Anyone listen to Bo Bounds this morning?

[MsuDogfan12]

On his show this morning he talked about our regional and how former MSU players were bashing and talking bad about MSU and John Cohen because of our recent success and also bringing light to the fact we may end up playing Ron Polk and Rafael Palmeiro's son. Just wondering if any of you know who these former players are that are coming out publicly and talking bad about cohen. On the show he did not reference any of the players.<div>
</div><div>Thanks
<div>
</div><div>#hailstate</div></div>

 

[MsuDogfan12]

On his show this morning he talked about our regional and how former MSU players were bashing and talking bad about MSU and John Cohen because of our recent success and also bringing light to the fact we may end up playing Ron Polk and Rafael Palmeiro's son. Just wondering if any of you know who these former players are that are coming out publicly and talking bad about cohen. On the show he did not reference any of the players.<div>
</div><div>Thanks
<div>
</div><div>#hailstate</div></div>

 

[MsuDogfan12]

On his show this morning he talked about our regional and how former MSU players were bashing and talking bad about MSU and John Cohen because of our recent success and also bringing light to the fact we may end up playing Ron Polk and Rafael Palmeiro's son. Just wondering if any of you know who these former players are that are coming out publicly and talking bad about cohen. On the show he did not reference any of the players.<div>
</div><div>Thanks
<div>
</div><div>#hailstate</div></div>

 

[Coach34]

Ron Polk wanted to name his successor- and he wanted Raffo.

Greg Byrne was NOT going to hire Tommy Raffo- Polk goes apeshit.

Byrne hires Cohen- some view it as Cohen shouldnt have taken the job because Polk wanted it to go to Raffo- what they seemingly fail to realize is that had John not taken it, then we would have gone outside of the State family to hire someone. And that could have caused even worse feelings- and made for a more miserable situation in the beginning.

Cohen doesnt help things because he is an *******- but he is who he is. As a former player told me- "he is an ******* and is not very friendly. But he always played hard and if the game was on the line- he is one of the guys I'd always want up there to win the game. He is a winner"

Also, Cohen cut a bunch of Polk guys. Polk goes around telling people that Cohen doesnt care for the players and is going to constantly cut guys. That is why we keep hearing about how much the players hate Cohen- Polk perpetuates it to his loyalists. But this is how you have to operate in college baseball these days. It's not a Cohen thing, that's baseball.

All this will die down now that we are winning. We are hearing less and less of it these days than we did 2 years ago. We are also just beginning to start this process in basketball with the Stansbury Loyalists- although I doubt we see a bunch of former players railing on Ray like the Polk guys do Cohen. It will be Dawggeezers and crew doing it the next couple of years.

 

[FlabLoser]

I agree with that.

And I am ok with Cohen being an *******. He manufactures better players. He's not there to be anybody's friend. I thinks it can be bad for player-coach relationships to be too casual.

 

[Foronce]

is probably who he is talking about, who took to twitter after Cohen was ejected at Alabama.


may25th I pull for State. I do not pull for Cohen.
may10th #firecohen
may9th @MsStateBaseball I hope you will recognize soon enough that Cohen is a joke.
@MsStateBaseball polks guys built that program. Cohen is trashing it and his players hate him. No coach in SEC respects Cohen
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ... @MsStateBaseball he will can them. If they offered me a full ride to play there I would say no. I'd play for free for Polk.
may7th Watching state post game antics is embarrassing. What ever happened to class?

 

[hotdigitydog]

spoke to him at some length about theanti Cohen sentiment by former Polk players.........This player told me it was just stupid and that Cohen was exactly what MSU needed......He further went on to say that Tommy Raffo was an idiot and we'd be right where we were had Raffo been hired............This guy won't disrepect Polk in any way but he agreed that TR wasa Polk clone and that Cohen was the right choice.........He said a lot of the players felt the same way so it's prolly just the vocal minority that we're hearing from.....

 

[Xenomorph]

He's says Raffo is an idiot. Says Raffo is a clone of Polk. But he won't disrespect Polk in any way?<div>
</div><div>Either he or you has a problem with your deductive reasoning skills.</div>

 

[Hanmudog]

spoke to him at some length about theanti Cohen sentiment by former Polk players.........This player told me it was just stupid and that Cohen was exactly what MSU needed......He further went on to say that Tommy Raffo was an idiot and we'd be right where we were had Raffo been hired............This guy won't disrepect Polk in any way but he agreed that TR wasa Polk clone and that Cohen was the right choice.........He said a lot of the players felt the same way so it's prolly just the vocal minority that we're hearing from.....

