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Any thoughts yet around the SEC?

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BigEasyTider

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Nov 27, 2007
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I know it's a bit early, but I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts about the SEC this year in baseball.

I can tell that we aren't looking to hot -- apparently the pre-season prediction for us was fairly dead-on -- but what about the rest of the conference?
 
we will get better, I don't see a last place finish for us (insert crimson colored glasses here if necessary :))

As far as the rest, Ole Miss is the team to beat in my book as of right now, granted with baseball, that can change quickly. LSU and Arky have started strong, not sure if LSU can keep that pace up in SEC action, Arky will be decent as usual. UF, SC, AU, VU, and Kentucky are playing good baseball as of now. UF usually folds in SEC play, so we will see how that plays out. AU is young and may/may not succumb to SEC pressure we will see (hopefully so, probably will). The other teams that are playing good as of now are the upper tier teams (VU, SC, OM,) that are beating the teams that are supposed to beat.

LSU, UK, Arkansas hasn't exactly played a world beater schedule. AU lost all 4 to FSU.
UGA is the only team to play stiff competition (Arizona and Oregon St. (3 game series each) lost 4 of 6.

Personally I think the road runs through Ole Miss and SC.

JoJo, DT, & others knows more and will probably be happy to elaborate.


RTR
 
I agree that Ole Miss is the team to beat. Their ace, Lance Lynn, is the best pitcher in the SEC - and it's not even close. The pitching staff is deep and talented (although I think hard-throwing Saturday starter Cody Satterwhite is a little overrated). The Rebs feature a balanced, dangerous lineup from top-to-bottom, with an impressive blend of patience, power, and some speed. As is typically the case with Ole Miss, they play exceptional defense as well.

Vanderbilt took a major hit when All-American third baseman Pedro Alvarez went down with a broken hamate bone. Lefty Mike Minor has been outstanding on Friday nights, but projected #2 starter Brett Jacobson is off to a dismal start. Coach Corbin has been forced to rely on several talented but inexperienced young arms, and it remains to be seen how well they can be expected to hold up against SEC hitting.

I'm not sure that Arkansas has the pitching to keep up their current pace in conference play. South Carolina's pitching is far from elite-level, although good enough to get by with the run support they're likely to get.

LSU could be a contender in the West, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish second behind Ole Miss.

Right now, Auburn doesn't have the arms to seriously impact the conference race. Getting ace Paul Burnside back soon will help, but I'm not sure that it's going to be enough. One thing's for sure - freshman sluggers Hunter Morris and Kevin Patterson are the real deal.

Mississippi State and Tennessee are not very good. Florida is mediocre.

Georgia is decent. They've got plenty of pitching, but the lineup outside of power hitters Gordon Beckham and Rich Poythress isn't particularly imposing.

Kentucky hasn't faced any decent pitching yet, so I expect their gaudy offensive numbers to decline significantly. Nevertheless, they should still score plenty of runs. Under the guidance of pitching coach Gary Henderson, the UK staff has improved - not only do they throw strikes better than anyone else, they now have two starters in Chris Rusin and Scott Green who not only have exceptional control, but also the stuff to miss plenty of bats.
 
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Ole Miss - good
LSU - looking pretty good
MSU - very overrated
Auburn - lots of potential
Arkansas - probably a down year but they always have good years when they are counted out.

We'll need to finish 4th or higher overall in the SEC to get into the regionals because our RPI, thanks to a weak early schedule AND losing some of those games, isn't good
 
Here's some interesting numbers from around the SEC:

*Arkansas first baseman Aaron Murphree already has 12 homers in as many games. He currently leads the conference with an insane 1.298 slugging percentage.

*Speaking of insane numbers, Kentucky's Sawyer Carroll has posted a line of .605/.680/1.211 thus far, with five bombs and an impressive BB/SO ratio of 10/4.

*Ole Miss reliever Scott Bittle has been virtually unhittable, to say the least. In 14 innings, he has racked up an astonishing 28 K's while surrendering all of two hits.

*Georgia closer Josh Fields has recorded 13 total outs this season, 11 via strikeout.

*Kentucky starter Scott Green has 28 strikeouts in 18 innings...and no walks.

*LSU's Ryan Schimpf has three homers but only 5 RBIs.

