After yet another disappointing loss tonight, I figured I would post a few personal thoughts on our team, our program, and just about everything else. Here goes:
Just to start this long, rambling post off, I must admit that it is just so frustrating to follow this team. We play hard, no doubt about that, but every game I follow, I have this lingering thought rolling around in the back of my head, "Just how are we going to throw this one away?" And, unfortunately, more often that not, those fears are realized.
I don't pretend to be an expert in these matters, but I've been following Alabama baseball for about three decades now, and I cannot remember a team that has struggled so greatly to consistent execute even the most elementary of baseball fundamentals. We are 11th in the SEC in walks, and we lead the SEC in strikeouts; we chase pitches in the dirt and then watch fastballs go down Main Street with the bat on the shoulder. Combine that with a poor power hitting team -- near the bottom in slugging percentage -- and we can't score runs. Defensively, we've committed the most errors of any team in the conference, have the worst fielding percentage in the conference and have the most passed balls of any team in the conference. Pitching is just as bad, honestly. We lead the conference by a mile in both walks allowed, balks, and wild pitches. And we are second to last in ERA. How could we really get any worse on the fundamentals?
Again, I've never seen a team struggle so greatly to consistently execute even the most elementary of baseball fundamentals. I cannot recall how many games we've lost this year just because we cannot do the most simple tasks. We lost at LSU, for example, on a wild pitch, and we lost tonight to Southern Miss after giving up four unearned runs when we could not make a simple throw from shortstop to first base. If we could just play fundamental baseball with any consistency, we would be a lock to at least make Hoover and perhaps even the NCAA Tournament.
The crazy thing, though, is as bad as we've been, we're still tied for second in the SEC West. But I really don't think we should read too much into that. It really is hard to fathom just how terrible the SEC West is at the moment, aside from Ole Miss. UNO beat LSU tonight in New Orleans -- thus sweeping the season series with the Bayou Bengals, and they swept us earlier in the year -- and I am absolutely convinced they would be running away with second right now if they were in the SEC West. Though we are currently in a three-way tie for second, I think that has more to do with the fact that the rest of the West is so weak more so than a sign that we are of any real quality.
So where do we go from here?
Being brutally honest, the odds are against us even making the SEC Tournament. And truthfully, the likely scenario is that -- even if we do get to Hoover -- that we don't last very long before we get eliminated. We would probably last three games at most, and of course it's a foregone conclusion that we will not be making the NCAA Tournament this year.
At this point, in terms of any real on-field success, I think we're probably looking at 2009. For all of the struggles of this season, I suppose the good news is that we really don't have any seniors on this team. Looking at the 2009 campaign, we are only going to lose three seniors -- Josh Copeland, Will Stroup, and Matt Bentley. None of those three are bad players, mind you, but I really cannot see where they are all of that great, and I'm not thinking that we'll have any major problems replacing them. For all of our struggles this year, at least we return just about everyone for 2009.
The interesting thing, I think, is that this roster is so heavy with juniors. So many players who are key parts for us are juniors, and you just can't overlook that. Avila, Sharp, Kubal, Matthes, Odle, Rhoden, Texada, Hyatt, Kebodeaux, etc., are all juniors. In fact, over 50% of the total roster consists of juniors. That's very interesting to me in regard to 2009, because that means all of those guys will be seniors. It really does make you wonder, because you have to figure if we cannot get something going in 2009 with so many seniors, it's going to be really rough in 2010 once we have to suddenly replace all of those guys.
It's hard to say exactly where we are now. I do criticize Coach Wells a fair amount during the games for some decisions, but I'm not going to sit here and bash the man. He has, on the whole, done very well at Alabama, and we should all be extremely proud of what he has accomplished. He took over in 1995 -- just after arguably the worst season in modern Alabama baseball history -- and has done really well since. We made the NCAA Tournament nine out of his first eleven years, won the SEC, made the CWS twice, and even made the national title game in 1997. And that's not counting six SEC Tournament championships, or the fact that he is the all-time winningest manager in Alabama baseball history. I'm not going to sit here and bash the man, I'm proud of what he has done here at Alabama and you should be too.
However, I would be lying if I said that I was not afraid the magic is gone.
It's just seems different now. Last year we didn't have a very good year, barely squeaking into the SEC Tournament and not making the NCAA Tournament. And now this year we probably won't even make Hoover in what is one of the worst years we've had at Alabama under Wells -- and in terms of overall record, it might very well be the worst year we've had under him. Things just don't seem to be like they used to be at the Joe.
And I would also be equally a liar if I were to say that I did not think a lot of the blame lays at the feet of Wells. I understand we don't have the most talented roster in the conference, but everyone at this level should be able to play good fundamental baseball, so the lack of good fundamentals for us reflects heavily on Wells. And honestly, we have been hurt a good bit this year by Wells' constantly baffling in-game managerial decisions.
I hope it all returns, I really do. But I'm just not sure that it will. If you look at how bad 2007 and 2008 have been -- and how we're probably going to struggle in 2010 replacing so many players -- 2009 might be the critical year for Wells at Alabama. Unless we really improve and return to our old ways, that may mark the end of his tenure at Alabama, even if only effectively and not officially.
