I do. I think a little criticism SHOULD be warranted. If a few professors hadn't warranted ME some sort of constructive criticism, who knows where I'd be right now. LSU's players just don't seem to care. Keyword here: SEEM. It's not my place to say whether they care, or not. Why does EVERY team in the SEC Tourney step it up, but us? I also read somewhere that Smoke didn't care about the SEC Tourney, but was rather trying to focus on the Regionals and SRs. With all due respect to a guy I DO respect, Smoke needs an attitude adjustment. I forgot who said it, and it was a great coach of the past, but teams are remembered by what they do in the post-season. So far, at Smoke's rate, no one will remember him, mainly because they won't have ANYTHING to remember him buy but a lot of 00s when it was all on the line. I agree with Coach Polk when he said people were too hard on him, but I see a pattern starting to show. It's like Smoke becomes arrogant when he knows he's faced with adversity. It's like he just shrugs a loss off as it doesn't matter. He feeds us (and probably the team) a lot of BS. Guess what guys, the SEC Tourney IS important. Regular season, should ALWAYS come before post-season play. Your main goal as a team should be to do well in your conference, and take care of everything that YOU, yourself, can control. I still think a Smoke is, (and will continue to be,) a great coach. But, he needs to learn how to deal with the real world. Of course all of this is IMO, and let the flames start.... unlike Smoke, I can handle a little constructive criticism. :angryfire
It was between Pecan Sandies and Ginger Spice (the chewy kind). I decided on Ginger Spice. Now let's hope I don't burn the kitchen down!
I too, am seeing a disturbing pattern JayB. Let me first say, I'm not that knowledgeable about college baseball, and I don't get a chance to watch the team play very often. Also, I do support Smoke 100%. I thought he did a great job at ULM and I think he's done good to get us to Omaha the last two years. Just getting to the CWS is an accomplishment, I mean, we can't win it all every year (we should expect to though). That said, I'm disturbed at certain things I hear from Smoke's biggest advocates, and to a lesser extent, from Smoke himself, like: "Non-conference games don't matter" "Midweek games don't matter" "The regular season doesn't matter" "The SEC Tournament doesn't matter" If they don't matter, why do we play them? What is the point? Will it matter if we start losing more than we win? I'm sorry, this tournament did matter. Make a good showing (not even win the whole thing, just look good) we're hosting a Super Regional. Get bounced hard in an 0-for-2, and it's hello Zephyr Field (and you know that's where the NCAA will send us). Guess what? We got rolled. And watching the games, I couldn't help but feel that, for Smoke and the team, this game, this tournament, just wasn't that big a deal. No intensity, no sense of urgency, they were saving it all for Regionals. I understand that, to an extent. I don't know though. To me, it seems kinda dangerous to write off a huge chunk of the season, even the SEC Tourney, saying that only a handful of games a year really matter. I believe, if you play every game to win, and treat every game as if it were important, then you make your postseason prospects much better. Then we would definitely be hosting a Super Regional. Think about it. Does anyone really believe that this team is just gonna "flip the switch" next week, and suddenly start showing the swagger, the killer instinct, the heart of a champion, the "Eye of the Tiger?" I don't. You can't just turn that on and off. Smoke just can't come out and say, "All right boys, this time, IT COUNTS!" Because the attitude is already ingrained. You start writing off large chunks of the season, saying, "Oh it's just non-conference, oh it's just midweek games, oh it's just the SEC Tourney," it's not that much of a stretch to take the opening game of Regionals against Southern or Army lightly. Before you know it, you've lost that game, and now you're really in a world of crap. I know you can't win 'em all. I know midweek games have to also be teaching tools to bring up some of the younger kids. That's fine. But successful postseasons are built upon successful seasons. Yeah, we still won the SEC West. That's great. But I can't help but feel that somehow, this team is not playing up to it's potential, and that the attitude necessary to be a champion just isn't there. Maybe they'll prove me wrong. Maybe this team is so good they can just push a button and roll to Omaha, crushing all in their path. But I didn't see that this week.
For the record, I never said the SEC Tourney doesn't matter. I HAVE said it isn't as important as the Regional Tourney.
I see your point JayB. You want them to give 100% every time. So do I. But, as a whole, I think the LSU fan base would be happier with another CWS appearance than a conference title. So now we play our hearts out in the Regionals and Super Regionals no matter the opponent. Because after all is said and done we will be Back Home in Omaha…
I'm going to catch a lot of grief for saying this, but personally, I think the guy is resting on Skip's laurels. I think he has the attitude that he can put this program on cruise control, and it will continue to win because it always has. To sum up, in short, I think the guy is a lazy coach. JMO.
How about Dustin Weaver's .000 (0-4) in scoring position? How about 2 chances to send a PH in there after horrible at-bats the first two times?
