This needs to be posted daily until some...

[Coach34]

of you let it sink in:

Getting pissed off at Cohen right now about the <span style="text-decoration:underline">state of our program</span> is ridiculous. This is Ron Polk's fault.

A. Polk had a LOSING SEC RECORD 5 out of the 7 years in his 2nd tenure
B. We have had one WS appearance in the last 12 years
C. We havent finished higher than 4th in the SEC since 1997
D. Look at the recruiting class Polk left him for Cohen's 1st season- awful
E. Our facilities are lagging

It takes time to turn it around when you are a bottom-half SEC baseball school like we are

We are Mississippi Rebel football circa 1978 now in baseball...we used to have a real good program 10 years ago

 

[Coach34]

of you let it sink in:

Getting pissed off at Cohen right now about the <span style="text-decoration:underline">state of our program</span> is ridiculous. This is Ron Polk's fault.

A. Polk had a LOSING SEC RECORD 5 out of the 7 years in his 2nd tenure
B. We have had one WS appearance in the last 12 years
C. We havent finished higher than 4th in the SEC since 1997
D. Look at the recruiting class Polk left him for Cohen's 1st season- awful
E. Our facilities are lagging

It takes time to turn it around when you are a bottom-half SEC baseball school like we are

We are Mississippi Rebel football circa 1978 now in baseball...we used to have a real good program 10 years ago

 

[Coach34]

of you let it sink in:

Getting pissed off at Cohen right now about the <span style="text-decoration:underline">state of our program</span> is ridiculous. This is Ron Polk's fault.

A. Polk had a LOSING SEC RECORD 5 out of the 7 years in his 2nd tenure
B. We have had one WS appearance in the last 12 years
C. We havent finished higher than 4th in the SEC since 1997
D. Look at the recruiting class Polk left him for Cohen's 1st season- awful
E. Our facilities are lagging

It takes time to turn it around when you are a bottom-half SEC baseball school like we are

We are Mississippi Rebel football circa 1978 now in baseball...we used to have a real good program 10 years ago

 

[rugbdawg]

nm.

 

[8dog]

when guys like Corbin took over a similar situation at Vandy, Bianco took over a similar situation at ole miss, Palowski took over a similar situation at Auburn.

It didn't (and doesn't look like it will with palowski) take 4 years.

Polk did a lot of harm, but Cohen is doing himself in as well.

I hope he turns it around, but Im just not seeing it right now.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

People want to win immediately and expect it to happen overnight. The fact of the matter is it took 7 years for Polk to completely destroy the program. It will take more than 2 17ing years to rebuild it back to where it should be. Unfortunately, some people lack the patience to see it through. They'd rather fire a guy who is called one of the top coaches in the game by those "in the know" in the college baseball world after 2-3 seasons than give him time to recruit 3 or 4 classes for a fair evaluation. Hell yeah it's frustrating to see the program in such bad shape. And certainly Cohen shares some level of culpability for the poor performance this year. But to already want to fire the guy even though he really has only had 1 recruiting class? Seriously, sit back, chill and come back in 2012. If we are improved enough to be competitive and in a regional, I'll say it's time to reevaluate the hire. But it's waaaaaayyyy too early for that right now.

 

[thunderclap]

that's all on Cohen. That is all.

 

[Todd4State]

when guys like Corbin took over a similar situation at Vandy, Bianco took over a similar situation at ole miss, Palowski took over a similar situation at Auburn.



It didn't (and doesn't look like it will with palowski) take 4 years.



Polk did a lot of harm, but Cohen is doing himself in as well.



I hope he turns it around, but Im just not seeing it right now.

the only situation that is comparable might be Auburn. Ole Miss almost made a regional the year before they hired Bianco, and I know they had a winning record the year before. Ole Miss also had a coach that most of their fans seemed to hate. Can't remember much about Vandy, to be honest with you.


There are some BIG differences.

1. Those programs did not let a coach get away with what we let Polk get away with. I'm not just talking about recruiting. I'm talking about the NCAA letters and etc.

2. Those programs all upgraded their facilities, or like Auburn maintained them while we let ours rot.

3. The previous coaches were not admantly against their successors or adamantly demand a certain coach replace them and on top of that tell the players that they were recruiting to not play for that coach.

4. None of those fan bases has a core fan base like MSU that is more for a coach than the school. Pretty much everywhere else, the fans want the best coach regardless. We have some fans that believe anything that Polk says is gold, no matter what his real agenda is.

 

[dawgstudent]

[No message]

 

[8dog]

and I really don't think its unreasonable to hope that a team that hit .307 in conf returning its core won't hit in the .260s.

I never said anything about firing anyone. So sit back, chill out, and read. There is nothing wrong with forming an opinion.

 

[Todd4State]

Our uniforms circa 2005-2008 were not exactly Yankee pinstripes either though. I think that was more LT than Polk, though.

 

[davatron]

Didn't expect much this year, but seems like we can't even get the small stuff right. I just don't see any light at the tunnel's end right now.

