Is it even possible for Cohen to change his philosophy?

[Drugdog]

I say doubtful. I think it's just who he is.
We shall see.

[engie]

The guy that had alumni crying on message boards about his language in the dugout to the Bench Mobb, facial hair bs that we see today -- and you think it is doubtful that he can make a REALLY SMALL in the scheme of things adjustment to his offensive philosophy?

[starkvegasdawg]

Need a power point presentation.

[Drugdog]

The guy that had alumni crying on message boards about his language in the dugout to the Bench Mobb, facial hair bs that we see today -- and you think it is doubtful that he can make a REALLY SMALL in the scheme of things adjustment to his offensive philosophy?

Yes.

[Johnson85]

I say doubtful. I think it's just who he is.
We shall see.

He may always overcoach, but I believe he has already changed his philosophy. Didn't he build power teams for UK and it's small park, and switch to small ball to take advantage of the dead bats and balls and match DN, Ameritrade, and Hoover?

The only question is whether he thinks he has a philosophy problem or an execution problem. I suspect he thinks it's both.

[HancockCountyDog]

The guy that had alumni crying on message boards about his language in the dugout to the Bench Mobb, facial hair bs that we see today -- and you think it is doubtful that he can make a REALLY SMALL in the scheme of things adjustment to his offensive philosophy?

Engie - maybe its just me, but since things have mattered in 2011 - his philosophy has been get on base by any means necessary, small ball baseball, have solid starting pitching and a dominant bullpen that you can use in creative ways.

That has been his formula for success at MSU.

I have no problem with the pitching philosophy but our offensive philosophy will have to change dramatically in my opinion. Im not saying we need to try and Gorilla ball it, but we have some major changes both personnel wise and strategy wise.

[Thick]

Engie - maybe its just me, but since things have mattered in 2011 - his philosophy has been get on base by any means necessary, small ball baseball, have solid starting pitching and a dominant bullpen that you can use in creative ways.

That has been his formula for success at MSU.

I have no problem with the pitching philosophy but our offensive philosophy will have to change dramatically in my opinion. Im not saying we need to try and Gorilla ball it, but we have some major changes both personnel wise and strategy wise.

I agree with all of this. John has changed his actions on the field, but can he change his philosophy, and can he put his pride aside and hire a real, proven hitting coach?

[state66]

We looked like a power team at Kentucky this year. I doubt he built that team to be a power team, they just looked like one in that park.

[mic]

We can rip Cohen and second guess him and Butch all we want.. And I have no problem with that. They both do some head scratching things., but at some point PLAYERS have to step up and make some plays.. Show some guts, balls, pride, get pissed off, sack up...
Runners in scoring position all year can't get a big hit..
Offense puts up a few runs gets us back in game or the lead, pitchers give it right back next inning..
When we should bunt guys can't get bunts down.
Who is your leaders??
When someone is in scoring position who do you want at the plate?? Exactly...

It's just not a good team, we have some good players , just not a good team.. And you can tell CJC doesn't like this group for whatever reason..
2013 was a long time ago.....

[Really Clark?]

We can rip Cohen and second guess him and Butch all we want.. And I have no problem with that. They both do some head scratching things., but at some point PLAYERS have to step up and make some plays.. Show some guts, balls, pride, get pissed off, sack up...
Runners in scoring position all year can't get a big hit..
Offense puts up a few runs gets us back in game or the lead, pitchers give it right back next inning..
When we should bunt guys can't get bunts down.
Who is your leaders??
When someone is in scoring position who do you want at the plate?? Exactly...

It's just not a good team, we have some good players , just not a good team.. And you can tell CJC doesn't like this group for whatever reason..
2013 was a long time ago.....

I think you hit an important point. As much as everyone gripes about technique, philosophy, approach, etc. but at some point, pride to succeed for your team or just the individual competiton to challenge yourself, you should have a sense of betterment and accomishment that is interwoven in our make up has to come through. That is what is missing it seems. And until the players have that heart about them the other points of contention is useless. Are there adjustments that can be made? Yes of course. But the mental and most importantly the heart, is where things need to start.

[engie]

Engie - maybe its just me, but since things have mattered in 2011 - his philosophy has been get on base by any means necessary, small ball baseball, have solid starting pitching and a dominant bullpen that you can use in creative ways.

That has been his formula for success at MSU.

I have no problem with the pitching philosophy but our offensive philosophy will have to change dramatically in my opinion. Im not saying we need to try and Gorilla ball it, but we have some major changes both personnel wise and strategy wise.

How do people explain away 2013 then? We played very little small ball that year. But that flies in the face of "he just can't/won't change his philosophy in order to be successful".

I'm as mad about the season as the next guy -- but some insistence that he can't/won't adjust to fix problems in spite of him showing that he would and could multiple times already is simply asinine. He should be given every opportunity to do just that.

[justwin]

I say doubtful. I think it's just who he is.
We shall see.

