Tough weekend for ranked teams

[Johnson85]

But weren't people just complaining about us not winning close games? Well this weekend says we may have changed that by winning close games. There are no style points in baseball a close win is a win period. Every win in the sec is earned regardless!

We defnitely are showing some improvement there. We aren't what I would consider clutch, but close games are toss ups for us now, where as we were losing way more than our fair share of them the last two years. Some of that was a pitching talent issue, but a lot of it was just being mentally weak (granted when you know you can't trust your pitching, I can see how that causes players to get tight and press in the field and at the plate in close games).

We can no longer be counted on to fold in a tight situation. That's a major improvement. And with how fast that improvement came, maybe by the end of the year we will be one of those teams that is able to step up when in tight games and win more than our fair share of them.

[BrunswickDawg]

We defnitely are showing some improvement there. We aren't what I would consider clutch, but close games are toss ups for us now, where as we were losing way more than our fair share of them the last two years. Some of that was a pitching talent issue, but a lot of it was just being mentally weak (granted when you know you can't trust your pitching, I can see how that causes players to get tight and press in the field and at the plate in close games).

We can no longer be counted on to fold in a tight situation. That's a major improvement. And with how fast that improvement came, maybe by the end of the year we will be one of those teams that is able to step up when in tight games and win more than our fair share of them.

Define clutch for me. Yeah, we were 1-7 in one run games coming into the weekend. I think 4 of those losses were games we were behind by more than 1 and cut the lead to 1.
Is clutch being 2nd in the SEC in hitting with runners on base (.338)? Or is it being in 2nd in hitting with RISP (.364)? Maybe its hitting 4th in the league with the bases loaded (.357)?
Maybe it is leading the league in Pinch-Hitting Avg. (.400)? Or hitting a 2nd best .313 with 2 outs?

I'm kind of at a loss here so, fill me in.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Define clutch for me. Yeah, we were 1-7 in one run games coming into the weekend. I think 4 of those losses were games we were behind by more than 1 and cut the lead to 1.
Is clutch being 2nd in the SEC in hitting with runners on base (.338)? Or is it being in 2nd in hitting with RISP (.364)? Maybe its hitting 4th in the league with the bases loaded (.357)?
Maybe it is leading the league in Pinch-Hitting Avg. (.400)? Or hitting a 2nd best .313 with 2 outs?

I'm kind of at a loss here so, fill me in.

Where are you getting these stats Id love to go check out that site

[BrunswickDawg]

Where are you getting these stats Id love to go check out that site

You have to scroll deep into the PDF - but the SEC publishes it every day. https://www.secsports.com/2024-baseball-stats-pdf

[Commercecomet24]

Define clutch for me. Yeah, we were 1-7 in one run games coming into the weekend. I think 4 of those losses were games we were behind by more than 1 and cut the lead to 1.
Is clutch being 2nd in the SEC in hitting with runners on base (.338)? Or is it being in 2nd in hitting with RISP (.364)? Maybe its hitting 4th in the league with the bases loaded (.357)?
Maybe it is leading the league in Pinch-Hitting Avg. (.400)? Or hitting a 2nd best .313 with 2 outs?

I'm kind of at a loss here so, fill me in.

It's because most people on here only watch us, and see our warts. They don't watch any other college baseball and don't see the struggle other teams have. If you look at our stats with RISP it's really amazing. Dakota is hitting over 400 with RISP, I bet folks don't realize Larry is over 350 with RISP, Mershon, Hujsak, Chance, Long all over 300 with RISP. Hines is at 280 with RISP, I don't understand what more people can ask for. Also people keep saying Long doesn't help on offense but his OBP is 444, he has 6 sac bunts, 3 hit and run base hits and has stolen 3 bases.

[Bdawg]

It's because most people on here only watch us, and see our warts. They don't watch any other college baseball and don't see the struggle other teams have. If you look at our stats with RISP it's really amazing. Dakota is hitting over 400 with RISP, I bet folks don't realize Larry is over 350 with RISP, Mershon, Hujsak, Chance, Long all over 300 with RISP. Hines is at 280 with RISP, I don't understand what more people can ask for. Also people keep saying Long doesn't help on offense but his OBP is 444, he has 6 sac bunts, 3 hit and run base hits and has stolen 3 bases.

