I thought we had a very good year considering we couldn't hit and the injuries we had.
I think a lot of fans thought last year was a fluke, and I think this team proved it wasn't. We won 21 SEC games total including the Tournament, and we won the SEC Tournament a year after going to a SR. Honestly, if we have even half the injuries we did, we probably win at least three more SEC games. But, we didn't, and we controlled what we could.
Certainly, those are not my ultimate goals for our program, but considering where we were two years ago, I'll take it.
I also think this team earned some national respect for MSU baseball for the the first time in years. I think the experts saw us as a program with a good history that is an above average team- depending on the year. We pissed off some people in the SEC and I think in this situation, it's a good thing. I think we also made some fans- I heard a lot of people talk about how they liked the way we played. That to me, is almost as good as any trophy we could win.
The pitching was awesome. I don't know if we will be as good next year, but I really like Woodruff and Lindgren. I also like Trevor Fitts and Will Cox. Holder was lights out this year, and Ross Mitchell was also very good. That's a solid core for the next two years at least. I expect them to improve. Oh yeah- we also have Pollorena and Graveman coming back. Butch deserves a raise.
Defensively, I thought we were average. Especially the infield. I thought the outfield was outstanding defensively with Renfroe, CT, and Brownlee. And then Henderson came on strong. We probably led the SEC in outfield assists. I thought we improved as the year went along, though. Next year, we should be no worse than above average, and I am hoping for better than that. Slauter needs to improve some on blocking balls in the dirt. Rea is really good defensively and Frazier makes plays he should make. I think Alex Detz will be our second baseman and I think Nick Flair will take over at third base. I think Detz will be as good as Frost and Britton at second base and I think Flair will be an improvement over Norris. More importantly, I think they will be upgrades with the bat. I think the outfield will be Hunter Renfroe, CT, and Demarcus.
Now what everyone wants to talk about- hitting. No doubt we need to get better. Some people on here are saying we need to "change our philiosophy". I disagree- we need to add to and improve our philosophy. After all- we used to have a totally different philosophy under a different coach- and it didn't work very well for us either. Why should we go back to something that DIDN'T WORK? And having an offense that doesn't take advantage of what your players can do- that sounds an awful lot like a MSU football coach who occasionally peeps around here. Putting pressure on the defense is a good offensive philiosophy- but what we need to do is IMPROVE it. How? By adding power and more speed. If we have the threat of creating runs and putting pressure on the defense- that in and of itself can cause a team problems. See Vanderbilt vs. Florida in the SEC Tournament. But a team that can create AND has the threat of hitting home runs- scary. Because what pressure does is force mistakes by the other teams- and thus putting your hitters in better situations. Better hitting situations for power hitters and mistakes by the opponent = more home runs. It also makes you more versatile because it would allow us to adapt better to ballparks like FSU's and win slugfests and at the same time we can also adjust to hitter's ballparks better as well.
We also need to be able to run the bases in terms of stealing better. Again, like power- it's another tool that we can use to put pressure on the other team and wreak havoc. Put it all together- again, a team that no one wants to face. That's what we need to get to. And now that we have experience and some talent and hopefully good health- we should be much, much better next year.
Right now- I am excited about the future of MSU baseball. We had a good season. BUT there are some goals and things to work towards. No doubt the coaches will stress all of the close SEC losses in the offseason. That ultimately cost us a regional host bid. Also- no doubt the team will not forget this regional, and I think they will be hungry to achieve their goals next year.
I think a lot of fans thought last year was a fluke, and I think this team proved it wasn't. We won 21 SEC games total including the Tournament, and we won the SEC Tournament a year after going to a SR. Honestly, if we have even half the injuries we did, we probably win at least three more SEC games. But, we didn't, and we controlled what we could.
Certainly, those are not my ultimate goals for our program, but considering where we were two years ago, I'll take it.
I also think this team earned some national respect for MSU baseball for the the first time in years. I think the experts saw us as a program with a good history that is an above average team- depending on the year. We pissed off some people in the SEC and I think in this situation, it's a good thing. I think we also made some fans- I heard a lot of people talk about how they liked the way we played. That to me, is almost as good as any trophy we could win.
The pitching was awesome. I don't know if we will be as good next year, but I really like Woodruff and Lindgren. I also like Trevor Fitts and Will Cox. Holder was lights out this year, and Ross Mitchell was also very good. That's a solid core for the next two years at least. I expect them to improve. Oh yeah- we also have Pollorena and Graveman coming back. Butch deserves a raise.
Defensively, I thought we were average. Especially the infield. I thought the outfield was outstanding defensively with Renfroe, CT, and Brownlee. And then Henderson came on strong. We probably led the SEC in outfield assists. I thought we improved as the year went along, though. Next year, we should be no worse than above average, and I am hoping for better than that. Slauter needs to improve some on blocking balls in the dirt. Rea is really good defensively and Frazier makes plays he should make. I think Alex Detz will be our second baseman and I think Nick Flair will take over at third base. I think Detz will be as good as Frost and Britton at second base and I think Flair will be an improvement over Norris. More importantly, I think they will be upgrades with the bat. I think the outfield will be Hunter Renfroe, CT, and Demarcus.
Now what everyone wants to talk about- hitting. No doubt we need to get better. Some people on here are saying we need to "change our philiosophy". I disagree- we need to add to and improve our philosophy. After all- we used to have a totally different philosophy under a different coach- and it didn't work very well for us either. Why should we go back to something that DIDN'T WORK? And having an offense that doesn't take advantage of what your players can do- that sounds an awful lot like a MSU football coach who occasionally peeps around here. Putting pressure on the defense is a good offensive philiosophy- but what we need to do is IMPROVE it. How? By adding power and more speed. If we have the threat of creating runs and putting pressure on the defense- that in and of itself can cause a team problems. See Vanderbilt vs. Florida in the SEC Tournament. But a team that can create AND has the threat of hitting home runs- scary. Because what pressure does is force mistakes by the other teams- and thus putting your hitters in better situations. Better hitting situations for power hitters and mistakes by the opponent = more home runs. It also makes you more versatile because it would allow us to adapt better to ballparks like FSU's and win slugfests and at the same time we can also adjust to hitter's ballparks better as well.
We also need to be able to run the bases in terms of stealing better. Again, like power- it's another tool that we can use to put pressure on the other team and wreak havoc. Put it all together- again, a team that no one wants to face. That's what we need to get to. And now that we have experience and some talent and hopefully good health- we should be much, much better next year.
Right now- I am excited about the future of MSU baseball. We had a good season. BUT there are some goals and things to work towards. No doubt the coaches will stress all of the close SEC losses in the offseason. That ultimately cost us a regional host bid. Also- no doubt the team will not forget this regional, and I think they will be hungry to achieve their goals next year.
