As joyful, it was coming off last weekend’s surprise series win over Florida, this past weekend was equally deflating.
We are starting to learn this baseball team is a yo-yo. Up and down, hot and cold. They are all characteristics of a team not at a championship level.
I am not making the argument that this is will be a constant for Jay Johnson’s regime in Baton Rouge. However, that is the identity of this year’s squad. The Tigers will live and die by how productive they are on offense. The Bayou Bengals are not outstanding in any other area of the team.
LSU is an above-average hitting team. Average on the mound and below-average defensively. Johnson joked after the season opening series loss to Texas A&M “There is no free agency in college baseball.” In other words, we cannot fix our shortcomings in the middle of the season. He is right.
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The Tigers are going to lose some tough games this year that they might be better equipped to win a year from now. LSU has already missed a big opportunity to sustain success and build off the series win over the Gators.
Going forward, here's the expectation: LSU will win some games, but the idea of being a top 8 national seed is not in the cards this year. After this season, Coach Johnson has to bring in some dominant arms for a solid weekend rotation.
But this Tigers pitching staff is going to have punch above its weight class the rest of the way.