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RPI up to 24
We have figured out the back end of the pitching staff
We are Top 5 of the SEC (remember all that "State standard" talk?)
We win the Bama series
We avoid a sweep at UPig
We win the Mizzou series
We will host. Even if we **** up and dont host- we will be a top 2 seed in the Tourney and nobody wants us in their Regional
I cant wait to bump me some threads to make sure we get all the great takes on Lemon at the end of the month
We're taking 2 at UPIG.
Mississippi State baseball team is better. Lemonis still sux!
It really was the pitching coach the whole time. Parker really managed the staff well tonight. I was impressed.
First five innings were from guys coming off of injuries.
Brought in Schulke to get out of a jam against a RH hitter. Then brought in Tyler Davis when Schulke was losing command. Hardin looked like his typical self and shut the door with little fanfare.
Could have been a shut out except for the home run allowed which was a towering fly ball that barely got out.
Being critical though- I would like to see us add an offensive analyst this offseason from Campbell to kind of change our offensive philosophy some. Hoping to add more power which honestly has been the second biggest issue besides the bullpen. Also hoping for more havoc on the bases- more HBP, stealing, bunting for hits and etc. We saw tonight what havoc on the basepaths can do- Hujsack gets hit by a pitch and then when they try to pick him off he gets to third and then a ground ball gets him home.
Pico also showed he can go against SEC hitters just fine. He's not a Friday night guy, but as we've seen having a solid Sunday guy can be just as important in the game today.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
Don't hate him.
Not mad (enjoying the season).
Still not convinced he's the long term solution.
This is what you don't understand - all of these things can be true at the same time. He'll be back next year, and (gasp!) he'll continue to be evaluated by both the fans and the administration on his annual results.
It was a wild pitch and him busting ass that got him to 3rd.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
Agree with this. No hate at all for anyone.Quote:
Originally Posted by PMDawg
Parker is clearly the difference maker in 2024 for MSU baseball. So for any time someone gives Lemonis credit for a game that was 1-1 in the 8th, they really should be giving all the credit to Parker.
Keep Parker at all costs.
OM lost the game last night exactly how we would lose games last year. Passed ball gets away and runner takes two bases, 1B boots the backend of a double play to end the inning, walk, 2 RBI double.
As for Lemonis, I still do not believe he's the long term solution, but we're playing winning baseball and since he's the manager, he gets the credit for that. You also have to give him credit for finding guys like Hujsak out of the portal or Mershon in recruiting.
I really don't think we scare many teams. We're a pretty average SEC team but the SEC is generally strong. Our bats don't scare too many and pitching still has some issues. I still think we need to sweep one, win one, and not crap the bed to host. I do laugh at Kendall, as he's the one who said we had to win out to host. If we figure out the bullpen issues and the three god awful hitters get going, then we might be scary.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
How good is Mershon's brother? He is going to South Carolina next year, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
Some of this, I think MSU recruits itself sometimes as a top 20 recruiting class.
I still have doubts on Lemonis rebuilding the team next year.
This. The results of the past 3 weeks don?t negate the results the of the past 2.5 years. But the past few weeks have been way more fun to be a fan of.Quote:
Originally Posted by PMDawg
I hope what we?ve been seeing recently is Lemonis figuring it out and not just a fluke. Time will tell.
Lemonis issues: Recruiting, slow to adjust, push back at fans which makes enemies
I don't think he's a bad coach per se, I just think he's got a lot of Croom like issues. He'd rather beat his head against a wall than do what everyone can see needs to be done. The recruiting hasnt been up to par at all. We struggle with the portal minus one or two lesser rated guys a year really. The class coming is weak without the draft guys. We hit on one or two kids now instead of several. That's got to be fixed. The rebuild next year is going to make for a lot of back and forth I think. It's a cloud hanging over us a bit. I also think Geaut better find some magic again real soon. Our hitting has to improve.
Is our fielding not significantly better also? Definitely it's hard to do anything when your pitching sucks, but our fielding didn't do our pitchers a lot of favors last year from what I remember.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
I'm looking for reasons beyond Parker to be optimistic with Lemonis. We are fortunate that in baseball we're not likely to have Parker poached except for a head coaching position at a pretty decent program. But I assume with the turnaround this year he's going to get interest pretty quickly and we're probably not going to have him another four years.
Yeah, Hujsak plays at 1000% on every single play. Not many would've wound up on 3rd on that play.Quote:
Originally Posted by StateDawg44
Hugesak is dumb tho. That worked last night and it goes as a "hustle" play butttttt if the throw is on target he is likely out and we are cussing himQuote:
Originally Posted by Commercecomet24
Fine line between being aggressive and being aggressively stupid
I was thinking the same thing watching it live. If that throw is anywhere near on line, Hujsak is hosedQuote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
Keep Parker at all costs. Parker is saving Lemonis this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
Yes on Lemonis and Croom and this season reminds me how Croom got to a 6 win season, and our Band spelled out "CROOM" at half time of the Liberty Bowl..... the freaking Liberty Bowl back when it was not in the bigger pay out of bowls. Dang our fanbase sometimes.
We won 6 games in the season due to Ellis Johnson's defense. Croom got all the praise and Johnson headed to another town.
