Blast from the past - fireronpolk.com

[elitedawgs]

FIRERONPOLK.COM
It?s time for a change


2007 is around the corner, and preseason baseball is getting ready. Mississippi State is ranked a whopping 32nd in the preseason Collegiate Baseball poll.
Three SEC teams in the top 10 (South Carolina #3, Arkansas #4, Vanderbilt #8) and if you scroll way down the list, you?ll find Mississippi State at
32, one behind LSU. LSU took corrective action to stop their slide into mediocrity. Larry Templeton continues to screw up everything he touches.

The fodder from message boards include:

Fodder 1:

MSU baseball is a bottom third level team in the SEC and will remain in that situation for several years. A cancer kill slowly.

Fodder 2:

Don't worry, Ron will take care of this - "we're very young", "we're inexperienced", But he didn't get shit done with a senior laden lineup last year.
As already stated, the cancer is killing our baseball program.

Fodder 3:

With all due respect... - We had a baseball program like that once. I probably would have a different attitude if our team had some balls and could handle "pressure" and "high expectations". You can call me delusional or maybe I've had too much egg nog, but I really believe we could win a NC in baseball with the right coach. And yes, I think we could get that kind of a coach here, but LT's idea of a national search only extends as far as Tuscaloosa to the east and Starkville to the west.

Fodder 4:

Polk and Templeton - Should get a beach house together and retire after this year. Polk has done nothing since his return to State except drag us down farther and farther with his complaining about the number of scholarships and the terrible NCAA. Ron, get a wife and have some sex or something! Oh yeah, be sure and build an extra room in the back for Sly!

Fodder 5:

Stansbury in some ways reminds me of Polk in the 80's. Polk went out, busted his butt, got some really good players- many from places other than MS, built what was at that time the best stadium in the SEC and maybe the country, and had some very solid teams. And yes, Polk at that time even tried to win.

Sadly, Polk is now living off of his past accomplishments. I think the recruiting has started to pick up a little bit. I daresay we won the state of MS this year and got a good looking legacy from LA- a good sign because often times we would spur players that really wanted to play and do well for MSU and were pretty good players, but for some reason we rejected them for Alabama and Auburn rejects who were comparable talent wise but didn't care as much about MSU. In other words we need more Justin Pigotts- who we wouldn't have gotten either had he not fallen in our laps. We need players that want to play for MSU because emotion is huge in college baseball.

The fundamentals of the past few years have been very difficult to watch- especially situational hitting. This used to be a hallmark of MSU baseball. We would often times win games just because we were more sound fundamentally. More often than not the team that plays a more sound game wins as opposed to a team that is more talented. That's how an MSU could lose to a Delta State. But the past few years have been absolutely sickening to watch. I gave a standing ovation to a guy who got a bunt down- like he hit a home run. Pathetic. We have a 3B that has a fielding percentage that isn't even acceptable in Little League- and I would be willing to bet that our coaches never even tried to correct his problems in practice. We have a team that has a lot of singles hitters with some speed and we try to play three-run HR ball with them instead of trying to manufacture runs. Out right stupid. Also, we NEVER have the bullpen ready. That's the real reason why Polk leaves pitchers in too long. After Josh Johnson serves up his fifth HR, yeah Polk knows he's done, but he has to wait for someone in the bullpen to get loose. Why not constantly have someone at least getting loose in the bullpen just in case?

All this said, I do have a lot of respect for Polk for what he has done in baseball, but if you can't see that he's past his prime, you're blind- no really. And it's because of all of the things that Polk has done is why this pisses me off. He should NEVER have come back as head coach. The only thing he could do is maintain- at best- and most likely fail and tarnish his image. Just let him be the Ron Polk from 76-97 and move on.

Fodder #6

Re: Collegiate Pre-Season BASEBALL Poll is out!

#20 - Mississippi
#32 - Mississippi State

7 SEC schools ranked above us. Explain to me again why we should have rehired Polk.

Fodder #7

Re: Collegiate Pre-Season BASEBALL Poll is out!

You have got to be kidding. MSU baseball has to be bigger than Polk kinda like Bama football has to be bigger than Bear.... eventually.

Polk is a .500 SEC coach since he came back and the projections for this year's team don't look any better. The program now has to worry about making the conference tournament.

Don't hate on me and Patdog. Just accept the truth.









This is worth the headline space:

Bertman, unlike Templeton, refuses to embrace MEDICORITY . Could that be the reason that LSU has National Championships in woman's basketball, track and field, football, and five in baseball., and Miss. State has never won even one? LSU demands that their coaches produce while Templeton hopes they do and does nothing when they don't. Education wise Miss. State is a better school and we both are land grant colleges. The difference is not money {national championships bring in the bucks and the sold out games] ,but the mindset of the people in charge. After five years back as coach, Polk goes 12- 17 in the SEC and nothing happens. This just proves that it is acceptable NOT to WIN. As long as Mississippi State accepts MEDICORITY that is all they going to get.


Dugout Club members....

Just wondering how many here are Dugout Club members and whether or not you will anty up again when dues come up. Since people with chairbacks can't voice their displeasure by not buying their season tickets (like me) without losing the seats, I refuse to drop any more hard earned dollars into this smoking hole in the ground with Dugout dues. I know this is not a significant amount of money in the overall scheme of things, but it is Polk's own little project. With 800 to 1000 members at $50 a year, that's 40 to 50 grand each year that I will not continue to contribute to. Maybe if enough members drop out and let him know why, he will begin to get the message. But then again, probably not. However, it will be my own little protest and will make me feel better. Now, that being said, its on to my meeting with Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. Carry on.

So Is this:


It's Time for a Change

Five years ago when Mississippi State announced that Coach Polk was returning, I couldn't have been happier. Having followed Mississippi State baseball my entire life, I thought it was finally time that we were going to regain our spot among the SEC's elite. I even remotely recall Ron Polk saying that he would win a National Championship in 5-years.

Well, that 5-years has come, and barring any workings of the great beyond, it will go lacking a National Championship. I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but it is time for Ron Polk to lace up tennis shoes instead of cleats, and attend the ballgames as a spectator. Yes, he's done more for MSU baseball than any coach could've ever hoped to do. Yes, Mississippi State fans will always owe Ron Polk a thank you for turning our club into a powerhouse during his first tenure, but do we really owe him the chance to run the team into the ground. If he hasn't already?

It seems like every time I turn around Michael Rutledge is playing 3rd base. A guy with a .767 fielding percentage shouldn't even be catching foul balls for MSU let alone playing one of the toughest positions on the baseball diamond. I'm sure Rutledge was a very good player in high school, but he has yet to produce in college. I remember when Bunky Kaeton was regarded as one of the best recruits MSU had signed in the past decade. Where's he at now? Sitting on the bench? How does one of the nation's best high school baseball players go from being a highly touted recruit to a benchwarmer? The only answer has to be coaching.

I not only request for Mississippi State to fire Ron Polk, I'm also asking for an entire revamp of the coaching staff. We need a hitting coach that can teach the long ball as well as contact hitting. Small ball might win some National Championships, but it's always good to at least have one batter in your line-up hitting in the double digits in the HR column. Also, Ole Miss, a nobody 5 years ago, has at least 4 guys with 60+ RBIs. We don't have any? That's a shame. We could also use a new pitching coach. Josh Johnson started off the year strong, and he fell apart. I blame that entirely on the pitching coach. Yes, Johnson may not have been able to find his rythm for a few games, but wouldn't a good pitching coach have been able to work him back into the pitcher he was before? It's not like he's blown up like John Rocker. Rocker couldn't throw strikes, Josh just isn't working his pitches into the correct part of the zone and giving up way to many extra-base hits. Also, it's a rare occasion when you have the opportunity to listen to an MSU game in which we don't commit an error. I feel like I'm cheering for Vanderbilt or Kentucky. Instead one of these teams is co-champions of the SEC while the other was playing in the SECT championship game.

Everybody, I ask you for one thing, look past what Ron Polk did when he was at MSU the first time. We can thank him for that later. At the moment, we need to find a coaching staff that can make MSU fans proud to say, "I'm an MSU baseball fan." When was the last time you heard that, sans the 18 game-winning streak that blew up in our faces? It's Time for a Change, let's make it before it's too late.






May 25th, 2006

Dear Coach Polk,

Thank you so much for clearing things up for the entire Mississippi State University fan base. You made it clear that you are not firing
yourself ? which tells us that Larry Templeton is either complacent with you, is powerless against you, or perhaps you have ?goat pictures?
of Templeton, preventing him from doing what should have been done. What should have been done?



You would have never been brought back as head coach.


Unfortunately, you were. An unforgivable mistake by Templeton.



You would have been fired after this season, which was another futile demonstration of YOUR type of baseball.


Obviously, you have something on Templeton, otherwise, you would be looking for a job.

Have you no pride, man? Do you not see the numbers that clearly point out that you have had your worst five year stretch of
coaching Mississippi State Baseball? Sub .500 SEC baseball is not acceptable to the overwhelming majority of Mississippi State
baseball fans. In fact, a recent poll shows at that 72% of the 117 that participated think it is time for you to go.

You did the right thing when you retired ? you took State?s baseball program and left it in better shape than
when you took over as head coach. Now you are destroying the very program you helped build. Step down
before you alienate the rest of the Mississippi State baseball family.

Gregg Ellis of the Daily Journal summed it up pretty well in an article he published on May 23rd.
You can read the entire article here (http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=219938&pub=1&div=Sports)




Mississippi State University is synonymous with college baseball. No other college baseball fans from any other team are as giving, dedicated, loyal, passionate and supportive of their respective baseball programs. Local supporters adopt players to help them acclimate to their new college home and give them a sense of family while they are at college.
The fans of Mississippi State baseball have filled the stands for decades and they have emptied their pockets to ensure that Mississippi State University has the finest facilities in college baseball. The recent addition of the Palmerio Center, a first class indoor practice facility, Mississippi State University now has everything a coach, player, or fan could want.
Unfortunately, Mississippi State University's baseball program has declined over the last 15 years. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, Mississippi State expected to host (and usually did) an NCAA regional every year. Trips to the College World Series were more common, SEC Championship Banners were annual additions.
Today, Mississippi State University depends on the downfall of other teams to qualify for the SEC Tournament. Every year, there is an excuse for the failures and shortcomings. Inexperience, bad fielding, poor hitting, untimely hitting, and the classic trademark of Mississippi State Baseball under Ron Polk "That's Baseball".
Mississippi State was to baseball what Kentucky is to basketball - the most respected and recognized team in the Southeastern Conference, and one of the elite in the nation. The time has come for changes to be made at the top so that Mississippi State Baseball fans can have a legitimate chance to be competitive in the Southeastern Conference, win the Southeastern Conference regular season championship, host regionals and super-regionals, return to the College World Series and ultimately win a national championship. Mississippi State Baseball fans deserve it.
Regarding the April 28th article by The Reflector, the student newspaper at Mississippi State, what do you expect for them to write? Do you honestly expect them to bite the hand that feeds them?
The following comments and notes are taken from various public message boards and e-mail comments about Ron Polk and the state of Mississippi State Baseball:



Message Board Fodder #1




Nobody on this board can challenge my love for MSU. Even if you disagree with what I am about to say, you can't question my love for our athletics programs. That's just a fact!
I'm not in a position to ask Ron Polk the tough questions, but if I could, I'd probably start off this way.
"Hey Ron, this is a team that you told Will Clark you felt very good about coming into the season. The question is, why has it sunk again when we faced SEC play?"
"Ron, you don't believe in the bunting game, although almost every national championship team does. In fact Ron, the best coaches in this league who are winning are using the bunting game . Is that by accident?"
"Ron, MSU owes you a heap of thanks for past years of excellence, but do you believe your philosophy is behind the times? Your philosophy has always been geared at strong fielding as an approach to winning games. In fact, you've often gone out of your way to recruit and sign a good fielder over a strong hitter. But Ron, with that being said, MSU doesn't appear to be any better than anyone else in the conference when it comes to fielding. In fact, the only thing I see that separates MSU from other SEC teams is that their fielders can hit......and produce runs. So why not find and sign top hitters and use your gift in teaching fielding to elevate them in that one aspect of the game?"
( If you are in fact signing solid hitters who have strong fielding talents, then why do our signees struggle year after year to produce? Are we doing something to screw up good hitters? How do we always make noise about signing good bats only to see low run production? Maybe it's time we look ourselves in the mirror and figure it out)
"While I'm on the subject of run production, let me ask you this Ron, why is bunting a mortal sin in your book? If MSU can't produce runs hitting against Sec pitching , wouldn't it be wise to bunt a lead-off man into scoring position and take better odds of scoring? Heck Ron, many hitters in this conference are reaching base while bunting and setting up some big innings."
"Ron, one last thing.......while Brad Jones is very effective playing 1st, isn't it time to consider changing things up with the bats? Same with some of the other fielders on this team who are not producing at the plate. Where has Diggs been? What about McCaskill? How about letting these guys play more and get into the line-up to help this team win some games? I'm asking you if you think that things could be any worse if we made some changes"
'Ron, why is a team like Kentucky having more success this year than MSU? In fact, they took 2 of 3 from us last year and are even better this year. Surely you're not going to suggest that Kentucky is out-recruiting MSU are you? Or are they......maybe Kentucky is recruiting real hitters that we might pass up on because they don't field as well as your recruits do.......but Ron, Kentucky is winning, and they are embarrassing a once power in the Southeastern conference."
"Ron, Vanderbilt does not have the bats MSU has.......but they are doing a better job at run production than we are. How can this be? I've noticed that Vandy loves the bunt game, and they stay close enough to take their shots in every game. I guess what I am asking you (Before my post gets deleted) is that maybe it's time you took some hard criticism and made some changes to your philosophy. Ole Miss will soon be passing us by, and what excuse will you have then? In fact, what excuse will MSU have as we continue to fall deeper and deeper into the lower levels of the Southeastern Conference. I love MSU with all my heart Ron, but it's time you deliver or move aside for someone else who is actually willing to make the needed changes. Writing a book on baseball is wonderful, but delivering the goods is something else. I can write a book about how to make a million dollars, but if I stay poor myself, I expect people to question me. It seems that no one in the SEC has read this book, they are bunting, they are recruiting and signing better hitters, they are taking an aggressive approach to hitting at the plate.........they're just doing everything a little better than we are" "Our claim to fame this year Ron was taking 2 of 3 from the last place team in the EAST and WEST.......that's not my idea of MSU baseball Ron. Make a change and do it fast, we are tired of the same ole same ole"



Message Board Fodder #2



If Ron Polk ever gave a shit about MSU baseball then he should be a man and resign.
I am to the point that I am about to start pulling for us to lose for the remainder of the year in hope that it might open someone's eyes to the fact that MSU baseball CAN and SHOULD do better than Polk.
There is absolutely no reason for this man to still be our coach. There are many coaches out there that would love to have this job.
I hope like hell that we don't get hot and win the SEC Tourney again. That would be the worst thing that could happen to us.



Message Board Fodder #3




I know you are probably right , but a guy can dream can't he????
It isn't just the ones in control , HELL our fanbase mostly SUPPORTS Polk.........NO ****ING WONDER WE STRUGGLE TO WIN ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am ****ing STUNNED at the support that Polk STILL has from a lot of our fans. It baffles me.........WHY do so many stand behind this man??? The only honest answer I can come up with is that most of our fans don't know shit about baseball. Their attitude is just.......Polk used to win, Polk will win.
Our baseball program is a sleeping giant. WE show up. WE give money. WE care more than most schools in the country do about baseball. We have a tradition of finishing in the top 20 , at least we DID for a long time.
NOW it has all gone to shit............under who's leadership????? Polk.
I can't stand it..........I would rather Sherrill be back as HC of our football team with Rockey Felker as OC than for Polk to be running our baseball program right now.
We are young........doesn't fly this year.
NCAA isn't fair......hasn't stopped Ole Miss.
I have run out of cute things to say , but the truth is POLK just has become a damn loser who complains more than he coaches. **** him..........MSU doesn't owe Polk shit.......Polk owes MSU.



