So can we stop with the sky is falling mentality with baseball now?

No, we are not where we were at the end of last season. No, we do not have a concrete lineup yet.

Yes, we have a lot of talent. Yes, we have a lot of potential.

The team is inexperienced. They got beat up last week in the doubleheader opener and yet fought in their last two games. They lost yesterday but won both games today.

Will we get better? Yes. Will we be good enough to make it back to the CWS? Yet to be seen but stop with the knee jerk reactions based on each individual game.

It's gotten old.

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Originally Posted by mstatefan91

No, we are not where we were at the end of last season. No, we do not have a concrete lineup yet.

Yes, we have a lot of talent. Yes, we have a lot of potential.

The team is inexperienced. They got beat up last week in the doubleheader opener and yet fought in their last two games. They lost yesterday but won both games today.

Will we get better? Yes. Will we be good enough to make it back to the CWS? Yet to be seen but stop with the knee jerk reactions based on each individual game.

It's gotten old.

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^^^^^^This

It's been old for several years now. It's year 6 -- at this point, it's safe to assume that the freak outs are never going to cease.

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Originally Posted by mstatefan91

No, we are not where we were at the end of last season. No, we do not have a concrete lineup yet.

Yes, we have a lot of talent. Yes, we have a lot of potential.

The team is inexperienced. They got beat up last week in the doubleheader opener and yet fought in their last two games. They lost yesterday but won both games today.

Will we get better? Yes. Will we be good enough to make it back to the CWS? Yet to be seen but stop with the knee jerk reactions based on each individual game.

It's gotten old.

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We won 2 of 3 against a so-so Georgia team and suddenly everything is alright?

We have won four out of five... Including a win against Arizona at their place and a SEC road series win... So yeah everything is trending in the right direction

no. ahhhhhhh.

For a self proclaimed baseball school, we have moronic fans. It's a long season and all about improving for the most important part - post season.

a mediocre UGA squad doesn't impress me. Win two against Vandy and we've done something.

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Originally Posted by mstatefan91

No, we are not where we were at the end of last season. No, we do not have a concrete lineup yet.

Yes, we have a lot of talent. Yes, we have a lot of potential.

The team is inexperienced. They got beat up last week in the doubleheader opener and yet fought in their last two games. They lost yesterday but won both games today.

Will we get better? Yes. Will we be good enough to make it back to the CWS? Yet to be seen but stop with the knee jerk reactions based on each individual game.

It's gotten old.

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Well said. To me, the only bad losses we have are to Holy Cross- and that was a series that we technically split.

Any time you win a series on the road in the SEC, you should be happy. If we sweep someone on the road, we should be ecstatic. But that goes for ANYONE in the SEC.

Today was very encouraging to me. We've figured out our rotation. Detz and Britton are starting to hit. Overall, it was a good weekend.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

Well said. To me, the only bad losses we have are to Holy Cross- and that was a series that we technically split.

Any time you win a series on the road in the SEC, you should be happy. If we sweep someone on the road, we should be ecstatic. But that goes for ANYONE in the SEC.

Today was very encouraging to me. We've figured out our rotation. Detz and Britton are starting to hit. Overall, it was a good weekend.

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I agree. I've been critical of this team, but they impressed me today. Good day

Only time really that I'm getting pissed about our baseball program is if we don't make it to regionals. We should NEVER miss out on regionals. Baseball is a long season and is sort of like a 4th of July fireworks show. The finale is the best part. I enjoy the build up but I'm not freaking out if the 12th firework was a dud. Cohen prepares his team to peak at the right time. I trust Cohen. Last year warrants that from me. We are 2-1 in the SEC and ranked. We have Ross Mitchell. Life is good.

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Originally Posted by Saltydog

a mediocre UGA squad doesn't impress me. Win two against Vandy and we've done something.

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Well, it should impress you. They are a lot better than they were last year and had won 11 in a row coming into today. They've beaten Georgia Tech and five of their six losses coming into today are to Florida State (2), 15-3 Georgia Southern (2), and they lost one to Georgia Tech. And we beat them on the road.

