John Cohen radio interview tidbits

[MsStateBaseball]

Matthew Britton will play 2B some. That moves Luke Reynolds or Matt Spruill to 3B. He thinks Spruill has a future in pro ball too. I don't see a set lineup the whole season with the infield. I think he will mix and match. This scenario will set up nicely for 2016. Spruill, Reynolds, Gridley and Holland will all get that experience. But if Holland has a great year, he may be drafted. That's ok too.

He is very high on Jacob Robson and Michael Smith having a big year. I see this as CF and RF. I don't think they will just platoon in CF.

He did say Dakota Hudson name as a closer type. I think they will give him some innings until he gets the new delivery down pat, then let him start. Maybe next year when that happens, who knows.

I get the feeling Gavin won't be out for too long. When he starts pinch hitting, he will be close.

I think he knows he can have a great year, but he is causiously optimistic. Never can tell about injuries.

[maroonmania]

I really don't understand the Britton at 2B thing. Why would you want Heck or Holland on the bench?

[MsStateBaseball]

He could one of them at DH. He really believes in Britton at 2B for his future. We'll find out.

[War Machine Dawg]

He could one of them at DH. He really believes in Britton at 2B for his future. We'll find out.

**** Britton's future. Cohen isn't being payed to worry about a player's future, he's being paid to win game NOW for MSU. A MLB team can move Britton to 2B in the minors after he tears it up for us at 3B. This is the kind of dumbassery that pisses me off to no end with Cohen and why I compare him to Les Miles. We're a better team with Britton at 3B, Holland at SS, and Heck at 2B. If you want to work in Reynolds at 3B/DH, go for it. But that should be a midweek experiment unless one of the 3 above tanks and your hand is forced. If we waste SEC games because Cohen wants to continuously tinker, I may lose my mind. It's baseball, not rocket surgery.

[smootness]

As long as the same guys are in the lineup, I don't understand why so many care. Maybe Britton will be even better at 2B than at 3B. I know his arm doesn't have as much impact, but maybe Britton over Holland at 2B is a bigger gap than Britton over Reynolds at 3B.

Plus, maybe a coach showing he cares about a player's future helps in recruiting.

There are a lot of factors. Cohen is not Les Miles.

[msstate7]

I really don't understand the Britton at 2B thing. Why would you want Heck or Holland on the bench?

Maybe Reynolds is just better than Britton

[Coach34]

I don't understand how people can't see that Britton is our best infielder

[msstate7]

I don't understand how people can't see that Britton is our best infielder

He's our best returning defender. Heck is a better hitter and overall player imo

[smootness]

I don't understand how people can't see that Britton is our best infielder

First, who said that?

Second, I don't think he was our best last year, and I think even if he hits well this year, Holland will be better.

[Coach34]

Our HC- who watches them in practice everyday- is making sure to tweak the team anyway he can to have Britton on the field- so what does that tell you?

[HoopsDawg]

I don't understand how people can't see that Britton is our best infielder

because he's not. He's just the guy with the best arm. He's going to have to show it to me at the plate. Although I'm worried Heck is going to fall back this year, we will see.

[Coach34]

We'll just disagree. He hit the ball well the 2nd half once he started playing everyday

[maroonmania]

Our HC- who watches them in practice everyday- is making sure to tweak the team anyway he can to have Britton on the field- so what does that tell you?

I'll make my own observation since I've seen Britton play for 3 years now. Yes, Britton has good range and a great arm and will make some spectacular plays BUT he will also botch a routine play much more frequently than you would want. The guy you deem as our best infielder started the year TWICE as our SS (true freshman year and last year) because of Cohen's high opinion of him and TWICE he had to be removed because he wasn't dependable enough to play there everyday. I like Britton. he's a good player and I'm not trying to run him down but if Reynolds is good enough to play at 3rd over Britton then I'm not sure why that means Britton would get 2nd over Holland (although granted I've yet to see Holland play there). If Cohen is just trying to have Britton ready to play at 2nd as another option I'm ok with that I guess.

[smootness]

Cohen loves Holland. He's going to play until he proves he can't.

[engie]

Our HC- who watches them in practice everyday- is making sure to tweak the team anyway he can to have Britton on the field- so what does that tell you?

About that...

It is interesting he went with spruill though...

[maroonmania]

About that...

It is interesting he went with spruill though...

Good point, after all this back and forth on the board about Britton and Reynolds, Spruill gets the nod in the opening lineup for the year. Almost makes me think Cohen is just trolling MSU fans sometimes.