Lemonis? recruiting?

[AlSwearengen]

What is the early prognosis on how things are going? I know we have been getting several commits from young kids lately that are surely pretty good, but are they the type of kids that lsu or Florida would take?

Looking at Indiana and their 3 pre-season all-Americans as well as Indiana being predicted to be a team to watch in the post season makes me feel good about his recruiting. That said, I want to see us get kids onto campus that lsu, Florida, and Arkansas wanted.

[preachermatt83]

He's a machine. And he's got the Best recruiting staff in America

[Homedawg]

He's an idiot, he recruits too many 8th graders*******

[Dawg61]

He's an idiot, he recruits too many 8th graders*******

Yup. Waiting eight years for Skelton's backup to be a starter is pretty damn stupid. Must be Pudge Rodriguez to wait that long. Right?*****

[Todd4State]

I think he's doing pretty well. We have three- four guys that could be impact players for us in our current class. And yes we have a decent shot at getting them to campus. Logan Tanner, Davis Rokose, Ethan Hearn (starting to see his stock rise), Landon Sims (Probably our biggest draft risk), and Andre Tarver are probably our biggest name guys in the class. Kamren James is really talented as well and is Keegan's brother. Jake Randa is a good JUCO player that could come in and play a corner OF spot for us next year also. We're getting most of the top in state players while also filling out needs with good out of state players as we need to.

[Todd4State]

Yup. Waiting eight years for Skelton's backup to be a starter is pretty damn stupid. Must be Pudge Rodriguez to wait that long. Right?*****

Everyone's in 8th grade at some point. Try again because what you just typed was pretty damn stupid.

[Dawg61]

Everyone's in 8th grade at some point. Try again because what you just typed was pretty damn stupid.

What's that got to do with having to wait eight years before the eight grade commit can finally surpas Skelton in ABs? Start counting bud here I'll help. 8th grade, ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, twelfth grade, freshman, sophomore, junior Now how many years did you count?? Is Skelton's BACKUP Pudge Rodriguez? Glad to know you and homiedawg like our coaches wasting eight years waiting on backups to see the field though.

[Todd4State]

What's that got to do with having to wait eight years before the eight grade commit can finally surpas Skelton in ABs? Start counting bud here I'll help. 8th grade, ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, twelfth grade, freshman, sophomore, junior Now how many years did you count?? Is Skelton's BACKUP Pudge Rodriguez? Glad to know you and homiedawg like our coaches wasting eight years waiting on backups to see the field though.

Hey dumbass. Hancock is a freshman and Skelton is a junior. Meaning Hancock will probably be starting in two years with two years left. And Skelton hits and plays like he did last year it could be this year. Idiot.

[Rick Danko]

What's that got to do with having to wait eight years before the eight grade commit can finally surpas Skelton in ABs? Start counting bud here I'll help. 8th grade, ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, twelfth grade, freshman, sophomore, junior Now how many years did you count?? Is Skelton's BACKUP Pudge Rodriguez? Glad to know you and homiedawg like our coaches wasting eight years waiting on backups to see the field though.

This is some dumb shit you just posted here. I bet it sounded smart as hell though in your mind when you were typing it out....

[Dawg61]

Hey dumbass. Hancock is a freshman and Skelton is a junior. Meaning Hancock will probably be starting in two years with two years left. And Skelton hits and plays like he did last year it could be this year. Idiot.

How many years did you count from 8th grade committing to being a full-time starter Todd? It's a simple question.

[Dawg61]

This is some dumb shit you just posted here. I bet it sounded smart as hell though in your mind when you were typing it out....

And we found another genius. How many years would you like to waste waiting on the guy who isn't good enough to beat out our worst starter? Eight years. Hahaha

[Cooterpoot]

2 of 3 8th graders agree, he’s killing it!
Seriously, kids love him. Not concerned with his ability to recruit at all.

[Leroy Jenkins]

What's that got to do with having to wait eight years before the eight grade commit can finally surpas Skelton in ABs? Start counting bud here I'll help. 8th grade, ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, twelfth grade, freshman, sophomore, junior Now how many years did you count?? Is Skelton's BACKUP Pudge Rodriguez? Glad to know you and homiedawg like our coaches wasting eight years waiting on backups to see the field though.


Am I OCD because the only thing I noticed in this post is you didn't spell out "8th" like you did the other numbers?

[Dawg61]

Am I OCD because the only thing I noticed in this post is you didn't spell out "8th" like you did the other numbers?

Lol I noticed it afterwards too and just left it. I'm more OCD about the bottom of my post saying "edited".

[MarketingBully]

Hey dumbass. Hancock is a freshman and Skelton is a junior. Meaning Hancock will probably be starting in two years with two years left. And Skelton hits and plays like he did last year it could be this year. Idiot.

He’s going to recruit awesomely with that staff he put together and the facilities we have. That’s a given. I think the thing everyone is missing here is we have a coach specializing on the catchers which means everyone at that position is going to get better just because they are learning the nuances further at that position. That’s another thing that’s exciting to me about Lemonis. McDonnell hand picked Lemonis and turned Cohen on to him. I think we are in good hands.