I don't think Raffo was the coach we needed at the time but he is no idiot. Didn't he win Coach of the Year in the Sunbelt or something? Cohen was what we needed but Raffo will likely end up having a great career too.

On a similar note, Polk was not the doofus that many of us make him out to be (not aiming this at you hotdiggity). He tailed off at the end of his career and let other programs pass him but it is comical the way some act like the all time winningest coach in SEC history was a moron.

 

[bullybrews]

Seriously, because someone is an ******* does not define their coaching capabilities, just look at Nick Satan.

 

[Hump4Hoops]

Glad we're moving away from that mentality as a program/fanbase. I love our postgame antics. Passion is a good thing.

 

[Hump4Hoops]

Hell, just look at MSU: You think that Mullen wins over hearts and minds among other SEC coaching staffs? You think that Sherril did? You think everyone loved Stansbury when he was pulling in great recruits? And guess who everyone did love - Croom.

Fact is, Polk was an anomaly, and a legend. He was pretty universally loved. Most successful coaches are not.

I want Cohen and his squads to continue to be hated and feared. I want the same out of coach Ray, and coach Mullen.

 

[biteyoudawg]

make the players hate him. He takes care of that on his own BUT no matter how much they hate him they love Mississippi State more and play their guts out for the program. I know this firsthand from a conversation I had this past weekend. Heard some of the horror stories and about meetings that took place but was told that no matter what happened they still wanted to win really bad for Mississippi State. The players were just so happy with the crowd support this weekend and everyone of them said thanks after each game to every fan they could. I think this team proved this weekend that they understand who the coach is and may not always agree with the way he treats them, what he says to them or the decision he makes but they will continue to play hard and give it their all.

It's not just Cohen that is an ******* either. A couple of the other coaches are just as big of AHs as Cohen. I think what holds this team together is the leadership of some of the player's themselves. There is a lot of comradery between the players on the team and good leadership in place who really stress hard work and dedication. So many of them have played hurt this year regardless of the circumstances and I think that speaks volumes about the character of the players. They do what they are asked to do in every situation that develops.

 

[KurtRambis4]

an idiot. The guy was most likely not the right hire for us, at the time, though. He was and is not an idiot, however.

 

[kimmer]

Ron Polk was a players coach. He engendered a great deal of loyalty among his boys. Cohen was one of his boys but his hiring was met with the extreme and public disapproval of Ron Polk (i.e. He threw a hissy). Even though cohen played for polk his personality probably didn't win him many votes for most popular among his teammates. Polk's line in the sand approach kind of forced everybody to pick a side including fans which has been the subject of endless threads on this and other boards. For a former player it seems to be an easier choice. Support my much admired former coach or an irascible former player that most never met.

On that basis I speculate that the number of former players that supported cohen was next to nothing in the beginning but I'll bet you that isn't the case now that it appears the program is turning the corner. I would guess the ratio is somewhere around 50-50 right now and will continue to increase as winning increases.

 

[Rutherford B Hays]

It is no sin to be very good but not great. Tommy Raffo is a very good coach and a great guy.

We don't need to trash a guy who simply wasn't what we needed. Thankfully Greg Byrne stood up to the pressure and made a great hire.

Of course Polk has no one to blame but himself. Had he retired a year earlier, LT would have made Raffo coach without question. Polk is wrong to blame Byrne.

 

[kimmer]

How do you get highly recruited players from alabama, texas, ga, etc who have no loyalty to MSU to sign with a guy who's players hate him?

 

[maroonmania]

a moron, arrogant and egotistical for sure, but certainly not a moron. My gripe with Polk is that he didn't have the drive or fortitude to do the things with the roster and on the recruiting trail to win at the very highest level in modern college baseball, and IMO there is no debating that. He is very sharp on baseball strategy and is a good teacher of the game but he primarily did well when most of the rest of the universities around the country and especially in the SEC treated baseball as an afterthought. Once the NCAA forced teams to cut the fat from the rosters and recruiting got much more competitive and we slowly began to lose some of the glow off of our reputation as a baseball power there was no way we were going to be a dominant program again with Polk running the show. And since Raffo learned everything he knew from Polk, at least as far as running a program, I had no confidence that he would be any better.

