Because we need it.
How I would make MSU baseball better- and lets face it there is definately room for improvement.
1. Recruit some pitching. We are doing this already. Trevor Fitts is already committed and he looks pretty good. It seems like we are recruiting Jacob Lindgren from St. Stanislaus, which to me is a risk because he was hurt at the end of the year, but I have been checking this out, and while at first I thought recruiting him was a bad idea, I have changed my stance on this. What I do know is that he will pitch next year, and there is a good chance that we can maybe get a high quality LH pitcher for cheap- in scholarship terms. If he doesn't work out, then cut him. This would be a good risk for us to take becasue when healthy, he can top out at 94, and he can throw a curve and a change-up. Will Cox is the most talked about guy in the state right now as far as recruiting. I'd like to have him as well, especially with Lindgren being a risk. Spencer Turnbull would be nice to get as well, and we are at least going after Laxer at MC. Brandon Woodruff could be a dual position guy for us as an outfielder and relief pitcher. That's basically my wish list, and if we don't get all of those guys- which we probably won't, I would be OK with an out of state pitcher of equal or greater value. We have a decent foundation with Stratton, Daryl Norris- who I think will be a good relief pitcher, Chad Girodo, who has been having a great summer, and two guys who I think will be good if healthy in CC Watson and Ben Bracewell. The fact that those guys have some injuries underscore why we need to go really hard after pitching this year.
2. Stop recruiting so many damn JUCO players. OK, this worked out great for Cohen at UK, but Mississippi JUCO is essentially 13th grade baseball without a lot of the prospects. Most of the prospects that are there are drafted a la Corey Dickerson and are gone. So, essentially a typical JUCO player is going to be a an Andy Rice type guy. There are some atypical cases which I would be OK with- a guy that is an academic casualty for example Kaleb Barlow or Chase Lewallen, or a guy that played at a tiny high school and no one knew about them- for example Roy Oswalt or Andrew Pierce. Otherwise steer clear or let them walk-on. Heck, two of our better JUCO's were walk-ons- Scott DeLoach and Grant Hogue.
3. Build a new stadium for baseball. I know that the football stadium needs to be upgraded so that we can stay in the SEC. I know that the basketball team needs their practice facility. I'm OK and understand that. And yes, I like Dudy-Noble Field and have many great memories there. But, what was once the crown jewel of baseball facilities in the SEC is now average at best. Build a new modern grandstand that has seats that go down to the foul poles. Have luxury suites that also go from foul pole to foul pole that do not leak water. And then on top of that build an upper deck that covers the lower deck for the most part providing some shade for the people in the lower deck (me). Basically I'm envisioning something very similar to Autozone Park in Memphis, with maybe more luxury suites. And the LFL is non-negotiable. It's staying. And I'd actually like to expand it. The people that have been there for years get to keep their spots, if they so choose. For the new people, I'd like to build some sort of raised section so that they could get their vehicles up there and still see the game. Kind of like a terrace. And to be clear, I don't think that building this new stadium would win us a NC, but it sure wouldn't hurt attendance and getting good players in either. I really want this for the fans and players. The clubhouses should be the best in the country for college baseball- both home and visiting teams. I still want us to have a MSU baseball museum- like Delta State has for Boo Ferris, and most MLB teams have one as well. The outside needs to be re-done, and I think it would be cool to have bricks that fans purchase and that they can put messages on, or simply their name. The concourse again, would be like Autozone with more variety in food- have chains sell stuff like Penn's catfish and chicken on a stick, Papa John's pizza, Lil Dooey's bar-b-que, The Grill could sell cheese sticks and sandwiches, Oby's could sell po-boys, and of course Bryan hot dogs- also for recruiting. Finally, put the championship banners and retired numbers on the outfield wall. We should celebrate what we have accomplished over the years and be proud of it!
4. Promote the Dugout Club. If you can't go to every game- and most people can't, but still want to support the team, the Dugout Club is a great way to do that. We should have the largest in the state in the country, and I'd like to see the school try to sell that idea to our alumni and fans. The money from that goes to help the baseball team with equipment for the field and things like that.
5. Have a pre-season series with Delta State. This could be the spring or fall. USM did this with William Carey College. I think this would be a cool thing for our fans to see the players in action, against a quality opponent that is one of my favorite teams in the state. It would also benefit the players because they would go up against some live action, and it would help the coaches evaluate the players a little bit better. The proceeds could go to a charity. It would be a neat thing for Delta State as well.
6. Do away with the lifetime contracts for season ticket holders. Another brilliant idea by LT that has helped choke out MSU baseball. Ticket exchange anyone? There are many ways that this could be worked around and that everyone could be happy for the most part.
7. Baseball uniforms! Since this is July on sixpack. I like the sleeveless white uniforms that we use now. I'd like to see us keep those and then also use the Detroit Tigers style home uniforms that we wore in the late 80's and most of the 90's. And then go to the best part of the Pat McMahon era- the MS uniforms with the pinstripes. I also like the maroon tops with the Will Clark-era Mississippi State script on them. The black tops- I'd use them for batting practice. I don't hate them, but they're not my favorite either. I love the maroon hats, and I actually am OK with the white hats. The white shoes- dislike. Go to black shoes if maroon is unavailable.
8. Do away with the Chicken Dance.
9. Bring back John Grisham. We need to repair that even if he never donates another dime to us. Also, I think it would be cool to somehow recognize "friends of MSU baseball"- I'm talking about guys like Roy Oswalt and Marcus Thames who maybe didn't go to MSU, but are State fans and include them as well.
Happy fifth of July sixpack!
