A Few Things From Friday Night

FRIDAY NIGHT'S DEBACLE AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE

I made this comment to my long-time baseball companion Russ in the
sixth or seventh inning - "We deserve to lose this game because we
have choked one opportunity after another to score..." Every player
in the lineup made at least one mistake - whether it was not getting
the bunt down the line, letting a ball past you in the outfield,
striking out or grounding out when we needed a clutch hit, even
grooving one pitch to the #9 hitter - to share in the blame. Many
played good - and Schmidt was exceptional - but you have to cash in
when the 'ducks are on the pond'...

THE TROUBLE WITH CHARLEY

In a previous blog below I said, "Don't worry about Charley..." Many
- especially including Boyce - thought he was pulled too early last
Saturday against USC. Many have wondered if his velocity or his
movement has lost something. Some even decided that Gene was right.

After last night, some think he will be starting weekday games now.
Or: "We think you would be more valuable pitching every day....for
batting practice."

My take? I think most viewed Charley as the ace from last year, and
expected the same this year. And told him so. And he thought so,
too. So much so that I think he decided his pitching ability was
better than his coaching. I love Charley Boyce. But his wins came
from guts, guile and tons of 'smarts'.

The problem is not with Charley's arm. And I still think the senior
will get his head straight and make a difference for his team before
the year's end.

WAS THAT A DAVE VAN HORN MISTAKE?

Why did he not yank Boyce? And if the answer is 'No one was ready',
then why not?

Boyce earned the right to be put in that situation - he's come through
too many times before.

If we were to lose 1 or 2 games to weather, you had a chance to save
Friday night's game with your senior weekend starter.

The decision to pull Schmidt was the right one. Seven innings (even
though the pitch count was low), cold weather - get the freshman out
with his arm in good shape and a good shot at a win.

It didn't work. "That's baseball". And certainly SEC baseball.

WEATHER AND THE CROWD

Seems a lot of relatively new fans got a taste of college baseball
last night, and rain could show many what it's been like without them.
I'm headed to Baum, but I still think we'll play more than one game on
Sunday.

Don't panic.

Go Hogs!

A Great Start!

First, let me apologize for being gone from my duties here so long.
Between computer issues and personal matters, I've had more problems
than an algebra class...

What have we learned so far:

This Razorback team can REALLY SMACK THAT BALL!!! And the things that
come from a total team attitude that made last year's team such a
smashing success continue on. Reckon that has a lot to do with the
coach? I was asked why we keep 'running into double plays', instead
of stopping/slowing to make the fielder only be able to make one out.
Well, it goes to the same kind of attitude that got Hode nailed at
third Sunday when dang near everyone in the park - including Hode, I
think - wanted him to stop at second. When the outfielder bobbles it
- even a second - force the play. Even if the third baseman is
fielding the ball, keep going. Overall, the total hustle attitude
will get you enough good plays to more than offset any negatives. And
you never want the players hesitating...thinking... just go!

Sweeping 3 straight weekends at home is a great way to begin a season.
One bad inning from a perfect start.

Every game, someone who should be in the lineup is gonna be on the
bench. Quality depth at this many positions has not been seen very
often 'roud here. And we've seen some teams that hit the ball like
this be very good in the SEC for long periods of time. I said to
enjoy all the "gravy" we enjoyed for the last month of 2004's season -
that "this doesn't always happen, even for really good teams". Late
in a road game this year, Chuck Barrett came back from commercial
wondering why Coach Van Horn was chatting lineup with the umpire.
After going through all the fielders, he finally found that we had
replaced catchers. Shortly after that, Walker pounced on a ball in
front of the plate to squash a rally. Dave still seems to pull all
the right strings.

