Vandy not invited to NCAA baseball tourney

What seemed like a lock early in the year has turned into a major disappointment.

They got what they deserved. All they needed to do was win one game against Florida the last weekend of the year. That would have got them in the SEC tourney and most likely a spot in the NCAA tourney. But no they got swept at home. Two series prior to that they lost two of three to Georgia, the second worst team in the conference. Earlier in the year they were swept by Arkansas who earned the 8th and final spot in the NCAA tourney.

So it could be argued that Vandy should have made it. Same conference record and better overall record than Auburn who made it to the NCAA tourney. Ranked in the top 25 in the RPI. Ranked top 25 in all the major polls for a good part of the year. But that wasnt enough. If they didnt have the worst offense in the SEC then Id be talking about their upcoming regional they are battling to win instead of another Vanderbilt athletic disappointment.

Jevan Snead, QB, commits to UF

Gators get their second commitment for the 2006 class. Jevan Snead, QB, Stephenville, Texas. One of the best QB prospects in Texas and could be top 10 nationally. Here are some highlights courtesy of gatorcountry...

http://easylink.playstream.com/gatorinsider/progressive/snead.wvx

Good arm. Looks surprisingly fast in the open field. Offense he ran at school looks kind of similar to Meyer's offense.


Makes you wonder what this means about Tim Tebow. Best QB prospect, and arguably best overall prospect, in the country. Plays at Nease High School in northern St Johns county... only an hour and a half or so from gainesville. Diehard gator fan whose parents are gators. Is a perfect fit for Meyers offense. Seems like a natural fit. But with Snead's commitment, puts Tebows future in doubt. Meyer has been saying since the beginning that he plans on signing two QBs in this class. So this shouldnt be a surprise. But maybe Tebow doesnt want to fight for the starting QB position. Interesting to see how this plays out. Would hate to see Tebow go to FSU because of this.

Vandy gets swept by Gators... misses out on SEC tourney

Disappointing finish to the regular season for Vanderbilt. Even after getting swept by the Gators, they still finished in a tie for 8th with Arkansas and Auburn. Since all three had not played each other, the team with the best record against the highest seeded SEC team earned the 8th and final spot. unfortunately for vandy, the gators, who just swept them, were the highest seeded team. arkansas, having won two games off the gators, won the tiebreaker.

vandy doesnt make the sec tourney but their postseason hopes may not be over. they still have a shot at an ncaa tourney birth. good chance that the sec will get 9 or maybe even 10 teams. and vandy has a pretty good rpi ratings. so there is a chance they will sneak into the ncaa's. with their lack of hitting i cant imagine them making the super regionals like they did last year.

Vandy splits doubleheader w/ Kentucky

Vandy tried hard to lose both games but was able to come back and win the 2nd game.

In game one Vandy had a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the 6th. Keep in mind SEC rules say sunday doubleheaders are both 7 innings only. Buschmann lost his control and a key error by freshman De la Osa led to a 4 run inning for kentucky. vandy tied it back up in the top of the 7th but couldnt get an out in the bottom half before kentucky could win it.

In game two Vandy had a two run lead going into the bottom of the 7th. Del la Osa commits another error allowing the first batter to reach base. three batters later its now a one run game the bases are loaded and there are still no outs. somehow vandy allows only one more run so the game goes into extra innings. vandy then explodes for 4 runs in the 9th and shuts down kentucky to get a much needed win.

elsewhere in conference today, the hogs beat bama, state beats florida, and georgia beats south carolina.

so the updated standings w/ one week to go...

Florida 17-10
UThug 16-10
LSU 16-11
Bama 15-12
Ole Miss 15-12
Vandy 13-14
South Carolina 13-14
Arkansas 13-14
---------
Miss St 12-14
Auburn 12-15
Georgia 11-15
Kentucky 7-19

If the season ended today, vandy, SC, and Arkansas would get the 6-8 spots while Miss St would have just missed out playing one less game(which they wont make up).

Next weekend is the final weekend of the year for the SEC. Vandy draws the toughest competition in Florida. South Carolina gets the easiest with Kentucky. Arkansas gets Ole Miss. State gets LSU. and Auburn gets Bama.

Vandy really needs to get two of three next weekend to feel good about qualifying for the SEC tourney. they also really need Mullins to snap out of this funk and revert back to the pitcher we saw earlier in the year who dominated everyone he saw. his last three outings havent been good at all. he hasnt had the same control he did earlier in the year.

good news however is that even if they dont qualify for the SEC tourney, there is a good chance they will make the NCAA tourney. SEC could get 9 teams and maybe even 10. coupled with the fact that Vandy has a top 20 RPI and they should be off to one of the regionals regardless of sec tourney birth.

