Do you feel better or worse about the baseball team now, compared to Thursday?

I'm going slightly worse, but not by much since I already wasn't feeling good in the first place. The bad loss is a red flag, but I'll reserve judgment until I see if it was a freak "that's baseball" thing or if we rack up a bunch more.

However, the way we lost on Saturday (baserunning and poor pitching management) are further indication of what we pretty much all knew - Lemonis just isn't that good of a coach. We are one of 4 fanbases in the entire NCAA who care about baseball, and we arguably care the most. ANY halfway decent coach should be fairly successful here. Unlike other sports, we don't have to find a unicorn to win big, so there's less risk in making the change.

As of right now, I do still think we will make the Tournament this year with improved pitching, and I think Lemonis will get 2025. I don't think he should get 2025 unless we host (or at the very least barely miss hosting), but we clearly don't have leadership that agrees with my bolded statement above.

I actually feel better after seeing the guys we've added in person. This portal class has been a pleasant surprise. Was there any word on Kohler?

I feel better so far. The pitching is noticeably more aggressive and is throwing strikes. Hitting was ok - but hitting is usually a little behind early. Defense was markedly better. The only real oof was base running, but frankly we've had a ton of boneheaded base running over the past decade so I just chalk it up to base running not being an emphasis anymore (and I see just as much boneheaded base running in college ball beyond MSU).

But, these are just 3 games. I'm gonna wait and watch the OOC before starting to judge.

We’ve played 3 games. This is not a sprint. At least we’re not pitching like 9 year olds.

3 years in a row of losing to a probable losing record team on opening weekend.

I guess it was just baseball for the past 2 years too

Fans that know baseball, don't actually know baseball. I feel the same.

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Originally Posted by Quaoarsking

I'm going slightly worse, but not by much since I already wasn't feeling good in the first place. The bad loss is a red flag, but I'll reserve judgment until I see if it was a freak "that's baseball" thing or if we rack up a bunch more.

However, the way we lost on Saturday (baserunning and poor pitching management) are further indication of what we pretty much all knew - Lemonis just isn't that good of a coach. We are one of 4 fanbases in the entire NCAA who care about baseball, and we arguably care the most. ANY halfway decent coach should be fairly successful here. Unlike other sports, we don't have to find a unicorn to win big, so there's less risk in making the change.

As of right now, I do still think we will make the Tournament this year with improved pitching, and I think Lemonis will get 2025. I don't think he should get 2025 unless we host (or at the very least barely miss hosting), but we clearly don't have leadership that agrees with my bolded statement above.

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Better in this sense... we pounded the zone for all but a couple of instances.
Worse in this..... we have 3 injuries. One we aren't getting back and we could afford him to be a 230 hitting catcher while hitting 12 hr if he was improved behind the dish. But he's not a dh. Kohler is going to be out a while. That hurts and hurts bad. Mershon still out for a bit. That's 2.5 big hits to the lineup and now our 7-9 are not good offensively. So rough on days that our top 6 don't hit.

I feel better than last year when our pitching was so abysmal. I like that we only had 6 walks over the 3 games (with one being intentional BB) so we're not giving away free outs. I think our infield defense is much improved (really like Cupp at SS) and when Kohler returns, we have a chance to be among the best in the SEC. I was hoping for more from Colby and am not sure Dohm is the answer on Friday nights.

BUT Pitching and defense will win a lot of games.

As for offense, I'm still concerned that we need a more protection for Dakota and Hunter. We're still a work in progress so as long as we get better with each passing week/month (and don't blow the season on the front end), I remain optimistic we can make a regional.

The same. Last year, the team was bad defensively, sloppy at base running , mid overall on offense, awful on the mound, and the team didn't have that "it" factor at all.

This season, I expect us to be better on the mound (still sub par overall), better defensively (still subpar overall), maybe a bit improved on O (have talent returning but lost Ledbetter and Clark)... and still suck at the basics and the "it" factor because those are HC issues -not pitching coach ones- so why'd I expect them to be fixed?

I will not let my opinion be swayed till the end of the 3rd weekend. This is baseball, and the season is long. Hope I'm wrong overall but I think we finish about 10th in the SEC

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Originally Posted by WSOPdawg

I feel better than last year when our pitching was so abysmal. I like that we only had 6 walks over the 3 games (with one being intentional BB) so we're not giving away free outs. I think our infield defense is much improved (really like Cupp at SS) and when Kohler returns, we have a chance to be among the best in the SEC. I was hoping for more from Colby and am not sure Dohm is the answer on Friday nights.

