Pat Murphy

JR from [216.201.13.52], at 1:59pm ET
Which kind of player would you rather have, a Manny Ramirez like with good power but bad defense or someone like Omar Vizquel who has great defense and bats for an average instead of power ?

Pat Murphy at 2:00pm ET
The answer to that question is that we would love to have both of those players because they both have positives. When you have a player with a plus in one area and a minus in the other area, then you work on the weaker area and try to make them a better player. We would love to have both players though!

T.J. Brewster from [208.14.214.24], at 2:01pm ET
Among your new players which ones are pure hitters. Also do you see any of them that have the hitting power of Mitch Jones?

Pat Murphy at 2:02pm ET
The new players that are pure hitters are Jeremy West of Las Vegas, Steve Garrabrants of Phoenix and Chris Duffy. We are please with all of their improvements this year and although all are a little different in their approaches, they can be effective for us right away.

Evan from [129.219.76.187], at 2:02pm ET
With all the images of irate coach's in the media recently, thank you for being the wonderful role model you are.

Pat Murphy at 2:04pm ET
Thanks for the compliment, but I also have to say that this is a very emotional profession and the image of the irate coaches is more of a reflection of their passion for the job. It is more of a reflection of them pouring their heart and soul into the job.

Matt Phillips from [199.50.26.9], at 2:04pm ET
What do you think about your matchup with Creighton University at the start of the year?

Pat Murphy at 2:06pm ET
Creighton is a very good ballclub. Our entire non-conference schedule is as tough as it has ever been. Creighton is an outstanding team and have a lot of players back from a team that advanced to a regional. Their ace is a potential first-round draft pick.

ILLINIBASEBALL from [199.179.160.207] at 2:06pm ET
How are the players from Illinois (Mark Sopko, Ryan McKenna, and Eric Keefner)doing? Will they contribute to the team this year?

Pat Murphy at 2:07pm ET
They are all doing great for us and tremendously hard workers. All three really bring a toughness that you would expect from player from the Midwest to bring to the table. We expect them to contribute in their freshmen years, but also expect them to ride the rollercoaster most freshmen ride in their first years.

CP2Devil from [209.86.210.167], at 2:07pm ET
Coach Murphy, what is the injury situation looking like? Is everyone but Chris Duffy and the two young pitchers looking okay?

Pat Murphy at 2:08pm ET
We have been bitten by the injury bug a bit, but our trainer Kenny has doing been great getting them healthy. Everyone else is doing fine and just keeping our fingers crossed to stay healthy through the end of the season.

EP from [63.166.255.200], at 2:09pm ET
How do you think you will do in the Pac 10 this year?

Pat Murphy at 2:10pm ET
This is a very tough question to answer. The Pac-10 is strong top to bottom and everyone is dangerous. On any given day, any of the teams can beat you. We are not really sure we are going to do, but we are preparing hard and expecting everyone to give us their best shot. It will once again be one of the strongest leagues in the nation.

John Richards from [129.65.100.28], at 2:11pm ET
I am a big fan of Brooks Conrad. What do you predict for his future as a baseball player?

Pat Murphy at 2:12pm ET
Brooks is a great player. The sky is the limit. He is extremely talented and has all the tools to be a great professional ball players. He is very aggressive, has great speed and is just a hard-nosed player. We feel that Brooks is a guy that can play as long as he wants to. When you add in his passion of playing the game hard every day, the sky truly is the limit.

Matt from [209.156.193.85], at 2:12pm ET
Besides the PAC-10, what other conferences compare to yours as far as competition goes?

Pat Murphy at 2:13pm ET
We feel that the Pac-10 is the best in the nation, but you can't forget about the Big Ten, Big 12, the SEC and the ACC. The SEC and the Pac-10 are the two conferences that usually send more than one team to Omaha.

BP from [216.34.56.10], at 2:14pm ET
Is Casey Myers another Jason Kendall?

Pat Murphy at 2:16pm ET
I don't know if I would rank Casey as a Jason Kendall type player. The one thing is that they both have in common is that they are both outstanding catchers that make their entire team stronger. Casey and Jason both make the pitching staff better and are offensive powers. Casey truly is one of the special stories in all of college baseball. He not only dominates the stat sheet with his numbers, but also makes the whole team stronger because of his leadership and his knowledge of the game.