[Todd4State]

How many years did you count from 8th grade committing to being a full-time starter Todd? It's a simple question.

5-7. Which again isn't any different than anyone else who was in the 8th grade at any time in their life. Which makes your point stupid. Just like Dak Prescott was 7 years away from being a starter when he was in the 8th grade.

[smootness]

And we found another genius. How many years would you like to waste waiting on the guy who isn't good enough to beat out our worst starter? Eight years. Hahaha

I've honestly tried and genuinely can't figure out what you're trying to argue here. You've already determined that the 8th grader we are recruiting won't ever be good enough?

[MetEdDawg]

I've honestly tried and genuinely can't figure out what you're trying to argue here. You've already determined that the 8th grader we are recruiting won't ever be good enough?

This is why everyone laughs. I could agree with an argument that you don't know how a kid will develop over the next 5 years before he exits high school. But that's not even his argument. His argument (more correctly statement) is that it will be 8 years before an 8th grader plays. Not only is that a false statement, but there's really no substance to his argument after that statement.

Doesn't make sense per usual.

[basedog]

I have a grandson committed but not in 2019, loves this staff. I have to admit, amazes me so many kids commit at such early years in baseball. But it's a game young kids can play at a pretty high level.

[Dawg61]

5-7. Which again isn't any different than anyone else who was in the 8th grade at any time in their life. Which makes your point stupid. Just like Dak Prescott was 7 years away from being a starter when he was in the 8th grade.


I've honestly tried and genuinely can't figure out what you're trying to argue here. You've already determined that the 8th grader we are recruiting won't ever be good enough?


This is why everyone laughs. I could agree with an argument that you don't know how a kid will develop over the next 5 years before he exits high school. But that's not even his argument. His argument (more correctly statement) is that it will be 8 years before an 8th grader plays. Not only is that a false statement, but there's really no substance to his argument after that statement.

Doesn't make sense per usual.

This is an embarrassing 3 posts in a row. We already KNOW that Hancock isn't better than the worst player in our starting lineup. The argument is about who we are recruiting so why are we investing EIGHT YEARS before a marginal player gets significant ABs. We know he's marginal because he can't beat out the worst player we took to Omaha last year. I'll take my chances he won't suddenly turn into Pudge Rodriguez by the time he's a junior.

[Ari Gold]

I don’t follow baseball recruiting as hard , but if he is landing 8th graders already and has been here less than 9 months I think he will do pretty ****ing good with the high school upperclassmen.

[DownwardDawg]

Yup. Waiting eight years for Skelton's backup to be a starter is pretty damn stupid. Must be Pudge Rodriguez to wait that long. Right?*****

I?m still confused as to your point. So you want us to keep doing what we?ve done in the past? That hasn?t worked out good enough to beat the Florida?s and LSU?s. I think this new train of thought is refreshing. Get them early and stay on them. Build something special.

[ZedFedder]

Y’all engage Dawg61 every... single... time. It always ruins the thread.

[Dawg61]

I?m still confused as to your point. So you want us to keep doing what we?ve done in the past? That hasn?t worked out good enough to beat the Florida?s and LSU?s. I think this new train of thought is refreshing. Get them early and stay on them. Build something special.

My point is why bother investing eight years into a marginal player. Use that time and investment on a better player or multiple players since it's eight years. I'd like a better catcher starting than the one we took to Omaha last year.

[Coursesuper]

Y’all engage Dawg61 every... single... time. It always ruins the thread.

Dude is a thread killer.

[AlSwearengen]

Y’all engage Dawg61 every... single... time. It always ruins the thread.

Why don't we all agree to totally ignore his posts. That way a baseball or baseball recruiting post won't get derailed.

[Homedawg]

Why don't we all agree to totally ignore his posts. That way a baseball or baseball recruiting post won't get derailed.

He's fighting one against board. Proves his stupidity. The 8th 9th grade commits haven't been many, yet there hasn't been one failure among them to this point. And guess what? If they don't improve like you think you don't sign em them. As it is to present all that have committed that early have ended up being starters in the sec. pretty good if you ask me.

[Dawg61]

He's an idiot, he recruits too many 8th graders*******


He's fighting one against board. Proves his stupidity. The 8th 9th grade commits haven't been many, yet there hasn't been one failure among them to this point. And guess what? If they don't improve like you think you don't sign em them. As it is to present all that have committed that early have ended up being starters in the sec. pretty good if you ask me.

Hancock a starter over Skelton now homiedawg? Y'all don't like this topic than get on homiedawg for dragging it back up. See the 3rd post in the thread.

[Homedawg]

Hancock a starter over Skelton now homiedawg? Y'all don't like this topic than get on homiedawg for dragging it back up. See the 3rd post in the thread.

Skelton committed early too genius.

[Homedawg]

Hancock a starter over Skelton now homiedawg? Y'all don't like this topic than get on homiedawg for dragging it back up. See the 3rd post in the thread.


You got trolled and look like a bigger fool. Which is tough I know.

[Dawg61]

Skelton committed early too genius.

And that's supposed to be reason to continue recruiting 8th graders? The worst player on the field. Hahaha

[MarketingBully]

And that's supposed to be reason to continue recruiting 8th graders? The worst player on the field. Hahaha

Actually due to the instruction he’s getting from a dedicated catching coach, I think he will be much improved. Catcher is a position I’m not too worried about.