Message Board Fodder #4




Based on what I know about MSU's dynamics this is how our baseball team should be fixed.
Have Ron Polk as a "figurehead coach". He would be recognized as MSU's coach by the media, all W/L would be credited to his record. He could teach players how to play baseball- his strength. However, he would NOT be allowed to make in game baseball decisions. I would allow him to coach third- Hell I'm a nice guy and he has done a lot for us in the 80's-90's.
Hire an "associate head coach" this is who would make all of the in game decisions- like bunting, pitching changes, and etc. This NEEDS to be someone with a good feel for the game. He could be presented to the sheep as being groomed as Polk's possible successor even though he's really running things. They don't have to know anyway.
Hire a legit hitting coach who knows what the Hell they're doing. I know, novel idea.
Make Raffo the camp coordinator and let him coach first. This way the hitting coach would be available to our hitters at all times while in the dugout. This should help them make adjustments. Plus the Swan's wife wouldn't lose her bunko buddy.
Keep Russ McNickle where he is as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Possible "associate head coach" candidate.
Fire Wade Hedges who basically is the odd man out and the man who we really knew was the problem all along.
orrrr.... we could just fire Polk and Raffo.



Message Board Fodder #5




Here's what I would do:
1) Send them all packing except McNickle (give him to option to stay; as a token good faith gesture, even allow him to be interviewed for the HC job ).
2) Ask Polk if it will make him feel uncomfortable having his name associated a baseball stadium/program that has just fired him. If he chooses to act like an asshole about it (which he probably will) then simply change the name to Dudy-Noble Field @ Dement stadium.
3) Do a nationwide search for a coach who has an association with a CWS title...whether as a coach or as a player. (This would, of course, disqualify Cohen, but wouldn't Cohen be pissed @MSU for firing POlk anyway?)
4) Tell all the pro-Polk cry babies to shut the **** up and give their season tickets and chair back seats to the people who are ready to see MSU baseball move into the 21st century.
5) Hire a new man who will actually use MSU's gameday atmosphere as a successful recruiting tool.
6) Make sure the new man knows small ball and can recruit speed.
7) Tell the new man if he ever mentions youth, TOPPS, or the NCAA, it is grounds for immediate termination.
8) Tell the new man we want our Thurs. nite [baseball] call-in show back; if the new man doesn't want to do this, then move along in the coaching search.
9) Tell the new man we promise to have real carpenters re-build the left field lounge and that the terrace collapse was merely symbolic of Polk's tenure and that, as far as future Dudley Noble construction goes, he has nothing to worry about.
10) Tell the new man anything less than appearing in the CWS once every 3 years is unacceptable....and that we, as MSU baseball fans, are dead serious about that.



Message Board Fodder #6



u guys have all read my posts......I do not talk about players, I do not doubt anyone`s efforts and try to give props when props are due. I AM NOT a fan of the philosophy that coach polk eschews. I do not talk about Polk personally , but I sure as hell talk about his approach to hitting. This weekend is awful. They allowed us only 8 hits.......this is a mediocre pitching staff folks. For all you supporters of the philosophy of coach polk......can`t you see what is happening? I just think that coach polk should come out and defend his philosophy...we expect that of all our other coaches.
In other sports we always hear the mantra that our facilities lack, we do not have the money...etc. etc. We do not have a big enough stadium, msu people do not jam the arenas..blah blah.....but in Baseball...WE do HAVE the facilities, We do HAVE the fanbase, WE do HAVE the financial support.....we have it all and cannot make it work. Coach Polk , plain and simple , is not getting the job done. According to Coach it is always something else......hope scholarships, ncaa, we are young, big crowds intimidate our players, yada yada.....maybe it is time we look at the methodology of the coaching staff. What they are doing is not working on a sec scale and a national scale. We beat up on the non conference foes that we are supposed to beat and when we start facing stiff competition we fade. This has happened ever since he came back. I know we won the sec tourney last year, and it made my year by beating um. But then we go to a regional and start that same old conservative junk and get bounced. I just think some hard questions need to be asked.



Message Board Fodder #7




They say that good mental health starts with the proposition that you must admit the reality of the situation.
Well, here's some obvious reality.
1. MSU is no longer a dynasty, if ever we were. To argue otherwise makes us no better than bloated Ole Mess fans who harken back to the glory days of Johnny Vaught. Course I understand that is all they have, but still our dynasty days are done.
2. We were clearly overrated this year.
3. MSU is little above average, lst year's SEC Tourney notwithstanding.
4. MSU has never hosted a super regional. Unless this team gets on a tremendous winning streak, that will not happen this year.
5. This is a veteran team. We should be better.
6. Coach Polk is not bigger than MSU baseball. When Coach Polk left for an SEC rival after we put his name on the Stadium, he let everyone know that he didn't consider himself bigger than MSU baseball.
7. Coach Polk has always preached personal responsibility. I have heard him. But he really does seem to be coming up with a lot of excuses. NCAA, Tops scholarships, fans getting on players, etc.
Bottom line: We are an AVERAGE SEC program right now. Coach Polk has not fixed the program as of yet. The question: if this team doesn't get on a tear, and we suffer yet another average season, what will the Administration do? Anything?



Message Board Fodder #8




We may have trouble attracting coaches in FB or BBall but not baseball. We were once a top tier program in this conference and we have all the tools to do it again - nice stadium, nice facilities, great fan support that is very passionate about baseball, great tradition. What more do you need?
I'll tell you one coach that would do better than Polk right now - Cohen. How do I know this? He is coaching Kentucky right now, the same Kentucky that doesn't give a shit about baseball and never has. The same Kentucky that has 1 or 2K show up when we have 7K+ show up. Yet, with all that, Cohen has Kentucky playing better than mightly Mississippi State and the baseball king himself Ron Polk. Yeah, he wouldn't do shit here, what was I thinking?
All this crap about him building the program is bullshit. Polk has had 5 years, 5 years to build on the horrible shape Mac left us in - Super Regional. Have we been back? No. We have hosted one f'n regional, and Polk started Maholm against the 4 seed and threw away our chance to win the darn thing. We've been a 4 seed at TTech and a 2 seed at Miami where we were at no time a threat to win either regional. We even missed the darn SECT two years ago for the first time in ages. Oh mighty Ron Polk, please don't leave us behind. What could we accomplish in your absence that would be better than this? I was told there's a new love that's born for each one that has died.



Message Board Fodder #9




Don't Give Us None of Your Honky BullSh!t ButterPolk..... we know all the excuses you've been hacking and coughing up for the last 15 years. Yes we know you wrote a book on baseball. And yes, everyone has read it but they've all expounded on it. They have become successful while you have floundered. Sports are ever changing and we have watched you bring the same ole tired attitude back to Dudy Noble year in and year out.
As fans, we have been saying for years that "this player" or "that player" is a cancer and as soon as they leave we'll be better. Well Butterpolk, the cancer is you and your bumbling sidekick Raffo. You have brought an attitude that losing is acceptable. Losing is not acceptable. Are you gonna lose? Yes, that's inevitable but it's not OK to say things like "well there's gonna be nights like this and it's OK." Because before you know it there's a lot of nights like that and then you're sitting at home for the SEC Tourney or traveling to God knows where for a regional and NEVER hosting a Super Regional.
And another thing, don't you think for a second that every State fan is an idiot. How many Top 50, Top 100, Top 200 players in the nation are you gonna bring in that don't pan out? How many Juco All-Americans are you gonna bring in that have led the nation in batting or homeruns that never pan out? There's no way in hell that every recruiting service misses the boat on EVERY SINGLE ONE of these players. The 2 constants in every one of these cases is Raffo and you, Polk. We know that you and Raffo change many of these players batting stances, which if you haven't realized IS NOT WORKING. But what's 100 times worse than that is we also know that much like your attitude towards winning and losing, you instill your "blah, blah" attitude into these players approach at that plate. This is what has killed Mississippi State Baseball more than anything. You are essentially taking that bat out of their hands as soon as they reach campus. Yes, we know that you have 1,300 wins and we know your name is on the stadium. And we appreciate everything you've done for Mississippi State Baseball but it's time to hang up the turf shoes and pick up the F'n beer because it's time to ride off into the sunset. If you could turn it around nothing would make us happier but you're ruining your legacy and no one wants to see that. Please see the light and take Raffo with you, it's time for a change.



Reader Comment #1



Agree totally, he is bringing baseball down, he has been there too long, does not recuit much, is tired and worn out, time for new blood.



Message Board Fodder #10




Polk, what the F*CK are you doing?
When are you going to learn how to handle a pitching staff or let the Pitching Coach handle the staff.
Apathy has set in for me, like it did for football years ago.



Message Board Fodder #11




Sickening
Despicable. A corpse can coach a team better.



Message Board Fodder #12




Someone needs to go on the field and kick Polk right in the nuts.




Message Board Fodder #13




You know, the sad fact is this is how Polk handles pitchers. Nothing has changed and nothing will. The only way for Polk to handle pitchers successfully is to have three dominant starters. Even he can't screw that up.




Message Board Fodder #14




Burn in Hell Polk.......
You are officially washed up!!! How many times are you gonna let this happen? You are the definition of insanity i.e. doing the same thing over and over and over again all the while expecting a different result.



Message Board Fodder #15




I've never seen a man mishandle his pitching staff any worse than our guy has this season. Now that I think of it, he has always stayed with his pitchers too long as long as I can remember. This sounds like La. Tech all over again.
This is discouraging and unfair to his baseball team.



Message Board Fodder #16




Stupid decision making tonight and versus La Tech, Georgia, Auburn..... and a few more that I might have missed.
The coach has to put the players in a position to win. NOT sit on his seat.



Reader Comment #2



What the hell are you people thinking??? Ron Polk is clearly having a bad RETURN since leaving Georgia. But c'mon, his record speaks for itself.. Hire Sherrill and Felker back for football??? Unbelievable!!!!! The next choice for head coach in MSU Baseball WILL BE Mike Kinnison from Delta State. Now heres a real coach who doesnt make excuses. Yep, get ready folks, the Green and White is coming to town!!!!!!!!!



Message Board Fodder #17 - April 19, 2006




"We've always been a good second-half ballclub. I think we can finish with 37 or 38 wins."
currently, we are 27-9 with 20 games left. so, he is basically telling us that he'd be happy if we went 10-10 the rest of the way.
doesn't our current slump consist of a 9-9 record since the 18-0 run? finishing up 10-10 would be tragic.
i'm sure he at least expects to win the majority of our remaining non-conference games, so that can only mean he'd be content finishing 2 or 3 games below 500 in the league.
excellent.

[elitedawgs]

Message Board Fodder #18




Our wonderful coach has gone out on a limb with that "37 or 38 wins" prediction. After last night, we now have 5 OOC games left, with the only real competition being tonight's game and 2 in NITChampsburg. So, that means, he believes we can overcome our difficult stretch of games and finish the season with an impressive 5-10 or 6-9 conference mark. Aim high Coach Polk!!




Message Board Fodder #19




But I do expect in an average 5-year period to make a minimum of 4 regionals, 2 super regionals, and 1 CWS. In the current 5-year period, Polk will almost certainly meet goal 1, will probably miss goal 2 by 2 (although it's possibly he'll miss it by only 1), and almost certainly miss goal 3.
McMahon had no problem exceeding those expectations. Polk hasn't met them since 1990 and, as hard as I try, I can't find any indication he will meet them in the next decade either. He can make all the mysterious pitching and situational game management decisions he wants to (and gosh knows he makes plenty) if he wins. Bottom line is, he doesn't win like Mississippi State should win in baseball.



Message Board Fodder #20




I don't expect a coach to win every year (if I did I would have said he should make 5 regionals in 5 years). McMahon has met or exceeded my expectations both at MSU and at Florida. If Polk had made a national title game last year, the current criticism of him would be far less than it is. But if Polk couldn't make it that far with 4 future MLB all-stars, I think it's pretty certain he never will.



Message Board Fodder #21




The reason we're reduced to using Mississippi as a benchmark is that they've passed us. If our coach were doing his job well, we would be using South Carolina or Texas as our benchmark.




Reader Comment #3



"Burn In Hell"? What is your problem? The man's done more for this university than any other athletics figure in its history…and you want him to burn in hell? This is what happens when children play on the internet.



Reader Comment #4



Ron Polk is a sinking ship and he's taking the Mississippi State baseball program down with him. Sure, he did a lot for MSU in the 80's, but it's gone to hell since then. LSU could give us two of the CWS titles and still have more than we do.



Reader Comment #5



What is that crap reader comment 3 sent in? Most successful coach at MSU?? That's not saying a hell of a lot, MSU ain't won shit for national championships, so he's in good company. At least Jackie Sherrill expanded the football stadium (much more expensive than baseball upgrades) and got us a lot more money in TV revenue.



Message Board Fodder #22 April 21, 2006




Is Polk Infallible??
I have read with interest the arguement's between Pro-Polk posters and those who may not be Anti-Polk posters but are certainly questioning his management style.
And from what I read, it "seems" that if you question Polk to some folks on this board it's like you have questioned the Holy Writ. There are some who bash Polk personally, but the majority are bashing his game management, to me that is not anti-MSU or anti-Polk but fundamental disagreement on game philosophy.
I will admit to disagreeing with Polk's philosophy in its current format. Big ball, three run homers, and playing for big innings are fine...IF..IF, you have recruited that type of athlete, we haven't for some time. We have single and doubles type hitters, conducive for small ball management, we hit for average in every situation but with runners on base. There we suffer greatly and have done so consistently. This is a pattern not a trend.
I love Polk, he has forgotten more than I or anyone else on this board will ever learn about baseball. Which begs the question ....when you consistently underacheive with the methods you are using...is it not time to possibly change your methods?
Define insanity. Continuing to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome.
Fire away



Message Board Fodder #23




The thing that I like the least... is the complete lack of urgency and nonchalant attitude shown by Polk. That is no doubt absorbed by the players. Polk said in the paper the other day that he thought the team could still finish with 38 wins, like that would be some kind of real accomplishment. By saying this, Polk is basically setting the goal at going 9-9 the rest of the way, because that's all it would take to get to 38 wins. Finishing the season like that won't get us a home regional.




Message Board Fodder #24




We are not delusional and we don't hate him. We just don't think he is bigger than the program, and right now the program deserves better than a mid to lower tear program in the SEC.
Here are Polk's numbers since his return
Reg Season Record - 154-90-2 .626
MSU's all time Win% - .639
Conference Record - 57-60 .487
MSU's all time Conf Win% - .557
SEC Tourney - 7-4 .636
Regional - 5-6 .455
Supers - Nada
CWS - memo to polk to purchase tickets this year, maybe he needs to see what Omaha looks like.



Reader Comment #6



Say thank you to Ron Polk. Under Ron Polk's leadership, State's baseball program moved into the upper tier of SEC baseball, although it has not been there the last few years. To declare that MSU baseball is equivalent to Kentucky basketball is absurd. LSU has won five national championships in baseball. State has zero. However, even with five national championships I would not equate LSU baseball with Kentucky basketball. The only real comparison to Kentucky would be Alabama football; and I don't particularly care for LSU or Alabama. Ron Polk is the best thing that has ever happened to MSU in any sport.



