From the Bench: Lack of depth places softball team in a bind

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:37:00 GMT

The few veterans on Webster University's softball team are going to need to put together a collective career year. Without it, this team is probably headed for a year of underachievement. One year after the Gorloks advanced to the NCAA regional finals before losing to Gustavus Adolphus College, WU looks like a shell of its former self, and not just in offensive production.

Anonymous's Reply

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:19:00 GMT

Posted: 3/18/10 @ 5:19 PM CST
By: Anonymous

Webster University should be ashamed to allow an article like this to be written about one of their athletic teams. Maybe Jonathan should have done research to learn exactly how many players were committed to Webster and how and why they ended up with 11. Jonathan should have also noted when Coach Eaton took over the team, the majority of the players were Juniors and Seniors, with one Sophomore and one freshman. If previous recruiting would have returned approximately 4-5 players per year, the team would not be in this situation currently. Jonathan should think about how this artice will effect future recruiting if it ends up in the hands of potential student athletes. Maybe then next year he can site his inability to gather all facts as another reason the softball team is in a "bind". I expect there will be additional articles when the softball team proves him wrong and next time take into consideration the players that are working hard every day to make this team a success. Sounds like Jonathan needs more practice as well!

Player..'s Reply

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:30:00 GMT

Posted: 3/18/10 @ 10:30 PM CST
By: Player..

I am a member of the Gorlok Softball team.. I am also a new player here at Webster. I think that this article should NOT have even been allowed to run. It is one thing to notice things that need to be changed and even if all of these things WERE true, this is not how they should of went about addressing them. He should be embarrassed about even putting his name to this article. We have been working hard since day 1 and have improved already more than our coaches have expected. We played the top teams we could've played while we were on Spring Break and those "shutouts" were all within reach except for one game against the #5 ranked team in NCAA D3.

We represent this school and the other athletes here as well. I find it horrible for not only our team to be treated like this, but for other Webster teams to see this because when the outside people from Webster go to read The Journal, they are going to think Webster doesn't take pride in their student athletes.

Today at practice we talked about the article and it just has motivated us to be even better than we already are. Every single girl on this team puts their heart and soul into every game and every practice. We do have small numbers, but hey guess what we make it work. Coach Eaton is a GREAT coach and for as far as im concerned the team we have is all that we need. Why do we need 14 players when we can have 11 and EVERYONE is just as good as the next girl. Everyone will be getting playing time and this is because of the 11 girls. Maybe we should look at the positives and not the negatives.

Not to mention Jonathon was in attendance at our games Wednesday evening when we won 5 to 0 and run ruled St.Marys 9 to 1. Maybe he should write about those games in the next issue.. I would love to see what he had to say about those.

I hope that in the next articles about our team, that we can be treated a little better than this year has started out to be.

Anonymous's Reply

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:13:00 GMT

Posted: 3/18/10 @ 11:13 PM CST
By: Anonymous

The New York Yankees definitely have had a great program and dynasty in the past. However, I do not believe that they will go much better than .500 in the upcoming seasons. They will inevitably lose Derek Jeter. The A-Rod-caliber names of the program will be gone. And to make matters worse, the rookies that they will bring in to replace these dynasty players simply will not get the job done. There just won't be enough of them. It might only take nine players on the field at a time to compete, but everyone knows you need much, much farther depth to even be considered a competitive club.

Now, of course I have not spoken with owner George Steinbrenner. Nor have I discussed the issue with manager Brian Cashman. This subjective look at the future of the Yankees is an opinion backed by absolutely no concrete, supportive evidence.

Speaking of unsupported projections in the sports world, this article by Jonathan Webb should make the front page of the next Sports Illustrated. Yes, I said SI. This article is THAT ignorant and appalling; it merits much attention in any way that it can possibly get it.

Mr. Webb, I understand that as a journalist with your school publication that it is your right--your duty-- to sometimes tread waters that others leave untouched because it is a journalist's obligation (like it or not) to occasionally rock the boat on certain matters in an attempt to report truth.

However, rocking the boat and trying to sink the Titanic are two completely different things. I won't say that there may not be slivers of valid argument in your article. Is depth an issue? Perhaps. Could the team's performance be impacted if freakish injuries begin occuring? Of course! But is there a need to outwardly project what you believe to be the likelihood of their ultimate future based on hypothetical scenarios? Not quite.

The only problem is, you lacked any form of tact. There is no evidence of 90% of the things you said. I see no quotes from players, coaches, administration, etc. And-- the most appalling thing-- you took your journalistic power and used it to flat-out degrade and demean a coach and a team of the university to which you belong. As a writer, I reserve the right to call such an action.... distasteful (and I'm being kind on that description.)

I hope all of those who read this article understand a number of things. I hope they understand that though there might only be 11 players, only 9 are needed to compete. It seems that Mr. Webb wants to run a game of numbers, but he clearly misunderstood this concept. Now- his argument about possible injuries is very valid. Just as a nuclear bomb MIGHT land on me and kill me, the Gorlocks MIGHT have an injury or two- which would naturally create adversity. (Next time I hope Webb chooses to write his article on the nuclear bomb hypothetical; I'm sure it'd be more likely to make more sense than the one he just tried to address.)

