The Diamond Deck Blog

God is good

Before we get into the dominant outing by Hilliard, we need to talk about the 3rd inning where LSU blasted not one, not two, but three ding dongs to solidify yet another SEC series win. With this win today, LSU now has 13 wins over SEC teams and has also won 5 of their last 7 SEC series.  Now let’s talk about Ma’khail Hillard. This wasn’t just a good outing by Hillard. It was a very impressive outing especially from someone who didn’t even start for the first half of the year and is suddenly starting the weekend finales. I told myself all I wanted out of him was 6 innings without allowing more than 3 earned runs to record a quality start and give our offense a good chance of winning. Well he did much more than that. He had a no hitter through the first time though the lineup. Only one batter reached base and that was on an error by Thompson. His final stat line read 7.0 innings pitched, 6 hits, 0 walks, 2 earned runs, 2 strikeouts, and most importantly the win to better his record ...

I'll be honest, after LSU lost the lead and was down 2-6, I kinda just gave up. I was disappointed, angry, sad, you name it. I thought it was over. But then I decided to turn it back on in the top of the 5th inning and Doughty said he had enough of this "losing" and promptly tied the game with one swing of the bat. However, it doesn't end there. Not even close. The story continues for 7 more scoreless innings. Finally, after loading the bases, Zach Arnold, yes, that Zach Arnold also said he had enough of this silliness and rips a bullet to drive in a pair runs and take the lead 8-6. And if that weren't enough, Cade Doughty doesn't think that's enough to win (I know, what confidence in his bullpen), so he unleashes a hit to drive in even more runs. LSU eventually takes a 12-6 lead over Texas A&M by the end of the inning and they just weren't having fun anymore. With that loss, their season is basically over as they are eliminated from the SEC Tourna...

Have I mentioned how much I hate Paul? Well I do. He takes Landon out of the game after only 4 innings allowing 3 hits, 3 walks, and 1 unearned run with only about 60 pitches thrown. So who does he put in? Someone with a sub 4.00 ERA surely. Not exactly. He puts in Javen Coleman with a 7.32 ERA entering the game. He was able to lower his ERA to sub 7.00, but good ole Paul leaves him in just a bit too long. How long you ask? The same number of innings as Landon, the ace with a 2.15 ERA. Coleman was good for a while, but all good things must come to an end as he allows a homerun in the bottom of the 8th to give the Aggies the lead. And I'm not blaming Coleman. It wasn't his call to stay in the game for 4 innings when there are a bunch of other guys in the bullpen with lower ERAs. To name a few: Michael Fowler- 6.60, Trent Vietmeier- 4.85, Ty Floyd- 4.82, Jacob Hasty- 4.50, Devin Fontenot- 3.58, Garrett Edwards- 3.41, Theo Millas- 3.00. There was NO POINT in leaving him that long....

Since it was raining today and projected to rain all game, I decided to buy a ticket in the gold grandstands. After a few innings, I noticed that there were some empty seats in the premium section down below that is shown on TV, so I decide to move down for a couple innings. There I was able to call strike 3 on 3 different occasions thanks to Trent Vietmeier. And before you say anything, yes, I know you don't call strike 3 swinging, but unfortunately, Northwestern weren't taking any pitches in the strike zone, especially on strike 3.  The Tigers were able to rally a bit in the 7th inning down 6 on a error and a 2 run triple by Crews, but alas, the Demons score in the 9th and that was just too much to handle for the Tigers. So they won't finish the season 5-0 like I had hoped, but they still have a chance to get into the SEC Tournament. They are currently 3.0 games ahead of Auburn and Texas A&M who they will face this weekend, and if they can just win one of those games ...

