StewHog, you really do an outstanding job, really enjoy your storytelling approach and this was an excellent deep drive! Keep spitting fire, dude!! 🙌🏼🐗🔥🔥🔥
We don't have any more mid week games so the guys have more time to rest and and practice, practice and rest. If we come out flat this weekend at home and lose the series, then yes, there maybe some concerns and questions for Razorback baseball. I think the Hog's can sweep this weekend, but that's just me looking through my Rick Schaeffer glasses and I am happy to be a Razorback, win or lose. Let's get motivated Razorbacks, for our last regular season home series. GO HOG'S!!!!
Love the insight! It's easy to remember the losses because they do really sting, but this team still has a lot going for it. And even though we've been winning a lot of low scoring games, the bats haven't been all bad. Bats came through in rhe clutch to clinch the LSU series so the potential is there, just have to hope we can come through in super crunch time.
I wish you would’ve brought up the fact that since Heston Kjerstad left, Arkansas has had NO ONE in their everyday lineup that legitimately scares opposing teams. No “dude” on the team that opposing teams intentionally walk. Compare that with teams like Tennessee/A&M who have 3-4 dudes in their lineup currently who can hit for power and high averages. One of the best we have had in this span has been Cayden Wallace drafted in the 2nd round but who never hit above .300 in a full season.
All season long, some fans have been saying "they're peaking too early", as if losing is a good thing. Maybe these fans feel better now. The only problem I see with the Hogs offense is the relative lack of power. But as long as runners are getting on base, that's a good sign. The Hogs scored 17 runs against Kentucky, a top team, on the road. We did leave a lot of runners on base in the two losses, but that's how baseball goes sometimes. LOB can be a deceptive stat...as long as we get guys on base, I'm not too worried about the offense. Stew, we love your live videos...how about doing it weekly? 😉
We just need that one national championship for everyone the fans DVH the assistants. What gets everyone antsy and me as well is seeing all these SEC teams win it all when they get in. Everyone except us but we’ve dominated over the span.
@@thereaper4396 I know bro the one Ole Miss won really hurt me lol. Because we beat them that year and we were a game away from being in the natty. And we would’ve beat Oklahoma too.
@@scalisque5403 absolutely crushed my soul dude. Which is why his video here is invalid in parts. I literally laugh out loud when he said the bit about people thinking Florida just “got hot” at the right time and won it all. Because that’s exactly what happened with Ole Miss. Shouldn’t have even made the post season but just happened to catch fire late. That’s all it was. Because they were not a good baseball team.
One other note that people have overlooked. Since Thompson arrived, we've put up loads of HRs just about every yr. We broke the team HR record in 2018 and nearly had 100 HRs. We broke that record and got over a hundred in 2021 and fell 4 HRs short of breaking it again in 2022. Aside from 2020 and this yr (to this point), the lowest HRs we had in a season w/ Thompson was 2019 (88 HRs, ten less than 2018). It just comes down to getting hot at the right time. Should we start clicking all around come tournament time, we'll be in good shape. And should we get to Omaha, pitching and defense are gonna be crucial and we won't need too much on offense because of the size of the field in Omaha.
Also, I've done some research myself. Aside from 2021, we have gone through some funks in May in recent times (mainly in terms of wins and losses). We have been able to overcome them once the tournament starts. Plus, of all the teams that have won the CWS in the past decade, a majority of them have ended May on at least somewhat a hiccup. Last yr, LSU split their last 6 games and lost 3 of 4 heading into the tournament. Ole Miss lost 3 of 4 heading into the tournament in 2022.
Stats are all fine and good, but I think trends are more important to look at when it comes tournament time, who's hot and who's not. I think if you look at how they are trending over the last month, the overall pitching has declined (only Smith is a reliable starter but hasn't gone past 7 innings so how much can he actually give. He never seems to have an inning under 10 pitches so by the 6th inning he's approaching 100 pitches. Gaeckle seems to be the only reliable pitcher out of the pen anymore, everyone else has their moments but are very inconsistent), the defense has declined (they missed several fielding opportunities that weren't called errors but probably should have been and it's cost them multiple runs), and the offense has not improved (DVH has tried everything, but nothing is working. Putting a .230 hitter at the top of the order has not done the team any good, it's done more harm. They have too many rally killers in the lineup that prevents big innings and make opposing pitchers look like Hagen Smith every game. I would venture to guess they are in the bottom 50% when it comes to productive outs and scoring runners from 3rd with less than 2 outs). I'm sure based on their current RPI they will get a top 8 seed but if was on the committee, they would be a number 2 regional seed. Their conference schedule was definitely in their favor. They got Missouri and Auburn who didn't make the conference tournament. They got Florida who was barely a .500 team and should have lost 2 of 3. They lost 2 of 3 to Alabama. They got LSU early, before they started clicking, and got the sweep, they would likely lose 2 of 3 if they played now. Then when things got real, they were lucky to win 2 of 3 against Mississippi State then they could not keep up with Kentucky or Texas A&M, losing 4 of the 6. Their pitching fell apart in the Conference Tournament while their offensive stayed consistently bad (the offense and Hagen Smith has been the only consistent thing for Arkansas all year), going 0-2 so losing 7 of their last 11 games to end the season, not the trend you like to see heading into the NCAA Tournament. I predict the trend will continue, and they will lose in the Regional unless they pull an Ole Miss of 2022, but I don't see that happening since they just don't have the offense to outscore a CWS caliber team. As of May 25, I would put them behind Texas A&M, Mississippi State and LSU while about even with Alabama in the West. In the East, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and even with Florida and Vanderbilt. Unless there is switch that can flip, don't expect much this Tournament... much like last year.
