Cohen is pissed

[Todd4State]

It sounds like he lit the teams ass up in the clubhouse after the game.

Now see- this comes with experience. He took them inside so that the blue heads couldn't hear him say gosh darn it.

Cohen told reporters that we are taking "selfish and softball swings"- in other words trying to do too much and hit home runs trying to be the hero.

I'll say this- I would hate to be Holy Cross this weekend. We'll see if this is a turning point for us.

[starkvegasdawg]

It sounds like he lit the teams ass up in the clubhouse after the game.

Now see- this comes with experience. He took them inside so that the blue heads couldn't hear him say gosh darn it.

Knowing Cohen they may still have heard it.

[bully99]

Todd, all decent and respectable coaches do that behind closed doors. If he did it in front of people like me, the blue heads, then he should be embarrassed. Ever see Larusa, Cox, Torre, do that crap in public.

[preachermatt83]

That's the first time Ive seen him like that in nearly 2 years. I was glad to see it.

[bully99]

What did he say preacher man

[preachermatt83]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekaw4MKwib0&list=UUeDDInREzm0nJNnCNFSmVwA&feature=c4-overview

[ShotgunDawg]

Honestly, this is good for this team. Rankings simply don't mean anything in this sport, and this team needs to face some adversity. Baseball is a grind and they need to start grinding. This is a new team. Not the team that almost won it all last season. This team must develop its own identity and chemistry. Baseball is a humbling game and the quicker our boys realize that, the better.

Better for this to happen this time of year than later.

[mstatefan91]

My observations. Way too many defensive errors. Some that weren't technically recorded as errors but were errors nonetheless. Batters waiting for the perfect ball to try and hit it out. Pitching for Mitchell and Holder was not their best but was not terrible by any means.

Don't think Britton is the right guy for SS. At least not now in his development. He seems to get caught up in the moment and doesn't react as quickly as he should which leads to him missing balls that he should be able to get and then costing us 2 double plays.

All of this was addressed by Cohen, and he knows more about baseball than I ever will so I trust him and the staff to get it figured out. Need to get these guys back on track and playing to their strengths.

Also, Rea making an uncharacteristic error on mishandling a ball to throw home. At least he still got the out at first.

[civil-bark]

It looks like it may take awhile for this team to gain focus for every-day games after last season's run. But, come SEC time I think this team will be clicking. Sobering losses sometimes carry positive effects that outweigh the L after a game.

[Todd4State]

Todd, all decent and respectable coaches do that behind closed doors. If he did it in front of people like me, the blue heads, then he should be embarrassed. Ever see Larusa, Cox, Torre, do that crap in public.

I was being sarcastic.

[Todd4State]

Knowing Cohen they may still have heard it.

LOL. That's true.

[Todd4State]

My observations. Way too many defensive errors. Some that weren't technically recorded as errors but were errors nonetheless. Batters waiting for the perfect ball to try and hit it out. Pitching for Mitchell and Holder was not their best but was not terrible by any means.

Don't think Britton is the right guy for SS. At least not now in his development. He seems to get caught up in the moment and doesn't react as quickly as he should which leads to him missing balls that he should be able to get and then costing us 2 double plays.

All of this was addressed by Cohen, and he knows more about baseball than I ever will so I trust him and the staff to get it figured out. Need to get these guys back on track and playing to their strengths.

Also, Rea making an uncharacteristic error on mishandling a ball to throw home. At least he still got the out at first.

Very good post. And I think we will be back on track this weekend.

[RougeDawg]

They need a wake up call. Heads may be too big after last year's run. If there's anything about baseball, there's this. If or whenever you or a team think you are above the game, it will come back and bite you in the ass. Its just a given. When you are selfish and/or take the game for granted, you will get burned. Just part of it. Good to see adversity and some bringing down to earth early on.

It's a Long season and baseball is a crazy, humbling game. Don't overreact. They'll find it.

[Will James]

Seth Heck raked in the fall. Put him out there. Throw Reid at 3B. No idea why we did what we did with Cody Walker but he was about our best damn Fall American. At least give him a shot. Like Goat has said about Randolph he is Cohens boy but after tonight he's got to sit. Armstrong is our 6th OF, not leadoff for chrissakes.

