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Wake Baseball 2021 | Cusick (1st) + Fleming, Seymour, Menendez, Muntz Drafted

DiamondDeacs said:
Here are some built-in excuses for Walter for his thoughts on this weekend's debacle at Clemson, but he probably doesn't need my help:

Two of our potential weekend starters got hurt so we had to throw a freshman into a role he's not ready for.....

We can't complete in recruiting because Wake is so expensive and so academically challenging...

We have a bunch of guys in our lineup who are pressing because it's their draft year.....

We never really were able to bounce back after the COVID issues we had earlier in the season...

It really hurt us when Tinsman went down in the preseason with a broken hamate bone and then COVID, that put too much pressure on Muntz to have to catch every day....

It's a lot of pressure when you're ranked so high in the preseason, and have several preseason all-Americans, it's like there's a target on our backs, it makes it tough on everyone....

We just got the new turf installed last season and didn't get to play a whole season on it so our guys are still getting used to it and as a result they are going to make errors.....

Turconi sucks so badly at shortstop because he hurt his shoulder in a rundown drill in practice right before the start of the season and he has never been able to get 100 percent back to full strength...
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Ah yes, the Wellman book of excuses adopted whole-heartedly by Walter. Blame everyone else.
 
When you recruit mentally soft, fundamentally bad, asshole, one-dimensional players who cannot play situational baseball (the steal of home in the first and third situation in game 1 of the Clemson series is the perfect example of that.. I mean how does that happen at the D1 level?).... and when you give your unqualified hitting coach/associate head coach carte blanche to do whatever he wants and run everything on the field (with the hitters and the defense) and continue to recruit one tool players, this is what you get. Add to that a grumpy piece of shit athletic trainer who unbelievably is allowed to have a voice and chime in on baseball stuff, and who treats the players like shit (well, not everyone, he kisses the asses of the so-called MLB prospects) adding to the tension and nervousness in the dugout, the clubhouse, the bus, the plane, and the training room, that is already there, and what you saw this weekend in Clemson is what happens. You get what you deserve. John Hendricks is the only decent person on that coaching staff and will 100 percent get thrown under the bus for all this. I don't think Hendricks is a good college pitching coach but he is a good man who cares about his pitchers. As a longtime MLB scout I am not sure Hendricks has the skill set to coach up young college pitchers. But he is a Wake Forest baseball legend and deserves the benefit of the doubt and is a quality, good solid man. But Walter and the rest of his staff will no doubt shit on Hendricks and blame him for yet another underachieving season. They will say Hendricks is too "old school" to maximize the benefits of the "new school" pitching lab and bounce him after the season. Walter will not get fired. Sadly poor John Hendricks will be the scapegoat. If there was a line in Vegas on that I would bet my life savings on it.
 
DiamondDeacs said:
When you recruit mentally soft, fundamentally bad, asshole, one-dimensional players who cannot play situational baseball (the steal of home in the first and third situation in game 1 of the Clemson series is the perfect example of that.. I mean how does that happen at the D1 level?).... and when you give your unqualified hitting coach/associate head coach carte blanche to do whatever he wants and run everything on the field (with the hitters and the defense) and continue to recruit one tool players, this is what you get. Add to that a grumpy piece of shit athletic trainer who unbelievably is allowed to have a voice and chime in on baseball stuff, and who treats the players like shit (well, not everyone, he kisses the asses of the so-called MLB prospects) adding to the tension and nervousness in the dugout, the clubhouse, the bus, the plane, and the training room, that is already there, and what you saw this weekend in Clemson is what happens. You get what you deserve. John Hendricks is the only decent person on that coaching staff and will 100 percent get thrown under the bus for all this. I don't think Hendricks is a good college pitching coach but he is a good man who cares about his pitchers. As a longtime MLB scout I am not sure Hendricks has the skill set to coach up young college pitchers. But he is a Wake Forest baseball legend and deserves the benefit of the doubt and is a quality, good solid man. But Walter and the rest of his staff will no doubt shit on Hendricks and blame him for yet another underachieving season. They will say Hendricks is too "old school" to maximize the benefits of the "new school" pitching lab and bounce him after the season. Walter will not get fired. Sadly poor John Hendricks will be the scapegoat. If there was a line in Vegas on that I would bet my life savings on it.
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This is the post of the year for Wake Baseball. I disagree that Walter survives. Currie is not Wellman. I have no inside knowledge but follow Wake baseball closer than most. Hendricks was a great pitcher. He was a surgeon on the mound and refused to lose. I’m so tired of these pitchers that have great “stuff” and win 2 or 3 games a year. This team always plays tight. I was hoping this season would be different but I knew in the season opener against Northeastern when they blew a big lead, but were saved by a Wilkin homer in the 8th, that this team had the same make-up of the previous year. I have nothing against Walter but it sounds like Cliento is a real douche. Is there anyone with more knowledge than me who can speak up for Cliento or is this an accurate portrayal?
 