 

[Foronce]

we ain't talking about games, you talking about MEETINGS ...we just won the SEC Championship, I didn't see Cohen in the corner crying nobody likes me

We imposed our will on a lot of teams in that tournament because we are mentally tougher and believe in one another. You think that comes easy?

 

[Shmuley]

nm

 

[ckDOG]

Why can't things be easy on them when all they want to do is win for the fans?! This is crap. Cohen has to go now...

 

[engie]

Our players win in spite of Cohen, not because of him...they hate him, but love MSU so much, they chose to overachieve. That about cover your point? Nevermind the fact that these 4 straight recruiting classes in the top 20 signed on for it knowing EXACTLY who John Cohen was...

Behold true hatred!

 

[MaverickAG]

.

 

[DerHntr]

"I think what holds this team together is the leadership of some of the player's
themselves. There is a lot of comradery between the players on the team and
good leadership in place who really stress hard work and dedication. So many of
them have played hurt this year regardless of the circumstances..."

Rather shortsighted

 

[awalkerdog]

They don't like playing in front of big crowds, it makes them nervous.<div>
</div><div>
</div>

 

[CadaverDawg]

Because it sounds like you and the "person you met with" should look in to attending a meeting like that.

 

[Tds &amp; Beer]

Do the players still not like him or is this just people jumping to conclusions because of previous years?<div>
</div><div>I know I heard a few rumors early in the year about it but I don't check this board religiously. Winning usually cures a lot of things. I imagine that he's a lot more tolerable now that we are winning. The team has taken on the personality of our coaches. They grind, they don't take any ****, and they win. I have a feeling that it's not as bad as people think.
<div>
</div><div>Anyway, I know for a fact that 90% of my college team hated our coach and he's been there for a decade and a half. They obviously thought they made a good hire. Everybody acts like all college players are in love with their coach. Newsflash, they wouldn't have liked Raffo as a person either.</div> </div>

 

[biguglyjoe]

******

 

[shsdawg]

How do you get highly recruited players from alabama, texas, ga, etc who have no loyalty to MSU to sign with a guy who's players hate him?

They will put up with a lot to win.

 

[biteyoudawg]

How do you get highly recruited players from alabama, texas, ga, etc who have no loyalty to MSU to sign with a guy who's players hate him?

Not all the players hate him as most of you are making this out to be. I know a couple very well and know several who have helped other players get through some rough times. That's what being a team is all about. I'm not saying the ones I know hate him. But, there are some who do not like the man but won't leave because of their friends. I haven't always liked my direct boss but despite his/her antics to be a big shot I have never considered leaving my position. I won't let anyone take away that security because they act like an *******. Some of these players are a lot more mature than you give them credit for and when you love it like they do you will play through adversity. Meetings? Those were private conversations that I'll never talk about out of respect for the individual players. It's really none of your damn business. You need to keep supporting and coming to see them play and let them work that out with coach.

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

I do think that Ron Polk would've had his hand in everything Raffo did while he was here. The new coach, whether Cohen, Raffo, or somebody from the outside, needed to have control of the program and not worry about "the Legend" critiquing every move he made.<div id="isChromeWebToolbarDiv" style="display:none"></div>

 

[Todd4State]

John Cohen is the type of coach that you hate as a freshmen and sophomore, but you love if you make it through to your junior and senior year. He is going to push you and challenge you. Players that respond to that are usually very competitive type players that don't mind working hard and busting their ***. Mike Kennison at Delta State is the exact same way. He has had a ton of success at DSU with a lot of Mississippi kids for the most part. Skip Bertman and Augie Garrido were also similar. Those are the types of players that are going to want to play for him because those types of players WANT that and like that. That's why our players are the way they are, and that's why our staff evaluates and wants players like that.

Ron Polk wanted guys that were going to be loyal to him and do what he wanted them to do. And there are players that want that too- they want a "fatherly" type of coach and that's why we got what we got so long as they came to camp. Polk was loyal to his players, and they were loyal to him. Often times to a fault.

Both have had a lot of success in baseball. I'm not going to say one way is right or wrong, but personally, I do prefer Cohen's style better. Now that Cohen has his players in that can implement his style better, I've noticed that a lot of our fans have started to like it as well, and I've also noticed that other fans of SEC schools say things like "MSU is fun to watch" and "they play hard". When Polk was our coach, the only thing I heard from our fans was we were "classy"- and that was NOT from here.