[I seen it dawg]

Cohen will make them find it.

[Jacksondevildog]

Randolph is lost behind the plate and Cohen said that post game. Randolph looks like he's in over his head right now.

[Dawg61]

It's a week day game vs Memphis early in the season. If you can't try different lineups now when can you?

[mparkerfd20]

I hate to call out players by name negatively, but our main problem is the guy Cohen loves at SS. He can be all world at times and a major screwup at others. He lacks needed consistency for the position that he just doesn't have in 3+ yeats of hoping he does.

Cohen is playing with the lineup still too much to get a good read on how much we will really struggle to score runs. However, we've got to get this sured up soon if we have any chance at a National Seed. Thankfully a lot of the teams I expect to be top teams are also struggling at the moment.

[Drugdog]

Growing Pains. Watced on Hailstate TV. We look uninterested.
I bet they look interested now post Cohen ass chewing.

[DCdawg]

Did anyone see the douchebag Memphis coach's tweet?

https://twitter.com/greenecr1/status/436359138491523072

[msstate7]

Did anyone see the douchebag Memphis coach's tweet?

https://twitter.com/greenecr1/status/436359138491523072

Glad he did it. Tweet it at our players and hopefully they'll play with the urgency that getting a national seed requires.

[notsofarawaydawg]

Seth Heck raked in the fall. Put him out there. Throw Reid at 3B. No idea why we did what we did with Cody Walker but he was about our best damn Fall American. At least give him a shot. Like Goat has said about Randolph he is Cohens boy but after tonight he's got to sit. Armstrong is our 6th OF, not leadoff for chrissakes.

Jesus, not this daily shit again.

[AlSwearengen]

Did anyone see the douchebag Memphis coach's tweet?

https://twitter.com/greenecr1/status/436359138491523072


you get stuff like this when we are where we are and they are where they are. Baseball people refer to it as bush league. Memphis didn't win the game, we lost it. I won't even waste energy getting upset over bullshit like that.

[Original48]

Did anyone see the douchebag Memphis coach's tweet?

https://twitter.com/greenecr1/status/436359138491523072
The replies below it are pretty good.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Memphis didn't win the game, we lost it.

No...they won.

[engie]

Got a next generation Shoenrock and McNickle replying to it...
All it needs is a reply from Steve Gendron and we can file it to the classics archive.

[CadaverDawg]

We will be fine. Cohen ALWAYS screws with the lineup early to make people earn it and work hard, then we gel for SEC play.

[HancockCountyDog]

We will be fine. Cohen ALWAYS screws with the lineup early to make people earn it and work hard, then we gel for SEC play.

His interview is right on the money. For everyone that is complaining about home runs and not pounding out 20 hits (I would like to see more, but....) you might as well adjust your expectations.

This team is built on pitching and defense. The pitching is in mid season form. The defense has a ways to go. Our offense is struggling, but in all honesty we are who we are - and that is a team of guys that need to find creative ways to get on base. Walks, HBP, and small ball that is who we are. If you don't enjoy watching or following that type of team - you are going to be frustrated a lot this season. Probably right up until we make it to Omaha.

Lets remember we went 16-14 last year in SEC play. For some reason people ignore losses like Slauter and Frazier. Slauter was a fantastic defensive catcher. Frazier was for the most part an elite lead off hitter. Throw in a first round pick in Renfroe and we are going to struggle to score runs. Luckily for us, 3-4 runs is going to win a lot of games with our pitching staff.

[messageboardsuperhero]

you get stuff like this when we are where we are and they are where they are.

Yep, that's what happens when you're a top 10 team and are upset by an inferior program. I hope the players see that and are motivated by it.

[engie]

Too early to make sweeping generalizations about the offense...

Although I would have greatly preferred Garner step up and earn the catcher spot, which he's apparently out of the race for now. As it sits, we will never have his/Humphreys bats in the lineup together -- our 2nd and 3rd best power options.

