End of Two Weeks Baseball Thoughts

[Todd4State]

MSU has never come into a season as the reigning National Champion and as I feared there would be some issues with handling it. I've seen it happen with my MLB team the St. Louis Cardinals after 06 and 11. If a MLB team that has won the World Series 11 times as an organization isn't immune to issues then a college baseball team certainly isn't. The thing with MSU that is a little different in my observation however is our guys seem to realize that there might be issues and as a result they have tried to do too much as a team and it has resulted in cringe worthy AB's and sloppy play. Add in some guys not getting it done on the mound at times and you get what we get. I think losing to Northern Kentucky in game one may have been what was needed. After that game it seemed like our guys stopped trying to do too much and started to have more quality AB's and the result was better baseball.

Our pitching situation is especially interesting. Maybe even moreso now that there are rumors of KC Hunt being injured. How our staff shapes up going forward depends on how bad Hunt is injured and how Fristoe performs. That's what we need to keep an eye on in the short term. If Fristoe performs he can slide into the rotation and we can move Preston back to the bullpen or maybe even Sims if it comes down to that. I'm sure we'll keep the rotation the same for now- as we should. Fristoe may get a chance against USM and will get a chance in one of the games against Texas Tech to show what he can do. I'm hopeful that Tepper can round into shape soon and take a spot in the pen and that Andrew Walling can figure it out by the end of the year like Girodo and Daniel Brown did in the past. It's good to see Stone Simmons pitch well and really good to see Brandon Smith pitch well. We need some reliable relievers to emerge one way or the other. The good news is I feel like our starters can typically get deep into games if necessary. Also, our midweek schedule gets significantly easier once SEC play starts and that will help in the long term if have to move Fristoe back to the rotation. The most difficult midweek games once SEC play starts would be against Ole Miss which is late in April and then UAB and Memphis as well as Samford. Those are three teams we could beat with a bullpen game starting Pico and then piecing it together. And then we'll see about the Governor's Cup which is typically a bullpen game anyway.

LoTan I think is starting to hit his stride and relax. Hancock most certainly is. Kam James has to be in the lineup and I think we have to keep him at third for now. The MIF is interesting. I think Yeager will hit before too long because he is hitting the ball hard. He'll probably be white hot at the end of the year. I'll go ahead and say that I think Leggett will take the SS job from Forsythe. He's a better overall player right now. We'll see if Tanner can sustain his play though.

Outfield is interesting as well. Cumbest is the only one with a spot. Corder should be out there as well for now. Although Jess Davis has looked pretty decent at the plate so far. Might be worth giving him a start and see what happens. Especially with leadoff hitter being a question mark for us. Aaron Downs looked good today. Kellum Clark I think will figure it out soon but he's going to sit a lot as long as Downs and McGowan are outperfroming him. Hunter Hines is going to be an All-SEC player for us. We'll see how he adjusts now that there is a scouting report on him.

HUGE week and a half for this team. We have an opportunity to make some noise and make up for scuffling a little bit. Have a tune up against Grambling before we play a good USM team in Pearl that's going to give us their best shot. We're their only midweek game this week too. Hopefully we'll pitch Fristoe against USM and not go Ron Polk II and throw Fristoe against Grambling. Tulane is going to be on the road and if last year was any indication it's going to be intense. I'll be very happy with 2/3 from them. We're going to be their World Series. They're a good team as well and just took 2/3 from a good La Tech team in Ruston. And then we get Texas Tech for two in Biloxi. No matter what our team will be battle tested going into SEC play.

My advice- stay with this team and buckle up your seatbelts. It's going to be tough at times and we may not be a National Seed but this team is good and they'll have a chance to be in Omaha again when it's all said and done.

[MaroonFlounder]

Wait. KC is injured?

I've not seen that anywhere.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Wait. KC is injured?

I've not seen that anywhere.

That is the rumor. But it’s not confirmed.

[RougeDawg]

Two weeks in I see no real glaring issues. Some baseball teams take time to figure it out.

Davis and Corder have had the best AB?s as anyone on the team. Their takes tell me all I need to know about them. They know the game and mental aspect of it. Cumbest will be streaky with his swing as it is. Pitchers will start to go soft away on him until he adjusts.

Wish we had played LBSt weekend 2 instead of 1. It takes baseball hitters a little time to get settled and their confidence. Beating up on the little sisters of the poor 1st weekend can help mentally. Maybe they finally got all of that out of their systems and the confidence is up.

[Todd4State]

Two weeks in I see no real glaring issues. Some baseball teams take time to figure it out.

Davis and Corder have had the best AB?s as anyone on the team. Their takes tell me all I need to know about them. They know the game and mental aspect of it. Cumbest will be streaky with his swing as it is. Pitchers will start to go soft away on him until he adjusts.

Wish we had played LBSt weekend 2 instead of 1. It takes baseball hitters a little time to get settled and their confidence. Beating up on the little sisters of the poor 1st weekend can help mentally. Maybe they finally got all of that out of their systems and the confidence is up.

