Observations 3/11*

JoJoforHeisman · March 11th, 2004, 09:44 PM

Aside from some impressive pitching performances and a couple of innings with some late offensive fireworks against some weak pitching, the ill-fated journey to Shreveport for the Gent Classic was as forgettable a weekend as this team has experienced in recent years. Nevertheless, the Tide returned home and responded in admirable fashion, setting the disappointments of the weekend aside and handing the 18th-ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles a 9-3 loss on Wednesday night. USM is no slouch, by any means – the talented CUSA contenders clearly represent the toughest non-conference opponent on this season’s schedule. Pitching continues to be the most noticeable strength of this ballclub, but some obvious concerns regarding the offensive output still linger despite a promising midweek effort. Lousiana Tech starter Clayton Meyer and Kansas State’s Jim Ripley (in just his second start since Tommy John surgery) pitched the games of their lives last weekend, baffling Tide hitters in a combined total of 16 innings pitched, allowing just two runs on a paltry six hits, while racking up 16 K’s. Even the Devil Rays find a way to beat the Yankees every now and then, and upset wins are simply part of the game; they are commonplace, and occur more frequently in baseball than in any other sport. The most frustrating aspect of those losses, as Diamond Tide mentioned, is that for some unknown reason, these ordinary, run-of-the-mill opposing players have an inexplicable knack for turning in career days against Bama. Personally, I hope both of those guys end the season as All-Americans, but it’s not going to surprise me one bit when both fade into obscurity and we never hear another word about either of them. I am certainly willing to accept, for the time being, that the Shreveport power outage was merely an aberration, and no serious indication of a more severe underlying problem. The Southern Miss game was, if anything, a promising sign of what this team is capable of against front-line talent. Though the scoring was considerably frontloaded, with eight runs in the first two frames, nine runs is nine runs, and that total proved to be more than sufficient run support for relatively inexperienced pitchers facing one of the nation’s most powerful hitting teams. SEMO has been somewhat of a menace for us the past couple years, with the Indians handing us a costly defeat in regional play and stealing a Friday night win last season. Do not be deceived by SEMO’s 4-5 record, as their five losses have all come against Ole Miss and a surprising Oklahoma squad that is making some noise early on.

*Hats off to Wade LeBlanc for his remarkable performance against Centenary on Saturday. In front of a number of hometown friends and family members, the freshman lefty turned in a masterful 2-hit complete game shutout to improve to 3-1 on the season. In four starts, LeBlanc is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA. Not only does LeBlanc have the nastiest stuff on the team, he has also demonstrated an impressive ability to locate, which has effectively kept his pitch counts down, thereby allowing him to work late into games. His talent, combined with a demeanor on the mound that is marked by veteran-level poise and composure, gives him a tremendous advantage that most young pitchers lack.

*Fellow Louisiana left-hander Brandon Belcher knocked about eight runs off of his ERA in his best outing of the young season with 5.1 shutout innings of long relief work on Wednesday. Belcher did an excellent job of changing speeds and attacking USM’s weaknesses. Perhaps most importantly, he was successful in exercising extreme caution by avoiding any mistakes against the big guns in their lineup. Congratulations to the freshman on his first career W.

*Taylor Tankersley started his first game of the season against Kansas State and pitched well enough to earn the win. Unfortunately, a complete lack of offensive support led to his getting pinned with a rather undeserving L. Should we expect to see Tank in the rotation on a permanent basis or will he return to the bullpen? I am not sure, but if I had to guess, I would think that as long as Seth Johnson continues his lights-out work out of the pen, and with Brandon Belcher emerging as a legitimate lefty option, Tank will continue to start until further notice, especially considering how effective he has looked thus far.