I got a feeling that Stricklin will sit down with Cohen immediately after offseason to discuss staff changes. I chuckle reading Cohen?s comments about roster guys. Hell, those are the guys you brought on campus, hoss. Just by the way that Stricklin handled firing Ray, and getting Howland; I get a sense that he shares our views as well. Several issues:

? We NEED to hire a full-time assistant hitting coach. Every other SEC team does this. This will be a demotion for Mingione back to volunteer whatever. If he doesn?t like that, then he can resign & move on. I doubt he?ll have many other options, though.

? Cohen needs to give more autonomy to his staff, for new hitting coach, much like he does w/Butch. Cohen can then concentrate on fielding, defense, and HC duties. This slap ball, bunt BS is just that? BS. This season?s woes have nothing to do with the balls or the Adidas bats, blah blah. Other teams have come into the Dude this yr and hit HRs, no reason we can?t.

? This bunt philosophy anytime, everytime whenever we get a leadoff guy on has to go. I don?t mind it with tight ball games, and trying to manufacture something late.

? A new lineup every day needs to f?ing stop. Fall Ball, and the first couple wknds, you should know who your best nine are, and stick with them. Look at Reynolds. He?s gotten start for 3 consecutive games now, I believe, and he has 7 hits. Dude flashed a pretty decent glove at 3B. Have to wonder where his stats would be now had he been starter entire year..

? Differentiate the baseball team from your stock trading habits.

? Fire current S&C coach, and bring in a new one that does not have a frickin? potbelly. Our guys look kinda sloppy, to be honest, and when you look at our S&C coach, it?s apparent why. Bring in some jack dieseled dude. That way, you know new S&C coach takes pride in themselves, in turn, will take pride in their jobs & getting on our guys to bulk/lean up.

Question remains? .can Cohen do a complete 180, at this point? This season has to have irked Stricklin a good bit, especially with new baseball field on the horizon. He?s trying to fundraise, and chit, and you have to think that Stricklin sees this new Dude as his lasting legacy? I just don?t see anything positive to build on for next yr. More of the same, it seems?

[HancockCountyDog]

How do people explain away 2013 then? We played very little small ball that year. But that flies in the face of "he just can't/won't change his philosophy in order to be successful".

I'm as mad about the season as the next guy -- but some insistence that he can't/won't adjust to fix problems in spite of him showing that he would and could multiple times already is simply asinine. He should be given every opportunity to do just that.

Looking at 2013 - what did we do - we got on base at a .382 clip. In 2014, .369 clip. What is our OB% this year? .379. Hell, our slugging percentage in 2013 was .385 as opposed to .364 this year, and this with Hunter having an ungodly .620 slugging percentage to juke the stats. We score runs by getting on base any means necessary. This stat will blow you away, in the last four seasons - as a team - we have hit 86 Home runs. AS a TEAM in FOUR YEARS. Hell, you take out Renfroe's Junior season and as a team we have hit 70 home runs as a team in Four seasons.

In 2012, we had 67 sacrifices, 2013 we had 57 sacrifices, 60 in 2014, in 2015 we are on pace for around 50.

In 2013 we had two outliers. Renfroe and Frazier. They both hit over. 345 and slugged Frazier Slugged .464 and Renfroe .620. They were legit stars. To put it in perspective, only Wes Rea this year is slugging more than Frazier's .464 clip in the last four years. Thats it.

Its almost impossible to say that John doesn't believe in getting on base by any means necessary - We have been HPB almost 60 times more than opposing teams and have averaged 50-60 more walks a season than the opposing team. He doesn't play for the big inning and doesn't recruit players that can hit the big inning. That is a philosophy that can work with a dominant staff and a ball that no one can hit. Now, we don't have a dominant staff and guys can hit the ball out of the park. THat is a problem and I don't know how you fix it one year to be honest.

[engie]

Looking at 2013 - what did we do - we got on base at a .382 clip. In 2014, .369 clip. What is our OB% this year? .379. Hell, our slugging percentage in 2013 was .385 as opposed to .364 this year, and this with Hunter having an ungodly .620 slugging percentage to juke the stats. We score runs by getting on base any means necessary. This stat will blow you away, in the last four seasons - as a team - we have hit 86 Home runs. AS a TEAM in FOUR YEARS. Hell, you take out Renfroe's Junior season and as a team we have hit 70 home runs as a team in Four seasons.

In 2012, we had 67 sacrifices, 2013 we had 57 sacrifices, 60 in 2014, in 2015 we are on pace for around 50.

In 2013 we had two outliers. Renfroe and Frazier. They both hit over. 345 and slugged Frazier Slugged .464 and Renfroe .620. They were legit stars. To put it in perspective, only Wes Rea this year is slugging more than Frazier's .464 clip in the last four years. Thats it.

Its almost impossible to say that John doesn't believe in getting on base by any means necessary - We have been HPB almost 60 times more than opposing teams and have averaged 50-60 more walks a season than the opposing team. He doesn't play for the big inning and doesn't recruit players that can hit the big inning. That is a philosophy that can work with a dominant staff and a ball that no one can hit. Now, we don't have a dominant staff and guys can hit the ball out of the park. THat is a problem and I don't know how you fix it one year to be honest.

So in all that long winded ness -- what are you arguing? That we need to get on base less? Philosophically the legitimate gripe against Cohen is the small ball -- which he's already proven he's willing to go away from.

