Expectations next year?

#201
#201
LordBolton said:
1. Tennessee will have the talent to again be in contention to win it all.
2. Tennessee will again find a way to lose to a jabronie team in embarassing fashion.
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Agree with point one only respectively. Tony Vitello said he will do better and Lear from his mistakes. I don't have any reason not to trust him.
 
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#202
#202
GregAmsler said:
Hopefully get Skenes at Catcher. I think Ortega goes, but Steenstra, Backus, and Valentine are all guys who will compete for a starting spot. I’m also interested to see how Kavares Tears develops and if the light can come on for Logan Chambers. If it does, he could be the DH.
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I think there is 1 more JUCO infielder committed. I think the 2 biggest needs are 3rd and catcher.
 
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#203
#203
With three of the four statering pitchers returning, I would expect us to be Top-5 in the SEC. Perhaps top-20 in the country.

Massive loses among the everyday players and bullpen. But, some talent coming in. We'll figure it out after the draft.

Our 2023 season will perhaps be like the Candygirls 2022 season. Upper middle of SEC pack.
 
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#205
#205
My expectations: 1. Next year's team won't be as good as this years--the Vols had a perfect storm of pitching and hitting. 2. None of the opponents will be looking forward to playing the Vols like they did in the Raleigh years. 3. Tennessee is unlikely to be ranked No. 1 at the end of the season which I think may be a good thing.
 
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#206
#206
arkyvol said:
My expectations: 1. Next year's team won't be as good as this years--the Vols had a perfect storm of pitching and hitting. 2. None of the opponents will be looking forward to playing the Vols like they did in the Raleigh years. 3. Tennessee is unlikely to be ranked No. 1 at the end of the season which I think may be a good thing.
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Yes. In future years, I have no interest in being ranked # 1 until end of June.

Still pondering the Kim Mulkey thoughts and approach regarding the SEC tournament.
 
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#207
#207
Zvols said:
This team was 2nd in the country in doubles, top 15 in country in batting average, top 15 in country in fielding percentage, and 2nd in SEC in stolen bases. Not sure what they’re missing other than being quicker to the plate. The issue is that multiple guys had their worst day on the final day. In the final game of the season, Beck, Gilbert, Lipscomb, Ortega, and Russell were all hitless.
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Very true but they also left a lot of men on base. Playing baseball means moving baserunners into scoring position, hitting curve balls to the opposite field, more consistent contact less strike outs, fine elements of the game. This team swings for the fence and plays smash-mouth baseball which is fine and fun to watch. Instead of beating a team 27-2 we should be using those games to work on baseball skills, you know, the skills we needed yesterday. A freshman pitcher with medium grade stuff was able to shut down the entire team yesterday for 4 1/2 innings in an elimination game. They are a great team, I would just like to see them be invincible.
 
#209
#209
VOLtaism said:
Very true but they also left a lot of men on base. Playing baseball means moving baserunners into scoring position, hitting curve balls to the opposite field, more consistent contact less strike outs, fine elements of the game. This team swings for the fence and plays smash-mouth baseball which is fine and fun to watch. Instead of beating a team 27-2 we should be using those games to work on baseball skills, you know, the skills we needed yesterday. A freshman pitcher with medium grade stuff was able to shut down the entire team yesterday for 4 1/2 innings in an elimination game. They are a great team, I would just like to see them be invincible.
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I don't want us to go nuts with it, but it is always handy if guys can do this

bunt.jpg
 
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#211
#211
GRRN7MAXIMS said:
Agree with point one only respectively. Tony Vitello said he will do better and Lear from his mistakes. I don't have any reason not to trust him.
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There’s no reason to be a Derek Dooley and bring King Lear into this. We’re moving on from that crap.
 
#215
#215
WallyBalls said:
Very interesting. Can't say I disagree with her...especially now that we have that trophy (in both sports).
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Yeah. I went to that tournament in Nashville. At first. it was disappointing to hear her perspective. Then Kentucky got all pumped up and won the tourney.
But, they had zilch left in the tank for the NCAA and were quickly eliminated. South Carolina lost in Nashville, but used that as a springboard to win it all.

Again, I haven't decided. But, if you're already in the NCAA, maybe resting the team in SEC tourney is the way to go....???
 
