I played sports, but not baseball after Little League. What's your perspective on what is likely going through the players minds after getting swept back-to-back at home? What do you think is needed, if anything? Does somebody need to step up? Is this an overaction or is this a sign something is probably wrong and maybe serious?
Hey Bruce, what are players likely thinking now?
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No team loyalty. A bunch of transfers that just care about the bag, not the maroon and white.
Paycheck still cashes if you get swept back to back at home. I have followed MSU baseball a long time and I cannot remember us ever getting swept at DNF in back to back weekends.
Paycheck still cashes if you get swept back to back at home. I have followed MSU baseball a long time and I cannot remember us ever getting swept at DNF in back to back weekends.
Too many chiefs & not enough Indians. I had a loaded elite team one season & they thought they didnt have to earn it. Primadonnas who nearly missed the postseason. Got into the tournament & dominated. Let's hope this team doesn't miss out.
It was my least favorite season as a coach. Its when I started to go gray. I privately got to the point I hoped we missed the tourney. I was so worn out & fed up with them.
They thought they had enough talent to overcome their mistakes & errors so they had ZERO sense of urgency. NONE. This State team reminds me a lot of that team. The talent is there.
It was my least favorite season as a coach. Its when I started to go gray. I privately got to the point I hoped we missed the tourney. I was so worn out & fed up with them.
They thought they had enough talent to overcome their mistakes & errors so they had ZERO sense of urgency. NONE. This State team reminds me a lot of that team. The talent is there.
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This team doesn't do the little things that win games. I'm old and will use an example many of you are too young to remember, but the Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds) of the 70's was loaded with stars, yes they played long ball, but they did the little things. They hit behind runners to move them over, they hit sac flys, and yes they even bunted. We do none of that, not gonna mention any names, but we had a situation in Arlington against UCLA in extra's where back to back hitters, refused to wear one on the shoulder to win the game with bases loaded. Joe Morgan and Pete Rose would have gladly, and one is in the hall and the other has the numbers to be. Too many strikeouts with runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs. Sometimes you just have to put something in play to to plate that runner, especially in close games in late innings. We also refuse to hit or bunt through the shift, most teams are pulling the 3rd baseman after one strike so take what they give you, other teams are.
Man you guys ask some deep 
. I can relate it to my years at State to maybe give some possible clarification. First of all Baseball is actually a relatively short season and adjustments can take some time.
In 1979 we had a magical season. The roles of everyone were clearly defined and understood. We had good player leadership. We had solid pitching with a bunch of guys who were not scared of anything. Top number of HRs was 8 so we played contact baseball and worked together.
In 1980 the core of that 79 team moved on and internally there was a bunch of guys jockeying for position. The players leadership left so there was a bit of a vacuum there. The pressure built and I know it took awhile for players to establish themselves. It's hard for players, at least for me, to get in a good frame if your worried about playing and too much coaching input. In my case I only had 1 HR over the first 30 games. I still managed to establish myself as the starting 1B and also figured out my swing changes we had been working on. Once things settled we started playing better. I hit 7 HRs over the last 20 games. It was just too late for us to fully come back.
1981 the roles again were clearly defined and we hit the ground running from day one. I was fully prepared as was many of my teammates and the confidence just stayed high the whole season. We were good and new it.
1982 again we lost core players and it took a little to long for the younger guys to get going.
I just don't think you can keep everyone happy. Especially if you keep swapping lineups. Heck this team had guys who got early playing time and hit .400 and all of a sudden find themselves on the bench when SEC play starts. They are wondering what the heck do I have to do to get on the field? If you have to much of that, it leads to bad things.
So short answer is I have no idea.
. I can relate it to my years at State to maybe give some possible clarification. First of all Baseball is actually a relatively short season and adjustments can take some time. In 1979 we had a magical season. The roles of everyone were clearly defined and understood. We had good player leadership. We had solid pitching with a bunch of guys who were not scared of anything. Top number of HRs was 8 so we played contact baseball and worked together.
