Former A&M outfielder J.B. Moss remaining 'cautiously optimistic'

Former Texas A&M outfielder J.B. Moss played in his fair share of elimination games during his time in Maroon & White. During Monday's edition of TexAgs Radio, Moss shared what the mindset amongst the Aggies will be ahead of tonight's Game 7 with Stanford.

Key notes from J.B. Moss interview

• My thoughts are that you’re right. They are in a good spot. If it was easy, everybody would do it. Let’s not forget that they’re on the road at a national seed. It’s not supposed to be easy. This is why it’s a double-elimination bracket. I’m still confident in the Aggies. I would assume Nathan Dettmer is getting the ball tonight, and he has shown us in the biggest moments that he can come through. I expect him to do that again tonight.
   
• It doesn’t feel good right now, and I know I’m trying to stay optimistic and positive. Still, Jim Schlossnagle has said it since he stepped on campus that everything starts and ends with starting pitching. They saw a good stretch of dominant starting pitching in Hooer, and they rolled off win after win after win. When we have guys that can’t get out of the second inning, you can’t rely on your offense to pull you out time and time again. I’m cautiously optimistic headed into tonight. I truly believe that the game will come down to the starting pitcher.
   
• I think it’ll be a quick hook if necessary tonight because all the chips are on the table, and you don’t have room for error. It’s like Troy Wansing last night. You’ll get a feel pretty quickly if Dettmer is commanding that fastball down in the zone. If he can locate on of his secondary pitches, maybe he gets a longer leash. If he struggles early in the game with that fastball, I think they’ll bring in Evan Aschenbeck or somebody that can throw strikes and be down in the zone.
   
• A great start by Dettmer tonight would validate our thoughts of him coming through for the Aggies in the biggest moments. You cannot ignore his body of work this season, and it has been an uphill battle. Still, his ability to perform in Omaha against Notre Dame was a bright spot. If he can come through and send Texas A&M to a super regional, we should feel good about him moving forward when the lights are the brightest.
   
• There is no doubt that it’s a struggle because of the inconsistency in the strike zone. You get a feel early on, but when umpires are giving two or three balls off the plate like they were yesterday, it’s a challenge. It’ll make you be more aggressive in the count. It’s so hard to fight off those pitches. Your eyes are telling you it’s a ball, but your mind is reminding you that it was called a strike. It puts you in a tough spot as a hitter, and it forces you to get your swing off earlier in the count. They can affect you.
   
• Looking at the numbers offensive, it has been somewhat of a struggled lately. They only have two guys hitting over .300, so it’s sort of amazing what they’ve been able to do as far as run production. They have five guys with double-digit home runs, so their ability to do damage when they do swing has been what will help the Aggies offensively.
   
• Leading early just lets you play baseball. Gripping the bat too tight and trying to do too much are real things. You’re more prone to do that when you’re behind. When you’re ahead and feeling good about your pitcher, you get in a rhythm and a feel of a baseball game. It’s much more fluid. Hopefully that’s what we see from A&M tonight.
   
• Your season is on the line. You’re going to do whatever it takes. You’ll exhaust yourself mentally and physically. You’re going to put a bunt down or hit behind a runner. If your arm is sore, who cares. Go out and win. It’s all hands on deck, and the mindset is what can I do today to help A&M play tomorrow? Nobody will care how they feel or their emotions. Galvanize together and do whatever it takes to win this ballgame.
   
• Of course I’ve been thinking about “what if” they win. I’ve got Maroon-colored glasses, and I’ve already pictured us holding the trophy in Omaha. I’ve looked ahead to a possible super regional with Texas, and of course, that would be amazing. Of course my bias would want it in College Station. I feel good about this team, and I truly believe they can compete with anybody in the country. It comes down to the starting pitcher and what they give us. We’ve been productive offensively early in the game. If we do that and get a quality start, we can beat anybody in the country, Stanford included.