Arkansas fell to No. 6.
If LSU continues the dominance displayed against Arkansas, an alternative ranking approach to consider would be ranking the Tiger 1-10 with everyone starting at 11. Pitchers clearly will need PTSD rehab for an extend time with some regated for life to team bus drivers positions.
Now how does number 3 going 1-2 on the road to number 1 warrant a drop? Makes no sense.
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We moved up in D1 Baseball’s rankings
No poll matters till Omaha. We’ll…except getting a regional.
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Tennessee was more dominant last year than LSU has been this year.TN didn’t even make it to Omaha last year. LSU is good. No doubt about that. Probably the best team in the country right now. But there’s a lot of baseball left & a lot of things can happen.
There are probably 13, maybe 14, SEC teams that could have a decent chance of making it to the CWS. Even MSU & OM, each 0-6 right now, could turn things around and be a force by the end of the season. LSU could get someone like Skenes or Crews injured–or either could lose their edge. Just too early yet.
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They might not have fallen had they not been pounded by LSU. Pitching was shown to be a problem. (Like we didn’t already know that.)
If there were a chance that Hagen could have pitched game 3, even a few innings, that was washed away by the Saturday double hitter.
Polls, as both noted and alluded early poll mean little beyond a snapshot of the perception of the voters at the moment of voting. Add social media and wins both wins and losses overstated in a shortened timeframe, then you see both the scatter in the different polls plus the weekly variance, The fact Arkansas remains within the top ten knowing the anticipated pitching was hit hard by injury is accountable to the level of winning play and the reputation of the DVH program. It will be interesting to see how the pitching is developed from the abundance of raw talent as well as defensive improvement with experience. Baseball teaches patience and sometimes old timers like myself forget that and baseball is not football where a muffed play in September can result in a minor bowl game.
Well, we’re already nearing the 1/2 point in our season.
Patience … I am told was a virtue in last millennium…I still trying to find now days. It is in the same fashion as Arkansas seeking development of a couple more “go-to” starters.
It reminds me that a cake might show semabence of a cake, but a cake to be a cake requires blending of “all” the ingredients, so it is with a reliable starter.
The halfway point that matters is conference play. After the hogs complete 5 series against SEC teams then look and see where they sit. The pitching will improve! Someone will step up!
Tygart coming back is still a hope and a prayer in my book but it’s well worth his return if he is able too. The polls and RPI will mater later in the season. It would be nice to host a super regional!
Player development never stops. Will McEntire last year was a great example of the player we see in January and February can differ greatly from who we see in April and May. There always seems to be a pitcher or two doing work behind the scenes that forces himself into the conversation by the end of the year.
I like what I’ve seen lately from Ben Bybee. I think the innings he got against LSU were an audition for more SEC innings. The same might be said of Christian Foutch, too.
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And then along comes Omaha
(in my best Association imitation)
I wonder if the increased workload contributed any to Bybee’s performance last night. That was his third outing in a week — easily the most pitches he has thrown in that span this year.
At first I was thinking he had a very good first inning; 1, 2, 3. But, each batter made contact
in the first. Then in the second, Omaha started off with a base hit. In sum, maybe the arm was a bit sore or tired.
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