I did the piece earlier in the week and just wanted to give a quick update.
My thoughts at the time were that VU's résumé was stronger than people realized, but that opportunities to rack up "big wins" down the stretch were shrinking. (And, keep in mind, other teams may relatively have more opportunities compared to VU down the stretch, allowing those teams to leap Vanderbilt in that regard.)
Well, since then, things have taken a slight turn for the worse. San Diego has dropped from 50 to 60 in the RPI, taking two top-50 RPI wins away, and SELA dropped from 52 to 54, moving that squad a little further away from the top 50.
The good news: there's a lot of season left.
The bad news: VU is going to have to be close to perfect in weekend series against Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama (and probably sweep the latter), and remember, VU hasn't swept anyone yet. It may also need to go 2-2 at Arkansas and Louisville, to boot, to have a chance.
Of course, the SEC Tournament could also be a wild card, but I don't see a run into the weekend based on pitching depth.
The bottom line is, I think VU was probably going to be on the outside looking in, anyway, when I wrote that earlier in the week, and the forecast got a little bleaker since then.
(Of course, the best thing for the program may be to go on the road anyway... a Nashville Regional would just serve as one more reminder of last year's Nashville Regional.)
My thoughts at the time were that VU's résumé was stronger than people realized, but that opportunities to rack up "big wins" down the stretch were shrinking. (And, keep in mind, other teams may relatively have more opportunities compared to VU down the stretch, allowing those teams to leap Vanderbilt in that regard.)
Well, since then, things have taken a slight turn for the worse. San Diego has dropped from 50 to 60 in the RPI, taking two top-50 RPI wins away, and SELA dropped from 52 to 54, moving that squad a little further away from the top 50.
The good news: there's a lot of season left.
The bad news: VU is going to have to be close to perfect in weekend series against Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama (and probably sweep the latter), and remember, VU hasn't swept anyone yet. It may also need to go 2-2 at Arkansas and Louisville, to boot, to have a chance.
Of course, the SEC Tournament could also be a wild card, but I don't see a run into the weekend based on pitching depth.
The bottom line is, I think VU was probably going to be on the outside looking in, anyway, when I wrote that earlier in the week, and the forecast got a little bleaker since then.
(Of course, the best thing for the program may be to go on the road anyway... a Nashville Regional would just serve as one more reminder of last year's Nashville Regional.)