Reader Comment #7



Guys-
Do you remember what it was like after Polk was gone. Pat Mc about drove this program in the ground. We were dead last or close to it in all offensive production. Pat bunted all the time. Pat would pull pitchers too soon, and the players couldn't stand Coach Mc. They almost HATED him with a strong passion. Most of the kids like, and love Polk.
Polk's first season back we jumped tons in offensive production with basically the same team.
The reason we fell in love with Polk years ago, cause he played out timley hitting and his teams executed the hit and run. Teams envied us because we had a coach who wasn't scared to try and hit and run several times an inning. So when there is a runner on 1st or second with no one out, let the guy at the plate swing away, cause it will lead to a big inning. Is it a risk? YES, but it plays out for more wins than losses for the Marron and White.
Polk isn't perfect, but 99% of the college baseball nation would take him for the salary we pay him. He took a PAY-CUT to leave UGA to come back to Starkville. HE LOVES THIS PROGRAM, THIS UNIVERSITY, THE CITY, & THE COLLEGE GAME.
This is not a Sherrill episode. Sherrill was getting pressure to stop recruting JUCO kids, NCAA was snooping around, and Jackie lost a brother, a mother, and his wife got cancer. Sherrill had more important things on his mind than a game. His life blood of recruting JUCO was cutting back, and sorrow was in his life. Then the NCAA ran off most of our recruits for several seasons.
Polk isn't facing those problems. Polk dominated back in the day when most school didn't care about a sport they lost money on. Now most schools in the SEC make money on it. We went from being the only pony in the race, to an arm's race of destruction. No one in college baseball will consistanly win 50+ games ever again, much like Alabama will never dominate college football. Alabama doesn't even dominate or measure up to be the best program in the state now, or for the past 5 years. Bama isn't winning their state or the West, much less the SEC. 30 years ago they dominated everything in the world of football, much like State did on the diamond. But now everyone in the West is competitive. No cake walks. JUST LIKE SEC BASEBALL, there is no cake walks anymore. You can't expect a sweep of Vandy, Ole Miss, Tennessee, & UK anymore. You hope for 2 of 3, and if you get all 3 you got lucky no matter who you played!
DO YOU REMEMBER what it was like during those breif Pat Mc days? We were losing mid week games right and left, much like Vandy & Bama is doing (and Florida) today. We had no pitching for mid week games getting swept by SAMFORD at home. Look how much college baseball has grown in the past 5 years. TROY is the best team in Alabama. TULANE is the best team in LOSER-aina. Georgia Southern use to be the power of Georgia, UGA & GSU got to the CWS in back to back years, but Georgia Tech is the power of the Peach State. Clemson had no problems recruting, now they have problems with in state rival USC. The game has grown and is better than ever!
Firing Polk would be stupid. We had an Associate Head Coach (Pat Mc) and he almost ruined MSU baseball. Polk spent 3 years trying to get it back. After 3 years, in his 4th he won the Tourney title and lost one SEC series at home (the last series last year to LSU & beat them down in 1st round action in Hoover). This year we reached #1. There is only place to go after that, and it is down. Some of you say, "Well Pat won the SEC tourney too in 2001" ,well guess what DuBose won the SEC title in football for Bama too, and he about crumpled everything there.
POLK IS COLLEGE BASEBALL! Don't be like Bama football fans and think we can keep it at a level of dominance like Bama football was in the 70's & 80's. Bama may not ever win a national title again. It is not because they aren't running the wishbone or a 2 tight end set. It is because the rest of the world has caught up. Bama will never be consistantly bad in football, but they will experience bad year time to time like Nebraska, Notre Dame, & Tennessee.
MSU baseball isn't going to win national titles if we start bunting more. We aren't going to be in championship games in regional play every year either. We are going to compete, and we are going to win consistantly. We are no longer the only pony in the race, but we are the most tradition rich baseball team in the SEC. So firing Tubby at UK would be stupid. Firing Shula at Bama cause he can't beat Auburn would be stupid, and firing Polk because he isn't bunting or hosting regionals every year is STUPID! We are a great program. Good programs would kill to be us. WE ARE MSU BASEBALL & IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN DUDY NOBLE FIELD @ POLK-DEMMENT STADIUM! The reason is because of Dudy (who started it), Coach Paul Mc (who took us to our first CWS), & Ron Polk (who spoiled us)! THERE IS NO ONE BETTER & THIS IS MISSISSIPPI STATE BASEBALL!



Message Board Fodder #25




We have the best facilities in the SEC, yet I go and read Gene's page and they are still kissing RP's ass. We have the best baseball tradition from a fan standpoint, yet our fan's don't demand success in a sport that we have every opportunity to be successful in. I can understand sucking in football considering what we are up against in the SEC. I can understand sucking in basketball given our resources, yet we have been overachieving the past several years. We are underachieving in the one sport, where we have the resources to dominate. Some days I wish I wasn't born a STATE fan. It is absolutely miserable.




Reader Comment #8 April 22, 2006



If you are going to let Polk lovers post messages here, what's the point? MSU or LSU baseball isn't the same level as UK Basketball? Give me a break. That "reader comment" contradicts itself. As for Pat McMahon, he took MSU to the CWS and two super regionals. Polk hasn't done that since his return. Pat played for the CWS title last year. You tell me who is better.



Message Board Fodder #26




Detail it out for me.
Our coach is an excuse factory and it's trickled down to the players. And we still have people that honestly think this person is bigger than the program and has the God-given right to run it into the ground.
I believe that any confidence to be had in this man or this program is unfounded. We've gotten progressively more disappointing each season that the man has been back.




April 28, 2006 - The Hattiesburg PD almost solved the problem for us this week!
Lots of reader mail this week, an interview request with The Reflector, and even the most faithful Polk Lovers are now questioning him on the message boards. Lets get to work.
After two shameful losses to Southern Mississippi and Ron Polk arguing to the point that police were needed to get him off of the field against Southern Mississippi, the Bulldogs head to South Carolina.




Reader Mail this week includes:



Reader Comment #9




Hi there, I'm a reader. I've recently started a blog of my own, at empiresfall.blogspot.com, and I wonder if you'd consider adding a link to me. I'll put up a reciprocal link. You're doing a great job, by the way. Keep up the good work.



Reader Comment #10




Talk to any current or former player and ask them if they believe Ron Polk should be fired or if he is still one of the best coaches in the country. My guess is that most of the people who want him fired are a bunch of non-athlete wannabes (current and former drunken, fraternity losers) who have never been good at any sport but think they know everything about all sports. Polk is without question THE reason MSU baseball rose to prominence in the first place and he continues to put together teams that are in the running for championships almost on a year-in year-out basis. MSU is still unquestionably one of the top programs in the country. The difference between now and 10 or 15 years ago is that EVERY Southeastern Conference program has gotten better and the league is now the most competitive it has ever been. If you don't believe it just look at LSU and Florida this year. As far as I know Coach Polk never came up to bat during any of the bases loaded situations MSU has had (and failed on) this year, so to blame all of the losses on him is not only delusional and absurd, but it also shows a complete lack of understanding of the game. But, I guess I should expect no less from the best and brightest that frat row has to offer.



Reader Comment #11



Man do I feel liberated....
for years I have been the lone voice of polk discontent..I have been begging for him to leave for so long..the worst Aprils fools joke ever plaid on us -was when he quit --and then took the job back-in the same season.
I have written polka on many occasions asking him to stop complaining and making excuses about why he can not win --the first was in 1984--of all years ..
he always writes me back and gives me more excuses and the best part --he told me to sell my seats in the stadium I help build--not him..
for all of you young polk lovers-we had a great coach with so much class --and he built the program--and polk would never recognize him -coach Paul Gregory--he was real class and a real winner..
our program could be second to none again someday--but that day will be about 5 years after polk is gone--it will take that much time to build from this mess..
I bet the people at Georgia are still laughing at us for taking him back.. remember he has only one 4 --yes 4 sec baseball championships--count them only 4 and 1 with 4 future major league all stars on the team..yes only 4 but who is counting the last time a team had this many super stars was us in 1970 -- 4 national championships so to you polk lovers --best of luck to you and your long standing losers bracket..
and to all of my new found friends let keep up the fight --we do not have to suffer like this --there is no reason or excuses..



Reader Comment #12



Sorry but this is complete bull. Emm State has no national championships in baseball. Kentucky has multiple. USC, Texas, Fullerton, and Louisiana St. are more accurate comparisons than Emm State to Kentucky basketball. Templeton never even tought of interviewing deserving candidates at the time like Rick Jones or Paul Mainieri.



Reader Comment #13




I for one feel RP will retire after this season. After 5 years back in the saddle the horse has died under him. We have a veteran team playing like high school freshmen. There is no confidence, inspiration or expectation on this 2006 squad. I don't hate the man, I respect him and feel for him in the twilight of an overall excellent career. But its time to move on. No one in the Administration or the Athletic Department has the will to solve this problem so RP will have to do it himself. I believe he will come June. If not - we can build all the indoor facilities and fancy scoreboards in the world, but it won't teach our players how to hit, field or pitch. Nor will it make them swing at the first pitch or drive in runners from third. Throwing tantrums and making a fool of himself on the road doesn't help either. Unfortunately that is now what baseball is at Mississippi State. It used to be so much more.



Reader Comment #14



You people need to get a life!



Message Board Fodder #27



At this day and age, you cant always go for grand slam innings and try to rip balls out of the park to win a game. While Polk was here long while back, yes, we could do that. Who couldn't with Clark and Palmeiro, now we need to bring in a new, young coach.. We started out 18-0. Now we start to play some competition and then get hammered. Just a thought



Message board fodder #28



Why Cohen. He has only had one decent year in a non baseball school. Why not go after a proven coach such as the Notre Dame or Rice coaches. Would they come--I believe so. Would they stay at MSU with our tradition and fan support along with SEC ties--I believe they would. I don't have anything against Cohen and loved watching him play, I just think that IF MSU changes, then the state of our program would merit a proven coach with experience. Just my thoughts on this. Whose to say about Polk. No one will ever fire him b/c he is part of the U. and he is too stubborn to resign, so there won't be any changes any time soon.
I do wish he would drop this big inning deal and start getting our kids to put the ball in play and make things happen from the third base coaching box. Hit and run, stealing, squeezing and the ole no no word "Bunting" would possibly help out some. He still plays the long ball game and the "hitting is contagious" game. I have seen several games where moving runners with bunts would possibly have won the game, but it didn't happen. I'm like others on here, I thought his going to Ga. would rekindle a fire and althhough I had my doubts about his coming back (personally don't think a coach can "go back"), I supported him. Then, I felt that P. M. had left the cupboard dry for hitting and I was willing to give some time to get the Polk type player in here. It hasn't happened. The friend that went to the game with me Sat. and Sun. had read some statistical book and indicated that his record since his return is not much better than 500. Possibly he's not getting the job done. I'm not a Polk basher as I know full well what he has done for us. I was there when K. Kurtz came in and struck those batters out in the last inning to send us to Omaha for the first time with Polk. I saw the grand slam against FSU and the squeeze against NC that beat us. I love our baseball program and hate to see us drop down to a level of mediocrity. Yeah, RP forgot more than I'll ever know, but I have an opinion and thoughts.



Message Board Fodder #29



I have been a fan for a long time and I love Ron Polk but I can't remember a Polk team that has ever played like this. I know there have been teams with less talent but they
always executed well and were in most ball games. What do you think?



Message Board Fodder #30



I was thinking the same thing, this has got to be the worse team I've ever listened to. But I've only been following since 1976.



Message Board Fodder #31



I have been a fan for a long time too...... And I LOVE MSU baseball. That is where my loyalty lies.
I have loved many MSu coaches , Polk included , but there has come a time for some of them where it is in the best interest of MSU SPORTS for them to move along.
Jackie Sherrill thrilled my soul when he came to MSU and all of a sudden , Ole Miss had a hard time beating US!!!!!!
I STILL love Sherrill and am very thankfull for him coming here and giving us some great moments. I will NEVER forget beating the HE!L out of Spurrier , not once but twice. I will NEVER forget going to Atlanta and many more great moments SHerril gave us.............BUT There came a time for him to go.
Same for Polk , I will never forget Master's Grand Slam or the 85 team , those are great moments too........But , I believe Polk's time has now come. If he was going to revive this program it wouldn't take 5 years and he wouldn't be struggling with a veteran team.
Not anti-Polk , just Pro-MSU.



Message Board Fodder #32



I have been a fan for a long time too...... I agree. It hurts to watch Polk struggle like this. This man has done a lot for this school, but since he returned to MSU we have gone down a few notches. We had been to a CWS and two supers before he arrived and haven't sniffed either since. We are middle tier of the conference and have hosted 1 regional. I love Polk, but this is just unacceptable for MSU baseball. We can do so much more. There comes a time for all coaches to hang it up, and I believe Polk's time has come. Hopefully he will not stay to the point that fans come to dislike him like Jackie, that would be a sad day.



Message Board Fodder #33



JoePa changed his game For years Penn State ran the same old offense. Well, in the modern times it just doesn't work. Well, he finally realized that he couldn't win with what worked 20 years ago and adapted. His team started running a modern offense and he recruited players to fit that offense. Bam, BCS season.
That is what most of us are arguing - Polk needs to adjust to the times. The days of winning exclusively with homeruns are over. You have to play small ball, use your bullpen wisely, and do whatever it takes to score runs and keep runs from scoring. That is the reality of today's college baseball, particularly the SEC. But Polk doesn't want to change. It worked for him back then, why wouldn't it now - that is his outlook. If Polk doesn't change, he will never have anywhere near the success he once did. Just like if JoePa hadn't adjusted he wouldn't have had the great season he just had. The game has passed Polk's style by so he needs to discover a new style and win with that.



Message Board Fodder #34



As a another fellow Rankin Countian also We are stuck in complacency, complacency and some more complacency. And it will stay that way until the masses step up and unite and say enough is enough. This administration caters to about 5-6 heavy hitters and thats it, and as far as they are concerned, if you aren't in that group you don't matter. We need new vision, we need some excitement and someone to inject some life into a dead, dead program.



Message Board Fodder #35



Way beyond funny! They are using a sophomore pitcher that has not gone this far all year.
Jim Ellis said it's a "hitters ballpark".
They have 16 hits and we have 4, I believe.
They are using freshmen Saturday and Sunday!
This hell has got to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Message Board Fodder #36



Time for McN to hit the road w/Polk. Enema time in S'ville



Message Board Fodder #37



CLEAN HOUSE! McNickle blows as much as Polk and Raffo Just forfeit the rest of the season cuz this team is just a bunch of pussies.



Message Board Fodder #38



Please don't retire, Ron Polk!!!
You are a legend and deserve to get to turn this team around.
Signed,
Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, Arkansas, and Southern Miss.



April 30, 2006
State goes 1-4 on the week







Message Board Fodder #39



Ron wake up and smell the roses PLEASE step down before our baseball program becomes the laughing stock of the SEC like our football program became under Sherrill.



Message Board Fodder #40



So sad the administration is letting MSU athletics fall down the toilet like this. I have nothing but total respect for the players. They are literally the life of the program; however, upper level management is absolutely old.



Message Board Fodder #41



Why does he keep acting like playing at home is a good thing?? If we were any good, it wouldn't matter where we played.
Fact is, we almost had the weekend won on the "dreaded" road this weekend and found a way to lose it.



Message Board Fodder #42



I am resigning after this season...& will help... M-State find a new baseball coach in a national search. I had a good run in the past but the past 5 years of been lackluster by my and M-State's standards, so I want to help this fine university and baseball program find the best coach that we can afford.



Message Board Fodder #43



We're all a bunch of losers...When we'll we realize... that there is more to life than MSU Athletics. Yes, I'm an alum and have season tickets to fb, bsbl, and basketball. However, after the ridiculous price jack up in football I'll have to pay over $2,000 for my family of four. Is MSU football worth that? Hell no. Heck, that's a ski vacation or a week at the beach. So, i seriously doubt i'll renew season football ticket. I'll go to a couple of games and scalp 4 tix for $40.. and it still won't be worth it. I'll be playing a lot of golf this fall. As for baseball i've been to one game this year so that's how i feel about the program until Polk is gone. Think I'll stick with basketball though... good young talent, etc.



Message Board Fodder #44



guys next year will be a lot better, we are so young... oh wait that was the last 4 years. We are not going to see the post season this year.



Message Board Fodder #45



ATTENTION STATE BASEBALL COACHES!!!!! The states of California and Texas (I know you've seen them on a map before) have some very talented JUCO and high school baseball players. I know this would take some work and travel and I know none of these kids come to our summer camps but I bet if you tried you could improve our talent level. I know it may cost some roster spots from some of the Alabama kids we have and other hotbeds of talent we recruit every year but as an outside observer those schools are not producing Top 10 caliber talent. If the money is not in the budget for recruiting outside our areas lets find it somewhere and make it happen. I guess as a State fan I am tired of looking in the paper and seeing another high school pitcher from Alabama with 5 wins commit. With our facilities there is no excuse for not sniffing Omaha in the past 8 years and not winning the SEC in 17 years. Either get out and get players or find someone to come in that will.



Message Board Fodder #46



We blow a 3 run lead in the bottom of the 9th and you think He is the sole responsible person for hiring, firing and setting standards for MSU athletics. We all have goals in our jobs, make the budget, exceed the budget and we are fired and held accountable. When is the MSU family going to step up and hold him responsible for letting MSU athletics head straight for the toilet????



Message Board Fodder #47



MSU Baseball..... Never has so little been done with so much.



