On Deck: Memphis
by One Man To Beat on Mar 2, 2010 11:40 AM EST
20 comments
Ole Miss baseball has a chance to win its seventh consecutive game Tuesday against Memphis.
Last season, the Rebels had two streaks of eight wins, but it took until early March for the team to really hit its stride.
This year, however, Mike Bianco has led this squad screaming out of the gate at 6-1, only dropping the season opener to Louisiana-Monroe, 6-5.
For more on the cesspool that is the Memphis Tigers baseball program, follow the jump.
Every game the Tigers have played in this season have been one run decisions, capturing two wins out of six games. I wouldn't consider any of their foes significant baseball programs(Middle Tennessee State, Bradley, UT-Martin, Toledo and Pittsburgh).
Memphis will probably offer our pitching a bit more of a challenge than the Oakland Golden Grizzlies did this weekend. The Tigers have three players batting over .400 but have only hit three HRs on the year as a team.
Meanwhile, Tanner Mathis and David Phillips are out to blazing starts, batting .500 and .400 respectively. Ole Miss has hit 12 HRs on the year with a .515 slugging percentage.
Really, the most surprising thing about this Ole Miss team so far, has been the pitching. A 2.14 ERA bolstered by 70 K's over 63 innings most likely has some Rebel fans in disbelief.
Wasn't pitching supposed to be our weak point? I mean, Aaron Barrett had the control of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn without the velocity last season. Trent Rothlin had never pitched on this level before. Matt Tracy...who?
The only pitcher who has struggled thus far has been Rory McKean, but there's a long season ahead. I can't imagine Bianco backing out on McKean this early, only a couple innings of work.
A well-rounded and deep pitching staff is what builds fantastic overall season records. It was a main worry for Brian Walker's Elbow and myself and will remain so until the season is over or Matt Tracy throws two shutouts.
The Rebels have won 12 in a row against the Tigers and 20 of the last 23 in the series. Memphis used to get me a little worried in midweek play, but this year should continue the winning streak. Ole Miss has superior pitching and defense but don't expect a blowout as it seems Memphis has some good hitting throughout its line-up.
Tyler Huelsing, a senior for Memphis, has got some pop in his bat and has the fourth highest batting average. If he comes to the dish with runners on, he's a dangerous offensive player. Huelsing leads the team with four doubles.
If David Phillips hits a home run tonight, I'm going to grow a mustache in honor of his amazing start. Players on the team are doing it, plus I'll look extra creepy for when I go grocery shopping.
Starters for Tuesday Night's Game
UM- Matt Tracy- Jr, LHP: (1-0) 0.96 ERA
Memphis- Heith "Not like the candy bar" Hatfield- Soph., RHP: (1-1) 9.00 ERA
Final Prediction
Ole Miss 6
Memphis 3
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Rothlin
Just a few notes on Rothlin:
“Trent Rothlin had never pitched on this level before.”
Rothlin actually pitched as a true freshman for Clemson in 2008. He pitched 13 innings in 7 appearances and yielded a 9.69 ERA and gave up 11 walks to 6 strikeouts with a .264 BAA. Looks like he’d had some type of arm surgery in the fall before the 08 season.
He was drafted out of high school by the Mariners in the 35th round and BA had him listed as the #142 overall prospect. He was also listed as the #5 prospect out of North Carolina which is typically a talent rich state. He lead the state in strikeouts as a junior in high school with 126.
He pitched in the Coastal Plains league this summer and Baseball America listed him as one of the top 10 prospects in the league.
From looking at various stat sheets throughout his summer ball and collegiate career, it appears he’s always struggled with his command and walks about 4-5 batters per 9 innings which we’ve seen a glimpse of in his two early outings here with 8 walks in 11 innings. Also, his strikeout rate is usually better than it currently is as he typically strikes out more than a batter per inning.
by ColJohnSartoris on Mar 2, 2010 12:50 PM EST reply actions
Trent...
We didn’t know that you read the blog. Welcome!
Red Cup Rebellion -- Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
by BrianWalker'sElbow on Mar 2, 2010 1:59 PM EST up reply actions
Knew this was coming!
No, I just searched out some info before the season when it was announced he would be the third starter. That’s it and that’s all. We do it for decoration.
by ColJohnSartoris on Mar 2, 2010 2:43 PM EST up reply actions
You should be up
cookin’ brefist or sumfin.
Red Cup Rebellion - An Ole Miss Blog
Blame the Baptists.
by Juco All-American on Mar 2, 2010 2:48 PM EST up reply actions
if ColJohn is not Trent, Trent's mom, or a very close
family member… Trent needs to see about getting a restraining order.
by PoweKnowsBaseball on Mar 2, 2010 2:07 PM EST reply actions
McKean
I wish Bianco would give up on McKean. The only reason McKean has put up any kind of decent numbers is just pure chance. He gets his and gets hit hard because his stuff isn’t very good. The one thing he does well is he stays around the zone, but in SEC play, he’s just throwing BP.
He’ll be good if we ever have a pitcher get knocked out in the 2nd inning. He can come in and eat up about 4-5 innings of relief giving up 5 or 6 runs and saving the rest of the bullpen, but that’s about all he’s going to be good for.
He was serviceable the year prior so was hoping he would rebound
Not so much hope for that but maybe he kind find a groove
That's what I'm saying.
Two years ago when he had decent numbers, it was just pure chance and the fact that no one had a good scouting report on the guy.
His stuff just isn’t good. He does a good job of staying in the zone, which is why he’s a good inning eater if you’re down big early, but he’s not a good pitcher.
I’m hoping it doesn’t take Bianco long to figure out that McKean is not a top notch middle reliever. His stuff is BP quality. He survives by getting people to put the ball in play and hoping to string together enough balls that are hit to his fielders. He’s just not that good, and he won’t be any time this year. I’ll gladly eat crow if I’m wrong, but I wouldn’t hold out hope that he’d end up being a reliable arm out of the pen. Best case scenario is for him to eat innings.
Oh snap.
I forgot about those.
TIME TO BUST A MUFUKKIN NUTT!
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Mar 2, 2010 11:39 PM EST up reply actions
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