Baseball SEC Tournament bracket & discussion

I see what you did there—you discreetly called them useless and tupid all at one time.

 

Not UF related, but pretty crazy.

 

So Johnny Wholestaff it is then?

 

He may be the only guy left.

 

UF beat Georgia yesterday and that is the only thing the committee looks at. The fact it wasn’t by run rule will have no bearing on whether or not we get in.

Another plus for us is tied into playing a really tough schedule and that is the 13 Quad 1 wins, which is among the highest number in the country. That said, I agree that there is more work to do and that Vandy is a must win but we’ll see what happens.

 

I don't worry about that stuff because most of those guys WANT to become "P5" guys, so they have incentive.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

This is a fair point, but I really think we're competing against the rest of the bottom of the SEC rather than some other bid stealer. SEC is very likely getting 10 teams in this year no matter what others do (has happened 4 times in the past). I wouldn't rule out the possibility of 11 teams making it, BUT I still won't feel good until/unless our name is called.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Isn’t the power 5 really just the power 2 plus kinda those other two? The 5th one is all but dissolved, no?

 

I almost always put "power 5" references in quotes. They haven't been truly equal in a while (even if they've had equal or near equal top level talent). Arkansas might mention Oregon State as an example, for instance. But most of these guys at lower levels likely want to move up the ladder to bigger brands at some point.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Was that the audio call from the team that lost? lol Hope they keep winning, fun story.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

As far as a starting pitcher, I would think Sully will take into consideration who he hopes can go more than a few innings, Hoover Field if the wind is in or out, and Vandy's batting order that we faced last time. Who we have that can go a few innings is mostly a guess at times as we all know so well. Hoover Field is tough to play the long ball game unless the wind is out with CF at 405'. Teams will have to manufacture runs if the wind is in. Vandy started 7 RH hitters against us on Friday in Nashville with Neely on the mound but he had a bad day. So Sully will probably want a RHP. On Sunday at Vandy, Jameson came in and went 3 and 1/3, only gave up 1 hit, no runs with 6 SOs and probably had the best outing of any Gator that weekend. Unfortunately Jameson just thru 76 pitches on Saturday. So maybe Sully instead needs someone like Jameson. Since Clemente only threw 12 pitches on Saturday and 37 pitches on Thursday, I'm thinking Clemente might be up to the task. But Sully still might be hoping Jameson can give us a few good innings. I did say might be....

Lastly, if you check our in conference pitching stats, Jameson and Clemente have the best ERAs of all our pitchers that have pitched more than 5 innings in conference play. Jameson has the best WHIP of all our pitchers in conference with 30 SOs and only 5 BBs in just over 24 innings and just a .237 batting average faced. Sully should start a RHP and go with the ones that brung ya.

 

This year the Gator pitching staff is a particularly bad fit for the stupid SECT format. Sully has depended on a small number of pitchers- Coppola, Fisher, Peterson, Cags, Neely, McNeillie, Jameson, Clemente, Menendez and Slater. Most have had extended outings at one time or another, but none has been consistently reliable to do so. All of the starters have been pulled more than once as early as the first three innings and the relievers often have failed to last for as many innings as they were needed. Clemente and Jameson have been stronger lately than they were earlier, but others looked better early than they have later. Part of the reason the Gators couldn't put away the dawgs on Saturday was using relievers somewhat worn down on Thursday. If we get through to Saturday, It will be a combination of starters and relievers being effective for longer, plus at least one or two good showings by Smith, Satin, Witmer, Gomberg or Purnell. All of that last group have had good moments, but not so good that they truly have contributed.

What I consider incompetence in the SEC administration seems to place highest value on selling hotel rooms and restaurant meals in B-ham and lowest value on having SEC teams prepared to advance in the tournament that actually matters. The 2025 format may be a slight improvement, but certainly will retain an anti-team structure.

 

Great post. Committee doesn’t care if run ruled or not, just that we went into the number 9 team in the country’s house and took 2/3. Still love to see us get a Sec tourney win or two. Sully can’t play this like he might have in the past. Great thing is nobody threw a ton of pitches this weekend and finishing on Saturday gives the extra day of rest.

 

Couldn’t agree more on Clemente. Threw minimal pitches and easily has needed rest time for the few pitches he threw. Jake’s time to shine.

 

Who’s book will record and keep their triples???

