Vandy plays the Thursday-Saturday series this weekend so we have to take a look at the SEC early this week.
Ole Miss and Florida swept last weekend so they sit atop the West and East, respectively, at 3-0
At 2-1 we find Arkansas, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky.
At 1-2 we have Alabama, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri.
All alone at 0-3 are Auburn and Texas A&M.
As per usual, there are several big series this weekend.
#2 Arkansas at #3 Mississippi State
Arkansas descends from #1 while State ascends from #4. While we hope both lose the series we know that’s not likely.
The series winner gets a leg up on winning the West so this series is quite important. Arkansas struggled at home with Bama last week but still won the series 2 to 1. The Hogs also taught everyone a valuable lesson, i.e., just because you get murdered 16-1 on Friday night doesn't mean you can't still win the series.
MSU went to The Box and took the series at LSU, also 2 games to 1. Mainieri still hasn't stopped crying about that.
MSU is at home at The Doody. Obviously, this series can go either way but I’ll take MSU 2 games to 1 but only with 51% confidence.
Nothing will surprise me about what happens in Starkville this weekend other than if underage drinking laws and/or statutes against public indecency are enforced by the campus police force.
#5 Florida at #25 South Carolina
SC needs to take this series in the worst way possible for a variety of reasons. I rarely pull for SC to win but I will be this weekend while holding my nose, of course. They have the pitching and hitting to do it. But will they? My heart says go with SC, but my brain says FL wins the series 2 games to 1.
The only time I recommend going with heart over brain is when deciding whether to eat another doughnut; otherwise, the brain is more reliable. On top of that, I'm told baseball is a mental game and the fact Vandy has already taken SC in a series means that Sully,
ever the competitive guy when being compared to Corbs, will pull out all the stops, legal or otherwise, to win this series.
#22 LSU at #12 Tennessee
The third double-ranked teams versus one another in a series takes place in Knoxville. Like most weekends there, the Franzia will be flowing at many fraternities but it will have little to do with baseball and more to do with being young and stupid.
Originally, there was going to be a Phil Fulmer Appreciation Bobble-head Day on Saturday but plans were scratched when Phil suddenly fled town. Somewhere in Africa an entire village of children will be playing with those bobble-heads and wondering, "Is this Buddha?"
UT went on the road last weekend and won; LSU lost at home. Now the positions are reversed. But the results won't be; Tennessee takes the series 2 games to 1.
#4 Ole Miss at Alabama
All I can say is, "Don't sleep on Alabama." Better yet, "Don't sleep IN Alabama" if you know what's good for you.
Ole Miss has been pretty impressive both with their offense as well as their pitching. The have several really good starting pitchers as well as, perhaps, the best closer in the league.
Alabama gave Arkansas all they could handle last weekend and I expect them to do the same to Ole Miss at home.
But, talent often trumps home turf (unless you're my neighbor; his lawn looks much better than mine) so I'm taking Ole Miss to win this series on the road, 2 games to 1.
Kentucky at Auburn
The only real question about this series is, "Who cares?" Neither team is good enough to compete for SEC honors so just get this over with. Auburn wins 2 games to 1 due to being at home.
Georgia at Texas A&M
Again, "Who cares?" While Georgia is not as bad as Kentucky they still won't be in the mix for a high SEC finish come May. A&M actually looks like one of the worst teams in the league and will be lucky to make it to Hoover for the SECT. Georgia, of course, is in the East so, for that reason alone, we hope A&M defends their home turf. And they will; A&M wins the series 2 games to 1.
#1 Vanderbilt at Missouri
Vandy has ascended to #1 in the nation and Missouri has descended further into the Pit of Despair after last weekend's action. Lordy, they are awful. They had a few decent years of late due to some really strong starting pitching but there's little sign of that this year.
To win the SEC title one needs some sweeps and this is a great opportunity for our guys (not many more remain after this.)
But, like all SEC teams, Mizzou does have a few good players/pitchers so don’t get too cocky. Even so, I’m going with a sweep prediction for Vandy.
Possible upset series:
"Upset" means not what I predicted. So the best possibilities this weekend would be LSU winning at UT, Georgia winning at A&M, Arkansas topping Mississippi State, and SC winning out over Florida.
Possible sweeps:
Other than Vandy, the only series I see that could potentially be a sweep would be Ole Miss over Alabama.
National TV games:
Thursday: Vandy at Missouri, 6 pm, SECN
Friday: Georgia at A&M, 6 pm, SECN and Ole Miss at Alabama, 6 pm , ESPNU
Saturday: Ole Miss at Alabama, 1 pm, SECN and Kentucky at Auburn, 6 pm, SECN [in-between games the SECN will show us some LSU guy hitting a homerun to win the CWS 20-something years ago, as if any of us really care]
Sunday: Florida at South Carolina, 11 am, SECN and Arkansas at Mississippi State, 2 pm, SECN
All other games will be on SECN+.
Given that Vandy doesn't play on Sunday one can catch the entire doubleheader on SECN. It's either that or NCAA Women's basketball, British football, or Australia cricket. I like cricket as much as any other American but I prefer sports that don't put you to sleep more than once in a four hour period of time.