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#217
#217
Jax_Vol said:
Yeah. I went to that tournament in Nashville. At first. it was disappointing to hear her perspective. Then Kentucky got all pumped up and won the tourney.
But, they had zilch left in the tank for the NCAA and were quickly eliminated. South Carolina lost in Nashville, but used that as a springboard to win it all.

Again, I haven't decided. But, if you're already in the NCAA, maybe resting the team in SEC tourney is the way to go....???
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Winning the SECT in both sports was nice, but it really did nothing for either team. Baseball was already the clear #1 seed, and basketball it's clear the committee already had us as a 3 seed regardless.
 
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#219
#219
Jax_Vol said:
With three of the four statering pitchers returning, I would expect us to be Top-5 in the SEC. Perhaps top-20 in the country.

Massive loses among the everyday players and bullpen. But, some talent coming in. We'll figure it out after the draft.

Our 2023 season will perhaps be like the Candygirls 2022 season. Upper middle of SEC pack.
Click to expand...

Thats what preseason prognosticators were saying in January 2022.
 
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#220
#220
VOLtaism said:
I would like to see our baseball team play more baseball next season. Bunt, make contact type hitters who advance the base runners, disruptive base runners who steal anything they see, pitchers holding runners with throws and pitch outs, vacuum cleaner infield. This is baseball and skills that win championships.
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Fwiw, there's a reason analytics killed small ball to such a large extent. It generally doesn't score as many runs.... especially for a team with pop #1-9 like Tennessee.
 
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#221
#221
youcancallmeAl said:
Thats what preseason prognosticators were saying in January 2022.
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That is very true. I never dreamed we would be this good after losing Jake, Max, Dallas, Petey, Spense, two outstanding catchers, Saturday night starter, etc. The 2022 team way over exceeded the pre-season predictions. Perhaps we peaked in Hoover.
 
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#222
#222
tombowalker said:
Fwiw, there's a reason analytics killed small ball to such a large extent. It generally doesn't score as many runs.... especially for a team with pop #1-9 like Tennessee.
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Very true and I strongly support that.

It is still quite weird seeing that as a lost art from a mere 20-30 years ago.
 
#224
#224
VOLtaism said:
Very true but they also left a lot of men on base. Playing baseball means moving baserunners into scoring position, hitting curve balls to the opposite field, more consistent contact less strike outs, fine elements of the game. This team swings for the fence and plays smash-mouth baseball which is fine and fun to watch. Instead of beating a team 27-2 we should be using those games to work on baseball skills, you know, the skills we needed yesterday. A freshman pitcher with medium grade stuff was able to shut down the entire team yesterday for 4 1/2 innings in an elimination game. They are a great team, I would just like to see them be invincible.
Click to expand...

Situational hitting is not this team's forte. But that isn't the largest part of what got us beat. That would be pitching. It's true we only scored three runs, but our pitching staff had an elite season, and that could have been enough. But the dominant starting pitching we had in the early and mid parts of the season just wasn't there in two of the three games. I think that was mostly due to the fact that two of our starters were true freshmen, and they need an offseason to improve their stuff and their stamina. Also true that ND's style of offense played well to our pitching staff.

Pitching and defense win championships. It's always been true in baseball. Offense can vary. I've seen championship teams that play small ball on offense, some that are mashers, and some like Earl Weaver that play station to station and hit three run homers. But one thing they all championship teams have in common is very good or elite defense and very good or elite pitching.

If you have a team of mashers, then you have to live with the results if the other team's pitching takes advantage of that aggressiveness. Take the first inning of the first game: two on with none out and Beck at the plate. He hit into a double play trying to hit a pitcher's pitch and then Gilbert went after a pitcher's pitch and we got nothing out of it. A lot of teams would have bunted to sacrifice one to stay out of the double play. But we opted not to do that. Live by the sword, die by the sword. You choose your poison when it comes to offense. No offense is going to carry the day every day.
 
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#225
#225
Watching this weekend, I caught two graphics which scared the hell out of me. First, no number one seed has won it all with the exception of Miami (decades ago), and second, 80% of the teams that win the first game of the super regional go on to win it. Both proved true for the Vols. Assuming that they make it to the super next year, I hope they approach game one with blood in their eyes.
 
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