Baseball question.........

[Pit Bull]

....I know most are about good and drunk at this point on Sat. nite/Sun. morn., but who do you feel will be our Sun. starter? I got Small (Fri.nite #1) and Ginn (Sat.#2), but cannot settle in my mind on who the Sunday starter will be. Several choices. Gotta think we can put someone in the Sunday slot that will give us a solid rotation on weekend series. Am so looking forward to baseball season. Just hoping the product will exceed football and basketball. My baseball expectation is to make the Dance.....Every year!!...at a minimum. We should have a program that can do that. And I think we should be good enough to at least host a Regional and Super once every 3 years. That's just me. I also want to see how Lemonis recruits his first few years with the new facilities that we have now. We should be top 5 in that category, if not #1. BTW......wish ED would have a baseball only recruiting page to keep up with our talent. Nobody seems to have a year to year list and how the players rank versus college baseball publications. Go Dogs!

[Todd4State]

I actually think we will go Keegan James on Saturday and then Ginn on Sunday because Ginn is a potential dual position player and also a freshman. Things could change especially if Eric Cerentola emerges though.

[Pit Bull]

I actually think we will go Keegan James on Saturday and then Ginn on Sunday because Ginn is a potential dual position player and also a freshman. Things could change especially if Eric Cerentola emerges though.

Sounds good. I imagine we'll try several scenarios on the #3 hurler and on what day he throws. If Ginn can add some pop to the lineup, by all means slot him for Sunday work on the mound.

[Todd4State]

Sounds good. I imagine we'll try several scenarios on the #3 hurler and on what day he throws. If Ginn can add some pop to the lineup, by all means slot him for Sunday work on the mound.

Probably so. Usually that's something that has to be sorted out as the year goes along. That's also how sometimes those bad early losses happen while the lineup is getting sorted out. Spots 2-3 are going to probably be between Ginn, Cerentola, James, McQuary, and maybe Tyler Spring if I had to guess. I prefer McQuary come out of the bullpen because his command is often an issue. I've heard that Ginn is very advanced for a freshman so I feel OK about him pitching. If Cerentola emerges and there is no guarantee on that- in fact I'm not expecting that to happen- it would be huge because then James can come out of the bullpen and or start midweek for us. Self, Plumlee, and Gordon give us a great start to building our bullpen- along with a hopefully healthy Spencer Price. That's four veteran guys to work with. But none are LH so we'll probably have Christian MacLeoud be the LH guy out of the bullpen. Colby White can throw hard but his command is sometimes off. IF he can throw strikes consistently he would be a nice weapon to have out of the bullpen as well.


I'm not sure where Ginn fits in the lineup other than DH or 1B. He could certainly play third which would put Landon Jordan at DH and Foscue at second base probably. Unless we move Rowdey Jordan to the infield which is possible.

[starkvegasdawg]

How does Ginn pronounce his last name? Is is like the alcoholic beverage or the second syllable in again?

[State82]

How does Ginn pronounce his last name? Is is like the alcoholic beverage or the second syllable in again?

"G" as in "go"

[starkvegasdawg]

"G" as in "go"

Gracias.

[Pedrioa is King]

Keegan will be Sunday and Christian MacLeod is next man in line. Cerantola needs some work.

[timotheus]

That sounds about right.

[Pit Bull]

I hope we have some decent mid week starters, etc too. We can't afford to lose a bunch of those games.

[CadaverDawg]

I'm anxious to see our pitching staff as well as how Westburg transitions to SS. He got a lot of high praise last year in interviews with coaches, that he was the future at SS and a damn good one...hope so. As for pitching, I feel slightly optimistic only because we have some guys that have experience. I just wish we had a LH matchup guy....a Lindgren or Girodo is worth multiple wins per year out of the pen, and can make a good pen Great. But hopefully for the first time in years, we won't have to throw a youngster or wild card with control issues during midweek I don't think. I think Plumlee might help us more than most think...glad he got it together and came back.

[Pedrioa is King]

We need Breaux to be really good. He’s the key. If he can be like he was in HS, we would be a great ball club.