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Originally Posted by Dawg61

Only time really that I'm getting pissed about our baseball program is if we don't make it to regionals. We should NEVER miss out on regionals. Baseball is a long season and is sort of like a 4th of July fireworks show. The finale is the best part. I enjoy the build up but I'm not freaking out if the 12th firework was a dud. Cohen prepares his team to peak at the right time. I trust Cohen. Last year warrants that from me. We are 2-1 in the SEC and ranked. We have Ross Mitchell. Life is good.

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If we make a Super Regional, I am happy. That to me signifies that you are an elite baseball program in this current era.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

We won 2 of 3 against a so-so Georgia team and suddenly everything is alright?

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Didn't say everything is alright. We still have some issues to work out. I'm just sick of the, "Oh no, we lost. This is the worst team I've ever seen in my life/we will be lucky to go 1-5 these next two weekends" garbage.

I'm also tired of people giving Hendu crap when the guy gives it his all every game that I've watched him in. Does he make mistakes? Yes, but he is human after all.

Guess it comes with the territory of making it to the championship last season..

If we go 4-2 in our next two SEC weekends, 1-0 in midweek, we will be right back on track. That would put us at 20-10 overall (6-3 SEC). It will be tough, but it certainly is doable. Vandy's pitching looks ridiculous and Tyler Beade will be tough to beat on Friday night. I hope we are ready for the challenge and not have to take 9 innings to get ready for our series.

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Originally Posted by Jacksondevildog

If we go 4-2 in our next two SEC weekends, 1-0 in midweek, we will be right back on track. That would put us at 20-10 overall (6-3 SEC). It will be tough, but it certainly is doable. Vandy's pitching looks ridiculous and Tyler Beade will be tough to beat on Friday night. I hope we are ready for the challenge and not have to take 9 innings to get ready for our series.

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If we go 6-3 starting out against the teams we have to face, we will be in the driver's seat to win the conference outright for the first time in 25 years...

Cohen's "rebuilt" teams started SEC play:
2011-started 4-5 -- then 5-7, then 6-9, then 7-11, then 8-13 -- finished 14-16(6-3 over final 9)
2012-started 3-6 -- then 5-7, then 5-10, finished 16-14(11-4 over final 15)
2013-started 3-6 -- then 5-7, then 8-7, then 10-8, then 10-11 -- finished 16-14(6-3 over final 9)

This has a good chance be our "best" start to conference play under Cohen...

or lack thereof for most (including me at times), is not just that they have lost games they should be winning but the manner in which they've lost. We've just looked absolutely bad at times and go for innings without any offense whatsoever. That's frustrating. I hope we're getting better and hopefully Detz is starting to come around. Rea however is still struggling.

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Originally Posted by mstatefan91

Didn't say everything is alright. We still have some issues to work out. I'm just sick of the, "Oh no, we lost. This is the worst team I've ever seen in my life/we will be lucky to go 1-5 these next two weekends" garbage.

I'm also tired of people giving Hendu crap when the guy gives it his all every game that I've watched him in. Does he make mistakes? Yes, but he is human after all.

Guess it comes with the territory of making it to the championship last season..

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I'll admit I started giving up on the team after yesterday. The difference between this year and last year in my opinion is that last year only our hitting was inconsistent. This year our hitting is even more inconsistent, our pitching outside of one or two guys is inconsistent, and our fielding was very inconsistent at the beginning of the year costing us two or three games. Its partly because we're young, but that's also on Cohen. Its hard for players to get into a rhythm when we've started a different line-up every single game this year. And its not just minor changes at 2-3 positions towards the bottom of the lineup. Its major changes to the lineup nearly every game.