*Brent Carter had a rough outing against La. Tech. Off-days can only be expected, and the ace lefty should return to form in no time. It sounded as though, in addition to generally being “off,” he had some uncharacteristic difficulty hitting his spots and he probably wasn’t getting much help with the calls on the corners, either. A large part of what makes him an outstanding pitcher is his uncanny ability to locate, locate, locate. When he is unable to do just that (which, fortunately, is extremely rare), you end up with results similar to Friday night’s. I wouldn’t read too much into it. If there’s anyone on this staff who knows how to bounce back, it’s Carter.

*If you’re looking for anything remotely positive regarding the offense in either Friday or Sunday’s games, you can at least look to sophomore Evan Bush. On Sunday, Bush prevented us from the ultimate embarrassment by picking up THE hit for the Tide, and on Friday, had THE RBI. The highly-improved soph is currently hitting at a .364 clip with a Vaz-esque, team-high 1.116 OPS (on base percentage+slugging percentage).

*Allen Rice has cooled off a little at the plate after a blazing start, yet continues to lead the team with 25 hits (.403 avg) and is tied for the lead in RBI with 15. Some may be concerned that the chronic problems with his shoulder have caused some of his throws to sail on him, but this guy is a battler, and will find a way to work through it. I encourage everyone to read the Montgomery Advertiser article on Allen that was recently posted on the board by Diamond Tide. If only Lenny Dykstra hadn’t taken the nickname “Nails.” That article provides an in-depth account as to exactly why the junior infielder from Pelham is indeed, that tough.

*Zac Welch came through on Wednesday night with his second homerun, a line shot to right that got out of the park in a hurry, and also turned in a highlight-reel diving stab at first base. With two hits and four driven in, Zac accounted for nearly half of the Tide’s run production on the evening.

*Congratulations to Greg Paiml and Nick Richardson on their first career homeruns. Paiml, an outstanding defensive shortstop, has impressed in the field, but has hit, well, like a freshman. Perhaps the bomb he hit against USM will serve as the spark that ignites an emergence from his season-opening slump. Richardson has performed admirably while filling in behind the plate for the injured Charlie Lyons. His offensive numbers may not be particularly eye-popping, but no one realistically expected him to come in under these circumstances and be Dax Norris. What he is expected to provide is a presence in the bottom of the order (to essentially avoid being an automatic out, a hitter that will burn you if you aren’t careful) and reliable defense. He has done just that, and with Charlie on the shelf for the better part of the next month or so, will be asked to keep it up. He’s been a little banged up lately, and no catcher can be reasonably expected to handle every game. David Ferazza got his first start against K-State and whiffed three times. It would be totally unfair, however, to base an evaluation on him on that game alone, because the whole team stunk it up at the plate. Bo Hannah has seen only limited action in a reserve role, but is a capable, albeit inexperienced hitter. He’s not going to crank a lot of homeruns and he runs like a catcher, but he’s a reliable, disciplined singles hitter that can go the other way. Bo was one of the most consistent hitters on the team in fall and preseason scrimmages.

*Eric Mennen pitched very well in long relief against La. Tech, and made a good case for himself as a bullpen arm that the staff can have confidence in for several innings, if necessary.

*The defense has experienced some lapses in recent games, but overall is considerably better than last season. The outfield defense has been virtually flawless despite the ever-changing cast of players that have been sent out there at different positions and situations.

*I’m surprised that after 15 games, Ryan Beagle only has five plate appearances, all as a late-inning pinch hitter. We learned last year what he is capable of producing if given the chance to play on a regular basis. Granted, the lineup does not have the luxury of a great deal of flexibility due to Carlos Sosa being limited to a full-time DH role, but there may be ways to maximize the offensive output without sacrificing too much defense. Part of what makes Evan Bush so valuable to this team is his ability to play just about anywhere in the field. An infielder by trade, his versatility is precisely why he ended up in left field to begin with. But when the offense is struggling, it might help to occasionally move Bush back to the infield in order to open up the outfield and allow some of the other bats to move into the lineup.

[This message has been edited by JoJoforHeisman (edited 03-11-2004).]