New Record for Gene!!!

[SekShocker]

By all accounts the last couple of recruiting classes that the staff has put together have been pretty highly ranked. So it looks like they can still recruit.

[engrshock]

Josh Rosecrans As a senior, hit .434 with 16 home runs and 69 RBI.
Remington Johnson During senior year, hit .519 with 23 RBI and 15 stolen bases...Hit .480 as a junior.
Ryan Engrav In 2007, hit .425 with 11 home runs, 36 RBI, 14 doubles, 35 runs and had a .814 slugging percentage.
Grant Muncrief .In 2007, hit .480 with 36 hits, eight doubles, five triples, four home runs and 30 RBI.
Mike Wiliams Hit .422 with 92 hits, 19 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBI...Broke the school record in batting average and hits in a single season.
Cody Lassley In 2005, hit .492 with four home runs, three triples and 12 doubles
Clinton McKeever During senior year, batted .447 with 53 hits, eight doubles, five triples, six home runs and 43 RBI
Tyler Grimes .During senior season, batted .576 with eight home runs
Justin Kemp In 2007, hit .534 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI.

Granted these numbers were against high school pitching but these are impressive numbers. McKeever is still hitting. Grimes and Rosecrans are hanging in there. The others have seen major drops or are not seen at all. I believe the skill is there and it is a lack of confidence. Some of the pitchers seem to have very good batting numbers. Why not give them a chance?

[SHOCKvalue]

Teams have down years it happens, it just hadn't happened to the Shox until this year. LSU misses the tournament in 2006 & 2007 has a great recruiting class and makes the CWS in 2008. In 2007 they go 29-26-1.

I know we live in a what have you done for me this second world, but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can get back to where we all expect us to be, and I firmly believe Gene and his staff can get us there, this season sucks and is frustrating but to think it is the total demise of the program to me is a little silly.

Man I tried to make this point a couple times this year citing Oregon State and Fresno State over the last couple years and got ripped for it. Glad to see someone can reach some of these "realists" because I sure can't. Very nice post to put things in perspective. I couldn't agree with you more.

Hell look down 21st Street to Koch Arena. Young team took some lumps early in the season, got a little streak, won a game in the CBI and everyone can't wait until next year, and Coach Marshall is awesome, and he has won exactly one game in the postseason and that was in the CBI. Don't get me wrong I love Coach Marshall and the basketball program and see big things in the future, but if had taken us to back to back sweet 16's and then had an off year after say losing 4 of 5 starters from the previous years team, everyone would be like owe it just a down year and we need to cut him some slack. Is it all because Gene is not considered to be a "nice" guy, or people just plain don't like him, I just don't understand the double standard, especially with what Gene has done and will do for our university.

It seems like some of us have to make this argument for Gene and the baseball program every year.

Sek,

I'm on board with your more positive perspective concerning the long-term direction of the baseball program, and my recent posts state as much, however I'll have to disagree with you on the above "expectations" analogy.

Our baseball and basketball programs might live, eat, and work within mere blocks of one another, but they are miles apart when it comes to respective elevations in their individual sports.

-In basketball, unfortunately, we are a "mid-major". Sure, we have fantastic fan support and attendance, a decent budget by national standards, and a well-built yet small-ish facility, but the step down from the big boys is very notable. Almost night and day, no matter how much we want to admit it.

-In baseball, there really are no mid-majors, and while we may no longer be a Kentucky, North Carolina, or Kansas of the college baseball world, we're still top notch when it comes to the same assets as listed above with the basketball program. Results should be anticipated to be fairly high with WSU baseball, because we are one of the 15-20 "big dogs" of the sport. As long as the spending on Gene, his staff, Eck Stadium, and the program in general is in the top 5% of the nation, proportional expectations will follow.

Long story short- analogies between the expectations and historical success of our basketball and baseball programs should be made sparingly.

[SekShocker]

Teams have down years it happens, it just hadn't happened to the Shox until this year. LSU misses the tournament in 2006 & 2007 has a great recruiting class and makes the CWS in 2008. In 2007 they go 29-26-1.

I know we live in a what have you done for me this second world, but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can get back to where we all expect us to be, and I firmly believe Gene and his staff can get us there, this season sucks and is frustrating but to think it is the total demise of the program to me is a little silly.

Man I tried to make this point a couple times this year citing Oregon State and Fresno State over the last couple years and got ripped for it. Glad to see someone can reach some of these "realists" because I sure can't. Very nice post to put things in perspective. I couldn't agree with you more.

Hell look down 21st Street to Koch Arena. Young team took some lumps early in the season, got a little streak, won a game in the CBI and everyone can't wait until next year, and Coach Marshall is awesome, and he has won exactly one game in the postseason and that was in the CBI. Don't get me wrong I love Coach Marshall and the basketball program and see big things in the future, but if had taken us to back to back sweet 16's and then had an off year after say losing 4 of 5 starters from the previous years team, everyone would be like owe it just a down year and we need to cut him some slack. Is it all because Gene is not considered to be a "nice" guy, or people just plain don't like him, I just don't understand the double standard, especially with what Gene has done and will do for our university.

It seems like some of us have to make this argument for Gene and the baseball program every year.

Sek,

I'm on board with your more positive perspective concerning the long-term direction of the baseball program, and my recent posts state as much, however I'll have to disagree with you on the above "expectations" analogy.

