"I went to the weekend series in Baton Rouge last weekend. It seemed like everytime a Bulldog player came up to bat and his name/picture was placed on the scoreboard, the player's class was either FR or SO.....these dogs going to be tough the next two seasons"- Corndog fan
It's bad when Corndogs have more sense than State fans
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"I went to the weekend series in Baton Rouge last weekend. It seemed like everytime a Bulldog player came up to bat and his name/picture was placed on the scoreboard, the player's class was either FR or SO.....these dogs going to be tough the next two seasons"- Corndog fan
"I went to the weekend series in Baton Rouge last weekend. It seemed like everytime a Bulldog player came up to bat and his name/picture was placed on the scoreboard, the player's class was either FR or SO.....these dogs going to be tough the next two seasons"- Corndog fan
"I went to the weekend series in Baton Rouge last weekend. It seemed like everytime a Bulldog player came up to bat and his name/picture was placed on the scoreboard, the player's class was either FR or SO.....these dogs going to be tough the next two seasons"- Corndog fan
Through the series, we outscored #8 LSU at their place, 12-8. I feel that we're at least as good of a team as they are, on weekends.
The only place we've seemed to unexpectedly struggle is the midweek games. Once our young guys get better, watch out. I'm excited to see what we can do against Arky.
The only place we've seemed to unexpectedly struggle is the midweek games. Once our young guys get better, watch out. I'm excited to see what we can do against Arky.
baseball think that our freshmen and sophomores should be beating juniors and seniors who, at the very least are as talented and in many cases more talented than our freshmen and sophomores. They might as well sit around all day trying to fit a square peg into a round whole. They just can't grasp that there is a process to what we have had to do to get our program back to being competitive and there is no free agency in college. Therefore, no over night solution.
1. We are starting all freshmen and sophs in year 4. I understand some of those will be behind, but its a little amazing to me that we signed a class of about 20 Cohen's first year, and we don't have a single 3rd year position player to show for it in the starting lineup (injured or not injured). That bothers people.
2. Cohen had Matthew Britton as his SS. He is clearly not ready for prime time. I just don't know how that's possible in year 4. Its probably the most important defensive position on the field. To be fair, I crucified Polk for this very thing. I just don't get it.
3. Im just not sure we are recruiting where we need to be especially with the draft changes coming up. Our best hitter is a walk on Juco.
4. KY appears to have taken off in Year 4 under Henderson.
So its not as simple as people make it out to be. Im not saying Cohen won't succeed. Im just laying out the concerns some people have. Its just not as much on Polk anymore.
2. Cohen had Matthew Britton as his SS. He is clearly not ready for prime time. I just don't know how that's possible in year 4. Its probably the most important defensive position on the field. To be fair, I crucified Polk for this very thing. I just don't get it.
3. Im just not sure we are recruiting where we need to be especially with the draft changes coming up. Our best hitter is a walk on Juco.
4. KY appears to have taken off in Year 4 under Henderson.
So its not as simple as people make it out to be. Im not saying Cohen won't succeed. Im just laying out the concerns some people have. Its just not as much on Polk anymore.
is that if we had held our 2-1 lead and won the Friday game, giving us 2 out of 3 on the weekend, I think just about everybody on this board would be feeling pretty good about the team right now. I was disappointed about the weekend series, but this team is very close and I can easily see them being a force by the end of the year if a few things go the right way.
For someone that doesn't follow baseball recruiting much, I have to ask though, what happened during Cohen's first couple years of recruiting that has put us in a position to be playing so many Freshmen/Sophomores?
For someone that doesn't follow baseball recruiting much, I have to ask though, what happened during Cohen's first couple years of recruiting that has put us in a position to be playing so many Freshmen/Sophomores?
the circumstances. I was critical when it happened and we signed so few HS position players in his first class.
If this was year 1 or 2, then I'd be fine with it.
Additionally, being a sophomore in college baseball really isn't that young. Granted, the ones we were counting on are hurt so I understand that.
If this was year 1 or 2, then I'd be fine with it.