People are just bitching right now for the sake of seeing themselves bitch, best I can tell.

[dawgs]

Looking at 2013 - what did we do - we got on base at a .382 clip. In 2014, .369 clip. What is our OB% this year? .379. Hell, our slugging percentage in 2013 was .385 as opposed to .364 this year, and this with Hunter having an ungodly .620 slugging percentage to juke the stats. We score runs by getting on base any means necessary. This stat will blow you away, in the last four seasons - as a team - we have hit 86 Home runs. AS a TEAM in FOUR YEARS. Hell, you take out Renfroe's Junior season and as a team we have hit 70 home runs as a team in Four seasons.

In 2012, we had 67 sacrifices, 2013 we had 57 sacrifices, 60 in 2014, in 2015 we are on pace for around 50.

In 2013 we had two outliers. Renfroe and Frazier. They both hit over. 345 and slugged Frazier Slugged .464 and Renfroe .620. They were legit stars. To put it in perspective, only Wes Rea this year is slugging more than Frazier's .464 clip in the last four years. Thats it.

Its almost impossible to say that John doesn't believe in getting on base by any means necessary - We have been HPB almost 60 times more than opposing teams and have averaged 50-60 more walks a season than the opposing team. He doesn't play for the big inning and doesn't recruit players that can hit the big inning. That is a philosophy that can work with a dominant staff and a ball that no one can hit. Now, we don't have a dominant staff and guys can hit the ball out of the park. THat is a problem and I don't know how you fix it one year to be honest.

I'd be interested to see what our slugging was relative the rest of the nation in 2013, and then what it is this year relative the rest of the nation. I'd imagine we were at or above avg in 2013, but this year with the new ball, we are below avg.

As for recruiting guys that can't hit for a big inning, that sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. If the only way you can score is via stringing together at minimum 3 of BBs, singles, errors, wild pitches/passed balls, sacrifices, SBs, and productive outs, then you have a problem. We don't have to be Evan gattis at the plate (swing for the fences, low avg, low BB rate), but there's no reason we shouldn't want to at least drive the ball in the gaps.

[HancockCountyDog]

So in all that long winded ness -- what are you arguing? That we need to get on base less? Philosophically the legitimate gripe against Cohen is the small ball -- which he's already proven he's willing to go away from.

People are just bitching right now for the sake of seeing themselves bitch, best I can tell.

I guess what Im trying to say that in four years he has followed the small ball philosphy and recruited as evidenced by our slugging percentage in year 7 of Cohen is .364. While LSU's is .415, Vandy's is .451, A&M is .470;

We have never had a slugging percentage over .400 since Cohen has arrived. We are 14th out of 14th in the SEC in slugging percentage. Last year our slugging percentage was ****ing .340 and in 2012 it was .333. Thats not a batting average, it was our slugging percentage.

I understand you are frustrated with the yahoo's that want Cohen fired, Im not that poster. What Im saying is that John's philosophy has been to play small ball and not play for the big inning and hope our staff can limit teams to less than 4 runs. I don't see that working in the SEC and we have a team that isn't built for big innings. If you take away the SC weekend, we have averaged 3.5 runs per game in the other 18 SEC games this year. That is just awful.

I guess what Im trying to see is where has Cohen been willing to go away from the small ball? 2013? You take out Renfroe and Frazier and the offense looks a hell of a lot like 2012 and 2014. In fact, there were only three players on the 2013 team Detz, Pirtle, and Rea that had slugging % above .390. The rest were guys that bunted guys over (57 bunts), got walked 287 walks and Hbp 82. Have Frazier get on base and try and have Renfroe drive them in. That is how that team won games.

When you have Ross, Girodo, Holder in the pen throwing 188 innings at a 1.67 ERA clip, its amazing how many games 3 runs will win you a lot of games with Renfroe in the middle of the lineup.

Maybe the young kids like Rooker, Reynolds and Humphreys have the potential to hit the ball deep, consistently, but so far, I haven't seen it.

[dawgs]

I guess what Im trying to say that in four years he has followed the small ball philosphy and recruited as evidenced by our slugging percentage in year 7 of Cohen is .364. While LSU's is .415, Vandy's is .451, A&M is .470;

We have never had a slugging percentage over .400 since Cohen has arrived. We are 14th out of 14th in the SEC in slugging percentage. Last year our slugging percentage was ****ing .340 and in 2012 it was .333. Thats not a batting average, it was our slugging percentage.

I understand you are frustrated with the yahoo's that want Cohen fired, Im not that poster. What Im saying is that John's philosophy has been to play small ball and not play for the big inning and hope our staff can limit teams to less than 4 runs. I don't see that working in the SEC and we have a team that isn't built for big innings. If you take away the SC weekend, we have averaged 3.5 runs per game in the other 18 SEC games this year. That is just awful.

I guess what Im trying to see is where has Cohen been willing to go away from the small ball? 2013? You take out Renfroe and Frazier and the offense looks a hell of a lot like 2012 and 2014. In fact, there were only three players on the 2013 team Detz, Pirtle, and Rea that had slugging % above .390. The rest were guys that bunted guys over (57 bunts), got walked 287 walks and Hbp 82. Have Frazier get on base and try and have Renfroe drive them in. That is how that team won games.