*Patience is a virtue: Auburn freshman Kevin Patterson leads the conference with 14 walks, while South Carolina infielder Scott Wingo has recorded 12 free passes (with just 3 strikeouts) in nine games.

*Florida has been the nation's best base-stealing team in the early going, having successfully swiped 33 in 34 attempts.

*We are holding a sizable lead in the race for most errors on the season, with an absolutely awful per-game average of 2.25. If the fielding doesn't improve dramatically, then the preseason prognosticators will likely be vindicated. It doesn't help when the Coach refuses to play his best defensive infielder, but that's beside the point.

*Perhaps the most bizarre category in which the Tide leads the conference: 8 balks. No other team has balked more than twice, while three teams have yet to do so.

The early awards races:
Player of the Year: Sawyer Carroll UK/Gordon Beckham UGA/Aaron Murphree ARK/Cody Overbeck UM/Reese Havens SC

Pitcher of the Year: Lance Lynn UM/Scott Green UK/Austin Hyatt ALA/Chris Rusin UK/Scott Bittle UM

Freshman of the Year: Bryan Morgado TEN/Kevin Patterson AUB/Brett Eibner ARK/Josh Rutledge ALA
 
JoJoforHeisman said:
Here's some interesting numbers from around the SEC:

*Arkansas first baseman Aaron Murphree already has 12 homers in as many games. He currently leads the conference with an insane 1.298 slugging percentage.

*Speaking of insane numbers, Kentucky's Sawyer Carroll has posted a line of .605/.680/1.211 thus far, with five bombs and an impressive BB/SO ratio of 10/4.

*Ole Miss reliever Scott Bittle has been virtually unhittable, to say the least. In 14 innings, he has racked up an astonishing 28 K's while surrendering all of two hits.

*Georgia closer Josh Fields has recorded 13 total outs this season, 11 via strikeout.

*Kentucky starter Scott Green has 28 strikeouts in 18 innings...and no walks.

*LSU's Ryan Schimpf has three homers but only 5 RBIs.

*Patience is a virtue: Auburn freshman Kevin Patterson leads the conference with 14 walks, while South Carolina infielder Scott Wingo has recorded 12 free passes (with just 3 strikeouts) in nine games.

*Florida has been the nation's best base-stealing team in the early going, having successfully swiped 33 in 34 attempts.

*We are holding a sizable lead in the race for most errors on the season, with an absolutely awful per-game average of 2.25. If the fielding doesn't improve dramatically, then the preseason prognosticators will likely be vindicated. It doesn't help when the Coach refuses to play his best defensive infielder, but that's beside the point.

*Perhaps the most bizarre category in which the Tide leads the conference: 8 balks. No other team has balked more than twice, while three teams have yet to do so.

The early awards races:
Player of the Year: Sawyer Carroll UK/Gordon Beckham UGA/Aaron Murphree ARK/Cody Overbeck UM/Reese Havens SC

Pitcher of the Year: Lance Lynn UM/Scott Green UK/Austin Hyatt ALA/Chris Rusin UK/Scott Bittle UM

Freshman of the Year: Bryan Morgado TEN/Kevin Patterson AUB/Brett Eibner ARK/Josh Rutledge ALA
Click to expand...

good stuff! Well, except for the BAMA related items.
 
Jo Jo

Don't you feel that our staff is really missing B.J. Green. They appear to have good stuff, but we are struggling to keep the ball around the plate. I don't see a real pitching coach on this staff. I know we are playing a lot of young players, but we need to shore up some part of our game. If your pitching is struggling, them you need to make every play on defense to support them till they settle down. Our youth at the plate seems to be hurting us also. My observation at the games is that our young players are still trying to win the games with home runs, instead of just looking for a line drive hit. Too often we are taking big looping swings, and hitting pop ups. If we can hold this team together, it should be really good next year, but keeping the young players on track may be a big challenge. With the resignation and return of Jim Wells last year, what do you think he will do this year if we finish last this year?
 
JoJoforHeisman said:
It's tough when the only statistical categories in which the team leads the SEC are errors, balks, and wild pitches (Howell leads the conference in wild pitches and he's only worked 2.1 innings).
Click to expand...

could be that coaches had a valid reason behind their ranking of BAMA in the preseason poll...........
 
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