What to make of the Butch Thompson situation at MSU? Let's look at the facts rather than "Let's fire Butch because he sucks"- not that that isn't a fact, but lets look at why he sucks.
Here are the reasons to keep him- because this isn't totally cut and dried as McNickle.
1. We have a lot of other problems- lack of timely hitting, lack of speed, and yes lack of defense. Pitching is just one of the many. BUT
2. Why is pitching the problem? Well, we are pitching six freshmen, and most have some pretty good potential- Stratton is already a weekend guy. Bracewell has shown a lot of potential as the closer of the future, CC Watson is a good prospect, but has struggled because he has been hurt, Luke Bole has a lot of upside, and he already has shown that he has a lot of movement on his fastball and will figure into the staff of the future for sure, Chad Girodo has good control, and probably will be a good pitcher in some capcity, and Kendall Graveman will be a good college pitcher. Not to mention Matt Lane has looked promising as well. Also, Polk left Butch nothing to work with. Just a fact, we have very few senior pitchers, and the seniors that we have are Greg Houston and Tyler Whitney- one of which is decent, and we really don't have a lot of juniors for that matter. It ain't easy- and most of the problems with our staff are because they are mostly freshmen- like throwing strikes. Things like that get better over time. And to be honest with you, no matter who the pitching coach is, the staff will likely improve if for no other reason than by default. He really hasn't had a chance to develop a staff.
3. Who brought these guys in? Well, Butch did a lot of them. Most of our guys from Georgia, Alabama are Butch's recruits. IF there is one thing that Butch can do, it's recruit. That's especially good considering that we are getting a guy named Trevor Fitts that I think has a lot of potential- like Friday night starter potential.
Sounds like a keeper, right? Well, maybe not.
The case AGAINST Butch
1. This is the most incriminating thing to me- I've talked to a couple of people that are "in the know"- including a couple of unidentified, and who have asked to remain anon., MSU pitchers. Let me just say that they have questioned Butch's program. To be specific, and this is interesting considering our slide- there have been questions about building a pitchers strength, which is important in regards to you know- stamina. I think a lot of these pitchers have hit the wall. I mean, when your submarine guy decides to go back to over the top, that's usually a sign. One other common theme is that Butch seems to work on new things before refining the pitches that a guy already has. OK, background info time- most high school pitchers throw two pitches- or have two primary pitches. Usually a fastball and a breaking ball- curve or slider. Basically what they are saying is he should refine the pitches that they throw really well and then add new ones.
2. OK, Cohen is on the hot seat. Why? Because we're losing games left and right. One reason for that is because Ricky Bowen became a head case and then Nick Routt got hurt. I'm not 100% sure on Bowen, but I think we can definately pin Routt on Butch. I probably more than likely can pin Bowen on Butch as well. And if your John Cohen and your sitting here with all of these people pissed off at you, and you're pissed off to, the thought HAS to cross your mind- geez, ya know, we might have actually had a winning record with Bowen in my first year, and then Routt this year- a healthy Routt, mind you. This has caused your staff to be thin and now you are pitching freshmen every day with dead arms, and holy ****, did Caleb Reed just throw that ball over the top? Your best bud is Lane Burroughs and you need to play the scapegoat card.
My verdict, OK it's 3-2 in favor of keeping him, but those two are pretty incriminating and hard to ignore, so I say go ahead and make the change. The biggest fear of firing Butch would be losing Trevor Fitts, who I think will be really good. Is that worth mortgaging the staff over a guy that we would probably get regardless? No. Even if we lose Fitts, it's not worth it in the short or long term. So, adios. If you're Cohen, you've got to keep your job. Fair or not.
OK, now what? You go to Stricklin, and you say, I want Karl Kuhn at Virginia, and we need to make him the highest paid pitching coach in the country. Unrealistic you say? Well, consider this- Kuhn was at a college in Arkansas before Virginia. Lateral move at best? Sure. That's why we have to offer him a ton of money. But what if it doesn't work out? Well, we could go after Gary Rath at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. Rath is their HC. He has pitched for the Dodgers and Twins in MLB. He may or may not be a great recruiter, but he at least has some recuiting experience at MGCC. The fact that he has MLB credentials should make him quite attractive to play for unless he is a complete moron. And I'm sure that there are others that are very good as well- after all Kuhn started out at a small college in Arkansas.
