Blue Raiders Rally Past Tennessee, 11-5

#1
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#1
Tennessee jumped out to a three-run lead early on Tuesday evening but 10 unanswered runs by MTSU proved too much to overcome as the Volunteers dropped an 11-5 decision to the Blue Raiders.

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Discuss.
 
#2
#2
I did not like the look of this team after that 5 spot. I have only been able to see a few games in person, but watching them tonight I do not like the look and body language of the coaching staff. To me, it looks like they are coaching like these kids are big leaguers. This is just my perception but I don't see a lot of energy from the staff to help encourage these kids out of their hole. I like everything they are saying and I know they have the right idea of how to win games, but this team needs some more help. The coaches look just as defeated as the kids. That just won't work. For the first time, I am losing some optimism for the future. As I see it, we will win with recruits, that's it. I don't see many guys playing above their talent level with this staff. Recruiting breeds winning breeds recruiting etc. We need big time arms NOW.

I'm sure I'll read this tomorrow and wonder why I was freaking out so badly, but for now I'm going to be a pessimist.
 
#3
#3
Serrano with a heated post game chat with his team in the outfield. My son wanted to wait for them to finish, stood there for about 10 minutes and headed for the car. They were still getting railed on as we drove by leaving for home.
 
#4
#4
I am so sick of this - Went to the game tonight and the MTSU fans are laughing at us and saying we are just lucky that Tennrssee don't have to play them in Football....I almost got into a fight with one of them...We need to win at all cost - I can't believe that MTSU has better players than us- If so - Why & When will this change ?
 
#10
#10
Several thoughts come to mind here:

-A young team is going to be inconsistent. Cox has been great the last few outings but not tonight. He will learn from this.

--Not sure how you can say this coaching staff is not getting the most out of these players. The difference between D1 and HS is huge. For the most part, this team has been competitive...tonight? not so much.

--You have to be focused and confident to play baseball. Getting a team "fired up" normally causes the players to overswing, overthrow, etc. These coaches understand the game and how to get the most out of their team.

--As I said last week after the UK series win. There will be more bad games played by this group and just when the Chicken Little Brigade starts to bury them, they will pull off another series win, great game, etc.

UT has the right coach, the right staff and many of the right pieces. They do need more power on the mound and at the plate, but, it's coming.
 
#11
#11
Really though, can anyone understand why MTSU is better than us at pretty much every sport??? ****ING PATHETIC!!!
 
#13
#13
volatil said:
Serrano with a heated post game chat with his team in the outfield. My son wanted to wait for them to finish, stood there for about 10 minutes and headed for the car. They were still getting railed on as we drove by leaving for home.
Click to expand...

Were you standing along the fence next to UT's dugout during the game? I think I was next to you for a couple innings.

I am glad the kids got worn out after that game. I really don't have a lot of issue with the pitchers. Pretty much everyone came in and threw strikes. But I think as a team, we quit. We looked to be going through the motions. Lots of bad swings and quick outs on weak grounders. Bily dropped that fly ball. It's embarrassing, not to lose, but to not be willing to go down punching. The fight we have had for most of the year was absent last night IMO.
 
#14
#14
Now that I've cooled off a bit...I admit that I may be the biggest CDS homer on the board. I thought it was a great hire, in large part, because CDS could've stayed out west and kept on going to the CWS every year...He wanted to be here. I still believe it was the right hire.

That said...Base running has been an issue all season, it had leveled off a bit, but it raised it's ugly head last night in the 1st inning BIG TIME. Post game CDS made mention of it saying that we were "too aggressive AGAIN and it cost us some runs". Sure, hind sight is 20/20, however as I was listening to the game and the 1st inning was playing out I was asking myself..."What is the thought behind trying to stretch every play out like this, we're hitting their starting pitcher like nobody's business. We've faced and hit some of the best pitchers in the country, what is Bergeron doing?" I think it is safe to say that CDS and CB need to get on the same page because we're not talking about 1 game here and CDS has mentioned this several times this season.

Then, after MTSU puts up 5 runs in the 4th, we basically get shut out by 5 different pitchers...I was not there, I couldn't see it with my own eyes, but it sure felt like we gave up offensively and I've not felt that way since last season. I predicted in another thread regarding our post season chances that we'd split with MTSU, so I'm not taking anything away from them, but I didn't think our guys would lay down like they did.

Then there is the pitching...this is CDS's wheel house. With the exception of Saberhagen, they are all young guys and inconsistency is to be expected. With that in mind, I question why CDS seems reluctant to take these guys out sooner rather than later. It seemed like Thomas should've been on a shorter leash...jmo.

Two weeks ago, I thought we had a good shot at Hoover and a really slim shot at post season play. Now, I think it's going to be a fist fight that might last the rest of the season to make Hoover and that's if they don't go in the tank like last season.

For the first time this season, I'm disappointed in the effort. I'm not disappointed that we lost to MTSU, I'm disappointed by the WAY we lost and both the coaches and the players had a hand in it.
 
