Why I still strongly support Cohen

[gtowndawg]

nm

 

[KurtRambis4]

with his second full recruiting class he managed to get us within a few innings of making the CWS against the second seeded Gators. I'll take that, for now. People keep bitching at the SEC record and it baffles me. Would I like us to win more? Yes, but to expect us to be one of the top 5 teams in the league (with the shape our program was in) every season, is pretty unrealistic (in my mind). Programs like UM, USC, LSU, UGA, Vandy, & Ark have passed us by and are way ahead. Basically the main point people are bitching about (our SEC record) is a joke. The spot y'all expect us to be at, since the 2010 season, what put us on average as a top ten team in the country. As I stated, our program is not anywhere near that. It is going to take better recruits to get there, and I think we have the person in place to accomplish that.

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

I talked about Moreland and Moore because they were in the 5 year time frame that Douche34 made up. <div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div><div>
</div><div>Nappi could have easily played left field, easiest position on the field and he came in as a 3rd baseman utility guy. He transferred to a DII school because he can play immediately without having to sit out a year. He played under Polk and like many people left from that era, Cohen wanted distance and his own guys so he was run off. </div><div>
</div><div>We will have to wait and see on Lane and Byrd, but both were talented enough to get drafted relatively high. Also, Lane is pitching well so far this year. Many guys don't shine their first summer after a long season of college ball. </div><div>
</div><div>Wesson has a decent shot to make it to the bigs, he is little more than an organizational guy at this point, but he is left handed and throws hard, both of which go a long way. He is still starting which says a lot in AA. If flounders in the starting role in AA you can always make him into a left on left specialist and see how far he can get. </div><div>
</div><div>Byrd could have helped for the simple reason that he is talented and a warm body, I don't know if you have noticed but our hitting is atrocious. </div><div>
</div><div>Lane was a JUCO all american last year and had one of the lowest ERA's his freshman year on one of the worst SEC baseball teams ever assembled. </div><div>
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[Johnson85]

but I meant to point out that while bad teams do fire their coaches, you can also become a bad program by firing a coach in the first four years that hasn't proven he is incapable (e.g., Orgeron). I just don't think you can fire a coach that quickly if there is an argument that they can still turn the corner. Coaches know the margin for error is slim and there's a lot of luck involved.

Look at Mullen, for example. Did we have a single significant injury his second year? If Sherrod was hurt, that probably would have swung UGA and Florida and possibly any one of UK, UAB, or Ole Miss. Then you're looking at a coach that has gone 5-7, 5-7, and 6-6 (although getting to 5-7 his first year was pretty impressive considering the schedule and lack of talent). After Crooms, he probably wouldn't be on the hot seat, but he certainly wouldn't be comfortable and it wouldn't be because of anything within his control.

And granted, Mullen did have to deal with a fair share of injuries last year, which
is how things normally work out, with luck balancing out over time, but just pointing out that things could easily look a lot different for Mullen right now despite his only real mistake being taking a while to learn how recruiting works in the SEC West.

 

[maroonmania]

for the first half of his tenure, at least up through the 2004 SEC championship. Hopefully even Coach34 would not be so blinded by his grievances against Stans to deny that.

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

I'm going to enjoy next season. If Ole Miss can't get to Omaha this year, it's basically their last chance to out-do us. We might even be better than you this year. We'll see shortly.

 

[dawgatUSM]

I had forgot how atrocious our pitching was that year... awful.