Well...if that's as "well thought out" of a decision as Smoke can make, perhaps those anti-Smokers out there are on to something....

That's just unfair. What would you have him do? Since you insist upon using hindsight, Dirks sucked in his brief appearance. Had Smoke started him it would have been a lot uglier. Determan killed the top of the lineup. Their best hitter, Rodriguez (?), never got his bat within 2 feet of the ball. The bottom of the lineup came through, unfortunately. Admit you're pissed that we lost but don't blame the choice of starter. Smoke's instincts were absolutely dead on.

very true. the decision worked great. our hitting, although excellent average, was untimely and consistently inconsistent. dp's have always been the LSU killer. always will be.

When the NSU pitcher gives out 7 free passes only to get 3 double plays behind them it makes you understand why the f*cking hell LSU is behind 3-2 to a SLC conference school in the fifth inning. Otherwise there is absolutely no explanation.

I am also waiting for a good explanation (righty-lefty != good) for Will Harris playing at first base instead of Gill.

But you are also using "hindsight", how do you know that Dirks would have not come in and shut them down. Dirks has been a starter all year and all of a sudden you are going to bring him into a game as a reliever in a particular situation. A starter has their routine that they go through at the beginning of a game that puts them in the right frame of mind to pitch. A reliever comes in with a totally different mindset and a different routine to get prepared to pitch.

Mind point exactly.

yeah im not sure ive ever seen that in any game on any level with 7 walks and 2 runs. when you allow those chances to pass you usually pay for it in the end. Such was the case here.

determan pitched more than well enough to win. your argument is dead. really.

I agree with you on the hitting part of the game...LSU did not hit the ball all tournament and they hit into too many DP's like usual. Even if we were hitting the ball I still would not under stand why he pitched Determan over Dirks.....

yes he would have looked like a genius if it would have worked, but it did not.

Well, that question cannot be answered by anybody, including Smoke. He went with the hot hand, which was Detes. Determan piched very well. We did not lose the game because Dirks didn't start. We lost the game after he came in. That's fact. So, as I said, it appears Smoke's decision was the right one.

Well, it ended up 12-4 in LSU's favor so what the hell is your point?

it worked. the hitting didnt come through in the clutch.

LSU hit .400 or so for the tournament. nice try.