Mississippi State Baseball Expectations

[Santiago]

I love a good narrative change. Before the season started, it was "our SEC schedule is brutal. No way Lemon survives it. We gonna start 1-8 in the SEC"

Now???? We havent played a tough enough SEC schedule.....you can't make this shit up if you tried.

I did not say that, so please post onto someone else's comments about some narrative change.

My thoughts pre-season is he has all the opportunity in the world to get wins this year....then we played Air Force.

[Todd4State]

The expectation every year is to make a Super Regional. We have historically been one of the top programs in the SEC throughout every decade except for maybe the Polk 2 era.

Just because we hit our ceiling between 2011-2021 it doesn't mean that shouldn't be our norm especially when it was our norm for 10 years in a row.

[Coach34]

The expectation every year is to make a Super Regional. We have historically been one of the top programs in the SEC throughout every decade except for maybe the Polk 2 era.

Just because we hit our ceiling between 2011-2021 it doesn't mean that shouldn't be our norm especially when it was our norm for 10 years in a row.

SEC teams that make the Tourney on the reg will make some Supers- usually the Top 8 in the SEC are among the 25 best in the country.

[Todd4State]

SEC teams that make the Tourney on the reg will make some Supers- usually the Top 8 in the SEC are among the 25 best in the country.

Yes that is true.

But all seasons are not created equal. There is a big difference in 2014 and 2022 where we had a losing season.

Neither season met our standard but one was a lot more acceptable than the other.

Seasons are measured based on what the team does in the postseason and championships. Which is why winning the SEC or SEC Tournament and not making a Super Regional still meets our standards.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Yes that is true.

But all seasons are not created equal. There is a big difference in 2014 and 2022 where we had a losing season.

Neither season met our standard but one was a lot more acceptable than the other.

Seasons are measured based on what the team does in the postseason and championships. Which is why winning the SEC or SEC Tournament and not making a Super Regional still meets our standards.

I could care less if we ever win an SEC Championship or a game in the SECT again. Do damage in a tournament that actually matters.

[Todd4State]

I could care less if we ever win an SEC Championship or a game in the SECT again. Do damage in a tournament that actually matters.

While those are not our ultimate final goal they do matter. Winning the SEC means we won 20+ SEC games in all likelihood. Winning the SEC Tournament means you win the nations most prestigious conference tournament.

All of it adds to our resume.'

[BrunswickDawg]

While those are not our ultimate final goal they do matter. Winning the SEC means we won 20+ SEC games in all likelihood. Winning the SEC Tournament means you win the nations most prestigious conference tournament.

All of it adds to our resume.'

Which maybe matters for national seeding, but has little relation to post-season performance.
As we've seen, it's possible for the last seed in the tournament to win a CWS. Coastal Carolina was roughly a #17 seed when they won. Virginia was in the 40s when they won in '15 (a #3 seed in the #16 seeds regional). Winning outside the top 16 seeds is a regular occurrence in baseball. Personally, the ability of ANY team that makes the post season to win the CWS is why I feel strongly about our standard being "make the tourney". Anything over that is gravy.

[StarkVegasSteve]

While those are not our ultimate final goal they do matter. Winning the SEC means we won 20+ SEC games in all likelihood. Winning the SEC Tournament means you win the nations most prestigious conference tournament.

All of it adds to our resume.'

I will give you that winning the SEC means winning 20+ conference games, which basically locks you in to be a national seed. But the SECT is getting more and more pointless as the years go by. It's kind of important for bubble teams, but for teams locked into the tournament it could not matter less. For example:

2012: We win it and are still a 2 seed.
2021: We get run ruled 2 straight games and are still a national seed.

If you are already locked in to the tournament, you should treat any game before Saturday like a midweek. I have never seen a team go into that tournament on the outside looking in to host and get to host due to their SECT performance. The hay is basically in the barn by the time Hoover comes around. Hell, Ray Tanner was 2-6 in Hoover from 2010-2012 and won 2 national championships and was runner up for another.

[Commercecomet24]

Which maybe matters for national seeding, but has little relation to post-season performance.
As we've seen, it's possible for the last seed in the tournament to win a CWS. Coastal Carolina was roughly a #17 seed when they won. Virginia was in the 40s when they won in '15 (a #3 seed in the #16 seeds regional). Winning outside the top 16 seeds is a regular occurrence in baseball. Personally, the ability of ANY team that makes the post season to win the CWS is why I feel strongly about our standard being "make the tourney". Anything over that is gravy.

