Not Hard to Understand Drop Off This Season

[MT_Vol]

Peebles isn’t an elite defensive catcher by any means, but he is responsible for about 0% of the issues we’ve had on Saturdays. Guys are 3/4s of the way to 2nd by the time he receives the ball.

100% this!

 

[Pawleysvol]

Agree with the OP. I think Tony has done an excellent job with this team. He has only 1 SEC top tier pitcher, 1 consistent power hitter, and an infield that can’t field at a D1 level.
Yes, recruiting has been great, and Coach is playing several Fr a lot of innings, but generally speaking, the SEC talent is equal to A or High A level. Very few young players are consistent in that atmosphere. Yes there are a few in this league who can do it, but very few compared to the league’s best. Tony has shown he has always tried to work his good young talent in very slowly. Even Dylan Dreiling and Burke played sparingly until they were in their 3rd years. Have faith. There are some young players on this team who I think will eventually be all conference. An elite shortstop and a couple of teir 1 starters will be needed next year but the other pieces are there. Don’t give up. These kids will get smarter and stronger as they mature.

It’s fair to question the construction of this team. Especially the pitching staff. Worst pitching depth Vitello has had since his 2nd year. They signed 5 JUCO arms and none of them gave really contributed in SEC play. I am interested to see how Tony and Frank address the pitching needs in the offseason. You gave Kuhns, Krenzel and Loy that you feel good about. Who else?

 

[89 VOLS grad]

In 24 SEC contests this season, Tennessee has committed 25 fielding errors to its opponent's 13 (this doesn't include the errors vs Vandy). The Vols have committed 49 errors to their opponent's 43 in all contests during the 2025 season. Stolen bases attempted vs. Vols 33/CS 7. Fielding % is .971 or 12th in the conference. Hitting and pitching can't overcome this.

Those are reasons. But, the team doesn't have the pitching and hitting they had last year. If they did, there wouldn't be much of a drop off! Elite shut down pitchers don't allow teams to hammer the ball for the errors to happen! I also can't understand why one of the best ptiching coaches ever doesn't teach the pitchers to slide step with runners on 1st and sometimes 2nd!

 

[VolPack22]

I hope I'm wrong, we have no chance to win that series

There is a better chance at getting swept than winning that series.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Five main problems the second half of the season:

1. Fielding errors, primarily infield
2. Opponents stealing too many bases
3. Many more walks by our pitchers this year which feeds #2 above.
4. Pitching in general, particularly middle and late relief is much worse than last year.
5. The hitting was on fire to start the season but has dropped off a lot, even in non-conference games.

 

[vol66]

Five main problems the second half of the season:

1. Fielding errors, primarily infield
2. Opponents stealing too many bases
3. Many more walks by our pitchers this year which feeds #2 above.
4. Pitching in general, particularly middle and late relief is much worse than last year.
5. The hitting was on fire to start the season but has dropped off a lot, even in non-conference games.

Of those 5 issues…at this point in the season, what would you do to fix them? “It’s not my job”, is not an answer.

 

[VOL931]

We have had great recruiting over the last few years. Were they over-rated, or do they simply need more experience to perform better? Also, are there any deficiencies developing in the coaching staff?

Other teams in sec incl candy have true freshmen who are balling out.

 

[VolPack22]

Of those 5 issues…at this point in the season, what would you do to fix them? “It’s not my job”, is not an answer.

Most of it can only be corrected during the offseason so it’s too late now but this is what I would do:

1. Nobody on the infield picks up a bat at practice until they field 100 ground balls cleanly with throws over included.

2. Insert Loy into the starting rotation since he is a lefty and will cut down on stolen bases.

3. Pitchers have to run poles that are timed for every ball thrown outside the strike zone during their bullpen sessions. They also have to run poles for every pitch thrown down broadway with a 2-strike count. If you don’t cross the finish line in time then you have to run the poles again.

4. Late game simulated situations with Tony screaming into the pitchers face with a megaphone.

5. 50 Push ups for every pop up, weak grounder. 100 pushups for every double play hit into.

Bonus: 500 pushups for every base running mistake by the offending player.

Bonus 2: Tally every single mistake throughout practice, multiply the number of mistakes by 3 and that’s how many pushups the entire team has to do.

 

[vol66]

Other teams in sec incl candy have true freshmen who are balling out.

Which Freshman are balling out for Vandy in SEC games?

 

[vol66]

Most of it can only be corrected during the offseason so it’s too late now but this is what I would do:

1. Nobody on the infield picks up a bat at practice until they field 100 ground balls cleanly with throws over included.

2. Insert Loy into the starting rotation since he is a lefty and will cut down on stolen bases.

3. Pitchers have to run poles that are timed for every ball thrown outside the strike zone during their bullpen sessions. They also have to run poles for every pitch thrown down broadway with a 2-strike count. If you don’t cross the finish line in time then you have to run the poles again.

4. Late game simulated situations with Tony screaming into the pitchers face with a megaphone.

5. 50 Push ups for every pop up, weak grounder. 100 pushups for every double play hit into.

Bonus: 500 pushups for every base running mistake by the offending player.

Bonus 2: Tally every single mistake throughout practice, multiply the number of mistakes by 3 and that’s how many pushups the entire team has to do.

Cool, If CTV leaves for MSU, you should apply!

 

[VolPack22]

Cool, If CTV leaves for MSU, you should apply!

Tony ain’t leaving. I’ve never coached though so it wouldn’t go over too well. For starters, I wouldn’t have a team left because they would hate me so much after the first practice.

 

[vol66]

Tony ain’t leaving. I’ve never coached though so it wouldn’t go over too well. For starters, I wouldn’t have a team left because they would hate me so much after the first practice.

