If it hasn't already, when will baseball

[ScottH]

on field performance affect fundraising?

I'm certain the chair back seats will sell with no problem.

However, at a point, some of the premium seating and high dollar naming opportunities have to be affected to some degree.

[Bothrops]

Personally, I think construction will be pushed back a bit further than we originally expected, but I don't think the project will be shelved. We have to build what we advertised, or risk looking like bush league about the whole thing. However long it takes to get the appropriate funding, it's worth the wait. Even if it takes 5 more years.

[Bothrops]

I meant to say on field performance had a lot to do with the funding, not necessarily with the numbers of individuals willing to invest, but the amounts individuals are willing to spend.

[Todd4State]

Well, it goes both ways. To win, the team needs to do their part in terms of performing- pitching, defense, hitting, etc.

At the same time, we as fans need to do our part to help the team be successful- whether that's showing up to games or donating money- so that we CAN have what we want as far as a team and help get better players.

Now to be VERY clear:

1. I am NOT saying that our fans haven't done their part. Quite the contrary, the fan support has been VERY good and very supportive.

2. I am NOT saying that if we have great facilities it will win us championships. But it doesn't hurt and it certainly helps.

My point is to say that "well, we're not going to give money because we're slumping" does not help fix the problem.

To that end of bringing in better players let's look at what we are starting right now.

Fri- Former walk-on
Sat- Highly recruited guy, looks good so far. Probably just jinxed his ass.
Sun- Fairly highly recruited guy, look good so far. Also just jinxed his ass.

C- JUCO guy
1B- Recruited as a pitcher, moved to first because of arm injuries.
2B- JUCO guy, former FSU player though.
3B- JUCO guy
SS- JUCO guy
OF- our top four guys are: a former walk-on, a JUCO guy, and two guys that were drafted by MLB. Of those two, one is leading our team in hitting and stolen bases, and the other is tied for the team lead in home runs and is now batting .274 after a slow start to the season.
DH- Moderately recruited guy who is a RS freshman.

The problem is obvious. We need to upgrade our talent and get away from JUCO and walk-on stopgaps- even though they have performed admirably given their talent.

So, what about the "highly recruited guys"? One is Collins who we are missing badly right now. In fact, IMO he is our best hitter. That takes away a good bit of our power. Last year, we lost Vallot and Burdick to MLB, and that hurts. Both would be starting right now and as good as Lovelady has been, Vallot would have been an upgrade offensively. Dakota Hudson has had some injuries and Jesse McCord is a freshman who has good promise but isn't ready.

Our class that will be coming in will be Cohen's best. And part of the reason that they are coming is because of what we are about to build. I expect a couple of them to have an immediate impact- including some of the pitchers. Several of these players have performed in the Under Armour All-American Game, the Perfect Game All-American Game, and were members of Team USA- in other words the highest honors a high school player could receive. How many will come to campus? I feel good about all but one. Could be as high as five. Most likely will be less than that? Can they hit with power- two of them definitely yes, two-four I think have a good chance of developing power but it's too soon to know. One of the definitely has power is the one I don't feel good about getting. Can they pitch better than the rag arms in the pen? I feel like it's easily our best pitching class. It's a top five class- and maybe even has a chance at being number one if we get Pickett.

[Todd4State]

Personally, I think construction will be pushed back a bit further than we originally expected, but I don't think the project will be shelved. We have to build what we advertised, or risk looking like bush league about the whole thing. However long it takes to get the appropriate funding, it's worth the wait. Even if it takes 5 more years.

This is Scott's legacy. It's not going to be shelved.

[basedog]

Todd, with all due respect, you do a great job of showing your knowledge and support to Msu baseball, but I do think you have over-rated players that we sign. I believe that baseball players are by far the hardest to evaluate when it comes to success whether it be a high school kid going to college or a college kid going to the pro's.

In saying that, I stopped following recruiting a long time ago, not only in baseball, but basketball and football.

I still enjoy reading your thoughts. maybe it's Cohen that is somewhat overrated, I know he has had success but so has every coach in my lifetime at Msu and I've been following Msu baseball since 1970.

Carry on Todd, I'm just saying.

