Tulane's baseball media day is tomorrow, but I got a head start Wednesday afternoon by talking to Connor Pellerin and Kaleb Roper about new pitching coach Daniel Latham and their outlook for 2019.
CONNOR PELLERIN
What is Daniel Latham like?
"He's been great. He's really helped us out a lot. Some of the guys who may have had problems mechanically last year, he's really stepped up and worked with us. Just this fall you can see a lot of improvement with all of our pitchers. For me the big thing is just coming back with a year under my belt, but everybody really. He's been a really good addition to our staff and program?
What did he tell you guys when he arrived?
"When he got here he mostly worked with trusting ourselves and confidence with all of our pitches. A lot of the confidence is built through our bullpen and all the work that we're putting in with that. But it's mostly just confidence and trusting ourself on the mound."
Where do you want to see the most improvement?
"Mostly just throwing the ball over the plate. That was a big problem that I had last year (he walked 40 in 44 innings), but experience is just the biggest thing with a lot of the guys who were juco transfers and freshmen last year. It's all experience mostly."
Were the control issues more mental or physical?
"In my opinion a little bit of both. You could do one thing one week that's working mechanically wise and then be out of whack the next week."
What will be the biggest factor in getting the ball over the plate for you?
"Experience is the main thing, but Daniel's really helped us a lot just with mechanical stuff and drills that we worked on pretty much every day to really get our mechanics down and really trust ourselves on the mound and not have to think about if we're flying open or doing something. It's mostly experience and confidence with our mechanics."
How much potential do you feel this team has?
"I feel like this year we should perform really well. Last year a bunch of younger guys and juco transfer guys had really big roles coming in and I think this year with Daniel helping us and the experience that we have, I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be good."
People look at two straight losing records, but do you see a different outcome this year?
"Oh, for sure. I really think we've jelled together better than in years past. I can't speak for two years ago, but from last year we had a big step forward in confidence. It's more team bonding and confidence between all of us."
KALEB ROPER
What has Daniel Latham meant to this pitching staff?
"He's been the world ever since he's gotten here. He's really made an impact. He's very good communicating with us as far as bullpens and throwing schedule and arm care, the whole nine. It's been a really good experience and I'm excited to see what happens this spring."
What is he like personality wise?
"He's great. He talks a lot, which is good. That's what we needed. We need as much feedback as we can get on the mound. It's been good to have him in bullpens. Getting feedback from him has really helped each and every one of us."
What do you think of the arm talent on this staff?
"We have all the talent in the world. It's just whether or not to choose ourselves to go out there and play to the best of our abilities. It's a mental game for sure. It's going to take a lot of focus and belief in ourselves to go out there and compete every night, but we definitely have the talent."
Did it become a mental problem with the lack of control for the staff?
"Baseball in general is a mental game. That quote, it's 90 percent mental and the other half's physical, but especially pitching. You're the one with the ball. You're controlling the game. All eyes are on you. You control the pace of the game. It takes tough people to go out there mentally and physically and be able to compete night in and night out."
How good do you think this team can be this year?
"Ever since we got here in the fall, we said the two worst words in the dictionary are 'last year.' We're just focused on this year. We believe we've got a good team. We've got a lot of talent. It's just going to be whether or not we go out there and compete every night. We definitely have the ability to do so. I like everybody in our dugout. I think we're going to have a really good year."
CONNOR PELLERIN
What is Daniel Latham like?
"He's been great. He's really helped us out a lot. Some of the guys who may have had problems mechanically last year, he's really stepped up and worked with us. Just this fall you can see a lot of improvement with all of our pitchers. For me the big thing is just coming back with a year under my belt, but everybody really. He's been a really good addition to our staff and program?
What did he tell you guys when he arrived?
"When he got here he mostly worked with trusting ourselves and confidence with all of our pitches. A lot of the confidence is built through our bullpen and all the work that we're putting in with that. But it's mostly just confidence and trusting ourself on the mound."
Where do you want to see the most improvement?
"Mostly just throwing the ball over the plate. That was a big problem that I had last year (he walked 40 in 44 innings), but experience is just the biggest thing with a lot of the guys who were juco transfers and freshmen last year. It's all experience mostly."
Were the control issues more mental or physical?
"In my opinion a little bit of both. You could do one thing one week that's working mechanically wise and then be out of whack the next week."
What will be the biggest factor in getting the ball over the plate for you?
"Experience is the main thing, but Daniel's really helped us a lot just with mechanical stuff and drills that we worked on pretty much every day to really get our mechanics down and really trust ourselves on the mound and not have to think about if we're flying open or doing something. It's mostly experience and confidence with our mechanics."
How much potential do you feel this team has?
"I feel like this year we should perform really well. Last year a bunch of younger guys and juco transfer guys had really big roles coming in and I think this year with Daniel helping us and the experience that we have, I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be good."
People look at two straight losing records, but do you see a different outcome this year?
"Oh, for sure. I really think we've jelled together better than in years past. I can't speak for two years ago, but from last year we had a big step forward in confidence. It's more team bonding and confidence between all of us."
KALEB ROPER
What has Daniel Latham meant to this pitching staff?
"He's been the world ever since he's gotten here. He's really made an impact. He's very good communicating with us as far as bullpens and throwing schedule and arm care, the whole nine. It's been a really good experience and I'm excited to see what happens this spring."
What is he like personality wise?
"He's great. He talks a lot, which is good. That's what we needed. We need as much feedback as we can get on the mound. It's been good to have him in bullpens. Getting feedback from him has really helped each and every one of us."
What do you think of the arm talent on this staff?
"We have all the talent in the world. It's just whether or not to choose ourselves to go out there and play to the best of our abilities. It's a mental game for sure. It's going to take a lot of focus and belief in ourselves to go out there and compete every night, but we definitely have the talent."
Did it become a mental problem with the lack of control for the staff?
"Baseball in general is a mental game. That quote, it's 90 percent mental and the other half's physical, but especially pitching. You're the one with the ball. You're controlling the game. All eyes are on you. You control the pace of the game. It takes tough people to go out there mentally and physically and be able to compete night in and night out."
How good do you think this team can be this year?
"Ever since we got here in the fall, we said the two worst words in the dictionary are 'last year.' We're just focused on this year. We believe we've got a good team. We've got a lot of talent. It's just going to be whether or not we go out there and compete every night. We definitely have the ability to do so. I like everybody in our dugout. I think we're going to have a really good year."