Is Brent immune from the Gene discussions?

[molly jabali]

....I hear unhappiness with Thomas and Gene, but not so much with Kemnitz....am I reading that correctly, and is that fair?

[Shockerman]

If the whole staff was let go today, Brent finds another gig at a top level school in a heartbeat. The other two, not so much for various reasons. With that said, I am a Gene guy and hope the administration gets behind him with a reworked contract that would free up some money for a quality full time recruiter and new hitting coach.

[Schmakey]

Definitely fair, pitching is the only strength of this team, and that can be said for the past several years. To me, the big question is, who is teaching hitting???? Just saying, "we have to make adjustments" does not teach a kid what adjustments to make. There is no plan for an at bat, it is just go up there and hack and hope you hit it. There is more to hitting, in my opinion.

[ShockTalk]

....I hear unhappiness with Thomas and Gene, but not so much with Kemnitz....am I reading that correctly, and is that fair?

Yes, for the most part, you are reading that correctly. For discussion purposes, do you think it's fair and why or why not?

[jcdshocker]

Interesting Stats


Team Batting Average
2012 - To date .286
2011 .280
2010 .296
2009 .275
2008 .314
2007 .299
2006 .306
2005 .289

Team Earned Run Average
2012 - To date 3.53
2011 3.26
2010 4.45
2009 4.26
2008 3.88
2007 2.68
2006 3.66
2005 3.16

Seems to me that the overall talent has gone down over the last several years. Not just the batting. I like Brent, but the stats would say we are not dominating like we used to either at the plate or on the mound. He is the main recruiter isn't he? I think we are down several notches in competitiveness in batting, fielding and pitching. Not to mention baseball IQ.

[JJClamdip]

....I hear unhappiness with Thomas and Gene, but not so much with Kemnitz....am I reading that correctly, and is that fair?

The whole bunch needs to go, they should have stayed where their first love is located, Norman Oklahoma and Brent was behind that move.

Get rid of them all.

[SB Shock]

The whole staff has to go. Kemnitz led the charge to OU by his own admission. Whether fairly or unfairly Kemnitz is being tarnished by his continued involvement with Gene - guilt by association.

[shoxlax]

The whole bunch needs to go, they should have stayed where their first love is located, Norman Oklahoma and Brent was behind that move.

Get rid of them all.

We never really have talked about this, but does Schaus take a hit for taking them back?

While I am not a fan of the Oklahoma shuffle, Brent is a hell of a pitching coach whose players almost always improve tremendously while they are here. I've also seen him go out and make in game adjustments to a pitcher with immediate positive results. They also seem to have a purpose and game plan. Can any of the above be said for our offense or hitting? I always thought he would be the heir apparent to Gene, but if that happens, we cannot afford any weak links on the rest of the staff. Must have a proven reputable hitting coach who can spot talent and recruit.

I will also say the ERA numbers have a lot to do with who is behind the dish given the responsibility we give our catchers.

[1972Shocker]

We never really have talked about this, but does Schaus take a hit for taking them back?

Actually that has been discussed. Some put responsibility with Schaus, some with Dr. Beggs and some with both. My position is I don't have the facts so it is difficult to say how that exactly went down at least from my perspective.

[shoxlax]

Actually that has been discussed. Some put responsibility with Schaus, some with Dr. Beggs and some with both. My position is I don't have the facts so it is difficult to say how that exactly went down at least from my perspective.

I must have been mesmerized by some other discussion and missed it.

[1972Shocker]

IMHO, Brent is not immune and should not be immune. However, he will also probably be a guy that many fans believe should takeover at the top. However, if Brent is not the guy to replace Gene at the top I would think it would be very difficult for a new top man to be real comfortable with retaining Brent.

I agree that Brent is a very good college pitching coach. I like his approach and like that he (and Gene) generally do not and will not abuse the young arms, although we have had our share of arm injuries (of course, who knows how many of those injuries are due to pre-college overuse and throwing breaking pitches at too young of an age).

That said it may simply be time for a fresh start, although I realize that you need to be carefull what you wish for.

Who knows, it is still possible we will extend Gene's contract at some point although I would have thought that would already had occurred if that was going to happen. Now whether they will rework Gene's contact and require him to replace JT as part of a new deal as suggested by @Shockerman: who knows.

At this point my vote would be to start with an entirely new staff when Gene "retires" after the 2014 season or sooner if something could be worked out.

[1972Shocker]

I must have been mesmerized by some other discussion and missed it.

You probably have to go back to previous year's annual discussions about Gene's status. Whether you could find these with the search function I don't know.

[shox1989]

I would like to see Brent given a chance to take the reigns when the day comes that Gene retires. But unlike some of you, I worry about the day Gene retires. Personally I think we have the best pitching coach in college baseball and one of the best head coaches so I have a hard time thinking that we are going to be able to replace them with better coaches.

I just think about Mike Cohen, Scot Thompson, Randy Smithson, it wasn't easy finding a basketball coach who could win at WSU. Even when we did hit a home run look how long it took Turgeon to get us to the dance or Marshall (5 years to go one and done).

[shox1989]

Actually that has been discussed. Some put responsibility with Schaus, some with Dr. Beggs and some with both. My position is I don't have the facts so it is difficult to say how that exactly went down at least from my perspective.

Actually whether it was JS or Beggs (probably both) I don't know how you can fault their decision to take them back? We went to the Super Regionals in 2007 and 2008 AFTER they took the coaches back. I don't think you can call that a faulty decision.

[SB Shock]

We never really have talked about this, but does Schaus take a hit for taking them back?

I heard that when gene gave his notice it was the happiest days in JS life. Gene didn't call JS to get permission, he called Beggs. Only thing JS did wrong was not name a successor quick enough.