[Todd4State]

This is an embarrassing 3 posts in a row. We already KNOW that Hancock isn't better than the worst player in our starting lineup. The argument is about who we are recruiting so why are we investing EIGHT YEARS before a marginal player gets significant ABs. We know he's marginal because he can't beat out the worst player we took to Omaha last year. I'll take my chances he won't suddenly turn into Pudge Rodriguez by the time he's a junior.

No - YOU don't know that because Skelton has improved a lot. And actually if he doesn't start a big reason for it will be because he had to miss the fall with a legal issue which has been resolved. Hancock is a legit SEC player though and will be good for us. He's already debatably our best defensive catcher as it is.

[ZedFedder]

Why don't we all agree to totally ignore his posts. That way a baseball or baseball recruiting post won't get derailed.

I’ve been advocating for this for a while.

[Todd4State]

My point is why bother investing eight years into a marginal player. Use that time and investment on a better player or multiple players since it's eight years. I'd like a better catcher starting than the one we took to Omaha last year.

Because he would have committed to another program by that time. Not sure why this is so hard for you to understand. EVERYONE in the SEC is recruiting players at the 8th grade level. And if you wait later in their careers to offer we won't get them at all. And then they will be helping beat us instead of helping is beat our opponents. And then idiots like you will be like "how come we didn't recruit so and so because he grew up a MSU fan".

You may not like the fact that recruiting 8th graders is the culture of baseball recruiting right now but you need to get over it. Because that's the way it is right now.

[Dawg61]

I’ve been advocating for this for a while.

Hit the ignore button if you don't like talking different recruiting strategies. There was over a 100 page football recruiting thread I am guessing you had no problems ignoring. Sorry I'm not sorry I am passionate about this topic because I think it's very poor recruiting to take commits from super young players. Homiedawg and Todd are the juveniles that can't keep the convo civil.

[ZedFedder]

Hit the ignore button if you don't like talking different recruiting strategies. There was over a 100 page football recruiting thread I am guessing you had no problems ignoring. Sorry I'm not sorry I am passionate about this topic because I think it's very poor recruiting to take commits from super young players. Homiedawg and Todd are the juveniles that can't keep the convo civil.

That’s a good point. I guess my objection is you’ve made your point and you feel the need to make it over and over again. On top of that, you don’t state it in a very civil way either. I respect your opinion but it’s known. You don’t have to keep making it.

[Michael Milken]

What is the early prognosis on how things are going? I know we have been getting several commits from young kids lately that are surely pretty good, but are they the type of kids that lsu or Florida would take?

Looking at Indiana and their 3 pre-season all-Americans as well as Indiana being predicted to be a team to watch in the post season makes me feel good about his recruiting. That said, I want to see us get kids onto campus that lsu, Florida, and Arkansas wanted.

Already got a 1st rounder to stay at MSU****

[chef dixon]

We recruit ourselves in baseball

[timotheus]

What about James? You seem to be all knowing Mr 61 I mean sixty one

[Homedawg]

And that's supposed to be reason to continue recruiting 8th graders? The worst player on the field. Hahaha

And again, like Alexander he's been a starter!! In the sec. so while he might be great the two we've taken that early are starters. So once again, you look stupid.

[timotheus]

If sixty one would take the time and research this topic, he would see that kids in the eighth(8th) and ninth(9th) grade are committing to 4 year schools all over this great country in all fifty(50) states.

[Dawg61]

If sixty one would take the time and research this topic, he would see that kids in the eighth(8th) and ninth(9th) grade are committing to 4 year schools all over this great country in all fifty(50) states.

This isn't a reason to do it ourselves. In fact it's more reason to focus more attention to the players we keep letting slip through our watch and go to programs like ULL, Houston, Memphis, USA, USM, Tulane etc.. and to less established SEC programs than ours like Auburn and Kentucky. Care to take a round guess on how many players get drafted each and every single year from G5 D1 schools in the Southeast. I doubt we offered many if any of them a scholarship. I'll take players that get drafted every single time over marginal at best SEC players that we invested eight years to get very little production back from them.

[Dawg61]

And again, like Alexander he's been a starter!! In the sec. so while he might be great the two we've taken that early are starters. So once again, you look stupid.

I can't make you understand that we are missing out on way more higher productive players every single year than what we get from the Foambats and Skeltons of the world. Maybe if you start looking at how many players get drafted every year that played at G5 southeastern schools that never held an offer from us you'll start to get it. Maybe just 2-3 of those players make a difference in us winning a natty vs losing in the semifinals. We already know Foambat and Skelton don't. My entire argument almost is if we just add a couple of those guys each year it'll make a huge difference 3-4 years down the road when we are stocked full of future draftees not Foambats and Skeltons we invested eight years into. We are wasting a lot of time investing into marginal players when we should be taking our pick of the liter every single year and be stocked full of dirtbags and future draftees. How does the University of South Alabama have the tenth overall draft pick this last year with outfielder Travis Swaggerty? How's that even happen? He didn't hold an offer from LSU or even ULL so we sure as hell didn't offer him. We need to miss on players like that a lot less often than we do imo. Do we win the natty with Travis Swaggerty in our lineup in Omaha? I think we do. That's just one player. A major difference maker that we didn't recruit.

