This tells it all about our baseball team and why Cohen gets pissed.......

[basedog]

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""You know, we went over the scouting report literally for 20 minutes and the only message was do not let No. 7 beat us. Anybody else in the lineup can beat us but we are not going to let No.7 beat us," stated a frustrated John Cohen after the game. "We walk him we don't care. We hit him we don't care. He is not going to beat us. I don't even know how to describe what it is like to be that prepared for exactly what is going to happen and not be able to do anything about it. It is a pretty helpless feeling." <p class="MsoNormal">The ballgame was tied at two entering the fifth when Lee Swindle, on in relief of starter David Hayes, delivered an 0-2 breaking ball to Brent that changed the completion of the game totally.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">"You throw an 0-2 pitch into the strike zone to the best hitter on their team," Cohen said. "You're throwing a breaking ball into the middle of the strike zone to the best player on their team and we are telling you you can throw it in the backstop and we are happy about it. That is disappointing."
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</p>

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

...Lee Swindle should already know you don't throw a fast ball down the middle of the plate to the best hitter on the other team.

If Lee Swindle knows anything about pitching, he wouldn't need Cohen to tell him that.

I think that's what Cohen is dealing with in this team: They don't have the slightest clue about baseball basics.

 

[Todd4State]

Baseball is all about execution. If you don't, you lose.

Also, Brentz has some MSU ties, of course. We probably didn't want him because he hits the ball too hard.

 

[Todd4State]

...Lee Swindle should already know you don't throw a fast ball down the middle of the plate to the best hitter on the other team.

If Lee Swindle knows anything about pitching, he wouldn't need Cohen to tell him that.

I think that's what Cohen is dealing with in this team: They don't have the slightest clue about baseball basics.

although, I don't think a breaking ball (he didn't throw a fastball according to Cohen) is necessarily a bad pitch to throw 0-2, but if you do throw a breaking ball, you better make sure that you don't leave it over the middle of the plate. Especially to a guy who is hitting .477 or whatever with power who is pissed off at you because you didn't recruit him.

Again, this is about execution and control.

 

[rebfan04]

...Lee Swindle should already know you don't throw a fast ball down the middle of the plate to the best hitter on the other team.

If Lee Swindle knows anything about pitching, he wouldn't need Cohen to tell him that.

I think that's what Cohen is dealing with in this team: They don't have the slightest clue about baseball basics.

although, I don't think a breaking ball (he didn't throw a fastball according to Cohen) is necessarily a bad pitch to throw 0-2, but if you do throw a breaking ball, you better make sure that you don't leave it over the middle of the plate. Especially to a guy who is hitting .477 or whatever with power who is pissed off at you because you didn't recruit him.

Again, this is about execution and control.

And sometimes you miss your spots. Hell, MLB pitchers miss their spots in critical spots to great hitters.

But, I'm sure John knows this. Or at least I hope he does. I don't think Swindle was trying to groove one, but at the same time "throwing one to the backstop" (yes I know its an expression) can throw you off, too.

 

[basedog]

and having a good hitter 0-2, "smart" pitchers would throw under his chin to set up the curve away on the next pitch. I mean, Cohen tells them "walk him or hit him I don't care", but to groove a curve in the middle of the plate is beyond ridicules.

I see Cohen and the staff are still recruiting hard as they are looking at another pitcher (who signed with a Jr college) from Tx. I see 3 and maybe 4 pitchers returning for next year. I know we need help at catching and the outfield as well.</p>

 

[rebelrouseri]

At least the typo makes sense:

that changed the completion of the game totally.

Thinking he meant to say "complexion."

 

[DowntownDawg]

*

 

[Todd4State]

but the difference is this isn't an every once in a while deal. This is happening over, and over, and over again.

 

[Todd4State]

I guess they were thinking that Swindle's best pitch is his fastball and were going to come in to the guy the next pitch. I don't know what the scouting report on the guy is, though.

I was looking at the roster last night and currently we are carrying 16 pitchers, and we lose three to graduation. We are also bringing in 10 pitchers- at least, that's an estimate on my part- so if my estimates are right, we're looking at cutting seven pitchers.

I don't know about that Methvin guy- who is the pitcher from Texas that you are referring to. If we do sign him, I think he is a middle relief guy at best.

Our catching situation is going to probably be Freeman and Thigpen platooning and Kolby Byrd as our third catcher. I think that Leal is going to RS.

Our OF is just going to depend on how many of our JUCO OF recruits from Texas come to Starkville. I do think that we need to make darn sure that we get some corner OF's in this next class, since Bradford is going to be a CF type of guy.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

although, I don't think a breaking ball (he didn't throw a fastball according to Cohen) is necessarily a bad pitch to throw 0-2, but if you do throw a breaking ball, you better make sure that you don't leave it over the middle of the plate. Especially to a guy who is hitting .477 or whatever with power who is pissed off at you because you didn't recruit him.

Again, this is about execution and control.

A breaking ball in the dirt is what you do here one would think.

If you leave a slow-*** breaking ball over the middle of the plate, no matter the count, it's going to get creamed.

As a caveat I will say this about a fast ball over the plate: If you throw in the 93-100 mph range, with college hitters, you can usually get away with a fast ball over the plate. But the problem is, I doubt Swindle can throw 73 mph, much less 93 mph.

Lastly, about execution: You can't execute in the game of baseball if you don't even know the game of baseball.

I think that's what we are seeing with this squad.

 

[Todd4State]

I don't think they have the talent and instincts to play it at a high level, though. You can't execute if it takes you five minutes to decide whether or not you should take an extra base or not. They end up making the right decision, but they take too long to make it.

 

[DawgTeacher]

I agree that these guys just don't have it to compete at this level. I don't think they have that great of baseball knowledge either. The high schoolers I'm coaching right now don't know a great deal about the ins & outs of the game. They don't realize and "comprehend" the little details. But I think that's the way society is going now. Some of our seniors write in text lingo some of their english papers & think their is nothing wrong with that. Life is moving too fast for kids these days & it's all about the big things. No attention to the little things that have gotten old school professional athletes to their elite classification.

 

[Uncle Leo]

He had 4 hits in 5 at bats. Two of his hits came on 0-2 counts, but the HR in the 5th was on a 1-0 count.

Brentz's at bats from the play-by-play:</p>

Middle Tennessee 1st...
Brentz singled through the right side (0-2).

Middle Tennessee 4th...
Brentz singled up the middle (0-2).</p>

Middle Tennessee 5th...
Brentz homered to left center, 3 RBI (1-0).</p>

Middle Tennessee 6th...
Brentz popped up to ss (2-2).</p>

Middle Tennessee 8th...
Brentz singled up the middle (1-0).</p>

So I'm not sure what to think about this...