I just don’t think he is as trustworthy as Farmer defensively.
And he is 2 for his last 12. Small sample size but Farmer and Rodriguez are swinging the bat better. Probably also want to see if Chamberlain could be a trustworthy bench bat in the postseason.
.143 average with a .400 OBP is about as unique of a line as you’ll see.
Him and Borba have similar missions this summer. Take your selective eye and just swing the bat a tad more.
If yesterday was a regional game they 100% go back to Volantis in the 8th. You are right that it is kitchen sink baseball. The middle relievers and midweek guys you use to pad your stats go away. You have your top 2-3 starters, top 2-3 relievers and run them into the ground.
It goes back to the momentum comment I made earlier. We could use Volantis today to win a 8-7 game and we feel like we have “momentum” but is that giving us the best chance long term? Same thing if we lose 8-7 today with Hudson Hamilton throwing the final pitch and Volantis and Grubbs in the dugout. Is that something that would ever happen in a regional game?
Brand new season starts in 12 days. Nothing carries over.
I think I laid out the stat earlier this week about A&M going 4-7 in their last 11 to end last year.
I am not a huge believer in momentum because everything basically starts over in the postseason and oftentimes you are only as good as the starting pitcher for the day, but it sure would be nice to win this series just from a vibes standpoint.
No Volantis or Grubbs today will make it interesting. OU threw their closer two days in a row so I would assume he is done but Skip has run guys into the ground before.
Not sure how we can make any definitive statements about Riojas after an outing where I believe 5 of the 7 hits he gave up didn’t leave the infield. It wasn’t anything like his previous two outings.
We've seen Grubbs start this year and it wasn’t pretty. My hunch is he is just as much a one time through the order guy as Riojas.
We really need to hope we get a pushover 4 seed so we can get through that first game with secondary arms and line Harrison up to pitch the 1-0 game.
OU threw their closer back to back nights and ours won’t pick up a baseball til Monday.
That and letting them little league ball us to death for 5 batters in a row was the difference.
I know it's a hand bruise, but I'm not even sure if resting for 4-5 days would help it that much. I think they decided at a certain point that he would just have to play through it and deal with it after the season. Seems like the type of injury that needs extended rest (as in weeks or a month) to truly heal or get better.
He's definitely earned a rest day or two though if he has other nagging stuff.
It won't ever happen in the SEC for obvious reasons, but I do think it is a cool setup overall. I like rewarding teams with strong regular seasons. Getting to host part of the conference tournament is a big deal for schools like UTRGV or Southeastern Louisiana.
If I were in that league, I would prefer it over traveling to Arizona to play at some spring training stadium with 100 people in the stands.
I really like what the Southland did for their conference tournament this year but I don't think it is something the SEC would ever do because they'd have to end the season a week earlier.
Top 8 qualified. #1 seed is hosting #4, #5 and #8 in a double elimination tournament this weekend. #2 seed is hosting #3, #6 and #7.
Two winners play a 2 out of 3 series next weekend.
If you are only going to win 12 SEC regular season games (which assumes A&M wins the last 2), you better have something else to hang your hat on (tough non-con schedule, Q1 wins, RPI, etc.). A&M checks none of those boxes.
-#162 non-con SOS
-6-14 in Q1 games
-#61 RPI (you need to be in the 40's at minimum to typically be in the conversation as an at-large)
They are done outside of winning the conference tournament.
I'd let Chamberlain catch these last 2 games and also give Rodriguez the rest of the weekend off. Those guys have taken a beating.
Both can be back in the lineup in Hoover, but deserve a small break.