I can't decide how I feel about this baseball team....

[WayboDawg]

The Good

1. 4-2 in SEC series so far
2. Series wins over Vandy, Arkansas, Western Carolina
3. Pitching

The Meh...

1. 25-15 overall record
2. 8-8 SEC record
3. All wins in Diamond Classic in Starkville against Michigan State/Eastern Ill.
4. Fan Enthusiasm

The Bad

1. Hitting
2. Series losses to LSU, Ole Miss, Holy Cross
3. Getting our butts kicked out West in Arizona at the Hi Corbett Classic

Right now I predict us as a 2 seed in the NCAA tourney, finishing with a 33-22 record. I think we make supers, but I really don't think we have enough offense to make it any further than that.

 

[msstate7]

We split with holy cross.

 

[WayboDawg]

We split with holy cross.

My bad. Still falls under the bad category.

 

[8dog]

The Horrible:Scheduling was awful this year and showed no understanding of the new rpi

Only 2 road ooc games. Scheduling a 630 wed game in sville before a 2 pm DH friday in tucson. Our most important ooc game of the year schedules the week we play a th fri sat series

We are fortunate the weather forced a series against wcu. Hofstra is 233

If we must play swac teams play them at their place or in jxn to minimize the damage. Find a decent team we can beat that will finish around .500 or better and schedule a 3 game set at their place

 

[beachbumdawg]

9-8 in SEC

 

[ronpolk]

I don't think it's bad we lost to LSU and ole miss. Both are great teams. The problem is getting swept, that was bad. However, once the season is over, if that is the only 2 series losses I'll be happy.

 

[kphall11]

The Horrible:Scheduling was awful this year and showed no understanding of the new rpi

Only 2 road ooc games. Scheduling a 630 wed game in sville before a 2 pm DH friday in tucson. Our most important ooc game of the year schedules the week we play a th fri sat series

We are fortunate the weather forced a series against wcu. Hofstra is 233

If we must play swac teams play them at their place or in jxn to minimize the damage. Find a decent team we can beat that will finish around .500 or better and schedule a 3 game set at their place

The Texas A&M series was moved to a Thursday start when the tv schedule was made. They had no control of moving it to a Thursdays. That's a sec league office thing. But you better believe they will hear about it from Cohen at some point. It could end up losing us a game or two because we will could run out of pitchers by the end of the weekend.

 

[57stratdawg]

The Saturday game @ LSU is the difference between those two series being semi-acceptable and not acceptable. That was a big error by Mitchell in that game.

 

[maroonmania]

With this team's lack of hitting and lack of starting pitching depth I would be VERY pleasantly surprised if we win a regional to make the supers. Unless you win straight through you have to play a minimum of 4 games and 5 if you come through the loser's bracket. Right now we don't have 3 decent starters much less 4. That's why we are giving up double digit runs regularly on SEC Sundays. The same 2 teams (LSU and OM) that we gave up a combined 29 runs to on the past couple of Sundays could only muster 2 runs total against each other on Sunday.

 

[8dog]

Good point...

So not our fault there

 

[coach66]

If a couple more pitchers could emerge

To contribute and we could hit the ball better which we can then we could make a little noise. I just don't see this team winning a regional if both these things don't happen.

 

[patdog]

Pretty easy for me to decide. This is one of the more disappointing teams we've had. I knew we'd miss guys like Frazier, Renfroe, Girodo and Graveman, but nobody on this team has really stepped up other than Armstrong. And Wes Rea has taken a huge and really inexcusable step back. I think a #2 seed is optimistic at this point. Our RPI is #43 and Boyd ranks us #45. We really don't have any quality wins other than losing 2 of 3 to Mississippi and taking the Vandy series (that one doesn't look nearly as good today as it did then though) and the schedule remaining isn't going to give us any real chances to pick up any more. I'm just hoping we squeak in as a #3 seed.

 

[8dog]

Of the tourney started today we would be a 2 seed

Its not a great year overall in conf or in the country. SC was projected as a nat seed this week. They lost 3 of their first 5 sec The sec may be as deep as its been but its also as average as its been

 

[rugbdawg]

Our pitching isn't a strength.

