Dyson Passes The Test In Inexplicable Loss
posted by Scott Hood on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I really feel bad for Sam Dyson. He pitched his heart out on Wednesday in USC’s 5-4, 10-inning loss to LSU in the opening game of the SEC Tournament.
In fact, he was dominating. Considering the circumstances, it might have been USC’s best pitching performance of the season.
If you didn’t know very much about Dyson prior to Wednesday, don’t feel bad. He had mainly been a mid-week starter this season with a total of seven starts against teams like Yale, College of Charleston, USC Upstate and Wofford twice.
While Ray Tanner often says those mid-week count just as much in the overall record as the SEC games, the bright lights belong to the weekend starters.
Dyson finally got the opportunity to show the world what Ray Tanner knew when the Gamecocks recruited him a couple of years ago - he’s a heckuva pitcher.
Dyson was one of the top high school pitchers in Florida when he pitched at Tampa’s Jesuit High School. He could have been a Top 10 round pick in the 2006 MLB Draft but his signing bonus demands scared off some teams. The Washington Nationals eventually selected him in the 19th round.
He suffered an arm injury before arriving at USC and was medically redshirted in 2007. He did not throw off a mound until late last fall.
Due to his injury and the fact he had pitched against mid-tier opponents most of the season, he was largely an unknown quantity for most USC fans when he took the mound on Wednesday.
His exceptional performance against the hottest team in the nation certainly gave Tanner something to think about.
First, you have to applaud Tanner for rolling the dice a little bit. It was a pressure situation, but he obviously felt Dyson was mature enough to handle the situation.
Dyson proved Tanner correct.
Here’s the question: does Tanner reward Dyson with a start in the NCAA Regional? If he went strictly on performance, the answer is probably yes.
The stage would be even bigger than the one Dyson pitched on Wednesday. But, I think he could handle it.
In my opinion, it spoke volumes when Tanner used Atwood out of the bullpen on Wednesday. That means he likely won’t start one of the games here in Hoover unless the Gamecocks advance all the way to Sunday’s tournament championship game, which won’t happen unless USC finds a way to win three consecutive games.
Nick Godwin is the probable starter for Thursday’s morning’s elimination game against Florida. Should USC win that game, I expect Blake Cooper would get the call on Friday.
The way this season has gone for the Gamecocks, should anyone be surprised that USC’s best two pitchers right now are Dyson and Godwin, the two mid-week starters for the majority of the season?
The ninth inning fiasco proved once and for all how much USC misses Curtis Johnson. I have no doubt he would have slammed the door on LSU and USC would have walked out Regions Park with a win.
But, just like last season when Jordan Costner’s season-ending injury killed USC’s middle relief, USC found itself unable to close the deal.
Atwood committed one of the cardinal sins of pitching when he walked the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth. That’s the worst thing you can do when you’re trying to protect a four-run lead.
In my opinion, that was the turning point of the game. At that point, LSU truly began to believe they could rally. Unfortunately, both those base-runners scored on the three-run homer.
All three batters who were issued bases on balls in the bottom of the ninth scored. That’s not just a fact, it’s an indictment.
When you walk batters and they eventually come around to score, it’s like giving the opposition free runs. If I were to make an analogy to football, a walk in baseball is similar to committing a turnover in your own end of the field. Do that several times in a game and you’ll find it extremely difficult to win.
The 2008 season could very well be remembered for the late-inning collapses by the Gamecocks. By my count, this is at least the fourth “inexcusable” loss for USC. Turn those defeats into victories and USC is looking at hosting a NCAA Regional next week.
Of course, baseball is still a team game and the batters aren’t blameless, either. USC had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the 10th but came away with just one run when James Darnell hit into a double play.
USC batters also fanned 13 times. That’s far too many. It’s about twice as many strikeouts as Tanner wants to see in a single game.
Hopefully, the Gamecocks will find a way to put Wednesday’s devastating loss behind them and come out ready to square off with Florida on Thursday.
