The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Holds Baseball Media Day
2/18/2008 | Baseball
Ole Miss Baseball Media Day was held Monday, and the webcast of the press conference with head coach Mike Bianco may be seen by OleMissSports.com premium subscribers. In addition, the Rebel assistant coaches and players also addressed the media.
Mike Bianco
Opening Statement
“I want to thank everyone for being here. We really appreciate it. I hope that nobody got caught in the speed traps on campus, since the speed limit went from 18 to 10 miles an hour on campus. I’m happy that you are here. We are excited about baseball. The season starts in four days as we close today out.
On the Stadium Expansion
“Let me mention the stadium quickly. I’m happy and excited that all that work is going on. If you have driven by it, obviously, there will be some changes this year. We are asking the fans to log on to OleMissSports.com. Click on the baseball link, and you will get some changes on there about the gates and some different things that are happening (2008 stadium diagram). Basically, from our standpoint as a team, it’s almost ready to go. We are missing a couple of bullpens right now, but I understand that they will be finished in a couple of days. It won’t affect the game. I think the fans will get real excited as they walk through the gates and you can start to see it take shape. As far as entering the stadium, you can log onto that link and it will be updated weekly on the changes. The two biggest things that will probably be disappointing for the fans, remember that is part of progress, but it is still disappointing for them, would be the playground and the inconvenience of not being able to go from left field back to the stadium at the beginning of the season. It is my understanding that they will be able to keep their tickets and go back and forth, but they can’t go down that third base hill right now. When you get to the stadium, you will see why that is. There will be construction fences up throughout the season. Panola Construction has been fabulous to work with the last two months with us taking practice. But there will be some obstacles there for the fans and we are just asking them to have patience and understand that this is a good problem to have. The stadium should be finished next February.”
On the Team
“Now, on to baseball. We are certainly excited about this season only being four days away. As I mention to the players in fall when they get here, it seems like it is so far away. But you blink a couple of times and you are in mid-February and about to start. We are excited because we return seven of our starting nine position players that went to a Super Regional last year and were a couple wins from getting to the College World Series. We return the bulk of the pitching staff that was not just on the best in the Southeastern Conference, but one the best it the country. And with the position players, I think we were the fourth ranked team defensively in the country last year. With that in mind, we are certainly excited. We are coming off one of the best falls we have ever had. This past fall was a little different with the change of season. We had a few more practices and it covered a little more time. I think most college coaches were excited about it and the way it turned out. We were excited about the way we played. It was one of the best offensive falls that we have ever had. With returnees like Logan Power and Cody Overbeck, who both hit double-digit home runs last year and of course, SEC Freshman of the Year last year, Jordan Henry, who was an All-American, and Zach Miller, they made for a very exciting fall. As far as the pitchers, we return the bulk of the pitching staff. Everybody is healthy. Brett Bukvich won’t be ready for the first weekend, but he is healthy. He actually threw in an inter-squad game this past weekend. When you return two guys like we return in Cody Satterwhite and Lance Lynn, it makes the coaches sleep a lot better at night. When you are trying to think about who is going to start opening day and the second day, I have never remembered a time when I felt so comfortable with the pitchers. This is the most depth we have ever had, not just with the pitching staff but also for position players. We had a recruiting class that was ranked 14th in the country. So, taking all that in, it was a terrific fall and we are glad to get started.”
Ole Miss Assistant Coach Carl Lafferty (Pitchers)
Opening Statement
“As coach Bianco said earlier, we are excited to return so many guys on our pitching staff. We have a lot of depth. Obviously, the recognizable names are Lance Lynn, Cody Satterwhite, Nathan Baker, Justin Cryer and Scott Bittle. But, this year, some guys that pitched for us last year in a limited role will get some more opportunities. Guys like Phillip Irwin. Also you will get a chance to see some guys that redshirted for us last year. Guys like Jake Morgan and Matt Smith. You also look forward to the newcomers in the program. Drew Pomeranz, from
What is the status of Michael Park?
“Michael Park has healed well. He was able to get on the mound for the first time in almost a year this spring. He has done exactly what we thought he would. He is an upper-80’s guy that’s been able to fill the zone up with a breaking ball slider and really compete. Right now, we are not 100 percent sure as far as defining a role for him just yet, but we’re pleased with what he was done this spring.”
Talk about Wade Broyles and where do you see his role?
