Like it or not, the stats are on Jagr's side. While we've improved in some categories, the ones that count - wins and losses - are comparable at this point to previous years. Look great versus Rutgers, beat a directional in-state squad mid-week, then look good at times against the Gheytors only to lose the series. That's no reason to heap praise on DiMare at all...nor is it a reason to lynch him, but I digress.
That being said, as big as Lance and others on advanced metrics, I'm bigger on the eyeball test. Do these guys look capable of winning the Coastal? Are they smart in the field? Are they playing aggressively? The answers to those questions in order at this point IMO are they're potentially capable if guys keep improving, overall they're smart in the field but they have to stay focused and not make costly errors, and they are definitely playing more aggressively than the past couple of years. They look the part more than last year's squad did for **** sure.
I think the potential and outlook is better than it has been the past few seasons, especially if the younger guys keep improving. As much responsibility as we put on guys like Jenkins, Zamora, and Toral - they're still only sophomores. They are still growing like the freshmen are - and when you have a heavy mix of that on your ballclub that you're depending upon...the going can be tough. We have overperformed versus expectations so far - with a young ball club, can we keep that up? It's a valid question. Do we have a mixture of guys hit a wall, or do they blast through it and keep playing winning baseball?
Here's the key - I think the next step incrementally is not to take a series from UF in Gainesville...though we came **** close, and I'd like to see it happen sooner than later. The next step for this club is to handle its business against weaker competition. Beat the teams you should beat. Don't fall asleep in the mid-week games, and don't let the lower-tier ACC schools pop up and beat you. If they can do that, they'll be back in the postseason, and that's the next step for this program is to get back. After that - we can talk about what it will take to build off of that and get to Omaha either next year or the year after.
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