Maybe Larry need to move down and hit more with runners on!! Ha

[Commercecomet24]

Maybe Larry need to move down and hit more with runners on!! Ha

I'd move him down. This would be my lineup 1. Mershon 2. Long(has 450 obp, has 6 sac bunts, 3 bunts for hits, 3 successful hit and runs, doesn't strike out, and can steal a base), he's prototype 2 hole, 3. Dakota, 4. Hines, 5. Hujsak 6. Chance, 7. Larry, 8. Downs or lefty for matchups at dh, 9. Kohler.

[Coach34]

I'd move him down. This would be my lineup 1. Mershon 2. Long(has 450 obp, has 6 sac bunts, 3 bunts for hits, 3 successful hit and runs, doesn't strike out, and can steal a base), he's prototype 2 hole, 3. Dakota, 4. Hines, 5. Hujsak 6. Chance, 7. Larry, 8. Downs or lefty for matchups at dh, 9. Kohler.

1. Dirtbag
2. Long (agree with you- he can bunt and gets on base)
3. Jordan
4. Hines
5. Hugesak
6. Larry
7. Trout
8. Stevens. Downs, Manlenzie
9. Kohler

[Johnson85]

Define clutch for me. Yeah, we were 1-7 in one run games coming into the weekend. I think 4 of those losses were games we were behind by more than 1 and cut the lead to 1.
Is clutch being 2nd in the SEC in hitting with runners on base (.338)? Or is it being in 2nd in hitting with RISP (.364)? Maybe its hitting 4th in the league with the bases loaded (.357)?
Maybe it is leading the league in Pinch-Hitting Avg. (.400)? Or hitting a 2nd best .313 with 2 outs?

I'm kind of at a loss here so, fill me in.

Generally, winning more close games than you lose. That can hide issues (if you have a talented team with a focus issue, they're probably going to win a lot of games that shouldn't have been close to begin with), but it's a good enough metric over time. I was really referring more to last year's team folding than this years, but we definitely caught some bad losses early on. How much of that was "just baseball" versus us just not having things figured out yet versus not being clutch (I assume more of the former two than the latter one; but it's possible players may have still been expecting the other shoe to drop in close games early on because of last year's team and it got in their head).

[BrunswickDawg]

Generally, winning more close games than you lose. That can hide issues (if you have a talented team with a focus issue, they're probably going to win a lot of games that shouldn't have been close to begin with), but it's a good enough metric over time. I was really referring more to last year's team folding than this years, but we definitely caught some bad losses early on. How much of that was "just baseball" versus us just not having things figured out yet versus not being clutch (I assume more of the former two than the latter one; but it's possible players may have still been expecting the other shoe to drop in close games early on because of last year's team and it got in their head).

Gotcha. Makes sense. I think close games definitely got in the head of the '22 an '23 teams. The '22 team blew something like 15 leads after the 7th inning - and I think that carried over some last year.
Like all stats and general analysis in baseball, you really have to look at the total package and put it in some context. As you note, the "just baseball" factor looms large and it is a long season. How many years from 2011-2018 did we start off kind of scuffling, get to the half way point in the SEC schedule and then catch fire in the back half and clinch post season - cause it seemed like almost every year.

I think this year the early losses in close games has been more about finding the right lineup and roles out of the pen. We seem to be productive in close games - and very good at making games competitive after getting down early.

[Commercecomet24]

Gotcha. Makes sense. I think close games definitely got in the head of the '22 an '23 teams. The '22 team blew something like 15 leads after the 7th inning - and I think that carried over some last year.
Like all stats and general analysis in baseball, you really have to look at the total package and put it in some context. As you note, the "just baseball" factor looms large and it is a long season. How many years from 2011-2018 did we start off kind of scuffling, get to the half way point in the SEC schedule and then catch fire in the back half and clinch post season - cause it seemed like almost every year.

I think this year the early losses in close games has been more about finding the right lineup and roles out of the pen. We seem to be productive in close games - and very good at making games competitive after getting down early.

I heard Bobby Cox say one time, You will win a third of your games, you will lose a third of your games, it's what you do with the other third that makes you a winner or a loser and if you study the game that pretty much holds true.