Standings as of today…
The sweep over Mizzou put Bama in a pretty good spot with 3 weeks to go in the regular season at 12-9. The Tide's next two opponents, at Vandy and home against UGA are both also sitting at 12-9. Going 3-3 against them would be plenty acceptable... anything over .500 would be gravy. Bama finishes on the road at Florida, and that's a Florida team that has finally found their footing and will be playing hard for regional seeding purposes. As for right now, Bama has to be feeling pretty good coming off the sweep of Missouri. I mentioned the other day however, there's still some concerns for me, despite the winning. For starters, Justin Lebron is in a funk right now, and the offense produces so much better when he's making things happen. I do think he's on the other side of the struggles though, so hopefully soon he breaks out. My confidence in Jason Torres isn't as high, but Vaughn firmly believes the team is better off with him in the lineup. Bama doesn't have a very deep bench, so maybe he's right, but IMO he should sit for a bit in favor of Garrett Staton at 3rd.
I really want to see how the starting pitchers perform against Vandy before feeling too positive about them as a whole, but at the very least, they took a step against helpless Mizzou, which was a start. I do feel pretty good about Quick, I'll say that. And the back end of the pen, the high leverage guys... despite some walks, they are pretty sharp right now too.
As for news around the league, Mississippi State fired their coach, Chris Lemonis today. The timing is really odd, but I think they were afraid he might start winning down the stretch and they really wanted to make this move happen. Pretty amazing that he's the only MSU coach to win a national title for them, and not that long ago, and he's getting canned... but it shows how seriously they take baseball over there... sorta like Bama and football or Kentucky and basketball.
This weeks SEC schedule...
#1 Texas @ #11 Arkansas - There's some really good matchups this week and this one may top them all.
#10 auburn @ #12 Tennessee - Vols have dropped 4 of their last 6 SEC games, but they are too talented for that trend to continue for much longer... and while auburn is really good, they've struggle some on the road.
Florida @ South Carolina - The momentum build of the Gators is likely to continue.
#2 LSU @ Texas A&M - A&M played hard against Texas but got swept. Like Florida though, they are playing much better than 5 or 6 weeks ago. Still, LSU is rolling right now... they always get hot with the weather, and this season is no exception.
#9 Georgia @ Missouri - The Bulldogs get the free space on the Bingo board.
Kentucky @ Mississippi State - Kentucky has been quiet this season after they made so much noise last year but they've been playing well lately.
#23 Ole Miss @ #21 Oklahoma - This should be another really good series. Both teams match up pretty evenly.
#18 Alabama @ #15 Vanderbilt - Yes, another good matchup. IMO, the story will be Bama's pitching vs. Vandy's bats... both have had their struggles this year, can Alabama keep them off the scoreboard enough to win the series?