I'm looking forward to being back in the box this season! Last season was puzzling. As we wrapped up non conference play with a sweep of Cal St. Fullerton I was getting fired up about the season, and then the wheels just fell of when we hit SEC play. I think a huge part of the problem was the lack of LHPs. I am hoping JC transfer Bonvillian and a few of the freshman LHPs we picked up can help take care of that issue. I would really like to see sophomore Kevin Gausman have a great season, and work his way into the Friday night slot as our ace. I look for Austin Nola to come back strong this season, after an off year in 2011. I think Jacoby Jones will be one of our leading batters, and he has a great glove as well. Ty Hanover will do what he does, play great 3 bag and hit well in the clutch. Outfield looks solid with Katz, Rymes, and Edwards; but I was really looking forward to seeing Spencer Ware out there as well. I can understand him wanting to devote his efforts to football though. I'm not sure what to make of the catcher position. Ross played well, but there were some issues in the dugout last season that caused him to sort of lose focus and taper off late in the year. I hope this has been addressed because he is a great catcher. As of now I am planning to make the season opener against AF on Feb 17th! Nothing like baseball at the BOX!!! :geaux:
When a team goes from a national championship to not even making the postseason in 2 years, that's not the wheels falling off. That's the wheels, the axle, the suspension, the steering column, and the engine coming off. I just hope Mainieri found a good body shop in the offseason.
I wouldn't go quiet that far, but I see your point. It was a TAD suspicious that we didn't get into the regional over Baylor, even though we had a better record. Suspicious as in their AD sits on the regional selection board/committee.......
Kinda like how UConn got a regional as a 2 seed when they could barely get a dozen fans to show up, right around the time when there was a push to "grow the game" outside the south and west coast. People need to think about these...um, "coincidences", when they look at BCS alternatives like Danielson's selection committee idea.
the Collegiate Baseball pre-season poll is already out: NCAA DIV I POLL - Current - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper LSU is ranked #12 this is the SEC: #1 Florida #2 South Carolina #8 Arkansas #12 LSU #18 Georgia #23 Vanderbilt
Pitching should be strong. Hitting has to improve with the loss of Mikie. Looking forward to another season at the Box.
Much as I hate them, I think this is the year Florida finally breaks through and wins that elusive first National Championship. They are absolutely LOADED. Pitching, hitting, running, fielding, they have it all. South Carolina will have something to say about it however. They have that all important winning tradition and definitely have that "it" factor. We could be seeing a repeat of last year's National Title series. I have learned to temper expectations a bit for the Tigers b/c the SEC is so loaded. A decent showing in the SECT and hosting a regional will be hard to do, but I think we can get it done. The SEC is starting to take over baseball as well.
