Grade Cohen for 2009 Season
- Thread starter Indndawg
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Because even if the team all hated his guts, they still improved in pretty much every category and they did it with less talent than last year.
They also played some of their best baseball at the end of the year. And it doesn't take Casey Stengal to figure out that the difference between us having a losing record and going to a Regional is the fact that we had nothing in the bullpen whatsoever.
We also had a pretty difficult schedule, to.
Also, his recruiting class looks pretty good, and he and his staff put this class together in about half the time of most teams and also without the aid of a camp.
More than anything, I think this year was about establishing attitude, and I certainly think he has at least did that. I will say one thing about this team- they never quit. No matter how bad they were getting beat down.
They also played some of their best baseball at the end of the year. And it doesn't take Casey Stengal to figure out that the difference between us having a losing record and going to a Regional is the fact that we had nothing in the bullpen whatsoever.
We also had a pretty difficult schedule, to.
Also, his recruiting class looks pretty good, and he and his staff put this class together in about half the time of most teams and also without the aid of a camp.
More than anything, I think this year was about establishing attitude, and I certainly think he has at least did that. I will say one thing about this team- they never quit. No matter how bad they were getting beat down.
This team never quit. Cohen nearly got this team to .500 overall. That's saying a lot because of the shape of our bullpen and our Friday night guy going Rick Ankiel on us. I believe that we overachieved offensively due to the teaching of Cohen. We have a lot of average to below average SEC hitters that overachieved. (See DeLoach)
Once we get some speed and guys who can run the bases the way that Cohen wants, you'll see less and less of bone headed baserunning mistakes. When the depth is given to the bullpen, we'll win a lot of games.
Once we get some speed and guys who can run the bases the way that Cohen wants, you'll see less and less of bone headed baserunning mistakes. When the depth is given to the bullpen, we'll win a lot of games.
He took essentially the same team as last year (the addition of Routt pretty much offsets the losses from last year) and improved them by 2.5 games in the SEC and 3 games overall. We won't really know how to grade Cohen until after the 2011 season though.
All of us, including me, thought that Cohen had lost this team. Then to play every game the way they have the last couple of weeks, this team didn't quit.
The + is for beating the camo wearing team in Oxford.
If we can get some decent pitchers in that work out and can throw, we will be a good team next year.
The + is for beating the camo wearing team in Oxford.
If we can get some decent pitchers in that work out and can throw, we will be a good team next year.
Positives:
Negatives</p>
- We hit better than I thought we would
- We competed hard and finished strong
- He has recruited what appears to be a very solid class
- He demanded more of this team and will not be afraid to show to door to the guys who simply don't fit
Negatives</p>
- Way too many baserunning errors that can't be excused as simply "being aggressive"
- I don't care if he is the only guy you trust, letting Routt throw 142 pitches isn't the best idea and if he ever has arm problems other coaches will use that as ammo against him in recruiting
- I like his honesty with the press, but at times he simply went overboard
What he did good was he has revived a sense of urgency back into MSU Baseball.
He bleeds maroon and is recruiting the kind of players we need out on the field to get us back on top in the standings.
Has made it apparent to all on the team and to all future bulldogs that you better come to play ball or you will not be on the team.
There really wasn't anything he could have done better for our season record wise due to the lack of pitching and talent.
He is pretty rough when talking about the team in public but I don't disagree with it personally like others do. I can't feel bad for the players either because its their job to win games.
I'll put much more stock in grading his coaching next season but this season there really wasn't anything to accomplish except through recruiting and figuring out who to keep on the field next year.
He bleeds maroon and is recruiting the kind of players we need out on the field to get us back on top in the standings.
Has made it apparent to all on the team and to all future bulldogs that you better come to play ball or you will not be on the team.
There really wasn't anything he could have done better for our season record wise due to the lack of pitching and talent.
He is pretty rough when talking about the team in public but I don't disagree with it personally like others do. I can't feel bad for the players either because its their job to win games.
I'll put much more stock in grading his coaching next season but this season there really wasn't anything to accomplish except through recruiting and figuring out who to keep on the field next year.
B
This year he deserves a pass anyway. In my opinion, he was an above average closing pitcher away from being above the .500 mark.
This year he deserves a pass anyway. In my opinion, he was an above average closing pitcher away from being above the .500 mark.
I know it is the "correct" thing to say here that it is all polk's fault. Well I don't buy it.Todd4State said:
I am not grading Cohen like He had an Omaha team returning , I am grading him on what He did have returning and if he got the most out of them.
Quite frankly , I am surprised at the free pass given to Cohen by a site that prides Itself with being brutally honest.
Grading on the talent he had to work with , did he get the most out of the team? , or did he quit on them after the Auburn series? He quit. He chose to blame the season on the previous staff and just quit on trying to get better.
Grading him on how the team improved.......