So Adler has now given up one earned run in his last 11 appearances clearly one of our best relievers who can be relied on to get tough outs and Walter never pitches him when he should be a workhorse since its his 2nd year in the program. Mascalo shut out asu over 5 innings and then held a pretty good hitting Western Carolina team to 3 runs over 5 innings. He should be getting run during the weekend. Walter has demonstrated repeatedly over his tenure that he is not a good college baseball coach at this level.
 
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rutmanchoo said:
This is the post of the year for Wake Baseball. I disagree that Walter survives. Currie is not Wellman. I have no inside knowledge but follow Wake baseball closer than most. Hendricks was a great pitcher. He was a surgeon on the mound and refused to lose. I’m so tired of these pitchers that have great “stuff” and win 2 or 3 games a year. This team always plays tight. I was hoping this season would be different but I knew in the season opener against Northeastern when they blew a big lead, but were saved by a Wilkin homer in the 8th, that this team had the same make-up of the previous year. I have nothing against Walter but it sounds like Cliento is a real douche. Is there anyone with more knowledge than me who can speak up for Cliento or is this an accurate portrayal?
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i played at wake and can tell you cilento is a fucking moron. first of all you can't understand one word the guy says because his face is stuffed with dip. his call to fame and hitting philosophy is drunkingly sounding uttering "base hit ball 4 " on 3-2 counts. fucking mind blowing stuff
 
rutmanchoo said:
This is the post of the year for Wake Baseball. I disagree that Walter survives. Currie is not Wellman. I have no inside knowledge but follow Wake baseball closer than most. Hendricks was a great pitcher. He was a surgeon on the mound and refused to lose. I’m so tired of these pitchers that have great “stuff” and win 2 or 3 games a year. This team always plays tight. I was hoping this season would be different but I knew in the season opener against Northeastern when they blew a big lead, but were saved by a Wilkin homer in the 8th, that this team had the same make-up of the previous year. I have nothing against Walter but it sounds like Cliento is a real douche. Is there anyone with more knowledge than me who can speak up for Cliento or is this an accurate portrayal?
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cilento cares about you as a coach if he gave you more than a 1/2 scholarship. other than that he'll never even talk to you, which is actually a good thing. billy is an idiot but the real problem is walter, who its like going to a funeral every day with at practice/games.
 
Deacs86 said:
cilento cares about you as a coach if he gave you more than a 1/2 scholarship. other than that he'll never even talk to you, which is actually a good thing. billy is an idiot but the real problem is walter, who its like going to a funeral every day with at practice/games.
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as DiamondDeacs said, the trainer is a miserable miserable dude
 
I just read Hendricks bio on the Wake website. He had 34 career wins and 18 complete games. 18 COMPLETE GAMES. That is unbelievable.
 
Deacs86 said:
cilento cares about you as a coach if he gave you more than a 1/2 scholarship. other than that he'll never even talk to you, which is actually a good thing. billy is an idiot but the real problem is walter, who its like going to a funeral every day with at practice/games.
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What years were you at Wake?
 