Exactly. Today we had Britton have multiple hits and 3 RBI in the first game only to find himself on the bench in the second game and Hann DH'ing. If I woke up and noticed that my right arm was not attached, I would be less shocked than having Hann DH in the second game today. He got one AB and was pulled for CT Bradford, who promptly hit a double.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

I'll admit I started giving up on the team after yesterday. The difference between this year and last year in my opinion is that last year only our hitting was inconsistent. This year our hitting is even more inconsistent, our pitching outside of one or two guys is inconsistent, and our fielding was very inconsistent at the beginning of the year costing us two or three games. Its partly because we're young, but that's also on Cohen. Its hard for players to get into a rhythm when we've started a different line-up every single game this year. And its not just minor changes at 2-3 positions towards the bottom of the lineup. Its major changes to the lineup nearly every game.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

I'll admit I started giving up on the team after yesterday. The difference between this year and last year in my opinion is that last year only our hitting was inconsistent. This year our hitting is even more inconsistent, our pitching outside of one or two guys is inconsistent, and our fielding was very inconsistent at the beginning of the year costing us two or three games. Its partly because we're young, but that's also on Cohen. Its hard for players to get into a rhythm when we've started a different line-up every single game this year. And its not just minor changes at 2-3 positions towards the bottom of the lineup. Its major changes to the lineup nearly every game.

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I think you are looking at last year with the benefit of hindsight... That team had one real starter that was healthy and not a mental case. That's a tremendous hole that we managed to fill somehow as the year went on. Many(including myself) thought we'd never reach our potential without one of Woody/Lindgren being dominant -- and in reality, we surpassed it. I know the results aren't really reflecting it yet, but I'd argue that overall this team is less flawed than last year's team was. We'll see in time.

There was definitely a time when we were beating ourselves last year(pitching) and not hitting worth a flip. People forget how long and aggrivating that month was between Central Arky and Florida...

I agree that this team may show that it is less flawed, but our starting pitching is inconsistent and we are having to make big changes to correct it. We don't have 2 major hitters in our lineup (Frazier and Renfroe). We lost two senior catchers that were defensive warriors and blocked balls. We have big problems keeping balls in front of us behind the dish. If the pitching can somewhat straighten out over a few weekends, not just one, the confidence of the team and fan base will rise.

It's concerning that Cohen said that "our players looked deep within themselves last night" after we lost 7-1. We get a gutsy as hell performance from Mitchell to force a rubber game. Britton is clutch and gives us a spark offensively and we pull him in the series deciding game for a guy that is hitting below .200. It just seriously boggles my mind on some of the moves that we make and when we make them. I know that Cohen does that, but this is an SEC series on the road, not Alcorn State.

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Originally Posted by Jacksondevildog

I agree that this team may show that it is less flawed, but our starting pitching is inconsistent and we are having to make big changes to correct it.

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It was the same exact story at the beginning of conference play last year and we had to make drastic changes to fix it. Evan Mitchell lost us a game with walks in the first inning at UK. Gave up 7 to Central Arky twice with Graveman, Holder, Mitchell, Woody, Mitchell, Girodo all getting hit hard.

Our teams never find consistency till halfway through conference play it seems. As much as I'd love to have a Stratton in the Friday night role, we've proven we can win without it. I'd love to find consistency sooner -- because if we can, we can challenge for a regular season title -- something I want almost as bad as Omaha at this point.

I think we will get a pretty good read on where we stand next weekend when we play an elite team at home where we are more comfortable.

Agreed.

The next 4 weekends will tell us alot...

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Originally Posted by Saltydog

or lack thereof for most (including me at times), is not just that they have lost games they should be winning but the manner in which they've lost. We've just looked absolutely bad at times and go for innings without any offense whatsoever. That's frustrating. I hope we're getting better and hopefully Detz is starting to come around. Rea however is still struggling.

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In my experience of watching baseball I would say that even teams that win championships rarely lose individual games in a manner where their fans are OK with how they lost an individual game. I'm pretty sure LSU fans were upset at times with the team when Bertman was there. Whenever you lose, it's always frustrating.

But to me, the problem with some of our fans (not you specifically) is that we have a loss to Holy Cross or whomever and then some of our fans dwell on that loss for a LONG time- and then start to doubt even though for all intents and purposes we had a very good weekend this weekend.

