MUSINGS FROM THE DISCH
Brrr. The weekend was cold. The weekend was wet for much of it, but towards the end of the game on Sunday, the sun came out, just in time to see Texas get its first series sweep of the season.
Yes, I realize the opponent was Dartmouth, but other teams in the league would certainly argue that they would rather have a win, even by just one point, rather than a bad loss. Looking at you LSU and Texas A&M.
Are the Tigers and Aggies bad teams? Hardly. Is Texas going to win the national championship? Not likely. The fact remains though that at this stage in the season, a win is a win, and Texas will take all the wins it can get as SEC conference play looms on the horizon.
Overall, I thought the team pitched and played great defense considering the conditions. The hitting was an issue, yes, but look around baseball and you will see Texas wasn’t the only one who had an off weekend. That is going to happen.
During media availability after the game, Coach Schlossnagle talked about the offense and said it was on him and the rest of the staff to get the team to play looser. He said that they have been hesitant and playing with a mindset of playing afraid to screw up. He acknowledged that the offense isn’t there yet, but they are actively working on it. In addition, on my Monday chat with him (see the latest episode of Around the Horns), he talked about players putting together quality at-bats versus a mindset of success being purely based on getting a hit.
Fans have to keep in mind that there is still a transformation going on offensively, where the approach is to get deep in counts, see a lot of pitches. At times, there will be strikeouts with that approach, but it is one that works and has proven successful. A great example is what you have seen from Ethan Mendoza, Max Belyeu, Will Gasparino, and Cole Chamberlain.
Ethan’s stats weren’t eye popping to begin the season, but Sunday’s game against Dartmouth exemplifies what Schloss and Tulo are looking for from the hitters. Quality at-bats that put pressure on the opposing team and lead to success. Schloss doesn’t like bunting but said that the staff noticed the 3B from Dartmouth was shading over towards 2B. Ethan was given the green light to lay down a bunt and he ended up on 2B due to a poor throw.
Max Belyeu has a .522 batting average and a 1.520 OPS, but he has only hit two home runs and two doubles. Belyeu has focused more on getting deep into counts and driving the ball to the field. Likewise, Will Gasparino has finally found a stance and offensive structure that suits him well and he is currently leading the team in RBIs as a result.
In an extremely small sample size, Cole Chamberlain has really impressed. He has yet to record a hit, but he has racked up 4 walks against 1 strikeout, resulting in a .625 OB%.
All of this to say…have patience.
Teams that impressed this weekend: Oklahoma, Kansas State, UNC, Alabama
Teams that disappointed this weekend: Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oregon State, NC State
In case you missed the other thread, check out the latest episode of Around the Horns
USELESS STAT(S) OF THE DAY
Freshman 3B Adrian Rodriguez (aka A-Rod) only has 24 at-bats, but his numbers so far are eye popping for a freshman.
MID WEEK PREVIEW
Opponent: Incarnate Word (7-1, 0-0 Southland)
Date: Tues Feb 25th
Time: 630pm
Where: Disch-Falk Field
TV: SEC Network+
History:
Pitching Matchups:
Texas Jason Flores (0-0, 0.00 ERA) v. Incarnate Word TBA
Possible Starters:
Trevor Esparza (0-0, 2 apps, 1 start, 21.60 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 3.1 IP)
Hunter Hargett (1-0, 2 apps, 3.60 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 5 IP)
Gus McKay (0-0, 1 app, 1 start, 27.00 ERA, 4.00 WHIP, 2 IP)
Offensive Leaders:
Rob Liddington Jr (.515 BA, 1.567 OPS, 5x 2B, 3x HR, 10x RBI, .939 SLG%, .628 OB%, 3-3 SB)
Ryan Scott (.480 BA, 1.735 OPS, 2x 2B, 1x 3B, 4x HR, 17 RBI, .1.120 SLG%, .615 OB%)
Prediction
Stats Comparison
WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:
SEC RECAP
SEC STANDINGS
My SEC Power Rankings:
TOP 25 RANKINGS
Longhorns move up one spot to #15 in the latest Top 25 poll
Brrr. The weekend was cold. The weekend was wet for much of it, but towards the end of the game on Sunday, the sun came out, just in time to see Texas get its first series sweep of the season.