DiamondDeacs said:
When you recruit mentally soft, fundamentally bad, asshole, one-dimensional players who cannot play situational baseball (the steal of home in the first and third situation in game 1 of the Clemson series is the perfect example of that.. I mean how does that happen at the D1 level?).... and when you give your unqualified hitting coach/associate head coach carte blanche to do whatever he wants and run everything on the field (with the hitters and the defense) and continue to recruit one tool players, this is what you get. Add to that a grumpy piece of shit athletic trainer who unbelievably is allowed to have a voice and chime in on baseball stuff, and who treats the players like shit (well, not everyone, he kisses the asses of the so-called MLB prospects) adding to the tension and nervousness in the dugout, the clubhouse, the bus, the plane, and the training room, that is already there, and what you saw this weekend in Clemson is what happens. You get what you deserve. John Hendricks is the only decent person on that coaching staff and will 100 percent get thrown under the bus for all this. I don't think Hendricks is a good college pitching coach but he is a good man who cares about his pitchers. As a longtime MLB scout I am not sure Hendricks has the skill set to coach up young college pitchers. But he is a Wake Forest baseball legend and deserves the benefit of the doubt and is a quality, good solid man. But Walter and the rest of his staff will no doubt shit on Hendricks and blame him for yet another underachieving season. They will say Hendricks is too "old school" to maximize the benefits of the "new school" pitching lab and bounce him after the season. Walter will not get fired. Sadly poor John Hendricks will be the scapegoat. If there was a line in Vegas on that I would bet my life savings on it.
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I respectfully disagree with Hendricks being the only decent person on the staff. I personally know one of the coaches (It isn't Walter or Cliento) and he is a good guy. Now I can't speak for him on the field/locker room at Wake but outside of that, he's a great dude. I also know being a "good dude" doesn't always translate to being a good coach (which I think he is).
 
the strength coach is extremely under qualified and not very knowledgable. the culture was god awful when I was there. Not sure they still have it but when i was there, they had something called "Black and Gold" party where the upperclassmen would basically rag on the freshmen by giving them "gifts" and forcing them to do stupid shit. looking back on it, poor leadership and shit like that and walters failure to really control the culture is a major reason why he fails.
 
look at what changing the coach can do for a school like Pitt...wake could be a powerhouse if they ditch walter
 
Deacs86 said:
the strength coach is extremely under qualified and not very knowledgable. the culture was god awful when I was there. Not sure they still have it but when i was there, they had something called "Black and Gold" party where the upperclassmen would basically rag on the freshmen by giving them "gifts" and forcing them to do stupid shit. looking back on it, poor leadership and shit like that and walters failure to really control the culture is a major reason why he fails.
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Is it that or just being a bad gameday coach? Because he seems like a good dude but a bad gameday coach.
 
Wakefan77 said:
Is it that or just being a bad gameday coach? Because he seems like a good dude but a bad gameday coach.
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i think he's a total fraud if you ask me. plays off the humanitarian of the year award guy but when you're with him as a player everyday on team its like you don't even know the guy. guy gives me the most anxious/nervous vibe ive ever experienced in my life.
 
Wakefan77 said:
Is it that or just being a bad gameday coach? Because he seems like a good dude but a bad gameday coach.
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just not a very comfortable place to play especially if you aren't one of his predestined go to guys. that's why they historically choke games away. its all about that level of comfort.
 
Wakefan77 said:
Is it that or just being a bad gameday coach? Because he seems like a good dude but a bad gameday coach.
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its hard to really understand unless you played there. its like you don't have the feel that he's got your back as a coach. cut throat coach can get away with that if he's got extreme talent (like alabama football) but in a sport like baseball and a middle of the road place like wake, the confidence of players and coach/player relationship is more important. its not the best players that cause wake to lose, its the role players and "depth".
 
just think how bad they could be next year when they lose cusick, their top two pitching recruits. i guess the 3-5 hitters could come back for a redshirt senior year if they want, tho id imagine they'd prob want to sign for peanuts and try to play pro ball if they can.
 
the more and more i watch wilken, the more im concerned he's going to turn into lanzilli and be a one trick player selling out for power without a real advanced feel for hitting. seems very off balance at the plate lunging forward too much. terrible defensively and doesn't seem very athletic.
 
Just remember...

Before the season Walter was talking like not hosting a regional this year would be a disappointment. lol
 
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