Vandy-Kentucky double header today

Saturdays game was postponed due to weather. so today they will play two 7 inning games. thats the SEC policy for doubleheaders on sunday. its a stupid rule if you ask me. and it helps those with thin pitching staffs... like kentuckys. but those are the rules and nothing can be done about it today. if vandy can sweep the cats today that would put them in great position going into the final conference weekend. as of saturdays final scores, these are the current records in the SEC.

Florida 17-9
Tennessee 16-9
Alabama 15-11
LSU 15-11
Ole Miss 14-12
South Carolina 13-13
Vanderbilt 12-13
Auburn 12-14
Arkansas 12-14
Miss St 11-14
Georgia 10-15
Kentucky 6-18

Vandy is currently alone in 7th. and is only half a game ahead of auburn and arkansas who are tied for the 8th and final spot. a sweep today could possibly get vandy in a tie for 5th in conference and at worst would have them tied for 6th. a split would at best get them a tie for 6th and at worst get them tied for 7th. getting swept today would be a major blow but thats not likely to happen against a very weak Kentucky team.

Next weekend Vandy gets Florida at home. Auburn gets Bama at home. And Arkansas gets Ole Miss at home. Vandy easily has the toughest weekend ahead and thats why getting at least a split today is imperative.

Vandy takes first game against Kentucky

Vandy wins the opening game of the series 8-0. Jensen Lewis throws a complete game 2 hitter with 13 Ks. and vandy's offense decides to show up. at just the right time. with the rest of the SEC games done for tonight, these are the updated standings.

Tennessee 16-8
Florida 16-9
Alabama 14-11
LSU 14-11
South Carolina 13-12
Ole Miss 13-12
Vandy 12-13
Auburn 12-13
Arkansas 12-13
Miss St 11-13
Georgia 9-15
Kentucky 6-18


Vandy, Auburn, Arkansas are all tied for the 7th spot.

Vandy baseball heads into the weekend fighting for tourney spot

Its friday. first day of a very important weekend series with Kentucky. Vandy is currently 11-13 in the SEC. which has them tied for 8th place in the conference with Auburn and Arkansas. only the top 8 teams make it to the conference tournament in birmingham. so obviously vandy needs to put on a good showing this weekend in lexington to secure their trip to alabama.

thankfully for vandy, the wildcats are by far the worst team in the SEC. Auburn draws the second worst team in georgia. and arkansas lets alabama who is one of the better teams in conference. miss st, who at 11-12 which is only half a game better than those three teams, is in gainesville against the gators who are also arguably one of the better teams in conference.

based on matchups, you have to like vandy and auburn's chances of making it to birmingham but with the choke job the dores had against georgia last weekend, their chances are never as good as they may seem.

when i wrote this i thought it was the last weekend. but there is one more. Vandy gets Florida at home after this kentucky series. so they need to get as many wins this weekend as possible cuz the UF series will be tough.

Marlins need to redo Cabrera's contract now

At the beginning of last season Miguel Cabrera was 20 years old. One month into this season, he is arguably one of the top 10 hitters in the national league. He finished last season with 33 HRs, 113 RBIs, a .366 OBP, and a .512 SLG. Those are some pretty unbelievable numbers for a guy his age. So far this year he hasnt missed a step. And the most amazing thing of all is that he is only getting paid 370K this year. Hell, A-Rod probably makes that much per at bat.

Now for anyone who has watched the A's rise to success, you'd know that one of the keys to that success is spotting their talent early and signing those players to reasonable contracts. They did it with Mulder. They did it with Zito. And they just did it with Rich Harden and Bobby Crosby. Extend their contracts early on and in effect you buy out their arbitration years. Harden signed a 4 year deal for 9 million dollars. what a steal!! I believe he would have been eligible for arbitration in a couple years where he could easily break the bank. But by signing Harden as early as they did, the A's have signed him to a reasonable contract that runs out a couple years AFTER Harden would have gone to arbitration. So basically they will had him for 5 full seasons(counting 2004) at way below market value. And I believe they have an option for a 6th year which gives them leverage in re-signing him at that point if he is still worth it.

Now the Marlins need to do the exact same thing with Cabrera. At this current pace, Cabrera will command one of the higher contracts in the league when he hits the market. And considering the tight squeeze the marlins are in when it comes to money, they wouldnt be able to re-sign him. They should extend his contract the way the A's have done with their young players. Sign Cabrera to a 4 or 5 year deal with a club option for an additional year. Keep this kid at a reasonable price while you can because when he gets to the free agent market, see ya later!