This is NOT MSU Baseball.
- Thread starter Xartox
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Extra innings. Free baseball.
Like DS says....Frustrating.
Will this team evenfinish the season .500?
Like DS says....Frustrating.
Will this team evenfinish the season .500?
damn..
what's all those flippin' around of the players and what not...
you don't have a clue as to what is going on...
I thought progress was made as time goes on the computer age
what's all those flippin' around of the players and what not...
you don't have a clue as to what is going on...
I thought progress was made as time goes on the computer age
And I'll take it.
I still reserve my right to ***** about how we got it.
That aside, I'm proud of them for digging out of the hole they created.
I still reserve my right to ***** about how we got it.
That aside, I'm proud of them for digging out of the hole they created.
1. Sit Russ Sneed and replace him with Nick Vickerson.
2. Sit Ryan Collins and replace him with Trey Johnson.
I actually went to the game tonight, and we really looked OK to me for the most part. Ogden and Frost are excellent defensive players, and Shepherd is a very good defensive player. Wes Thigpen had a rough game for the first half of the game with two passed balls- or pitches that should have been ruled passed balls.
Sneed looks like Mike Schmidt- with two left feet. The problem is this- he lacks baseball instincts. He can take ground balls until he dies with Tom Emanski and he is going to still suck. There is nothing that Cohen or anyone else can do. Except sit him. I don't understand why Cohen insists on playing him. As far as Vickerson, yes he is no gold glover either, but he would be no worse than Sneed defensively. Sneed does not want the ball. Case in point- TWICE there were balls bunted/slow rollers to third base and were in the area where a third baseman should field the ball- no more than 12 feet in front of third base down the line and BOTH times Russ made Caleb Reed field the ball. And to Reed's credit, he made the play once and almost made it the other time. But he shouldn't have had to- that's the third baseman's ball. Our one error tonight was made by him on a ball that he should have caught. It was about as routine a ball as you're going to get a third base, and it wasn't all that well hit. On top of that, Russ struggled during infield. It's ridiculous.
I also have no clue why Cohen insists on playing Ryan Collins. He has sucked it up to. Every time the ball is hit to him, it's an adventure. And when he's not screwing up in the field, he's looking at three pitches down the middle of the plate or popping up a bunt Willie Mays Hayes style. All I heard about this fall was Trey Johnson this, Trey Johnson that, and I believe he is hitting .500 on the season. He is a LH bat, like Collins, and has a strong arm as evidenced by the fact that he is a pitcher as well.
Back to Sneed and Vickerson- some people will say that sitting Russ may hurt our offensive production, but as far as I can tell, we would maybe lose a little bit of power, but we could use Sneed as a DH where he can do something that he is halfway decent at, and we likely gain defense, and will add speed to the lineup.
Nick Routt deserved better tonight. He made two pitches to get out of the third inning, and we didn't help him out.
Two coaching things that I noticed that were the difference in the game- 1. First inning, SEMO State has a runner on third with one out. Cohen calls for the infield to play in at all positions- a move that you only would see in Japan- and it works. Guy hits the ball at Ogden, and we hold the runner,get the second out, and then Routt gets the third out of the inning with no runs allowed. That was a huge play, because it also allowed us to get ahead in the bottom of the inning, which was important considering what has happened thus far. 2. Jaron Shepherd, a Cohen recruit, aggressively takes third base, drawing a throw from the centerfielder, who then throws it away and allows Shepherd to score tying the game and puts the go ahead run on third. SEMO got out of the inning, but that play allowed us get in a position to get the game to extra innings where we were able to win it.
We also had some critical plays on the basepaths defensively- we threw a couple of runners out, and we picked off one of their runners, which turned out to be big plays for us.
We have a few guys that are scuffling a little bit at the plate, but I think as the season goes on, the bats will come around.
2. Sit Ryan Collins and replace him with Trey Johnson.
I actually went to the game tonight, and we really looked OK to me for the most part. Ogden and Frost are excellent defensive players, and Shepherd is a very good defensive player. Wes Thigpen had a rough game for the first half of the game with two passed balls- or pitches that should have been ruled passed balls.