They sure as hell ain’t gonna have fresh legs!

 

[VolPack22]

They sure as hell ain’t gonna have fresh legs!

After a 6-11 stretch on the backend of the schedule I wouldn’t care about their legs. Whoever wants to play error free baseball, pitch/hit situationally, and run the bases appropriately will be seeing the field. I don’t care if it’s all freshman playing at that point. We aren’t going to lose anymore games than we already have been doing. I know Doyle is going to give me everything he’s got so I really only have to focus on winning 1 out of 2 games.

 

[vol66]

After a 6-11 stretch on the backend of the schedule I wouldn’t care about their legs. Whoever wants to play error free baseball, pitch/hit situationally, and run the bases appropriately will be seeing the field. I don’t care if it’s all freshman playing at that point. We aren’t going to lose anymore games than we already have been doing. I know Doyle is going to give me everything he’s got so I really only have to focus on winning 1 out of 2 games.

We have one weekend series left. I don’t need to tell you how hard this is gonna be. Then we are gonna go to Hoover with work to do. We’ve been building towards this all season. We have what we have, we are who we are. Mistakes and all. Clean slate. Post season is a different animal.

 

[feathersax]

Yep. We still have time to work some things out. A trip to Fayetteville and Hoover can help mature some youth. Nobody wants to see this squad show up to their regional as a 2 or 3 seed.

Uphill climb ahead at Arky & Hoover Tournament. Bring the Orange Grit, Vols. We''ll be in Hoover!

 

[CAVPUT]

Everyone keeps talking about what we lost last year. While that's true, I started to consider how many of those "losses" were transfers IN to our program vs how many were brought up in this culture? Seems like it's a case of continuity and experience that have been our strengths these last several years. Now we have a roster that's a collection of guys who are either very young or who have transferred in? Might be way off base here...pun intended...but I don't see a lot of that veteran leadership that came up through our program for us to turn to this year. For me, that was one of our biggest strengths. I'll say it again, the transfer portal is not good for the game. It's great to see a really solid group of guys set the tone then have the youngsters coming in after them be able to watch, learn and grow. Passing it from one group to the next if you will.

 

[VOL931]

Our right handed pitchers gotta work on holding runners. The announcer pointed out on Saturday that Phillips only looks back at runners once, when he turns his head back to home plate, the runner was taking off. We don’t give the catcher much help to say the least but this is something that has to be addressed, we’ve had this issue for 2 years, at some point we have to say we got a problem that must be fixed fast.

But it isn't FA's philosophy. I agree, tho, with one particular pitcher, his philosophy isn't working to ignore base stealing. Matt Dixon said on TB: a single on Saturdays is really a triple. And with another base hit or sacrificial fly out, it's a run.

 

[VOL931]

Allowing the other team to steal at will is a major problem. Every walk or single becomes an extra base hit essentially. Allowing teams to consistently be in scoring position is a recipe for disaster. I know about coach Anderson’s philosophy on concentrating on the hitter and not changing your delivery but something has got change or we will continue to lose to good offensive teams.

Spot on. Opponents have come up with a cheat code for his philosophy.

Didn't that notre dame team that took the super regional in LNS steal a lot of bases?

 

[VOL931]

Oh, and I think, don't know, but I think that the Frank A. attitude about holding runners on and getting mount to plate times down to 1.4 or better is going to get a refreshing overhaul this Fall. I just have this feeling............

Thanks for all the insight. On this last part, do you think TV's frustration we saw and he directed at a particular player was more for FA? It seemed really personal and like it had building inside. I'm thinking there's been discussions bt TV and FA ... and that was the boiling point moment.

 

[madbamahater]

Won the National Championship last year folks and lost a ton of players. Everything will be okay.

 

[VOL931]

Of those 5 issues…at this point in the season, what would you do to fix them? “It’s not my job”, is not an answer.

1.

Which Freshman are balling out for Vandy in SEC games?

Which Freshman are balling out for Vandy in SEC games?

Rigden.
On another note, it is frustrating to see Corbin still recruits most of Middle TN's best. TV should be making headway there. Don't know if he doesn't try or isn't successful. Also, the sophomore pitcher who won the game for candy is from East TN I think I read. He's a sophomore playing in his 1st season. Equally frustrating.

 

[vol66]

1.


Rigden.
On another note, it is frustrating to see Corbin still recruits most of Middle TN's best. TV should be making headway there. Don't know if he doesn't try or isn't successful. Also, the sophomore pitcher who won the game for candy is from East TN I think I read. He's a sophomore playing in his 1st season. Equally frustrating.

Kinda looks like Rustan is batting .203 in SEC play. That balling out?

 

[amorange]

It's called rebuilding

 

[tennrich1]

Five main problems the second half of the season:

1. Fielding errors, primarily infield
2. Opponents stealing too many bases
3. Many more walks by our pitchers this year which feeds #2 above.
4. Pitching in general, particularly middle and late relief is much worse than last year.
5. The hitting was on fire to start the season but has dropped off a lot, even in non-conference games.

Certainly all of these have been major issue but probably one that needs to be included is LOBs especially in scoring position. Teams that win at high percentage on any level have a very low LOB.

 

[fossilfiction]

The schedule is very much in Tennessee's favor.
Syracuse is a W
East TN state W
Georgia - L
UAB - @
MS State - W
Arkansas - Toss-up
Alabama - Toss-up
Kentucky - W
Oklahoma - Toss-up
NM State - W
Florida - W
Vandrebilt - W

Assuming they win at least one maybe two toss-up, it's a good season coming up.