so: collegiate baseball: from 6th to 17th baseball america: from 8th to 15th the good news is that rankings don't mean **** in college baseball. we just need to take care of business against florida and vanderbilt. if we can go 3-3 there i'll be "happy." this team has been headed in the wrong direction the last few weeks despite a sweep against bama, and CPM's coaching ability has gotten to the point where it can't overcome the mistakes this team has been making. these guys need to regroup and reassess what they want from this season and grab it, because frankly, it's up to them from now on. a top-eight seeding is pretty much out of the picture now unless we go on one helluva tear or the pitching staff does some soul searching or figures out what the word "consistency" is. i expect a good run to the SEC tourney, and i expect to host a regional, but beyond that i'm not really sure what will happen. SEC baseball has gotten to the point where it is entirely too competitive to have more than one midweek game in a week. i know that all the teams have to play midweek games too, but every team in the SEC has a few rough weekends and i think that it is probably to be attributed to that -- it becomes even tougher when you're on the road. but seriously, Ole Miss deserves their lofty ranking, they played some solid baseball this weekend! i don't know how much of it was bianco's coaching job or how much was LSU just being outplayed, but whatever it was, it was something else.
This is the first time in the last several years that a Mainieri coached team backslided. The last couple of years, they got continually better each weekend. I'm sure that they'll be flying high by the time the SEC tournament comes around. Actually, I think it's an advantage being ranked where we are. We're the spoilers now. I bet when the seedings are announced, whoever ends up in our bracket is going to wish that they weren't.
It is also one of the few times he has been out-coached. In hindsight, it is easy to see his mistakes. Especially in Game 3. (Ole Miss was batting very aggressive all weekend. So, in a tie game, putting in Ross, a "pitch-to-contact" guy, may not be the best idea). But, with the guys in the bullpen, he is handcuffed with who he can put in. Hopefully, this team can rebound from this and not continue to slide.
that, and starting ranaudo (who relies on fly balls for outs) with the wind howling the way it was... not a good idea in hindsight. personally i would have gone with chris matulis in that first game after the rain delay and i saw how the wind was going out. having a crafty lefty who relies on ground balls would have helped. but ranaudo is the "ace," and you want your best guy in the "friday" slot. however, i feel that other than matty ott, chris matulis is our best pitcher -- when his stuff is on, it's on. i agree with steve that this is the first time we've gotten worse over the course of a season with mainieri, however i do not feel it's a good thing at all. at this point in the season you should have a good idea of your pitching rotation. the killer is their consistency. we also saw the dreaded return of base running mistakes. no matter how well you hit, if you can't pitch well or run smartly, chances are good that you will lose. there is still time to make a nice run, but unless a miracle happens, don't expect these guys to make a run in omaha -- we just don't have moxie or swagger like the team last season did, not to mention the pitching. that doesn't mean that we can't have success, i just don't expect omaha this season. the guys that mainieri brought in from the juco ranks (mormann and bourgeois) have largely been disappointments, IMO. usually when you bring in a guy from juco it isn't just to supplement what you have, it's to replace guys that you lost. and ross, for whatever reason, hasn't been reliable. i know this idea is not a popular one at all, but i think it's time to move matty ott into the starting rotation. at this point in the season, we need consistency. we will have piece-work relievers and closers, but if this team wants to host a super, they need to rack up "Ws" and get their confidence back up to level. i feel that ott could be an equalizer, especially with florida and vandy coming up. friday: ott saturday: matulis sunday: ranaudo relief: bourgeous, ross, bertuccini, mormann closer: rittiner, cotton, lasuzzo, alsup why? because we haven't been able to hold-off late rallies (USM, auburn, bama, ole miss) so having a great closer is almost a non-factor. matty ott has shown that he can pitch well for 7+ innings. we're scoring enough runs to win, we're just not able to hold the other team at bay. this is all just conjecture on my part because coach mainieri knows more about his team than i ever will, but it's what i'd do.
i disagree. he went 7 against bama, but when left in for extra innings against ole miss (which cpm had no choice but to do) he lost the strike zone after two innings. he struggled a lot after that. if our bats had done their job, he wouldnt have gotten in that pickle. between pick offs and stranding guys, our base running was less than stellar. if matty struggled because he was still tired from going 7 a week before, then he isnt ready or conditioned to be a starter. as far as ranaudo, he had a bad game. it happens. the wind was also blowing out hard, and he and pomeranz both got lit up. (and i am not just saying that cause i think ar has a nice ass.) moving him to number three in the rotation after one bad outing is a bit premature, imo. base running, base running, base running. a lot of problems there that was a bad flashback to 08. it was overall sloppy. every phase of the game was inconsistent all three games.
but ranaudo, matulis, bourgeois, et al are immune from that? that's my main reasoning. no one has been able to pitch effectively, consistently. i don't think matty was tired at all, ole miss was just aggressive at the plate. we've been going to extra innings too often, which to me, means that starting (or middle relief) isn't doing its job. i'm all for experimentation at this point, since omaha doesn't loom as large on the horizon as it did a few weeks ago. also, you need your best player (this case pitcher) to take up the slack from those who aren't doing their jobs effectively. if i had a porsche, it wouldn't just be a sunday driver. i know it's not popular, but LSU not making a super regional probably wouldn't be popular either. like i also said, it's all just conjecture, but i'd have ott on the mound friday. but, who knows? maybe these guys will get their sh!t together and ranaudo will turn in a flawless performance? so far this season, i haven't been convinced that he can do it. for the record, i'd love to see what matty could do as a starter. closers make a lot of sense in the majors, i'm not too convinced that it works the same in the college ranks. not to the point where your (supposed) best pitcher only get a chance to come in when everyone else has effed up. but i'm a proactive person rather than a reactive one. interesting discussion/idea, though.
it wasnt just ole miss' batting. ott struggled to find the strike zone. after two innings he threw nothing but balls, and had to really dig deep to find the zone. he had gone two innings on saturday also. imo, he was worn down after just a couple of innings on sunday. if it was a bad game, it was a bad game. but he started on fire and then just lost it, which i think was tired. ranaudo just started bad and stayed bad. it happens. and its not all pitching. bats and base running didnt help. it was over all play. if gibbs had not been picked off, he would have been in scoring position and gotten in. instead, when we got another base hit, the bases were empty.
Well it was one hell of a bad weekend. But I’ll wait and see how/if the team rebounds. They did play 8 games (4 on the road) in 10 days and that is hard, but in post season play they will need to be able to handle it. I’m not ready to throw in the towel and based on the health and talent of the playersand the circumstances (travel/weather/using so much of the bullpen mid-week) maybe the coaches did about all anyone could. ldskule::tigbas:
no, you're right about that -- it's a lot more than pitching. :bncry: it's up to the coaching staff now.
