July 15: What about the also-rans?

With the Wichita State Shockers reeling off 11 victories in a row over the past few weeks and climbing to an 18-game lead over 2nd place Texas A&M, it may be time to turn our attention to some of the teams at the other end of the standings.  So, let's begin at the far end of the standings, with the last place 1985 Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Yes, the fabled team with "Thunder and Lightning", thought to be one of the most talented college teams in history.  Taking a look at the Bulldogs--what happened?  Why is this team, with Clark, Thigpen, Palmeiro, and Brantley, residing in the cellar?

Who's Getting It Done?   Well, it's hard to blame Brantley for the Bulldogs' ills; he's 14-10 with a 2.04 ERA and more strikeouts than hits allowed.  And Will Clark is putting up respectable numbers, batting .277 with 18 homers, an OPS of .908, and 68 RBI.  He's also been sure-handed in the field, with only 2 errors.

Palmeiro vehemently denies hitting .189

Who's Not?  Umm, Raffy Palmeiro, anyone?  He can't hit (.189), can't get on base (.250 OBP), shows little power (.286 SLG), and MSU coeds have been spotted laughing at his mustache.  However, Raffy's not the only problem on this squad.  SS Frank Davis is batting .170 and has nearly as many errors (42) as he does hits.   Even so, being flanked in the infield by 3B John Scott (.167) and 2B Gator Thiesen (.204) makes Davis' hitting woes somewhat less noticeable.  DH John Mitchell is second on the club with 12 home runs, but his .155 average suggests there haven't been many other hits to accompany those homers.  And then there is the bottom end of the rotation--Ray Mullino (1-13, 3.80) can't get a break, and the Bulldogs have virtually no bullpen as the Bulldog coaching staff has thus far refused to allow CF Bobby Thigpen to work in relief.  Of course, it would help if MSU could take a lead into the later innings, but with the league's worst batting average (.206), the second-fewest runs scored, and being tied for most errors with Oklahoma State, that hasn't happened much. If the Bulldogs hope to climb out of the cellar, the solution is simple--MSU hitters not named Will Clark need to climb above the Mendoza line, and soon.
 
Miss State Bulldogs **Team Batting Stats**
Last      First   AVE  G    AB   SO   BB   H    2B   3B   HR   R    RBI  SB   CS  E  
VanCleve  Dan    .251  99   414  92   49   104  19   3    3    58   23   40   10  13 
Thiesen   Gator  .204  99   407  50   42   83   17   4    0    34   32   18   11  16 
Palmeiro  Rafael .189  99   392  71   32   74   14   0    8    33   42   15   3   5  
Mitchell  John   .155  99   367  95   48   57   9    1    12   35   47   14   10  0  
Clark     Will   .277  99   364  100  78   101  24   2    18   50   68   18   4   2  
Thigpen   Bobby  .233  99   361  90   47   84   11   0    4    26   33   17   7   21 
Davis     Frank  .170  99   359  61   37   61   14   0    2    27   23   8    2   42 
McDonald  Roark  .201  99   358  85   30   72   13   2    1    33   20   1    3   5  
Scott     John   .167  99   342  100  30   57   11   0    1    29   21   18   4   33 
Butt      Tommy  .000  2    2    1    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0   0  
Weaver    Tri    .000  2    1    1    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0   1  
-         -      .206  994  3367 746  393  693  132  12   49   325  309  149  54  141

Miss State Bulldogs **Team Pitching Stats**
Last      First  ERA   G    GS   CG   W   L  IP    SO   BB  H    R    ER   WP   HBP 
Brantley  Jeff   2.04  24   24   21   14  10 238.2 199  62  190  65   54   4    0   
Morgan    Gene   2.46  25   25   20   12  13 234.1 154  69  192  75   64   2    0   
Mullino   Ray    3.80  14   14   13   1   13 125.2 93   70  153  84   53   2    5   
King      Steve  3.94  14   14   12   4   10 123.1 100  56  125  62   54   3    0   
McRaney   Will   4.92  13   13   10   4   9  113.1 39   33  159  76   62   4    0   
Intorcia  Trent  5.26  24   9    9    3   6  77.0  49   29  96   52   45   0    1   
-         -      3.28  99   99   85   38  61 912.1 634  319 915  414  332  15   6  
 
College Greats League Standings

Year      Team                     W    L    PCT   GB   L10  STRK
1982      Wichita State Shockers   78   21   .788  -    10-0 W11
1989      Texas A&M Aggies         60   39   .606  18.0 6-4  L1 
1997      LSU Tigers               50   49   .505  28.0 5-5  W1 
2001      Miami Hurricanes         50   49   .505  28.0 7-3  L1 
1983      Texas Longhorns          47   52   .475  31.0 6-4  W3 
1967      Arizona State Sun Devils 47   52   .475  31.0 3-7  L1 
1995      Cal State Fullerton Titan45   54   .455  33.0 4-6  W1 
1971      USC Trojans              41   58   .414  37.0 3-7  W1 
1985      Oklahoma State Cowboys   39   60   .394  39.0 5-5  L3 
1985      Miss State Bulldogs      38   61   .384  40.0 1-9  L5