-It's hard to believe that it's only been a week. I was thinking about that today driving around in the thunderstorms around Atlanta.... I was in Athens last Monday for both of the Duke games. It just seems like it's been longer than 7 days, for whatever reason.
-It would have looked better for us if Duke had beaten Texas Tech, but I was ok with the Red Raiders winning it. I really don't have a lot of respect for Duke and all their stall tactics. Those guys weren't THAT good either. Those two things are what really burns me up about the regional. I really think we would have taken 2/3 from Duke just about any weekend during the regular season. We just didn't play that well this past weekend... we beat the tar out of Campbell, but we didn't play all that great in that one. It's just disappointing... I mean, that goes without saying, but it is and it'll burn for awhile I think. I was neither surprised nor disappointed that Texas Tech won their Super.
-How good was that Miss State/ Vanderbilt series? I REALLY enjoyed that one, and that was about as even as two teams could be. I had to get up pretty early this morning, but I didn't think twice about seeing that one last night to the end... and I didn't regret it when I only got a few hours of sleep last night. That was just incredibly good baseball last night. I was really pulling for Miss State too, I'm bouncing around in the top of the 9th inning and cursing at the TV in the bottom half. What a series.
-On Miss State, what they've done this year is just remarkable. When they fired Cannizaro, I figured that they'd have to fight to stay out of those bottom two spots in the league. It just felt like a lost season for them... and through the first couple of SEC weekends, it was. It's really something how they turned it around. When they swept Arkansas, I thought that was probably one were Arkansas just wasn't dialed in. When they swept Florida, I dismissed it because the Gators had already clinched the SEC. I really didn't realize that Miss State had gotten that good. I'm happy for Gary Henderson too. I always respected what he did at Kentucky and how well they pitched under him. He's a good baseball coach and I hope Miss State considers him for the full-time job if he wants it (I assume he does).
-How funny is it that Miss State has been to three straight Super Regionals with three different head coaches, and they finally go to Omaha under the interim? John Cohen deserves a lot of credit for what they've done since he left... it's noteworthy that Miss State finished last in the SEC in 2015, dead last, and they came back and won the regular season league title the next year and that started their run of three straight Super Regionals. That's a PROGRAM.
-On that note, this Auburn/ Florida game is another classic, as well. I'm really surprised how well Auburn has hung in. When Florida beat Mize in game one, I thought it would be a quick two game sweep.
-I was watching Alex Wood in his start against the Braves the other night. Some reports came out after the game that Wood is dealing with some (I think) hamstring issues. He just hasn't looked quite the same as he did last year. Anyway, for my money he was the best pitcher in the SEC in 2012. He didn't win Pitcher of the Year or anything, it's hard to get those honors when you don't go to the postseason, but I thought he was the best guy in the conference that year. I thought he was better than everyone he went against, and he pitched some really good pitchers. I really believe that Emerson Hancock can be that by 2020. I know he struggled going down the stretch this season, and that's understandable, but I think Emerson showed you an awful lot to be excited about. He's strong mentally. He fields his position. He controls the running game. His fastball has a ton of life... and you can look at him and tell he's still learning how to pitch. He wasn't as good as Alex was in 2011, but Alex was a redshirt freshman that year. I honestly think Emerson showed a bit more upside as a true freshman than Robert Tyler did in 2014.
-Next year I think you may see Tony Locey slide back in the rotation with either CJ Smith or Cole Wilcox. I think that they'll look at Ryan Webb as a closer. That's pretty exciting to think about. I hope that we'll be a little bit deeper next year. You have to replace Adkins, Kevin Smith, and Cairnes. I really don't know what happened this year with Christian Ryder and Justin Glover, but both of those guys have some ability and hopefully they'll be a big part of the mix next year. I'm really excited to see what kind of a jump Will Procter makes as well.
-Finally, I was a little surprised that Adam Sasser didn't get drafted and I thought that LJ Talley may get a look somewhere as well given how we swung the bat this year (I'm assuming both guys at least got some calls, but I don't know for sure). Both guys have made so much improvement since 2016. I don't think it's realistic to expect another jump of that level next year, but if both guys get just a little bit better, I think we'll be ok. Cam Shepherd is going to have a monster year next spring too, I'm very confident in predicting that.