About that really weak crowd and the facilities at Stillwater....
OSU's stadium WAS a top facility - along with Wichita St and some
others - and baseball WAS a bigger deal. But to compare what is
happening at Baum to these just emphasizes how much bigger baseball
suddenly is here, and why the NCAA is considering rethinking super
regional sites. Yes, Hog fans packed Baum in record numbers for our
stadium and for NCAA records. But you should remember that we had the
highest attendance for the regional the only other time we hosted of
sites without the host playing on Sunday (only 2 sites beat us that
year). Given a winner, Arkansas fans will ALWAYS do bigger and better.

But, you should also remember I spent a lot of last year trying to get
folks to go to see the 2004 team - FOR FREE!!!!

If Arkansas fans continue to support college baseball at this pace,
they will pretty much guarantee a host spot for post-season as long as
the team is Top-15. This used to belong to OSU or WSU....

Is The Sky Falling?

Please look elsewhere for Chicken Little.

Yes we got our heads handed to us by USC Saturday. But we did the
deed first on Friday night. And - going in - I felt like 1 win this
weekend would be pretty good. USC at home should be capable of a
sweep. Of course, I said the same thing last year before we went to
Alex Box and swept the mighty Tiggers!

Sunday's game may have very little bearing on the big picture. But it
may make a difference in next weekends crowds. Most Hog fans - at
heart - still have a 'football season' mentality; ie: A couple of
losses is bad, and each one after that sinks your season. We learned
a little when Eddie taught us basketball, but we still agonize
horribly about any 'L'. For some, the magic could fade for many of
those who just caught baseball fever in June.

But it seems pretty clear that - no matter what happens Sunday
afternoon in Columbia - the 2005 Hogs haven't lost that magic touch.

And don't worry about Charley Boyce. There's lots of season left.

Email me - hognoxious@yahoo.com

A Great Start!

First, let me apologize for being gone from my duties here so long. Between computer issues and personal matters, I've had more problems than an algebra class...

What have we learned so far:

This Razorback team can REALLY SMACK THAT BALL!!! And the things that come from a total team attitude that made last year's team such a smashing success continue on. Reckon that has a lot to do with the coach? I was asked why we keep 'running into double plays', instead of stopping/slowing to make the fielder only be able to make one out. Well, it goes to the same kind of attitude that got Hode nailed at third Sunday when dang near everyone in the park - including Hode, I think - wanted him to stop at second. When the outfielder bobbles it - even a second - force the play. Even if the third baseman is fielding the ball, keep going. Overall, the total hustle attitude will get you enough good plays to more than offset any negatives. And you never want the players hesitating...thinking... just go!

Sweeping 3 straight weekends at home is a great way to begin a season. One bad inning from a perfect start.

Every game, someone who should be in the lineup is gonna be on the bench. Quality depth at this many positions has not been seen very often 'roud here. And we've seen some teams that hit the ball like this be very good in the SEC for long periods of time. I said to enjoy all the "gravy" we enjoyed for the last month of 2004's season - that "this doesn't always happen, even for really good teams". Late in a road game this year, Chuck Barrett came back from commercial wondering why Coach Van Horn was chatting lineup with the umpire. After going through all the fielders, he finally found that we had replaced catchers. Shortly after that, Walker pounced on a ball in front of the plate to squash a rally. Dave still seems to pull all the right strings.

About that really weak crowd and the facilities at Stillwater.... OSU's stadium WAS a top facility - along with Wichita St and some others - and baseball WAS a bigger deal. But to compare what is happening at Baum to these just emphasizes how much bigger baseball suddenly is here, and why the NCAA is considering rethinking super regional sites. Yes, Hog fans packed Baum in record numbers for our stadium and for NCAA records. But you should remember that we had the highest attendance for the regional the only other time we hosted of sites without the host playing on Sunday (only 2 sites beat us that year). Given a winner, Arkansas fans will ALWAYS do bigger and better.

But, you should also remember I spent a lot of last year trying to get folks to go to see the 2004 team - FOR FREE!!!!

If Arkansas fans continue to support college baseball at this pace, they will pretty much guarantee a host spot for post-season as long as the team is Top-15. This used to belong to OSU or WSU....