Sneed looks like Mike Schmidt- with two left feet. The problem is this- he lacks baseball instincts. He can take ground balls until he dies with Tom Emanski and he is going to still suck. There is nothing that Cohen or anyone else can do. Except sit him. I don't understand why Cohen insists on playing him. As far as Vickerson, yes he is no gold glover either, but he would be no worse than Sneed defensively. Sneed does not want the ball. Case in point- TWICE there were balls bunted/slow rollers to third base and were in the area where a third baseman should field the ball- no more than 12 feet in front of third base down the line and BOTH times Russ made Caleb Reed field the ball. And to Reed's credit, he made the play once and almost made it the other time. But he shouldn't have had to- that's the third baseman's ball. Our one error tonight was made by him on a ball that he should have caught. It was about as routine a ball as you're going to get a third base, and it wasn't all that well hit. On top of that, Russ struggled during infield. It's ridiculous.
I also have no clue why Cohen insists on playing Ryan Collins. He has sucked it up to. Every time the ball is hit to him, it's an adventure. And when he's not screwing up in the field, he's looking at three pitches down the middle of the plate or popping up a bunt Willie Mays Hayes style. All I heard about this fall was Trey Johnson this, Trey Johnson that, and I believe he is hitting .500 on the season. He is a LH bat, like Collins, and has a strong arm as evidenced by the fact that he is a pitcher as well.
Back to Sneed and Vickerson- some people will say that sitting Russ may hurt our offensive production, but as far as I can tell, we would maybe lose a little bit of power, but we could use Sneed as a DH where he can do something that he is halfway decent at, and we likely gain defense, and will add speed to the lineup.
Nick Routt deserved better tonight. He made two pitches to get out of the third inning, and we didn't help him out.
Two coaching things that I noticed that were the difference in the game- 1. First inning, SEMO State has a runner on third with one out. Cohen calls for the infield to play in at all positions- a move that you only would see in Japan- and it works. Guy hits the ball at Ogden, and we hold the runner,get the second out, and then Routt gets the third out of the inning with no runs allowed. That was a huge play, because it also allowed us to get ahead in the bottom of the inning, which was important considering what has happened thus far. 2. Jaron Shepherd, a Cohen recruit, aggressively takes third base, drawing a throw from the centerfielder, who then throws it away and allows Shepherd to score tying the game and puts the go ahead run on third. SEMO got out of the inning, but that play allowed us get in a position to get the game to extra innings where we were able to win it.
We also had some critical plays on the basepaths defensively- we threw a couple of runners out, and we picked off one of their runners, which turned out to be big plays for us.
We have a few guys that are scuffling a little bit at the plate, but I think as the season goes on, the bats will come around.
and we scored 4 in that game, opposing pitching staffs should probably be very afraid if we aren't hitting to our potential yet. Granted, we've played some bad teams, but holy shat we're killing the ball at the plate.
I agree on Collins. We've got at least 4-5 capable outfielders on this team. It's the only position we really have a logjam at. Shirley we don't have to keep trotting Collins out there. Hell, give Jet a chance in the OF. I think Shepherd and Adkins should start regularly out there, though. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Brownlee comes back. An OF of Shepherd in CF/RF, Brownlee in CF/RF, and Adkins in LF would be pretty solid, I think. Even if he doesn't hit, Brownlee can go and get it with the best of 'em.
I agree on Collins. We've got at least 4-5 capable outfielders on this team. It's the only position we really have a logjam at. Shirley we don't have to keep trotting Collins out there. Hell, give Jet a chance in the OF. I think Shepherd and Adkins should start regularly out there, though. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Brownlee comes back. An OF of Shepherd in CF/RF, Brownlee in CF/RF, and Adkins in LF would be pretty solid, I think. Even if he doesn't hit, Brownlee can go and get it with the best of 'em.
We have discussed baseball many a time on here. My impression is that the bulldogs aren't very good. This isn't an indictment on Cohen as I think he is a great coach. I see y'all becoming a contender next year and being back to being a legit program in 2012. Being an MSU baseball fan will be painful this year but good times are ahead in2011. 2011is his regional year and 2012 is his host year. I know it doesn't make sense but for whatever reason, I see Cohen as being 1 year behind his Kentucky blueprint at MSU.
This team is AT BEST a 3 seed in a regional right now. I'll stick by my 30 win prediction for now becuase I think they will get better. We have a lot of new players, be it JUCO or Fr. and it shows at times. It seems like the players that we return can only do one thing well and are absolutely horrible at all other things baseball save for Conner Powers and Nick Routt.
I think we are better than last year based on what I have seen.
And as I have often said, Cohen's first year was his establishment year, and his second year would be his rebuilding year. I am optomistic because of his first two recruiting classes, and I'll be honest- the freshmen pitchers have been better than I have thought they would so far, and the only freshman position player that is a Cohen recruit is Frost, and he really impressed me with his defense. I don't know that he will ever be a great hitter, but I wouldn't bet against it. If he doesn't, State has some good recruits coming in, I think.
There were several reasons for MSU recruiting so many JUCO's- 1. To try to fill some holes with guys that fit Cohen's style better. 2. To try to give MSU a buffer between the next class with some mature players so that MSU wouldn't have to start an entire team of freshmen. 3. To try to get MSU baseball out of a situation where you have teams in cycles- a ton of freshmen one year, a ton of So. the next, and then one big run their senior year.
Finally, let me say that I am incredibly jealous of the Ole Miss baseball program. Because they are playing Tulane in New Orleans this weekend. Hopefully, MSU will do that in the near future.
I think we are better than last year based on what I have seen.
And as I have often said, Cohen's first year was his establishment year, and his second year would be his rebuilding year. I am optomistic because of his first two recruiting classes, and I'll be honest- the freshmen pitchers have been better than I have thought they would so far, and the only freshman position player that is a Cohen recruit is Frost, and he really impressed me with his defense. I don't know that he will ever be a great hitter, but I wouldn't bet against it. If he doesn't, State has some good recruits coming in, I think.
There were several reasons for MSU recruiting so many JUCO's- 1. To try to fill some holes with guys that fit Cohen's style better. 2. To try to give MSU a buffer between the next class with some mature players so that MSU wouldn't have to start an entire team of freshmen. 3. To try to get MSU baseball out of a situation where you have teams in cycles- a ton of freshmen one year, a ton of So. the next, and then one big run their senior year.
Finally, let me say that I am incredibly jealous of the Ole Miss baseball program. Because they are playing Tulane in New Orleans this weekend. Hopefully, MSU will do that in the near future.
but we had fewer hits than runs, I believe. That's an indication that we are creating runs, or are taking advantage of the other teams mistakes- I believe they had three errors, or taking advantage of walks. All of which are positives for us.
Bianco based the program on the Bertman/Polk model. Regardless of what happens heads up this year, I think we still get to rule the roost for one more year. Judging on history and on Cohen's recruitment level, things will get real heated real quick beginning next year. Those questioning Cohen need to calm down. It wasn't a quick fix hire and it wont be prettyeven next year. He will have the diamond dogs very competitive next year and it will be back to buisness as usual in 2012. I hope yall suck but that is not going to happen for long and thatis my unbiased opinion.
1) Is playing Sneed at DH worth sitting Freeman? I don't think so. Freeman is probably our second best hitter, and he was like 3-4 with a home run last night. He should be in the lineup every day, which means he DHs when he doesn't catch. Now, Sneed could DH the days Freeman catches, and if that's what you meant, I agree.<div>Todd4State said:
</div><div>2) Jaron Shepherd was the hitter on that play. Nick Vickerson was the runner (he pinch ran for Freeman after Freeman singled). The other thing is that Vickerson should have been out. The third baseman should have come up with it, and if he does it's not even close, he's out. It is a huge, huge stretch to try to credit the aggression there. If the third baseman makes the play, we're all screaming about making the last out of the game at third. </div><div>I don't think that was the right type of play to take third on. Vickerson isn't all that fast it turns out, and it was a single to shallow center that the centerfielder was coming up for and thus could make a pretty good throw. We got bailed out by the fact that the 3B couldn't make the play.
