As if our baseball RPI wasn't already bad enough

[HSVDawg]

We didn't even get credit for playing a road game tonight. That's right...playing Memphis in Autozone Park counts as a neutral site game because it wasn't on campus. So instead of the 0.67 losses for the RPI winning percentage calculation for road games, we get 1 full loss.

What a joke.

[lfl]

Don't get too upset. Our RPI was already so bad that we actually didn't drop any. We're still at 121.

What a joke indeed.

[Todd4State]

I'm honestly not sure why people are paying attention at this point. We are going to have to get white hot to make a regional. The difference between this team and Cohen's other teams that actually made runs at the end of the year is this team has no balls. They came out tonight like they weren't interested at all. They just didn't compete.


Get back to me if we actually pull a miracle and win the SEC Tournament- because that's our only "realistic"- if you can actually consider this team winning the SEC Tournament a realistic achievement which it isn't.

The on the field leadership that this group has absolutely sucks. We miss Luis Pollorena really bad in that regard. Pollo wasn't the greatest player ever- but he competed his ass off and didn't let the others let down either. Our seniors expect to show up and then expect something good to happen- but they expect someone else to step up and not them.

I can't wait for some of these guys to graduate or get processed. We need to get our freshmen in yesterday. I read on twitter about one of our recruits, Brant Blaylock, who has missed most of the season with a torn hamstring. He comes back tonight- and then hits a home run. THAT is what we need right now that we don't have. Guys that fight through adversity and then come back and perform.

[TUSK]

I'm honestly not sure why people are paying attention at this point. We are going to have to get white hot to make a regional. The difference between this team and Cohen's other teams that actually made runs at the end of the year is this team has no balls. They came out tonight like they weren't interested at all. They just didn't compete.


Get back to me if we actually pull a miracle and win the SEC Tournament- because that's our only "realistic"- if you can actually consider this team winning the SEC Tournament a realistic achievement which it isn't.

The on the field leadership that this group has absolutely sucks. We miss Luis Pollorena really bad in that regard. Pollo wasn't the greatest player ever- but he competed his ass off and didn't let the others let down either. Our seniors expect to show up and then expect something good to happen- but they expect someone else to step up and not them.

I can't wait for some of these guys to graduate or get processed. We need to get our freshmen in yesterday. I read on twitter about one of our recruits, Brant Blaylock, who has missed most of the season with a torn hamstring. He comes back tonight- and then hits a home run. THAT is what we need right now that we don't have. Guys that fight through adversity and then come back and perform.

Yall employ "The Process", too?

[lfl]

I'm honestly not sure why people are paying attention at this point. We are going to have to get white hot to make a regional. The difference between this team and Cohen's other teams that actually made runs at the end of the year is this team has no balls. They came out tonight like they weren't interested at all. They just didn't compete.


Get back to me if we actually pull a miracle and win the SEC Tournament- because that's our only "realistic"- if you can actually consider this team winning the SEC Tournament a realistic achievement which it isn't.

The on the field leadership that this group has absolutely sucks. We miss Luis Pollorena really bad in that regard. Pollo wasn't the greatest player ever- but he competed his ass off and didn't let the others let down either. Our seniors expect to show up and then expect something good to happen- but they expect someone else to step up and not them.

I can't wait for some of these guys to graduate or get processed. We need to get our freshmen in yesterday. I read on twitter about one of our recruits, Brant Blaylock, who has missed most of the season with a torn hamstring. He comes back tonight- and then hits a home run. THAT is what we need right now that we don't have. Guys that fight through adversity and then come back and perform.

Are these guys that much better than our past four recruiting classes, and how many can we reasonably expect to make it to campus? Right now we only have eight returning players that have shown that they can help us compete next year. We need at least ten more to be good. Maybe some of the young guys step up, but really, if you can't get playing time on this team, how good are you really?

[Todd4State]

Yall employ "The Process", too?

We better or I am going to be pissed.

[Todd4State]

Are these guys that much better than our past four recruiting classes, and how many can we reasonably expect to make it to campus? Right now we only have eight returning players that have shown that they can help us compete next year. We need at least ten more to be good. Maybe some of the young guys step up, but really, if you can't get playing time on this team, how good are you really?

Two Under Armour AA's, three PG All-Americans, five part of Team USA and we cleaned out Mississippi and Memphis. Honestly, Cohen's best class yet. We have 19 commits, I think we lose 2-3 most likely. Austin Riley would be starting at third base right now. And the pitchers would give our bullpen a huge boost right now- no question in my mind. Greg Pickett would be our DH and Stovall and Marrero are upgrades over Lovelady and Walker. Alexander would be in the infield mix as well and playing some.

By far Cohen's most decorated class.

