Honest question about this team

[calidawg]

If you strip the recency bias away. How do you feel about this team heading into the regionals compared to our teams in the last decade?

[TNDawg35]

Should make it through the regional. Supers is all about the draw. Once Omaha, anything is possible...

[Captain Falcon]

Less confident than I was in ‘13, ‘16, or ‘19. But more confident than the other years. Will all just depend on how we play. We are a very high ceiling team when we play well and I could see us making a lengthy run, or we could stink it up and be done a week from now and it wouldn’t shock me.

[Offshore Dawg]

Falcon summed it up correctly. It depends on where their heads are. I just have not seen this greatness that gets talked about from the pitching staff and we only have one Tanner Allen in the batting line up.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Well I thought 19 was winning a natty for sure so I dont even try anymore

[R2Dawg]

We had issues in 2018 as well but made it to Omaha without even having home field at all winning on road at FSU and Vandy. This team can do the same but playing at home. We do need a good draw though. If we face the wrong team early we will be out early.

But the MSU way is we turn it on come NCAAT time in baseball. Our history is full of it. No reason not to expect us to not turn it up a notch this year.

[KOdawg1]

We just have too many holes.

-Our pitching staff is talented, but it's not elite like we thought it was. Mac isn't an ace, Bednar is the best SP we have but even he's inconsistent, and we don't have a 3rd starter. Our bullpen has plenty of bodies but outside of Sims and Preston Johnson, I don't really trust anyone.

-Our bats are mediocre and I think we knew that coming in. TA and Rowdey are good, but they can't carry the whole team. KJ, LoTan, and Hancock will have to get hot for us to go deep. Dubrule has been decent after getting adjusted. Clark has shown flashes at times but he was at prom last year.

-Then our defense has been the biggest weakness. 3B has been a circus, Lane has had his struggles at SS but he's just a freshman, and LF has been inconsistent too.

You can win a NC if you're good in 2 of those 3 areas. We're good in maybe one and even that's iffy. BUT this is a talented team and they've had a good regular season, so get in there and see what happens. I think we're well suited for a regional and then for the super, it's all about the draw. Every team that wins a national championship has to have a little luck, so maybe it's finally our turn to benefit from some luck.

[Bdawg]

Pretty much what everyone has said so far. I'm more upset with pitching and defense. We knew our hitting was going to be suspect, but if our pitching and D lived up to the billing, we would have enough offense to get it done. Well, I figure our hitting has been about what we thought. But the other 2 categories are below what we thought they would be. Not sure why Mac has lost his velocity, but he can't put that up in the zone fastball by anyone anymore. They have turned into homeruns when throwing 90 instead of Ks when he was throwing 94-95. I don't know why our defense hasnt improved over time either. Just can't get better. I guess it's just mental. You would think they have had plenty of reps. Just can't bring it to the game, unless they've sucked at D in practice too. Maybe it's just who we are.

Really would have liked to watched this team with Foscue and Westburg on it.

[Rex54]

Feel great. Should be rested, focused, and healthy after a strategic 0-2 in Hoover.

40% shot to reach Omaha.
4% shot to win it all.

[CadaverDawg]

If we can avoid SEC teams until Omaha I think we have a shot to get there. Matchups are everything, and I could easily see us going home to a La Tech or somebody like that in our Regional. We need a confidence boost badly. If we could sweep through a Regional I would grow some of the wool I lost back heading into Supers

[Saltydog]

Not too good. In order for this team to make a deep run into the NCAA we knew we had to have two things (great pitching and defense). We have neither. It's a team that you look at and go, meh. There's just nothing that wows me about this group. Now, if this team got on a run like the '18 team then they could make a run but they don't aren't clicking like that team and damn sure don't have the heart.

[State82]

Not too good. In order for this team to make a deep run into the NCAA we knew we had to have two things (great pitching and defense). We have neither. It's a team that you look at and go, meh. There's just nothing that wows me about this group. Now, if this team got on a run like the '18 team then they could make a run but they don't aren't clicking like that team and damn sure don't have the heart.