BUT Pitching and defense will win a lot of games.

As for offense, I'm still concerned that we need a more protection for Dakota and Hunter. We're still a work in progress so as long as we get better with each passing week/month (and don't blow the season on the front end), I remain optimistic we can make a regional.

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My how far we've fallen that "make a regional" is considered "optimistic"

I feel much better.

1) Pitching looks much improved. Threw a lot of strikes, limited walks, and didn't get a lot of hard hit balls off of us during the weekend. Seems like we've got some depth and still haven't shown all our arms yet.

2) Scored 20 runs in very cold weather this weekend. Air Force is a better opponent than most everyone else the SEC played this weekend. So I would say not bad there. Need better approaches but again it's February and it's cold.

3) Defense seems much improved. Cupp can flat out glove it at SS. Rest of the team seems fine.

4) No Mershon, Kohler out games 2 and 3, and Highfill limited to DH role.

All in all there's nothing this early that screams glaring weakness that will hold us back. Keep it moving to next weekend.

We should be better but I'm not sure where we will stack up in Sec play. I think we are in the bottom half of the league, it's early and we need to get healthy. I really like what I saw in Stephen's and closer on Friday!

our players i feel good about. Our head coach not so much.

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Originally Posted by basedog

We should be better but I'm not sure where we will stack up in Sec play. I think we are in the bottom half of the league, it's early and we need to get healthy. I really like what I saw in Stephen's and closer on Friday!

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Spot on.

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Originally Posted by BrunswickDawg

I feel better so far. The pitching is noticeably more aggressive and is throwing strikes. Hitting was ok - but hitting is usually a little behind early. Defense was markedly better. The only real oof was base running, but frankly we've had a ton of boneheaded base running over the past decade so I just chalk it up to base running not being an emphasis anymore (and I see just as much boneheaded base running in college ball beyond MSU).

But, these are just 3 games. I'm gonna wait and watch the OOC before starting to judge.

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This

Baserunning still drives me crazy. Not sure why they let Holcomb back out in the 9th when he obviously didn't have it. Even then, how you let him walk two before pulling him is on the coaching staff.

Hitters still take bad approaches. I think our lineup even with the injuries is good enough to get into a Regional. Pitching staff is greatly improved but not sure that we have a Friday guy for the 3rd year in a row.

Every year we seem to send out a guy that would be everyone else's Saturday guy so we aren't on a level playing field. Maybe Khal is that guy, I am certainly hoping.

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Originally Posted by the_real_MSU_is_us

My how far we've fallen that "make a regional" is considered "optimistic"

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And that's why we should move on from Lemonis even if he makes a Regional.

My concerns are the bottom half of the order.....The bottom 5 didn't hit shit.......Getting Mershon back in the lineup in place of Cupp will help some but losing Kohler hurts bad......Outside of the top 4 (Larry, Jordan, Hines and Chance) the rest of the lineup went a combined 10 for 48 for the weekend.........That's against AF pitching, which was supposed to be their weakness........

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Originally Posted by the_real_MSU_is_us

My how far we've fallen that "make a regional" is considered "optimistic"

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Ding ding ding

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Originally Posted by Quaoarsking

And that's why we should move on from Lemonis even if he makes a Regional.

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Many of us arent worried about making a Regional

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Many of us arent worried about making a Regional

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Yeah I think everyone just wants to make Hoover. Would be something we havent done in a while

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Originally Posted by MetEdDawg

I feel much better.

1) Pitching looks much improved. Threw a lot of strikes, limited walks, and didn't get a lot of hard hit balls off of us during the weekend. Seems like we've got some depth and still haven't shown all our arms yet.

2) Scored 20 runs in very cold weather this weekend. Air Force is a better opponent than most everyone else the SEC played this weekend. So I would say not bad there. Need better approaches but again it's February and it's cold.

3) Defense seems much improved. Cupp can flat out glove it at SS. Rest of the team seems fine.

4) No Mershon, Kohler out games 2 and 3, and Highfill limited to DH role.

All in all there's nothing this early that screams glaring weakness that will hold us back. Keep it moving to next weekend.

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This is the correct answer.

Pitching? 27 innings- only gave up 20 hits, 7 earned runs...38 K's to 9 BB's. Air Force made the Top 32 in 2022 and usually finishes around .500 They arent VMI or Central Arkansas

Hitting? .297 in the cold with 20 runs in 3 games. With multiple starters out.

