Thoughts on the 2016 SEC schedule

Only 1 word describes it: toughest.

It has to be the toughest in the SEC.  We play the usually tough West opponents plus the top 2 in the East. And by the way, those 2 were very close from playing for the National Championship against each other.

And we play both of them at their place, at Vanderbilt and at Florida.

LSU, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Florida made the Omaha field in 2015 and Texas A & M was very, very close to going to Omaha.

In 2016, I expect LSU, Vanderbilt, Florida and TAMU to be highly ranked by the time we play them. Missouri and Georgia have been struggling lately. OM, Alabama and Auburn are usually competitive with us.

I can't wait to see the other West teams schedule but I dare say no one will be playing the top 2 teams from the East away.

I can't wait to see how the non-conference schedule shapes up. I still hope we play Oregon at home and go to Los Angeles to play in the Dodgertown Classic against UCLA and USC both teams expected to be ranked in the top 15 in 2016.

2016 SEC Schedule full release (Update)

As noted from twitter, Bob Carskadon tweeted out the home SEC schedule.

We play at home: Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A & M and Missouri. LSU has already released their entire 2016 schedule and we play them at Baton Rouge in late April. This puts us going to Auburn and Alabama next year also. So that makes 8 of 10 series known.

Since it is very doubtful we play the same team away in back to back years, this will eliminate Kentucky and Tennessee.

So my best guess is the final two AWAY series is either to the following 3 teams: Florida, South Carolina or Vanderbilt. We played Florida and South Carolina at home in 2015.

I would also bet this years Super Bulldog Weekend opponent will be Texas A & M. Just a guess.

UPDATE: The rest of the schedule was released and we do play Florida and Vanderbilt. This schedule date wise anyway is tentative.

RECAP:

Home

March 25-27:   Georgia
April 1-3:   Ole Miss
April 15-17:   Texas A & M
May 6-8:   Missouri
May 19-21:   Arkansas

Away

March 18-20:   Vanderbilt
April 8-10:   Florida
April 22-24:   LSU
April 29-M1:   Alabama
May 12-14:   Auburn

2017 commit updates at PG National

Tyler Lasch - C - 2017 - Lake Forest, CA
Lasch showed solid defensive tools behind the plate throughout the weekend popping a 1.95 with a top throw of 75 mph down to second showing nice carry with projectable actions. A left-handed hitter, the Mississippi State commit showed nice strength and lift to his pull side with consistent feel for the barrel. 


Jack Owen - LHP - 2017 - Coto De Caza, CA
Jack Owen impressed during his time on the mound, pounding the strike zone with solid extension out front. Topping out at 85 mph, Owen showed a fast left arm while spotting his late fading changeup and solid 1-7 curveball with big depth throughout the zone. He showed solid actions in the outfield topping out at 91 mph with repeatable actions. 


Jacob Pearson - OF - 2017 - West Monroe, LA
Pearson is a strong and physically built outfielder who showed off high level athleticism. Running an impressive 6.58 60-yard dash, the Mississippi State commit is able to generate loud and hard line drive contact to all fields both during batting practice and while facing live pitching. 

Papelbon and Stratton

I do look for Jonathan Papelbon, current closer for the lowly Phillies, to be traded to a contender before August. Let's hope he finishes his career on a high note.

Chris Stratton, moved up to triple A not too long ago, has done exceptionally well there. He is primed to be moved up to San Francisco again before August. The Giants need fresh pitchers in their stretch run toward the playoffs.

MLB draft update

We have lost the top 3 draftees of the 2015 class. Austin Riley signed with the Braves, Greg Pickett signed with the Phillies and Gray Fenter signed with the Orioles. Riley and Fenter signed for 1 million dollars or more. Pickett signed for a lot less which apparently tells us he wanted to go pro in the first place.

Two of the three other drafted players have said they are going to college. Delvin Zinn and Jared Padgett have said publicly they are enrolling in college. Elih Marrero hasn't said anything but sources around him say he is going to college.

Losing Fenter really didn't hurt because we have plenty of pitching in this class. But Riley and Pickett are elite power hitters and that did hurt us. Plus Riley would have been a closer type of pitcher.

But losing 50 percent is not bad. It could have been worse is the way I look at it.

Now it is on to the 2016 class and wrapping up any roster moves or additions to the 2015 entering the fall.

Signee Austin Riley taken in 1st round

Riley was taken by the Braves at number 41 in the compensation round A. The slotted value is a little over 1.5 million dollars. 

Is this life changing money that Riley said he will take? 

If he signs it's a huge blow to our class. The Braves took him as a third baseman so he might not pitch anymore. But if he goes to college, he will do both for 3 more years. And he could improve his status and get drafted even higher in 3 years and at least double his signing bonus. What will he do? Stay tuned.

John Cohen's June 2nd Press Conference

I really was expecting more information than what John gave. His answers were very generalized. Again, one of my post season points was that he is too secretive to the fans. I am sure he has very good reasons for holding back certain information. I will try and glean what I thought he means.

Officially, we haven't been notified of roster players that have left the program. When asked about the numbers of roster players and signees combined (between 45-50, squad is supposed to be 35), he said we will know more next week. Next week is the MLB Draft. What I take from this is two fold. One, if we lose more than expected than current players on the bubble will have a chance to come back. Two, obviously, if we keep the signees, then those guys on the bubble won't be back. Those players he said are still being discussed.

Again, with being ultra secretive, he mentioned the injury situation was worse than we the fans thought. A few other players were battling through it. He said he didn't want the media to know or anyone outside the locker room. This is not right to me. If a kid (some may be fan favorites) that is out for an extended time or lost for the season than he needs to tell us. We are in the dark about our own players. I totally understand if you are not wanting to let the opponent know if a certain player is hurt, so that the opponent can prepare for them. I am talking about an extended period or lost for the year. Please inform our fan base.

I doubt any writer will be asking about the roster, etc after the Draft (they will be occupied with football) so now we are in the dark on the roster until the Fall roster is released in late September or early October. That's unbelievable to me (but this makes me popular!). LSU, for instance, releases their roster in late July (after the MLB signing period is expired, usually July 15). Even though this roster is not the final one, the LSU fan base is totally informed. I believe the schedule is released at the same time.

By not giving us fans any information or little, then we are here to speculate on basic information that ALL college baseball programs go through and that is kids leaving for whatever reason, the biggest being more playing time.

Several questions that most of us wanted to know the answer to, weren't asked.

1) Will the 2016 non-conference schedule have better teams and will we play more away games to enhance the RPI which helps bubble teams getting into the NCAA Regionals?

2) Several of you fans along with me, noticed how bad the infield grass looked this year. I know the tarp failed but last year it didn't look great either. You, the fans, informed me how other schools looked so good. We should be a lot better at this.

3) The offensive philosophy was touched on, some of this has to do with talent. The bat issue was discussed and that seems to be a non issue.

4) Cohen said the whole program was being looked at for change but again, why can't he give us specifics. Again, we are in the dark.

5) Lastly, I would have asked John about himself, how he has changed over the past year due to the season. Why? This was such a horrible season and turn of events. When you are the leader, the first thing you do is look at yourself and how you can change and get better.

I think that is all I had to say.