Good Lord

[FriarsPoint]

???there are no words.

[BulldogBear]

I HATE LSU in baseball, way worse than Ole Miss. The Rebels are and always will be overrated clowns. But LSU is different.

They are the guy that has been nailing our wife since the 90s. He knows that we know and he knows that we aren't going to do anything about it.

[FriarsPoint]

Leadership I was talking about last week. Games like this is where it shows, tremendously.

I’m like you, I hate the bastards with the power of 1000 suns.

At what point do they get tired of getting kicked in the nutts and knock somebody the f out?

[Cooterpoot]

It's not leadership. It's called having no damn pen. Fristoe is Fristoe. He should be better than he's performed. We need to load up on arms. We've got few on this team. Recruiting has to be better.

[State82]

Recruiting has to be better.

Yep. UT is making us and everyone else look like a bunch of pansies. And they are laughing their asses off with every sweep.

[KOdawg1]

We've got to hit the portal HARD this offseason. Next year's team is looking like it'll be worse on paper.... if that's even possible.

We should have playing time to sell, and boy, do we need to get to selling.

[FriarsPoint]

It's not leadership. It's called having no damn pen. Fristoe is Fristoe. He should be better than he's performed. We need to load up on arms. We've got few on this team. Recruiting has to be better.

True. But. At one point we had 10 hits and 2 runs with a chance to blow the game open.

[SilentSteel16]

It's not leadership. It's called having no damn pen. Fristoe is Fristoe. He should be better than he's performed. We need to load up on arms. We've got few on this team. Recruiting has to be better.

This is very true but there is also not a true leader out there right now. Our pen is very weak for MSU standards and SEC standards. I do believe a couple of these players are coasting right now, I can’t imagine a Tanner Allen or Jake Mangum or Adam Frazier allowing this team to do what they are doing right now. Need someone to step up and fast, may even be a bench guy, I had my hopes up on Yeager but he seems to be about the only one with some fire right now.

[OLJWales]

I hate this team worse than Russia & Covid right now.

[Cooterpoot]

This is very true but there is also not a true leader out there right now. Our pen is very weak for MSU standards and SEC standards. I do believe a couple of these players are coasting right now, I can’t imagine a Tanner Allen or Jake Mangum or Adam Frazier allowing this team to do what they are doing right now. Need someone to step up and fast, may even be a bench guy, I had my hopes up on Yeager but he seems to be about the only one with some fire right now.

We totally lack talent and development in the pen. Our pen leaders are now starters or injured. We haven't done a good job of development or recruiting. Foxhall needs to be better. He's running out of other guys talent.

[Schultzy]

Can’t hit.

[maroonmania]

We've got to hit the portal HARD this offseason. Next year's team is looking like it'll be worse on paper.... if that's even possible.

We should have playing time to sell, and boy, do we need to get to selling.

Yep, I'm actually worried more for next year than this year. This year is at best just sneaking into a regional although I think that is even unlikely. Not much we can do about it at this point. But, its one thing to put up with one subpar year, but how are we going to get this fixed by next season? Right now I don't even think we are a top half of the SEC baseball team. We have a lot of recruiting and development to do to get back where we need to be by next season.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I said it 6 weeks ago and it is still true. Mental midgets. We have a bunch of front runners who fold at the first sign of adversity.

[OLJWales]

Off to bed hoping for a Viking Blood Eagle Nightmare instead game flashbacks.

[Schultzy]

I said it 6 weeks ago and it is still true. Mental midgets. We have a bunch of front runners who fold at the first sign of adversity.

Well tonight we folded at the first, second and third sign of opportunity.

But maybe we can win the next two and proceed from there; but I think we kind’ve have to.

[OLJWales]

Well tonight we folded at the first, second and third sign of opportunity.

But maybe we can win the next two and proceed from there; but I think we kind’ve have to.

Maybe monkeys will fly from my butt.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Everything everyone has said tonight is true, but I will take a page out of Jimmy Vs book here, Lemonis has to be the first to believe. He has to go into that locker room and instill confidence and belief into everyone. Will it work? I do not know, but you have to roll with what you got.

[Homedawg]

Leadership I was talking about last week. Games like this is where it shows, tremendously.

I’m like you, I hate the bastards with the power of 1000 suns.

At what point do they get tired of getting kicked in the nutts and knock somebody the f out?

Leadership doesn't throw a strike... leadership doesn't get a hit. The term is so overused and out of context in a specific game, this one included.