In 1980 the core of that 79 team moved on and internally there was a bunch of guys jockeying for position. The players leadership left so there was a bit of a vacuum there. The pressure built and I know it took awhile for players to establish themselves. It's hard for players, at least for me, to get in a good frame if your worried about playing and too much coaching input. In my case I only had 1 HR over the first 30 games. I still managed to establish myself as the starting 1B and also figured out my swing changes we had been working on. Once things settled we started playing better. I hit 7 HRs over the last 20 games. It was just too late for us to fully come back.
1981 the roles again were clearly defined and we hit the ground running from day one. I was fully prepared as was many of my teammates and the confidence just stayed high the whole season. We were good and new it.
1982 again we lost core players and it took a little to long for the younger guys to get going.
I just don't think you can keep everyone happy. Especially if you keep swapping lineups. Heck this team had guys who got early playing time and hit .400 and all of a sudden find themselves on the bench when SEC play starts. They are wondering what the heck do I have to do to get on the field? If you have to much of that, it leads to bad things.
So short answer is I have no idea.
good info. I was there when you played. Good memories.Man you guys ask some deep
In 1979 we had a magical season. The roles of everyone were clearly defined and understood. We had good player leadership. We had solid pitching with a bunch of guys who were not scared of anything. Top number of HRs was 8 so we played contact baseball and worked together.
In 1980 the core of that 79 team moved on and internally there was a bunch of guys jockeying for position. The players leadership left so there was a bit of a vacuum there. The pressure built and I know it took awhile for players to establish themselves. It's hard for players, at least for me, to get in a good frame if your worried about playing and too much coaching input. In my case I only had 1 HR over the first 30 games. I still managed to establish myself as the starting 1B and also figured out my swing changes we had been working on. Once things settled we started playing better. I hit 7 HRs over the last 20 games. It was just too late for us to fully come back.
1981 the roles again were clearly defined and we hit the ground running from day one. I was fully prepared as was many of my teammates and the confidence just stayed high the whole season. We were good and new it.
1982 again we lost core players and it took a little to long for the younger guys to get going.
I just don't think you can keep everyone happy. Especially if you keep swapping lineups. Heck this team had guys who got early playing time and hit .400 and all of a sudden find themselves on the bench when SEC play starts. They are wondering what the heck do I have to do to get on the field? If you have to much of that, it leads to bad things.
So short answer is I have no idea.
Happened in 2022. Lost 3 to Florida at our place. Lost 3 to A&M at there’s. Came back for a week da win against N. Alabama. Then got swept again at home to Tennessee. Ended the season 2-14 that season.
and learn to field my position and throw the ball across the diamond w/out bouncing it
Thanks. Interesting perspectives. One thing I especially agree on is I don't like changing lineups all the time. I'm OK with lefty-righty matchups, but I like the years like 79 and 81 where the roles were pretty well defined and everyone knew what their role was. I remember in the 85 season, we used the exact same batting order the entire season with the exception that we flipped Palmeiro and Clark between the 3 and 4 spots about 2/3 of the way through, and I'm sure we used the same 1-2-3 weekend pitching rotation all year too.Man you guys ask some deep
In 1979 we had a magical season. The roles of everyone were clearly defined and understood. We had good player leadership. We had solid pitching with a bunch of guys who were not scared of anything. Top number of HRs was 8 so we played contact baseball and worked together.
In 1980 the core of that 79 team moved on and internally there was a bunch of guys jockeying for position. The players leadership left so there was a bit of a vacuum there. The pressure built and I know it took awhile for players to establish themselves. It's hard for players, at least for me, to get in a good frame if your worried about playing and too much coaching input. In my case I only had 1 HR over the first 30 games. I still managed to establish myself as the starting 1B and also figured out my swing changes we had been working on. Once things settled we started playing better. I hit 7 HRs over the last 20 games. It was just too late for us to fully come back.
1981 the roles again were clearly defined and we hit the ground running from day one. I was fully prepared as was many of my teammates and the confidence just stayed high the whole season. We were good and new it.
1982 again we lost core players and it took a little to long for the younger guys to get going.
I just don't think you can keep everyone happy. Especially if you keep swapping lineups. Heck this team had guys who got early playing time and hit .400 and all of a sudden find themselves on the bench when SEC play starts. They are wondering what the heck do I have to do to get on the field? If you have to much of that, it leads to bad things.
