Why adversity is good even for good teams

ell, I hear ya and respect your standpoint. In my opinion, this goes back to precedent set by this team and CPM prior to the season beginning. Everyone acknowledges that a season has ups and downs, especially in the game of baseball. However, LSU Baseball players and the head coach have talked themselves into a corner.

"For me, I’ll know it’s a good year when we’re on the plane coming back from Omaha June 27 with that trophy". - Lange

“Omaha. That’s all I care about. That’s all I think about. We don’t want to talk about it too much now in January, but that’s the reason I came back: 100%.” - Kramer

"Our approach every season is the same. Our goal is to make it to Omaha. Our goal is to play for the national championship and hopefully win it. And that will always be the goal, as long as I’m the coach here at LSU, and I’m sure that that’s what our fans expect". - CPM

The crazy thing is that this team could still make it to Omaha, if they can get hot. However when you talk about winning national championships and struggle with midweek games and early in conference play, it does not inspire your fan base. I definitely think they have time to improve, but I cannot be upset at fans who are disappointed in the product we have when everyone knows it should be better.

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Last year's team was 4-5 in conference at this point and still earned a top 8 seed

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Adversity. Made adjustments. Found production in unexpected places (Reid and Romero).

Losing is a disease.



As contagious as herpes.

2015 Virginia baseball team on April 4th was 19-10 and 6-7 in the ACC. The team would go on to lose 2 of the next 3 series where they would sit 27-18 and 10-14 by the end of April and left for dead. The Cavaliers would go 20-6 the rest of the way and win the CWS title.

That team had two great starting pitchers and one great power hitter surrounded by a mixture of veterans and youth, much the same of LSU.

Adversity is good for a team assuming the coaching staff as well as players use it to their advantage on what changes need to be made. I think Mainieri over his coaching career has shown he has the awareness to make big changes that benefit his team for postseason and he's also made changes that have hurt his team. He's going to earn his paycheck this spring in finding what lineup works for this team over the long haul and how he'll utilize Newman/Gilbert.

In regional and super regional play having two outstanding arms along with a dominant closer is typically the formula for success. It worked for Coastal Carolina a season ago and Virginia the season before respectively. While each of these teams were drastically different offensively (Coastal more of a power threat and Virginia more of a small ball approach) both found success during the latter parts of the season.

As much of a cliché as this sounds there is truth behind it. Starting pitching is much harder to develop during conference play than it is to mix and match a lineup to the best tune for postseason. Lineups can go hot or stone cold at any time, people don't realize but Florida's offense didn't score more than 4 runs in 7 of their 10 games heading into LSU's series and they had 4-5 preseason all-sec players.

As painful as that HR was Sunday, LSU was a pitch away from being 6-3 in the conference and everything peachy. LSU offensive gameplan needs major tweaks but the season is not lost...it's just beginning.

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LSU offensive gameplan needs major tweaks but the season is not lost...it's just beginning.

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This

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Prediction: We take 2 of 3 from Arky.

Prediction 2: We lose at least 2 more SEC series, but don't get swept.

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Who are you and what have you done with ell_13?!?!

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2015 Virginia baseball team on April 4th was 19-10 and 6-7 in the ACC.

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CPM isn't their coach.
Brian O'Connor Is one of the better coaches in the country.

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Prediction: We take 2 of 3 from Arky.

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Give me some of that. Reminds me of shite from the late 60's early 70's.
That isn't happening because:
On the road
Arky is hot right now. Might get swept

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Is this really adversity? That implies that some unfair obstacle appeared that was beyond the team's control to avoid. Doesn't seem that way to me.

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1) Starting DH gets hurt at last pre-season scrimmage, has surgery on his knee and is out for the season.

2) Clean up hitter gets hit in the face at that last scrimmage before the season starts and has his cheekbone broken in 3 places. Has surgery on his face 3 days before the season starts.

3) One of the top 2 bullpen arms tears his elbow up in the first three weeks of the season and has Tommy John surgery and is out for the year.

4) The presumed shut-down closer develops a herniated disc problem and is shut down for two weeks and is still not 100%.

5) Last season's leading power hitter starts the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder and wearing a walking boot from a severe high ankle sprain he got in practice the week before the season started.

6) The team's only left-handed relief pitcher starts the season with sore arm issues.

7) The backup catcher develops hip problems causing him to not be able to catch at the start of the season.

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has done more with less

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#2 recruiting class

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Ummm...

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Who had #1 class in '14?

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You mean our class with Marshall, Latz, Godfrey, Byrd?

We still have Lange, Deichmann, Pap, Jordan Twins, Bain, Norman.

Hell yeah, that was a great class even looking back. We got fricked thanks for Marshall and Latz. Still no idea why Godfrey left like he did.