Talent, speed, skill, athleticism and most of them carry Eastons… and that’s just the bat girls. There are no crybabies in this conference of monster mashers. You either bust your ass to try to keep up or you get crushed each and every weekend. The philosophy in the SEC is simple; hurdle the weak, trample the dead.

2009 in a Paragraph:
As all of you should know, college sports is all about cycles. Like last year, the SEC is usually great every year, but in reality they’ll have an off-year every so often (2007’s five NCAA bids, for example). But with this southern monster one thing is for certain, even in a “down” cycle, they are still going to put up a formidable national title contender or two… or three. The SEC took its place back in the national mindset with LSU winning its sixth national title and Arkansas pulling an SEC rarity (and something I’ve been most critical of the conference) by going on the road and winning in the post-season. That was huge. The conference did have its hiccups with both Ole Miss and Florida losing at home in the Super Regionals and Tennessee and Auburn still not making the Big Dance despite some wildly talented teams. But that’s the cost of having the best collection of talent in the country, someone’s still gonna sit at home, despite the rave reviews of the MLB scouts.

Conference RPI: 1
In-depth View of the SEC: check out SEBaseball.com

2009 Results
Eastern Division:
1- Florida, 19-11
2- South Carolina, 17-13
3- Georgia, 15-15
4- Vanderbilt, 12-17
5- Kentucky, 12-18
6- Tennessee, 11-19

Western Division:
1- LSU, 20-10
1- Mississippi, 20-10
3- Alabama, 18-11
4- Arkansas, 14-15
5- Auburn, 11-19
6- Mississippi State, 9-20

2010 in a Paragraph:
This should be another one of those strong years for the SEC, even moreso than last year when LSU took the national title and Arkansas held the No. 1 spot for a short while in the mid-season. Look for Kentucky, Vandy, Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina to join the Tigers and Razorbacks as national heavies this season. Aw hell, who am I kidding, you KNOW there is potential for a major push from teams like Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State and Tennessee as well. And since this IS an even-number calendar year, you know Georgia is in line to make it to Omaha – just like the Dogs did in ‘04, ‘06 and ‘08. So the same rule applies as it does any other year, fall asleep against any SEC opponent for even one weekend and you’ll find yourself at the bottom rung of the ladder looking up at the rest of the league. There’s no solace to be taken here. Just when you get through a tough weekend where your team gave it all they had and left it all on the field, bloody and unbowed… they gotta go out there and do it again six days later. God I love this conference!

Mikie Mahtook has a heroic look about him, just like his play in the post-season last June.

Favorite: LSU.

Contenders: Everybody else

Darkhorse: Kentucky

Can’t-Miss Series of the Year: Arkansas at LSU, March 19-21
Close Second: All the rest of them.

Best Non-Conference Series: Georgia at Florida State, March 5-7
Close Second: Vanderbilt at Dodgertown Classic, Feb. 26-28, (UCLA, USC, Okie State)

Hot Coach: Paul Mainieri, LSU

Hot Seat Coach: None

The “You Gotta See” Player: OF Blake Dean, LSU

Three Non-Conference Series The SEC Better Not Overlook:
1- Louisville at Ole Miss, March 12-14
2- Minnesota at Alabama, March 16-17
3- Xavier at Tennessee, Feb. 19-21

Three Bold Predictions:
1- This will be one of those nine-bid seasons for the SEC, six of which will play at home… outraging all national media besides Mark Etheridge.
2- Of the four teams that didn’t make the NCAAs, only Kentucky will make it this year.
3- The SEC “Roadie Weekend” of March 5-7 will see them go .500 in road contests.

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Eastern Division:

- FLORIDA (42-22, 19-11)
2009 RPI: 10
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
OF Matt den Dekker (296-5-37)
1B Preston Tucker (.364-15-85)
RHP Nick Maronde (3-1, 4.40)
LHP Alex Panteliodis (6-5, 4.38)
RHP Anthony DeSclafani (6-3, 4.98)
2B/3B Josh Adams (.342-8-52)
OF Jonathan Pigott (.357-6-32)

The Good News:
Coach O’Sullivan has quickly returned the Gators to prominence in Gainesville, including nabbing the SEC East title and a home Super Regional appearance. Back to normal, right? Indeed. And there is no indication of a falling off this year as some solid talent returns. The outfield returns a fleet-of-foot fleet. The return of den Dekker is pretty huge, bringing his leadership back to Gainesville despite being drafted by Pittsburgh in the 16th round. He’ll be joined in the meadow by Jonathan Pigott and his brother Daniel (.301), forming an athletic group that can cover some ground. Tucker played well beyond his years as a frosh (understatement alert!) and forms a really good right side with Adams. Despite some losses, a good bit of pitching comes back from the 20th best staff in the country (4.22 team ERA), including RHPs Maronde and DeSclafani, who made huge waves in their first seasons on campus. In case you haven’t noticed, there were a number of outstanding first-year players on the 2009 Gator squad. And guess what? This year’s class may be even better, as Baseball America named the UofF incoming class the No. 1 unit in the nation. Watch for RHP Hudson Randall and INF Nolan Fontana, whom Aaron Fitt said would assimilate to college ball easily. You know, like, Tucker-like.

The Bad News:
Losing the home Super Regional to unheralded Southern Miss is a pain that his lived with the Gators for eight months now. I mean, would Tim Tebow allow that to happen? Tsk, tsk. The Gators lost the top three pitchers from last season in Tony Davis, Billy Bullock and Stephen Locke, who represented a lot of experience and toughness on the mound. That leaves Panteliodis as the lowest returning ERA at 4.38. This team also really needs to toughen up on the road as they went just 12-12 away from McKeithen Stadium last year.

Schedule Note:
Revenge weekend in the Gables.
Florida makes the return trip to Miami in one of the better non-conference weekends in the entire country. Last season, the Canes strode into Gainesville and took all three games from UofF. This time, the Gators will take on the road favorite role. Prior to that Florida will have a decent challenge vs. South Florida in the home opener and then have a glorified scrimmage vs. LaSalle. The regular season finale at South Carolina could decide the SEC East Division title.

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- GEORGIA (38-24, 15-15)
2009 RPI: 20
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (25+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
3B Colby May (.339-11-42, Frosh All Am.)
RHP Justin Grimm (4-4, 4.15)

The Good News:
Hey, wouldn’t another 24-3 start like last year be just the tonic for this team? Well we wouldn’t put it past Dave Perno to rebound like that. He’s a stud. He’s got a potentially deep staff returning to the fold and hopes to get bounce-back performances from ALHP Alex McRee (4-4, 6.27 and drafted in the 27th round by the Dodgers) and LHP Justin Earls (0-1, 7.34 in 33 appearances and drafted in the 47th round by Pittsburgh). If those two lefties come through, the Dogs may not miss a beat. Grimm should be a big time draftee this coming June as well. RHP Cecil Tanner (3-1, 4.29, .224OBA) and LHP Chace Hawkins (3-2, 4.76) lead a capable soph brigade that should put the Bulldogs in good company for the next few years. Oh, and a trio of part-time starters will assume bigger roles in OF Zach Cone (.323-4-18), OF Peter Verdin (.316) and steals specialist Johnathan Taylor (.309, 23SBs). Also look for sweet-swinging OF Zach Taylor (31st round pick, Pittsburgh), the smooth glove of SS Kyle Farmer and RHPs Eric Swegman (28th round, Atlanta) and Jake Montgomery (32nd round, Atlanta) to make big splashes from the No. 20-ranked recruiting class.

The Bad News:
Dealing with the accident involving incoming frosh Chance Veazey has been heavy on the hearts and minds of Coach Perno and the ‘Dogs. A 3-12 cold spell down the stretch of the regular season last year was a pre-cursor to a poor post-season, which included the blowout losses to Florida State and Ohio State, to end the campaign. The offense, which only hit .292 (which is pretty wispy by SEC standards), will need some re-tooling as May is the only .300+ hitting regular coming back. The Dogs lost quite a bit from 2009 as legendary names like Rich Poythress, Bryce Massanari, Trevor Holder, Dean Weaver and Matt Cerione won’t be in uniform any longer. Some youngin’s will have to step in and make immediate contributions.

