The #VandyBoys travel to Lexington this weekend to take on the SEC leading UK Wildcats.
Some say there is a blue mist that engulfs Lexington. I say it's just methane gas fumes released by all the horse manure in the city. If you ever drive through there remember to keep your car windows rolled up or else you might feint and smash your car into Joe Bob Hatfield-McCoy who's high on opiods and is still mad UK lost to NC last weekend and is just looking for a reason to shoot somebody.
While UK's basketball team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against NC the baseball team has been flying high. Some say that's what the blue mist will do to you provided you don't inhale too much of it. I don't know about that but I'm sure some Kentucky teenagers have tested it out.
**For the record, Walker Buehler is from Lexington so it can't be all that bad a place despite what the people who live there say. Former MLB Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler is from there as well. Happy was also once Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In case you're wondering, the difference between a "commonwealth" and a "state" is like the difference between a betting pool and going it alone when you buy your losing lottery ticket. Or, as Ben Franklin once said, "We shall hang together or, most assuredly, we will be hung separately" and, as we all know, if you're going to be hung it's no fun being by yourself.
Kentucky is 19-7 and 5-1 in the SEC, ranked #16 in the country, and they have the #13 RPI. As of now they would be hosting an NCAAT Regional most likely which might be the first time in history that's happened. I don't know for sure, I don't really follow Kentucky baseball because, quite honestly, there's never been a reason to do so.
Since they lost their first 4 games of the season, they've won 19 of their last 22 and 11 of their last 12. Those 4 season-opening losses included 3 to North Carolina. Of course, the only NC loss that bothers UK fans was when North Carolina beat them last weekend in basketball. For the most part, UK fans don't even know they have a baseball team and they certainly don't understand the rules and since numbers aren't their forte they aren't much for statistics which is the only reason baseball was invented in the first place -- to have a mind-boggling set of statistics that few other than PhilipVU94 fully understand.
Vandy, of course, is coming off a masterful 1-hit shutout over Lipscomb, that gem being hurled by Chandler Day. In case you've forgotten, Zeke Dodson is the guy who got the only hit and, at last report, the U.S. Marshal Service has him in protective custody under a new identity somewhere in Jamaica.
Kentucky does lead the league in hitting at .326 which is much better than Vandy's .279. Both teams have 24 home runs and score a lot of runs -- UK averages 8 a game, Vandy 7. All 9 UK starters are hitting at or above .294 whereas Vandy has 6 starters at .288 or above.
UK also has an incredible .431 team OBP compared to Vandy's .398, which is really good as well. Both team's are fielding at .968. Kentucky walks 5 times a game, Vandy 6. UK strikes out 6 times a game, Vandy 7. They give up 3.6 runs a game, Vandy yields 3.8.
So, on paper, UK does indeed have a better offense than Vandy, but not all that much better. They do, however, have much better SEC-only stats than does Vandy -- .325 BA to Vandy's .240, which is interesting since Vandy has averaged 6.5 runs a game versus SEC teams and Kentucky has averaged 6.3. Must be because of that RISP thing.
These SEC stats are particularly interesting since the two teams have played the same other teams -- Ole Miss and A&M (just at different places. So, since Vandy is 3-3 and UK is 5-1 and having played the same teams it stands to reason UK is the favorite to win the series. However, as John Belushi once said, "2 + 2 might equal 5 but e to the i π equals -1 so one can never be sure about numbers."
Now let's look at pitching. UK team ERA is 3.06; Vandy's is 3.08. In SEC play only, UK is 3.67, Vandy 4.15. UK has a dominant closer in Logan Solow (0-2, 0.00 ERA, 6 Saves, 13.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. [It's hard to figure how you lose 2 games yet have an ERA of 0.00 -- apparently some very costly errors are in that mix.] Their other most-often use bullpen guys have ERA's of 2.08, 2.70, and 5.79. This indicates to me you have to get deep into their bullpen to gain much of an advantage.
Vandy has two closers; short closer Drew Hayes being 0-0, ERA 0.00, and 4 saves. He still has limited innings pitched but, so far, those have been mighty good innings. Long closer Matt Rupp is 0-1, ERA 2.45, and 2 Saves. The quality bullpen rounds out with Zach King, ERA 2.16, and Collin Snider, 3.00. After that, there's a HUGE drop-off as everyone else's ERA is 5.06 or higher. Again, that's enough of a solid pen to win most games but one must keep in mind that Vandy's ENTIRE BULLPEN has failed in about 3 games so far so that's always looming on the horizon in a sort of apocalyptic way for Vandy fans.