[Todd4State]

Here are our issues:

1. We do not have a leadoff hitter. This has caused us to become an Earl Weaver 1982 Milwaukee Brewers type offense. We hit a lot of home runs. But sometimes teams that are built like that have nights like tonight and it's almost all or nothing sometimes. We may score 20 runs tomorrow. Who knows? The thing is under Cohen he was always good about having someone like CT Bradford, Jarrod Parks, Adam Frazier and then later on icons like Mangum, TA, Rowdey, Robson, and Stovall- basically guys that consistently got on base. Guys like that set the table and cause havoc on the bases and then the guys like we have now like Kellum, LoTan, Cumbest, etc. drive them in. And their home runs instead of being solo home runs they become 2-3 run home runs. Often times guys that get on base appear to be leaders because they are tough hard nosed baseball players. It's not that we necessarily lack leadership- we might. But it's less apparent from the stands because of the types of players we have. The table setters are very valuable because they get on, they steal bases, they bunt for hits, you can hit and run with them and they make contact. Look at tonight- when we scored Kam James stole second getting us out of a double play possibility and then Hancock was able to shoot the ball opposite field to get us two runs. That's too rare for this group. We need to correct this through recruiting because we have failed at finding a leadoff guy for about three or four cycles now. If we start recruiting Mangum types again I guarantee you our leadership will magically appear and our offense will be better. This issue is also hurting our team batting average because those guys typically hit for a high average and with the bases empty it hurts the sluggers hurting their batting average.

2. Our pitching philosophy only works with Landon Sims type unicorns. Foxhall needs a more flexible approach instead of a one size fits all approach. In a perfect world I would like for us to somehow fuse Wes Johnson and Butch together. Foxhall's all or nothing high velo strike everyone out approach doesn't work for every pitcher. For those it doesn't fit it delays development. We need someone that can teach pitchers how to pitch with different arm angles like Butch was good at doing while at the same time we need to keep using the Brent Strom/Nolan Ryan philosophy for those who are able to make that work. Cam Tullar would probably be Chad Girodo 2.0 under Butch. At the end of the day we need to prioritize guys that can throw strikes more than try to find guy that throw hard and try to teach them to command it. There are a lot more Kyle Farnsworth's out there than Randy Johnson's.

3. Foxhall's in game coaching as far as who to pitch is horrible. Not really talking about tonight so much as in general. I mean, we'll let Cam Tullar blow up but another guy comes out for allowing three loud outs? What the hell? I'll never forget Trysten Barlow and Riley Self over Colby White in Omaha in 2019. Put us in the loser's bracket. I've seen pitchers visibly shaken and he doesn't go out to talk to them at all. And yeah- he managed Landon Sims. 99% of this board could manage Landon Sims. That's not exactly something you would need Dave Duncan wizardry to do.

4. We have 3 LHP. 2 of which are freshmen. That's as bad as the lead off hitter/table setter recruiting. How does that happen? Even worse- table setters and LHP are two of the things that are least likely to go pro. Meaning a program with MSU's reputation on and off the field should have little trouble attracting those types of players and getting them to school. And we have a huge JUCO system where surely we can find someone that can at the very least get LH hitters out that also just dreamed of playing for MSU.

5. We need to find someone with Cann like scouting connections. And no Gautreau doesn't have that.

I trust Lemonis to fix our issues in the offseason.

[FriarsPoint]

Leadership doesn't throw a strike... leadership doesn't get a hit. The term is so overused and out of context in a specific game, this one included.

Ok. Balls. Desire. Will to win. No quit. Guts over talent.

[Commercecomet24]

Leadership doesn't throw a strike... leadership doesn't get a hit. The term is so overused and out of context in a specific game, this one included.

This. We found a way to take a lead into the 9th and couldn't get 1 more out . The win was there to be had and the pen let us down again and it had nothing to do with leadership. Throwing 3 straight breaking balls to a number 8 hitter with a 1-2 count and walking him had zero to do with leadership, it's a Pitcher not executing. As you said the term is way overused.

[Todd4State]

This. We found a way to take a lead into the 9th and couldn't get 1 more out . The win was there to be had and the pen let us down again and it had nothing to do with leadership. Throwing 3 straight breaking balls to a number 8 hitter with a 1-2 count and walking him had zero to do with leadership, it's a Pitcher not executing. As you said the term is way overused.

