Thoughts on Opening Weekend

[I seen it dawg]

Post them here...I'll have a detailed post a little later

[msstate7]

I think this is a 2016 team again. Hopefully we don't run into a red hot team in the supers this year

[AlSwearengen]

I’m going to hold out final adjustment until they have been in the fire some more, but it looks like we have more pitching than i was expecting.

[KOdawg1]

We can rake. We can pitch. We're good.

That is all.

[Rick Danko]

Obviously mindful of the opponent. That said, impressed with our hitting. Impressed with ability to score runs. Impressed with how our pitchers shut them down. Impressed with Friday night not panicking. Sophomores seem to have taken a BIG step. Mangum is mangum. Small looked solid. Ginn showed composure for a freshman that faced adversity first inning. Allen is going to turn heads this year, he was my preseason breakout star.

[TNDawg35]

- Hayden Jones need to catch
- Colby White is gonna be good
- Ginn is a hoss, I want to see him hit.
- Our line up is solid. RIGHT NOW, I don’t see that glaring hole like we have had in the past.
- Keegan James looked good today

-LSU isn’t as good as the hype.
- Vandy is plain nasty
- Ole Piss still sucks donkey d***

[MetEdDawg]

Our lineup has one hole and that's when Skelton hits. Jones is gonna be the starter before this thing is over.

Our pitching is deep. We've got a ton of guys with plus stuff and we've got 3 really solid weekend starters.

Cerantola is a guaranteed first rounder if he can find more FB control.

Our lineup can rake. We've got power all through and you can't take a break. Been a while since that happened. Westburg, Allen, Macnamee is a nasty thing to run through, but having to do it after you face Mangum and Rowdy is damned hard. Landon Jordan is the real deal too.

We are young but have mercy are we talented. Again, it's Youngstown State, but you look at how these young kids carried themselves all week. Confident energy. This team is really good but you should be able to see that we've got a solid 3 years with what's on the roster right now to compete at the highest level.

[Commercecomet24]

This team is very balanced. Starting rotation, bullpen, pop in the lineup, some speed, solid defensively. Not a lot of holes and I like ir.

[AlSwearengen]

-I thought Skelton looked vastly improved defensively and he hit the ball pretty well. I’d like to see he and Jones basically split the catching duties.
-Hopefully Halter gets more comfortable and progresses both in the field and at the plate. 2B to me is the only weak spot right now. I do think once he gets some time under his belt he will be pretty good.
-People saying that Tanner Allen had improved weren’t lying. He looks locked in every time he is up.
-I think the only place that we aren’t better is middle infield defense.

[ShotgunDawg]

- Omaha caliber team
- Look stronger and more physical than we have in a while.
- Best team since 2016
- Small - Solid Friday guy
- Ginn -Good stuff and strike thrower. Hope he doesn't get hurt. Has effort in delivery with small hook. Sonny Gray like
- K James - Above average Sunday guy.
- Cerantola - Not ready control wise for weekend job but would start on mid-week for now. Him clicking is the difference between Omaha contender and national championship contender. Not sure if he's Chris Carpenter, Josh Johnson, Josh Beckett, or AJ Burnett but he's one of them. Top of the draft talent that just needs harnessing.
- Bullpen is deep with power arms, lefties, and sinker ballers. Lots of competition
- Halter is a good 9 hole hitter with doubles power. Good defender with a strong arm for double plays.
- Hayden Jones will eventually win the catching job, but I'm good with him earning it.


Strengths - we are past our Tommy John issues and now have incredible depth and power arms. Lineup lacks a 1st round hitter but is incredibly deep. No free out.

Weaknesses - No 1st round caliber hitter. This team go through a few hitting slumps.

New pitching approach - Foxhall likes pitching up in the zone and using guy's spin rates. Love it.

[ShotgunDawg]

If you want to get incredibly excited, look at the quality of the freshmen and the direction the program is going.

We are going to have every chance to win a natty in the next 5 years.

[Commercecomet24]

- Omaha caliber team
- Look stronger and more physical than we have in a while.
- Best team since 2016
- Small - Solid Friday guy
- Ginn -Good stuff and strike thrower. Hope he doesn't get hurt. Has effort in delivery with small hook. Sonny Gray like
- K James - Above average Sunday guy.
- Cerantola - Not ready control wise for weekend job but would start on mid-week for now. Him clicking is the difference between Omaha contender and national championship contender. Not sure if he's Chris Carpenter, Josh Johnson, Josh Beckett, or AJ Burnett but he's one of them. Top of the draft talent that just needs harnessing.
- Bullpen is deep with power arms, lefties, and sinker ballers. Lots of competition
- Halter is a good 9 hole hitter with doubles power. Good defender with a strong arm for double plays.
- Hayden Jones will eventually win the catching job, but I'm good with him earning it.


Strengths - we are past our Tommy John issues and now have incredible depth and power arms. Lineup lacks a 1st round hitter but is incredibly deep. No free out.

Weaknesses - No 1st round caliber hitter. This team go through a few hitting slumps.

New pitching approach - Foxhall likes pitching up in the zone and using guy's spin rates. Love it.

