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D1Baseball's Weekly Chat: March 2
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Aaron Fitt
1:40
#YoureBias #YourBiast
CC
1:38
Early in the year, but is TCU's Gray Rodgers' selection of the Mii Channel theme music the frontrunner for most creative walk-up song?
Aaron Fitt
1:38
I hadn't heard that, but I love it. I'll keep my ears open for other nominees -- we need to hold a vote at the end of the season.
Nate
1:40
Any concerns with the buckeyes slow start? Are they still a contender in the BIg10?
Kendall Rogers
1:40
Nate -- Aaron and me were just talking about this the other day. Ohio State has already put itself behind the eight ball for the postseason with the 0-3 mark at GT and a poor series loss to Lipscomb. OSU will now have some work to do the rest of the way to get into regional contention. OSU needs to get its offense going.
Cowtown Bill
1:42
I had hoped the Frogs would stay under your radar a little while longer but now that they are in the Top 25 can they stay there after this California road trip? The defense has been the most pleasant surprise to me in the early going. Thoughts?
Aaron Fitt
1:42
They'll need to go 2-1 in LA to stay in the rankings, and yeah, I think they can do it. Would not surprise me at all if they find a way to knock off UCLA or Vandy. The Commodores, in particular, feel a little vulnerable right now.
Tyler
1:43
The big 12 had a pretty impressive weekend between the Shiners tournament and Florida “tournament”. Who impressed the most in your opinion.
Kendall Rogers
1:43
Tyler -- Color me really impressed with the Big 12 right now. I think that league has six postseason quality clubs right now, and I'd also advise keeping an eye on WVU.

As for over the weekend, I love what Oklahoma has on the mound and Dane Acker's start against LSU just reinforces my feelings. I also feel very good about the bullpen with hard-nosed Wyatt Olds, Zack Matthews and Jason Ruffcorn. I'm aboard the OU train right now. I think Steve Rod is doing a terrific job (again) with Baylor, and I liked what I saw across the board from the Bears -- Nick Loftin and freshman talent Jared McKenzie stood out. I also feel like Texas is much better. Trey Faltine looked like a stud at SS and I really liked the Elder/Madden combo. I'd also look for Pete Hansen to be in the rotation sooner rather than later.
J.T.
1:44
Nick Gonzales. That's it. That's the comment.
Kendall Rogers
1:44
JT -- what an absolute beast Nick Gonzales is. I'm really looking forward to seeing him Friday night as the Aggies head to College Station to face another slam-dunk high first-round pick, LHP Asa Lacy.
Beau
1:45
I understand the schedule hasn’t been the strongest, but if ND can take 2 out of 3 this weekend in Chapel Hill, will that be a reason for the fans to get excited about the direction the program is now moving in?  I’m quickly becoming a fan of Coach Jarrett!!!!
Aaron Fitt
1:45
I'll tell you what: Link Jarrett can really, really coach hitting. His teams at UNCG were always very offensive, and so were his teams at Auburn and ECU. Looks like he's gotten those Notre Dame bats going pretty good early on, albeit against softer competition. I also like the direction the program is headed. And yes, if they win a series in Chapel Hill, that would be a statement that the Irish might be a legitimate ACC contender.
Kevin
1:47
What in the heck is going on with LSU at the plate? This past weekend, they struck out 34 times, and I think the stat was 26 of those K's came on 5 pitches or less. And then they get no-hit by OU's third best starting pitcher. It seems that LSU's pitching staff is going to be constantly overshadowed by its troubles at the plate, and that's a shame because Labas was out of this world good on Sunday. A lot of people in Baton Rouge are calling Paul Manieri "Paul Miles" (after Les Miles of course). What do you make of the current state of the program, in particular to how it relates to people's perception of LSU and constantly trying to relive the success of the '90s?
Kendall Rogers
1:47
Kevin,

First of all, calling for Paul's head after Week Three is just asinine. Let the season play out. He's had a ton of success.

With that said, there's no doubt the LSU offense was a little concerning. I just feel like once you navigate through Zack Mathis, Cade Beloso and Daniel Cabrera, that lineup really really eases out. I do think Alex Milazzo is a nice overall player, while Saul Garza has to be better and more consistent. He's still hitting around .230 this season. On a positive note -- how about LSU's pitching? Wow.
Frank
1:52
Gents, Casey Martin seems to have become a big liability in the infield for Arkansas. At what point do the Hogs move him back to 3B? I am hard pressed to believe he is worthy of a first round pick or that he can play Shortshop in the big leagues. Am I wrong here?
Kendall Rogers
1:52
Frank -- I think camps are pretty split on Martin at the next level. Some think he can play short, others second base, other third base, and I even had someone bring up center field to me over the weekend down in Houston. More so than his defense, I'm worried about his offensive approach. Texas threw six straight sliders at the same spot the other night and he whiffed on all of them. He's just not seeing the ball well at all right now. The Hogs need to get him right.
Sean
1:52
Hey guys I know its early but the WCC looks pretty strong this year. Pepp, Portland, USD and Santa Clara off to hot starts others lurking. Thoughts on the conference being at least a two bid league this year?
Aaron Fitt
1:52
Yeah, how bout those Pilots? 10-1 start, a neat under-the-radar team to keep an eye on. Rusty Filter's doing a nice job at Santa Clara too -- they snagged a win on the road against a really, really good Georgia team and split a four-game set at Sac State. The Dons had a nice weekend too, took two of three from Fullerton. I feel like the WCC deserves two bids most years, and seldom gets two. I hope this year it does; it's a good league.
Cy
1:54
How worried are you about Mississippi State's slow start to the season at the plate? Also, will the pitching staff be able to hold up in SEC play if JT Ginn is out for extended amounts of time?
Aaron Fitt
1:54
I'm not worried at all about the offense, though obviously you'd have to downgrade it some if Tanner Allen is out for an extended period. But there's too much talent and experience in that lineup, they'll heat up offensively. I am concerned about the staff if Ginn is out long-term. He's just a hugely important piece of that team, and without him I would downgrade my expectation for MSU from likely host and strong Omaha-caliber club to probably a regional 2-seed.
Caleb
1:55
Should we be worried about East Carolina's chances in hosting another regional?
Aaron Fitt
1:55
Yeah, we didn't have ECU projected to host heading into the year, they just lost so much from last year. I still think they'll be a solid 2-seed in a regional when the dust settle.
Terry
1:57
How about a little love for the Big West this weekend? UC Davis won a 2 day, 24 inning marathon game over Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Also UC Riverside freshman Zack Jacobs tossed a 3 hit shutout over St. Mary’s Saturday for his first college win
Aaron Fitt
1:57
Not only that, but UCSB is off to a nice 9-2 start after sweeping UIC, and Hawaii gave Vandy all it could handle this year. The Big West is awfully intriguing this year -- feels like this is going to be a topsy-turvy race, with a bunch of teams all clustered together until the end. I don't envision anybody running away with the conference this year.
Ryan M
2:01
What non-conference weekend matchups are you all most looking forward to seeing the rest of the season? Where will you all be this weekend?
Kendall Rogers
2:01
Ryan -- I am going to go check out NM State's Nick Gonzales against A&M's Asa Lacy on Friday. Not sure about Saturday just yet. Might go see Cal State Fullerton in Austin for the day.

