Return toD1Baseball
D1Baseball Weekly Chat: April 27
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
This chat is available to members only. Please log in to participate.
Kendall Rogers
1:26
Zero. Maybe Jeremiah Donati would surprise me, but at this point, I do think South Carolina needs to turn the page and move to a new staff. It's hard to imagine that Paul Mainieri was the LONE problem/deficiency at South Carolina. Do I have high respect and really like Monte Lee? 100%. Do I think he should be the next head coach at South Carolina as of today? No, not given some of the options the Gamecocks would have - including one down the road. :)
Tannor
1:27
If Nebraska wins their remaining B1G series, and loses to UCLA in the conference tournament championship game, do they host?
Kendall Rogers
1:27
If Nebraska is 24-6 in the league, got all the way to the conference tournament title game -- it would be really hard to envision someone knocking them out of the hosting picture. It would take some teams not currently in the Top 16 getting sizzling hot down the stretch. That is most certainly possible, but I can't imagine Nebraska being denied with those marks.
Andy G
1:28
Which BIG10 teams end up hosting?
Aaron Fitt
1:28
Obviously UCLA and I'm feeling pretty darn good about Nebraska's chances now. You can't ignore USC given that top-10 RPI, but gosh, that 0-8 record against Q1 is really tough to get past, and it's worth noting that DSR has the Trojans at 28 and KPI at 25, so that gaudy RPI is a real outlier. I think that will matter to the committee, given the lack of high-end wins. So I'm gonna say it winds up being two hosts - UCLA and Nebraska. But the Trojans are clearly right in the hunt.
Chris
1:28
What do you think the Aggies need to do down the stretch to secure a top 8 national seed?
Kendall Rogers
1:28
2-1 in remaining series makes the Aggies a Top 8 lock in my book. 1-2 in remaining series would put the Ags at 18 league wins. Still probably in a good spot to host, but a Top 8? It would be close. I think they win the two home series and lose at OM.
Northy
1:30
Purdue and Michigan have to flip flop from the "last four in" and "first four out" list right?  I mean Purdue gets swept, Michigan wins it's 5th series in a row, and the Wolverines have a better RPI and big series win vs Oregon on the schedule.
Kendall Rogers
1:30
Northy - Yep, you are right on. Michigan would be ahead of Purdue in the pecking order for sure at this point. The only issue for Michigan is that, boy, there are A LOT of RPI land mines still left on the schedule. I could easily see that league getting stuck at four bids.
Casey
1:30
How many Sunbelt teams do you see making the regionals this year?
Aaron Fitt
1:30
I'm gonna say three: Coastal and Southern Miss of course, but I still think somebody else joins them, whether it's Texas State or Arkansas State, or just somebody besides CCU and USM who wins the auto bid. I'll have a piece coming out this afternoon expressing some optimism for Texas State -- I like how they've reshuffled their pitching, and I think they're going to finish really strong now that they have gotten through this gauntlet stretch of their schedule. And they're still 37th in the RPI, in pretty good shape as long as they can bolster that conference record again. I'm feeling them as an at-large team, when the dust settles -- but they have plenty of work to do after struggling these last three weeks.
Brendan
1:31
If Vanderbilt gets to that coveted 13 win mark in the SEC but still has and RPI in the low 50's or 60's, how close to the cutline will they be?  On that note, your site has Vandy-Bama playing a four games series?
Kendall Rogers
1:31
If Vandy only has 13-14 wins and is in the 50s in the RPI, it will not be in the field.
Adam
1:31
3-way tie atop the American.  Still a 3 bid league with those top 3 teams in?
Kendall Rogers
1:31
Think it would be for me right now. Those three teams are pretty difficult to parse out if you're only taking two.
FittsMagic
1:32
It feels like the aces of the SEC have been touched up a bit the past two weeks: is this more about the offenses being so good or is the pitching just less dominant in the conference this year?
Aaron Fitt
1:32
Feels like a little of both to me -- obviously there are a lot of powerhouse offenses, and still plenty of good arms, but the "gut feel" test tells me that the arms aren't as elite this year as they have been in many other recent seasons. Just throwing that out there without an in-depth study -- entirely possible I could be off base! But I don't think I am.
JT
1:36
Georgia as the leader in the SEC standings having won 4 big road series vs teams all in the top 25 of rankings and RPI would seem to be a sure thing top 8 seed, but the RPI is around 20, is there a chance Georgia hosts but not as a top 8?
Aaron Fitt
1:36
Georgia's nonconference SOS is just so bad 259th) -- it really undermines their superb work in conference play, to a certain degree. That said, DSR and KPI are higher on Georgia (8 and 12, respectively), so this could be a case where the committee leans less on the RPI if Georgia finishes top-two in the SEC standings. Hard to envision them not being a top-8 if they do that, RPI be damned.
Brendan
1:40
How alive is Louisville after their sweep of a bad Clemson team?
Aaron Fitt
1:40
Felt like this weekend somebody hooked up a defibrillator and gave them a jolt (h/t Joe Healy for that one), and now they have a pulse, at least -- last week they felt dead. It's still a long shot with a No. 86 RPI and a 10-11 ACC mark, but they can make some serious hay in the RPI with seven straight road games against Wake, Vandy (midweek) and Miami, and then they finish with UVa at home. Lots of opportunity ahead to earn quality wins against that remaining schedule, they just need to do it. And listen, they are talented enough in the lineup to get hot and beat all those teams... I'm just spooked by how rocky their season has been, I can't quite work up the faith that they WILL do it. But they COULD, and it wouldn't completely shock me -- every year, some talented team gets written off in midseason and then rises from the dead. Louisville feels like the most likely candidate to pull that act this year, more than other disappointing preseason Top 25 clubs like LSU or Clemson.
