Rippee Writes: Monday Scoop
A sweep, a pair of Rebels drafted and a look around the SEC
Happy Monday to all. We have a new podcast out recapping Ole Miss’ sweep over South Carolina. Check that out here or anywhere you get your podcasts. There is a ton to dive into today.
Let’s go.
Ole Miss sweep rejuvenates postseason hope
The term ‘get right game’ or ‘get right weekend’ is overused, but this was absolutely one of those for the Rebels. There were a lot of encouraging signs in the areas that have plagued this team over the course of the last month. Here are some thoughts.
Ole Miss finally took advantage of Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy providing quality starts. Hoglund went six innings of one-hit ball on 73 pitches. His exit after six seemed less about a pitch count and more so due to a dip in velocity. He missed a start and was out of his normal routine over the last 10 days. It happens and is not overly concerning. He was very good. Nikhazy was too. Ole Miss gave them early run support and let them do the rest. That’s a successful blueprint no matter who you face.
For the second consecutive week, Nikhazy found a way to get guys out and provide a lengthy outing despite not having his best stuff. It’s hard to articulate and quantify, but Nikhazy simply knows how to pitch. There’s a difference between having arm talent and getting by on elite stuff versus knowing how to pitch. He always looks like he is in control and each pitch is deliberate and clearly part of a detailed plan. It is a pleasure to watch and has been invaluable to Ole Miss over the last two and a half seasons. Mike Bianco recently said it simply: when Nikhazy is on the mound, you’re either trying to even up a series or win it, and there is no one you’d rather have on the mound than the left-hander in either scenario.
The storyline of the weekend was the bullpen. Derek Diamond slipped around an early mistake to provide two useful innings of relief in the opener, which bridged the game to Broadway. Tyler Myers put up a zero in the eighth inning of game two, looked like he might finish the game off, but eventually handed it to Broadway for the final three outs again, and Jack Dougherty’s brilliant 3.2 innings in relief of McDaniel in the finale set the stage for Broadway again. This is exactly what Ole Miss has been searching for the last month — finding outs between the starter’s exit and Broadway’s entry into a game. The more outs the guys in the middle can collect will translate to less stress on an already heavily taxed Broadway. When Broadway struggled against LSU and blew the Thursday night game, we talked about how it is okay that he had a bad outing and that it’s pretty unfair to ask him to be perfect each and every time out, particularly in some lengthy and suboptimal scenarios. Here’s Broadway’s pitch count by game this weekend: 15, 15, 15. That’ll hunt. He’s thrown 45 or more pitches in a single outing multiple times in the past when Ole Miss asked him to get 9-12 outs because it didn’t trust anyone else to do it. This past weekend is a much more efficient way to use him and it is no coincidence that he got in all three games on the same weekend the guys in front of him successfully did their job. This is a great sign for Ole Miss.
Speaking of Dougherty, that was a brilliant performance in the finale after things got squirrelly with McDaniel early on. The right-hander faced 11 hitters and retired all of them to again bridge the game to the ninth. What a story this guy is becoming after thinking he’d redshirt up until just three weeks ago. Ole Miss desperately needs bullpen arms it can trust and you can make an argument he’s the most trustworthy outside of Broadway. Saturday was a good of a relief performance this team has gotten from anyone all season and it came in a crucial game. His stuff plays against any lineup and he doesn’t walk guys. Twenty-something days ago, Dougherty eyed 2022 as the chance to make his collegiate debut and now he’s a core arm for a team with hosting and national seed aspirations.
Derek Diamond has found something. His performance in a spot start against LSU was remarkable, and he overcame an early hiccup to provide two innings of one-hit relief in the Friday game. Ole Miss needs this version of Diamond to reach its full potential and he now looks like a guy that’s settling into a role. He was borderline unhittable after giving up the solo shot on his second pitch and could’ve finished the game if asked to. It’s no coincidence that Diamond’s newfound success has seen him walk just two batters in that 10-innings span. Diamond’s issue was never talent, it’s partially been lack of location and partially the inability to recover when things began to go poorly. He’s done both better of late. He overcame a three-error first inning last week to pitch a gem and didn’t let the early home run phase him on Friday. Ole Miss looks like it may have two arms it can trust between Diamond and Dougherty and their postseason outlook is drastically better if that holds true.
Drew McDaniel’s outing wasn’t as bad as it seemed. He was very bad over a four-batter stretch in the first inning that led to a three-run shot, but retired eight of the nine hitters he faced after that. That’s important. He kept Ole Miss within arm’s length and did not totally implode. That is exactly what you’re looking for out of a No. 3 starter and is something Diamond was unable to do earlier in the year. Yes, you’d like to see him pitch better and more like the guy that stifled Auburn over six innings, but his ability to recover is important and helped Ole Miss cap off the sweep.
