-First, I was a little surprised that Zach Harris was getting the baseball. I figured that whoever we went with, we'd just try to squeeze a few innings from, and then cobble it together for Zeldin to finish. Harris sure did his job... you'd never know that was his first SEC start... command looked great, he had a ton of movement too on his pitches. Really impressive stuff, and I hope that he gets the ball again next weekend.
-Not sure what to make of Zeldin. It just never felt right with him out there. It felt like his tempo was slower. He gets a lot of early count outs when things are going well for him. We didn't see that today. I appreciated him grinding through it. He was fine on Friday night, albeit in a much lower leverage situation. Hopefully he's back to his old self next weekend. To this point, he's been the MVP of the pitching staff.
-I really, really hate that all of the internet stuff came up with Christian Mracna. He was so good last Saturday in College Station and I'm sure he never got to enjoy that. I don't think that what happened this weekend was "no sticky stuff" or that it vindicates any of the "cheating" allegations. But he did seem like a different guy this weekend... he was really the only guy that Vanderbilt hit all weekend.
-Vanderbilt is a different team in Nashville, on their turf field and all that stuff. And had we played them in Nashville, I'm sure we don't outscore them by 24 runs on the weekend. Obviously we played them up there last year, and I was thinking about how different these two series were. Last season, they beat us by something like 7 runs and 8 runs in the first two games. We made a push on Saturday before they pulled away again. Then they beat us 4-0 on Sunday and I remember saying that it felt much more lopsided than 4 runs. Outside of an inning or two on Saturday last year, we never really challenged them - and even during that, it was hard to believe that we'd actually win the game. Just a massive difference between these two programs from last year to this.
-Today was a grind from the 5th inning on. It was hard to relax, and I'll credit Vanderbilt for not rolling over. At 10-3, it should have been game over, but they fought back and made it interesting. Today was so much different than the first two games. They outhit us today. But their defense wound up being the difference. It felt like they gifted us at least four runs on mis-plays and wild pitches. The heart was there for them, but the execution wasn't. You're just not used to seeing that from Vandy.
-We deserve some credit for that too, though. I don't know if Kolby Branch has put down a bunt all season. That Miller Green guy is huge, all arms and legs, and I thought it was brilliant to lay down a bunt on his first pitch and make him come off the mound and make a play. And the ball wound up in the OF. So, it's easy I guess to look at that and only call it a blunder on Vanderbilt's part, but we did force that.
-Also, I really like that Dylan Goldstein is trying to lay down some bunts when they pull off their 3b. He got that one down today and could have jogged to 1st. Vanderbilt didn't put that big shift on him again the rest of the day, until he got to 2 strikes.
-I think they walked us something like 22 times this weekend and probably had 8 or so more HBPs. Man, nobody can wear a pitch like Corey Collins. They really wanted to pitch some of our hitters inside this weekend, and it just didn't work for them.
-On Condon's HR... when it got to 3-0, I couldn't believe their pitcher threw it right down the middle. I thought that Charlie could have hit that one 500 feet if he'd swung at it. Then I really couldn't believe that they did it again on 3-1, and Charlie just blasted it.
I remember watching us play Oregon State in Portland back in 2008. We had Gordon Beckham up, he had a 3-0 count, couple of guys on base. He looked at the 3b coach, and I'll always remember this, he got the sign, and I remember he clapped his hands... like in a frustrated way, and he looked irritated. So everyone is thinking that he got the take sign and was not real happy about it. Pitcher grooves it right down the middle and Beckham hit it about 450 feet. It was a no doubter. I thought about that when Charlie got the 3-0 count today, though he didn't react that way (nor did he swing). But man alive, either the pitcher really missed his spot on 3-1 or he made a big mistake about Charlie's intention there. This is just special stuff. You can't say enough about the season he's putting together.
-Though a solo shot, Dylan Goldstein's HR to follow that was huge also... it was becoming apparent at that point that we needed to keep scoring. Collins-Condon-Goldstein is just a hell of a good 1-3...
-While Vanderbilt did make some very costly defensive mistakes, I was very impressed with their SS... Vastine. I thought that he was the best SS that we've seen this year. Guy has some unbelievable range.
-Love what we are seeing from Chandler Marsh. Turns out this season isn't a lost cause for him. That 9th inning was beautiful.
-This is just such a good lineup. Obvious statement I know. But there really aren't any easy outs. You've got Clayton Chadwick and Fernando Gonzalez hitting 8 and 9. Those guys are just tough outs. Paul Toetz is a tough out. Tre Phelps... I mean, you really can't pitch around anyone just to get to the next guy.
-On Chadwick, I still don't think he's a natural CF, but he's doing a nice job out there. It's not obvious to me when Dillon Carter is coming back. You don't want to displace Goldstein or Toetz, or Chadwick for that matter, and take one of those bats out of the lineup. I imagine Carter is close to being able to come back, but I'm not sure that he's going get that CF spot back. I wonder if he's going to be a late-inning defensive replacement.
-Lastly, I'll say this. I love Kirby's saying that "humility is only one week away." I think there's a lot to that. Vanderbilt came here at 11-10. They're now 11-13 with Tennessee at home and Kentucky on the road left to play. I think it's very questionable that they get to 14 wins. They came here, I'm sure, feeling great about getting into a regional. Now they've got to be wondering if they will. We're 13-11 now and realistically thinking about hosting. But if we get swept at South Carolina next weekend, then you've got to win one against Florida to get in, and winning 2 or even sweeping may not be enough to host. As good as we feel now, it can be the opposite in 6 days if we don't take care of business. But I'm not worried about that. This team has gotten better and better all year. We are 13-8 since Lexington. We don't have any overly fortuante wins and 1-2 very unfortunate, should-not-have-happened losses. With 80% of the league schedule in the books, this team really deserves to play in June. They should and I believe that we will, in Athens. Been a long time since I've enjoyed a season this much.