[Coursesuper]

I can't make you understand that we are missing out on way more higher productive players every single year than what we get from the Foambats and Skeltons of the world. Maybe if you start looking at how many players get drafted every year that played at G5 southeastern schools that never held an offer from us you'll start to get it. Maybe just 2-3 of those players make a difference in us winning a natty vs losing in the semifinals. We already know Foambat and Skelton don't. My entire argument almost is if we just add a couple of those guys each year it'll make a huge difference 3-4 years down the road when we are stocked full of future draftees not Foambats and Skeltons we invested eight years into. We are wasting a lot of time investing into marginal players when we should be taking our pick of the liter every single year and be stocked full of dirtbags and future draftees. How does the University of South Alabama have the tenth overall draft pick this last year with outfielder Travis Swaggerty? How's that even happen? He didn't hold an offer from LSU or even ULL so we sure as hell didn't offer him. We need to miss on players like that a lot less often than we do imo. Do we win the natty with Travis Swaggerty in our lineup in Omaha? I think we do. That's just one player. A major difference maker that we didn't recruit.

Bless your heart.

[TNDawg35]

Here’s a thought. Maybe the kids that are commiting in the 8th grade are kids our staff thinks will blow up in high school. Look at the kid in Desoto. The big Power hitting kid (name escapes me) He committed in the 7th grade if I’m not mistaken. If we wait to start on these kids when they are sophomores or juniors in high school, it will be late. You keep harping on Fl, LSU and Vandy. Do you not think they are taking kids like this.

Now instead of bitching and complaining about this, why don’t you come up with a plan on how to keep more of these kids from entering the minors and come to Starkville. That’s the main problem and how you win Nattys. It’s keeping the 2nd, 3rd, and anything lower then the 10th round kids committed and enrolled after the draft.

It’s also keeping that Junior from signing that mlb contract when he can come back to school and take a program over the top. Look at Hess at LSU. I know that had more to do with Carter Stewart for the Braves, but still they kept him. We have got to do that with those big time guys.

[timotheus]

I think you may need serious medical attention. Find a hobby to ease your mind, sixty one. I saw Brandon Woodruff throw when he was 13 or 14 and knew right off the bat that he was gifted. These recruiters are skilled at exactly what they are trained to look for and access a player. I'll leave it to the guys who get paid to do the evaluations. I'll start following memphis baseball recruiting to see what kids Lemonis should be watching since he's obviously way off base.

[Dawg61]

Find a hobby to ease your mind, sixty one.

Glad you've noticed I've been spending way less time on this board the last several months**

[Todd4State]

I can't make you understand that we are missing out on way more higher productive players every single year than what we get from the Foambats and Skeltons of the world. Maybe if you start looking at how many players get drafted every year that played at G5 southeastern schools that never held an offer from us you'll start to get it. Maybe just 2-3 of those players make a difference in us winning a natty vs losing in the semifinals. We already know Foambat and Skelton don't. My entire argument almost is if we just add a couple of those guys each year it'll make a huge difference 3-4 years down the road when we are stocked full of future draftees not Foambats and Skeltons we invested eight years into. We are wasting a lot of time investing into marginal players when we should be taking our pick of the liter every single year and be stocked full of dirtbags and future draftees. How does the University of South Alabama have the tenth overall draft pick this last year with outfielder Travis Swaggerty? How's that even happen? He didn't hold an offer from LSU or even ULL so we sure as hell didn't offer him. We need to miss on players like that a lot less often than we do imo. Do we win the natty with Travis Swaggerty in our lineup in Omaha? I think we do. That's just one player. A major difference maker that we didn't recruit.

Saying that we "missed" on a guy from Baton Rouge that not even LSU offered because we are recruiting from 8th grade and up is a stretch to say the least. And we aren't "missing" players at all. We're about to have around 8-11 MLB players which is an all-time high for MSU- Graveman, maybe Lindgren, Stratton, Frazier, Holder, Renfroe, Woodruff (committed in 10th grade BTW), Hudson and probably at a bare minimum Rooker and Nate Lowe get called up this year- and possibly even Jacob Robson and Zac Houston if they have strong years. It also doesn't include Konnor Pilkington and Reid Humphreys who are the White Sox and Rockies top 30 prospect list but likely will stay in the minors but have a very good chance of making it up in the next few years or sooner.


If we're "missing" on people tell us why since we've modernized our recruiting we've gone to three SR's for the first time in school history, won the SEC for the first time since 1989, and the last two times we went to Omaha had two of our best finishes in school history? How did South Alabama do the past three years with all of the "draft picks and dirtbags" that we missed?


As I've said before- your idea simply doesn't work in today's game. We KNOW this because Polk tried to recruit the way you are suggesting....and ironically we MISSED on lots of players doing so because by the time we had established first contact people like Ole Miss and USM had reached and had been recruiting and had a long established relationship while we gave off the impression that we simply didn't care. That's exactly how we lost people like Stephen Head, Brian Dozier (you know- the MLB second baseman?), Zach Cozart (MLB SS for about 10 years now), and etc. It also resulted in the worst stretch of MSU baseball in our program's history with THREE straight losing seasons. The proof is in the pudding. You're wrong.


