Wes Rea

[bulldogcountry1]

It was good to see him come through for us, swinging on the first pitch.

I noticed the announcers mentioned he had been having some back trouble this season. Is this true or were they just making clueless assumptions?

They also talked about him being a senior and not being drafted last year. I know Cohen also refers to him as a senior, but he's often done that when referring to guy who once redshirted. I think he looks at it more in terms of years in the program, as opposed to eligibility.

[Political Hack]

to not know a damn thing about the best team playing on day 1 is pretty close to criminal for announcers.

[CadaverDawg]

Did they know he was once a highly recruited offensive lineman?

[Jack Lambert]

Did they know he was once a highly recruited offensive lineman?

They mention that at lest twice that he was a 4 star offensive lineman who turned down the chance to play football,

[CadaverDawg]

They mention that at lest twice that he was a 4 star offensive lineman who turned down the chance to play football,

Ha, I'm shocked.

Seriously though, I was really happy for him last night. We talk about how bad he's played lately, but you know he's got to be beating himself up. To go from hero to role player in one season has to be tough. I really hope he has a big postseason.

Also, I think he could benefit greatly by returning next year. His average would likely increase, and 15-20 ft more on every fly ball with the seam change would mean the potential for a lot of bombs. I hope he comes back with a Wes Rea sized chip on his shoulder. Not to mention, a 2013 Wes Rea on the 2015 team could be the difference in a deep run....especially if we hang on to Fitts, Ross, and potentially a new improved Woodruff for a Senior rotation.

[rem101]

They also called him Steven. Not the brightest guys announcing last night.

[dickiedawg]

potentially a new improved Woodruff

This made me laugh. Seems like we've said this for 4 years straight.

[MSUMatt]

This made me laugh. Seems like we've said this for 4 years straight.

The announcers also asked if Strickland would turn CT Bradford loose 2-0 or put on the hit and run.

[justwin]

rea's problem is he's not getting his front foot down in time so his entire swing (& upper half) is late. Simple fix is to start & finish his lower half earlier and he'll start mashing again. He made the adjustment vs UCLA last year.

same problem Renfroe had last year for 2 months.

Same reason Britton only hits ground balls and never squares anything up is his lower half finishes late.

we need a hitting coach.

[sbcmortgageman]

Cohen said Nick has been working on Wes's swing and approach. Also said during BP, he could tell that Wes may have turned the corner and that his play is crucial for a run.

[deltadawg99]

They also said that he was a Senior and that he was upset because we had 8 guys drafted last year and that he was upset that he wasn't one since he was draft eligible.

[Goat Holder]

I understand why he got benched and I understand why some don't like him, but I personally think he needs to play. There's not many others better than him on the bench and and he's the best defensive 1B-man we've got. Detz is the DH. Let's be done with this crap and move on.

For all of you thinking we need the DH spot open for Humphreys/Garner/whoever, WE AREN'T GOING TO PLAY THEM. I mean, shit, Cohen has been starting Vickerson at DH half the time. I really do not care who plays LF out of Vickerson, Armstrong and Brown. Any of them are fine.

[tcdog70]

If Wes was playing last night he wouldn't have dropped the double play ball. and LL would have pitched a shutout.

[War Machine Dawg]

I understand why he got benched and I understand why some don't like him, but I personally think he needs to play. There's not many others better than him on the bench and and he's the best defensive 1B-man we've got. Detz is the DH. Let's be done with this crap and move on.

For all of you thinking we need the DH spot open for Humphreys/Garner/whoever, WE AREN'T GOING TO PLAY THEM. I mean, shit, Cohen has been starting Vickerson at DH half the time. I really do not care who plays LF out of Vickerson, Armstrong and Brown. Any of them are fine.

Doesn't mean they shouldn't play. Having the power of the lineup card doesn't make one right. Merely makes one in charge. Big difference.

[shoeless joe]

Doesn't mean they shouldn't play. Having the power of the lineup card doesn't make one right. Merely makes one in charge. Big difference.

Well the son of a bitch has been pretty damn right the last 4 years in late season and postseason play.

[Goat Holder]

No, it pretty much makes him right. I know you're all cool and stuff, but 10 times out of 10 Cohen has a reason for doing what he does. He's said multiple times that he's bringing Humphreys and Garner along slowly. And shit, he's played them recently anyway. Bottom line, if you're choosing between Detz/Rea and the other two, that's an easy decision. But what the hell, let's just bench C.T. Bradford.

Wait, why are you posting about baseball anyway, I told you stop, son. Go take your Dimetapp.

[bgdog]

No, it pretty much makes him right. I know you're all cool and stuff, but 10 times out of 10 Cohen has a reason for doing what he does.

It's baffling how many posters have trouble understanding this.

[War Machine Dawg]

No, it pretty much makes him right. I know you're all cool and stuff, but 10 times out of 10 Cohen has a reason for doing what he does. He's said multiple times that he's bringing Humphreys and Garner along slowly. And shit, he's played them recently anyway. Bottom line, if you're choosing between Detz/Rea and the other two, that's an easy decision. But what the hell, let's just bench C.T. Bradford.

Wait, why are you posting about baseball anyway, I told you stop, son. Go take your Dimetapp.

There's a difference in benching and platooning. And considering CT hits less than .100 against LHP, seems to me it's pretty obvious he should platoon. But I wouldn't expect you to understand that.

