New Dudy Noble....All turf?

[CadaverDawg]

I saw someone post this on SP, and thought it would make for good discussion....

With all of the new all turf fields we've seen in postseason, and the fact that we added turf to part of our current field....Any chance we go with an entire turf field on the New Dudy Noble? Before we added the current turf I would have said "no chance", but now I feel like it is very likely since so many are going to it.
I don't like it, but it looks like everyone will have it before long.

Thoughts?

[msstate7]

I hope not. We're an ag school!

[TheRef]

I hope not.....our turf program is too good to let us go to a fake turf.

[Dawg61]

Please no. ULL's field is absolutely horrible. Baseball is meant to be played on grass and dirt.

[Pioneer Dawg]

It would be a damn shame if we went all turf.

[Air of The Dawg]

Please no. ULL's field is absolutely horrible. Baseball is meant to be played on grass and dirt.
There goes another BINGO

[Esmerelda Villalobos]

No chance

[LC Dawg]

Right now the turf teams sometimes have a little advantage over visiting teams that aren't used to playing on turf. If most teams go to turf and we stay grass do you guys think we would enjoy the same type advantage?

[PassInterference]

I'm hoping for a rule change that requires grass.

[DudyDawg]

God no. At least I hope not. Natural grass plays better and looks a thousand fold better IMO. Stay grass. Hell I even hate the turn we have now. If we can afford the upkeep of natural grass, no need to change it

[Dawg61]

Right now the turf teams sometimes have a little advantage over visiting teams that aren't used to playing on turf. If most teams go to turf and we stay grass do you guys think we would enjoy the same type advantage?

We'd hold a huge advantage for recruiting. The best players will want to play on the nicest fields that are the most MLB similar and that means grass and dirt.

[DawgSaint]

We'd hold a huge advantage for recruiting. The best players will want to play on the nicest fields that are the most MLB similar and that means grass and dirt.

Think above is a very good point. I don't see any chance we go to all turf.

[bulldogcountry1]

We need to have whatever TD Ameritrate has, which is grass. When we rebuild, I'd like the new DNF to be as close to TD as possible. I want us to feel like home when we get to Omaha, plus it's really nice.

[smootness]

Heeeeeeeeeeeeck no.

[Harrydawg]

Zero chance that'd we'd go to all turf baseball field.

0.00%

[messageboardsuperhero]

Hell. No.

I don't mind us doing it in the foul areas (although I wish the home plate area was real dirt)- but baseball was meant to be played between the lines on real, natural grass and dirt. Vandy's field is Busch League.

[Bucky Dog]

Baseball is meant to be played on grass and that is why you have seen most MLB team go back to grass. I can only think of the Florida teams with domes right now. I'm not going to do a cost analysis but I bet someone has and figured the sport turf over time is much less because of the maintenance and equipment required for the grass fields.

[Todd4State]

No to turf for me as well. As others have said, TD Ameritrade, Hoover, and also Trustmark Park and the new ballpark in Biloxi all will have grass.

Playing at home on turf does give you an advantage at home- but it also is a disadvantage on the road. Compare how Vandy played us in Starkville vs. Nashville the past three seasons.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Baseball is meant to be played on grass and that is why you have seen most MLB team go back to grass. I can only think of the Florida teams with domes right now. I'm not going to do a cost analysis but I bet someone has and figured the sport turf over time is much less because of the maintenance and equipment required for the grass fields.

I'm pretty sure Tampa Bay and Toronto are the only two MLB stadiums with artificial turf- and the Rays are desperately trying to get a new stadium.

[Bark]

Seriously...it's just not baseball if it's not played on real grass. If you've watched the games at ULL the past two weeks you know what I mean. The game plays more like softball than baseball when played on turf.

[CadaverDawg]

This thread accomplished exactly what I was hoping....

I wanted Stricklin to see a list of people talking about how awful turf is so it will deter him from screwing it up. The people have spoken, Scott...please no turf.

[State82]

I swear I will boycott if that happens! Well, maybe not but I will threaten to and throw 16 tantrums in the AD's office! No way, no way that happens.

