Interesting look at the SEC

[Coach34]

the sky is falling and Cohen should be fired- we are 2 blown saves from being .500 in the SEC

Florida is 7th in the country- only 8-6 in the SEC
SC is 10th in the country- had a losing record entering the weekend- still only 7-7 in the SEC
Arkansas is 11th in the nation- only 8-6 in the SEC
Mississippi is 18th in the nation- but has a losing SEC record
Auburn just dropped out this week after between swept by the SEC's worst team- is only 7-7 in conference

2 blown saves is all that keeps us from being right with the top 25 teams of the SEC

 

[Coach34]

the sky is falling and Cohen should be fired- we are 2 blown saves from being .500 in the SEC

Florida is 7th in the country- only 8-6 in the SEC
SC is 10th in the country- had a losing record entering the weekend- still only 7-7 in the SEC
Arkansas is 11th in the nation- only 8-6 in the SEC
Mississippi is 18th in the nation- but has a losing SEC record
Auburn just dropped out this week after between swept by the SEC's worst team- is only 7-7 in conference

2 blown saves is all that keeps us from being right with the top 25 teams of the SEC

 

[MSDawg34]

No one is saying Cohen should be fired right now.. Hell most everyone including myself gave Cohen a complete free pass on this season. The arguing comes from us that would like to see MSU baseball reach the absolute pinnacle, a goal that is not unreasonable. We have been there before and will get there again. NEXT season is when those of us with that goal are going to judge Cohen by. He has had 5 years and with the talent coming back we should be hosting a regional. I fully believe that despite Cohen's in-game strategy that our talent will still allow us to host.

What we are saying is that we expect to be near the top of the SEC next year and if we continue this mediocrity with our obvious talent, then the head coach should be held accountable and a change may be in order.

 

[mstatefan88]

There are too many older people on here living off of last generationsbaseball successthat they don't realize how far behind we got and now have unreasonable expectations of where we should be.Guys like Larry Templeton,Ron Polk 2.0, and Sylvester Croomwere at the helm of our program during thepremium growth periodof the SEC from the early to late 2000's. Everything done during that time helped build the SEC into what is is now, and we didn't have the leadership to take us along for the ride.All of these teams in front of us got on the ground, got donations, got their name out there, and they are benefitting from it with new stadiums, expansions, state of the art practice facilities, and recruits that want to be a part of all of that.

Do any of you think it's a coincidence that Mullen, Byrne, and Stricklin's style of aggressive, in your face promotion of the program is thereason we all of a sudden have the funds to build new buildings and expand Davis Wade? Now there are some other factors that play in with regards to money, but the point is while the SEC was being branded as a powerhouse conference, we did nothing to step up and promote ourselves until very recently.

We totally missed the baseball boat. Whileteams like LSU, SC, and others were adding on and building new stadiums, we had Ron Polk and Larry Templetonwho did very little in terms ofpublicly promoting MSU especially at the end oftheir tenures, and we just flat fell behind.Dudy Nobleisn't what it used to be and we are no longer the mecca of college baseball because we didn't have the leadership to keep up when it mattered most. You people that think Cohen should be able to snap his fingers and magically recruit the top players in the region just because we are MSU are completely oblivious to the current state of our program and the current state of the rest of the SEC. We haven't had sustained success in a long time, and that is whatattractsthe best recruits.

When Cohen first got hired I said he needed 5 to 7 years to put together a consistent winner because wewere very far removed fromthe success we needed to recruit big time talent and we were nowhere close to the middle of the road in the SEC. Next year Cohen needs to step up. We need a consistent winner and we should expect a high seed. But some of you need to come back to Earth and objectively look at where we started at in Cohen year 1 and where we are now. We lost 12 games in Cohen's 1st year by 5 or more runs and were sweptin 9 seriesin Cohen's first two years. Only 3 losses by 5 or more thisyear and we've only been swept once in years 3 and 4.We are so much more competitive now and Cohen deserves credit for that. Sorry for the long post, but I think this needed to be said.

 

[Beretta.sixpack]

I have been to 5 games this year....and Cohen's team is tough to watch.....errors, watching strike 1, 2, and 3 to end a game with runners in scoring position, record number of LOBs......