How I would make MSU baseball better- and lets face it there is definately room for improvement.
1. Recruit some pitching. We are doing this already. Trevor Fitts is already committed and he looks pretty good. It seems like we are recruiting Jacob Lindgren from St. Stanislaus, which to me is a risk because he was hurt at the end of the year, but I have been checking this out, and while at first I thought recruiting him was a bad idea, I have changed my stance on this. What I do know is that he will pitch next year, and there is a good chance that we can maybe get a high quality LH pitcher for cheap- in scholarship terms. If he doesn't work out, then cut him. This would be a good risk for us to take becasue when healthy, he can top out at 94, and he can throw a curve and a change-up. Will Cox is the most talked about guy in the state right now as far as recruiting. I'd like to have him as well, especially with Lindgren being a risk. Spencer Turnbull would be nice to get as well, and we are at least going after Laxer at MC. Brandon Woodruff could be a dual position guy for us as an outfielder and relief pitcher. That's basically my wish list, and if we don't get all of those guys- which we probably won't, I would be OK with an out of state pitcher of equal or greater value. We have a decent foundation with Stratton, Daryl Norris- who I think will be a good relief pitcher, Chad Girodo, who has been having a great summer, and two guys who I think will be good if healthy in CC Watson and Ben Bracewell. The fact that those guys have some injuries underscore why we need to go really hard after pitching this year.
2. Stop recruiting so many damn JUCO players. OK, this worked out great for Cohen at UK, but Mississippi JUCO is essentially 13th grade baseball without a lot of the prospects. Most of the prospects that are there are drafted a la Corey Dickerson and are gone. So, essentially a typical JUCO player is going to be a an Andy Rice type guy. There are some atypical cases which I would be OK with- a guy that is an academic casualty for example Kaleb Barlow or Chase Lewallen, or a guy that played at a tiny high school and no one knew about them- for example Roy Oswalt or Andrew Pierce. Otherwise steer clear or let them walk-on. Heck, two of our better JUCO's were walk-ons- Scott DeLoach and Grant Hogue.
3. Build a new stadium for baseball. I know that the football stadium needs to be upgraded so that we can stay in the SEC. I know that the basketball team needs their practice facility. I'm OK and understand that. And yes, I like Dudy-Noble Field and have many great memories there. But, what was once the crown jewel of baseball facilities in the SEC is now average at best. Build a new modern grandstand that has seats that go down to the foul poles. Have luxury suites that also go from foul pole to foul pole that do not leak water. And then on top of that build an upper deck that covers the lower deck for the most part providing some shade for the people in the lower deck (me). Basically I'm envisioning something very similar to Autozone Park in Memphis, with maybe more luxury suites. And the LFL is non-negotiable. It's staying. And I'd actually like to expand it. The people that have been there for years get to keep their spots, if they so choose. For the new people, I'd like to build some sort of raised section so that they could get their vehicles up there and still see the game. Kind of like a terrace. And to be clear, I don't think that building this new stadium would win us a NC, but it sure wouldn't hurt attendance and getting good players in either. I really want this for the fans and players. The clubhouses should be the best in the country for college baseball- both home and visiting teams. I still want us to have a MSU baseball museum- like Delta State has for Boo Ferris, and most MLB teams have one as well. The outside needs to be re-done, and I think it would be cool to have bricks that fans purchase and that they can put messages on, or simply their name. The concourse again, would be like Autozone with more variety in food- have chains sell stuff like Penn's catfish and chicken on a stick, Papa John's pizza, Lil Dooey's bar-b-que, The Grill could sell cheese sticks and sandwiches, Oby's could sell po-boys, and of course Bryan hot dogs- also for recruiting. Finally, put the championship banners and retired numbers on the outfield wall. We should celebrate what we have accomplished over the years and be proud of it!
4. Promote the Dugout Club. If you can't go to every game- and most people can't, but still want to support the team, the Dugout Club is a great way to do that. We should have the largest in the state in the country, and I'd like to see the school try to sell that idea to our alumni and fans. The money from that goes to help the baseball team with equipment for the field and things like that.
5. Have a pre-season series with Delta State. This could be the spring or fall. USM did this with William Carey College. I think this would be a cool thing for our fans to see the players in action, against a quality opponent that is one of my favorite teams in the state. It would also benefit the players because they would go up against some live action, and it would help the coaches evaluate the players a little bit better. The proceeds could go to a charity. It would be a neat thing for Delta State as well.
6. Do away with the lifetime contracts for season ticket holders. Another brilliant idea by LT that has helped choke out MSU baseball. Ticket exchange anyone? There are many ways that this could be worked around and that everyone could be happy for the most part.
7. Baseball uniforms! Since this is July on sixpack. I like the sleeveless white uniforms that we use now. I'd like to see us keep those and then also use the Detroit Tigers style home uniforms that we wore in the late 80's and most of the 90's. And then go to the best part of the Pat McMahon era- the MS uniforms with the pinstripes. I also like the maroon tops with the Will Clark-era Mississippi State script on them. The black tops- I'd use them for batting practice. I don't hate them, but they're not my favorite either. I love the maroon hats, and I actually am OK with the white hats. The white shoes- dislike. Go to black shoes if maroon is unavailable.
8. Do away with the Chicken Dance.
9. Bring back John Grisham. We need to repair that even if he never donates another dime to us. Also, I think it would be cool to somehow recognize "friends of MSU baseball"- I'm talking about guys like Roy Oswalt and Marcus Thames who maybe didn't go to MSU, but are State fans and include them as well.
Happy fifth of July sixpack!
