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Tiger Baseball
Sometimes in sports the hardest thing to do is admit that the other team was simply better but that was the case this past weekend as Arizona State beat Clemson twice in Tempe, AZ.

It was clear to most who watched it that the Sun Devils had better pitching, better hitting and ran the bases more aggressively this past weekend. However, I thought one of the biggest advantages the home team had this Super Regional was defense. Time and time again Arizona State made the big play defensively while Clemson struggled catching and throwing the baseball.

I was impressed with Arizona State but not as much as I thought I was going to be impressed heading into the weekend. I am not sure they are the nation’s number two team. They are a team that has a chance to win it all but they were not physically dominating. Their program is not after the “Dustin Pedroria-type” player. (Just as a side note, I thought Cal-State Fullerton was the most impressive team I saw in the Super Regionals this year and I consider the Titans the favorite in Omaha).

Clemson’s defense came back to haunt the Tigers again in this series. The Tigers are not the most athletic team in the country and it showed a little in the outfield. Also routine fly balls did not look so routine.

The other very frustrating part of this weekend was watching a guy that lived with 78 mph pitches baffle the Clemson hitters. That was hard to watch.

I know a lot of us are down right now but this season has to be considered a success. After the last couple of seasons of disappointment, I am now encouraged by the direction of the baseball program. The underclassmen have given us new hope. Jack has built a very good foundation again.

Who knows what will happen with the Major League amateur draft that will take place starting tomorrow but the nucleus should be back and next season could be very exciting.

*Player development-One of the keys to this year’s improvement was player development. Nester was a good example of that. Schaus is another example of a player who improved in the off-season. The 2010 Tigers will need for the entire team to continue to develop. With some strides I could see players like Jason Stolz become a big-time player. Chris Epps has laid a very good foundation and now has something very solid to build upon. Miller has the tools to turn into a very good player. I really like Pohl and Nester and think both have good future. Parker and Schaus could get bigger and stronger to help their power numbers improve. Reserves like Mounce and Lamb have nice skills sets and have bright futures. Player development is the biggest key to this program taking the next step back to becoming a national power.

*Consistency at the front of the rotation-It has been a few seasons since Clemson has had dominating starting pitching from an ace of the staff. It was refreshing to see some of the top of the rotation guys in the super regionals and you will see more of those pitchers in Omaha. Clemson has a couple of young pitchers who could develop into one of the most important parts of a college baseball team and that is a dominating Friday night starter. If Dwyer comes back he is a natural candidate. He will have to develop a more consistent approach but he has lights out stuff. Weismann looked like that kind of guy at times this season including his start on the regionals. He also could become the closer next season. Harman has that kind of ability as well and was probably the most consistent starter this season. If the Tigers can count of two of those three guys in 2010 the program can make the next step.

*Defensive improvement-One of the things that held Clemson back this season was defense. The Tigers need to improve their athleticism and become more consistent in the field. Too often outfielders did not make plays on balls or infielders did not make the routine play. When the Tigers played their best baseball was when the defense was clicking. If Clemson played better defense Saturday night we may have been looking at a game three in Tempe tonight.

*Consistent offense-Baseball is a funny sport and the long season lends itself to slumps and hot streaks. Addison Johnson and Kyle Parker were two examples of this in 2009. It is a part of almost every baseball team but the Tigers went through some extreme slumps this season.

A main theme I continue to bring up in the hitting, defense and pitching is consistency. Some of that will come with maturity. Some will come through player development. Some will come through competition at every position. But the foundation for a very good 2010 season has been laid.

Again, who knows what is on tap with the amateur draft from MLB Tuesday but a potential infield that would feature Stolz at third, Miller at short, Freeman at second and Paulson or Mounce at first would be exciting. If Epps, Parker, Schaus, Johnson, Boyd and Lamb all were in uniform then the Tigers could claim one of the top outfields on the ACC. And a starting rotation of Dwyer, Harman and Weismann might be one of the best in America in 2010. Throw in another impressive recruiting class and we could be talking about a pre-season top 10 for Clemson baseball again.

It always hurts when the season ends. However, the off-season is always shorter when you can have high expectations like the 2010 Clemson baseball program will have.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, William Perry, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness.

Comments:

I rarely watch baseball, so I'm awfully ignorant about it, but I was disappointed that in both games the Tiger's let easy fly-balls drop on the ground in between multiple awaiting defenders due to miscommunication. I was also surprised that so many of the Tigers' throws to base were off-target. Are those things normal at the D-I level?

Even to a baseball novice like me, it was easy to see early in each game that ASU had far more talent. So I think there's no shame in those losses, and that the Tigers should take heart in a good season.

Posted by Razzmatazz on June 08, 2009 at 02:33 PM EDT #

I agree with Razz... no shame. But your article made me LOL twice. First, you said, "The Tigers are not the most athletic team in the country and it showed a little..."

A LITTLE? Dude, I watched those games with two baseball freaks and they were able to point out so many things to me that highlight the difference between good and great. The Tigers are good. This week, ASU was better, and whoever wins it all can be called great. But this week, the talent level showed A LOT!

Second laugh: Arizona State..."but they were not physically dominating."

not sure what series you watched, but those guys out hustled us, out hit, out fielded, out ran and out coached us. In baseball, who cares how physical you are when you outmatch your opponent in those categories?

Look, we had a pretty decent season. but only two games better than Carolina.
We MUST do better. And, I do think Leggett will get us there.

Now.. can we move on to football?

Posted by RU4GOD2 on June 08, 2009 at 06:15 PM EDT #