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We have 8 conference games left, 6 with very good teams. I'd take 4-4 in those games, especially if the 4 wins included 2 at Florida. 5-3 would be TERRIFIC.

6 and 2 would be better with UF and Ark still ahead

With no sense of hyperbole, I think tonight's game is the most important of the entire season.

I hesitate to post this here at the cusp of a very hard stretch of schedule:

But the goal and expectation of this team should be to win the World Series in Omaha.

It’s easy to say that the sky is falling - and it may darken considerably, but we have the best batting average and fielding average in the best league - and our pitching is darn good.

The League office seems to be intentionally squeezing good pitching - which really should raise eyebrows. But baseball is a long road. It’s fine to be upset when we play poorly - but we should all expect to win with this very talented squad. At any rate, I do.

Having said this: I think the odds of it happening go up if we focus more on contact than power - especially with 2 strikes. We need to be sure to make contact when we have to have contact. Our leadoff batters could be a bit more patient too. We have really not done a good job lately of getting on base early and putting stress on opposing pitchers.

Also with the same ultimate goal: don’t be shocked if we are close to .500 in the next 10 games. 6-4 would actually be pretty good with all the road games ahead. You can’t win them all. The key is having the rotation right and everyone healthy when the tournament starts.

roanoke wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 12:12 pm I hesitate to post this here at the cusp of a very hard stretch of schedule:

But the goal and expectation of this team should be to win the World Series in Omaha.

It’s easy to say that the sky is falling - and it may darken considerably, but we have the best batting average and fielding average in the best league - and our pitching is darn good.

The League office seems to be intentionally squeezing good pitching - which really should raise eyebrows. But baseball is a long road. It’s fine to be upset when we play poorly - but we should all expect to win with this very talented squad. At any rate, I do.

Having said this: I think the odds of it happening go up if we focus more on contact than power - especially with 2 strikes. We need to be sure to make contact when we have to have contact. Our leadoff batters could be a bit more patient too. We have really not done a good job lately of getting on base early and putting stress on opposing pitchers.

Would you not agree that our starting pitching, which was so good for so long, has faltered in the last 2-3 weeks? I'm concerned about tired arms, or nagging injuries or whatever. So, agreed, Omaha is the focus and the prize, but if our starting pitching is heading south -- even a little -- that is a cause for concern. And if we rest our top guns for a series or 2 our top 8 seed prospects could be in jeopardy. So I don't have that warm and fuzzy feeling right now. A solid performance from Hunter Owen tonight would make me feel a lot better. (I assume he's starting. If he's not I feel even worse.) And where's Dut? I thought he was "day to day" a couple of weeks ago. We could sure use him!

I’m not particularly worried about the pitching. I wish it were better. It is in a mini-slump - but it’s pretty good.

What hurts is the squeezed zone. With 2 strikes we used to get edge pitches and that made guys jump at our offspeed pitches. Now they are not swinging - and umps aren’t calling strikes that would have happened last year. It is affecting Holton, imo. But Brown just needs to get his head on straight. He has to attack more and count on nibbling less - and he needs to stop overthrowing and falling down. He is a great pitcher - dealing with some adversity.

I’d like to get Dut back - and Doolin for that matter. But Owen, Cunningham, Holton, Futrell, Reilly is a treasure trove if they just execute - especially with Maldo at closer if he just goes 1 inning. Ginther is really good too.

The UT series grates me because we were particularly squeezed in that very shallow ballpark. I have to hope it was just an aberration - but UT is trouble enough at home without umps intentionally putting the ball on a tee. There may be a minor hangover - but we did sweep UK. Our SOS is high and our lineup is solid. Our execution is sometimes unfocused. Last night was certainly one of those times. Nonetheless, when we are good, we are really good. We need to be good when it counts. That includes rest and health down the stretch.

geeznotagain wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 12:35 pm

roanoke wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 12:12 pm I hesitate to post this here at the cusp of a very hard stretch of schedule:

But the goal and expectation of this team should be to win the World Series in Omaha.

It’s easy to say that the sky is falling - and it may darken considerably, but we have the best batting average and fielding average in the best league - and our pitching is darn good.

The League office seems to be intentionally squeezing good pitching - which really should raise eyebrows. But baseball is a long road. It’s fine to be upset when we play poorly - but we should all expect to win with this very talented squad. At any rate, I do.

Having said this: I think the odds of it happening go up if we focus more on contact than power - especially with 2 strikes. We need to be sure to make contact when we have to have contact. Our leadoff batters could be a bit more patient too. We have really not done a good job lately of getting on base early and putting stress on opposing pitchers.

Would you not agree that our starting pitching, which was so good for so long, has faltered in the last 2-3 weeks? I'm concerned about tired arms, or nagging injuries or whatever. So, agreed, Omaha is the focus and the prize, but if our starting pitching is heading south -- even a little -- that is a cause for concern. And if we rest our top guns for a series or 2 our top 8 seed prospects could be in jeopardy. So I don't have that warm and fuzzy feeling right now. A solid performance from Hunter Owen tonight would make me feel a lot better. (I assume he's starting. If he's not I feel even worse.) And where's Dut? I thought he was "day to day" a couple of weeks ago. We could sure use him!