Schedule Note:
Okay, you know that 24-3 start? It won’t happen again.
The Bulldogs have a pretty stout early slate, including starting the season at Baylor against the Bears and improved Duke. Stetson at home and then a three-game roadie back to Florida State will be a tough go-round in the first three weeks. The SEC portion is pretty rugged too, with trips to LSU, Vandy and Florida not going in their favor.

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- KENTUCKY (28-26, 12-18)
2009 RPI: 46
Starters Returning: 7
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
2B Chris Bisson (.360-2-52, 13SBs)
OF Chad Wright (.343-4-23, 11SBs)
1B/RHP Braden Kapteyn (.319-4-27/5-0, 6.06, 4svs)
C Marcus Nidiffer (.312-10-31)
RHP Alex Meyer (1-4, 5.73, 80K in 59inns)
LHP James Paxton (5-3, 5.86, 115Ks in 78inns)

The Good News:
The biggest news was obviously the fact that supplemental first round pick James Paxton decided to turn down pro ball for another year and come back to the Bat Cats. That’s huge (if he DOES indeed play). When you consider a starting duo of Paxton and sophomore Alex Meyers, the former No. 5 high school prospect in the country, and then throw in Logan Darnell (5-6, 4.50, 3svs), a potential top-line reliever, that’s a trio that will not only win you a lot of SEC games, but a lot of games in June as well. And as we’ve seen lately, this is one program that just loves to blaze out to quick starts, like last year’s 15-4 mark through mid-March. Offense should improve a lot with the return of five guys that hit .300+ and three of four infielders come back to a defense that went .966. Great, great incoming class that was ranked No. 6 in the country features future phenoms like LHP Taylor Rogers (37th round, Baltimore), C Luke Maile (42nd round, Boston), RHP Sam Kidd (38th round Philadelphia), OF Brian Adams (45th round, Cincinnati) and most notably RHP Jordan Cooper (17th round, Pittsburgh).

The Bad News:
For the third year in a row, the Big Blue Express went off the rails after that hot start. The Cats finished the ‘09 season by going 13-22 from March 21st onward. That smarts. Cats must hope that whole weird John Paxson vs. UK vs. NCAA thing doesn’t affect his on-field play. There’s a lot of talent on the roster, but a lot of it has yet to be realized. Of the 28 wins last season, only seven of them came on the road as UK had a 7-12 mark away from Lexington. The Bat Cats know that a .297 offensive average in the SEC is general snickered at. And UK also needs to outscore their opponents by more than last year’s 23 runs (372-to-349).

Schedule Note:
When they do leave, it ain’t gonna be easy.
Kentucky doesn’t play a whole lot of road games, but they do take part in a pair of tournaments that should really test their mettle, including a trip to Myrtle Beach to play Coastal Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia Tech and then a trip out West to take on San Diego, San Diego State and Monmouth. That 10-day stretch where they’ll travel to both Vanderbilt and Arkansas will be pretty daunting as well.

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- SOUTH CAROLINA (40-23, 17-13)
2009 RPI: 21
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 3
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
OF Jackie Bradley (349-11-46, Freshman All Am.)
OF Whit Merrifield (.340-11-49, 15SBs)
SS Bobby Haney (, 2nd team All SEC)
RHP Blake Cooper (9-4, 4.50)
RHP Sam Dyson (9-4, 5.21, 94Ks)
LHP Adam Westmoreland (4-2, 4.24, .233OBA)