#15
#15
Backwards K said:
Several thoughts come to mind here:

-A young team is going to be inconsistent. Cox has been great the last few outings but not tonight. He will learn from this.

--Not sure how you can say this coaching staff is not getting the most out of these players. The difference between D1 and HS is huge. For the most part, this team has been competitive...tonight? not so much.

--You have to be focused and confident to play baseball. Getting a team "fired up" normally causes the players to overswing, overthrow, etc. These coaches understand the game and how to get the most out of their team.

--As I said last week after the UK series win. There will be more bad games played by this group and just when the Chicken Little Brigade starts to bury them, they will pull off another series win, great game, etc.

UT has the right coach, the right staff and many of the right pieces. They do need more power on the mound and at the plate, but, it's coming.
Click to expand...


Backwards K:

As I look for signs of progress, two questions I ask are:

Do individual players get better from year to year? This is a concern. Godley, Williams, and Maddox are our veterans contributing the most. As much as I respect them, they are basically what they were last year. Maddox has a higher average and is more of a leader, but his game is about the same. None of our other returning players, including the transfer Serrano brought with him last year, appear to have turned a corner, figured it out, and found a way to make a bigger contribution this year than last year. Most have smaller roles. This is especially true among the pitchers, none of whom are throwing harder or better than last year. Individual year-by-year improvement is an area where coaching should have a pronounced effect, especially on a team that isn't recruiting blue chip prospects. I hope to see it next year when Serrano's own recruits come back.

Does the team get better within the season? Last year, the answer was emphatically "NO!" We started hot, but totally and embarrassingly crashed the last third of the season. This year, the answer is "not yet." We played fairly well in the first half against a tougher schedule but then hit a big skid that was briefly interrupted by the VT win and series win over UK, only to be followed up by another four-game losing streak. There was a lot of happy talk here a few weeks ago about how much this team would improve during the conference part of the schedule, and I was roundly criticized for my skepticism. But time is running short now. It's very important for this team finish the season better than last year's team did. I want to see this team keep punching until the final bell. Last night was not encouraging.

Also, I'm not convinced we have that many of the right pieces yet. On average, a normal recruiting class for any school should eventually produce three quality starting position players, one weekend starter, and two or three good relief pitchers. I think this freshman class will meet or exceed that standard for position players, but not for pitchers. In other words, it's not a class that helps us leap forward. Maybe it will become that, but the pre-season excitement about the 18 freshmen and 22 new players has given way to excitement about maybe three of them and contingent hope about four or five others.

I know you think I'm a hopeless pessimist, but that's my read on things now.

GBO
 
#16
#16
vol66 said:
Now that I've cooled off a bit...I admit that I may be the biggest CDS homer on the board. I thought it was a great hire, in large part, because CDS could've stayed out west and kept on going to the CWS every year...He wanted to be here. I still believe it was the right hire.

That said...Base running has been an issue all season, it had leveled off a bit, but it raised it's ugly head last night in the 1st inning BIG TIME. Post game CDS made mention of it saying that we were "too aggressive AGAIN and it cost us some runs". Sure, hind sight is 20/20, however as I was listening to the game and the 1st inning was playing out I was asking myself..."What is the thought behind trying to stretch every play out like this, we're hitting their starting pitcher like nobody's business. We've faced and hit some of the best pitchers in the country, what is Bergeron doing?" I think it is safe to say that CDS and CB need to get on the same page because we're not talking about 1 game here and CDS has mentioned this several times this season.

Then, after MTSU puts up 5 runs in the 4th, we basically get shut out by 5 different pitchers...I was not there, I couldn't see it with my own eyes, but it sure felt like we gave up offensively and I've not felt that way since last season. I predicted in another thread regarding our post season chances that we'd split with MTSU, so I'm not taking anything away from them, but I didn't think our guys would lay down like they did.

Then there is the pitching...this is CDS's wheel house. With the exception of Saberhagen, they are all young guys and inconsistency is to be expected. With that in mind, I question why CDS seems reluctant to take these guys out sooner rather than later. It seemed like Thomas should've been on a shorter leash...jmo.

Two weeks ago, I thought we had a good shot at Hoover and a really slim shot at post season play. Now, I think it's going to be a fist fight that might last the rest of the season to make Hoover and that's if they don't go in the tank like last season.

For the first time this season, I'm disappointed in the effort. I'm not disappointed that we lost to MTSU, I'm disappointed by the WAY we lost and both the coaches and the players had a hand in it.
Click to expand...

I agree, but the first inning was not on Bergeron. Will went to 3rd on a groundball behind him, and MTSU made a good play to get him. Christin tried to stretch a single for no good reason, I bet on his own. On the Bily play, I didn't see if Bergie waved him to third. If he did, it wasn't a good idea. He looked very disappointed in Pierce though so I think he went on his own as well. Another bad decision.

