What are expectations for this season compared to last?

#26
#26
I expect that we’ll be surprised. It’s a given. We have an experienced rotation, thus the preseason ranking. However, there are so many unknowns due to replacing everyone in the field.

It will be interesting to watch this group come together defensively, especially up the middle. Catcher, SS, 2B and CF.

Luc was a mainstay at 1B, dependable at the plate especially with runners on base. (.466)

Then there are guys like Kyle Booker, what’s his role? You could say that about a few returning guys, but, typically these guys are gonna get their shots early on. They’ve waited their turn and it’s 2 weeks away. I don’t have expectations, this is the 2023 Vols and they’ll write their own story in due time.

GBO!!!

Countdown:15 days
 
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#28
#28
Well, we're pre-season #2 in the country in most polls, so the expectations will be the same as last season: Omaha. Will we go 57-9 again? Highly unlikely. I would bet good money we don't see a record like that for a long, long time because of how abnormal that win total was. But, you can have a worse record and still be a better team.

On paper, the pitching should be even better. You return your entire All-American rotation. Bullpen should be deeper. Lots of exciting, young arms to utilize as well in the future. Offense should theoretically take a step back early on in the season, but we have a more talented lineup I would argue. It just might take time to gel.

Nevertheless, the mission is the same. Get a Top-8 national seed. Win the SEC. Both very achievable goals, but we'll see how the chips fall. We have a BRUTAL conference schedule. LSU and Arkansas both on the road means you're going to have a much more difficult path to the SEC crown than last season.
 
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#29
#29
We should be in contention to win another regular season baseball title and SEC Tournament Championship and go back to the College World Series.
 
#30
#30
Hope they still got that swag like last season. The rest of the sec is boring. Idc what other programs think...the past 2 seasons have been exciting....and yea I didn't watch Vol baseball before that.
 
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#31
#31
OldTimer said:
On paper, we should be better however team chemistry is unknown at this point
Can we match last year's win total, that's going to be tough as last year was a magical year and lots of things fell into place
Omaha is now the new goal every year, nothing less
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I'll take a season like Ole Miss had. They had injuries. We have youth. I'll be fine with struggles early if we can catch fire as we approach tournament time. :cool:
 
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#32
#32
CAVPUT said:
I'll take a season like Ole Miss had. They had injuries. We have youth. I'll be fine with struggles early if we can catch fire as we approach tournament time. :cool:
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Just listened to that SE 14 podcast. That road schedule sounds rugged. Will be hard to repeat a 13-2 SEC road record.
 
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#33
#33
TheMookieMonster said:
Well, we're pre-season #2 in the country in most polls, so the expectations will be the same as last season: Omaha. Will we go 57-9 again? Highly unlikely. I would bet good money we don't see a record like that for a long, long time because of how abnormal that win total was. But, you can have a worse record and still be a better team.

On paper, the pitching should be even better. You return your entire All-American rotation. Bullpen should be deeper. Lots of exciting, young arms to utilize as well in the future. Offense should theoretically take a step back early on in the season, but we have a more talented lineup I would argue. It just might take time to gel.

Nevertheless, the mission is the same. Get a Top-8 national seed. Win the SEC. Both very achievable goals, but we'll see how the chips fall. We have a BRUTAL conference schedule. LSU and Arkansas both on the road means you're going to have a much more difficult path to the SEC crown than last season.
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Experience often trumps talent. See ND last year. My expectations are tempered by losing all 8 position players including chiseled veterans like Evan Russell, Luc Lipsius, Trey Lipscomb, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck. and Cortland Lawson. You just can’t replace the game repetitions and experience combined with the comraderie and trust developed over several years of blood, sweat, and tears in the clubhouse. The good news is that all 3 of our transfer portal position players are veterans as well. This team will hopefully gel and peak during late May and early June. I look forward to seeing what happens but don’t like the #2 ranking and lofty expectations (and pressure) that accompanies it.
 
