People voicing their opinions is one thing... when SOME "fans" make statements that are just plain DUMB, usuall a knee-jerk reaction to a bad game, I find it stupid to come on the message boards and get their panties in a wad. Most of us have NO clue what it takes to be a top notch college athlete OR a coach, yet people THINK they know. They come on here and pop off their mouths half way through the season. At least they can wait till the season is over. If all the critics here were such experts, they would be college coaches. It's easy to sit back and second guess... anyone can do that. Give the team and coaches some slack, this goes for all sports here at LSU. They work alot harder every day just for our entertainment that well probably know. The least we can do is appreciate them.
I don't have a problem with you talking about this baseball season but I would totally disagree with your post when you talk about other coaches such as basketball for many reasons. Fans can be frustrated and voice thier opinions, this is America. I would say that you don't have to read them. This is a message board dude, lighten up and take it easy! :grin: :lsup:
I never said people don't have the right to voice their opinions.... It is just my opinion that alot of those people posting their opinions are jackasses
I myself get irritated during bad stretches of games, no matter what the sport. However, I am a "glass half full" type of person. However much I may curse and scream at the television or radio, I never come on the boards full of anger and post something negative towards the team, the players, or coaches. Does a part of me die every time we lose, of course. Does it make me proud to wear the purple and gold the day after a loss, YOU'RE DAMNED RIGHT IT DOES. All the naysayers, fair-weather fans, whatever you want to call them have every right to come on the board and post. I have the same right to call them retards afterwards. I just wish they would all keep their asses off the bandwagon when things go right. ldskule:
All I ever said was that if things didn't get turned around within the next two YEARS then maybe we should look into something. If this is a legit turnaround and we go on to the supers or better than i retract all of that stuff.
Yes, Skip hand picked his successor. You just keep on asking the right hard questions that make me think, don't you? : ) I like it, because it makes me think critically about my own opinion. Yes, I would have confidence in Saban's hand picked successor, because my opinion of CNS is so huge! Hell, I even drove through his home turf in West Virginia during my drive up here to NYC. I know why he calls himself a hillbilly, folks! It's because it's very hilly there! I held Skip in equally high regard as a coach, so, logically speaking, I should have more confidence in Skip's hand picked successor, Smoke! Now I'm flummoxed.
As an answer to SabanFan...yes, I do know why he was chosen... He was chosen because Mike Bianco had not made a name for himself as of that time. He was still coaching at McNeese. He was also chosen because Jim Wells turned down the job when it was offered to him. But, there is a reason that Jim Wells turned it down, and it's not just because he had no desire to follow a legend, which is the verbatim response that I heard. The reason that Smoke Laval was chosen is because Smoke Laval accepted the "deal" that Skip had on the table for any coach who replaced him. Skip demanded half the gate from the baseball camps that LSU ran in the offseason from whoever would be the next coach of LSU. Anyone who keeps up with college baseball realize that outside of the SEC, coaching salaries aren't quite top shelf, and to help offset your salary deficiencies, most coach's take advantage of their players, former players, and facilities by arranging for camps and taking in HUGE profits from volunteer counselors and major leaguers coming back to help out the program and donate back to the community. Skip's camp was a GOLDMINE...and he didn't want to give it up. He made a deal that he wanted at least half the camp money for at least three years, from what I've heard. Wells flat out denied this request, as would any other coach worth his paycheck salt (though if only for a short amount of time like three years, it may have been slightly off-kilter to say no in the face of a program like LSU, though that's where the fear of following a legend excuse would also come into play). Smoke allowed for this to happen. He ok'd the cut into his camp money for a period of three years, which allegedly should have provided Bertman enough $ to have a nice lil next egg... What followed next was very unexpected...Emmert having to squelch what almost became an out of control quasi-political fire on the BOS by hiring Bertman as the Athletic Director. Obviously, Bertman wasn't expecting this, and suddenly with his huge increase in salary, he had no need for what became-by comparison-a paltry sum like what half the camp money would pay for. But, what's done is done, and I think that Smoke is an excellent coach who hired an obviously outmanned pitching coach who he's allowing to "grow into" the position. Brady Wiederhold was a stretch as an SEC pitching coach, and from a team used to having the same guy call pitches for what...20 years, it leaves much to be desired. If Smoke would go out and hire a QUALITY pitching coach, I'd be okay. But, allowing Wiederhold to make these decisions will eventually mean Smoke gets the lion's share of the AD's scrutiny if they continue to suffer from inconsistency (though I think it has more to do with Smoke's inability to make this team focus from day to day because of injuries and a lack of a consistent bat amongst a plain old dearth of efficient defensive infielders)...His pitch calling leaves a LOT to be desired...Skip was never all that afraid to go back to pitches that pitchers were struggling with in a position at which the count and point in the game calls for it. If Saxon was struggling with the inside fastball, he'd still call for the inside heat if the situation called for it, when the bullet hit the bone. I think Wiederhold is scared of allowing his pitchers to overcome their days when they have bad stuff. He stays away from the pitches they struggle with at times...I dunno, perhaps I'm overanalyzing...But it's just from the games that I've been seeing on TV the last two years... But, again...the reason Smoke is here is because he accepted Skip's financial terms...not because he was necessarily the first choice. Also, an interesting sidenote...Take a wild guess whose wife owns the concessions business that feeds dinner and snacks to all the baseball campers? No lifelines...