[Todd4State]

I'll also say our class last year was Cohen's worst. Gridley is the only one I like- although Gordon and McCord have potential. Way too JUCO heavy. Losing Dale Burdick hurt as well.

[RougeDawg]

I'm honestly not sure why people are paying attention at this point. We are going to have to get white hot to make a regional. The difference between this team and Cohen's other teams that actually made runs at the end of the year is this team has no balls. They came out tonight like they weren't interested at all. They just didn't compete.


Get back to me if we actually pull a miracle and win the SEC Tournament- because that's our only "realistic"- if you can actually consider this team winning the SEC Tournament a realistic achievement which it isn't.

The on the field leadership that this group has absolutely sucks. We miss Luis Pollorena really bad in that regard. Pollo wasn't the greatest player ever- but he competed his ass off and didn't let the others let down either. Our seniors expect to show up and then expect something good to happen- but they expect someone else to step up and not them.

I can't wait for some of these guys to graduate or get processed. We need to get our freshmen in yesterday. I read on twitter about one of our recruits, Brant Blaylock, who has missed most of the season with a torn hamstring. He comes back tonight- and then hits a home run. THAT is what we need right now that we don't have. Guys that fight through adversity and then come back and perform.

Wait, hold on one second. Weren't you one of the ones backing Cohen, his recruiting, hitting teaching prowess and how he starts slow and finishes strong about a week ago? One who has backed Johnny and his "no hitting teaching" for years now is throwing in the towel, after his beloved coach has raked in a few "TOP RECRUITING CLASSES" in a row? Are you too blind to finally see that no matter how great of a class we bring in, we will not develop them and will small ball their swings into a team that demands lock down starters, middle relievers, and closers to even have a chance? We don't suck in the sense of our team, we suck in the sense of our head coach. The same head coach who has been teaching this shit offensive approach, who was lucky enough to have 3 MLB caliber relivers and Renfroe, Frazier, and Pirtle to orchestrate his little CWS run. And lets not forget Cohen did not develop any of those 3 hitters swings. They all exploded in summer leagues. Why is this so hard for people to comprehend and why is this such a surprise this season? It shouldn't be if all of you as fans had objectively observed our teams the last 5 years. Take off the GD maroon colored glasses and see reality for what it really is. 2013 was a pipe dream miracle, period.

Your comment on Blaylock is hilarious. You think these last few recruiting classed lacked guys who could hit for power? You are one of the main ones keeping up with them in high school . You should be the main one questioning, why their offensive output and approach changes so dramatically after "The Hitting Guru" gets them on campus. Jesus. Can you really not comprehend the problem, or will your loyalty not allow? Serious question.

[Johnson85]

We didn't even get credit for playing a road game tonight. That's right...playing Memphis in Autozone Park counts as a neutral site game because it wasn't on campus. So instead of the 0.67 losses for the RPI winning percentage calculation for road games, we get 1 full loss.

What a joke.

That's completely messed up. When we play crappy teams in starvkille on Weekdays, we need to play the games at Starkville High so that our RPI won't be dinged so bad.

[BulldogBear]

That's completely messed up. When we play crappy teams in starvkille on Weekdays, we need to play the games at Starkville High so that our RPI won't be dinged so bad.
Hehehe! Yes, this is genius. They may change the formula because of it!

I will note, however, that on the radio broadcast the noise from Bulldog fans was much more noticeable than Memphis folks. From other things in the broadcast as well, I gathered that this was no "home" game for Memphis. Neutral at best and pro-Mississippi State at worst.

[missouridawg]

I'm honestly not sure why people are paying attention at this point.

The reason people are interested, is because these kinds of mistakes need to be fixed. And since scheduling is something that is almost 100% controllable, it's inexcusable for this shit to be happening. Stansbury's scheduling was a cluster**** for RPI and now Cohen seems to have caught the same bug.

He should've never bowed out of Houston and he should always push a game like the one at Memphis, to be played at Memphis' park, if it's a significant RPI boost.

[War Machine Dawg]

The reason people are interested, is because these kinds of mistakes need to be fixed. And since scheduling is something that is almost 100% controllable, it's inexcusable for this shit to be happening. Stansbury's scheduling was a cluster**** for RPI and now Cohen seems to have caught the same bug.

He should've never bowed out of Houston and he should always push a game like the one at Memphis, to be played at Memphis' park, if it's a significant RPI boost.

We want the experience of playing at AutoZone. It's a great place for baseball. I don't really have a problem playing there instead of Tiger High's shitty on campus stadium. That said, I wish we'd stop playing Memphis in all sports until they agree to play us in basketball. We play them in "our" sports, football and baseball, but they won't return the favor and play us in "their" sport, basketball. They want to get the rub and money from us but don't want to give back. Screw them until they're willing to reciprocate.