“I apologize for not mentioning him earlier. Wade had a terrific summer. He is a guy that looks to come out of the bullpen for us this year. A guy that is a mid to upper-80’s guy. In all the publications you see, he has a plus breaking ball. I think that is really a pitch for him that sets him apart from other guys when you look at velocity and “stuff.” So, Broyles is terrific in that role and we look for good things this year out of him. He will be a good guy out of the bullpen for us.”
What has Nathan Baker done to earn that third starter role?
“Nathan has had some very good outings. Obviously, there is a maturation process as a freshman. He started on the weekend for us, and you have to grow up fast in this league. He has done that. This spring, he showed a lot more poise on the mound. His stuff is great. He is an upper-80’s, low-90’s fastball guy. He throws a hard slider around 80. The thing that I have seen out of Nathan is that he has done so well is that he has gone out and pitched. He has been able to command both sides of the plate with a fastball and throw his slider for a high strike percentage. He has been very effective during the spring and in inner-squad.”
Talk about Matt Tracy
“Again, you are bringing up a name that I missed. That tells you just how deep we really are. In looking at the condensed schedule, that is a huge plus. Matt Tracy, another left-handed freshman arm, is a talented guy. Big guy, stands 6’4”. He pitches with a lot of confidence for a freshman. Look for him to come out of the pen and do some things for us.”
Talk about the closing role. Are there other guys other than Cryer that you are looking at?
“That is something that you figure out as you go along. As you have heard coach Bianco say many times, usually the opening day lineup and the starting rotation is never the same at the end of the year. Cryer brings the mentality and the experience and the personality that you like in a closer. Obviously, we expect him to do well. Scott Bittle closed last year. Garrett Duff is another guy that comes in as a strike thrower that may figure into that equation. It is one of those situations where the season will dictate that and how guys fall into certain roles.”
Talk about Brett Bukvich
“That’s another guy that could be a possibility for the closer role. He is a two-way guy, and a very talented two-way guy. Coach (Rob) Reinstetle will tell you how talented he is as a defensive player and offensive player at the plate. On the mound, you are going to see him go out and get his adrenaline running out into the mid-90’s. He will throw a hard slider. He has shown, like a lot of position players or two-way guys, to be a strike thrower. He is able to command the fastball. The slider has become more of a pitch for him. That is something he has worked on in the fall in bullpens and in the spring. It is becoming a pitch more than just the catcher puts down a signal and I throw it. It has become a tool for him.”
Ole Miss Assistant Coach Matt Mossberg (Outfielders/hitters)
Opening Statement
“As many of you know, we have a very deep, talented group of outfielders this year. Coach (Bianco) spoke earlier about returning seven of the nine starters from last year. We return all three starting outfielders on opening day from last year in Logan Power, Fuller Smith, and Jordan Henry. We also return redshirt freshman David Kindred. In addition to the returners, we have newcomers Michael Hubbard, Michael Guerrero and Jeremy Travis. The uniqueness with this outfield is that we have four or five true center fielders, which is rare. We have a lot of options. We have the ability to do a lot of different things defensively. So, we a re very versatile in the outfield and I would expect us to use several different configurations early on. Offensively, all the outfielders bring something to the table. They have all shown that they can be impactful in the lineup not only defensively but offensively as well. We feel that this is a very special group of outfielders that we have this year, and I would bet on seeing just about all of our outfielders at some point, in some form or fashion, contributing to what we do this year. On Friday night, starting in left field will be Logan Power. He is a veteran outfielder who started every game last year at center field. He will be in left field. In center field, we will have Michael Hubbard, a junior college transfer from Arkansas-Fort Smith. Right field will be Jordan Henry, who started every game for us last year in right field, will be there again on Friday night. In the DH role, Michael Guerrero from
Talk about
“Last year, Logan Power was our best defensive outfielder. That is way he played center field. He wasn’t the fastest, but he had the best idea about what he was doing and was very good last year. It’s been neat, because he has improved. That should tell you how deep and talented we are. He has made a conscience effort. I think that the talent around him has also made him better. He is taking a little bit more of a leadership role.”
What do you guys like about Michael Hubbard?
“Hubbard is a little bit faster than
How has Jordan Henry improved over last year?
“Having the talent that we have out there defensively caused the guys we have like Logan and Fuller Smith to rise to the occasion because there is a lot of competition. Jordan Henry has done that. He has made significant strides. We have had him center field quite a bit during the fall and spring workouts, and he is settling in. He can get away with a lot of things because he is so quick. He really picked up the position very quickly. We expect him to be a tremendous outfielder this year and next. He could be one of the best that has ever played here. He has only played the position for one year, but he is also getting better.”
