Live Game Thread: Indiana vs. Illinois

[ptrich]

Our middle infielders have cost us all year. Toetz, at least, has been a threat at the plate.

I’ve pulled for Houston to clean up the sloppy play and become a .250 hitter, but neither of those have happened in 5 (6?) years. He seems to have the talent, but it has rarely surfaced. I’d hate to think the freshman SS is headed down the same path.

There are a lot of times I can’t quite figure out what the staff is trying to do on offense. Rarely running. Rarely bunting. Rarely much of anything that puts pressure on the defense. It’s weird. Running the inexperienced guys out there tonight is another example.

Bad loss at a terrible time. They need to snap out of it. Pronto.

I remember when Houston came to IU that either D1baseball or Baseball America, and I think it was the latter, had him as their preseason Freshman of the Year in the B1G, but he never really fulfilled those expectations. He has all of the skills to be a really good defensive player, but IMO he just makes too many mental mistakes, which is disappointing for a veteran player.

 

[mk23]

I remember when Houston came to IU that either D1baseball or Baseball America, and I think it was the latter, had him as their preseason Freshman of the Year in the B1G, but he never really fulfilled those expectations. He has all of the skills to be a really good defensive player, but IMO he just makes too many mental mistakes, which is disappointing for a veteran player.

There's no doubt he has all the tools to be a very good shortstop. Quick, fast, good arm. But dang, those mental (or lack of focus) plays are usually a killer. I absolutely hate giving teams 4 or 5 outs in an inning on balls that should honestly be routine outs.

 

[Orford]

I don’t recall Houston making lots of errors in prior years. Certainly have noticed this year after he replaced tank for too many errors. I just recall thinking “the kid has no bat and can’t even bunt effectively”