One crucial thing I think Mr. Webb failed to touch on through his article was the spirit of this team and their drive to improve daily-- to mold themselves into a successful unit. Low numbers combined with injuries COULD create a difficult scenario for this team. However, it's been my experience in the world of athletics that difficult scenarios are little more than incredible opportunities for athletes to grow together, push one another, overcome obstacles, and develop a will to win and refusal to lose. These kinds of scenarios are what history is composed of and what legends are born through. Mr. Webb might be unaware of this sports concept though, which I'm sure is why he's trying his hand at dissing his school's athletic programs in the school paper instead of trying his hand at a collegiate varsity sport himself.

I understand the Gorlocks may not be at top speed just yet, but I sincerely hope that anyone on campus or in the community that reads this articles is enraged. I hope that it fuels them to throw their support behind a team who has all of the potential in the world-- a potential that is unchanging regardless of how many ladies are on the official roster. It's times like these within a program that support is crucial, and 9 out of 10 times- it's in the fan's best interest to hang in there. Because by the end of the season- you just might witness something incredible that no one could have imagined.

And I hope Mr. Webb gives you all insight to these things in his next article. Perhaps the Gorlock performance Tuesday afternoon is a good window of opportunity for him to bring a showcase of positives to enlighten the campus and community with-- and maybe even give him an opportunity to surgically remove his foot from his mouth.

To Coach Eaton and the 11 members of the roster: know that there are people out there who are eager to see your rise to success- instead of trying to predict your failure.

Good luck this weekend, ladies!!!!

Russian Wives's Reply

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:39:00 GMT

Posted: 3/21/10 @ 4:39 AM CST
By: Russian Wives

Indeed an informative article.

Softball Guru's Reply

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:34:00 GMT

Posted: 3/22/10 @ 2:34 PM CST
By: Softball Guru

"WOW" was the only thing that came to mind when I read this article. Written by a Webster University journalist/student no less.
Let's start off with some of Mr. Webb's accurate comments. And I'm using the title of Mr. very loosely here. Like "the loss of the heart of the batting order" and the team only "dressing 11 players" or even the statement about Coach Eaton "inheriting a deep and talented team and taking them to new heights" and that was only in only his 1st year. All true and very accurate comments.
But to say that the "few veterans on this years team will need to have career years collectively", "lacks a steady power hitter in the 3rd spot" and "the team lacks a cleanup hitter" is not only absurd but asinine! That means "extremely or utterly foolish or relating to or resembling an ass" if you don't have a dictionary close by as reference.
References and research seems to be the problem with this article and Mr. Webb. That or the fact that maybe he has never played any type of organized or competitive sports in his lifetime. Do you think Coach Roy Williams thought going into this college basketball season after winning the NCAA tournament last year that he was going to have such a poor season by North Carolina standards? Did he ask senior Marcus Ginyard who was his only productive holdover player from last year to have a career year for this years team to be successful?
See Mr. Webb in every sport there is a "rebuilding or reloading year" and that is what Webster is going through right now especially after the successful run of last years team. That is not always a bad thing. But to totally not give this team a chance just based on appearances is not only unfair but disheartening from a readers point of view. You didn't even consider that this years team had very little field time to prepare and this was the coaches first look at the girls in any type of hitting order.
The heart of a team can not be measured by numbers. Arizona won a national title with no true power hitter and 6 lefty slappers in their lineup. Coach Eaton did a great job last year with the team he had and I think he deserves alot of credit for that and the fact that he was able to land a player from California is saying alot about the future of Webster softball. That same player from California which is considered a hot bed for softball players probably played 10 months out of the year on her travelball team so pressure doesn't necessarily have to fall solely on upperclassmen shoulders.
See Mr. Webb you seem to be more of a numbers guy but for this California recruit who is what 5'2 starting at shortstop and has the power and hitting prowess according to her coaches and teammates is probably more than capable of batting cleanup. I'm curious to know if you asked her what she batted on her travelball teams in California what her reply would be. Get back to me on that when you get a chance.
Oh by the way, stats on the team are out there accessible to you and the public and the "lack of a cleanup hitter" is in the top 3 of almost every offensive category Mr. Webb. Thats seems pretty weird to me considering cleanup hitters usually don't get too many good pitches to hit.
Well I'm tired of playing with you in your sandbox Mr. Webb so in the future maybe you need to do more research and get to know some of these girls and their softball backgrounds before you write a page and a half of worthless babble. I watched and followed last years team and I've watched this years team and it's still very early but I love Coach Eaton's team regardless of how many players they have. Don't be surprised at the end of conference play what the standings look like Mr. Webb. You might have to eat this article and I'm sure you won't have a problem with some of these girls giving you some tabasco sauce to go with it.
Good Luck the rest of the way Gorlocks and don't let anyone take the steam out of your fighting spirits. I'll be pulling for you as well as the rest of the Webster community I'm sure.

joe wuzerbacher's Reply

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:16:00 GMT

Posted: 3/22/10 @ 8:16 PM CST
By: joe wuzerbacher

you people need to learn the difference between a news story and a column, and the difference between a cheerleader and a sports writer.

Executioner's Reply

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:20:00 GMT

Posted: 3/23/10 @ 9:20 AM CST
By: Executioner

Yah,and you people "JOE" need to learn the difference about writing and supporting columns like they were for highly paid professional athletes instead of "student" athletes!!!

Even paid sports columnist don't write stories about their home team degrading the coaches & what players can or can't do.

Played any sports in college Joe?

Ted's Reply

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:26:00 GMT

Posted: 3/24/10 @ 11:26 AM CST
By: Ted

"Today at practice we talked about the article and it just has motivated us to be even better than we already are"

Good to hear, but your team should not have to use a column to get motivated.