The Road Back to Omaha - Step 1

[bulldogcountry1]

Evaluating the current roster:

There needs to be a brutally honest closed-door assessment of the roster, and it needs to go beyond the coaching staff. The core group of guys expected to lead next year need to be able to speak their minds about who needs to go and who needs to stay. People outside the clubhouse but close to the program with baseball knowledge (Polk, Powell, etc) need to to be heard about what they see in individual players. We need to get back to the Mississippi State way, which is the tough, blue collar, hard-working way. If we have guys who aren't compatible with that formula, they need to go, even if they could be a potential starter next year. Lemonis shouldn't be doing anything else until this happens.

[EdwardDrayton]

According to those in the know, we're going to fail at the real Step 1.

[Ranchdawg]

I agree! I?ve said it multiple times this year at some point players must be held accountable for their playing or lack of playing. Either by coaches or themselves. Can?t continue to make same mistakes all season and just chalk it up to that?s baseball. Sure everybody makes a bad play every once in awhile. But not every game all season.

[CaptainObvious]

Evaluating the current roster:

There needs to be a brutally honest closed-door assessment of the roster, and it needs to go beyond the coaching staff. The core group of guys expected to lead next year need to be able to speak their minds about who needs to go and who needs to stay. People outside the clubhouse but close to the program with baseball knowledge (Polk, Powell, etc) need to to be heard about what they see in individual players. We need to get back to the Mississippi State way, which is the tough, blue collar, hard-working way. If we have guys who aren't compatible with that formula, they need to go, even if they could be a potential starter next year. Lemonis shouldn't be doing anything else until this happens.

Not Polk. He loves dem boys just fine no matter how much or little talent dey have.

[Mjoelner34]

Evaluating the current roster:

There needs to be a brutally honest closed-door assessment of the roster, and it needs to go beyond the coaching staff. The core group of guys expected to lead next year need to be able to speak their minds about who needs to go and who needs to stay. People outside the clubhouse but close to the program with baseball knowledge (Polk, Powell, etc) need to to be heard about what they see in individual players. We need to get back to the Mississippi State way, which is the tough, blue collar, hard-working way. If we have guys who aren't compatible with that formula, they need to go, even if they could be a potential starter next year. Lemonis shouldn't be doing anything else until this happens.

Baseball's Junction Boys.
Two things to add:
1. Does anyone remember the visiting coach cancelling a game due to cold weather after his team was dressed and in the dugout when Cohen was coach? Cohen raised all kinds of hell that it should have been a forfeit. Anyway, it rained the night before and maybe earlier in the day and it was about 39 degrees. The visiting team walks into their dugout and sees our non-pitchers practicing lead-offs and cross over steps down the LF line. When they would practice diving back to the bag, they were sloshing water up then would get up and do it again. The coach saw that and knew his ass was whipped and backed out of the game.
2. I went to a fall practice and saw Jake Mangum hauling ass full speed then laying out full horizontal on a sinking liner in the gap during BP. This wasn't freshman Jake Mangum trying to impress and break into the lineup. This was senior Jake Mangum showing what its about.

[CaptainObvious]

Baseball's Junction Boys.
Two things to add:
1. Does anyone remember the visiting coach cancelling a game due to cold weather after his team was dressed and in the dugout when Cohen was coach? Cohen raised all kinds of hell that it should have been a forfeit. Anyway, it rained the night before and maybe earlier in the day and it was about 39 degrees. The visiting team walks into their dugout and sees our non-pitchers practicing lead-offs and cross over steps down the LF line. When they would practice diving back to the bag, they were sloshing water up then would get up and do it again. The coach saw that and knew his ass was whipped and backed out of the game.
2. I went to a fall practice and saw Jake Mangum hauling ass full speed then laying out full horizontal on a sinking liner in the gap during BP. This wasn't freshman Jake Mangum trying to impress and break into the lineup. This was senior Jake Mangum showing what it?s about.

And guys like Mangum and Debrule and then Rowdey and Tanner were given to Lemonis. He inherited them but didn?t have a chance to turn them into Choir Boys wearing their flowing Robes onto the field each night like the last 2 groups.

[SPMT]

And guys like Mangum and Debrule and then Rowdey and Tanner were given to Lemonis. He inherited them but didn?t have a chance to turn them into Choir Boys wearing their flowing Robes onto the field each night like the last 2 groups.

Hopefully the current crop that hangs around despises the sh!t taste in their mouth. Some of the problem is the entitled, pro player treatment that none of the current crop has earned outside of Clark. And he should be the leader that tells these 17ers to get it done.

The shining light is they showed some heart at the end of the year.

Pitching clearly the key, but we need balls! No pampering, no managers picking up every damn ball, none of this bullsh!t that has been going on. No more softness and we will be in a regional with most of the current team.

[Pancho]

Just gotta find someone to do the evaluating for Lemo then.

