Fall ball is over...

[MsStateBaseball]

And next order of business is getting the roster down. I won't say who I think it is. Never can tell who wants to transfer. Anyway, then see if Paul Young will need surgery or not. I believe the first pre-season AA teams will come out before Christmas along w one poll. For you MLB fans the winter meetings will be first of December on MLB Network. I will keep up w any trades, etc. maybe Paps will have a new team. Don't forget my blog I go over lineup and pitching.

[messageboardsuperhero]

At this point, it's hard for me to imagine Young not having surgery of some kind. Hopefully I'm wrong, because he is a big time arm who could help us this year.

[MsStateBaseball]

And I would like to commend Nibbler and staff for social media updates and stats. Vastly improved over previous years.

[messageboardsuperhero]

And I would like to commend Nibbler and staff for social media updates and stats. Vastly improved over previous years.

I second this. Coverage of fall baseball was outstanding.

[bully99]

Msbaseball, how many will be cut, looks like most will be pitchers.

[Will James]

I second this. Coverage of fall baseball was outstanding.

Compared to other schools yes but we need to really go all out in our baseball. Get to a support level impossible to be matched by anyone. It's possible for us. Mainly this comes from the lack of promotion of Bulldog World Series especially the Saturday of Bama game. Should have had everything lead up to that day and had 2000 there.

[bully99]

Kendall Rogers of "Perfect Game " said today their preseason number 1 team would come from one of four teams. Oregon State, Virginia, Cal St. Fullerton or Florida State. So those are probably their top four teams. Don't know where State will be ranked.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Compared to other schools yes but we need to really go all out in our baseball. Get to a support level impossible to be matched by anyone. It's possible for us. Mainly this comes from the lack of promotion of Bulldog World Series especially the Saturday of Bama game. Should have had everything lead up to that day and had 2000 there.

I definitely agree with this. There's no reason we shouldn't have promoted the hell out of that scrimmage.

[MsStateBaseball]

In my mind, 4 cut and 4 walk ons RS which according to what I understand don't count towards 35, so we will have 39 but I could be wrong.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Kendall Rogers of "Perfect Game " said today their preseason number 1 team would come from one of four teams. Oregon State, Virginia, Cal St. Fullerton or Florida State. So those are probably their top four teams. Don't know where State will be ranked.

I think we have a top 10 team, but top 5 is a stretch. Then again, BA had us at no. 5 in the preseason last year, and I think we look a little bit better on paper going into this season.

[MsStateBaseball]

We won't be ranked lower than 16 by anyone who knows their stuff. In essence we should make a Super. I think 2 polls will put us 7th or 8th then the rest lower. Baseball America will put us going back to CWS.

[MsStateBaseball]

I tell you this if Paul Young was completely healthy then yes we would be consensus top 10.

[bully99]

Was Paul Young abused in juco?

[MsStateBaseball]

Maybe. He just never really pitched then starting in March he began. Then in May he really did a lot of pitches. Seemed I. Stats he got enough rest in between games.

[Will James]

Was Paul Young abused in juco?

55 IP. So no.

[MsStateBaseball]

He had I can't recall exact number, 4 complete ballgames. So they left him out there. Maybe he wasn't on a pitch count.

[War Machine Dawg]

Compared to other schools yes but we need to really go all out in our baseball. Get to a support level impossible to be matched by anyone. It's possible for us. Mainly this comes from the lack of promotion of Bulldog World Series especially the Saturday of Bama game. Should have had everything lead up to that day and had 2000 there.

Totally agree about promoting the BWS. I didn't even know it was going on Saturday or I damn sure would've gone.

[AlSwearengen]

didn't he start pitching late in the season and through the playoffs? If he didn't do much pitching during the season and then all of a sudden started throwing 6 or 7 innings running it up there at 93, that could cause some stress on the arm.

[MsStateBaseball]

I believe his stats are on the NCAA site for JC. I saw them and wrote on my blog about his stats.