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#34
#34
turdherder11 said:
Hope they still got that swag like last season. The rest of the sec is boring. Idc what other programs think...the past 2 seasons have been exciting....and yea I didn't watch Vol baseball before that.
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Moore/CMO, Burke, and Booker have plenty of swag. I bet Maui does as well but can’t confirm.
 
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#35
#35
taylorvol said:
Experience often trumps talent. See ND last year. My expectations are tempered by losing all 8 position players including chiseled veterans like Evan Russell, Luc Lipsius, Trey Lipscomb, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck. and Cortland Lawson. You just can’t replace the game repetitions and experience combined with the comraderie and trust developed over several years of blood, sweat, and tears in the clubhouse. The good news is that all 3 of our transfer portal position players are veterans as well. This team will hopefully gel and peak during late May and early June. I look forward to seeing what happens but don’t like the #2 ranking and lofty expectations (and pressure) that accompanies it.
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Did not serve Arky well last year…
 
#37
#37
Obviously I hope for the best. Yes, there’s some collective handwringing over ‘we lost all these players and we’re going to finish 15th in the SEC!’ 😉 I get it.

However, let’s look at the guys who played in a 2021 game. How many of those guys were still around in 2022? How did Tennessee do in 2022? I have faith in CTV, CFA, CJE, the rest of the staff, and the players that UT will do well in 2023. Baseball vs #2 Vanderbilt on 4/16/2021 - Box Score - University of Tennessee Athletics

014F79C0-02BF-4C14-A4AD-D209FE9EE10A.png
 
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#38
#38
@1RBFjr said:
Obviously I hope for the best. Yes, there’s some collective handwringing over ‘we lost all these players and we’re going to finish 15th in the SEC!’ 😉 I get it.

However, let’s look at the guys who played in a 2021 game. How many of those guys were still around in 2022? How did Tennessee do in 2022? I have faith in CTV, CFA, CJE, the rest of the staff, and the players that UT will do well in 2023. Baseball vs #2 Vanderbilt on 4/16/2021 - Box Score - University of Tennessee Athletics

View attachment 534514
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Yes sir. We’ve reloaded…agin’
 
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#40
#40
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#41
#41
taylorvol said:
Experience often trumps talent. See ND last year. My expectations are tempered by losing all 8 position players including chiseled veterans like Evan Russell, Luc Lipsius, Trey Lipscomb, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck. and Cortland Lawson. You just can’t replace the game repetitions and experience combined with the comraderie and trust developed over several years of blood, sweat, and tears in the clubhouse. The good news is that all 3 of our transfer portal position players are veterans as well. This team will hopefully gel and peak during late May and early June. I look forward to seeing what happens but don’t like the #2 ranking and lofty expectations (and pressure) that accompanies it.
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Agree. These boys will need to create their own and not try to replicate or compare last season. I am confident Coach has mentioned that more than once with them. I want them to play to the best of their ability and enjoy the ride no matter what the outcome is.
 
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#43
#43
Every year is a new team. This team will write its own chapter and will have its own identity. Time will tell. They may win 35, 40 or 50 games. Who knows. It’s all about peaking at the right time in May and June in order to make a postseason run.
 
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#44
#44
taylorvol said:
Experience often trumps talent. See ND last year. My expectations are tempered by losing all 8 position players including chiseled veterans like Evan Russell, Luc Lipsius, Trey Lipscomb, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck. and Cortland Lawson. You just can’t replace the game repetitions and experience combined with the comraderie and trust developed over several years of blood, sweat, and tears in the clubhouse. The good news is that all 3 of our transfer portal position players are veterans as well. This team will hopefully gel and peak during late May and early June. I look forward to seeing what happens but don’t like the #2 ranking and lofty expectations (and pressure) that accompanies it.
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I agree with you regarding the expectations and pressure. Objectively though, how far could you move them down? Even with losing our entire field of position players, we don't have many unknowns. Rotation is elite, bullpen is elite. 41 home runs returning from the bench with the addition of talent and experience from the portal.

