Was Ron Polk Right?

[bulldogcountry1]

Yeah, his massive hissy fit was out of line, but did Polk know something about Cohen's coaching style, ego, and philosophy that led him to think Cohen wasn't a good fit?

Or was it just because he promised the job to Raffo and didn't get his way?


Either way, I thought we were quickly gaining momentum, and the new definition of a down year would be a 3 seed out west. With everything we have to offer as a program and coaching staff, I thought making a regional would be the minimum expectation from here on out. Since Omaha, though, things have come off the track, and I don't understand it. Is it talent, development, leadership, morale? It seems like a perfect storm of everything.

[Ralph]

Pretty sure it was bc of Raffo. Cohen recruited to play small ball and the new bats and balls don't work for the amount of small ball we play. I want Cohen to be the guy but he needs to change philosophy fast.

[maroonmania]

NO, he was not right. Cohen may or may not end up being THE guy long term we need but nobody can convince me that Raffo, had he been allowed to take over, was going to do anything much different than what Polk was doing given Raffo's whole playing and coaching career was under Polk. Also, Polk would have been behind the scenes looking over Raffo's shoulder the whole time anyway which would have been a hindrance. For whatever Cohen's flaws, he has gotten us to the CWS championship round (something Polk never accomplished) and he has greatly elevated the caliber of recruit we are going after. The days of pulling in elite guys because they came to your baseball camp (i.e. the Polk way) are over.
And just to add, Polk would have had a hissy fit if ANYONE other than Raffo had been given our job. Polk had promised Raffo he would be the next HC even though it wasn't Polk's place to make such a promise.

[Political Hack]

Cohen > Polk.

Love them both, but Cohen has taken us further with less and against a much better SEC.

[maroonmania]

Cohen > Polk.

Love them both, but Cohen has taken us further with less and against a much better SEC.

True, if Polk started today at MSU where most everyone in the SEC emphasizes baseball and where the scholarship discrepancies are like they are (i.e. MS doesn't offer state scholarships to help offset the 11.7 limit) then he would never have accomplished anywhere near in his career what he did.

[Hypnodawg]

I think the new balls have had a bigger impact on us than other teams because of personnel. Pitchers (like Ross) don't seem to be getting the same movement out of the new ball. That coupled with easier home runs has been disastrous for Cohen ball. When you minmax for small ball and the game switches away from small ball, this is what you get.

[AlSwearengen]

Cohen does some things that make me scratch my head and it is frustrating as hell sometimes. But, his number one priority is winning and winning big. Can't say that about Polk.

And if you want frustration? Watching polk's teams try to get a bunt down in the ninth inning needing one run to tie or win was pretty damn frustrating.

[engie]

Pretty sure it was bc of Raffo. Cohen recruited to play small ball and the new bats and balls don't work for the amount of small ball we play. I want Cohen to be the guy but he needs to change philosophy fast.

Cohen wanted to delay the change to new balls for another season. This was a direct quote from a very close friend of mine this time last year. "My whole program is built around these baseballs and it's going to take us 2 years to adjust our philosophy to match the change." I discounted it as a bit of hyperbole at the time, but it is certainly seeming to be true... The guy that told me this is an opposing coach in the sec and had absolutely no reason to bs me about it. Same guy told me the day the class rankings were released that our 2013 class was laughably overrated, which I argued about at length, but he's certainly seeming correct on that front as well. He has no such smack talk about our 2015 class -- just "good luck getting them to campus"...

[tcdog70]

The new Ball and our shitty Adidas Bats have screwed this team. The ball 2 ways--other teams hit it out of the Park and we can't. Also Our pitchers were geared for the higher seems and this ball doesn't move as well. Mistakes in the past were long fly-outs now they are TATERS. Bit Cohen will adjust, he is a winner and He will win. Just not this year. Who is Better? Bite bullet and us our Mantra--"Wait till Next Year"

[Coach34]

What Hack and Maroonmania said.

Polk had losing SEC records in 6 of his last 9 seasons. His entire legacy was built around us giving a shit about baseball before everybody else did. Once other schools started investing- Polk's career dwindled.

Cohen isn't getting it done this year- it happens. Just better not happen 2 seasons in a row

[Tbonewannabe]

Our team this year was built for last year's style of play. These baseballs affected us a lot worse than most because Cohen built this team to take advantage of that style of play. Most of our pitchers are sinker style pitchers. Now the ball doesn't sink so most of our pitchers aren't effective. It isn't like Ross Mitchell forgot how to pitch.

