My honest assesment of the Tigers...(from a year ago)

first off I love LSU baseball more than I can ever explain. I still think they can come back and win this game and go deep in the tournament and will continue to think this until the game is over.

With that said, this team isn't quite ready from a pure baseball standpoint. There are some great young talents on this team, and Mainieri has great potential to settle in as the coach LSU baseball deserves.

I think the fact that this team has made it this far after enduring a horrible start, shows just where this team and program are heading.

Right now we're lacking two things that I believe can put this program over the top.

1. Time- Time for the freshman to become a little more comfortable and experienced, and time for Mainieri to get more comfortable with his team.

These kids are going to get better, and in the cases of LeMahieu and Landry, I think they're going to be historically good. They just need a little more time.

Mainieri seems a little unsure as to what kind of team he has. Some of the decisions are strange, but that sometimes reflects a coach dealing with younger players. You constantly search for the little thing to spark things and it doesn't always work. I will say the job he's done up to this point in the season has been top notch. Getting to Omaha with a team this young and lacking a stable rotation is pretty damn impressive.

2. Frontline Ace- LSU needs someone who stabilizes their entire rotation. They have good #2 and #3 starters but don't have that true ace. I'm not sure if there's one in the stable from past recruiting classes or another one committed, but I believe it's going to be a big factor in future LSU success.

Aces aren't easy to find but something about Ranaudo intrigued me. Stuff wise, and mechanically he looked like the kind of guy that I'm talking about. His development will be interesting to me.

This team is close guys. Honestly I think they're close to getting to UNC's level (minus the lack of NCs, their ability to succeed and reload is the benchmark in college baseball right now). Mainieri has this program on the right track. I can't wait to see what the future holds cause it's getting really fun to be an LSU tiger baseball fan again.