When you have Ross, Girodo, Holder in the pen throwing 188 innings at a 1.67 ERA clip, its amazing how many games 3 runs will win you a lot of games with Renfroe in the middle of the lineup.

Maybe the young kids like Rooker, Reynolds and Humphreys have the potential to hit the ball deep, consistently, but so far, I haven't seen it.

I think Cohen overcompensated going from a hitter's park to a pitcher's park. You may not get as many cheap HRs at dnf, but you don't just abandon the power game altogether, and you definitely wanna coach guys to drive line drives in the gap (bigger OF = more ground for OFs to cover = more gappers and balls in the corners).

[War Machine Dawg]

I guess what Im trying to say that in four years he has followed the small ball philosphy and recruited as evidenced by our slugging percentage in year 7 of Cohen is .364. While LSU's is .415, Vandy's is .451, A&M is .470;

We have never had a slugging percentage over .400 since Cohen has arrived. We are 14th out of 14th in the SEC in slugging percentage. Last year our slugging percentage was ****ing .340 and in 2012 it was .333. Thats not a batting average, it was our slugging percentage.

I understand you are frustrated with the yahoo's that want Cohen fired, Im not that poster. What Im saying is that John's philosophy has been to play small ball and not play for the big inning and hope our staff can limit teams to less than 4 runs. I don't see that working in the SEC and we have a team that isn't built for big innings. If you take away the SC weekend, we have averaged 3.5 runs per game in the other 18 SEC games this year. That is just awful.

I guess what Im trying to see is where has Cohen been willing to go away from the small ball? 2013? You take out Renfroe and Frazier and the offense looks a hell of a lot like 2012 and 2014. In fact, there were only three players on the 2013 team Detz, Pirtle, and Rea that had slugging % above .390. The rest were guys that bunted guys over (57 bunts), got walked 287 walks and Hbp 82. Have Frazier get on base and try and have Renfroe drive them in. That is how that team won games.

When you have Ross, Girodo, Holder in the pen throwing 188 innings at a 1.67 ERA clip, its amazing how many games 3 runs will win you a lot of games with Renfroe in the middle of the lineup.

Maybe the young kids like Rooker, Reynolds and Humphreys have the potential to hit the ball deep, consistently, but so far, I haven't seen it.

1. Ouch. Why am I not surprised we've never slugged over .400 under Cohen?

2. B..b...but 2013 shows Cohen can play for the big inning. It can't possibly be that he lucked into 2 players who are statistical outliers for the rest of his tenure.****

[War Machine Dawg]

I think Cohen overcompensated going from a hitter's park to a pitcher's park. You may not get as many cheap HRs at dnf, but you don't just abandon the power game altogether, and you definitely wanna coach guys to drive line drives in the gap (bigger OF = more ground for OFs to cover = more gappers and balls in the corners).

I became concerned very early on in Cohen's tenure when he started making comments to the effect of how big DNF was, it being a power graveyard, needing to be able to manufacture runs to compensate, etc. Yes, DNF is a pitcher's park. But it hasn't seemed to stop opposing teams from coming in and jacking the ball out of the yard. Bottom line, Cohen made a decision early on that we should abandon trying to hit the long ball in DNF in favor of trying to win games 2-1, 3-2. Now we're seeing how ridiculous that approach is. I don't want to go back to the Polk approach of never bunting or playing for one when necessary, but there has to be a happy medium between the Polk Approach and the Cohen Approach.

[dawgs]

I became concerned very early on in Cohen's tenure when he started making comments to the effect of how big DNF was, it being a power graveyard, needing to be able to manufacture runs to compensate, etc. Yes, DNF is a pitcher's park. But it hasn't seemed to stop opposing teams from coming in and jacking the ball out of the yard. Bottom line, Cohen made a decision early on that we should abandon trying to hit the long ball in DNF in favor of trying to win games 2-1, 3-2. Now we're seeing how ridiculous that approach is. I don't want to go back to the Polk approach of never bunting or playing for one when necessary, but there has to be a happy medium between the Polk Approach and the Cohen Approach.

Common sense? Play for 1 run when you are down 1 or tied in the 8th or 9th or extra innings, otherwise play for the big inning. Rarely if ever bunt your middle of the order guys (assuming we have a conventional lineup with our best hitters in the middle of the order) even in late inning situations. Exploit the running game when it's there (running on weak armed OFs, slow delivery pitchers, poor throwing Cs, etc.), but don't make that such an intricate part of your team building such that when you actually play a team that doesn't give you those opportunities it puts you behind the 8 ball.

[engie]

We have never had a slugging percentage over .400 since Cohen has arrived.

Yeahhh you need to modify your wording because that's not even close to correct.

In the BBCOR era -- prior to the new baseball slugging .400 means you are about one of the top 50 power hitting teams in the country. It's an amazingly high benchmark considering where we play our home games and our consistent SOS, which essentially means we would be one of the 10-15 best overall power hitting teams in the country. It's a nice goal -- but it's ridiculous to define us overall by that single statistic -- which is the single worst offensive benchmark of ours in the Cohen era that you could seek out -- and is also one of the things that calls your motivation to question.