We pitch it below average in SEC play. Feel free to look it up.


QUOTE=WayboDawg;995073]The Good

1. 4-2 in SEC series so far
2. Series wins over Vandy, Arkansas, Western Carolina
3. Pitching

The Meh...

1. 25-15 overall record
2. 8-8 SEC record
3. All wins in Diamond Classic in Starkville against Michigan State/Eastern Ill.
4. Fan Enthusiasm

The Bad

1. Hitting
2. Series losses to LSU, Ole Miss, Holy Cross
3. Getting our butts kicked out West in Arizona at the Hi Corbett Classic

Right now I predict us as a 2 seed in the NCAA tourney, finishing with a 33-22 record. I think we make supers, but I really don't think we have enough offense to make it any further than that.[/QUOTE]

 

[Shamoan]

as national title runners-up, its no doubt this team has been a disappointment. our hitting has atrophied as has our pitching. we lost some valuable pieces from last years team, but it shouldnt have been THAT much production lost. the guys we were relying on simply didnt produce at the level they did last year. that said, if anything is true about cohens teams, they do the unexpected when it is least expected. im not counting them out yet, but its been a huge disappointment thus far, at least for me. its all accentuated by the fact that everything is almost there, meaning, we are getting in situations where we can blow games wide-open with a single hit, yet time and time again, we choke. its like groundhog day in that regard and it really adds to the frustration.

armstrong has been a bright spot for sure.

 

[ronpolk]

The Saturday game @ LSU is the difference between those two series being semi-acceptable and not acceptable. That was a big error by Mitchell in that game.

Agreed.

 

[Shamoan]

the most disappointing part, other than the ****** clutch hitting, is knowing we will lose 1/3 of the weekend series. we dont even stand a chance on sundays and its pathetic that we cant get out of the 7th with 10 hits and 6 runs thus far for mizzou. outside of a few arms, our bullpen is **** and certainly not sec caliber.

edit: check that...7 runs on 11 hits with mizzou still threatening. its just pathetic.

 

[Paperdog]

Yeah no chance to win on Sundays

MSU 9, Missouri 7 - Final

 

[BiscuitEater]

The real definition of ...

the most disappointing part, other than the ****** clutch hitting, is knowing we will lose 1/3 of the weekend series. we dont even stand a chance on sundays and its pathetic that we cant get out of the 7th with 10 hits and 6 runs thus far for mizzou. outside of a few arms, our bullpen is **** and certainly not sec caliber.

edit: check that...7 runs on 11 hits with mizzou still threatening. its just pathetic.

truly 'Pathetic' ... is (quote) fans (un-quote) that give up on 'their' team before the game is over.

 

[johnson86-1]

The Good

1. 4-2 in SEC series so far
2. Series wins over Vandy, Arkansas, Western Carolina
3. Pitching

The Meh...

1. 25-15 overall record
2. 8-8 SEC record
3. All wins in Diamond Classic in Starkville against Michigan State/Eastern Ill.
4. Fan Enthusiasm

The Bad

1. Hitting
2. Series losses to LSU, Ole Miss, Holy Cross
3. Getting our butts kicked out West in Arizona at the Hi Corbett Classic

Right now I predict us as a 2 seed in the NCAA tourney, finishing with a 33-22 record. I think we make supers, but I really don't think we have enough offense to make it any further than that.

This team is only disappointing because of expectations. We had pretty big holes to fill from last year but it wasn't unreasonable to think we'd have some younger players step up both at the plate and on the mound. It hasn't happened, so we're not a great team. But we're still good enough to make a regional and we're still good enough that we really only need some timely hitting or a pitcher to figure it out for us to make it to Omaha. That's not a terrible place to be.

To me if we make it to a super, I won't lose any sleep over this team. It would take us flaming out in a regional to classify this team as a disappointment. Hopefully this will be another year where a Cohen team gets hot at the right time.

Of course this is easy for me to say in baseball. If we don't have a RT step up or we are derailed by injuries and end up with a 7-5 record in football, I will be extremely pissed even though that's not a terrible season.

