Don’t let Donnie’s mean mug fool you. The WSU head man was more than cordial when he took some time to talk to me about the upcoming baseball season today from his office at Bohler Gym in Pullman. While it might seem ridiculous to be discussing baseball when the current temperature in Pullman is around 12 degrees, the fact remains that the squad starts practicing in less than a month, arctic temperatures be damned. Included in part one of the extensive transcript detailing the state of the program is a preview of the team’s major contributors, the injury status of a star pitcher and what Cougar fans should expect from perhaps the most talented WSU team in recent years.
Adam Lewis: What are your expectations heading into the 2011 season and were you satisfied with making it to the Regionals with last year’s club?
Donnie Marbut: No I mean I don’t think you are ever satisfied. The goal here is to get to Omaha and play for a national championship. That’s the ultimate goal. So I guess the ultimate goal wasn’t achieved so it’s hard to be completely satisfied. With all the injuries and all the things we had to deal with I was really proud of our team. I was really impressed with just their resiliency. And you know, a lot of people really wouldn’t have picked us to go that far. And we were a base hit away from going to Tempe and playing Arizona State in the Super Regional.
It was a fun year and a fun group to be apart of. We wanted to spend some more time with that team. We just didn’t play good enough baseball. We’ve just continued to build a culture here and continue to build a program. We feel like we’ve built a program that is here to last. This is year 6 for me and we have established a tradition and a culture. We want to continue to build on that. That’s our whole goal.
Adam Lewis: Is it Omaha or bust this year?
Donnie Marbut: I don’t know if it’s Omaha or bust. I don’t know if that’s the correct terminology. But, it’s great to coach a team that has their eye set on that, and it’s a realistic goal. There’s 300 Division I college baseball teams in the country and I bet you a majority of them talk about Omaha. Well, it’s not realistic for about 270 of them. There’s probably about 30 teams who have a chance to get to Omaha. I think we are one of those 30 teams.
Adam Lewis: Who are your top returning players heading into the season and what new guys are you looking to get contributions from right away?
Donnie Marbut: If you start on the mound, the two key guys returning are Chad Arnold-Arnold got drafted last year by the Dodgers but declined their offer to come back to school. He has pitched on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in his career so its nice to have him back. Arnold IS INJURED THIS YEAR SO HE IS GOING TO HAVE A DELAYED START. He had a little bit of an elbow problem. So we’ll probably miss him the first four or five weeks of the year. But we will get him back.
The guy who’s going to pitch on Friday night while he is gone is Adam Conley. Adam was one of the top relief guys last year in the Pac-10. He joined the rotation in the last half of the year and I think he is a guy who can be dominant on Friday nights. He’s got a chance to be a 1st round pick. His velocity has been up to 95 but he will be more in the 91 to 93 range when he is starting. His best pitching actually has been out of the rotation because he is pitching instead of just throwing.
James Wise is expected to be our Sunday starter with Chad and Adam. He had some really great performances. He was great against Oregon State and great against Stanford. We see him really coming into his own and being that complete weekend guy. It’s his fourth year, he’s been in the league and he is very very experienced. I think he is really going to be key for us.
Out of the pen, Paris Shewey is a very crucial guy for us. He can pitch long relief or he can close. When you talk about returning guys, those are among the most important.
Some of the new guys who are going to make their mark in the bullpen is J.D. Leckenby from Buhl, Idaho. He had a really really good fall. He’s got a chance to win that closing role as a freshman. He showed the type of stuff that could allow him to be a guy that finishes ballgames for us.
Offensively, it’s nice to know that you have a lot of returning guys. Matt Argyroupolous is a returning third basemen who has been a two-year starter there. Cody Bartlett will play shortstop and second. It’s nice to have him back. He is another 2-3 year starter.
At second base is Tommy Richards. Richards, though he hasn’t played a lot in his first two years, is very very seasoned and ready to play. I thought he was our most improved player last year, but he was playing behind Cody. And Cody was basically our best player last year so it was hard to get Tommy on the field, but he has worked extremely hard. I think it’s one of those situations where it is his time. He reminds me a lot of a Michael Weber or Matt Fanelli, where they’ve waited their turn until they were seniors. Tommy is a junior and now it’s his time to play.
Behind the plate is Jay Ponciano. He is another two year starter who has been solid behind the plate. He slid off a little offensively last year but I expect him to be a crucial part of this team.
Over at first base it is going to be a new guy. One of the top junior college hitters in the country last year was Taylor Ard out of Mt. Hood. He’s here and he is kind of that early guy to win that job….
Stay tuned later this week for a complete breakdown of who is competing for playing time in the outfield and if Marbut’s coaching philosophy will change because of the recent influx in talent. That’s all for today and as always….
Go Cougs!
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