Thoughts 12 Games In

[StarkVegasSteve]

Today was bad. The last 15 innings were bad. We have BIG time issues glaring us right in the face and we are in the conference that does not give you time to figure things out.

1. We have zero leadership. TA is not walking through the door, Jake is not walking through the door, Ethan Small is not walking through the door. Someone is going to have to step up and take that leadership role. Whether that be a vet like LT or even a freshman like Hunter Hines. But someone better do it and do it FAST.

2. Our bullpen is BAD. we have maybe 3 to 5 guys who I can trust to go out there and pound the zone. We really needed Preston to move back to the bullpen but that is impossible in our current situation.

3. Our vets are struggling at the plate. Guys like James and Hancock can not go 0-9 in any game. Cumbest has to stop swinging at every breaking ball that leaves the pitchers hand. I thought Tanner and Clark might have turned a bit of a corner this weekend but they cannot be the only two figure it out.

4. We have to figure out the middle infield. Yeager is batting around .180. I would say he needs to sit for a few games but I have no clue what we would do. Common thought would be Leggett to 2B and Lane and SS but he is a bigger offensive pit than Yeager could dream of being. We need someone to step up. I like Leggett at one of those spots but someone else needs to step up and grab the other.

5. Landon is out, probably for the year but definitely for an extended period of time. I have no clue who the 3rd starter is going to be, but someone needs to step up and grab it. And FAST.


So the main focus of that is guys stepping up. Our season is not lost, but it is definitely teetering on the brink of it. Whether it be Lemonis, Cohen, a player, a former player, or someone on staff someone needs to light a fire under their ass. The TTU series 3 years ago was where people thought we were about to turn the corner until the season was cancelled. We need another performance like those two games in 2020

[Choctaw Dawg]

Tullar and Stinnett should never pitch meaningful innings for us again this year. Unfortunately we have nobody else though and they are gonna have to step up

[StarkVegasSteve]

Tullar and Stinnett should never pitch meaningful innings for us again this year. Unfortunately we have nobody else though and they are gonna have to step up

That?s the problem. Unless Walling magically finds it Tullar is all we have from the left side, outside of Pico who I think is going to be the 3rd starter. Now on Stinnett, I actually like what I saw out of Talley today. I know they hit him, but he pounded the zone and challenged hitters and that is all I can ask.

[Choctaw Dawg]

That?s the problem. Unless Walling magically finds it Tullar is all we have from the left side, outside of Pico who I think is going to be the 3rd starter. Now on Stinnett, I actually like what I saw out of Talley today. I know they hit him, but he pounded the zone and challenged hitters and that is all I can ask.

Yeah I think Talley is a good pitcher, barely used last year but he will be needed this year.

[Gutter Cobreh]

Hines, Seibert, and Downs are fun to watch!!! Small sample sizes with all three, but I'd put them as Tier I on who I'd want at the plate in a big situation.

LT and Hancock are a close Tier II

Clark is Tier III because if he gets something w/ speed, he'll crank.

After those 5, the rest (to include James and Cumbest) - you just hope try and draw a walk...

Not sure how we get the first three in the same line-up, but that's our only chance. If we're softball lineups (to which I agree w/ C34), might as well go all the way.

[Coach34]

I'm not worried about the offense after this weekend. The softball line-up will work out. Yeager had a good weekend and looks to be coming out of his slump.

Pitching is the problem that will have to be fixed going forward. We have 2 losses we shouldnt because of the misuse of Stinnett. 8-4 looks alot better than 6-6. Sims is likely done so we need another SP to step up. Simmons is the guy at the end but who else can handle pressure situations? Thats what we have to figure out in a hurry

[StarkVegasSteve]

I'm not worried about the offense after this weekend. The softball line-up will work out. Yeager had a good weekend and looks to be coming out of his slump.

Pitching is the problem that will have to be fixed going forward. We have 2 losses we shouldnt because of the misuse of Stinnett. 8-4 looks alot better than 6-6. Sims is likely done so we need another SP to step up. Simmons is the guy at the end but who else can handle pressure situations? Thats what we have to figure out in a hurry

So here is a question I had late yesterday and today, where the hell is Brandon Smith?? This is a guy who has pitched in big situations and we just refuse to use him this year. I just have a fear that our staff cares more about velocity than throwing strikes.