 

[Shamoan]

yay, we pulled a win our of our asses against the worst team in the league after trailing 7-4 late. your right, we kick *** and it was in the bag the whole time and im the only one whom you might find disparaging remarks from about the team. we still suck when it counts and sundays are still our achilles heel and will remain as so until we get arms that can go without giving up a trillion hits to the worst team in the league. im a terrible fan for stating the obvious.

whatevs,

 

[KurtRambis4]

We are

the only SEC team that has swept them at their place, so far. It's not like we were playing some little league team.

 

[ronpolk]

yay, we pulled a win our of our asses against the worst team in the league after trailing 7-4 late. your right, we kick *** and it was in the bag the whole time and im the only one whom you might find disparaging remarks from about the team. we still suck when it counts and sundays are still our achilles heel and will remain as so until we get arms that can go without giving up a trillion hits to the worst team in the league. im a terrible fan for stating the obvious.


whatevs,

I'm just gonna say what everyone else is thinking, you're an idiot. You make yourself look stupid yesterday by trying to act like we are the worst team in America. And now you're defending yourself by saying the only reason we won is because Missouri is awful. No one is acting like the team does not have problems but damn let yourself enjoy the sweep.

 

[Shamoan]

seriously? you know that is misleading.

we did something tennessee and georgia (the 5th and 6th place teams) could not do. take all 3 at mizzou. lets hang a banner.

 

[dawgstudent]

Only two teams have swept them - us and Ole Miss.

On paper - our remaining schedule sets up nicely.

 

[crushing]

Mizzou just took 2 of 3 from Kentucky at Kentucky, last week...

 

[Shamoan]

im not saying we are the worst team in america. far from it, sorry you got that vibe, but the reality is that we are a LONG way away from where we want to be if we are the program we claim to be. ive gone at this whole thing in a jovial manner not with a cloud hanging over my head. there are teams with worse problems than a questionable 3rd starter, i just want us to raise our expectations as a program a bit. that will include having unrealistic expectations for now, but im hoping that if we fully commit, we will soon grow into those expectations...for a team that played in the national title last season, i dont think those expectations SHOULD be unrealistic, albeit improbable. we have to have a constant, methodical beat for improvement, and i am the drumstick.

if wes rea swings a ****** stick and needs to sit, im gonna say it. apparently cohen agreed. if i think armstrong should get more pt, im gonna say it. im just expressing my opinion. i hate to lose, especially to inferior programs. the thing is, im not sure cohen wouldnt disagree with much of what i suggest. that cat hates to lose as bad as anyone in the public eye that i can think of. i think that is a good thing. he has tried a gillion lineups which tells me he is not happy with things as they are, so im not sure why some of the fans are. the reality is that we were 2 swings away from losing that series and 2 extra inning ballgames with the worst team in the league has me a little uncomfortable. im glad we got the wins and its a credit to the team, but we need to get better. if that makes me an idiot, so be it. i honestly dont give a **** what anybody thinks about me on this here interwebz. feel free to hate me or ignore my comments. in the meantime, i will read everyone in a respectful manner and interject my opinion where i see fit.

 

[KurtRambis4]

I'm

not making it about to be some crowning achievement. I'm just pointing out the fact that it wasn't also something that is completely worthless. You're the one that essentially bitched about not sweeping them (rugbdawg style), then when we swept came back with the "oh yeah but its just mizzou!!1"

Here's a little trivia: Name all of the SEC teams that have recorded *road sweeps in SEC play so far in 2014.

*ETA: road

 

[Shamoan]

i think its great we did something that georgia and tennessee failed to do, im just not sure its a strong point in defending this team considering those two squads are under 500 in conference, but apparently thats just me. if we are down on sunday by more than a couple of runs on sunday against auburn or aTm, prepare for a similar reaction. sorry for being such a terrible fan and person. we need absolutely ever sec win we can get at this point. im tired of letting our status slip into mediocrity.

surely you thought the game was lost sunday....every arm we trotted out was getting knocked all over the diamond. surely none of you would chastise me for my comments all while making the same type comments in other threads. ill have to take you all at your word in that nothing of that fashion was said, as i am running short on time and wont be able to pull comments that may be equally or more disparaging as mine. and if you (not kr4 specifically), made those comments, i wouldnt think anything of it. its the truth.