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

SEC West is going to be brutal again boys. If we can survive the meat grinder, we'll be prepared for post-season. The key to any season is to rack up as many wins as possible through your non conference schedule. How you perform in the SEC is obviously important, but the difference in an SEC West team hosting or not hosting usually comes down to non conference wins or losses. Last year we lost to McNeese St., Utah Valley, S.E. La., Nicholl's St., Memphis, and while losses to a highly ranked RPI team, the 3 losses to USM to begin the season set the stage for the first half of the season. Hopefully, we have gotten some stability in the coaching ranks and can start on the right foot this season. Non conference looks manageable. But it's going to be a tough road once we get to SEC play starting with the first series at Florida.

[Todd4State]

SEC West is going to be brutal again boys. If we can survive the meat grinder, we'll be prepared for post-season. The key to any season is to rack up as many wins as possible through your non conference schedule. How you perform in the SEC is obviously important, but the difference in an SEC West team hosting or not hosting usually comes down to non conference wins or losses. Last year we lost to McNeese St., Utah Valley, S.E. La., Nicholl's St., Memphis, and while losses to a highly ranked RPI team, the 3 losses to USM to begin the season set the stage for the first half of the season. Hopefully, we have gotten some stability in the coaching ranks and can start on the right foot this season. Non conference looks manageable. But it's going to be a tough road once we get to SEC play starting with the first series at Florida.

I agree 100%. That's also why midweek games are so important and own reason why I think it's so important to have a quality midweek guy.

[State82]

I agree 100%. That's also why midweek games are so important and own reason why I think it's so important to have a quality midweek guy.

Yep. You and Lumpy are spot on. I've said this for years and people continue to just blow the non conference schedule off every year. Those games are absolutely important. Very important. They can smack hell out of your rpi. Sure, your SEC finishing spot has the most significance but never underestimate the impact the non conference record has come hosting selection time.

[Pit Bull]

USM and the Frisco Classic will be our toughest OOC weekend series. If we can win 2 of 3 or better in both of those, that will be good! We lost to a bad Memphis team last year....some years the Tigers are good, but they were very bad last year and we could do nothing with them. That type Jeykll and Hyde play is not good. Not sure what Maine has. They have had a good program over the years, but we should do well and not lose more than one in that series. I am excited with the new stadium and coach.....kind of like opening Christmas presents to see what you got.....Hope its good!!

[Todd4State]

USM and the Frisco Classic will be our toughest OOC weekend series. If we can win 2 of 3 or better in both of those, that will be good! We lost to a bad Memphis team last year....some years the Tigers are good, but they were very bad last year and we could do nothing with them. That type Jeykll and Hyde play is not good. Not sure what Maine has. They have had a good program over the years, but we should do well and not lose more than one in that series. I am excited with the new stadium and coach.....kind of like opening Christmas presents to see what you got.....Hope its good!!

We also have East Carolina and Ole Miss during the midweek OOC.

Last year was understandable. New stadium that wasn't 100% ready, major coaching issue, lots of freshmen, lots of games on the road and then we started off with a team out for blood on the road that made us their World Series. Teams like Memphis and USM are always going to play us hard because our baseball program is a brand name in the industry and they are competing with us for recruits to a degree. Not very many program have made a SR three years in a row. Not mention Omaha and won the SEC the past three years. That's what we have to deal with as a program but that's the way we want it too. Fortunately we offset a lot of those losses sweeping the Shriner's Classic, beating Ole Miss 3/4, sweeping Florida, and beating Arkansas. No question it would have been ever better without the distractions as well.


Memphis will play us hard as well because Shoenrock and McNickle have MSU ties as well. I'm sure that they have a few players that wanted to play at MSU as well.


Maine is your typical Northern school program. We should beat them but losing a game or even the series wouldn't shock me because we sometimes play like trash against those teams early. Especially if they have someone that throws 82 and can change speeds.

[The Federalist Engineer]

I hope we have some decent mid week starters, etc too. We can't afford to lose a bunch of those games.

Plumlee eats midweek teams for breakfast. Look at his stats, only top SEC teams hit him like OM, LSU, and Arkansas

Otherwise his ERA would have been sub 2.00

[Saltydog]

is kinda snake bitten but yeah I agree, we could certainly used him but I'm skeptical.