This Ole Miss offense is relentless. The Rebels are never out of a game with what they’re capable of doing at the plate. They got down 3-0 in game three and never batted an eye. This team has five guys hitting .330 or better in SEC play and six over .300 — and that doesn’t include Justin Bench. If you hate batting average, fine. Pick your metric. Five guys are slugging .515 or better in league play and four have an on-base percentage better than .400. Ole Miss lost its best hitter and never missed a beat. I’ll present you with two reasons why: 1. Their true freshmen have been remarkably good. T.J. McCants is slashing .373/.448/.613. in conference play. That is statistically better than Tyler Keenan’s 2018 freshman campaign. Jacob Gonzalez is at a clip of .313/.400/.488. It cannot be overstated how impressive these two have been. Remember how badly those Oxford freshmen struggled in 2017? They turned out just fine, too. Hitting SEC pitching is hard. These guys are just making it look easy. The second reason is Hayden Leatherwood figuring it out and having better SEC numbers than non-conference numbers. His emergence offensively really gives this lineup some bite from top-to-bottom. This is a scary lineup that can hit anyone in the country.
Tim Elko made his return Saturday night in a pinch-hit situation in the eighth inning. A standing ovation followed in what was a cool moment for a guy that was dealt a tough hand while having the best season of his baseball life. Elko popped one up a mile in the air (Bianco pointed out he was millimeters away from sending it 400 feet) and jogged it out toward first base. I don’t know what Ole Miss can expect from Elko the rest of the way. The best case is that he becomes the everyday DH and the middle ground is a frequently-used pinch hitter. It’s all based on what he can handle. I am no doctor nor am I a swing mechanics guru, but the swings he got off in that at-bat looked perfectly fine. They’ll take it slow with Elko and see where it goes, but what a cool moment for a guy that deserves it. Here’s to hoping he can help the team down the stretch, because his mere presence in the batter’s box on Saturday night shows how badly he wants to do just that.
Ole Miss isn’t a great defensive team by any measure, but it didn’t commit an error this weekend. We’ve talked about the Rebels simply needing to make the routine plays to help out their pitching staff and this weekend they did just that. Shockingly, it equated to three wins. Funny how that works.
The power of a sweep and the ability to not get swept sum this 2021 Ole Miss team up pretty well. The Rebels went a month without winning a series and are still 13-8 with nine games left and absolutely have every goal still within reach. Two wins next weekend will put the Rebels in great position to become a national seed and nearly seals them hosting — barring they don’t get swept in either of the last two. As bad as the last month looked at times, Ole Miss not getting swept in any of the four series is just as important as the three sweeps they have completed. Remember that 2016 team that wasn’t overly talented, but should have been a national seed and ended up hosting a regional? That team won 18 league games because it swept three times. This year’s team has already matched that and has a decent opportunity to do it at least one more time. This not some profound take: but winning all three games makes a huge difference when it all shakes out and affords you some breathing room. Ole Miss used all its wiggle room from the first two weekends with a bad four-week stretch. The Rebels got themselves back on track with a third and are in great shape to reach all of their preseason goals.
Greg says you people love the 16 oz prime strip for $10 deal so he will roll with that for a third consecutive week. Check out our grill corner podcast from yesterday. It will make you want to fire up your grill. Also, you get $2 off any fish in the freezer. Thanks for subscribing and enjoy. Go by LBs. They’re the best. Will see about an updated deal this week.
Around the SEC:
Mississippi State swept Texas A&M - The Bulldogs are playing good baseball. The Rebels head to College Station next weekend and would do well to do the same thing.
Arkansas took two of three at LSU - LSU fended off a potential sweep in the finale, but the Razorbacks keep chugging along to the tune of 24 runs scored in the first 18 innings of this series.
Tennessee took two of three from Kentucky - Tennessee is tied atop the SEC East standings with Vanderbilt and have Missouri up next. The Volunteers have a shot to enter the season’s penultimate weekend leading a division no one thought they’d contend for.
Florida took two of three from Vanderbilt - Perhaps Jack Leiter and the Commodores are human after all. Kumar Rocker is still quite good, though.
Alabama swept Missouri - The Crimson Tide are now 11-10 with three weekends left and look poised to make the postseason.
Auburn took two of three at Georgia - Auburn hasn’t quit. Good on them. This is a bad series loss for Georgia.
SkybBox’s results speak louder than any convincing I can do. Go see these guys now with the NBA playoffs, golf and baseball heating up. This weekend was another profitable one for the best in the business. Check out their Twitter for free plays and then go do yourself a favor and buy a package. Right now, if you buy the four-week NASCAR package and it doesn’t profit, you get your money back. How can you beat that? Go see them and ensure you’re making money.
Moore, Newman drafted on day two
Elijah Moore waited longer than he probably hoped, but he was quickly snagged on day two of the NFL Draft by the New York Jets with the 34th pick. Moore now joins a young team with a new head coach, rookie quarterback and a lot of optimism for an organization that hasn’t had much to celebrate over the last decade. Good for him. He and Zach Wilson should be fun to watch, if nothing else. Royce Newman went to Green Bay in the 4th round. Who knows who Newman will be blocking for next year with Aaron Rodgers dropping a nuclear bomb on the club’s front office the day of the draft, and as a fourth rounder, he’s no guarantee to make the team, but it is cool to see him realize his NFL team. Here’s to hoping for long productive careers for both.
Kenny Yeboah went undrafted but signed a free-agent deal with the Jets shortly after.
On the horizon:
A week of newsletters, two more podcasts and whatever else arrises
Some golf updates
Mailbag Friday returns to its rightful day.
That is all from me today. Thanks for being a loyal subscriber. Send to your friends and tell them to join the fun. Have a great start to your week.