Ok football is over time to move on to baseball...

[Backwoodsdawg]

What you got? Time to get the discussion started regularly on baseball now! I saw enough this fall to be kinda excited but you never know how it will turn out... it is Baseball so we will see. Great mix of Veteran experience on the hill and in the field to go along with some really talented Freshman that will contribute early and often on the mound and infield. Gonna be a tough ass schedule though. So are the masses going to be excited and support early or are you going to take a wait and see attitude?

[msstate7]

Any chance Collins isn't catching? I love his bat... His defense, not so much

[Backwoodsdawg]

The problem with Collins is he is still struggling from the hand surgery. He caught a couple of times in the fall and played 3rd mostly as we all know but he took 0 at bats because of the hand. That is going to be the game changer for him. If it heals and he can swing the bat he will catch some and I think he will play 3rd some too. 3rd base will be interesting to watch because there is a freshman that played really well there this fall along with Reynolds. Collins looked good there but you could tell he hasn't played there for a while but he most defiantly has the arm to hold it down over there.

[mparkerfd20]

To answer your question I'm "cautiously optimistic" going into the year. We have the 'chance' to be really good, but I also thought we'd be a lot better than we were last year. The schedule is probably one of the toughest we've had under Cohen, so even if we are drastically improved it may still be a struggle to be a Top seed. At worst I'd like to see us make a good run to get a 2 seed with a possibility of hosting. 2 years of missing the postseason and Cohen's seat will be scorching.

[Taog Redloh]

The problem with Collins is he is still struggling from the hand surgery. He caught a couple of times in the fall and played 3rd mostly as we all know but he took 0 at bats because of the hand. That is going to be the game changer for him. If it heals and he can swing the bat he will catch some and I think he will play 3rd some too. 3rd base will be interesting to watch because there is a freshman that played really well there this fall along with Reynolds. Collins looked good there but you could tell he hasn't played there for a while but he most defiantly has the arm to hold it down over there.
Barfield gonna play 3B
Tatum gonna be Friday night starter
Reynolds will sit the bench

If it doesn't happen I'm gonna bash the players on Twitter

#Todd4State-ing

[Todd4State]

Barfield gonna play 3B That's what he was recruited as. But let's not let the fact that he has been recovering from an injury get in the way of your obsession with me
Tatum gonna be Friday night starter Link please, never said once
Reynolds will sit the bench Link please, have consistently said that he will plat alot

If it doesn't happen I'm gonna bash the players on Twitter K

#Todd4State-ing

#Goat-ing- obsessing over me while being mostly incorrect or out right lying. Which is cute.

Meanwhile- Goat gave us all the gem that Ryan Rigby will no doubt be a big leaguer. And then wonders why he isn't taken seriously and has to try to bash people while lying at the same time...

[Todd4State]

The problem with Collins is he is still struggling from the hand surgery. He caught a couple of times in the fall and played 3rd mostly as we all know but he took 0 at bats because of the hand. That is going to be the game changer for him. If it heals and he can swing the bat he will catch some and I think he will play 3rd some too. 3rd base will be interesting to watch because there is a freshman that played really well there this fall along with Reynolds. Collins looked good there but you could tell he hasn't played there for a while but he most defiantly has the arm to hold it down over there.

I would like to see Collins at third base. I think we are a better overall team with him there. And the freshman you are talking about is Hunter Stovall. Which is odd in and off itself because our wanna be baseball expert Goat told us all that Reynolds would no doubt start there- and yet he is in a battle with a true freshman who Todd4State has been talking highly about for three years now? Hmmm....

[Schultzy]

Cautiously optimistic...emphasis on cautious. But I did hear our baseball Dakota (Hudson) is the pitcher we hoped he would be so that's good.

But who else on this team not a pitcher is SEC caliber? I think OF Smith is, Robson is...anyone else?

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we make a regional, maybe this new pitching coach will make a big difference too which I think is entirely possible.

But when you look at this team it's hard to find any guys that you say, oh yeah he's really good.

[BankerDog]

I would like to see Collins at third base. I think we are a better overall team with him there. And the freshman you are talking about is Hunter Stovall. Which is odd in and off itself because our wanna be baseball expert Goat told us all that Reynolds would no doubt start there- and yet he is in a battle with a true freshman who Todd4State has been talking highly about for three years now? Hmmm....

