What's the matter with our team???

[GatorDawg]

Mark this day down, Juice. I finally agree with you. Good one.

[Dawgpix]

They used to schedule 50 games to get in 30. Then we got an infield cover and the forecasts are more predictable on unpredictable weather and we change game times and team travel times to adjust. In the past a significant number of these games would've been rained out and forgotten . . . . and when the hot weather rolled around pitcher Rodney "Pea Ridge" Howard's fastball started blazing.

Now . . . is that out of left field?

[latechsports!]

luke has definitley been struggling until last night. 4 uneraned runs and the bad defense really didnt bring him down at all. i believe he will figure it out soon, considering hes only pitched 4 times so far this year. conference hasnt even gotten here yet and everyone seems to be panicking. remeber the last 2 years when they were killing people during this part of the year? then doing horrible at the end of the year when it really matters. well maybe this year we will just do better at the end of the season when that will put us in a regional anyways. they will have more rest during the week as someone mentioned and then give it all they got on the weekends during conference. our 4 starting pitchers have to be better than the other wac schools from what ive seen, maybe fresno could keep up but thats it. our relievers have done great so far and are pretty deep. our hitting will be back, this is baseball, the percentages will come back in our favor in case youve never watched baseball. im not worried about the hitting at all, you saw opening weekend where we got all the hits whether they were hard or soft. it will be back at the right time this year. i say quit fretting over the past week or so and get excited about conference. the dawgs will be fine, they will figure it out i believe, im behind them. good luck dawgs the rest of the way!!

[dawg80]

Little pitching and mediocre defense doesn't get you very far. Great pitching and defense allows a team to win consistently. It's what you can control (as a team and as individual players). Obviously, Sim hasn't found the right group of pitchers, and defense (or lack thereof) continues to be a major disappointment.

Really good pitchers are hard to find and are heavily recruited. So, that will always be a challenge. But your everyday eight, well, they need to be selected based on how well they play defense, not by their BA.

[DocMarvin362]

I think it's a matter of hype. The press and all fans were looking at 40+ wins, Luke being an All American and the works. Face it, it aint happening. Don't blame the NCAA schedule changes, so many games in so many days, etc.

I'm NOT ready to agree with you right now. It sounds like you are giving up on 40+ wins, Luke an All-American, etc., but we aren't close to that yet. Halfway into the season... maybe, but 3 weeks into it is too early to tell.

Also, the XX games in XX days "excuse" is a LOGICAL conclusion IF they pull out of this funk and go on to kick butt for the conference play (and more. ).

Mark this day down, Juice. I finally agree with you. Good one.