Things like this weekend show me why we don't have a National Title. The potential to win one is absolutely there- but the mental attitude isn't. As I and others have said- and this is really the root of our problems- we have players that only respond when they are the underdog. When they get pats on the back they lose their focus and don't play anywhere up to their potential. Champions don't act like that. Champions want to win everything- even the things that don't matter like the SEC, the SEC Tournament, and even the Natty Light preseason College Baseball Classic in Flagstaff, Arizona. Because champions play for more than just to have their pats on the back. They play because they have pride in what they do and they respect the game to the point where it's not about themselves- but it's about everyone. That's who and why champions play for championships. The ironic thing to me is if they actually did win a National Championship they would be getting pats on the back for life. It's a mental and attitude thing and I don't believe this team has the mental ability or personality to go far enough to win a National Title. Because it's not something that is going to get learned overnight or in a month or whatever. You either have it or you don't. JT Ginn, Small, Colby White, and maybe Mangum are the only guys on the team that maybe have that. The rest appear to be in it all for themselves.


Let me address some things:


1. From some people: "This team sucks and has serious issues." From a mental standpoint- yes. From a pure talent standpoint- no. We have at least 3-5 guys on the team right now that I would say that it's not far fetched at all that they could develop into first round picks. (Ginn, Small, Westburg, Cumbest, Hayden Jones, and Cerentola) Now, I'm not saying that they all WILL be first round picks just that they have the physical talent and potential to develop into that. At the very least they are top 10 round picks easily at worst. Everyone we are starting outside of only one or two are going to get a shot at pro baseball. The talent is there. Enough to win it all. They need to get their heads on straight.


2. We won't be a National Seed: We may not- but it's not dead at this point. We have RPI 25 teams every game except four- one of those teams is 53 and the other is 107. With our RPI at 12 we have opportunities to make some noise and be in the National Seed picture.


3. This weekend was a complete disaster. However, our problems are inconsistent. That's good because if they're consistent it means it's a talent or physical issue. If you look at our entire body of work- we don't walk a lot of people, and we hit well, and our defense is average but improved since we reworked the infield. We also don't make a lot of mistakes on the bases. This weekend was the opposite- we walked people and pitched poorly for the most part, we had our poor approach come back for the whole team, we made errors, and we made baserunning mistakes. That again- goes back to focus, confidence and being competitive.


4. Lemonis is a bust and will run this program in the ground in two years: Here's my take on Lemonis- He's a CEO coach. Just like Jackie Sherrill essentially. So not a bad thing- but it does mean that he relies a lot on his assistants and he's going to be only as good as his assistants. Foxhall has not impressed me that much since SEC play started. He has a lot of input in the staff and he has a traditional approach to the bullpen. But he has to start being OK pitching our better guys if we're down a run. The coaching staffs approach to the game Thursday set the tone for the series in a really bad way. Gautreau has to do better of correcting approach issues IN GAME rather than just sit around and let our guys swing once and pop out time after time and not do anything about it until later. Halter needs to sit. Gilbert should be the third baseman going forward regardless of match ups.


5. We have three upper class pitchers that need to grow up. Keegan, Gordon, and Plumlee. Past time to pitch like freshmen. It's not fair to ask a freshman like Cerentola to be ready- especially when we have upperclassmen that should be doing better and aren't pulling their weight. Maybe we should bring the pink back-pack back for the Three Stooges.


#HailState. Let's keep the Governor's Cup.