We must've been separated at birth, we think to much alike. And "just making the tourney" doesn't mean we just settle for that, in baseball, at any level if you make the tournament you have a shot at winning it all(see rangers/diamondbacks in mlb last year). Heck I wished we would go undefeated in baseball every year but that's just not the way it works.

[BrunswickDawg]

We must've been separated at birth, we think to much alike. And "just making the tourney" doesn't mean we just settle for that, in baseball, at any level if you make the tournament you have a shot at winning it all(see rangers/diamondbacks in mlb last year). Heck I wished we would go undefeated in baseball every year but that's just not the way it works.

I'm one of those guys that hated losing more than I liked winning. I want to win everything. It took a lot of losing for me to get past that. And, if I couldn't take it, and get back up, and dusty myself off, and go try to win again there is no way in hell I'd be an MSU fan. Baseball is so unique in the way that the Best team doesn't always win. The most Talented team can come in last. It's the most humbling team sport there is. It is ruled by fickle gods that are quick to anger and enjoy torturing us. They take pleasure in seeing things like line drives off Gene Morgan break peoples hearts as much as they love giving us Burke Masters and Elijah Macnamee. And those of us fool enough to enjoy it always come back for more.

[Todd4State]

Which maybe matters for national seeding, but has little relation to post-season performance.
As we've seen, it's possible for the last seed in the tournament to win a CWS. Coastal Carolina was roughly a #17 seed when they won. Virginia was in the 40s when they won in '15 (a #3 seed in the #16 seeds regional). Winning outside the top 16 seeds is a regular occurrence in baseball. Personally, the ability of ANY team that makes the post season to win the CWS is why I feel strongly about our standard being "make the tourney". Anything over that is gravy.

Winning the SEC and the SEC Tournament are things that we can sell to recruits. It shows that a program is relatively strong despite "that's baseball" happening in the regionals.

Postseason performance matters on some level. You have to get it done in the postseason and the best get it done when the lights are on.

Making it to a regional means you are a good SEC team. Making it to a Super Regional means that you are an elite team. We are an elite program and thus the expectations should match that.

[BrunswickDawg]

Winning the SEC and the SEC Tournament are things that we can sell to recruits. It shows that a program is relatively strong despite "that's baseball" happening in the regionals.

Postseason performance matters on some level. You have to get it done in the postseason and the best get it done when the lights are on.

Making it to a regional means you are a good SEC team. Making it to a Super Regional means that you are an elite team. We are an elite program and thus the expectations should match that.

I'm just going to have to disagree on this completely. Our 2011 team is great example. Good team. Lots of dirtbags. 3 very young future MLB players. Fun as hell to watch. Squeaked into post season with a 14-16 SEC record because of a great May. 2 and Q at the SEC Tournament. Sweep thru Atlanta at the GT Regional and get to within 3 outs of Omaha. Love that team - they were not elite. They are the prime example of a good team getting hot and riding the wave.

[Todd4State]

I will give you that winning the SEC means winning 20+ conference games, which basically locks you in to be a national seed. But the SECT is getting more and more pointless as the years go by. It's kind of important for bubble teams, but for teams locked into the tournament it could not matter less. For example:

2012: We win it and are still a 2 seed.
2021: We get run ruled 2 straight games and are still a national seed.

If you are already locked in to the tournament, you should treat any game before Saturday like a midweek. I have never seen a team go into that tournament on the outside looking in to host and get to host due to their SECT performance. The hay is basically in the barn by the time Hoover comes around. Hell, Ray Tanner was 2-6 in Hoover from 2010-2012 and won 2 national championships and was runner up for another.

Oh I understand it's a cash grab and it has little to no effect on the postseason.

But it is a point of pride and it is recorded on the outfield wall when you win it. It's something we sell to recruits in terms of how many times we've won it. Winning the SEC Tournament is the most important or ultimate goal but winning it also isn't a bad thing either.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Oh I understand it's a cash grab and it has little to no effect on the postseason.

But it is a point of pride and it is recorded on the outfield wall when you win it. It's something we sell to recruits in terms of how many times we've won it. Winning the SEC Tournament is the most important or ultimate goal but winning it also isn't a bad thing either.

