Baseball observations

[BAMATRAML]

Has anyone else noticed that even in our most lop-sided victories Adam Pavkovich has played in every inning to date? Today Coach Wells emptied the bench with the exception of John Marshall behind the plate. Spencer Pennington and Nathan Meiners even flip-flopped at left field and first base today. Adam has played in every innnig this year and has never been replaced by anyone in the late innings. I am not complaining. Adam has made his share of errors and maybe he stays in the game to get more reps.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

I'm guessing that Coach Wells is probably basing his decision to play Pav all the time on the need for more reps defensively, but you never know. Trey Moody has only seen limited duty, but probably deserves a little more playing time than he is getting, especially against weaker teams. Moody is a versatile utility infielder and can play just about anywhere, but then again, Pav is probably the only "true" shorstop on the team. I do believe that more reps leads to defensive improvement, but I really do not want to see Pav leading the SEC in errors for the second straight season either.

 

[Tidefan in North Carolina]

Toward the end of last year Adam struggled and was somewhat a liability. He is right up there with all the rest in the hitting category this year and his fielding is improving somewhat. He will put it all together as I believe he has a very positive attitude and the ability to be one of the best in the SEC

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

I agree that his offense has improved so dramatically that he has to be a fixture in the lineup no matter what. Defensively, though, he is still experiencing some difficulty. Throwing is not the problem - he has the strongest arm of any SS in the conference (likely one of the top in the country) and he is usually very accurate. He simply has trouble with routine ground balls. I don't know if he loses concentration for a split second or if he's trying to throw before he catches the ball or what. Hopefully he will be able to improve in this area. He has already demonstrated the type of improvement he is capable of at the plate and with his throwing. The next step is mastering the art of fielding a grounder. Nevertheless, his offense alone has him as the early frontrunner for All-SEC shorstop recognition.

[This message has been edited by JoJoforHeisman (edited March 10, 2003).]

 

[BAMATRAML]

It seems he can make alot of spectacular plays, yet he has trouble hemming up the routine grounders. I still have nightmares of the routine DP in the regionals last year that went through the wicket.

 

[Bo]

BT, we all relive that play in our heads, but the fact is it won't change. If you think it was hard for us, think about being in Adam's shoes. His emergence from a mediocre hitter into a legit 3 hitter has been incredible. I got to meet Adam at the SEC finals last year, and he is a great kid. SS is IMO, one of the hardest positions on the diamond. Adam has good range, and too much range can get you in trouble at times (bad throws of back foot, etc.) I fully expect Adam to have a great SEC year, and show the conference he is an elite ss and player. RTR

 

[BAMATRAML]

I am not trying to criticize Coach Wells for not substituting for Pav, and I am not trying to start any bad thread. I thought it was just odd that he has played in every inning so far this year and we probably answered the question why he has. He has struggled with fielding, he led the SEC in errors last year, so he needs the reps. He is one of my favorite players.