May 1, 2006
The fallout continues







Message Board Fodder #48




Let's face it, we have no longer have an edge in baseball... During the "Glory Days" of MSU baseball (Late 70's-early 90's) MSU was one of the premier programs in the country and certainly in the SEC. It was a glorious time to be a MSU baseball fan. I remember sitting on the wood bleachers watching Castoria hit bombs, watching Mark Gillespie roam center and watching Brantley completely dominate hitters. As a MSU sports fan, we couldn't brag about much in those days. The football and basketball teams were not good at all, with the exception of a few decent years. Atleast we could stick out our chest about our baseball program. We no longer have that luxury. In reality, no other SEC school really took an avid interest in baseball at that point, with the exception of LSU and their program was just beginning to take off. We definately had an edge. We had the facilities, the crowds, the players, the legacy, and certainly the reputation. Now days, with the scholarship limitations and with the edge other programs have in this regard (i.e. Georgia), combined with the fact that other schools are now taking an obvious interest in baseball and have upgraded their fields, facilities, etc, we simply have lost our edge. Yes, Dudy Noble is special with the Left Field "Lounge/Terrace", etc. This alone doesn't draw in the players like a football recruit visiting the "Big House" in Ann Arbor or a basketball recruit walking into Rupp arena for the first time. No doubt, our facilities rank among the best in the entire country. However, we are mired in mediocrity in our own league. Look at the records since 1998 our last CWS appearance. Look at the progression of baseball at other SEC Schools. Heck, we haven't won the regular season title since 1989. We now have an all-time losing record against three teams in our own league. I hate to say it, but we have lost our competitive edge. No longer are we the "Mecca" of SEC baseball. Yes we can still field competitive teams. I have no doubt in that. However, I do not think a return to our Glory Days is in site.





May 6, 2006
3-1 this week, and a lot of reader mail. The worst team in the SEC beat MSU in Starkville today.





Reader Comment #14



i think its time to get rid of the ad (lonnie tinkle or larry templeton) - he is the one who begged polk to come back in the first place - need a new ad and everything will improve in all sports in my humble opinion - polk is a great coach, but tinkle has kissed his ass so much that he is eating shit now because of it (i don't believe polk has any respect for him and it translates into our team's performances on the playing field in all sports)




Reader Comment #15



Another Choke Job...5 runs in the bottom of the 11th. I only blame the "Coach".




Reader Comment #16



This is awesome...I watched State win a SEC Championship without a home field. We played at redbird park in Columbus. We didn't have everything going for us but we still won. Now we have let this "coach" come into our family and he has been able to put us close to the bottom of the SEC. Since he came here I believed he IS one of the worst game day coaches I've ever seen. 30 games into the season and we have only 4 sac bunts. If it's not game day coaching, and we don't have the talent, it's still his fault. It's time for him to move on is an understatement. He needed to leave the year he wrote his book. He put all his energy towards other things instead of winning.

Thank you Coach Polk for NOTHING...we were winners before you came here and now we are not.

PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FIRE HIM NOW




Reader Comment #17



Polk-Dement stadium...TAKE HIS NAME OFF.




Reader Comment #18



Quote from Ron Polk "You people around here know nothing about baseball anyway"...he is probably right because if we did his ass would have been fired long ago.

Polk does know how to brainwash rednecks into loving him. "Thats Baseball"




Reader Comment #19



It disgust me no end to hear all of you unappreciative people on this website bash coach polk. There is a lot more about life than winning or losing a damn baseball game. How short all of your memories are for all the great things that this man has done for this school. Without coach polk, college baseball wouldn't be half the entertainment value that it is. What he teaches the his players carries on with them the rest of their lives off the field. He is the complete class act and a prince of a man. If you people that are writing this had a son half good enough to play for MSU you would have enjoyed the experience our son and family had while he played for coach polk. If you feel this strongly about him, why don't you find another school to pull for. We don't need your support.




Reader Comment #20



PLEASE DO NOT RETIRE ALL OF US AT OLE MISS WISH YOU THE BEST THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT SEASON




Reader Comment #21



If you're going to fire Ron Polk, then fire Bobby Cox, too. In the last ten
years, Coach Polk went to the World Series twice (MSU '97 and Georgia '01)
and had a team he recruited go at MSU in '98. In the same period of time,
Bobby Cox has only gone twice ('96 and '99). By your measurement, they both
stink, when in reality, they are still two of the best ever.

If you poll the 12 SEC head coaches, they will tell you that South Carolina
is the best team in the SEC this year, and maybe the best team in the
country. John Cohen and Kentucky beat them three times. Does this mean
South Carolina should fire their coach and hire Cohen? You say Ron Polk is
terrible, yet he beat South Carolina in their ballpark. Boy, South Carolina
really should dump their coach. The point is, the SEC is harder than ever.
Great teams lose games in SEC play (see Florida) and bad teams win (see Ole
Miss). MSU had about the 6th, 7th, or 8th most talented team at the SEC
tourney last year and won it all. That proves we can have one of the most
talented teams in the SEC this year and not win it all. If you don't
understand that, then your lack of intelligence is de-valuing my MSU
diploma. Ron Polk is still the King.

Please make all people who post on your site list their name, city they
live, and the years they attended MSU. As far as we know, these may be Ole
Miss people trying to stir up trouble. At least make sure these people
attended MSU.

Fireronpolk.com note – Cox does have one world series title to his name.
Marv Levy would be a better analogy.




Reader Comment #22



# 48 you got it on the head...
R P has turned the meaning of M S U to mean MEDIOCRE STATE UNIVERSITY.
DO WE HAVE TO PUT SIGNS IN THE OUT FIELD STATING THAT WE ARE THE FIRST LOSER......DUH..
"RUNNER UP RON''
DO WE HAVE TO ADVERTISE THAT WE ARE LOSERS--CAN WE AT LEAST TAKE DOWN THE '' PARTICIPANT ''SIGNS down .how stupid is that -so and so tourney participant.
that is as bush league as ole piss putting up the sec west champion football sign-- when they did not go to the sec game....du h
if we get down to it --
the problem starts at the top--
we are back to being everybody's homecoming date--laughing stock in baseball--who knows about men's and women's basketball?




Reader Comment #23



I have never seen so much evidence of spoiled weenies as I found on this site. You guys couldn't build a birdhouse, but you sure know how to tear one down.

[elitedawgs]

Message Board Fodder #49



Is this 2006 MSU baseball team full of pussies or what?



Quote:



"It's nice to get back home and not be traveling," right fielder Matt Richardson said, "and not get home at 3 in the morning all the time. Plus, school is almost over, which is definitely good."



WAAAHHHHH. You go to school and play a GAME for one semester. Cry me a ****ing river.




Message Board Fodder #50



Most softball teams have more power than our team.

Don't put softball teams down like that.




Message Board Fodder #51



Yes, Polk, those guys on the other team are black. They are allowed to play college baseball!! Who'd a thunk it!




Message Board Fodder #52



We're now kicking some ass... maybe we ought to give up playing in the SEC and move over to the SWAC where we can show them we know how to play baseball and make our coaches look like a geniuses.




Message Board Fodder #53



Mediocre Sports University....That is what MSU stands for. Thank you Ron Polk for furthering our pitiful losing tradition this year. Honestly, how can anyone be a MSU sports fan and not feel anything but despair.




Message Board Fodder #54



Mayhew State,we don't deserve to be called Mississippi State.We dont even have a bright spot to look forward to in sports anymore.This baseball team should be winning more than this. Polky needs to just move on.hope he don't pull a Jackie on us.




Message Board Fodder #55



YEA, LET THE LEGEND WITH A TEAM FULL OF SENIORS CONTINUE TO GET HIS ASS BEAT EVERY WEEKEND!!!!!! LET'S DON'T HOLD HIM ACCOUNTABLE OR ANYTHING!! HE'S SUCH A NICE GUY!!!!!!!

PLEASE RETIRE POLK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Message Board Fodder #56



This young man appears to be trying his best... to get a job on the staff of Dawg's Bite. The Head Shepherd himself could not have written a better piece nausiating bullshit. Once this makes it over to Swan Lake, the Sheep will feed on this fodder for months to come....




Message Board Fodder #57



Question for R.J. Morgan ...



Let me get this straight, Mr. Morgan. Did you really type this statement?
Quote:



Polk, the man responsible for 48 percent of the Mississippi State's all-time wins, is suddenly the man responsible for losing them.




Mr. Morgan, please explain how Cholk is "responsible" for wins, but CANNOT BE, AND MUST NEVER BE, HELD RESPONSIBLE for all of these dismal losses.

Mr. Morgan, someone with less self-control would tell you to go to hell.




Message Board Fodder #58



Rarely do I criticize our coaching decisions and never... will I criticize individual players out there giving their dead level best. However, today it was inexcusable to leave AW in as long as we did. We had our entire staff available except for TWO! We should have been playing this game like a double elimination tourney having already lost one. Instead we play like we are trying to save arms. I have always said I am glad my son was never a pitcher for MSU. Too many times I have seen kids left on the mound when they are absolutely getting killed. It makes completely, totally, zero sense. Did it cost us the game? Who knows, but it certainly was demoralizing as far as our chances to get back into the game. And what did it do for AW? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He did the best he could do at the time. However, our coaching effort was.....( I will let others fill in the blank).I am totally disgusted that our coaches would not take better care of one of our players, and the best thing I can do right now is to stop typing.




Message Board Fodder #59



I'll reply with Polk's famous quote...

"There's nothing worse than high expectations."

Apparently we all need to lower our standards, and then our frustrations will be less severe.




Message Board Fodder #60



Yep....thanks coach.

Come on LT, pull the plug at the end of the season.




Message Board Fodder #61



Re: Incredible..Yet......... We still have a lot of fans who thinks this guy is a coaching genius , a legend if you will.

I would love to hear one of them defend this bullshit........BUT , that will never happen. The Polk lovers will just say we won the series , the slump is over , the SEC is tough............yada yada yada......

There is absolutely NO reason to let a starter get bombed like this after having 2 complete games and a fully rested bullpen.




Message Board Fodder #62



Re: Incredible..Yet......... You're right Ace. They don't realize Polk WAS a coaching legend. Calling someone who couldn't win a NC with Thunder and Lightning a coaching genious is probably a stretch.

At any rate, his best days are over. He has no fire and seemingly doesn't care whether we win or lose.




Message Board Fodder #63



Re: Incredible..Yet.........

The truth of the matter is that Polk HAS NEVER been a good coach. He ONCE was a good recruiter and just won a lot of games simply by having more talent than most of the teams he played against. Whenever he has faced equall or better talent he has lost and done so consistantly.

As far as coaching ability , Polk couldn't coach Pac-Man nor manage a hotdog stand.

Nowhere in the USA is anyone paid more to do less then Ron polk is at MSU. He gets a 6 figure salary for results that most janitors could accomplish.

The Polk lovers say "well the sec is tough" , well then we should be tough BY GOD...........if the sec is tough , then why are we getting our ass kicked by USM?

Oh well , it doesn't matter. Polk will continue to burn down our baseball program as long as he wants to , because that is the way we do things at MSU. ..........Unless enough of us who are tired of this bullshit stand up and say we are through giving money to MSU untill Polk is held accountable.

The MSU baseball program ISN'T dead , it just needs a new leader. I have my opinion but I won't mention his name (Cohen) until the position is open.




Message Board Fodder #63



Re: You nailed it Ace. Polk has never been a good manager.

That is the reason for his career falling off the cliff.

He has ALWAYS won by having more talent. He even made good use of the extra Schollies while he was at UGA , you know , the ones he bitches about now that they aren't available to him.

Polk has been exposed as a poor coach , many just chooses to ignore it.

I just wonder how damn bad it will have to get or how long we will continue to finish in the lower half of the sec before enough MSU fans will be ready to see new leadership in our baseball program.

It is WAY past time for Polk to just take the bundle of money that he has made and let this program move forward.

The polk lovers say what a "good man" he is............I am waiting to give my opinion on that. If he is a "good man" then he should step aside and allow the program to move forward.

If he continues to be our coach next year , then i Doubt how good of a man he is. There is no need for him to continue to milk our program just to feed his finacial greed and stroke his ego. A man of character would resign and move on....................Will polk????????




Message Board Fodder #64



You nailed it Ace. Polk has never been a good manager.

With the talent advantage we had back in the 80s, we should have gone to at least 7 CWS from 1979-1990 instead of the 4 we went to. And to only make it once with Palmeiro, Clark, and Brantley for three years (and Thigpen for two of those), as well as several other good supporting players is almost inexcusable, as is failing to win it all in 1985.

If you give Polk and any number of coaches equal talent, Polk will lose 2/3 of the time.




May 14, 2006
0-2 this week. John Cohen and Kentucky are dominating Ron Polk and Mississippi State





Reader Comment #24




We are now the joke of SEC baseball...I have been following it since the early 60's...I really makes me ill to have to endure season after season of 500 ball in the SEC. Winning outside of the SEC means nothing! Polk has just about taken us to the very bottom. Year after year we are not sure if we are even going to make it to the SEC tourney. What happened to going in as the Western Division leader or the regular season champs. The people at the Hoover Met even get scared we wont make it. They know we have the biggest following of any school.

If we keep him much longer the fans will stop coming to see us play. Nobody likes supporting a loser.

It's Time For A Change...Please




Reader Comment #25




Well end of the season again and hoping just to make the SEC tourney. What a joke. Polk has got to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!




Reader Comment #26




OMG it sunday may14 and we are, as of right now, out of the SEC tourney. 3 games to play and we have to hope for help from other teams...THIS SUCKS>>>Come on State fans lets join together and lets stop this bullshit. Stop taking up for Polk he is done...stick a fork in him...Its time for a change.

NO MORE '"THATS BASEBALL"




Reader Comment #27



I went to state and have supported them from the early 60's We had a coach then that won back then and had no excuses when he lost. When he reached a point he knew he wasnt able to compete in the conference he retired.

I see no reason to put my name for you I have sent letters to LT and RP stating my opinions.

Bobby Cox wins his division...Ron Polk dosent. If Bobby Cox was to end up and the bottom of his division every year his ass would be fired.

The new talent out there wants to play for a winner. We dont have one anymore.

They should find Polk crying in the dugout he has overstayed his welcome again.




Message Board Fodder #65




Kentucky has bypassed us Watch LSU pass us again when they hire Cohen away from Kentucky. If that happens, look for LSU to win more National Championships. But hey, we have a coach who's forgotten more baseball than any other coach in baseball history.




Message Board Fodder #66




Someone please give me 3 good reasons why.. Ron Polk should continue to coach MSU baseball?

2 stipulations however:

1) You can not reply "If you think you can do better, then why don't you apply" (no I can't do better, but I know there's others that can)

or

2) anything having to do with Ron Polk in the 20th century.

Disclaimer: I like Ron - he's done wonderful things for MSU - but let's get real here - things aren't getting better. We are seeing the same pattern here as we did with Jackie. Everybody is defending current peformance on past acheivements. And we've seen where that leads us.....a GIANT HOLE.




Message Board Fodder #67




For the record, I'd LOVE to give it a go if LT hired me to coach this team. I'd:

-Teach them how to bunt.
-Recruit somewhere besides our baseball camps.
-Let them swing at 1st pitches, 2-0 and 3-1 counts, and make them do 20 pushups every time they look at a called strike 3.
-I'd recruit speed, speed, speed. I'd recruit defense. I'd recruit pitchers who kept the ball in the strike zone and made the batters put the ball into play, so that speed and defense would make plays. In other words, I'd recruit to suit our ballpark, which is one of the best pitchers' parks in the NCAA.

The worst thing that could happen is that I'd get fired after a few years, but I'd be a few hundred thousand dollars richer.




Message Board Fodder #68




State of MSU Baseball

Facts: We are now going to be left out of the SEC Tourney for 2 of the last 3 years and was almost 3 years in a row of no SEC Tourney. I think we made it by a half game last year. We degress each year and the talent level on this team is very subpar for SEC standards. I don't want to hear the 11.7 b/c Ole Miss and USM both do fine with 11.7. Changes need to be made and a new coach needs to be hired. MSU will be worse next year and we will hear the excuse of "We're Young" again. It is time we get a coach who can motivate, play fundamental baseball (BUNT), and RECRUIT!!! Until we make that hire, this baseball program will fall as far as the football team did. Unexcuseable!!!




Message Board Fodder #69




I also appreciate what Polk has done for the program.. but I feel it is time for him to step down. If he cares at all about MSU, he should notice this. We are obviously going down.. WITH the top facilities, top fans and a lot of tradition.




