D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Week Eight • D1Baseball
Have questions about the latest Top 25 rankings and much more? Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt answer your burning questions.
Including any B1G discussion or relevant general topics for college baseball
Erik M: Is the gradual increase in home runs a different -- "juiced" ball or is it just the launch angle revolution making its way down the baseball ladder?
Kendall Rogers: Erik -- I have zero doubt the ball is a little hot this season. I also think the weather, to an extent, has mattered. It seems to me like it's been a little warmer than usual, and as a result, balls are flying a bit more. But at the end of the day, I think it's more so the ball than anything else. I was watching the end of the Ole Miss-A&M game yesterday and Ryan Targac hit a walk-off HR on a ball that looked like a routine pop up to center. Instead, it just kept going and going.
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Nick Hammons: Has there been any traction on that amendment where coaches want the season to start in mid-March instead of mid-February? These games with snow and frigid temperatures are just brutal.
Kendall Rogers: No movement, and frankly, I think that whole plan likely died with Erik Bakich moving on to Clemson. I haven't heard a peep about it since his move, and let's be honest, COVID kind of threw a wrench into the plans on that deal, too. I still very much favor an early-to-mid March start date, but getting SEC schools to move the end of the season into July is a tough proposition.
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JDM: When can we expect the first "Field of 64" release?
Aaron Fitt: This week! We're working on our full midseason update package, and the Field of 64 will be part of that.
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Terpitude: The Terps are on a good roll, but their RPI is 55. What is the maximum a B1G team's RPI can be to snag an NCAA bid? (I realize after last year's Rutgers snub that nothing is guaranteed.)
Kendall Rogers: Terp -- the one difference between Rutgers (last year) and Maryland (this year) is that Maryland actually went out and played a challenging non-conference schedule. That is probably 99% of the reason Rutgers did not make the field last year. With that said, as long as the Terps are playing the way they did this past weekend against Iowa, I think everything will take care of itself anyway.
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Guest: Thoughts on the mercy rule? I love that the SEC adopted it. Watched an Atlantic 10 game yesterday that could have really used it.
Kendall Rogers: Guest -- I'm fine with it. Like many rules, there's an argument against it. For instance, if you're up 15-2 in a game on a Friday night, you can really exhaust a team's bullpen or something. With the run rule, that is not possible. But honestly, the chances of coming back from down 10 runs in the seventh inning are pretty slim. I'm fine with it.