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If only the two juniors and the senior had pitched as effectively as the redshirt freshman starter.
I really feel bad for Sam Dyson. He pitched his heart out on Wednesday in USC’s 5-4, 10-inning loss to LSU in the opening game of the SEC Tournament.
In fact, he was dominating. Considering the circumstances, it might have been USC’s best pitching performance of the season.
If you didn’t know very much about Dyson prior to Wednesday, don’t feel bad. He had mainly been a mid-week starter this season with a total of seven starts against teams like Yale, College of Charleston, USC Upstate and Wofford twice.
While Ray Tanner often says those mid-week count just as much in the overall record as the SEC games, the bright lights belong to the weekend starters.
Dyson finally got the opportunity to show the world what Ray Tanner knew when the Gamecocks recruited him a couple of years ago - he’s a heckuva pitcher.
Dyson was one of the top high school pitchers in Florida when he pitched at Tampa’s Jesuit High School. He could have been a Top 10 round pick in the 2006 MLB Draft but his signing bonus demands scared off some teams. The Washington Nationals eventually selected him in the 19th round.
He suffered an arm injury before arriving at USC and was medically redshirted in 2007. He did not throw off a mound until late last fall.
Due to his injury and the fact he had pitched against mid-tier opponents most of the season, he was largely an unknown quantity for most USC fans when he took the mound on Wednesday.
His exceptional performance against the hottest team in the nation certainly gave Tanner something to think about.
First, you have to applaud Tanner for rolling the dice a little bit. It was a pressure situation, but he obviously felt Dyson was mature enough to handle the situation.
Dyson proved Tanner correct.
Here’s the question: does Tanner reward Dyson with a start in the NCAA Regional? If he went strictly on performance, the answer is probably yes.
The stage would be even bigger than the one Dyson pitched on Wednesday. But, I think he could handle it.
In my opinion, it spoke volumes when Tanner used Atwood out of the bullpen on Wednesday. That means he likely won’t start one of the games here in Hoover unless the Gamecocks advance all the way to Sunday’s tournament championship game, which won’t happen unless USC finds a way to win three consecutive games.
Nick Godwin is the probable starter for Thursday’s morning’s elimination game against Florida. Should USC win that game, I expect Blake Cooper would get the call on Friday.
The way this season has gone for the Gamecocks, should anyone be surprised that USC’s best two pitchers right now are Dyson and Godwin, the two mid-week starters for the majority of the season?
The ninth inning fiasco proved once and for all how much USC misses Curtis Johnson. I have no doubt he would have slammed the door on LSU and USC would have walked out Regions Park with a win.
But, just like last season when Jordan Costner’s season-ending injury killed USC’s middle relief, USC found itself unable to close the deal.
Atwood committed one of the cardinal sins of pitching when he walked the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth. That’s the worst thing you can do when you’re trying to protect a four-run lead.
In my opinion, that was the turning point of the game. At that point, LSU truly began to believe they could rally. Unfortunately, both those base-runners scored on the three-run homer.
All three batters who were issued bases on balls in the bottom of the ninth scored. That’s not just a fact, it’s an indictment.
When you walk batters and they eventually come around to score, it’s like giving the opposition free runs. If I were to make an analogy to football, a walk in baseball is similar to committing a turnover in your own end of the field. Do that several times in a game and you’ll find it extremely difficult to win.
The 2008 season could very well be remembered for the late-inning collapses by the Gamecocks. By my count, this is at least the fourth “inexcusable” loss for USC. Turn those defeats into victories and USC is looking at hosting a NCAA Regional next week.
Of course, baseball is still a team game and the batters aren’t blameless, either. USC had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the 10th but came away with just one run when James Darnell hit into a double play.
USC batters also fanned 13 times. That’s far too many. It’s about twice as many strikeouts as Tanner wants to see in a single game.
Hopefully, the Gamecocks will find a way to put Wednesday’s devastating loss behind them and come out ready to square off with Florida on Thursday.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.