Todd4State
06-07-2017, 02:07 AM
I think that was the worst we played and probably the worst Cann managed all year.
When we started McQuary I believe we had the game tied or were close to it and instead of bringing in Self, we brought in Jolly. Then some other guys outside "the six"- and we lost that game. We also started Gordon that series in game three and we lost. Self and Price got hit hard- which worries me. But I was at that game and it may be my "maroon glasses" but I thought the umpire squeezed us pretty bad. Pilkington pitched OK- but he just wasn't efficient. Outside of Lange- we hit the ball reasonably well against them- it's just that our pitching was so atrocious we couldn't overcome it. I think that if we had brought in Self when the game was tied in game two, we might have won.
If Lange pitches like he did against us, no one in the NCAA is going to beat him. Some reasons for going with McQuary if we do that- I like Pilkington vs. Poche match-up better. Pilkington is good- but he's not at Lange's level yet. I think he will get there by next year. McQuary is wild as we all know- but while that's not a good thing for us one thing it also does is it causes the other pitcher to sit around a little bit longer and sometimes that can knock them out of their groove a little bit. Hopefully we split one of those two and then we can come back with Billingsley in game three and hope for the best. And I want Billingsley to rest after throwing 120+ pitches against USM.
Just like the regional- we're going to have to have some guys step up to win the SR. Guys like Billingsley, Lovelady, Cody Brown, Stovall, Gridley, and etc.
This sort of reminds me a little bit of the 2011 SR when we played Florida. That was Cohen's first SR and first winning season and that team was pretty scrappy too. Of course, we're playing a SEC team on the road like we are now and the other team has a coach that doesn't like us. Now we didn't win that SR but I do think that SR was a springboard that kind of announced the return of MSU baseball as one of the better programs in the country and laid the foundation for the rest of Cohen's tenure and also our current team as well. Will this SR prove to be another springboard that announces our arrival as a National Powerhouse once again? I don't know- we'll see. I do think that this SR is going to be pretty heated because it's pretty obvious that Manieri and Cann don't get along and I think it's really going to jumpstart the MSU/LSU baseball rivalry again and maybe to levels we haven't seen before.
So, I think this is another chance to take an important step for our program as we're in a transition phase for the rest of this year and next while our new ballpark is being built. I think this year by sweeping Ole Miss in Oxford, winning the Governor's Cup and now going on the road to Hattiesburg and beating a 50 win USM team twice at their own place with the team we have I think we re-established ourselves as the best college baseball program in the state- although that's really probably been the case since at least 2011 but we're just now wrestling that away for good as Ole Miss and even USM tried to stake claim to that before Cohen. But the next step is to establish ourselves as a dominant program in the SEC- and to do that we have to take down LSU or at least start doing it some. So, this is a great opportunity for our program.
It's going to be tough but I'm hoping for the best.
When we started McQuary I believe we had the game tied or were close to it and instead of bringing in Self, we brought in Jolly. Then some other guys outside "the six"- and we lost that game. We also started Gordon that series in game three and we lost. Self and Price got hit hard- which worries me. But I was at that game and it may be my "maroon glasses" but I thought the umpire squeezed us pretty bad. Pilkington pitched OK- but he just wasn't efficient. Outside of Lange- we hit the ball reasonably well against them- it's just that our pitching was so atrocious we couldn't overcome it. I think that if we had brought in Self when the game was tied in game two, we might have won.
If Lange pitches like he did against us, no one in the NCAA is going to beat him. Some reasons for going with McQuary if we do that- I like Pilkington vs. Poche match-up better. Pilkington is good- but he's not at Lange's level yet. I think he will get there by next year. McQuary is wild as we all know- but while that's not a good thing for us one thing it also does is it causes the other pitcher to sit around a little bit longer and sometimes that can knock them out of their groove a little bit. Hopefully we split one of those two and then we can come back with Billingsley in game three and hope for the best. And I want Billingsley to rest after throwing 120+ pitches against USM.
Just like the regional- we're going to have to have some guys step up to win the SR. Guys like Billingsley, Lovelady, Cody Brown, Stovall, Gridley, and etc.
This sort of reminds me a little bit of the 2011 SR when we played Florida. That was Cohen's first SR and first winning season and that team was pretty scrappy too. Of course, we're playing a SEC team on the road like we are now and the other team has a coach that doesn't like us. Now we didn't win that SR but I do think that SR was a springboard that kind of announced the return of MSU baseball as one of the better programs in the country and laid the foundation for the rest of Cohen's tenure and also our current team as well. Will this SR prove to be another springboard that announces our arrival as a National Powerhouse once again? I don't know- we'll see. I do think that this SR is going to be pretty heated because it's pretty obvious that Manieri and Cann don't get along and I think it's really going to jumpstart the MSU/LSU baseball rivalry again and maybe to levels we haven't seen before.
So, I think this is another chance to take an important step for our program as we're in a transition phase for the rest of this year and next while our new ballpark is being built. I think this year by sweeping Ole Miss in Oxford, winning the Governor's Cup and now going on the road to Hattiesburg and beating a 50 win USM team twice at their own place with the team we have I think we re-established ourselves as the best college baseball program in the state- although that's really probably been the case since at least 2011 but we're just now wrestling that away for good as Ole Miss and even USM tried to stake claim to that before Cohen. But the next step is to establish ourselves as a dominant program in the SEC- and to do that we have to take down LSU or at least start doing it some. So, this is a great opportunity for our program.
It's going to be tough but I'm hoping for the best.