With Poseur's post about Talent vs. Magic, and the questions answered by Burnt Orange Nation, plus my answers to their questions, and Poseur's late evening rant, we're going to keep the formal preview brief. It's going to be ace against ace tonight as Louis Coleman will be on the mound for LSU and Chance Ruffin will be on the mound for the Longhorns. Both lead their respective teams in innings pitched, and both are right handers. Ruffin has an ERA of 3.27 on the season.
The big difference between Texas and a lot of the teams we've faced is that Texas does not share most other team's weakness in the middle relief areas. Most teams have solid starters and a solid closer, but Texas is solid all through their pitching staff. There's no sense in trying to jack up the starter's pitch count because the guy after him is just as good. Go up there aggressively and take your hacks.
When the game gets to the 7th inning, I would expect to see left-handed relief ace Austin Wood, who we may see for 2 or 3 innings in each game of the series.
I think we should go with our lefty-heavy lineup by shelving Sean Ochinko and bringing Leon Landry back into the lineup. We know that we aren't going to see a lot of left-handed pitching until Wood comes into the game, as few of Texas's relief pitchers other than him are lefties. Landry is an outstanding right-handed hitter and a tremendous defensive outfielder. Put him in the game.
On offense, look out for left handed power hitter Brandon Belt, who could give a guy like Coleman a lot of trouble.
Anyway, that is all for now. Treat this as your open thread.