[bully99]

As I've said before, the "rest therapy" seldom works. It's usually ends in surgery.

[bully99]

I don't know how much they promoted the world series in the general media, but they promoted the hell out of on twitter. Sounds like the pr department needs a makeover like other parts of the athletic department.

[Todd4State]

didn't he start pitching late in the season and through the playoffs? If he didn't do much pitching during the season and then all of a sudden started throwing 6 or 7 innings running it up there at 93, that could cause some stress on the arm.

THIS. When you are an outfielder your whole life, and you've never gone through an offseason conditioning program- and then you come out of nowhere as a pitcher and start throwing tons of innings (relatively speaking)- chances of an injury are better than average.

I really wouldn't say it's anyone's fault though.

And unfortunately, the word on the street is that Young is still having some pain in his arm.

[Todd4State]

Kendall Rogers of "Perfect Game " said today their preseason number 1 team would come from one of four teams. Oregon State, Virginia, Cal St. Fullerton or Florida State. So those are probably their top four teams. Don't know where State will be ranked.

So, they have us below two teams that we beat? Aw heck, I'd rather be ranked #1 at the end of the year than at the beginning.

[Todd4State]

And next order of business is getting the roster down. I won't say who I think it is. Never can tell who wants to transfer. Anyway, then see if Paul Young will need surgery or not. I believe the first pre-season AA teams will come out before Christmas along w one poll. For you MLB fans the winter meetings will be first of December on MLB Network. I will keep up w any trades, etc. maybe Paps will have a new team. Don't forget my blog I go over lineup and pitching.

Maholm will definitely have a new team. Last I heard the Phillies were interested. Ed Easley signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals yesterday. He'll compete with Tony Cruz for the back-up spot. I doubt Papelbon will be moved with his huge contract.

[Will James]

So, they have us below two teams that we beat? Aw heck, I'd rather be ranked #1 at the end of the year than at the beginning.

Yeah this ain't football. Rankings don't mean shit just get in the top 8 by postseason time.

[Todd4State]

Also, as far as cuts- that won't happen until February. We're going to give everyone as long a look as possible until we are forced to make a move.

[Will James]

Last 5 Fall Games (World Series)

Armstrong 2-18; 1 BB

Bradford 2-18; 1 BB

Detz 3-12; 8 BB

I freaking love Alex Detz. Most extra base hits on the team this fall.

I don't think Armstrong cracks the top 4 OF. Highest K% on the team last year. Very high K% this fall. No power. Meh.

[Todd4State]

I don't think Armstrong cracks the top four either, but he's a good role player. He can pinch hit and pinch run, and he isn't a liability defensively. He's also streaky as a hitter- which can be nice if he happens to be hot when someone else is struggling.

[bully99]

Todd, I would think Cohen gives them some indication where they stand before Christmas so they can transfer and play next semester or start their year long of sitting out if transferring to D1.

Maholm and papelbon on same team would be interesting. They are best friends and both live in hattiesburg.

As far as rankings below VA and oru, probably means more of their players coming back. From what I've read in the fall wouldn't be shocked if Virginia is #1 preseason.

[bully99]

Cohen names his world series MVP ..pitching...Preston Brown..Defense.. Reid Humphreys. Offense...Jake Vickerson
...I guess that just includes the 5 ws games.

[Will James]

OPS+ - Take individual OPS (on base + slugging) divide it by Team OPS+ and multiply by 100. Gives % above/below team average

Fall Hitting Leaders by OPS+

141 - Cody Walker (C)
131 - Reid Humphreys (LF)
122 - Daniel Garner (DH)
121 - Seth Heck (RF)
114 - Alex Detz (3B)
108 - Brett Pirtle (2B)
107 - Matthew Britton (SS)
106 - Jake Vickerson (CF)
103 - Wes Rea (1B)
97 - Zach Randolph
94 - Demarcus Henderson
90 - Dylan Ingram
89 - Cody Brown
87 - Jacob Robson
87 - CT Bradford
86 - Gavin Collins
82 - Derek Armstrong
74 - Kyle Hann
74 - Joey Swinarski
67 - Brent Rooker

I'd be perfectly happy going with that bolded lineup this Spring. Top 4 hitters are new guys. The future is now and looks BRIGHT.