[War Machine Dawg]

Well the son of a bitch has been pretty damn right the last 4 years in late season and postseason play.

No one is arguing that. Hell, I was defending Cohen from day 1. He's the right guy for the job. But let's be real honest: He overmanages the shit out of games and rewards his practice All-Americans over gamers. Hell, everyone agrees that the only reason Randolph made the team is he's Cohen's Boy.

I've said plenty of times the last 2-3 weeks that it's too late to make the changes many of us wanted to see. Cohen was damn stubborn back in late March and April when the changes might have been effective. Now we're stuck with Vickerson/Detz. I hope like hell we go on a run, but I don't see us being good enough offensively to win 3 in a regional against good pitching. We may hold the other team to 2-4 runs because of our pitching and D, but I'm not convinced we can score more than 1-2 runs once we face improved pitching. And if by some luck we do make it out of the regional, I fully expect a national seed to shut us down in the Super. We just don't have anyone capable of consistently driving the ball. For all the UCLA 2013 comparisons, they had guys who could drive it into the gaps.

[RougeDawg]

rea's problem is he's not getting his front foot down in time so his entire swing (& upper half) is late. Simple fix is to start & finish his lower half earlier and he'll start mashing again. He made the adjustment vs UCLA last year.

same problem Renfroe had last year for 2 months.

Same reason Britton only hits ground balls and never squares anything up is his lower half finishes late.

we need a hitting coach.

Noooooo, you are absolutely wrong!!!!! Haven't you been reading how great our coaches are in hitting for all these years???? All of our swings are mechanically sound, because Cohen is a hitting guru!!!!! Don't you know this??**

I've been beating my head against a wall for 3-4 years now looking at our swings and trying to explain how to fix them. But the "baseball experts" on here repeatedly tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. You are completely correct about getting foot down late and having a disconnected swing. Hence my broken record posting about the reason we have no power on the team. Shit, you don't even need a stride to generate power. That only helps in softball. Power in baseball comes from the torque created by a stable base and strong core strength. But don't listen to me, I don't know anything about baseball if you asked people on here.

[I seen it dawg]

Noooooo, you are absolutely wrong!!!!! Haven't you been reading how great our coaches are in hitting for all these years???? All of our swings are mechanically sound, because Cohen is a hitting guru!!!!! Don't you know this??**

I've been beating my head against a wall for 3-4 years now looking at our swings and trying to explain how to fix them. But the "baseball experts" on here repeatedly tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. You are completely correct about getting foot down late and having a disconnected swing. Hence my broken record posting about the reason we have no power on the team. Shit, you don't even need a stride to generate power. That only helps in softball. Power in baseball comes from the torque created by a stable base and strong core strength. But don't listen to me, I don't know anything about baseball if you asked people on here.

People don't listen to you because you come off as a dick. You're always yelling....

[RougeDawg]

People don't listen to you because you come off as a dick. You're always yelling....

Been saying the same thing for years and everyone dismissed it and piles on. Every statement I make on bball is contradicted by many on here. Someone else posts it, they agree. Shit gets old when you know what you are talking about.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Been saying the same thing for years and everyone dismissed it and piles on. Every statement I make on bball is contradicted by many on here. Someone else posts it, they agree. Shit gets old when you know what you are talking about.

I know how you feel; I'm not in The Club either. Good point for us is that we get to do our own thinking. Wouldn't trade it personally.

[tcdog70]

Been saying the same thing for years and everyone dismissed it and piles on. Every statement I make on bball is contradicted by many on here. Someone else posts it, they agree. Shit gets old when you know what you are talking about.


Well the proof is in the pudding. I believe you are correct.

[justwin]

Looks like Rea has gone to a slightly wider stance...good adjustment to get his swing back in sync. It's good to see him making regular contact again and swinging aggressively.



Well the proof is in the pudding. I believe you are correct.

[CJDAWG85]

Rea's swing looks like last year in the post season.

[Todd4State]

Been saying the same thing for years and everyone dismissed it and piles on. Every statement I make on bball is contradicted by many on here. Someone else posts it, they agree. Shit gets old when you know what you are talking about.

You get dismissed on it because:

1. You seem to assume that Cohen teaches our hitters intentionally improper mechanics. Which is absurd.

2. You seem to want our 5'10" punch and Judy hitters to try to swing for the fences- in a pitcher's ballpark with dead bats and balls that don't travel. That = pop ups/fly out.

3. You keep saying that you know what you are "talking about"- however after the Ole Miss series, I was the one who said we need to go to a line drive approach- and the result after the closed door meeting and going to that approach ended up yielding an team batting average increase of over 10 points and us more than doubling our home run total in FIVE weeks over the course of 18 games. And if I'm not mistaken you ironically told me I "didn't know what the hell" I was talking about.

4. You automatically dismiss the success of any of our hitters and give credit to their summer league coaches for their success- when they all have one obvious common denominator.

In short- people would take you a lot more serious if you didn't make ridiculous assumptions about our coaching staff and talk about how awesome you are without any real merit whatsoever.

[Todd4State]

Looks like Rea has gone to a slightly wider stance...good adjustment to get his swing back in sync. It's good to see him making regular contact again and swinging aggressively.

I wonder if he talked to Hunter Renfroe's Cape Cod League coach?**

[Todd4State]

And the other thing is you start threads with stuff like "A good baseball person can see what we are doing wrong"- and then you NEVER specify what we are doing wrong.