No score run don't give up any and win the CWS ... NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! WIN or leave That is where we are at. Like the old Spartan saying. Return with your shield or upon it.
Timeout…you said about the Vols it hasn’t led to more program success????? SEC Championship Season and Tournament title, CWS Appearances, Draft Picks, Big Leaguers, Statistically the Best College Baseball Team Ever…Tony is bringing program success.
I was saying it hasn’t led to more success than Arkansas. Everything you just listed, the Razorbacks have also done in recent years. Of course they’re wildly more successful under Vitello than they were before him, but my point was that all the offensive firepower they’ve had hasn’t led to more overall winning than Arkansas. At least not as of now.
When are people going to STOP using players drafted/players in the MLB as a “metric” to determine a successful program? People……it’s ONLY about rings, trophies, banners. Period. Flexing about how many draft picks/MLB players from your school is just dumb. If we are doing that, let’s talk how many commits Arkansas has had drafted out from underneath them and made it to the league.
@@thereaper4396 you clearly are just a fan and someone that never played if you get mad about the number of draft picks being a measure of success in a program.
It’s always the same with the hogs. Elite pitching one year with no hitting. Elite hitting no pitching. Never both at the same time. This years offense will get us beat in the tournament. Texas A&M will win it all.
Something stewhog here failed to mention is how much better recruiting has been under tho soon than vitello. Which you can take to mean two things. Thompson is a better recruiter. (*shrugs*) That you would expect thompsons teams to have vetter results, when you perennially have top 5 recruiting classes. Qhen push comes to shove I think baseball fans across america are tired of the launch angle, 3 true outcome bullshit. We wanna see hitters taking some off their swing and putting the ball in play.
Technically, Thompson has had much better results at Arkansas than Vitello did, and it's not even close. As I showed in the video, Arkansas' national rankings in scoring under Vitello were 151st, 78th, 96th, and 53rd. In the six seasons under Thompson, Arkansas has been 23rd, 17th, 13th, 93rd, 57th, and currently 146th. Average placement under Vitello - 94th Average placement under Thompson - 58th Also, it's a total misnomer that this Arkansas team is all about the 3 true outcomes. They have the 4th fewest HRs in the SEC, and the 5th lowest strikeout %. They're one of the least "3 true outcome" teams in the league.
@stewhog well they have the 4th fewest hits period don't they? Second to last in slugging? I wouldn't say that they are moving away from 3 true outcome baseball. Mainly because I have eyes and I watch the games and I see them swing the bat lol. But statistically because...they can't hit the ball period. Over the fence, at the fence, under the fence.... I appreciate the video, and this isnt me sat here poopooing nate thompson. But who on this team would you say is a good hitter? Stovall... That's it. He is the only player that you are confident regardless of the situation that will hit himself onto base. After how many #1. ranked recruiting classes? I don't think fans are bent out of shape with the results. I think fans believe that the most talented team in college baseball shouldn't be middling at best at the plate. Which is generous, because the only thing that really matters is conference play, and middling would be a significant improvement.
Only 14.9% of their hits have been HRs. That's 11th in the league. So even controlling for their fewer overall hits, they hit less homers than most of the SEC. That's to go along with their fewer strikeouts. I agree with your last point though. It's absolutely frustrating to be dominating in so many ways but to be below average at the plate when lesser programs are doing more.
They have a pattern that’s been set over the year. You just don’t flip a switch and hit. They won’t get past a super. Hope I’m wrong but that’s my prediction.
Yep. Happens every single year. For whatever reason, we just stop hitting at the end of the season. Took us having to have one of the most powerful/record setting offenses in the HISTORY of baseball to almost win a title. No way this team even makes it to the supers the way they are hitting right now.
