College Baseball Season

[rebmus]

Ole Miss put up 8 runs, including 4 in the 9th. It's too bad those 4 in the 9th was to tie it up before USC walked it off in the bottom of the 9th. Om is now 5-10 in SEC play, not good Bob. 

 

 

[Insideradvantage]

1 hour ago, rebmus said:

Ole Miss put up 8 runs, including 4 in the 9th. It's too bad those 4 in the 9th was to tie it up before USC walked it off in the bottom of the 9th. Om is now 5-10 in SEC play, not good Bob. 

 

 

Pitiful 

[rebmus]

MSU was within inches of plating the tie run in the 9th but was called out. 

A sweep would have been more helpful for MSU, but picking up the series win was the goal... and they accomplished that goal. Kudos. 

 

Next weekend is huge in Oxford. MSU really needs another series win while Ole Miss really needs a series win at home (heck, 0 SEC wins at home so far). 

 

MSU is trending up, OM is trending down for a NCAAT bid. USM is in consideration of a NS right now. Who would have guessed that preseason? 

 

 

[Dawg83]

Ole Miss hasn’t won a home SEC game this year and is winless against State in Oxford since 2015, and their season probably hinges on this series next weekend.

 

I still hesitate to put much confidence in State because of all the pitching injuries. That said, if you can win the series in Oxford then you’re right back in the NCAAT mix. And if you made me pick a winner today I’d probably take State to win 2 of 3 given OM’s current trend and the trend of the rivalry since 2016.

Edited April 17, 2022 by Dawg83

[rebmus]

24 minutes ago, Dawg83 said:

Ole Miss hasn’t won a home SEC game this year and is winless against State in Oxford since 2015, and their season probably hinges on this series next weekend.

 

I still hesitate to put much confidence in State because of all the pitching injuries. That said, if you can win the series in Oxford then you’re right back in the NCAAT mix. And if you made me pick a winner today I’d probably take State to win 2 of 3 given OM’s current trend and the trend of the rivalry since 2016.

There's also the Gov Cup game next midweek after the series in Oxford. 

Who knows, but I'd guess MSU takes 3 of those 4 games. 

 

[Dawg83]

16 hours ago, rebmus said:

There's also the Gov Cup game next midweek after the series in Oxford. 

Who knows, but I'd guess MSU takes 3 of those 4 games. 

 

So strange that they are playing four straight games like that. Don’t recall it falling like that anytime recently.

With State I feel like I can kinda rationalize where it has gone south (pitching injuries, lineup is more power heavy and can have lulls, perhaps a slight championship hangover, etc.)

 

For the life of me I can’t figure out what has happened to Ole Miss. Did they not bring back essentially their entire lineup from last year? I realize there were some key pitching losses but I don’t recall a Bianco staff with this many issues. Perhaps our OM fans can better enlighten me, but what the heck happened to this team? I pegged them as an SEC title contender going into the year.

Edited April 17, 2022 by Dawg83

[Bulldogs4]

For all the pitching issues State has, it was not bad this weekend. 14 runs (12 earned in three games). Obviously it is still going to be a major concern. The pitchers are battling. And they gave us a chance to win all three games and you can’t ask for more than that. 
 

I think we will see a 2-2 split upcoming in the 4 game Egg Diamond Duel. Ole Miss is still very good and they are playing at home this weekend for the first three games. 

[rebmus]

83, I mentioned it early in the season I wasn't sold on this pitching at OM and we'll see what happens in SEC play. Here we are, the pitching is just stuggling. 

 

[rebmus]

UT beat Bama to improve to 14-1 in SEC play. 14 is pretty much the magic number to get a lock for NCAAT and UT is there halfway through SEC play, that's unreal. 

 

 

[Dawg83]

At the midway point there still appears to be a fairly sizable gap after Tennessee and Arkansas. The West is kinda backwards, not sure I would have had A&M/Bama/Auburn all above .500 and State/OM/LSU all sub .500. Vandy and Florida have kinda been disappointing too. Georgia is an impressive 9-6 but with Cannon injured I’m not sure how long they’ll stick around.