Yeah. Really impossible from the stands to tell who is and who isn't a leader on the team as people as in all things lead in different ways. You have to be on the team to know or know someone on the team and specifically ask that person to know. From what I have heard Riley Self was a big leader on last year's team. Some lead on the field like Tanner Allen. Some encourage on the bench even though they may not play much. Sometimes it's a back up catcher like David Ross when he was with the Red Sox and Cubs. Often times it's someone we don't suspect.

At the end of the day this team isn't well built and has had to deal with some major injuries on the pitching staff.

The best way to fix it I think is going to be through recruiting and possibly using the transfer portal to get some stopgaps in the meantime.

We have to build our team the way we did starting with the 2016 class. We need to be more athletic and also hard nosed up the middle while retaining the same amount of power hitters. We're strong at catcher and we found a good transfer second baseman. SS and CF have been revolving doors though. Hopefully we start to adapt a more gap to gap approach too instead of a pull everything approach. Lemonis actually touched on that after the UT-Martin game.

Pitching needs to go away from a one size fits all approach. We need to focus on guys that can throw strikes. Build velocity up later as the players grow and once they develop command and confidence and can pitch to contact- then those that can do it can go to the Nolan Ryan approach. Get three weekend starters, a closer, a set-up guy, a relief ace, and then a midweek guy like Harding in a perfect world. Plus throw in a guy that can throw lower three quarters or submarine to eat innings and that is what an ideal MSU staff would look like IMO.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Here are our issues:

1. We do not have a leadoff hitter. This has caused us to become an Earl Weaver 1982 Milwaukee Brewers type offense. We hit a lot of home runs. But sometimes teams that are built like that have nights like tonight and it's almost all or nothing sometimes. We may score 20 runs tomorrow. Who knows? The thing is under Cohen he was always good about having someone like CT Bradford, Jarrod Parks, Adam Frazier and then later on icons like Mangum, TA, Rowdey, Robson, and Stovall- basically guys that consistently got on base. Guys like that set the table and cause havoc on the bases and then the guys like we have now like Kellum, LoTan, Cumbest, etc. drive them in. And their home runs instead of being solo home runs they become 2-3 run home runs. Often times guys that get on base appear to be leaders because they are tough hard nosed baseball players. It's not that we necessarily lack leadership- we might. But it's less apparent from the stands because of the types of players we have. The table setters are very valuable because they get on, they steal bases, they bunt for hits, you can hit and run with them and they make contact. Look at tonight- when we scored Kam James stole second getting us out of a double play possibility and then Hancock was able to shoot the ball opposite field to get us two runs. That's too rare for this group. We need to correct this through recruiting because we have failed at finding a leadoff guy for about three or four cycles now. If we start recruiting Mangum types again I guarantee you our leadership will magically appear and our offense will be better. This issue is also hurting our team batting average because those guys typically hit for a high average and with the bases empty it hurts the sluggers hurting their batting average.

2. Our pitching philosophy only works with Landon Sims type unicorns. Foxhall needs a more flexible approach instead of a one size fits all approach. In a perfect world I would like for us to somehow fuse Wes Johnson and Butch together. Foxhall's all or nothing high velo strike everyone out approach doesn't work for every pitcher. For those it doesn't fit it delays development. We need someone that can teach pitchers how to pitch with different arm angles like Butch was good at doing while at the same time we need to keep using the Brent Strom/Nolan Ryan philosophy for those who are able to make that work. Cam Tullar would probably be Chad Girodo 2.0 under Butch. At the end of the day we need to prioritize guys that can throw strikes more than try to find guy that throw hard and try to teach them to command it. There are a lot more Kyle Farnsworth's out there than Randy Johnson's.

3. Foxhall's in game coaching as far as who to pitch is horrible. Not really talking about tonight so much as in general. I mean, we'll let Cam Tullar blow up but another guy comes out for allowing three loud outs? What the hell? I'll never forget Trysten Barlow and Riley Self over Colby White in Omaha in 2019. Put us in the loser's bracket. I've seen pitchers visibly shaken and he doesn't go out to talk to them at all. And yeah- he managed Landon Sims. 99% of this board could manage Landon Sims. That's not exactly something you would need Dave Duncan wizardry to do.