There was nothing wrong with the 2013 team. Nothing wrong with the approach at the plate. Trying to pick that team apart in itself is asinine. It's like trying to pick apart the pitching staff of the 85 team. Everyone here wants to hit more doubles and play for bigger innings. But trying to call that team offensively inept is well across the line.

The logical step here is to run Mingione and go hire the best hitting coach in the country. And I expect that to happen until it doesn't. Cohen's ego is not more important to him than winning. He's made a few mistakes along the way here and I'm glad this year has happened because it's going to force him to address and fix them.

[Todd4State]

Looking at 2013 - what did we do - we got on base at a .382 clip. In 2014, .369 clip. What is our OB% this year? .379. Hell, our slugging percentage in 2013 was .385 as opposed to .364 this year, and this with Hunter having an ungodly .620 slugging percentage to juke the stats. We score runs by getting on base any means necessary. This stat will blow you away, in the last four seasons - as a team - we have hit 86 Home runs. AS a TEAM in FOUR YEARS. Hell, you take out Renfroe's Junior season and as a team we have hit 70 home runs as a team in Four seasons.

In 2012, we had 67 sacrifices, 2013 we had 57 sacrifices, 60 in 2014, in 2015 we are on pace for around 50.

In 2013 we had two outliers. Renfroe and Frazier. They both hit over. 345 and slugged Frazier Slugged .464 and Renfroe .620. They were legit stars. To put it in perspective, only Wes Rea this year is slugging more than Frazier's .464 clip in the last four years. Thats it.

Its almost impossible to say that John doesn't believe in getting on base by any means necessary - We have been HPB almost 60 times more than opposing teams and have averaged 50-60 more walks a season than the opposing team. He doesn't play for the big inning and doesn't recruit players that can hit the big inning. That is a philosophy that can work with a dominant staff and a ball that no one can hit. Now, we don't have a dominant staff and guys can hit the ball out of the park. THat is a problem and I don't know how you fix it one year to be honest.

So, we're on pace to bunt less this year and the offense is worse than ever? Ironic.

But at any rate, you fix the offense with better power hitters. Why people continue to suddenly expect guy like Vickerson, Robson, Holland, etc. to hit with more power and do anything other than tactics that use speed like bunting and stealing is beyond me.

[Smitty]

We're last in the SEC in slugging and 2nd in sac bunts. Ironic?

We're 12th in stolen bases as well for supposedly crooting for that.

[Billy Ray Valentine]

I think Cohen overcompensated going from a hitter's park to a pitcher's park. You may not get as many cheap HRs at dnf, but you don't just abandon the power game altogether, and you definitely wanna coach guys to drive line drives in the gap (bigger OF = more ground for OFs to cover = more gappers and balls in the corners).

Bingo!

[tcdog70]

the Fact that Dudy Noble is not a power Park should not doom us to small Ball. A large park should be an advantage for players with gap power. We have a bunch of hitters that are capable of weak ass ground balls. It would be nice to have players with home run power but what we need are players with the ability to drive the ball into the gaps.How many games more could we have won this year if we could just drive the ball? Gap hitters should really want to play in a ball park like Ours. Punch and Judy hitters are killing us.

[HancockCountyDog]

Yeahhh you need to modify your wording because that's not even close to correct.

In the BBCOR era -- prior to the new baseball slugging .400 means you are about one of the top 50 power hitting teams in the country. It's an amazingly high benchmark considering where we play our home games and our consistent SOS, which essentially means we would be one of the 10-15 best overall power hitting teams in the country. It's a nice goal -- but it's ridiculous to define us overall by that single statistic -- which is the single worst offensive benchmark of ours in the Cohen era that you could seek out -- and is also one of the things that calls your motivation to question.

There was nothing wrong with the 2013 team. Nothing wrong with the approach at the plate. Trying to pick that team apart in itself is asinine. It's like trying to pick apart the pitching staff of the 85 team. Everyone here wants to hit more doubles and play for bigger innings. But trying to call that team offensively inept is well across the line.

The logical step here is to run Mingione and go hire the best hitting coach in the country. And I expect that to happen until it doesn't. Cohen's ego is not more important to him than winning. He's made a few mistakes along the way here and I'm glad this year has happened because it's going to force him to address and fix them.

My motivation - I have defended Cohen this year - have told people to be patient, I think people calling for his head this year is just silly. My motivation is that I want MSU baseball to be as good as I think it can be. I want people to think of MSU when they think about college baseball. That is my motivation.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with the 2013 team, it had talented players like Frazier and Renfroe, and solid role players like Pirtle and Detz. Throw in a pitching staff that had to be considered a top 5 staff in the country and you have a great team. Cohen deserves a lot of credit in putting that team together, actually all of the credit. That is why I think it is ridiculous to talk about Cohen being fired despite only hosting one year out of six years and potentially one of seven years. That great 2013 team is the only reason why Cohen isn't under extreme pressure right now.

