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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Week Six
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Jake
12:29
Time to worry about Texas yet or no?
Kendall Rogers
12:29
Absolutely not. Two emotional midweek games with Texas State + losing Tanner Witt for the year + weird road series in bad weather = not worried at all. Texas will make the necessary adjustments, IMO.
Austin
12:29
Will the Sun Belt be a top 5 league next year with the addition of USM and ODU.  With those additions and ULL, Coastal, Texas State, South Alabama, Georgia Southern...seems like it could be a 3 or 4 bid league in the future?
Aaron Fitt
12:29
Boy, I think you're spot-on, Austin -- that's a really good group of programs right there. It does feel like the balance of power in those high-mid-major conferences is shifting, and I suspect the Sun Belt will become the clear top conference outside the power five -- and maybe even better than the Big Ten.
Jeremy
12:30
Are Kentucky or Louisville getting close to making the Top 25?
Kendall Rogers
12:30
Jeremy -- Both are right on the cusp, and both still have a little work to do. I want to see what UK does starting SEC play, while U of L would certainly make an ultra strong case with a series win over Notre Dame this weekend. I could absolutely see a scenario where both teams are in next week's Top 25 Rankings.
Reb_in_NOLA
12:33
Any concerns over Ole Miss starting pitching thus far? Sure doesn't hurt to have that offense behind you though.
Aaron Fitt
12:33
Not for me. I like Gaddis a lot, he's a bulldog who can really pitch, and it looked like Derek Diamond was great for four innings this weekend before hitting his pitch count limit. Between McDaniel, Dougherty and Washburn, I still feel like the Rebels have three very talented options for a Sunday starter, it's just a matter of one of those guys taking the job and running with it.
JEL
12:33
Is UC Irvine back on track?
Aaron Fitt
12:34
Yeah, I don't know that the Anteaters were ever really off track. Tough season-opening series loss on the road against a solid Louisiana club, and a tough road series loss to a top 10 team in Corvallis, but didn't get swept. Last week was impressive though -- two midweek wins vs. Arizona State and a series win over an Iowa club that we still think should get going and be a Big Ten contender at some point. Anteaters have played a tough schedule and are in good shape at 10-6.
Jeff
12:34
What are your thoughts on where the Big Ten stands today? Do you think Maryland still has the best chance of making the most noise out of the league? Any news on Nick Dean missing his schedule start this past weekend?
Kendall Rogers
12:34
I'll check on Dean. I still have the most conviction on Maryland. I'm really impressed with Purdue's start to the season, but to be honest, that's a really bad schedule. Good for confidence building, not to so good for putting together a strong resume. It would not shock me to see someone like Michigan win the league, either. Michigan definitely has a ton of upside.
DrDoolittle
12:36
Duke is 9-7 staring down a hot UNC squad with a trip to Tallahassee after. How vital are these weekends already for the Blue Devils? Does 2-4 dig too deep a hole?
Aaron Fitt
12:36
Well as we've seen a few times in the last few years with Duke, 2-4 is definitely not too deep of a hole -- this program always seems to play its best down the stretch, which is a characteristic of very well coached clubs, I think. I think a major key is to get Luke Fox going. I really like him, think he's a first-round talent for next year, and I've been surprised by his struggles in that Saturday starter spot. The offense has been inconsistent too, but I still like the personnel.
Geaux
12:36
Any of the guys going to be at LSU/A&M? Think Money should be good to go Friday night.
Kendall Rogers
12:36
Geaux -- I won't be there, but that's an interesting series for both teams. As long as Money is back for the Tigers, I think LSU comfortably wins that series in Baton Rouge. But if he's out, it certainly equalizes things a bit. A&M needs to step up offensively. The Aggies have gotten more than enough out of their pitchers (outside of Moo Menefee), but the offense is striking out entirely too much. LSU has a massive advantage from an offensive standpoint.
Beau
12:38
Who decides on whether or not a game will be made up or not?  This past weekend, multiple series had to play doubleheaders on Sunday because of weather, but then you had ND/NC State that canceled game 2, rather than play a doubleheader.  What factors go into deciding whether a game will be postponed or canceled and can a game be made up at a later date?  Thank you!
Aaron Fitt
12:38
In the ACC, series must be completed by Sunday night and cannot be made up later in the season, that's a league rule. From there it comes down to the coaches discussing their options, I suspect in consultation with the TV schedule makers. And of course travel curfews come into effect, which is why NC State and Notre Dame only played one game Sunday, I think. It was too cold Sunday morning (like 22 degrees when I woke up) to start earlier and play a doubleheader.