The Good News:
Carolina got hot at the right time last season, going 10-2 in May regular season games, helping the Gamecocks to finish 2nd in the East Division of the SEC. A whole mess of talent comes back from last season’s 40-win outfit, including the three weekend starters in Cooper, Dyson and soph-to-be Nolan Belcher (4-5, 5.33). The pitching/offense versatility of Bangs will come in handy and he’ll flash occasional power. Speaking of, this IS South Carolina, so expect a lot of bent necks from their opposing pitchers as you know the Cocks will bash with the best of them since 70 of the 109 dingers is back in the lineup. (You can almost feel pitchers shaking as they face Ebert). “Steady” is becoming the defensive mantra as SC has fielded .977 and .974 the past two seasons. SS Haney and 2B Scott Wingo (.197-5-17) will keep that habit rolling. The incoming class was ranked No. 30 by Collegiate Baseball and will feature RHP Colby Holmes (draftee of Atlanta) and 3B Christian Walker, a 49th round pick who reportedly would’ve gone as high as 2nd or 3rd round if not for signability issues. Look for Coach Tanner to have his charges ready to get back to better post-season pastures.

The Bad News:
Losing two straight nip-and-tuck games at East Carolina in the Regionals is a painful memory for the Cocks to live with for eight months. Losing names like DeAngelo Mack, Justin Dalles and Andrew Crisp will soften any offensive lineup just a bit. It also appears that 3B Nick Ebert, who came back for his senior year despite getting drafted by the Yankees, will be academically ineligible for the season. Saves leader Alex Farotto, who gained seven of eight saves on the team, also hit the bricks. And just to let you know, Carolina also issued an SEC-high 266 walks last season, so a little clamping down will certainly help.

Schedule Note:
Returning to the scene of the crime.
Somehow, East Carolina convinced the Gamecocks to come visit LeClair Stadium, thus bring SC back to the scene where their 2009 season ended in two straight losses to the Pirates. Oh, and the best news of all is that Carolina and Clemson have finally heard my plea to turn their series into a three-gamer, unlike past seasons where it’s just a home-and-home for two games.

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- TENNESSEE (26-29, 11-19)
2009 RPI: 58
Starters Returning: 6
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 3
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
LHP Bryan Morgado (4-2, 6.36, 2svs)
1B Cody Hawn (.364-22-81)
C Blake Forsythe (.347-15-46)
OF Josh Liles (.313-8-25)

The Good News:
A very experienced team returns to Rocky Top, including a junior-heavy that should be hungry to make amends for recent shortcomings. At the top of the stat sheet, Hawn and Forsythe are intimidating as it gets, as they live of to typical SEC behemoths. The double-play combo of 2B Cody Grisham (.239) and SS Zach Osborne (.281-4-33) should combine with Forsythe and Hawn to keep the defense (.972) stout once again. Morgado was a 3rd round pick White Sox last June but chose to return to Coach Raleigh’s fold and should be a more dominant force, as long as he doesn’t give into the pressure. A whole host of arms come back to the force, including Sunday starter Stephen McCray (3-2, 5.16) and Adam Adkins (2-1, 5.27), a soph who was a mid-week starter and will be asked to do more. The Vol frosh class is ranked No. 14 in the country by Baseball America and look for hulking 1B/DH Cody Stubbs to make a huge splash.

The Bad News:
Whether it’s under Coach Delmonico or Coach Raleigh, the losing seasons are piling up and it’s got to stop NOW. UT was a terrible 3-12 in road games before the last weekend of the season where they curiously beat Vandy in three straight. The pitching staff had the 2nd-to-last staff ERA in the conference at 6.24, and that was a staff that had a lot of talent. Beyond Hawn and Forsythe, the rest of the offense must pick up their game, since they hit a wilting .286. That won’t fly in SEC country. Maybe creating more energy and nerves on the basepaths will help, considering UT only stole 39 bases last year.

Schedule Note:
RPI-improving mid-majors.
The Vols will play a number of mid-major teams that normally might not be a lot of sweat to. But as it turns out, the season opener vs. Xavier will come against a team that went to the Big Dance last season. Games against teams like Kennessaw State, Binghamton, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and Ohio State in the weeks that follow are similar. Also, the return trip to Oregon State in week No. 2 could be a real problem.