Yea I mean if we happen to win it then great, but we don't need to go all out to do it. I honestly would prefer to have the top 2 teams have a 3 game series that weekend. Top team gets to host. That would draw more than a regional or Super if it was us vs Arky or us vs LSU. Or god forbid, it was us vs OM.

[Commercecomet24]

I'm one of those guys that hated losing more than I liked winning. I want to win everything. It took a lot of losing for me to get past that. And, if I couldn't take it, and get back up, and dusty myself off, and go try to win again there is no way in hell I'd be an MSU fan. Baseball is so unique in the way that the Best team doesn't always win. The most Talented team can come in last. It's the most humbling team sport there is. It is ruled by fickle gods that are quick to anger and enjoy torturing us. They take pleasure in seeing things like line drives off Gene Morgan break peoples hearts as much as they love giving us Burke Masters and Elijah Macnamee. And those of us fool enough to enjoy it always come back for more.

Yep 100%! Baseball is just different. Now way the 68th best basketball team wins the ncaa tournament or the 25th best football team wins an nc, but these things happen in baseball constantly, and a lot of folks don't understand it.

In your list of those bummers you can add Lonnie Smitn not scoring from first on the double in game 7 of 91 World Series or Wohlers 2 strike slider to Jim Leyritz in 96 when the Braves were on the verge of going up 3 games to none. Bart Giamatti wrote a poem about baseball and it's the best description I can think of for the game. Those of us who have it in our blood understand the meaning!

[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.

A. Bartlett Giamatti

[basedog]

Yep 100%! Baseball is just different. Now way the 68th best basketball team wins the ncaa tournament or the 25th best football team wins an nc, but these things happen in baseball constantly, and a lot of folks don't understand it.

In your list of those bummers you can add Lonnie Smitn not scoring from first on the double in game 7 of 91 World Series or Wohlers 2 strike slider to Jim Leyritz in 96 when the Braves were on the verge of going up 3 games to none. Bart Giamatti wrote a poem about baseball and it's the best description I can think of for the game. Those of us who have it in our blood understand the meaning!

[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.

A. Bartlett Giamatti

24, check your inbox.

[Todd4State]

I'm just going to have to disagree on this completely. Our 2011 team is great example. Good team. Lots of dirtbags. 3 very young future MLB players. Fun as hell to watch. Squeaked into post season with a 14-16 SEC record because of a great May. 2 and Q at the SEC Tournament. Sweep thru Atlanta at the GT Regional and get to within 3 outs of Omaha. Love that team - they were not elite. They are the prime example of a good team getting hot and riding the wave.

That's how it is with baseball sometimes. Very rarely is a team so dominant that they go through the season playing up to elite status.

But if a team is playing well at the end of the season when it counts then the 14-16 SEC record doesn't matter because they won when it mattered the absolute most. And that's what we all expect from our team as MSU fans. That team eventually earned their place among the best teams in college baseball.

My expectations kind of protect against teams that perform well in the regular season only or the postseason only. It all about the sum of the whole.

[Todd4State]

Plus I'll add- it's way too easy to simply make a regional now. There are 64 teams and you basically are a lock if you're in the top 10 of the league. If we go 13-17 and make a regional and then don't make it past the regional that's not a great season IMO.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Plus I'll add- it's way too easy to simply make a regional now. There are 64 teams and you basically are a lock if you're in the top 10 of the league. If we go 13-17 and make a regional and then don't make it past the regional that's not a great season IMO.

Yeah there's like 30 automatic qualifiers, about 4-5 will be won by teams that would have made it anyway. Basically, be a top 35-40 team and you'll be an at large bid. We are a top 20 program in literally every metric (NIL, history, coaching budget, ect) and are top 10 in several. We should honestly NEVER miss the NCAAT. I'm willing to give a mulligan to an otherwise promising coach and ignore a miss, but it should be rare.

[Quaoarsking]

The format of the NCAA tournament doesn't really do a good job of determining the best team in country. Every year you have a couple teams in Omaha that's nowhere near the best 8 teams, and a couple teams who clearly are and didn't make it.

I've kicked around a format in my head something like this: 8 regionals of 8 teams, but everyone plays a full round-robin over the course of 2 weekends. So Friday-Saturday-Sunday, a "midweek" game, and another Friday-Saturday-Sunday. The top team in each regional makes it to Omaha, with ties played off on Monday.

You would still see some upsets, but I think this format would do a much better job of getting the best teams into Omaha. Sometimes you see teams make it who aren't that good and didn't even beat anybody good either.