Rippee Writes: Monday Scoop
bad decisions, a bullpen problem, some golf and more
Happy Monday. We’ve got our usual Sunday night podcast out with Collin Brister recapping Ole Miss’ series loss to Mississippi State, the decisions that were made, the bullpen issues and more. Check it out here or anywhere you get your podcasts. We will get into some of that below too, plus some golf and other thoughts.
Let’s go.
Sixth inning haunts Rebels in finale in Starkville:
There’s no need to bury the lede here. It is what everyone is talking about and puzzled by in wake of Ole Miss dropping two of three to Mississippi State. Mike Bianco, nursing a 4-2 lead, took Drew McDaniel out of the game with one out in the bottom of the sixth, in favor of Josh Mallitz, and then Austin Miller, before going to a fully-rested Taylor Broadway for his first appearance of the weekend. The result was predictable. Mallitz gave up three hits without recording an out. Miller induced a strikeout before giving up a base hit that tied the game and then an infield single that loaded the bases. Broadway came in, fell behind 2-0 to the Bulldogs’ best hitter, Tanner Allen, and yielded a bases-clearing triple that gave State a 7-4 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
I am not being overly dramatic when I say that is the most baffling decision I have ever seen a college coach make in a crucial moment. I can’t even think of a close second. It defies all logic and is indefensible. I tried for two hours last night to come up with a defense, not even for the move itself, but for what Bianco was thinking, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even start to paint the picture. Here’s a breakdown in a number of thoughts.
There was only one correct move yesterday once McDaniel made it through five innings: hand the baseball to Taylor Broadway and let him finish the game. Broadway not having pitched on the weekend is an enormous advantage the Rebels held over their opponent held going into Sunday. It was made possible largely because of the brilliant, historic performance Doug Nikhazy put together on Saturday. By refusing to go to your biggest gun in the bullpen, Bianco essentially declined the competitive advantage Nikhazy created. Why? Who knows.
With that said, if Bianco did not feel comfortable asking Broadway for 11 outs — even though Broadway collected 12 outs in the season-opening win over TCU and has shown no problems being extended this year — the series of decisions still makes no sense. Bianco knows his team better than some random clown with a newsletter. If he didn’t feel comfortable going straight to Broadway, fine. I disagree, but I digress. Going to Josh Mallitz, who now has an 18.00 ERA in SEC play, despite having the second-most appearances in league play among relievers cannot be rationalized. I am not sure what his infatuation is with Mallitz, but he continues to go to him every weekend in fairly important spots. It’s not really Mallitz’s fault. He’s a freshman that has shown flashes in the midweek, but also some struggles, and I think will eventually be a good pitcher for the program. But for now, he’s right where most freshmen are — figuring out in the midweek and learning. He had one dominant inning in relief against Texas two months ago. Outside of that one inning in Arlington, what has he done to justify the innings he’s being awarded? It’s baffling. So, if Bianco didn’t want to turn it over to Broadway, why not go with literally anyone else? Straight to Miller wouldn’t have been as bad. Do Wes Burton, Bradyn Forsythe, Tyler Myers and Jackson Kimbrell still exist? Three of those four have struggled and it’s clear Bianco doesn’t trust them. He also doesn’t trust Burton, which I don’t understand, or really anyone else not named Broadway. That’s fine. Ole Miss clearly has a bullpen problem we will address later. But if he trusts no one, what’s the justification for his faith in Mallitz? I got nothing.
Bianco said in his postgame he wanted to get to the seventh before going to Broadway. Sure, more power to him if that’s the route he wanted to go. Why not leave McDaniel in then? He has at 91 pitches and induced a fly ball out to start the inning. At the very least, waiting until he surrenders a base runner before going to the bullpen would seem to make sense, right?
Ole Miss has a bullpen issue that’s holding the team back. There’s no denying that. Eventually Bianco is going to have to find other arms he can trust or this team is not going to reach its full potential. But did Sunday, in a 4-2 game that will go a long way in deciding national seeds and the SEC West race, have to the time to search for it? The answer is no. It’s worth mentioning Broadway threw 2.1 scoreless after the triple in the first batter he faced. Things that’ll make ya go hmm.
Last thought on this: The opponent absolutely matters. Mississippi State has now won five straight series against Ole Miss and 16 of the last 19 games. It’s apparent the fan base is tired of losing to the Bulldogs, and on a day in which the players played well enough to win, but were failed by their coach, it only makes it more frustrating. I got tons of hot seat questions from y’all for the podcast last night. All of that is irrelevant right now. Mike Bianco is an elite recruiter, a great baseball coach and the only man in program history to have any sustained success in Oxford. The luxury seating, the outfield atmosphere and the interest in the program that makes this newsletter relevant would not exist without him. But he better start beating Mississippi State and performing better in the postseason to appease a restless fanbase that feels like the program is stuck in neutral.