[engie]

It'll be a travesty if we're ranked outside the top 8 in all major publications in the preseason...

[CadaverDawg]

Compared to other schools yes but we need to really go all out in our baseball. Get to a support level impossible to be matched by anyone. It's possible for us. Mainly this comes from the lack of promotion of Bulldog World Series especially the Saturday of Bama game. Should have had everything lead up to that day and had 2000 there.

Yea, I tweeted @ HailState baseball or whatever the official baseball twitter is, the other day about the lack of promotion...and they had the nerve to be a smart ass back to me and say "well do you not follow us on twitter, Facebook, etc??" And I was like, NO...but I do read several MSU message boards and there wasn't a damn word on any of them about it, so y'all need to do a better job.

That kind of stuff pisses me off, when you are simply trying to ask them to promote something better, and instead of them being happy that there are people inquiring about baseball during football season....they wanna be smart asses.

/end rant

[bully99]

Did anybody see the catch today that Cody Brown made robbing Dylan Ingram of a 2 run Homer.
Twitter was abuzz about his catch. Somebody tweeted it was the greatest catch they had ever seen.

[CadaverDawg]

OPS+ - Take individual OPS (on base + slugging) divide it by Team OPS+ and multiply by 100. Gives % above/below team average

Fall Hitting Leaders by OPS+

141 - Cody Walker (C)
131 - Reid Humphreys (LF)
122 - Daniel Garner (DH)
121 - Seth Heck (RF)
114 - Alex Detz (3B)
108 - Brett Pirtle (2B)
107 - Matthew Britton (SS)
106 - Jake Vickerson (CF)
103 - Wes Rea (1B)
97 - Zach Randolph
94 - Demarcus Henderson
90 - Dylan Ingram
89 - Cody Brown
87 - Jacob Robson
87 - CT Bradford
86 - Gavin Collins
82 - Derek Armstrong
74 - Kyle Hann
74 - Joey Swinarski
67 - Brent Rooker

I'd be perfectly happy going with that bolded lineup this Spring. Top 4 hitters are new guys. The future is now and looks BRIGHT.

Yea, I'm a little worried about CT this year. Cohen may end up with a tough decision to make. CT is not nearly as valuable to us if he is not drawing walks. Will Cohen continue to start him all season Mullen-style even if he is struggling because he's a Senior? Or will be able to make the tough call and bench him for a younger, more talented player?

[engie]

Yea, I'm a little worried about CT this year. Cohen may end up with a tough decision to make. CT is not nearly as valuable to us if he is not drawing walks. Will Cohen continue to start him all season Mullen-style even if he is struggling because he's a Senior? Or will be able to make the tough call and bench him for a younger, more talented player?

Will be interesting to see.

Either way -- you can justify playing CT on defense alone, but hopefully he comes out swinging and prevents us from having the discussion. If he dips much below .300, all bets are going to be off though...

[messageboardsuperhero]

OPS+ - Take individual OPS (on base + slugging) divide it by Team OPS+ and multiply by 100. Gives % above/below team average

Fall Hitting Leaders by OPS+

141 - Cody Walker (C)
131 - Reid Humphreys (LF)
122 - Daniel Garner (DH)
121 - Seth Heck (RF)
114 - Alex Detz (3B)
108 - Brett Pirtle (2B)
107 - Matthew Britton (SS)
106 - Jake Vickerson (CF)
103 - Wes Rea (1B)
97 - Zach Randolph
94 - Demarcus Henderson
90 - Dylan Ingram
89 - Cody Brown
87 - Jacob Robson
87 - CT Bradford
86 - Gavin Collins
82 - Derek Armstrong
74 - Kyle Hann
74 - Joey Swinarski
67 - Brent Rooker

I'd be perfectly happy going with that bolded lineup this Spring. Top 4 hitters are new guys. The future is now and looks BRIGHT.

