1. Florida State has Clemson's number. The Seminoles are averaging two errors per game, have a staff earned-run average hovering just below five, yet still won two of three over the Tigers this weekend. And, based on what Clemson's play-by-play announcers said Saturday, Clemson was fortunate a fly ball hit out of the stadium was called foul in that game or the Tigers would have been swept. The announcers were commenting without benefit of a replay at the time, and I didn't get to hear the Sunday broadcast to find out if they had amended their view. Still, teams with negative numbers like the Seminoles are putting up so far don't often win two of three from Clemson.
2. South Carolina still has issues with its pitching. Granted, the Gamecocks were facing an LSU team several people had ranked No. 1 in the preseason. Friday night starter Sam Dyson was sharp, and closer Alex Farotto pitched well until he stumbled in the ninth with a six-run cushion -- perhaps a concentration issue in that case. Sunday starter Nolan Belcher showed slightly better control than he had in previous starts. Blake Cooper may have regained his weekend spot in the rotation with a solid effort at Furman last Wednesday, but should his good numbers be chalked up to his pitching or Furman being overmatched on that night? An epidemic of wildness seems to have stricken almost everyone on the staff. USC pitchers are allowing an average of more than six batters per game to reach via walk or hit by pitch. Middle relief once again looks like a crap shoot. The Gamecocks are likely hopeful Curtis Johnson returns to full health -- soon.
3. USC also has offensive issues. The arrival of Chad Holbrook as an assistant was expected to signal more aggressive baserunning and the accompanying problems caused when defenses are forced to be on the move to cover bases. While the Gamecocks are ahead of last year's meager stolen base pace, the home run still appears to be the 500 pound gorilla in the USC game plan. The offense racked up 22 hits -- only one a homer -- against Furman, but that has been a rarity this season. USC struggled all weekend to get much going against LSU without the benefit of the long ball.
4. Furman is going to struggle more in the Southern Conference than I expected. When the SoCon coaches and media forecast Furman to finish eighth in the league this season, I thought that was too low. Based on what has happened to the Paladins recently, it may be too high. Coach Ron Smith has been unable to find consistency on his pitching staff. I take that back. He has been unable to find good consistency. In the weekend sweep by Elon, Furman pitchers were touched up for 34 hits, allowed 20 walks and hit nine batters. That's 21 baserunners per game before you take into account another errors that allowed an additional six runners to reach base. The Paladins are getting decent production out of five or six spots in the lineup, but are going to need more than that until the younger pitchers get more comfortable. One Furman message board reports closer Nick Karow is out for a few weeks with an injury -- which doesn't help -- but the Paladins must have pitching than they've been getting so far to get the full benefit of Karow when he returns.
5. USC freshman Jackie Bradley Jr. is a star in the making. The right fielder has hit three home runs in the past four games and has moved his batting average back above .300. He's also shown a strong arm. While he has just two assists so far, I was at a game earlier in the season where he uncorked a throw in from deep right field that made it to third on the fly.
6. An NCAA Division I coach in state could schedule himself out of a job by playing only other in-state teams in non-conference games. Seven of the 11 DI teams in the state are at .500 or better as I write this. Charleston Southern is a game under and Furman three under. USC Upstate (7-13) and Division I newbie Presbyterian (3-15) are the only schools more than one hot weekend from getting back to .500. And remember, Upstate has won at Tennessee and Presbyterian played South Carolina a one-run game that was in doubt until the end. Coastal Carolina was ranked as high as 10th last week and lost three of four games to state foes. If the economy drives schools to schedule more games against nearby schools in an effort to reduce expenses, the Pepto-Bismol sales could spike among coaches.
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