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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: April 12
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Jesperson
12:30
Is Conference USA really a four bid league? They don’t have a lot of marquee wins and are mostly playing each other.
Kendall Rogers
12:30
Jesperson -- From an RPI standpoint right now, yep, Conference USA is definitely a four-bid league right now. All those four teams at the top have various quality wins. La Tech has the most, but Southern Miss took care of Louisiana, Charlotte/ODU have some nice midweek wins, etc. And with the SEC likely holding steady at maybe only 8-9 bids, that opens up more spots for other teams elsewhere. C-USA is just very very top heavy this year.
Big 12 Fan
12:32
Kendall, are you starting to trust Texas’ offense or are you still skeptical? Do you still like TCU and Tech to finish ahead of Texas in the Big 12 standings like you said in the nerdcast?
Kendall Rogers
12:32
Big 12 -- I am starting to trust UT offensively a bit more. I still don't think it's a lineup that's going to strike some serious fear into teams going into the postseason, but Cam Williams has crushed the ball the last few times I've seen them, Mitch Daly has stepped up, and both Ivan Melendez/Mike Antico have been very good as of late. I've particularly waited on Antico to rise up because I heard so many great things about him in the fall. UT looks very very solid right now.
Robert
12:34
What is going on with Texas A&M? Seems like nothing is able to "click" when they have runners on base. I realize replacing a Coach right now is stupid (because who are you going to hire mid season?) but are they possibly eyeing someone right now?
Kendall Rogers
12:34
Robert -- Can't answer the second question for you right now, but Rob is in the last year of his contract and his team is on pace to miss the postseason by a wide margin. You can kind of draw conclusions from that statement. And I am a huge Rob Childress fan. I have a terrific relationship with him, but this is also a results-oriented business, so we have to be honest on that. As for the Aggies, it's just been an unfortunate season. They get Bryce Miller back from COVID and he promptly goes out and has a poor outing, etc.... the one constant has been Will Frizzell. He's been great.
Brent
12:35
Southern Miss being left out still is a little mind boggling but none the less I’m happy to see CUSA as a whole getting some respect. Hopefully the Eags play their way in this weekend. Big series with La Tech on deck.
Kendall Rogers
12:35
Brent -- Southern Miss was right there with Nebraska right outside of the Top 25. You are splitting hairs between USM-Charlotte-ODU. But right now, I give the slightest of edges to the other two teams. It's damn close, though. USM can solve that issue pretty quick in Ruston.
Guest
12:36
With 3 C-USA teams in the top 25 now (and a 4th close), how likely is that C-USA could have 4 teams make the Regionals? (Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, Charlotte, ODU)
Kendall Rogers
12:36
I feel very good about those four teams making the field right now. I think one would need to crater not to make it at this point. Which is great to see in that league .... and that's with Rice treading water at the bottom of the conference standings.
GillyFromPhilly
12:37
Will the school/surrounding area even let Stanford host if they earn the spot?
Kendall Rogers
12:37
I would think so, but I will check. That's one question I had with predetermined host sites. Even if Stanford has the merit to host -- will the school/county let them host? I'll find out.
Overly optimistic Wake fan
12:37
Is there any chance at this point that Wake Forest can turn it around after another dad showing this week? Also, how high do you think Cusick will go in the draft?
Aaron Fitt
12:37
I'm officially cutting bait on the Deacs -- I just don't think it's going to happen for this group of players. Really, it's incredible to me that they've never really won anything during the Seymour/Lanzilli/Muntz/Tinsman/Turconi era. I was just very disappointed in how that team played this weekend -- didn't love the energy, did not love the quality of the at-bats, and they just still don't have enough pitching. But Cusick is certainly not the problem; I think he goes in the back half of the first round based on his arm strength and frame, even though I'm still not in love with the secondary stuff.
Hog in Texas
12:38
Seems like you D1 guys are really catching it from all sides on only dropping Vandy one spot after a less than impressive showing at home this weekend.  Personally, I would have them at about 5 or 6 and let them work their way back to the top if that's where they really belong.  What was your reasoning?
Kendall Rogers
12:38
Hog -- I am very very comfortable with Vandy at No. 2. Vandy played the series against Georgia without three starting position players because of injuries. Ugly weekend, indeed, for the Commodores. But I feel like the weekend was more of an aberration than anything else. But I would also have no issue at all with someone thinking they should drop further.
Harrison
12:39
What will it take for more Big Ten teams to break into the rankings, specifically Nebraska?
Aaron Fitt
12:39
We talked long and hard about Nebraska this weekend, we just want to see a couple more quality wins against the top teams in the league. They are 3-2 against Iowa and 1-1 against Ohio State, but other than that their wins have come against the lower half of the league. They're probably one more good week from breaking in.
Hardball31
12:39
You guys had mentioned the vote was upcoming for the one time transfer rule. Any updates on how that is going?
Kendall Rogers
12:39
I believe it's set for early May -- and it will pass barring a miraculous surprise. Get ready. #BuckleUp
R-Molacek
12:40
From the bottom three in the SEC, Texas A&M, LSU, and Auburn. If you had to pick one to make a deep run, who would it be?