Message Board Fodder #70



Report from a MSU fan at the UK game last night

Buddy was at the game said in his 15 yrs of watching MSU baseball never had he seen a team of ours take the field and play like they have a no care attitude.

Even before the game started just didn't look like half the guys wanted to be there.This has to be the worst group of upperclassmen we have ever had as far as leadership.




Message Board Fodder #71




Cohen: in 7 yrs as HC, 3 Conf Championships!

As HC at Northwestern St from 1998 to 2001, he won the Southland championship in 1998 and 2001 before going to Fla as an ass't to Coach Mac. Now he is on track to win the toughest conference in America with avg talent at a school with no tradition, mediocre facilities, and no fan interest. He is obviously a great coach! I just hope we can get him before somebody else does.

Coach Polk, please think about what is best for MSU Baseball. Cohen can put some spunk back in Diamond Dawg Baseball!




Message Board Fodder #73




Polk should consult Jackie

because Jackie knew when to get out....hopefully Coach Polk will to because it is totally his call.....he has built our program and tradition, now it's time to hand it over to someone else like John Cohen.




Message Board Fodder #74



Most disconcerting thing about MSU baseball

The most disturbing thing about the situation is on full display this weekend. Kentucky, a school that has never given a rat's ass about baseball, is having a Top 10 season. State, a school that has pumped huge amounts money into baseball and has a fan base that supports its team through everything, has not produced a decent regular season in years. The athletic department needs to wake up and do something before Dudy Noble starts looking like Scott Field: lots and lots of empty seats. Anyone who thinks there isn't a problem needs to wake and smell what their shovelin'.




Message Board Fodder #75



Very little SEC talent.......

is on this MSU team. I continue to say it is lack of recruiting and not so much coaching. Polk knows the game but he has gotten really lazy in recruiting top talent. The younger coaches are kicking his tail such as Bianco, Cohen, Corbin, etc. It is time for a change if this team doesn't want to be last place in the SEC next year.




Message Board Fodder #76




Ready for a fresh start on several fronts

I hate to sound really negative here, and I really do appreciate the hard work that some of our seniors have provided, especially Butts and Berkery, but I am ready to weed the group of veterans we have and start fresh. They have been fairly disappointing in a number of ways. Jones and Hunter have always flashed potential but never quite lived up to it. As a group, including Corley in the discussion, this group has never been able to help this team get to the next level. Not sure if the group of underclassman or freshman will do any better, but I am ready to see what they can do. Especially the pitchers.

Also, I am tired of Polk's tirades to the umps and his moaning about the NCAA and his excuses after we get stomped in the ground. I'm sorry, but it is turning into Sherrill Part 2, and that is a nightmare that I do not want to relive. I bleed Maroon and White as much as the next guy, which is why I hurt so much to see this program wallow in mediocrity when we have great facilities and one of the most dedicated fan bases in college athletics. If anyone uses "red and blue" comments on me, they are liars and they can kiss my ass. The troubles our baseball team are experiencing this year are not new; they have going on for a long time now, the mediocrity and the underachieving. There has been on constant: Ron Polk or his influence. I have supported him for a long time, but a new time has come and new ideas are needs. I know he will not be leaving any time soon, but I only hope that he will move past his stubborness (which he won't) and realize the same thing.




Message Board Fodder #77




I can remember my dad saying 30 years ago

that we as state fans would always have baseball to be proud of. My dad was a wise man, but he didn't forsee this year coming I don't think or he would probally roll over in his grave. We need to be realistic here and admit to ourselves that this program has slid back to where it doesn't belong. I'm not going to blame anyone here but I'll go on record saying that there needs to be changes somewhere. We don't deserve a baseball program like the one on display with the support this fan base has given this program with attendance,financially, and history. This is just an observation, but to me these players don't understand what it means to wear the maroon and white baseball uniform and I don't understand that.




Message Board Fodder #78




In the six years before Polk arrived,

State went to the CWS and won two overall conference titles. Looking at the last five years, could the case be made that Polk would leave the program in worse shape than he found it.

The point being is that we played a pretty good brand of baseball before Polk and we will play that brand of baseball again. As wonderful person as Polk is and as much as he has done for the game, he is not bigger than the program and he has not earned the right to run the program into the ground. Could anyone with a straight face tell me that we would not have won more games over the last five years with Cohen or particularly Mainieri?




Message Board Fodder #79




2006 baseball = 2001 football

They can't play, execute, they have no heart, no soul.
We need a new coach to come in and crack the whip and clean house.



Message Board Fodder #80



Make it stop

Mommy, please make it stop. Cohen's bunch are RELENTLESS and are PASSIONATE about the game. Hmm, Novel approaches to the game of baseball. Have not read about that in the "book". Hmm.




Message Board Fodder #81



First of all, I wasn't for him coming back--you actually can never go back in coaching. Been there, done that, got a t-shirt. Many on this board support him. I understand that--he did his thing. That is the point--did his thing. Look at the stats since he has been back. Isn't he about even in the SEC? That is, he ain't done nothing outstanding. Folks, I think he is past his prime. Sure, he' s a legend, but even legends play out. All words tho, because LT controls the day and we can't do anything about it and he isn't going to. RP will have to decide to quit and I don't think his ego will let him. Ergo, he will go out a loser and past his prime as so many do. Even the Bear stayed a few years too long. Fire away!!!

[elitedawgs]

Message Board Fodder #82




At least half of MSU fans must be legally retarded...

How can a fan base be so ****ing moronic? We are not far displaced at all from what Jackie did to the football program and we are seeing the SAME EXACT thing in baseball. But yet, the majority of people just seem to think that Ron must have wiped Moses's ass.

Coaches must be accountable for their team's performance - end of story. Your team doesn't perform - hit the ****ing road.

Hell - McMahon is on the hot seat - Florida fans don't give two shits about even last years performance

But then again, they know what its like to win National Championships.




Message Board Fodder #83



How can you blame Polk?

These poor kids are tired! They've played 51 games already. This is their 5th SEC road series. These poor boys have to play THREE games every weekend and sometimes even 2 during the week! They even had to suffer thru a doubleheader earlier in the season at a state of the art minor league park in front of 6,000 fans. Poor Matt Richardson sometimes doesn't get to bed till 3am and you know how difficult it is for college kids to stay up late! When you have a team comprised of 5th year seniors, they've played a lot of ball so they are just exhausted. We just need this season to end so these poor, poor kids can get some much needed rest.




Message Board Fodder #84




Could we get up a petition asking Polk to resign?????



Do you think that he would get the picture that most MSU fans would like to se him go away if he was handed one that showed him how far he has fallen in the eyes of most MSu fans?

This has become a severe disaster and it isn't going to get better until he leaves.

Even better..........

How about we all tell Polk HERE that we want him to quit.

I know he doesn't understand the internet and all this new fangled stuff , but surely one of his players will read it here and tell him how bad we want him to leave.

If he REALLY cares about MSu baseball as much as his clones say , surely he can realize that he is now actually hurting the thing he loves.

He should read this and realize that it is time for him to hand over the program to a better coach. That would be the act of someone who does love MSU baseball.

Aw hell , it isn't going to happen. I'm just kidding myself.

Polk isn't going to give back a 6 figure salary when he isn't even expected to win. What could be better???? Get paid , give no effort , lose and nobody can even question why.

Polk is a genius , not at baseball , at getting paid for doing nothing.





Message Board Fodder #85



I Hope Ole Miss Embarasses & Sweeps Us Next Weekend

Because that is what it's going to take to get our fan base to wake up and realize that it's time for a change.

GET OUT OF TOWN POLK!! WE DIDN'T WANT YOU 5 YEARS AGO AND WE DON'T WANT YOU NOW!!!!!!!!





May 17, 2006
1-0 this week. John Cohen and Kentucky dominated Ron Polk and Mississippi State







Message Board Fodder #86



I say we give that delirous mother ****er a NC Title trophy and retire his senile ass.

If he thinks this isn't a bad season , he won't know the ****ing difference.

He has become the Bear Bryant of baseball without the championships. Does he look down towards the bullpen and yell for Thigpen to start loosening up?????

BAd season my ass!! We are having a bad ****ing DECADE!!!!

ANYONE , I MEAN ANYONE WHO STILL WANTS this clueless jackass to still be our coach has to have a single digit IQ.




Message Board Fodder #87



Why is so hard for some of you to put the blame where it belongs? We have been bad and there is nothing you can say to change that. We don't recruit MS and we get whipped by the other MS schools. Whose fault is that. Whose fault is it that don't swing at 1st pitch fastballs, or don't bunt or steal bases. Whose fault is it that we play station to station with guys who clearly can't play this way. Is it pitchers fault that our coach won't pull him when he clearly doesn't have it? Whose faults is it that we have been bad since the return of RP? Think about that. The only consistency in the last 5 years is RP and losing. The players change but the results remain the same. Now whose fault is that?




Reader Comment #28




they will not win another game after tuesday night.





May 18, 2006
1-0 this week. Ole Miss comes to Starkville





Message Board Fodder #88



HEY GENE I KNOW I DONT MATTER BUT OVERTHEHILLGANG JUST COST YOU 9.95 AMONTH.WHY WON'T YOU LET PEOPLE SPEAK THE TRUTH HERE

NOTE: That’s why this site is here, so you can speak the truth




Message Board Fodder #89



Look, the story with Coach Polk is one that has been

timelessly repeated in college athletics. Guy comes in and is great coach, builds up a good program. People catch up the program. The great coach refuses to either step down or CHANGE with the times to stay ahread This is usually based upon pride. I think the ancient Greeks called it hubris. That is, the Coach built up the program and did it HIS way.

Coach Polk has a LOSING SEC record since he has been back these five years.

What more needs to be said. It hasn't worked doing it HIS way. He has too much pride to change.

So, we are stuck.

I am sorry that it has come to this, but none of us created this situation. Coach Polk did.


He needs to retire gracefully.

He simply refused to change his ways during this whole process. He has no one to blame but himself.




Message Board Fodder #90



Note: Very Long post---I watched many Paul Gregory baseball teams and they were
consistently very successful. Gregory retired from coaching and Bragan was hired. The program, in one year, hit a tumultous situation. Bragan did not get along with the players and there was a revolt. He lasted that one year and miraculously (?) left to take a job elsewhere. Polk was hired and had a so so year. He remarked after the last game that, "I am going to Florida to get me some good ballplayers." He recruited the Florida Jucos very hard and come up with some ballplayers that began his roll toward greatness which culminated in our beating Murray State in the regional finals for our first WS trip under him. K. Kurtz came in to put out the fire in the 9th. He continued to draw heavily on jucos in Flor. for years and then mixed them with the great highschoolers that culminated in the 1985 ? group. At that time, he remarked to a friend of mine that he was going to stop using the jucos and go with highschoolers and that it might take some time to rebuild with them. He was, however, able to pick up some of those high schoolers with enough talent to carry us for a few years. One of his last classes was rated 2nd in the nation and those were the players that MacMahon used to get us to the regionals. Polk indicated to this friend that recruiting jucos was just too hard on him. Some would never get here while others would sign after a year. Nevertheless, I feel, that our decline came when he got away from a good mixture of Jucos, esp. from Florida. Bertman came in and started doing the same thing. In fact, he hit jucos very hard for a long time. Juco baseball in Florida is stronger than here in Miss. So, in essence, baseball was strong b/f Polk. I was usually that Gregory would win the west and then Swayze would win the west. The three game playoff would usually be against Florida annually, and we held our own. We did not have that much success at Gastonia during that time, however. Long post, but I hope historically correct and supports our baseball foundation.
BTW, OM baseball went down when Swayze retired and they brought back one of their own in Jake and then a host of others who did very little for their program. See a parallel here in what some are suggesting?




Message Board Fodder #91




In reference to the story on Polk today...



I ask this: how are these things "breaks"?
Quote:



There is a feeling among the Bulldogs that they haven't gotten the breaks. A popup-turned-three-run home run on Sunday against South Carolina, costly errors at Kentucky, the improbable vanishing of a six-run lead in the ninth inning against Louisiana Tech, and so on.




When did giving up a three run homer become a bad break? When did fielding errors become breaks? When did giving up a boatload in the ninth become a break?

The way I understand breaks, they are things like a grounder hitting the lip of the infield and getting past you for a hit, or putting a runner at first in motion and the batter scorching a line drive right at someone resulting in a double play, or jacking one down the line only to have the wind blow it foul.

Poor execution or sub-par performance does not equal breaks in my book.




Message Board Fodder #92




My favorite line



Quote:



"Everyone has a site," Polk said, "like (Florida State football coach) Bobby Bowden and (Penn State football coach) Joe Paterno. Tell those people to get a life."




Yea Polk, but those two also have something called a National Title. When you have that kind of stroke then you can talk, otherwise shutup cause you sure aren't putting up.





Reader Comment #29



Get Polk to tell the truth about how he told Brad Jones, Jeff Butts, Brad Corley, and Joseph Hunter when they arrived on campus that since they weren't his recruits, for them to go home. He's never admitted that, although everybody knows it. Isn't it quite obvious when the rest of the national teams, which were ranked right with the Dogs when they were number one, are still ranked there and our team has turned to this. This is more than injuries and more than bad luck, this is poor, poor coaching. Raffo is becoming like the old Ole Miss coaches who weren't any good but were allowed to hang around because of their star power as players. If MSU is ever going to get back to where they were, a new coach and staff are essential. The tirade in the first USM game this year by Polk capped off this season for him. It took several painful, painful years for Jackie to finally retire....do we really want that in baseball too! I mean, four more years of rebuilding. I guarantee you the trailers and bleachers will be plenty empty.





Reader Comment #30



The best baseball coach we ever had was Paul Gregory. I know that because I was there. Some of the comments on this blog reflect the statements of young people probably born after Paul Gregory retired. He was a fine and humble gentleman and truly great coach. I have never been too excited about any of our athletics because sure as I got excited, disappointment was not far behind. I hope you good people don't get too excited about all this, because disappointment is as true to us as the New Orleans Saints is to Louisiana. Hell, I didn't even know they named something after Ron Polk. Paul Gregory should have been considered way ahead of Coach Polk for putting a name on a monument or stadium or something. I hope somebody has named something for Coach Gregory by now. Anyway, I still feel our academics beats the hell out of Ole Miss or anybody else in the state or the SEC, and we can all be proud of that. How many more damn Ole Miss lawyers do we need anyway? I'm like the guy who asked if all the people posting on this site are really MSU fans or just Ole Miss people looking for some fun or to start trouble.




Reader Comment #31



He's got to go. Stumble, bumble, trip, and fall - poor coaching, no enthusiasm, no small game. Don't forget the AD - He's the one responsible for this mess!




Reader Comment #32




YOU PEOPLE WHO START THIS CRAP ABOUT POLK ON THE INTERNET ARE THE MOST
STUPID AND DUMBEST PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI!

I KNOW THE OLE MISS PEOPLE ARE LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF! ... AND I AM
SURE LSU AND OTHERS ARE HAVING A GREAT TIME WITH THIS ALSO.

LET ME ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS:

1. How many of you attended MSU? If you did, it looks like you could
have learned better words than what you are using on the internet. Any
person could use the vulgar wording you are spewing out.

2. How many of the emails do you think are coming from Ole Miss fans? I
am sure they are burning up the internet to help downgrade our baseball
program.

3. How many of you fully support the Bulldog Club? If you want improved
and better facilities, coaches, etc., put up some money!

4. Have you contacted Larry Templeton or the Bulldog Club to air your
grievances without airing them in the public for everyone to read?

5. Who has done more to promote MSU and SEC baseball than Ron Polk?
Maybe that is part of the problem ... We have more parity in the SEC now
than ever before!

LIKE MANY OF YOU, MY BLOOD IS MAROON AND WHITE ... AND IT HAS BEEN THAT
WAY FOR OVER 50 YEARS! YES, I HAVE SEEN WORST YEARS IN THE PAST, BUT I
TRY NOT TO COMPLAIN IN THE PUBLIC AND GIVE OUR ENEMIES AMMUNITION TO USE
AGAINST US.

GET THIS STUFF OFF THE INTERNET, AND IF YOU HAVE COMPLAINTS, WRITE A
LETTER OR SEND A CONFIDENTIAL EMAIL TO THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AT THE
UNIVERSITY!





May 20, 2006
2-1 this week. Ole Miss and State are tied 1-1 in Starkville





Message Board Fodder #93




Ron Polk, you're living a charmed life. I guess maybe.......

