Yep. I suspect we see Highfill catch three out of the four during the week and Long fills in once a week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Homedawg
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Yep. I suspect we see Highfill catch three out of the four during the week and Long fills in once a week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Homedawg
Who wants to bench them? Not a damn soul in this thread.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Federalist Engineer
Reading is an issue w some. Nobody wants to bench highfill w what we have. Just that he's not all sec. Below avg catcher at this point and has lots of holes offensively. But he was a fr. He'll get better I know. Problem is , today fr either play or leave. We played him. He'll get better. I thinkQuote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
He is a true freshman who got thrown into the line up before he should have. It will do nothing but make him better all around. He hit 9 bombs as a true freshman and he got better behind the plate the whole year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Homedawg
He's two years away IMO. He's a tremendous athlete but a raw baseball player. We messed up not signing a portal catcher last year, but that was expected. He's hitting .233 in summer ball right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by TNDawg35
Yeah, how our staff saw Luke Hancock all fall and then said, "yeah, we'll roll with that guy." beats the hell out of me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
We had 4 catchers on the roster last year. Until Ross started to come on late in the year, Hancock sucked the least.Quote:
Originally Posted by KOdawg1
But what I'm saying is how do we get in the position where Luke Hancock is our best catcher? Should've taken a portal catcher last year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Leroy Jenkins
What are you talking about? Pretty much all of us see it but there is really nothing any of us can do at this point but hope against hope that we are significantly better than most of us think we will be next year. If Lemonis does crash and burn next season he certainly can't complain he wasn't given every opportunity to get the program back on track.Quote:
Originally Posted by 99jc
Exactly. Literally nobody is guaranteeing success next Spring. We are just hopeful he can make it happen. He doesnt? AdiosQuote:
Originally Posted by maroonmania
He makes odd generalization posts like this quite often.Quote:
Originally Posted by maroonmania
The question is- what is "make it happen "?Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
Make a regional, make a super regional? If just regional, what seed must it be/ regular season record?
Yes! I believe this is where we all are at this point!Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
No argument. I'm saying nobody said bench him. He's just gonna get better.Quote:
Originally Posted by TNDawg35
Competition is good and maybe the Pitt transfer can spell Ross when needed.
ExactlyQuote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
Host = SafeQuote:
Originally Posted by TheLostDawg
Or
Region + Super
He makes a regional and it’s very unlikely he would be firedQuote:
Originally Posted by TheLostDawg
As long as it's not a back door make- like winning the sec tournament to get in, after a meh year, I agree. Regional saves his job.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
There are nuances here I think.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
(1) make a regional and Ole Miss makes Omaha, death blow
(2) make a regional and Go 2-And-Out, death blow
(3) make a region with 13 SEC Wins is different that 16 SEC Wins
(4) Lemons has a record of approximately 9-30 versus Tennessee, Vandy, LSU, and Arkansas (with Omaha wins included), showing he is not a peer to best coaches, they generally own him for sweeps and run-rules lately
I think a regional gets him another year but not an extension to his contract. That means he's down to one year.
The biggest argument for keeping Lemonis is "keeping the recruiting classes together". I can buy that for this incoming class. But for classes 2,3, 4 years from now? What player wants to commit to a coach that's missed Hoover 2x and doesn't get contract extensions because he's a hair away from being fired?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
I can't believe stringing the situation out would help recruiting long term. Keeping him this next year without an extension seems risky enough in this regard
Good grief! 13-17 and sneaking into a Regional as a 2 seed should not get him an extension after the past 2 seasons. We are in the era of player rentals. If he wants an extension beyond his final year, he needs to build a quick turnaround for 2024 and do more than 2 and BBQ in someone else?s backyard! He created this mess. He has 1 damn year to fix it.Quote:
Originally Posted by the_real_MSU_is_us
Good gosh we are the most accepting Fanbase of mediocrity short of Rice and Texas El Paso.
Yep, if he makes a regional and recruiting is looking good he will be retained whether deserved or not. Would be a significant jump from the past 2 seasons just to make a regional next year even as a 2 or 3 seedQuote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
I'm saying the situation you describe should = he's fired.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
He needs to host or make a super to keep his job?at least that?s my humble opinion.
