TWO OUTTA THREE WOULDN'T BE BAD!

Back on the winning track in game one - too many runs allowed early in
game two. It seems any error snowballs on us in exactly the manor
that Dave Van Horn's style of coaching is designed to do to the
opposition. Dang!

Right now, we are out of the SEC Tourney. I would expect that to mean
we would be out of regional hosting duties. But the tourney is not
tomorrow. A win tomorrow would put us in the thick of the race. A
race we don't HAVE to win, but a race we HAVE to get back in.

Upon hearing the rainout of Friday night, I just shrugged. But as I
heard the possibility of a rainout for Saturday, I began to panic...
That would have been worse than the split, I gar-ron-tee!!! Of course
the up-to-the-minute SEC office was on the ball - telling us those 7
inning affairs to try to make doubleheaders tolerable are just not
allowed... AT NINE FREAKING PM!!!

Gotta win Sunday!

How in bloomin'-blue-blazes are the Vols a candidate for a regional???
They don't even support the HOME team (well, not to Kentucky
levels...), who do they think would show for the non-host games?

Talk to you Monday morning!!!

Here, Kitty, Kitty!

Isn't this the perfect time to play Kentucky? (Is it too late to get
Georgia on the schedule?)

Or is this a perfect time for a crash? We often seem to play down to
the level of our competition.

It really doesn't matter - The Hogs MUST win 2. A sweep would be
fine, but it is not necessary. A series win is.

To the ORU coach: "If you want to get a hit, shouldn't you be
actually SWINGING THE BAT???!!?!? C'mon coach - 'Expect a Miracle'!"

That ninth inning was just tooooo deja vu!!!

Only 2 non-conference games left before the regional. Those who
thought we were playing too many games will be missing them soon...

Listen Hard!!

"LOST" WEEKEND

Many fans (and folks who call themselves fans) say this weekend was
when we really missed Rowlett and Bridges. They are right. We are
hitting enough, we just don't get the big hit at the right time. And
one defensive lapse seems to spawn 2 or 3 more...

...That this weekend was when we really missed Holloway and White.
They are right. We needed more options on the mound...

BUT - If our pitchers had gotten the same calls on balls and strikes
that LSU's pitchers had, Hog hurlers could have had career days. If
their pitchers had gotten the same calls on balls and strikes that our
pitchers had, we could have mounted some offense. Those that think
that is bunk, or just making excuses, only need to look at the pitch
calls in the seventh inning of Saturday's so-called-game. That's when
this particular fan took a walk. I could have made better use of a
sunny Saturday than to see poor umps do a poor, oned-sided job. Fans
- a whole lot of them - paid for a game. They should all demand a
refund from the SEC.

Another point that may only slightly be related is that this past
series may have had it's fate sealed last year at Alex Box. LSU
baseball pride - a dynamic force - took a mighty blow on the chin when
we took 3 straight from them in 2004. Their team, coaches, and fans
have had their jaw set on payback for a very long time. That was a
huge factor this past weekend. I would like to think that the SEC was
not trying to make that up to their baseball bell-cow, but what I saw
leads me to believe that was a factor as well.

Dwelling on that does nothing but harm. We have to get better. You
can point back at about 4 big innings that we have allowed the
opposing team for nearly every slump the 2005 Hogs have suffered.
That has gotta stop. Playing Kentucky should help. Playing at home
should help. The rest of this unbelievably tough conference having to
play each other will help. The things that Dave Van Horn has already
started should help.

This is not the time to turn sour on OUR team - and I'm talking to myself, too.

Starts tonight. Opponents smell blood in the water, and ORU made hay
last year with a last-out rally and late victory at Baum.

Take a lesson from the purple Cajuns - make 'em pay!

LIVE BY THE BIG INNING, DIE BY THE BIG INNING

Looks like the SEC umpiring crew knew Smoke's job was on the line. A
check swing strike to Parker is not a check swing strike for them. A
third strike almost a foot from the ball is somehow called a foul. A
hit batter is somehow put back at the plate with a 1 strike count.
They sucked - period. But it was expected...

What we should have expected was another big inning from the
opposition served on a silver platter. Hit Batter/Walk (does it make
any difference?) - Dropped Fly Ball - Two Botched Infield Plays -
Homer....

Let's put it this way: If you score 7 runs at home, you gotta win...

In the fateful 9th, after Charley Boyce got the unrecognized 3rd out
on the strikeout (which counts if Walker holds on) he shakes off
Walker's sign. BOOM - 3 run homer.

We got 13 hits to their 9, but we gave them 3-5 extra outs...

Bad taste in our mouths...

THE GOOD NEWS:

Precisely the same feeling as last year after the Friday night debacle
at home against the Crimson Tide. The next 5 SEC games defined the
season.

There is hope.

Now we find out what this team is made of. We may find out what the
fans are made of...

IT'S FINALLY HERE! TIGERS COME TO TOWN...