.....you're going to get the help you need in the final weekend yet again. You were 1 out away in a game down in Florida from being eliminated from post-season competition, and then the gods gave you a reprieve once again.

So, go ahead and win tomorrow(I hope we do), get the help from our former no-good(according to many of our fans) coach Pat McMahon(I hope we don't), and sneak into the back door of the SEC tourney yet again. Heck, even get hot for a weekend and win it again while you're at it. That'd be good for me, you, and everyone else who's a Bulldog, but it would especially be good for you. It'll probably be good enough in many people's eyes to warrant you another infinity contract extension.

Unfortunately, if what I said in the previous paragraph happens, it still won't change the fact that your team has severely under-performed since your return. It won't change that we're in the bottom third of the league every year now. It won't change the fact that Dudy Noble is silent every year during NCAA regional competition. It also won't change the fact that this program is desperate for new direction and new life.

There, I said it. Attack and ridicule me all you want for being a "bad fan," "fairweather fan," or whatever. I don't give a rat's patootie, and you know it. I have to be at least one of the few people who stand up against the apathy that's settled into MSU athletics, so I'll stand firm on this ground regardless of the criticism.

You'll probably wonder why I have to be "so negative" after we just won a convincing victory over our in-state rival. Well, it's not because I "want" us to lose, in case you have a notion to claim such a preposterous idea. The players deserve it. God bless 'em for not quitting, and getting out there to beat the snot out of the Rebels. Still, as I think I've already made clear, sneaking into the SEC/NCAA Tourneys IMO will probably only pull our program deeper into a state of mediocrity by the simple fact that at least 60% of our fan base will accept it as being "good enough." IMO it's a disease, and we usually relapse this time every year once the team starts playing better with their backs against the wall. They did it two years ago, but didn't get the help they needed to sneak in. Last year they got the help. This year, well, we'll see what happens down in Florida tomorrow, but I'm betting on lady luck giving 'ol Ronnie a reprieve at least one more time.

Man, I must be drinking some heavy stuff to have said what I just said. Excuse me while I read the label......




Message Board Fodder #94




Bottom line,the buck stops at the HC's desk.

Winning and/or losing rests in the lap of the HC,albeit McMahon,Laval,or Polk...



Message Board Fodder #95



The all-too-frequent problem this time of year is that our goal becomes fighting for a spot in the SEC Tournament. When we fight and scrap the last weekend or two and fight our way into the tournament, all too many fans suddenly think we've done something great and think the season is something of a success. Perhaps we have, but it doesn't change the fact that we shouldn't have ever been in the position to have to win on the last weekend (and need others to lose) to qualify for the tournament, which, by the way, includes all but the bottom third of the league. It's sad our goal becomes fighting to stay out of the bottom third. It should be to be in the top third, fighting to be at the top, and we should expect and demand that.




Message Board Fodder #96



First , it is not just this year. We have averaged finishing out of the top 8 in the SEC for the last 5 years. This year , we were picked to win the west and here we are again struggling and hoping to get in the SECT.

I don't buy into the "just not meant to be" argument either. We have lost enough games on poor coaching decisions to already have been in the SECT.

How does ANY coach get 2 complete games and have a fullly rested pen , sit and watch his Sunday starter give up 8 runs before pulling him??

I could give more examples , but I don't want to distract from that question becasue I have asked it before and have not had one good answer.

Just one game you say??? Well right now it is the difference in us controlling our own destiny and having to hope for LSU to lose.

Polk doesn't even belive he can win in this league........He has said so himself. He doesn't believe that MSU can compete in the SEC because other schools have a scholly advantage.

I am just tired of his complaining. If he doesn't think he can win here , then just quit and let us hire someone who does think he can win here. I BELIEVE THAT MSU BASEBALL CAN STILL WIN, even with the way things are now. Ole Miss doesn't have it any better than we do but they have a coach who believes that they CAN win and they ARE winning.

Someone said it in another post , Ole Miss fired Harrison and his last 3 years were better than polk's last 3 , and they had less tradition and fan support than MSU did.




Message Board Fodder #97



I see what you are saying too and yes we have had some bad luck this year that seemed unreal as you say.

But , I think we have lost some games by bad luck and some by bad coaching. The next question I have is which one of the 2 can you do something about? You can't change the bad luck , but you can change bad coaching.

Even WITH some bad breaks this team should have at least been above .500 in the SEC this year. Polk even said himself that there are no excuses this year , yet he has made many including blaming the fans for putting to much pressure on our players.

For him to be "run off" would truly be a shame. It would be much better if he just retired and let someone else run our program.




Message Board Fodder #98



THIS PERVASIVE ATTITUDE HURTS MSU ATHLETICS

I don't mean to offend you, but I believe MSU baseball in the last 5 years is the biggest underachieving program in all of college sports. If facilities and fan support have anything at all to do with recruiting, and if recruiting has anything to do with winning, then I believe MSU should win big in baseball. I know that I could be wrong, but I just can't see it. How can we say every year, "Oh well, it just wasn't meant to be." That is exactly the attitude I believe has infected the whole program.




Message Board Fodder #99



1. Who is responsible for developing hitters?

2. Who is responsible for finding us an SEC caliber SS so that our 3B doesn't have to play SS?

3. Who is responsible for developing pitchers like Josh Johnson who was named the number one prospect in his summer league two years ago?

4. Who is responsible for the too numerous to count boggled game management decisions?

To simply say "its not his fault, things didn't go our way" ignores just about everything. It ignores a 5 year body of work. It is his fault. And as was said, if he doesn't think he can win in this league, why should WE think he can win?




Message Board Fodder #100



He just thinks he`s being bashed now

if he comes back for another season it`s gonna be real ugly. If fact if he doesn`t resign after this season a lot of people who have respected him while not supporting him will lose that respect. He really needs to do the right thing.




Message Board Fodder #101



Post game: How did polk sound to you??????

Maybe it is just me but i thought polk sounded like he was almost begging for his job.

He mentioned the close losses , tough schedule and even made a point to say that almost every year in our last game we are playing for something.

It seemed to me like he was giving himself a review of his MSU coaching career , and being VERY kind to himself.

Him pointing out that we are still playing for something tomorrow jumps out at me. He says it like it is a good thing , almost bragging that we still are hanging on to a thread on the last day of the season.

I don't think it is a good thing at all. We shouldn't be just trying to get in the SECT on the last day of the year with this Veteran team , we should be fighting for the top of the SEC with as much experience as this team has.

Anyway , what is more important..........polk didn't sound like a coach ready to retire tonight , he sounded like one begging for the chance to come back next year.

That can be veiwed 2 ways..........Maybe he IS being forced out and is trying to cinvince somebody to give him another chance..............OR...........the decision is simply left up to him and he fully intends to return and is just trying to regain the support of the MANY who want him to leave.

I fear the worst.........Polk will be back next year and we will be just good enough to fold in the first round of the regionals (at some other teams field) and the masses will still want him to stay.

We are MSU , I know how things go for us.......the SOB will be back.







Reader Comment #33



It is refreshing to see that there is a web site where you can say
what you mean for free and don't get censored. Although I do not
believe with some of the things being posted, I do believe that there
needs to be a change at MSU.

A lot of post are complaining about history repeating itself with the
baseball team. (ie. the football team a few years ago) Polk leaving
will not change things, Templeton will still be there. Some post
claim that we are complacent, (probably the largest fact on this web
page) but Templetoin is complacent in his job. He has the best, and
most loyal outside of Carolina, fan base in the SEC. HE is singled
handedly running State athletics into the ground. He allowed Sherrill
to overstay his welcome by 2 years, he acted like an idiot in the mid-
season negotiation with Stansbury and we almost lost him (not a lot
of people know that).

In reality, Polk did us a great service, actually McMahon did.
McMahon is a terrible coach. Look at what he has done to Florida this
year!! His team this year is totally his recruits. Polk returned to
State after Pat's fourth year, after Pat took us to a CWS in 98 and
numerous post-season appearances on Polk's recruits. Florida was
suppose to finish 1 or 2 this season in the East.

But to my point, there really needs to be a change, and the change is
Templeton!! Let Polk be Athletic Director!! As much as he hates the
NCAA?? That would be great in my opinion.

I was at State on and off from 1988 to 1996 and I wish I was still
there!! I do hold Baseball and Football season tickets and wish I
lived closer so I could get Basketball tickets.




Reader Comment #34



Even though i hate msu i still think yall should fire ron polk cuz he is ****in yall up and runnin yalls program into the ground




Reader Comment #35



Aw And as an Ole Miss fan, I hope you are successful. Ron Polk has been the coach I love to hate, because of what he has done to Ole Miss. However I do admire what he did ins changing SEC baseball from a 20-game diversion to give really talented football and basketball players something to do during the off season into a real sport.
Quarterback Ken Stabler was the greatest SEC pitcher of the pre-Polk era. If you stood at bat and watched his beady glare you knew whence the nick name Snake. All-American quarterback Jake Gibbs the best third baseman, Ron Widby, one of the great punters from Tennessee was a killer. Archie Manning was the best SEC shortstop since Ole Miss basketball point guard Donnie Kessinger. Then there came was Polk. Bo Jackson is a rare anomaly in the Polk era; for the most part the two-sport off-season baseball star had vanished in the wake of Showalter, Brantley, Thigpen, et al. . And, there are no more Charlie Conerleys with .450 averages. Even Palmeiro and Clark never have .400 careers. And for those of you disappointed in the CWS output from the Bullies, forget ye not the injury to Gene Morgan, whose downfall led to a Texas CWS win. Ole Miss had no such excuse last year.
And Polk was instrumental is a formerly skinny dude from Miami getting the job at LSU, a Polk prot?g? at Georgia became the first CWS winner. And Polk disciples (Chhen wasn’t the first outstanding baseball coach at KY, Keith Madison) turned the corners at Kentucky and Auburn. If you had told me it was possible in the pre-SEC season that Florida and Auburn would be struggling for winning seasons period and LSU, Tennessee and MSU would be locked in a three-way struggle for the last place tournament berth, I’d of called you a fool. Polk’s book remains the textbook for college baseball. He hasn’t forgot what he wrote, and Polk is so damn organized he’d refer to it if he did. And the man hasn’t had an attack of the stupids. The surlies maybe.
I watched Thursday night’s Ole Miss game. Despite the glorius outcome the MSU gut is still there. The comeback against the Rebels’ best pitcher was impressive. That Bianco had to use some of the old Eddie Stanky penny-ante bunt-em to death in the 10th inning is telling. By the way, Bianco sounds just like Ron Polk on the radio. And for those state fans who don’t like Bianco, remember he is No. 1 on the list to replace Smoke.
MSU fire Polk: a dream to warm the cockles of a Rebel’s heart. I love this site.
I really do. Keep up the good work. Ole Miss needs you.



Reader Comment #36



how can a team start out 18-0 and be ranked #1 in the nation and still not make the conference tournament. Ole miss started out 12-6 while yall were ranked #1 and has a better record than Mississippi state and are going to the tournament. And for a team to win the conference last year and not to go this year is a damn disgrace. All I can say is HOTTY TODDY and see you next year……maybe



Reader Comment #37



I have to say that I disagree with your analyzation of Polk. The MSU staff who should be fired are Templeton and CROOM!

What are your thoughts on Croom?

http://geocities.com/firesylvestercroom/




May 25, 2006
2-2 last week. Ole Miss wins the series in Starkville, MSU does not go to the SEC
Tournament for the second time in the last three years. We do not expect or deserve
a bid for the NCAA Tournament



Message Board Fodder #102




Not that I am surprised , I believe that MOST MSU baseball fans want polk to leave. The question is why isn't he leaving???

Why is he still our coach? Because his players were too scared to tell him to leave??? They shouldn't be the ones answering that question anyway.

I think it is a disgrace that polk used that for an excuse to return. But then again making excuses IS what he does best.

And speaking of excuses......Didn't polk himself say before the season that there would be no excuses this year??? I read that somewhere. Then ALL he has done IS make excuses.

I am disappointed. I thought when he said "no excuses" that he meant he was going to accept accountability for this teams performance. I thought he had some integrity and would do the right thing if this year's team failed like most of his teams have since his return.

I guess I was wrong..........He is showing NO integrity and accepting NO responsibility for this years failure.

Quite frankly.........He lied to us.

And he will continue to keep on lying to us as long as we are willing to let him draw his big salary and no accountability comes with it.

Some love to say that we "owe" Polk and that we wouldn't be where we are without him , I say Polk has been paid VERY well for the years he has been our coach and is now just milking us for every cent he can get. He has quit on us and is just drawing a check. He doesn't even believe he can win anymore , yet he still thinks it is his right to get paid by MSU.

I can't think of anyone in the sportsworld that I think less of right now than Ron polk.......not even Barry Bonds or Kobe Bryant.......These guys look like team players compared to Polk.

Also , Templeton is not without blame. He has the power to do something about it and he just choses not to. If he really thinks that polk is what is best for MSU baseball , then he doesn't have the IQ to run a hotdog stand , much less be our AD.

Back to the original point though , polk has proven that he has no integrity or shame. He will just draw a check from MSU as long as he can.

I have an autographed baseball from POLK from 1986 , the next time I see him I am going to throw it at him.

[elitedawgs]

Message Board Fodder #103





From Rick Cleveland's blog (http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/rcleveland/rclevelandblog.html)

Dear Jan,

I hope you are happy that the other SEC schools are competing for the championship, while your school is sitting at home, again. I'm sure that Ron Polk would love that you credit him for other teams' success. In fact, I bet that all 8 teams playing at the Hoover Met this weekend are writing him a Thank You card. Especially Smoke Lavall, who would be the one sitting home in the #9 spot had a few "that's baseballs" gone MSU's way.

Please, everyone, ditch this mentality. Yes, Ron Polk has done great things. Yes, other teams are competing more in the SEC than in the past. Now it's time for MSU Baseball to move forward and reclaim the respect we once had.

MSU Baseball should be a solid program, not just a tradition.




Message Board Fodder #104




From Rick Cleveland's blog (http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/rcleveland/rclevelandblog.html)

From Bob, an ex-Bulldog player: "...There is no questioning what Ron has done for MSU, the SEC, and college baseball in general. However, now that we have lost our tremendous recruiting advantage, he is below average in the SEC if figures mean anything. He has never been a good game coach; if he was, we would have won at least 2 CWS (85 & 89). I can personally give you 5 games we lost this year (including the last one) from leaving the pitcher in too long. And bunt, you've got to be kidding! 14 sacrifices in 55 or 56 games. The Hope Scholarship excuse won't cut it either; we're getting spanked by in-state rivals under (I think) the same limits."




Message Board Fodder #105




From Rick Cleveland's blog (http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/rcleveland/rclevelandblog.html)

"Our attendance is down. Our record is poor. Our tradition is sinking fast. Yes, we did win the SEC Tournament last year, but you can't say it was because of Polk. Besides we barely made the tournament to begin with. Making the SEC Tournament should be automatic with State. However, since Polk's return, the trip to Hoover has become a pipe dream. Kinda like making sence of one of your columns."




Message Board Fodder #106




From Rick Cleveland's blog (http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/rcleveland/rclevelandblog.html)

MSU has fallen from the top tier of SEC (and, therefore national)baseball to no better than third in Mississippi. UM is clearly the dominant program in the state now, with no reversal seen in the near future. It's true Polk has earned the right to "fire himself" (which is his way of saying he's untouchable). It's not true that he has the right to decide when that time is. His five year record tells us that time is now.

Please go Ron, and take Templeton with you.




Message Board Fodder #107




From Rick Cleveland's blog (http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/rcleveland/rclevelandblog.html)

Every e-mail you post in favor of Ron Polk is filled with loving memories of the past. Every email you've posted criticizing him has been based on facts that have taken place during the last five years. If some one could legitimately show us something good that he has done in the last five years (besides pulling one SEC tourney run out his ass), the case for Ron Polk might be stronger.

1. A losing SEC record over five years.

2. Missing Hoover for the second time in three years.

3. Dropping from 1st in the nation to possibly not even making the post season.

The signs are there, and Ron Polk is not bigger than MSU.




