D1 Baseball released their rankings.
2- Arkansas
3- Vandy
4- State
5- Ole Miss
8- LSU
9- Florida
16- UGA
19-TN
I think Arkansas is too high and of course the usual let?s rank Ole Miss as high as possible. Hell do they even return a pitcher at all? If LSU can find pitching, they are gonna be TOUGH?
I?m guessing they have Texas at #1. I only saw the SEC people ranked in the part I saw?
I have no clue what Ole Miss has returning, but they aren't doing Bianco any favors consistently ranking them so highly to start the year. Just pisses off their fan base more when he "underachieves".Quote:
Originally Posted by TNDawg35
YepQuote:
Originally Posted by Johnson85
Yes Texas seems to be thought as the clear consensus #1 and projected to win the CWS. With what they have returning I don?t disagree with that but I think we should be ranked #2. UGA at 16 seems high. Haven?t they been bad lately? I don?t know what all Ole Miss and Ark have returning and like someone else said if LSU finds pitching they might win the conference
Bianco doesn?t seem to have the edge it takes to win big games. He sets the tone for his teams and they perform poorly when he gets tight. OM can?t win big with him because he?s the issue, not their talent.
I knew Aaron Fitt was extremely high on Arkansas from fall ball but I think #6-10 is a better range preseason than #2.
I wish Ole Miss had been ranked #1. Makes the oncoming collapse so much more enjoyable
Yep, it happens every year with them. Lather, rinse, repeat. They start off hot and look like world beaters and then comes the collapse, every year. Most of it is because little mike can't handle a pitching staff and rides his arms early in the season and they have nothing left when they need it.Quote:
Originally Posted by CadaverDawg
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to CadaverDawg again.
[QUOTE=PGHBulldogBG;1404890UGA at 16 seems high. Haven?t they been bad lately?[/QUOTE]
Georgia was really good from '18-'20. Last year was a transition year for them and they just missed the NCAAT, but they bring back a lot. We open conference play in Athens and that should be a tough series.
Also noticed that our opening weekend opponent Long Beach State was #24. Don't underestimate that series either. They smoked us at their park two years ago.
Arkansas did that with Kopps last year also. The way Lemonis and Foxhall handled the entire staff last year is probably the reason we won the National Title last year. Our guys just had a lot left in the tank at the end of the year especially Sims and Bednar. We also benefitted from letting so many other guys pitch in high pressure situations instead of trotting Sims out 2 or 3 times per weekend in the 9th.Quote:
Originally Posted by Commercecomet24
Kopps only gave up 3 runs over 9 innings in that last game vs. NC State, offense was the reason Arkansas lost not really pitching. Kopps pitched in a lot of back-to-back games but overall his total innings pitched were about in line with most starters which is essentially what he was despite his unusual usage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbonewannabe
Lemonis and Foxhall handled our pitchers perfectly, and as you stated the biggest reason we won it all last year. They played the long game, even to the chagrin of some of our fans wondering why we didn't use Sims more early or why we let this guy throw in a high leverage game. Our pitchers still had plenty in the tank at the end and we got plenty of guys meaningful, high pressure inning, so they were ready for it. Perfect example of the opposite is Kumar Rocker. Dude pile up tons of innings and then got to the post season and he just wasn't the same. Out of gas, velo down and breaking ball with no bite.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbonewannabe
Kopps was otherwordly in what he did last year. Its like the dude had a bionic arm or something. He never seemed to get tired. Crazy what he was able to do and a shame the way it ended for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by WPS
Not saying they're Omaha bound by any stretch, but OM will have one of, if not the best lineup in the country this year. They return their entire lineup minus the fat kid they slobbered over who wasn't that good (Baker I think). Their problems will be on the mound as they lost their 3 best pitchers in Hoglund, Nikhazy, and Broadway. That's 2 elite starters and a very good backend bullpen arm. They'll have to piece it together and be prepared to win some 11-9 type shootouts. But if they figure it out on the mound, they could go far. Will they? Bianca's history says no. He'll run what few good arms they have in the ground during February and March, and then choke away in a super regional. But make no mistake about it, they'll be good.
Is the fat kid the one that tore his ACL and came back? I thought he pretty much killed it before he got hurt and then was pretty decent playing on a bum knee?Quote:
Originally Posted by KOdawg1
Maybe not having established starters will allow Bianco to go against tendency and actually save arms while he's trying to figure out the best pitchers.
No that's Elko. He's back for them. He's like a 5th year senior.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnson85
Not to worry as all this pre ranking stuff means nothing! Some are always ranked too high, some to low, so there will always be disappointments!
I will say this again, I hope all of the celebration stuff is behind and we live up to expectations. We will have every team we face this season attention! What we did last year was about time, so now we know we can do it again, we have the talent, hope we are injury free and have some luck this spring!
HailState!
The thing with Kopps was pitching 8 innings per weekend isn't bad but where the issue is how it is done. If you throw 4 innings on Friday and 4 on Sunday, that is going to wear the pitchers arm down more than just pitching 8 innings on Friday. It is pretty amazing what Kopps did last year. I haven't seen many pitchers basically put a team on their back the way he did. I hope he makes the MLB because he is fun to watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by WPS
D1 is a good baseball web site. They do pander to their readers. Ole Miss is always ranked high because they have a lot of fans relatively speaking compared to other schools and they know it gets MSU fans attention as well.
They have a lot of veterans for sure. Whether they make it to Omaha or not is completely dependent on how their arms hold up. Their ace is rumored to have arm issues already. The others are transfers and JUCO's. At any rate I doubt they have anyone near Hoglund or Nikahazy's level. The last three years was their year on paper to make it to Omaha. They could be very young in 2023.Quote:
Originally Posted by KOdawg1