That's a standard I can get behind, BUT I bet if he makes the tournament we ***** out and keep him.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZedFedder
I can see the message board comments next year when we keep Lemonis:
"You can't fire a coach after he showed improvement! We went from 13th in the conference to making a regional. Anyone expecting more is irrational, I mean how much improvement in 1 season can you expect? No coach would come here if we fired a guy who made a regional"
And this is highly unlikely considering how far this program has to climb out of the well and they only have dental floss to pull themselves up.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZedFedder
I absolutely agree. It is a huge hill to climb. We better hope Parker is a miracle worker.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
There weren't any issues with Hancock catching until this year. He played for LoTan quite a bit. A lot of his issue was our pitchers not holding runners close which was actually the one and only thing Foxhall fixed.Quote:
Originally Posted by KOdawg1
Our classes our put together 2-3 years out. There are a lot of players that want to play at Mississippi State because of the resources and environment that we have alone regardless of the coach. I'm not sure why you are panicking though. This year is Lemonis's last shot. And like others are saying I don't think a 3 seed in a regional is going to do it for him. There are a lot of moving parts here- but getting Parker was a good first step. Essentially this is all up to Chris Lemonis at this point. MSU has given him sufficient support and believe me that will us get another high quality coach if we even have to go down that path. Our baseball powers that be are not going to just let LSU, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and whoever else just run the league without putting up a fight I assure you.Quote:
Originally Posted by the_real_MSU_is_us
If we go 13-17 we would be a three seed not a two. And being a three seed would likely get him fired. So I don't think you have to worry about him getting an extension in your scenario.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
We went from like a 6-24 team in 2010 to a SR in 2011 and went from being a losing team in 2015 to winning the SEC in 2016.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
I think it partially depends on what we get out of the portal. If Parker can get our ERA down to 5 even I think we have a good chance to host. Hines and Dakota are going to be two of the most feared hitters in the league next year. Highfill will be better and he hit 9 home runs himself- him hitting 10-15 isn't out of the question. Mershon is a good player. Now sure we have some gaps that we have to fill and it's just a waiting game of seeing who we get in the portal and through the draft. But we have a good core group to work with as it is. I think Parker can get something out of Loo, Loftin, Holcombe, Siary, and Dohm. At worst. I really like the two JUCO guys we got that are in the Cape too. That also doesn't include Simmons and Auger who might help and whatever we get out of the portal or through the draft.
If what I’m hearing goes down before the portal closes it will be HUGE...
I hear about a few too but one hasn?t even hit the portal yet. It?s all speculation at this pointQuote:
Originally Posted by Ari Gold
Todd you say recruiting classes are put together 2-3 years in advance, then say you're not sire why I'm worried. That's EXACTLY why I'm worried:
The incoming class was put together when we were making Omaha. Next years class will be one that saw Lemo finish 14th in the conference. Year after that will be guys committing today.
You're a top notch player. Do you commit to Florida? LSU? Arky? Or do you commit to the team that's finished 14th and 13th the last 2 years, with a HC that was almost fired and didn't get an extension and will be fired next year if he doesn't do a 180? Why on earth would any recruit with options pick us right now? BUT, if we had a new coach, it would be easier to sell to recruits the new HC will turn it around or at least still be out HC when they get to campus.
Loosing and having a coach on the hot seat hurts recruiting, and it'll be felt in 2-3 years. Pointing this out because "recruiting" is supposedly the biggest reason to keep lemo, but I think it's one of the biggest to fire him.
So I take it you think being a 2 seed = he's retained another year?Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd4State
This is why we should have fired him this year. He's going to perform like the 10th best team in the conference and still be a 2 seed, and we're going to keep a bad HC for a 4th year of bad-sub par performance because "you can't fire a HC that went from missing Hoover to being a 2 seed". And recruits will be hesitant to commit to a HC constantly on the hot seat.
So we have 10 more days for these mystery transfers, that no one in our program has spoken to, to make a decision to jump in the portal right before it closes and announce for State?
Sounds feasible. Let?s enjoy this next 10 days of teeth gnashing, knee knocking, head scratching fun.
Right now, it's all about winning. We haven't done that the last two years. So, this is most definitely a rebuild year and early in the season we should get a good feel for the team. Competition want be Sec quality but things like defense and pitching such as limited walks will tell going into Sec play. Then it's about competing and making progress to claiming a spot in a regional.
I have no clue bout the portal, nor what the future recruiting classes look like, but I will watch how Lemonis performs and they will be easy to know how the future looks.
Hope he gets us off to fast start, if not.......he will be lucky to make the season on his bucket.
Shhhhh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ari Gold
Texas Tech LHP Mason Molina has entered the portal.
108 SO with 35 BB in 83.1 inning
ERA 3.67 OBA .207
Would be a nice addition for Lemonis
How many of the current roster left after the season? I haven't seen many names leaving to make room for the new class and portal guys.
On one hand, it shows that there weren't a lot of issues in the locker room.
On the other hand, it means you aren't improving your talent level.