[msstate7]

Todd, with all due respect, you do a great job of showing your knowledge and support to Msu baseball, but I do think you have over-rated players that we sign. I believe that baseball players are by far the hardest to evaluate when it comes to success whether it be a high school kid going to college or a college kid going to the pro's.

In saying that, I stopped following recruiting a long time ago, not only in baseball, but basketball and football.

I still enjoy reading your thoughts. maybe it's Cohen that is somewhat overrated, I know he has had success but so has every coach in my lifetime at Msu and I've been following Msu baseball since 1970.

Carry on Todd, I'm just saying.

I love football and basketball recruiting, but I have no desire to keep up with baseball recruiting. Our recruits always seem to be overrated or we lose them to mlb.

[Coach34]

The stadium is getting built it's my understanding construction is set to begin after the final out next season. Outfield will be built 1st and then the new grandstand after the 2017 season- 2 year project

[TheDogFather]

I meant to say on field performance had a lot to do with the funding, not necessarily with the numbers of individuals willing to invest, but the amounts individuals are willing to spend.

Have you missed all the passionate rebuttals to this argument concerning basketball revenue? You should look them up. According to a particular poster the Hump could be empty and revenue would not suffer.

[Smitty]

We need to upgrade our talent and get away from JUCO and walk-on stopgaps

Not sure what your definition of stopgap is but JUCO is a main bright spot we've had offensively. Jarrod Parks, Nick-Vick, Shepherd, Porter, Slauter, Detz, Pirtle, Heck.

I think JUCO can and should be used in the recruiting process. Now, if there is obvious can't-miss talent in HS you want those guys and you want them to be the core of your class. But JUCO is a step up from HS (especially top level JUCO) and if they can prove something there it can be a stronger correlation of success.

[Coach34]

Have you missed all the passionate rebuttals to this argument concerning basketball revenue? You should look them up. According to a particular poster the Hump could be empty and revenue would not suffer.

If the ticket is sold-it doesn't matter if there is a butt in the seat or not financially...the baseball grandstand has had a waiting list for quite awhile

[TheDogFather]

If the ticket is sold-it doesn't matter if there is a butt in the seat or not financially...the baseball grandstand has had a waiting list for quite awhile

Said the guy who never took economics.

[engie]

Todd, with all due respect, you do a great job of showing your knowledge and support to Msu baseball, but I do think you have over-rated players that we sign. I believe that baseball players are by far the hardest to evaluate when it comes to success whether it be a high school kid going to college or a college kid going to the pro's.

In saying that, I stopped following recruiting a long time ago, not only in baseball, but basketball and football.

I still enjoy reading your thoughts. maybe it's Cohen that is somewhat overrated, I know he has had success but so has every coach in my lifetime at Msu and I've been following Msu baseball since 1970.

Carry on Todd, I'm just saying.

It's a whole different world than it was in 1970. You've got 3 programs that are serious about baseball IN MISSISSIPPI now. For the majority of your lifetime, there weren't 5 that took is really seriously nationally, even at places that had a lot of success due to natural advantages(Miami, Az State, USC, etc)...

[engie]

Said the guy who never took economics.
I'd ask you to explain economics to me -- but I already know that you would fail at that too. It's amazing to me that you can't let go of an idiotic argument that you got absolutely buried on. Actually, I guess that's probably why...

[Coach34]

Said the guy who never took economics.

im a SS major- took Econ I and II

seats are still selling in basketball which is keeping revenue decent. We have a team next year that should help drive some attendance

[basedog]

It's a whole different world than it was in 1970. You've got 3 programs that are serious about baseball IN MISSISSIPPI now. For the majority of your lifetime, there weren't 5 that took is really seriously nationally, even at places that had a lot of success due to natural advantages(Miami, Az State, USC, etc)...

I ain't talking about 1970 engie, I just stated I've been following Msu baseball since then, I understand how college baseball has changed and is a whole lot more competitive. I was referring to over rated players.

[RougeDawg]

Well, it goes both ways. To win, the team needs to do their part in terms of performing- pitching, defense, hitting, etc.

At the same time, we as fans need to do our part to help the team be successful- whether that's showing up to games or donating money- so that we CAN have what we want as far as a team and help get better players.

Now to be VERY clear:

1. I am NOT saying that our fans haven't done their part. Quite the contrary, the fan support has been VERY good and very supportive.