Additionally, being a sophomore in college baseball really isn't that young. Granted, the ones we were counting on are hurt so I understand that.
but from a 30K foot view, its just bothers me (and others) that KY is getting going in Year 4. Its almost like they had to work through the Cohen legacy to get it going. Im not saying Cohen left them in "shambles", but its hard not to notice it. May be nothing.
I'm not a baseball guy, but all I've heard about is how Polk left the program in the *******. Three years later, we're competitive in a super regional, and in the fourth year, we have a very good group of freshman and sophomores with a team that is about middle of the SEC, which puts us close to, if not in, the top 25 teams in the nation.
Granted I'd rather be solidly in the top 15 with these freshmen and sophomores backing up better juniors and seniors, but isn't that a pretty solid rebuilding job? Did Cohen really get us to where we are doing an average job?
Granted I'd rather be solidly in the top 15 with these freshmen and sophomores backing up better juniors and seniors, but isn't that a pretty solid rebuilding job? Did Cohen really get us to where we are doing an average job?
class can be attributed to Johnarriving so late. His second year, he decided to go heavy on pitching (recruiting) and unfortunately most of those guys either have been hurt and/or are no longer here. Things really haven't been above average, honestly, recruiting wise. Also, on the UK bit, they've done an good job to this point. However, I'm going to wait and see how they finish the year out before I proclaim it as taking off. They're schedule has not really been impressive, and yes I realize they just place USC.
We're not in the middle of the SEC this year, we're in the bottom half. We were picked 5th in the West (which is NOT loaded in baseball) and are expected to be a borderline SEC tournament team. If you look at the program now, it really doesn't look any different than it did in the Polk II era. It's still a little early to make a judgment on Cohen. We did get to a super last year, even though it took a few lucky breaks to get there. Hestill needs time to see how this year plays out and what happens next year. To me next year is going to be the make or break year for him.
Which situation do you think had a better chance at being successful? They had beenpretty successful Cohen's last 3 years including2 of Cohen's last 3 yearsat UK being 44 win seasons. MSU hasn't won more than 44 games in a season since 1997.
Now obviously just winning regular season games isn't all that matters. I'm in the group thatwould love for us to win a ton of games but would trade a great regular for a postseason run. There are a bunch on herethat think the two have to go together and I am not one of those people.
I still Cohen has done what he needs to in the current state of college baseball and the bat changes. We've got a deep pitching rotation, we've got some solid contact hitters with Frazier, Bradford, and Henderson, and we've got power with Norris, Rea, and Porter. Once everyone get's healthy I think we will come on hard at the end of the season and get a 2 seed in a regional.
Now obviously just winning regular season games isn't all that matters. I'm in the group thatwould love for us to win a ton of games but would trade a great regular for a postseason run. There are a bunch on herethat think the two have to go together and I am not one of those people.
I still Cohen has done what he needs to in the current state of college baseball and the bat changes. We've got a deep pitching rotation, we've got some solid contact hitters with Frazier, Bradford, and Henderson, and we've got power with Norris, Rea, and Porter. Once everyone get's healthy I think we will come on hard at the end of the season and get a 2 seed in a regional.
....while we were average for much of the year we made a really solid run at the end. It would be one thing if he had been terrible his first three years. He was bad his first two, then had a solid 3rd year. We were on our way to being solid this year until we lost half of our team to injuries, and the season's not over yet.
I don't understand the "Year 4" thing. Just because it's year 4 doesn't mean that the roster doesn't turn over.
There's no doubt that he went juco heavy in his early recruiting and we are paying the penalty for that. But we did put it together at the end of last season. No team improves at the same rate every year. There are ebbs and flows based on depth and experience. But there is little doubt that Cohen's teams are getting better, we have a strong nucleus of young talent, and his teams play really hard.
I don't understand the "Year 4" thing. Just because it's year 4 doesn't mean that the roster doesn't turn over.
There's no doubt that he went juco heavy in his early recruiting and we are paying the penalty for that. But we did put it together at the end of last season. No team improves at the same rate every year. There are ebbs and flows based on depth and experience. But there is little doubt that Cohen's teams are getting better, we have a strong nucleus of young talent, and his teams play really hard.