[HancockCountyDog]

So, we're on pace to bunt less this year and the offense is worse than ever? Ironic.

But at any rate, you fix the offense with better power hitters. Why people continue to suddenly expect guy like Vickerson, Robson, Holland, etc. to hit with more power and do anything other than tactics that use speed like bunting and stealing is beyond me.

Come on, we are slugging 14th in the conference and you want to hang on to this?

What I am frustrated about is that we don't have roster balance. It seems to me we have 6-8 offensive players that are exactly the same.

[Saltydog]

headed SOB. He's in some ways his own worst enemy. He won't stick to one lineup. Having known players that played for him they will be the first to tell you it's tough showing up to the park not knowing if you'll play or not and then when you do you put so much pressure on yourself to perform, knowing if you don't you'll be back on the bench the next day. Hell, his lineup is worse than the 1A/1B rotation Mullen had. Plus, Cohen is not a players coach. A lot of his players don't like him. He's a hard ass. Now, that can be a good thing or bad thing but I imagine right now he's putting a ton of pressure on their asses and it's probably making a bad situation worse.

[Homedawg]

headed SOB. He's in some ways his own worst enemy. He won't stick to one lineup. Having known players that played for him they will be the first to tell you it's tough showing up to the park not knowing if you'll play or not and then when you do you put so much pressure on yourself to perform, knowing if you don't you'll be back on the bench the next day. Hell, his lineup is worse than the 1A/1B rotation Mullen had. Plus, Cohen is not a players coach. A lot of his players don't like him. He's a hard ass. Now, that can be a good thing or bad thing but I imagine right now he's putting a ton of pressure on their asses and it's probably making a bad situation worse.

You could have made that shorter by saying we have a bunch of pussies.

[Todd4State]

We're last in the SEC in slugging and 2nd in sac bunts. Ironic?

We're 12th in stolen bases as well for supposedly crooting for that.

It makes perfect sense because singles hitters are more likely to bunt. And you don't steal when you are behind. But we all know that's over your head.

[dawgs]

You could have made that shorter by saying we have a bunch of pussies.

No, playing with the lineup the way Cohen does is just overthinking himself. Players can't get in a groove when they are hitting 3rd Friday night, not playing Saturday, and hitting 8th Sunday. And the following weekend they are not playing Friday, hitting 6th Saturday, and leading off Sunday. There's no rhyme or reason to the lineup changes outside of the fact that it reeks of desperation for anything to stick, but instead just makes the problems worse.

[Homedawg]

No, playing with the lineup the way Cohen does is just overthinking himself. Players can't get in a groove when they are hitting 3rd Friday night, not playing Saturday, and hitting 8th Sunday. And the following weekend they are not playing Friday, hitting 6th Saturday, and leading off Sunday. There's no rhyme or reason to the lineup changes outside of the fact that it reeks of desperation for anything to stick, but instead just makes the problems worse.
Here's a way to know you're playing- hit when you are in there. Pretty simple. Frazier played everyday. Pirtle played everyday. Why? They were that much better than the next guy. We don't have any that have shown that, truthfully

[Smitty]

Homedog you would defend Cohen if he hit Fitts-Ross-Sexton 1-3 and started Matt Spruill on the mound.

[Smitty]

It makes perfect sense because singles hitters are more likely to bunt. And you don't steal when you are behind. But we all know that's over your head.

You're backwards.. Cohens bunt brigade are more likely to be singles hitters.

Cohen was absolutely retarded in "big park means small ball and slap hitters". That judgement alone shows his ineptness. He's been inept coaching wise since he got here, he just struck gold for a month in 2013. We deserve better. He can only hang onto crooting for so long (see Hugh Freeze). Actual development means our chances at hosting, returning to Omaha remain more limited than could be achieved under someone else.

If we don't go get a hitting coach and stop cohens nonsense he should go immediately. Those are the 2 choices I'd give him after this year. The ego has landed with him, he's not cut out for it.

[Homedawg]

Homedog you would defend Cohen if he hit Fitts-Ross-Sexton 1-3 and started Matt Spruill on the mound.

Nope. I won't. He's in charge and he's responsible for this year. we can't hit. That on Cohen. He should get some hitters. But this bs about changing lineups and pressing is for pussies. Players have a job. ****ing do it or don't complain when you sit.

[dawgs]

Here's a way to know you're playing- hit when you are in there. Pretty simple. Frazier played everyday. Pirtle played everyday. Why? They were that much better than the next guy. We don't have any that have shown that, truthfully

Baseball more than any other sport relies on players finding their groove and getting repetitions. Hard to do when the lineup changes, for all intents and purposes, literally EVERY SINGLE GAME. What did we go, line 90 straight games without the same lineup on back to back games until a few weeks ago? That's ridamndiculous. A single 0-4 performance doesn't mean a guy sucks.

[dawgs]

Nope. I won't. He's in charge and he's responsible for this year. we can't hit. That on Cohen. He should get some hitters. But this bs about changing lineups and pressing is for pussies. Players have a job. ****ing do it or don't complain when you sit.