In baseball, you have to put things behind you quickly because usually there is another game to play. You have to trust that the coaches see the same things that our fans are seeing- and based on interviews with Cohen he does for the most part- and then trust that they will correct them. I would get worried if our coach just said "well, that's baseball" and then didn't do anything until we were on the absolute brink of missing out on the postseason. Doing that would tell me that he either doesn't know what to do or that he doesn't care.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

I'll admit I started giving up on the team after yesterday. The difference between this year and last year in my opinion is that last year only our hitting was inconsistent. This year our hitting is even more inconsistent, our pitching outside of one or two guys is inconsistent, and our fielding was very inconsistent at the beginning of the year costing us two or three games. Its partly because we're young, but that's also on Cohen. Its hard for players to get into a rhythm when we've started a different line-up every single game this year. And its not just minor changes at 2-3 positions towards the bottom of the lineup. Its major changes to the lineup nearly every game.

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You have to weigh out as a coach whether you want to wait for a struggling guy to get into rhythm or do you play a guy that may be performing better and help you win today. A lot of times letting a struggling player rest actually helps that player. Very few players can go an entire season without resting some.

IMO you are probably better off long and short term playing people and seeing what they can and can't do rather than just sticking with the same lineup everyday and hoping that they work things out on their own or that the percentages catch up in their favor at some point. Eventually the people that are starting now are going to all leave at some point- and then we are going to have to replace them. The experience that Hann- while admittedly I wouldn't have done that myself- got today will probably help him out down the road next year. Same with Sexton next year.

If we stuck with the same lineup as opening day, we would have Britton at SS instead of Heck and Detz at third- and probably have a TON of defensive issues.

A player has to be mentally tough to be prepared to play or not or do whatever role is asked of them that day.

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Originally Posted by Jacksondevildog

I agree that this team may show that it is less flawed, but our starting pitching is inconsistent and we are having to make big changes to correct it. We don't have 2 major hitters in our lineup (Frazier and Renfroe). We lost two senior catchers that were defensive warriors and blocked balls. We have big problems keeping balls in front of us behind the dish. If the pitching can somewhat straighten out over a few weekends, not just one, the confidence of the team and fan base will rise.

It's concerning that Cohen said that "our players looked deep within themselves last night" after we lost 7-1. We get a gutsy as hell performance from Mitchell to force a rubber game. Britton is clutch and gives us a spark offensively and we pull him in the series deciding game for a guy that is hitting below .200. It just seriously boggles my mind on some of the moves that we make and when we make them. I know that Cohen does that, but this is an SEC series on the road, not Alcorn State.

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To me Gavin Collins is a lot better than Ammirati and Slauter defensively.

Last year I think Kendall and Frazier were really good leaders. I think Cohen is trying to find and force some of the upper-classmen to lead.

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Originally Posted by engie

It was the same exact story at the beginning of conference play last year and we had to make drastic changes to fix it. Evan Mitchell lost us a game with walks in the first inning at UK. Gave up 7 to Central Arky twice with Graveman, Holder, Mitchell, Woody, Mitchell, Girodo all getting hit hard.

Our teams never find consistency till halfway through conference play it seems. As much as I'd love to have a Stratton in the Friday night role, we've proven we can win without it. I'd love to find consistency sooner -- because if we can, we can challenge for a regular season title -- something I want almost as bad as Omaha at this point.

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Dead on. If a player is not performing, usually Cohen is not going to keep trotting that guy out there. He's going to try to find something that works. It doesn't matter if that guy is throwing 80 MPH and he has to bench a guy that throws 96. If he keeps throwing Evan Mitchell every weekend and doesn't adjust the pitching staff, we probably end up a three seed in Cal-State Fullerton's regional or somewhere.

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Originally Posted by Jacksondevildog

If I woke up and noticed that my right arm was not attached, I would be less shocked than having Hann DH in the second game today.

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Very well said

Collins may be better defensively as far as throwing out runners, but I feel that Slauter and Amaratti called better games behind the plate and the pitchers/coaching staff had more confidence in them. That makes a huge difference.

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Originally Posted by Jacksondevildog

Collins may be better defensively as far as throwing out runners, but I feel that Slauter and Amaratti called better games behind the plate and the pitchers/coaching staff had more confidence in them. That makes a huge difference.