If you look at it from a very simple point of view, we are pretty decent now and extremely young. The future will be bright, and the not so distant at that. Dont young teams grow and improve significantly during the year? We should be playing our best baseball to end the year
patdog said:
provided we are a Tourney team at the end of this season. If you are objective, and analyze where Polk left things, you can see why we had 2 rebuilding years. We improved in Year 3 and got better as the year went on- like a team should.
Year 4 is full of youth and injuries- yet this team isnt making excuses. It went to LSU and played it's *** off. If our Sr does his job, we win the series. We got to let this thing play out and see where we stand come SEC Tourney time.
He did inherit a disaster, that wasn't made any better by Polk trying to sabotage him when he left. But last year was not that impressive at all. We barely snuck into the SEC and NCAA tournaments at all. It's great that we got an easy draw and won the regional, but that doesn't change the fact that the team really wasn't all that good. I don't think the LSU series is going to look quite as good at the end of the season as you're making it out to be now. I know some ******** poll has them ranked #8, but Boyd has them ranked #24and that's about where they really are. I'll be shocked if they make a super this year.</p>
and it's for all. Because the baseball program was already built (past success) and the basketball program was not does that mean Cohen is held to a different standard than Stans?
but Im not sure it was a solid foundation. We got to a super because we didn't have to face any of Tech's top 4 pitchers. If TN doesn't beat Au on the last game of the year, we may not have even made the tournament.
I didn't really consider what we did as a sign that the program is headed for consistent success.
Like I said, Im not saying he won't win, but Im not sold at this point b/c we played 2 good ballgames in Gainesville.
I didn't really consider what we did as a sign that the program is headed for consistent success.
Like I said, Im not saying he won't win, but Im not sold at this point b/c we played 2 good ballgames in Gainesville.
if someone had upset Duke and Stansbury had gotten us to the Sweet 16 in 2005, you would act like it was the greatest thing he ever did and make no excuses for it.
I agree that it's still early and why I said this season needs to play out. If we are a Tourney team this year- then you have to be happy with the direction of the program. If we dont make it- then he needs to be coaching for his job next season.
I agree that it's still early and why I said this season needs to play out. If we are a Tourney team this year- then you have to be happy with the direction of the program. If we dont make it- then he needs to be coaching for his job next season.
We "got it going" when we faced a depleted and slumping USM team (24 runs scored in their last 10 games) and then didn't have to face GA Tech until they were down to their 5th pitcher. We actually went into the regional losing 4 of our last 5 games of the season. A lot of people said we "got it going" when we made the CWS in 2007 and the Liberty Bowl that fall. Sometimes people let a few good breaks blind them into thinking a team is better than it really is.
We made it to a super, but we weren't one of the best 16 teams in the country and if we're being honest, everyone on this board knows it. And if someone had upset Duke to get us to a Sweet 16 in 2995, I'd have been the first to say it's great that we got there, but we sure got a lot of help doing it. Not that basketball has anything in the world to do with this.
People let a few bad breaks(especially early in a season) feed their illusion that a team is worse than it actually is. You can play that card both ways.
This team is better than last year's, which was better than the previous year. That's progress. Until there is a sustained regression, the Cohen bashing is laughable at best.
This team is better than last year's, which was better than the previous year. That's progress. Until there is a sustained regression, the Cohen bashing is laughable at best.
the Big East has their 5th and 7th place teams in the Sweet 16. Their 5th and 7th place teams played for their conference tourney title. SEC baseball is the same way. Just because you finish 7th in the SEC, doesnt mean you wouldnt be one of the top 2-3 in most other conferences.
We havent won the SEC in baseball since 1989. Have we not been very good since then?
We havent won the SEC in baseball since 1989. Have we not been very good since then?
That's more than just "a few bad breaks early in the season." We also lost to Belmont, Sacred Heart, and UAB and were a #3 seed in the tournament. That's pretty mediocre. As for being better this year, we'll see as the year goes on. But Boyd has us ranked #53 so at the very least if we're better this year we haven't shown it yet.
You're always going to have hot teams in baseball and basketball, but I don't think you get to be one of the hot teams if you don't do something right. When Polk made his last run, even though the program was heading in the wrong direction by then, could we really have made that run if Polk didn't still know how to coach at the end of the day?