When should we expect the much anticipated Will James breakdown of the Fall scrimmages?

[Will James]

Cohen names his world series MVP . Offense...Jake Vickerson.

This is BS. It's Daniel Garner with Reid Humphreys a CLOSE second. Vickerson is nowhere near the offensive MVP. Without Garner and Humphries team White doesn't win.

[Will James]

When should we expect the much anticipated Will James breakdown of the Fall scrimmages?

It's pretty much that. I don't look into pitching at all. New guys have shown out which is awesome.

Humphreys has a nearly .600 BABIP.
CT doesn't walk.
Armstrong K's a lot.
Swinarski is not close yet.
Overall team power is UP
Detz is a boss hog on crack.

[messageboardsuperhero]

It's pretty much that. I don't look into pitching at all. New guys have shown out which is awesome.

Humphreys has a nearly .600 BABIP.
CT doesn't walk.
Armstrong K's a lot.
Swinarski is not close yet.
Overall team power is UP
Detz is a boss hog on crack.

Obviously you don't get a .600 BABIP without a lot of luck and a really small AB sample size, but is Humphreys one of those type of hitters that we can expect to have a naturally high BABIP on a consistent basis (ie. Mike Trout, Derek Jeter)?

[TrueMaroon]

This is BS. It's Daniel Garner with Reid Humphreys a CLOSE second. Vickerson is nowhere near the offensive MVP. Without Garner and Humphries team White doesn't win.

I find it amusing that you had the audacity to tweet at our head coach and correct him as to who our MVP should have been.

[bully99]

Rough stats 5 game world series
Vickerson 4 -16 4 rbi 3 walks
Garner. 2-8 2 rbi 7 walks
Humphreys 5-12 0rbi or walks
Did these in a hurry so I hope they are accurate.

[Todd4State]

Todd, I would think Cohen gives them some indication where they stand before Christmas so they can transfer and play next semester or start their year long of sitting out if transferring to D1.

Maholm and papelbon on same team would be interesting. They are best friends and both live in hattiesburg.

As far as rankings below VA and oru, probably means more of their players coming back. From what I've read in the fall wouldn't be shocked if Virginia is #1 preseason.

Every player will have a meeting with the coaching staff and they will know what they need to work on between Thanksgiving and the start of the season. The coaching staff may make a recommendation to go to a JUCO or whatever- but it is ultimately up to the player to decide what course of action he takes.

[Todd4State]

OPS+ - Take individual OPS (on base + slugging) divide it by Team OPS+ and multiply by 100. Gives % above/below team average

Fall Hitting Leaders by OPS+

141 - Cody Walker (C)
131 - Reid Humphreys (LF)
122 - Daniel Garner (DH)
121 - Seth Heck (RF)
114 - Alex Detz (3B)
108 - Brett Pirtle (2B)
107 - Matthew Britton (SS)
106 - Jake Vickerson (CF)
103 - Wes Rea (1B)
97 - Zach Randolph
94 - Demarcus Henderson
90 - Dylan Ingram
89 - Cody Brown
87 - Jacob Robson
87 - CT Bradford
86 - Gavin Collins
82 - Derek Armstrong
74 - Kyle Hann
74 - Joey Swinarski
67 - Brent Rooker

I'd be perfectly happy going with that bolded lineup this Spring. Top 4 hitters are new guys. The future is now and looks BRIGHT.

Robson was ill most of this fall, and thus his fall this year was pretty much a waste. He will start a lot for us this spring. As engie said- CT will start because of his defense and I also expect him to pitch more than ever.

