Dakota Jordan

[MStateME13]

Is it just me, or does his body language seem totally off? No reaction from him in the dugout after Hujsak?s hit in the 9th. Running in from the outfield after the game ended, he looked like he just saw his dog get run over. I get that he?s in a rough slump, but it?s very odd to me to see that from anyone on the team after such a huge win? What?s the deal?

[StarkVegasSteve]

Is it just me, or does his body language seem totally off? No reaction from him in the dugout after Hujsak?s hit in the 9th. Running in from the outfield after the game ended, he looked like he just saw his dog get run over. I get that he?s in a rough slump, but it?s very odd to me to see that from anyone on the team after such a huge win? What?s the deal?

You said it. He is in a huge slump. I highly doubt he has ever struggled to this extent. I mean he rockets one in the first that is out of every ballpark….except the one he was playing in. It sucks, but he needs to learn to work through that.

[cheewgumm]

I'm no hitting coach, so this may be totally wrong.

However, I'd have he and Hines hit balls in cage and just go the other way over and over and over.

They are both too pull happy.

[TALL DAWG]

I hope he saw what Hugesack did in his last at bat tonight. Just took an easy swing, put bat on the ball and slapped it up the middle. Someone has got to get through to DJ about not trying to kill the ball every swing. We need him and HH to stop pressing, to relax and just play ball. It?s not called work ball as the old saying goes.
It?s amazing they have no hits combined since after Friday?s game.
Doesn?t seem possible.
Go Dawgs.

[BeardoMSU]

I'm no hitting coach, so this may be totally wrong.

However, I'd have he and Hines hit balls in cage and just go the other way over and over and over.

They are both too pull happy.

Gonna be hard for HH to pull the ball without making contact with it, lol. He's out there seeing ghosts.

[Todd4State]

I'm no hitting coach, so this may be totally wrong.

However, I'd have he and Hines hit balls in cage and just go the other way over and over and over.

They are both to pull happy.

Speaking of hitting coach- where the hell is Gautreau and why does he keep letting them have the same BS approach?

He has to be partially at fault here.

Even Maroon ****ing Mary knows to throw Hines anything with spin and he can't lay off if it.

[BrunswickDawg]

Speaking of hitting coach- where the hell is Gautreau and why does he keep letting them have the same BS approach?

He has to be partially at fault here.

Even Maroon ****ing Mary knows to throw Hines anything with spin and he can't lay off if it.

Keep letting them??
Todd, you know better than that. Baseball is a tough game. You can spend hours in a cage working on going the other way or laying off bad curve balls and in the game that big hook comes rolling in and you just can't lay off it and there's another K. Heck - even Ronald Acuna is going thru it right now.

Don't mistake failure for coaches not working with players to get them thru it or lack of work on the players part. You have to keep in mind the limited practice and coach contact rules that are in place - it's not like Gaut can say "let's get in the cage at 7:00 am and work on this for a couple of hours". Rules like that are one reason why you see so many guys make skill jumps in summer leagues - they actually get more practice time and in some cases more direct coaching on technique.

[bulldogcountry1]

Couldn?t a player use his NIL money to get private hitting lessons?

[Mjoelner34]

Speaking of hitting coach- where the hell is Gautreau and why does he keep letting them have the same BS approach?

He has to be partially at fault here.

Even Maroon ****ing Mary knows to throw Hines anything with spin and he can't lay off if it.

I'm sure goat row is coming up, putting an arm around their shoulder and telling them "Don't worry. You'll figure it out.".

[Ranchdawg]

Damn Gotro do something anything we have some serious auto outs in our lineup.

Edited: to say this has been a problem for a large part of the season.

[Cooterpoot]

Jordan is super talented. He's got to slow down his mind and heart rate and relax up there. He's pressing and wildly swinging out of his shoes too much. If he gets that one hit, it'll get him going.
The best hitters are calm minded guys that know the situational scenarios and pitch sequences/tendencies. They don't get in a hurry.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Damn Gotro do something anything we have some serious auto outs in our lineup.

Edited: to say this has been a problem for a large part of the season.

We won last night basically with 5 batters. 3,4,8, and 9 were black hole auto outs last night.

[Brobi-wan]

I’m not sure Powell is the answer at DH. That UNA game may have been a mirage. Glad he showed up for that one, but we’ll see how the rest of the year plays out. May be better off giving Pulliam more ABs and get him out of his slump.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I’m not sure Powell is the answer at DH. That UNA game may have been a mirage. Glad he showed up for that one, but we’ll see how the rest of the year plays out. May be better off giving Pulliam more ABs and get him out of his slump.

He's not. The UNA game was a mirage. He was hitting inferior pitching, which is what you're supposed to do. Although damn we make it look difficult.

[Churchill]

Jordan is super talented. He's got to slow down his mind and heart rate and relax up there. He's pressing and wildly swinging out of his shoes too much. If he gets that one hit, it'll get him going.
The best hitters are calm minded guys that know the situational scenarios and pitch sequences/tendencies. They don't get in a hurry.

Clark and Palmeiro come to mind. No matter what the situation those swings never changed.

[HoopsDawg]

I’m not sure Powell is the answer at DH. That UNA game may have been a mirage. Glad he showed up for that one, but we’ll see how the rest of the year plays out. May be better off giving Pulliam more ABs and get him out of his slump.

Powell hit bombs vs Arkansas and Mizzou as well. He shouldn't be the DH but he should be the catcher. Need Downs at DH but he's hurt. Stevens could be helping at DH but Lemonis didn't get him enough ABs during the season.

[shoeless joe]

it does look like DJ is thinking too much. almost like he's guessing not only on pitch but on location. too many times last two games he's dropped his hands and stayed closed on middle in fastballs. like he's looking offspeed or away. that hack he took in the first looked good...he musta been guessing right. but it was a long out, which adds to his frustration. he'll bust out of it...just gotta keep playing so it'll help us when he does.

[basedog]

For any athlete struggling whether it's baseball or basketball, it could be mostly with overthinking, to intense, and eye and hand coordination. If I was coaching him, I would ask him to loosen his grip on the bat, choke up a little, take deep breaths and instead of swinging 100 mph swing 75 mph. I can hear my Daddy tell me and others on his teams to hit the ball where it's pitched.
No doubt Jordan is a very talented athlete who is playing baseball with football mentality, way too intense at the plate wanting to hurt the ball.

[StarkVegasSteve]

For any athlete struggling whether it's baseball or basketball, it could be mostly with overthinking, to intense, and eye and hand coordination. If I was coaching him, I would ask him to loosen his grip on the bat, choke up a little, take deep breaths and instead of swinging 100 mph swing 75 mph. I can hear my Daddy tell me and others on his teams to hit the ball where it's pitched.
No doubt Jordan is a very talented athlete who is playing baseball with football mentality, way too intense at the plate wanting to hurt the ball.

I'm just afraid that is the only way he knows. I don't know if he has ever had to adjust at the plate and look the other way, go up the middle, etc.

[StateDawg44]

His body language is pretty poor after every AB. He just seems unbelievably frustrated and in his head. You can see him shaking his head, looking down, and shoulders dropped every time he is at the plate and strikes out or pops up or is thrown out.

I understand it is super frustrating but he should try to show some leadership and not wear it so much if he is struggling as bad as he is right now. He definitely needs some sort of momentum or something to change offensively. He just looks totally defeated after every trip to the plate.

[StarkVegasSteve]

His body language is pretty poor after every AB. He just seems unbelievably frustrated and in his head. You can see him shaking his head, looking down, and shoulders dropped every time he is at the plate and strikes out or pops up or is thrown out.

I understand it is super frustrating but he should try to show some leadership and not wear it so much if he is struggling as bad as he is right now. He definitely needs some sort of momentum or something to change offensively. He just looks totally defeated after every trip to the plate.

You're talking about a kid who has never really struggled until this year. He has always been the best player and never had problems. He's facing real adversity right now and he has probably never faced that. Also, it's the postseason. He has not played at this level with these type of stakes. He's going to have to work through it.

[Brobi-wan]

You're talking about a kid who has never really struggled until this year. He has always been the best player and never had problems. He's facing real adversity right now and he has probably never faced that. Also, it's the postseason. He has not played at this level with these type of stakes. He's going to have to work through it.

Didn’t think about it that way. Last year he could think of every AB as a draft stock booster. Now it means something.

[StateDawg44]

You're talking about a kid who has never really struggled until this year. He has always been the best player and never had problems. He's facing real adversity right now and he has probably never faced that. Also, it's the postseason. He has not played at this level with these type of stakes. He's going to have to work through it.

