For the second time in a matter of days, LSU is fielding the same questions about Paul Skenes' availability on short rest -- and the answer is still the same.
We'll have to wait and see.
“As I talked about last time, we do the process to figure that out, which we’ll do, and that doesn’t take place until day of game, so we have to do that with all of them," Johnson said. "You’re going on Game 8 in 10 days, so we have to be mindful of all that and we will be and we’ll see who’s available.”
It's the same non-answer the Tigers head coach gave about his ace ahead of a winner-take-all showdown against Wake Forest on Thursday. It came out later that the plan was always to pitch Skenes in that do-or-die game, but no one will fault a head coach for putting up a smokescreen even if wasn't very thick.
Skenes answered the bell and laid down a dominating performance, throwing 8 innings of shutout baseball that set up the Tigers to walk off in the 11th and walk into a title series against Florida. But the question this time feels more significant, considering the millions upon millions he's set to earn once the MLB draft kicks off later this year. Pitching on six days rest is one thing. But going on four days rest after throwing 120 hard pitches? If it was for anything but a national title, it'd never even be considered.
But a national title is what's on the line, and it's difficult to imagine a scenario where Skenes wouldn't be lobbying hard to be on the field.
On Florida's side of the equation, they've decided to keep any bulletin board material to themselves. Coach Kevin O'Sullivan wouldn't dive into whatever pitching matchup they'll face, but slugger Jac Caglianone put it into perspective.
"It'd be kind of crazy," he said, "but anything's possible in the postseason."
Caglianone "probably will have the opportunity to pitch" in that Game 3, O'Sullivan said. Along with leading all of college baseball with 33 home runs, the Gators star threw 73.1 innings with a 3.68 ERA and 85 strikeouts.
The other question LSU would have to answer in that scenario is possibly the more important one: Exactly how long would you let Skenes go? And in what capacity would he be used?
The one benefit of losing to Florida by 20 runs is the Tigers were able to navigate the final four innings without pressure to burn any of the top-end arms they'd want to lean on in a winner-take-all Game 3. Thatcher Hurd, Riley Cooper and Griffin Herring, among others, would all be available and have pitched tremendously in Omaha.
Might Skenes start and be treated like an opener with a pitch count? Would it make more sense to save him for high-leverage work in the later innings, coming out of the bullpen for the first time all season?
"It’s one game for a national championship," Johnson said. "I think coach O’Sullivan probably feels great about his team, as he should with the players they have. I feel great about my team with the players we have.”
Johnson wasn't giving any hints on Sunday. We'll begin to find out, officially, starting at 6 p.m. on Monday. Winner take all.
