Aside from the fact that we haven't done much w/ this staff
by oggie (2016-05-17 10:48:16)

In reply to: Time for a new staff? *  posted by God-Country-ND

Post Reply Return to Jake's Field

I don't have enough info to make that call. I'm sure we can do better on the field, so I'd always hope we're not satisfied with the past X years and looking to improve the program. I just don't know if it's the staff or institutional obstacles (cold weather, moderate baseball tradition, etc.) behind our struggles.

I can say that in some instances (e.g., base running), the staff don't appear to be quick learners. As another example, they pitch Hearn most of the season mid-week where he kills it, finally give him a weekend start, and he gets the only win against UNC. Things like that make you question how they use personnel.

I say all this with a gigantic caveat -- I'm more of a casual fan and not that plugged in.

I'm not sure anyone truly knows a lot about the
by cbo86  (2016-05-18 07:38:29)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

baseball program. I'm a baseball guy that loves ND baseball but its just not promoted much. I wasn't even able to get a media guide the last couple years. However, in my opinion we've hit our ceiling with Aoki. I think we have a tournament team this year but it's just so flat much of the time. Also, I don't see marked improvement of players from season to season that I think we should.
I always point to base running as an example of poor coaching and we have been consistently awful at it under Aoki. I turned on the NC game the other night and with bases loaded with 1 out down 7-0 the runner on first was on the move. Line drive DP to first. Why were the runners on the move in that situation? I teach my players to "sit down" until line drives get through the infield esp a line drive to the base that the runner in on. There is a difference between being aggressive on the base paths and just being dumb. I turned the game off at that point out of sheer frustration at the base running.
This program is a valuable commodity to Notre Dame athletics and we should be able to attract a decent coach that can raise the profile like Murphy and Mainieri even if he has designs on eventually moving on to a bigger program.

Agreed. Aoki hit his apex last year and this year=collapse
by TerryD  (2016-05-20 07:55:49)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Jack, time to find a really good baseball coach.