Ole Miss and Florida swept last weekend so they sit atop the West and East, respectively, at 3-0
At 2-1 we find Arkansas, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky.
At 1-2 we have Alabama, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri.
All alone at 0-3 are Auburn and Texas A&M.
As per usual, there are several big series this weekend.
#2 Arkansas at #3 Mississippi State
Arkansas descends from #1 while State ascends from #4. While we hope both lose the series we know that’s not likely.
The series winner gets a leg up on winning the West so this series is quite important. Arkansas struggled at home with Bama last week but still won the series 2 to 1. The Hogs also taught everyone a valuable lesson, i.e., just because you get murdered 16-1 on Friday night doesn't mean you can't still win the series.
MSU went to The Box and took the series at LSU, also 2 games to 1. Mainieri still hasn't stopped crying about that.
MSU is at home at The Doody. Obviously, this series can go either way but I’ll take MSU 2 games to 1 but only with 51% confidence.
Nothing will surprise me about what happens in Starkville this weekend other than if underage drinking laws and/or statutes against public indecency are enforced by the campus police force.
#5 Florida at #25 South Carolina
SC needs to take this series in the worst way possible for a variety of reasons. I rarely pull for SC to win but I will be this weekend while holding my nose, of course. They have the pitching and hitting to do it. But will they? My heart says go with SC, but my brain says FL wins the series 2 games to 1.
The only time I recommend going with heart over brain is when deciding whether to eat another doughnut; otherwise, the brain is more reliable. On top of that, I'm told baseball is a mental game and the fact Vandy has already taken SC in a series means that Sully,
#22 LSU at #12 Tennessee
The third double-ranked teams versus one another in a series takes place in Knoxville. Like most weekends there, the Franzia will be flowing at many fraternities but it will have little to do with baseball and more to do with being young and stupid.
Originally, there was going to be a Phil Fulmer Appreciation Bobble-head Day on Saturday but plans were scratched when Phil suddenly fled town. Somewhere in Africa an entire village of children will be playing with those bobble-heads and wondering, "Is this Buddha?"
UT went on the road last weekend and won; LSU lost at home. Now the positions are reversed. But the results won't be; Tennessee takes the series 2 games to 1.
#4 Ole Miss at Alabama
All I can say is, "Don't sleep on Alabama." Better yet, "Don't sleep IN Alabama" if you know what's good for you.
Ole Miss has been pretty impressive both with their offense as well as their pitching. The have several really good starting pitchers as well as, perhaps, the best closer in the league.
Alabama gave Arkansas all they could handle last weekend and I expect them to do the same to Ole Miss at home.
But, talent often trumps home turf (unless you're my neighbor; his lawn looks much better than mine) so I'm taking Ole Miss to win this series on the road, 2 games to 1.
Kentucky at Auburn
The only real question about this series is, "Who cares?" Neither team is good enough to compete for SEC honors so just get this over with. Auburn wins 2 games to 1 due to being at home.
Georgia at Texas A&M
Again, "Who cares?" While Georgia is not as bad as Kentucky they still won't be in the mix for a high SEC finish come May. A&M actually looks like one of the worst teams in the league and will be lucky to make it to Hoover for the SECT. Georgia, of course, is in the East so, for that reason alone, we hope A&M defends their home turf. And they will; A&M wins the series 2 games to 1.
#1 Vanderbilt at Missouri
Vandy has ascended to #1 in the nation and Missouri has descended further into the Pit of Despair after last weekend's action. Lordy, they are awful. They had a few decent years of late due to some really strong starting pitching but there's little sign of that this year.
To win the SEC title one needs some sweeps and this is a great opportunity for our guys (not many more remain after this.)
But, like all SEC teams, Mizzou does have a few good players/pitchers so don’t get too cocky. Even so, I’m going with a sweep prediction for Vandy.
Possible upset series:
"Upset" means not what I predicted. So the best possibilities this weekend would be LSU winning at UT, Georgia winning at A&M, Arkansas topping Mississippi State, and SC winning out over Florida.
Possible sweeps:
Other than Vandy, the only series I see that could potentially be a sweep would be Ole Miss over Alabama.
National TV games:
Thursday: Vandy at Missouri, 6 pm, SECN
Friday: Georgia at A&M, 6 pm, SECN and Ole Miss at Alabama, 6 pm , ESPNU
Saturday: Ole Miss at Alabama, 1 pm, SECN and Kentucky at Auburn, 6 pm, SECN [in-between games the SECN will show us some LSU guy hitting a homerun to win the CWS 20-something years ago, as if any of us really care]
Sunday: Florida at South Carolina, 11 am, SECN and Arkansas at Mississippi State, 2 pm, SECN
All other games will be on SECN+.
Given that Vandy doesn't play on Sunday one can catch the entire doubleheader on SECN. It's either that or NCAA Women's basketball, British football, or Australia cricket. I like cricket as much as any other American but I prefer sports that don't put you to sleep more than once in a four hour period of time.