[ScottH]

Baseball's Junction Boys.
Two things to add:
1. Does anyone remember the visiting coach cancelling a game due to cold weather after his team was dressed and in the dugout when Cohen was coach? Cohen raised all kinds of hell that it should have been a forfeit. Anyway, it rained the night before and maybe earlier in the day and it was about 39 degrees. The visiting team walks into their dugout and sees our non-pitchers practicing lead-offs and cross over steps down the LF line. When they would practice diving back to the bag, they were sloshing water up then would get up and do it again. The coach saw that and knew his ass was whipped and backed out of the game.
2. I went to a fall practice and saw Jake Mangum hauling ass full speed then laying out full horizontal on a sinking liner in the gap during BP. This wasn't freshman Jake Mangum trying to impress and break into the lineup. This was senior Jake Mangum showing what its about.

Nicholls State - I think

[Todd4State]

The biggest thing to me is I think we got too caught up in analytics and biomechanics- spin rate, velocity, and etc. and we lost sight of the fundamentals of the game.

So really I think that's the biggest thing is going back to being the most fundamentally sound team in the country. Once our players have mastered that as an individual then we could use our labs for things like adding velocity.

[SpaceBully]

At least half of all the Fall ball scrimmages should be cancelled and replaced with fundamentals-only training. Mostly hitting ground balls, flies, hitting the cutoff man, bunting correctly, stealing bases, etc. Why scrimmage if you haven't reached the level of little league basics?

[Pancho]

lol. we only need a pete young, a maniscalco and 3 pitchers like maholm, dubose and bednar.********

[bulldogcountry1]

Baseball's Junction Boys.
Two things to add:
1. Does anyone remember the visiting coach cancelling a game due to cold weather after his team was dressed and in the dugout when Cohen was coach? Cohen raised all kinds of hell that it should have been a forfeit. Anyway, it rained the night before and maybe earlier in the day and it was about 39 degrees. The visiting team walks into their dugout and sees our non-pitchers practicing lead-offs and cross over steps down the LF line. When they would practice diving back to the bag, they were sloshing water up then would get up and do it again. The coach saw that and knew his ass was whipped and backed out of the game.
2. I went to a fall practice and saw Jake Mangum hauling ass full speed then laying out full horizontal on a sinking liner in the gap during BP. This wasn't freshman Jake Mangum trying to impress and break into the lineup. This was senior Jake Mangum showing what its about.

We need to get back to a version of that. I used to enjoy getting to the park early enough to watch us take IF/OF because we looked like a machine. Other teams would sit and watch from the dugout. Not anymore. The best example that I noticed starting this year was the pick-off base stealing warm-up exercise we do down the line. Before last season, it seemed like a matter of pride to be the first to "finish". Now? It's just a half-arsed jog at your own pace useless routine. There are numerous little things like that that should be glaring to anyone who has any sort of feel for the game.

Other teams don't watch us anymore. They aren't intimidated. Far from it.

Does Lemonis have it in him to fix it? I have my doubts. He's obviously felt pressure since midway through the season, and he really looks uncomfortable being the arse-chewer. I just don't see him completely changing his philosophy.

[TALL DAWG]

The road back to Omaha?

Who about we get back to Hoover first

[tcdog70]

The buck stops with lemonis---He is not the answer.. players are a reflection of their Coach. Lemonis is a bucket sitting lazy coach. so of course or players are half-asses. I want a player that stomps and throws his helmet when he fails to advance the runner. Not one that fake pumps his chest and grins as he walks back to the dugout. I want a player that is looking to hit that first pitch fastball that is down the middle. i want a pitcher that is a cocky m'fer who thinks the batter is his bitch. 17 nibbling --if you can throw it in the upper 90s then hum that mother across the plate.

[SpaceWranglerDawg]

According to those in the know, we're going to fail at the real Step 1.

The whole admitting we have a problem part?

[maroonmania]

The road back to Omaha?

Who about we get back to Hoover first

Well said. Hard to talk about Omaha when you can't qualify for Hoover.

[Patrick Tibbons]

Baseball's Junction Boys.
Two things to add:
1. Does anyone remember the visiting coach cancelling a game due to cold weather after his team was dressed and in the dugout when Cohen was coach? Cohen raised all kinds of hell that it should have been a forfeit. Anyway, it rained the night before and maybe earlier in the day and it was about 39 degrees. The visiting team walks into their dugout and sees our non-pitchers practicing lead-offs and cross over steps down the LF line. When they would practice diving back to the bag, they were sloshing water up then would get up and do it again. The coach saw that and knew his ass was whipped and backed out of the game.

I?m not disagreeing that Cohen?s teams didn?t play hard, but the game you are referencing took place in 2009 where we went 25-29. I don?t think anyone was worried about us kicking their ass that year.

[Mjoelner34]

I?m not disagreeing that Cohen?s teams didn?t play hard, but the game you are referencing took place in 2009 where we went 25-29. I don?t think anyone was worried about us kicking their ass that year.

That's why I started my entire comment with the Junction Boys. They didn't win right away either but they damn sure built their toughness and attitude beginning with that. And, I do think that coach was intimidated by what he saw our guys doing. It was cold and wet but definitely playable.

[schddog72]

This!!