Holton struggled last night, no doubt. But he wasn't horrible. The mound was clearly giving him problems, though neither Corbs nor Brownie did anything to address that (I thought a little coaching support would've been appropriate after about the 3rd or 4th stumble). But I think Roanoke was right last night, there's something off in Holton's mechanics that needs to be identified and fixed. That's part of the pitching coach's job, but Brownie doesn't seem terribly skilled at the "fixing problems" part of the job. Holton's windup and delivery look very hurried compared to a few weeks ago and that seems to affect his control. Yet, despite his struggles, he did his job...if the defense made what appeared to be routine plays, none of the first 5 runs would have scored and he would still have been pitching into the 3rd, and perhaps beyond, with a lead. On the flip side, Reilly has really emerged in his last 3-4 appearances. He has historically struggled to consistently throw strikes, certainly beyond an inning or two. But not lately. He has been very, very good of late and really saved the pitching staff last night for the rest of the weekend. As for Owen & Futrell, it's much too early to panic. Finally, I fear we're not gonna see Dut again this season. He hurt his hamstring and those take forever to heal, especially with a gratefully over-cautious skipper like Corbs. Dut may possibly re-emerge in the postseason, but sadly, my money's on not seeing him again until 2024.

geeznotagain wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 12:35 pm

roanoke wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 12:12 pm I hesitate to post this here at the cusp of a very hard stretch of schedule:

But the goal and expectation of this team should be to win the World Series in Omaha.

It’s easy to say that the sky is falling - and it may darken considerably, but we have the best batting average and fielding average in the best league - and our pitching is darn good.

The League office seems to be intentionally squeezing good pitching - which really should raise eyebrows. But baseball is a long road. It’s fine to be upset when we play poorly - but we should all expect to win with this very talented squad. At any rate, I do.

Having said this: I think the odds of it happening go up if we focus more on contact than power - especially with 2 strikes. We need to be sure to make contact when we have to have contact. Our leadoff batters could be a bit more patient too. We have really not done a good job lately of getting on base early and putting stress on opposing pitchers.

Would you not agree that our starting pitching, which was so good for so long, has faltered in the last 2-3 weeks? I'm concerned about tired arms, or nagging injuries or whatever. So, agreed, Omaha is the focus and the prize, but if our starting pitching is heading south -- even a little -- that is a cause for concern. And if we rest our top guns for a series or 2 our top 8 seed prospects could be in jeopardy. So I don't have that warm and fuzzy feeling right now. A solid performance from Hunter Owen tonight would make me feel a lot better. (I assume he's starting. If he's not I feel even worse.) And where's Dut? I thought he was "day to day" a couple of weeks ago. We could sure use him!

I was wondering what has happened to him this morning.

roanoke wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 1:05 pm I’m not particularly worried about the pitching. I wish it were better. It is in a mini-slump - but it’s pretty good.

What hurts is the squeezed zone. With 2 strikes we used to get edge pitches and that made guys jump at our offspeed pitches. Now they are not swinging - and umps aren’t calling strikes that would have happened last year. It is affecting Holton, imo. But Brown just needs to get his head on straight. He has to attack more and count on nibbling less - and he needs to stop overthrowing and falling down. He is a great pitcher - dealing with some adversity.

I’d like to get Dut back - and Doolin for that matter. But Owen, Cunningham, Holton, Futrell, Reilly is a treasure trove if they just execute - especially with Maldo at closer if he just goes 1 inning. Ginther is really good too.

The UT series grates me because we were particularly squeezed in that very shallow ballpark. I have to hope it was just an aberration - but UT is trouble enough at home without umps intentionally putting the ball on a tee. There may be a minor hangover - but we did sweep UK. Our SOS is high and our lineup is solid. Our execution is sometimes unfocused. Last night was certainly one of those times.

The strike zone is crazy, and the announcers last night referenced that was an SEC-only phenomenon; first I had heard that. I haven't watched any other conference ball this season, so I don't know, but I wonder what that strike zone discrepancy will do to/for SEC teams in the postseason. Yikes!

The defense was atypically awful last night. No, Holton didn't look good last night, but a return to defensive normalcy would go a long way to making me feel good about the pitching. So would an end to two-out runs.

I'm still concerned about the hitting, though.

Regarding Holton’s “stumbles”, if you recall that happened several times last week AT THE HAWK. So I don’t think the mound is the issue. I’ve got to believe his mechanics have changed, and not for the better. I agree he looks hurried on the mound. But he’s always pitched rather quickly.

Our pitchers getting squeezed a bit and our hitters zones expanded a touch during conference play is nothing new, it happens every year. The main objective is keeping players in a positive mindset going into regionals where neutral umpires will be behind the plate.

We won't have to deal with those clueless home plate umps in the NCAAs.

admin wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 2:49 pm We won't have to deal with those clueless home plate umps in the NCAAs.

No, we will have someone else's clueless home plate umps.