(04-24-2017 10:15 AM)eagle04 Wrote:  

(04-24-2017 07:25 AM)eaglenjxn Wrote:  

(04-23-2017 08:29 PM)BeagleUSM Wrote:  Calmed down a little bit. Some thoughts...

1) Hosting chances are basically shot. Goes from about 15% to 1-2%. Disappointing, but not the end of the world. Still in good shape for an at-large with a 33 RPI and 6-4 top 50 record. Wasn't long ago that we were losing to SIUE and Oakland. As a current USM student, I don't remember 2003 really at all (Beau Griffin's walk off vs OM was my first USM baseball memory). Hopefully I will see a Hattiesburg Regional one day...

2) Obviously pitching is an issue. ODU stacked the lineup with left-handers and just obliterated the ball the past 2 days. I'd move Braley to Saturday, and bump Roberts to Sunday. Give Keys another shot at USA on Tuesday. Both Roberts and Keys have struggled recently but have shown flashes of competency. Wallner coming back is so, so key. The longer he misses the more I think he might not even come back at all this year.

3) This team's potential success in a regional is basically dependent on the draw the committee gives them. From a purely matchup point of view, State wouldn't be terrible just because they have issues with pitching depth. That being said, I don't see a Berry coached team having the mental toughness to go in and win a regional in Starkville. Same goes for BR or Fayetteville. You have to some serious guts to go in these places and win, which Berry teams just don't have for whatever reason.

Winston-Salem is our best chance IMO, just because it's a low-energy environment (at least compared to MSU or LSU) and Wake doesn't have elite pitching. Wake's park is also incredibly hitter friendly... just 310 (!) to the foul poles.

Berry is right in that sometimes a team needs to get its ass kicked as a wake-up call.

A wake-up call might be nice but we need starting pitching. Braley is in the weekend rotation because he's a better option than Keys. That doesn't necessarily mean he's a great option. Any chance we could reinvest some of our recruiting for left-handed hitters into starting pitching?

Time to get some consistency in the lineup. Donaldson is the catcher. Let him start 3/4 games without taking him out after two at-bats (unless he's hurt). He's been tearing the cover off the ball the last 20 or so games since State and I would bet that he's gotten fewer ABs during that time than he did when he was hitting .130. Tell Bowen sorry, but the PT just isn't there other than once a week.

Keating and Slater rotation? I can see it. (By the way, was Slater that bad against left-handers?) But rotating between 13 players (not including Hadley) is overkill, and I feel like it is going to hurt us later in the season and later in games when some of these lefty hitters have to face lefty pitchers. If Berry is so allergic to left hitters against lefty pitchers, what the hell is the plan for next year when all of these lefty hitters are back plus Reynolds and Montenegro--not including whoever else we bring in? We going to rotate our entire lineup everyday?

What was the deal with Berry starting Guidry Saturday? He's killing the ball, so start him for the first time this season against a left-hander, but he strikes out twice and that's it? He even pinch hits for him in mop-up yesterday against a lefty. If that little faith in him against lefty's, why start him against freaking Bainbridge?

Frustration/confusion aside there, hitting isn't our problem. Roberts had a nice four-week stretch but was tagged early in the year and again the last two weeks. Think you have to keep rolling with him. You could move Braley to Saturday but I don't think there's a big enough difference to matter too much.

Sandlin has been incredible all year but a rough patch is inevitable. The problem is that I don't know how this team can handle that rough patch.

Team will make a regional. But as you said, unless they get a good match-up, the starting pitching isn't there.

I also think we shake the line-up up too much. Early in the year I think you should constantly mix it up until you find a good line up. Once you determine what that is, you settle in. Do you have to make moves to combat certain scenarios? Of course. IMO, at this point in the year, you need guys to be finding consistency.

I would agree about the lineup IF we weren't scoring runs. But, it appears that the staff is playing the guys in situations that play to their strengths and the team has been scoring runs at a ridiculous rate.