Fall ball will be here soon.... Sooner that it seems.
-It would have looked better for us if Duke had beaten Texas Tech, but I was ok with the Red Raiders winning it. I really don't have a lot of respect for Duke and all their stall tactics. Those guys weren't THAT good either. Those two things are what really burns me up about the regional. I really think we would have taken 2/3 from Duke just about any weekend during the regular season. We just didn't play that well this past weekend... we beat the tar out of Campbell, but we didn't play all that great in that one. It's just disappointing... I mean, that goes without saying, but it is and it'll burn for awhile I think. I was neither surprised nor disappointed that Texas Tech won their Super.
-How good was that Miss State/ Vanderbilt series? I REALLY enjoyed that one, and that was about as even as two teams could be. I had to get up pretty early this morning, but I didn't think twice about seeing that one last night to the end... and I didn't regret it when I only got a few hours of sleep last night. That was just incredibly good baseball last night. I was really pulling for Miss State too, I'm bouncing around in the top of the 9th inning and cursing at the TV in the bottom half. What a series.
-On Miss State, what they've done this year is just remarkable. When they fired Cannizaro, I figured that they'd have to fight to stay out of those bottom two spots in the league. It just felt like a lost season for them... and through the first couple of SEC weekends, it was. It's really something how they turned it around. When they swept Arkansas, I thought that was probably one were Arkansas just wasn't dialed in. When they swept Florida, I dismissed it because the Gators had already clinched the SEC. I really didn't realize that Miss State had gotten that good. I'm happy for Gary Henderson too. I always respected what he did at Kentucky and how well they pitched under him. He's a good baseball coach and I hope Miss State considers him for the full-time job if he wants it (I assume he does).
-How funny is it that Miss State has been to three straight Super Regionals with three different head coaches, and they finally go to Omaha under the interim? John Cohen deserves a lot of credit for what they've done since he left... it's noteworthy that Miss State finished last in the SEC in 2015, dead last, and they came back and won the regular season league title the next year and that started their run of three straight Super Regionals. That's a PROGRAM.
-On that note, this Auburn/ Florida game is another classic, as well. I'm really surprised how well Auburn has hung in. When Florida beat Mize in game one, I thought it would be a quick two game sweep.
-I was watching Alex Wood in his start against the Braves the other night. Some reports came out after the game that Wood is dealing with some (I think) hamstring issues. He just hasn't looked quite the same as he did last year. Anyway, for my money he was the best pitcher in the SEC in 2012. He didn't win Pitcher of the Year or anything, it's hard to get those honors when you don't go to the postseason, but I thought he was the best guy in the conference that year. I thought he was better than everyone he went against, and he pitched some really good pitchers. I really believe that Emerson Hancock can be that by 2020. I know he struggled going down the stretch this season, and that's understandable, but I think Emerson showed you an awful lot to be excited about. He's strong mentally. He fields his position. He controls the running game. His fastball has a ton of life... and you can look at him and tell he's still learning how to pitch. He wasn't as good as Alex was in 2011, but Alex was a redshirt freshman that year. I honestly think Emerson showed a bit more upside as a true freshman than Robert Tyler did in 2014.
-Next year I think you may see Tony Locey slide back in the rotation with either CJ Smith or Cole Wilcox. I think that they'll look at Ryan Webb as a closer. That's pretty exciting to think about. I hope that we'll be a little bit deeper next year. You have to replace Adkins, Kevin Smith, and Cairnes. I really don't know what happened this year with Christian Ryder and Justin Glover, but both of those guys have some ability and hopefully they'll be a big part of the mix next year. I'm really excited to see what kind of a jump Will Procter makes as well.
-Finally, I was a little surprised that Adam Sasser didn't get drafted and I thought that LJ Talley may get a look somewhere as well given how we swung the bat this year (I'm assuming both guys at least got some calls, but I don't know for sure). Both guys have made so much improvement since 2016. I don't think it's realistic to expect another jump of that level next year, but if both guys get just a little bit better, I think we'll be ok. Cam Shepherd is going to have a monster year next spring too, I'm very confident in predicting that.
Fall ball will be here soon.... Sooner that it seems.