I can't watch anymore this year.....its just too painful.....for that reason, i have chosen to by pass SBW for taking my kid to the farm for the weekend....

its not the only reason I'm not going, but the main one....so.....bad product on the field= fewer paying crowds= lost revenue= pissed off AD

Im still fine with Cohen....I actually like him a lot.....but if we don't turn this season around, next year he starts on the hot seat for me......itll be year 5....and my expectations will be high....

 

[JxnDawg39211]

This year will keep cohen safe. Getting to a regional again this year as a 3seed is still obtainable along with making the sec tournament should be our goal from here out.

I think hosting a regional and finishing in the top half of the counference should be our goal next year and if doesn't happen by next year there will be some serious doubts if JC can get it done .

 

[Coach34]

I have been to 5 games this year....and Cohen's team is tough to watch.....errors, watching strike 1, 2, and 3 to end a game with runners in scoring position, record number of LOBs......

I can't watch anymore this year.....its just too painful.....for that reason, i have chosen to by pass SBW for taking my kid to the farm for the weekend....

its not the only reason I'm not going, but the main one....so.....bad product on the field= fewer paying crowds= lost revenue= pissed off AD

Im still fine with Cohen....I actually like him a lot.....but if we don't turn this season around, next year he starts on the hot seat for me......itll be year 5....and my expectations will be high....

as well as 2 of 3 weekend starters on the mound. Not to mention a good group of Sophomore pitchers that will be ready to carry a lot more of the workload

 

[MSDawg34]

This is the feeling among 80-90% of the board

 

[thatsbaseball]

I guess that`s the older fans` fault too. You younger guys with your constant attempts to promote generational warfare within the MSU family are really getting old.

 

[SnakePlissken]

nt

 

[was21]

nm

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Hanging your hat on close losses is stupid, especially in baseball. Without looking at their schedules, I guarantee that each of those teams you listed could point to some games they lost that they believe they should have won. The bottom line is all that matters.

To this point in his tenure, Cohen is a disappointment to me. I am happy that we caught lightning in a bottle last year and made a super, but in no way do I think we were one of the top 16 teams in baseball last year.

 

[weblow]

[No message]

 

[HD6]

*

 

[QuaoarsKing]

It's definitely the older fans who remember the Polk days that are the hardest on Cohen. Those who think we should still be able to be what we once were (when we were the only team who tried and still usually choked it away in the postseason anyway)

 

[QuaoarsKing]

There's a bunch of methods you could possibly use to measure that:<div>
</div><div>The 16 teams that made the Super Regionals -- CHECK</div><div>The top 16 teams in the final human polls -- CHECK</div><div>The top 16 teams in final RPI, which may have less bias than human polls -- CHECK</div><div>
</div><div>What more does it take? Experts, computer formulas, and results on the field ALL say we were a top 16 team last year. Why can't people on this board accept that?</div>

 

[dickiedawg]

At best, we were no. 33 entering the tournament.

I give cohen full credit for winning that regional. But if you believe we were a top 16 team last year, we grossly underperformed in the regular season.

 

[Coach34]

It's the finish that matters most- not how you hot there.

Leave it to State fans to want a higher West finish than to be able to enjoy the postseason- which is way more important. I bet UConn fans are still bitching about finishing 8th in the Big East and then winning the NCAA basketball title- they weren't very good- just lucky

 

[HD6]

or that is the worst analogy of all time. Since when did women not care about how you got there?

 

[QuaoarsKing]

But over the course of the entire season, not just the first 80% of it, I think the numbers show we were a top 16 team. Perhaps we were rightfully around 25th or so on Selection Day (the committee gave us a 3 seed anyway), and then the remainder of our games bumped us into the top 16.

 

[CadaverDawg]

If we only win in the regular season, everybody wants postseason success.....if we only win in the post season, everybody thinks it was a fluke and wants regular season success. We have some of the dumbest baseball fans in America. For all of this "tradition" all of the Cohen haters want to talk about, you would think some of our idiot fans would understand the game a little better. Give me last season's postseason performance over an undefeated regular season and losing in a regional any day. This ain't the traditional Bulldogs anymore, but Cohen will get us back to where we want to be if everybody will just calm the 17 down and quit thinking that because Will Clark went to MSU we have a God given right to be in the CWS every year.