I also don't like putting guys at defensive positions that they haven't played before in their life. A lot of times you hurt their offense in the process because now they have to learn how to play a different position and the focus shifts away from their hitting. Just because Scott Hatteberg was able to learn how to play first base, it doesn't mean that you can just stick a guy somewhere on the field and it will work out.

C- Walker/Garner
1B- Rea
2B- Pirtle
3B- Britton
SS- Heck
LF- Vickerson
CF- CT
RF- Humphries
DH- Detz

Work in Robson and Demarcus in the outfield and there you go.

[Will James]

Rough stats 5 game world series
Vickerson 4 -16 4 rbi 3 walks
Garner. 2-8 2 rbi 7 walks
Humphreys 5-12 0rbi or walks
Did these in a hurry so I hope they are accurate.

Vickerson 4-16 (all 1B) 2 BB... .333 OBP, .250 SLG.. .583 OPS
Garner 2-9 (2B and HR) 7 BB.. .563 OBP, .667 SLG, 1.229 OPS
Humphreys 5-12 (2 2B, 1 3B) 1 HBP.. .462 OBP. .750 SLG. 1.212 OPS

It's all about how runs are created my man.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I don't think Armstrong cracks the top four either, but he's a good role player. He can pinch hit and pinch run, and he isn't a liability defensively. He's also streaky as a hitter- which can be nice if he happens to be hot when someone else is struggling.

Honestly, I don't know if I'd put him in my top 5. He's obviously behind CT, Henderson, Vickerson, and Robson. Cody Brown has looked pretty solid too.

Armstrong could be a good pinch runner though.

[Schultzy]

It's pretty much that. I don't look into pitching at all. New guys have shown out which is awesome.

Humphreys has a nearly .600 BABIP.
CT doesn't walk.
Armstrong K's a lot.
Swinarski is not close yet.
Overall team power is UP
Detz is a boss hog on crack.

What is BABIP? Any new stat category post 1990 is Greek to me. And there seem to be a lot of them. It used to be BA, HR, RBI, Slugging percentage, Won/Loss, SO, BB and ERA. That was it. Please include any other new baseball stats since then you can think of so I'll know what the hell y'all are talking about. thank you!

[bully99]

Will James, your argument is with John Cohen, not me. Cohen said Vick was mvp.

[bulldogcountry1]

I haven't seen Young pitch, nor do I know anything about him, other than he didn't even start pitching until late in the season this past year in JUCO. He seems to be gathering a lot of hype for someone with such limited experience. Add the fact that he is injured and he missed the fall.

[smootness]

Yea, I tweeted @ HailState baseball or whatever the official baseball twitter is, the other day about the lack of promotion...and they had the nerve to be a smart ass back to me and say "well do you not follow us on twitter, Facebook, etc??" And I was like, NO...but I do read several MSU message boards and there wasn't a damn word on any of them about it, so y'all need to do a better job.

That kind of stuff pisses me off, when you are simply trying to ask them to promote something better, and instead of them being happy that there are people inquiring about baseball during football season....they wanna be smart asses.

/end rant

Well...while I agree with your overall sentiment, they did probably find it strange that you tweeted at them asking why they didn't promote it when apparently their twitter feed promoted it quite a bit. If that was me, I would assume you followed me on twitter if you were tweeting at me, which is probably why their response came off as sarcastic.

[bully99]

I don't know what kind of season CT Bradford will have but I think if he had stayed healthy he would have been a very good player.

And I appreciate him coming to State when he had a lot of choices coming our of high school. He's one of the few "legacy " players to actually come to State. The Palmeiro brothers, the Gillaspie brothers, and the McCann brothers never bothered to show up at MSU. All their dads played baseball at State. So I hope he has a great season and thank him for what he's done for State.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Are people really trying to generate any sort of conclusion from this amount of at bats?

[Homedawg]

I find it amusing that you had the audacity to tweet at our head coach and correct him as to who our MVP should have been.