What happened at the catcher position last night is the one thing I heavily questioned Cohen about(last year). It could prove to be a big mistake to roll with 2 seniors only and not to get experience for at least one underclassman catcher last year. Having a very mature pitching staff with immature/inexperienced catchers can breed mistrust which manifests itself in all kinds of negative ways. I'm not at all sure we've seen the last of the ramifications from last night with Holder...

[HancockCountyDog]

Too early to make sweeping generalizations about the offense...

Although I would have greatly preferred Garner step up and earn the catcher spot, which he's apparently out of the race for now. As it sits, we will never have his/Humphreys bats in the lineup together -- our 2nd and 3rd best power options.

What happened at the catcher position last night is the one thing I heavily questioned Cohen about(last year). It could prove to be a big mistake to roll with 2 seniors only and not to get experience for at least one underclassman catcher last year. Having a very mature pitching staff with immature/inexperienced catchers can breed mistrust which manifests itself in all kinds of negative ways. I'm not at all sure we've seen the last of the ramifications from last night with Holder...

Until Garner and Humphreys can show me that they can hit with power with these new bats, Im not willing to think they are legit power options.

I talked to a JUCO coach this past weekend about the bats and how these kids in HS are playing with are light years better then the ones they can use in college and it is killing power bats. Guys that could jack it out of Biloxi's old park to dead center, can't hit it out of left in D'iberville's old ball park with these new bats. Coast rats that played high school baseball will get that reference.

I hope you are wrong about Holder, but I get what you are saying. I really think a 4-0 weekend against Holy Cross will be exactly what this team needs.

[engie]

Until Garner and Humphreys can show me that they can hit with power with these new bats, Im not willing to think they are legit power options.

I talked to a JUCO coach this past weekend about the bats and how these kids in HS are playing with are light years better then the ones they can use in college and it is killing power bats. Guys that could jack it out of Biloxi's old park to dead center, can't hit it out of left in D'iberville's old ball park with these new bats. Coast rats that played high school baseball will get that reference.

I hope you are wrong about Holder, but I get what you are saying. I really think a 4-0 weekend against Holy Cross will be exactly what this team needs.

Garner and Humphreys both hit with BBCOR bats in high school. This is the 4th year with those bats at the college level and 3rd year at the high school level. Nothing has changed with bats in that time period. So, it's hardly a "new" occurrence where we don't know how they translate to the college game at this point.

Reid was the #11 homerun guy nationally -- and would have hit .250 on the season if you only counted his extra base hits last year. WITH BBCOR bats. I know how his(and Garner to a less extent) power translates -- it's obvious literally every single time you watch an MSU BP session.

[CadaverDawg]

Slauter isn't going to be THAT big of a loss considering he barely played last year

[engie]

Slauter isn't going to be THAT big of a loss considering he barely played last year

Exactly. And neither is Ammo. Individually anyway.

But losing 100% of your catching experience is a big deal. I had hoped it could be overcome on pure talent and athleticism -- but it's already manifested itself in a game that shifted hugely on a single passed ball on a strikeout.

[HancockCountyDog]

Slauter isn't going to be THAT big of a loss considering he barely played last year

Totally right - I got my defensive catchers mixed up. lol. Ammo played great down the stretch defensively.

[engie]

Totally right - I got my defensive catchers mixed up. lol. Ammo played great down the stretch defensively.

I dunno that I'd go quite that far...

Ammo was + on containing the run game, but - on receiving. He was constantly pushing borderline pitches out of the zone which drove me crazy. Slauter the exact opposite in that he wasn't great against the run game, but was a + receiver. Both were + blockers and + intangible guys. Each had 3 of the 4 qualities you look for in an elite defensive catcher -- but neither was a total package on the side of the ball they both "flourished".

Do we have a guy that can do all 4 things on campus? Too early to tell. But Collins seems like the most likely candidate...

[Maroon Blood]

My hope is that R. Nkemdiche is kicked off the OM football team and joins the MSU baseball team, so that we can watch him him push John Cohen.

[bully99]

What about the new addidas bats. Are they making any difference. I'm not sure this team hits a dozen homers this year.