Ali
12:38
ever wondered why it’s called “baseball” ?
Aaron Fitt
12:38
Not really!
blukollarfrog
12:40
Frogs are having trouble putting all pieces together on the same day.  Either starting pitching, long relief, or bats seem to take a day off on different games.  Likewise, each has been stellar on different days.  Is that what you see?
Kendall Rogers
12:40
BLU -- Yep, and that actually makes me feel OK about this TCU team. We've seen good offensive production at times and we've seen strong pitching at times. I still really, really like the front-line arms for the Frogs. I also like what TCU has at the top of the lineup. That Baylor series is going to be mighty intriguing. The Bears seem to play up/down to their competition.
Matthew
12:41
How long do you think Clemson and UVA stays hot? Great to see traditional ACC powerhouses rebounding. Seems like ACC baseball is taking a turn for the better this year except for NC State.
Aaron Fitt
12:41
Yeah you're right, the ACC is off to a pretty impressive start. UVa, UNC and Clemson all started the season outside our Top 25 but have played their way in and look like legit contenders. As I wrote in today's Fitt Bits, I think Wake Forest is a bona fide contender too, really like their pitching and I think their defense is dramatically better. Louisville is right on the cusp of the Top 25. All of those teams have answered a lot of our preseason questions about them. I do expect NC State and Duke to rebound and throw themselves right into the mix, and Miami should be back in the Top 25 at some point too. Feels like a very deep league this year.
Beav123
12:44
What do you need to see from Oregon state, for them to have a deep run in Omaha?
Aaron Fitt
12:44
Really it just comes down to how well that pitching staff can hold up after losing Frisch and Pfennigs, and whether Pfennigs can come back before too long. I am sold on that position player group, think it's a really good offensive and defensive club. I love Cooper Hjerpe, and so far the freshman Jacob Kmatz has provided a big boost, but they'll need more out of Brock Townsend, and Mitchell Verburg too. There are pieces here, but not sure how much shutdown stuff there is beyond Hjerpe, at least until Pfennigs comes back.
Dan
12:46
Are we ready to talk about how the ACC is deeper/better baseball league than the SEC this year?
Kendall Rogers
12:46
Dan -- We will see how things play out, but it's kind of funny you mention that, because I'm not so sure the ACC isn't better this spring -- at least so far. I feel much better about teams like North Carolina, Clemson, etc, than I do about some of the SEC teams like Georgia, Auburn etc. The fact the SEC West is really wobbly right now really hurts the SEC, while outside of a couple of teams, the entire ACC looks pretty solid. Even Duke, which has struggled, has definite upside. Conventional wisdom tells me the SEC West teams will start figuring it out .... I think?
Matthew
12:46
How do you think Clemson will handle a good Miami team this coming weekend? Uncertainty in the Sunday guy for Clemson has given them a little trouble the past couple weeks and easily could again with a talented team like Miami.
Aaron Fitt
12:46
I like Nick Clayton OK as that Sunday guy, thought he pitched well against the Gamecocks. I don't necessarily think he'll be a dominant workhorse guy, but if he can give you four or five solid innings to keep his team in the game, Clemson has the bullpen behind him to win. Really like that bullpen, lots of depth and variety. Intriguing matchup against Miami; I believe our man Shotgun Spratling will be making a rare appearance in the South with coverage of at least part of that series.
Aaron Fitt
12:49
All right friends, that's all I've got time for today. See you next week!
Lopesup
12:54
Thoughts on Grand Canyon?
Kendall Rogers
12:54
Lope -- Still like this club. Obviously not optimal pitching the final two games of the weekend against an improved USD club, but this is also a team that clean swept Cal Baptist a couple of weeks ago and has logged some impressive wins. The top of the WAC actually looks pretty strong right now.
Josh
12:57
With finally putting up some runs over the weeekend do you think Arkansas bats are finally coming around?
Kendall Rogers
12:57
Josh -- The proof will be in SEC play, but the Hogs are definitely showing signs of improvement. For me, it was only a matter of time. I knew that wouldn't stick. Fascinated to see how that offense navigates the SEC schedule. Michael Turner was impressive in Round Rock, but how about the rise of Chris Lanzilli? He has been red-hot as of late. That's big for the Hogs.
Kendall Rogers
12:58
All right gang -- that's all the time we have this week. Thanks for your awesome questions!
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