Michael Earley & Co. return to Blue Bell Park for exhibition on Friday

Key notes from Michael Earley interview

• My phone rings now, and I don't even bat an eye. Done learning. Time to start winning. Everyone is doing great. It's tightened up, and I really like where we are at as a whole.
   
• Our fall plan is real simple. We want to do the common things uncommonly well. You either win or lose, period, in everything you do. Everyone has done a phenomenal job of buying in. We are not selling something that's hard to believe in. It's not something we haven't done. It's an emphasis on all the details. Credit to the plays. We have pushed them about as hard as you can with baseball. Their response has been good and bad practices.
   
• Cliff Pennington is really good at what he does, from the in-field defense to baserunning and even the hitting side. What I like about him is that his level of care is off the charts. He wants to be in the building every single day. He is doing baserunning because he is really good at it. He is doing things I’ve never seen before, drill-wise. It's like, "That's really good." His ability to connect with players is awesome. He is relatable because he played and had a ton of success. Even if he never played a day, he is easy to respect because you feel the care, see the work ethic. He is an awesome guy.
   
• Leadership doesn't always have to come from a veteran. We have some young guys who will step up and take that role, too. Gavin Grahovac, Shane Sdao and Josh Stewart have done a phenomenal job of wanting to do that. You can't hide from it. As coaches, we have to empower those guys and let them know what we want. "Yeah, it's your buddy off the field, but right now, it's not your buddy. It's your teammates." Right now, we haven't turned the heat up in a real game yet. We haven't made one lineup yet. That's when the challenge comes because everyone plays and hits. That will happen on Friday, but not everyone is starting.
   
• As of right now, I like where it's at. We will get challenged tomorrow from a team and attitude perspective. You are in, or you are out. I am not saying that because it's been bad. I like our group, and I like how our group will be able to handle that.
   
• It was evident when Chris Hacopian came on his visit, the kind of guy he was. We wanted him, but after having him on the visit, you wanted him even more because of the kind of person he was and the energy he brings. Every day, he is on a mission. He has a lot of leadership qualities. I would love to see him play. If he can play against TCU, I am playing him.
   
• From a confidence standpoint, Bear Harrison is a completely different guy than he was when he came last fall. Coming in this year, he knows. There are two other catchers on the team. Zane Becker is good. There is a ton of competition. Harrison has done an awesome job.
   
• Terrence Kiel II, same thing. You see a big jump from freshman to sophomore year from a maturity and strength standpoint. He is making great plays in the outfield. He lights up the room. He will benefit from Pennington on the basepaths. While Kiel might have looked like he was great on the bases last year, he was fast. Now, we want to get more technically sound.
   
• Travis Chestnut had a lot of other schools want him. It was always A&M for him. He visited, and it took about an hour. He was all in. I think the coolest thing was the reaction of the guys who played with him before when they heard he was coming back. They were unanimously super fired up. He's a great kid. What a weird, incredible circumstance that he's not allowed to play on my team last year but can play on my team this year. Glad to have him back in the building. We have mainly had him at second base. He can play centerfield, too. Chestnut knows success, for him, is how many times he gets on base.
   
• I wanted the lineup to complete and win in different ways. Hacopian had a 10.8 percent strikeout rate in college baseball. That is incredible. Jake Duer hit .428 with a .498 OBP. Wesley Jordan has a really good line drive, double swing. He hit 10 home runs last year. Those guys, plus Chestnut, Kiel, Grahovac and Caden Sorrell have the ability to beat you in a lot of different ways to beat you. We targeted specific guys. We got we guys we wanted. I am excited to get them out there.
   
• There are talented freshmen. Grahovac, Jace LaViolette and Kiel are a different type of talented freshman. Nico Partida is really good hitter. He plays with a low heartbeat. He can jump on the mound and be 97 or 98 mph. Luke Billings is a baseball player. We have done a good job managing their bodies. Boston Kellner has done an awesome job. These are guys we had to hold our breath and battle to get from the draft. Those are the type of freshmen you want to get.
   
• Weston Moss has earned to be one of the starters. He has taken a step. He wanted to add velocity. Sdao is an incredible talent, and we feel he will be in that mix. Clayton Freshcorn and Aiden Sims have impressed me this fall. How will that shake out? We will see. We have the guys. It's about what order you put them in.
   
• Sdao and Stewart, I believe, both will be throwing live to our hitters in November. It's about what's best for their health/what's best for their baseball. They are on track to be more than healthy for the season. Same thing with Caden McCoy.
   
• I love Mike Elko, his team and what they are doing. I wish he wouldn't play Marco Jones as much. They seemed really resilient. I am jealous he gets to walk down that tunnel with the team. Inject that into my veins. The 12th Man never disappoints.
   
• We are excited to get out there in front of the fans and show them the baseball we are going to play.