Sean98
1:42
Fitt, Oregon State is 9 spots above Georgia currently with a couple of easier series left for UGA. How do you leave Oregon St out and justify UGa as a likely Top 4-5?
Aaron Fitt
1:42
Quality wins really matter... OSU is 2-2 vs. Q1. Georgia is 10-6, and in first place in the best conference in the country. And we anticipate OSU's RPI to continue to dip given its remaining schedule, while UGa should continue to climb.
Guest
1:44
Aaron - great coverage of the Chants all weekend! Opinion on this club returning to Omaha with Flukey back? Big test tomorrow night...
Aaron Fitt
1:44
Thank you! I continue to be blown away by the season Coastal has had in the face of all those injuries -- and yet here they are ranked in the top 10, and now Flukey is back (and holy moly, he looked as good as ever in those two innings in his return, super encouraging). And on top of that Trace Mazon (a HUGE piece in the lineup) could be back as soon as tomorrow at UNC, and also relievers Doran and Parker are back -- feels like it's all coming together. The offense actually kinda struggled this weekend, and they will managed to win 2 out of 3, because that's what they do -- find ways to win. Helps to have an elite defense, and that's what I like most about their club, especially on the dirt.
Scott
1:45
May be too late on this question, but what a major sweep by Louisiana Tech over Missouri State, especially scoring 7 in the 9th to win on Sunday. The Dogs are up to 76 in the RPI with top 40 being the magic number to get in. With 3 series left against Dallas Baptist (RPI 75) Liberty (RPI 35) and Sam Houston (RPI 171), if Tech wins the series on all 3 of those, do you think their is a shot to potentially grab an at large? Getting swept by Southern Miss and Jacksonville State loom large but the Dogs are hot and are traditionally a good G5 team to watch come tournament time.
Kendall Rogers
1:45
Scott -- the issue for the Bulldogs is that they're the fourth team in the pecking order as of today in that league, so they'd need to really really improve in the RPI to get into contention. The good news is the Liberty series is excellent for RPI, while the other two are just OK. I think LT will fall short RPI wise, but it could most definitely make things interesting.
Go Frogs
1:46
TCU is hanging around, "another" big series this weekend with OK State, what is your take on the current version of the Frogs and this weekend matchup.
Kendall Rogers
1:46
Go Frogs -- I feel a lot better about TCU than I did about two weeks ago. I think we could potentially look back at the last two innings of that middle game in the Baylor series as a turning point for this team, because they wound up crushing BU in the series finale. With Tommy LaPour back in the mix, too, I think that provides both a production and emotional boost to this team. That OSU series should be quite the battle given how well the Pokes are playing right now.
Bill
1:46
WF is a talented team with good pitching.  Could of won any or all against GT, but found a way to lose all 3.  Will they make the tournament?
Aaron Fitt
1:46
I like to compare things to my golf game, and Wake feels like when you're flushing the ball off the tee and your ball-striking is immaculate, but you just can't score because you've got a cold putter or a little short game yippiness. That's Wake -- they are SO CLOSE. Just can't quite get over the hump — yet. Maybe it will all come together down the stretch and they'll make a run -- just need to get that putter rolling. Yes, they are still on track to make a regional, no sweat.
Aaron Fitt
1:47
OK friends, we've got to wrap it up and hop over to the Nerdcast. Thanks for the great questions, see you next wek!
WC_Drew
1:48
Can UCSB make the regionals if they don't win Big West tournament? Also who do you think has the best odds of winning the Big West tournee (outside of the Gauchos)?
cool 1
Kendall Rogers
1:48
I would worry if I'm the Gauchos if I'm in the 40s and did not win the conference tournament. I also think it's imperative for UCSB to finish either first or second in that league in the regular season. If they finish third AND don't win the conference tourney AND also have an RPI in the 40s, I think they get left out. With that said, the eye ball test is going to be kind to the Gauchos.
Ray
1:50
West coast host spots... Definitely UCLA and probably OSU. Do we think the winner of USC vs UO series will get a host spot? USC has such an odd resume with the #9 overall RPI but an abysmal 0-8 versus Q1. Is that their only chance?
Kendall Rogers
1:50
I think USC has to win that Oregon series. I also like Oregon's chances down the stretch a bit more than I like USC's. If you win that USC series, that's at least two series wins against hosting contenders (Nebraska as the other).
West
1:51
UCLA's season has been so good that as a fan it's championship or bust mentality.  Given that way of thinking, the Bruins although they've still been winning haven't played their best (mostly offensively) the past few weeks.  Do you chalk it up to dog days or something to be concerned about?
Kendall Rogers
1:51
I said this on a radio show last week, but I thought UCLA either needed to lose a series, or have a reality check -- and I think the Bruins got a reality check against Sac State over the weekend. That's a series they could have very easily lost.
Butch
1:53
We any closer to an expanded NCAA ?
Kendall Rogers
1:53
Not at the current moment. I would be fine expanding four teams in the field -- no more.
Connecting…