Just wait until the season starts- he does it more then.

[berr6728]

I am curious as to how many scrimmages the posters on this thread saw during fall. Ones in particular being Todd4state-bully99-will james-messageboardsuperhero-smootness. Also did you see all 5 Bulldog World Series games?
Also would like to know where all of you sit at DNF/PDS. I have not met any of you at any games. I have been sitting in my seats for some 35 years and never heard of any of you until in recent years. I guess you are new comers to Mississippi State University Baseball.

Darryl Berryhill
Class of 1963/65
Box 13 DNF/PDS
1-225-205-1499
berr6728@bellsouth.

[Todd4State]

I am curious as to how many scrimmages the posters on this thread saw during fall. Ones in particular being Todd4state-bully99-will james-messageboardsuperhero-smootness. Also did you see all 5 Bulldog World Series games?
Also would like to know where all of you sit at DNF/PDS. I have not met any of you at any games. I have been sitting in my seats for some 35 years and never heard of any of you until in recent years. I guess you are new comers to Mississippi State University Baseball.

Darryl Berryhill
Class of 1963/65
Box 13 DNF/PDS
1-225-205-1499
berr6728@bellsouth.

I went to zero scrimmages this fall. I love baseball- I don't like baseball practice. I don't like spring training either- which is surprisingly shocking to a lot of people. I also work a lot of weekends unfortunately. I do find time to post things even if I'm not supposed to at work. (Don't tell anyone)

I sit in the bleachers for the first five innings or whatever and then I make the exodus to the grand stand and I sit just wherever.

I guess you could call me a "newcomer" compared to you- since I was born in 1977. I've been following MSU baseball since 1985.

[Will James]

I am curious as to how many scrimmages the posters on this thread saw during fall. Ones in particular being Todd4state-bully99-will james-messageboardsuperhero-smootness. Also did you see all 5 Bulldog World Series games?
Also would like to know where all of you sit at DNF/PDS. I have not met any of you at any games. I have been sitting in my seats for some 35 years and never heard of any of you until in recent years. I guess you are new comers to Mississippi State University Baseball.

Darryl Berryhill
Class of 1963/65
Box 13 DNF/PDS
1-225-205-1499
berr6728@bellsouth.

85% of scrimmages. 4 of 5 BWS games.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I am curious as to how many scrimmages the posters on this thread saw during fall. Ones in particular being Todd4state-bully99-will james-messageboardsuperhero-smootness. Also did you see all 5 Bulldog World Series games?
Also would like to know where all of you sit at DNF/PDS. I have not met any of you at any games. I have been sitting in my seats for some 35 years and never heard of any of you until in recent years. I guess you are new comers to Mississippi State University Baseball.

Darryl Berryhill
Class of 1963/65
Box 13 DNF/PDS
1-225-205-1499
berr6728@bellsouth.

I went to a few of the regular scrimmages and two of the BWS games. I don't live in Starkville and scrimmages aren't very important to me, so I don't go to many of them. I sit with my dad at games- it's a tradition since I was a kid and we still do it even though I've been out of college now for a few years. I'm a bulldog club member and will probably buy season tickets and join the dugout club at some point down the line when I get settled financially.

[engie]

I didn't make any scrimmages, but I appreciate those that did and kept us updated. Great job with that this year...MUCH better than years past. Too much going on this time of year for me with prep on family land for deer/duck hunting, along with bowseason and football games, to actually make scrimmages...

I sit 5 boxes down from you pretty regularly early in the season before migrating to the lounges once the weather turns. Had a mutual friend make that introduction up there last year and have really enjoyed it since.

That along with a recent visit to the club in Baton Rouge made me 110% confident that MSU baseball NEEDS a club level. A climate controlled environment to watch in the early season, enjoy the amenities, but still significantly more affordable in comparison to the skyboxes and with more common'hang out space. I hate that there really isn't any of that to speak of with our current skybox design......