Rolling with the same deal for subscribers for now: a 16 oz. prime strip for $10. I’ll check about switching it up later this week, but go see Greg at LBs. He will hook you up with some delightful meats to throw on the grill.
It wasn’t all bad
Believe it or not, there was some good to take away from the weekend. Here’s a few notes.
Doug Nikhazy’s performance on Saturday is the greatest regular-season outing of my lifetime. It’s also up there with Drew Pomeranz’s 2009 postseason and Christian Trent’s seven innings in the Louisiana-Lafayette Super Regional. His complete game, one-hitter in front of 13,000 on Super Bulldog Saturday, is indicative of the poise that makes him great. I don’t think we are seeing the best version on Saturdays of Nikhazy by accident. I think he relishes the role of being the stopper when things go poorly on Friday and watching that performance was a treat. His ERA in SEC play is 0.71. If Ole Miss can figure out the bullpen, their starting pitching is as good as anyone in the sport.
Hayden Leatherwood hit three home runs this weekend, including two on Sunday and is rounding into the form Ole Miss hoped he would at a vitally important time. The Rebels were not great collectively offensively this weekend. Kevin Graham had a rough go of it and the approach Sunday against an aggressively average starter in Jackson Fristoe wasn’t good, but this lineup has been fine without Tim Elko and Leatherwood’s emergence is a big reason why. He’s now hitting .325 with a .986 OPS in SEC play. That’ll work.
Drew McDaniel overcame a rocky start in the first inning and delivered exactly what Ole Miss needed. The Rebels will take 5.1 innings of one-run ball every single Sunday until the end of time. The rotation has been solidified and strengthened upon his insertion.
Cael Baker was very good at the plate this weekend. He had a hit in every game and was 8-15 for the week. Some of the criticism of Baker is warranted, but I think some was premature. His high strikeout rate frustrates fans, but overall, his numbers in an Ole Miss uniform are actually pretty good. I think there’s an argument for a lack of sample size this year, from COVID costing him the opening weekend to his broken hand, Baker is just now finding a groove. That’s a great sign for Ole Miss.
This is a Justin Bench appreciation space. The kid is clearly not 100 percent healthy and didn’t miss a beat this weekend. His versatility and consistency at the plate shouldn’t be under-appreciated.
Ole Miss is at 9-6 at the halfway point of SEC play. Losing three series in a row — two to teams in the thick of the SEC West race — has eliminated this group’s margin for error in terms of being a national seed. The math gets a little dicey after losing to Mississippi State this weekend, but the Rebels still have a good shot at being one of the eight national seeds. With LSU, South Carolina and a road trip to Texas A&M left on the schedule before national seeds and host sites are announced, Ole Miss needs to be 15-9 at the end of those three series to feel good about its chances. You also need to root against Mississipi State and Tennessee. The Rebels aren’t in trouble, but they had better take care of business at a weak point in the schedule.
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Around the SEC
Vandy took two of three at Tennessee - The Vols are legit, but Vanderbilt is just a little better. What a cool environment that was in Knoxville this weekend.
South Carolina took two of three at LSU - LSU is not good and the Rebels would do well to find a way to get three next weekend.
Georgia took two of three against Kentuckty - The Wildcats’ hot start was fool’s gold. Georgia is aggressively mediocre.
Florida swept Missouri - The Gators are starting to play better baseball at the right time. Missouri is bad.
Alabam took two of three versus Auburn - Injuries aside, Auburn shouldn’t be this bad. Look out for Alabama. Currently at 7-8 in league play, don’t be surprised if they’re 12-9 in two weeks with the schedule they have coming up.
Arkansas took two of three from Texas A&M - The Razorbacks not sweeping is good news for Ole Miss and MSU. A&M is having a rough go of it.
Cink wins at Harbour Town
Stewart Cink won The Heritage for the third time in his career. The 47-year-old went 11 years without a win, put his son on the bag and has now won twice in eight months. What a cool story. Cink might just have something to say about the Ryder Cup team if this continues into the summer.
On the Horizon
I’m doing a podcast with SkyBox’s NASCAR guru. I am going to get him to explain the sport to me like I am four years old. I am fascinated by it.
A week of newsletters with golf, baseball, spring practice and anything else that pops up.
Collin and I are mulling the idea of broadcasting live during the LSU game Thursday if there is any interest in that. I will have more details later.
That’s all from me today. Thanks for subscribing and forward to your friends. Tell them to mash the button below and join the fun. Have a great start to the week.