That may be somewhat flippant considering it's Belmont, and I do expect us to play well.
But, I also can't help but think back to last year when we started out 4-0, and then we played Southeastern Louisiana and we completely melted down. I could have tolerated one loss- but a sweep was really bad. That set the tone for us last year.
We did play well for our first five games- but sometimes there is a lot of adrenaline going when the season starts and that can carry a team sometimes. It always seems like any weaknesses get exposed the second week of the year. Case in point- against SELU last year, in game one, Routt got outdueled by their ace. That happens sometimes. But the next game, we made 5 errors, and lost 8-5- and we scored 2 runs late, so that game wasn't as close as it looked. Then Sunday, our bullpen had a complete meltdown.
The good news for us is this- the only thing that I can say that we have consistently shown as a weakness so far is the fact that we don't have a clear cut Sunday starter that can give us a quality start every time out- and while I know that you define quality start as 6 innings with 3 or less runs allowed, but my personal definition is a pitcher that can go 7 innings and allow three or less runs a start on any given day.
But that said, the guys that we have started, save for Tim Statz- who I haven't completely given up on, I just think he may be better out of the bullpen-, have at least been able to throw strikes. Thing is, they can only do that for 4-5 innings as opposed to the 7 that I would prefer. Nonetheless, if we throw strikes, and we continue to field the ball well, we will win our share of games. Maybe we've played bad competition- and maybe not, look at what Lamar did to Rice, but if we continue to do those two things- throw strikes and play great defense, we will win games. Even in the SEC. But right now, we're going to have to piece Sunday's together with guys in the bullpen, but again, as long as they keep throwing strikes, we will be fine. We may not have quite enough to win the SEC, but we certainly have enough right now to compete and put a respectable team out there. That's something I couldn't say since 2007.
I think this is a big start for Devin Jones tommorrow. He was great the last time out- but now we need to see consistantcy. I'm cautiously optomistic that he will do well- his last performance was dominant. He is becoming more of a pitcher and less of a thrower.
Offensively, we have to continue to try to hit line drives and create runs. We know our identity, and we play well to it. It's really not a style that I prefer personally, but we will be more balanced in the future- our power guys are freshmen, and their power will come with experience. And that's the style of baseball that I prefer- power and speed. It's the best of both worlds. Speaking of- our freshmen have been pretty impressive overall. Sure, they have had some freshmen moments here and there, but they are usually mistakes because of inexperience more than anything. Those will be corrected. It's going to be fun to watch them get better. Playing this easier schedule was the smartest thing we could have done- more than wins, we need to get these guys at bats, and the pitcher innings and figure out who can do what and we need to do it in a situation with as little pressure as possible where it doesn't hurt the team. These at bats that guys like Hunter Renfroe and Demarcus Henderson are getting now- it will pay off later in the year.
But, I also can't help but think back to last year when we started out 4-0, and then we played Southeastern Louisiana and we completely melted down. I could have tolerated one loss- but a sweep was really bad. That set the tone for us last year.
We did play well for our first five games- but sometimes there is a lot of adrenaline going when the season starts and that can carry a team sometimes. It always seems like any weaknesses get exposed the second week of the year. Case in point- against SELU last year, in game one, Routt got outdueled by their ace. That happens sometimes. But the next game, we made 5 errors, and lost 8-5- and we scored 2 runs late, so that game wasn't as close as it looked. Then Sunday, our bullpen had a complete meltdown.
The good news for us is this- the only thing that I can say that we have consistently shown as a weakness so far is the fact that we don't have a clear cut Sunday starter that can give us a quality start every time out- and while I know that you define quality start as 6 innings with 3 or less runs allowed, but my personal definition is a pitcher that can go 7 innings and allow three or less runs a start on any given day.
But that said, the guys that we have started, save for Tim Statz- who I haven't completely given up on, I just think he may be better out of the bullpen-, have at least been able to throw strikes. Thing is, they can only do that for 4-5 innings as opposed to the 7 that I would prefer. Nonetheless, if we throw strikes, and we continue to field the ball well, we will win our share of games. Maybe we've played bad competition- and maybe not, look at what Lamar did to Rice, but if we continue to do those two things- throw strikes and play great defense, we will win games. Even in the SEC. But right now, we're going to have to piece Sunday's together with guys in the bullpen, but again, as long as they keep throwing strikes, we will be fine. We may not have quite enough to win the SEC, but we certainly have enough right now to compete and put a respectable team out there. That's something I couldn't say since 2007.
I think this is a big start for Devin Jones tommorrow. He was great the last time out- but now we need to see consistantcy. I'm cautiously optomistic that he will do well- his last performance was dominant. He is becoming more of a pitcher and less of a thrower.
Offensively, we have to continue to try to hit line drives and create runs. We know our identity, and we play well to it. It's really not a style that I prefer personally, but we will be more balanced in the future- our power guys are freshmen, and their power will come with experience. And that's the style of baseball that I prefer- power and speed. It's the best of both worlds. Speaking of- our freshmen have been pretty impressive overall. Sure, they have had some freshmen moments here and there, but they are usually mistakes because of inexperience more than anything. Those will be corrected. It's going to be fun to watch them get better. Playing this easier schedule was the smartest thing we could have done- more than wins, we need to get these guys at bats, and the pitcher innings and figure out who can do what and we need to do it in a situation with as little pressure as possible where it doesn't hurt the team. These at bats that guys like Hunter Renfroe and Demarcus Henderson are getting now- it will pay off later in the year.