[Commercecomet24]

So here is a question I had late yesterday and today, where the hell is Brandon Smith?? This is a guy who has pitched in big situations and we just refuse to use him this year. I just have a fear that our staff cares more about velocity than throwing strikes.

Brandon threw 50 pitches Friday night and has 2 good outings in a row. I doubt they were gonna throw him again this weekend after 50 on Friday night. When Brandon's sinker is working he's excellent

[Coach34]

Brandon threw 50 pitches Friday night and has 2 good outings in a row. I doubt they were gonna throw him again this weekend after 50 on Friday night. When Brandon's sinker is working he's excellent

Had it been an SEC weekend- I think Brandon may have been used today. Since we are in preconference- you get somebody else work. I'm more pissed about Saturday than today. Running a pitcher out there in big situations that has proven he cant handle it is becoming stupid and hardheaded.

[Commercecomet24]

Had it been an SEC weekend- I think Brandon may have been used today. Since we are in preconference- you get somebody else work. I'm more pissed about Saturday than today. Running a pitcher out there in big situations that has proven he cant handle it is becoming stupid and hardheaded.

Saturday hurt BAD. We had a chance to sweep this series and blew it and yesterday was pivotal. I've had nightmares about yesterday lol and I know if I have Lemonis has.

[Todd4State]

Today was bad. The last 15 innings were bad. We have BIG time issues glaring us right in the face and we are in the conference that does not give you time to figure things out.

1. We have zero leadership. TA is not walking through the door, Jake is not walking through the door, Ethan Small is not walking through the door. Someone is going to have to step up and take that leadership role. Whether that be a vet like LT or even a freshman like Hunter Hines. But someone better do it and do it FAST.

2. Our bullpen is BAD. we have maybe 3 to 5 guys who I can trust to go out there and pound the zone. We really needed Preston to move back to the bullpen but that is impossible in our current situation.

3. Our vets are struggling at the plate. Guys like James and Hancock can not go 0-9 in any game. Cumbest has to stop swinging at every breaking ball that leaves the pitchers hand. I thought Tanner and Clark might have turned a bit of a corner this weekend but they cannot be the only two figure it out.

4. We have to figure out the middle infield. Yeager is batting around .180. I would say he needs to sit for a few games but I have no clue what we would do. Common thought would be Leggett to 2B and Lane and SS but he is a bigger offensive pit than Yeager could dream of being. We need someone to step up. I like Leggett at one of those spots but someone else needs to step up and grab the other.

5. Landon is out, probably for the year but definitely for an extended period of time. I have no clue who the 3rd starter is going to be, but someone needs to step up and grab it. And FAST.


So the main focus of that is guys stepping up. Our season is not lost, but it is definitely teetering on the brink of it. Whether it be Lemonis, Cohen, a player, a former player, or someone on staff someone needs to light a fire under their ass. The TTU series 3 years ago was where people thought we were about to turn the corner until the season was cancelled. We need another performance like those two games in 2020


So here is a question I had late yesterday and today, where the hell is Brandon Smith?? This is a guy who has pitched in big situations and we just refuse to use him this year. I just have a fear that our staff cares more about velocity than throwing strikes.

1. I think Logan Tanner is the leader. Lemonis may have to be more hands on with this team than he has in the past. I'm not sure that this is THE major issue based on what I have seen honestly.

2. If we use Simmons, Auger, Tepper, and maybe Kohn along with Brandon Smith our bullpen will be fine. The problem is we don't make that decision. The good news is there are options that appear to be viable. It's up to the coaches to decide whether they want to win with our guys that are performing or lose with the guys that are seniors that look good in the bullpen. Really no difference between Walling, Stinnett, and Tullar at this point in my book. Except two of those keep getting trotted out there. My biggest fear is that they are going to keep trotting out Stinnett and Tullar no matter what. They did that with Trysten Barlow and Riley Self a couple of years ago.

