Thought on the weekend

Todd4State

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Mar 3, 2008
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First of all, I expected us to be competitve, but get swept. Although, if you look at Tyler Whitney's career, he has pitched well against Ole Miss historically, and Nick Routt is the only guy that we have that can probably pitch on any team in the SEC. And the bullpen pitched very well the first two days of this series which was key. It was great to see Chad Crosswhite pitch well against Ole Miss, because he usually struggles against them.

We also hit the ball pretty well, besides today, and I thought our defense for the series was pretty solid.

But I think the best thing about this weekend was that we beat the seventh ranked team in the country on the road. Plus, we beat an in-state competitor which which I think is also very important. I think the first thing that we have to do is reclaim our state. We went 1-1 against USM, and 2-2 against Ole Miss on the year. That's certainly not bad, especially considering that both teams have a lot of seniors on them and the state of our team. And we put ourselves in position to sweep Ole Miss, and our chances would have been better if we had some more talent

I know it has been beaten like a dead horse, but if we can get a few more arms, and I think we will, we're going to be in pretty good shape.

The thing I would like to see this team do is finish strong against Memphis and LSU. Despite this weekend, the fact remoans that a lot of these players are going to get cut. I think the thing that is at stake for a lot of them is A. doing well enough to make the cut, and B. doing well enough that if they are cut they can go to another quality program. So, I think everyone has something to play for.

I'm really happy for Scott DeLoach and Grant Hogue. Both guys are walk-ons and are guys that have played the game the right way, and the way Cohen wants it to be played. It has been a rough year, and I wish we had 12 more guys that played the game like them. So, my hat is off to them, and I hope that they are in the stands when we are in the National Championship Game in Omaha beaming with pride.
 

basedog

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May 29, 2008
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I watched Lsu last night and Louis Coleman is a clone for Kevin Brown. Gonna be tough as Lsu is the best team in the SEC.
Btw, Devin Jones finally showed me something today, he has a long ways to go but maybe he will develop. I'm not sold on Calib Reed or any of the returning pitchers except for Whitney and Routt. Pitching could be our problem again next year but it can't be any worse than this year. I really believe we had the worse pitching staff in Msu's history. I'm not worried about our hitters as I believe thats something Cohen will be really good at developing and signing sluggers.

Good weekend for the Dawgs!
 

CuzDawg

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Apr 8, 2003
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perspective in regards to the freshmen pitchers due to how bad the rest of the staff is. Not every freshman can pitch like Routt and plenty of freshmen would look bad in the 7th inning of an SEC game. The whole issue is the fact we have had to ask freshmen to get someone out in those situations. Also, not every pitcher you sign is going to be an SEC starter. You've got to build a complete staff, starting and situation-wise.

Devin Jones was rated the #120 player in the country last year and Caleb Reed was in the Top 400 in the country. Cohen has signed a number of pitchers this year that are rated well below Caleb Reed. Now, I'd like to think Cohen evaluates recruits a hell of a lot better than Polk but I certainly don't want these guys leaving.
 

studentdawg87

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Feb 24, 2008
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I think Devin Jones will be a solid pitcher for us. He is only about 170lbs now and he should continue to add velocity as he bulks up.
 

RebelBruiser

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Aug 21, 2007
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We would certainly appreciate it, though I think our odds are pretty long anyway.

And yes, Louis Coleman is a beast. If you are going to take a series against LSU, you almost have to win Friday and Sunday, because you can't beat him on Saturday. If I were Cohen, I might move Routt to Friday or Sunday simply because it would be a waste to throw him against Coleman. You're chances of beating him are slim no matter who you throw out there.
 

Todd4State

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Mar 3, 2008
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Routt is special, and while I'm very high on guys like Watson, Bole, Stratton, and Bracewell, it's unrealistic to expect them to come in right away and not have some struggles.

Reed had good numbers in high school, but I think he played against some bad competition at Bayou Academy. My biggest issue with him is his control. It's horrible right now. I'm kind of surprised that we haven't looked at him as an OF.

Devin Jones is raw. He has a good fastball, but he pitched at a 2A school in the middle of nowhere. If he learns how to throw a breaking ball for strikes and a changeup, look out. I'm optomistic about him, and I still think his future for us is more than likely as a closer. But, I wouldn't be shocked if he starts for us to.
 

basedog

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May 29, 2008
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but again they didn't show a lot of improvement over the year. I do realize they didn't get a lot of chances and when they did pitch whether it be as a mop up role or trying to hold a lead they didn't pitch well. Way to many of our pitchers were way to wild. I can see keeping a few but I just don't get a warm fuzzy feeling about SEC caliber stuff.
I also realize not everyone is a SEC quality pitcher, but at least be a strong mid-level pitcher.
I can see 6 to 8 new ptichers next year. Jones looked good today but I have yet to see Reed pitch effective.
Routt is special, but we need to sign at least one special pitcher every year.
 

Coach33.sixpack

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Dec 6, 2008
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I'm pretty positive your baseball knowledge is superior to mine. To hear we might be in better shape next year than we thought is a relief.

Funny how this outlook finally came out after winning a road series against a top 10 team. Hmmmmm
 

msudawg12

Senior
Dec 9, 2008
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Todd4State said:
I'm really happy for Scott DeLoach and Grant Hogue. Both guys are walk-ons and are guys that have played the game the right way, and the way Cohen wants it to be played. It has been a rough year, and I wish we had 12 more guys that played the game like them. So, my hat is off to them, and I hope that they are in the stands when we are in the National Championship Game in Omaha beaming with pride.
Hmm... havent heard those in the same sentence before.

Great recognition
 

AzzurriDawg4

Redshirt
Nov 11, 2007
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I was talking to a friend that played for Georgia and I was talking up Routt.

First question he asked was, "Lefty?"

He claimed that any time you hear about a freshman doing well in the SEC, chances are he is going to be a southpaw.

I dont have any evidence to back that up, just an observation from someone who played in-conference fairly recently.

CC Watson, anyone?

I know, I know - he is going pro.