Start Lyons, if he goes more than once through the lineup then great. Then bring Sdao in, he clearly does not have an Ace starter mindset and it could cost us big in the postseason if we don't figure it out soon.

Can we just more/better arms.. offense can be elite but pitching this year is not the caliber we need

I don't think you can afford to put Shane out there game one in the tournament. Losing game one just puts you completely behind the 8 ball in those spots and the way we're losing game one of a series is doing the same thing for just a standard series. So much so that I think most people are probably fine with a run rule there so we didn't have to keep using more arms.

Change needs to begin with JK being let go.

Quincey P. Morris said:

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I don't think you can afford to put Shane out there game one in the tournament. Losing game one just puts you completely behind the 8 ball in those spots and the way we're losing game one of a series is doing the same thing for just a standard series. So much so that I think most people are probably fine with a run rule there so we didn't have to keep using more arms.

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That's exactly where you want him pitching in a regional, assuming we host. He's gonna have to go at some point, you want him pitching against the 4 seed

Muktheduck said:

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Quincey P. Morris said:

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I don't think you can afford to put Shane out there game one in the tournament. Losing game one just puts you completely behind the 8 ball in those spots and the way we're losing game one of a series is doing the same thing for just a standard series. So much so that I think most people are probably fine with a run rule there so we didn't have to keep using more arms.

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That's exactly where you want him pitching in a regional, assuming we host. He's gonna have to go at some point, you want him pitching against the 4 seed

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With a short damn leash. I don't trust him at all right now. Tarleton would light him up the way he is pitching right now

austin_aggie1997 said:

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Can we just more/better arms.. offense can be elite but pitching this year is not the caliber we need

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No, we have no ability to add more players in the middle of the season. HTH

Shane's issue is repeatedly getting to 0-2 or 1-2 counts but can't put the batter away. He throws some good pitches afterward but the batters are rarely fooled and easily make contact. If it drags out far enough the at bat usually ends up with a pitch hanging in the middle of the plate.

And yes, Kelly should have been in the middle of this early in the season. Are we too predictable? Does Shane tip the pitch somehow? How much work has been put into improving the "go to" out pitch? This has been the mo for two (three) years now. Shane has the arm talent but he doesn't seem to be progressing as a pitcher.

AgBQ_95 said:

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Change needs to begin with JK being let go.

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Am I the only one that actually thinks JK has done an amazing job with what he has? Obviously once the season ends, everyone wi be evaluated. But the talent is currently thin on the pitching staff. There may be some superstars in the freshman class, but they need time to develop and aren't there yet. Unfortunately, Sdao hasn't gotten back to his old form and seems to be regressing each week. And we've got 2 that are injured. Given all of that, we've done what we have needed to do for the most part. Sucks we don't have 3 solid weekend guys like Sims. Given this offense, a little more depth at pitching would put this team squarely in a national seed and a favorite to make and possibly win it all in Omaha.

We are going to need to shake up the weekend rotation. Sdao currently isn't getting it done and we need a solid Friday night starter.

Shane needs to be switched to a Sunday starter. Take pressure off his mental state

I think move Lyons to the starting rotation
He's earned it. And how Sdao can prosper in the pen

Sdao has 6.55 ERA

he was due for a bad start

and unfortunately it set the tone for the series in Auburn's favor

Sdao unfortunately post TJ surgery is a situational lefty. Teams are hitting .307 against him. He's not a starter, nor does he have the stuff to be a long reliever.

SirDeofWood said:

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Why not Freshcorn?

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Yeah hell who needs a damn closer? They're overrated anyway lol.

Three weeks ago Moss and Sdao were having similar results. After a shaky Saturday start against Vandy Moss was demoted from Saturday to Sunday and since then he's given up one run in 10 2/3 innings. Could it be that a similar move for Sdao could help him get on track? Maybe wishful thinking, I just don't know if he can be a starter this year. It seems if he can't blow his fastball by hitters he gets in trouble. And hard to do that against SEC hitters without a breaking pitch he can control.

His issue is he can't get his pitches down, and just generally poor control.

Capitol Ag said:

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AgBQ_95 said:

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Change needs to begin with JK being let go.