How about when an approach isn't working, the coach alter his approach to suit his team instead of being hard-headed and running the season into the ground?

[Homedawg]

How about when an approach isn't working, the coach alter his approach to suit his team instead of being hard-headed and running the season into the ground?

I haven't heard him speak to the current team on hitting. However, I have heard him speak about hitting numerous times and unless it's changed I have no issue w his approach to hitting. The players we have doing it- I have the problem with- so the poor evaluation of hitters is what has me mad w him, because he is in charge, ultimately w recruiting.

[dawgs]

I haven't heard him speak to the current team on hitting. However, I have heard him speak about hitting numerous times and unless it's changed I have no issue w his approach to hitting. The players we have doing it- I have the problem with- so the poor evaluation of hitters is what has me mad w him, because he is in charge, ultimately w recruiting.

Literally every statistical analysis of baseball going back to the deal ball error (so that's a pretty damn big sample size) says his approach to hitting is the least efficient approach for scoring runs. Going small ball and relying on stringing together 3 of walks, singles, errors, wild pitches/passed balls, sacrifices, stolen bases, and productive outs to score just 1 run is not a winning strategy. And it's been proven over and over again with modern statistical analysis. Small ball has its place, but it is not the most reliable or effective way to build a winning offense, so therefore I have a huge problem with the way he's coaching our offense. It seems like he thinks he's smarter than literally decades' (nearly a century!) worth of data.

[Todd4State]

You're backwards.. Cohens bunt brigade are more likely to be singles hitters.

Cohen was absolutely retarded in "big park means small ball and slap hitters". That judgement alone shows his ineptness. He's been inept coaching wise since he got here, he just struck gold for a month in 2013. We deserve better. He can only hang onto crooting for so long (see Hugh Freeze). Actual development means our chances at hosting, returning to Omaha remain more limited than could be achieved under someone else.

If we don't go get a hitting coach and stop cohens nonsense he should go immediately. Those are the 2 choices I'd give him after this year. The ego has landed with him, he's not cut out for it.

Then why are we not hitting for more extra base hits despite bunting less? We hit singles because we have singles hitters. Bunting less hasn't changed that- as I said it wouldn't. All we're doing is not taking advantage of our players strengths, and it has made us worse.


I'd like to see that highlighted quote as well. Good luck finding that.

And as far as striking gold for one month- keep trying to diminish the 2011 SR, the SEC Tournament Championship, along with the CWS appearance.

[Todd4State]

Homedog you would defend Cohen if he hit Fitts-Ross-Sexton 1-3 and started Matt Spruill on the mound.

Do you keep your fantasy team lineup the same when one of your players starts struggling? Do you wait it out waiting for that player to "get in a groove"? Or do you change?

Surely you're not advocating keeping bad players in the lineup to keep failing.

[dawgs]

Then why are we not hitting for more extra base hits despite bunting less? We hit singles because we have singles hitters. Bunting less hasn't changed that- as I said it wouldn't. All we're doing is not taking advantage of our players strengths, and it has made us worse.


I'd like to see that highlighted quote as well. Good luck finding that.

And as far as striking gold for one month- keep trying to diminish the 2011 SR, the SEC Tournament Championship, along with the CWS appearance.

How many times have we tried to bunt and failed? Cause that's gonna depress the actual sacrifice numbers when we **** up the sacrifice.

And the point is that we are coaching guys to be slap hitters and/or actively not recruiting guys we think are capable into developing into at least solid gap hitters that consistently drive the ball and make hard contact.

[dawgs]

Do you keep your fantasy team lineup the same when one of your players starts struggling? Do you wait it out waiting for that player to "get in a groove"? Or do you change?

Surely you're not advocating keeping bad players in the lineup to keep failing.

If a guy has shown to be a good player, I don't bench him because he's hitting .160 through the first few weeks, like Andrew mccutchen, or a pitcher has a few rough starts to start the season, like strasburg. Why? Because come September, their April struggles are likely to be long forgotten when they have their typical year end stats.

[Todd4State]

Literally every statistical analysis of baseball going back to the deal ball error (so that's a pretty damn big sample size) says his approach to hitting is the least efficient approach for scoring runs. Going small ball and relying on stringing together 3 of walks, singles, errors, wild pitches/passed balls, sacrifices, stolen bases, and productive outs to score just 1 run is not a winning strategy. And it's been proven over and over again with modern statistical analysis. Small ball has its place, but it is not the most reliable or effective way to build a winning offense, so therefore I have a huge problem with the way he's coaching our offense. It seems like he thinks he's smarter than literally decades' (nearly a century!) worth of data.

Your issue is assuming that he isn't going to change. The small ball tactics worked pretty well with the old baseball, wouldn't you agree?

Now that we have a new baseball we're changing the way that we recruit. Unfortunately we got caught in the change for this year- and it has been exacerbated by a horrible pitching staff.

Again, I ask- why do you expect our current singles hitters to be anything but singles hitters? You can't coach them into being power hitters without steroids. And trying to make them into power hitters is only going to result in weak fly outs- and probably make things worse than they already are. Just like MLB coaches couldn't make Rafael Belliard into a power hitter if they tried.