2. I am NOT saying that if we have great facilities it will win us championships. But it doesn't hurt and it certainly helps.

My point is to say that "well, we're not going to give money because we're slumping" does not help fix the problem.

To that end of bringing in better players let's look at what we are starting right now.

Fri- Former walk-on
Sat- Highly recruited guy, looks good so far. Probably just jinxed his ass.
Sun- Fairly highly recruited guy, look good so far. Also just jinxed his ass.

C- JUCO guy
1B- Recruited as a pitcher, moved to first because of arm injuries.
2B- JUCO guy, former FSU player though.
3B- JUCO guy
SS- JUCO guy
OF- our top four guys are: a former walk-on, a JUCO guy, and two guys that were drafted by MLB. Of those two, one is leading our team in hitting and stolen bases, and the other is tied for the team lead in home runs and is now batting .274 after a slow start to the season.
DH- Moderately recruited guy who is a RS freshman.

The problem is obvious. We need to upgrade our talent and get away from JUCO and walk-on stopgaps- even though they have performed admirably given their talent.

So, what about the "highly recruited guys"? One is Collins who we are missing badly right now. In fact, IMO he is our best hitter. That takes away a good bit of our power. Last year, we lost Vallot and Burdick to MLB, and that hurts. Both would be starting right now and as good as Lovelady has been, Vallot would have been an upgrade offensively. Dakota Hudson has had some injuries and Jesse McCord is a freshman who has good promise but isn't ready.

Our class that will be coming in will be Cohen's best. And part of the reason that they are coming is because of what we are about to build. I expect a couple of them to have an immediate impact- including some of the pitchers. Several of these players have performed in the Under Armour All-American Game, the Perfect Game All-American Game, and were members of Team USA- in other words the highest honors a high school player could receive. How many will come to campus? I feel good about all but one. Could be as high as five. Most likely will be less than that? Can they hit with power- two of them definitely yes, two-four I think have a good chance of developing power but it's too soon to know. One of the definitely has power is the one I don't feel good about getting. Can they pitch better than the rag arms in the pen? I feel like it's easily our best pitching class. It's a top five class- and maybe even has a chance at being number one if we get Pickett.

The list of starters tells most one glaring thing, we are having to play Juco guys because either the Juco guys are further along in development due to Juco route, our coaches are not the developmental types, or the combination of both. Who would have thought we would have that any Juco guys starting with all these players we've been signing out of high school. All indicators point to one conclusion, a conclusion that most of this board will have a difficult time accepting, but it is reality.

[engie]

I ain't talking about 1970 engie, I just stated I've been following Msu baseball since then, I understand how college baseball has changed and is a whole lot more competitive. I was referring to over rated players.

I will agree that we've had a ton of "highly rated" guys under this regime, especially since we sent Mingione on the road, that aren't ready and aren't thusfar panning out. I'm afraid that we may have started trusting Perfect Game way too much instead of personal evaluations like Lane Burroughs was doing. Hell, Mingione had never been on the road recruiting before -- that would have been a logical way for him to start out. Evaluation is obviously a skill that is sharpened over a very long period of time. That's why I was so damn disappointed initially when we promoted him instead of going out and hiring a Cliff Godwin fast-tracked high profile assistant like we absolutely could have...

[TheDogFather]

I'd ask you to explain economics to me -- but I already know that you would fail at that too. It's amazing to me that you can't let go of an idiotic argument that you got absolutely buried on. Actually, I guess that's probably why...

your and idiot.

You can tell yourself you won that debate 100 times if it makes you feel better.

Since attendance will now be a significant factor in the firing of Rick Ray I would say you should concede to save a little face.

[TheDogFather]

im a SS major- took Econ I and II

seats are still selling in basketball which is keeping revenue decent. We have a team next year that should help drive some attendance

So the debate has now conveniently turned to "decent" revenue?. Id say you took politics not economics.

[engie]

Since attendance will now be a significant factor in the firing of Rick Ray I would say you should concede to save a little face.

Attendance is the argument now? That's a REALLY convenient goalpost move from the "vast decline in revenue caused by Rick Ray" which actually was proven to not exist and hurt your feeling so badly that it's literally all you can post about...