I would honestly prefer to play someone like Youngstown State like we did a few years ago in week one unless we are in a tournament like last year. More than anything to just get everyone's feet wet and to try to give as many guys an opportunity to play as possible. Especially knowing that our starters are going to be on somewhat strict pitch counts.

[TNDawg35]

Clark would be sitting right now with Downs playing. I wouldn’t mind giving Hines some time at 1st and let Hancock DH. I really would like to see Alford get some ABs also, but right now I don’t know where that would unless we move James to CF.

[Maroonthirteen]

TL : DR. Opinion, Speculation, rumor

[Gutter Cobreh]

Long Beach got swept by Sacramento State this weekend... scoring 8 runs combined in 3 games

We have holes in both pitching and hitting. I'm more concerned with our plate approach and squaring up the baseball than anything happening on the mound.

At this point, I'm just chalking it up to starting the season playing in winter conditions. Hopefully, when the temps improve so will our hitting.

[Catfish]

We've got good coaches and a good team. We're gonna be ok.

[basedog]

Well, on the positive side, after our first two game we were 0-2, but the next five games we are 4-1, LOL but true!

[Extendedcab]

I still say we are not a good (consistent) cold wether team! :confused:

[Commercecomet24]

Well, on the positive side, after our first two game we were 0-2, but the next five games we are 4-1, LOL but true!

And we've scored 52 runs in those 5 games, so the world isn't ending.

[Commercecomet24]

Two weeks in I see no real glaring issues. Some baseball teams take time to figure it out.

Davis and Corder have had the best AB?s as anyone on the team. Their takes tell me all I need to know about them. They know the game and mental aspect of it. Cumbest will be streaky with his swing as it is. Pitchers will start to go soft away on him until he adjusts.

Wish we had played LBSt weekend 2 instead of 1. It takes baseball hitters a little time to get settled and their confidence. Beating up on the little sisters of the poor 1st weekend can help mentally. Maybe they finally got all of that out of their systems and the confidence is up.

Yep, good post.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I think right now it is one of those things where you don?t have to freak out and sound the alarms but at the same time we would be foolish not to acknowledge that we have some glaring issues at the moment. I think those get figured out. The question though is when do they get figured out.

[TNDawg35]

I was feeling salty at work last night so I went digging. We are not really that far off from that all world All SEC Ole Miss offense that is suppose to be king to everyone… here are some quick numbers…

State/OM
BA- .279/.341
HR- 10/11
Runs scored- 55/71
Slug%- .438/.609
Obp- .400/.438
SB- 7-8/8-9
SO- 51/32
BB- 36/33

Pitching stats
Era- 3.84/2.20
SO- 81/57
BB- 24/19
Average of opp team- .237/.177
Earned Runs- 36/11


Now, look at who whe have played and who they have. We played LBSUx3, NKYx3, and UAPB. They played VCUx2, Charleston S x3, and Ark State. I give us the edge on better team for LBSU. But they are doing what they should against bad teams. You light up the board. Lord don’t even get me started on LSU. Those numbers hurt my feelings looking at them. I mean Johnson’s literally took Arizona and LSU, combined the best players and brought them to the Box. They are bad news…

[MStateDawg]

I wouldn?t mind giving Hines some time at 1st and let Hancock DH

100% agree! I have no clue why we haven't done this. By all accounts Hines is a very good defensive 1st baseman. Hancock is average at best. If both are gonna be in the everyday lineup, might as well swap them and get the better defender on the field

[confucius say]

We have some issues that need to be resolved quickly. Find a leadoff.
Settle the order.
Solidify your top 3 guys out of the pen.

I think this will happen, but my guess it will be too late to be a top 8 seed. Hopefully we can host but that will be a grind. We've already matched our total regular season noncon losses from last year (3), so really don't need anymore bc we went 20-10 in the sec last year and that will be a tough repeat.

[Homedawg]

I was feeling salty at work last night so I went digging. We are not really that far off from that all world All SEC Ole Miss offense that is suppose to be king to everyone… here are some quick numbers…

State/OM
BA- .279/.341
HR- 10/11
Runs scored- 55/71
Slug%- .438/.609
Obp- .400/.438
SB- 7-8/8-9
SO- 51/32
BB- 36/33

Pitching stats
Era- 3.84/2.20
SO- 81/57
BB- 24/19
Average of opp team- .237/.177
Earned Runs- 36/11


Now, look at who whe have played and who they have. We played LBSUx3, NKYx3, and UAPB. They played VCUx2, Charleston S x3, and Ark State. I give us the edge on better team for LBSU. But they are doing what they should against bad teams. You light up the board. Lord don’t even get me started on LSU. Those numbers hurt my feelings looking at them. I mean Johnson’s literally took Arizona and LSU, combined the best players and brought them to the Box. They are bad news…

I'm not sure I would have posted that. I understand you say that we have played better comp, and maybe so, but their numbers are WAY better than ours offensively. And pitching wise as well, although their lack of K's is telling to a degree.
Northern KY is really really bad, we should have padded our stats more.

[basedog]

And we've scored 52 runs in those 5 games, so the world isn't ending.