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Collins has a much higher ceiling than Ammo or Slaughter did. The only thing he lacks right now that they had is consistent blocking ability- and that will get better with experience.

As for how he handles the pitching staff, I think he's done a good job for a freshman. That will improve as well with time. Collins is going to be an absolute stud, IMO.

Agreed on all parts, but he's not there yet. That's why we have struggled with consistency there and it's been musical chairs at catcher. Saluter caught nearly every game last year until he got injured and Amaratti filled in. I think Collins will be great and has done pretty well for a freshman at a key position.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

To me Gavin Collins is a lot better than Ammirati and Slauter defensively.

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His ceiling is way higher. He's better at containing the running game the either of them were. His blocking isn't quite there yet -- his receiving isn't yet to Slauter's level, but it's better than Ammo's. Leadership and rapport with the pitching staff doesn't seem to be there yet -- which is what I was scared of last year when we didn't get any returner experience behind the dish. But that will come in time.

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Last year I think Kendall and Frazier were really good leaders. I think Cohen is trying to find and force some of the upper-classmen to lead.

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Definitely. I'd include Pollo too.

A friend told me that Cohen has used a different lineup for every game. Is that true?

I stated on other board I support Cohen & had a great time in Omaha last year! My only complaint is our batters taking 2 or 3 pitches with 2 strikes & striking out & never swinging! Guard the plate! Hit the damn ball!

Overall, we played within our identity today, and it was beautiful to watch. I think it's very obvious that we will have to pitch and defend well to win games- that's just who we are.

We pitched really well today against a good lineup in a small park.
There were a couple of lapses in game two, but we're really defending at a high level right now.
Our offense was decent and good enough to win, but we're still leaving a lot of runs on the field. We are still pretty far from this team's offensive potential- and that's actually exciting to me, considering there's lots of room for our personnel to play up to their ability. The offense will get rolling, IMO.

Overall, it was a good weekend for us.

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Originally Posted by Saltydog

Rea however is still struggling.

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Looks to me like he's starting to come around though.

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Originally Posted by BossDawg

Looks to me like he's starting to come around though.

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If Detz continues to do well it will help Rea out- which in turn will help us out.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

We won 2 of 3 against a so-so Georgia team and suddenly everything is alright?

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I hate this approach to downplaying pretty good accomplishments. It's such an "MSU" thing to do.

Here's reality.
Got swept at Georgia in 2011.
Got swept at Georgia in 2009.
Took 1 at Georgia in 2007.
Took 1 at Georgia in 2005.
Took 1 at Georgia in 2003.
Took 1 at Georgia in 1999.
Swept them at Georgia in 1997.
Got Swept at Georgia in 1993.
Took 1 at Georgia in 1991.

Since 1990, we were 8-19 there in. 5-19 outside of the one sweep in 97. This is our 2nd series win there in 25 years. We should(rightly) celebrate the hell out of it. Regardless of how good or bad they end up being this year. That place has been damn kryptonite to us in modern times -- even when we are pretty good and they aren't. Series wins in that stadium are going to be hard to come by in the future too...

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Originally Posted by engie

I hate this approach to downplaying pretty good accomplishments. It's such an "MSU" thing to do.

Here's reality.
Got swept at Georgia in 2011.
Got swept at Georgia in 2009.
Took 1 at Georgia in 2007.
Took 1 at Georgia in 2005.
Took 1 at Georgia in 2003.
Took 1 at Georgia in 1999.
Swept them at Georgia in 1997.
Got Swept at Georgia in 1993.
Took 1 at Georgia in 1991.

Since 1990, we were 8-19 there in. 5-19 outside of the one sweep in 97. This is our 2nd series win there in 25 years. We should(rightly) celebrate the hell out of it. Regardless of how good or bad they end up being this year. That place has been damn kryptonite to us in modern times -- even when we are pretty good and they aren't. Series wins in that stadium are going to be hard to come by in the future too...

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Georgia started this past offseason has decided to get serious about baseball. That Tyler guy that they have is the first wave of guys that are going to be very good for them. It's going to make recruiting Georgia a little bit more difficult as well for everyone.