Don't shed too many tears for Tim Corbin, his Commodores have stockpiled some great recruiting classes and will be wicked-good.

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- VANDERBILT (37-27, 12-17)
2009 RPI: 27
Starters Returning: 7
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
OF Aaron Westlake (.377-10-57)
SS Riley Reynolds (.332, 12SBs)
1B Curt Casali (.336-10-59)
RHP Russell Brewer (1-2, 2.96, 4svs)
RHP Sonny Gray (5-1, 4.30)

The Good News:
Perhaps the best news was the acquisition of assistant coach Josh Holliday, who brought in incredible recruiting classes at Arizona State the last few years. Speaking of, that fantastic freshman class from a year ago is older/wiser/better/ready-to-rip-heads-off, paced by Sonny Gray, who throws absolute bee-bees, the imposing Aaron Westlake and the slick-fielding Riley Reynolds. Curt Casali and C Andrew Giobbi (.289-6-41) are vets who have been through the battles and keep an eye on Jason Esposito (.287-4-42), who stole 23 bases last season. It will be interesting to see what coach Tim Corbin does with the talented arms of Brewer and Drew Hayes (4-3, 5.56) who have shutdown potential. The ‘Dores had the No. 8 ranked recruiting class according to Collegiate Baseball, led by LHP Sam Selman, a 95mph fireballer that Corbin and Co. plucked from Austin, Texas, and top SSs Anthony Gomez and Curt Powell. Oh and there are two solid prospects from the Northeast in OF Mark Yastrzemski (yes, related to Carl) of Andover, Mass. and 1B Regan Flaherty (a 28th round pick of Seattle) a native of Maine.

The Bad News:
Despite having his entire weekend rotation returning, Coach Corbin’s charges still won only 12 SEC games last year, not enough by his standards, as you could imagine. Everything is flipped from last year’s pre-season write-up, because there is very little starting pitching coming back and a plethora of fielders returning. The arms crew lost Mike Minor, Caleb Cotham and Nick Christiani, who combined for 39 starts on the season. A lot of very, very talented bullpen throwers will have to turn into weekend starters. VU went just 12-17 in games away from home.

Schedule Note:
Honoring Jackie Robinson.
One of the better pre-conference tournaments this season will be when Vandy goes out West to take on UCLA, USC and Oklahoma State in week two. And, getting back to that road record from last season, keep in mind that the black and gold will play 12 of 16 games from April 20th to May 16th away from Hawkins Field. That’s a tough chore in the stretch run of the SEC chase.

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Western Division:

- ALABAMA (37-21, 18-11)
2009 RPI: 39
Starters Returning: 6
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
OF Taylor Dugas (.352, 14SBs, Frosh All Am.)
SS Jeff Rutledge (.305-5-44)
3B Jake Smith (.359-18-54)
2B Ross Wilson (.353-9-47)

The Good News:
New head honcho Mitch Gaspard is a proven winner in his years as the head coach at Northwestern State. So my guess is that the program will get its feet under itself here soon. That’s just a hunch. The good part is that he will inherit an offense that hit a blistering .330, and welcomes back six sticks that hit .300+. The power firm of Smith and Jones will supply the power (Smith and his 18 dingers and 1B Clay Jones put up .331-8-39 numbers). Oh, and the defense should be incredible as Smith has been named to the SEC All Defensive team the past two seasons at the hot corner and Rutledge and Wilson form one of the best double-play combos in the country. LHP Adam Morgan (4-2, 4.17) had a solid frosh season and is a strikes-only hurler and has Nathan Kilcrease (4-4,4.11) and Tyler White (1-0, 2.28) to back him.

The Bad News:
The steady leadership of Jim Wells is now gone, whether that’s a good or bad thing is how you look at the situation. But the Tide program accomplished a lot under his direction. Kent Matthes and Brandon May are two big sticks (40 combined HRs) that will be missed. Two of the three weekend starters are gone in Austin Hyatt and Del Howell and the arms staff will have to develop some new studs to hope they can match the 5.13 team ERA of 2009. RHP Trey Pilkington , a 46th round draftee of the Mets, and LHP Matt Taylor, a draftee of the Pirates, both came to Tuscaloosa instead of going pro, will have to help the thin arms staff.