Message Board Fodder #108



I hope our team, especially Polk listened to the Ole Miss game last night via Ole Miss Broadcast. If so, they were very polite, but made it a top priority to let their fans and anyone listening that they had become the MS Baseball Power. I can't tell you how many times they took jabs at us. They stated that they had made the championship last year to only be beat by Stat" a team they had beat the last 8 of 10. That they were back for the 4th time in 5 years under Bianco, a feat no other team in the sate had done. It just went on and on.

If they listened. It has got to light some fire under them!!!!




Message Board Fodder #109



The bottom line is if you "walk the walk" then you can "talk the talk". Lately, they have done well, so it is up to us to beat them on the field and shut them up. I still don't accept that Ole Miss has passed us in baseball, but if this trend continues, then it will be harder and harder to argue the point.

I have said before that I am not in favor of firing Coach Polk, but with the facilities, tradition, and fan support for this program, there is absolutely no reason to be sitting at home right now and hoping we squeak into the regionals. We should be competing for the SEC Championship every year and we should be hosting a Regional every year with a Super Regional fairly often. Anything less should not be acceptable.




Message Board Fodder #110



So we only signed 1 of the Gene'sPage...

All-State team. Mississippi signed 4 and USM signed 5. Polk said on the postgame show of the last baseball game that he/MSU was 9 of 9 on players they recruited and offered scholarships to. Is it safe to assume that we only recruited 1 player from Mississipp? I noticed that a lot of those players are pitchers...Interesting that we didn't recruit any of these players.




Message Board Fodder #111



Rick Cleveland is a problem..

...this guy really gets on my nerves.

He actually has power because he is an ardent defender of the status quo.

Pro-Polk people are clearly in a minority now, but they also have the loudest mouths. Coupled with those loud mouths is their own private fourth estate wonk, Rick Cleveland.

Cleveland thinks any Big 3 men's coach should be judged on a various array of stupid sentiments...win/loss record does not even enter into the equation.

After reading Cleveland's bullshit today, I can now understand why Rebel Nation hated the guy after he defended Cut.

Though, in all reality, Cut & Polk are apples and oranges: A case could actually be made for Cut. There is currently no case to be made for Polk.

I thought I would vent in lieu of e-mailing the prick.

No e-mail is going to get him (ie, Cleveland) to finally get off hiss ass and start doing his job.

Just like fireronpolk.com is not going to motivate Polk to do the right thing.

NOTE: WE WILL STILL KEEP TRYING !




Message Board Fodder #112




In the real world Cut was defendable. In the real world Polk is not defendable.

Hell, Polk is on the verge of passing Sherrill as far as long term suckage (if he hasn't already).

Look, I have no dog in the Cut hunt...ya'll canned him & Archie & Rick Cleveland raised a stink. Maybe they were right, maybe they were wrong.

Being a MSU fan, I found it all humorous; that was all I had invested in it.


But Ron Polk's mediocrity spans 1/2 a decade...not just one season like Cut.




Message Board Fodder #112



Ron Polk is not MSU baseball

We had successful baseball before him and after him. Yes, he accomplished some great things in his first stint here - nobody on this board will argue that. However, no one man is bigger than the program or the university. In the last 5 years we have been subpar. How do I know this - in the last 5 years: have a losing conference record, hosting only 1 regional, hosting or playing in zero super regionals, never crossing the gate of Rosenblatt Stadium, missing SECT 2 of 3 years, finishing above 7-10 one time in 5 years, being replaced as the best program in the state by Ole Miss and have lost 10 of 13 to them lately. That is how I know. If that isn't enough to move Polk beyond the stadium that bears his name, I don't know what is.

One quick question though - what the **** does his name being on the stadium matter? Why should that qualify him to remain our coach? His name is on the stadium because of what he did before he retired. This is his second stint - what happened the first stint is irrelevant. That is like if we hired Skip Bertman and he started sucking it up like Polk has these last 5 years. Would his legacy at LSU permit him to remain on when even journalists in the DJ recognize that he should be removed from his job? This case should be treated the same, as if he had coached before at another school, not this one. The last 5 years are what matter and they have been pitiful.
FIRE LT - He kept us in the black, but the man's got no sack. - ArlngtnDawg 5/16/06



Message Board Fodder #113




Just as ridiculous as the posts reminding us that Polk

is the all-time SEC leader in wins. That sounds great until you realize that Keith Madison and Roy Mewbourne are both in the top 4 on that list. Then you realize that any coach who has been aroung more than 25 years in the modern era (since about 1970) is going to be very high on that list simply because we play almost twice as many games per year as in the pre-modern era.




Message Board Fodder #114




Here are the facts

98-01 Mississippi State (4) 164-88 .651 63-52 4 NCAA, 2 SR, 1 CWS

This is Pat McMahon's tenure at MSU after the original Polk tenure came to a close. Notice that he has a winning SEC record and a .651 overall percentage. Even more importantly notice the 2 super regionals and 1 CWS, things Polk hasn't acheived in his current tenure, the one by which he should be judged. Now look also at this:

1998 Mississippi State 42-23 .646 14-15 4th-W 5-3
1999 Mississippi State 42-21 .667 15-14 6th-W 2-2
2000 Mississippi State 41-20 .672 17-10 2nd -W 3-3
2001 Mississippi State 39-24 .619 17-13 T2nd-W 3-2

This is to counter the argument that he did all with Polk's guys. His better conference records were his last two seasons, both which ended in the supers. Down years to some, but now they seem pretty darn great by our current standards.

Much of the accomplishments you posted are from Polk's first tenure, and he gets credit for that. But that doesn't put him above criticism for his current tenure, in which Polk is 69-77 in the SEC, below .500. In this tenure he has 3 NCAA appearances (only 1 host and #1 seed), 1 SECT title, 0 Super Regional appearances or hosts, 0 CWS appearances, 0 SEC Reg Season titles, losing SEC record 4 of 5 years, and his team missed the SECT 2 of the last 3 years.

When Ron Polk was not the head coach in 98-01 we did pretty darn well. We were 11 games above .500 in the SEC, hosted regionals, made 2 super regionals, made 1 CWS, didn't miss the SECT, and only had one losing SEC season (went to CWS that year). To sit there and say Ron Polk is MSU baseball is ridiculous. In any case, no coach earns to stay somewhere as long as they want. They have to produce and keep the program headed in the right direction, or at least afloat, or they should leave. Polk inherited a program that went to the supers 2 straight seasons and hasn't made one since.




Message Board Fodder #115



Nobody can dispute those facts. But here are some more...

In five years since returning...
69-77 in the SEC
1 regional host (which we lost, by the way)
1 failure to advance to NCAA tournament (and counting?)
2 failures to qualify for SEC tournament (you only have to be in the 33%-ile in the league to qualify)
0 super-regionals, not to mention 0 CWS





Message Board Fodder #116




Since RP's return, he is 9th out of 12th in SEC wins.

Let that fact sink in just a bit. How do you spin this? What conclusions can you draw from this?

Is this acceptable? Even from a Legend?

The buck really doesn't stop with RP. It stops with LT who is inculcating a culture of mediocrity in the MSU Athletic Department. And this is obviously being aided and abetted by the Cigar Boys.

For those who think that RP is doing the right thing by staying: tell me what in the world he is going to do any differently which will change the above stat.

The fact of the matter is that Ron Polk has not done the job Ron Polk is capable of doing.

It is all pretty dang sad. And by LT's refusal to handle this situation, he only condones mediocrity. He only splits the fan base and he allows Ron Polk to tarnish his legend. Sometimes people have to be told when to go.




Message Board Fodder #117



Yeah, but I am worried about the opinions of those people who have the best interest of MSU baseball at heart. Among these people, I am seeing no support for Coach Polk or Larry Templeton. As much as I am concerned about Coach Polk and the baseball program, I am befuddled at how Templeton still has a job. Looking at the successes of the athletic program over the last three years, it is maddening that no change has been made.

Let me ask this question. If Cohen coached State this year, would they have won more than 35 games this year? I think the answer is a resounding yes. If Polk coached Kentucky this year, would they have won 40 games and a conference co-championship? I think the answer is absolutely not. I honestly don't see anyone reaching another conclusion.

Don't even get me started on the differences between Mainieri and Polk.

If these be your answers to the question and Cohen (or ina better case scenario, Mainieri) is available, how can you not make the change?




Message Board Fodder #118



Dear NCAA selection committee

When you extend bids please remember: Mississippi State`s program is a well funded,well supported , bloated , top heavy failure with a head coach who is maintaining his position only because the stadium is named after him and other assorted reasons all of which go against what college athletics should be about . Many of the players are for the most part whinny ,pampered badies who cannot even take the pressure of their own fans expecting them to win home games .Many of the fans are a bunch of gullible goobers who are happy just to be affiliated with a D1 school regardless of the embarrassment it`s athletic department has become. I beseech you , if your choice is between MSU and some under funded , under staffed and under talented program that had some degree of success against the odds because it`s coaches and players nutted up and gave 110% (rather than MSU`s 75%) and won games because of guts and pride , DO THE RIGHT THING and give your invite to the team that fought and gave it`s all and not the team whose coach whinned and made excuses until 80% of it`s own fans are sick of him.




Message Board Fodder #119




A question of perspective on job performance

Where else could an Administrator keep his job if he is in charge of an athletic program and the football program had produced a grand total of 14 wins in the past 5 years? (averaging fewer than three wins a year) The answer, MSU! I realize that the people moderating this board want us to focus on the good things happening at MSU but how can even the most optimistic fans not examine the facts:

Baseball: not even making the SEC tourney

Men's basketball. next to last in the SEC west and first round SEC tourney loss

Women's basketball: dead last in the SEC

Men's cross country: 8th place in the SEC

Women's cross country: 6th place in the SEC

Football:3-8, 5th in SEC west

Men's golf: 11th in the SEC

Women's golf: 10th in SEC , 21st out of 21 in a regional

Soccer:4-11-4

Softball: 20 game losing streak

Men's tennis: Seeded last in SEC tourney

Women's tennis: 11th seed in SEC tourney

Men's track and field: 11th in SEC

Women's track and field: 11th in the SEC

Volleyball: 7th seed in the SEC tourney

Can anyone tell me what is good about these results and yet we have fans who emphatically defend mediocrity. I'm sure this will be deleted but it is truly puzzling to me why people can criticize coaches and yet the CEO is allowed to be accountable to noone!




May 27, 2006
Vanderbilt, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama are the final four in the SEC Tournament.
We do not deserve a bid for the NCAA Tournament






Reader Comment #38



This isn't about CROOM. It's about how SORRY ron polk has become as a Baseball coach. Stick a fork in him...........HE"S DONE!!! And has been done for years!!!




Reader Comment #39



Response to #119

WOW, I didn't know it had got that bad...it is time for a change. Lets start with Polk and Templeton.

If I produced like that in my job I would be fired...how can they get away with it? Its hard to hold your head high as a bulldog without getting laughed at.




Reader Comment #40



Ole Miss fans hope we keep Polk

They don't won't a change... things will go back like they were and we will be whopping that ass again.

GO TO HELL OLE MISS 35-14



Reader Comment #41



Firing Ron Polk would be like getting rid of the BULLDOG mascot or Jack Cristil. If this happens, I will never follow another MISSISSIPPI SATE anything.



Reader Comment #42




I haven't seen but a piece of one game this year, and I admit my
disappointment with the turn of the season...

Seems that the junkballer at Alabama back in early April really jacked
us up royally, and put us into a funk we've been unable to turn around
since...

I can't defend Coach Polk, since all of the MSU Baseball I saw in
college was under his former asst, Coach McMahon, but the man did "write
the book" on coaching baseball. His legendary status helps him with
recruiting and he's a good teacher, from what I understand. I think
baseball success at MSU rides on the ability of the Head Coach to find
quality Assistant Coaches.

I am willing to bet that we have a changing of the guard at the end of
the year, with Coach Polk petitioning his current staff to resign and
attempting to find another Pat McMahon-type to be his second-in-command
-- and that will be the difference in next season's success or failure.

Ron Polk won't be let go (i.e., "fired"). He will retire. Those of us
who wished for Jackie Sherrill to be fired had to accept stalemate when
he retired, and I'm afraid that's probably all you'll get for your effort.

Thanks for having a forum for us to speak our opinions!




Reader Comment #42



All we had to do was win one......
Choke Polk at his best!!!!!!!!!!! Will it ever end? I bet the people at the Hoover Met want him fired also.




Message Board Fodder #120



No offense intended...

But I think you support Ron Polk more than you do MSU Baseball. It's the only conclusion I can come to regarding anyone wanting him to be our coach after the last five years.

Let me ask you this...
If it was anybody else--someone who had no previous ties to MSU--that was our coach for the last five seasons, would you still want him to be our coach?

As a refresher, here are some key facts over that period...
We have only had one season with a winning SEC record.
We are eight games under .500 in the SEC.
We failed to go to a regional one year (and perhaps two years).
We failed to qualify for the SEC Tournament in two years.
We have only hosted one regional (which we lost).
We have not won a regional.
We have not advanced to a super-regional (not to mention the CWS) despite doing so in the two years prior to this time period.

Give anybody else those five years and he would be run out of town.




Message Board Fodder #121



No, it's nice to be able to express yourself without being deleted. swinedoll loves to delete posts.

As for polk, it's a shame it came to a public page calling for his head, he should have stayed gone when he left.

LT, I don't care for, but who you gonna get to replace him?

NOTE: WE DON’T CARE! A MONKEY WOULD DO BETTER THAN LT& POLK!!





Message Board Fodder #122



This team has come up with some really stupid quotes

Why does he think that has any pull?

I mean, if I'm on the committee and you were ranked #1 and DIDN'T even make your conference tourney and aren't even ranked anymore, I wouldn't look at that as a positive.

IF we get in it'll be because of our RPI, which is high basically becasue we play in the SEC, and for no other reason.

[elitedawgs]

Message Board Fodder #123



Our baseball team was found face down with their pockets hanging out.





June 2, 2006
We did not deserve a bid for the NCAA Tournament.







Reader Comment #43




you people are idiots polk is the best coach we've ever had it ain’t his fault yall are straight morons




Reader Comment #44



The first since 1977 - I hope We never go on a streak like that. That really is the bottom of the barrel. I'm afraid if we don't make some changes soon, we will.




Reader Comment #45



Coach POLK In order to save the baseball program at Miss. State, Ron Polk must retire or be fired. The Tupelo Daily Journal article by Gregg Ellis on 5-23-06 calling for accountability and no more "that's baseball" or basting the NCAA on the lack of scholarships when the question is asked why State missed the SEC tournament again! This article in one of the major newspapers in the state was the FIRST to question the job Polk is doing and shows that it is not just a group of hot headed fans that wonder what is wrong. My suggestion is that fans for a change in baseball leadership get organized and fight like the BULLDOGS we are! Keep the internet hopping, take out ads in the sports page of the major newspapers in the state asking for a change and keep the ads coming. These ads must not be a one time thing. Pay for these ads by selling "POLK MUST GO" bumper stickers. This should be the first move of the war, and it will be a war. Every time Polk avoids answering what is wrong with Miss. State baseball, or leaves a pitcher in too long, or gets beat, our case gets stronger. IT IS ONLY A QUESTION OF TIME!




Reader Comment #46



The best action at this point would be to FIRE Ronnie P and allow Jeffery Rea to be a player/manager for his senior year. Promote Greg Drye to bench coach. Could the results be worse? Heck fire, even Vandy is laughing at us.




Message Board Fodder #124



I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but.....AND Elon....

is a pretty decent team. they did beat AU 2x, and beat SC.....BUT, when MSU baseball is losing to the likes of Elon College, We have sunk to depths beyond what is going to take just a coaching change to reverse. Polk sucks! No doubt about it. Most of this entire team sucks, save maybe 3-4 players.
We need a COMPLETE OVERHAUL in our baseball program.
I NEVER thought in following MSU baseball for 26 years that I would see us sink to such lows. The college to the north of us has overtaken us. Not in wins or championships, but in quality and competitiveness and desire and in coaching.
I saw where Polk continues to use the same old worn out excuses and I'm tired of it.
But, hey, according to most on GP and obviously LT and Polk, just making the NCAA by the skin of our teeth is OK!




