No NCAA for Vols

While I'm not a big Vol fan I think they should be there! I think this is a backlash from the past years when the selection committee took some heat because the SEC was given (I think earned) more spots than any other conference. While the high profile SEC does offer many advantages to the players and their teams there are times this high profile can also hurt. I think Tennessee being passed over is one example. The tough conference games knocks the wind out of some very strong teams. When the SEC conference games open up you see many of those teams with national ranking struggle just to pick up some wins against their SEC opponents. There are also some VERY good players that are passed over in conference honors simply because there are other players that are just a “tad” better. JP Arienciba, Tennessee’s fine catcher (.330 8HR 15 doubles) relegated to a second stringer and Auburn’s Josh Donaldson (.349 11 HR 19 doubles) passed over completely because Ed Easley, the dominating catcher out of Mississippi State (.373 12 HR and 15 doubles) really stood out this year. As I look back I see how lucky my son was to make SEC first team a few years back.
Fungo

Fungo,
I do beleive that not playing Mississippi ST series( 3 games lost) due to weather and then not dominating first half didn't help their cause.

Fungo - all I know is you left us for about two months. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I am guessing you were out watching some great minor league action. Welcome back

I was on the fence about their NCAA worthiness. At one point in the season I would've said "absolutely not."

However, aside from losing 4 of 5 games to Vandy, and 2 of 3 from South Carolina, Tennessee did some good work. They took 2 of 3 from both Ole Miss and Florida, respectively. They also bested Vandy in the opening game of the SEC tournament. I wondered if the win the SEC tournament would be enough. Apparently it wasn't.

The selection had a valid argument re: the relatively weak out of conference schedule. The problem was exascerbated when the Vols lost many of those games. I also believe they had a losing record against the other NCAA qualifiers.

It was unfortunate that their best two position players, Arencebia and Borbon, were out with injuries at the beginning of the year. Neither player had the type year they might have wanted, even though they had better than average years when compared with SEC players as a whole.

As far as Delmonico's future, I can give you scenarios either way. However, I would expect that if he's retained there will be a serious mandate about what type of success will be expected next year.

As I've said in another forum, the casual Tennessee fan may not care a lot about UT baseball, but they care a lot about the fact Vanderbilt is taking them to the woodshed.