-Not sure what to make of Zeldin. It just never felt right with him out there. It felt like his tempo was slower. He gets a lot of early count outs when things are going well for him. We didn't see that today. I appreciated him grinding through it. He was fine on Friday night, albeit in a much lower leverage situation. Hopefully he's back to his old self next weekend. To this point, he's been the MVP of the pitching staff.
-I really, really hate that all of the internet stuff came up with Christian Mracna. He was so good last Saturday in College Station and I'm sure he never got to enjoy that. I don't think that what happened this weekend was "no sticky stuff" or that it vindicates any of the "cheating" allegations. But he did seem like a different guy this weekend... he was really the only guy that Vanderbilt hit all weekend.
-Vanderbilt is a different team in Nashville, on their turf field and all that stuff. And had we played them in Nashville, I'm sure we don't outscore them by 24 runs on the weekend. Obviously we played them up there last year, and I was thinking about how different these two series were. Last season, they beat us by something like 7 runs and 8 runs in the first two games. We made a push on Saturday before they pulled away again. Then they beat us 4-0 on Sunday and I remember saying that it felt much more lopsided than 4 runs. Outside of an inning or two on Saturday last year, we never really challenged them - and even during that, it was hard to believe that we'd actually win the game. Just a massive difference between these two programs from last year to this.
-Today was a grind from the 5th inning on. It was hard to relax, and I'll credit Vanderbilt for not rolling over. At 10-3, it should have been game over, but they fought back and made it interesting. Today was so much different than the first two games. They outhit us today. But their defense wound up being the difference. It felt like they gifted us at least four runs on mis-plays and wild pitches. The heart was there for them, but the execution wasn't. You're just not used to seeing that from Vandy.
-We deserve some credit for that too, though. I don't know if Kolby Branch has put down a bunt all season. That Miller Green guy is huge, all arms and legs, and I thought it was brilliant to lay down a bunt on his first pitch and make him come off the mound and make a play. And the ball wound up in the OF. So, it's easy I guess to look at that and only call it a blunder on Vanderbilt's part, but we did force that.
-Also, I really like that Dylan Goldstein is trying to lay down some bunts when they pull off their 3b. He got that one down today and could have jogged to 1st. Vanderbilt didn't put that big shift on him again the rest of the day, until he got to 2 strikes.
-I think they walked us something like 22 times this weekend and probably had 8 or so more HBPs. Man, nobody can wear a pitch like Corey Collins. They really wanted to pitch some of our hitters inside this weekend, and it just didn't work for them.
-On Condon's HR... when it got to 3-0, I couldn't believe their pitcher threw it right down the middle. I thought that Charlie could have hit that one 500 feet if he'd swung at it. Then I really couldn't believe that they did it again on 3-1, and Charlie just blasted it.
I remember watching us play Oregon State in Portland back in 2008. We had Gordon Beckham up, he had a 3-0 count, couple of guys on base. He looked at the 3b coach, and I'll always remember this, he got the sign, and I remember he clapped his hands... like in a frustrated way, and he looked irritated. So everyone is thinking that he got the take sign and was not real happy about it. Pitcher grooves it right down the middle and Beckham hit it about 450 feet. It was a no doubter. I thought about that when Charlie got the 3-0 count today, though he didn't react that way (nor did he swing). But man alive, either the pitcher really missed his spot on 3-1 or he made a big mistake about Charlie's intention there. This is just special stuff. You can't say enough about the season he's putting together.
-Though a solo shot, Dylan Goldstein's HR to follow that was huge also... it was becoming apparent at that point that we needed to keep scoring. Collins-Condon-Goldstein is just a hell of a good 1-3...
-While Vanderbilt did make some very costly defensive mistakes, I was very impressed with their SS... Vastine. I thought that he was the best SS that we've seen this year. Guy has some unbelievable range.
-Love what we are seeing from Chandler Marsh. Turns out this season isn't a lost cause for him. That 9th inning was beautiful.
-This is just such a good lineup. Obvious statement I know. But there really aren't any easy outs. You've got Clayton Chadwick and Fernando Gonzalez hitting 8 and 9. Those guys are just tough outs. Paul Toetz is a tough out. Tre Phelps... I mean, you really can't pitch around anyone just to get to the next guy.
-On Chadwick, I still don't think he's a natural CF, but he's doing a nice job out there. It's not obvious to me when Dillon Carter is coming back. You don't want to displace Goldstein or Toetz, or Chadwick for that matter, and take one of those bats out of the lineup. I imagine Carter is close to being able to come back, but I'm not sure that he's going get that CF spot back. I wonder if he's going to be a late-inning defensive replacement.
-Lastly, I'll say this. I love Kirby's saying that "humility is only one week away." I think there's a lot to that. Vanderbilt came here at 11-10. They're now 11-13 with Tennessee at home and Kentucky on the road left to play. I think it's very questionable that they get to 14 wins. They came here, I'm sure, feeling great about getting into a regional. Now they've got to be wondering if they will. We're 13-11 now and realistically thinking about hosting. But if we get swept at South Carolina next weekend, then you've got to win one against Florida to get in, and winning 2 or even sweeping may not be enough to host. As good as we feel now, it can be the opposite in 6 days if we don't take care of business. But I'm not worried about that. This team has gotten better and better all year. We are 13-8 since Lexington. We don't have any overly fortuante wins and 1-2 very unfortunate, should-not-have-happened losses. With 80% of the league schedule in the books, this team really deserves to play in June. They should and I believe that we will, in Athens. Been a long time since I've enjoyed a season this much.