According to a reliable source, the mother of Dylan Crews has a rather large bosom. That source? The father of Dylan Crews. I thought it was just some creep in the student section yelling that at the right fielder, but no, it was indeed his dad. I still find it strange to yell that at your son about his mom.  In other news, LSU takes the series from Bama 2-1 outscoring them 20-12. We could have really used a sweep, but a series win will have to do. The Tigers take on Northwestern State on Tuesday and finish up the regular season this weekend against Texas A&M. Can we please just end the season 5-0? P.S. I have one foot on board the Ma'Khail Hilliard train. I want to see one more dominant start by him to be fully on board, but I'm confident. 

Ever since Jaden Hill went to the injured list, Landon Marceaux has been the ace for the LSU Tigers rotation and he has not disappointed. In SEC play, Marceaux is pitching a 3.02 ERA, which isn't bad considering the immense talent inside the SEC, but overall, he is pitching a 2.15 ERA, which is better than, you guessed it, Kumar Rocker, the ace for Vanderbilt. Kumar has a 3.35 ERA in SEC play, and a 2.31 ERA overall.  So this begs the question, why is Kumar getting all the praise and attention when Landon Marceaux is doing everything Kumar has done and more? I'm not saying Kumar is bad, I would be a fool to say that, but stats don't lie, Landon is having a better year. Kumar is always a 1st round draft pick in this year's MLB draft, but I can't remember seeing Landon once. Landon is the one with a better ERA and a better K/BB with a 6.06 compared to Kumar's 4.58.  You can't use the argument that Kumar faces harder teams, they're in the same conference, w...

I swear to God, if I see the "The Paul Mainieri Show is live..." notification on my LSU Sports app one more time, I think I might apply for the head coaching job next year. I don't think his biggest concern is going live from TJ Ribs (no free ads). His biggest concern should be the atrocious bullpen. The bullpen has talent. Paul just doesn't know how to utilize them.  During a weekend game against Kentucky, Paul was forced to use an opener, and he chose Blake Money, a reliable reliever. But that is all he is- a reliever. He is not a starter. So why would Paul leave him in for 4 innings? During those 4 innings, he have up 5 earned runs. I'm not saying Money is a bad pitcher, he isn't. What I am saying is that Money is a reliever who is used to th rowing an inning or two. His arm is used to throwing 4 consecutive innings of work. If you wanted to use the argument that Paul is trying to save his bullpen arms, that is simply not true. Paul will put in a good reliv...

 

Back in the beginning of April, when Jaden Hill was going toe to toe with one of Vanderbilt's aces Jack Leiter, he was pulled from the game after only throwing 1.1 innings with discomfort. Come to find out, he had a partially torn UCL and needed Tommy John surgery, which takes almost a year and a half recovery. Prior to this injury he was projected to go #6 in the 2021 MLB Draft. Now? Not even in the first round. My prediction is he goes in the 2nd round. Why would I think that a team would take a pitcher who isn't even healthy? Because by the time MiLB season starts, he will only be out for about 6 more months. Taking a guy like Jaden Hill in the 2nd round and going without him for only 6 months seems completely worth it and I would do it as a big league GM. I would argue taking him in the 1st round, but maybe that's just my bias coming out.  Can you also attribute his falling out of the 1st round to his poor season this year? Absolutely not. This is his 3rd season with th...

We have reached the final eight games of the regular season and the LSU Tigers are hot! They are 5 for their last 6 and in those six games, they have outscored their opponents 33-17. They could be 6 for their last 6 if it weren't for the horrible officiating in the last Auburn game where Alex Milazzo was accused of catcher's interference TWICE.  Should we be scared that the Tigers won't make the SEC Tournament? Absolutely not; only the bottom two teams don't make the tournament and the Tigers are fourth to last, which doesn't sound great, but it is a sign of hope, because they have a relatively easy schedule ahead. Yes, they are facing the, for some reason, #18 in the nation LA Tech Bulldogs, but remember that we beat them earlier in the season. Not just beat them, but bullied them. This is still the same team if not better. Who have we lost? Jaden Hill? Didn't play in that game. Our best asset is our freshmen. Dylan Crews- 3-for-4 with 2 walks and he has only g...