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To the casual East
Carolina fan, a glance at the 2012 Pirate baseball roster might cause
some concern. It would appear to be the old “good news, bad news”
situation.
East Carolina returns most
of its position players — there are only a couple of new faces in the
lineup. That speaks well for the offense and defense and is the “good
news.”
But the list of players
who will be taking the mound includes few familiar faces as the Pirates
lost a host of their top hurlers.
Gone are Seth Maness
(10-3), Brad Mincey (6-4), Seth Simmons (6-2), Shawn Armstrong (3-1) and
Mike Wright (6-4), all right-handers and all picked in the Major League
Draft.
The only familiar name on
the hurling staff is lefty Kevin Brandt (7-3, 1.15 ERA).
That’s the “bad news.”
“We’ve got a lot of new
guys,” catcher Zach Wright said, “but they are really great pitchers. We
lost some really great ones, but we stepped up our recruiting, both
out-of-state and out of the country.”
Five right-handers are
newcomers and the coaches and the players are high on them.
“I’m really optimistic,”
said head coach Billy Godwin, entering his seventh season with the Bucs.
“We have plenty of talent, guys who throw strikes, who throw around the
zone. They’re very gifted with good arms. That leaves you with some
thoughts that we could have something special.”
Wright agrees.
“The big difference is
that we haven’t worked with them like (the veterans). But they’re really
well-polished, even the freshmen," he said. "The big thing is that they
have to get used to the college atmosphere and playing time to get used
to the fans.”
Godwin believes the new
staff could excel but agrees that they have to be tested.
“You can identify talent,
you can coach, but can they come out and pitch when it counts? The jury
is still out on some of these guys," Godwin said.
The most heralded of the
newcomers is junior college transfer Jharel Cotton, picked in the 28th
round by the New York Mets. He’s expected to be one of the weekend
starters, along with Brandt, junior Tyler Joyner, and sophomore Austin
Chrismon. Deshorn Lake, a freshman, has been penciled in as the top
weekday pitcher but could also work into the weekend shift.
Jeff Hoffman and David
Lucroy, both freshmen, and Andy Smithmyer, a junior transfer, round out
the pitching staff.
“They really throw hard,
all of them,” Wright commented. “I don’t think we’ve had as many strong
arms as we have since I’ve been here. They are really electric and
there’s no telling what they can do if we put if all together.
“It starts with me. I have
to let them know what’s going on and get them settled down if they get
rattled. I don’t think they’re ready to have 4,000 people yelling for
them on Feb. 17, but that’s what I’ve got to get them ready for.”
Cotton, Godwin said, has a
change-up pitch that has to be seen to be appreciated.
“It’s like watching a Bugs
Bunny cartoon,” he said, laughing. “It’s so slow, batters might swing
three times before it gets to the plate, striking out on one pitch.”
The biggest loss on the
field is centerfielder Trent Whitehead, who hit .325 with four homers
and drove in 29 runs, also stealing 17 bases.
“(He’ll) be tough to
replace,” Godwin said. “But I’m still excited because nearly every
player who started on a regular basis is back.”
The Pirates have some
talent at the top of the lineup who can “set the table,” Godwin said,
and some who can drive in runs in the middle of the lineup.
“One through nine, we have
a chance to be very competitive,” the coach said. “The lineup is as
solid as I’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m not trying to jinx us, but
if the guys do what we expect them to do, we have a chance to be
special.”
While Wright (.272, 13 HR)
returns behind the plate, John Wooten is back at first (.298). Bryan
Bass and Mike Ussery (.264) are battling at second base. Corey Thompson
(.328, 6 HR), returns at third with Jack Reinheimer (.311) at short.
Ben Fultz (.303, 3 HR) is
back in left and Phillip Clark (.310, 3 HR) returns to right.
Centerfield could also see Chris Gosik (.283), who saw some action last
season.
Chase McDonald (.314, 4
HR), is back at the designated hitter slot.
Home run production
dropped last season with the introduction of the new, less-powerful
bats, but Godwin notes that the Pirates still hit a good number of them.
“We may see an increase
this year,” he said. “The bats have a better balance and the guys have a
better feel for them. After a year with them, they’re pretty used to
them.”
Godwin said balls don’t
come off the bats like a “nuclear warhead” anymore, but the past year
has given the bat companies and the players “more options.”
“Last year, I heard a
number of comments about (the bats),” Godwin said, “but I’ve hardly
heard anything this year. And our productivity (of homers) was up in the
fall.”
Godwin believes the
defense is improved from last season when the Pirates recorded 74
errors.
“The key is in the middle
with Wright, Reinheimer and Ussery back,” Godwin said. “Bass is a
younger player with good skills who could play, too. Phil Clark has the
skill to play center and so does Ben Fultz. Jay Cannon is another
possibility and we’ve even experimented with Drew Reynolds as a
left-handed option. And Gosik is another who had a great, great fall.”
Whitehead, now a student
assistant coach, does leave big shoes to fill.
“He probably had the best
first step and off-the-bat instincts of any centerfielder I’ve coached,”
Godwin said. “It’s hard to teach that. Sometimes he had three steps
before the pitch was thrown. I’m not putting (the other centerfielders)
down, because they have more speed than Trent and that (will make up for
some of it).”
Now, Whitehead is trying
to continue to be a leader as a coaching assistant, projecting the work
ethic he had as a player.
“We have a good schedule,”
Godwin said of this season. “When you play non-conference in this area,
you play quality opponents like N.C. State, North Carolina, UNC-Wilmington,
Elon, Old Dominion and VCU. This year, 15 (opponents) averaged in the
top 50 in RPI for the last four years. Half the schedule is in the top
100 (the top 33 percent). That’s the kind of schedule we want to play.”
As they have for the last
few years, the Pirates will make an important road trip, this year to
the Alabama Tournament.
“It’s not going to make or
break our season,” Godwin said, “but it’s important. Every year we like
to put our kids on the road (against top teams) prior to conference.
That allows us to get into a good road routine.
“We challenge them to find
out some things they didn’t know about themselves, some good things and
some things they have to get better with. Sometimes negatives are the
best teachers. The greatest hitters are those who make adjustments
pitch-to-pitch, not day-to-day or week-to-week. If you wait too long,
you’re done.”
East Carolina will visit
Troy prior to going to Tuscaloosa, where they’ll face ‘Bama, Oral
Roberts and Louisville.
Once the Conference USA
schedule begins, the Pirates know they are in an elite league.
“We may not get the credit
we deserve (as a conference) because we’re not in a BCS (football)
conference,” Godwin said. “If we were in the BCS, this would be a BCS-type
(baseball) league. This league has great programs and great coaches.
There are no gimmies in this league.”
And Godwin is “cautiously
optimistic” about another NCAA tournament slot, something the Pirates
have earned 11 of the past 13 seasons.
“I’m excited about these
young men who seem to be focused and engaged with what we’re doing,”
Godwin said of the post-season hopes. “They seem to be playing for the
name on the front (of the jerseys), not the name of the back (player
names) and that excites me.”
East Carolina opens the
season Friday, hosting Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first game of a
three-game set at 3 p.m. Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s
begins at 1 p.m.