What a time we're gonna have this weekend! LSU comes up here needing
to right their ship - maybe to save the season. The team, the coaches
and the multitude of Tiger fans piling in Baum are still steaming
about the 3 game whipping we gave them last year, and streaming more
about the way things have gone for them the last month. Those fans
may not let Smoke get on the bus back if they lay a 3 game egg... Not
the corner you really want these guys to be in.

Why did we not plunk an SMS bear? They were smacking us with the ball
more than they were smacking the ball with their bats. I hope that it
was a show to them that we weren't gonna stoop to their level - and we
did - but I thought some retaliation was due.

We'll never play them again. They play in a nice park - it's not
theirs, and they sure did a poor job of trying to replicate Baum.
Their fans were rude - but neiother smart or clever or funny. I hate
those bears.

You see why I was pleased about the Friday night win at Tenn? We were
1 foot short on a Goodwin foul ball or a few feet short on Duggar's
late fly from a tie game, and a likely win...

3 of the last 5 series are in Baum. And 1 that's not is in Kentucky.

It all starts in hours.....

Go Hogs!

CAN'T ASK FOR MUCH MORE THAN THAT!

Great Googily Moogily! Eight games in a row!

Avoiding a sweep at Auburn was important. Getting in 2 wins around
the rain at home was important. Sweeping Vandy was important. Moving
from last to second in the SEC West was important. Continuing our
ownership of the Oral Roberts "Field of Champions" was important. Not
letting up against sub-SEC opponents was important, and responding
when they challenged was important. The nuclear explosion of Dave Van
Horn was important (about time in my humble opinion). Getting all of
that in a week and a half was HUGE!

But these pale in comparison to one single thing: The Saturday
Comeback Against Vanderbilt. I said it in the blog below, and I have
a feeling I'll be saying it still at the end of the year. The team
proved to it's fan's, coaches and themselves that we still had enough
offense - even facing great pitching and missing 2 very key
ingredients - to put the tying and winning runs on the board. For
those not around until the end of last year, that's how we did it over
and over. And no one was really sure we still could.

Those 2 ingredients to the offense are not coming back either. Folks
should just quit asking.

I have thoughts on the SMSU game, but I'm going to hold off on most of
those until after Tuesday's 'Picnic Time For Teddy
Bears'....hehehehehe Should make for an entertaining trip!

Don't get discouraged - the problem with an 8 game streak is that you
expect 8 more. Don't quite believe the opposition is going to be such
to let that happen. But we sure have set ourselves up for a heckuva
stretch run!

THE TURTLE

For those who have not seen...

When we are in need of a rally, the baseball team will sometimes draw
a turtle in the dirt in front of the Hogs dugout. Shell, legs,
head... then they proceed to spit in the circle that represents the
shell until it is an unbelievably disgusting pool... This has worked
for a comeback 2 out of 3 times we know of this year, and numerous
times last year.

James Gilbert was one of the ones teaching the new guys how "the power
of the turtle" works this season. Add to that his good performances
on the mound, and he has moved from one of our favorite guys in the
dugout to "# 32 in your programs, #1 in our hearts".
Hence the turtle on the 'Gilbert's Groupies' shirts, and the slogan on the back.

Fear the Turtle!

Can't ask for things to go much better than they have since the last
game at Auburn. Wins vaulted us from last to second in the SEC West,
but - more importantly - the team learned they could mount a rally
with the players we have to finish this season with. The fans did
too.

We needed 2 against Vandy - wanted 3, and got 'em. We need to not
lose at ORU and to SMSU - want to win both.

See you in Tulsa or on the tube tonight!

DID YOU LEAVE EARLY??

I often think "Why do all those people leave early when we can still
win the game?" I'll bet the 2000 or more who piled out Saturday are
asking themselves the same thing...

The home plate umpire seemed to want to prove himself as being as
ignorant as the one Friday night. He passed with flying colors! But
his competition proved from his spot at third that he was still a
class 'A' Bozo. These guys have been AWFUL!!!

Many said that "We HAD to have a sweep this weekend!" We HAD to win
the series - and we HAD to get back to the team believing in itself.
I said this weekend was pivotal. When the season ends, we may look
back on Saturday's comeback win against Vanderbilt as the turning
point...

"Reverse the Curse" Saturday: We wore our traditional Parker shirts
inside out (reverse), I pulled out the 'clapping hat' for only the
second time this year, and the "Hey Blue, what are you using to call
balls and strikes out there?" routine had not been heard since before
the Eastern Illinois series - the last Saturday win for the Hogs.
That - and the forceful Hog Call in the bottom of the ninth - seemed
to do the trick!

By the way, the Commodores were 18-0 when leading after 8 innings this
year... [I'll not mention how they should have had a much bigger lead
with all the opportunities we gave them during the game, especially
the first 2 innings...]