[LC Dawg]

What do you think is Cohen's opinion of turf. I figure he has enough pull now that if he wants it he will get it and if he doesn't want it then it won't happen.

[War Machine Dawg]

Not just no, but HELL NO!!! Natural grass is the way to go, period. We have one of the best turf grass management programs in the country. Our football turf is annually voted as among the best playing surfaces in the nation. You don't screw with that for nasty ass carpet.

[smootness]

This isn't just about grass vs. turf. There are a whole lot of college stadiums now, like we saw with ULL, that are entirely turf, just one big sheet of turf, dirt included. I have no idea why it started, but it is an abomination.

[Pioneer Dawg]

NCAA should ban any postseason play on fields with all turf. Easy fix to a growing problem.

[Todd4State]

What do you think is Cohen's opinion of turf. I figure he has enough pull now that if he wants it he will get it and if he doesn't want it then it won't happen.

Pure conjecture here- but he has always been about whatever is most like Omaha and Hoover. As long as those two keep growing grass, I suspect that we will keep playing on grass.

The turf that we have was more or less for cosmetic reasons than anything.

[Todd4State]

This isn't just about grass vs. turf. There are a whole lot of college stadiums now, like we saw with ULL, that are entirely turf, just one big sheet of turf, dirt included. I have no idea why it started, but it is an abomination.

I think it's mainly because it drains better and because most schools don't have a field and turf dept. like MSU.

[The Croom Diaries]

What would it say about our turf program if we went to artificial? Gotta stay grass.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

I read an article that the field turf actually costs more to maintain than natural surfaces, this might only hold true for football though. Apparently you have to spray disinfectants on the field because players were getting staph infections at an alarming rate.

Heres a link
http://turf.uark.edu/turfhelp/archives/021109.html

[bulldogcountry1]

Pure conjecture here- but he has always been about whatever is most like Omaha and Hoover. As long as those two keep growing grass, I suspect that we will keep playing on grass.

The turf that we have was more or less for cosmetic reasons than anything.

I was under this impression as well. That is, until I saw the home plate dirt turf. He had a logical reason for it, but I think we proved that it didn't help us at all from a competitive standpoint. I'm pretty sure it hurt us with WPs. His reasoning was that they take 1000s of swings on turf in the cage and in BP, so why not in the game? Fair enough, but that means that you never take a swing on real dirt until you play a game on the road. Let's go back to real earth at home plate.

[Pioneer Dawg]

Omaha and Hoover don't have turf home plates or baselines

[Johnson85]

If we can afford the upkeep of natural grass, no need to change it

I don't think there are any real cost savings. Saw a piece on high school teams going to turf and with the upfront cost of the turf, you really don't come out ahead because there are still some maintenance costs and you have to replace the turf reasonably often if it gets play and is exposed to the sun. Only advantage to it is that you don't have to worry about tearing it up after rain, and it can stand up to heavier use, so you can use one field for a lot of different events. Doesn't seem like any of that applies for baseball. Another disadvantage is it's a good bit hotter than dirt and grass.

[The Croom Diaries]

I was under this impression as well. That is, until I saw the home plate dirt turf. He had a logical reason for it, but I think we proved that it didn't help us at all from a competitive standpoint. I'm pretty sure it hurt us with WPs. His reasoning was that they take 1000s of swings on turf in the cage and in BP, so why not in the game? Fair enough, but that means that you never take a swing on real dirt until you play a game on the road. Let's go back to real earth at home plate.

Didn't Cohen also say it saved him a ton of time not having to chalk the baselines and batter's boxes? I think I heard that. Then I was always racking my brain trying to figure out why the coaches were doing that and not some joe blow for $10 an hour.

[smootness]

I think it's mainly because it drains better and because most schools don't have a field and turf dept. like MSU.

I know exactly why they do it, but it should be outlawed. You should at least have to have dirt on the field. And the turf should have to be more like football turf that now acts much like grass, not this ridiculous stuff that allows you to play slip-and-slide all over the basepaths.

It is akin to a school replacing their basketball court with some surface that had a trampoline effect and now everybody is jumping 12 feet in the air. It changes the game, and it looks horrible.