Yall gotta clue me in on all the Cohen "hate"....

[BulldogBear]

Good post. I agree. Let's see what the Intense Bastard can do.

For me it's the overthinking and overmanaging. Whether it's 80%, 90%, or 99%, most of us want Cohen to work out. I think like Cadaver in that you can't put too much stock in what people say in a game thread of a frustrating game. It can get emotional!!!! I want Cohen to turn it around because I want MSU to be successful. Someone else said what I feel....I care what the name on the front of the jersey says, not the back. If Cohen brings success to that name, then his name can stay on the back of the jersey. If not, then I want a different name on the back of the coach's jersey so to speak. Certainly, he gets one if not two more years. When I say I'm done with him, what I really mean is I've had enough of cohen ball. There's pretty good post earlier in this thread by I seen it that involves multiple uses of the word sh*t. Pretty much nails it!! It's time to get back to the basis of straight up beating the other team. I'm sorry John, you're wrong about the playing "versus the game." There's a whole 'nother team full of eager young men that have something to say about that. They say they are going to knock it down your pitcher's throat or throw it right by your best slap hitter, no matter what your blinkin' matrix says John. They say, "please give me a free out" 'cause I know I'm just gonna K your next guy so your fly ball on the following batter is gonna end the inning, etc, etc, etc. You're playing another set of young men that apparently want it more than you. You're playing a game, but it's against another team, not some meticlorion filled force known as the "game." And if is, then let's recruit Anakin or some other Sith Lord filled with 'em. Heck, at least get us Han Solo, Chewbacca and a good blaster.... not Jawas who can run fast but little else from the batter's box.

As far as next year... It's hard to say well, he has to make postseason or host a regional or whatever. What I want to see is that his approach, the current or adjusted is going to be successful. And if it doesn't feel like it ultimately will, then goodbye. Still it's hard to say you would get rid of a guy that gets into the postseason in baseball. I agree with Hack on that. But, what I ultimately want to see is better power hitting recruits and development. Take the bat off the shoulder and swing it. Situational bunting will ALWAYS have a place in the strategy of a good baseball program, but the problem I have with "overbunting," for lack of a better word, is what lies at it's core:

PLAYING NOT TO LOSE

And that is exactly what it is because you are ASSUMING that the next batter coming up will NOT GET A HIT. That's a loser mentality. Bunt when it suits you and/or your strategy for this particular game and time in that game. But, don't follow some formula on when to do it. Okay, I really don't wanna reopen that discussion but I've never really weighed in on why I prefer to bunt rarely. Moving on.

Back to next year, even if the record isn't all that much better, we need to see a different product. We need to see Cohen get out of the way. Again, baseball is not an easy game, but it's also not hard. I wanna see better hitting and the top 6-8 guys in the lineup no matter what arm the pitcher throws with. 17 the matchup crap. I've had enough of it. It has a place and should be considered often, but it's not something you have to do. It's the same plate, lefty or righty. If you can't hit a ball coming over the plate, you don't need to be out there. I know that I'm biased because I was a natural hitter with a natural swing and didn't care or pay attention much to righty or left. It also didn't make much difference, but surely I'm not some freak. I know there are some data that say you wanna have this guy or that guy, but seriously, can you hit or not? If you can I want you in the lineup. Anyway, if we see the right kind of improvement next year, I want Cohen to stay, but if the same sheit show, different season, EVEN IF OUR RECORD IMPROVES... then let's get the inevitable over with.

I think of the 2008 football season, the last in the dark times that were the Croom era, a kick in the KY game plus a couple of FDs in the Auburn game and we easily would've gone bowling. Croom would still have been our coach in 2009... not because he was a good coach.... or was going in the right direction... or had a decent offense... Instead it would only have been because he went bowling and well, you know, you can't get rid of that guy. Where would be now, because we know that despite if he had gone bowling two years in a row, his philosophy was taking us nowhere. So, because of that way of thinking, I worry next year about us sneaking into a regional as a 3 seed, but still fall way short of potential because we're seeing the same 'ol Cohen ball. So, here's the punchline to all of this: What we need to see next year is a different product, regardless of how strikingly better or not the W/L record is.