[War Machine Dawg]

What about the new addidas bats. Are they making any difference. I'm not sure this team hits a dozen homers this year.

Too soon to tell. And we may not if Rea is the only source of power that's going to be in the lineup on a regular basis, although he may hit 10-12 all by himself. Still, I wouldn't be at all surprised for us to be under 20 HR as a team this season.

[RougeDawg]

Question for those who know the inside dealings of our program. Does the team still workout/lift weights the same during the season as off season?

Reason I'm asking is if you don't stay close to where you were in the offseason your hitting timing will be off greatly after a layoff of weights. When I played I could tell my swing would get off of I didn't do at minimum maintenance lifting (just 60-70% max on upper body exercises with 10+ rep sets). This kept the swing muscles in check well enough to maintain memory with eyes. I saw early season hitting woes of other players who didn't take the time to workout once season was getting close. Just an observation I've noticed and dealt with. For those who've played on college you know what talking about.

[maroonmania]

Right now I'm MUCH more worried about being sound defensively in the field than I am with the offense. Last night, if we had been sound in the field, we would have likely won 4-0, instead we lost 6-4. Memphis' first run came when both CT Bradford AND Pirtle misplayed a fly ball and ground ball respectively in the same inning, their next 2 runs came on a tailor made DP ball that Britton threw into RF that should have ended the inning and their last 3 runs came in the 9th where we should have had 2 outs and nobody on but our catcher missed the ball on the strikeout leading to the big inning. We have enough offense to get by if we consistently make plays in the field but I'm not sold on our catcher and SS replacements yet. And there aren't any more key defensive positions than catcher and SS. We officially had 3 errors last night but we really had more like 6 or 7 different lapses in the field and almost all of them ended up costing runs. We DON'T have enough offense to overcome giving runs away to our opponents.

[MarketingBully01]

Right now I'm MUCH more worried about being sound defensively in the field than I am with the offense. Last night, if we had been sound in the field, we would have likely won 4-0, instead we lost 6-4. Memphis' first run came when both CT Bradford AND Pirtle misplayed a fly ball and ground ball respectively in the same inning, their next 2 runs came on a tailor made DP ball that Britton threw into RF that should have ended the inning and their last 3 runs came in the 9th where we should have had 2 outs and nobody on but our catcher missed the ball on the strikeout leading to the big inning. We have enough offense to get by if we consistently make plays in the field but I'm not sold on our catcher and SS replacements yet. And there aren't any more key defensive positions than catcher and SS. We officially had 3 errors last night but we really had more like 6 or 7 different lapses in the field and almost all of them ended up costing runs. We DON'T have enough offense to overcome giving runs away to our opponents.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Cohen should bench Britton this weekend for what has to be one of the worst performances defensively we have seen at that position in a long time. I would be all for starting Hann there. As for catcher, I would definitely start playing our young more talented guys there and just deal with the growing pains. I still say our best defensive infield includes Humphreys at third and Detz at DH. Hopefully Cohen will learn. We have too much talent on this team to lose like we did to an inferior Memphis team. Heck, we should have scored 10 runs in the first three innings the way their pitcher was living on the edge with his control.

[smootness]

Detz being at 3rd also causes Britton (or whoever the SS is) to have to cover more of that hole, which may have been part of what caused him to be out of position on the double-play ball.

[Will James]

Robson - CF
Heck -SS
non-Randolph - C
non-Armstrong - OF
Humphreys - 3B
Detz - DH

What I want to see tomorrow night

[bully99]

Gonna be interesting to see the line-up Friday.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Robson - CF
Heck -SS
non-Randolph - C
non-Armstrong - OF
Humphreys - 3B
Detz - DH

What I want to see tomorrow night

I second this.

[Jacksondevildog]

If Randolph is in it, I'll stay away from the HailStateTV stream.
Gonna be interesting to see the line-up Friday.

[engie]

The Randolph and Britton talk sounds an awful lot like the Pirtle talk last year. Just sayin...

