May 6, 2008
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TUESDAY, MAY 6- 5:04 AM
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Congratulations to the baseball team for its second straight sweep over Tennessee last weekend. Here are some post-Tennessee notes I jotted down with quotes from Coach Corbin. And fans.. this week just gets bigger. The ‘Dores will host their final four regular season home games starting Wednesday with Tennessee Tech, followed by SEC-leading Georgia coming to town for a three-game set beginning Friday. Over 700 tickets remain for each game, so call 615.322.GOLD and make sure you pack the park!
DEFENSE FIRST
It was time for a change.
In their series loss to Kentucky two weekends ago, the Commodores committed six overall errors, capped off by four miscues in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Wildcats, prompting head coach Tim Corbin to make a move for the Tennessee series.
“I was down about the way we played defense against Kentucky,” said Corbin. “We didn’t hit the ball, but run prevention has always been the theme in this program.
“I thought we were going to play defense first and if we got offense, fine, but I wanted energy and clean baseball in the field and that’s what we got.”
Corbin started his defensive adjustments against UT by putting Brad French’s sure-handed glove back at first base for the first time since April 15.
“He’s just played a lot of games over at first and he’s been out in the field in tough situations,” said Corbin. “Yeah, he doesn’t give you the typical first baseman numbers of .350, 20 jacks and 60 RBI, but he’s alert. I like his legs, I like his mind, and I like his alertness and that just kind of bleeds into the rest of the team.”
In addition to French, Corbin liked Steven Liddle’s defense in left field, a position that has seen five different players earn starts during the season. That decision meant the lefty would be in the lineup against two southpaw starting pitchers on Friday and Saturday. Alex Feinberg also played second base after spending time in and out of the lineup since suffering a broken jaw April 5 at Ole Miss.
The moves paid off as the Commodores were error-free in their first sweep of Tennessee in Knoxville since the SEC went to three-game series in 1986.
“To me it’s about trying to lessen the run production of the other team while trying to increase the run production of our team. It’s paramount that we play good defense and I think that had a lot to do with the success of the weekend.”
WITH DEFENSE COMES OFFENSE
Corbin not only made some defensive moves against Tennessee, but also shuffled the batting order to try and spark an offense that produced just six total runs against Kentucky, which included going a dismal 4-for-26 with runners in scoring position.
“There was no rhythm in the lineup,” said Corbin. “We weren’t getting people on base, and when we were getting people on base, we weren’t driving them in, so I said forget it and let’s just bump everyone up.”
Corbin stayed with David Macias at the top of the lineup (who’s been placed there for every game this season), but moved Dominic de la Osa up to the two spot, followed by Pedro Alvarez in the three hole with Ryan Flaherty hitting cleanup.
The top four jumpstarted the offense, combining to go 20-for-53 (.377) with 13 RBI, 14 runs and eight extra base hits on the weekend.
“I think it’s just a matter of getting your best hitters up there and getting them as many at-bats as they possibly can because when it really gets down to late in the game, you want those guys back up there again.”
But the hitting surge didn’t stop there.
In fact, it was contagious throughout the entire order.
Steven Liddle led the ‘Dores going 5-for-11 (.455) with three doubles and three RBI against the Vols. After some early season hitting struggles, the redshirt freshman has battled back to raise his average to .299.
“Steve’s a kid who was hitting about .220 for most of the year, but it was the hardest .220 I had seen,” remarked Corbin. “He was just hitting hard line drives and fly balls all over the place. I think he’s a good RBI guy. He seems to pick up guys when they get on base and he’s very aggressive with the bat.”
Shea Robin also continued his offensive tear over the last few weeks by hitting 6-for-14 (.429) with two homers, a double and four RBI. The senior has raised his average an impressive 55 points in three weeks to .317.
“My running joke with Shea is that I don’t need him for offense because he can’t hit, so just give me defense,” quipped Corbin, who labeled Robin as the best defensive catcher in the SEC. “Ironically, all along we recruited him because of his bat and what he’s given us in return is a solid bat.”
Alex Feinberg looked like he’s returning to form at the plate with four hits including his first homer since March 4 against Louisville. Andrew Giobbi knocked in two runs in Saturday’s win, while Brad French contributed with his second multi-RBI game of the season in Sunday’s victory.
Overall, the Commodores exploded to score 27 runs on 42 hits versus Tennessee, while the team hit .356 with four homers, 14 doubles and a triple in the three games. VU also rebounded by going 20-for-51 (.392) with RISP and converted 10 two-out RBI as well.
It was a nice turnaround for a team looking to hit its stride at the most important time of year.
“As a coach, you want to be playing your best ball of the year,” said Corbin. “We’ve fought through a lot of adversities earlier in the year with injuries. They’re not excuses but they’re thunderbolts and they hit you and knock your team down a little bit and you see how they react to them.
“I think now we’re starting to bloom a little bit. Hopefully we’re playing our best down the stretch.”
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Well, that’s it for today. Thought I’d go old school on the blog and include a video of the day.
At Tennessee this weekend, they tried to play “Sweet Caroline” in Friday’s game in the eighth when UT was trailing 8-0. Let’s just say it fired up the Commodore faithful that made the trip to Knoxville.
Now, this version below isn’t the original by Neil Diamond (which is far and away the best). It’s a cover by the King himself, Elvis. I love just about anything Elvis — young Elvis, fat Elvis, tiny Elvis… heck, even the Elvis impersonator I met in Vegas last summer that was from Paducah, Kentucky (yes, that’s a true story… I have the picture to prove it). My favorite part of this video is when Elvis makes his swivel movements to the part in the chorus that’s known for the horn section.
And by the way.. there was no way I was posting David Archuleta’s “Sweet Caroline” cover from American Idol this season. As much as I love Idol, young David should have been voted off for even trying it. As Simon said, it was “amateurish.” David Cook should win it all based on who’s left. I personally thought Michael Johns was just as good, but he was voted off weeks ago. And how Jason Castro has survived this long in a competition based on talent, I’ll never know.