Q&A With Head Baseball Coach Joe Jordano
5/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2008
"I believe we had one of the most productive off-seasons and preseasons since I have been at Pitt. Our fall was great and our strength/conditioning phase produced some significant gains and our preseason was productive. Unfortunately, we got hit by the injury bug early and never really recovered from that. When any program loses one of its top players and two of its top pitchers, you cannot simply get over that. What essentially happens is that you must place individuals in situations that they are not prepared for. The one positive is that it enables younger players to gain valuable game experience."
2. Reaching 300 wins at Pitt is quite a milestone. Can you talk about the consistency you feel the program has achieved since you arrived?
"Any time a coach reaches a milestone win, one reflects back on the great players and great efforts that go into winning that many games. When I came to Pitt, it was my objective to develop a program that would make its players, the department, the University and the City of Pittsburgh proud. I believe we have achieved that, both on and off the field. Make no mistake, even though we had a tough year, I very much look forward to a very bright and exciting future for this program. I hope to be a part of many more wins as skipper of this program."
3. Did you think heading into this season that your younger players would get so much experience?
"We knew we would be young, but as I stated, the injuries made us that much younger. Nearly half of our at bats this season were from freshmen and sophomores. Similarly, over 70 percent of our innings pitched were thrown by freshmen and sophomores. We got hit hardest on the mound with the preseason loss of Kyle Landis, who in my opinion, would have been a candidate for Big East Pitcher of the Year this season, and the loss of Ryan Dunford, Matt Thomas and Brian Chrisman. Mike Wood also did not get back to full strength until the mid-point of the season. Gary Bucuren was also an enormous loss for us both offensively and defensively.
"Again, it was difficult to go through; however, we should reap the dividends next season."
4. How does next year look?
"Work begins immediately. As you know, our baseball program has had a solid run since 2000. This season is an aberration. As I told the team following the last game, I will do everything in my power to insure we don't stumble again. I feel confident with the recruits that we have entering the program this fall and the return of several important players from this past year's team, we can make a quick return to the upper third of the Conference, which is where we have been for the majority of the time since 2000, including playing for the Tournament Championship in 2005.
5. Are you going to make any changes?
"Each year I take a close look at the entire operation. I will speak with my staff and get their feedback and I had the opportunity to meet with every member of this year's team prior to their departure from campus. I like to get their perspective of things as well as our out-going seniors. As I said, earlier, we made some significant changes to the fall program last year, but I think I am going to put a much greater emphasis on competition this fall. I think we need to play the game harder and smarter. The only way to accomplish this is to play the game.
"We are also going to work with Strength Coach Tim Beltz and get his ideas on our strength and conditioning segment. Lastly, we need to add another coach to the staff. We did not have a volunteer this season and we need to hire a quality coach to give us some stability."
6. What positives can you take out of this season?
"Experience. One thing that you cannot teach as a coach is experience. Your younger players have to get in the fire and make the transition from high school or even junior college to an extremely competitive level of baseball. I also thought that Joe Leonard had an exceptional year as a true freshman. In my opinion he was flat out the Freshman of the Year in the Conference, but also was one of the best players in the league. David Kaye and Corey Baker, also true freshmen, had significant innings and did a solid job, as did Kevin Dooley and Cole Taylor. All of those guys should be prepared for even better numbers next season because of the experience they received this year."
7. You had several very close games this year, how do you explain that?
"Eighteen of our games were decided by two runs or less and 18 losses by three runs or less. In college baseball, three runs is one swing of the bat; one error or one strikeout at the wrong time. Now, if we could have won half of those, all of us would have viewed this season as very successful. As we played this season, it seemed to me that we had very little room for error. We had to play clean baseball in order to have a chance to win. We just did not have the depth to make any mistakes. However, moving forward, I know our team clearly understands when I tell them that every pitch counts, both offensively and defensively. This experience will make us a stronger team in the future."
8. What is next and any final thoughts?
"Well, this season is unacceptable to the standard that we have established for this program. My staff and I have begun the process to move forward, recruit and make certain that we are back among the league's best next season. This is a year-round job for not only us but for our team members as well. My staff and I will begin recruiting immediately for the future. I am planning on seeing several of our committed recruits again this summer to establish a game plan for them prior to the fall season and we will work diligently on a full year plan for the 2009 season. I like our personnel, I like our schedule and I like our chances.
"I would also like to mention how proud I am of our team academically. We finished with a team GPA of 2.91 this past semester. Taking into consideration the significant travel and game schedule during the season, for us to have the highest GPA that we have had during my tenure, is a significant accomplishment. We also had the Most Improved GPA this past fall. Our commitment to providing a world-class education and a very positive athletic experience is as strong as ever and we look forward to raising the standard even higher in the future."
