Brutal Honesty about Razorbacks' Difficult Baseball Situation

As Arkansas losses pile up, hope goes down regarding whether it's finally Van Horn's year

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn looks on from the dugout against the Portland Pilots. The Razorbacks won the third game of the series 5-3. | Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

In the current timeline of world events, Arkansas baseball is struggling in a way that is a bit demoralizing even for the media. 

Actual trained journalists are not supposed to cheer or feel much of anything other than an appreciation for great play on the field and recognition of bad play when that's the case.

Still, that doesn't mean not being allowed to want to witness good men who have consistently performed at a high level while doing things the right way get their moment of glory. Mike Martin led Florida State to a minimum of 40 wins and the NCAA tournament in all 40 of his seasons in Tallahassee en route to 2,209 wins, yet his players never delivered him the national championship that man deserved.

It was OK, especially in the later years, for journalists to want to see him win one in honor of what he did for the game, just so long as they didn't cheer or fail to hold Martin accountable when necessary.

The same is the case for Dave Van Horn. He coached guys to national championships, they just didn't make the plays to actually bring it home.

The three Hogs involved in the infamous drop against Oregon State in 2018 know how to call someone off and catch a pop-up. Not having that championship on display in the baseball facility isn't on Van Horn.

It was the same case for other dropped or overthrown balls or pitches thrown into a spot where the Razorbacks' scouting report said to not throw it. Those mistakes that killed 50+ win seasons weren't on the coach,

As someone who doesn't have the privilege of bailing on a blowout during a losing streak like Hogs fans get to do as they fling the remote and instantly regret it when the tiny batteries slide under a chair or couch and the back disappears into thin air all together, it's been harder this year than usual.

See, every season for the past six or seven years has begun with the same thought.

Maybe this is the one. This is the year Van Horn finally gets his championship.

And, inevitably every season, there comes a downturn that leads to questions. Whether it's been a few players going into a slump or a key injury to a pitcher and a position player, there has always remained hope.

There was always a guy in the bullpen who had dynamic stuff who looked like he could stretch his two good innings into four as a starter and maybe even extend out to five with enough time left in the season. Van Horn always kept a young Cam Kozeal in stock waiting for his chance to evolve into Cameron Kozeal, like some sort of Pokemon, when someone went down in the infield.

However, after over a decade of knowing Van Horn had what he needed to get his team through the tough stretches, setting the Hogs up to be even better if a key piece returned, that's just not the case anymore. There's nothing in the cupboard for the Hogs to fall back on as the losing streak stretches to five games.

On Day 1 it looked like Van Horn was searching for an outfielder. Not THE outfielder who was proving he has a little something special over the almost equally talented guy he was battling for the starting spot.

He has been looking for A outfielder. Someone basic who can see the ball, go catch it and throw it in.

It looked like he may have three guys who can provide that low level service, but with Damian Ruiz going down to a freak knee injury against the wall while following a home run to the fence, that no longer appears to be the case.

The same seems to be happening with the infield and the pitching staff. Kozeal can only play one position in the infield and there doesn't seem to be anyone in the bullpen who can come in and immediately stop the bleeding.

Where there has always been hope Arkansas could turn it around, and Van Horn almost always magically found a way to do so with the exception of his lone losing season in 2016. With Gabe Gaeckle off his game and many speculating online that he may have a minor underlying injury, the Hogs are left without a true Friday night starter.

That's a particularly difficult situation because this was a team constructed around a steady diet of unbeatable pitching. Right now the Razorbacks are at a disadvantage on Fridays, pretty much even on pitching on Saturdays and possess a slight advantage on Sundays.

That means for the Hogs to turn this around and produce another 40-win season, Arkansas is going to have to hit the ball well, especially on Saturday nights. Right now the Razorbacks are inconsistent at best at the plate, which sets up for difficult Game 2 scenarios in SEC play and also puts Game 3 in jeopardy.

At the moment, there's not a lot of reason to think the Hogs can make the postseason, much less make a run through whatever back yards they get assigned to across the country if they squeeze into the NCAA Tournament. If they do, it will be 100% because of Van Horn.

He's not only working with McGyver level supplies while trying to work his way out of a difficult situation, he's facing McGruber level materials to work with to escape and get the Hogs to the promised land.

Odds are long, but fans have to hope it turns around. After all, none of them want to face the prospect of having to spend May through early summer dwelling on football.

No Razorbacks fan wants to think about that until there's just no other option.