It's been one of those weeks and I just don't have time to put together anything comprehensive on Flarda before first pitch. Couple thoughts off the top of my head:
-Looks like we'll see Puk tonight. It hasn't been a great year for him thus far, but really, last year wasn't either until he faced us (and really turned a corner the rest of the way)... He's been a little like Tyler this year. Interesting matchup.
-Shore is their best pitcher and has been for the last two years. He had a bad outing against us last year, but he's really, really good... Very good location.
-I still think Tanner Houck is the best sophomore starter in the league, but Alex Faedo makes a case too. He'd go on Friday night for a number of teams including South Carolina and A&M
-JJ Schwartz HR numbers are down this year. Welcome to being "the guy" I guess. But you hate seeing it, because you know what he's capable of (could double his yearly HR total this weekend. That kind of capable)
-We usually have an "incident" with Florida to some degree. There isn't any love lost there as far as I can tell, and likely that's true between the coaches also.
-Really tough draw this weekend. These guys are a lot better than they were the last time we went to Gainesville. And with their signing class they got onto campus, they aren't going away as a program anytime soon. We are looking at this weekend as a chance to stay in the race for a regional bid. They're in the race for the top national seed. That's just the reality. But if we throw strikes and play clean, we can play with them. We did last year, with less to play for. This will be a good measuring stick for us, that's for sure.
-Looks like we'll see Puk tonight. It hasn't been a great year for him thus far, but really, last year wasn't either until he faced us (and really turned a corner the rest of the way)... He's been a little like Tyler this year. Interesting matchup.
-Shore is their best pitcher and has been for the last two years. He had a bad outing against us last year, but he's really, really good... Very good location.
-I still think Tanner Houck is the best sophomore starter in the league, but Alex Faedo makes a case too. He'd go on Friday night for a number of teams including South Carolina and A&M
-JJ Schwartz HR numbers are down this year. Welcome to being "the guy" I guess. But you hate seeing it, because you know what he's capable of (could double his yearly HR total this weekend. That kind of capable)
-We usually have an "incident" with Florida to some degree. There isn't any love lost there as far as I can tell, and likely that's true between the coaches also.
-Really tough draw this weekend. These guys are a lot better than they were the last time we went to Gainesville. And with their signing class they got onto campus, they aren't going away as a program anytime soon. We are looking at this weekend as a chance to stay in the race for a regional bid. They're in the race for the top national seed. That's just the reality. But if we throw strikes and play clean, we can play with them. We did last year, with less to play for. This will be a good measuring stick for us, that's for sure.
