I think we can all agree that all signs show Lemo is back next season. That said, how realistic is it that we will hire an above-average pitching coach? You'd have to be willing to leave a good situation for what is most likely one season then find a new job after the entire staff gets canned in '24. I guess that is unless things drastically turn around from the dumpster fire it has been.
Pitching Coach Question
- Thread starter columbiadawg2
- Start date
If Lemonis does return he is on a searing hot seat. You’re got two prospective candidates for pitching coach. You may be able to draw an established experienced coach with an ego big enough that he thinks he can fix this mess and it will lead to a head coaching gig. The second option is a smaller school pitching coach who is climbing up the coaching ladder and win or lose it’s still going to look good on a resume. It’s going to be a tough hire because whom ever we hire will know that it’s highly possible that it’s just a one year gig.
I think we get a guy that was told somewhere else that it was time for him to go look elsewhere, you know, a guy like Foxhall if Lemonis had done last season what he should have done and told him that
Throw a wad of cash at Muscara at Wake. Try and get Hartle and Sullivan in a package deal. That will set our Friday and Saturday starters.
Selling point is SEC exposure, DNF environment/fan support, Pretty strong top part of batting lineup to produce runs, You bring those 2 and we have a strong chance to win 2 SEC games each weekend and we aren't firing Lemon. This is a slim hail mary attempt, but Lemon has to make it happen if he wants to continue coaching here. If we lose to Valley next season, a packed Uhaul will be waiting for him outside of DNF.
Selling point is SEC exposure, DNF environment/fan support, Pretty strong top part of batting lineup to produce runs, You bring those 2 and we have a strong chance to win 2 SEC games each weekend and we aren't firing Lemon. This is a slim hail mary attempt, but Lemon has to make it happen if he wants to continue coaching here. If we lose to Valley next season, a packed Uhaul will be waiting for him outside of DNF.
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We are capable of hiring a good pitching coach. We might not, but let’s not act like it is impossible. In spite of our situation, we offer a lot in baseball that most places can’t.
Rob Walton at Oklahoma State one that’s being talked about.
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Would be an interesting move for him given that he’s in the OK State Hall of Fame as a player and coach. They’re not on the level of many SEC schools but they do invest a lot in baseball. Their new stadium is awesome.
He’s a very highly respected pitching coach though. If we were able to pull someone like that then it would be a strong first step toward improvement for Lemonis.
Bring in Dan McDonnell as associate head coach to take over pitching coach duties. Some of the comments he’s made makes me believe he’d jump at the chance
I’m in grad school at OK State, and I follow the baseball program closely. I’ve heard Rob Walton’s name thrown around for our job more than once. I’m no baseball guru, but this strikes me as a terrible hire if it comes to fruition. His staff in Stillwater is struggling for the second year in a row.
I don't claim to be a coaching genius, but is it crazy to think that if we hire a good pitching coach and we can lemon, the next guy COULD keep the pitching coach, assuming there is improvement from this year to the next? Also, are there any decent pitching coaches that are "coaches in waiting"? Then we fire lemon and have a candidate (not a sure thing) waiting in the dugout that would be considered? I don't know, I'm just playing out possible scenarios in my brain in hopes that we pull someone worth a damn.
I don't know. They're 3rd in the Big 12 in ERA, even though their ERA looks fairly high at 5.13 in conference games (not far behind leader WVU at 5.00). Looks like the whole league is just a hitters league.
I'd like to have a staff that was struggling like this after the two seasons we've had:
I'd take it next year for sure, beats the heLL out of last place in most categories. 2nd place is still first loser though.......If failure in pitching means middle of the pack in the conference...
I mean they were decent enough to be a Top 8 seed last year and a likely host this year. He’s one of the more respected pitching coaches in the country.
I don’t think anyone is asking to necessarily even be elite on the mound next year. Just don’t be cripplingly terrible. We just have an OK pitching staff next year and we are probably in the hosting discussion.
Next year's pitching coach is going to have a lot of work to do. Starting with hitting the transfer portal HARD.
If we had a 5.19 ERA this year we’d be a 2 seed in someone’s regional and on the bubble to host.
I feel like anyone halfway competent can lower the team ERA by 2 runs and cut the walks by 20%. That's serviceable.
His run with ‘18 is kinda the anomaly for his career. He wasn’t great at Kentucky. But he’ll always have my respect for what he did here. I also know his family has been through an awful lot in recent years.
Do any of you think we are gonna hire a top tier pitching coach ? C'mon man. We hired a middle of the pack big ten head coach who is in over his head and now you think a top tier pitching coach is coming here ? To work for Lemonis ?
I suspect that of those 1,000 phone calls that Lem supposedly received RE: the PC job, about 995 of them came from HS/JC coaches.
SEC ERA would drop from 9.54 to about 8.00. Still last in the league, even without dropping the worst series for the other teams.
The theory is that if fielding can trust pitching more they can play looser and won't make as many dumb errors. I think it goes both ways because the pitchers are trying too hard because they can't trust the fielding to catch every ball that's hit their way
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