Todd4State
05-28-2016, 08:55 PM
As we have discussed ad nauseum we really didn't have a lot to gain or lose by winning the SEC Tournament or going two and bar-b-que. We basically used it as an opportunity to try some guys out who haven't been playing a lot and see what we have. And I would have liked to have won the SEC Tournament of course, but at the same time to me personally it's really not that big of a deal to me if we don't do well unless we have something on the line like a potential National Seed, regional host, or we're on the bubble of getting in. That wasn't the case this year. Some guys- like Zac Houston performed well and others didn't perform as well. At the same time you don't want to totally embarrass yourself- and unfortunately getting ruled is embarrassing. I hope that something good comes out of it because the last thing I want is our guys being cocky thinking that they have already accomplished everything that they need to. I want to see how they respond- and I have a feeling that they will respond well.
I'm not too worried about our pitching. We didn't throw Rigby, Humphreys, and Blake Smith only threw to one batter. So, some of our top relief guys didn't get a ton of work or any work at all. I thought Tatum looked better but our defense let him and our other pitchers down. Dakota Hudson gave up a lot of hits- but they were all singles and at times the defense let him down. Sexton was off but again I'm not worried about it. Paul Young has a lot of talent- but he has to learn how to challenge hitters. I would have liked to have gotten Pilkington a start, but to be honest I would just go with Houston in his place. If we got deep, it's mainly going to be Hudson and Sexton. But we will need Houston and or Pilkington at least for the regional and possible for the SR if we win the regional and go to a third game. The last time we went to Omaha we only had Graveman and Fitts/Girodo as reliable options and even though we had a great run eventually it caught up to us. Also, our pitchers need to work on PFP BIG time. I'm tired of watching us look like a circus every time we field a bunt. As Gene Mauch said- if the other team is trying to give you an out, take it.
Kruger has been outstanding and while I love Marrero, he sometimes has freshman moments that he needs to clean up with experience. I hope we catch Kruger as much as possible going forward. We can't afford a freshman moment from our catcher in the postseason.
Good to see Hunter Stovall back and he hit well for the Tournament. Holland has been serviceable so it's hard for me to say that we should just sit him. IMO, Stovall is superior defensively and offensively so I probably would lean towards him playing. The SEC Tournament was a good thing for Hunter so that he could get some action before the regionals. Collins and Gridley had a rough SEC Tournament defensively. I don't know why that is- Gridley is usually very steady. I have noticed that other teams have had some issues defensively as well and that leads me to believe that it's something with the ballpark most likely. It could be just being unfamiliar with the ballpark- they make teams practice at some high school field due to other games going on. So you're taking infield on a different field than the one you are playing on- and while I have never played infield I would imagine that is a huge disadvantage. And I'm speaking for other teams as well when I say this- not just us. Collins did have a home run against Bama. We need to get Nate Lowe white hot at the plate again.
Mangum continues to play well despite missing a fly ball- that happens to every outfielder at some point in time. He got messed over on a double play call at first which I think hurt us from a momentum standpoint. Bad umpiring has been a theme this tournament as well- which is really nothing new. We need to get Reid and Rooker going again. I was surprised that Poche shut both of them down. Robson is getting better and better.
The good news is we are pretty much a lock to be a National Seed which is what we want obviously at this point in the season. I guarantee you our regional will not be as tough as Alabama, LSU, and Florida one right after the other. At least I hope not. You never know what the committee is going to do or what your draw is going to be- but being a National Seed I would hope that it is somewhat manageable. I'm looking forward to postseason baseball at Dudy-Noble Field which is where it should be every year. We need to clean up our defense a little bit. And Cohen is going to manage a regional a LOT differently than what we saw for the SEC Tournament. Where we brought in Paul Young- it will probably be Rigby or Blake Smith for example. Regionals, SR, and the CWS aren't as hard on a pitching staff as the SEC Tournament is- so we don't have to worry about burning up guys as much. Cohen used the SEC Tournament to experiment with the lineup a little bit- and he knows what has worked for us and what hasn't. So, it's GO time right now.
I'm looking forward to officially getting our National Seed tomorrow- and then seeing who we play on Monday.
Hail State!
I'm not too worried about our pitching. We didn't throw Rigby, Humphreys, and Blake Smith only threw to one batter. So, some of our top relief guys didn't get a ton of work or any work at all. I thought Tatum looked better but our defense let him and our other pitchers down. Dakota Hudson gave up a lot of hits- but they were all singles and at times the defense let him down. Sexton was off but again I'm not worried about it. Paul Young has a lot of talent- but he has to learn how to challenge hitters. I would have liked to have gotten Pilkington a start, but to be honest I would just go with Houston in his place. If we got deep, it's mainly going to be Hudson and Sexton. But we will need Houston and or Pilkington at least for the regional and possible for the SR if we win the regional and go to a third game. The last time we went to Omaha we only had Graveman and Fitts/Girodo as reliable options and even though we had a great run eventually it caught up to us. Also, our pitchers need to work on PFP BIG time. I'm tired of watching us look like a circus every time we field a bunt. As Gene Mauch said- if the other team is trying to give you an out, take it.
Kruger has been outstanding and while I love Marrero, he sometimes has freshman moments that he needs to clean up with experience. I hope we catch Kruger as much as possible going forward. We can't afford a freshman moment from our catcher in the postseason.
Good to see Hunter Stovall back and he hit well for the Tournament. Holland has been serviceable so it's hard for me to say that we should just sit him. IMO, Stovall is superior defensively and offensively so I probably would lean towards him playing. The SEC Tournament was a good thing for Hunter so that he could get some action before the regionals. Collins and Gridley had a rough SEC Tournament defensively. I don't know why that is- Gridley is usually very steady. I have noticed that other teams have had some issues defensively as well and that leads me to believe that it's something with the ballpark most likely. It could be just being unfamiliar with the ballpark- they make teams practice at some high school field due to other games going on. So you're taking infield on a different field than the one you are playing on- and while I have never played infield I would imagine that is a huge disadvantage. And I'm speaking for other teams as well when I say this- not just us. Collins did have a home run against Bama. We need to get Nate Lowe white hot at the plate again.
Mangum continues to play well despite missing a fly ball- that happens to every outfielder at some point in time. He got messed over on a double play call at first which I think hurt us from a momentum standpoint. Bad umpiring has been a theme this tournament as well- which is really nothing new. We need to get Reid and Rooker going again. I was surprised that Poche shut both of them down. Robson is getting better and better.
The good news is we are pretty much a lock to be a National Seed which is what we want obviously at this point in the season. I guarantee you our regional will not be as tough as Alabama, LSU, and Florida one right after the other. At least I hope not. You never know what the committee is going to do or what your draw is going to be- but being a National Seed I would hope that it is somewhat manageable. I'm looking forward to postseason baseball at Dudy-Noble Field which is where it should be every year. We need to clean up our defense a little bit. And Cohen is going to manage a regional a LOT differently than what we saw for the SEC Tournament. Where we brought in Paul Young- it will probably be Rigby or Blake Smith for example. Regionals, SR, and the CWS aren't as hard on a pitching staff as the SEC Tournament is- so we don't have to worry about burning up guys as much. Cohen used the SEC Tournament to experiment with the lineup a little bit- and he knows what has worked for us and what hasn't. So, it's GO time right now.
I'm looking forward to officially getting our National Seed tomorrow- and then seeing who we play on Monday.
Hail State!