I realize he has been dominant basically his entire career and is in a slump. I'm not piling it on him with my comment. It's very clear he is still the same player but can't shake the monkey off his back and it's really messing with his approach. It happens.

If he can't be productive at the plate he should still be supporting his teammates and as a 3rd year player show leadership qualities even if that is all he can contribute. Obviously, he might be doing that once he gets to the dugout. We can't see everything. He just looks like he is carrying so much when he is walking back to the dugout. Understandably

Hopefully, he can climb out of the funk and explode for us. It would be impeccable timing.

[AlSwearengen]

slumps are brutal on a hitter's psyche and it can be embarrassing at times. DJ appears to be a good teammate, so that shouldn't be questioned. We need to move Huge Sac to the three hole, leave Dakota at 4 and if we are facing a lefty, I might drop Hines to 6 or 7.

Dakota and Hunter both need to make a concerted effort to try and go the other way, especially Hunter. Both have issues with spin and everyone in the country knows it and have adjusted. This is where they have to adjust.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

it's the postseason. He has not played at this level with these type of stakes. He's going to have to work through it.

I know as fans it's always better to host but given the recent struggles, it will be interesting to see how much both he and Hines press in front of 15K. It's an awful lot to ask to change the current trend in that environment. Feels like it will either boom or bust.

[Cooterpoot]

Powell hit bombs vs Arkansas and Mizzou as well. He shouldn't be the DH but he should be the catcher. Need Downs at DH but he's hurt. Stevens could be helping at DH but Lemonis didn't get him enough ABs during the season.

^^^ All this

[Cooterpoot]

I know as fans it's always better to host but given the recent struggles, it will be interesting to see how much both he and Hines press in front of 15K. It's an awful lot to ask to change the current trend in that environment. Feels like it will either boom or bust.

They've played there in front of big crowds, that's not a concern. Jordan is fine, he's a 4 hole hitter that needs to relax. Hines is a full blown slump that he's got to figure out.

[BeardoMSU]

Hines is a full blown slump that he's got to figure out.

He's living out the "Shanks" scene from Tin Cup.

[EdwardDrayton]

Couldn?t a player use his NIL money to get private hitting lessons?

Cars, bling, clothes, booze, women. Then maybe hitting instruction??!!?? *****

[cheewgumm]

Are there any Fat girls that Hines and Jordan can sleep with before tonight?

[MStateME13]

I realize he has been dominant basically his entire career and is in a slump. I'm not piling it on him with my comment. It's very clear he is still the same player but can't shake the monkey off his back and it's really messing with his approach. It happens.

If he can't be productive at the plate he should still be supporting his teammates and as a 3rd year player show leadership qualities even if that is all he can contribute. Obviously, he might be doing that once he gets to the dugout. We can't see everything. He just looks like he is carrying so much when he is walking back to the dugout. Understandably

Hopefully, he can climb out of the funk and explode for us. It would be impeccable timing.

On top of his struggles, he has also had some bad luck on hard hit balls the last couple weeks, as others have mentioned. If he can get going, the offense as a whole could really take off.

[Saltydog]

He's in a slump and I'm sure he isn't feeling great about it either..........

[Brobi-wan]

Are there any Fat girls that Hines and Jordan can sleep with before tonight?

We live in MS. So yes

[DawgFromOxford]

Once Jordan gets a ball to find some green grass or the top of the wall I think he'll be fine. Like mentioned, he's smoked some pitches just haven't found an open landing spot for them. His strikeouts are what they are.

No doubt Hines is struggling, but he's shown he's capable of being a productive bat in the lineup. I'd rather him slump now than be off come regionals (just need him to come out of the slump before then).

[schddog72]

Once Jordan gets a ball to find some green grass or the top of the wall I think he'll be fine. Like mentioned, he's smoked some pitches just haven't found an open landing spot for them. His strikeouts are what they are.

No doubt Hines is struggling, but he's shown he's capable of being a productive bat in the lineup. I'd rather him slump now than be off come regionals (just need him to come out of the slump before then).

It's been so long since he's been capable of wielding a productive bat, it must have been during the Roosevelt or Eisenhower administrations. Hines refuses to adapt (See Huzak) to the way he is being pitched. He's swinging for the fences on every pitch thrown his way when he could really help his team by going the other way with pitches thrown that way. But he refuses to change his approach, so his BA is sinking like a rock.