[Saltydog]

will get better and get stronger and offensively we could be better but the pitching staff doensn't have enough power arms and one year prolly won't change that too much. I hope I'm wrong though.

[Harrydawg]

Old saying....broken clock is correct twice per day.

Let's not jump off the boat. Let's rebuild and get better

[basedog]

I don't understand, our team is built around small ball, the ball changes but yet we still bunt to play for one run. Why don't we adjust and swing the bat and do more hit and run stuff versus bunting? Good coaches make adjustments on the run, when something isn't working then change. We recruit guys to hit not based on bunting ability I hope, maybe I'm wrong.

[maroonmania]

Our team this year was built for last year's style of play. These baseballs affected us a lot worse than most because Cohen built this team to take advantage of that style of play. Most of our pitchers are sinker style pitchers. Now the ball doesn't sink so most of our pitchers aren't effective. It isn't like Ross Mitchell forgot how to pitch.

Yep, when the ball is not moving and sinking like it used to and the ball flies 15-20 feet further than it used to that is a terrible combination for our pitchers. Butch Thompson's philosophy since he's been here is to keep the ball down and pitch to contact. Will Butch be able to adapt to the new baseballs and keep his pitchers effective? May remain to be seen.

[MadDawg]

Our team this year was built for last year's style of play. These baseballs affected us a lot worse than most because Cohen built this team to take advantage of that style of play. Most of our pitchers are sinker style pitchers. Now the ball doesn't sink so most of our pitchers aren't effective. It isn't like Ross Mitchell forgot how to pitch.

Somewhere lost in this is that somehow other teams were able to adjust and we weren't. I guess we were (one of at least) the only team in the conference built for small ball this year.

[shoeless joe]

Cohen wanted to delay the change to new balls for another season. This was a direct quote from a very close friend of mine this time last year. "My whole program is built around these baseballs and it's going to take us 2 years to adjust our philosophy to match the change." I discounted it as a bit of hyperbole at the time, but it is certainly seeming to be true... The guy that told me this is an opposing coach in the sec and had absolutely no reason to bs me about it. Same guy told me the day the class rankings were released that our 2013 class was laughably overrated, which I argued about at length, but he's certainly seeming correct on that front as well. He has no such smack talk about our 2015 class -- just "good luck getting them to campus"...

Speaking of Polk mistakes, not getting that opposing coach you speak of into maroon and white was unexcusable.

[engie]

We are top 10 nationally in k/9ip since the pitching rebuild was complete. This "pitch to contact" thing is a total misnomer.

[Smitty]

Cohen wanted to delay the change to new balls for another season. This was a direct quote from a very close friend of mine this time last year. "My whole program is built around these baseballs and it's going to take us 2 years to adjust our philosophy to match the change." I discounted it as a bit of hyperbole at the time, but it is certainly seeming to be true... The guy that told me this is an opposing coach in the sec and had absolutely no reason to bs me about it. Same guy told me the day the class rankings were released that our 2013 class was laughably overrated, which I argued about at length, but he's certainly seeming correct on that front as well. He has no such smack talk about our 2015 class -- just "good luck getting them to campus"...

This is a damn problem in itself. The meddler actually thinks that the damn ball is an excuse for this shit. A good hitter is a good hitter regardless of the damn ball. It is NOT seeming to be true, it's a lame excuse.

[Coach34]

There will be no excuses next year

[Ralph]

This is a damn problem in itself. The meddler actually thinks that the damn ball is an excuse for this shit. A good hitter is a good hitter regardless of the damn ball. It is NOT seeming to be true, it's a lame excuse.

I get your point, but Cohen recruited to win at TD Ameritrade. Pretty sure he's said that publicly. The old balls didnt have the pop nor velocity, but pitchers like Ross could take advantage and clearly the new ball has some effect.

We're prob going to suck next year too but the recruiting seems to be going in the right direction and I don't think we should be too quick to bail on Cohen. But either way, I think we're looking at 2017 before the discussion of hosting happening again.

[bulldogcountry1]

This is a damn problem in itself. The meddler actually thinks that the damn ball is an excuse for this shit. A good hitter is a good hitter regardless of the damn ball. It is NOT seeming to be true, it's a lame excuse.

I think it's a bad excuse for the offensive performance, for sure. I just haven't seen enough to convince me that Cohen himself can coach up a good offensive team. He better get some help, and I don't mean raid the JUCOs.

