Big-12 South Report.

[Mossyhorn]

Just a quick look at the progress (or lack thereof) of the six Big-12 South programs.

We are three weekends into the schedule. What do we know so far about the opposition? Nothing really...except, none of these teams have beaten anybody, with the exception of Texas, which is 4-0 against ranked programs.

Here we go...alphabetically:

Baylor (7-6).
The Bears have started out slowly, slower than usual. They have several new faces in the lineup, and on the mound, but none have been that surprising. Senior Raynor Campbell (4-20, .442) is going to be all-conference. Soph. Brooks Pinkard (.400) is looking like everything advertised when he came to the program. The Bears defense is atrocious, as the 21 errors in 13 games attest. Josh Turley (2-0, 2.25) is their best pitcher so far.

The Bears biggest win: Georgia (5-2). Biggest loss: La. Tech (6-14).

OU (11-1).
What do we know about the Sooners? Less than practically everyone else. The Sooners do have a great one in 3rd baseman Garret Buechele (4-16, .437). On the mound, Jeremy Erben is 5-0, all in relief.

Best win: Take your pick, 4-3 over UTA, or 5-4 yesterday over SFA. Seriously. Worst loss= their ONLY loss, 4-3, to Jacksonville.

Oklahoma State (4-2).
The Cowboys haven't played as many games as everybody else, but one thing is certain: They will have one of the top pitchers in the conference, in Tyler Lyons (0-0, 1.23).

Texas (8-3).
Not much need be said here; the greatest pitching, probably the best defense, and the worst lineup in the Big-12 South. When the walk, balk, HBP, and wild pitch are your best allies on offense, the pitching & defense need to be plenty good. They are.

Best win= Sweep of Stanford, & Rice (3-2). Worst Loss: Houston (0-1).

Texas A&M (9-2).
The Aggies really miss those two undergrad pitchers they lost, but the defense has again deserted them (20 errors in 11 games). The new & rebuilt pitching staff has a sterling 1.93 ERA...but, they have played nobody, and still lost 1-5 to Western Kentucky, a Sun Belt team. Joe Patterson (1-7, .500) and Brodie Greene (0-10, .452) look to be all-conference.

Texas Tech (7-5).
Boy, has Dan Spencer got a tough job ahead of him in Lubbock. Their schedule is less impressive than A&M's, and they sport a 6.45 team ERA.
Chad Bettis (2-1, 5.40) is their best pitcher. Joey Kenworthy (1-9, .341) is a solid hitter. The Tech "D" has come around, with only 12 errors in 12 games.

It starts to get fun after this weekend, and conference play is right around the corner. If I had to bet right now, it will be Texas, hands-down, to win conference and the conference tourney. I want to see A&M's staff against credible opposition, but I expect them to be around at tourney time, as well.

Hook 'em.

[Mossyhorn]

FYI-
No contest this weekend, with 4 games at the Disch against Iowa.

Texas' first Big-12 series is at home against Nebraska, the weekend of March 19-21 . That should be interesting. Then, they head to Lubbock, and Norman.

[HornsUP]

thanks for posting this mossy and i agree with all you've said. some teams sport some nice records, but again, it's against nobody competition. Texas is the only team that has played a decent non-conference slate. and think, our 3 combined losses have been by 4 runs. every team is going to lose games, but the fact that Texas is 4-0 against ranked teams gives me a lot more confidence in this group than if we were 0-4/1-3 against ranked teams but smoked the nobodies like the ou's of the big 12. friday night's game against rice was a very electrifying atmosphere, similar to that of the postseason. this team is very similar to last year with it's great pitching and defense and woeful hitting at times. i'll tell you this though. i have not missed a single game this year. there are a lot of balls that we have hit that would be homers in Omaha, yet were fly outs due to the size of the Disch and MinuteMaid. apparently the team had a players meeting saturday night about their hitting and trying to mimic the pitchers that know they are going to go out and dominate every game. great signs of life on Sunday, we'll see if that carries forward.

i do agree with you mossy, it's Texas and the rest as far as the big 12 goes. we should be the champs of this conference!

[Bevo]

Good job Mossy.

Yes, my guy Brooks Pinckard for Baylor is off to a real nice start. I'll be with his Grandpa and Dad tomorrow and I'll let them know he is getting love on the BOFZ !

[Mossyhorn]

HornsUP,
Glad you've made every game...keep it up, we need you rooting from atop the bus in right field!

Bevo,
Yeah, Baylor has a fairly nice lineup, and Pinkard is going to be a big part of that. Hope you can make it up here for the Texas/Baylor matchup. We always sit on the grass; not a bad seat in the place (kinda like the Disch).

I can't believe I didn't give SFA love for besting the Aggies at Pat Olsen; but, I expected them to win, anyway, so the "worst loss" scenario to W. Ky. still holds true.

By the way, here are the pertinent numbers, for the Texas Longhorns:

Batting Avg.: .251 (poor)

Fielding: 8 errors in 11 games (excellent)

ERA: 2.11 (excellent, considering 4 games were against ranked teams, all wins)

[HornsUP]

Originally Posted by Mossyhorn

HornsUP,
Glad you've made every game...keep it up, we need you rooting from atop the bus in right field!

mossy, the offer is still open as long as the bus isn't too overcrowded. either give me a heads up or just swing by right field!

[UTBubba]

Thanks for the update Mossy! Always fun to read your take. Hope to see you all at some games this year! Come see Rita and me in section 111. Hook 'em!