Message Board Fodder #125



The thing about it is, they had virtually nothing at one point. Very few cared about baseball up there. State fans wait all year for baseball. We love it, can't get enough of it. Ole Miss fans could care less in general - before Mr. Bianco walked on campus. With a lot less to work with in the beginning, he has passed Polk up in every way imaginable. If he stays there, it is only a matter of time until he reaches a CWS. Meanwhile, Polk inheriting an already built program in MSU takes it down several notches. With much of what Ole Miss lacked, he has failed to even maintain the status of the program. Instead we are near the bottom of the conference, miss the SECT, and get ****ing 3 seeds in the NCAAT. How any sheep can honestly say Ole Miss hasn't passed us and justify Polk's continued tenure is beyond me.




Message Board Fodder #126



I agree that the close losses indicate poor coaching.

However, although Rutledge made a lot of mistakes, it's Polk's fault for continually running him out there, even though he is not capable of playing at the level necessary. In other words, if Polk wasn't a complete assclown, Rut would have been on the bench or DH'ing - not at 3rd base where he has zero confidence right now, and was bound to make some bad plays.

This all comes down to Polk. Not only poor managing, poor decision making, poor game management, but also poor recruiting and poor player development.




Message Board Fodder #127



Dugout Club members....

Just wondering how many here are Dugout Club members and whether or not you will anty up again when dues come up. Since people with chairbacks can't voice their displeasure by not buying their season tickets (like me) without losing the seats, I refuse to drop any more hard earned dollars into this smoking hole in the ground with Dugout dues. I know this is not a significant amount of money in the overall scheme of things, but it is Polk's own little project. With 800 to 1000 members at $50 a year, that's 40 to 50 grand each year that I will not continue to contribute to. Maybe if enough members drop out and let him know why, he will begin to get the message. But then again, probably not. However, it will be my own little protest and will make me feel better. Now, that being said, its on to my meeting with Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. Carry on.




Message Board Fodder #128



I'm afraid this one goes squarely on Ron's shoulders.

His ill-advised lineup decisions hurt us early, and solid coaching/play late couldn't make up for that.




Message Board Fodder #129



With Easley at 3rd, we're better than Elon.

That's all it would have taken today.
Plus, if you think the players aren't good (I refuse to get into that), remember who recruited them.




Message Board Fodder #130



Coaching is why we lost this game. You are delusional if you think otherwise. I believe Tinsley should have made the trip to Clemson, b/c he is solid with his glove. Now we are going to waste Pigott tomorrow. I know that baseball is played one game at a time, but it does not matter if we win or lose tomorrow if Pigott is not left to throw against Clemson.




Message Board Fodder #131



Saw the wire story interview with Polk today and

he was focused on today's game.....uh....no, in fact he was ranting about his two pet peeves....the NCAA amd scholarship limitations. Ole dog doesn't change his habits. It almost seems Elon was secondary on his mind....must make sure the press enjoys his raving about the NCAA and scholarships.

MSU baseball...same song different verse.





June 3, 2006
We did not deserve a bid for the NCAA Tournament.







Reader Comment #47




It's Time for a Change

Five years ago when Mississippi State announced that Coach Polk was returning, I couldn't have been happier. Having followed Mississippi State baseball my entire life, I thought it was finally time that we were going to regain our spot among the SEC's elite. I even remotely recall Ron Polk saying that he would win a National Championship in 5-years.

Well, that 5-years has come, and barring any workings of the great beyond, it will go lacking a National Championship. I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but it is time for Ron Polk to lace up tennis shoes instead of cleats, and attend the ballgames as a spectator. Yes, he's done more for MSU baseball than any coach could've ever hoped to do. Yes, Mississippi State fans will always owe Ron Polk a thank you for turning our club into a powerhouse during his first tenure, but do we really owe him the chance to run the team into the ground. If he hasn't already?

It seems like every time I turn around Michael Rutledge is playing 3rd base. A guy with a .767 fielding percentage shouldn't even be catching foul balls for MSU let alone playing one of the toughest positions on the baseball diamond. I'm sure Rutledge was a very good player in high school, but he has yet to produce in college. I remember when Bunky Kaeton was regarded as one of the best recruits MSU had signed in the past decade. Where's he at now? Sitting on the bench? How does one of the nation's best high school baseball players go from being a highly touted recruit to a benchwarmer? The only answer has to be coaching.

I not only request for Mississippi State to fire Ron Polk, I'm also asking for an entire revamp of the coaching staff. We need a hitting coach that can teach the long ball as well as contact hitting. Small ball might win some National Championships, but it's always good to at least have one batter in your line-up hitting in the double digits in the HR column. Also, Ole Miss, a nobody 5 years ago, has at least 4 guys with 60+ RBIs. We don't have any? That's a shame. We could also use a new pitching coach. Josh Johnson started off the year strong, and he fell apart. I blame that entirely on the pitching coach. Yes, Johnson may not have been able to find his rythm for a few games, but wouldn't a good pitching coach have been able to work him back into the pitcher he was before? It's not like he's blown up like John Rocker. Rocker couldn't throw strikes, Josh just isn't working his pitches into the correct part of the zone and giving up way to many extra-base hits. Also, it's a rare occasion when you have the opportunity to listen to an MSU game in which we don't commit an error. I feel like I'm cheering for Vanderbilt or Kentucky. Instead one of these teams is co-champions of the SEC while the other was playing in the SECT championship game.

Everybody, I ask you for one thing, look past what Ron Polk did when he was at MSU the first time. We can thank him for that later. At the moment, we need to find a coaching staff that can make MSU fans proud to say, "I'm an MSU baseball fan." When was the last time you heard that, sans the 18 game-winning streak that blew up in our faces? It's Time for a Change, let's make it before it's too late.




Message Board Fodder #132



Its a shame after all he's done...

He'll go out like JWS. Both did so much for our program and COMPLETLY over stayed the welcome. I always thought JWS brought MSU into a larger spotlight. Polk, of course, is legendary in the baseball world. Now, both are almost bad words in lil bulldogs vocabulary.... Good gosh, what does it take to get this man out. I listened to Fogelsong and was very impressed with his sports knowledge and enthusiasm. How could he keep LT? How could Polk think he should "not fire himself"? Somethings gatta give.... And I'm tired of it bein my checkbook!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Message Board Fodder #133



They are exactly the same

We have yet to recover from JWS. It will take us years to recover from Polk. Remember when we had thousands of fans @ a baseball game watching a regional year after year. That has now moved about 100 miles north. We may not recover from this. With each year, the hole gets deeper!





June 15, 2006
Unfortunately, Larry Templeton doesn’t have the guts to do what must be done:
Tell Ron Polk to retire of be fired, his choice. Skip Bertman didn’t hesitate with Smoke Laval, Bertman’s
Hand picked successor.







Reader Comment #48



Bertman,unlike Templeton, refuses to embrace MEDICORITY . Could that be the reason that L.S.U. has national champships in woman's basketball, track and field,football, and five in baseball., and Miss. State has never won even one. L.S.U. demands that there coaches produce while Templeton hopes they do and does nothing when they don't. Education wise Miss. State is a better school and we both are land grant colleges. The different is not money {national championships bring in the bucks and the sold out games] ,but the mindset of the the people in charge. After five years back as coach, Polk goes 12- 17 in the S.E.C. nothing happens.This just proves that it is acceptable NOT to WIN. As long as Miss. State accepts MEDICORITY that is all they going to get.




Reader Comment #49



It looks as if the ACC is as strong as the SEC...just another argument that Polk makes about his losing gone bad. It looks like the SEC is not the strongest conference. If he were playing in the ACC he would not make the conference tourny either.





Reader Comment #50



Why aren’t the people who post comments on here not allowed to put their names on what they write…….maybe its because they are cowards just like this website. Never received an email back from you on why in the hell you want to rip people off with a website like this. Ron Polk is a god if he quits he’ll just get another sec job and beat our asses the next few years. Just a bunch of rednecks in the middle of Mississippi that has NOTHING to do. Be ashamed be very ashamed.
Kiley
STATE Class of 2003
Denver, CO
NOTE: There you go Kiley, do you feel any better? We don’t put names so people can speak honestly about how they feel.
We’ll chalk you up in the “I love Ron Polk” category.




Reader Comment #51



Still waiting on your reasoning for this website. Maybe we didn’t deserve a ncaa bid, but we were 1 game, actually 9 outs away from a super regional. Is that not doing a decent job of coaching? We didn’t deserve it and almost beat the national #1 seed to advance? You tell me? Maybe you rednecks that do not have anything else to do should realize that our talent level wasn’t that great. We didn’t have one players with 60 rbi’s, ole miss had 6 maybe they are just more talented. Or maybe you guys are just bored to death in the middle of Mississippi with nothing to do. So don’t be a coward and respond to my emails. Also I don’t see a lot of people posting ANYTHING since we played well in the Regional. So where’s the negativity now???????
Once again PLEASE respond
Kiley MSU Class of 2003
Denver, CO
NOTE: Eager one, are we? I don’t see how you can read this web page and not fully understand why it exists? First, we were not 9 outs from a super regional. We had a very brief lead that Clemson gave us on walks and hit batters – in no way did we “almost beat” Clemson.. They immediately took the lead back and did not let up. Polk did slightly modify his coaching on the field for the tournament, however, that is too little, too late. You are acknowledging our lack of talent, which further supports our cause – Ron Polk is responsible for the talent on the field. Every player on that field his his recruit, his player. The buck stops with good old #1.




Message Board Fodder #134



We are no longer a traditional power.

And to even consider that we should have had any chance to host when we finished 9th in our league is ludicrous. Tennessee also is not a traditional power. They're an occasional power, but more often than not, they have a losing conference record.



Message Board Fodder #135



Down year for a bunch of traditional powers...

It doesn't matter which teams are struggling , winning the SEC tourney isn't going to get you a host site if you have a losing conference record in the regular season.



Message Board Fodder #136



I don't know where you're getting the idea......

.....that we won a conference championship in the last 10 years. We haven't come close to that since the '80s. We do have the two tourney titles and trips to Omaha though.

Bianco, as someone else has pointed out, hasn't been at OM for 10 years. He's done a remarkable job in the time he's been there, taking a nothing program to being one of the top SEC contenders. Granted, MSU still has a larger overall resume', but to say we haven't been passed by is a joke my friend. It's irrational delusion. You have to start with recruiting, then look all the way down the list at the results, and there's no mistaking that MSU is one of the bottom 1/3 or 1/4 teams in the SEC now. It's not just OM that's passed us by, but a majority of the league.

You should hope Bianco doesn't stay at OM, because he's cleaning Polk's clock. That doesn't mesan Polk's team won't have a better year on occasion, because there's no way OM is going to sustain that kind of success every single year. Still, over a 10 year span, I'd be willing to bet that Bianco will have the better overall results than Polk.




Message Board Fodder #137



Re: i hope he stays, here's why.

Not too many years a go, the Rebs came into Starkville and only needed one win to get to the SEC tourney. The Dogs swept and Bianco looked like a kid who's candy was taken away. After the game he said, and I quote "we gotta find a way to beat 'em, cause they are not going away". As an MSU fan the roles are practically reversed right now. He's done not a good job, but a hell of a good job in Oxford.




Message Board Fodder #138




Problem with baseball Recruiting at MSU

Please see the following school to have NOBODY drafted (signees or players in the top 18 rounds). Does recruiting seem to be the problem to you guys? This should wake us up if anything. Have a look. MSU is the only school to have NOBODY drafted in the top 18 rounds. Not a good sign.


Alabama

Billy Rowell - 1st Rd. - # 9 - Orioles - Signee
Wade LeBlanc - 2nd Rd. - # 61 - Yankees - Senior
Emeel Salem - 10th Rd. - # 295 - Orioles - Senior
David Robertson = 17th Rd. - # 295 - Yankees - Senior
Del Howell - 18th Rd. - # 524 - Yankees - Signee

Arkansas

Danny Hamblin - 9th Rd. - # 278 - Athletes - Senior

Auburn

Rasmus, Corey - 1st Rd. Supp. = # 38 - Braves - Signee
Caleb Clay - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 44 - Red Sox - Signee

Florida

Colten Willems - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 22 - Nationals - Signee
Adrian Cardenas - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 37 - Phillies - Signee
Chase Fountaine - 2nd Rd. - # 72 - Braves - JC Signee
Adam Davis - 3rd. Rd. - # 101 - Indians - Senior
Brian Jeroloman - 6th Rd. - # 180 - Blue Jays - Senior
Gavin Dickey - 12th Rd. - # 351 - Mariners - Senior
Brandon Holden - 13th Rd. - # 380 - Pirates - Signee
Matt LaPorta - 14th Rd. - # 433 - Red Sox - Senior

Georgia

Brooks Brown - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 34 - D'Backs - Senior
Justin Edwards - 3rd Rd. - # 105 - White Sox - Signee
Joey Side - 6th Rd. - # 176 - D'Backs - Senior
Adam Coe - 7th Rd. - # 220 - Braves - Signee
Josh Morris - 12th Rd. - # 370 - Braves - Senior

Kentucky

Ryan Strieby - 4th Rd. - # 112 - Tigers - Senior
John Shelby - 5th Rd. - # 165 - White Sox - Senior

L. S. U.

Stephen King - 3rd Rd. - # 91 - Nationals - Signee
Milton Loo - 9th Rd. - Already Signed - Reds - JC Signee

Mississippi

Chris Coghlan - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 36 - Marlins - Senior
Justin Reed - 4th Rd. - # 114 - Reds - Signee
Garrett White - 6th Rd. - # 173 - Dodgers - Senior
Alex Presley - 8th Rd. - # 230 - Pirates - Senior
Andrew Clark - 18th Rd. # 542 - Brewers - Signee

Mississippi State

None

South Carolina

Jason Place - 1st Rd. - # 27 Red Sox - Signee
Nick Fuller - 3rd Rd. - # 79 - D'Rays - Signee
Jay Brown - 18th Rd. - # 529 - D'Rays - JC Signee
James Curtis - 40th Rd. - Already Signed - Braves - JC Signee

Tennessee

Preston Mattingley - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 31 - Dodgers - Signee
Michael Dubee - 18th Rd. - # 547 - Phillies - JC Signee

Vanderbilt

Kyler Burke - 1st Rd. Supp. - # 35 - Padres - Signee
Mikie Minor - 13th Rd. - # 379 - D'Rays - Signee




Message Board Fodder #139



Re:Pretty good indicator of the current talent level

This is self-explanatory. There is nothing to say but this is what it is. Facts are facts. Either we are not signing highly rated players or we are not developing them when we get them. I'm sure some will have a reason for this being what it is and I can't wait for the reasons.




Message Board Fodder #140




Quote:



we are not developing them when we get them





there's your answer. guys like hunter and kaeton and rutledge were all highly touted coming out of high school and haven't improved since being at msu.

as far as signees. polk doesn't recruit a guy that (1) is going to be drafted high AND (2) is not willing to tell teams that he plans on attending college. not a defense of polk, but i know we backed off some of the ms kids like van buren who were almost certain to go pro out of high school. guys like easley who were willing to tell teams not to worry about drafting him we recruit.




Message Board Fodder #141



Belonged? Belonged? MSU BELONGED? in the

NCAA Tourney. This post illustrates where our program is right now: quibbling and gabbing over whether MSU Baseball belonged - as in, are we good enough- to be in the NCAA Tourney.

The very fact that this post exists on this message board is an acute symptom of the problem that exists in our baseball program. A few years ago, this kind of talk would have never entered the atmosphere.

However, we might as well get used to posts like this, because the bar for MSU has been lowered. All you have to do is read what RP says about NCAA and Topps Schollies. He does not think we can compete on a national level because of the inequities in college baseball.







Send email to FireRonPolk.com (fireronpolk@gmail.com)





DISCLAIMER:
This page is in no way affiliated with Mississippi State University, The Bulldog Club, any message boards or any organization affiliated with Mississippi State University. This page does provide a place for people that are tired of substandard baseball at Mississippi State University to vent their frustration without being censored.

[Political Hack]

first.

[Drugdog]

Can we get a -Getronsnameofftheoutfieldfence. Com

[smootness]

If ever there was a legitimate time to post 'tl;dr', this is it.

[messageboardsuperhero]

That was pretty damn long, but I read some of the comments.

It was very obvious at the time that Polk was not getting it done- anyone who disputed that was delusional. I just wish he wouldn't have been so damn stubborn. Polk could have gone out with class and dignity, but he's almost totally ruined his legacy and has no one to blame but himself.

[Todd4State]

I made the post about giving the guy a standing ovation when he got a bunt down. I remember doing it.