Rippee Writes: Friday Scoop
Arkansas scout, Mailbag Friday, Masters round one
Happy Friday. We’ve got a new Mailbag Friday podcast out previewing the Arkansas series with Collin Brister. Check it out here and anywhere you get podcasts. Tons to dive into today let’s roll.
Arkansas Scout
This is about as big of a regular-season series as you’ll find in the sport and the two programs are meeting for the first time since the 2019 Super Regional. Arkansas is a club that hits the ball over the fence a lot, which masks a lot of other deficiencies it has offensively. The Razorbacks have been shaky in the bullpen leading up the closer, who has been dominant. Some thoughts.
Arkansas shook up its rotation in a fairly odd way. Saturday starter Zebulon Vermillion (yes, that is a real name) is headed to the bullpen and fellow right-hander Peyton Pallette will take his place in game two. What’s this mean? I don’t really know. Not much. Vermillion was roughed up in his most recent two starts against Mississippi State and Auburn — both of which found him on the business end of a quick hook from coach Dave Van Horn when things got squirrely — after a brilliant eight innings of one-run ball against Alabama to open SEC play. Seems like Van Horn doesn’t trust him and wants to make the change. Pallette has been okay in four midweek starts and was roughed up in his only SEC start against Alabama. He has been pretty pedestrian, and at times bad, in his appearances out of the bullpen against SEC clubs. They both offer similar mixes and both are right-handed. I don't see a ton of difference here with this move. Pallette will be sandwiched between two left-handers in Patrick Wicklander on Friday and Lael Lockhart on Sunday.
Arkansas leads the SEC in home runs in 50. If you make a mistake, the Hogs have been pretty good about depositing it where most of you sit. The power in the lineup has masked the fact that they are not very good at stringing hits and innings together and are poor situationally. I think Ole Miss has a large advantage on the mound in the first two games, so long as Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy don’t make mistakes that lead to an early two-run shot or something of that nature.
The Razorbacks issue the third-most walks in the SEC. If Ole Miss’s approach is good, it will have ample opportunity for base runners. This is a vital piece to this series with Tim Elko out. The slack has to be picked up by committee and that means getting on base.
Arkansas’ bullpen has been a bit of an adventure leading up to closer Kevin Copps, who has been dominant. Jaxon Wiggins has closed games for the Razorbacks too and has great numbers and stuff, but outside of that, it is a pair of middling relievers in right-hander Ryan Costeiu and lefty Caden Monke that have eaten innings with mixed results. Ole Miss can get after this bullpen, but if it is down a run or two with Wiggins and Copps warming, good luck.
What I am looking for from Ole Miss
What does life after Tim Elko look like? With respect to Alcorn State, we have not yet seen this version of the Rebels. Cael Baker probably gets the first crack at first base, but how does Trey LaFleur factor in? Both returned from injury this week. What does Mike Bianco do at designated hitter? Ben Van Cleve hasn’t cut it, Leatherwood had a nice weekend last weekend but the overall body of work is still not great. Do they give Calvin Harris an extensive look? Basically, all five guys mentioned, along with John Rhys Plumlee as an option to make the lineup work in the field, will be given the opportunity to hit, and whoever seizes it will play no matter their fielding prowess — with the exception of Harris who can only DH. I’d argue this Friday game is of added importance for the sheer sake of playing well without the heart and soul of your lineup.
When did competition become a bad thing, easy thing to do is transfer, I blame travel ball...you can keep switching teams until you can play SS and bad 3rd! Geaux compete, that’s what it’s about....we have to compete for everything in life! Speedy recovery @TimElko @OleMissBSB https://t.co/dijG8xIWLCI love what @realbenmcdonald just said about @TimElko Didn’t play a whole lot his freshman or sophomore year, but never transferred. Stuck with it and is now having a tremendous amount of success and the captain of the #3 team in nation.
Everything Ole Miss @EverythingRebsCan the Rebels hit Wicklander? Gunnar Hoglund has gotten a whopping one run of support in his three SEC outings as Ole Miss has scored a total of two runs, one unearned, against opposing Friday starters (and really one run total since Tommy Mace the actual ace for Florida). Can this lineup, without its biggest gun, find a way to scrape together four runs and let their first-round pick hand the ball to Taylor Broadway to preserve the game? We will see.
Derek Diamond is getting another shot on Sunday. His leash will be short. How does that play into the use of Drew McDaniel? If McDaniel is needed Saturday, or Friday for that matter, Bianco is going to use him. If things go awry for Diamond, how does Ole Miss cobble together long relief? I’ll give you a guy to watch as a potential unsung hero this weekend: Braden Forsythe. He struggled in late February and was sort of banished to figuring out his issues in the midweek, but has been damn strong in his last three outings, opponent aside. Bianco was quite chipper in his postgame presser about how Forsythe looked against Alcorn State. Forsythe is not a guy they can afford to just write off as a non-factor on the weekends. I think he is ready for another crack at the adult table and could play a vital role in securing this series, that is if Ole Miss needs him.
Rain is in the forecast on Friday, which means we are on doubleheader watch. If it does indeed get washed out, I would probably give a slight advantage to the Razorbacks with the way the pitching is set up. Maybe I am wrong, it is just an opinion. But the odds of them seeing Broadway in the first two games if both are played on Saturday is slim to none. Hope for no rain if your rooting interest is Ole Miss.
Greg has more spicy ribeye sausage and has added it back to the special. You can go to LBs now and get a $10 16 oz prime strip and a free pack of spicy ribeye sausage. How the hell can you beat that? Show him you subscribe to the newsletter and you’re all set. Thanks for being part of the team and enjoy.
Ole Miss lands guard from Georgia
Kermit Davis landed another transfer. Combo guard Tye Fagan is headed to Oxford. He averaged 9 points per game and four rebounds last season for Tom Crean. I’d be lying if I said I understood the fit here, but I suppose it is backcourt depth with some slashing and rebounding capabilities, if nothing else.
Kermit Davis has forgotten more basketball than I will ever know, so my bet here is he sees a fit we don’t see and that the kid has untapped potential and was potentially misused at Georgia. It is Tom Crean, after all.
Rose Torches the field on day one at Augusta
Wow, that golf course played firm and fast yesterday and the scores reflected it. Rose played brilliant golf yesterday and holds a four-shot lead over a host of guys that began the day at three-under par. Oh, speaking of:
Do I need to say any more about my friends at SkyBox? This is no fluke either. Last year they hit a similar longshot with Rahm leading after round two AND went 5-2 on head-to-heads. Go see them. Don’t miss out on the opportunity. They have a package that will fit your price range from 10 bucks to 500 dollars. Check out their selection and use my promo code “Rippee” for 20 percent off.
Anyways, I obviously think this field will tighten today and would bet Rose falters a bit. Much more reaction on Sunday.
On the Horizon
Sunday pod recapping the baseball series, the Masters and much more
Newsletters next week with some different segment ideas in the works
More deals from LBs
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