Jan. 28, 2011

South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner addressed the media on Friday as the Gamecocks officially opened practice for the 2011 season. The Gamecocks will scrimmage Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Carolina Stadium. All three scrimmages are open to the public.

Opening Statement…
We’re anxious to get underway again. It’s always exciting – the first official day. We’ve got some veterans back on the field, some guys that enjoyed a tremendous year last year. We’ve got some holes to fill, but we’re going to work hard to get in position to play at the end of the year. It’s nothing different than it has been in the past. We’ve got to find out who he guys up front are going to be on the mound. A lot of position players are back; those positions are set. We’ve got 3 weeks of scrimmages, hopefully – if the weather cooperates – and we’ll be ready to go on February 18.

On the potential to repeat as National Champions…
After a while, when I was out on the (speaking) circuit, I was starting my speeches with “Repeat,” so I could save time during the process. It’s been fun, it’s been great, and I love the situation we’re in. I love the expectations here. It’s part of the deal – we want our fans and alumni to feel like we do as players and coaches. All you can do is try to get in the postseason. Last year became magical; we played as good as we can play at the right time of the year. Certainly we know how difficult it will be to repeat; I don’t think you’ll get any of my players to say that we’ll do that today, although some might. The deal is, you just try to get in position. That’s all you can do.

On the transition from a high-powered offensive approach to a focus on pitching, defense and manufacturing runs…
I started undergoing a transition a couple of years ago, when we got the message in 2008 and 2009 that the bat legislation was on the horizon. This is actually the second time, and some of the bat manufacturers told us that we might want to think a lot more about pitching and defense, and guys that could run, versus power hitters and the three-run homer. And, of course, we know the success that Coach (Skip) Bertman had at LSU with the three-run homer. And it’s changed. I think most people will tell you their home run totals were down this fall by at least 50 percent, some more. It remains to be seen what exactly is going to happen. Pitching and defense will always give you a chance to win; it may be even at a greater premium. I think what is important is guys that can go from first to third, guys that can score from second on a base hit, guys that can bunt, guys that can steal a base with a green light. It remains to be seen, but it is probably a change for college baseball.

On Tyler Webb and Michael Roth as the Friday/Saturday starting pitchers…
That would be correct, if we started today. I think the difference is…last year, for instance, you had (Blake) Cooper and (Sam) Dyson, and the three weeks prior to Opening Day, it wasn’t going to change much, regardless of how they pitched. That’s not the case now. I think Webb and Roth are out front, based on what they’ve done in the past, but it’s not by a great margin. They’re going to have to continue to prove to us that they deserve to be out there. Beyond that, it’s going to come from a host of pitchers – guys that we like, guys where we think we have some depth, but maybe haven’t set themselves apart at this point.

On Adam Westmoreland and Matt Price… (Adam) is outstanding, he’s in great shape. He’s worked out extremely hard, his bullpens have been very good. And he has some experience under his belt; that’s an advantage for him. What he does the next three weekends makes a difference as well. And I’ll go ahead and address the Matt Price scenario. Right now we’ve got him in the bullpen. We think that if you can get to him, he’s about as good as you can get in college baseball. But if you don’t get to him, and you don’t give him enough opportunities, then you’re wasting a good arm sitting down there in the bullpen. So that could be adjusted as we go. We’d like to help him decide more than one game a week. If he’s a starter, he’s probably out there once. If he’s in the bullpen… probably twice, maybe a third time, possibly, later in the year. But that’s where we are. He’s doing really well.

On the impact of Jerry Meyers…
I think he’s made an impact, based on some bullpens I’ve been able to see in the last two or three weeks. I think he helps a tremendous amount with maturity, poise and composure with our guys. He leads by example, but he’s a teacher as well. He tends to bring out the best in guys. I’m anxious to see what happens this weekend with (Bryan) Harper, with (Nolan) Belcher, with Westmoreland, (Steven) Neff, Colby Holmes.

On how the team has embraced the new bats…
I did something that a few coaches did around the country. With this bat change – and there’s competition out there among the different companies – they presented scenarios and product. And I basically told my players, “I don’t get to hit, you guys do. You’ve got to be the guys in the lab, you’ve got to look at these bats, use them, experiment, see what you think is best.” And they really made the decision. At this point, we still have not made an official decision, but it’s the players’ decision. I have not gotten involved in that. I told my players, “We will use whatever you want to use.” And a couple of them even said, “Wooden bats.” I said, “With the exception of wooden bats.” Because the new aluminum bats are more wood-like – I think there’s a five-percent differential – you still have an opportunity with an aluminum bat, even if you don’t hit it on the sweet spot, to still get it out of the infield. But the ball stays in the park. We’ll still hit balls out in batting practice – not as many as before – but it’s different. I think the traditionalists are going to love the game. And I don’t have a problem with it. It’s the same for everybody. I know our game was pretty good, and I hope that our fans embrace that. That’s the only issue I have; baseball’s been pretty good. I don’t want to wake up in the middle of April and our fans not be happy with the way the game’s played across the country.

On the impact the new bats will have…
It remains to be seen. The sweet spot is not as great. Balls that get squared up by big, strong guys like Adam Matthews will still travel. He hit a couple of balls up on the bridge yesterday during batting practice. So he can still charge the ball; so can (Christian) Walker, so can (Jackie) Bradley Jr. But not as many. When you miss balls…you don’t miss balls and hit them in the bullpen now. You have to hit them pretty good. (Scott) Wingo hit nine home runs last year; he may do that again because he’s more physical than he’s ever been. However, he might not – there might be more balls on the warning track. I just believe you won’t see as many home runs. Now, remember, warm days, with the wind blowing – that might change the game a little bit. But I think there are going to be fewer homers.

On the catcher position…
Kyle Enders was here visiting yesterday. You miss guys like that – your fifth-year veterans, your captains, the guys that are solid for you. We’re going to have a new guys back there. Dante Rosenberg is a guy that might have a leg up, although he’s hurt a little bit. His back’s been bothering him. I think he’ll be active today, but he’s not a guy that’s going to catch 60 games. Brent Worsham has worked extremely hard, as has Robert Beary. We’re still waiting on Brady Thomas’ status, if he’s able to get eligible. Those three or four guys I mentioned – they’re solid guys. It’s a matter of getting their feet wet and having the pitchers get comfortable with them. We’re not going to put a guy behind the plate that can’t do it. It’s not a case where we’re really, really inexperienced and it’s going to be a hard time for us. Those guys are pretty good players.

On having the target on their backs as the defending national champion…
I don’t know about all that, or that our players will be concerned with thinking about that. We’d like to think that when you play in the Southeastern Conference, unless you’re playing each other, that’s the way people feel. I know when I came here, I was the hunter. We were trying to go get some people. And then you have a little success, you become the hunted. I’d rather be the hunted. And there’s a lot of teams in our league that way. The good news for me, as a head coach, is that there’s some guys on the field that understand perspective. They understand adversity. I think that’s a reason they played well last year at the end – they never really got too concerned with things when they didn’t go well. And they also didn’t dwell on it when they had good days. It was kind of perspective, let’s be ready tomorrow and stay in position. A lot of those guys are back. People want to beat us, we know that, but that’s ok.