Pretty sure they're gonna SEMO Mangum, Lowe, Collins & Co. than they ever wanted.

[AlmostPositive]

Pardon me if I am not too fretful over Southeast Central Missouri Valley State.

I know they've beaten a lot of bad teams.
I know Rush Limbaugh put in two semesters there.

But they're not ready for this. Not the competition. Not the crowd. Wouldn't surprise me if there are more people at the game today than they would usually see in a month.

I'm not trying to demean their team... I'm sure they're good. But the stage is all wrong for them... they would have to win the baseball version of Powerball twice to get a W today.


So let us be of good cheer.

[shoeless joe]

While I agree with you this IS baseball...and we all know what that means, especially with a solid to above average arm on the bump.

[Tbonewannabe]

A great pitching performance can change any team's ability to win. It is not even down to a great pitcher rather than how the pitcher is throwing that day, sometimes you just feel it. Baseball is different than pretty much every other sport in that a pitcher can decide who wins. It is almost like it is the pitcher vs the other team. Defense behind the pitcher can matter but for the most part if a pitcher is either striking out guys or getting routine outs then the other team has almost no chance to win. Hopefully Houston or whoever pitches has a great day and SEMO's guy doesn't.

[Gutter Cobreh]

Pitchers are still human. I agree with Almost in that the scenery and stage will play a huge role.

I've heard Cohen talking about baseball being like golf in that you're playing the field and conditions just as much as competing against the other team. I don't take anything away from their #1 pitcher, but...

1) We're playing at home on a turf that we know like the back of our hands.
2) We should be playing in front of a packed house that is 100% behind us.
3) We're playing early afternoon in the heat.
4) We should be rested.

If we don't strike early with some runs, then we need to go deep into counts and get the kids pitch count up. I can't imaging their bullpen is deep so we have the advantage.

[Tbonewannabe]

Pitchers are still human. I agree with Almost in that the scenery and stage will play a huge role.

I've heard Cohen talking about baseball being like golf in that you're playing the field and conditions just as much as competing against the other team. I don't take anything away from their #1 pitcher, but...

1) We're playing at home on a turf that we know like the back of our hands.
2) We should be playing in front of a packed house that is 100% behind us.
3) We're playing early afternoon in the heat.
4) We should be rested.

If we don't strike early with some runs, then we need to go deep into counts and get the kids pitch count up. I can't imaging their bullpen is deep so we have the advantage.

The heat plus his high pitch counts last week should give us an advantage on getting him out of the game early. He probably won't last to the 7th unless we help him out by getting outs on 1 or 2 pitches. If he has great stuff then I would be all for working the counts.

[AlmostPositive]

If SEMO had Sandy Koufax on the mound, they would have a 50-50 chance of winning today. Unless Sandy had been pitching in front of 300 people all season and had never seen anything like Dudy Noble before. Then maybe 30%.

We had a natural lapse in Hoover after one of the best SEC stretches State has ever played. The odds of three straight sweeps are astronomical unless a team is humming like a twelve-cylinder Rolls.

My confidence is based on our team's ability and the home field advantage rather than a lack of regard for SEMO.


(If we lose, I will try to call Rush Limbaugh Monday and apologize on air.)

[Commercecomet24]

Y'all ever stop to think that SEMO is probably sitting around thinking, "Dang, we gotta go play MSU at Dudy Noble, and face that lineup, those flamethrowers and that crowd. I hope we can keep it close!" I'm with Almost, we are a national seed, playing at our home park and we are bad ass! Let's go get this done and quit worrying about who the other team is pitching! This team is ready! HailState!

[Engine]

Jackson State 1
UL Lafayette 0

[AlmostPositive]

Jackson State 1
UL Lafayette 0

Valid enough, but OOh La La wasn't playing at Dudy Noble.

[Percho]

A great pitching performance can change any team's ability to win. It is not even down to a great pitcher rather than how the pitcher is throwing that day, sometimes you just feel it. Baseball is different than pretty much every other sport in that a pitcher can decide who wins. It is almost like it is the pitcher vs the other team. Defense behind the pitcher can matter but for the most part if a pitcher is either striking out guys or getting routine outs then the other team has almost no chance to win. Hopefully Houston or whoever pitches has a great day and SEMO's guy doesn't.

I like this post because I believe it, in the opposite, says a lot about a couple of games that Hudson pitched this year. He gave up a lot of hits, that turned into runs, that did not look like hits in the first place. Sometime things go your way and sometime they do not.

[ScoobaDawg]

Valid enough, but OOh La La wasn't playing at Dudy Noble.

I'll play devils advocate..How much will Dudy Noble be like the Dudy Noble we expect a game day to be like at 1:30 on a friday afternoon...

[RocketDawg]

The heat plus his high pitch counts last week should give us an advantage on getting him out of the game early. He probably won't last to the 7th unless we help him out by getting outs on 1 or 2 pitches. If he has great stuff then I would be all for working the counts.

I don't think the heat and humidity will be any more a factor for them than it is for us. Missouri, particularly the eastern part, gets just as hot and unbearable as Mississippi. Look at the St. Louis stats. Summers are miserable there too.

[Tbonewannabe]

I don't think the heat and humidity will be any more a factor for them than it is for us. Missouri, particularly the eastern part, gets just as hot and unbearable as Mississippi. Look at the St. Louis stats. Summers are miserable there too.

I think it will be a factor for anyone pitching. I was more referring to their ace throwing so many pitches last week including Sunday. That would wear on anyone.

[AlmostPositive]

I'll play devils advocate..How much will Dudy Noble be like the Dudy Noble we expect a game day to be like at 1:30 on a friday afternoon...

I would take someone's word that a mid-day start dilutes the home advantage but selfishly I like afternoon baseball.