Arkansas Fans Need to Put Down Pitchforks
FAYETTEVILLE Ark. – Arkansas fans love a good scapegoat and are experts at revisionist history. They have kept a crosshair trained on assistant coach Nate Thompson for a couple of years now after having taken exception to his perceived philosophy of relying too much on the long ball.
So, when things ended poorly in a Fayetteville Regional for a second year in a row, they were ready to take their shot. They longed for a return of the days of Tony Vitello, the former Razorbacks assistant turned Tennessee head baseball coach.
There's only one problem with both of these notions. Arkansas didn't lose this weekend because the Hogs couldn't hit, and Vitello's tenure wasn't the sunshine and rainbows Razorbacks fans seem to remember.
In three games at this weekend's regional, Arkansas put up 35 hits and eight home runs. In the loss to Kansas State, the Hogs outpaced the Wildcats by eight hits.
Putting the ball in play wasn't the problem. Thompson's batters had a dozen more hits than the their' opponents.
As for wanting to return to the glory days of Vitello, Arkansas finished 26-29 in his next to last season, the only losing season under Dave Van Horn, including a13-game losing streak to close the season. In 2017, Vitello's last, Arkansas got run out of its own regional by Missouri State following a 45-win season because the offense couldn't overcome three total runs in the championship game.
It should be noted the following season, Thompson's first, Arkansas was a dropped pop-up away from being national champions. The Razorbacks then went to the College World Series two of the next three seasons and was one game away from playing for the national championship again.
The issue doesn't appear to be Thompson and the solution isn't to find 2017 Vitello. Instead, it appears to be mental.
Arkansas hitters are smashing the panic button with runners on scoring position rather than just relaxing like they do in their other at-bats. The Razorbacks left 27 runners on base this past weekend.
That's a lot of missed opportunity. If the Hogs drive in two of the 13 left behind against Kansas State, there's probably no conversation to be had.
Arkansas was still built to be a winner's bracket team at the end of the season. What it wasn't was the team that started the year.
The team that began the season had strong pitching across the board that could have carried the Hogs through either side of the bracket. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, a combination of possible not so obvious injuries coupled with a loss of mental confidence took its toll on the staff.
What arrived in the Fayetteville Regional was a shell of the staff that started the year. Much like Kevin Kopps a few years ago, too much was placed on ace Hagen Smith and it became a surprise when anyone else pitched well, which was the case when Ben Bybee came in and ate up several inning in relief of Smith against Kansas State.
On the hitting side of things, Van Horn indicated Sunday he wants to take a different approach to roster construction. He plans to put together a more athletic team that isn't as likely to leave 27 runners on the bases.
Rather than a line-up of brutes from the first through the last hitter looking to hit home runs, he wants to mix in more players who can hit doubles and be a threat with their legs. The intention is to force more runs across and also give hope to putting up crooked numbers even though the wind is blowing in or pitchers are throwing heavy balls that aren't carrying.
As for how that might impact how the Razorbacks handle the mental aspect of batting with runners in scoring position or the mental toll of pitching in the late part of the season is something that can only be told with time. Once again, Arkansas will lose a lot of players from its current roster, so rebuilding the team and surviving the MLB draft takes immediate top priority instead.
Once again, for the second year in a row, there will be plenty of time to unwind by hosting youth baseball camps and digging into potential portal transfers. There are a lot of reasons why that is.
Thompson just isn't one of them.
HOGS FEED:
• Hogs finally reached point where Smith couldn't carry them anymore
• Razorbacks' bats ended before season in loss to SEMO in Fayetteville Regional
• Hometown hurler called upon to save Razorbacks season
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KENT SMITH
Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.