University of Georgia Athletics
Fall Baseball Review With Georgia Head Coach David Perno
November 03, 2008 | Baseball
ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia baseball team recently concluded fall workouts and head coach David Perno took some time to discuss his thoughts on the 2009 squad.
Q: What is your overall assessment of fall practice?
DP: “It was good. I don’t know if we can really pitch or we just can’t hit a whole lot. We’ll find out soon enough. I think there are two things we did pretty consistently: we threw strikes and played good defense. Offensively we have some holes to fill. We will have a little different identity this year for us offensively, but it can be just as effective as it was last year.”
Q: How do you see the pitching shaping up?
DP: “Potentially it’s the best staff we have had. Trevor Holder, Alex McRee and Michael Palazzone look to be the front three with a good bullpen behind them. Dean Weaver will be our closer this year.”
Q: Did any of the veterans surprise you with their performance?
DP: “Adam Fuller got off to a really hot start, but he kind of faded late on us. He had a good fall nonetheless. He was a pleasant surprise, and everybody else did what we expected them to do.”
Q: If you played today, what would the lineup be?
DP: “It would be Jonathan Taylor leading off, Matt Cerione in the two hole, Colby May in the three, Rich Poythress in the four, Bryce Massanari in the five, Chase Davidson in the six, Joey Lewis in the seven, Levi Hyams in the eight and Michael Demperio in the nine. That’s with Demperio just starting to come back, so he could move up to the front of the lineup.”
Q: Who are the candidates to play in the outfield?
DP: “There is a definite three in the outfield with Jonathan Taylor, Matt Cerione and Chase Davidson, but there are other guys who will create depth for us in Adam Fuller, Lyle Allen and Peter Verdin. So we have six outfielders who we feel good about.”
Q: What will be your priorities when you begin preseason practice?
DP: “We have to get that lineup playing together as much as we can. We need to get an idea of how to handle situations offensively and get comfortable with guys hitting in front of them and behind them. We also need to find roles for our pitchers. It’s kind of clear, but there are some cloudy situations we need to iron out on the pitching staff.”
Q: What is your overall assessment of fall practice?
DP: “It was good. I don’t know if we can really pitch or we just can’t hit a whole lot. We’ll find out soon enough. I think there are two things we did pretty consistently: we threw strikes and played good defense. Offensively we have some holes to fill. We will have a little different identity this year for us offensively, but it can be just as effective as it was last year.”
Q: How do you see the pitching shaping up?
DP: “Potentially it’s the best staff we have had. Trevor Holder, Alex McRee and Michael Palazzone look to be the front three with a good bullpen behind them. Dean Weaver will be our closer this year.”
Q: Did any of the veterans surprise you with their performance?
DP: “Adam Fuller got off to a really hot start, but he kind of faded late on us. He had a good fall nonetheless. He was a pleasant surprise, and everybody else did what we expected them to do.”
Q: If you played today, what would the lineup be?
DP: “It would be Jonathan Taylor leading off, Matt Cerione in the two hole, Colby May in the three, Rich Poythress in the four, Bryce Massanari in the five, Chase Davidson in the six, Joey Lewis in the seven, Levi Hyams in the eight and Michael Demperio in the nine. That’s with Demperio just starting to come back, so he could move up to the front of the lineup.”
Q: Who are the candidates to play in the outfield?
DP: “There is a definite three in the outfield with Jonathan Taylor, Matt Cerione and Chase Davidson, but there are other guys who will create depth for us in Adam Fuller, Lyle Allen and Peter Verdin. So we have six outfielders who we feel good about.”
Q: What will be your priorities when you begin preseason practice?
DP: “We have to get that lineup playing together as much as we can. We need to get an idea of how to handle situations offensively and get comfortable with guys hitting in front of them and behind them. We also need to find roles for our pitchers. It’s kind of clear, but there are some cloudy situations we need to iron out on the pitching staff.”
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