Hopefully that ends the Stinnett experiment.
- Thread starter BearcatBully
- Start date
I would imagine it is the end as an SEC starter…
Smith or Maybe Hunt.
That was not what we needed to start with after last night”s crusher.
Smith or Maybe Hunt.
That was not what we needed to start with after last night”s crusher.
I’d keep Cade where he’s at. He’s been one of the very few things that has gone right for us in the pitching department.
Perhaps a bit unconventional, but I’d submit the following for discussion:
Friday night: Fristoe + Johnny Wholestaff
When he’s on, Fristoe has the best stuff on the team. We saw that last weekend against Arkansas. When he’s not, it’s bad - as we saw last night. When it comes to matching up with the elite Friday night arms in the SEC, he’s pretty much our only shot of holding down the bats to the level that our offense can scratch out a W. Personally, I like to get that data point out of the way early in the weekend to allow for maximum flexibility going forward to Sat and Sun. If Fristoe is off, just follow him up with the clown car of our end of the bench relievers just to have them eat innings.
Saturday: Preston Johnson
PJ has been good but not elite for pretty much the whole season. Leads the SEC in strikeouts, but is also giving up a ton of bombs. We have wasted just about every one of his starts, with Alabama being the only exception, and we tried pretty damn hard to waste that one too. He’s a natural Saturday guy for an SEC rotation. Move him back a day to get better leverage from the only consistently reliable arm on the staff.
Sunday: Cade Smith - if it ain’t broke….
Our staff is what it is at this point. At least with PJ on Sat and Cade on Sunday, we’ll be good to get at least one game every single weekend and be able to snag 2 some or even most weekends. Both are good matchups for the #2 / #3 of just about every team in the league (save for maybe UT). We need a different approach this year, based on all the injuries we’ve had to deal with.
I think you’re right here. Gives us the best chance to win Saturday & Sunday. And if Fristoe ever comes out of the funk he’s in, he gives us a chance on Friday. And if he doesn’t, we’re just sacrificing a game we weren’t likely to win anyway.
Correct. And I also think it makes us a better team at the end of the year too, because it forces Fristoe to do his damnedest to exorcise the demons, so to speak. If I’m Lemonis, I’m giving JF the ball every Friday night and telling him, “No matter what, you’re giving me 5 innings or 90 pitches - whatever happens first”. Then whatever happens beyond that is on him.
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