Enough with the baseball hysteria

[MSDawg34]

Baseball is a marathon season, which we are currently ranked and 14-4. Our current situation has us missing arguably our two best hitters, other starters in Brownlee and Stark, and one of our best starting pitchers in Bracewell.

I dont know where you people get off bashing Cohen, do you not remember we were a few innings away from taking a SR away from Florida at their house and going to Omaha. This site has become way too much of a bitchfest about everything when we should rationally look at things case by case.

Our ERA and more importantly OPS will both be improvements on last season, a season I remind you was nearly a CWS bid.

We have 9 outs to make up 4 runs in this one, a feat I predict we will accomplish

We will have to focus more on the mound with Norris Bradford Brownlee and Stark out but a successful 1 win in BR this weekend then hopefully getting some pieces back for Arkansas will propel us to an improved conference record and Regional Host Site.

 

[MSDawg34]

Baseball is a marathon season, which we are currently ranked and 14-4. Our current situation has us missing arguably our two best hitters, other starters in Brownlee and Stark, and one of our best starting pitchers in Bracewell.

I dont know where you people get off bashing Cohen, do you not remember we were a few innings away from taking a SR away from Florida at their house and going to Omaha. This site has become way too much of a bitchfest about everything when we should rationally look at things case by case.

Our ERA and more importantly OPS will both be improvements on last season, a season I remind you was nearly a CWS bid.

We have 9 outs to make up 4 runs in this one, a feat I predict we will accomplish

We will have to focus more on the mound with Norris Bradford Brownlee and Stark out but a successful 1 win in BR this weekend then hopefully getting some pieces back for Arkansas will propel us to an improved conference record and Regional Host Site.

 

[MSUArrowCS]

but it's no use. Between the idiots who don't understand that baseball is played over 9 innings (ETA: much less an entire season) and the idiots convinced that our success last year doesn't count, you're probably just wasting your keystrokes.

But I agree. Isn't it silly?

 

[was21]

about MSU sports. If we win, there are very few comments...if we lose...they're all over the place....leeches sucking on anything..maybe because they have no real lives...thx

 

[weblow]

[No message]

 

[State82]

There is not a coach out there that could take the injury losses we have had and run new guys out to the diamond and not miss a beat, except for maybe 2 or 3 at most. I have never seen a collegiate baseball team suffer the kind of injury bug we have had in a week's time. It's uncanny, but it is what we have to deal with. Like Todd said yesterday, we have to find a way to weather the storm for a few weeks, but it looks like we may not be able to do that. The injury situation has put extreme emphasis on midweek games because at this point we can't afford to slip up at all but we may not have enough backup firepower to avoid it. It is a tough, tough spot for us to be in and getting one this weekend is absolutely critical right now. My concern is that we may fall too far behind before we are even halfway close to full strength again.

 

[benatmsu]

... nobody in the starting lineup tonight (save Adam Frazier for the last part of last season) was in the starting lineup last year. Getting a lot of young new faces some PT tonight.

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

<div style="text-align: left;">We just aren't very good. Our hitting is atrocious, our pitching is solid, but I question Cohen's handling of the staff. Lets be honest our hitting wasn't very good before the injuries, which don't help. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cohen got us to a Super last year, but the other 2 years were beyond awful. His first 3 years and Polks last 3 years are almost the exact same, except Polk got to a World Series. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I will hold off on judgment until about half way through SEC play, but I don't expect it to be very good. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cohen will never get a pass from me, like he has from many of the people on this board.</div><div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[MSDawg34]

Cohen got us to a Super last year, but the other 2 years were beyond awful. - bill brasky

If we fired Stansbury and reached the Sweet 16 three years from now, barely losing to North Carolina to go to the Elite 8 would you complain?

 

[mstatefan88]

We had a team full of seniors last year.We have 3 seniors on this team, but we are full of talented young guys.In two years when all of these freshmen and sophomores are juniors and seniors,we are going to be sick.You can't be good every year, it just isn't reasonable. Hell Vanderbilt has a 6-10 record right now.

We knew we were going to be young this year, but everyone on here conveniently forgot that and expected us to be some badass team that scored 10 runs a game with a bunch of freshmen and sophomoresjust because we got to the Super Regionals last year. People on here need to chill the 17 out about baseball, at least until SEC play starts.

 

[jwbigcreek]

a feat I predict we will not accomplish (crow will taste good if I'm wrong). And I agree with bill brasky that Cohen gets a free pass from a lot of people on the board. Do I want to fire him? Hell no. But I'm not pleased with how we've played the last 3+ years with the exception of the end of the 1st & 3rd years. And this team that is beating our *** for the 2nd night in a row lost to JSU.

ETA: SELaalso lost 2 of 3 to Nicholls State & got the crap beat out of them by Tulane.

 

[rebel law]

If you have a bunch of seniors on a baseball team then you aren't going to be "sick". Far from it.

 

[MSUArrowCS]

But a basic understanding of baseball would be nice. This is a midweek road game and we have idiots chomping at the bit to post a 4th inning score as evidence that our team sucks. That's naive and it gets old.