[Scared_Hitless]

Pretty excited for the season to get rolling our Line-Up was top notch towards the end of the year. Mac, Magnum, and Westburg are going to be a fun combo at the top. Also having an elite pitching coach I wanna see what he can do with some of our underperforming guys.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Plumlee eats midweek teams for breakfast. Look at his stats, only top SEC teams hit him like OM, LSU, and Arkansas

Otherwise his ERA would have been sub 2.00

I'm excited to see what Plumlee can do this year, but I wouldn't put too much weight in stats from 2 years ago. Supposedly he's developed a lot since then

[Pit Bull]

We also have East Carolina and Ole Miss during the midweek OOC.

Last year was understandable. New stadium that wasn't 100% ready, major coaching issue, lots of freshmen, lots of games on the road and then we started off with a team out for blood on the road that made us their World Series. Teams like Memphis and USM are always going to play us hard because our baseball program is a brand name in the industry and they are competing with us for recruits to a degree. Not very many program have made a SR three years in a row. Not mention Omaha and won the SEC the past three years. That's what we have to deal with as a program but that's the way we want it too. Fortunately we offset a lot of those losses sweeping the Shriner's Classic, beating Ole Miss 3/4, sweeping Florida, and beating Arkansas. No question it would have been ever better without the distractions as well.


Memphis will play us hard as well because Shoenrock and McNickle have MSU ties as well. I'm sure that they have a few players that wanted to play at MSU as well.


Maine is your typical Northern school program. We should beat them but losing a game or even the series wouldn't shock me because we sometimes play like trash against those teams early. Especially if they have someone that throws 82 and can change speeds.

The way we closed out last year was what was incredible. We had to win the very last game just to get into the SEC Tourney. Had we not made it to Hoover, we would likely not even made any regional and thus Omaha.

[louisvilledawg]

How does Ginn pronounce his last name? Is is like the alcoholic beverage or the second syllable in again?

It's like the G in "Gnat"

[The Federalist Engineer]

I'm excited to see what Plumlee can do this year, but I wouldn't put too much weight in stats from 2 years ago. Supposedly he's developed a lot since then

I expect him to better, just saying he's a great midweek guy. Plus I expect McQ to be better. If he can develop control, people hit sub 210 against him - as a freshman within the conference

I hope McQ doesn't go Benjamin Button like Vance Tatum

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

I expect him to better, just saying he's a great midweek guy. Plus I expect McQ to be better. If he can develop control, people hit sub 210 against him - as a freshman within the conference

I hope McQ doesn't go Benjamin Button like Vance Tatum

I was really disappointed in McQ last year, but then again Henderson didn't really improve any pitchers that returned from '16. Hopefully with a different staff we can iron out the control and mental flaws and bring out that potential. I agree with you that he can be unhitable with some better control

[BuckyIsAB****]

....I know most are about good and drunk at this point on Sat. nite/Sun. morn., but who do you feel will be our Sun. starter? I got Small (Fri.nite #1) and Ginn (Sat.#2), but cannot settle in my mind on who the Sunday starter will be. Several choices. Gotta think we can put someone in the Sunday slot that will give us a solid rotation on weekend series. Am so looking forward to baseball season. Just hoping the product will exceed football and basketball. My baseball expectation is to make the Dance.....Every year!!...at a minimum. We should have a program that can do that. And I think we should be good enough to at least host a Regional and Super once every 3 years. That's just me. I also want to see how Lemonis recruits his first few years with the new facilities that we have now. We should be top 5 in that category, if not #1. BTW......wish ED would have a baseball only recruiting page to keep up with our talent. Nobody seems to have a year to year list and how the players rank versus college baseball publications. Go Dogs!

JT Ginn

[Todd4State]

I was really disappointed in McQ last year, but then again Henderson didn't really improve any pitchers that returned from '16. Hopefully with a different staff we can iron out the control and mental flaws and bring out that potential. I agree with you that he can be unhitable with some better control

We'll see on McQuary but to me he's a guy that's going to either put it all together his senior year like Girodo or not at all with not a lot in between. He's just now coming to grips with being a pitcher as opposed to a position player and then the pitching coach changes haven't really helped him out all that much as you said. We'll see what Foxhall can do with him.