It's possible to see improvement without winning (like '09 football; still lost plenty of games, but we were competitive). Right now I don't see any positives with this baseball team. They are just awful.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Todd4State wrote:

2. Those programs all upgraded their facilities, or like Auburn maintained them while we let ours rot.

3. The previous coaches were not admantly against their successors or adamantly demand a certain coach replace them and on top of that tell the players that they were recruiting to not play for that coach.

4. None of those fan bases has a core fan base like MSU that is more for a coach than the school. Pretty much everywhere else, the fans want the best coach regardless. We have some fans that believe anything that Polk says is gold, no matter what his real agenda is.

I don't think these three points, particularly #3, can be stated enough. Honestly, that kind of tampering is grounds for a lawsuit in the business/pro sports world.

 

[8dog]

but the fact of the matter is, any difference you can find in those programs is disproportionate to how incredibly bad we are in year 2 versus where they were.

Vandy won 16 conference games in the 2 years combined before corbin.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

and I really don't think its unreasonable to hope that a team that hit .307 in conf returning its core won't hit in the .260s.

I never said anything about firing anyone. So sit back, chill out, and read. There is nothing wrong with forming an opinion.

My post wasn't exactly targeting you specifically. You've been on record as saying Cohen needs a some time. I'm thinking of posters like AshleySchaeffer. You post was just a good springboard for what I was thinking.

That said, yes, we should be seeing improvement. I'll fully admit we've regressed offensively this season. But coming into today, our team ERA is almost a full run better than last season. Think about that. As poorly as we've pitched at times this season, we're actually showing somewhat significant improvement from a season ago. We've talked about defense ad nauseum, no need to rehash it here.As for baserunning, I think we're actually better at that this season.
Like Todd pointed out in a previous thread, we've had a lot of games
where we've successfully manufactured runs or won the game using small
ball. But the errors like yesterday stick out like a sore thumb. I think the injuries to Parks & Rawdow have really hurt this team more than we'll know. At the very least, they'd improve the D and Rawdow is easily a better hitter than Frost. I think we'll be better next season, but I expect us to be very up-and-down overall. In all likelihood, we're going to be starting several freshmen in the field.

 

[8dog]

but before Routt went down, he was worse than he was last year. That bothers me.

And our ERA may be a point better right now, but we have 6 series to go so we'll see.

His refusal to start Whitney is just frustrating.

And as I said below, I just can't see us being much better next year.

 

[57stratdawg]

John Cohen should be fired if MSU doesn't make it to Hoover/Regional in 2011.

 

[patdog]

But coming into today, our team ERA is almost a full run better than last season. Think about that. As poorly as we've pitched at times this season, we're actually showing somewhat significant improvement from a season ago.

Cohen may have inherited the worst pitching staff in SEC history. Someone else can check thehistorical numbers, but I do know that we were roughly 2 full runs per game worse than the 2nd worst pitching staff in the SEC in Polk's last year. So Cohenhad no choice but to load up on freshman pitchers in his 1st recruiting class and tried to fill in the gaps offensively with JUCO players. Those JUCOs haven't panned out at all.

 

[brantleyjones]

beat LSU yesterday and today, wearing white shoes.

 

[Coach34]

maybe we are the problem now?? Maybe our time is past

Polk leaves, goes to Jawja, elevates their program, and takes them to a World Series
Polk comes back to State, and while he did make a WS, his 7 years was not very good and we had losing SEC records 5 of the 7 years

Cohen wins at Northwestern State
Cohen wins with Mac at Fla, Cohen leaves- Mac is fired soon after
Cohen wins at ****** Kentucky is just 3 years
Cohen is struggling at State

Arent we the common factor in all that????

 

[8dog]

Sneed, Butler, and Duffy all hit over .300 in conference last year yet they've all had a difficult time cracking the lineup. They should have been playing from the get-go. In other words, he didn't have to rely on those jucos. And he could've signed some HS talent to step in next year. As it stands, we are stuck next year with jucos that can't hit or true freshmen.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

[No message]

 

[TheBigDawgCollar]

The biggest one thus far, if Cohen can turn around a Kenutcky baseball program of all things, in which Kentucky people don't give a 17 if they even have a baseball program, some might not even know they have lol, then he is going to do fine here, just of course our standards are different than Kensucky's baseball program, we actually care etc. Sick of hearing this whining going on, some players and people saying he is a dick, players scared to mess up because they will get chewed out; WHAT DO YOU EXPECT when you play like s%*@% and some of the stuff that happens that isn't his fault. If I was coaching our baseball program right now, I would be suspended or probably fired right now, in which I have to give him some respect on that.