And while it is a myth that all of Cohen's players hate him, it's also a myth that everyone of Polk's players liked him. For example- Matt Lea. My Dad played for Polk and doesn't particularly care for him because he treated players that played for Paul Gregory and Jimmy Bragan only and not him like they were never a part of MSU baseball- and some of those players won SEC titles and played in Omaha, and some were my Dad's teammates and friends.

And Polk may not have ever cut anyone- but he sure didn't have a problem telling many players from MSU families that they weren't good enough for our program.

Polk's arrogance absolutely ruins him. At least as much if not as much as Cohen being an *******. From the "athletic director of MSU baseball comment" to alienating former players, to bad mouthing Cohen to his former players.

 

[Todd4State]

Tommy was not ready for a SEC job four years ago. He may be now- or at least he is close if he isn't. Part of that was Polk's fault- he made him a promise he couldn't keep. Polk was the one that wanted to recruit mainly from the camp.

Going to Arkansas State was without a doubt one of the best things to happen to Raffo. He has built some connections- he has a pitching coach that actually coached Tim Lincecum and his hitting coach was just hired away by a JUCO.

Our hitting approach was very passive under Polk/Raffo- I didn't like it at all. We rarely attacked the ball, and hitters would sometimes get worse as their career went on. And we couldn't bunt to save our lives. Like we didn't work on it at all bad.

We may be near the bottom in the SEC this year, but at least our guys have made progress throughout the year.

 

[hotdigitydog]

Polkbut he personally thought Ron was tired and burnt out and that it was time.....Went on to say that Raffo wasn't the kind of change we needed and that a lot of the players didn't respect him.....This guy loves Polk as most of his former players do........

 

[DudyDog]

I know your pic shows Polly hugging Cohen, but what you see is not actually what it truly portrays. Polly is actually sacrificing himself for his teammates. As you can see in the background, the players with the SEC sign are preparing to actually slice Cohen's face in half. The problem that occurred was that Slive actually yelled at Cohen at that very moment to get him over to present him with the tourney trophy and the actual attack was aborted. <div>
</div><div>Just thought you'd want to know what really happened there.</div>

 

[engie]

John Cohen is the type of coach that you hate as a freshmen and sophomore, but you love if you make it through to your junior and senior year. He is going to push you and challenge you.

This is it EXACTLY. Nailed it. I played under one of the most decorated highschool coaches in MS and THE BEST at preparing kids for the next level. I hated him so badly as a fr/so that it is hard to describe. During those years, half of my class quit baseball. Several of these guys, had they kept playing, had no doubt D1 potential. By the time those of us that survived were juniors, we LOVED him as a coach. Everything changed once we had completely bought in and learned to play his style of ball. Didn't mean he wouldn't cuss us and make us run triangles for screwing up, but all that was just expected. We learned to love it because it made us better. Of the 4 that survived through graduation from my class, all had multiple scholarship offers.

This is a distinct "style". It's not for everybody. Of the kids Polk had here on campus, very few were of the personality type to like Cohen, especially the upper-classmen. It effectively turned seniors into freshmen from a coaching standpoint...

 

[Rezpup]

that the one coach who gave us something to hang our hats on growing up is the very coach we blast on here constantly. I know it didn't end well but he went to a lot of CWS's. Besides that, just because Polk wanted Raffo doesn't mean you have to be anti Cohen even if you are still a Polk guy. Seems like there is no middle ground on here sometimes.

 

[Coach34]

that the one coach who gave us something to hang our hats on growing up is the very coach we blast on here constantly. I know it didn't end well but he went to a lot of CWS's. Besides that, just because Polk wanted Raffo doesn't mean you have to be anti Cohen even if you are still a Polk guy. Seems like there is no middle ground on here sometimes.

and we will go again under Cohen at some point. People need to understand Miss State was winning in baseball before Ron Polk stepped on campus. And we won when he left the first time, and we are winning since he left a 2nd time.

When you throw a fit like Polk did, demand your name be taken off the stadium, and dont even leave the campus to recruit your last 2 seasons as coach- you burn up alot of the goodwill you built up over the years. Jackie didnt act like that, and you wont see Stansbury acting that way either.

 

[dawgoneyall]

coach Gregory made MSU baseball. Polk ran with it until other schools started hiring better coaches. Then Polk drifted to the middle until he finally quit on us.

The left field lounge existed before Polk arrived at MSU.

 

[patdog]

For any of Polk's players to ***** about Cohen is ridiculous. Polk is the reason our program has been in the ******* for most of the past decade and then he tried to sabotage it when he left. He deserves no loyalty from any Bulldog, whether they played for him or not.