Schedule Note:
Doing the Charleston.
It’s not often that an SEC team makes a road trip to a mid-major venue for a three-game weekend, but the Tide’s trip to play at College of Charleston in week three of the season is pretty cool. And it will be a good test too. And not that any of them are easy, but the first two weekends of SEC play is pretty harsh, having to play Vandy and at Arkansas right off the bat.

Hogs 3Bman Zack Cox had a great summer on the Cape.

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- ARKANSAS (41-24, 14-15)
2009 RPI: 7
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (25+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
1B Andy Wilkins (.319-19-58)
LHP Drew Smyly (3-1, 4.66)
OF/RHP Brett Eibner (.231-12-34/5-5, 5.00)
3B/RHP Zack Cox (.266-13-39/5-1, 4.82)
RHP Mike Bolsinger (6-4, 2.99)

The Good News:
Okay, who wants to doubt Dave Van Horn now? Go ahead, raise your hands people… that’s what I thought. The dude had and up and down season, but at the right time, he got his team to reach its apex and play at its best. That led them to the promised land of Omaha, wanting more in 2010. Not bloody bad, eh? So now, we’re lookin’ at three weekend starters returning, a lot of intimidating power at the dish and a deep bastion of arms thanks to a lot of mix-and-match assignments last season. My oh my, things look good in Hogland… as long as they keep playing more like they did in the post-season and not how they did during that 7-11 stint right before the SEC tournament. In Cox, Wilkins and Eibner, you’re lookin’ at three guys that could put up insane numbers if they stay focused. T.J. Forrest (2-6, 5.99) and Sam Murphy (3-1, 6.15) are veterans who should post better numbers and give UofA’s hurling corps more quality depth. If the versatile Bolsinger pitches more consistently, he could be an All American.

The Bad News:
Stay with me on this one here people… but didn’t you get the feeling that, despite the appearance in Omaha, this team underachieved a good portion of the season? I mean a losing record in conference play? And then all the roller-coaster results? On top of that, this team hit just .273 – that for an SEC team. Yikes. They also seemed lean on Friday ace Dallas Keuchel and ace closer Stephen Richards just a tad and both of those guys are gone now. The defense (at .967) finished 9th in the SEC. Beyond Smyly, some more left hand arms must emerge with quality innings to give the pitching some diversity.

Schedule Note:
Not like the football team.
Unlike the Razorback pigskinners, the baseball team doesn’t play in the capitol city of Little Rock very often. In fact, it’s been 23 years since they have. But that will change in May when the UofA hosts Louisiana Tech at Dickey-Stephens Park. On another note, Arkansas will finally lose the SEC’s “toughest schedule” crown they’ve held onto for years, but they do make a west coast trip to Cal, returning the trip the Bears made last season. Otherwise, however, weekends against Ball State, Troy and Wisconsin-Milwaukee are pretty weak.

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- AUBURN (31-25, 11-19)
2009 RPI: 33
Starters Returning: 7
Weekend Starters: 3
Mid-Week Starters: 0
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 7

All Conference Candidates:
RHP Austin Hubbard (3-3, 4.20, 12svs)
OF Brian Fletcher (.301-17-54)
1B Hunter Morris (.282- 12-33)
OF Trent Mummey (.289-15-42, 17SBs)

The Good News:
The second edition of coach John Pawlowski’s Plainsmen should have a little bit of a smoother road now that they’re in year two of his regime. One thing that won’t be a question will be the fact that there are some legit dish-bashers returning to the roster for 2010, including Fletcher, Mummey and Morris above, as well as C Tony Caldwell (.281-9-24) and Casey McElroy (.286-7-35), as just about anyone on the 1-thru-9 can go yard. Plenty of pitching is back in the fold as the numbers above attest. All three weekenders are back in Jon Luke Jacobs (3-4, 5.74), Grant Dayton (2-6, 5.29) and Dexter Price (4-3, 6.04), who all should improve their numbers as they reach a better comfort level. Having studs like Hubbard and Bradley Hendrix (7-3, 5.09) in the ‘pen will help immensely. Watch out for incoming newbie Garrett Bush, a RHP with mid-90s heat who is the prize recruit of a decent incoming class.