Yes, I realize the opponent was Dartmouth, but other teams in the league would certainly argue that they would rather have a win, even by just one point, rather than a bad loss. Looking at you LSU and Texas A&M.
Are the Tigers and Aggies bad teams? Hardly. Is Texas going to win the national championship? Not likely. The fact remains though that at this stage in the season, a win is a win, and Texas will take all the wins it can get as SEC conference play looms on the horizon.
Overall, I thought the team pitched and played great defense considering the conditions. The hitting was an issue, yes, but look around baseball and you will see Texas wasn’t the only one who had an off weekend. That is going to happen.
During media availability after the game, Coach Schlossnagle talked about the offense and said it was on him and the rest of the staff to get the team to play looser. He said that they have been hesitant and playing with a mindset of playing afraid to screw up. He acknowledged that the offense isn’t there yet, but they are actively working on it. In addition, on my Monday chat with him (see the latest episode of Around the Horns), he talked about players putting together quality at-bats versus a mindset of success being purely based on getting a hit.
Fans have to keep in mind that there is still a transformation going on offensively, where the approach is to get deep in counts, see a lot of pitches. At times, there will be strikeouts with that approach, but it is one that works and has proven successful. A great example is what you have seen from Ethan Mendoza, Max Belyeu, Will Gasparino, and Cole Chamberlain.
Ethan’s stats weren’t eye popping to begin the season, but Sunday’s game against Dartmouth exemplifies what Schloss and Tulo are looking for from the hitters. Quality at-bats that put pressure on the opposing team and lead to success. Schloss doesn’t like bunting but said that the staff noticed the 3B from Dartmouth was shading over towards 2B. Ethan was given the green light to lay down a bunt and he ended up on 2B due to a poor throw.
Max Belyeu has a .522 batting average and a 1.520 OPS, but he has only hit two home runs and two doubles. Belyeu has focused more on getting deep into counts and driving the ball to the field. Likewise, Will Gasparino has finally found a stance and offensive structure that suits him well and he is currently leading the team in RBIs as a result.
In an extremely small sample size, Cole Chamberlain has really impressed. He has yet to record a hit, but he has racked up 4 walks against 1 strikeout, resulting in a .625 OB%.
All of this to say…have patience.
Teams that impressed this weekend: Oklahoma, Kansas State, UNC, Alabama
Teams that disappointed this weekend: Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oregon State, NC State
In case you missed the other thread, check out the latest episode of Around the Horns
USELESS STAT(S) OF THE DAY
Freshman 3B Adrian Rodriguez (aka A-Rod) only has 24 at-bats, but his numbers so far are eye popping for a freshman.
- .417 BA, 1.356 OPS, 10 Hits, 5 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K, 1-1 SB
- A-Rod isn’t just hitting but 50% of his hits are for doubles and his walk to strikeout ratio is still outstanding.
- Obviously, these are not numbers that will carry throughout the entire season. He is a freshman after all and it is baseball, but what a boost he has been to the lineup so far this season.