The biggest errors are pulling out of prestigious tourneys, scheduling more than 1 SWAC team, and trying to play 85 home non-con games. Our blue hairs are going to have to get used to the idea that scheduling has changed and we can't play 70 games against Sisters of the Poor, Hellen Keller School for the Blind, and Jackson State in order to make sure we don't go on the road in non-con. The NCAAT Selection Committee made it very clear a couple of years ago in saying they want Southern teams to go on the road more during non-con and tweaked RPI to "encourage" that change. Either Cohen didn't get the memo or ignored it. We've got to start loading up non-con with quality teams and at least a couple of road trips. And I'm not talking USA and the games in Pearl. The trip to AZ was a good start, but we can't pull out of tourneys like the Minute Maid Challenge for no reason. Even if we get smoked, at least a) we don't take the RPI hit and b) we'll know where we stand a whole lot earlier in relation to legitimate competition.

[thf24]

In complete and total fairness, we had the edge in fans there last night, and probably would on Memphis' campus as well.

[Johnson85]

In complete and total fairness, we had the edge in fans there last night, and probably would on Memphis' campus as well.

I get that, but it's ridiculous to punish a team for having good fan support and good facilities. If you go on the road to an opponent's hometown, it should count as a road game. There is already a component to RPI that recognizes if you opponent is bad. There is no need to also add a penalty if your opponent doesn't have good facilities. If we schedule a Memphis at autozone park, we should schedule an equivalent to memphis at Starkville High school. Just do it one for one so that when we're criticized, we can honestly say we're just doing it to make up for the RPI penalty we suffer from teams like Memphis not having good enough on campus facilities.

[HSVDawg]

That's completely messed up. When we play crappy teams in starvkille on Weekdays, we need to play the games at Starkville High so that our RPI won't be dinged so bad.

Exactly. That was the whole point of the post...to point out a glaring flaw in the RPI formula (not start a pissing match about exactly how terrible we are and whose fault it is). Does Alabama get a huge RPI boost from playing nothing but road/neutral site games this year? Where do you draw the line? Because if a game 50 miles away is still a home game for Bama, then a game at AutoZone damn sure is a home game for Memphis. It seems like grasping at straws now, but if our season had been going differently and we were in the hunt for regional host or national seed, then it makes a difference. Road win over Top 50 RPI Memphis team looks better to the committee than a neutral win.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I was at the game last night and don't understand why it was considered neutral site. Memphis had their own announcers, walk-out music, played in their city, their students got in free, etc. Not that I care about announcers or music, or that it really makes a huge difference in the grand scheme of things- but it was treated like a Memphis home game even though we had more fans there and it wasn't necessarily played in "their park."

I was surprised to see it not be counted as a road game for us.

[Todd4State]

Wait, hold on one second. Weren't you one of the ones backing Cohen, his recruiting, hitting teaching prowess and how he starts slow and finishes strong about a week ago? I still back Cohen, his recruiting, and his hitting teaching. But then again, I actually see the big picture- much like I saw the big picture in 2008-2009. There was a post on sixpack to Independencebowlmainstay where I essentially predicted a possible CWS run in 2013 in 2009 and it happened. The group that we are brining in is even more talented- and they have a chance to be just as successful if not moreso. We are simply in a transition year. The biggest question about Cohen's recruiting has been the glut of JUCO players in our last class which are for the most part not producing or we are receiving average production from. I never stated anything about how Cohen will finish strong this year- in fact if you have been paying any attention at all, I've said quite the opposite.



One who has backed Johnny and his "no hitting teaching" for years now is throwing in the towel, after his beloved coach has raked in a few "TOP RECRUITING CLASSES" in a row? Are you too blind to finally see that no matter how great of a class we bring in, we will not develop them and will small ball their swings into a team that demands lock down starters, middle relievers, and closers to even have a chance? We don't suck in the sense of our team, we suck in the sense of our head coach. The same head coach who has been teaching this shit offensive approach, who was lucky enough to have 3 MLB caliber relivers and Renfroe, Frazier, and Pirtle to orchestrate his little CWS run.