[bulldogcountry1]

I get your point, but Cohen recruited to win at TD Ameritrade. Pretty sure he's said that publicly. The old balls didnt have the pop nor velocity, but pitchers like Ross could take advantage and clearly the new ball has some effect.

We're prob going to suck next year too but the recruiting seems to be going in the right direction and I don't think we should be too quick to bail on Cohen. But either way, I think we're looking at 2017 before the discussion of hosting happening again.

I'm not bailing on him, but it's rather frustrating when there's little to no visual evidence of him adapting to changes. Two weeks into the SEC schedule (at the latest), he should have seen that his old philosophy is garbage and made some adjustments in his strategy. Mainly, use a lot less strategy and just try to score some runs. I don't think we have to firepower now to make that much of a difference in the win column, but it's better than continuing to think that all we need is 3-4 runs to win.

[RougeDawg]

I get your point, but Cohen recruited to win at TD Ameritrade. Pretty sure he's said that publicly. The old balls didnt have the pop nor velocity, but pitchers like Ross could take advantage and clearly the new ball has some effect.

We're prob going to suck next year too but the recruiting seems to be going in the right direction and I don't think we should be too quick to bail on Cohen. But either way, I think we're looking at 2017 before the discussion of hosting happening again.

Why in the F*ck would any coach recruit toward the end goal that only 8 teams a year make at the expense of actually having a productive offense throughout the season. When a more productive offense throughout the season, further increasing your chances of reaching Omaha. That's like some NFL team drafting a kicker 1st round who can kick 65+ yard FGs to give them an advantage once they reach the Super Bowl, when the offense Desperately needs a productive QB to be successful throughout the season. Without a productive QB, the chances of them ever getting to actually kick a 70 yarded in the Super Bowl is slim. I know it's a shitty analogy but it's difficult to even think of any other situations that are comparable to Cohen's bullshit excuses and reasoning.

What I and a few other on here are seeing, is a pattern of excuses and reasons why we are inept in specific areas. This is because our coach has so much of an ego he does not address nor have the pride to change and attempt to repair what's broken. Period. He's too arrogant to admit we need a true hitting coach. That's the root problem.

Seriously, why would any coach rule out guys who can hit for average and power? None. From Todd and others, they fully expected more pop out of our last couple recruiting classes. The one common denominator is Cohen. His teams and track record is proving that he is tweaking the swings for slap hitting approaches. Even the players have publicly confirmed what the visual product at the plate displays. It's obvious to some, that his hitting approach is one sided (small ball) instead of being all around. A properly coached hitter can have adequate power to all fields, while still being able to bunt and move runners.

The recurring theme in most of the concerned posts lately is Cohen isn't changing philosophy and isn't willing to bring in a hitting coach who can help.

[DistrictDawg92]

It's time to change our philosophy. We had ONE extra base hit this weekend going into the final game. How do you go 18 innings with supposed upper tier D1 talent with only ONE extra base hit. I'm so tired of seeing either ground ball choppers in the infield or lazy fly outs to the outfielders. We need to find some guys that can drive it into the gaps period. We will suck until we do so. If Cohen is as good of a coach as i believe he is, he will make this adjustment. And i really don't even think it's the way he recruits, but the way that he changes swings. I can't help but think that if Wes Rea or Hump had gone to LSU or A&M they would each have close to 10 HR's at this point in the year. Absolutely no excuse for a 6-5 300ish pound 1st baseman to only have THREE HR's this year.

[War Machine Dawg]

It's time to change our philosophy. We had ONE extra base hit this weekend going into the final game. How do you go 18 innings with supposed upper tier D1 talent with only ONE extra base hit. I'm so tired of seeing either ground ball choppers in the infield or lazy fly outs to the outfielders. We need to find some guys that can drive it into the gaps period. We will suck until we do so. If Cohen is as good of a coach as i believe he is, he will make this adjustment. And i really don't even think it's the way he recruits, but the way that he changes swings. I can't help but think that if Wes Rea or Hump had gone to LSU or A&M they would each have close to 10 HR's at this point in the year. Absolutely no excuse for a 6-5 300ish pound 1st baseman to only have THREE HR's this year.

I repeat, Wes Rea = Casey Kotchman in Adam Dunn's body. He's just not a power hitter.

Hump should have 10+ HRs easily. I noticed Saturday FL has a freshman hitting over .300 with 13 HRs. We had something like 18 HRs as a TEAM. That's just ridiculous and further indicates just how little power we actually have. And the few guys who actually DO have any power all get benched if they go 0-4 or never given a chance while we're forced to suffer with a guy hitting .180 at DH.