 

[mstatefan88]

I meant for it to be mostly weighted on juniors.The good teams have tons of talented juniors on their teams. Juniors are really the key, but having some seniors like Caleb Reed can certainly benefit. The point is I think we have a talented rosterbut thatthis year was expected to be a bit tougher because we were going to be starting new guys at 7 different positions in the field. Nowtwoof our most important guys inBradford and Norris are down, plus losingguys likeBrownlee and Stark, we are going to struggle as a younger team.

When Cohen got here this was a complete rebuild job andpeople have to expect that it's going to take some time to fix. This 3 years crap people have gotten used to is ridiculous and unrealistic when you have to completely rebuild. That being said, next year we have no excuse. It will be year 5 and we will have some good seniors, a ton of juniors, andsome of these freshmen we have playing early will have a full season under their belts and be sophomores. I thought it would take 5 years to get back to being avery goodteam, and I think in year 5 we will see thatCohen has brought in the pieces to do that. </p>

 

[KurtRambis4]

giving him a pass. They just realize Cohen is a good coach. Also, our hitting sucked last year, but we managed to take one of the best teams in the nation to the wire in a SR at their place with no pitching. This year, our pitching staff is deep, so it isn't outrageous to think we can be successful this year.

 

[jwbigcreek]

pitching-wise, but just how talented are they compared to the rest of the league? I know it's too soon to tell for sure, but I'm not convinced that they'll do that great in SEC play. Obviously, Reed is a bad *** and Routt is pretty good (but is he in the top 10 in the league?). Mitchell also showed a lot of potential last year. I just get the feeling pitching will be maybe 6th or 7th best in the league, with hitting in the bottom 3-4. If we can finish .500 in the league, I wouldn't complain (too much).

 

[KurtRambis4]

talented, overall, than last year, and they were one quality pitcher from the CWS last season.

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

especially while you sat at home? Just curious. Team full of seniors and all.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

You can hold teams to 3 or 4 runs in the SEC and still lose if you cannot hit when it counts.

We scored 5, 1, and 3 against Mercer and 3 and 1 against SELA...and now we get to go to LSU who, after a slow start, is finding their stroke.

The injuries are tough....but with scholly limits they become glaring in their scope with a team that only has 3 or 4 guys who can handle the bat when runs are needed...and 2 of those are the ones injured.

I still believe we need to hire a hitting specialist and let Mingione go. I just don't see his worth to the team.

 

[rebel law]

Your seniors played their *** off the last 2 weeks last year and earned it. I'm not taking anything away from them. But from a talent standpoint, you don't want a team full of seniors. It means they aren't very good players. Baseball is a sophomore and junior sport. It never hurts to have 1 or 2 seniors on the team like a Caleb Reed who were either late developers or just don't have MLB potential. But no, I don't ever want a baseball team full of seniors.

 

[MSDawg34]

nm

 

[engie]

Only show up at "gut-check time."

A midweek series in Hammond, La with Baton Rouge on the horizon and half the roster out is NOT "gut-check time." It is simply a trap series. Happens ALL the time in baseball...

This baseball team will be judged by what we do in May/June, not by the 2 games in early March against the traditionally good mid-major program playing their world series...

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

that's life in the SEC anyways. <div>
</div><div>But then again, you have Fresno State, who got hot because of the experience of the team. Exceptions to most rules I suppose...</div>

 

[patdog]

This is year 4 and he hasn't gotten us to .500 in the SEC yet. And he wasn't projected to this year either, even before the injuries. He's getting a lot of mileage out of one hot/lucky weekend. A lot like Crxxm was getting a lot of mileage out of a Liberty Bowl in 2007 and Polk out of a CWS earlier that year.

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

We were at rock bottom talent wise, especially pitching. He had to rebuild that first, supplement the hitting with JUCO. Now we've got to let our youth grow up, and the ones that were, our leaders, are now hurt. I guess the buck stops at Cohen's desk, though.<div>
</div><div>But to answer your question, he's a good coach because of his prior track record, and the fact that we reached a Super in Year 3 with a bunch of players that weren't as talented as the ones we have right now (at least per the MLB draft).</div>

 

[KurtRambis4]

I don't pay attention to your posts about baseball.</p>

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

To me this is yet to be seen. He didn't ever do much at Kentucky, and he hasn't done anything here. Before everyone says something dumb about supers to me, I expect World Series at State, we are historically one of the best college baseball programs in the country, this isn't basketball. <div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div><div>
</div><div>I will withhold judgment on this team for awhile, because our pitching staff should be very good. I do hate what Cohen has done with the starters so far. To me he should stick Stratton in Friday night, Routt saturday, Mitchell sunday, and the bullpen would still be nasty. But he deals with the players every day so I will trust his judgment for right now. </div><div>
</div><div>Our hitting is awful, a lot of that is because we are very young, but that is his own fault. As Todd has pointed out numerous times, we recruited a ton of jucos his first two years here, and it is biting him in the *** right now. There is a lot of talent on our team, it is just young and who knows if it will develop. </div><div>
</div><div>We still haven't reached the 40 win plateau under Cohen and I highly doubt we do again this year. Thankfully this season shouldn't go nearly as bad as his first two seasons and I will be shocked if we don't make a regional. </div>

 

[patdog]

You probably didn't pay attention when I said the CWS and Liberty Bowls in 2007 were flukes either.

