RPI
- Thread starter wsjmsu75
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I'm as guilty as anyone of being quick to point out this team's flaws, but this really is one of those "if not us, then who?" years. The Hogs lost, Vandy lost again, Texas has dropped two this weekend, and Louisville may get swept by an unranked Clemson team. Meanwhile, State just keeps finding ways to win.
There are things we do during an average game that drive me nuts at times, but it really is ludicrous to tell ourselves that we're not a Top 5 or Super regional host type of team. If not us, I'd ask the naysayers who it should be?
There are things we do during an average game that drive me nuts at times, but it really is ludicrous to tell ourselves that we're not a Top 5 or Super regional host type of team. If not us, I'd ask the naysayers who it should be?
Part of it too, I think, is we have been so embarrassed with riches in the past. How many times here lately have we stranded batters? It's a lot. And every time I think to myself Jake Mangum or Elijah McNamee would have gotten them home. Which really isn't fair since both of them struck/flied out plenty of times. But two years later we just remember the good and forget the bad.
You all are doing what normal fans who have been burned before do, and you’re looking for reasons to not believe you’re good enough. You go through the mental gymnastics of “well do these late game rallies mean we are good or just getting lucky?” What if, what if, what if? I get it, for sure.
But, I can honestly say that I’m really concerned y’all are going to win a national championship this year. I don’t dislike your baseball program, at all. I admire it in many ways. But not enough that I want to live in a state where MSU has won one and Ole Miss hasn’t, just to be honest.
Neither of us are unbiased observers, clearly. But MSU has a very, very good baseball team. Anything can happen in postseason play, you can run into a starter who throws the game of his life. You can have a bad error that extends an inning and becomes a crooked number. It’s baseball. But, I honestly think if someone handed me $10,000 and said bet it on one team to win it all, I’d take MSU. Because I think pitching matters so much in Omaha, and y’all have it in spades.
But, I can honestly say that I’m really concerned y’all are going to win a national championship this year. I don’t dislike your baseball program, at all. I admire it in many ways. But not enough that I want to live in a state where MSU has won one and Ole Miss hasn’t, just to be honest.
Neither of us are unbiased observers, clearly. But MSU has a very, very good baseball team. Anything can happen in postseason play, you can run into a starter who throws the game of his life. You can have a bad error that extends an inning and becomes a crooked number. It’s baseball. But, I honestly think if someone handed me $10,000 and said bet it on one team to win it all, I’d take MSU. Because I think pitching matters so much in Omaha, and y’all have it in spades.
I too am a believer in the reverse jinx.
And I think Ole Miss could win it all, and we could exit early.*
You might be right but the way region play is set up you guys will be a rough matchup for anyone. I just hope we are not facing your team in post season play especially if your players are hot at the plate. Pitching is carrying us this year and I do not want to be matched up with a team that we have to score a bunch of runs to beat.
You're one of the good ones. The best Reb poster this board has seen. Don't you
think it's time to go ahead and just make the jump over to this side? That way, us winning a championship wouldn't bother you.
think it's time to go ahead and just make the jump over to this side? That way, us winning a championship wouldn't bother you.
Actually, I think we have gotten quite a bit of timely hitting this year. We would not be sitting where we are without it. We have had more than our share of comeback and walk off wins. You don't get those without timely hitting.
Just one example- Logan Tanner's 3 run homer Friday night to get us back in the game, then Mule's leadoff double in the 9th which we absolutely had to have to send it to extra innings for TA's walkoff homer.
And another- TA's bases loaded triple on Sunday against OM. That was maybe our biggest clutch hit this year.
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Don't look now, but Vanderbilt is fading
We've talked about Jack Leiter being used too much, and how he's starting to show some wear. On the other hand, we have been using every pitcher possible. Our guys will be fresh for the May-June run.
We've talked about Jack Leiter being used too much, and how he's starting to show some wear. On the other hand, we have been using every pitcher possible. Our guys will be fresh for the May-June run.
