If I'm reading the stats right, Vols have 11 runs on 5 hits.. Gator pitchers with 17 walks. Gators hitters with 13 Ks.
The question I would ask would be, who is our number three starter now? To be great and get to Omaha you have to have three solid starters if not four
I agree. Cags is a special talent but playing every game and also doing your routine to prepare for a start and taking classes is a lot on his plate. And this was a short week so he had one less day to prepare. Maybe he will be fine after classes end and he has no classroom distractions. He has the "stuff" to be a weekend starter especially since he is a lefty and we need a lefty starter in the mix. For Omaha you need a fourth starter unless you run the table or can Johnny Wholestaff a game. Our bullpen has shown signs of some depth recently so a Johnny Wholestaff game is not out of the realm of possibility. Maybe Sully will try that Tuesday as a test for the post-season. I know that FSU is not a post-season team this year but they will be hyped up for this game and they do have some talent. But Omaha talk is way too early. You might need a fourth starter in a Regional if you screw up. And you probably need one in the SEC tournament but I don't care about that.
When does winning a SEC series feel meh? When in the process of getting run-ruled, you walk 17 and in essence- lose faith in your third starter. So who will it be? Neely, Slater or someone else? At the start of the season Neely was in the mix for Sunday starter... if Neely then start the search for a closer past the mid-point of the season. Or give Slater a shot with the pen ready to pick up the middle innings. This game serves as a reminder of all the pieces that need to come together to get to Omaha and compete for a NC. Is there a Tyler Dyson in the Pen that we are not aware of? On a related note: Sully sticking with "his guys" and not making some changes is frustrating. Having Evans in there come hell or high water against RHP is puzzling as is keeping a slumping Riopelle in the 4 hole and sticking with Cags for as long as he did in some unrealistic hope he right himself... when he clearly could not find the plate and Blue kept shrinking the strike zone to the size of a grapefruit. Yeah- this is a crappy way to end a series that started so damn good.
I was at the game and couldn't tell if the ump had a tighter strike zone for us or not but if the ump was halfway competent, we have major control issues. I am wondering if we have a 3rd starting pitcher. I've never seen a pitcher walk 4 straight batters. Hopefully, we can flush this game and move forward. As bad as today's game was, we still won the series.
The home plate blue had a tight zone but he was pretty consistent as far as I watched. Cags just didn't have command of any pitches. He had a day on the bump to forget.
Coach O'Sullivan raised the same issue during his post game interview with Jeff Cardoza. I expect him to try out another starter next Sunday against Georgia. But as the Men at Work song asks, "Who can it be now?"
