Spoke with Coach Russ McNickle today....

[Dog in the Know]

and he's hired Justin Pigott and Lee Parks as assistant coaches.
I wish them all success.

 

[SnakePlissken]

I wish him well too.

 

[Todd4State]

I blame McNickle as much as anyone for last season, and yet if he didn't get the pitching staff to the point where we had a losing season, Raffo might be our coach right now.

I'm not sure if I should curse him or thank him.

I did find it somewhat odd that Polk was a lot more concerned about Raffo finding a job than McNickle. Maybe it was simply because he knew that Raffo would keep McNickle on board if he was named the HC.

 

[basedog]

on the team! He is the worse pitching coach in our entire history. 1st off he was the catching coaching who was promoted after Rock left for Tiger High. I realize McNickle was a HC at the junior college level but he sure ain't NO pitching coach.
I talked to an ex juco coach and scout (well respected in the coaching and teaching department) about McNickle during the spring, he said it was strange not to ice arms and there are a few coaching who don't ice, but with all of the pitchers we have had over his reign with arm and control problems, you would have thought he would have made some coaching adjustments which good coaches do, but he never did. Fact is, he threw RP under the bus one year with his quotes on the radio about the pitching problems. He basically said it was RP's fault not his. If RP would have had any balls he would have fired him right after the interview.
I'm so glad he is gone.</p>

 

[TBonewannabe]

Last I heard he owned a store in Virginia where he was from.

 

[patdog]

Fact is, he threw RP under the bus one year with his quotes on the radio about the pitching problems. He basically said it was RP's fault not his. If RP would have had any balls he would have fired him right after the interview.
I'm so glad he is gone.</p>

please provide more details. This is the first I've heard of McNickle throwing Polk under the bus.</p>

 

[Todd4State]

And I would have to believe that if anyone threw Polk under the bus, he would raise hell about it.

 

[Dog in the Know]

....I have it VERY STRONG" that Raffo had talked to other pitching coaches and that McN may have stayed with the program but not as Pitching coach. Anything is possible but I heard this from another SEC pitching coach.

 

[Todd4State]

but I just can't see where that would've happened. Mainly because "that's not the way we do things". You start out as the catching coach and then when someone leaves every five years, you promote within. I think that Wade Hedges would've been our next hitting coach if Raffo had become the HC. Especially with Ol' Ron staying around telling Raffo what to do.

Maybe he was talking to other pitching coaches just in case we hired someone else. Although, no one has joined him at Arkansas State, to my knowledge anyway.

 

[basedog]

a few years ago and our pitchers were being lit up with an era around 10 or so. The heat was on McNickle by every fan that follows Msu baseball. Well, after this particular game, McNickle was feeling the heat and he wasn't about to take the blame so he went on about how RP was the reason we where so bad. Basically he was saying he had no say with the make-up of the staff. Now I know RP made all of the decisions on taking a kid out or leaving his butt out there too long, but preparing a pitcher thru pre-fall workouts and everyday practice came under McNickle. McNickle stated several time in the interview how he wanted to do certain things and he and Raffo both had talked to RP but to no prevail.
My point is you never call out the HC in the public whether you are right or wrong. Fact was, McNickle was hearing all of the moaning and groaning about his approach to pitching and decided to lay it all on RP. That interview just pissed me off as RP is responsible for the team and staff but I have never heard him complain in public about one of his coaches. Word around the team that year was McNickle was gonna be fired and you could tell by the interview McNickle was on the hot seat.
This radio interview was done by Jason Crowder who use to have McNickle on all of the time. Tell you the truth I was pretty shocked at what McNickle was saying and I realized he didn't have the toughness to be a HC because he didn't nut up with his responsibility of being the pitching coach. Btw, there were lots of pitchers who didn't like McNickle and I heard a few dads who's son pitched for him that weren't happen about his style as well.

 

[Todd4State]

I don't know how we missed that, but at any rate, assuming what you have said is true, I do think McNickle had at least a little bit of a point.

The truth is both Polk and McNickle were to blame. McNickle from a preparation and development aspect, and Polk from a decision making aspect. Polk leaving our pitchers out there too long hurt the pitchers, and also forcing guy like Crosswhite to start instead of replacing him with someone like John Lalor has to be on Polk, especially if McNickle suggested some changes that would have helped the team.

I don't find it surprising that Raffo would want to do some things differently, and I have heard similar rumors, but the fact is we made the right decision because there is really no way of knowing that Raffo would have been different from Polk- especially with Polk lurking in the background. At any rate, Raffo failed as a recruiter, and that would concern me big time. Also, I noticed last night that Raffo apparently is keeping Kessinger's staff from last season, so it looks like he learned something from Polk about "continuity".

You are right, McNickle shouldn't have done that, but at the same time I have to wonder if the previous staff saw some of the things that Polk was doing and making the team do, and they were taking some of the blame for some of the wrongdoings and I'm sure they would get frustrated. I know I would.</p>