The loss to Samford on Friday was tough. Not only did State not get on the board offensively, but Chris Stratton gave up three home runs, and then Caleb Reed another. It was almost shocking to see the way it went down. But I will say this - it's baseball, and this stuff happens.
No way am I going to throw in the towel and say the season is over. It may look bleak, but stranger things have happened than a team coming back from losing the first day in a 4-team double-elimination playoff.
State looked out of sync on Friday. Were they tired, overconfident...I just don't know. But they ran into a good pitcher and a team with a bunch of big hitters - and they got beat. So we move on. I'm sure everyone has already said it but if there's any team that can withstand digging out of this hole pitching-wise, it's MSU.
As for the hitting - we've seen this before. Remember after the Florida series when everyone was complaining about the offense? And then we lose to Central Arkansas 2-0 and everyone is crying about how bad we are? Well, State went on to win 8 of 9 including the SEC Tourney. Seems like a similar situation here.
Part II
There's one thing I really don't like about baseball and basketball postseason and that's the fact that you watch your team all year, hanging onto every game and it can all end so quickly with one or two games in the NCAA Tournament. In football, you lose one or two games and you know you're not going to win a national championship....but at least you can play for bragging rights. There are no bragging rights in baseball or basketball really. After watching us lose to Samford, and Ole Miss beating TCU - I just thought of that.
Part III
I'm pretty pumped about breaking down any and everything to do with football season this summer. Typically I try not to think about football until July 1st....I do everything I can to put it out of sight, out of mind. I even buy my Phil Steel magazine and don't read it until after the 4th. I do this so I don't get so excited I explode before Labor Day.
But this year I am going to do as much breaking down information as I can. I love the SEC, and I love to go through each team all summer long and dissect them...it's one of my favorite pastimes. If you love it too, be sure to check the blog frequently over the next few months as we get ready for the fall. If you've got anything you'd like to see written about, e-mail me at thecroomdiaries@yahoo.com. We all know I don't know more than YOU, but I do have no life and am willing to break down mind-numbing stats into a readable format. It's what I do.
Part IV
Had a really good dinner last night. Grilled some steaks and topped them with sauteed mushrooms, onions and melted blue cheese. It was excellent, I highly recommend.