Rippee Writes: Thursday Scoop

Georgia Scout, PGA Championship, SEC rooting interests

May 20, 2021

Happy Thursday. We have a new podcast out with Collin Brister previewing Ole Miss' series with Georgia, where both teams' stand with regard to the postseason, as well as a look around the SEC heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Check it out here or anywhere you get your podcasts. A lot of baseball and golf to dive into today.

Let's go.

Rebels head to Athens for SEC finale

Ole Miss kicks off its final three game set of the regular season at Georgia tonight. The Rebels need to win one game to cement themselves as hosts. Two wins puts you in the national seed discussion heading into the SEC Tournament next week and three likely puts you inside the top eight depending on what else happens around the country. This Georgia team is firmly on the bubble with regard to earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. You vary rarely encounter a team that will roll over in this league, but sometimes it does happen in the season's final week as some weaker teams are just playing out the string. That couldn't be further from the case here. Georgia is neither bad nor disinterested. The Bulldogs have everything to play for and will give Ole Miss its best shot for three games.

Georgia Scout

Georgia's battled some injuries and have struggled on the mound. You'll see left-hander Luke Wagner tonight. He's a talented freshman that also will also potentially hit for Georgia at some point this weekend. Like most freshmen pitches in the SEC, he's been up-and-down and his numbers reflect it. Wagner has 10 starts on the year, but has been used in relief over the last month. Fellow freshman lefty Liam Sullivan will start in game two in what is his third start of the season. Sullivan entered the rotation when Georgia lost Ryan Webb to injury a few weeks ago.

The Bulldogs are TBA for game three, but the overall strategy here is to try to find the best situation to use Jonathan Cannon, who is the best pitcher in their rotation and started every SEC weekend for them until this weekend. It's a common move for a team that needs to win two to get in the NCAA Tournament (and is the inferior team in the series) to shake things up like this. The thinking here is to use Cannon if and when the Bulldogs get a lead in the first two games, try to preserve it and see what happens from there. Wasting Cannon opposite of Doug Nikhazy is not their best chance at winning two games, much less one.

Offensively, Georgia has three guys that can hurt you: Josh McCallister, Connor Tate and Cole Tate. Eight of Connor Tate's 10 home runs this year have come in league play. McCallister hits .358 in SEC play and Cole Tate is at .295.

Outside of these three, this is a pretty toothless offense that ranks in the bottom five of the league in most statistical categories. Ole Miss will have an advantage both at the plate and on the mound. This series as simple as the Rebels want to make it. If they play well and are clean defensively, Georgia doesn't match up very well with them. If Ole Miss kicks it around, struggles and the plate and has a Derek Diamond blow up, it could be a long weekend. I think Ole Miss wins at least two here, but I'd point you to the series at A&M to articulate what can happen when you're sloppy on the road. This team has everything to play for and I imagine they'll be locked in.

Ole Miss Baseball @OleMissBSB

NEWS | Tim Elko has been named to the SEC Community Service Team for the second consecutive season! 📰 bit.ly/3fyXxcu

What I am looking for from Ole Miss

A couple brief thoughts here, but I have covered most of this before.

1. Can this be a confidence boost for Derek Diamond? I wrote earlier in the week about Diamond's lack of confidence being completely unwarranted given the depth of his struggles. Remember Zack Phillips two years ago? He struggled way worse than Diamond did, yet still recovered and was important to that team down the stretch. In May of 2019, if you'd ask Phillips who he'd take in a winner take all game: himself or Clayton Kershaw, Phillips is picking himself. Yes, I am partly kidding but the point still stands. Diamond is also infinitely more talented and polished than Phillips. Diamond went six innings against Alabama and Auburn -- the two weakest offenses Ole Miss has faced in conference play. Could this be just what the doctor ordered? Say he goes five or six this weekend. Then he heads to a massive ball park in Hoover (if Ole Miss makes it far enough for him to pitch) that should suit him quite well. That's potentially back-to-back good outings heading into regionals. Diamond needs confidence and consistency. This is a great place to start.

On the flipside, if it starts going awry the second time through the order, expect a quick hook. How Bianco handles things from there will be interesting to me.

2. Does Peyton Chatagnier move out of the two hole? He's had a rough month. I think he figures it out and ends up being good down the stretch, but it considering moving him down in the lineup.

3. Where does Brandon Johnson pitch. Bianco made it abundantly clear that the kid hurling 95 in the midweek is going to be used going forward. Where in the game and on what day? How does he fair against SEC pitching? His first career SEC outing came last Saturday. He was decent. Can he build on it? Ole Miss desperately needs arms and Johnson being good would be massive development.

Around the SEC

Here are our picks. Two means a series win and three means sweep. I added a twist this week and gave you a rooting guide as it pertains to seeding. This is a fantastic slate of games this weekend with tons of subplots and high stakes.

1. LSU at Texas A&M - Collin: LSU 2, Rippee: LSU 2

No real rooting interest for Ole Miss fans here. I suppose LSU winning would make Ole Miss look slightly better.

2. Florida at Arkansas -- Collin: Ark 2, Rippee: Ark 2

Root for Arkansas. Florida is neck-and-neck with Ole Miss for a potential national seed.

3. Mississippi State at Alabama -- Collin: Ala 2, Rippee: Ala 2

Root for the Tide. Mississippi State is in front of Ole Miss in the national seed pecking order. A series loss on the heels of a series loss to Missouri could change that.

4. Tennessee at South Carolina -- Collin: UT 2, Rippee: UT 2

Crucial series for both clubs. Tennessee can win the East and USC can lock up a host bid. Root for South Carolina. It strengthens Ole Miss' resume.

5. Auburn at Missouri -- Collin: Miz 2, Rippee: Miz 2

This pick is strictly out of respect for what Missouri did last weekend. If you watch this series, you should be drug tested.

6. Kentucky at Vanderbilt -- Collin VU 2, Rippee VU 3

Root for Vandy. Not complicated.

7. Ole Miss at Georgia -- Collin: OM 2, Rippee: OM 2

PGA Championship begins at Kiawah Island

The PGA Championship is already underway by the time you're reading this. Do yourself a favor and tune in to see a beautiful course, brutal conditions and the best players in the world battling it out. My picks for potential winners (I picked before the start of play) are Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Paul Casey.

Kyle Porter @KylePorterCBS

Bryson's shirt includes little icons of dumbbells, square roots and F=ma equations. Hope we get the UFO sweater tomorrow afternoon.

The recipe here is to make a ton of 10 footers and get up and down a lot, because you're going to miss greens in this wind. I like Reed and Casey's short game. Spieth feels due and Hovland has knocked on the door enough to seem enticing. How about a couple sleepers? J.T. Poston and Ian Poulter.

This is going to be an incredible weekend. I can't wait to watch.