And what you also don't know is that while you are putting down LA- because we were able to get him early we not only got a two year starter who would have started this year- it also set us up to recruit some of his teammates like a guy named Jake Mangum who using your method would be setting records at Alabama right now instead of MSU. Helped us get Ethan Small our ace away from Vanderbilt. Helped us get Hunter Stovall away from Auburn. All of those players were on the same summer team. And there are others too- like Keegan James. And signing LA's class I think is what really put us back on the map in terms of baseball recruiting and being seen as a legit SEC power. And it's culminated with the group we have now- including a former MLB first round draft pick who committed to us in 9th grade himself. Too bad we weren't waiting on that magical fairy unicorn dirtbag draft pick while we were passing on JT Ginn though just because he was good as a freshman in high school.**

[Todd4State]

Here’s a thought. Maybe the kids that are commiting in the 8th grade are kids our staff thinks will blow up in high school. Look at the kid in Desoto. The big Power hitting kid (name escapes me) He committed in the 7th grade if I’m not mistaken. If we wait to start on these kids when they are sophomores or juniors in high school, it will be late. You keep harping on Fl, LSU and Vandy. Do you not think they are taking kids like this.

Now instead of bitching and complaining about this, why don’t you come up with a plan on how to keep more of these kids from entering the minors and come to Starkville. That’s the main problem and how you win Nattys. It’s keeping the 2nd, 3rd, and anything lower then the 10th round kids committed and enrolled after the draft.

It’s also keeping that Junior from signing that mlb contract when he can come back to school and take a program over the top. Look at Hess at LSU. I know that had more to do with Carter Stewart for the Braves, but still they kept him. We have got to do that with those big time guys.

Blaze Jordan is who you are referring to.

And I agree with you. Getting Ginn was HUGE. And to a degree Mangum. That could be the start of getting some higher rated players to MSU. We really need him to develop into a first round pick and be very successful at MSU.

I think a lot of it with LSU is their baseball culture- they sell staying at LSU to win a National Title. We tell our players that they are stupid if they don't take the money. We need to sell staying at MSU to win a National Championship.

It seems to me that LSU is really good at finding good players that come from upper middle class/wealthy families- Dad is MD, Mom is a lawyer or a D-I women's basketball coach. For families like that it takes more than a one time lump sum of 1-2 million dollars for them to jump with their incomes being what it is. And if their son needs money to hang out in the minors for a few years- not a big deal either.

[Dawg61]

Saying that we "missed" on a guy from Baton Rouge that not even LSU offered because we are recruiting from 8th grade and up is a stretch to say the least. And we aren't "missing" players at all. We're about to have around 8-11 MLB players which is an all-time high for MSU- Graveman, maybe Lindgren, Stratton, Frazier, Holder, Renfroe, Woodruff (committed in 10th grade BTW), Hudson and probably at a bare minimum Rooker and Nate Lowe get called up this year- and possibly even Jacob Robson and Zac Houston if they have strong years. It also doesn't include Konnor Pilkington and Reid Humphreys who are the White Sox and Rockies top 30 prospect list but likely will stay in the minors but have a very good chance of making it up in the next few years or sooner.


If we're "missing" on people tell us why since we've modernized our recruiting we've gone to three SR's for the first time in school history, won the SEC for the first time since 1989, and the last two times we went to Omaha had two of our best finishes in school history? How did South Alabama do the past three years with all of the "draft picks and dirtbags" that we missed?


As I've said before- your idea simply doesn't work in today's game. We KNOW this because Polk tried to recruit the way you are suggesting....and ironically we MISSED on lots of players doing so because by the time we had established first contact people like Ole Miss and USM had reached and had been recruiting and had a long established relationship while we gave off the impression that we simply didn't care. That's exactly how we lost people like Stephen Head, Brian Dozier (you know- the MLB second baseman?), Zach Cozart (MLB SS for about 10 years now), and etc. It also resulted in the worst stretch of MSU baseball in our program's history with THREE straight losing seasons. The proof is in the pudding. You're wrong.


And what you also don't know is that while you are putting down LA- because we were able to get him early we not only got a two year starter who would have started this year- it also set us up to recruit some of his teammates like a guy named Jake Mangum who using your method would be setting records at Alabama right now instead of MSU. Helped us get Ethan Small our ace away from Vanderbilt. Helped us get Hunter Stovall away from Auburn. All of those players were on the same summer team. And there are others too- like Keegan James. And signing LA's class I think is what really put us back on the map in terms of baseball recruiting and being seen as a legit SEC power. And it's culminated with the group we have now- including a former MLB first round draft pick who committed to us in 9th grade himself. Too bad we weren't waiting on that magical fairy unicorn dirtbag draft pick while we were passing on JT Ginn though just because he was good as a freshman in high school.**

This is a good post so I'll give you some rep for it but it doesn't change that Skelton is still our starting catcher right now. And I don't want South Alabama's baseball history/program I just would have liked to have had their greatest player ever playing for us last year instead of them.