4. We have 3 LHP. 2 of which are freshmen. That's as bad as the lead off hitter/table setter recruiting. How does that happen? Even worse- table setters and LHP are two of the things that are least likely to go pro. Meaning a program with MSU's reputation on and off the field should have little trouble attracting those types of players and getting them to school. And we have a huge JUCO system where surely we can find someone that can at the very least get LH hitters out that also just dreamed of playing for MSU.

5. We need to find someone with Cann like scouting connections. And no Gautreau doesn't have that.

I trust Lemonis to fix our issues in the offseason.

+1

I've said this a dozen times since the Bama series cause it's true- how does a nobody like Bama manage to get a bullpen LHP that can throw strikes at 96mph but the best we have is Tullar? we have no excuse to have recruited LHP so poorly.

Like you say we have stopped recruiting lead off guys, or any small ball players of quality- we have to go to the portal in back to back seasons to find a 2nd basebman. Too busy getting high ceiling sluggers like Clark to bother with the birtbag "find a way to get on base" ballers like Robson, Stovall, or Mangum. Dubrule willed that role well, but we aren't recruiting them.

And hell, for RHP we're not lighting the world on fire either. SO class was good- Cade Smith, Fristoe, and Tepper. 3 talented Fr arms with high ceilings. But what did we get in this years class? I've seen nothing from the Fr RHP that makes me excited. Kohn is the only Fr pitcher we play, and this is an "all hands on deck" type year too.

Tennessee is out there with plural true Fr starters that have sub 2 ERAs. Are we god awful at scouting that we miss the talented college bound players? Or are we too lazy t push for them?

Lemo was sold as a recruiter. I'm not seeing the tallent or roster balance we need... but I don't know how much to blame Lemo since baseball recruiting is so far in advance

[BrunswickDawg]

No offense Todd, but I stopped reading your book when you said "Earl Weaver 1982 Milwaukee Brewers Offense" - I can't take you seriously when you make an error that egregious. You need to up your game buddy.

[basedog]

This. We found a way to take a lead into the 9th and couldn't get 1 more out . The win was there to be had and the pen let us down again and it had nothing to do with leadership. Throwing 3 straight breaking balls to a number 8 hitter with a 1-2 count and walking him had zero to do with leadership, it's a Pitcher not executing. As you said the term is way overused.

We have injuries to a few pitchers, but the lack of timely hitting has been so bad, we had our chances 3 or 4 innings but yet we couldn't put the ball in a gap. We can't seem to get our hitters on the same page, get maybe one or two hot a game or two and everyone is cold as ice at the plate. I have not the answer.

We look like Tarzen and play like Jane Cc24!

[Homedawg]

Goat has MORE mlb contacts than Cann. But keep beating that drum and die on that hill, please.

[Homedawg]

We have injuries to a few pitchers, but the lack of timely hitting has been so bad, we had our chances 3 or 4 innings but yet we couldn't put the ball in a gap. We can't seem to get our hitters on the same page, get maybe one or two hot a game or two and everyone is cold as ice at the plate. I have not the answer.

We look like Tarzen and play like Jane Cc24!

Getting a key hit, that's difference.

[Cooterpoot]

Ok. Balls. Desire. Will to win. No quit. Guts over talent.


We have injuries to a few pitchers, but the lack of timely hitting has been so bad, we had our chances 3 or 4 innings but yet we couldn't put the ball in a gap. We can't seem to get our hitters on the same page, get maybe one or two hot a game or two and everyone is cold as ice at the plate. I have not the answer.

We look like Tarzen and play like Jane Cc24!

The answer is we've turned into a team of all or nothing hitters. We have the second lowest average and are worst five in Ks in the conference. We're top 7 in HRs HRs though. We've turned into what the launch angle baseball era has turned baseball into. An erratic hitting team that beats its chest but that's all it beats.

[Cowbell]

Goat has MORE mlb contacts than Cann. But keep beating that drum and die on that hill, please.

3 straight cws trips and we blame the first issues to arise on coaching. Our fans are our own worst enemy....

[Cooterpoot]

3 straight cws trips and we blame the first issues to arise on coaching. Our fans are our own worst enemy....

Name all the good pitchers on this staff, that are performing, that our current coaching staff brought in. They're few and far between. We haven't recruited great on the pitching side. Too Juco heavy. Now hitters, those are all Gotro's guys except the transfers. And we've got our share of those. This team is poorly constructed and some guys simply haven't developed like they were expected. So, we've got the "slowpitch" lineup as C34 calls it. Wait til next year. It's going to be rough.

