What do we do with Butch Thompson?

bulldogcountry1 · May 26, 2011

Last year, I gave him a lot of flack. Some of it was probably unfair, given what he had to work with. I still tried to take that into account and just focus on returning pitchers and their growth from the previous year. The stats weren't encouraging.

Here we are a year later. We are in the post season for the first time a while, but I still have serious doubts about Butch. For the third year in a row, our returning "ace" has greatly disappointed or failed to contribute (2009-Bowen, 2010-Routt, 2011-Stratton). These have been the single most important guys on their pitching staffs, and Butch either screwed up their heads or their arms. We will never win championships if this keeps happening.

You can say that the team ERA is lower, but 1.5 runs per game can be attributed to the new bats. At least another run per game can be credited to simply an increase in talent. How much of the improvement can Butch really lay claim to as far as coaching? Reed is really the one exception. Our other biggest assets this year (Pollo, Stark, Norris, Mitchell) are newcomers. The returning guys we were really relying on (Jones, Stratton, Girodo) have had all regressed with an extra year under Butch.

The jury is still out on Routt.

So, what is to be done? He's obviously a great recruiter. He's a great asset as far as that goes, but how do we keep taking strides forward with the same coaching lineup? Is it possible to change his title somewhat and hire another pitching coach? I don't know if that would ever work, but I'm not so sure things will ever work like it is now.

AROB44 · May 26, 2011

Might not be the popular thing to do, but I vote on letting the head coach decide what he wants to do, if anything.

dawgstudent · May 26, 2011

You have to be shitting me!!

bulldogcountry1 · May 26, 2011

I haven't been given any actual authority, despite my M2M subscription. I was merely starting a discussion on a message board, so feel free to share an opinion without fear that someone's job is at stake.

patdog · May 26, 2011

Of course, Cohen's going to decide what to do about Thompson. Doesn't mean the rest of us can't have an opinion on the matter, or post that opinion. Bottom line is, while this team is improved, this program is still nowhere where it needs to be or should be. And a lot of people aren't sold on Thompson. Cohen's bought himself some time with this season, but he'd better not get complacent like Bianco has (or Polk did) or we're going to be looking for a new coach in a couple of years.

bruiser.sixpack · May 26, 2011

mstatefan88 · May 26, 2011

Even though these seniors haven't done that great, there are a ton of them all over the field, and they contribute a large percentage of what our team does. We bring back almost all of the important pieces of our staff, but our lineup will be very young next year. With the SEC not getting any easier, I think flirting with .500 in conference play and being a higher 3 seed in a regional is a realistic expectation for next year.

bulldogcountry1 · May 26, 2011

I'd have to know what Burroughs and Mingione bring to the table as far as recruiting, player relations, and instruction. If one of those guys were to leave for another position or were proven to be deadwood, I would hire another assistant who would be an "assistant pitching coach". It would have to be a young guy who could give instruction without stepping on Butch's toes.

I think that would be the most realistic scenario that could help the team and not dostroy the team chemistry.

What do we do with Butch Thompson?

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