MID WEEK PREVIEW
Opponent: Incarnate Word (7-1, 0-0 Southland)
Date: Tues Feb 25th
Time: 630pm
Where: Disch-Falk Field
TV: SEC Network+
History:
- First Met: 2015
- All-Time Record: 10-1 (Texas is 10-0 at Home); Last and only loss to UIW was back in 2019
- Last Meeting: 2024 (Horns beat UIW by a score of 7-1)
- UIW is picked to finish 8th in the Southland Conference
- Cardinals swept Texas Southern at home
Pitching Matchups:
Texas Jason Flores (0-0, 0.00 ERA) v. Incarnate Word TBA
Possible Starters:
Trevor Esparza (0-0, 2 apps, 1 start, 21.60 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 3.1 IP)
Hunter Hargett (1-0, 2 apps, 3.60 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 5 IP)
Gus McKay (0-0, 1 app, 1 start, 27.00 ERA, 4.00 WHIP, 2 IP)
Offensive Leaders:
Rob Liddington Jr (.515 BA, 1.567 OPS, 5x 2B, 3x HR, 10x RBI, .939 SLG%, .628 OB%, 3-3 SB)
Ryan Scott (.480 BA, 1.735 OPS, 2x 2B, 1x 3B, 4x HR, 17 RBI, .1.120 SLG%, .615 OB%)
Prediction
- Texas wins the Tuesday matchup and improves to 6-1 on the season
- Thanks to a Texas sweep, I am still a perfect 6-0 on the season in my predictions
Stats Comparison
| STAT | TEXAS (5-1) | UIW (7-1) |
| Batting Avg | .285 | .393 |
| OPS | .859 | 1.106 |
| Doubles | 14 | 26 |
| Triples | 2 | 3 |
| Home Runs | 7 | 8 |
| RBI | 34 | 93 |
| SLG% | .480 | .599 |
| Walks | 27 | 45 |
| Strikeouts | 60 | 35 |
| OB% | .379 | .507 |
| Stolen Bases | 6-8 | 6-10 |
| ERA | 2.91 | 6.04 |
| WHIP | 1.15 | 1.60 |
| Walks Allowed | 22 | 36 |
| Strikeouts | 52 | 51 |
| B/Avg | .205 | .285 |
| HR Allowed | 1 | 5 |
| Errors | 7 | 4 |
| Fielding% | .969 | .986 |
WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:
- I went 6-2 on the weekend, with the only misses being Nebraska and Texas State.
- On the season, I am now 10-6
- Week One: 4-4
- Week Two: 6-2
- On the season, I am now 10-6
SEC RECAP
- Alabama – (3-0) beating Coastal Carolina, #12 NC State, and Ohio State
- Arkansas – (2-1) lost to Kansas St, but beat TCU and Michigan
- Auburn – (3-0) swept Wright State
- Florida – (3-0) swept Dayton
- Georgia – (4-0) swept Illinois-Chicago
- Kentucky – (3-0) swept Belmont
- LSU – (2-1) lost game one to Omaha but won the next two
- Mississippi State – (3-0) swept Missouri State
- Missouri – (2-1) beat Florida A&M and Southern, but lost 2-10 to Alabama State
- Oklahoma – (3-0) beat Minnesota, then won back to back top 10 games against Oregon St and Virginia
- Ole Miss – (3-0) swept Eastern Kentucky
- South Carolina – (3-0) swept Milwaukee
- Tennessee – (3-0) swept Samford
- Texas – (3-0) swept Dartmouth
- Texas A&M – (2-1) beat Cal Poly but lost the Sunday finale
- Vanderbilt – (3-0) swept Saint Mary’s
SEC STANDINGS
- Alabama (8-0)
- South Carolina (8-0)
- Tennessee (7-0)
- Florida (7-0)
- Oklahoma (6-0)
- Georgia (8-1)
- Vanderbilt (7-1)
- Auburn (7-1)
- Arkansas (6-1)
- LSU (6-1)
- Mississippi State (6-1)
- Ole Miss (6-1)
- Texas A&M (5-1)
- Texas (5-1)
- Kentucky (4-1)
- Missouri (3-4)
My SEC Power Rankings:
- Tennessee (+0)
- Oklahoma (+8)
- Florida (+1)
- Arkansas (+1)
- Texas A&M (-2)
- Alabama (+1)
- LSU (-5)
- Texas (-2)
- Vanderbilt (-1)
- Mississippi State (+3)
- Georgia (+0)
- Ole Miss (-3)
- South Carolina (-1)
- Auburn (+0)
- Kentucky (+0)
- Missouri (+0)
TOP 25 RANKINGS
Longhorns move up one spot to #15 in the latest Top 25 poll
Last edited:
