Monday Musings: Canes ok after series loss

Time to re-visit the random Canes-related tidbits floating around in the deep recesses of my brain....

1) I mean......let’s be honest here. Is there any sports-related sight more gorgeous than this?

Lord have mercy, does that view on a Sunday afternoon beat just about any other possible view there is out there, at least sports-wise. (Yeah, sure, watching Ken Dorsey work the ball to Andre Johnson with a view of the city skyline through the East end zone is literally the best possible view, but we don’t have a time machine, so, y’know, we take what we can get).

2) Unfortunately the baseball did not match up to the view. The Canes followed up an outstanding start to the season by dropping a stinker in their drawers late on Sunday afternoon to lose their ACC opening series two games to one. Big ol’ ouch. It was, unfortunately, more of the same from the Canes’ bats, which seemed to have picked up a bug on the way to Gainesville and have yet to get over it. Yeah, sure, they scored 10 and 8 runs in their victorious second and third games of the series, but for the weekend they batted a meager .239 and had extended stretches where scoring a single run seemed like a parade-worthy event.

3) That said, if you can’t see something special developing in Miami’s 2-3 pitching combo (although maybe they’re 1-2 at this point?) in Alejandro Rosario and Victor Mederos, then you need eyes. Rosario had an AMAZING start to his career in Mark Light Stadium on Saturday, tossing seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, and only one walk and three hits allowed. For his very young career, he’s sporting a 1.63 ERA with 11 Ks, 9 hits, and 3 walks over 11 innings. Mederos acquitted himself Sunday with a 6-hit, 4-run (all earned) effort with 5 Ks over 5.2 innings before the bullpen gassed and dropped a match on the mound over the late innings.

4) Bottom line: don’t panic in the slightest. The Canes haven’t hit well, they have two super young starters, and they’re 3-3 while playing far from their best baseball, with a series win over arguably the best team in the country. This team is only going to get better, especially as their young pitchers continue to get their sea legs and the bats begin to improve towards more of an average mean.