Yeah, I see they lost to Florida again today. Means we are tied with them for second place in the SEC, one game behind Arkansas. We have a reasonable chance for another SEC championship. But the main thing is we are almost a lock for a top 8 national seed. Just need to take care of business in our last 3 series.
Great examples. I stand somewhat corrected.
Perhaps I should have just focused on our inability to move a greater number of runners in scoring position across the plate this weekend.
Hard to see the forest for the tree recently bumped into.
Perhaps I should have just focused on our inability to move a greater number of runners in scoring position across the plate this weekend.
Hard to see the forest for the tree recently bumped into.
Haha, I appreciate it. And I like a bunch of you guys and my MSU buddies in real life, but I just wasn’t raised in a way for that to be possible. I’m sure most of you understand. But me not being able to pull for y’all doesn’t also mean I have to be an *******. A lot of people seem to struggle with that part of it.
That hit was absolutely the most impactful in Ole Miss’s season so far. Take that hit away and both of our situations look different right now. I mean, we are both clearly still very good, but the national seed bubble looks different. But, because of it, MSU is pretty much a lock now, and rightfully so.
Oh I know what you mean. I guess the best way to measure timely hitting is to look at team batting average with runners in scoring position. It would be interesting to see where we stand on that relative to the rest of the SEC. But of course that is just a raw statistic that does not take into account what teams do in the most crucial situations. It also does not count leadoff hits in crucial situations, like Mule's double in the 9th. That was certainly a "timely" hit.
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Agree for the most part, but you can't say for sure that the outcome of the game would have been different without it. We had already tied it up at that point. I do think it was a crushing blow to your chances though. And you are right, it was definitely a pivotal game for both teams, besides just the rivalry bragging rights.
So you are saying there’s a chance. Next thing you will tell us Man landed on the Moon.
Well, considering the fact that we have been up there (Omaha, I mean) 11 times while your team has been only twice ever and just once in the last 50 years, it would seem that it should not come as a shock. What would truly be shocking would be the reverse happening (God forbid). I might have to leave the country if that happened.
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We are certainly good enough to get to Omaha, but I don’t think we’ve got the pitching to get through Omaha. We’d have to out-slug some teams there, which we are capable of, but the teams there won’t be chopped liver, themselves. Our lineup is very good, but we are really missing Elko in the 4 spot. He was having a monster year, and then for him to get hurt the way he did, I think it’s taken us a while to recover. Now Dunhurst, who’s very good, is in 4 hole, Bench in 5th and McCants in 6th, and they’d all be so much better in the 5,6 and 7 spots. Oh well, that’s how it goes. We do have a couple bullpen guys showing some life, and that’s great, because if they don’t Broadway’s arm is going to fall off before we ever get to the postseason.
I think both of our teams are capable of winning it, but I like the way MSU is set up more. We pretty much have to have dominant performances out of Hoglund and Nikhazy to have a chance. And they’ve both been pretty special, so maybe we will get it, but it’s a razor thin margin of error. Y’all can survive a shaky start because of being able to go to so many guys out of the pen.
I don’t know the exact numbers, but I think we were up to something like 14 stranded runners through 6 innings during Gm 1 on Saturday. That was probably the most glaring example of the season so far, but my gosh... it certainly felt like that 3-2 win really should’ve been more like 10-2
Whatever the case, we got the sweep, and I was ecstatic to see that Lemonis is finally trying to correct a couple glaring holes like James’s glove and Hatcher’s bat. At this point, nobody can say that he didn’t give those guys every possible chance, and there will come a time when they’ll get another one, but it’s the time of the year when Coach has to prioritize the team over the player
Whatever the case, we got the sweep, and I was ecstatic to see that Lemonis is finally trying to correct a couple glaring holes like James’s glove and Hatcher’s bat. At this point, nobody can say that he didn’t give those guys every possible chance, and there will come a time when they’ll get another one, but it’s the time of the year when Coach has to prioritize the team over the player