At this point, I just don't know, but things just don't seem right.
But that's enough ramblings for one night.
Just to start this long, rambling post off, I must admit that it is just so frustrating to follow this team. We play hard, no doubt about that, but every game I follow, I have this lingering thought rolling around in the back of my head, "Just how are we going to throw this one away?" And, unfortunately, more often that not, those fears are realized.
I don't pretend to be an expert in these matters, but I've been following Alabama baseball for about three decades now, and I cannot remember a team that has struggled so greatly to consistent execute even the most elementary of baseball fundamentals. We are 11th in the SEC in walks, and we lead the SEC in strikeouts; we chase pitches in the dirt and then watch fastballs go down Main Street with the bat on the shoulder. Combine that with a poor power hitting team -- near the bottom in slugging percentage -- and we can't score runs. Defensively, we've committed the most errors of any team in the conference, have the worst fielding percentage in the conference and have the most passed balls of any team in the conference. Pitching is just as bad, honestly. We lead the conference by a mile in both walks allowed, balks, and wild pitches. And we are second to last in ERA. How could we really get any worse on the fundamentals?
Again, I've never seen a team struggle so greatly to consistently execute even the most elementary of baseball fundamentals. I cannot recall how many games we've lost this year just because we cannot do the most simple tasks. We lost at LSU, for example, on a wild pitch, and we lost tonight to Southern Miss after giving up four unearned runs when we could not make a simple throw from shortstop to first base. If we could just play fundamental baseball with any consistency, we would be a lock to at least make Hoover and perhaps even the NCAA Tournament.
The crazy thing, though, is as bad as we've been, we're still tied for second in the SEC West. But I really don't think we should read too much into that. It really is hard to fathom just how terrible the SEC West is at the moment, aside from Ole Miss. UNO beat LSU tonight in New Orleans -- thus sweeping the season series with the Bayou Bengals, and they swept us earlier in the year -- and I am absolutely convinced they would be running away with second right now if they were in the SEC West. Though we are currently in a three-way tie for second, I think that has more to do with the fact that the rest of the West is so weak more so than a sign that we are of any real quality.
So where do we go from here?
Being brutally honest, the odds are against us even making the SEC Tournament. And truthfully, the likely scenario is that -- even if we do get to Hoover -- that we don't last very long before we get eliminated. We would probably last three games at most, and of course it's a foregone conclusion that we will not be making the NCAA Tournament this year.
At this point, in terms of any real on-field success, I think we're probably looking at 2009. For all of the struggles of this season, I suppose the good news is that we really don't have any seniors on this team. Looking at the 2009 campaign, we are only going to lose three seniors -- Josh Copeland, Will Stroup, and Matt Bentley. None of those three are bad players, mind you, but I really cannot see where they are all of that great, and I'm not thinking that we'll have any major problems replacing them. For all of our struggles this year, at least we return just about everyone for 2009.
The interesting thing, I think, is that this roster is so heavy with juniors. So many players who are key parts for us are juniors, and you just can't overlook that. Avila, Sharp, Kubal, Matthes, Odle, Rhoden, Texada, Hyatt, Kebodeaux, etc., are all juniors. In fact, over 50% of the total roster consists of juniors. That's very interesting to me in regard to 2009, because that means all of those guys will be seniors. It really does make you wonder, because you have to figure if we cannot get something going in 2009 with so many seniors, it's going to be really rough in 2010 once we have to suddenly replace all of those guys.
It's hard to say exactly where we are now. I do criticize Coach Wells a fair amount during the games for some decisions, but I'm not going to sit here and bash the man. He has, on the whole, done very well at Alabama, and we should all be extremely proud of what he has accomplished. He took over in 1995 -- just after arguably the worst season in modern Alabama baseball history -- and has done really well since. We made the NCAA Tournament nine out of his first eleven years, won the SEC, made the CWS twice, and even made the national title game in 1997. And that's not counting six SEC Tournament championships, or the fact that he is the all-time winningest manager in Alabama baseball history. I'm not going to sit here and bash the man, I'm proud of what he has done here at Alabama and you should be too.
However, I would be lying if I said that I was not afraid the magic is gone.
It's just seems different now. Last year we didn't have a very good year, barely squeaking into the SEC Tournament and not making the NCAA Tournament. And now this year we probably won't even make Hoover in what is one of the worst years we've had at Alabama under Wells -- and in terms of overall record, it might very well be the worst year we've had under him. Things just don't seem to be like they used to be at the Joe.
And I would also be equally a liar if I were to say that I did not think a lot of the blame lays at the feet of Wells. I understand we don't have the most talented roster in the conference, but everyone at this level should be able to play good fundamental baseball, so the lack of good fundamentals for us reflects heavily on Wells. And honestly, we have been hurt a good bit this year by Wells' constantly baffling in-game managerial decisions.
I hope it all returns, I really do. But I'm just not sure that it will. If you look at how bad 2007 and 2008 have been -- and how we're probably going to struggle in 2010 replacing so many players -- 2009 might be the critical year for Wells at Alabama. Unless we really improve and return to our old ways, that may mark the end of his tenure at Alabama, even if only effectively and not officially.
At this point, I just don't know, but things just don't seem right.
But that's enough ramblings for one night.
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