The Official #17 Tennessee @ #8 Arkansas Series Thread (Thurs. May 15 8PM EDT ESPN2) (Fri. May 16 7:30PM EDT SECNET+) Sat. May 17 3PM EDT SEC Network

[84Volfan]

With the freshmen we have, I think the future will be bright. They'll learn a lot from this season. Pitching will be the biggest thing to look for in the portal.

How we feeling about Mason Estrada from MIT. Read he was dominant

 

[84Volfan]

I think CTV sleeps with a LOT of Ump's Wives!!!!

If not he should start

 

[BruisedOrange]

I get it, BUT, it is baseball, and baseball IS different. Get hot and things change.

How many times has it been mentioned about Ole Miss being the LAST team in the tournament, yet winning it all?

Name me another sport with a decent to large Tourney field where that is even possible?

Are the odds against us, yes! But, it has, and can happen.

Asking this as a sincere question: Can gloves and infield throws get hot?

I can see how they can get "cold" with over-thinking, scattered-thinking, lack of in-the-moment focus, etc. But how (or how often) do error-prone teams improve their defensive game during the season?

 

[taylorvol]

Nope. Two great players who came here to play because of the culture created by the leaders, not the leaders themselves.

They will be missed as players, but they are products of the culture, not the source of it.

Absolutely.

 

[Volstylexx]

Honestly, I'm not sure this team has any leaders. At least not like Tony's previous teams. No CMo or Drew. No one to get the team fired up. But that's JMO.

Don’t equate being vocal as being a leader. Hunter is no doubt a leader on this team, and I think his presence, and leadership, will be a factor in big moments during the post season.

 

[volsagain]

TN leads SEC in errors and most of those have been this last half of season. Pitching has regressed, cannot hold runners and team doesnt play with fire, heck the home games have been relatively dead per a fan perspective. It is what it is, nothing wrong with saying this season will most likely end much earlier than last season. CTV will get it back, has talent coming in, but there is no special button to push to change this teams trajectory....

Most everything negative thing you said can be proven wrong by looking at SEC stats. No we're not tops in many categories like the past few years but we're not at the bottom either.

 

[knoxvol52]

Game thread vibes at the moment.

 

[Weezer]

How we feeling about Mason Estrada from MIT. Read he was dominant

I literally know nothing about him. But if Frank likes him, I'll go with it.

 

[Hurley Mooncalf]

Super inconsistent strike zone

 

[Ritzwatch]

it’s my opinion. just like u have urs. I think those two are our best players. numbers prove it.

Best players aren’t always leaders.

If that were the case, everyone unhappy with this team should be happy they are gone, what, with the lack of “leadership” that is complained about.

They are absolutely important parts of the team. I have absolutely loved watching them play.

But if one thinks they are the leaders ( I don’t) then one should believe they shouldered the responsibility for whatever might be disappointing about a 40+ win season in the greatest baseball conference season in history.

 

[taylorvol]

it’s my opinion. just like u have urs. I think those two are our best players. numbers prove it.

I will promise you that no one on the team (players, coaches or support staff) would say that Fischer is a leader. He’s a hell of a hitter but no leader. Ensley is well respected by everyone at UT and is a quiet, “lead by example” Captain of the team.

 

[Weezer]

Don’t equate being vocal as being a leader. Hunter is no doubt a leader on this team, and I think his presence, and leadership, will be a factor in big moments during the post season.

Possibly. But I don't think Hunter brings the same swagger that the guys I mentioned did, and that swagger carried over to the rest of the team. It was a huge part of our identity that just hasn't been there this season.

 

[Orange931]

5 more innings, we can do this

 

[TartanTurff]

Tough weekend, Arkansas might be a more talented team from the top of the lineup to the bottom, but the talent gap is very narrow and as some of the younger guys on the Tennessee team get the necessary experience, hopefully, many of the errors, mistakes, bad swings, misplaced pitches will go away, the Tennessee team is above average talent, but not the elite team that Tony V fielded last year that got better as the season continued, we have all of the pieces, just need more experienced players with the bat at the plate, hitting in the clutch environment with runners in scoring position, I'd hope an elite or extremely talented catcher is in the conversation, as the inability to hold runners and keep them from advancing has been problematic all seasons,

Everybody will be in Alabama next week for the conference tournament, everybody has a chance to get hot and play well

 

[4chrissy]

Maybe. I think it's possible their replacements are already on the roster. They just have to grow into their roles.

I agree but I think the leader candidates are over on the bench and it’s hard to develop leadership skills from the dugout. Most great leaders are oozing confidence and you don’t get that with pinch running or coming in the game just last inning.

 

[87&91ALUM]

Top 5th...7-2 hogs. SEC tough sledding. We are a good team. We are also a young team.

 

[Christian Lowe]

I try not to complain but these umps are either incompetent or they don’t like TV and are crooked. I’m thinking it’s the latter.

Watch more games than ours. They’re bad consistently in every game

 

[chinpokomon]

I will promise you that no one on the team (players, coaches or support staff) would say that Fischer is a leader. He’s a hell of a hitter but no leader.

jmo, but I think if Fischer were to have another year on the team, he could be a 'leader.' He has  lots of enthusiasm and seems to have a lot of fun playing the game

 

[BruisedOrange]

I think CTV sleeps with a LOT of Ump's Wives!!!!

Impossible. When the ump's at home CTV is in the dugout, and when the ump's not at home he's at home.

Pretty sure that's right.

 

[NOLAPhil]

Anyone know our game 3 record this season?

 

[Orange931]

Anyone know our game 3 record this season?

I know we’ve won at least 4

 

[Volstylexx]

In all the doom and gloom. Curley’s hit is now the 36th of the weekend which is the season high for the team. Great time to start to see the bats come alive.

 

[Hurley Mooncalf]

Would love to see the pitch com overlay on this umps strike zone.

 

[THEONLYTENISEE]

I’ve watched Fresno State and Coastal Carolina win it all. There are several non-SEC teams that could win it.

How many years ago was that Fresno vs UGA CWS? I think Coastal was 2015. The smaller teams have no chance in the NIL world.

 

[Ritzwatch]

Asking this as a sincere question: Can gloves and infield throws get hot?

I can see how they can get "cold" with over-thinking, scattered-thinking, lack of in-the-moment focus, etc. But how (or how often) do error-prone teams improve their defensive game during the season?

That is a legit question. I think we are what we are in the field right now. I’ve always thought the turf at LNS to be a blessing (no rainouts) and a curse (natural fields cause us trouble.)

Last year, the fielding wasn’t good. Not as bad as it has been this year, but not good.
We did have the offense to overcome.

We also had the deepest pitching staff around.

We could play to the 5/6 inning and outplay everyone from there.

This year, we are gonna have to get hot at the plate while getting game 1 wins (which, with Liam, we can) to play the numbers with the staff.

If we get behind in a series, we will be in trouble.