LSU Observations

[bamajake]

I have never seen a team show such a complete lack of effort on one night and then come out the next night and play such an inspired game against what is obviously a superior team in terms of talent, depth and coaching. Even more amazing is the fact that, after losing a game like we did Saturday night, the team came out this afternoon and played with just as much inspiration and effort as they did Saturday night.

Our pitching staff really performed this weekend. Even in the game Friday, Charley Sullivan pitched well enough to win, he just got absolutely no run support. On Saturday, we saw several pitchers get the job done. Justin Kamplain got the start and did a respectable job until he handed it off to Tucker Hawley. Hawley and then Keaton Haack both pitched well. Then there was Ray Castillo. Castillo was lights out for four innings. This afternoon, it was Spencer Turnbull's turn. We have become accustomed to seeing Turnbull turn in stellar performances, but today was nothing short of amazing. 9 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) against a team that came into the weekend averaging over 10 hits and 7 runs per game. Turnbull threw 120 pitches and it was obvious that he was pitching on nothing but guts in his last inning. Keaton Haack came in in the 10th and threw 3 pitches with the third coaxing the hitter into an inning ending double play.

I cannot end this without talking about the back to back highlight reel defensive plays Saturday night. In the top of the 14th, LSU had the bases loaded with no outs. The next batter hit a shot in the hole between short and third that appeared to be headed to left field. Mikey White made a diving stop, got up and threw home to force the runner. Brett Booth immediately threw to third to Kenny Roberts who was about 5 feet from the base. Roberts dove for the base just barely beating the runner to complete the rare 6-2-5 double play. The next batter hit a shot to the hole between first and second that also looked headed to the outfield. Kyle Overstreet made a diving play to his left, got up and made the throw to first to end the inning. Both plays were incredible.

The challenge for this team and its coaches now is to continue to play with the same effort as Saturday and today. If they do, there may still be hope for this team. If they return to the form they showed Friday night, we are in for much more frustration.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

Great post bamajake (as always), and agreed on all points with one exception: getting shelled for seven runs on nine hits in 5.2 IP (11.12 ERA) is respectable? :sifone:


Hawley deserves a chance to start on Saturdays. Kamplain has been more effective out of the bullpen anyway.

 

[RoyDMercer]

Very well said and some Observations I'll take away from the weekend are not so much favorable, as the talented players have to continue to battle the opposing team and their very own Coaching staff. It seemed the biggest wrinkle of the weekend was no Austin Smith at first base and it cost us. On Saturday a botched play at 1st extended the inning to allow the next hitter to clock a 3 run dong that tied the game and on Sunday another ground ball between the legs. So many fans was upset with this move because Smith has done an excellent job over there, leads the question, Why? Knowing our Coaches the only reason why they did this is because the kid that played 1B was from Louisiana. Our Coaches have this motto of "Look who we got from your backyard" and you didn't get them. Ok first of all, if LSU would've wanted any of our players we got from Louisiana they could've had them, but the fact of the matter is LSU never recruited the golden child (Dugas) never recruited Gilbo, and they never recruited the kid at first base. I heard that Ole Miss never recruited Sullivan but their was a big deal made about that last week as well. Do our Coaches look for story lines? If so, That story got us beat on Saturday! Notice I'm not bashing the kid because he was probably as shocked as anyone when he was told, you're playing first today.

I hope Spencer Turnbull can literally raise his right arm this morning as he was worked like a rented mule. Whats scary is this young man has the potential to play at the next level if he ever survives his stint at the Cap Stone. He threw some 130 pitches through 9 innings with Keller, Shaw and Haack still available in the pen.

Andrew Miller is the player of the weekend IMHO! He put on a show at the plate all weekend in key moments and covered LF like a glove. Here's a kid that literally was crapped on all of last year, never seeing any playing time and at times looked like the staff wanted him to quit. I'm thankful someone talked him into staying around because he will help us especially in the big games. BTW he is an older guy!
It gets so Old hearing about the Security net used " We're young! Will this group ever have a veteran team like the Ark, LSU of the world, or will every year feature some new freshmen that's been developed by some good HS coaches and ran out in front of older players. Let's have a look at the Junior class now, or what is left of them as they've either transferred, quit or not playing. Austin Smith, Shaw and Baxter is all thats left in what was a remarkable class and I guess Baxter and Shaw is now the Andrew Miller of last year. The year before that, we ran off a kid (made him quit) named Danny Collins. Collins wasn't good enough to play for UA but has since had a remarkable career at Troy http://www.troytrojans.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3535&path=baseball

All of that is being said to say this, and remember I have this team picked to go to Omaha this year. This team learned yesterday that it can compete and beat the Arkansas and LSU of the world and will be a huge momentum swing. Lets not get too crazy! The dog pile at the end of the game surprised me and in fact a LSWho fan next to me to says, "They act like they just Won a NC game" "How Stupid" " they need to act like they've been there before" and I replied, They haven't been there before! According to LSU they played the worse defensive game of the year and that they give the game away.
http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticl...173&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=207351083&DB_OEM_ID=5200

There was a great crowd and a lot of energy at the ole Stadium. Hopefully we can continue to work hard and be there in the end. Roll Tide

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

Yeah, I was disappointed with the ridiculous dog pile, too. Being excited is understandable, but good grief, as nice as the walk-off win was, they still lost the series. It wasn't as embarrassing as the celebratory dogpile after beating Miami of Ohio in which Wade LeBlanc got himself hurt, but it was still bad. When the 2006 team (the last great Bama team) clinched the SEC Championship, there was no dogpile, because they knew that they hadn't won anything yet.

Box score has Turnbull at 120 pitches. Pretty sure that's a season-high.

If I remember correctly, the only other SEC school that recruited Sullivan was Tennessee. He's definitely exceeded expectations this season.

Is Baxter still on the team? I don't know why they just gave up on him early on, yet continued to give others innumerable opportunities, with no results. If they have been hesitant to use Shaw in the late innings of close games, it can only be because of one reason - walks. Otherwise, the stuff is there and he keeps the ball on the ground.

Trying to rationalize some of the decision-making around here will only lead to frustration.

 

[RoyDMercer]

Baxter is still on the team and I'm not sure for the life of me Why he hasn't been utilized in some fashion. I agree with walks on Shaw in the late innings but Keller, Castillo, Kamplain and others have issued late inning walks and they have had multiple opportunities. Someone needs to take the Hawk kid to Vegas and gamble their house as he has escaped major disaster this year. Anytime late inning pitchers come in and the game is close the opposing team is trying to look for a walk and all the guys I mentioned are pitchers that come after you. These guys do not pitch to contact, they pitch to strike you out. Being a touch wild is never a bad thing when you pitch at the back of the game because the hitters cannot get a bead on you. Castillo will bounce a few in the dirt and then come back with 3 straight and set you down. Another thing to notice, How many of our late inning pitchers get us out of a jam and when they return (after our offensive inning) they walk the lead off guy. It's just a glaring thing that jumps out at you.

I've seen late inning guys try it both ways, by pitching to contact (afraid of walking somebody) and getting squared up hard, and then the come right after you approach and take their chances if they walk a guy we will sweep them up in a double play. I'm a fan of pitch to strike a guy out.

 

[crimsonkelly]

120 pitches isn't a career killer. Every game out and yea, maybe some concern, but there are programs out there that actually take guys routinely into 130+ every weekend assuming they are still in the game. If a kid has good mechanics, and proper pitch calling, 120 isn't going to ruin them. When mechanics fail is when injuries happen. Nola threw 109 Friday.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying everyone can/should throw 120+ pitches day in and day out, but occasionally it is ok. All depends on the pitcher really.

 

[rolltydebb]

120 pitches is not a bad number. He threw 9 innings, that averages out to be about 13 pittches an inning, which is what you want.

Friday night guys in the SEC pitch way more than that. I watched the 1st rounder from arkansas throw 140+ in an outing. 120 at this level, this late in the year, when its warm, is the norm.

Hard to bash the coaching staff or the kids this weekend. They played hard and were severly outmatched from a talent standpoint. Ask yourself how many of our kids would start for LSU? LSU certainly isnt running out hitters in the 7,8,9 hole that are hitting 210 with no power. And we certainly dont have 1st round arms throwing Fri or Sat and dont have 3 guys hitting 3-4-5 that they have. Heck their 8-9 holes would likely hit in the middle of our order

I've said many times on here, the ball was dropped in recruiting years ago, and that can be blamed on this staff. That being said there is no doubt the program is on the rise. Again you could agrue there was no way to go but up, but its certainly going up. The baseball is much better this year than last, the question is, is it enough for them to keep their jobs and get to do it again? My bet is the last few weeks of the season will have a lot to do with that.

 

[big jim]

Great post bamajake (as always), and agreed on all points with one exception: getting shelled for seven runs on nine hits in 5.2 IP (11.12 ERA) is respectable? :sifone:


Hawley deserves a chance to start on Saturdays. Kamplain has been more effective out of the bullpen anyway.

I agree I like hawley going on Saturday he is a pitcher not a thrower he will get u deep in a game and will control the flow of it. Sullivan was going against Nola and he is a first rounder any year. Sullivan pitched extremely well after the first he deserves his Friday rotation. I was at all three games Friday we were shut down by a great pitcher. Saturday we played great and yes Miller is the leader of this team the kids rally around his winning demeanor and it shows. He had a few opportunities that he should have produced in but they all did. Over his 4 years we have won more games with him in the line up than any other player on the team. Last year was our worst year and he did not play. I don't think it would have mattered last year in my opinion we didn't have any leadership from the seniors.


The young freshman have grown leaps and bounds and it shows so yes I agree with the dog pile for them they were excited did it make us look bad Hell no it helped our young players. I still have concerns with our hitting at times Moore still isn't swinging it consistent and smith I sill think Andy messes some of them up. We should play very well the rest of the year if our pitching stays healthy. Dax is getting good effort and I have to give him credit. We should have won Saturday but we didn't and it is our fault but it helped us to know we can compete. Just my observation and a great post Roy on your observation.

 

[rolltydebb]

Think the reason you've seen Keller and now Kamplain in the Saturday role is to make the rotation go R,L,R...

Give the lineup a different look. Not a bad idea, I like Kamplain starting, he just drew a tough matchup with LSU, and save a 3 run homer on a pitchers pitch after an error, he didnt do a terrible job. But I like him in the pen as well.

 

[bamamick]

Some really good posts in this thread. One thing I think about is how very different we'd feel if we had won Saturday night......or lost on Sunday. But what that does say is that we can play with LSU on our good days, and LSU is a damn good team.

We have the pitching, and on most days, the defense. If we can just scratch out a few runs.

On the very positive side, if we go .500 over the last 12 games we will make a regional. Win the series at home and then take a total of two of the six against State and Vandy and we should be in for sure. And no, that's not going back to the good ol' days of Jim in his heyday, but it's progress.

rtr

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

Win the series at home and then take a total of two of the six against State and Vandy

That's possible, but it's not going to be easy. Two vastly superior opponents on the road, A&M is no pushover, and even Missouri has wins over South Carolina and Florida. As you said, scratching out a few more runs is the key. It's not very often that you can expect to pull off a win over LSU with just five hits.

Currently #32 in RPI (8th among SEC teams). Schedule strength is 14th, but bound to move up. A 14-16 mark in conference play should be enough to make a regional; 13-17 would be cutting it close, as the selection committee will always be looking for a reason to minimize the number of SEC teams in the field.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

It seemed the biggest wrinkle of the weekend was no Austin Smith at first base and it cost us. On Saturday a botched play at 1st extended the inning to allow the next hitter to clock a 3 run dong that tied the game and on Sunday another ground ball between the legs. So many fans was upset with this move because Smith has done an excellent job over there, leads the question, Why?

Glad someone pointed this out, as this was a completely unnecessary roster move that proved very costly. You bench your regular veteran starter, who has played well defensively, for a freshman with minimal experience at the position? Completely unjustifiable, inane decision by CMG. Not surprisingly, he offered no explanation as to what prompted such a bewildering move. That kind of experimentation is something you do in a midweek game against Alcorn State, not in a conference series against the #2 team in the country. Decisions like these make me wonder just what the heck CMG could possibly be thinking.

 

[baseballfanatic]

Glad someone pointed this out, as this was a completely unnecessary roster move that proved very costly. You bench your regular veteran starter, who has played well defensively, for a freshman with minimal experience at the position? Completely unjustifiable, inane decision by CMG. Not surprisingly, he offered no explanation as to what prompted such a bewildering move. That kind of experimentation is something you do in a midweek game against Alcorn State, not in a conference series against the #2 team in the country. Decisions like these make me wonder just what the heck CMG could possibly be thinking.

I really hope it was a discipline-thing as the reason. Which, when taking in that he still got to bat, doesn't make sense either. It just makes more sense than what we've got right now.

 

[bench]

Baxter had 5 hits in the first 3 games against vmi then went on a 20 something ab hit less streak. I thought we might see him out of the bullpen. His hitting was similar last year.

this team seems to be getting better against better competition, hopefully the energy level will stay up for each game regardless of who we are playing.
pitching wise we are seeing the pitchers that have proven to be consistent. Prime example is #55, he to advantage of his opportunities and has worked his way to more innings.
As a team we seem to be having better at bats, but I think we need to be more aggressive by bunting runners over and hit and run a little more.
defensively we are really good everywhere with the exception of 1st with Vincent (he is ok and getting better) and right field where Moore has been subpar all year, I guess his hitting or not affects his defense.
all in all we are ahead of where I thought we would be right now.rtr

 

[rolltydebb]

Think its easy to blame coaches for benching or DH smith.

Thats one of those things you can't see without being at practice. For all we know the other kid is the better defensive first baseman. And Smith had a big error, it wasnt an error in the book, but its an error non-the-less in game 2. Weak ground ball and is unsure of himself, takes 2 steps towards it then back to the bag, and ends up being scored and INF single, followed by the 3 run homerun that tied the game.

Id call Smith adequate over there, not anyting more.

 

[bench]

Think its easy to blame coaches for benching or DH smith.

Thats one of those things you can't see without being at practice. For all we know the other kid is the better defensive first baseman. And Smith had a big error, it wasnt an error in the book, but its an error non-the-less in game 2. Weak ground ball and is unsure of himself, takes 2 steps towards it then back to the bag, and ends up being scored and INF single, followed by the 3 run homerun that tied the game.

Id call Smith adequate over there, not anyting more.

Lil deb I think u mixed up. That was Vincent in game 2.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

this team seems to be getting better against better competition

Can't disagree with your other points, but are you sure about that one? 7-2 against the bottom-feeders of Tennessee, UGA, and Auburn; 2-7 against Arkansas, Ole Miss, and LSU. Averaged just 2.5 runs per game in the last nine; take away Saturday night against LSU and the number drops to 1.7 runs per game. The pitching staff has been carrying this team all season, and the defense has generally been a strength. The offensive production, on the other hand, while occasionally flashing some potential (Saturday, for the first nine innings), remains poor overall. It places a ton of pressure on your pitchers when the lineup is hitting a punchless .245/.336/.311, but the staff deserves a lot of credit for picking up the slack and holding their own despite minimal run support.

The key to this team's improvement from a year ago is pitching, plain and simple. Last year was an absolute nightmare on the mound, the worst collective performance by an Alabama pitching staff since '94. Fast forward a year, and what was once a liability is now a staff that can compete with the very best of them. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the hitting.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

Think its easy to blame coaches for benching or DH smith.

Thats one of those things you can't see without being at practice. For all we know the other kid is the better defensive first baseman. And Smith had a big error, it wasnt an error in the book, but its an error non-the-less in game 2. Weak ground ball and is unsure of himself, takes 2 steps towards it then back to the bag, and ends up being scored and INF single, followed by the 3 run homerun that tied the game.

Id call Smith adequate over there, not anyting more.

bench is right - you're mixing up Vincent and Smith.

 

[HolyCow]

The key to this team's improvement from a year ago is pitching, plain and simple. Last year was an absolute nightmare on the mound, the worst collective performance by an Alabama pitching staff since '94. Fast forward a year, and what was once a liability is now a staff that can compete with the very best of them. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the hitting.

Exactly right JoJo. We have no starters hitting .300 and our bench is worse. We have virtually no power either.
Oh for a lineup of hitters like LSU. The offensive future is something I sure can't see improving enough to be close to LSU, Vandy or USC. Losing Booth, Roberts and Miller. Sure hope things somehow improve.

 

[bamamick]

Well, hopefully Wass will add that pop that we hoped he would coming into this year, but I agree completely that guys are going to have to pick it up for us to be better than a middle-of-the-road SEC squad. I have shown some enthusiasm for the possibility of us making a regional this year, but that's mostly because of the record-bad year we had last year. That's not where we should want to be as a program. Alabama should have Omaha as a goal each and every year, and there's no reason not to expect at least a shot at that glory each time out.

Some folks will get angry at my saying so, but we have to have another hitting coach. I don't see any way we can get around that. I don't believe Mitch is going anywhere, but we have to see some improvement with the sticks or we really will sink to the bottom of the league and be stuck there. There's no choice but to make a change. Is there?

rtr