Here is a copy of my post on Genespage:

"This weekend wasn't about the players being cocky. This weekend was about the coaches making obviously wrong moves and putting people who have never been successful in high leverage spots who then predictably failed.

Stone Simmons- 3 appearances, 4.1 IP. ERA- 0.00 with 6K's and 0 BB's. Opp AVG. - .000
Pico Kohn- 3 appearances, 6.1 IP. ERA- 2.84 with 7 K's and 2 BB's. Opp AVG.- .182
Mikey Tepper- 4 appearances, 4 IP, 2.25 ERA with 4K's and 2 BB's. Opp AVG- .214
Brooks Auger- 5 appearances, 3.2 IP, 2.45 ERA with 5K's and 3 BB's. Opp AVG- .214

That's four guys we can rely on to do a decent job for us and doesn't even include Brandon Smith who has decent stats but not great and can thrive with Forsythe and Yeager playing behind him as he is an extreme ground ball pitcher.

Now compare this to who the coaches want to succeed and have been trying to let "figure it out".

Parker Stinnett- 4 appearances, 6.2 IP, ERA 8.10 with 12K's and 4 BB's not including a HBP and 2 WP's. Teams are hitting .320 off of him.
Cam Tullar- 4 appearances, 2.1 IP mostly because he can't get anyone out, ERA 19.29, 3 K's, 5 BB's and 2 HBP, Teams are hitting .500 off of him.

Stinnett and Tullar have pitched TWICE as much as Simmons has this year. That's stupid! And Stinnett's numbers are skewed by an 8 K performance against Grambling!

Our coaches are supposed to use analytics. How can they look at those numbers and come to the conclusion that bringing in Tullar and Stinnett is the right move unless we're up by 8 runs or more?


Lemonis and Foxhall have to do better than that. Period."

3. Hitting is going to be streaky but overall I thought we did fine. 19 runs, 10 runs, and then 4 runs on a weekend- we should win at least 2/3 every time with that kind of production.

4. Yes, but Yeager went up about 80 points this week. Given time he will be fine. At SS I think we need to start Leggett for his bat- he battles and takes much better AB's than Forsythe- and then bring in Forsythe late in the game around the 7th inning or so if we have a lead. Both Leggett and Forsythe are below the Mendoza line but Leggett has a better OBP and a way better slugging percentage at this point.

5. This midweek I think will be the tryout for that. I expect them to start Kohn and Fristoe. Kohn will probably win that battle. After we play Texas Tech our midweek schedule eases up a lot. Binghamton, Southern, at Memphis, UT-Martin, UAB, Jackson State before we play the Governor's Cup and then at a pretty good Samford team and finish with North Alabama. We should win most of our next six midweek games after Tech with a Johnny Wholestaff. Brandon Smith might be a candidate for the Friday spot too. We can concentrate most of our staff towards playing the weekends. We'll get more clarity on KC Hunt soon too.

I'm hoping we split the next two against Texas Tech. I'm expecting us to lose both at this point. Could get real ugly if Jack Walker looks like he did against Long Beach and Tulane.

[Todd4State]

Had it been an SEC weekend- I think Brandon may have been used today. Since we are in preconference- you get somebody else work. I'm more pissed about Saturday than today. Running a pitcher out there in big situations that has proven he cant handle it is becoming stupid and hardheaded.


Saturday hurt BAD. We had a chance to sweep this series and blew it and yesterday was pivotal. I've had nightmares about yesterday lol and I know if I have Lemonis has.

It was even worse watching it in person. I thought we had the game in the bag with Simmons and then all of a sudden I see Stinnett trotting out there and I was like "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It was like watching a train wreck from a distance and knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it.

