Flip the calendar back a century or so, and LSU would have the most dominant pitching staff in the nation.
Just imagine how daunting a task facing the Tigers in a three-game series would be in an era when ace Aaron Nola could take the ball every other day.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri could send college baseball’s best pitcher to the bump every Friday and Sunday along with one midweek game per week, with reigning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week Jared Poche filling in the gaps.
The duo flashed their potential as a formidable 1-2 punch this weekend by posting back-to-back gems in wins against Georgia, combining for 15 1/3 innings of one-run ball with 14 strikeouts while allowing just five hits.
Mainieri’s job would be much easier if he could just line up his two best guys and send them out on loop all season long.
But in an era of monitored pitch counts, innings limitations and starters only pitching once a week, that is never going to happen. Having four reliable starters is a luxury in today’s college game, but having three is an absolute necessity if a team is going to survive SEC play.
As of right now, LSU only has two.
Junior college transfer Kyle Bouman pitched well as a weekend starter throughout non-conference play, but he was roughed up in his lone SEC start against Vanderbilt and missed his start against Georgia because of an ankle injury suffered last week.
Mainieri said Bouman’s status was “questionable” for this weekend’s series against Florida, and he wasn’t prepared to name a starter for Sunday’s series finale.
Bouman should be a serviceable pitcher in the long run, but as a pitcher who isn’t overpowering and pitches to contact, he’ll always need to keep his pitches low in the strike zone to survive.
Since pitchers rely on their lower body to drive off the mound and keep the ball down, he likely won’t be an effective weekend starter if the sore ankle lingers.
Senior Kurt McCune made the spot start in his place Sunday, but he’s more of a stop-gap solution. The more realistic long-term option is Cody Glenn, who will get the start tonight at Tulane.
The junior left-hander was a solid weekend starter throughout conference play last season, but ineffectiveness this season has relegated him to midweek starts and pitching out of the bullpen.
Mainieri said he plans to let Glenn go as long as he can against Tulane, giving the game a distinct feel of an audition for a bigger role. He won’t get bigger assignments if he can’t dominate a bad Tulane team.
If neither he nor Bouman are going to be a reliable third starter, Mainieri will have to find another pitcher who will be. The bullpen has pitched brilliantly and helped mask the problem, but the more LSU leans on those relievers, the more fatigued they will get.
Five relievers combined to throw 11 1/3 shutout innings against Georgia on Sunday. That’s great work, but with three relievers logging season-long outings that make them not available to pitch against Tulane, it’s not sustainable.
Eventually Mainieri will need to stretch out one of his effective relievers to try to be the third starter. Mainieri acknowledged the thought crossed his mind with Sunday’s starter currently up in the air.
Specifically, Mainieri said he’s considering starting left-hander Zac Person, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts Sunday.
“I think the world of Zac Person. He is throwing the ball great,” Mainieri said. “What he did Sunday was phenomenal. What I have to decide is if he can be as effective as a starter as he is a reliever, and whether he is too valuable in that role to move him.”
If Person, who has been a starter his whole life, can continue to be effective as a starter, the decision should be a no-brainer. He’s been a weapon out of the bullpen, but one effective starter can greatly reduce the strain on everyone in the bullpen.
Person said he’s unsure if his stuff would suffer by switching back to a starter and isn’t sure how long it would take him to re-stretch his arm out.
He tossed 71 pitches in 4 1/3 total innings of work this past weekend, so it shouldn’t take too long. Either way, Mainieri should start stretching Person out as soon as possible because he very well may be the third best starter he has.
James Moran is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Beacon, N.Y.

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Charles Champagne

LSU junior left-handed pitcher Cody Glenn (24) pitches Sunday, Mar. 9, 2014 during the Tigers' 7-3 victory against Purdue.