Gator Baseball Opens Practice
Friday, January 29, 2010 | Baseball
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and several players met with the media before the Gators' initial practice of the 2010 season on Friday at McKethan Stadium. No. 7 Florida raises the curtain on its campaign Feb. 19 against USF.
Third-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On getting back out on the field…
“We have been working awfully hard in the weight room and on a lot of the individual stuff. When you look at the calendar, this January 29 date felt so far away, but we're here and excited. There are three short weeks before our first game so we've got a lot of work to do. Hopefully, this is the start of a lot of success.”
On excitement about the season…
“I think the players are very excited. We feel as though we have a lot to build on and improve from last year's finish. They have been working hard and have been looking forward to today, but it's going to be a long season. We have three weeks before our first game against USF on February 19, so we have a lot of work to do.”
On the Gators' development of the pitching staff…
“When we first got here, our goal was to deepen the pitching staff and that is not done overnight since it takes more than one recruiting class. We feel good about where we're at right now but we have got to stay healthy. I do like our versatility, as far as having some more left-handers. We have five a total on the roster, two or three will start and a couple will be in the pen. We have some good depth that way so we can mix and match. We just have a few more pitchers that can help us out and, hopefully, in the end that will be our strength.”
On the sophomores' improvement with the pitching staff…
“Time will tell. We really don't know until we start playing the games. We are counting on those guys to get better even though they had good freshman years. We need those guys to make another jump and we are going to be counting on them an awful lot and we need them to improve. We are proud of what they were able to accomplish last year but I don't see anybody that had double-digit wins, I don't see anybody that had an ERA under four. We will be leading on those guys a lot. The next three weeks will be very telling.”
On the return of sophomore right-hander Tommy Toledo…
“With Tommy, we will probably take him along carefully and not rush into things. We will be cautious with his pitch count and will see how he looks today. We will get out there and build up his pitch count like we do with all the guys from outing-to-outing and see what it looks like after the first three weeks or so.”
On Tommy Toledo being ready for Opening Night on February 19…
“It all depends on how his arm rebounds, that is what I am hoping. I'm optimistic, I know he is. But, I don't want to put any pressure on him and make him feel like he has to be at 75 pitches and the top of his game on the first day. It is a marathon, not a sprint. For us to get where we want to get to, we need him to be good at the end as much as him being 100% at the start of the year.”
On the teams' improved depth…
“There is certainly more depth on our team. We have a lot of guys battling for spots. We have a few new faces out there but I like our depth. As far as the infield, I think we are athletic. It would be nice to put Josh (Adams) at one position, second base. Obviously, (Preston) Tucker comes back at first. We have very capable guys at third and short. Our depth behind the plate is probably as good as anybody's in the country. Getting (Matt) den Dekker back is huge, especially for our defense. Then, we have two lefties and two righties that can play the outfield: Kamm Washington and Tyler Thompson and then the two Pigott brothers (Jonathan and Daniel). So, we have some options there as well. Depth-wise we feel comfortable but we just have to stay healthy and let those guys battle it out.”
On his comfort with the left side of the infield…
“Personally, I am very comfortable. They are tough. Bryson Smith had a tremendous amount of success last year and was the National Junior College Player of the Year. The professionals thought enough of him that he got drafted. I feel very comfortable with him and he has also improved defensively. I hate to coin him as a clutch-type player but he has that mentality. He is very steady, does his work every day the same way and is a junior so he has been around the block before. At shortstop, we have a lot of guys that have played very high competition before they got here, international baseball, Team USA, etc. If you recruit good players, they are going to come in here and be ready to go.”
On increased lineup options with Preston Tucker…
“The outfield is definitely an option with Preston. If we were to do that, we would probably put him in right field so he stayed on the same side of the field but he tracks the ball really well. He is a much better athlete than you would think and is not your typical first baseman only. He runs fairly well for his size and if we were to put him in the outfield that gives us one more extra bat we can put in the lineup. We are going to toy with our lineup the first few weeks, before we start conference play. We will try a lot of stuff since we're able to do that. The difficult part is we are going to do that while we're playing a tough schedule.”
On improvements he wants to see from Tucker…
“I have said this from day one, defense is what got him in the lineup consistently last season. He improved his defense and is going to be pitched to a little bit differently this year. Everyone talks about the guys behind him in the lineup but we have been trying to emphasize the guys in front of him. We have to get some guys on base, some high on-base percentage guys in the one and two spots and if they get on base then Preston is going to have a heck of a year. He's obviously a guy that we're going to be counting on, probably in that number three spot. He had as good of a freshman year as anyone I have ever seen.”
On how Tucker will be pitched this year…
“They will probably pitch him tougher. The thing about Preston is he has a good eye at the plate and he does not swing at a lot of balls out of the zone. He is also somewhat of a bad ball hitter, the barrel just finds the ball. He just seems to square balls up. I have to believe he is going to have a good sophomore season.”
