Everyone looks like they think we have little chance against the remainder of our schedule. But how many of those same people thought we would go into UVA and take 2 out of three pretty convincingly. They were a top 10 team but we looked like the better team all weekend. They were lucky not to get swept by us.
Watching us the past few weeks we appear to be a team that is improving and peaking at the right time. On offense we are what we have been for years, a team that is dangerous up and down the lineup. The injury to Giesler may have been the best thing that has happened to the team this year. It gave opportunities to multiple players that may not have seen much time this season otherwise. It gave us the opportunity to build some depth to the roster. Now I'm not nervous if we see Jaros or Kerce on the field. Plus we have Zmarzlak who can swap with Brosius in RF or DH. Then we have Cam Jones who can play anywhere which gives us the flexibility to adjust the lineup as needed.
On the mound it looks like we can depend on both Finateri and Jones to gives us quality starts most weekends. Both Patel and Hill have shown vast improvement recently. The key to our success may come down to if one or both of them can consistently pitch like they have the past week. I strangely don't have a feeling of despair these days if we need to go to the bullpen. Not like the past few years. We have Thomas who has been able to give us a few good innings pretty consistently. Guys like Barfield and Brown are looking pretty dependable. Hopefully a move back to the bullpen will give us the McKee we saw earlier in the season. And Patel remains another option from the pen. Get Busse straightened out and we have a lot of options.
Then there is our defense which has become a big strength for the team. I have heard opposing announcers say more than once that the Tech defense has been a plus for us this year. We have an outfield that can absolutely go get the ball whether it is Burress in center or Younger in left or Brosius in right. Coach Hall has called Jones the best defensive first baseman he has had in a long time. Bechetti at second (and even Kerce) shows great range and an accurate arm. We have guys at third, whether it is Giesler, Jaros or Kerce that have been making Sportscaster top ten plays. What was a problem last year is now a team strength. It was something coach Hall emphasized before the season and I have to give him credit for being able to put that product on the field.
I guess basically what I have been saying in this post is everyone is afraid the team will revert back to old and we will see the inconsistent Tech that we have become used to over recent years. I, however, believe this is a team that has come through some adversity and is now a different team than earlier in the year. So take whatever these outside prognosticators have to say about the remainder of our season and ignore them. Predictions made using models based on a different Tech team than the one we have seen the past few weeks should be ignored. We have taken the series against the first two ranked teams (one at home and the other on the road) and I see no reason we can't continue to do so against the remaining teams on our schedule. Whatever happens, I am excited going into each game knowing we have a decent chance to win it. I haven't felt like that in a while so I think I'm going to enjoy the ride.