[preachermatt83]

Robson - CF
Heck -SS
non-Randolph - C
non-Armstrong - OF
Humphreys - 3B
Detz - DH

What I want to see tomorrow night

I agree with this

[Todd4State]

CT has out played Robson this year. A small sample size, but they're all small at this point and Robson has shown nothing to make it clear that he should start over Demarcus, CT, or Cody Brown.

I would also give Kyle Hann the first shot over Heck. He made a really good play defensively and I think the hitting between the three- Britton, Heck, and Hann is moot.

[preachermatt83]

The Randolph and Britton talk sounds an awful lot like the Pirtle talk last year. Just sayin...

Pirtle didn't have a single game last year as bad as Britton did against Memphis

[preachermatt83]

I agree with this

except I am ok with CT in center.. He will be ok. He had a decent opening series.

[Todd4State]

The Randolph and Britton talk sounds an awful lot like the Pirtle talk last year. Just sayin...

Cohen said Randolph looked "lost" behind the plate in the 9th inning. I might be wrong, but of all the people that we're talking about getting benched, he is probably the most likely at this point.

[preachermatt83]

CT has out played Robson this year. A small sample size, but they're all small at this point and Robson has shown nothing to make it clear that he should start over Demarcus, CT, or Cody Brown.

I would also give Kyle Hann the first shot over Heck. He made a really good play defensively and I think the hitting between the three- Britton, Heck, and Hann is moot.

id have Cody in left and Henderson in right

[Todd4State]

except I am ok with CT in center.. He will be ok. He had a decent opening series.

Even against Memphis, he at least got on base once. He didn't have a good game, and his first two at bats were not good- but he is at least finding ways to get on every game.

[Dawg61]

Pirtle didn't have a single game last year as bad as Britton did against Memphis

Cohen called Britton out postgame. I bet he starts him to see how he responds to the poor game and being singled out.

[Todd4State]

id have Cody in left and Henderson in right

Absolutely. Cody is our hottest guy right now. He has earned the right to start. As has Henderson- he is getting on base and is stealing them as well. Demarcus has gradually improved every year he has been at MSU.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I'm not at all advocating benching CT, Randolph, Britton, etc. for the year. There's still plenty of time for those guys to turn it around like Pirtle did last year, but I'd also like to see Robson, Heck, Hann, etc. get a few more chances.

Four games into the season, I'm sure as hell not ready to give up on anyone yet.

[Todd4State]

Cohen called Britton out postgame. I bet he starts him to see how he responds to the poor game and being singled out.

Britton has a lot of talent- but he has to step up. Whether he starts him or not the next game, I do think that he will get another opportunity pretty soon.

Based on how Britton has handled things in the past, I'd say the odds are he will fold up and we'll likely end up seeing Hann out there. Hann is small- but he can field as well as anyone on the team. And I think he will surprise some people with his hitting too.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Absolutely. Cody is our hottest guy right now. He has earned the right to start. As has Henderson- he is getting on base and is stealing them as well. Demarcus has gradually improved every year he has been at MSU.

Cody Brown has done very good things so far this year- he's got the leg up on the LF spot.

Henderson ran the bases better last night than I've seen him run them in his entire career- I think he's really learning how to get a good read and jump on a pitcher now. That, plus his defense and knack for clutch hitting has earned him the RF job.

[Todd4State]

I'm not advocating benching CT, Randolph, Britton, etc. for the year. There's still plenty of time for those guys to turn it around like Pirtle did last year, but I'd also like to see Robson, Heck, Hann, etc. get a few more chances.

Four games into the season, I'm sure as hell not ready to give up on anyone yet.

If I'm Cohen the biggest question to me is whether it's worth it to play Humphries and risk him struggling really bad at the plate and risk killing his confidence to improve the defense at third.

Now this is not conventional- but hey, we're MSU- but the best thing might be to play Hann or Heck at third base and then DH Detz. Hann is small, but he has the arm and the range. Heck definitely has the range- but I don't know about his arm. I think he could do it and he certainly wouldn't be any worse than Frost last year.