JP from [64.12.102.167] at 2:17pm ET
Murph, just wanted to say hello and say thanks for all you did for me and my family.It is without any doubt that you run a first class program and I am glad to have been part of it.Thanks for all you do for college baseball and may you have the best of luck in your return to Omaha. Thanks for letting me be part of the greatest college baseball tradition in the country.
Thanks
JP

Pat Murphy at 2:18pm ET
JP, always a pleasure to talk to you and we miss you dearly. We are happy for you and wish you the best of luck this year. Take it easy on us if we ever run into you in a regional.

GREG from [209.92.15.227], at 2:19pm ET
I'VE FOLLOWED BOTH COACH ROONEY & RYAN EDGINTON DURING THEIR MALVERN PREP DAYS, HOW ARE THEY DOING? WILL ROONEY STILL BE YOUR 3RD BASE COACH & WILL RYAN BE GETTING TIME?

Pat Murphy at 2:20pm ET
Roons is one of the best assistant coaches in the nation and is going to make a great head coach in the future. He is a great guy to have on board and our players really respond to him. As for Edginton, he is one of our most improved players and has showed a tremendous work ethic. It will be tough to break into our outfield this year, but the future is bright for him and we are happy to have him.

Matt from [209.156.193.85], at 2:21pm ET
Three or four years ago Bob Welch was your pitching coach. How valuable was he to your pitchers?

Pat Murphy at 2:22pm ET
Welchie is still very valuable to our pitcher because he spends tons of time helping our program out. He has a great relationship with our current pitching staff and we couldn't be happier with him getting the job with the Diamondbacks. He is just a great guy and one of my best friends.

Charles from [216.196.142.244], at 2:23pm ET
What do you think of your team this year compared to a LSU or a Miami(FL) type program?

Pat Murphy at 2:25pm ET
We are very comparable to them, but we don't spend a lot of time thinking about how we match up on the field. We are just worried about how we are playing and how we can make our team the best that we can. We will see how well we matchup with LSU when they come to Tempe in early March.

Matt from [209.156.193.85], at 2:25pm ET
Do you shy away from a recruit if it looks like he might be a high pick in the draft and sign a pro contract?

Pat Murphy at 2:27pm ET
No, we don't shy away from a recruit, because those are usually the most talented kids in the nation. It is a very individual basis, and we just go after the best talent in the nation. It is a big guessing game, but we do the best that we can. Sometimes you are bitten by the draft though, but this year we have eight newcomers that were selected in the draft.

Dan Pulos from [207.211.195.5], at 2:27pm ET
Who would you rather have Jose Canseco in his prime or Ken Griffey in his Prime??

Pat Murphy at 2:29pm ET
Wow, tough question. I think we would rather have Lenny Dykstra in his prime, but we would rather have any of those two guys. The player that we talk to our players a lot about is Dykstra because is his undersize and had to really shine through to make it to the next level.

Nick from [128.110.27.32], at 2:29pm ET
How do you think Frank Pezely will do this year? Will he continue to come out of the bullpen?

Pat Murphy at 2:30pm ET
As of right now Franco will come out of the bullpen because it is a position that he shines in. He is a tremendous pressure pitcher and feel confident handing the ball over to him in the late innings. He has the potential to start as the season moves on, but right now he is one of our go-to guys out of the bullpen.

tucsonbsbll from [64.12.103.22], at 2:31pm ET
I saw that redshirt freshmen Lucas Weber had two hits in the game on Saturday. Is this a sign of things to come from him?

Pat Murphy at 2:32pm ET
We think so. Lucas is another guy that has really improved over the last year and has gotten a lot stronger. He is one of our typical walk-ons that has worked hard and we really think he will fit in nicely for us in the future. He has done a great job and his days are coming soon to contribute on the diamond.

Pat Murphy at 2:32pm ET
Time for one more question before we head out to practice.

Baseball Fan from [129.107.48.42] at 2:33pm ET
What do you know about the UT-Arlington team, and do you think they can give you a run for your money this weekend?

Pat Murphy at 2:35pm ET
We are really excited for this opening series. They are an outstanding team with a very young and talented coaching staff. They have beaten Texas two out of the past three years in their opening game, so we are not taking them lightly. They are used to taking on a top ranked team to open the season. They have some good young players and are excited to play a talented team this early to find out where we are as a team. We hope everyone will come out to Packard Stadium to help cheer us on.

Pat Murphy at 2:36pm ET
Thanks for stopping by and asking so many great questions. I will be stopping by the chat room again in a month or so, so be sure to stop by. Go Sun Devils!