Frost has really impressed me, he has improved drastically

[bill brasky.sixpack]

It is really too bad that Cohen had to play him his freshmen year before he was ready. He has turned into a ballplayer.<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[engie]

That he wasn't good before now. But Cohen gets no credit for the drastic improvement. Am I reading this right?

Shirley it has nothing to do with age-related maturity finally allowing him to become the player in games that he's always been in practice...thus why Cohen kept giving him chances, while most wanted his scholarship pulled. Insert the name Britton in this place and you have basically the same situation.

Patience pays dividends...

 

[patdog]

You really don't want to have any 5th year SRs on your team anyway.</p>

 

[VegasDawg13]

That he wasn't good before now. But Cohen gets no credit for the drastic improvement. Am I reading this right?

No, you did not read that right.

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

And you missed reading comp in school. Cohen played him as a freshman because he was good defensively and he had no other options. I assure you he was terrible in practice when he was younger, Cohen just had no other options. In a perfect world Cohen could have redshirted him.<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

I would much rather have someone for a 5th year than a wasted true freshman year<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div><div>
</div><div>A perfect example is Jeff Lacher, he was our ace his 5th year. You are a grown man your 5th year and if you have made it in the program all 5 years then you should be able to contribute something. </div>

 

[MSUArrowCS]

that it's hard to build a competitive program around players that need 5 years to develop. While I do agree that we're not exactly having to build our program around the Sam Frosts of the world, we're competing against programs that have players foregoing the first few rounds of the draft before their freshman year.

More power to Sam Frost, though. It's certainly better to have players develop than to have them regress.

 

[engie]

My point is simply that older guys can better translate their practice skill to game situations when the bright lights come on. Hunter Renfroe is another guy that hasnt even remotely tapped "practice potential" yet, as are most of our freshmen. Of course, the exception to this rule is the lights-out pro guys, who have been through major showcases, played in the Cape, turned down top 5 round money, etc.

Very few teams ever make deep runs primarily led by freshmen. Vandy had the #1 recruiting class in the country this yr, yet they are struggling, because the youth hasn't yet been able to translate. The only difference between us and them is experience on the mound. The ideal college team has lights out sophs/jrs, with a few senior leaders and freshmen contributors. IMO, we're a year away still. If we aren't competing at nearly a regional-hosting level next year, it is going to be time for us to start exploring other options. That said, I still think we get there...

 

[engie]

The clarity was questionable, at best... But at any rate, my bad there.

My point is...people were complaining every time Frost entered a game his whole career, right up until this current hot streak. They complain about Britton identically now. Saying he was our "best option" is revisionist history, because certainly no one besides Cohen himself thought that at the time, at least not out loud.

The part of this that is overlooked/unknown is how much the past experience helps or hurts now. I'm one that believes that there is NO such thing as bad experience(at the player level) in baseball. As a fan, I wish we didn't have to play Britton right now, while acknowledging that it'll prob help us long-term...

 

[Todd4State]

If it wasn't for all the injuries.

With Frost playing well and guys returning, I think we will see less and less of Britton unless it is as a pinch hitter/pinch runner.