Let me tell you something about hitting. I was taught the exact same approach that Albert Pujols uses. I've heard him speak about it. So, why is it that Albert Pujols is going to the HOF until he is caught using steroids and I'm working at a hospital? It's because he has infinitely more talent than me. TALENT wins in baseball and can always overcome bad coaching. Great coaching can not overcome bad talent. If you don't believe me, look at Casey Stengal who won multiple World Championships with the Yankees- and then proceeded to lead the Mets to the worst record in modern MLB history. It wasn't because Stengal forgot what to do- it was because he didn't have Mantle, Maris, Martin, Berra, Whitey Ford, etc. anymore. (Well, at least Berra in his prime anyway with the Mets) So, while you may think and believe that Cohen sucks- it doesn't matter if he brings in good enough talent. I don't believe Skip Bertman was as good a coach as Polk was from a fundamentals standpoint- but they had a little bit more talent and you see what happened. As it is, the odds of us getting "lucky" and finding Frazier, Renfroe, and Pirtle is extremely unlikely as far as Cohen being bad. Especially when you gloss over the success that Conner Powers and Jarrod Parks have had- not to mention Colin Cowgill and Matt LaPorta making it to MLB whom Cohen has coached as well. Look at who are best players are- Reid Humphreys, Gavin Collins, and Jacob Robson- ALL were drafted or MLB prospects. And look at who is not doing as well and their credentials before coming to MSU. Even at that, I would say that Cody Brown, Vickerson, and Heck have all made progress since they have stepped on campus. So, the REAL issue- whether you like it, believe it, want to believe it- is getting guys in that can hit with power. And as someone else said- that's not just home runs, it's triples and doubles as well. Getting players with more power = increasing our talent level. Or in other words finding a way to get Greg Pickett and Austin Riley on campus.

I like how you bash Cohen's recruiting and then talk about how "lucky" we were to find three MLB caliber relievers. Oh- and you are leaving off Kendall Graveman out as far as players that we were "lucky" to get. But keep believing that we can put in some Tom Emanski video and all of a sudden Cody Brown and Jake Vickerson are going to start cranking out home runs. Baseball 101 newsflash to everyone- GOOD pitching is non-negotiable with great teams. There is no offense that can offset bad pitching over the course of a season. History is on my side on that.


And lets not forget Cohen did not develop any of those 3 hitters swings. They all exploded in summer leagues. Why is this so hard for people to comprehend and why is this such a surprise this season? It shouldn't be if all of you as fans had objectively observed our teams the last 5 years. Take off the GD maroon colored glasses and see reality for what it really is. 2013 was a pipe dream miracle, period.

Interestingly enough all of those players have ONE coach in common. (Hint- it's not their summer league coach) To say that Renfroe didn't develop while he was at MSU is laughable. Even more laughable is Frazier who hit something like .225 his freshman year. Pirtle didn't play summer ball before exploding with us. Nor did Jarrod Parks. Humphreys is much better- and he completely missed summer ball with a foot injury. Care to explain that? Your theory might hold water if they were all going to the same guy- but the odds of our players maintaining that type of success throughout an entire season without any guidance from their summer ball coach isn't likely given the nature of the game and hitting.


Your comment on Blaylock is hilarious.

And much like you experienced in your JUCO hitting career- you whiffed. The whole point was about how tough Blaylock is and how this team lacks it. Not sure why I have to spell this out for people.


You think these last few recruiting classed lacked guys who could hit for power? You are one of the main ones keeping up with them in high school . You should be the main one questioning, why their offensive output and approach changes so dramatically after "The Hitting Guru" gets them on campus. Jesus. Can you really not comprehend the problem, or will your loyalty not allow? Serious question.

Vallot, Burdick, Gordon all could hit for power- two are in pro ball right now. One is being redshirted and I strongly disagree with it and have been pretty vocal about disagreeing with making him a pitcher. I also made a long post a week ago questioning why we have recruited so many JUCO players. I also have said that Rooker would hit with some power- and in limited playing time as a RS freshman he has two and will have a nice career for us. I thought Humphreys would be pretty good and he has been, and Collins has been good other than injuries. Most of our players are about what I thought they would be. Rea has disappointed in the power department, but it is what it is.

My question is why you can't comprehend our hitters improving- or if your blinders will allow you to see it. You don't have to answer because I already know the question. Of our 14 losses SEVEN have been game where we scored five runs or more. While our offense certainly has room for improvement- our biggest issue right now isn't our offense.

[berr6728]

amen rougedawg.Todd talks out of both sides of his mouth, Cohen will find a way to screw up the 2015 class mark it down

[messageboardsuperhero]

amen rougedawg.Todd talks out of both sides of his mouth, Cohen will find a way to screw up the 2015 class mark it down

You still refusing to go to DNF until Cohen is fired?

[Todd4State]

amen rougedawg.Todd talks out of both sides of his mouth, Cohen will find a way to screw up the 2015 class mark it down

Tommy would have a NC by now.***************

[War Machine Dawg]

Tommy would have a NC by now.***************

http://i.imgur.com/2YJ5inX.gif

No one has mentioned Raffo in ages. Way to throw out the red herring. I literally don't know anyone who would prefer Raffo to Cohen. I'm sure a few there are a few die hard University of Polk types who do, but I've never encountered them. Hell, as pissed as I am with Cohen's last two seasons, I'd rather sign him to a lifetime contract than have Raffo ever HC a game for us.