 

Some discussion on whether run-ruling makes a difference or not. If you were watching the game, we had two opportunities to put the game away in the 7th and again in the 8th. The fact that we could not close the deal forced Sully to use pitchers that would have benefitted from the rest. But that is all rear view now. My take we need to beat Vandy and ideally grab one more after that. 87 notes that Vandy is RHH heavy so that could work against Coppola or Fisher starting (maybe). Clemente did not have a good weekend in Athens, Jameson threw a bunch on Saturday and Slater seems all but shot. Neely was outstanding Friday. We shall soon see how Sully pieces it all together.

 

Great comeback against UGA, UF baseballers. Awesome to watch UF put up 19 in game 3.
Hope that carries enough weight to extend the Gators season!

 

Some interesting case studies (since last conference expansion in 2013):

Didn't make it:
-------------------
2013 - Auburn (33-23, 13-17) RPI = 30. Dropped from 25 to 30 after losing to Alabama in the opener. Auburn finished 8-3 going into Hoover but they did finish in last in the division. 9 teams were selected that year, Auburn would have been #10

2017 - Carolina (35-25, 13-17) RPI = 31. I don't recall if they had an injury situation or not, but they lost their final 8 SEC series. They did go 3-2 in Hoover. Two 14-16 teams finished ahead of them that did not make the field (Missouri, Ole Miss).

2018 - Kentucky (34-22, 13-17) RPI = 32. 10 teams selected that year. Kentucky went 0-1 in Hoover.

2019 - Missouri (34-22-1, 13-16-1) RPI = 32. 10 teams selected that year including FLORIDA with a worse conference record and better RPI (see below). Missouri went 0-1 in Hoover.

2015 Carolina (52) and 2021 Georgia (40) also finished 13-17, but their RPI was too high.

Made it:
-------------------
2021 - Alabama (32-26, 12-17) RPI = 32. 2-2 in Hoover. They didn't finish strong, and may have been saved by a canceled game in Nashville. They were 1-7 down the stretch with a lone win in Baton Rouge. Swept at home in their final series. 10 teams selected that year.

2021 - LSU (38-25, 13-17) RPI = 28. 0-1 in Hoover. Won 7 of final 10 SEC games. Again, 10 teams selected that year.

2019 - FLORIDA (34-26, 13-17) RPI = 26. 0-1 in Hoover. Desperately needed that sweep in CoMo to finish the year, that ended up proving to be a better tie-breaker than overall record. 10 teams selected that year.

2015 - Auburn (36-26, 13-17) RPI = 18. 1-2 in Hoover. Only took 7 teams this year; RPI made it an easy selection.

2018 - Texas A&M (40-22, 13-17) RPI = 16. 3-1 in Hoover. Easily the best 13-17 team we've had since expansion. SEC took 10 teams this year. Technically the worst of the group, but 40 wins, top 20 RPI, and 3 wins in Hoover made this an easy inclusion.



Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Here's a couple of interesting stats:

There are currently 6 teams ranked in the SEC, and they're all top 15. Here is each team's record against the ranked teams (bold = faced all 6):

Kentucky 6-3
Texas A&M 6-3
Tennessee 4-2
FLORIDA 9-9
Arkansas 4-5
MSU 4-5
Alabama 6-12
Ole Miss 6-12
Carolina 4-11
LSU 3-9
Georgia 3-9
Vanderbilt 3-12
Missouri 3-12
Auburn 2-13

There are currently 4 SEC teams ranked in the top 5. Here is each team's record against these teams (bold = faced all 4):

Texas A&M 2-1
Tennessee 2-1
Kentucky 3-3
FLORIDA 5-7
Alabama 5-7
Carolina 4-8
MSU 2-4
Arkansas 2-4
Ole Miss 3-9
Vanderbilt 2-7
LSU 2-7
Georgia 2-7
Auburn 2-10
Missouri 1-8

Same lists, but just looking at the 13-17 teams...

(vs. top 6)
FLORIDA 9-9
Alabama 6-12
Carolina 4-11
LSU 3-9
Vanderbilt 3-12

(vs. top 4)
FLORIDA 5-7
Alabama 5-7
Carolina 4-8
Vanderbilt 2-7
LSU 2-7

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

I think all 5 13 win teams will get in, but IMo most likely candidates not to..

UF- Vandy loser,, maybe winner if lose next 2

SC - Bama loser these are 2 highest RPIs of 5.. 1 win should lock it up for either

LSU if lose. Worst metrics, prettiest jersey(#1 on committe qualifications,, this is about making $$)

Also congrats to Vols for wining my best team title(no trophy) for 2nd time in 3 years..Eeked it out over UNC. Now lets see who hottest/luckiest team will be,, I bet not Vols.. Although I think it is 25th anniversary of last #1 seed to win Omaha tourney.