Hitting was the issue on the first game of the season also, one hit one run, so we are already improving. Pitching in the second game of season wasn't great either, so we have improved in this area as well.

Lots of ways to look at our season and judge.

[sleepy dawg]

Thanks for the comparison, but that looks pretty substantial to me.

[Commercecomet24]

Hitting was the issue on the first game of the season also, one hit one run, so we are already improving. Pitching in the second game of season wasn't great either, so we have improved in this area as well.

Lots of ways to look at our season and judge.

Right it's so early and such a small sample size, there's plenty of different ways to look at it so far(and this is true in most baseball seasons early on from hs to mlb).

[RougeDawg]

One question I have is why aren?t we making Forsythe try bunting for a hit some? He seems to be a plus runner and struggling mightily. Getting a few bunt hits will work wonders for his psyche. He will get some hits and get to see the ball making contact. Will help him all around and hopefully spark a little offense.

Just my thoughts as I?ve seen someone going with a bunt heavy approach while in a slump has gotten them out of it.

[HoopsDawg]

One question I have is why aren?t we making Forsythe try bunting for a hit some? He seems to be a plus runner and struggling mightily. Getting a few bunt hits will work wonders for his psyche. He will get some hits and get to see the ball making contact. Will help him all around and hopefully spark a little offense.

Just my thoughts as I?ve seen someone going with a bunt heavy approach while in a slump has gotten them out of it.

We are bringing Forsythe off the bench as a defensive sub which I like b/c it allows Leggett to get 3 AB's and then we pinch hit for him on his 4th AB. This allows a guy like Kellum Clark or Von Seibert to get an AB and limits our SS's to 3 AB's per game. Leggett is playing outstanding defense so far.

[BiscuitEater]

One question I have is why aren?t we making Forsythe try bunting for a hit some? He seems to be a plus runner ..

But .. 'can' he even bunt'

[confucius say]

Mississippi has been head and shoulders better than us. Really no comparison. Not unexpected at this point though. They returned 8 starters and haven't had to pitch yet. We'll see how quickly we can close the gap.

[RougeDawg]

But .. 'can' he even bunt'

Can?t be any worse than his attempts at hitting. Worth a try and process of elimination.

[State82]

Thanks for the comparison, but that looks pretty substantial to me.

Very much so.

[Coach34]

We are bringing Forsythe off the bench as a defensive sub which I like b/c it allows Leggett to get 3 AB's and then we pinch hit for him on his 4th AB. This allows a guy like Kellum Clark or Von Seibert to get an AB and limits our SS's to 3 AB's per game.

This is a good point. Even if their 3rd AB is at a critical point in the game- we can go ahead and make the move

[Commercecomet24]

This is a good point. Even if their 3rd AB is at a critical point in the game- we can go ahead and make the move

Exactly, it's almost as if we're gonna treat them like a NL pitcher, which is not a bad strategy at this point.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Lead off is Hancock. Dude gives us the best at bats and swing discipline on the entire team. Time to get him as many opportunities as possible.

[MaroonFlounder]

How about we "circle back" to the KC Hunt rumor.

Don't just throw that out there and not follow up.

Is it BS or is he truly injured?

[Captain Falcon]

Are we really going down the ?Ole Miss looks awesome in February? road again? Do we not have 20+ years of experience knowing how this usually ends?

[Captain Falcon]

Have not seen this posted yet but we are starting Walker against Grambling and Fristoe against USM

[Coach34]

How about we "circle back" to the KC Hunt rumor.

Don't just throw that out there and not follow up.

Is it BS or is he truly injured?

Word is he is on the shelf for a couple weeks or so. That's all we have heard to this point

[Homedawg]

How about we "circle back" to the KC Hunt rumor.

Don't just throw that out there and not follow up.

Is it BS or is he truly injured?

Considering I was the one that put it out, I'll answer. I was told he was dealing w a sore arm and wouldn't be pitching. I didn't confirm it w anyone on the inside so I posted it as I didn't validate it. That's how it was presented. Sorry you don't like how it was presented. So call it bs or whatevr. I still haven't spoken w anyone on the inside. But he didn't pitch this weekend. You do the math..... and next time I'll keep it to myself.

[MaroonFlounder]

Considering I was the one that put it out, I'll answer. I was told he was dealing w a sore arm and wouldn't be pitching. I didn't confirm it w anyone on the inside so I posted it as I didn't validate it. That's how it was presented. Sorry you don't like how it was presented. So call it bs or whatevr. I still haven't spoken w anyone on the inside. But he didn't pitch this weekend. You do the math..... and next time I'll keep it to myself.

Naw, rumors are encouraged. It's just that when player health is the rumor, it can be depressing.

I'm still shell-shocked from all the mini me wes johnson torn UCL pitchers from a few years back that decimated our staff.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Naw, rumors are encouraged. It's just that when player health is the rumor, it can be depressing.

I'm still shell-shocked from all the mini me wes johnson torn UCL pitchers from a few years back that decimated our staff.

Funny enough you know there are actually people that try to blame Cann for all of those arm problems.