Kendall Rogers
12:40
R -- Give me LSU. Tigers actually played pretty well at UK over the weekend. And though LSU still has a trip to Oxford on the schedule, it has South Carolina, Arkansas and Alabama at home, and Auburn and A&M on the road. That is a manageable schedule, IMO.
Chris K
12:41
At the midway point of the season what do you make of Florida and UCLA's unanticipated starts to their seasons? I haven't seen UCLA play. It doesn't seem to me the few times I've seen Florida that they are playing team offense all the time? But i've only seen them 6-7 times. Thoughts?
Aaron Fitt
12:41
I think we're all disappointed and surprised by the way the top two teams in our preseason rankings have performed to this point. I still feel like both of these teams will figure it out and make a run, but I think your point about Florida's offense is a good one; there's a lot of swing-and-miss there, and an over-reliance on the long ball, I think. UCLA dazzled me with its team offense last year, but that has not carried over, rather strangely, and its pitching has obviously taken a step back.
SECbaseball
12:42
Following a sweep of A&M, Alabama has a favorable stretch of Auburn, at UK, Mizzou. How many wins do they need to notch across those series to make you confident they'll get an at-large bid?
Kendall Rogers
12:42
SEC -- In a season like this, if Alabama can get to 13-14 wins in the SEC after not having Prielipp much of the season, I would feel pretty decent about its at-large chances in the end. Prielipp is supposed to be back this week or next, and if that happens, I don't think there will be much doubt about Alabama making the postseason. They'll be in.
Ben
12:42
Hey guys my question is about Duke. The Blue Devils have been underperforming this season to say the least. What's the biggest key to complete the turn around and get back to their best form? How big would winning the series vs UNC today be?
Aaron Fitt
12:42
I think the Devils just need some of their veteran guys to heat up. I figured this would be a very, very good offense led by Ethan Murray and Michael Rothenberg, and those two guys in particular needed to carry the load, and they have not been very good. I didn't see that coming. There's still time for them to get hot though. Huge, huge game for Duke tonight; I'll be there, looking forward to getting another look at both clubs.
Chris K
12:43
Thanks for doing the chats and a solid Top 25. There is al ot of good pitching this year but is Jack Leiter separating himself into a Tier above the rest at this point?
Aaron Fitt
12:43
I think he is, yes. It's not a huge gap between him and the Rockers and Maddens of the world, but I think there's a gap. He's the guy, right now.
Don R
12:45
A little while back, Aaron Fitt predicted that NC State would go on a roll. Since then, they are 10-2 (7-2 in ACC). Do you think they are close to being able to join the NCAA post season party?
Kendall Rogers
12:45
NC State still has much work to do two games under .500 in the league with an RPI of 60. No ACC/SEC team is getting in with an RPI like that. With that said, NC State has a road series against Pitt/ND -- both solid RPI teams -- left on the schedule, and has VT and Florida State. Not sure if Aaron agrees, but NC State controls its own destiny right now for sure IMO. And that was a good call by Fitt. NC State has far too much talent, especially offensively, to be as bad as it was earlier this year.
CharlestonDawg
12:46
Big weekend in Starkville coming up. What's your thoughts on the match up and who's your pick for this weekend?
Aaron Fitt
12:46
Really like how Mississippi State is trending, although obviously the schedule easing up over the last two weeks played into that. But I think the Bulldogs have an elite pitching staff, and suddenly that Ole Miss pitching staff is showing some cracks. I'm taking the Bulldogs at home, I think.
Fink
12:48
Georgia Tech fell out after their recent skid, understandably. Despite seeming out of sync, do you still think their ceiling is high enough to make a ACC run if they can figure it out?
Aaron Fitt
12:48
Sure, no doubt. There's a lot of talent on that roster, but there's also a lot of youth, so I think some ups and downs were inevitable. I think they need to get the bullpen on track, that's really the big key, the way I see it.
WildHog25
12:50
Can Arkansas continue to win and have a chance to win it all without a single starter that can consistently give 5+ solid innings of work?
Aaron Fitt
12:50
I'm conditioned to say "no" because over the years so many national champions have ridden horses in the rotation to the title. But I do think we have to acknowledge that the game has changed, from the big league level on down -- more and more teams are building their staffs from the back forward, and asking less of their starters. I'd still feel better about the Hogs if they had a workhorse starter or two... but I'm way past dismissing their chances to win it all based on the way their staff is constructed. They've certainly proven they can beat the best teams in the country just the way they are.
BBFan17
12:51
Is there a baseball equivalent to the triple option or 2-3 zone? A unique offense or defense philosophy in baseball? And does anyone in college do it?
Kendall Rogers
12:51
BBFan -- I always kind of considered Matt Deggs' offense during his time previously as an assistant at Louisiana as an offense like that. I still remember in the super regional that year -- Chase Compton hit an absolute bomb into the tops of the pine trees in LF. His next at bat? Dude seriously dropped down a bunt for a base hit. That was what I call a "hell on wheels' offense. So fun to watch that year.
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