Here are the reasons to keep him- because this isn't totally cut and dried as McNickle.
1. We have a lot of other problems- lack of timely hitting, lack of speed, and yes lack of defense. Pitching is just one of the many. BUT
2. Why is pitching the problem? Well, we are pitching six freshmen, and most have some pretty good potential- Stratton is already a weekend guy. Bracewell has shown a lot of potential as the closer of the future, CC Watson is a good prospect, but has struggled because he has been hurt, Luke Bole has a lot of upside, and he already has shown that he has a lot of movement on his fastball and will figure into the staff of the future for sure, Chad Girodo has good control, and probably will be a good pitcher in some capcity, and Kendall Graveman will be a good college pitcher. Not to mention Matt Lane has looked promising as well. Also, Polk left Butch nothing to work with. Just a fact, we have very few senior pitchers, and the seniors that we have are Greg Houston and Tyler Whitney- one of which is decent, and we really don't have a lot of juniors for that matter. It ain't easy- and most of the problems with our staff are because they are mostly freshmen- like throwing strikes. Things like that get better over time. And to be honest with you, no matter who the pitching coach is, the staff will likely improve if for no other reason than by default. He really hasn't had a chance to develop a staff.
3. Who brought these guys in? Well, Butch did a lot of them. Most of our guys from Georgia, Alabama are Butch's recruits. IF there is one thing that Butch can do, it's recruit. That's especially good considering that we are getting a guy named Trevor Fitts that I think has a lot of potential- like Friday night starter potential.
Sounds like a keeper, right? Well, maybe not.
The case AGAINST Butch
1. This is the most incriminating thing to me- I've talked to a couple of people that are "in the know"- including a couple of unidentified, and who have asked to remain anon., MSU pitchers. Let me just say that they have questioned Butch's program. To be specific, and this is interesting considering our slide- there have been questions about building a pitchers strength, which is important in regards to you know- stamina. I think a lot of these pitchers have hit the wall. I mean, when your submarine guy decides to go back to over the top, that's usually a sign. One other common theme is that Butch seems to work on new things before refining the pitches that a guy already has. OK, background info time- most high school pitchers throw two pitches- or have two primary pitches. Usually a fastball and a breaking ball- curve or slider. Basically what they are saying is he should refine the pitches that they throw really well and then add new ones.
2. OK, Cohen is on the hot seat. Why? Because we're losing games left and right. One reason for that is because Ricky Bowen became a head case and then Nick Routt got hurt. I'm not 100% sure on Bowen, but I think we can definately pin Routt on Butch. I probably more than likely can pin Bowen on Butch as well. And if your John Cohen and your sitting here with all of these people pissed off at you, and you're pissed off to, the thought HAS to cross your mind- geez, ya know, we might have actually had a winning record with Bowen in my first year, and then Routt this year- a healthy Routt, mind you. This has caused your staff to be thin and now you are pitching freshmen every day with dead arms, and holy ****, did Caleb Reed just throw that ball over the top? Your best bud is Lane Burroughs and you need to play the scapegoat card.
My verdict, OK it's 3-2 in favor of keeping him, but those two are pretty incriminating and hard to ignore, so I say go ahead and make the change. The biggest fear of firing Butch would be losing Trevor Fitts, who I think will be really good. Is that worth mortgaging the staff over a guy that we would probably get regardless? No. Even if we lose Fitts, it's not worth it in the short or long term. So, adios. If you're Cohen, you've got to keep your job. Fair or not.
OK, now what? You go to Stricklin, and you say, I want Karl Kuhn at Virginia, and we need to make him the highest paid pitching coach in the country. Unrealistic you say? Well, consider this- Kuhn was at a college in Arkansas before Virginia. Lateral move at best? Sure. That's why we have to offer him a ton of money. But what if it doesn't work out? Well, we could go after Gary Rath at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. Rath is their HC. He has pitched for the Dodgers and Twins in MLB. He may or may not be a great recruiter, but he at least has some recuiting experience at MGCC. The fact that he has MLB credentials should make him quite attractive to play for unless he is a complete moron. And I'm sure that there are others that are very good as well- after all Kuhn started out at a small college in Arkansas.