Today is a really big game for not only the mental makeup but the actual standings. If expectations are going to be extremely high, then today keeps those somewhat on schedule. A loss and one has to be made up somewhere along the way against much tougher opponents. The upcoming two-week stretch is brutal so Ole Miss needs a winning record heading to College Station. Then Arkansas, which swept Kentucky, comes to town.
The more I hear I don't expect Grae Kessinger to play today because of the hamstring injury that happened in the seventh inning yesterday. A longer absence than that is possible to likely, as it takes as long as it takes to heal. Especially for a middle infielder, you rest it until it doesn't hurt anymore. Keith Kessinger said yesterday that he would be surprised if he didn't miss time, and Keith wouldn't say that unless it was pretty certain. I'm not going to speculate exact timeframe, but Tim Rowe did have a similar injury already this season, and he doesn't play shortstop.
Anthony Servideo is the most likely fill in, and he can be good defensively. Losing Kessinger's bat is the biggest loss. I'll be interested to see what Mike does as far as the leadoff spot. I'll guess Olenek but no clue.
Brady Feigl continues to be tremendous. The fastball-slider command have been on all five weeks of the regular season, and he mixed the changeup in effectively yesterday. He can go with the fastball on both sides of the plate, and he threw breaking balls in non-plus counts. He's the best pitcher on the staff currently. But you leave him there in my opinion no matter what. Ryan Rolison is fine. He wasn't the reason Ole Miss lost Friday, though he has to find the fastball command that made him a top prospect in the Cape. Moving him runs the risk of screwing with him mentally, and it's not like you're taking him out of the rotation.
Tennessee has no idea what to make of its remaining pitching situation, so James McArthur needs to find rhythm early. It takes him a couple innings sometimes, and today feels like one team ahead after four innings with somewhat of an ability to coast. I think some of the mental stuff is overblown occasionally, but this is about energy and focus today.
Ole Miss only scored one more run yesterday than the day before, but it was a much better offensive day because the Rebels didn't let the starter settle in. After two early runs Friday Ole Miss let Garrett Crochet off the hook, and he settled in. Yesterday Ole Miss again got two early runs but then put up four over the next two innings after that.
Tyler Keenan started yesterday so he must be over his hip flexor or whatever it was. He reached base twice in four at-bats. And Tim Rowe swung well in his start, including a nice single up the middle with an inside-out swing. Not sure you would have seen that out of him last year.
SATURDAY SEC SCORES
Georgia 6, Alabama 5 (1-1)
Vanderbilt 10, Mississippi State 1 (VU 2-0)
Arkansas 14, Kentucky 2
Arkansas 16, Kentucky 9 (ARK 3-0)
Auburn 11, Texas A&M 5 (AU 2-0)
S. Carolina 15, Florida 7 (1-1)
Mizzou 12, LSU 6 (1-1)
The more I hear I don't expect Grae Kessinger to play today because of the hamstring injury that happened in the seventh inning yesterday. A longer absence than that is possible to likely, as it takes as long as it takes to heal. Especially for a middle infielder, you rest it until it doesn't hurt anymore. Keith Kessinger said yesterday that he would be surprised if he didn't miss time, and Keith wouldn't say that unless it was pretty certain. I'm not going to speculate exact timeframe, but Tim Rowe did have a similar injury already this season, and he doesn't play shortstop.
Anthony Servideo is the most likely fill in, and he can be good defensively. Losing Kessinger's bat is the biggest loss. I'll be interested to see what Mike does as far as the leadoff spot. I'll guess Olenek but no clue.
Brady Feigl continues to be tremendous. The fastball-slider command have been on all five weeks of the regular season, and he mixed the changeup in effectively yesterday. He can go with the fastball on both sides of the plate, and he threw breaking balls in non-plus counts. He's the best pitcher on the staff currently. But you leave him there in my opinion no matter what. Ryan Rolison is fine. He wasn't the reason Ole Miss lost Friday, though he has to find the fastball command that made him a top prospect in the Cape. Moving him runs the risk of screwing with him mentally, and it's not like you're taking him out of the rotation.
Tennessee has no idea what to make of its remaining pitching situation, so James McArthur needs to find rhythm early. It takes him a couple innings sometimes, and today feels like one team ahead after four innings with somewhat of an ability to coast. I think some of the mental stuff is overblown occasionally, but this is about energy and focus today.
Ole Miss only scored one more run yesterday than the day before, but it was a much better offensive day because the Rebels didn't let the starter settle in. After two early runs Friday Ole Miss let Garrett Crochet off the hook, and he settled in. Yesterday Ole Miss again got two early runs but then put up four over the next two innings after that.
Tyler Keenan started yesterday so he must be over his hip flexor or whatever it was. He reached base twice in four at-bats. And Tim Rowe swung well in his start, including a nice single up the middle with an inside-out swing. Not sure you would have seen that out of him last year.
SATURDAY SEC SCORES
Georgia 6, Alabama 5 (1-1)
Vanderbilt 10, Mississippi State 1 (VU 2-0)
Arkansas 14, Kentucky 2
Arkansas 16, Kentucky 9 (ARK 3-0)
Auburn 11, Texas A&M 5 (AU 2-0)
S. Carolina 15, Florida 7 (1-1)
Mizzou 12, LSU 6 (1-1)