This baseball season is much like that with Parker saving Lemonis, and our fans spelling out "LEMONIS" on the message boards.
Sometimes you have to gamble big to win. I liked the play but I've always been a proponent of aggressive base running. Force the action and force them to make a play. That's a long throw for a catcher who was caught napping. I like it. We don't disagree on much about baseball, but on this one we do, lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
ETA If i was coaching third i'm bringing him all the way. Also there was already one out, if there's zero outs or 2 outs, yeah stay at second but with one out, come on over!
That is the problem with a lot of the Lemon haters. Their view of State baseball is warped. The “State standard” in baseball is MUCH closer to 5th than it is 1st. The natty warped a lot of perceptions. It was great for the school and the program but we didn’t just automatically cruise by Florida, Vandy, LSU and SC as the top program in the league.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
But that's the thing, a play like that, the odds are in the runners favor. That was an impossible throw to make 75% of the time. Now, had the catcher hustled instead of standing around, I don't think Hujsak tries it. You can see when he saw the catcher being lazy, his footwork changed and he turned it on.Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
This^^^^^^^Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
The best thing for State is to win and Lemonis fix recruiting. Will that happen? Don't know, but we're going to find out.
I love MSU more than any coach. I always want the dogs to win, but that doesn?t mean I still think he?s the man for the future. I think the real story will be told next year. There will be a good bit of turnover. If we can continue being successful next year, he shouldn?t have anymore detractors. However, he cannot have 3 poor years in a 4 year span. He makes the big bucks. Those come with big expectations EVERY year.
The fans saying that our success is all Parker cracks me up. We are first in the SEC in defense. That's not because of Parker. And our hitting is middle of the pack. The biggest issue there is power- which took a big blow when Highfill got hurt and Kohler got hurt plus Hines struggling. I think most of our hitting issues can be corrected with a hitting analyst.
It's not all Parker, but he's the biggest part of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
Its nothing resembling Croom. Lemon has a Natty and built this team that has very good pitching. So much so that we have overcome injuries to 3 of our top guys as well as another underperforming. Those of us that know baseball figured we would be pretty good this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santiago
You don't think better pitching helps the defense a lot? I do. I think it helps a ton. Mershon being healthy this year helps too, along with one transfer out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
Geaut's guys never K a lot as a unit. It's always been that way. Recruiting is the reason for the power outage, it's not just HRs. We aren't getting extra base hits. Far too often we're two strike hitting and beating our chests and too many ground balls. We've got a grind it out approach that's not all bad, but you need the players to do that.
exactlyQuote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
With the injuries we have had- Lemon is in the discussion for COY
I respect your posts, but are you really saying our hitting would be better if a player wasn't struggling at the plate?Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
We would also hit more home runs if the balls traveled a little further also.
Why hasn't Lemonis already moved forward with a hitting analyst?
That is our point. He can be incredibly stubborn, Croom like.
But Parker is a really big reason our pitching is ranked so high in the SEC and why we are winning games. Our defense is better, so ya Lemonis! Our base running has been awful and we lost alot of games this year v. lesser teams when we could not hit anything. We are a good team, but a thin line on going 0-3 on a weekend also.
Agree with you Todd. I too think we need a hitting analyst and Gotro ain?t that. Gotro gotta go.
Parker lost his starting Friday night guy, but was able to recruit a pitcher in the portal that has saved us. Grant hurt, and other hurt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
So does Parker get assistant coach of the year?
LOL!!! Lemonis held on to our problem until he had no choice. That's the whole "refuse to adjust" again. Parker absolutely saved his ass. Lemonis didn't build that chamoionship team either. And if middle of the pack in the SEC is good, our standards have fallen hard. The bottom line is Lemonis isn't as bad as the haters claim, nor as good as his blind followers believe. It all comes down to can he get the players. I don't believe he can. I think you see us stuck in the middle of the pack as long as he's here, but, and it's a big but, he's good enough to win if the team catches fire and things fall into place and we catch some breaks. A bad coach can't win regardless.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
I'm glad it worked and as I said- fine line between aggressive and being stupid. When I was 20 I throw him out 75% of the time. The ball sailed on the catcher and boom- big play for usQuote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
oh no doubt- we miss the NCAA's next year to make it 3 out of 4? Fire his assQuote:
Originally Posted by Brobi-wan
I'd make a call to Adam Wyse. He's an up and comer. Great coach; especially at player dev. Look him up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
^^^^^Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
I don't know why we keep doing this with out coaches, but here goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
Lemonis gets blame for the pitching in 2022 and 2023 because he's the head coach. Lemonis gets credit for firing the pitching coach and bringing in a better one to fix the issue.
Lemonis gets blame for poor defensive play in 22-23. He gets credit for improved defensive play this season.
Lemonis won the title in year 3. He didn't recruit every player but he recruited a lot of them, because he was the head coach when they signed and so he gets credit. Lemonis gets blame for the poor performance of players he recruited in 22 and 23. He gets credit for the improvement this year.
If we make the NCAA tournament (and we should), he gets credit for that. If he doesn't, he should be (and probably will be) fired.
It's not that hard. Quit making up reasons to not give him credit for righting the course of the program and getting us back on track. I'm not saying the last two years aren't on him, because they are. However I can also give him credit for doing what he had to do to get us back on track.