[Maroonthirteen]

My vent ...... First, these guys just don't seem to handle the pressure. WHich there isn't THAT much pressure at the moment. That's concerning.

Fristoe....walking the first guy in the ninth...it happens. Some folks in the stadium thought he got hosed on a called strike 3. However, hitting the next guy and the wild pitch....bad. I really feel for the guy too....He looked so good at Fayetteville and last night, up to that point. Hopefully, last night doesn't shake his confidence to much. Not to pick on Fristoe though. Because the middle infield seemed very tight to start the game. But it didn't cost us. Speaking of early game, we were making good contact and two balls were hit to the wall in LC. THat wind really knocked those balls down. I believe we have two early game homers if not for that wind and maybe the outcome is completely different.

However, two guys in the lineup last night were completely overwhelmed at the plate. The batting order needs to be shaken up. Hancock, Jame, LT, Clark, Hines, Yeager, Cumbest, Forsythe, CenterFielder.

Speaking of centerfield, 9th inning, I know we were playing deep to take away extra bases. However, watching that game winning hit, I thought it hung up in the air slightly and there was a chance to make a diving catch. I know you don't want to risk extra bases.....but be a hero there...or at least attempt it. Again that goes back to confidence.

Here is to today.....hopefully we can find a way to win the next two.

[SilentSteel16]

That ball to center was pissed on. A line drive like that is very very hard to make a play on. It did bounce about 4 feet in front of him and I wanted him to dive for it too but I didn’t happen. LSUs game plan against Fristoe, make him prove he can throw offspeed for a strike, sit on the dead red non moving hard fastball. The guy that struck out roped one that just went foul and the second out hit one against the dang wall. After the wild pitch he should have been pulled because then you knew it was going to be fastballs and their best hitters were coming up. Y’all keep saying that was not leadership or coaching, BUT you walk a guy (it happens) then you hit a guy including a pitch that hits backstop in the air… you slow the game down and pull his butt out of the game. That is coaching. Granted the guy we brought in gave up a bomb but Fristoe remaining in the game is on coaching. Fristoe needs to get out of his own head and he will be a stud.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

It's not leadership. It's called having no damn pen. Fristoe is Fristoe. He should be better than he's performed. We need to load up on arms. We've got few on this team. Recruiting has to be better.

I think foxhall can manage a pitching staff, but can he develop pitchers? We seem to always have 1 or 2 a year that never develops but has all the potential.

[Commercecomet24]

We have injuries to a few pitchers, but the lack of timely hitting has been so bad, we had our chances 3 or 4 innings but yet we couldn't put the ball in a gap. We can't seem to get our hitters on the same page, get maybe one or two hot a game or two and everyone is cold as ice at the plate. I have not the answer.

We look like Tarzen and play like Jane Cc24!

True we could've scored more runs BUT we put our self in a position to win a game with 2 outs and no one on in the 9th. Pitchers have to execute and get that third out. Have to.

[R2Dawg]

Leadership doesn't throw a strike... leadership doesn't get a hit. The term is so overused and out of context in a specific game, this one included.

Truth. There are so many stupid cliche comments in sports that are not common sense true.

Fans show up then you win is another stupid one. Guess what our fans showed up last night and we didn't win!!

[R2Dawg]

True we could've scored more runs BUT we put our self in a position to win a game with 2 outs and no one on in the 9th. Pitchers have to execute and get that third out. Have to.

Yep

[Cooterpoot]

I think foxhall can manage a pitching staff, but can he develop pitchers? We seem to always have 1 or 2 a year that never develops but has all the potential.

Yeah, managing isn't an issue IMO. We've just not developed guys as consistently as the top asst. in college baseball should. Is it recruiting or is it the one size fits all approach? We've signed some great arms that just die here, way too often. We need to hit on and develop better.

[OLJWales]

Truth. There are so many stupid cliche comments in sports that are not common sense true.

Fans show up then you win is another stupid one. Guess what our fans showed up last night and we didn't win!!

Yep. And IMO it was Way Worse than "didn't win". Not sure I've ever seen a team make such a futile attempt to close out a game outta fear of winning when victory was so damn important. But at least we won the "Playing with Tight Butt Cheeks" Award.

[Maroonthirteen]

Shaking it up.

https://twitter.com/hailstatebb/status/1512848629765132292?s=21&t=ROeHJd7KCRXuUgbfJSRDRA