Good weekend to start but the injuries are concerning. Losing your 3B guy on Day 1 is simply bad luck. But we can get around that. Mershon needs to get healthy.

At least we didnt lose to St Johns

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Originally Posted by Saltydog

My concerns are the bottom half of the order.....The bottom 5 didn't hit shit.......Getting Mershon back in the lineup in place of Cupp will help some but losing Kohler hurts bad......Outside of the top 4 (Larry, Jordan, Hines and Chance) the rest of the lineup went a combined 10 for 48 for the weekend.........That's against AF pitching, which was supposed to be their weakness........

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Listening to the radio broadcast today, Jay Powell said something about our approach over the last several years that led to pulling and rolling over on balls, especially against guys that don't burn up the radar. Why can't Gotro see that?

Broadcast issue for MSU.

Please stop giving Air Time to the neck beard Dweebs behind the Opponent Bullpen. These sad cats need to be drugged and dropped off in College Station Texas. They belong there.

Please use the cameras to find Smoke-Shows. The Dude has 125 worthy M!LFS on any given weekend, the camera director is probably a dork too. This is the kind of stuff that Ole Miss does better. Made themselves cool. We give air time to homeless.

This is Foxhall level incompetence

The holes in the lineup are what concerns me. Also, who is going to play 3B Longterm until Koehler gets back. Chester is doing ok, but not the solution. Wonder if Larry can play 3b once Mershon gets back. Cupp loos dang good at SS and has hit a couple balls really hard. He just needs at bats. We know Mershon is going to rake. I wouldn't mind trying Larry at 3b, Cupp at SS, and Mershon at 2b.

The pitching looked really good compared to last year. We have a bonified starter in Stephens and Lo. Just need to find another. I would move Dohm back to the bullpen. He fits better there. I think Dotson looked really good. His ball kind of jumped past hitters.

Overall, I think it was a decent wknd. The loss is what it is. We beat ourselves for the most part with bad hitting and then Holcomb being Holcomb. I would prolly would have brought in Shulke to end it with the 2 runers on. Maybe he could have gotten a ground ball or better yet, just struck them all out. Hell they couldn't touch him Friday night. We shouldn't need him against AP Tues and Wed so let him throw. Looking around the league, everyone had one of those losses or played a close game. Look at Vandy, they were a pop fly from losing 2 of 3... OM supposedly all world freshman pitcher got tore up, Hagen Smith from Arkansas looked like shit, LSU had trouble at times and then their crackerjack park saved them.

I give us an incomplete. We look like a team trying to figure out our roles with the pitchers and what they can do and we're missing three starters. I still think this team eventually comes together because it's only a matter of time before our guys gets healthy and we figure out our roles in the pitching staff.

Pitchers threw strikes and lo and behold we struck out even more guys compared to first weekend of last year. I think Dohm needs to be in the bullpen and I think we need to consider looking at Holcombe as a starting pitcher in the midweek and see how he does as crazy as that may sound. I just don't think he is comfortable as a relief pitcher. He has talent- they just have to harness it and bring it out of him. Khal Stephen and Karson Ligdon looked promising and Loo looked great but got tired. The good news is Schuelke, Tyler Davis, and Brett Auger can definitely help us and I think Gavin Black can as well. I want to see what Will Passaeu and Logan Forsythe give us during the midweek games. I thought Parker managed the staff as a whole much better. Speaking of game two- if that wasn't Stephen's first start of the year there is zero doubt in my mind he stays in. Based on this weekend I'm going to guess that by the end of the year the rotation is Stephen, Ligdon, and Loo. But I could see someone like Holcombe or Loftin sneaking in as well. Also- we should get Simmons and Pico Kohn back at some point and that will help the bullpen.

Offense was OK I thought. Definitely not too worried about it since Kohler and Mershon weren't playing. One thing I don't like about Dakota hitting second is it takes away the opportunity for hit and runs and things like that because we don't want to take the bat out of his hands. I kind of wonder if Mershon will end up hitting leadoff or number two eventually? Right now we're top heavy and the bottom third of our lineup is a black hole. Game two was just weird with a bunch of baserunning misadventures. Very typical early season loss actually. When we have runners slipping and they get thrown out trying to steal second and then we get a guy picked off of first base and a guy thrown out at second when he thought the ball was somewhere else- bizarre. We actually outhit them in game two and then we scored 8 and 10 runs in the other two. Once we get healthy we should be better.