[rebmus]

USM is up to #6 in D1 baseball, OM and MSU are unranked. 

 

[Dawg83]

I don’t take much away from most midweek games but Ole Miss losing 13-3 to SEMO definitely raises an eyebrow or two given what the last couple of weeks have been and what these games against State mean. If State wins the majority of these games then you can probably stick a fork in Ole Miss, and maybe Mike Bianco.

[Insideradvantage]

3 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

I don’t take much away from most midweek games but Ole Miss losing 13-3 to SEMO definitely raises an eyebrow or two given what the last couple of weeks have been and what these games against State mean. If State wins the majority of these games then you can probably stick a fork in Ole Miss, and maybe Mike Bianco.

I couldn’t agree more. 

[Wcchaingang]

Do you think he will out right fire Bianco or will he retire to some other job within the athletic department?

[Wcchaingang]

I maybe wrong and I prolly am but I think OM goes on some kind of run in the later part of the season. Maybe at the SEC tournament or something.

[rebmus]

10 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

I don’t take much away from most midweek games but Ole Miss losing 13-3 to SEMO definitely raises an eyebrow or two given what the last couple of weeks have been and what these games against State mean. If State wins the majority of these games then you can probably stick a fork in Ole Miss, and maybe Mike Bianco.

If it was JUST the loss to SEMO, I wouldn't think anything of it. 

All season the pitching has been spotty and so has the defense making errors. 

Since conference play started, hitting has gone way down. 

There were always questions with this team, but it seems like the wheels came off during and after that sweep by UT. 

 

Huge series in Oxford for a midseason SEC series. MSU is trending up, OM is trending down. Both teams really need the series win to stay in the NCAAT hunt and a loss will create a bigger hill to climb to get a NCAAT bid. 

 

If OM misses the NCAAT, Carter is in a tough position. An outright firing of Bianco will leave a sour taste in mouths of potential replacements, that's fair considering what Bianco has done for OM for 20+ years. 

 

[Wcchaingang]

42 minutes ago, rebmus said:

If it was JUST the loss to SEMO, I wouldn't think anything of it. 

All season the pitching has been spotty and so has the defense making errors. 

Since conference play started, hitting has gone way down. 

There were always questions with this team, but it seems like the wheels came off during and after that sweep by UT. 

 

Huge series in Oxford for a midseason SEC series. MSU is trending up, OM is trending down. Both teams really need the series win to stay in the NCAAT hunt and a loss will create a bigger hill to climb to get a NCAAT bid. 

 

If OM misses the NCAAT, Carter is in a tough position. An outright firing of Bianco will leave a sour taste in mouths of potential replacements, that's fair considering what Bianco has done for OM for 20+ years. 

 

Carter is in a tough spot. The calls to replace Bianco are getting louder and louder. But it will be extremely difficult to out right fire the man they built OM baseball to what it is today. And I agree the potential candidate pool will be shrunk by that.

[s1nglewing]

One subpar season shouldn't define a career. 

[Bulldogs4]

I have always been a Bianco fan. I think he is a tremendous coach. I say that as a State alum and fan. He was tremendous player at LSU and we played some great games against them in the late 80’s when he was a player. Very competitive and gritty. 
 

Yes this season has turned disappointing for Ole Miss so far but there are a lot of games to be played. I still see this being a 2-2 split this next four games. Ole Miss is still a good team and I predict they will fight hard the next four games. 
Plus, this State team is hardly a world beater at this point. Though I do give our guys a lot of credit for playing with grit and battling.

 

IMHO, I look for 4 close games that could go either way. As I mentioned most of State’s games this year have been close w/a few exceptions. Don’t see that trending any different this weekend. 
 

This is one of things that is disappointing today with college sports. So many fans have no patience and tend to want make changes based on a poor season or a even just an average season. Instead of riding with a coach through an occasional down year. Even a few of our idiot State fans have been blasting Lemonis as if he all the sudden lost the ability to coach because we have lost a few games this year that we were expected to win. 
 

So count me as one who sincerely hopes Bianco continues as coach at Ole Miss after this year regardless of how the season plays out. He is good for Ole Miss baseball and good for baseball in Mississippi and in the SEC. 