And I'll ask again, assuming we make the tournament this year and finish around the top 25 (which must be a bigger assumption than I realized), isn't that a pretty decent job by Cohen? I'm really asking. I know we used to be good at baseball, but with how good the rest of the SEC has become, is it really a slam dunk that we should be a top15 team each year and in the top four of the SEC?
Or are people complaining because they are expecting us to miss the tourney?
And I'll ask again, assuming we make the tournament this year and finish around the top 25 (which must be a bigger assumption than I realized), isn't that a pretty decent job by Cohen? I'm really asking. I know we used to be good at baseball, but with how good the rest of the SEC has become, is it really a slam dunk that we should be a top15 team each year and in the top four of the SEC?
Or are people complaining because they are expecting us to miss the tourney?
Causes the low ranking. We will finish in the top 30ish in Boyd's rankings, as well as rpi.
We will make regionals again, although its somewhat unlikely we host.
OM is looking very shaky. They have no pitching depth, and the bats have underperformed.
Auburn is not very good this year.
Vandy is the lowest they've been under Corbin since 2005.
Bama is a trainwreck right now.
South Carolina is(according to inside sources) one of the 3-4 worst teams Tanner has fielded there(since 97).
Tennessee is in serious rebuilding mode still.
Kentucky is playing out of their minds right now. No way they sustain it. Hot early = cold late(usually).
We are as good right now, today, as LSU and Georgia.
That leaves Florida and Arkansas as the only two teams that I'm willing to concede right now, today, as better than us, with a higher ceiling than we have. We WILL make the 10-team sec tourney, which virtually guarantees a regional, and we WILL make noise once we get there. Too much pitching depth and too many "gamers" not to...
We will make regionals again, although its somewhat unlikely we host.
OM is looking very shaky. They have no pitching depth, and the bats have underperformed.
Auburn is not very good this year.
Vandy is the lowest they've been under Corbin since 2005.
Bama is a trainwreck right now.
South Carolina is(according to inside sources) one of the 3-4 worst teams Tanner has fielded there(since 97).
Tennessee is in serious rebuilding mode still.
Kentucky is playing out of their minds right now. No way they sustain it. Hot early = cold late(usually).
We are as good right now, today, as LSU and Georgia.
That leaves Florida and Arkansas as the only two teams that I'm willing to concede right now, today, as better than us, with a higher ceiling than we have. We WILL make the 10-team sec tourney, which virtually guarantees a regional, and we WILL make noise once we get there. Too much pitching depth and too many "gamers" not to...
but that's like saying "i don't care if we have a good basketball season as long as we win the SEC Tournament so we go to the NCAA tourney". Sure, that sounds great, but you know you cannot build a program off of that type of success.
And you cannot consistently go to Supers with an average team, which is what we were last year.
And you cannot consistently go to Supers with an average team, which is what we were last year.
looking for ways to denigrate it. You spoke of the team being lucky last year. All successful teams are lucky in some ways. Kentucky was "lucky" to go through the SEC season undefeated. They are good, but enjoyed some luck. Auburn was lucky to beat us in 2010. I hope we are "lucky" this year!
I really think this is going to turn out to be a down year for the whole conference in baseball. I know we have a lot of teams ranked highly in the polls, but I can't remember the last time I looked at the SEC and saw this few really good teams and this many bad ones.
...we go 9-21, 9-20, and 6-24 in the league in the three years prior to last year. Then we get to 14-16 and you don't see the improvement in the program? No we weren't a national power last year. We haven't been for many years. But we took a huge, huge step forward. Most people set the goal at the beginning of the season to make the SEC tournament and a regional. We did that, made a super, and had a lead going into the late innings for a trip to Omaha. Do you understand that the division winner (a top 10 team) won one more league game than we did? Come on man.
Polk left the biggest mess of a program that any of us have ever seen. And Cohen made a mistake in his early recruiting. We all acknowledge that. We finally have a solid foundation. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Polk left the biggest mess of a program that any of us have ever seen. And Cohen made a mistake in his early recruiting. We all acknowledge that. We finally have a solid foundation. Rome wasn't built in a day.
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