[DistrictDawg92]

I repeat, Wes Rea = Casey Kotchman in Adam Dunn's body. He's just not a power hitter.

Hump should have 10+ HRs easily. I noticed Saturday FL has a freshman hitting over .300 with 13 HRs. We had something like 18 HRs as a TEAM. That's just ridiculous and further indicates just how little power we actually have. And the few guys who actually DO have any power all get benched if they go 0-4 or never given a chance while we're forced to suffer with a guy hitting .180 at DH.

All 3 of our outfielders,and our 4th outfielder (M. Smith) are under 6 foot. Now I know that they are 3 of our better hitters this year, but we get practically no power from our outfielders while guys like Rooker and Humphries are forced to ride the bench. Then our starting shortstop, 3rd baseman and 2nd baseman have combined for a whopping 2 home runs this year. At some point you have to sacrifice some defense for offense, and Cohen absolutely refuses to do that. Why not give Waddel some AB's at DH instead of Reynolds who is batting .150. Why can't we have Gavin, Rea, Hump and Rooker all in the lineup at the same time? Cohen's methods of playing baseball worked before the ball change, but something obviously has to change. Everyone was expecting so much more power this year with the ball change(MsStateBall predicted 50 HR's LOL), but i honestly don't know why, Just because you move a 300 ft fence in to 250 ft on a U8 youth baseball league field, doesn't mean there are gonna be any more home runs. He's trying to win games with both of his hands tied behind his back.

[DistrictDawg92]

I repeat, Wes Rea = Casey Kotchman in Adam Dunn's body. He's just not a power hitter.

Hump should have 10+ HRs easily. I noticed Saturday FL has a freshman hitting over .300 with 13 HRs. We had something like 18 HRs as a TEAM. That's just ridiculous and further indicates just how little power we actually have. And the few guys who actually DO have any power all get benched if they go 0-4 or never given a chance while we're forced to suffer with a guy hitting .180 at DH.

Wes has the power potential, his homerun at A&M probably would've cleared all the lounges at DNF. I feel like Cohen worked so hard on his inside out swing that Wes forgot how to get out in front of a ball. He rarely hit's one down the 3rd base line, but when he does its a laser. Most of his hits are softish liners into right field. Now I love that he can hit to the opposite field so well and it is beautiful to see and almost a lost art in baseball today, but he is not the guy that should be known for that, he should be the guy that is known for hitting the ball over the damn fence. Think back to how Wes swung early in his career to now, his average has gone up while his HR numbers have gone down, in that same time frame most of his hits have migrated to the opposite side of the field. I don't see how people don't see that it is Cohen that caused this, not Wes. If Wes played for LSU he would have 10 HR's right now, but it does help to have people on base which forces the pitchers to throw some hitable pitches in there. It's amazing how many times Wes comes up with no one on and walks, i'd almost guarantee that he has the most walks on the team, and at 6'5" that says a lot.

[RocketCityDawg]

Wes has the power potential, his homerun at A&M probably would've cleared all the lounges at DNF. I feel like Cohen worked so hard on his inside out swing that Wes forgot how to get out in front of a ball. He rarely hit's one down the 3rd base line, but when he does its a laser. Most of his hits are softish liners into right field. Now I love that he can hit to the opposite field so well and it is beautiful to see and almost a lost art in baseball today, but he is not the guy that should be known for that, he should be the guy that is known for hitting the ball over the damn fence. Think back to how Wes swung early in his career to now, his average has gone up while his HR numbers have gone down, in that same time frame most of his hits have migrated to the opposite side of the field. I don't see how people don't see that it is Cohen that caused this, not Wes. If Wes played for LSU he would have 10 HR's right now, but it does help to have people on base which forces the pitchers to throw some hitable pitches in there. It's amazing how many times Wes comes up with no one on and walks, i'd almost guarantee that he has the most walks on the team, and at 6'5" that says a lot.

In Cohen's defense, every time he talks about Wes' hitting, he talks about Wes needing to get the barrel out in front.

[Smitty]

They can walk Wes because they don't even need to hold him on at 1st base. His approach this year is THE ONLY way he could have ever had any success with his swing.

People saying Cohens methods worked in the past remember one year while forgetting he rest. 2012 offensively was putrid. 2011 wasn't much better. We are in year 7 with a joke of an offense. Nobody fears this team, in year 7. Quit telling me about Omaha because that obviously hasn't been parlayed into jack shit. We'll get a couple croots lose a couple to the draft and be told of the brighter future coming. They'll be typical "badass" freshmen under Cohen (see Hump) and probably not pan out like we want because he will meddle and **** with their swings.