[Wcchaingang]

7 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

I have always been a Bianco fan. I think he is a tremendous coach. I say that as a State alum and fan. He was tremendous player at LSU and we played some great games against them in the late 80’s when he was a player. Very competitive and gritty. 
 

Yes this season has turned disappointing for Ole Miss so far but there are a lot of games to be played. I still see this being a 2-2 split this next four games. Ole Miss is still a good team and I predict they will fight hard the next four games. 
Plus, this State team is hardly a world beater at this point. Though I do give our guys a lot of credit for playing with grit and battling.

 

IMHO, I look for 4 close games that could go either way. As I mentioned most of State’s games this year have been close w/a few exceptions. Don’t see that trending any different this weekend. 
 

This is one of things that is disappointing today with college sports. So many fans have no patience and tend to want make changes based on a poor season or a even just an average season. Instead of riding with a coach through an occasional down year. Even a few of our idiot State fans have been blasting Lemonis as if he all the sudden lost the ability to coach because we have lost a few games this year that we were expected to win. 
 

So count me as one who sincerely hopes Bianco continues as coach at Ole Miss after this year regardless of how the season plays out. He is good for Ole Miss baseball and good for baseball in Mississippi and in the SEC. 

I’m not or have been in the fire Bianco bandwagon. I do think he needs to bring in another coach with a pitching background to help.

[pancho]

He should have done that when Dan left for Louisville but didn't.  He refuses any suggestion in that area. 

[Dawg83]

I’ve always thought OM fans were harder on Bianco than he deserved most of the time, but you’re talking about a program that’s now one of the biggest spenders in the sport and doesn’t have a ton to show for it.

 

If he misses the NCAA Tournament with this team I think that’s a bit of an out for the administration and they can say “hey, we brought all these guys back and regressed majorly, it’s time for a change”.

Where it gets interesting is if Ole Miss does rally to make the NCAAT. Where do you draw the line at that point? Hypothetically let’s say you get in as the 3 seed in Hattiesburg, make a valiant run to win that Regional, but then lose again in a Super. What then? Is it merely NCAA Tourney or bust or is it Omaha or bust?

 

Regardless, Ole Miss is in a precarious position once Bianco’s time is finished, whether that’s this year or several years from now. I think there’s plenty of room for improvement, especially in terms of postseason success, but there’s also lots of room for the program to take a significant step backwards with a new coach.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Dawg83

[rebmus]

3 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

I’ve always thought OM fans were harder on Bianco than he deserved most of the time, but you’re talking about a program that’s now one of the biggest spenders in the sport and doesn’t have a ton to show for it.

 

If he misses the NCAA Tournament with this team I think that’s a bit of an out for the administration and they can say “hey, we brought all these guys back and regressed majorly, it’s time for a change”.

Where it gets interesting is if Ole Miss does rally to make the NCAAT. Where do you draw the line at that point? Hypothetically let’s say you get in as the 3 seed in Hattiesburg, make a valiant run to win that Regional, but then lose again in a Super. What then? Is it merely NCAA Tourney or bust or is it Omaha or bust?

 

Regardless, Ole Miss is in a precarious position once Bianco’s time is finished, whether that’s this year or several years from now. I think there’s plenty of room for improvement, especially in terms of postseason success, but there’s also lots of room for the program to take a significant step backwards with a new coach.

I agree with all of that. I'll add, my opinion: 

 

Bianco would have survived this season even IF OM misses the NCAAT, but his openly flirting with the LSU job last offseason burned a lot of goodwill between Bianco and OM. 

IF OM makes the NCAAT, I don't see Bianco getting fired. I figure Carter will put out feelers to see who may be interested if OM loses in a regional to gauge interest in replacements... depending on who may be interested will make Carter's decision. 

IF OM makes a super, I really doubt any big name coach would be interested after firing Bianco. 

 

[Dawg83]

Ole Miss up 4-1 in the 6th. Both starting pitchers have been good, difference in the game is a two out error immediately followed by a three run homer.

[Wcchaingang]

Hell of a response tonight. I believe OM has found it’s Friday night guy.