I swear I could have written this verbatim. I still don't think we come out of the regional. I have zero confidence in this team. Damn I hope I am wrong. I will be there to find out.

[Rex54]

Now, if this team got on a run like the '18 team then they could make a run.

[ArrowDawg]

We just have too many holes.

-Our pitching staff is talented, but it's not elite like we thought it was. Mac isn't an ace, Bednar is the best SP we have but even he's inconsistent, and we don't have a 3rd starter. Our bullpen has plenty of bodies but outside of Sims and Preston Johnson, I don't really trust anyone.

-Our bats are mediocre and I think we knew that coming in. TA and Rowdey are good, but they can't carry the whole team. KJ, LoTan, and Hatcher will have to get hot for us to go deep. Dubrule has been decent after getting adjusted. Clark has shown flashes at times but he was at prom last year.

-Then our defense has been the biggest weakness. 3B has been a circus, Lane has had his struggles at SS but he's just a freshman, and LF has been inconsistent too.

You can win a NC if you're good in 2 of those 3 areas. We're good in maybe one and even that's iffy. BUT this is a talented team and they've had a good regular season, so get in there and see what happens. I think we're well suited for a regional and then for the super, it's all about the draw. Every team that wins a national championship has to have a little luck, so maybe it's finally our turn to benefit from some luck.

Pretty much how I'd sum it up. Getting to Omaha is possible with regionals at home. Winning it, with all the problems of this team, would require an extraordinary level of luck that doesn't exist with MSU sports on the biggest stage.

[Commercecomet24]

Y'all need to watch some of the other teams from around the country play. We may have some holes but outside of arky just about every team has similar issues. I think we notice our warts more because we are so focused on State. Trust me if you watch other teams outside the sec you'll see similar issues. This team is fully capable of making a run because we've played some good baseball we're also capable of laying an egg, along with everyone else outside of maybe a couple. I fully expect this bunch to ball out over the next couple of weeks and get to Omaha because everytime they've been challenged this year they've responded.

[Rex54]

Y'all need to watch some of the other teams from around the country play. We may have some holes but outside of arky just about every team has similar issues. I think we notice our warts more because we are so focused on State. Trust me if you watch other teams outside the sec you'll see similar issues. This team is fully capable of making a run because we've played some good baseball we're also capable of laying an egg, along with everyone else outside of maybe a couple. I fully expect this bunch to ball out over the next couple of weeks and get to Omaha because everytime they've been challenged this year they've responded.

This all day.

[The Federalist Engineer]

If you strip the recency bias away. How do you feel about this team heading into the regionals compared to our teams in the last decade?

(1) Blended results should make you feel good. 20-10 in the SEC is hard to do, very hard.
(2) since about 1996 that the SEC went to 30 games, MSU did not win 20 games until 2016
(3) you have the reigning SEC POY on the team - thats like a heisman on the team.
(4) MSU has 16 pitchers with significant pitching contributions in 2021
(5) nobody is hurt that we know of
(6) everybody got a long week of rest after the Run Rule games

Post season is a total reset, so you can basically just start again. Taking out all psychological and other subjective interpretations, MSU is no worse off recently than at any point in the season. Same weaknesses (defense, no absolute Ace, and the bottom of the order) and the same strengths (Allen, Sims, Tanner, and pitching depth).

Anything can happen

[Saltydog]

Will we see Hatcher's "exit velo" up before the end of the season. Been waiting a long time for it there WJ.....

[DownwardDawg]

Before the Missouri and SECT debacle, I thought this team had a chance to win it all if the chips fell right. I thought if we got a favorable bracket in the CWS then we would at least play for the natty.

[Activated Alpha]

I just hope Ole Miss and Arkansas lose their regionals. 17 OM and 17 DVH