Defense was better as whole as well. The one error we made today was by a guy who probably won't start long term. Another error in game one when Hujsack overran a ball which is kind of weird. It happens- but we were pretty solid overall. Cupp and Kohler make us a LOT better on the infield. And then Mershon at second is really good too. Catchers looked solid. So, definitely better.

So...I feel about the same as I did at the beginning of the year. Will be interesting and fun to watch this team evolve.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

I give us an incomplete. We look like a team trying to figure out our roles with the pitchers and what they can do and we're missing three starters. I still think this team eventually comes together because it's only a matter of time before our guys gets healthy and we figure out our roles in the pitching staff.

Pitchers threw strikes and lo and behold we struck out even more guys compared to first weekend of last year. I think Dohm needs to be in the bullpen and I think we need to consider looking at Holcombe as a starting pitcher in the midweek and see how he does as crazy as that may sound. I just don't think he is comfortable as a relief pitcher. He has talent- they just have to harness it and bring it out of him. Khal Stephen and Karson Ligdon looked promising and Loo looked great but got tired. The good news is Schuelke, Tyler Davis, and Brett Auger can definitely help us and I think Gavin Black can as well. I want to see what Will Passaeu and Logan Forsythe give us during the midweek games. I thought Parker managed the staff as a whole much better. Speaking of game two- if that wasn't Stephen's first start of the year there is zero doubt in my mind he stays in. Based on this weekend I'm going to guess that by the end of the year the rotation is Stephen, Ligdon, and Loo. But I could see someone like Holcombe or Loftin sneaking in as well. Also- we should get Simmons and Pico Kohn back at some point and that will help the bullpen.

Offense was OK I thought. Definitely not too worried about it since Kohler and Mershon weren't playing. One thing I don't like about Dakota hitting second is it takes away the opportunity for hit and runs and things like that because we don't want to take the bat out of his hands. I kind of wonder if Mershon will end up hitting leadoff or number two eventually? Right now we're top heavy and the bottom third of our lineup is a black hole. Game two was just weird with a bunch of baserunning misadventures. Very typical early season loss actually. When we have runners slipping and they get thrown out trying to steal second and then we get a guy picked off of first base and a guy thrown out at second when he thought the ball was somewhere else- bizarre. We actually outhit them in game two and then we scored 8 and 10 runs in the other two. Once we get healthy we should be better.

Defense was better as whole as well. The one error we made today was by a guy who probably won't start long term. Another error in game one when Hujsack overran a ball which is kind of weird. It happens- but we were pretty solid overall. Cupp and Kohler make us a LOT better on the infield. And then Mershon at second is really good too. Catchers looked solid. So, definitely better.

So...I feel about the same as I did at the beginning of the year. Will be interesting and fun to watch this team evolve.

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I'm with you on Dakota Jordan. I feel like Chance should be in the 2 hole and Jordan in the 4. Chance has the better 2 hole approach. More consistent hitter to all fields and fewer strikeouts will come from his bat. Definitely a better hit and run candidate. Although I will say early returns show you don't want to pitch to Chance either so I could see him staying 4 hole.

I'm not sure if the plan was for Mershon to lead off or not but I like Larry in the 5 or 6 if that was the plan when Mershon comes back.

I feel slightly better. Our biggest problems on the weekend was a second closer and baserunning. The baserunning is an easily fixable solution. The pitching, although concerning, is not near the problem it was last year through one weekend. We cut our walks in half compared to opening weekend last year.

DH situation

I hope McKenzie and Nolan Stevens keep getting opportunities, MSU must make this position productive, especially with Kohler out for 2 to 8 weeks

For those that don't follow Baseball recruiting, Nolan Stevens is a superstar recruit.

I feel better. Pitching looks very much improved. Did Holcomb help give a game away on Saturday? Yes. Did our bats help lose that game? Also yes.

Base running has been frustrating, but I don't recall that really being an issue for us in the past and should be easy to fix.

Our bats always seem subpar to start the season compared to how they finish. Seems to be a staple of Gautreau. I don't know if that stats actually back that up or not, but thats my perception anyways.

All that to say, improvement over last year doesn't say much, but at least it's improvement. If you can win 2 out of 3 every weekend then you'll be just fine. I'd rather lose a game 3-2 because our bats didn't show up than lose a game 15-11 because our pitching walked the whole batting order.

I?m anxious to see new pitchers and other new players for the mid-week games. That might give us a feel of the overall strength of this team.