Last year our starting pitching was an unknown to start the season. They had to prove themselves to move up the rankings.
This year we'll have to prove we're bad to move down.
 
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#45
#45
txbo said:
I agree with you regarding the expectations and pressure. Objectively though, how far could you move them down? Even with losing our entire field of position players, we don't have many unknowns. Rotation is elite, bullpen is elite. 41 home runs returning from the bench with the addition of talent and experience from the portal.

Last year our starting pitching was an unknown to start the season. They had to prove themselves to move up the rankings.
This year we'll have to prove we're bad to move down.
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I hear you but just don’t see how they can be ranked #2 based on a brand new lineup. I suspect no team has ever been ranked in the top 5 when they were replacing all 8 position players. Says a lot for confidence in our elite pitching and coaching staff.

I would like to have seen them ranked 12th. I still remember an Evan Russell interview where you could tell he was shocked (and a little ticked) at last season’s #35 preseason ranking. Being disrespected is a good motivator. UT baseball is no longer the hunter, they are the hunted and with that comes lofty national rankings, high visibility, and pressure to keep producing. I hope this team shrugs it off and focuses on having fun and getting better each week. I’m confident that UT has the best coaching staff and support personnel in the country, so I’m sure they will be up for the challenge.
 
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#48
#48
taylorvol said:
I hear you but just don’t see how they can be ranked #2 based on a brand new lineup. I suspect no team has ever been ranked in the top 5 when they were replacing all 8 position players. Says a lot for confidence in our elite pitching and coaching staff.

I would like to have seen them ranked 12th. I still remember an Evan Russell interview where you could tell he was shocked (and a little ticked) at last season’s #35 preseason ranking. Being disrespected is a good motivator. UT baseball is no longer the hunter, they are the hunted and with that comes lofty national rankings, high visibility, and pressure to keep producing. I hope this team shrugs it off and focuses on having fun and getting better each week. I’m confident that UT has the best coaching staff and support personnel in the country, so I’m sure they will be up for the challenge.
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I want so very much to agree with the best, but realize there are some great organizations across D1 baseball. The other thing that may present problems for this year’s team is …beisbol.
 
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#49
#49
taylorvol said:
I hear you but just don’t see how they can be ranked #2 based on a brand new lineup. I suspect no team has ever been ranked in the top 5 when they were replacing all 8 position players. Says a lot for confidence in our elite pitching and coaching staff.

I would like to have seen them ranked 12th. I still remember an Evan Russell interview where you could tell he was shocked (and a little ticked) at last season’s #35 preseason ranking. Being disrespected is a good motivator. UT baseball is no longer the hunter, they are the hunted and with that comes lofty national rankings, high visibility, and pressure to keep producing. I hope this team shrugs it off and focuses on having fun and getting better each week. I’m confident that UT has the best coaching staff and support personnel in the country, so I’m sure they will be up for the challenge.
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I'm with you. I clearly think that high of a ranking is a burden. Seriously though, if you were a baseball analyst with a vote, how low can you rank them without looking stupid?
 
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#50
#50
txbo said:
I agree with you regarding the expectations and pressure. Objectively though, how far could you move them down? Even with losing our entire field of position players, we don't have many unknowns. Rotation is elite, bullpen is elite. 41 home runs returning from the bench with the addition of talent and experience from the portal.

Last year our starting pitching was an unknown to start the season. They had to prove themselves to move up the rankings.
This year we'll have to prove we're bad to move down.
Click to expand...

I’ve been thinking about the pressure for Tennessee teams in particular. I can see how during the regular season the team can feed off of having a crazy fan base. However, when it gets to the postseason and our teams are fully aware of how desperate our vocal fan base is to hoist a trophy or bust, does that become a significant impediment? I realize all athletes in general feel the pressure just because they are highly motivated, but playing at Tennessee is something different.
 
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