Top Ten ranked LSU is now 5-6 in the conference and at the bottom of
the SEC West. All we HAVE to do is win all the series at home and not
get swept on the road. If we do, the rest of the conference may crush
each other...

Don't forget your BROOMS!

WHAT'S THAT ERA NOW??

Let's reflect on the tale of 2 Friday nights... The worst of times
and the best of times...

Charley Boyce was really good against Vanderbilt. But Dave Van Horn
yanked him before the ninth - which looked like a decent idea because
it WAS a good idea. All of the things that Charley needed confidence
wise were attained. If he had lost it in the ninth, all that would be
lost, and recovery may have been long and hard. But as Lee Land and
the defense behind him fell apart, and the 2 run lead was sliced in
half and the bases were loaded, the memories of MSU Friday night were
hard to shake. For all who said Van Horn was loopy to not have
brought in Land that fateful night, I guess that settles that.

And for those who say if that last spectacular sliding catch is not
made, we lose: IT WAS A FOUL BALL!!

One down, two to go...

We certainly put a dent in that miniscule ERA on Vandy's starter.
Hopefully a dent to that confidence, too.

I think the bandwagon is less crowded, and some still on it don't
quite have the same conviction. I think a series win may get a lot of
that back. And I think finishing this 6 1/2 game home stretch with 1
loss or less will cure most ills for the team and the fans...

Thanx to all who are reading - feel free to post a comment!

BE THERE!

This may just be THE pivotal weekend in the 2005 Razorback baseball
season. In the midst of a 6 1/2 game homestand, Vanderbilt rolls into
town with one of the best pitching staffs in recent SEC history. As
James Whitmore said in 'The Shawshank Redemption' - "Easy, Peezy,
Japanesey": The Hogs have gotta hit that ball! Yes, the defense and
pitching must not give up runs in bunches - but the offense MUST
produce.

I (of course) think a rabid crowd can help. One thing's for sure - it
can't hurt! The weather should be great for at least the first 2.

I know folks have already pointed to the LSU series as 'critical', but
this team needs this weekend right now and even worse. I think we got
everything we needed to out of the 2 mid-week games. The second game
was actually really good.

NCAA CURFEW RULING

Someone said that the NCAA just wanted to show that the level of
stupidity with rules has not hit its limits just yet. However, let me
take you back 2 weekends: When MSU came to town, we did not know if
weather was going to allow any more games after Friday night. My
question to Matt Shanklin, Mike Erwin and Chuck Barett was "Why are we
not moving Saturday's gametime to noon? It may not rain until later
in the afternoon..." Don't give me this stuff about not being able to
change gametimes on short notice - anyone not actually present for the
END of a Saturday SEC game has no real definite time for the Sunday
game! BTW - no rain at noon, it started sprinkling during the
national anthem........................"Brilliant!"

Now we face the real prospect of 9:30 AM Sunday starts. Guess we'll
cook out AFTER the game...

2004 SEEMS SO FAR AWAY...

Since I last talked here, we sat through some rain and cold for a
Saturday butt-kicking at the hands of the Gamecocks, and then our Hogs
put on a gutty gritty performance on Sunday. Boyce came back after
the Friday night collapse and looked like the Charley of old.

Then the one, two, three punches in the gut for the team, the coach
and the fans. Best and second best hitters and base-stealers and the
most dependable reliever are all likely out for the season. As much as
this hurts, it hurts most for two seniors who thought they were doing
the best they could to help lead this team back to the post-season
promised land. Lots of new converts to Arkansas baseball have now
shugged their shoulders and have given up on the team and the season.
Some have done the same thing with the sport.

The rest of us convinced ourselves that the 'team would pull
together'. That 'the collection of talent that was forced to the
bench due to a surplus of starting-quality fielders would step up and
make up for the difference"...

And now Auburn has taken the series and goes for the sweep today. On
a late cold wet Friday night, Schmidt uncharacteristically walked 5
and took his first loss. As many sensible folks predicted, the Hogs
had trouble firing on offense without their two best bullets.
Saturday, Boyce gave up runs - perhaps was left in too long for that
last home run, but seemed to pitch well the next inning - and the 5
run lead was too much to overcome when the Razorbacks mounted the
comeback.

I hate to refer to 2004 again, but this team in general was behind at
mid-point of an awful lot of ballgames last year - just like last
night - they just found a way to score those last 2 runs. Boyce did
not 'mow down' opponents, he (and the rest of the Brannon-Boyce-TBA
SEC staff) more often would just keep things under control enough for
their teamates to mount a comeback.

We may not be the same as last year - but I can assure you that Auburn
and Missisippi State are better and are playing better than their 2004
editions. That's a real factor in our SEC start - "weak preseason
competition left us unprepared for the SEC" is not. That's bunk.
Some folks listen to Dick Vitale too much.

Still a lot of season left. And I think there's still a lot in the
tank for the 2005 Baseball Razorbacks.

I doubt very seriously they will throw in the towel at this point.
The fans shouldn't either!