Our baseball and basketball programs might live, eat, and work within mere blocks of one another, but they are miles apart when it comes to respective elevations in their individual sports.

-In basketball, unfortunately, we are a "mid-major". Sure, we have fantastic fan support and attendance, a decent budget by national standards, and a well-built yet small-ish facility, but the step down from the big boys is very notable. Almost night and day, no matter how much we want to admit it.

-In baseball, there really are no mid-majors, and while we may no longer be a Kentucky, North Carolina, or Kansas of the college baseball world, we're still top notch when it comes to the same assets as listed above with the basketball program. Results should be anticipated to be fairly high with WSU baseball, because we are one of the 15-20 "big dogs" of the sport. As long as the spending on Gene, his staff, Eck Stadium, and the program in general is in the top 5% of the nation, proportional expectations will follow.

Long story short- analogies between the expectations and historical success of our basketball and baseball programs should be made sparingly.

Excellent points and dually noted. I should not have gone down that road.

[jdmee]

-In baseball, there really are no mid-majors, and while we may no longer be a Kentucky, North Carolina, or Kansas of the college baseball world, we're still top notch when it comes to the same assets as listed above with the basketball program.

And in Gene years here at WSU each one of those programs have had more than one bad season with a losing record.

[ShockerFever]

Teams have down years it happens, it just hadn't happened to the Shox until this year. LSU misses the tournament in 2006 & 2007 has a great recruiting class and makes the CWS in 2008. In 2007 they go 29-26-1.

I know we live in a what have you done for me this second world, but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can get back to where we all expect us to be, and I firmly believe Gene and his staff can get us there, this season sucks and is frustrating but to think it is the total demise of the program to me is a little silly.

Man I tried to make this point a couple times this year citing Oregon State and Fresno State over the last couple years and got ripped for it. Glad to see someone can reach some of these "realists" because I sure can't. Very nice post to put things in perspective. I couldn't agree with you more.

You thinking we could pull a "Fresno State" is not the same thing Sek was saying. Sorry.

[ShockerFever]

I am going to try and take the, "At least we have a lot of people who care enough to piss and moan about it" as opposed to no one caring or this season being business as usual, approach. It is just all the "It is time for Gene to go" stuff that really gets under my skin, that clown on the Eagle site, who's only response to everything is: Time to promote Kemnitz and time for Geno to go, is the worst.

Don't let that ignorant fool get to ya. He's not even a WSU fan. His sole mission on Kansas.com is to hate on WSU. He's not very good at making coherent points and usually has more spelling/grammar errors than functional sentences.

He's a nobody.

[BOBB]

I don't think I'm saying we won't be good again. I am saying that we haven't hit anywhere near the level of our pitching in a LONG time. We can still recruit big time arms, so we can't we recruit decent hitters?

[shocker3]

Teams have down years it happens, it just hadn't happened to the Shox until this year. LSU misses the tournament in 2006 & 2007 has a great recruiting class and makes the CWS in 2008. In 2007 they go 29-26-1.

I know we live in a what have you done for me this second world, but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can get back to where we all expect us to be, and I firmly believe Gene and his staff can get us there, this season sucks and is frustrating but to think it is the total demise of the program to me is a little silly.

Man I tried to make this point a couple times this year citing Oregon State and Fresno State over the last couple years and got ripped for it. Glad to see someone can reach some of these "realists" because I sure can't. Very nice post to put things in perspective. I couldn't agree with you more.

Hell look down 21st Street to Koch Arena. Young team took some lumps early in the season, got a little streak, won a game in the CBI and everyone can't wait until next year, and Coach Marshall is awesome, and he has won exactly one game in the postseason and that was in the CBI. Don't get me wrong I love Coach Marshall and the basketball program and see big things in the future, but if had taken us to back to back sweet 16's and then had an off year after say losing 4 of 5 starters from the previous years team, everyone would be like owe it just a down year and we need to cut him some slack. Is it all because Gene is not considered to be a "nice" guy, or people just plain don't like him, I just don't understand the double standard, especially with what Gene has done and will do for our university.

It seems like some of us have to make this argument for Gene and the baseball program every year.

Sek,

I'm on board with your more positive perspective concerning the long-term direction of the baseball program, and my recent posts state as much, however I'll have to disagree with you on the above "expectations" analogy.

Our baseball and basketball programs might live, eat, and work within mere blocks of one another, but they are miles apart when it comes to respective elevations in their individual sports.

-In basketball, unfortunately, we are a "mid-major". Sure, we have fantastic fan support and attendance, a decent budget by national standards, and a well-built yet small-ish facility, but the step down from the big boys is very notable. Almost night and day, no matter how much we want to admit it.

-In baseball, there really are no mid-majors, and while we may no longer be a Kentucky, North Carolina, or Kansas of the college baseball world, we're still top notch when it comes to the same assets as listed above with the basketball program. Results should be anticipated to be fairly high with WSU baseball, because we are one of the 15-20 "big dogs" of the sport. As long as the spending on Gene, his staff, Eck Stadium, and the program in general is in the top 5% of the nation, proportional expectations will follow.

Long story short- analogies between the expectations and historical success of our basketball and baseball programs should be made sparingly.

Even though our coaches do a great job recruiting, our recruiting budget is very small and a far cry from the top 5% in the country.

:posterwu: