Friday the 13th? I mean, we just beat Vandy in Nashville

The Rebels and Commodores got together in Nashville, TN tonight to determine their identities. Really, neither team knows who it is. This is what the teams showed tonight:

Ole Miss:

We've now got a Friday night guy in Drew Pomeranz. He had a solid night tonight going four innings and only giving up two runs. My only concern is the five walks he issued tonight. McKean went three innings and gave up a run. Morgan and Barbeck both worked one inning and only allowed one hit a piece.

So, I'd say our bullpen is solid. We did commit two errors, but I will give the defense a pass due to the awful weather.

As far as our offense is concerned, we are impressive. We got to Mike Minor tonight which is something no team has done this year. He started really strong by only allowing one hit through 19 batters faced, but he lost control and ended up getting the loss. Tyler Hill was impressive in relief, and he had 8k's.

We scored 9 runs on 12 hits, and that production came mostly in bunches. We scored 4 in the 4th, and 3 of those came on a Travis homerun. We scored 3 more in the 6th on a bases loaded, two-out double from Logan Power. This season, Power is batting 1.000 with the bases loaded. CLUTCH

Vanderbilt:

They are a different team from last year. They haven't shown the power they have had in the past without Flaherty and Alvarez in the line-up. The want to play small ball, but they cannot string the hits together.

Their pitching has had a solid season until tonight, but I bet they get it together by the next game.

My thoughts:

Ole Miss showed some guts tonight by getting the first one under the belt against Vandy. I personally think the game tomorrow will be postponed due to weather, and we can expect a double header on Sunday. As someone commented on a earlier, free streaming video is available through the Vanderbilt site. If you feel I left important information out of this post, feel free to comment and add one.

Fall Ball Notes

I am swamped with mid-terms so this is going to be to the point.

I sat down for lunch the other day with one of the members of the baseball team and we started talking about fall ball. Here are a few things I found interesting:

-Scott Bittle (The Bittler) probably will not be in the starting rotation this season. Look for him to continue his role as the closer.

-It appears we may have three left handers for the weekend rotation. Pom is one of them for sure. I was also told that Kyle Barbeck, a freshman from Blue Springs, MO, is "filthy" and will start too.

-He did not give me the name of the third lefty but I am assuming Baker or Buk. Probably not Baker though, as he described him as "not all there."

-Logan Power and Jordan Henry will be returning to their respective spots, but we have to find a replacement for MG6. Matt Smith may be that guy. Apparently he has been playing some outfield this fall and could see some playing time in left field. If they decide one of the Snyders is not ready to take over first base then expect Jeremy Travis and Michael Hubbard to fight for the final outfield spot. He did not mention any of the JUCO guys we signed.

-Speaking of the Snyders, they have been killing the ball in practice but the coaches do not think they are ready from a defensive standpoint.

-Cliff Vaughn's name was also mentioned as a replacement at first if Smith goes to left field. He has been loving the short field at OHS and his home run numbers should be a bit skewed. (I am 80 percent sure it was Cliff he said this about)

-Shortstop is going to be Evan Button.

-Taylor Hightower has been playing well enough to where he does not think he is going to be redshirted. He's been great defensively and is coming around hitting the ball. He does not think the coaching staff will redshirt him because he will be the starter next season and they do not want to start someone without any game time experience starting next season. I am not sure where this puts Henson.

-Basham is "hitting the cover off the ball." He is trying to improve his draft stock and has made big strides offensively.

That is basically all I can remember.

And so it comes to an end.....

With the pommelling at the hands of Miami, the Rebels can finally stop not living up to the expectations that this season brought. We, as fans, can quit hoping that Mike's team can "get hot" at the end of the season.

As you remember, we began the season ranked #4, and we climbed as high as #2. After that, the season was full of nothing but disappointment. We got our lone conference sweep of the season with Vanderbilt followed that up by winning two at home against LSU. We were looking good, but we again cooled off.

We (and Mississippi State) did enough to sneak us into Hoover, and we did well there. We handled Georgia, out hit Kentucky, Bittled past Vanderbilt on our second try, and got whipped by the horrible people from Louisiana.

We faired well in the regional, and could we really have expected to beat the number 1 team in the country twice in a row? I don't think so, scooter.

You might say, "Brian Walker's Elbow, you surely did not write a lengthy, fun-filled recap of the season!" I say, get over it. Our season was not nearly as lengthy or fun-filled as I had wanted.

Post Season Awards from the Cup:

Defensive MVP: Brett Basham. He was a beast all year behind the plate and we would have been even worse without him. He was outstanding, and I know that he will be missed behind the plate (if he takes the money and runs). Also, I think Scott Bittle owes a lot of his success to Basham's ability to block up "The Thing."

Offensive MVPS: Logan Power (.329, 9 HR) and Cody Overbeck (.356, 17 HR). Logan was by far the most disciplined player at the plate, and he hit two grand slams this season. Even if he had a rough day, he would battle at the plate and come up with a clutch hit. Cody Overbeck usually came through, and he hit a lot of homeruns. Sometimes, he hit into double plays, but he was great in the 4 hole.

Pitching: Scott Bittle (1.78 ERA, 7-1, 70.2 IP, 130 SO). "The Bittler" was absolutely amazing all season. After last season's debacle, he fought back and became a dynamic closer. Typically, a closer only has 3 pitches. Scott has developed a change-up during the off-season to add to his fastball, slider, and "thing." He finished the season leading the country in strikouts per nine innings, and he was absolutely clutch.

Most Improved: I feel like many of our players improved throughout the offseason. Logan Power had a higher average. Overbeck had a higher average, more homeruns, and was much better on defense. However, the most improved award goes to Scott Bittle. From a kid that choked last year every time he was on the mound in a pressure situation to the best strikeout pitcher we will ever see at Ole Miss.

We Miss Zach Cozart Award: Sean Stuyverson (12 ER) and Tim Ferguson (14 ER). You might not think that is a lot of errors, but keep in mind they split time. 'Nuff said

The IF we made it to a Super Regional, I would have set the national record for strikeouts Award: Matt Smith (80 SO).

Mark Wright Memorial Award: Michael Guerrero. Seriously, 7 homeruns in the last 8 games of the season? Sounds familiar.....

Why didn't you pitch more often? Award: Justin Cryer (1.35 ERA, 33.1 IP).

Kind of a let-down Award: Lance Lynn (4.52 ERA). He started out the season on fire, and he really struggled down the stretch. You cannot help but wonder about him maybe being injured because he was simply better as a sophomore.

Really a really big let-down Award: Cody Satterwhite (5.33 ERA). I know his mommy and daddy get upset when he is criticized. However, I cannot help it. He and Lance were supposed to be a big part of getting us to Omaha, and Cody only had two good performances.

Nice Surprise from a Freshman: Drew Pomeranz. (4.16 ERA). He stepped in a did an admirable job as Saturday guy in the rotation. Also, he was recently recognized as a Freshman All-American.

Got a lot better in the off season: Fuller Smith. (.332, 7 HR). I didn't want to give him most improved, but he did contribute greatly to this years team.

Up next for the Cup, we will follow the draft tomorrow. More than likely, we will let you know later tomorrow night due to jobs and things of that nature.

We Are....Ole Miss

The Ghost of Jay Cutler, Ivory Tower, and I made the trip to Hoover for the first two games, and all I can say is wow. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am very critical of Mike Bianco, but I will lay off for now...

Georgia Game:

This Ole Miss team showed a lot of heart, and I am very proud of Lance Lynn and Scott Bittle for their efforts. Lance Struck out twelve and only allowed four hits, and "The Bittler" did an outstanding job as well.

Sorry folks, I needed some Cozart.

Kentucky Game:

I hate Kentucky baseball. Kentucky, huh? More like Ken-sucky.... When they played their first game against Alabama, they would not quit their howling... It was annoying! What made is worse was the fact that the Alabama fans would yell and howl back. Anyway, our team showed tremendous amounts of heart. Matt Smith's homerun was probably the biggest shot I have ever seen in my life (I wasn't really around in the days of Pettway/Head)! Anyway, it was a shot. Michael Guerrero had hit the ball hard for two days straight, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he sent (another)one out. Scott Green embarrassed Overbeck, but he served up a fastball to Guerrero. I was in disbelief of what had happened! I ended up jumping on top of the dugout with kids, infants, random fans, and Guerrero's dad. It was incredible! However, there are a couple of things that I should not overlook. Logan Power's single was huge! He ran the pitcher out of the game, and him being on base was crucial to the walk-off. Another thing I found interesting was that Sawyer Carroll held his arm high in victory when Colin Cowgill hit the sac-fly to send him home. They thought they had the lead for good... Take that Ken-sucky!

John Cohen, Kentucky's skipper, had interesting quotes after the game. "We have had great success against Ole Miss the last few times we've played. We threw two bad pitches in the last couple of innings. I felt they had to win this game to get into a regional. I am pleased with the way our kids competed, but Ole Miss took two great swings when it really mattered. I think overall we played a better game but that is how it works sometimes." Keep in mind that he is a Bulldog at heart. Guess what? John Cohen is a tool bag. What if we had not committed those two errors? We could make excuses too, but we won. Go back to Kensucky you howling tool bags.

Since we are poor college students, we headed home after the game. I listened to today's games on the radio, and I am thrilled we got it done today.

The stars so far:

If you reference this blog post I wrote, I predicted that we would get hot if we had Guerrero and Henry back strong. Guess what? I was right....

Guerrero has been unbelievable! Also, Jordan Henry is back! He is a machine! Kudos to Mike Bianco for sticking with him through the thick and thin. Brett Basham has done an incredible job behind the plate.

Ole Miss becomes the first eight seed to advance to the championship game.

LSU:

They are hotter than a two dollar pistol right now, so this will be the Rebels toughest outing of the year. Nathan Baker will get the nod, and he did well in his last midweek start in Oxford. I think that he will give us four or five innings and probably give up four runs. We will then go to the pitch-by-committee plan with Satterwhite, McKean, and maybe Bittle. This is gonna be amazingly hard, but we can do it. When you're hot, you're hot.

By the way, I have some pics I will be putting up this week. I would put them up now, but the internets is acting up and being slow.

I still hate you Mike Bianco

Saturday's game was a complete tease. The back and forth was almost unbearable. This is how bad it was: I almost though Cody Satterwhite was a good pitcher. Then, the collapse happened. That is the thing about Cody. He looks great for three innings, but then he collapses.

I'll agree with The Ghost of Jay Cutler's assessment. If Bittle's Saturday performance was not enough to prove his worthiness for the Ferris Award, I do not know what is. If I had a vote, The Bittler would get the award hands down.

I'm very proud of Scott. He has fought back after a very tough 2007 campaign. I think he should start our Wednesday game versus Georgia.

Here's the tournament bracket:

Session 1

(2) LSU versus (7) USC at 11:00

(3) Florida versus (6) Vanderbilt at 1:00

Session 2

(1) Georgia versus (8) Ole Miss at 5:00

(4) Kentucky versus (5) Alabama at 8:00

Of course, the losers of session 1 play the next day. The winners of session 1 play the following day. The same is true for the other session as well.

Come on Mike, please do not screw this up.

Dang't Mike Bianco

It just keeps getting uglier for the Rebels, and I am sick of it, Mike Bianco. The big problem is that we suck. I said it. We suck. We cannot get clutch hits, and we cannot field the ball. Heck, we cannot even pitch anymore.

It is do or die time for the Rebels at 5:30 central time this evening. Drew Pomeranz will take the hill for the Rebels, and I hope he decides to not tip his pitches today.

If you cannot tell, I am angry. I was an optimist in earlier years, but now I am an "angrymist". You don't go around preaching this is the most talented and deepest team you have ever had, and then not even make the SEC Tournament. Come on, Mike.

In other news:

Somehow, some way, Mississippi State beat Arkansas during the first game of "Pack the Park for Polk" weekend. Thank you, Mississippi State. Now, we desperately need you to win two more. Also, South Carolina lost to Tennessee. The Rebels, Hogs, and Gamecocks now fill out the 7, 8, & 9 spots respectively.

Another important note: cheer you buts off for Georgia. Rain postponed last night's match-up with Alabama, and now they will play a double-header today. Go Georgia! If they sweep Alabama and we win one game, we are in!

However, if we cannot take two from Kentucky, we need not complain about not making it to Hoover or a Regional because we surely would not deserve to. And that's the bottom line.

Attention Please: Now committing the error for Ole Miss: Sean Stuyverson

They say that you learn something new every day. Well, that is absolutely right. I learned that can Sean Stuyverson not only incorrectly field ground balls and not throw anywhere accurately, he cannot bunt either. With the Rebels down by one, there are runners on first and second with no outs. Sean Stuyverson is up to bat. So, the obvious, logical thing to do in this situation is put both runners in scoring position. Bianco calls the bunt.... And the only problem is that Stuyverson actually has an inability to bunt. He misses the first. The second. And strikes out on the third with the miss. Not only that, Guerrero gets caught away from the bag at second and gets thrown out by the catcher. Now, one man on first with two outs, and the Rebels do not score. Thanks, Sean Stuyverson.

After this fiasco, The Ghost of Jay Cutler called me and said, "Why is Stuyverson still in the line-up?" I replied, "Why is he even still on the team?"

Thankfully, Mike put Ferguson in the next time. Ironically, Ferguson bats with no outs and two men on. You know what happens? He bunts for a base hit!!!!! Then, the bases are loaded, and Basham gets the sac-fly. WOW!!!

Satterwhite did not have that bad of a day with only giving up 2 runs through five innings, and I am glad that Mike had a short leash with him. Putting Bittle in was incredible, and he finished with 7 strikeouts in 4 innings pitched. After we got ahead, I knew that we would win with Scott on the mound. I think he is too great to only pitch 3 or 4 innings a week.

Since Ivory Tower has already laid the SEC Tourney picture out for you, here is my formula for winning in Lexington:

Friday: Lynn

Saturday: The Bittler

Sunday: Pomeranz

This way, you have power and consistency on Friday. Junk and NASTY on Saturday, and power from the left side on Sunday. This would keep the potent Kentucky attack at bay. The next part of the formula is kicking Stuyverson off the team.

Here is my batting order:

J. Henry RF

F. Smith LF

L. Power CF

C. Overbeck 3B

L. Williams DH (why hasn't he played more, mike?)

M. Smith 1B (strikes out too much in the line-up to be placed higher)

Z. Miller 2B

T. Ferguson SS

B-Twice C

As always, these games show me just how much Mike over-coaches. Why, Mike? I'm sure it is worth taking a kid out who has a home run so you can put Cullan Kight in against that new right handed pitcher out of the bullpen. Geez.

Again, I could spend hours ranting about Mike Bianco, but if he wins two against Kentucky, it could shut me up for a little while.

Jordan...HEEEENNNNRRRYYYY! (Logan Williams too)

Alrighty boys... The Rebels won their game against Arkansas State last night. Thank goodness. That brings the Rebs to 2-0 on the week and 27-15 overall.

Quick Recap:
It was a back and forth battle for the Rebels, but they pulled out the win when Logan Williams hit a two-run shot in the eighth followed by a bases clearing single (kind of a double) from Jordan Henry. The final score was 9-4.

