Baseball questions heading into next season......

[Goat Holder]

So we're 39-22 right now. Basically, if a 39 or 40 win season with 18 SEC wins and a postseason berth is a 'down' year for us, then I think our program is definitely in good shape. Win or lose tonight or next weekend. I, like others, expect 2015 and 2016 to be big years. 2015 mainly because of pitching/defense again, and 2016 due to elite talent that should have matured by then. By my questions are these:

1) Are we looking at another year like this year and 2011/2012 where we can't hit that well? We are losing our top hitters average wise in Pirtle and Bradford. Most clutch too. Plus, they are two of our better defenders.

2) Do Humphreys, Garner and Swinarski step up and be the players we think they can? Does they even start? Show me their positions. Sure one can DH but I figure Collins may be DH-ing half the time while Walker is behind the plate. If Rea comes back that just compounds the situation. On another note, is Garner even on the team next year? I doubt it.

3) Does Robson become the stud CF we all expected him to be? He's been hurt, plus he'll have to beat out Vickerson, Brown and Swinarski for a position.

4) Do this year's JUCO juniors actually get better as they become seniors? Looking at Heck and Vickerson. I really like Heck at leadoff.

5) Does Holland really start at SS? Hann is still around too, he could start at 2B if necessary. Britton has 3B locked down.

6) Pitching? Not too worried about it. Fitts, Laster and whoever else. Nice 1/2 combination with Real Deal Rubber Arm hopefully deadly out of the pen.

[The Croom Diaries]

We're playing for a Regional championship tonight and you're thinking about this?

[Goat Holder]

I figured that was coming. The answer is, yes.

I saw Britton make more eye-popping plays last night, then I saw Tatum come in and mow down the hottest hitting team in the country, and I started thinking about the future. Forgive me for being optimistic in a situation that doesn't have much at this point. Our odds of reaching Omaha are about 2% right now.

So, in the end, get on my nuts. Don't read my posts if you don't like them.

[maroonmania]

I figured that was coming. The answer is, yes.

I saw Britton make more eye-popping plays last night, then I saw Tatum come in and mow down the hottest hitting team in the country, and I started thinking about the future. Forgive me for being optimistic in a situation that doesn't have much at this point. Our odds of reaching Omaha are about 2% right now.

So, in the end, get on my nuts. Don't read my posts if you don't like them.

Right now we've got to find more dependable pitching. If you take Lindgren and Holder off this team for next year (and I don't know which way Holder is leaning) then we just don't have enough top line pitching to scare anyone. Mitchell obviously NEEDS to move back to middle relief if possible but we have to find 3 other good starters to do that. We have Fitts back who is decent, Laster may be coming on and a whole host of other candidates but not nearly enough proven. Now it may all come together, folks didn't think OM would have good starting pitching with what was coming back this year but they do. Maybe we can have some guys step up in the same manner as starters but still also leaves us with holes to fill for late inning relief.

[MarketingBully01]

Preston Brown will be really good, I think Vance Tatum will be good, I think Gentry will be good, I think Austin Sexton will be good, I think Dakota Hudson will be good, we will have Fitts and Laster. I think we will be okay pitching wise.

[MarketingBully01]

Right now we've got to find more dependable pitching. If you take Lindgren and Holder off this team for next year (and I don't know which way Holder is leaning) then we just don't have enough top line pitching to scare anyone. Mitchell obviously NEEDS to move back to middle relief if possible but we have to find 3 other good starters to do that. We have Fitts back who is decent, Laster may be coming on and a whole host of other candidates but not nearly enough proven. Now it may all come together, folks didn't think OM would have good starting pitching with what was coming back this year but they do. Maybe we can have some guys step up in the same manner as starters but still also leaves us with holes to fill for late inning relief.

How many arms did we lose this year due to injury? We will be fine. I hope Holder comes back but regardless we will be fine.

[The Croom Diaries]

Our odds of reaching Omaha are about 2% right now.

So, in the end, get on my nuts. Don't read my posts if you don't like them.

2%, really?

I didn't read it. I like to live in the present during the actual playoffs.

[Goat Holder]

Right now we've got to find more dependable pitching. If you take Lindgren and Holder off this team for next year (and I don't know which way Holder is leaning) then we just don't have enough top line pitching to scare anyone.

I know I am in the minority on this, and I will be chastised, but I do not worry about losing Lindgren at all. Holder, yes. But he's gone too along with Woodruff, so no sense worrying about it. But at least we have the bodies to replace them. Tatum, Gentry, P. Brown, D. Brown, Young, Hudson, Sexton, Cox, Shelly, Houston, Geyer.....all a year older and wiser. All those guys were good recruits too.

Not to mention that if we can just find another good STARTER or two, all this demand for a quality reliever goes down. We haven't had a 1-2 punch since Cohen got here except for maybe Stratton and Graveman. We've got to correct this. I hope a senior Fitts/Laster has what it takes. If somebody else is good enough to get in the mix, more power to them.

[MarketingBully01]

I figured that was coming. The answer is, yes.