Pitching......Several of Our pitchers had more success under the former staff than under this staff. That after Cohen himself said before the season that OUR pitching coach had IMPROVED ALL of Our pitchers.
Base Running......... The most important part of my displeasure. We have run the bases in a bush league fashion. We have given away outs like KFC has given away free grilled chicken. Like KFC , We gave away more than We could afford. We lost many games by bad base running , just as many as the bullpen lost.
To shorten it , I grade cohen on what this team was capable of. I don't think he reached that point or even came close. Instead , He took the cowerds way out and just chose to quit and blame someone else. The TEAM didn't quit even after Cohen did. That is the only reason We won a few at the end.
This team didn't have the talent to win the SEC , but it should not have missed the SEC tourney. That is on cohen to me.
He might even win in the future and I hope he does , but to give him anything but an F for this year revokes your right to call ANYONE a sheep.
Cohen did a piss poor job this year.
Although I would not go so far as to say he deserves a F, yours' is still a pretty good post. Especially the comment about sheep.
I don't think Tommy Lasorda in his prime could get this team to the NCAAs. We had two SEC caliber pitchers. We lost numerous games just because of that. All the batting numbers improved from last year. Fielding was suspect at times but I think Cohen did a better than average job.
and then hand out a B or C-. Hell, make up your mind. You can't have it both ways.
A- here because he did a good job with some other coaches recruits and he kept his players focused who kept the scummers from sweeping us as ALL of you had predicted.
A- here because he did a good job with some other coaches recruits and he kept his players focused who kept the scummers from sweeping us as ALL of you had predicted.
Did everyone here expect MSU to finish dead last in the SEC with two or fewer league wins than every other team?
Were the preseason expectations that low? I can't recall. That's the only way you can really grade a coach. How did the team perform based on the preseason expectations. If that was the consensus, then by all means, give him a B or an A. But I somehow doubt it was.
Were the preseason expectations that low? I can't recall. That's the only way you can really grade a coach. How did the team perform based on the preseason expectations. If that was the consensus, then by all means, give him a B or an A. But I somehow doubt it was.
B+ Last year we had a a true middle reliever- Lalor- and a great closer-Weatherford with a 0.85 ERA. We had neither this year except for some spotty relief from Crosswhite. I would question anyone to explain that this is a more talented squad this year, yet we went into the final home series with a remotely outside chance to finish at .500 for the year. A look at the stats show that if we were down after the sixth inning, we had a 6-21 record. I'm not blaming Polk, but this was the team that Cohen was left to coach. And with less talent, he was 4 games under .500 as opposed to 10 games under the year before. It was also not his fault that Ricky Bowen was not able to help this club. I read in one article that he had lost about 10 mph on his fast ball and there was no explanation as to why. Maybe he comes back next year and finds himself. All in all, Cohen did a pretty good job with what he was given. I will not judge him until his third and forth years when the players that he has will be his own.
Um, I don't remember the "consensus" on here, but I think most people were expecting to finish last. Regardless of what people on here thought, State was certainly picked to finish last by the media, polls
I do recall them not being overly optimistic of your chances this year. No doubt but that Cohen has a lot of ground to make up. He does appear to be the type of coach that will do all he can come hell or high water.
P
pokemystar
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Going with a F. Considering I know more about what went on in the dugout than 100% of you. And no I don't play here. But my grade is based on his coaching this year. I did not factor in recruiting because frankly recruiting and coaching are 2 different things. But the way he handled things this year was pretty sad. He did give up and blame Polk early in the year. Win with what you got. Suck it up and take it like a man. Maybe he'll turn the program around. That's great. But overall he did a poor job this season. And don't say the players didn't give up at the end of the year because of coaching. That has nothing to do with it..nobody wants to lose..ever.
-No Mississippi State baseball team should EVER have a losing season...EVER.
-Batting out of order for the South Carolina game. I've NEVER seen that before, even with horrible Little League teams.
-The only reason it isn't F is because the team split with two top ten teams the last two weekends of the season.
-Batting out of order for the South Carolina game. I've NEVER seen that before, even with horrible Little League teams.
-The only reason it isn't F is because the team split with two top ten teams the last two weekends of the season.
at LEAST finished over .500. I think he did a crappy job this year. A completely uninterested, mailing-it-in Hobbit guided us to a very similar record last year. C- is being generous. An A or B for me would've involved winning more than we lost, in other words, actually improving on last year.
I agree. Most thought we would be better just with aggressive base running.But I do give him a pass this year. He inherited a mess. Needs time.tcreb said:
Very little if any improvement over last year. Better hope Cohen can outrecruit everybody because it looks like superior talent is the only chance.
just for not blaming the NCAA for the losses. Plus we were statistically better than last year and I can't blame him for taking Polk's pussies and trying to make them play like men. The real grade for Cohen will be in the next two years with the players he recruited.
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