 

[KurtRambis4]

seeing as how I never wanted crooms as our coach, from day one.

 

[OMlawdog]

I think with a lot of MSU fans winning the Ga Tech regional and then losing to Florida in the Super gives Cohen a pass for this year, and shows that he has MSU headed in the right direction. I think that is partly true, but also it ignores the current state of the roster.

19 games into the season MSU has 6 homers as a team, against competition that is fairly soft. I posted that this year's SE La team is not nearly as good as the one they faced last year, and the proof is in their previous results. Se La lost to Jackson State, Central Michigan and a series to Nichols State. They are a decent baseball team, but far from anything special.

Right now as you look through MSU's roster you see some nice young arms. Holder, Mitchell, Lindgren and Woodruff all look to have nice stuff. As far as hitters go I guess you go with Renfroe, Rea and Norris. I've seen Renfroe a few times and I think his average is going to continue to drop once you get into SEC play and he is only hitting .280 something right now.

I know the Super run was great last year, but for a fan base that bashes the hell out of Stans for his SEC tourney success and regular season screwups, its hard for me to understand how he garners so much support despite the fact that his overall SEC record at MSU is 29-60. Now I know the cabinets were bare when he showed up, but looking at the roster and the brutal schedule that MSU faces this year is easy to see how MSU could really struggle this year. Would this be considered a success in year 4 of a baseball program with the support, facilities and money being put into the baseball program?

If Cohen gets a pass this year due to injuries, then those may be convenient injuries for him, because even healthy the lineup has no power. I think this weekend will be interesting for MSU. LSU's offense is pretty weak too, and MSU pitching is good enough to get a win which it really needs because the schedule does not get any easier with Arkansas coming to town next week.

 

[MediaRelatinDawg]

The obvious thing missing is the clutch hitting in our lineup. Bradford and Norris and Stark have provided that all season up until their injuries. Fighting through this bizarre rash of injuries is just something we are going to have to do. Right now it appears our lineup just isn't balanced right now due to injuries and inexperienced guys on the back end of it. Give it time, we will be ok.

 

[patdog]

Forget the injuries. Even without them, this team looks exactly like a Ron Polk team from 2001 - 2008. Decent pitching staff with no real standout ace pitcher and a weak punch-and-judy offense. And oh yeah, yet another sub-.500 SEC record and no regional host.

 

[OMlawdog]

I know there are limitations that both MSU and Ole Miss face, but I've learned that if your recruiting classes are consistently in the 15-25 range as far as baseball, that for the most part you won't get over the hump in the SEC.

I really thought last year was very interesting with players like Connor Barron and Mason Robbins signing with USM instead of MSU. I know Steve Robertson has bitched and moaned about the baseball travel teams and coaches pushing players to schools just like AAU basketball, and it appears that Cohen isn't recruiting these travel teams as hard.

Im not saying that Cohen has recruited a bad baseball team, but I just don't know if MSU has as many talented players that you will definitely lose in the MLB draft as juniors, on its roster. Players like Woodruff, Hawtin Buchanan, Golson, and Satterwhite are tool guys. MLB scouts project these guys to be good players, while players like Yarborough, Bradford, Mathis, and Caleb Reed are already good baseball players. I was very critical of Bianco the last few years, but he finally started to get it when it came to high school recruiting, and though I think we are a little overrated right now, but I really like the overall depth and talent level of the team as well as the direction of recruiting coming in not only next year, but the years that follow.

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

Travel teams don't push you to one school or another, that is ridiculous. The talent level in Mississippi was ridiculous last year, might have been the best in the last 25 years, and we signed some great kids out of that class, but we also missed on a number of guys as well. USM had what ended up being the second best recruiting class in the country. That should never happen, but in reality Cohen might have thought the USM guys were gone in the draft so he didn't pursue them. <div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

I mean, seriously, we were #23 in the country before the injuries. We have the talent to compete for the whole damn thing next year. <div>
</div><div>You opinion on this is flat out useless and uninformed. </div><div>
</div><div>We've literally gotten damn near every player we've wanted. Cohen's recruiting, quite simply, has been outstanding.</div>

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

I never said our recruiting wasn't good. I said we missed on some kids in Ms who were really good (USM) had the second best class in the country. I am not privy to the inner working of our recruiting and neither are you. I assume that we didn't go after these kids because our staff assumed they were gone in the draft.<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

nm

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

Ignore my sarcastic angry remark. Yuku confuses me<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[OMlawdog]

How many of Cohen's classes have been ranked in the top 10? More importantly how many juniors will you lose to the draft this year?

You are clueless when it comes to college baseball, which is fairly consistent with your knowledge in other sports.

 

[Coach34]

Forget the injuries. Even without them, this team looks exactly like a Ron Polk team from 2001 - 2008. Decent pitching staff with no real standout ace pitcher and a weak punch-and-judy offense. And oh yeah, yet another sub-.500 SEC record and no regional host.

It's interesting what you see