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1. Yes, I was saying on days that Freeman isn't catching to start Sneed or Duffy at DH. Probably should have put that in my post. I wouldn't be totally shocked if Freeman gets a look at third on days when he doesn't catch as well. They were talking about moving him from catcher before this season anyway.
2. I made a mistake on the runners there. All I remember is Jaron heading to third. So, my bad on that. I think- from where I was sitting behind home plate- that Vickerson would have been safe had the throw been on line. But the point of being aggressive is to force mistakes, and had Nick stayed at second, the throw goes into the cut off man and then we have to get another hit at least to try to score him. By going to third, he forced the CF to make a split second decision to either throw to the cut off man or to try to throw him out at third, and while the throw wasn't bad, it also forced the third baseman to catch the ball and then make a tag to get an out. In the college game in that situation, the odds are in the favor of the runner.
2. I made a mistake on the runners there. All I remember is Jaron heading to third. So, my bad on that. I think- from where I was sitting behind home plate- that Vickerson would have been safe had the throw been on line. But the point of being aggressive is to force mistakes, and had Nick stayed at second, the throw goes into the cut off man and then we have to get another hit at least to try to score him. By going to third, he forced the CF to make a split second decision to either throw to the cut off man or to try to throw him out at third, and while the throw wasn't bad, it also forced the third baseman to catch the ball and then make a tag to get an out. In the college game in that situation, the odds are in the favor of the runner.
we'll beat ole miss, finish 10-20 in the sec. cohen will say something really aggressive and people will get really excited.
i'm not throwing this season away, but i think something needs to happen next year, or certainly the year after that.
i'm not throwing this season away, but i think something needs to happen next year, or certainly the year after that.
at this point, Im not sure what Thigpen brings to the table. His defense hasn't been stellar (including 2 passed balls yesterday). Freeman is just one of those guys that can flat out hit. This is like Robby Goodson all over again.
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I dont think we can solve our 3B woes with Parks' injury. Vickerson is not the answer b/c I have to assume he is sitting b/c of his issues at 2B.
And how did we only get charged with 1 error yesterday?
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I dont think we can solve our 3B woes with Parks' injury. Vickerson is not the answer b/c I have to assume he is sitting b/c of his issues at 2B.
And how did we only get charged with 1 error yesterday?
had a line drive right to him that hit off of his glove that should have been counted as an error
8Dog said:
I wasn't impressed with his defense as he should have handled those two passed balls. And he is also hit below the Mendoza line. He doesn't move his body in front of balls in the dirt and he kind of stabs at the ball. He did make some nice plays late in the game throwing out a couple of people, but it was my first time to see him in game action, so I reserve judgement until he shows me a little more.
I agree about third base, but I have to believe that Vickerson is a better answer than Sneed or Butler at this point. At least it wouldn't hurt to try. I think he might be OK there because he has a very strong throwing arm, and he is obviously a good enough athlete to play SS, so I would at least explore it. I think he is sitting also because Sam Frost has played pretty good defense there so far.
And we all agree on Freeman needing to be in the lineup.
The only error I saw yesterday as far as scoring errors goes was Sneed. I thought Frost should have gotten one for messing the line drive up. Collins didn't get one when he missed the ground ball because the runner did not advance. Luke Adkins read the ball poorly off of the bat that ended up as a double and Collins played a ball poorly that turned into a triple, but those aren't scored errors. They were mistakes, though.
They were talking about switching him from catcher to another position before the season until he got healthy. Cody is a pretty good athlete, and there a lot of catchers that can make the transition from catcher to third because it is very much a reaction type position and it requires a strong arm- which most catchers have.
Some examples- Johnny Bench played some at third during his career, we used Ed Easley at third some, and for some reason Bob Brenley sticks out to me, although I think he had like 3 or 4 errors there during one game.
Some examples- Johnny Bench played some at third during his career, we used Ed Easley at third some, and for some reason Bob Brenley sticks out to me, although I think he had like 3 or 4 errors there during one game.