Brett Bukvich got the start, but it was Rory McKean who got the win after 1.0 inning of work. Scott Bittle finished the game out by pitching 1.1 innings and striking out three while not allowing a hit. "The Bittler" does it again.

I apologize if I spend too little time recapping game action for you. I think it more important to offer you my analysis of where we stand before each series and what our strengths and weaknesses may be.

Looking to the Future:
Many talk about wanting to host a regional, and I just do not see that happening. Our RPI is around 44th right now. We're 27-15 (10-8 SEC). Here is my formula for hosting a regional:
Win two remaining midweek games Memphis (RPI 160) and Jackson State (RPI 206). Then, we would have to sweep Arkansas (RPI 34) and Auburn (RPI 45). I do not know that incredibly much about how RPI works, but we need to sweep those home series to make sure we get our RPI into the low thirties.
Here comes the hard part. We absolutely have to take 4 of 6 on the road against Georgia (RPI 13) and Kentucky (RPI 41). If you have already done the math, you realize that would make us the two seed (barring a Georgia meltdown) in Hoover with a 20-10 SEC record and 39-16 record. I believe this would pull our RPI near about twenty. With a fat check to the NCAA, luck, and other teams having end-of-the-season disasters, we could host. Also, I realize that winning streak would make us the absolutely hottest team in the United States. However, this should also show you how absolutely implausible it is for us to host.

Here is what really happens:
This weekend, we take two of three from Arkansas. Then, we win both midweek games the following week. The following weekend, we win one at Georgia. We come home to sweep Auburn the next weekend. The final weekend of SEC play, we win two at Kentucky. That's 36-20 (18-10 SEC), and I would guess our RPI would finish about 25th. I'm sorry Rebel faithful, that is not enough to host a regional. "Wait a minute," you may say. "What if we have a good showing in Hoover?" Ok, so you want to do well in Hoover. I say that we make it to the championship game of the SEC tourney, we might host (keep in mind that the host sites are announced before the SEC tourney championship is actually played, so winning or losing it does not affect host status).

Ok, so back to reality. Realistically, a 17 or 18 win record in SEC play combined with our horrible RPI puts us as a 2 seed (I can't make myself believe we'd ever be a 3 seed) in some other team's regional. It is very possible to win on the road and get us to Omaha (i.e. Miami 2006).


What I am liking:

Pitching: Lynn is good at home. Pomeranz is ridiculously good. Buk and McKean are my two candidates to fill in the Sunday role. Obviously, Bittle is my boy at closer.

Hitting: If Jordan Henry's and Logan Williams' bats heat up and Guerrero and Overbeck get back from injury, book your hotel rooms in Omaha (also book them at wherever we play our regional and super regional).

A Controversial Thought

I know this will probably be an unpopular position to take on baseball, but there's someone I want to gain a bigger role who doesn't have one right now.

That's why I'm advocating a new Sunday Starter... Scott Bittle.

Now, hear me out.

Scott Bittle has been lights out in relief, and while I know it's great to have someone who can come out of the pen and give us what Bittle gives us, we have a lot of depth in relief, especially when we pitch our starters through 7 innings like it seems we're loving to do these days.

Here's the thing. I want to see Justin Cryer and Rory McKean in relief. Like Bittle, those two have pitched well in relief, and we barely even see them on weekends these days. It's Bittle twice and Cryer for an inning.

I just feel like if we can return Satterwhite to a relief role, it would work better. If our three starters headed into the weekend were Fri: Lynn, Sat: Pom, Sun: Bittle, I'm not sure there would be a game in which I didn't favor our team.

Our bats and fielding always take Sundays off, so if we had a star pitcher throwing that day, it may not be a lost cause every Sunday.

I'm sure Cody Satterwhite is going to throw a no-hitter today and prove me wrong, but I just haven't been happy with his outings thusfar this season. I mean, the kid was on Team USA this summer. Now he has the highest ERA of all our starters?