With that being said, it is sad the politics that are being played at the same time, Mr. Frost if you are reading this board, @+** your money in buying your son a spot on the team or whatever the 17 you have done, all the lame politics that go with it Mr. I have a batting cage in my basement and 17 this motorcycle add that pops up every 5 seconds sighku

 

[War Machine Dawg]

but <span style="font-weight: bold;">before Routt went down, he was worse than he was last year. That bothers me.</span>

Right now, I'm chalking it up to injury & sophomore slump. But it does merit some level of concern.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">And our ERA may be a point better right now, but we have 6 series to go so we'll see. </span><br style="font-weight: bold;">
Scary thought, for sure. Especially if Routt doesn't make it back. aGAIN, one injury = depth destruction.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">His refusal to start Whitney is just frustrating.</span>

Completely agree, as I've said repeatedly.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">And as I said below, I just can't see us being much better next year.
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
</span></span></span></span>Depends on how good the freshmen are, how quickly they adjust, and how Parks & Rawdow bounce back from injury. And how much guys like Vickerson can improve. We'll see.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
</span></span></span></span>

 

[War Machine Dawg]

[No message]

 

[8dog]

and he wasn't even trying.

You can win anywhere in college baseball. See Louisville, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Vandy, Virginia

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I get the whole "it's polk's fault ****" really I do, but what has Cohen done to earn your trust? I see nothing that would give me the warm fuzzies.

 

[basedog]

about Sneed, Duffy and Butler. Sneed is starting to hit a little better, he has had a terrible start, Butler has been fairly consistent at the plate, Duffy will hit as the season goes. But the reason they don't play the field is obvious, they can't field AND in pre-fall the Juco's showed promise and got the start. Now in saying this, all of the recruiting as for as Juco's goes has been a flop, I'm sure if Cohen had to do it over again he would have tried to sign a few more high school players.
Look at it this way, do you think Sneed, Duffy and Butler are SEC material? If they were they would have been producing more, maybe that .300 average you speak of last year came after the fact, game was lost and they got a hit. Cohen's got his work cut out for him no doubt, but after 1 1/2 years I haven't hit the panic button yet, let's give him another year and see if he can turn this around. We may not hit next year but we should be pretty good on the mound and hopefully we find some freaking fielders who can catch and throw!

 

[57stratdawg]

8Dog wrote:

You can win anywhere in college baseball. See Louisville, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Vandy, Virginia

I agree with that.

In college football the gap between the haves and the have nots is tremendous, but thats not really the case in college baseball.

Do you guys not remember us getting our face kicked in by South East Louisiana this year? They're program is leaps and bounds better than ours?

The reason our baseball blows right now isn't because of the facilities (who gives a **** about the drainage system). It's because our team can't hit, pitch, or field.

 

[8dog]

in blowouts? The guys hit over .300 in the best league in America. Sneed and Duffy were over .350. They were 2nd and 3rd on the team in RBIs in conf. Sneed and Duffy are hitting .429 in 4 SEC series this year.

Admittedly Butler's not hitting as well, but he's certainly better than our other option at 2B.

 

[basedog]

mostly. Problem is playing Sneed and Duffy in the field wouldn't help. Sneed has played in pretty much every game, yeah Duffy needs to bat but do you play him in left field? But again, do you think they are SEC material?</p>

 

[8dog]

if you can go through the conf and hit .350, you are SEC material.

In the end, that's not the point. The point was that the should've been playing all along.

It wouldn't have solved all our problems, but it would've helped and it would've at least made some sense.

 

[DirtyLopez]

love him.

 

[Todd4State]

I get the whole "it's polk's fault ****" really I do, but what has Cohen done to earn your trust? I see nothing that would give me the warm fuzzies.

It's his recruiting and his past track record at other schools. I'm not talking about JUCO recruiting- specifically high school recruiting. If you bring in 2-3 good classes, you will win unless you are a horrible coach. But again, that goes back to his track record as a head coach. He has won at Northwestern State and UK, and was very successful at UF as a hitting coach. If he had, let's say only been at UK and won there and that was it, and he comes here and struggles, I would be a little bit more worried.

And if Cohen indeed brings in three highly rated classes and can't win with them, by all means fire him.

Heck, at worst, he's like Ed Orgeron- he may have sucked as a HC, but at least he left some good talent. Get a guy like O'Conner at Virginia, and let him see what he can do with them. And if we did fire him in three years, at least the next guy won't have to deal with all of the Polk BS. Assuming we don't hire Raffo.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

[No message]

 

[Coach34]

when we finished 9th in the SEC and got bids in 2004 and 2006

We are now a bottom half SEC program and have been for some time...and we didnt fix the problem until we were damn near terminal

 

[Todd4State]

when Polk came back, the field had been expanded. Now it's easier to make a regional than it is the SEC Tournament. Super Regionals are the new standard at least for me.

 

[patdog]

And he's won at both Northwestern State and at Kentucky. But as for what he's actually done on the field at MSU, nothing. Although I don't think Skip Bertman could have won with this group of Bad News Bears players.

 

[bulliegolfer]

better than this. No?

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

and it's more likely than not that he'll get it turned it around. But it's just odd that you seem to be getting worse both in fundamentals and mental mistakes, and you seem to be willing to give him three more years to be competitive. That's a long time.