Our path to a Regional...

[Quaoarsking]

...is not very likely. I'm going to be optimistic about our 7 remaining SEC series:

• South Carolina - let's say we take 2/3
• @ Alabama - maybe we get 1
• Florida - they're 1-8 just like us, so we ought to win 2/3 at home
• @ Auburn - again maybe 1
• Kentucky - they have a losing SEC record right now, but it's at home, so let's get 2/3
• Ole Miss - let's be super optimistic and say we take 2/3
• @ Missouri - they've had our number lately even when terrible, but let's say we get 2/3

If we do all of that, winning each remaining home series, winning the series at Missouri, and avoiding a sweep at Alabama and Auburn, that gets us to 13-17, which gives us a chance for a Regional. Not a lock, because I project an RPI around #50 at 13-17, but at least on the table. If we can do all of that and win another game to get to 14-16, I'd feel a lot better.

No SEC team has ever gotten in at 12-18. A few (including us) have gotten in at 12-17, but never 12-18 or worse. Could that change this year? Yes - no 6-12 team had ever made the men's basketball tournament before, and 2 teams did that this year for the first time. But their metrics were a lot better than ours.

It's a yearly tradition here for some posters to be saying we won't make a Regional and usually it's a lot of overreacting, but this year, anyone saying that is probably right. The path listed above is pretty optimistic. Nothing about this season makes me confident that we can go 12-9 in the SEC from here out, and even if we do, I'm not sure we get in.

[EdwardDrayton]

"Our path to a regional is not very likely."

Understatedly he said.

[Cooterpoot]

I've got a better chance of tripping over my pecker

[msstate7]

We win either way now... if we do somehow turn it on and make a regional after this start, then lemonis did a good job and gives us hope he's the guy. If we don't make a regional, we get a new coach.

[Quaoarsking]

We win either way now... if we do somehow turn it on and make a regional after this start, then lemonis did a good job and gives us hope he's the guy. If we don't make a regional, we get a new coach.

I wouldn't really call it a win if we barely sneak into a Regional and Selmon decides "At Mississippi State, simply making a Regional is good enough."

I said before the season that we need to have a winning conference record and be in the hosting discussion for Lemonis to keep his job, and I still say that. He would need to go about 15-6 over the last 21 for that to happen, but he dug himself into this hole.

Lemonis is a top 10 coach in salary and needs to give us top 10 results on the field. I know the nature of baseball makes it impossible to be top 10 literally every year, but he needs to do that some and still be decent in the off-years. Instead, the last 4 years of 2022-25 have been awful, awful, decent, and presumably awful.

[Coursesuper]

I just looked also and see things pretty much the same way. We have almost no margin for error. The problem is as I see it we continue to beat ourselves much of the time with any opponent that is in our level. They have to win at least 11 or 12 to advance to the postseason, that’s a tall order for this team considering the way they are playing right now.

[Coursesuper]

I've got a better chance of tripping over my pecker

You win the internet today.

[HoopsDawg]

I like the Kohn/Stone paring. That gives us a good shot on Fridays.

[msstate7]

I wouldn't really call it a win if we barely sneak into a Regional and Selmon decides "At Mississippi State, simply making a Regional is good enough."

I said before the season that we need to have a winning conference record and be in the hosting discussion for Lemonis to keep his job, and I still say that. He would need to go about 15-6 over the last 21 for that to happen, but he dug himself into this hole.

Lemonis is a top 10 coach in salary and needs to give us top 10 results on the field. I know the nature of baseball makes it impossible to be top 10 literally every year, but he needs to do that some and still be decent in the off-years. Instead, the last 4 years of 2022-25 have been awful, awful, decent, and presumably awful.

We won't get in the regional without our level of play going way up. If that happens, then I'll have much more confidence in Lemonis.

[Saltydog]

Croach say we still make a regional. You didn't get the memo?

[confucius say]

Settling bullpen roles and finding a lineup would work wonders.
Season is half way over. FIO

[EdwardDrayton]

Making a regional means we're one of 64. That's our benchmark for this clown who's only even delivered that once since '21. And we even got bounced the year we did make it.

And this year's team. Oof.

[Coursesuper]

Settling bullpen roles and finding a lineup would work wonders.
Season is half way over. FIO

This is why they play so tight. They know that if they 17 up in any way they are going back to the bench. This is the antithesis of leadership it’s micromanagement at its finest. The players are not stupid they can see what is going on around them.

[Coach34]

we're gonna have to sweep someone. Time is running out

[cheewgumm]

We don?t have the pitching.

We have one starter.

[MBDawg601]

I've got a better chance of tripping over my pecker

I can't tell if I am laughing because of how funny this is, or how true it is.

[Todd4State]

This is why they play so tight. They know that if they 17 up in any way they are going back to the bench. This is the antithesis of leadership it’s micromanagement at its finest. The players are not stupid they can see what is going on around them.

It doesn't help that Lemonis focuses so much on the pressure at playing at MSU. The game is hard enough without talking about playing in front 15k fans.

I think that is part of what happened with Hines the past two years. When a player has a ton of pressure on them to perform they're going to press and try to do too much and try to hit the baseball 600 feet. It hurts the pitchers and players in the field when they're pitching or playing defense. Trying to do too much also can lead to being over aggressive on the basepaths.

Guys like Cohen and Vitello focus on the moment because that's all you can control when you are a baseball player. If you are a pitcher- make the pitch and locate it and get a strike. If you are a hitter see the ball and hit the ball. If you are in the field catch the ball and make the play. Do that enough and you will win more often than not.

The game is hard enough without making it life and death. At the end of the day whether it's the 7th game of the World Series or if it's a bunch of kids in the yard it's the same game. It's just baseball.

[Todd4State]

We don?t have the pitching.

We have one starter.

But we have a good bullpen. And we can manage it better. Pico can give us 6 every weekend. Then go to Hungate. He keeps saying that Hungate can pitch twice a weekend- well then do it.

Throw Pruitt on Saturday and then bring in Stone. That's at least 6 innings there. Maybe more if Pruitt is on.

Throw Siary on Sunday and then bring in Ben Davis. Throw Hungate again after that. Siary can give us 3-4 and Davis can give us at least 2.

And to fill in the rest of the innings decide who the closer is between Dotson and Nate Williams and stick with it unless one of them falls apart consistently.

That still gives us McPherson, Mannell, and Grant that we can use. Get McPherson right and that's another multi inning arm.

Use Nolan Stevens as a closer too. He can easily give us an inning a weekend.

[Coach34]

Stevens has thrown 4 pitches since March 12th. I dont think we are going to use him in a pitching role

[Pancho]

maybe we are giving him a few weeks off like stone got