Weren't you just hyping Matt Spruill at 3B just a few weeks and he isn't even on the team anymore? I don't think you count as a baseball expert anymore than the next guy...

Also, Reynolds will be at 3rd. Barfield played 1B alongside Lowe and Gordon.

[Taog Redloh]

I would like to see Collins at third base. I think we are a better overall team with him there. And the freshman you are talking about is Hunter Stovall. Which is odd in and off itself because our wanna be baseball expert Goat told us all that Reynolds would no doubt start there- and yet he is in a battle with a true freshman who Todd4State has been talking highly about for three years now? Hmmm....
If you're gonna make stuff up, at least be humorous.

Stovall ain't starting at 3B, and I'm a huge Stovall fan. Stovall is in about as much of a battle as Barfield is.

[Todd4State]

Cautiously optimistic...emphasis on cautious. But I did hear our baseball Dakota (Hudson) is the pitcher we hoped he would be so that's good.

But who else on this team not a pitcher is SEC caliber? I think OF Smith is, Robson is...anyone else?

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we make a regional, maybe this new pitching coach will make a big difference too which I think is entirely possible.

But when you look at this team it's hard to find any guys that you say, oh yeah he's really good.

Basically our entire rotation played in the Cape this summer and fared pretty well overall. Hudson, Sexton, Tatum, plus Daniel Brown and Zac Houston. I really do like Ryan Rigby and think he might help us out a lot as well- I just don't think he is a high MLB draft pick.

Brent Rooker is going to have a good year as well and hopefully provide us some much needed power. Collins is SEC caliber, Gridley is a good player, Luke Reynolds can hit, Cody Brown is a good player as well. Reid Humphreys is never going to live up to the hype, but I would say that he is SEC caliber.

The thing about last year is it wasn't about our hitting as much as it was our pitching. I think Butch- as good as he was- mismanaged the pitching staff and that ultimately led to our downfall.

[Taog Redloh]

#Goat-ing- obsessing over me while being mostly incorrect or out right lying. Which is cute.

Meanwhile- Goat gave us all the gem that Ryan Rigby will no doubt be a big leaguer. And then wonders why he isn't taken seriously and has to try to bash people while lying at the same time...
http://www.heraldonline.com/sports/mlb/article27327385.html

Derp. EL OH EL at me saying he will "no doubt be a big leaguer". Yeah okay.

Now, go bash him on Twitter

[maroonmania]

Cautiously optimistic...emphasis on cautious. But I did hear our baseball Dakota (Hudson) is the pitcher we hoped he would be so that's good.

But who else on this team not a pitcher is SEC caliber? I think OF Smith is, Robson is...anyone else?

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we make a regional, maybe this new pitching coach will make a big difference too which I think is entirely possible.

But when you look at this team it's hard to find any guys that you say, oh yeah he's really good.

You are correct in that we don't have many sure fire SEC hitters and that is going to hold us down until we have some guys really step up. Right now I would say we have 3 proven hitters:

Jacob Robson - .324 last year
Cody Brown - .309 last year and let the team with 17 extra base hits
Luke Reynolds - .304 last year and really came on late

BIG dropoff from there as the highest returning batting average from last year after those guys is Rooker who hit .257. Will add that Collins is a proven commodity as a hitter if he is back truly healthy.

[Blackout]

No more excuses John

[Todd4State]

Weren't you just hyping Matt Spruill at 3B just a few weeks and he isn't even on the team anymore? I don't think you count as a baseball expert anymore than the next guy...

Also, Reynolds will be at 3rd. Barfield played 1B alongside Lowe and Gordon.

"Hyping" Matt Spruill in the "take a random guess at what our lineup will look like on opening day thread"? No- hardly. I guessed that he would be the starter on opening day. If that's your definition of "hyping" then you probably need to look that word up.

[Todd4State]

If you're gonna make stuff up, at least be humorous.

Stovall ain't starting at 3B, and I'm a huge Stovall fan. Stovall is in about as much of a battle as Barfield is.

OK. LOL.

[Todd4State]

http://www.heraldonline.com/sports/mlb/article27327385.html

Derp. EL OH EL at me saying he will "no doubt be a big leaguer". Yeah okay.