 

[KurtRambis4]

You're

missing the point. Nobody is claiming it's a crowning achievement. However, at the same time, it isn't something that is just completely meaningless, either.

One SEC teams has recorded a road sweep in 2014. Would you like to take a guess at who that one was?

I'm not making us out to be the 1927 Yankees either, but come on. Have a little perspective.

Given your enlightenment over our defense in football last season, I would think you would want to wait until all cards are played before judging our team (based on a game that was won).

 

[futaba.79]

can you explain this for rme?

"im tired of letting our status slip into mediocrity."


So, it's your fault?

 

[Shamoan]

i read your crowning achievement line the first time and nobody said it was meaningless.

regarding our defense last season, you will have a hard time dissuading me that we werent a different team the latter half of the season. at the time, in my opinion, i was 100% correct in my criticism. where i was wrong was in that i didnt think collins was coach enough to turn it around. he certainly did that and i will eat crow gladly on that.

if the team plays ******, i think its ok that we comment about it. we certainly played ****** much of that sunday game, but to our credit, we finally snapped out of it. does that excuse our ****** play prior? i dunno, but i still think our poor play is something we need to address so that we arent in that situation again.

i think the rub is that all of yall think im shitting on the team just to **** on them, which is not the case. im just as happy as the next guy in the win, but i think we need to avoid putting ourselves in that situation. i celebrated the win and if my comments made it look like i didnt support the team, thats wrong. i think cohen would be equally, if not more, disappointed in certain aspects of our performance prior to the 8th. i dont claim to be near the coach or strategist cohen is (a lot of you are saying "no **** sherlock"), but i want consistency and a killer instinct back on this team. we have to work through some growing pains and perhaps this is the jolt in the arm we needed, i certainly hope so.

 

[Shamoan]

im simply saying that we, as a fanbase, have slipped into mediocrity, and some of our fans seem content to make it to the cws every 5-7 years. we can play for national titles even win them. that is usc's focus, that is lsu's focus, and that too should be our focus. in an ideal scenario, making it to omaha should be the expectation every year and playing in the national title, so what is separating us from having that yearly expectation? cynics will say: "reality", but last year disproved that. we need to continue to build but the feeling i get from some of our own is that we have arrived. its ok we fall short of that expectation...after all, it is the definition of a lofty expectation, but we have significant advantages over other programs that accomplish what we desire on a regular basis.

 

[engie]

but we have significant advantages over other programs that accomplish what we desire on a regular basis.

Like what?

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Who are you, Ms. Cleo?

But whether I agree with you or not, Shamoan, for the love of all that's holy please employ the SHIFT key. There are two of them for your convenience. They won't bite, I swear. I refuse to believe you're posting this much via mobile device. If so, you've got waaay too much time on your hands and prayers are sent.

<object width="420" height="315">


<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/pWyHiV3l3MA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

Sometimes I swing a "****** stick" but that's usually in the woods when I'm out of YETI Brand Camo TP.</object>

 

[KurtRambis4]

Well you see

i was 100% correct in my criticism.

that's where the problem was. You weren't. Games where you were blasting our D (Auburn, Bowling Green, UK), they were essentially shutting those teams down. In no way whatsoever, were those three games where our D played bad, as you vehemently suggested at that time. I'm not getting off subject in into this again in detail, though. If you honestly still believe our D was to blame in almost losing (or losing) those game, then there isn't much more that I can say.

 

[Shamoan]

you are projecting bigtime. im saying the defense needed to improve and it did. it has zero to do with blame...thats what most of yall continue to miss. im not going to get into this **** again. my opinion is pretty clear, and i see you have your own. lets leave it at that.

 

[Shamoan]

winning tradition, mlb pedigree, all americans, fan support, etc

 

[Shamoan]

im a lazy typer. i take a bunch of notes and have gotten used to typing this way. sorry for the inconvenience, but some would argue that its not worth reading anyway, so no sweat.

 

[KurtRambis4]

I'm not

going to look up each instance, but here is just one. It looks like you're blaming the D there, on the "poor" performance. That game was a clear example of our offense not performaning, but you calling out the D.

Again, keep thinking our D was the problem early in the year. To each his own.