Should Gene retire at the end of the season?

[ShockerFever]

but ever since 2000, the numbers have gone by the wayside. Who's to blame from 2000-2008? The imaginary people?

Jim Thomas

2003: WSU sets school record with .974 fielding percentage.
1998: WSU hitters led nation in batting average (.369)
1998: WSU hitters led nation in scoring (12.06)
1998: WSU hitters led nation in slugging percentage (.644)
1998: WSU hitters led nation in doubles and doubles per game.
2008: Conor Gillaspie is 3rd in the nation in triples.
2008: WSU is tied for 7th in the nation in triples.
2008: WSU is 49th in the nation in doubles.
2008: WSU is 23rd in the nation in stolen bases per game
2008: WSU is 18th in the nation in stolen bases.
2008: WSU is 28th in the nation in walks per game

Again, what are you trying to prove? I don't quite get your point. You're gonna hafta lay it out to me again. All you proved is my point and some others. All I see in 1998 is WSU hitters led nation. All I see in 2008 is random tidbits with mediocre numbers next to them. ?????

[ShockerFever]

Not one person mentioned JT's CWS trips in '93 and '96. They just lit the fuse and piled on. Can you say lynch mob? Is JT the problem? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But, trying to lay the blame at the feet of one person is short sighted.

Again the 1993 trip was not JT's. He may have been the coach then, but those weren't his players and those weren't his philosophies playing out.

I don't think no one is blaming one person. BK's numbers haven't lied throughout the past 30 years. Gene has a lot of wins the past 30 years. What does JT have?

[shockfan89]

Not one person mentioned JT's CWS trips in '93 and '96. They just lit the fuse and piled on. Can you say lynch mob? Is JT the problem? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But, trying to lay the blame at the feet of one person is short sighted.

Again the 1993 trip was not JT's. He may have been the coach then, but those weren't his players and those weren't his philosophies playing out.

I don't think no one is blaming one person. BK's numbers haven't lied throughout the past 30 years. Gene has a lot of wins the past 30 years. What does JT have?

CWS appearance in 96
Team that led the nation in hitting in 98
Super Regional appearance in 07
Regional Championship appearance almost every other year.

[7hottamales]

Not one person mentioned JT's CWS trips in '93 and '96. They just lit the fuse and piled on. Can you say lynch mob? Is JT the problem? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But, trying to lay the blame at the feet of one person is short sighted.

I don't know if JT is to blame. When blame needs to be assessed I generally start with the CEO, but I think it is fairly safe to assume that Gene and JT aren't providing a balance in either recruiting or teaching. They appear to be redundant. Maybe that's because JT isn't truly getting a say in what profile of player he can target....maybe Gene's forcefulness is overpowering JT's ability to teach players...or maybe JT is truly just a mini-me...whatever it is, I see little evidence that there is synergy occurring in the tangible results of their strategy. Is it impossible to have a voice while working for Gene? Or is JT's voice just redundant?

I don't know what the answer is or who the "blame" falls on, but I do know where the responsibility lies.

[7hottamales]

I've made the point before, but it's worth repeating for the newbies.

College baseball changed in 2000(?) or so when they went to the 2 & 5/8 minus 3 bats. That we know.

My hypothesis is that it made the ability to truly hit the ball much more valuable. With the old bats the margin for error was significantly higher. A toolsy athlete with quick hands didn't have to center the ball as well to be successful.

A player identification and recruiting strategy that was successful in the 90s isn't necessarily the right approach in today's world. Have we considered or asknowledged that?

[Denny Crane]

I have 7, I promise you.

[SekShocker]

I did an internship in the baseball office and believe me it is not impossible to have a voice while working for Gene, they all had voices and they all let their opinions be known, whether Gene liked them or not. Granted I wasn't privy to all conversations but the ones I saw, they weren't afraid to voice any opinions and Gene seemed willing to listen.

[shockfan89]

I do wonder if having both Gene and JT is hurting us some. They are very similar and are both of the old-school mentality. I know we have discussed this in the past few years, but how well do today’s kids that have grown up in the politically correct, time-out world respond to this aggressive in your face approach? I think a younger coach might be able to relate more to today’s college athlete than the current hitting coaches.

Could Gene live with this change? Who knows? I think I would struggle very hard to relate to this generation of “no spanking, everything must be fair” kind of kids, but that may be the kind of person we need for recruiting and molding today’s college baseball players.

[DaShox]

Again the 1993 trip was not JT's. He may have been the coach then, but those weren't his players and those weren't his philosophies playing out.

Ah. So, does Hibbs get credit for us going two and bar-b-que in the 1992 CWS?

Or maybe those weren't his philosophies playing out. Yeah, that's the ticket!

[ShockerFever]

Ah. So, does Hibbs get credit for us going two and bar-b-que in the 1992 CWS?

That's correct.

He also gets credit for a 1989 title and a 1991 national runner-up.

Any more brain teasers?

[DaShox]

Yeah.

Does JT get credit for helping recruit Pat Magness? Does JT get credit for helping Magness hit .464?

How about Jeff Ryan? Jeff Ryan is #1 all time with an .882 slugging percentage.

How about Casey Blake and his 101 RBI in 1996?

How about Zach Sorensen? 14th all time in slugging.


How about you drop the ax for awhile?

[ShockerFever]

Can you not read or do you always post before your brain starts sputtering?

I admitted the mid to late 1990s was a good time for Shocker offense.

I wanna know what happened after the year 2000. Don't blame it on the switch over of aluminum bats. We shouldn't drop that dramatically just because of that because everyone had to deal with it.

[DaShox]

I wanna know what happened after the year 2000.

Of course you do. It's akin to our friends at Missouri State who believe the MVC began in 1991. Because looking at selected facts is a lot more fun than looking at the entire body of work.

[Denny Crane]

My theory: More athletes, less baseball players.

[rrshock]

My theory: More athletes, less baseball players.

Haertl was talking about that kinda this morning on Sports Daily. He said that WSU really doesn't have many that truly understand baseball. I think players might be recruited alot more on potential now than their actual baseball ability and knowledge.