[Todd4State]

If a guy has shown to be a good player, I don't bench him because he's hitting .160 through the first few weeks, like Andrew mccutchen, or a pitcher has a few rough starts to start the season, like strasburg. Why? Because come September, their April struggles are likely to be long forgotten when they have their typical year end stats.

Did Renfroe, Pirtle, DETZ, REA, Frazier, etc not get more of a leash than other who haven't started? If McCutchen is hitting .160, I guarantee you that the Pirates are going to at least entertain the idea of giving him at least one day off or hitting him somewhere else in the order to try to get someone that is hitting in the lineup. But one thing that they won't do is just keep hitting him clean up ad nauseum and wait until September rolls around. He may have more of a leash than Pedro Alvarez, and let's be honest comparing anyone on our team to McCutcheon is laughable in the first place.

Part of the reason that Cohen does what he does is to help prepare our players for the pros. Because they are going to have to learn how to handle hitting in different spots in the order and how to handle not playing from time to time. If one of our players went up to a minor league manager and told them that they need to hit at whatever spot so that they can get comfortable and get in a groove- they'll probably get chewed out. And lucky that they are still with the organization.

[Todd4State]

How many times have we tried to bunt and failed? Cause that's gonna depress the actual sacrifice numbers when we **** up the sacrifice.

And the point is that we are coaching guys to be slap hitters and/or actively not recruiting guys we think are capable into developing into at least solid gap hitters that consistently drive the ball and make hard contact.

How many times have we tried to hit and failed? That doesn't mean we should not try to hit. If you "****" up a sacrifice- it's not a sacrifice. It's a foul ball.

And you are way off the mark about the hitters that we are trying to bring in. We have TWO of the top power hitting prospects in the country committed right now. And if they come to school, they're not going to doing a whole lot of bunting. And yes, they may not come to school but my point is if we aren't going for power, then why are we even bothering to recruit them in the first place?

[Smitty]

The small ball tactics worked pretty well with the old baseball, wouldn't you agree.

No

The numbers prove that.

[Homedawg]

Literally every statistical analysis of baseball going back to the deal ball error (so that's a pretty damn big sample size) says his approach to hitting is the least efficient approach for scoring runs. Going small ball and relying on stringing together 3 of walks, singles, errors, wild pitches/passed balls, sacrifices, stolen bases, and productive outs to score just 1 run is not a winning strategy. And it's been proven over and over again with modern statistical analysis. Small ball has its place, but it is not the most reliable or effective way to build a winning offense, so therefore I have a huge problem with the way he's coaching our offense. It seems like he thinks he's smarter than literally decades' (nearly a century!) worth of data.

My apologies for misunderstanding. I thought you were referring to the way he teaches to hit. I don't care for all of his bunting. Dont dislike it to the degree some do but still. For example, bunting the second hitter in the first, hate that. Don't care to bunt MOST of the time w a runner on second and no outs. But there are exceptions for sure.

[Todd4State]

No

The numbers prove that.

The wins prove otherwise.

And while you're at it try to keep both of your user names straight dawgs/Smitty.

[Smitty]

The wins prove otherwise.

And while you're at it try to keep both of your user names straight dawgs/Smitty.

If you can't understand we score more and more often, significantly more, when not sacrificing... Then I can't help you. You lack all common sense on the issue and have for five years.

[Todd4State]

If you can't understand we score more and more often, significantly more, when not sacrificing... Then I can't help you. You lack all common sense on the issue and have for five years.

I didn't say anything about sacrificing. I said SMALL BALL dipshit.

The whole time you've pretty much said that we shouldn't steal, bunt, etc. because it would cost us runs and hurt our offense. Now we're doing that-and it's not working out so well. Like I said it wouldn't.

Now go tend to your fantasy team while the rest of us deal with REAL baseball.

[dawgs]

I didn't say anything about sacrificing. I said SMALL BALL dipshit.

The whole time you've pretty much said that we shouldn't steal, bunt, etc. because it would cost us runs and hurt our offense. Now we're doing that-and it's not working out so well. Like I said it wouldn't.

Now go tend to your fantasy team while the rest of us deal with REAL baseball.

Well sacrificing is a big part of small ball dipshit.

And even with the old ball, our best season was the season we hit for the most power. Surprise! If Cohen can't go land guys that can hit for power and not be a liability in the field, then that's on him for recruiting poorly, which is half the job of a college HC. And what the **** have they done to rea? Something's changed.

[Smitty]

Todd always gets the most sanctimonious when we are performing the worst. He loved our 2012 offense bunting all the damn time, defending every one of them.

"Now we're doing that and it's not working out"... We're 2nd in the league in sac bunts!

Cohen has relied on Butch and the pen to make him a decent team. The best pen in the nation, with an offensive FREAK in Renfroe got us 1 game above .500 in league play.. Think about that. Down year on the mound and all hell has broken loose. It's HIS guys causing it. His philosophy. 19 HR on the year, given up 30.

[Smitty]

My thinking is even if we get these awesome classes Cohen will screw it up and we'll be a high 2 and miss hosting anyways. He will never be able to maximize the talent level of our team.