The Bad News:
There’s been way too much talent come through the plains for ole War Eagle to be down this long. Coach Pawlowski has his work cut out for him. Auburn has now finished last or 2nd-to-last in the SEC West six seasons in a row. Arrrgh! A huge problem was the relief corps as Auburn was badly outscored in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th innings last season. Opponents also hit a generous .321 off the staff as a whole. The 484 strikeouts by the offense was rather offensive, if you catch my bad pun.

Schedule Note:
Lots of warm-ups before the test in the desert.
The Tigers will have a little bit of time to get its feet underneath them before making the mid-March trek out to the great southwest to take on the monster known as Arizona State. Of course, it’s not like games against BC, Mizzou and Florida Atlantic in week two will be walks in the park either… it’s just that the Sun Devils are so bad-ass compared to those teams.

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- LSU (56-17, 20-10)
2009 RPI: 4
Starters Returning: 6
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
1B Blake Dean (.328-17-71)
OF Mikie Mahtook (.316-7-38)
RHP Anthony Ranaudo (12-3, 3.04, 159Ks, All American)
RHP Matty Ott (4-2, 2.68, school record 16svs, All American)
OF Leon Landry (.300-12-41)
2B Tyler Hanover (.321-5-47)

The Good News:
Oh c’mon, how predictable will this preview be? LSU is back at the apex of college baseball and heavy favorites to return to Omaha in 2010. And because of that, Tiger fans believe all is right with the universe again. But let’s just say that Paul Mainieri’s a friggin’ stud and there’s so much good news it’s ridiculous. The return of strapping ace Ranaudo and the cool-beyond-his-years pen stud Ott signals that Fridays will be a series of repeat Ws this season. Dean’s return was called “huge” by Mainieri (despite getting drafted in the 10th round by the Twins) as he’ll man the cleanup position and have Mahtook, Leon Landry (.300-12-41) and C Micah Gibbs (.294-6-42) to help carry on the tradition of dish-bashing along Nicholson Drive for another season. The defense could be better with the middle infield of SS Austin Nola (.240) and 2B Tyler Hanover (.321-5-47) being a year more experienced. Also look for better numbers from Austin Ross (6-8, 5.18) and Daniel Bradshaw (4-0, 3.04). And there’s always more talent on the horizon – c’mon, it’s LSU – so look for J.C. All American transfer RHP Mitch Mormann and LHP Forrest Garrett, a 41st round pick of the Rangers last June.

The Bad News:
Okay, calm down people. There are some gaping holes off last year’s championship team, so there’s plenty of work left to do. I mean, you can’t lose names like Jared Mitchell, Ryan Schimpf, D.J. LeMahieu, Sean Ochinko and Louis Coleman and simply expect the Tigers to regain their June form. (insert snap of fingers sound effect here). On top of that, stud frosh Wes Luquette, the catcher of the future, will have to sit out after Tommy John surgery this past fall. Mitchell’s all around power and particularly the speed aspect of his game will be missed big time. The incoming class would’ve been really incredible if not for some last minute defections to the pros, including RHP Brody Colvin (6th round draftee), who was in freshman orientation when he got the call from Philadelphia, got up, walked out and never came back.

Schedule Note:
Okay, I get it, but it still bums me out.
When Coach Mainieri explained to me during our interview last October how Skip Bertman had mandated a home-heavy schedule of 35 (minimum) to 40 home games every year, it made me understand how his hands were being tied. Doesn’t mean, as a college baseball fan, I’m not bummed out about some of the not-so-exciting matchups, but money talks. And that new Alex Box shrine needs to be paid for with home games.

