Schlossnagle recaps fall practice
11/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 3, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - After completing three weeks of fall drills, Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle sat down to share his thoughts on how the practices went and his expectations for the upcoming season.Q: What were your overall impressions from fall practices and the World Series?
A: "My overall impressions where that we have a chance to have some quality starting pitching at the front end of our rotation and, with Sam Demel's move to the bullpen, a quality closer. We had several pitchers out with injuries (some serious, some not) that we went into the fall counting on getting to see, including Eric Marshall, Cody Dunbar, Steven Maxwell and Chase Perry. That was disappointing because we have to find a group of three or four pitchers that can give us some quality middle, short and situational relief. I think we have a good group to choose from but no one has really separated themselves from the pack.
"Offensively, we return a very veteran team. Coach Whitting was in the process of working with a lot of their swings so the results weren't what they may normally be in the spring time. Andrew Walker and Corey Steglich stood out at the plate for us.
"Defensively, we played very well in the infield and have some good competition going on there. Ben Carruthers had another good fall defensively as did Steven Trout. Matt Vern showed that he should be able to handle playing first base.
"Adding a couple new coaches and having Coach Whitting take over the hitters also added a new twist to fall practice. The new coaches brought a lot of new ideas and different ways to do things, which I think will really help us be a better overall team in the spring."
Q: With a number of newcomers on the squad, how well has the team gelled this fall and what do you see as their role on a team with a lot of veteran players?
A: "Because we have such a veteran team, it's tough for a new guy to make an impact right now, especially a freshman. That can be good, however, because it gives them time to develop without the pressure of having to perform at a high level right off the bat. I think our team has come together well to this point but the fall conditioning period and the preseason practice in January will really aid that as well."
Q: On the mound, there appears to be a lot of guys with experience which will provide some depth in the bullpen. Talk about those guys and the roles that we might see them in.
A: "Well, from a starting pitcher standpoint, Jake Arrieta brings a wealth of confidence, ability and success to his role. Right now, I feel really good about Chance Corgan, Chris Johnson, Seth Garrison and Donald Furrow as guys that could be quality starters at the Top 25 level. Furrow will most likely end up in the bullpen since we are pretty short on the left side of the mound. Sam Demel will hopefully anchor the back end of the bullpen.
"Like I said earlier, we have to figure out the middle at this point, and, injuries or very average performances haven't given us too many answers. Tyler Lockwood, a freshman, and Taylor Cragin both showed signs of being able to make a contribution. We decided to have Derek VerHagen just concentrate on pitching halfway through the fall and he came on at the end as well.
"Overall, the depth of our bullpen has a chance to be good, but we won't know how good until spring practice gets here."
Q: We've heard you say this is the most veteran squad, does this heighten your expectations for this season and in what way?
A: "This is one of the older teams I have ever been around. It doesn't necessarily raise my expectation of their performance in the spring. We want to keep the same expectations we always have for any team at TCU, regardless of the makeup of the team.
"However, I do have higher expectations for this team in the areas of team discipline, effort in practice, etc. Most of the veteran players know how we want to act off the field, perform in the classroom and handle ourselves in practice so I'm a lot less tolerant of deficiencies in these areas than I may be with a younger team. I think we have done pretty well to this point but we can be better.
"We have a saying that goes, "Good is the enemy of Best," and we want to always be pushing each day to get better no matter what we have accomplished."
Q: You added three new staff members in the off-season, talk about what they will bring to the team in the upcoming season.
A: "We actually added four new staff members if you count Coach Whitting taking over for the hitters. All of the new coaches have brought a lot of fresh ideas to our program in every area both on and off the field.
"Having known Coach Randy Mazey for a very long time, I knew that we were getting one of the premier coaches in all of college baseball. As the head coach, I feel it is my responsibility to maximize the things that I think each coach does well and take advantage of their skills. With that in mind, we have Coach Mazey spread pretty thin. He is coaching the pitchers, the base runners and the outfielders...areas that he has always been very strong in both as a player and as a coach.
"I really miss coaching the pitchers and still gravitate to that part of the game in practice, but I thought it was important to bring some new thoughts to the pitching side of things. You won't see too many teams that have their pitching coach coaching third base as well but that is what we will do this spring.
"Coach Whitting has really done well with the hitters. I think he has a good, simple plan for each player and he has also spent significant time on the mental side of the game, which may be most important.
"Coach Shotzberger has great energy and continues to develop while coaching the catchers. He also has been helpful with the hitters and throws a ton of batting practice for us.
"Coach Wallace is limited, per the NCAA rules, in what he can do on the field but he is a valuable part of planning practice and giving us different ideas and opinions on each player."
Q: What do you feel like this team has to do between now and the season to get better?
A: "For the most part, I think this team has championship ability and championship experience to a certain level. The challenge I have laid out for this team is, like I said before, to come to the ballpark every day with a burning desire and positive energy to want to improve.
"We all need to get better, me included, and I think the effort that that takes is something you can control...you just have to decide daily to do it!! This team has showed signs of being that kind of team...a "dirtbag" kind of club, if you will. But, they can do much better and we will continue to really lean on the veteran players who have been here for a few years, to lead us in that manner, each day in practice.
"Ultimately, I want a team that HATES to lose versus loving to win. If you truly hate to lose, you will fight hard every day, regardless of what you are doing, to avoid it."