Agree 100%. I also love that lemonis let's his players play and coaches coach. Aggressive swinging it, running the bases and pitching. Great approach by a HC

[ShotgunDawg]

Westburg - Better than I thought at SS. Not a star defender but has efficient, simple actions that should allow him to be consistent and make routine plays. Reminds me of Paul DeJong with the Cardinals.

Also with us pitching up in the zone more, look for more fly balls, which plays to the strength of our defense.

[I seen it dawg]

It's Youngstown but we did what really good teams do and that's beat their ass.

C- Hayden Jones is the varsity and Skelton jv. Jones receives better already and obviously throws better. Jones just has to hit a little and we need to be smart with his innings (Ari) so he doesn't hit a wall. Skelton is a good backup.
1B - Tanner can rake
2b - Hakter can be a good 9 hole for us if he will keep taking what pitchers give him. With Jake behind him he will have opportunities. He won't be Stovall but he will be good enough defensively and way above average 2b arm.
SS - I wanted this all last yr and he's finally the man. Westburg can be all sec.
3b - gonna be most underrated hitter in our lineup. He will get some big hits. Will play above average defense.
OF - we know what we have there.

I'm ecstatic with our pitching. Most about the tempo and the way we went right after hitters with heat. Didn't **** around at all which is a welcome change. It's a change in accountability. It's spectacular. We have a ton of great arms and it's gonna be exciting watching them develop.

Next weekend we will see better real competition and will get a better idea of where we are. This is gonna be a fun year. 6th in the West My ass...

[Tbonewannabe]

Westburg - Better than I thought at SS. Not a star defender but has efficient, simple actions that should allow him to be consistent and make routine plays. Reminds me of Paul DeJong with the Cardinals.

Also with us pitching up in the zone more, look for more fly balls, which plays to the strength of our defense.

He is very athletic for being 6'3". He is a lot more fluid than I thought. A lot of people think that might be his MLB position.

[maroonmania]

It's Youngstown but we did what really good teams do and that's beat their ass.

C- Hayden Jones is the varsity and Skelton jv. Jones receives better already and obviously throws better. Jones just has to hit a little and we need to be smart with his innings (Ari) so he doesn't hit a wall. Skelton is a good backup.
1B - Tanner can rake
2b - Hakter can be a good 9 hole for us if he will keep taking what pitchers give him. With Jake behind him he will have opportunities. He won't be Stovall but he will be good enough defensively and way above average 2b arm.
SS - I wanted this all last yr and he's finally the man. Westburg can be all sec.
3b - gonna be most underrated hitter in our lineup. He will get some big hits. Will play above average defense.
OF - we know what we have there.

I'm ecstatic with our pitching. Most about the tempo and the way we went right after hitters with heat. Didn't **** around at all which is a welcome change. It's a change in accountability. It's spectacular. We have a ton of great arms and it's gonna be exciting watching them develop.

Next weekend we will see better real competition and will get a better idea of where we are. This is gonna be a fun year. 6th in the West My ass...

Watching this team I think there is no doubt they will be really good, the question is can they be great? All I can say is if there are 5 better teams than MSU in the West this year then this will be the best and deepest SEC baseball field in history.

[CadaverDawg]

I'm ecstatic with our pitching. Most about the tempo and the way we went right after hitters with heat. Didn't **** around at all which is a welcome change. It's a change in accountability. It's spectacular.

This^. The pitching was the highlight to me. The tempo and the lack of nibbling that we saw too much of last year. Our pitchers set the tone, filled up the zone, and were the aggressors. It was a sight for sore eyes.

[Todd4State]

This team is Omaha caliber. And I think people are seeing why I have been saying that this offseason. Pitching is better and healthy plus we added a first round pick in Ginn. And if Cerentola figures it out by May we're going to be really dangerous. The catching is so much better too. I agree that Hayden Jones will be the starting catcher by the end of the year. I'd like to see Brad Cumbest get more playing time as well. This team has a little bit of everything- power, speed, plays solid defense, and has good arms on the staff. In addition to Ginn and Cerentola I could see Westburg and Cumbest develop into first round picks potentially as well. Cumbest looks like Mark McGwire and runs like a deer. And he can pitch as well. He reminds me of Hunter Renfroe in a tight ends body. Just a very impressive weekend for our team. And it feels like there is stability for the first time in forever.

The ceremonies for Polk, Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley, Ferris, and Dudy Noble were all well done other than messing up the spelling on Palmeiro's plaque. It's good to see Polk back and MSU baseball is better with him as a part of it from a distance. Rumor is he is moving back to Starkville next year and I look for him to be more involved with MSU going forward.

The stadium is unbelievable. It was surreal to be there after seeing only renderings for so long. It really is the best college stadium in America. And I like how MSU's baseball history is displayed throughout. That's one of the best things we can sell to recruits. Just a great weekend all around for MSU baseball!

[Todd4State]

Oh and something else to think about- our team outside of Mangum, Small, MacNamee, and Keegan is actually pretty young. Meaning most of our players haven't hit their peaks yet. 2020 could be special as well.

[gravedigger]

Post them here...I'll have a detailed post a little later

I think we should still be focusing on how Cohen embarrassed us all by not hiring someone we all agreed would be a splash hire.