Eleven games are left in the regular season for the Clemson baseball team and I have had several of you ask me what it will take for the Tigers to make their 22nd straight NCAA Tournament trip. The first thing is they have to keep winning. We saw some teams with 30 or more wins over the last several season get left out of the NCAA's. One of those teams was Georgia Tech last year. The Jackets were a .500 team in league play, but it was their strength of schedule (SOS) that did them in. Depending on which source you look at, the Tigers have the 9th best SOS in the country right now. With games coming up against Florida State, Georgia Tech and Central Florida, the Tigers could move up even further. Secondly, the Tigers could certainly help themselves by getting to .500 in the league. Right now they are 10-13-1, so that means going 5 and 1. That doesn't seem likely, but 4-2 is not out of the question. If that does happen, the Tigers would make it to Jacksonville for the ACC Tourney and would need to win at least 2 of the 3 games they are guaranteed to play. If the Tigers make it to Jacksonville, they could answer all questions by winning the tournament.
The Tigers have been playing much better ball as of late and it is no coincidence that improved offense has been a big factor in that. Mike Freeman, Jeff Schaus, and Wilson Boyd have all been on base consistently and that sets the table for Kyle Parker and Ben Paulsen. Speaking of Parker, I think the fact that spring football practice is over has been a tremendous help. He just looks fresher. He also made quite an impression in right field this weekend against Virginia Tech. He made some nice running catches, judged fly balls well, and showcased a strong arm. It is going to make the battle in the outfield next season very interesting. You will have Schaus, Boyd, Parker, along with Chris Epps, Addison Johnson, Alex Lee and the incoming recruits battling for playing time.
While Parker looks fresher to me, Stan Widmann is showing signs of the long season. Coming off what he did it should surprise no one that Stan may be a little tired. I think this week off for exams could not have come at a better time physically for Stan. A couple of down days will do his body good. No one competes harder than Stan and it will take something of biblical proportions for him to be taken out of the line-up.
Eleven games left, the players will tell you it is one game at a time. Win today and worry about tomorrow when it gets here, but 9-2 or 8-3 sure would be nice.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Worst Case of Sportsmanship I Have Ever Seen
Before I get into what happened today in Durham, let me first say this, I hope the players, fans and coaches won't forget what happened to get them there. Trailing 6-2 going into the 9th, the Tigers came off the mat with 4 runs to tie the game at 6-6. The Blue Devils could do nothing in the bottom of the 9th and so it was on to extra innings. Neither team threatened in the 10th, then came the top of the 11th. Kyle Parker's two run homer to the opposite field gave the Tigers an 8-6 lead with nobody out. It seemed to be just the right thing to get the Tigers out of this awful funk, and that is when IT happened.
Parker had not even reached the dugout yet when a Duke official came down on the field to let the umpires know that a threatening storm was approaching and that lightning was west of Chapel Hill. He had received this information via a text message. The game was placed into a mandatory 30 minute lightning delay and even though rain was approaching no effort was made to put the tarp on the infield. Here is a side note. After Duke had beaten the Tigers 10-1 on Saturday and after the Tigers had boarded the bus to head for the hotel, the Duke players and coaching staff was grooming the field to get it ready for Sunday. It was common knowledge that there was going to be rain over night, but only the home plate area and the pitching mound were covered. The tarp was not placed on the infield. When the Tigers arrived at Jack Coombs Field today they arrived to find a muddy, sloppy infield with a 50% chance of rain during the game. The Duke staff knew they had split the series and were just a half game back of the Tigers for the final spot in the ACC Baseball Tournament in Jacksonville. A loss and they would be one and half games back, a win and they are a half game up. Do you see where I am going with this?
At 4:05pm the decision is made to hold the game until 5:30pm with the storm upon us and still no effort is made to put the tarp on the field. When Jack Leggett asked Duke head coach Sean McNally why the tarp had not been pulled his response was that he did not want to endanger his players with the threat of lightning in the area. His response should have been that he thought he was going to be a half game up and now he was staring at being one and half games back of the Tigers, I can live with a tie knowing we are about to be rained out.
Coach McNally's decision went against everything that is baseball. It all started with the decision not to put the tarp on the field Saturday night and it carried over into today's game. No other place in the ACC would this have happened, but it happened here today. If there are baseball gods they will replay the Blue Devils for what happened today. At no time today did Coach McNally think about what was best for the game, the ACC, or his opponent. He only thought about what was best for him and his team. It was the worst case of sportsmanship I have ever seen, at a university that pride's themselves for being sportsman.
Parker had not even reached the dugout yet when a Duke official came down on the field to let the umpires know that a threatening storm was approaching and that lightning was west of Chapel Hill. He had received this information via a text message. The game was placed into a mandatory 30 minute lightning delay and even though rain was approaching no effort was made to put the tarp on the infield. Here is a side note. After Duke had beaten the Tigers 10-1 on Saturday and after the Tigers had boarded the bus to head for the hotel, the Duke players and coaching staff was grooming the field to get it ready for Sunday. It was common knowledge that there was going to be rain over night, but only the home plate area and the pitching mound were covered. The tarp was not placed on the infield. When the Tigers arrived at Jack Coombs Field today they arrived to find a muddy, sloppy infield with a 50% chance of rain during the game. The Duke staff knew they had split the series and were just a half game back of the Tigers for the final spot in the ACC Baseball Tournament in Jacksonville. A loss and they would be one and half games back, a win and they are a half game up. Do you see where I am going with this?
At 4:05pm the decision is made to hold the game until 5:30pm with the storm upon us and still no effort is made to put the tarp on the field. When Jack Leggett asked Duke head coach Sean McNally why the tarp had not been pulled his response was that he did not want to endanger his players with the threat of lightning in the area. His response should have been that he thought he was going to be a half game up and now he was staring at being one and half games back of the Tigers, I can live with a tie knowing we are about to be rained out.
Coach McNally's decision went against everything that is baseball. It all started with the decision not to put the tarp on the field Saturday night and it carried over into today's game. No other place in the ACC would this have happened, but it happened here today. If there are baseball gods they will replay the Blue Devils for what happened today. At no time today did Coach McNally think about what was best for the game, the ACC, or his opponent. He only thought about what was best for him and his team. It was the worst case of sportsmanship I have ever seen, at a university that pride's themselves for being sportsman.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
0 and 11
This has not been an easy stretch to be a Clemson baseball fan. I think we all knew coming into the season that this season was going to be a tough one for Jack Leggett and the boys, but did any of us think it was going to be this tough? The lack of offense over the last 11 games has been stunning. Only one player over the last 11 has a batting average over .300 and 7 of the regular starting 9 are under .200 over the period. It has been the little things that have done the Tigers in at the plate. Not being able to move runners over, striking out with runners in scoring position and only one out when just making contact will push a run across, pitchers not being able to overcome errors in the field, and even a fan base that is losing hope. At last night's game against South Carolina I was shocked at the number of empty seats. I understand that losing will knock folks off the band wagon, but this was against the enemy!
The Tigers sit at 18-19, the first time they have had a losing record this deep in a season since 1957. The Tigers are 6-12 in the ACC and head off to Durham, NC for a three game set with the Duke Blue Devils. To say the Tigers need a sweep is a gross understatement, but don't think it will come that easy. The Blue Devils have a Friday pitcher who has shown the ability to beat good teams. When you are in a funk like the Tigers getting the first win to break the streak is always the hardest. Jack has said repeatedly he is not throwing in the towel on the season and that he believes something good can still come out of the season. I, for one, tend to believe him. Now it maybe because I am just to close to the program, but in the past he has gotten things turned around and I think he can do it again. This weekends three games we tell us a lot. If the Tigers go to Durham with doubt in their minds, they are asking for trouble. The one game at a time philosophy must prevail. Just get a win on Friday, then worry about Saturday. This maybe the toughest series that Jack Leggett has ever had to get a team prepare for. Based on his past record, I think he will come through.
The Tigers sit at 18-19, the first time they have had a losing record this deep in a season since 1957. The Tigers are 6-12 in the ACC and head off to Durham, NC for a three game set with the Duke Blue Devils. To say the Tigers need a sweep is a gross understatement, but don't think it will come that easy. The Blue Devils have a Friday pitcher who has shown the ability to beat good teams. When you are in a funk like the Tigers getting the first win to break the streak is always the hardest. Jack has said repeatedly he is not throwing in the towel on the season and that he believes something good can still come out of the season. I, for one, tend to believe him. Now it maybe because I am just to close to the program, but in the past he has gotten things turned around and I think he can do it again. This weekends three games we tell us a lot. If the Tigers go to Durham with doubt in their minds, they are asking for trouble. The one game at a time philosophy must prevail. Just get a win on Friday, then worry about Saturday. This maybe the toughest series that Jack Leggett has ever had to get a team prepare for. Based on his past record, I think he will come through.
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