 

[JxnDawg39211]

He has finally gotten us over the hump with a Liberty Bowl win, or maybe that season was kinda flukish with us getting lucky with a bunch of pick 6's and maybe Sly just rode Ellis Johnson coatails for that season? Time surely told the answer to that. What has Cohen done any different from Sly his first 4 years? Finish last three out of four years years and catch lightning in a bottle for a season? Their performances are eearily simialr thus far IMO.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

We have lost 7 one run games, 1 two run game, and an extra inning 3 run loss.

BUT....MSU has won 4 one run games and 6 two run games....

So using that line of defense, our opponents could all be saying, except for a pitch here, a hit there, or a bunt there, they would have won more against MSU.

There are always games that could have gone either way...and yes, we are 2 years removed from not even competing in SEC games, let alone losing them close.
We are just saying that it is an opinion that well coached, well taught, well instructed, well managed college baseball programs, are finding "young" guys that are maybe a little "mentally tougher" than the ones Cohen has been finding. Some of us have seen enough good baseball to know when hitters are not being worked with to correct unnatural flaws or stances or holes in their swings. A close observer can look back earlier in the season and see that Wes Rea had a very similar open stance, but was more vertical with less knee bend than he is right now. You could see then that he often closed way too early and got jammed in the strike zone. Now, although he still occasionally closes too early, he is more bent at the knees, more locked in and even bending more at the waist and seems to be waiting longer before closing to attack. And attacking is something only Bradford seems to be doing consistently, that our opponents hitters do much better than our guys.

Take Porter...I have seen lots of guys that spread out, and even squatted at the plate. Ryan Duffy comes to mind. But Duffy would go to all fields and had power to all fields. Porter is feast or famine. Lots of pop ups, and occasional ground ball and some deep flies that sometimes leave the yard. Maybe a subtle adjustment would have him hitting more line drives up the middle and to left, which then makes the scouting report on him tougher to define.

We are not all bumbling clowns who sit 25 yards to the left or right of home plate and yell at the ump when a pitch is belt high...just because form our vantage point, it looks like a strike. Some of us watch multiple facets of the game. We are not always right, but neither is the other side of this issue.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Why do you feel the need to make things up? Is it because you know your argument doesn't work if you use real facts?

 

[JxnDawg39211]

at 5-10 and they are 4-11. Sorry- two last place finishes and currently second to last

<table class="infobox" style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; WIDTH: 25em; TEXT-ALIGN: center" sizset="0" sizcache028697004334529624="2"><tbody sizset="0" sizcache028697004334529624="2"><tr sizset="0" sizcache028697004334529624="2"><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" bgcolor="#cccccc" colspan="9" sizset="0" sizcache028697004334529624="2"><font color="black">2009 SEC Baseball Standings</font><div class="noprint plainlinks hlist navbar mini" sizset="0" sizcache028697004334529624="2">

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</div></td></tr><tr><th align="left"></th><th colspan="3">Conf</th><th></th><th></th><th colspan="3">Overall</th></tr><tr><th align="left">Team</th><th>W</th><th></th><th>L</th><th></th><th></th><th>W</th><th></th><th>L</th></tr><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" bgcolor="#cccccc" colspan="9"><font color="black">Eastern Division</font></td></tr><tr><td align="left">#12 Florida*</td><td>19</td><td>–</td><td>11</td><td></td><td></td><td>42</td><td>–</td><td>22</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#25 South Carolina</td><td>17</td><td>–</td><td>13</td><td></td><td></td><td>40</td><td>–</td><td>23</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Georgia</td><td>15</td><td>–</td><td>13</td><td></td><td></td><td>38</td><td>–</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Vanderbilt</td><td>12</td><td>–</td><td>17</td><td></td><td></td><td>37</td><td>–</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Kentucky</td><td>12</td><td>–</td><td>18</td><td></td><td></td><td>28</td><td>–</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Tennessee</td><td>11</td><td>–</td><td>19</td><td></td><td></td><td>26</td><td>–</td><td>29</td></tr><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" bgcolor="#cccccc" colspan="9"><font color="black">Western Division</font></td></tr><tr><td align="left">#1 LSU*†</td><td>20</td><td>–</td><td>10</td><td></td><td></td><td>56</td><td>–</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#13 Ole Miss*</td><td>20</td><td>–</td><td>10</td><td></td><td></td><td>44</td><td>–</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Alabama</td><td>18</td><td>–</td><td>11</td><td></td><td></td><td>37</td><td>–</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#7 Arkansas</td><td>14</td><td>–</td><td>15</td><td></td><td></td><td>34</td><td>–</td><td>22</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Auburn</td><td>11</td><td>–</td><td>19</td><td></td><td></td><td>31</td><td>–</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Mississippi State</td><td>9</td><td>–</td><td>20</td><td></td><td></td><td>25</td><td>–</td><td>29</td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="9">

