replace is experience and chemistry and the time between November and the start of practice in January is really when a team can separate itself from the others by how hard they work and how much they desire to become a true TEAM. I think this team has that desire, whether they are going to put in the work, sacrifice for each other, give up their ego for the good of the team, etc., remains to be seen."