On UF's catching rotation…
“I am going to let those guys play it out; they will make the decision. I feel good about our depth and we will just let them play it out.”
Senior outfielder Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.)
On the Gator freshmen…
“They are all playing great. There is not going to be a drop-off. I think this class will have as much of an impact as the last one. A lot of the pitchers are doing well and they will help us out a lot.”
On what has made the freshman pitchers effective…
“Their control and their execution of pitches, as well as just being able to put the ball where they want it. They have been pretty dominant so far.”
On the pride of being a senior…
“We want to go out on a high note and help this team as much as we can.”
On motivation from falling short of Omaha last June…
“That drove us tremendously during the off-season. We did not reach our ultimate goal and we are trying to get there this year, so for Matt (den Dekker) and I it is definitely a motivator.”
Sophomore left-hander Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.)
On recovering after pitching so many innings last season…
“Some guys went to play in the Cape Cod League, I took some time off, just pitching occasionally.”
On his main focus in the offseason…
“I was working on my mechanics, keeping the ball down and hitting my spots.”
On all of the young pitchers on the staff…
“Last season was a little weird with many of the freshmen being weekend starters but we were able to gain a lot of experience.”
Sophomore right-hander Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.)
On playing this season…
“After last year, it was a long wait. But I am definitely excited about this year. I can't wait to get out there, it has been so long.”
On his arm…
“It's good, feels great and I am ready to go. I would say it is pretty close to 100%, I just have to get some conditioning in. The last couple months I have just been resting it, but once I came back from Christmas break it has felt fine, ready to go. I feel just as good as I did when I came here my freshman year. I don't know if it's better or worse but it feels good.”
On the Gators' pitching rotation…
“Right now, I am not even sure what it will be. I'm just trying to get out there one intra-squad game at a time. Any of the guys can go out there any day of the week, which is awesome. There are not a lot of teams that have that kind of depth. So, I am just trying to get in there whenever I can.”
On the worst part of missing last season…
“Just knowing that I couldn't do anything to help the team out. I was always in the dugout cheering them on but it was rough to be sitting out and not play. We got far in the playoffs, which was pretty amazing with all of the young guys contributing. Now, all of these guys are back now so we will see what happens.”
On getting through his injury…
“I had a lot of support. The coaches and trainer (John Barrett) definitely helped me out and a lot of the players have been through that before. I wasn't the first person to have an injury like that, it happens to a lot of people. I am fortunate now to be better and everybody is back so I am ready to go.”
On maturing while not playing…
“Coach O'Sullivan helped me out and I learned different ways to pitch. In high school, I would just go out and throw but now I understand the game a lot more now and also all of the different aspects of pitching. I know the importance of first-pitch strikes and getting ground ball outs and the whole philosophy about it, I have learned a lot more.”
On what he learned…
“I improved my knowledge of the game and understand so much more about it now. I know how to take care of myself, before and after the game, with treatment. I also know how to go about getting warmed up and loose.”
On the benefits of the other sophomores on the pitching staff…
“It is a big advantage. All of these guys have pitched really well and they all have a year under their belt now. They are definitely ready to go, they know what they're doing so I think this year is really going to be something special.”
On having gained experience pitching as a true freshman…
“It is definitely an advantage for me. Gaining experience is something that just comes with time. I have been here every day for the past two years. Now, in my third year, I have a good grasp of what is going on. I learned a lot last year just watching these young guys pitch.”
On expectations for himself this season…
“This year, I just can't wait to get out there. I haven't set the bar too high for myself or gotten ahead of myself.”
Senior outfielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
On this being his final season at Florida…
“I feel like I am blessed to be back, we have a great team and it is going to be a great year. It is our last chance to get to Omaha and accomplish all of the goals that we have set for ourselves. Jonathan (Pigott) and I have spent a lot of time together over the years and it is great to be back playing alongside him for our senior year.”
On where he wants to hit in the lineup…
“I would really like the chance to hit in the leadoff spot. I enjoy that part of the game, getting on and letting guys drive me in. Avery (Barnes) did such a good job of that when he was here and that is something I would like to have the chance to do.”
On the freshman members of the pitching staff…
“We have a lot of arms this year. Brian Johnson is one of the guys who stands out. He is a big left-handed pitcher who played well in the fall. Hudson Randall also has pitched really well. There are a lot of pitchers that are going to step up this year and we are expecting big things from them. That is one of our strong points this year, our pitching is really going to help us out.”
On Florida's strong recruiting classes…
“We had a lot of freshmen last year that stepped up and helped us out, including (Preston) Tucker and all of the pitchers. Looking at this year's freshmen, you can already see some guys that are going to step in and make an impact from opening day.”
On pitchers' improvement…
“They gained a lot of experience last year and this year they are going to know what to expect when they go out there. They have been working hard in the offseason. I have seen Tommy (Toledo) throw a few times and he looks really good. If we can get him back healthy he will help us out a lot.”
-UF-