As for the upcoming weekend, I'm really excited to see what happens with Michigan at Pepperdine. That's such an intriguing series withe the Waves joining this week's rankings.
Brian
2:02
Maybe I missed it, but no mention of Ole Miss on the podcast after their move up in the rankings. They're not hitting for average but are getting on base and knocking the cover off the ball. Concerns? Thoughts on the starting rotation?
Aaron Fitt
2:02
No real concerns for me -- they've got a nice, balanced club, and they're playing well. I really like the rotation -- Nikhazy and Hoglund have solid stuff and a lot of experience for sophomores, and Diamond has really good stuff. I like the athleticism in the lineup, I love Anthony Servideo at short, I'm a big fan of that spark plug Chatagnier, always been a fan of Tyler Keenan. That is a team that has improved its standing in my eyes since the preseason.
Wrigley
2:04
Tadlock an early season favorite for COTY? Impressive start for a team that lost Jung, Warren, Holt, Killian, Floyd, etc.
Kendall Rogers
2:04
Wrigley -- Even with those losses, Tadlock's Red Raiders were still a preseason Top 10 team and were expected to be excellent. My COY right now is Eric Valenzuela, and we'll see if that changes. From 14 wins last season to ranked in the Top 20 is pretty incredible.
Jake
2:05
Aaron it seemed like Oklahoma state had a lot of hard contact all weekend in Frisco but just didn't get the results. Do you think this team is a year away with all the young players they got or do you think this team can be like all the other teams under Josh Holliday and by April they are a dangerous team.
Aaron Fitt
2:05
The last two days, they made a lot of hard contact; not as much Friday. But yes, I'm confident this will be a typical Holliday team that gets better and better as the season goes along; they've got the personnel to be very dangerous. Love what I'm seeing from Carson McCusker, I think he's ready to blossom into a star. Cade Cabbiness continued to impress me with how much better his approach has gotten -- there were a couple times he came up with big hits against tough lefthanded breaking balls, which he simply would have whiffed at in years past. Huey Morrill played great this weekend, I'm a huge fan of Polcovich, and I think Trenkle is going to be a fan favorite, high-motor speedster. I like their team quite a bit; the key will be the maturation of those young arms, but the talent is enormous. Bryce Osmond's stuff was pretty electric yesterday, and Campbell has good feel for pitching and loads of projection.
PapaGreg
2:05
Thanks for Y'all's excellent work!! How close is Texas from your Top 25 and in Your oppinion, why can't they hold down a lead in the Crunch?? They're 2 outs away from 12-0!!
Kendall Rogers
2:05
Papa -- Texas was in the discussion and it isn't far away. As I said a bit ago, I love the one-two punch in the rotation and I foresee Pete Hansen being in that three-man rotation soon. I also think Texas will hit enough to win a solid # of games this season. But yeah the bullpen in yesterday's game, in particular, was pretty rough. Cole Quintanilla hasn't been the same since that TCU series last season. Just something lacking from a confidence standpoint.
Travis
2:07
Who’s the going to end up best team in Mississippi this year? Looked like state before the year but ole miss is surging now
Aaron Fitt
2:07
Yeah, I thought it would be MSU heading into the year. And don't get me wrong, I'm not burying the Bulldogs, I still think they've got a nice club and are going to win plenty of game. But I think I now have more conviction in Ole Miss' pitching than I do in MSU's, and I've seen what I needed to see from the new-look Rebel lineup. I'm gonna switch to Ole Miss.
SECBaseball
2:10
True or False: Asa Lacy will win SEC Pitcher of the Year.
Aaron Fitt
2:10
Hmm... this is so tough, but after what I saw Friday night, I'm gonna say "true." The biggest difference for Lacy is that slider has become a ridiculous power pitch at 86-90 with real depth -- I'd say it was regularly plus-plus on Friday. It wasn't THAT kind of weapon in the past. He's a beast.
Jason worchester
2:11
What do you think about the little shortstop from Pepperdine?
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