[messageboardsuperhero]

If I'm Cohen the biggest question to me is whether it's worth it to play Humphries and risk him struggling really bad at the plate and risk killing his confidence to improve the defense at third.

This is true, but if there ever was a time to start Humphreys to get him ABs, it would be against Holy Cross this weekend. If I was Cohen, I'd probably put him in the lineup for a couple of games against their weaker pitchers to see how he does.


Now this is not conventional- but hey, we're MSU- but the best thing might be to play Hann or Heck at third base and then DH Detz. Hann is small, but he has the arm and the range. Heck definitely has the range- but I don't know about his arm. I think he could do it and he certainly wouldn't be any worse than Frost last year.

Hann can definitely play third defensively. It would probably hurt the offense to do that though.

[Will James]

The Randolph and Britton talk sounds an awful lot like the Pirtle talk last year. Just sayin...

Theres also a lot of the Detz talk as well. I watched Detz have great approaches and mash all fall and spring last year and he ended up great. Heck (and Cody Walker) looked great in the fall ~20 scrimmages I got to see. Pirtle also wasn't making defensive blunders which don't go through slumps like those on offense.

CT still has no approach at the plate. His AB's vs Mem were pretty horrible and that had been his M.O. for three seasons now. Also, he has no gap power whatsoever...None.

[RAYn_Man]

CT is one of the best defensive outfielders in the nation. I don't think we will see him sitting much.

Why do y'all assume Humphreys is better defensively than Detz? From what I have seen, Detz is a more consistent option.

[maroonmania]

Britton has a lot of talent- but he has to step up. Whether he starts him or not the next game, I do think that he will get another opportunity pretty soon.

Based on how Britton has handled things in the past, I'd say the odds are he will fold up and we'll likely end up seeing Hann out there. Hann is small- but he can field as well as anyone on the team. And I think he will surprise some people with his hitting too.

Yep, one of the reasons I don't equate early season Pirtle last year to Britton this year is that I already saw Britton play a lot as a true freshman and unlike Pirtle, I know Britton is not going to give us much offensively. Given that, and the poor defensive play by Britton as a freshman, my patience for him is not on a long leash if he is screwing up routine plays in the field. Even the error Pirtle made Wednesday night was rather tough on an in between hop. Britton was either just out of position or blowing a routine play. Randolph, I agree, I don't really have enough of a sample size to make a major judgement on him yet. And Detz I'm generally OK with because, while he doesn't have great range, he normally makes all the routine plays and I can live with that. Its like the FG kicker that might not be able to make kicks beyond 45 yards but is pretty much money inside 40, I can live with that too.

[engie]

Theres also a lot of the Detz talk as well. I watched Detz have great approaches and mash all fall and spring last year and he ended up great. Heck (and Cody Walker) looked great in the fall ~20 scrimmages I got to see. Pirtle also wasn't making defensive blunders which don't go through slumps like those on offense.

All of the Detz talk centered around the fact that he should be our starting 2B or in left as I recall. No one was in favor of benching him certainly. He was insanely hot early last year.

[MarketingBully01]

CT is one of the best defensive outfielders in the nation. I don't think we will see him sitting much.

Why do y'all assume Humphreys is better defensively than Detz? From what I have seen, Detz is a more consistent option.

Um, because he has a 2 foot range at third. He doesn't error a lot but he doesn't get to many balls unless they are hit right at him. In fact, I have never even seen Detz dive for a ball the entire time he has played third. He is a great hitter and you would put him at DH not bench him. He is just not a great defensive option at third. I think everyone knows this and this has been talked about on this board ad nauseum.

[preachermatt83]

If I'm Cohen the biggest question to me is whether it's worth it to play Humphries and risk him struggling really bad at the plate and risk killing his confidence to improve the defense at third.

Now this is not conventional- but hey, we're MSU- but the best thing might be to play Hann or Heck at third base and then DH Detz. Hann is small, but he has the arm and the range. Heck definitely has the range- but I don't know about his arm. I think he could do it and he certainly wouldn't be any worse than Frost last year.

i haven't thought about this but this could def work, atleast until Humphries can gain some confidence at the plate in PH roles and in practice.