[TNDawg35]

This is a good post so I'll give you some rep for it but it doesn't change that Skelton is still our starting catcher right now. And I don't want South Alabama's baseball history/program I just would have liked to have had their greatest player ever playing for us last year instead of them.

Let’s wait and judge Skelton after what we see the new catching coach has done. Believe me, I hated it when he caught games last yr. I was a big Gilbert guy. Skelton seemed lazy and like he didn’t give a shit last yr. I want to see this yr. if he is still acting that way, let’s get his ass out of there and we have a pretty good back up plan.

Now as far as comparing to Skelton to anyone else you sign as 8th graders, you just can’t do it. It isn’t fair to the kids coming in wanting to be a bulldog like Blaze Jordan, who Todd and I both mentioned. I have heard Blaze was suppose to be a top pick in the draft but has been telling teams he wanted to come to Starkville no matter where he was drafted.

I’m very excited about the Lemonis era at Starkville. I think he was a great hire and has hired a hell of a staff. Prolly the best staff we have ever had in starkville lately.

On a side note, what is Henderson up to now?? Not meaning any disrespect at all, honestly was thinking about it and was wondering where he is now...

[Homedawg]

After reading almost 60 posts and one guy is still beating his head against the wall while the rest disagree might should tell one something. Sorta like the guy who goes to the poker game and looks around to figure out who the stooge is, well if you can't figure it out, it's probably you!!!

[Todd4State]

Let’s wait and judge Skelton after what we see the new catching coach has done. Believe me, I hated it when he caught games last yr. I was a big Gilbert guy. Skelton seemed lazy and like he didn’t give a shit last yr. I want to see this yr. if he is still acting that way, let’s get his ass out of there and we have a pretty good back up plan.

Now as far as comparing to Skelton to anyone else you sign as 8th graders, you just can’t do it. It isn’t fair to the kids coming in wanting to be a bulldog like Blaze Jordan, who Todd and I both mentioned. I have heard Blaze was suppose to be a top pick in the draft but has been telling teams he wanted to come to Starkville no matter where he was drafted.

I’m very excited about the Lemonis era at Starkville. I think he was a great hire and has hired a hell of a staff. Prolly the best staff we have ever had in starkville lately.

On a side note, what is Henderson up to now?? Not meaning any disrespect at all, honestly was thinking about it and was wondering where he is now...

I believe he is out of the game. He was considered for the Arkansas pitching coach job after Wes Johnson left though.

I criticized him a lot- but if MSU pays him a nice pension I'm OK with that. He deserves that much in my opinion.

[Dawg61]

After reading almost 60 posts and one guy is still beating his head against the wall while the rest disagree might should tell one something. Sorta like the guy who goes to the poker game and looks around to figure out who the stooge is, well if you can't figure it out, it's probably you!!!

I want to improve on last year's success homiedawg. That means immediately plugging the holes we had in our lineup that we took to Omaha not popping champagne bottles cause we got 8th graders committed that'll maybe help us eight years from now.

[MetEdDawg]

This is an embarrassing 3 posts in a row. We already KNOW that Hancock isn't better than the worst player in our starting lineup. The argument is about who we are recruiting so why are we investing EIGHT YEARS before a marginal player gets significant ABs. We know he's marginal because he can't beat out the worst player we took to Omaha last year. I'll take my chances he won't suddenly turn into Pudge Rodriguez by the time he's a junior.

Explain what we are investing? Time? That's it. Time. Time isn't a waste of you think a kid is good enough. You have to make moves early now because there are kids in 8th grade playing JV and varsity baseball at good programs.

Tell me what the difference is between signing a kid in 8th grade and POTENTIALLY signing him in 11th grade. And I say potentially because by that time if he's really good everyone will descend on that kid and we potentially lose out. So what, other than time are we losing?

[Jarius]

I want to improve on last year's success homiedawg. That means immediately plugging the holes we had in our lineup that we took to Omaha not popping champagne bottles cause we got 8th graders committed that'll maybe help us eight years from now.

The kids that these smaller schools get are kids that those schools are taking chances on and they pan out. Those schools take chances on 10 guys a year and one or 2 pan out to the point that they could play for a school like us. We don’t have to take those chances. We are a blue blood school that signs players that are highly rated and have a lower risk of not panning out. What you are wanting us to do is take chances on kids that have not developed yet and hope they pan out, which is going to cause us to miss on more prospects. These small schools are not Outscouting us on the good players on their roster. They are taking chances on guys that are not a sure thing while we take fewer risks in that area.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

On a side note, what is Henderson up to now?? Not meaning any disrespect at all, honestly was thinking about it and was wondering where he is now...

Drawing a check and waiting on Lemonis to flop.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Yup. Waiting eight years for Skelton's backup to be a starter is pretty damn stupid. Must be Pudge Rodriguez to wait that long. Right?*****

You have become a very annoying troll for baseball threads. Seriously the worst poster for diamond dog topics. Pure Troll

[BrunswickDawg]

Explain what we are investing? Time? That's it. Time. Time isn't a waste of you think a kid is good enough. You have to make moves early now because there are kids in 8th grade playing JV and varsity baseball at good programs.

Tell me what the difference is between signing a kid in 8th grade and POTENTIALLY signing him in 11th grade. And I say potentially because by that time if he's really good everyone will descend on that kid and we potentially lose out. So what, other than time are we losing?

There isn't even much invested in time. These kids are all playing in the same showcases - showcases we already have people scouting and recruiting. It's not like we are sending guys out to watch the middle school team in Lucedale or something.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Correct.... College Coaches don’t recruit at High School games... it’s all Travel Ball, Showcases and camps.....High School coaches are irrelevant in D1 baseball.... if anything they could hurt a kids chances.

[Dawg61]

You have become a very annoying troll for baseball threads. Seriously the worst poster for diamond dog topics. Pure Troll

Sorry I don't tow the Lemons recruiting online fellatio party line like the rest currently are but that doesn't mean I am trolling just cause you don't like it. I seem to be the only one that remembers we basically didn't have a catcher while playing in the CWS last year and here we are 8 months later and he's still our starter. That's a problem. Y'all can have fun throwing recruiting parties over middle-schoolers and Pee Wee all-stars though.

[RiverCityDawg]

Sorry I don't tow the Lemons recruiting online fellatio party line like the rest currently are but that doesn't mean I am trolling just cause you don't like it. I seem to be the only one that remembers we basically didn't have a catcher while playing in the CWS last year and here we are 8 months later and he's still our starter. That's a problem. Y'all can have fun throwing recruiting parties over middle-schoolers and Pee Wee all-stars though.

The difference is you are using completely faulty logic, being "recruiting 8th graders now = reason we don't have a catcher better than Skelton last year." We haven't even had a chance to see if Jones or Hancock are able to beat our Skelton at some point this year or if Skelton has improved before you make this definitive conclusion about things that are in no way related. The logic you use sometimes makes it impossible to have a discussion about it. Hence, people calling you a troll.

[I seen it dawg]

I want to improve on last year's success homiedawg. That means immediately plugging the holes we had in our lineup that we took to Omaha not popping champagne bottles cause we got 8th graders committed that'll maybe help us eight years from now.

So this whole time you've been raising hell bc we haven't replaced players from last yr? It happens every yr. Guys leave and new ones come in. The ones that stay hopefully get better. It has zero to do with recruiting. How are you battling this.?

[I seen it dawg]

Sorry I don't tow the Lemons recruiting online fellatio party line like the rest currently are but that doesn't mean I am trolling just cause you don't like it. I seem to be the only one that remembers we basically didn't have a catcher while playing in the CWS last year and here we are 8 months later and he's still our starter. That's a problem. Y'all can have fun throwing recruiting parties over middle-schoolers and Pee Wee all-stars though.

We've got more than Skelton on the roster. The thought is hopefully he has gotten better. If not we go to one of the multiple freshman on the roster that catch. An 8th grader isn't Skelton's backup. You know that right?

[AlSwearengen]

We've got more than Skelton on the roster. The thought is hopefully he has gotten better. If not we go to one of the multiple freshman on the roster that catch. An 8th grader isn't Skelton's backup. You know that right?

Don’t do it. You are getting sucked in and will be drinking shortly. No way he isn’t trolling.

[I seen it dawg]

Don’t do it. You are getting sucked in and will be drinking shortly. No way he isn’t trolling.

Lol yeah I know. Weather delay in the Pebble ProAm

[CadaverDawg]

Why not just do both? Recruit the young guys AND spend time recruiting the Juniors and Seniors? You can't ignore the 8th grader that every blue blood is offering in your backyard and risk him committing elsewhere due to lack of recruitment by our staff. Doesn't mean they're missing on a great Junior or Senior because of it. Do both...which is what our staff does. I don't get the whole either or argument....Florida recruits 8th graders through Seniors, and it seems to work for them. We do it, and went to Omaha again last year.
I'm confused as shit as to what the issue even is? Our coaches are "over-recruiting"? Any chance we could get them to teach our football coaches how to do that?

[Commercecomet24]

Why not just do both? Recruit the young guys AND spend time recruiting the Juniors and Seniors? You can't ignore the 8th grader that every blue blood is offering in your backyard and risk him committing elsewhere due to lack of recruitment by our staff. Doesn't mean they're missing on a great Junior or Senior because of it. Do both...which is what our staff does. I don't get the whole either or argument....Florida recruits 8th graders through Seniors, and it seems to work for them. We do it, and went to Omaha again last year.
I'm confused as shit as to what the issue even is? Our coaches are "over-recruiting"? Any chance we could get them to teach our football coaches how to do that?

Well said, brother, well said!

[msbulldog]

Any chance we could get them to teach our football coaches how to do that?
Damn CDawg made me spit my Bloody Mary! You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to CadaverDawg again.

[Dawg61]

We've got more than Skelton on the roster. The thought is hopefully he has gotten better. If not we go to one of the multiple freshman on the roster that catch. An 8th grader isn't Skelton's backup. You know that right?

My entire argument is you can't do two things at once and until the Skelton disaster is fixed it is priority numero uno in my book. Get us a solid catcher and I'll shut the 17 up about middle school recruiting for awhile. I realize it was in the summer by the time we finished playing last year but it was blatantly obvious we needed a better catcher all year long not just when he was dropping 18 pitches vs Vandy on ESPN. Where's a damn juco catcher or a transfer? I don't want to hear shit about eight graders till the Skisaster is fixed.

[Todd4State]

My entire argument is you can't do two things at once and until the Skelton disaster is fixed it is priority numero uno in my book. Get us a solid catcher and I'll shut the 17 up about middle school recruiting for awhile. I realize it was in the summer by the time we finished playing last year but it was blatantly obvious we needed a better catcher all year long not just when he was dropping 18 pitches vs Vandy on ESPN. Where's a damn juco catcher or a transfer? I don't want to hear shit about eight graders till the Skisaster is fixed.

We essentially had two catchers last year and neither one of them was very good. The problem was Elih Marrero left the team- he left the team transferred and was drafted by MLB and should have been our starting catcher. Skelton was starting as a sophomore when he should have been a back-up learning. Gilbert is basically a utility player now. In all honesty- our best catcher was really Hunter Stovall. But if we moved him off of second base it would have really hurt our MIF defense and we didn't exactly have a staff that could strike out enough people where we could afford to do that.


That's why we brought in three catchers this offseason- one we got as a commit as an 8th grader and the other as a 10th grader- both of whom will be very good. Then we signed a JUCO catcher.

[AlSwearengen]

To add to what Todd just said, good catchers are extremely difficult to get. They are few and far between, mlb puts a premium on them so they get drafted and paid, etc. etc.

Our catcher situation is almost like the tommy john situation we went thru. It just takes a little time to get past it. A quick fix would have taken a lot of luck.

[timotheus]

We essentially had two catchers last year and neither one of them was very good. The problem was Elih Marrero left the team- he left the team transferred and was drafted by MLB and should have been our starting catcher. Skelton was starting as a sophomore when he should have been a back-up learning. Gilbert is basically a utility player now. In all honesty- our best catcher was really Hunter Stovall. But if we moved him off of second base it would have really hurt our MIF defense and we didn't exactly have a staff that could strike out enough people where we could afford to do that.


That's why we brought in three catchers this offseason- one we got as a commit as an 8th grader and the other as a 10th grader- both of whom will be very good. Then we signed a JUCO catcher.

I think u explained this situation fairly to sixty one. whe he finds out who actually coaches the catchers, he'll be more heated.

[Dawg61]

I think u explained this situation fairly to sixty one. whe he finds out who actually coaches the catchers, he'll be more heated.

https://i.gifer.com/IyJQ.gif

[Todd4State]

I think u explained this situation fairly to sixty one. whe he finds out who actually coaches the catchers, he'll be more heated.

That's another good point regarding the catchers- we didn't really have anyone dedicated to coaching them. That affected both Skelton and Gilbert. And then the Cann situation leaving us shorthanded hurt us even worse because then Henderson had to take on head coaching duties in addition to pitching coach and coaching the catchers some- along with AJ Gaurra I think is how you spell his name- who was a grad assistant or whatever his title was.

And that's another reason to not give up on Skelton. Especially coming into his junior year which is when the "light comes on" for a lot of players.

[timotheus]

https://i.gifer.com/IyJQ.gif

Surely you knew of this?

[Poindexter]

Rising juniors need to be coached up in order to catch the ball? I thought SEC baseball was at a little higher level than that.

[timotheus]

You have the mental as well as physical aspects-timing, rythym, target placement, catch angle and release and footwork.Receiving signs from the dugout etc. The rest is psychological and confidence building. I sure hope the players don't read some of the speculative garbage that is sometimes printed here. This season is a total 180 as far as the catcher position is concerned.

[Todd4State]

Rising juniors need to be coached up in order to catch the ball? I thought SEC baseball was at a little higher level than that.

IMO catcher is the most difficult position to play. You basically have to be able to understand pitching from a pitchers perspective, manage the pitchers, catch the ball, field your position, AND hit. All the while taking a beating the entire year.

[timotheus]

I once observed a major league catcher tutoring one of the current catchers on this team in a high school field house. I would compare it to listening to a doctor explaining surgical procedures. Catcher is by far the most difficult spot to play on the field. I have confidence that Coach Lemonis will access these guys and put the best overall one on the field.

[Dawg61]

You have the mental as well as physical aspects-timing, rythym, target placement, catch angle and release and footwork.Receiving signs from the dugout etc. The rest is psychological and confidence building. I sure hope the players don't read some of the speculative garbage that is sometimes printed here. This season is a total 180 as far as the catcher position is concerned.

Luckily for Skelton all we need him to do is just catch the damn pitches. Sadly though

[timotheus]

Yes, once again you have watered down the critical aspects of the catcher position. Thank u MR sixty one......It's obvious that you do not want this young man to play so I do expect u to praise him if he does show improvement. And maybe you can praise the position coach who is working daily with him and the other catchers.

[Dawg61]

Yes, once again you have watered down the critical aspects of the catcher position. Thank u MR sixty one......It's obvious that you do not want this young man to play so I do expect u to praise him if he does show improvement. And maybe you can praise the position coach who is working daily with him and the other catchers.

I'll be thrilled if Skelton is much improved