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- MISSISSIPPI (44-20, 20-10)
2009 RPI: 14
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 0
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
LHP Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.40, 124Ks, .237OBA)
2B Tim Ferguson (.358, 18SBs)
3B Zach Miller (.341-5-38)
1B Matt Smith (.336-8-59)

The Good News:
The law of averages have to catch up with Coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels at some point, right? They’ve been so good for so long, that weird post-season curse has got to end some time and the gates to Omaha will open up for this program, you can almost feel it. Maybe this is the year? If anything, having four starters return on the infield will be a huge boon to improving that .970 defense even moreso. Having Pomeranz back on campus is huge as well, especially with the rest of the weekend rotation gone. He’ll have RHP Jake Morgan (4-1, 3.46) and RHP Rory McKean (5-1, 4.53) to replenish the mound cupboard. Interestingly, Ole Miss went an impressive 14-5 in road games last year. That’s pretty stout, especially for an SEC team. Aaron Barrett didn’t put up great numbers (0-1, 8.70), but was drafted in the 27th round by Texas and decided to return to campus to improve his stock. There are some holes to fill (more on that below), but coach Bianco does have the luxury of the last two recruiting classes having been rated No. 11 and 12 by Baseball America, so look for some dividends to be paid off this season.

The Bad News:
It just wasn’t a good end of the season last May/June as the Rebs went 0-2 in the SEC tournament, then got pushed to the brink by Western Kentucky in the Regionals and ultimately lost a 1-0 game edge to Virginia to miss another trip to Omaha. After getting eliminated in Oxford by Virginia, the Rebels lost their fourth Super Regional, three of which were at home. Four .300+ hitters have moved on including legendary names like Jordan Henry and Logan Power, both of whom seemed to have been in Oxford for decades. Worst news of the fall?… Relief ace Jake Morgan (4-1, 9svs) will miss the 2010 season with Tommy John surgery. That’s a huge blow to the confidence of the bullpen.

Schedule Note:
They don’t duck people often.
Like Georgia, the Rebels are one team that routinely doesn’t shy away from solid non-SEC competition. And this year is no exception as they’ll travel to Tulane and then host former Rebel assistant Dan McDonnell and his Louisville Cards in back-to-back weekends in early March. That should built a callus for the rigors of the SEC.

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- MISSISSIPPI STATE (25-29, 9-20)
2009 RPI: 89
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 0
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 1

All Conference Candidates:
1B Connor Powers (.301-19-63, .998fielding)
2B Jet Butler (335)
DH/C Ryan Duffy (339-10-33)

The Good News:
Well we said in this forum last year that there is plenty of work for John Cohen to do, and it’s still true. But the good news is that year two should be a lot better. Having Powers back (after getting drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round) will ease things a bit and energize an already potent offense. Look for the emergence of RHP Devin Jones (0-4, 9.26), who was named the No. 1 prospect in the New England Collegiate summer league by B.A. He’ll be joined in the starting rotation by LHP Nick Routt (5-3, 4.15, 4CGs). Cohen landed the No. 8 recruiting class in the country, so look for immediate input from lefties Luke Bole and C.C. Watson and righties Kendall Graveman and Chris Stratton.

The Bad News:
Okay, okay, we know. The 2009 season was the first back-to-back losing seasons since ‘74-’75. Yes, even with all the experience they had returning last season, the Bulldogs still managed just nine SEC wins for the second year in a row. That smarts. All the youth that this year’s team will feature makes for an exciting future, but a bumpy present, so teams better pile on while they still can. I know youth was served last year but it still seems weird to see MSU rank at No. 212 in the country in team ERA (6.57).

Schedule Note:
Challenge won’t be a challenge, better head to the classic.
Michigan State and Southeast Missouri won’t make for much of a Bank First “Challenge” but you gotta love the Dogs trip to the Whataburger Classic where they’ll face Oklahoma and UCLA and get a better indication of where they stand. Oh, that opening weekend against Rhode Island could be interesting too.