Talk about Jeremy Travis.
“Jeremy Travis is a junior college transfer from
Talk about you base runners and do you plan to steal more bases this year than in the past?
“We think so. We have a lot of speed. The most important thing is that none of these guys are scared to steal bases. We have a lot of confidence in our guys. I haven’t looked at the stats, but it feels like we have more attempts this fall than we have had in recent years.”
Ole Miss Assistant Coach Rob Reinstetle (Infielders)
Opening Statement
“I guess the re-occurring theme you have heard all day is how deep we are, and that goes right along with our infield. We are very lucky to have a very talented group of infielders. Looking around the positions, we did lose Zack Cozart at shortstop. But we feel that we have a lot of quality infielders that coming into the program and are returning to the program that can step up and play those positions and keep us going with that same level of defense that we play in the SEC. Last year, we were rated fourth in the country in overall defense, which was a tremendous achievement for us. I think this year’s team will be just as equally good defensively.
Looking forward to Friday night, Cody Overbeck will be the starting third baseman. Many of you know that he was a leading homerun hitter last year with 14 homeruns. He spent the summer in the weight room, at the coaches’ request, getting a little bigger and bulkier. If you have seen the scrimmages, you have seen a stronger Cody Overbeck bat. One thing I will say about him is confidence, confidence, confidence. He is overflowing with it. He believes in himself, ready to step into the middle of the lineup and be that run producing guy. Defensively, he has a very strong arm, good hands and he has done a good job at third base. Moving over to shortstop will be Evan Button. Evan had a great, great fall for us. If you have followed our program, he has bounced around. He has played outfield, first base, second base and everywhere but shortstop because of Zack Cozart. It’s his time to step up there and take that position over and he is more than capable of doing that. He has tremendous hands and is a phenomenal athlete with a strong arm. He will do a great job for us. Moving over to second base we have Zach Miller. He was an All-American last year and had a great season for us. He is a very capable infielder that makes all the right plays for us. He is kind of that throwback, what I call that old dirt bag gritty-type player. He is very fun to watch and he is very good offensive player as well. Moving over to first base will be Matt Smith. Matt redshirted for us last year. He is best known for his towering homeruns in batting practice and he is a very physical force. The reason he has moved over to first base is that he is very athletic. He played there this summer. It was the first time he had played the position, and he played it very well. He is very good around the bag, a big target and an asset to the other infielders as they throw it. That will be our starting infield going into the week. We are very lucky. We have a lot of depth.
Sean Stuyverson is a junior college transfer from
The other position I am going to talk about is the catching spot. Friday night, Brett Basham will be the opening day starter at catcher. He is obviously the returner from last season. Kyle Henson is a junior college transfer and he has had an awesome fall and spring for us. You will see Kyle at some point as well. He is a very capable defender, very good offensively. I think when you have those two guys behind the plate, playing five games a week you need quality catchers, and they can handle the work load. That is how we look as far as the infield and catching go. Offensively, it has been a great fall for us. We hit a lot of homeruns and that was something that we have been looking for. When you look back at coach Bianco’s previous press conferences, we have always talked about bringing in a special type of offense. We want a mentality of being an aggressive type hitting team that wants to hit homeruns, wanting to be a scary offensive club, doing it in different ways like hitting homeruns, doubles and putting pressure on defenses by running, stealing bags and going from first to third. All of those types of things. That’s not to say that we didn’t do that last year or that we got away from it. But we really want to make an emphasis that this year we were going to get back to those sorts of things that helped this program get to where it is today. Offensively, that is one of the things that we want to do. We want to be scary, aggressive and swing the bats. In the fall, we hit 59 homeruns, which is a large amount on the fall, and we have hit 26 this spring. If you watch us, it’s a different style of offense. There is some aggression there. They really get after it. I think that will help us as the season progresses. So, those are the things that we have really worked on. To have the ability to steal bags, to leave the yard with homeruns. I think this is going to be a great offensive team.”
Are you going to focus more on power or just hitting in general?
“It all goes in there. We are going to be a good hitting team. We are going to have a good average and we are going to increase our power numbers. I think that comes from the mentality of being aggressive with the bats. Last year, we were a good hitting team. We hit .310 as a club, but the power wasn’t there at times. When you swing and swing and really emphasize that, you may not hit a homerun but you may get a double. Sometimes of instead of getting into a jam and just popping up into the infield, you will knock it over their heads. The swings are different. They are more aggressive. So I think our average is going to be there. We have always been a good hitting team here and we will continue to be a good hitting team. I think our power numbers are the main thing you will see make a jump.”