Tournament Champs: LSU Tigers</p></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table class="infobox" style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; WIDTH: 25em; TEXT-ALIGN: center" sizset="0" sizcache018915522991745437="2"><tbody sizset="0" sizcache018915522991745437="2"><tr sizset="0" sizcache018915522991745437="2"><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" bgcolor="#cccccc" colspan="9" sizset="0" sizcache018915522991745437="2"><font color="black">2010 SEC Baseball Standings</font><div class="noprint plainlinks hlist navbar mini" sizset="0" sizcache018915522991745437="2">

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</div></td></tr><tr><th align="left"></th><th colspan="3">Conf</th><th></th><th></th><th colspan="3">Overall</th></tr><tr><th align="left">Team</th><th>W</th><th></th><th>L</th><th></th><th></th><th>W</th><th></th><th>L</th></tr><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" bgcolor="#cccccc" colspan="9"><font color="black">Eastern Division</font></td></tr><tr><td align="left">†* #7 Florida</td><td>22</td><td>-</td><td>8</td><td></td><td></td><td>47</td><td>-</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#1 South Carolina</td><td>21</td><td>-</td><td>9</td><td></td><td></td><td>54</td><td>-</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#14 Vanderbilt</td><td>16</td><td>-</td><td>12</td><td></td><td></td><td>46</td><td>-</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Kentucky</td><td>13</td><td>-</td><td>17</td><td></td><td></td><td>31</td><td>-</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Tennessee</td><td>12</td><td>-</td><td>18</td><td></td><td></td><td>30</td><td>-</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Georgia</td><td>5</td><td>-</td><td>23</td><td></td><td></td><td>16</td><td>-</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" bgcolor="#cccccc" colspan="9"><font color="black">Western Division</font></td></tr><tr><td align="left">* #19 Auburn</td><td>20</td><td>-</td><td>10</td><td></td><td></td><td>43</td><td>-</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#13 Arkansas</td><td>18</td><td>-</td><td>12</td><td></td><td></td><td>43</td><td>-</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Ole Miss</td><td>16</td><td>-</td><td>14</td><td></td><td></td><td>39</td><td>-</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td align="left">#16 Alabama</td><td>15</td><td>-</td><td>15</td><td></td><td></td><td>42</td><td>-</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td align="left">LSU</td><td>14</td><td>-</td><td>16</td><td></td><td></td><td>41</td><td>-</td><td>22</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Mississippi State</td><td>6</td><td>-</td><td>24</td><td></td><td></td><td>23</td><td>-</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="9">

Tournament Champs: LSU</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="9">* – Division Champion
† – Conference Champion
Current Rankings: Baseball America
</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[57stratdawg]

If we weren't one of the worst fielding and hitting teams in the SEC, we'd probably win more games.

 

[CadaverDawg]

Was it a top 8 bowl game? Because Cohen took us to the Sweet 16 and 2 outs from the final 8.

Did you see great effort and potential out of Croom's players? Was he bringing in really good classes? And was he competitive and beating some of the top 10 teams in the country like Cohen has this year? Just wondering?

To answer your question, I was ready for Sly to go because we were not even competitive with the top or middle tier of the conference, and his fluke Liberty Bowl was an obvious fluke. Dumb comparison, unless you think 2 outs from going to the CWS against the eventual runner ups is equivalent to playing Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl....but I'll let you decide on how dumb that would be