Some of y'all really like Holcombe, but can he be trusted to not give up tons of walks at the worst possible time?

Why was he not pulled after the 1st walk? Those 2 runs beat us.

Much, much better. Really not sure how anyone could possibly feel worse

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Originally Posted by MaroonFlounder

Some of y'all really like Holcombe, but can he be trusted to not give up tons of walks at the worst possible time?

Why was he not pulled after the 1st walk? Those 2 runs beat us.

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Because you have to let guys figure stuff out early in the season. Can't kill a kids confidence game 2 in a 50+ game season.

Oh hey you walked a couple guys in your first game of the season. Forget ever pitching in another situation like that again but hey we still need you to just keep your chin up and do your best in these no leverage situations!

Kid deserves a couple more shots to see what he can do. Now if it's game 15 or 20 and this is still happening? Yeah sorry bud we've given you a fair shake. But game 2? No way.

We need Holcombe in order to maximize our potential as a team. I think we would all agree a really good Holcombe makes our team better. Can anyone really tell me after one game that Holcombe can't help us?

I sure can't.

[QUOTE=MetEdDawg;1584434]Because you have to let guys figure stuff out early in the season. Can't kill a kids confidence game 2 in a 50+ game season.

Oh hey you walked a couple guys in your first game of the season. Forget ever pitching in another situation like that again but hey we still need you to just keep your chin up and do your best in these no leverage situations!

Kid deserves a couple more shots to see what he can do. Now if it's game 15 or 20 and this is still happening? Yeah sorry bud we've given you a fair shake. But game 2? No way.

We need Holcombe in order to maximize our potential as a team. I think we would all agree a really good Holcombe makes our team better. Can anyone really tell me after one game that Holcombe can't help us?

I sure can't.[/Q

Iffy, but I wish for the very best for him moving forward. I think he is more of a middle relief guy.

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Originally Posted by MaroonFlounder

Some of y'all really like Holcombe, but can he be trusted to not give up tons of walks at the worst possible time?

Why was he not pulled after the 1st walk? Those 2 runs beat us.

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g_wc9J...JpdCBvdXRzaWRl


This where we are with Holcombe. You know how it ends in the movie. Let's hope for a similar result.

Baseball team is fine. They aren’t going to be elite but it will be ok. I don’t know if Lemonis will survive with ok but I guess we will see.

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Originally Posted by Jarius

Baseball team is fine. They aren’t going to be elite but it will be ok. I don’t know if Lemonis will survive with ok but I guess we will see.

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That's the million dollar question to me. If he just makes a regional then what? My stance has and still stands at SR or go unless you win the SEC or SEC Tournament.

I could tell by the way he acted this weekend that he is feeling the heat.

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Originally Posted by MetEdDawg

Because you have to let guys figure stuff out early in the season. Can't kill a kids confidence game 2 in a 50+ game season.

Oh hey you walked a couple guys in your first game of the season. Forget ever pitching in another situation like that again but hey we still need you to just keep your chin up and do your best in these no leverage situations!

Kid deserves a couple more shots to see what he can do. Now if it's game 15 or 20 and this is still happening? Yeah sorry bud we've given you a fair shake. But game 2? No way.

We need Holcombe in order to maximize our potential as a team. I think we would all agree a really good Holcombe makes our team better. Can anyone really tell me after one game that Holcombe can't help us?

I sure can't.

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But it wasn't game 2. It was 1 inning with 3 walks after averaging more than a walk per inning last year in 36 innings. That's a pretty strong trend. I'd give him a couple of looks in middle relief in the upcoming midweek games to see if he can find the plate.

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Originally Posted by Mjoelner34

But it wasn't game 2. It was 1 inning with 3 walks after averaging more than a walk per inning last year in 36 innings. That's a pretty strong trend. I'd give him a couple of looks in middle relief in the upcoming midweek games to see if he can find the plate.

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It's still game 2. New pitching coach, entire offseason, new team dynamics, different expectations.

And it's his first time on the mound this year in 40 degree weather. You give the kid a pass and a couple more chances. Period.

And I'll say this. Our coaching staff isn't just stupid. There's a reason he was in that situation. Because the work he had done made the staff feel like he was going to succeed in that situation. They don't just grab straws and see who goes out there. There's a reason why.

Let's give it more than 1 game. Folks that have coached before understand this concept. I would just be interested to know how many people that have coached high school or above are actually calling for Holcombe to never have another chance in that same spot again this early.