On the mentality of the lineup
“We are very blessed. Jordan Henry at the top of the order. Obviously, he is a runner and a catalyst for the offense. He gets on base. He scores a lot of runs. Now, we are lucky because we do go pretty deep. Our three, four, five, six, seven, eight hole guys are all very capable of scoring runs, hitting homeruns and being productive offensive players for us. Those things are defiantly an advantage. I think our offense will be scary. That is the word we like to use.”
Talk about the DH options.
“As Matt (Mossberg) said earlier, Guerrero will be the starting DH on Friday. One of the guys that I think you see in there at some point is Kyle Mills. He is a tremendous power hitter. He has a lot of pull-side power. He is a scary guy, because one thing that you can always count on with Kyle is that he is going to swing and swing hard. He did that last year. He came off the bench and hit three or four homeruns for us last year. He brings that dimension of being able to swing hard, leave the yard and put some fear into people. Cullan Kight is another guy that is in the mix at first base with Matt Smith. Cullan is a returning guy that got some very good swings and quality at bats later in the year. The one that sticks out in my head is against Weathers from Vanderbilt when he came in the eighth inning and was throwing around 98 and Cullan nearly left the yard. He does a great job for us. He is a guy that will be in the mix at first and at DH. Fuller Smith is another guy from the outfield. He is a senior and a captain for us. He is an emotional leader and he as had a great fall and spring swinging the bat. He is another left-handed stick that could DH, but you could also see him come off the bench.
Talk about Evan Button and his move to shortstop
“Last year, when you watched Evan, you always noticed him. He was always behind Zack (Cozart), but you always noticed him. He is one of those players that is exciting and athletic and is going to make plays. He bounced around because of his bat. His bat got him into the lineup, and being a good player got him in different positions. Now he is back at shortstop and it’s “his area”, “his spot”. He feels very confident. He is ready to take that challenge on and be that guy. There are a lot of people that have asked him that question. Are you ready to be the shortstop?’ His answer is yes. That is why he came here, to play shortstop at Ole Miss. It’s his time. He is more than capable and ready to do that.”
Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco and players Cody Satterwhite, Lance Lynn, and Zach Miller
Talk more about Cody Satterwhite being a weekend starter.
Mike Bianco: “More has been made about that, but one of the things that people have forgotten is that Cody was a starter when he got here. He was the SEC Pitcher of the Week and beat Vanderbilt here in week two of conference action. Then we moved him to the bullpen and he did a great job for us there. That question has been asked for a few months. One, from a physical sense, I think he could do either. I think if he were drafted in June, I wouldn’t be surprised if a club made him a reliever or a starter in professional baseball. The other thing is that there are not a lot of kids of his stature that can do that. Usually they are Hey, I can only do this or I can only do that.’ I remember last year when I asked him to move. He said Coach, I will do whatever you need me to do. If you want me to close, I’ll close. If you want me to start, I’ll start.’ That shows you that he is not only a special baseball player, but also a team guy. I think that he is going to be terrific and has certainly proved that he can do it in the past.”
Cody Satterwhite: “I feel honored coming into the starting role. I feel like I’m ready to do that. I feel good about it. Whatever the team needs, I’ll do. This year, coach asked me to take that spot. We have a talented staff, so I feel honored this year and I’m ready.”
(Lance and Cody) Talk about the Team
Lance Lynn: I ran into a couple of problems later in the summer. But I had a fantastic time. It was an honor to represent my country in the Pan American Games. That is something you will never forget. I can’t describe what it felt like to play for Team
Cody Satterwhite: “It was an experience to get out there and see the world and experience the different types of baseball that each country brings. It was an honor to represent my country and play the sport that I love. It was a great opportunity to get out and play with the world’s best.”
(Lance and Cody) Talk about the time you guys had off in the fall and how that prepared you for this season.
Lance Lynn: “I feel great. Last season, I had a lot of innings that I racked up. This fall gave me a lot of time to regroup and get myself ready mentally and physically for the upcoming season.”
Cody Satterwhite: “I feel that it helped me a lot with the mechanics as far as moving back to a closer from a starter. Taking time and really working from the ground up has helped my mechanics. It has really helped me to refine my mechanics.”
Talk about the expectations for this season.
Zach Miller: “I have been here three years, and
Lance Lynn: “I’m excited about this year. It’s my third year also. I have been to two Super Regionals. This year, I’m really forward at getting another shot to make it to
Cody Satterwhite: “We really stress that our program is built around
