June is here, and it is sure to be a big month for the Tigers. In less than a week we should have a better idea of who will be under center this fall. We will also have a complete understanding of the state of our baseball program, as we feel that Clemson got a pretty fair draw in the tourney. The final bit of postseason news that we will have our eyes on the links.
So far on the KP front, we really don't have too much insight on which way this young man is leaning but do believe that it will take a good bit of cash for Parker to leave. Kyle certainly has played well throughout his third season as a Clemson baseballer, but all that really matters at this point is the opinions of scouts and MLB execs. I will say that KP will probably have little more leverage in the negotiating process this summer than next, particularly with another year of baseball eligibility coupled with the possibility of three more seasons in Death Valley. Parker has a few questions but obviously has really nice offensive upside based on his pure hitting abilities as well as his ability to swing for power.
The Clemson baseball team has a chance to show that it can produce in a more consistent fashion. While Clemson has had a few nice series this season, we have also seen terrible inconsistency out of this crew. After starting out strong, we were largely inconsistent. Clemson managed to lose overall series to both Duke and Wake while performing poorly in the ACC Tourney and dropping more than its share of mid-week games to clearly inferior squads. These items coupled with losses to really good teams (Ga Tech and UVa definitely stick out there) have to lead folks to believe that this team is mid-pack at best.
These shortcomings can be attributed to many items, most of them obvious to even the average fan. The Tigers have been a poor fielding team all year. We have also struggled overall as a pitching staff and have been inconsistent with runners in scoring position. With all of these items, I really think that Clemson has a shot to turn some heads this week. Clemson swept a good Florida State squad and took the season series from arguably the second best team in the SEC, South Carolina.
Clemson has placed itself in a position to win numerous times this year only to blow opportunities at critical times. Long and short, this team has the talent to make it out of the Plains this week. This team has the ability to put it together. The problem is, we haven't really played complete baseball over an extended stretch this season. Could this be the time that Leggett gets the boys to shine? I'll definitely hope for the best in advance of our post season trip to Alabama. If not, however, expect some changes heading into February of '11 for Clemson baseball.
Tiger golf is putting it together so far this week. As of the current time of this writing, Clemson is tied for 7th overall at +1 through two rounds. While this is a good bit off the fast pace that Florida State has set for the field (-14 for the week), we are moving forward. The format fothis tournament is three rounds of stroke play. The top eight teams after the stroke play rounds will then compete in a three round single elimination match play tournament to crown the nation's DI champion. As with all match play events, anything can happen. The match play format should provide excitement and is, in my opinion, an excellent way to crown a champion. Good luck to Penley and the boys as Clemson shoots for its second team championship on the links since '03.
In other fronts, props to the Braves for their efforts so far this season. While this is not a Braves blog, I figured it would be best to go ahead and give the boys from the ATL a shoutout and really hope that they can keep this effort up the rest of the season. It is nice having the Bravos on top of the standings at this point.
I will definitely be paying attention to the pro golf game as we move into June. Along with the Clemson representatives we often chat about, it will be interesting to see TWoods make an effort to get back to his old form. Woods is feeling a lot better (neck) heading into Jack's tourney. This could be a tune up for Wood's return to Pebble as the pro's will partake in the second major of the year in a few weeks.
The final bit I will chat about involves the "Zen Master" and Kobe-led Lakers facing a Celtics team that has really put it all together since the close of the '10 regular season. While I admit that I could usually care less about the pro game, a Lakers-Celtics series does provide some intrigue. Kobe is chasing Micheal and Phil is, well, being Phil. This is East Coast vs. West, Lakers/Celtics. Here's pulling for a good series and a big ballin' outing for the pro-game on ABC.