Now, go bash him on Twitter

Sounds like Hudak is really convinced with the "he might make the MLB one day" quote. I don't disagree with that. You really showed me there. I do disagree that he will be a high pick in the MLB draft which is actually what YOU asserted to- and not what Hudak is saying.

If I could actually remember which banned username you were using at the time I could link your dumbass quote.

[Schultzy]

Those five pitchers actually sound good, glad we gave Houston the ball more 2nd half of last season that should help him this year and Daniel Brown got unlucky with some horrible passed balls last year in SEC play or he would've had a better year.

Forgot about Rooker, and Cody Brown needs to play every day I think. But we need some of our iffy position players to break out at the plate or we will be borderline for a Regional again.

[Bothrops]

I think we'll be pleasantly surprised this year.

[louisvilledawg]

So what's the recovery period for collins? Surely he has progressed since august/September.

[Todd4State]

Those five pitchers actually sound good, glad we gave Houston the ball more 2nd half of last season that should help him this year and Daniel Brown got unlucky with some horrible passed balls last year in SEC play or he would've had a better year.

Forgot about Rooker, and Cody Brown needs to play every day I think. But we need some of our iffy position players to break out at the plate or we will be borderline for a Regional again.

I understand your position. I do with we had given more work to Hudson and Tatum as a starters though like we did with Houston. And we do need some of our iffy guys as you said to step up- and maybe even moreso than that a couple of true freshmen.

[Todd4State]

So what's the recovery period for collins? Surely he has progressed since august/September.

He's supposed to be ready for the spring.

[BankerDog]

Last time I talked to Gavin, he was still trying to get fully recovered. That was this fall. I think the SPs are gonna be Brown, Hudson, Sexton. Tatum, James, Houston will be used in relief. Marrero/Lovelady will be our catcher. Reynolds at 3rd. Gridley/Alexander at SS. Holland at 2B. Lowe/Gordon at 1B-love the potential at the plate for these two guys. OF will be Robson, Rooker, Brown/Smith. DH will be Hump. He tore I think his PCL on his left elbow this spring.

[Taog Redloh]

You are correct in that we don't have many sure fire SEC hitters and that is going to hold us down until we have some guys really step up. Right now I would say we have 3 proven hitters:

Jacob Robson - .324 last year
Cody Brown - .309 last year and let the team with 17 extra base hits
Luke Reynolds - .304 last year and really came on late

BIG dropoff from there as the highest returning batting average from last year after those guys is Rooker who hit .257. Will add that Collins is a proven commodity as a hitter if he is back truly healthy.

Rooker may as well be a proven commodity. Wait and see.

[Schultzy]

Last time I talked to Gavin, he was still trying to get fully recovered. That was this fall. I think the SPs are gonna be Brown, Hudson, Sexton. Tatum, James, Houston will be used in relief. Marrero/Lovelady will be our catcher. Reynolds at 3rd. Gridley/Alexander at SS. Holland at 2B. Lowe/Gordon at 1B-love the potential at the plate for these two guys. OF will be Robson, Rooker, Brown/Smith. DH will be Hump. He tore I think his PCL on his left elbow this spring.
Like this post, especially bc of catcher and 1b. Collins, Hump, Gordon/Lowe could all Dh.

Where do we rank at SS defensively I wonder? Gridley made the routine plays which is good but his range seemed limited last yr.

[engie]

Like this post, especially bc of catcher and 1b. Collins, Hump, Gordon/Lowe could all Dh.

Where do we rank at SS defensively I wonder? Gridley made the routine plays which is good but his range seemed limited last yr.

Alexander may be the best day 1 infield defender we've had under Cohen...

Those position battles across the infield will -- or at least should -- be interesting

[BankerDog]

Like this post, especially bc of catcher and 1b. Collins, Hump, Gordon/Lowe could all Dh.

Where do we rank at SS defensively I wonder? Gridley made the routine plays which is good but his range seemed limited last yr.

You know it could be a situation that if Holland doesn't come back healthy from the injury he had in the fall, Gridley moved to 2nd/ Alexander at SS. Holland would be a late defensive sub for Gridley. I forgot to mention Jack Kruger at catcher, he is probably our best OFFENSIVE catcher, not sure defensively if he is as good as Lovelady and Marrero.

