Gary Henderson transcript (April 15)
The UK baseball team is struggling with back-to-back series losses in Southeastern Conference play. The Wildcats welcome in-state rival Louisville to town on Tuesday. Head coach Gary Henderson met with the media Monday to preview the game and talk about his team's current struggles. You can read a full transcript of his comments below:
On how big this game Tuesday is given the circumstances
They're always big. We need to come out, we need to play well. A chance to win the series from them for the year. Always a big game.
I've said this pretty consistently, it's not a lot different. It's an important game. We want to win. It's an in-state rival, but we've never played a Tuesday or Wednesday game when I was here that I didn't think was important to win. That's about as direct and honest as I can be. We're interested in winning. Louisville is a big game, it's a rivalry game. Everybody understands that, but beyond that there's no added importance or significance. It's a win against a good team if you can do it. It helps you in the postseason, it helps you in the RPI, but beyond that it's another game against a good team.
On how much this team needs a win to feel good before a big road SEC series
Just like every time you lose a weekend series, it's important to come back and get the midweek game. You can't deny that. That's a part of what we do. It's how our schedule is designed. When you have a disappointing weekend, it's important to get back on it, to play well -- that's important -- get a W is important, get your confidence back at the plate, clearly we're going to need to do that, and obviously want to see a little bit of growth in Kyle Cody as a starter.
On how much more pressure there is on the pitchers when offense is struggling
I think you probably derive that question from watching the weekend. We certainly had some of that. I thought yesterday in the sixth inning was a great example of it, which is why I went out to the mound. To answer your question, I think it's real important to get those guys to understand that you're not going to win the game in the sixth inning on the mound. It's important to manage an inning, it's important to minimize the damage, it's important to control your emotions out there and not let frustration come to the surface, which is exactly what Corey and I talked about yesterday and today. In the whole scheme of things, Corey Littrell pitched well enough for us to win yesterday, no question. I think they're 19, 20, 21-year-old kids and when you find yourself in a little bit of an offensive funk as we're in right now, clearly, it's real easy for that guy on the mound to try to do more than he really needs to or can.
So we talked this morning with all three of those guys. They were in, and we went over the video with them. I want them just to understand it's about a pitch at a time. Boy is that an easy cliche to say on Monday morning. Now we need to live it. The beauty of that part is for seven weeks we did a pretty good job of that here, or eight weeks. We did a good job, we got out of a lot of jams. We pitched well when it really mattered with guys on in the fourth, fifth, sixth innings -- starters, I'm talking about now. We can get back to that.
On if this is just a rough patch where things are going their way or if there are fundamental things they're not doing that they were at the beginning of the season
Well, I think it's the same. I really do. When you go through that rough patch, the things that you aren't doing are the things that you were doing: the absolutely basics. Two-strike approach at the plate, all the sudden you're taking more called thirds because you're over-thinking a little bit when you weren't doing that early. Drop a ball in the outfield that you caught for six weeks. Clearly we did a little bit of that this weekend. That hurt us obviously in the Saturday game. But I think the pressure comes from not doing the things you had been doing. We've got a good club, but we haven't played very well for two weeks now. That's the truth. The things that I think about are we can get back to doing the things that we did.
You're right, it's a fascinating experience every year through the league cause almost every year everybody goes through a rough two or three weeks. It's our turn, unfortunately. We'd like for it not to be, but it is. You own up to it. We're only halfway through. I have not looked at the statistics -- but I think I'm right -- half the teams are 7-8 or 8-7. Well, there you go. The kids are going to hear, how tough are you? That's what they'll hear. We'll find out.
On how you keep a rough two weeks from affecting the rest of the season
Well, that's the challenge. There's no question about that. If you're us, you start with making sure those starting pitchers understand what they need to do in terms of just be who they are and do a good job of playing the game a pitch at a time and don't try and do more than they should do. Then you try to get that message to your position guys as well. The cliche that coaches have, don't hit a five-run homer with nobody on. We need you to get on base. We don't need anything more than what you can do and get back to playing the game a pitch at a time. When things don't go well you get out of that routine and you get out of that approach, I think, at every level. We've got to do that. I'm just a, as you guys know, a huge believer in doing the basics and do them well. If you do that you've got a chance to get back on track.
On if he thinks he's getting enough leadership from veterans inside the dugout
I think as the season progresses we're getting more of it. I think that's something that you build upon. Clearly, you know going into the season that this was something we need to get better at through the course of it. You've got older guys that haven't had that role. Now they need to have that role or adapt to that role or grow into that role. So, I think it's getting better as we go along.
On if he moved Kyle Barrett to leadoff in hopes of sparking offense
Well you'd like to think so. In two of game that we've done that, it's worked pretty well. Clearly at least in my mind, that has not been our issue, that piece of it right there. It was a much broader issue yesterday just in terms of we hit a bunch of balls hard early on in the first half of the game. That's baseball. You can't pin it on that. When that happens, you need to hit more balls hard. That's how you respond. We just didn't have near the competitive at-bats, I thought, the last three innings that we had in the first four or five. Credit Zack Godley, good effort two years in a row against us. You give him some credit, but we need to do a better job. And I think Barrett at the top of the order is the right move at least for right now.
On if he talks to players at all about daunting schedule coming up with 13 of 15 games versus ranked teams
No. You don't, and the reason that you don't is that's our schedule and that's our schedule every year. Going into it, that's why you don't look at it at the beginning of the year in my mind and say, 'Well you've got this team or that team.' Cause you don't know. Mississippi State just went down to Texas A&M and swept them. You just don't know. I thought John's team when they were here looked a lot like us this weekend. All the sudden three weekends later they turn it around. I knew John would get those guys going, he's got a good team.
But more to my point is that I really felt like when we got done this weekend I went, 'Man we're Mississippi State three weeks ago.' I don't know if anybody else had the same thought, but that's what I thought. I think because of that you just keep plugging away. It's not these guys are tough and these guys are down. Everybody's…you know. Everybody's tough. I think we proved that this weekend, in a backwards way. (Laughs).
On what he doesn't like about current approach at the plate
Indecision. I think the indecision. I think you can feel it. I think the fans feel it. I think you guys pay enough attention that you feel it. The indecision leads to chase, expanding the strike zone when you don't need to, and I think it also leads to those called thirds. We didn't have a lot of those early on. All the sudden those are popping up. That's not the only issue obviously, but I think the indecisiveness, the lack of plan, the lack of clarity, those are things that shows a little bit of the stress, the pressure and the distraction.
On Austin Cousino's play in the three-hole
Well, I think Cousino's doing fine. I'm not sure if it matters if he's hitting first or third right now. I think he's got a little bit of a funk. I don't know any better way to say it. He's clearly not firing on all cylinders, but he will. He's a really, really talented kid. He works hard, he's a good teammate. He'll get it back. Guys at every level, whether you talk about (Albert) Pujols last year at the big-league level or somebody in our league, there's been really good players that go through tough two, three weeks stretches. Clearly he's not at his best right now, but we'll get Austin back to where he needs to be. I'm very confident of that part.