I saw Britton make more eye-popping plays last night, then I saw Tatum come in and mow down the hottest hitting team in the country, and I started thinking about the future. Forgive me for being optimistic in a situation that doesn't have much at this point. Our odds of reaching Omaha are about 2% right now.

So, in the end, get on my nuts. Don't read my posts if you don't like them.

I don't mind posts like this. I think the key to next year and what we lacked this year will be players stepping up and taking their positions. I don't care who they are. We just need players to step up and immediately take their positions. I look for that FSU transfer to take the Shortstop spot and Heck move over to his more natural 2nd base position. If our guys can claim their positions early, we could have a great year next year.

[DapperDawg]

I don't understand anyone getting excited about Fitts coming back. He has done nothing, but get yanked in the 2nd or 3rd inning of most of his games. He's been consistently bad, with a few decent showings sprinkled in. And the biggest concern is his lack of improvement, or even regression, from last season. For as many good pitchers MSU has emerge, we seem to have just as many fall back.

[Goat Holder]

I don't mind posts like this. I think the key to next year and what we lacked this year will be players stepping up and taking their positions. I don't care who they are. We just need players to step up and immediately take their positions. I look for that FSU transfer to take the Shortstop spot and Heck move over to his more natural 2nd base position. If our guys can claim their positions early, we could have a great year next year.

I agree, and the farther into the Cohen tenure we get, the more I see it. I bitch about personnel as much as anyone, but there's always a reason. Cohen gives guys ample opportunity to step up and play. Many of us bitch about Henderson, but bottom line is, dude wasn't that great of a fielder and he was just a slap hitter. He wasn't good enough that you had to have him on the field. The people that were, played. I really want to see Swinarski step up and take RF because we need that type of talent in the lineup. So he needs to mature in a hurry. I'd love to see Holland leave no doubt at SS too because if he does, that means we are in GREAT shape there. Really not sure where Humphreys fits into all this, maybe at DH or 1B. Dylan Ingram is going to be in the lineup, one way or the other. He can rake.

[CadaverDawg]

C- Collins
3B- Britton
SS- Heck
2B- Holland
1B- Big Wes
LF- Cody Brown
CF- Vickerson
RF- Hump
DH- Garner to start the season if he's here.
(Maybe Swinarski challenges for an outfield spot?)

Starting pitcher possibilities:

Fitts
Laster
Woodruff
Tatum
Hudson
Young

Reliever possibilities:

Ross
Holder
Sexton
Gentry
Cox
And the 3 above that don't end up as starters

[Goat Holder]

I don't understand anyone getting excited about Fitts coming back. He has done nothing, but get yanked in the 2nd or 3rd inning of most of his games. He's been consistently bad, with a few decent showings sprinkled in. And the biggest concern is his lack of improvement, or even regression, from last season. For as many good pitchers MSU has emerge, we seem to have just as many fall back.

He's gotten much better since last year. You don't know what you're talking about. He didn't really even play until the postseason. And he really only did then because he was the only guy who could get through the lineup once without giving up 5 runs.

[CadaverDawg]

He's gotten much better since last year. You don't know what you're talking about. He didn't really even play until the postseason. And he really only did then because he was the only guy who could get through the lineup once without giving up 5 runs.

Exactly. Experience is HUGE in college baseball. Just ask the team we're playing tonight.

[DapperDawg]

5 - 3 record with a 2.58 era. That's not as bad as it seems, but he's been pulled so quickly in games, Cohen must know he's toast. If you consistently don't make it out of the early innings, you're not worth getting excited about.

[DudyDawg]

I agree, and the farther into the Cohen tenure we get, the more I see it. I bitch about personnel as much as anyone, but there's always a reason. Cohen gives guys ample opportunity to step up and play. Many of us bitch about Henderson, but bottom line is, dude wasn't that great of a fielder and he was just a slap hitter. He wasn't good enough that you had to have him on the field. The people that were, played. I really want to see Swinarski step up and take RF because we need that type of talent in the lineup. So he needs to mature in a hurry. I'd love to see Holland leave no doubt at SS too because if he does, that means we are in GREAT shape there. Really not sure where Humphreys fits into all this, maybe at DH or 1B. Dylan Ingram is going to be in the lineup, one way or the other. He can rake.

I agree with most of this. Would like to see Hump and Garner (if he stays) be the only two Dh's all season. Unless Wes or Britton just suck it up or get hurt, I think the corners are locked and those other two battle it out for DH. And as far as Swinarski, I want him to come into RF. Obviously there would be growing pains, but he is talented and watching him play there in the fall scrimmages, he looked like our future there. Tall, ran balls down well from what I saw, I enjoyed watching him play it as far as aesthetics go. I imagine our OF to be Vick in left, Cody in center, and Joey ultimately in right. I just cannot put any faith in Robson doing anything for us until he actually does it. If he does, great, if not, no biggie. And I want to see Hann compete for the middle infield next season. Its obvious Heck has a spot anchored down (which one, I don't know) but I want to see hang compete more for it next season