At BP they are putting together their favorites for the '08 CWS and started with the 8 teams from the '07 CWS. Here is what they said about MSU>
Mississippi State
Players Used in Omaha + Super Regional: 23
Graduated/Drafted/Transferred (7): Wyn Diggs (DH), Ed Easley (C), Josh Johnson (SP), Brian LaNinfa (1B), Joseph McCaskill (LF), Mitch Moreland (RF), Jeff Rea (CF)
2007 Strength: Resilience
2007 Weakness: Depth, particularly on the pitching staff
By almost every account, the 2007 Bulldogs were a pretty average team. They would finish ninth in the SEC in ERA, third in batting average, tied for sixth in home runs, fifth in runs scored, and tenth in runs allowed. Then they squeezed into the Florida State regional and won three games in a row. Then they beat Clemson in two games, but the magic went away in Omaha, where they allowed 20 runs in two games. This was a team with a few very good players surrounded by a number of mediocre ones, and of the good, Easley, Moreland, and Rea are gone. Second baseman Brandon Turner and the bullpen's tag team John Lalor and Aaron Weatherford remain, but thats not a lot to work with; this is a team that has lost 29 of their 51 home runs and 128 of their 205 walks. To contend again, they need Connor Powers and Jeff Flagg to be better, and particularly more patient. They need transfer Luke Adkins and Turner, their returning star, to find some power to go with their contact-hitting abilities. Finally, the pitching staff that was so lackluster a year ago needs returning weekend starters Chris Crosswhite and Justin Pigott to be more consistent and improve, and for freshmen Forrest Moore and Shawn Marquardt to be very good, very quick. Its a long way up for the Bulldogs, but if they can get to the eighth inning, it will be hard for teams to score on Lalor and Weatherford.
Ranking 'Em: Oregon State, North Carolina, Arizona State, Rice, Louisville, Mississippi State, Irvine, Fullerton.
Mississippi State
Players Used in Omaha + Super Regional: 23
Graduated/Drafted/Transferred (7): Wyn Diggs (DH), Ed Easley (C), Josh Johnson (SP), Brian LaNinfa (1B), Joseph McCaskill (LF), Mitch Moreland (RF), Jeff Rea (CF)
2007 Strength: Resilience
2007 Weakness: Depth, particularly on the pitching staff
By almost every account, the 2007 Bulldogs were a pretty average team. They would finish ninth in the SEC in ERA, third in batting average, tied for sixth in home runs, fifth in runs scored, and tenth in runs allowed. Then they squeezed into the Florida State regional and won three games in a row. Then they beat Clemson in two games, but the magic went away in Omaha, where they allowed 20 runs in two games. This was a team with a few very good players surrounded by a number of mediocre ones, and of the good, Easley, Moreland, and Rea are gone. Second baseman Brandon Turner and the bullpen's tag team John Lalor and Aaron Weatherford remain, but thats not a lot to work with; this is a team that has lost 29 of their 51 home runs and 128 of their 205 walks. To contend again, they need Connor Powers and Jeff Flagg to be better, and particularly more patient. They need transfer Luke Adkins and Turner, their returning star, to find some power to go with their contact-hitting abilities. Finally, the pitching staff that was so lackluster a year ago needs returning weekend starters Chris Crosswhite and Justin Pigott to be more consistent and improve, and for freshmen Forrest Moore and Shawn Marquardt to be very good, very quick. Its a long way up for the Bulldogs, but if they can get to the eighth inning, it will be hard for teams to score on Lalor and Weatherford.
Ranking 'Em: Oregon State, North Carolina, Arizona State, Rice, Louisville, Mississippi State, Irvine, Fullerton.