[Todd4State]

Alexander may be the best day 1 infield defender we've had under Cohen...

Those position battles across the infield will -- or at least should -- be interesting

Alexander is SEC ready from a defensive standpoint. Is he ready from a hitting standpoint is the question? And I hope he is.

[Todd4State]

You know it could be a situation that if Holland doesn't come back healthy from the injury he had in the fall, Gridley moved to 2nd/ Alexander at SS. Holland would be a late defensive sub for Gridley. I forgot to mention Jack Kruger at catcher, he is probably our best OFFENSIVE catcher, not sure defensively if he is as good as Lovelady and Marrero.

If we start Holland and Reynolds as you said- we may have some issues defensively on the infield. Gridley is a better fit at second base than SS. I could certainly see Holland starting at second and Gridley starting at SS if Luke isn't ready with the bat.

I hope we start Collins at third base- the injury he had is going to take a pounding if he is at catcher. IMO, he just needs to give up catching and just play third. Plus we have better defensive options as you said. Lovelady is awesome defensively- he completely shuts down the running game. Marrero is sort of in the same boat as Luke- is he ready to at the plate? We just won't know until they play a real game.

[Backwoodsdawg]

Alexander may be the best day 1 infield defender we've had under Cohen...

Those position battles across the infield will -- or at least should -- be interesting

I agree 100% about the position battles in the infield. We know Cohen ain't scared to start a freshman in the SEC and from the fall I know for a 100% certainty that the young guys performed as good or better that the veterans and they out hit them too. So with that being said it will be very interesting to see how it shakes out. Either way at any position we have great options which hasn't been the case in a while.

[bulldogcountry1]

You guys should know better to not go too far out on a limb trying to predict who will play where. Even if you make a reasonable prediction, Cohen will make you look foolish. I bet Robson is the only guy who can be comfortable in his position right now. The Meddler will rotate 2-3 guys at every other position for at least 3 weeks.

Then, we will settle in with the 8 smallest guys we have**

[Backwoodsdawg]

If we start Holland and Reynolds as you said- we may have some issues defensively on the infield. Gridley is a better fit at second base than SS. I could certainly see Holland starting at second and Gridley starting at SS if Luke isn't ready with the bat.

I hope we start Collins at third base- the injury he had is going to take a pounding if he is at catcher. IMO, he just needs to give up catching and just play third. Plus we have better defensive options as you said. Lovelady is awesome defensively- he completely shuts down the running game. Marrero is sort of in the same boat as Luke- is he ready to at the plate? We just won't know until they play a real game.

If Holland isn't playing 2nd base it will be Stovall his bat was outstanding and his range is better than any infielder we have from what I saw this fall. Gridley never played 2nd this fall because there were options there. I know it's hard to understand unless you saw it with your own eyes but some of these young guys are for real. Just do the research and see what Cohen is saying about them on sites like D1baseball.com and other sites that have done fall recaps on us. His own words validate what I saw with my own eyes. But you never know because baseball will humble the best of them at any time.

[Taog Redloh]

If Holland isn't playing 2nd base it will be Stovall his bat was outstanding and his range is better than any infielder we have from what I saw this fall. Gridley never played 2nd this fall because there were options there. I know it's hard to understand unless you saw it with your own eyes but some of these young guys are for real. Just do the research and see what Cohen is saying about them on sites like D1baseball.com and other sites that have done fall recaps on us. His own words validate what I saw with my own eyes. But you never know because baseball will humble the best of them at any time.
Not when it comes to #Todd4State-ing

[Blackout]

it will be Stovall his bat was outstanding... from what I saw this fall.

He was still himself this fall.. Cohen has many months to mess that bat up by Opening Day.

[Backwoodsdawg]

He was still himself this fall.. Cohen has many months to mess that bat up by Opening Day.

LOL well you have a point there!!

[engie]

To be clear -- Robson is the only person on this team that SHOULD feel comfortable in his position. No one else has earned an unquestioned starting gig.

[Backwoodsdawg]

To be clear -- Robson is the only person on this team that SHOULD feel comfortable in his position. No one else has earned an unquestioned starting gig.

YEP!!