Been hearing about the greener grass for too long now. Thanks for getting hot for two weeks Cohen, doesn't make you infallible. Hire a hitting coach, get out of the way, or pack your shit.

[DistrictDawg92]

They can walk Wes because they don't even need to hold him on at 1st base. His approach this year is THE ONLY way he could have ever had any success with his swing.

People saying Cohens methods worked in the past remember one year while forgetting he rest. 2012 offensively was putrid. 2011 wasn't much better. We are in year 7 with a joke of an offense. Nobody fears this team, in year 7. Quit telling me about Omaha because that obviously hasn't been parlayed into jack shit. We'll get a couple croots lose a couple to the draft and be told of the brighter future coming. They'll be typical "badass" freshmen under Cohen (see Hump) and probably not pan out like we want because he will meddle and **** with their swings.

Been hearing about the greener grass for too long now. Thanks for getting hot for two weeks Cohen, doesn't make you infallible. Hire a hitting coach, get out of the way, or pack your shit.

You're on the right track here.

[RocketCityDawg]

I'm not happy about this year AT ALL, but I support John Cohen and Butch Thompson.
I think some of you guys are crazy for wanting to run a guy off so quickly. I guess part of it is the internet age of instant gratification.
Look. If Gavin doesn't get hurt. If Reid hadn't had a slow start and lost confidence. If the seams hadn't messed up Ross so badly. I could list a lot more things like Holland's slow start, getting nothing from Smith and Reynolds, but let's admit that a lot of things have gone wrong this year. The ship will get righted. Maybe not this year because it's hard to stop a ball that's already rolling down hill. But I trust our guys, and I'll continue to support them.

[DistrictDawg92]

I'm not happy about this year AT ALL, but I support John Cohen and Butch Thompson.
I think some of you guys are crazy for wanting to run a guy off so quickly. I guess part of it is the internet age of instant gratification.
Look. If Gavin doesn't get hurt. If Reid hadn't had a slow start and lost confidence. If the seams hadn't messed up Ross so badly. I could list a lot more things like Holland's slow start, getting nothing from Smith and Reynolds, but let's admit that a lot of things have gone wrong this year. The ship will get righted. Maybe not this year because it's hard to stop a ball that's already rolling down hill. But I trust our guys, and I'll continue to support them.

I don't think anyone in their right mind actually wants to fire Cohen after this year. That would just be stupid, but something does have to change next year, and if it doesn't then the firing conversation should begin. I think Cohen has a great baseball mind, but sometimes he lets his stubbornness get the best of him.

[sandwolf]

It's amazing how many times Wes comes up with no one on and walks, i'd almost guarantee that he has the most walks on the team, and at 6'5" that says a lot.

He has the most walks in the entire SEC, and is tied for 7th nationally.

Link (http://www.ncaa.com/stats/baseball/d1/current/individual/495)

[DistrictDawg92]

He has the most walks in the entire SEC, and is tied for 7th nationally.

Link (http://www.ncaa.com/stats/baseball/d1/current/individual/495)

Wow, didn't realize he was that high on the list. Makes sense that his OBP is over .500, but sadly, walks won't get him to the MLB and sadly Cohen's tinkering with his swing has given him absolutely no chance at making money playing baseball. Even more sad, I wouldn't be surprised that if he had chosen football instead of baseball, he might be waiting for his name to be called in the upcoming NFL draft. He isn't fast but his is very quick, and you can see that with his defensive play on the diamond. He may have been a hell of an Offensive Tackle.

[RocketCityDawg]

I don't think anyone in their right mind actually wants to fire Cohen after this year. That would just be stupid, but something does have to change next year, and if it doesn't then the firing conversation should begin. I think Cohen has a great baseball mind, but sometimes he lets his stubbornness get the best of him.

I disagree. I think there are a few on here who want him gone yesterday. Thompson too, even after some of the great things he's done.
The rest of your post, I kind of agree with.

[Tbonewannabe]

Somewhere lost in this is that somehow other teams were able to adjust and we weren't. I guess we were (one of at least) the only team in the conference built for small ball this year.

I think a big part of it is not adjusting coaching style and also I think Cohen had gone all in with this style. Our team is similarly built like the UCLA team that beat us.

[DistrictDawg92]

I think a big part of it is not adjusting coaching style and also I think Cohen had gone all in with this style. Our team is similarly built like the UCLA team that beat us.

