Butch Thompson spoke to the media Thursday afternoon. Here's a summary...
** It's time to play ball. Excited to get this season started. Been preparing for EKU this week.
** Carson Myers, who will start Sunday, had good tempo and energy. Guys behind him want to play. He competed with Christian Herberholz and earned the start. Herberholz will also pitch Sunday in relief. Could flip the pair at some point.
** Butch feels really good about the bullpen. Likes Armstrong and Bauman in the middle relief and Cannon and Tilly at the end.
** Team is healthy overall. Joseph Gonzalez has gotten better each outing but sinker is not quite to midseason form. Would encourage fans to be patient. He's a diesel engine and gets better as games and seasons go on. He's worth the investment now because we know what he can mean to this team in a month. He looks good, healthy and is in great shape. Just has to sharpen his pitches.
** Cooper McMurray will probably start all three games at 1B this weekend. Javon Hernandez will work at 2B. Cooper Weiss will be the SS. Deric Fabian playing a lot of 3B. Caden Green can work in at 2B or 3B.
** Probably use more RH DH's because we'll see a lot of lefties this weekend. Might be a different DH every day: Kaleb Freeman, Gavin Miller, Christian Hall.
** Mason Maners is a good LF hitter that could bat in the two-hole. Has sneaky power. It's between him and Weiss for the best bunter on the team.
** Still a lot of construction going on. Hall of Fame club is out of site. It's awesome but just an appetizer of what we're doing. Encourages fans to check it out. Also doing more for students in RF with a two-tier deck.
** Kaleb Freeman is a switch hitter, powerful bat. Probably the starting DH Friday. Still working on his defense, mainly at 1B. Can do damage with his bat.
** Chase Allsup is more efficient. Really started finding himself at the end of last season. He earned this Opening Day start. He's landing the fastball to the glove side. He has more command.
*****THAT'S ALL*****
** It's time to play ball. Excited to get this season started. Been preparing for EKU this week.
** Carson Myers, who will start Sunday, had good tempo and energy. Guys behind him want to play. He competed with Christian Herberholz and earned the start. Herberholz will also pitch Sunday in relief. Could flip the pair at some point.
** Butch feels really good about the bullpen. Likes Armstrong and Bauman in the middle relief and Cannon and Tilly at the end.
** Team is healthy overall. Joseph Gonzalez has gotten better each outing but sinker is not quite to midseason form. Would encourage fans to be patient. He's a diesel engine and gets better as games and seasons go on. He's worth the investment now because we know what he can mean to this team in a month. He looks good, healthy and is in great shape. Just has to sharpen his pitches.
** Cooper McMurray will probably start all three games at 1B this weekend. Javon Hernandez will work at 2B. Cooper Weiss will be the SS. Deric Fabian playing a lot of 3B. Caden Green can work in at 2B or 3B.
** Probably use more RH DH's because we'll see a lot of lefties this weekend. Might be a different DH every day: Kaleb Freeman, Gavin Miller, Christian Hall.
** Mason Maners is a good LF hitter that could bat in the two-hole. Has sneaky power. It's between him and Weiss for the best bunter on the team.
** Still a lot of construction going on. Hall of Fame club is out of site. It's awesome but just an appetizer of what we're doing. Encourages fans to check it out. Also doing more for students in RF with a two-tier deck.
** Kaleb Freeman is a switch hitter, powerful bat. Probably the starting DH Friday. Still working on his defense, mainly at 1B. Can do damage with his bat.
** Chase Allsup is more efficient. Really started finding himself at the end of last season. He earned this Opening Day start. He's landing the fastball to the glove side. He has more command.
*****THAT'S ALL*****
