March 28, 2003

Quick start has folks talking baseball in Arkansas

By Charlie Shields
SEBaseball.com Staff Writer

Oh sure, but who have they played?

That was the question fans were asking as the Razorbacks were cruising before starting SEC play. Maybe there is a defeatist in every sports fan that knows that whenever things start going good, they can just as quickly go bad.

And when the Hogs left for their first series of SEC play two weeks ago, traveling to Columbia, South Carolina to face the highly heralded Gamecocks, the Arkansas fans were reluctantly optimistic. Let's see how they do when they are tested.

A loss on Friday night seemed to vindicate the nay-sayers that had been saying the Hogs had a soft schedule. A rainout on Saturday meant a day to regroup after just the second loss of the season and prepare for a doubleheader on Sunday. Arkansas won both games close, but a win is a win and the Hogs had just started off SEC play with a winning record.

It was enough to get a definite buzz going around the internet. Hog message boards were filled with more posts about the baseball team than ever (eclipsing the previous record of none) and fans were planning trips to Baum Stadium.

Two wins at the Gent Classic in Shreveport whipped into a frenzy (okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, we are still talking baseball here) and the Hogs were coming home for the first home SEC series sitting on top of an extremely respectable 18-2 record.

The bad news was Scott Hode's injury. He was in the face with a ball thrown by former Razorback turned La Tech pitcher Brad Chedister. Hode broke several bones in his face (that's right, BROKE BONES IN HIS FACE) and will be out two to four weeks and then will wear a special face mask both at the plate and in the field. He had surgery this week to insert a plate IN HIS FACE.

Little did we know how huge the loss of Hode would be (ohhhh the anticipationthis article is a real page turner!) [okay, there are no pages to turn, use your imagination]

As I walked into Baum Stadium towards my section I thought about the differences in following a good team and a bad team. In some ways, it's less nerve-racking when you know that you probably will lose. You're prepared for it. So when you win a huge game or series, it's like Christmas. But when you're doing good, even though that is awesome in and of itself, there is always that knowledge that on any given SEC weekend.well, you get the idea and you know where I'm going with this.

MSU comes in and sweeps us in three straight games. There, I got it out. Perhaps I should try to be a more objective "journalist," but the truth is, I'm a fan. I'm not a homer that thinks everything we do is right and good, but I'd be lying if I said I had a good time at the park last weekend. It was horrible. The hitting was non-existent, the fielding wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good and the pitching was, well, THERE for the most part, alternately pitching lights out and getting swatted all over the field. The fact that most of the voters on Sebaseball voted the Hogs higher than I did is simply a testament that they were not there to witness it.

The loss of Scott Hode was tremendous to the team, and it became apparent just how important he was, both to the defense and to morale. The Hogs came out flat on Friday against MSU and never really rebounded. Another important loss is Scott Bridges. Bridges hurt his shoulder a few weeks ago, and while he is back in the lineup at DH, he has yet to return to the field. Doctors aren't sure what's wrong with him, so there is no timetable for his return. That makes for a rag tag infield, with Clay Goodwin at second base, Brett Hagedorn at short and Nick Pitts at third. Ideally, Hagedorn or Goodwin would play third, Hode would play short, Bridges would play second and Pitts would platoon with Pratt at first and DH.

With Hode out for at least two weeks, and Bridges out an unspecified time, though, things weren't going to get "ideal" for some time.

But there is always tomorrow, no? Or at least, Tuesday.

This past Tuesday the Hogs took on Southwest Missouri State. The Bears were picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference this year, and have become somewhat of a rival to Arkansas since helping to knock the Hogs out of the Arkansas regional in 1999. Plenty of Arkansas fans remember the Bears celebrating on our field then, and no, we don't forget. (Then again, baseball fans never forget, do they?)

Arkansas looked like it was picking up right were it left off, allowing two runs on a home run by Bear catcher Tony Piazza (no relation). The Hogs managed to put together some hits though, and won 5-4.

Which means, of course, that the Hogs no longer have a losing streak and will go to Kentucky (0-6 in SEC play) with a confidence boosting win under their belts. Let the internet buzz re-start!

STAT ROUNDUP:

Clay Goodwin is leading the team in batting average, hitting .455.

Catcher Brady Toops is hitting .369 and rightfielder Andrew Wishy is hitting .356.

Goodwin is also leading the team in OBP with .526.

Wishy is leading the team in SLG with .586, Toops is at .585, Goodwin is at .576.

Toops, Hode and Bridges all have 2 SBs each, leading the team.

Wishy is leading the RBI race w/ 23, Nick Pitts has 19 and Haas Pratt and centerfielder Ryan Fox have 18 each.

Wishy also has 12 doubles, leading the team.

Pratt has 17 walks, leading the team. Wishy has 16.

The Hogs have been hit by pitches 41 times through 24 games this season, which puts them on pace to be hit 92 times. The record for a season is 90. Hog pitchers have hit just 23 batters.

Speaking of which

Jimmy Mobbs is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 8.1 innings pitched. He has appeared in three games.

Jarrett Gardner leads the team in strikeouts with 24, and Charley Boyce has 22.

Boyce has given up the most HRs (5).

Ryan Fox has yet to give up a hit in his two relief appearances (1.0 innings each) but has struck out five.

Caton Hall leads the team in appearances, with 10, all in relief.

Opponents are 6/19 on SB attempts.