Friday night will see Kyle Wright go against the Skinny Scandinavian Sherpa, Sean Hjelle (pronounced "jelly".) Sean is 7 feet tall and weighs all of 115 pounds provided his clothes are sopping wet. Last year, he was their shut-down closer but begged their new coach to let him become a starter and, since their coach is not very tall, he succumbed to Sean's threats. The UK Press Guide describes Sean as "a very good athlete for his size." I'm not sure if they are being snarky or what but that qualifier leads me to believe they don't think a 7 footer is well-suited for baseball. If he played basketball I'm sure the press guide would say something like "a very good athlete for his weight."
Jelly's stats are not mind-boggling. He's 3-2 with an ERA of 5.20. He does have 1 complete game shutout so he certainly has the ability to be over-powering. He walks 4.3 batters a game and strikes out 11 and teams hit .276 off of him. Again, those are not daunting statistics. Even so, he can be a force to be reckoned with because when you add in the mound height (10 inches) and Jelly's arm length (he has a 12 o'clock release point) the batter has a ball coming at him from a release height of almost 11 feet going 90 mph. That can seriously throw off one's batting eye, particularly Ro as that's almost twice his height.
In another oddity, UK has 4 guys named Zac/k/h (various spellings, of course) and another Zeke so there's that to consider as well. I haven't seen this many Z's on a roster since Zorro published his family tree.
Kyle Wright goes for Vandy and he has improved dramatically of late over his early-season performance. He's only 1-3 with an ERA of 4.50 but won last Friday night thanks to Jeren Kendall's grand slam. Kyle walks 3.4 a game, strikes out 9.6, and teams hit .281 off of him. "IF" he is now performing as everyone expected him to this could give Vandy a significant edge in game 1.
So, to sum up Friday night, both pitchers "can" be overpowering, but neither has been consistent in that regard. I expect some runs to be scored and a close game, something in the range of 4-5 runs each.
SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY: toss up
When Saturday rolls around Kentucky will throw lefty Zack Logue. I told you they had a lot of Zac/k/h's. He is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.45. He K's 7.6 a game and walks 2.2. Teams hit .225 off him. His stats are actually much better than Jelly's and could indicate that the UK coach is following the Dave Serrano Theory of Coaching, i.e., start your 'best' pitcher on Saturday because you're likely only to win 1 game in a series and might as well do it by doing what other coaches don't do. Of course, when I say 'best' in relation to UT baseball the standard I'm using is Goodlettsville Little League baseball.
Vandy will counter with Patrick Raby who, performance-wise, has been Vandy's best pitcher this year. Patrick is 4-2, ERA 1.40, 8.6 K/game, 2.6 BB/game, and opposition batting average of .156. Those are All-SEC type numbers.
So Saturday promises to be a lower scoring game and, as always with such games, it could go either way depending on numerous variables -- errors, base-running mistakes, lucky breaks, quality of home plate umpire and how much money John Calipari is willing to fork over to said home plate umpire seeing as how John now makes over $7 million a year and really has nothing to spend it on as he, unlike Rick Pitino, has no life outside basketball, and NEVER spends time with a lowly waitress.
SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY: toss up
Sunday now rolls around and Vandy Bad Boy Drake Fellows returns to action after a two-week hiatus. No one knows for sure why he and the others got suspended but the most credible rumor I've seen is that Drake and his posse replaced the toilet paper in the coaches locker room with sand paper and, to put it mildly, Corbs was seriously rubbed the wrong way and had to take action and squelch adolescent behavior before it escalates and they burn down Carmichael Towers (which, come to think of it, is not such a bad idea.)
Drake has been superb this year. He's had 5 quality starts and is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.72. He K's 9.5/game, walks 1.7/game, and an Opp BA of just .209. Again, those are All-SEC stats at this point.
UK will counter with righty Justin Lewis. He's also 4-1, ERA 2.92, 7.2 K/game, 1.7 BB/game, and Opp BA of a miniscule .177. Those are also All-SEC type numbers at this point and right on par with Fellows' numbers.
This game shapes up to be the lowest-scoring affair of the weekend and, once again, could go either way depending on the "intangibles" of baseball. This could easily be a 2-1, 3-2 type of game.
SUMMARY for SUNDAY: toss up
So there you have it, 3 toss-up games which equates to a toss-up series. Home field advantage could be the tie-breaker. I'll guess UK wins the series 2-1.
Some say there is a blue mist that engulfs Lexington. I say it's just methane gas fumes released by all the horse manure in the city. If you ever drive through there remember to keep your car windows rolled up or else you might feint and smash your car into Joe Bob Hatfield-McCoy who's high on opiods and is still mad UK lost to NC last weekend and is just looking for a reason to shoot somebody.
While UK's basketball team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against NC the baseball team has been flying high. Some say that's what the blue mist will do to you provided you don't inhale too much of it. I don't know about that but I'm sure some Kentucky teenagers have tested it out.
**For the record, Walker Buehler is from Lexington so it can't be all that bad a place despite what the people who live there say. Former MLB Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler is from there as well. Happy was also once Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In case you're wondering, the difference between a "commonwealth" and a "state" is like the difference between a betting pool and going it alone when you buy your losing lottery ticket. Or, as Ben Franklin once said, "We shall hang together or, most assuredly, we will be hung separately" and, as we all know, if you're going to be hung it's no fun being by yourself.
Kentucky is 19-7 and 5-1 in the SEC, ranked #16 in the country, and they have the #13 RPI. As of now they would be hosting an NCAAT Regional most likely which might be the first time in history that's happened. I don't know for sure, I don't really follow Kentucky baseball because, quite honestly, there's never been a reason to do so.
Since they lost their first 4 games of the season, they've won 19 of their last 22 and 11 of their last 12. Those 4 season-opening losses included 3 to North Carolina. Of course, the only NC loss that bothers UK fans was when North Carolina beat them last weekend in basketball. For the most part, UK fans don't even know they have a baseball team and they certainly don't understand the rules and since numbers aren't their forte they aren't much for statistics which is the only reason baseball was invented in the first place -- to have a mind-boggling set of statistics that few other than PhilipVU94 fully understand.
Vandy, of course, is coming off a masterful 1-hit shutout over Lipscomb, that gem being hurled by Chandler Day. In case you've forgotten, Zeke Dodson is the guy who got the only hit and, at last report, the U.S. Marshal Service has him in protective custody under a new identity somewhere in Jamaica.
Kentucky does lead the league in hitting at .326 which is much better than Vandy's .279. Both teams have 24 home runs and score a lot of runs -- UK averages 8 a game, Vandy 7. All 9 UK starters are hitting at or above .294 whereas Vandy has 6 starters at .288 or above.
UK also has an incredible .431 team OBP compared to Vandy's .398, which is really good as well. Both team's are fielding at .968. Kentucky walks 5 times a game, Vandy 6. UK strikes out 6 times a game, Vandy 7. They give up 3.6 runs a game, Vandy yields 3.8.
So, on paper, UK does indeed have a better offense than Vandy, but not all that much better. They do, however, have much better SEC-only stats than does Vandy -- .325 BA to Vandy's .240, which is interesting since Vandy has averaged 6.5 runs a game versus SEC teams and Kentucky has averaged 6.3. Must be because of that RISP thing.
These SEC stats are particularly interesting since the two teams have played the same other teams -- Ole Miss and A&M (just at different places. So, since Vandy is 3-3 and UK is 5-1 and having played the same teams it stands to reason UK is the favorite to win the series. However, as John Belushi once said, "2 + 2 might equal 5 but e to the i π equals -1 so one can never be sure about numbers."
Now let's look at pitching. UK team ERA is 3.06; Vandy's is 3.08. In SEC play only, UK is 3.67, Vandy 4.15. UK has a dominant closer in Logan Solow (0-2, 0.00 ERA, 6 Saves, 13.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. [It's hard to figure how you lose 2 games yet have an ERA of 0.00 -- apparently some very costly errors are in that mix.] Their other most-often use bullpen guys have ERA's of 2.08, 2.70, and 5.79. This indicates to me you have to get deep into their bullpen to gain much of an advantage.
Vandy has two closers; short closer Drew Hayes being 0-0, ERA 0.00, and 4 saves. He still has limited innings pitched but, so far, those have been mighty good innings. Long closer Matt Rupp is 0-1, ERA 2.45, and 2 Saves. The quality bullpen rounds out with Zach King, ERA 2.16, and Collin Snider, 3.00. After that, there's a HUGE drop-off as everyone else's ERA is 5.06 or higher. Again, that's enough of a solid pen to win most games but one must keep in mind that Vandy's ENTIRE BULLPEN has failed in about 3 games so far so that's always looming on the horizon in a sort of apocalyptic way for Vandy fans.
Friday night will see Kyle Wright go against the Skinny Scandinavian Sherpa, Sean Hjelle (pronounced "jelly".) Sean is 7 feet tall and weighs all of 115 pounds provided his clothes are sopping wet. Last year, he was their shut-down closer but begged their new coach to let him become a starter and, since their coach is not very tall, he succumbed to Sean's threats. The UK Press Guide describes Sean as "a very good athlete for his size." I'm not sure if they are being snarky or what but that qualifier leads me to believe they don't think a 7 footer is well-suited for baseball. If he played basketball I'm sure the press guide would say something like "a very good athlete for his weight."
Jelly's stats are not mind-boggling. He's 3-2 with an ERA of 5.20. He does have 1 complete game shutout so he certainly has the ability to be over-powering. He walks 4.3 batters a game and strikes out 11 and teams hit .276 off of him. Again, those are not daunting statistics. Even so, he can be a force to be reckoned with because when you add in the mound height (10 inches) and Jelly's arm length (he has a 12 o'clock release point) the batter has a ball coming at him from a release height of almost 11 feet going 90 mph. That can seriously throw off one's batting eye, particularly Ro as that's almost twice his height.
In another oddity, UK has 4 guys named Zac/k/h (various spellings, of course) and another Zeke so there's that to consider as well. I haven't seen this many Z's on a roster since Zorro published his family tree.
Kyle Wright goes for Vandy and he has improved dramatically of late over his early-season performance. He's only 1-3 with an ERA of 4.50 but won last Friday night thanks to Jeren Kendall's grand slam. Kyle walks 3.4 a game, strikes out 9.6, and teams hit .281 off of him. "IF" he is now performing as everyone expected him to this could give Vandy a significant edge in game 1.
So, to sum up Friday night, both pitchers "can" be overpowering, but neither has been consistent in that regard. I expect some runs to be scored and a close game, something in the range of 4-5 runs each.
SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY: toss up
When Saturday rolls around Kentucky will throw lefty Zack Logue. I told you they had a lot of Zac/k/h's. He is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.45. He K's 7.6 a game and walks 2.2. Teams hit .225 off him. His stats are actually much better than Jelly's and could indicate that the UK coach is following the Dave Serrano Theory of Coaching, i.e., start your 'best' pitcher on Saturday because you're likely only to win 1 game in a series and might as well do it by doing what other coaches don't do. Of course, when I say 'best' in relation to UT baseball the standard I'm using is Goodlettsville Little League baseball.
Vandy will counter with Patrick Raby who, performance-wise, has been Vandy's best pitcher this year. Patrick is 4-2, ERA 1.40, 8.6 K/game, 2.6 BB/game, and opposition batting average of .156. Those are All-SEC type numbers.
So Saturday promises to be a lower scoring game and, as always with such games, it could go either way depending on numerous variables -- errors, base-running mistakes, lucky breaks, quality of home plate umpire and how much money John Calipari is willing to fork over to said home plate umpire seeing as how John now makes over $7 million a year and really has nothing to spend it on as he, unlike Rick Pitino, has no life outside basketball, and NEVER spends time with a lowly waitress.
SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY: toss up
Sunday now rolls around and Vandy Bad Boy Drake Fellows returns to action after a two-week hiatus. No one knows for sure why he and the others got suspended but the most credible rumor I've seen is that Drake and his posse replaced the toilet paper in the coaches locker room with sand paper and, to put it mildly, Corbs was seriously rubbed the wrong way and had to take action and squelch adolescent behavior before it escalates and they burn down Carmichael Towers (which, come to think of it, is not such a bad idea.)
Drake has been superb this year. He's had 5 quality starts and is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.72. He K's 9.5/game, walks 1.7/game, and an Opp BA of just .209. Again, those are All-SEC stats at this point.
UK will counter with righty Justin Lewis. He's also 4-1, ERA 2.92, 7.2 K/game, 1.7 BB/game, and Opp BA of a miniscule .177. Those are also All-SEC type numbers at this point and right on par with Fellows' numbers.
This game shapes up to be the lowest-scoring affair of the weekend and, once again, could go either way depending on the "intangibles" of baseball. This could easily be a 2-1, 3-2 type of game.
SUMMARY for SUNDAY: toss up
So there you have it, 3 toss-up games which equates to a toss-up series. Home field advantage could be the tie-breaker. I'll guess UK wins the series 2-1.