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Am I the only one that actually thinks JK has done an amazing job with what he has? Obviously once the season ends, everyone wi be evaluated. But the talent is currently thin on the pitching staff. There may be some superstars in the freshman class, but they need time to develop and aren't there yet. Unfortunately, Sdao hasn't gotten back to his old form and seems to be regressing each week. And we've got 2 that are injured. Given all of that, we've done what we have needed to do for the most part. Sucks we don't have 3 solid weekend guys like Sims. Given this offense, a little more depth at pitching would put this team squarely in a national seed and a favorite to make and possibly win it all in Omaha.

We are going to need to shake up the weekend rotation. Sdao currently isn't getting it done and we need a solid Friday night starter.

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Yeah Kelley is not the problem

Not getting arms in the portal last year is the problem

Sdao just does not have a wipe out breaking pitch or change up and fails consistently to utilize the bottom or top of the strike zone or the inside corner. Without a ++ fastball, he is going to get shelled.

Captain Pablo said:

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Capitol Ag said:

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AgBQ_95 said:

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Change needs to begin with JK being let go.

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Am I the only one that actually thinks JK has done an amazing job with what he has? Obviously once the season ends, everyone wi be evaluated. But the talent is currently thin on the pitching staff. There may be some superstars in the freshman class, but they need time to develop and aren't there yet. Unfortunately, Sdao hasn't gotten back to his old form and seems to be regressing each week. And we've got 2 that are injured. Given all of that, we've done what we have needed to do for the most part. Sucks we don't have 3 solid weekend guys like Sims. Given this offense, a little more depth at pitching would put this team squarely in a national seed and a favorite to make and possibly win it all in Omaha.

We are going to need to shake up the weekend rotation. Sdao currently isn't getting it done and we need a solid Friday night starter.

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Yeah Kelley is not the problem

Not getting arms in the portal last year is the problem

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That is one of his main responsibilities though. We don't have any arms that really scare you stuff wise.

LSU, Texas, Florida, etc are littered with guys like that. It's not the end all be all by any means but it definitely limits the ceiling of your staff.

Just laughing at OP thinking a bullpen Game in the 1st game is a good idea.

GigEm81 said:

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I am kind of amazed so many wish to throw Sdao overboard.

I am wondering who our fourth starter is. Sdao is sufficient despite some shaky outings.

So fourth starter when needed is Darden? Hate to pull Lyons out of the pen.

Can't afford to throw anyone overboard.

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Few here want to "throw him overboard." We want to rethink how he is used. Can you see that having a Friday night starter with a 10 ERA this deep into the season is not a good strategy?

He is valuable to the team, but he is not providing value in his current role.

Luigi Vampa said:

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GigEm81 said:

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I am kind of amazed so many wish to throw Sdao overboard.

I am wondering who our fourth starter is. Sdao is sufficient despite some shaky outings.

So fourth starter when needed is Darden? Hate to pull Lyons out of the pen.

Can't afford to throw anyone overboard.

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Few here want to "throw him overboard." We want to rethink how he is used. Can you see that having a Friday night starter with a 10 ERA this deep into the season is not a good strategy?

He is valuable to the team, but he is not providing value in his current role.

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Criticizing his ERA is the easy part, coming up with a better solution is the hard part. Making Lyons a starter has a cost. He is doing really great as a middle relief guy and sometimes closer. Not sure you want to mess with that.

Plus where is Sdao's head right now? What does he want to do? We need everybody's head in the game. We do not have any spare pitching.

Are you really going to want to bring Sdao out of the pen with that same era? The only way i would do that is if he felt he could contribute better in that role.

I think Lyons is perfect where he is. Not sure you want a guy who basically only throws fastballs as your starter.

The main reason not to start Sdao is quite simple....he is not a starting pitcher. He doesn't have the stuff to eat up any innings and the second time thru the line up (if he can last that long) he is simply going to get shelled. He's really a situational lefty at best.

We are 3-5 in SEC games he starts, and 12-3 in games that he does not start. The three wins we have in the games he has started, he hasn't gone five innings in either of the three games and his ERA in those three wins is 8.78.

We have two starters. Reminds me of the 1948 Boston Braves who won the NL pennant with basically a two-man rotation whereas one sportswriter coined the phrase "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain".