I think that was easily Underwood's worst game. And Auburn was his second worst. The VT and Northwestern games he had some bad luck and bad fielding, but these last two have been bad.
As pointed out previously, although it turned out great in that Blakely has really stepped up, Cooper didn't pitch nearly as bad as the stats show in those first few games and it was questionable at least as to whether the timing of taking that Sunday role from him made sense. I think his confidence could've really taken a hit there. I don't think that's why he's pitching bad now, but I'm sure it's in his head.
He has the stuff. It flashes here and there, but he's still learning to pitch to college hitters. Every once in a while a stud freshman comes in and dominates immediately (Marciano at VT last year, who's now at Auburn) comes to mind, but usually there's a steep learning curve and an adjustment period. Cooper has still only thrown 13 innings in college. He'll be fine. He's at 10 walks (and 4 hit batters) in 13 innings. He's just putting the ball in harms way too much (aka he's getting hit). This is a better problem than walks MOST of the time, as it shows he has some command, he's often just locating too far in the zone.
I get being "disappointed," but in reality I think it's usually safe to assume MOST pitchers first years are going to be adjustment years where they don't give you much. That being said, I myself am guilty of having higher expectations of him and would say that I am somewhat disappointed too. I fully expect him to still be a big part of our staff moving forward though (assuming that we don't lose him).
Meh. Spivey doesn't have anywhere near the pedigree of Underwood, so it's hard to say that he's a bigger disappointment. I get that you're talking in last night's game exclusively, but even then. He's seemingly been hit or miss his whole career. First two years at ND he had ERAs of 4.11 and 8.46. Last year he was 4.05 for us and this year he's at 8.25. Mixed in all of those years are great performances and really bad performances. Just hit or miss all around. He flashed some velocity this season that I don't think he previously had, but that obviously hasn't turned into too much. It is somewhat disappointing that it seems like he'll stay towards the bottom of the totem pole for relievers that we can rely on, but it's kind of where he's always been.
All in all, like has already been mentioned, outside of those two, it was a pretty solid night on the mound. Ballard continues to perform well in that long relief role. Early in his career, I really thought that he'd be a weekend starter at some point for us, but it seems like this is going to be his role this year and next. It seems like he's enjoying it and thriving in it though. Barfield continues to be nails when we need him. Lankie has really impressed me this season and has proven to be a guy that we can rely on. Shadek had another outing where he got two guys out quick, walked a guy and let him score. He's just gotta get better at getting that third out. Lol. Not at all worried about him though. Gaudette nails. Andelakos looked good again.
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