Except for the whole they had a bullpen thing.

[Todd4State]

Ron Polk was absolutely wrong about Cohen. The proof is in the pudding. And imagine where we would be if we didn't have to completely rebuild the first two years. Two SR's, a SEC Tournament Championship, and an appearance in Omaha. That's over the course of five seasons and that = sustained success over a period of time.

I don't really understand people criticizing Cohen for building our team to give us the best chance to win in Omaha under the old baseball. Especially since it worked. The game has now changed, and it's simply time for us to change with it. I believe Cohen is doing that, but in the meantime we're stuck with what we have right now and there's not a lot we can do about it at the moment other than change the way we recruit- which we are doing.

Here's something to think about- if Cohen was willing to change us to put us in a position to get to Omaha before, why wouldn't he adapt and do it again?

[Todd4State]

I think a big part of it is not adjusting coaching style and also I think Cohen had gone all in with this style. Our team is similarly built like the UCLA team that beat us.

Well, like football you do what your players can do. There's nothing we can do to make our guys start hitting with power all of a sudden.

It's like Croom expecting Omarr Conner to and Chris Relf to be drop back passers and expecting them to produce. Whether people realize it or not, that's what some people are basically saying.

We can coach our hitters to a different "style"- but it would not be as successful as what we are doing now. The ONLY way to change it is to get more power hitters in and get guys with more talent.

[Todd4State]

They can walk Wes because they don't even need to hold him on at 1st base. His approach this year is THE ONLY way he could have ever had any success with his swing.

People saying Cohens methods worked in the past remember one year while forgetting he rest. 2012 offensively was putrid. 2011 wasn't much better. We are in year 7 with a joke of an offense. Nobody fears this team, in year 7. Quit telling me about Omaha because that obviously hasn't been parlayed into jack shit. We'll get a couple croots lose a couple to the draft and be told of the brighter future coming. They'll be typical "badass" freshmen under Cohen (see Hump) and probably not pan out like we want because he will meddle and **** with their swings.

Been hearing about the greener grass for too long now. Thanks for getting hot for two weeks Cohen, doesn't make you infallible. Hire a hitting coach, get out of the way, or pack your shit.

2011 we went to a SR and had the top hitter in the SEC with a team that was a mix of freshmen, JUCO's and a few leftovers from the Polk era. You don't want to hear about Omaha because it pretty much is the elephant in the room that makes you look like a moron.

And did you watch Humphreys last year at all? He is a lot better than he was last year when he couldn't even touch LH pitching.

You're supposed to be all about stats- but the only one you parade around is our sac bunt stat. Why aren't you talking about the fact that our offense is currently 6th in the SEC in runs scored, 7th in OBP, 9th in batting average, and first in walks? We now have NINE losses where we scored five runs or more and LOST. And yet that is on the offense? What an idiot.

[Todd4State]

We are top 10 nationally in k/9ip since the pitching rebuild was complete. This "pitch to contact" thing is a total misnomer.

The weird thing is a lot of times when pitchers pitch to contact, they end up getting more strike outs it seems. I think it has a lot to do with being more fine with pitches than anything rather than just attacking the hitter.

[Liverpooldawg]

Well, like football you do what your players can do. There's nothing we can do to make our guys start hitting with power all of a sudden.

It's like Croom expecting Omarr Conner to and Chris Relf to be drop back passers and expecting them to produce. Whether people realize it or not, that's what some people are basically saying.

We can coach our hitters to a different "style"- but it would not be as successful as what we are doing now. The ONLY way to change it is to get more power hitters in and get guys with more talent.

Like it or not this is pretty much the bottom line right now. If Cohen fails to adapt his recruiting to the new game over the next couple of years THEN it's time to get on him. That time hasn't come yet.

[RocketCityDawg]

Ron Polk was absolutely wrong about Cohen. The proof is in the pudding. And imagine where we would be if we didn't have to completely rebuild the first two years. Two SR's, a SEC Tournament Championship, and an appearance in Omaha. That's over the course of five seasons and that = sustained success over a period of time.

I don't really understand people criticizing Cohen for building our team to give us the best chance to win in Omaha under the old baseball. Especially since it worked. The game has now changed, and it's simply time for us to change with it. I believe Cohen is doing that, but in the meantime we're stuck with what we have right now and there's not a lot we can do about it at the moment other than change the way we recruit- which we are doing.

Here's something to think about- if Cohen was willing to change us to put us in a position to get to Omaha before, why wouldn't he adapt and do it again?

^^^^ This times 1,000