I agree on Thomas. No one was even in the bullpen until it was too late. I don't think I quite understand that one. Sidenote: I like Blake's stuff. IMO if he drops his armslot a little, that sinker will actually sink and I think his whole arsenal gets a lot better.
 
#17
#17
BigOrange51 said:
I agree, but the first inning was not on Bergeron. Will went to 3rd on a groundball behind him, and MTSU made a good play to get him. Christin tried to stretch a single for no good reason, I bet on his own. On the Bily play, I didn't see if Bergie waved him to third. If he did, it wasn't a good idea. He looked very disappointed in Pierce though so I think he went on his own as well. Another bad decision.

I agree on Thomas. No one was even in the bullpen until it was too late. I don't think I quite understand that one. Sidenote: I like Blake's stuff. IMO if he drops his armslot a little, that sinker will actually sink and I think his whole arsenal gets a lot better.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate your info regarding the base running as you were there to witness it. As you said, my mental picture on Maddox was that the ball was behind him and he'd be looking at 3rd for direction...I'm just listening to the call of the game and I'm sure I lose a lot in not being able to "see" the actual plays. The bigger issue is that CDS acknowledged the poor decisions post game and also stated it was an ongoing problem. He's mentioned it several times during the course of the year.

You and most of the other posters are far more qualified to discuss throwing mechanics and other technical aspects of the game, my schooling stopped a year or two after little league.:)

I just don't see much improvement with consistency in the pitchers. We got zero strike outs, I think every reliever allowed the lead off man on, and as I said it seemed like batting practice on the radio, balls going over the wall, over the heads of the outfielders...maybe it was different in person, but it sounded like they were just crushing it, I think VJax might have saved one from going out too. In the meantime, their pitchers are mowing our batters down, I believe we had 3 innings, maybe 4 where we went down in order and 3 K's in a row in the ninth.

It might not have looked that bad, but it sounded that bad.

I realize these mid week games sometimes just get away, get out of hand, but it seemed like there was a lot more pride in the other dug out.
 
#18
#18
Showme, I think you are a realist for the most part. You make some good points and I'm not sure I disagree with any of them.

Help me with this: In this past class, how many of the position players are or will be legit SEC starters in the next 3 years: Simcox and Price (JUCO) are legit this year. In the future, Stewart and VJackson can be legit soon. Moberg is a lot like Wormsley in that they are good utility players who can contribute off the bench at a lot of different positions. Who else?

As for the pitching staff: Godley is probably a Sunday guy at best on most top line SEC staffs. Nick Williams is a relief or midweek guy on most staffs. None of the rest of the pitching staff would pitch on a weekend on most SEC teams. Several others have shown flashes of competence but the jury is still out on Quillen, Bettencourt, Cox and Charpie as to whether or not they can ever be consistent SEC pitchers. Who knows about Ownby's future at this point?

The next recruiting class is of utmost importance for Serrano and he will need some power arms (there's one in his house now), some power hitting, and more SEC level players.

This team is competing at about its optimum level given the huge disparity in talent and experience they are dealing with. Hopefully, some of these young guys make major steps this offseason and hopefully, there is more help on the way. In the meantime, expect more up and down (probably more down) performances.
 
#19
#19
BigOrange51 said:
Were you standing along the fence next to UT's dugout during the game? I think I was next to you for a couple innings.

I am glad the kids got worn out after that game. I really don't have a lot of issue with the pitchers. Pretty much everyone came in and threw strikes. But I think as a team, we quit. We looked to be going through the motions. Lots of bad swings and quick outs on weak grounders. Bily dropped that fly ball. It's embarrassing, not to lose, but to not be willing to go down punching. The fight we have had for most of the year was absent last night IMO.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was standing next to the dug out. Moved during the 4th or 5th inning so I wouldn't kill this smart a** sitting behind me.
 
#20
#20
BK,
Yep. That's the basic rundown. None of the freshmen pitchers have inspired confidence yet, but pitching is the position where it's possible to make the biggest jump from one year to the next, so we'll see.
 
#21
#21
Who is going to pitch next year? Godley, our best pitcher is gone. If Nick Williams goes pro (no idea if he can or not), then we are going to be about the same or even worse pitching next year.
 
#22
#22
Folks, that is an excellent question and one I am sure that keeps the coaches up late at night.
 
#23
#23
Folks said:
Who is going to pitch next year? Godley, our best pitcher is gone. If Nick Williams goes pro (no idea if he can or not), then we are going to be about the same or even worse pitching next year.
Click to expand...

The answer is that we will probably see another year with very high turnover among the freshman class, a bunch of late signees, and some more JUCO transfers.
 
#25
#25
BruinVol said:
Realistically can kids that are still unsigned compete at the SEC level??


IMO its very rare
Click to expand...

I agree.

13 of the 22 newcomers on this year's roster were announced after the early signing period.

I was just saying it looks like we have to go back to that well again.
 
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