So short answer is I have no idea.
I think you answered your own question BLB, and Bruce alluded to it as well - player leadership. In the past, all our best teams had an alpha leader, or a couple of them. Guys who not only did what they were supposed to do on the field, but (maybe more importantly) were also vocal off the field. They didn't put up with giving half-assed effort in practice, in the gym, or in the dugout.
I haven't seen that with this team, or in fact with any teams since 2021. Maybe it's just the way of the world now, with new faces coming in every year. Maybe it's harder to get on someone's asss you just met a couple months ago. Or maybe the leaders on this team just don't have that type of personality. Whatever it is, it doesn't appear we have one now. We have some super nice guys with tremendous talent - I just don't see anyone throwing bats or getting in faces of teammates these days.
eta: I understood it with Lemonis, because that's how he was. Every loss was "oh well, that's baseball". I hope Oak is different and can light a fire under some asses. Say what you will about Cohen, but you never had to doubt intensity and effort while he was coach. Different world now, though, I get it.
I haven't seen that with this team, or in fact with any teams since 2021. Maybe it's just the way of the world now, with new faces coming in every year. Maybe it's harder to get on someone's asss you just met a couple months ago. Or maybe the leaders on this team just don't have that type of personality. Whatever it is, it doesn't appear we have one now. We have some super nice guys with tremendous talent - I just don't see anyone throwing bats or getting in faces of teammates these days.
eta: I understood it with Lemonis, because that's how he was. Every loss was "oh well, that's baseball". I hope Oak is different and can light a fire under some asses. Say what you will about Cohen, but you never had to doubt intensity and effort while he was coach. Different world now, though, I get it.
You might be on to something here. After we hung a sweep on mississippi at their place bianco got in front of a microphone and publicly called his team out. Said he told them they embarrassed themselves that weekend and that was what he said in public. No telling how he said it to the team. Since then they took a series against UF and swept LSU.
Everyone has their style and I am not down on oak but I think a little *** kicking is in order here.
I’m old enough to remember when everyone thought that Lemonis was the only obstacle that was separating us from perennial greatness. Whoops.
I'm not down on him either. In fact, I think he has more fire in his belly than he's shown so far. I think he is in general a nice guy and doesn't like to go full Skip Bertman or Auggie Garido in public. But I've seen some signs of life. His screaming at the ump in the UGA series gave me some hope. The way he handled Drew Wyres yesterday makes me think (or hope) that he's going to show his fire more and more.
Hey Oak: don't worry about offending us. We want to win. We stuck with Cohen. We stuck with Mullen. Get on their asses - we want you to do it. You may think State fans want a nice guy - but believe me, deep down in places we don't talk about at parties, we want you on that wall -- we need you on that wall.
who is the team leader? Who is the Bednar? Who is the TA? No body sticks out
You're right. I'm hoping Parker sticks around and becomes one.
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I never realized how many of you geniuses share the name Bruce.
It's uncanny...
It's uncanny...
I'm not sure if I should be comforted or concerned that I came to the same conclusion as an All-American.
One thing this emphatically makes clear though, is that the only people that can answer this are those in the dugout.
I'm hoping (and trusting) Oak is the man to turn this around, and our guys get out of this funk.
To clarify. I have been on very successful teams and I have been on very unsuccessful teams and it's not always about the talent level of the players. I have been with a group of overachievers and have been with a group of underachievers. It's a little like cooking, two people can have the same recipe with basically the same ingredients and sometimes the magic happens and sometimes it doesn't. You might be able to point to things in hindsight but sometimes it remains a mystery as to why there was failure. There are people that have a knack and mostly cook well but even they fail once in awhile.
If there was an answer to the question, everybody would be .500 because they all have the answer.
Yep I can say when I played sports and whenever I compete today, I don't care about winning as much as I hate losing. Winning is the expected outcome. Losing is never considered. Our players may want to win, but they don't seem to hate to lose. Probably hard when you are getting paid with no negative monetary consequences.
It’s the end of college sports. No doubt. Like any mild mannered 20 something can manage money. Especially a lot more than their parents have seen.