[TNDawg35]

What if we moved James to 2B and put Alford at 3rd? I still think James is limited at 3rd. He is better than he was, but I have heard Alford is elite at 3rd. Let’s see what he has against Tech…

Clark looks to be turning the corner. The hit some balls hard this wknd. So did Yeager…

Hines is special. Plain and simple. That kid is gonna be really good for us. I honestly would rather have him at 1st and let Hancock DH or something. I wish Lemonis would let Davis lead off these 2 Tech games and play CF just to see what he can do…

[Todd4State]

What if we moved James to 2B and put Alford at 3rd? I still think James is limited at 3rd. He is better than he was, but I have heard Alford is elite at 3rd. Let’s see what he has against Tech…

Clark looks to be turning the corner. The hit some balls hard this wknd. So did Yeager…

Hines is special. Plain and simple. That kid is gonna be really good for us. I honestly would rather have him at 1st and let Hancock DH or something. I wish Lemonis would let Davis lead off these 2 Tech games and play CF just to see what he can do…

But is Alford better than Yeager as a hitter at this point? And that may weaken our MIF defense.

I'm not sure why Davis hasn't gotten much of an opportunity though. If he performs well he would bring a lot of things that Lemonis wants to do- speed, a true leadoff hitter and would probably move Hancock to second in the order where I like him better ahead of Kam, LoTan, and Hines. He would also improve our defense. I will say Seibert played well until he got hurt.

[TNDawg35]

But is Alford better than Yeager as a hitter at this point? And that may weaken our MIF defense.

I'm not sure why Davis hasn't gotten much of an opportunity though. If he performs well he would bring a lot of things that Lemonis wants to do- speed, a true leadoff hitter and would probably move Hancock to second in the order where I like him better ahead of Kam, LoTan, and Hines. He would also improve our defense. I will say Seibert played well until he got hurt.

I don’t know if Alford is better or not, but he can’t be much worse hitting wise. Now Yeager is elite in the field, and if he would get the bat going could be a good lead off. I don’t care for Hancock there to be honest. I want someone who can steal 2nd on a dime like Skinner.

Do we have anything coming in that could be that person? I know the Jett kid could but I have heard he is going to go pro. Lemonis recruits are starting to come in, so we should hopefully see something.

Today when Skinner pinch ran and we had Leggett up, I would have stole Skinner the very first pitch. Then bunted him to 3rd. Then hopefully Hancock or Kam could get him in. We all know Hancock is a contact hitter. If Skinner gets thrown out, so be it. But we have got to start playing some small ball at certain points with our guys.

On a side note, I hope LT isn’t hurt too bad. He was favoring that leg/knee pretty bad toward the end of the game. He is starting to hit the ball good. I would let him rest the Tech games. They are gonna pound us anyway cause hell we have no pitching left.

[Todd4State]

I don’t know if Alford is better or not, but he can’t be much worse hitting wise. Now Yeager is elite in the field, and if he would get the bat going could be a good lead off. I don’t care for Hancock there to be honest. I want someone who can steal 2nd on a dime like Skinner.

Do we have anything coming in that could be that person? I know the Jett kid could but I have heard he is going to go pro. Lemonis recruits are starting to come in, so we should hopefully see something.

Today when Skinner pinch ran and we had Leggett up, I would have stole Skinner the very first pitch. Then bunted him to 3rd. Then hopefully Hancock or Kam could get him in. We all know Hancock is a contact hitter. If Skinner gets thrown out, so be it. But we have got to start playing some small ball at certain points with our guys.

On a side note, I hope LT isn’t hurt too bad. He was favoring that leg/knee pretty bad toward the end of the game. He is starting to hit the ball good. I would let him rest the Tech games. They are gonna pound us anyway cause hell we have no pitching left.

I don't like Yeager leading off. Personally I don't think Alford is better than Yeager at this point.

We really don't have much team speed. David Mershon is really fast.

I agree with you on the Leggett/Skinner situation. As others have said we're built like a softball team- so we don't really have the speed to play small ball too much. Best way to do that would be start Davis and hope that he works out.

[Chuck3124]

Here?s my opinion fwiw. I think we?ve found a lineup that works this weekend, plus/minus 1-2 guys swapped out here and there. Me personally I would like to see Downs play more(just my opinion there too). Bullpen is the main issue at hand here. Looks like to me we don?t know which buttons to push at the right times like last year yet. Bullpen is talented we just haven?t figured out how to utilize it just yet which sucks. But there are a few arms back there that I have zero faith in now