Same old same old thing every year. It's pretty obvious Coach Rock has taken the program as far as he can take it. Rock has proven he can't recruit consistently at a high level. We should be retaining the big guns out of high school each year.

We need some new blood (new head coach) that can go out and sell the program's future versus what Rock is doing. Maybe he needs to go back to State and ride on the coat tales of that program. The Tiger baseball program could be one of the epic center's of college baseball with the right coach and approach.

Unfortunately, seems as if the administration is content with mediocrity. How many more years do we have to put up with this?

(05-25-2015 11:21 AM)jdock432 Wrote:  Good thing the guy we passed up for Rock is going for 3 straight trips to Omaha and his team is the #3 national seed! Nice job RC

Judging how average attendance is 600, I don't think the admin cares

(05-25-2015 02:20 PM)FranklinTNTiger Wrote:  The Tiger baseball program could be one of the epic center's of college baseball with the right coach and approach.

Why do you say that? What advantage do we have over such programs as Houston, ECU, Tulane and USF that would make that such a sure thing"? Our great fan support or the fact that the average temperature here is about 15 deg F colder than those places? Maybe being surrounded by such programs as Miss State, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Vanderbilt (that's a real plus). Schoenrock IS the right coach, in my opinion. The "right approach" would be to support him for a change.

It's the same story every time, if fans show up this team will magically turn into world beaters.
The overall number 1 national seed plays in the smallest park in the pac 12!! And are u seriously using temperature as a reason why we can't make a regional?? How desperate do you sound!! We passed on a guy who coaches at Louisville where it rains all the damn time and is colder there than it is here. He's been to Omaha back to back years and is about to probably go for three in a row.. Any more excuses?

It's college baseball....small time when compared to football or basketball in the current state of college athletics. The team has a small ardent fan base and more winning won't move the needle much in terms of attendance.

As an alum, I hope the team does well. But frankly I doubt most Memphians or Memphis alums care if the team doesn't make the NCAAs.

(05-25-2015 03:06 PM)fsquid Wrote:  Judging how average attendance is 600, I don't think the admin cares

...or the fans --- which comes first?

NOTE: Before an answer --- recall, money ain't exactly pouring out our ears.

The two series losses to Cincinnati and the way we lost to Houston was too much to over look. We stumbled leading into the Conference tournament.

(05-25-2015 07:34 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(05-25-2015 02:20 PM)FranklinTNTiger Wrote:  The Tiger baseball program could be one of the epic center's of college baseball with the right coach and approach.

Why do you say that? What advantage do we have over such programs as Houston, ECU, Tulane and USF that would make that such a sure thing"? Our great fan support or the fact that the average temperature here is about 15 deg F colder than those places? Maybe being surrounded by such programs as Miss State, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Vanderbilt (that's a real plus). Schoenrock IS the right coach, in my opinion. The "right approach" would be to support him for a change.

But you forget that the U of Maine used to be a baseball powerhouse and they had much worse weather than we have.

Have got to keep more and more talent at home.

He was not arguing that weather was the factor.

He was commenting that contrary to what is promoted here quite often, Memphis does not have certain advantages over other similar schools...one area we lack an advantage is weather.

There is a big difference...acknowledging that the temps in Tampa for example are nicer than Memphis versus stating that slightly cooler weather is the reason our team fell short of a regional.

It was close this season, but unfortunately short. Keep in mind that our other teams this season, football, likely will make a minor bowl, and basketball, will likely make the NCAA tourney, yet those results will bring grousing too.

With that, it has been nearly a decade since baseball qualified for the tourney, and I agree that that is too long. This is not a one year absence. Make or break next season.

The facilities and inconsistent access to top talent in area limit the Memphis baseball program.

(05-25-2015 07:45 PM)jdock432 Wrote:  It's the same story every time, if fans show up this team will magically turn into world beaters.

(1) Nice piece of exaggeration. Do you deny that larger stadiums and nice crowds are a recruiting plus?

(2) "The same story every time" is your simplistic thinking that if we replace the coach "this team will magically turn into world beaters".

Rock is an excellent coach - instead of bitching over narrowly missing the regionals, he should be praised for a fine season. Tom Bowen is smart enough to know that.

Did we make the NIT?

I love baseball, but its a luxury. It will never make money and our limited pool of funds need to be invested in the sports that will net the greatest return...football and basketball. We are so far behind in baseball, facilitywise, from area programs that its pointless to invest the millions needed when those dollars need to be funneled into football.

(05-25-2015 11:21 AM)jdock432 Wrote:  Good thing the guy we passed up for Rock is going for 3 straight trips to Omaha and his team is the #3 national seed! Nice job RC

You don't know for a fact that the coach at Louisville would have done any better here than Rock has (or that Rock would have done any worse than him at Louisville - they support their baseball team, you know).

(05-27-2015 11:31 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(05-25-2015 11:21 AM)jdock432 Wrote:  Good thing the guy we passed up for Rock is going for 3 straight trips to Omaha and his team is the #3 national seed! Nice job RC

You don't know for a fact that the coach at Louisville would have done any better here than Rock has (or that Rock would have done any worse than him at Louisville - they support their baseball team, you know).

I played baseball at Memphis. To say Louisville has always supported their baseball team is simply not true.

They supported it once it started winning, which coincides with 8 years ago. Now, they do have more money to pour into something to make it a winner. Maybe he demanded it, you never know.

Louisville hosting a regional, being a national seed, and making multiple appearances in Omaha would have been laughable 10 years ago.

From 1985-2007 their program won 550 games and lost 686. Since 2007, they have gone 400-179.

Let's not act like they were a power before 2007, they weren't.

In fact, they had only made one regional, in 2002, in their HISTORY.

Since he was hired, in 2007, they have made the regionals every year but one and have been to Omaha 3 times, most notably in his first year after he took over a 31-29 team.

(05-27-2015 11:31 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(05-25-2015 11:21 AM)jdock432 Wrote:  Good thing the guy we passed up for Rock is going for 3 straight trips to Omaha and his team is the #3 national seed! Nice job RC

You don't know for a fact that the coach at Louisville would have done any better here than Rock has (or that Rock would have done any worse than him at Louisville - they support their baseball team, you know).

There is tremendous support for baseball in the SEC but the fact remains even with the best support only a handful of teams sniff breakeven or a small profit. LSU can because it's much warmer there, along with Starkville. Arkansas often battles cold and snow in Feb and March but has the benefit of over twenty fully leased out suites and breaks even when the weather works out.

Former tiger, you are making way way too much sense here!! Thank you for your insight cause apparently mine doesn't help change someone's mind!!

(05-27-2015 11:55 AM)WaywardMemphian Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 11:31 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(05-25-2015 11:21 AM)jdock432 Wrote:  Good thing the guy we passed up for Rock is going for 3 straight trips to Omaha and his team is the #3 national seed! Nice job RC

You don't know for a fact that the coach at Louisville would have done any better here than Rock has (or that Rock would have done any worse than him at Louisville - they support their baseball team, you know).

There is tremendous support for baseball in the SEC but the fact remains even with the best support only a handful of teams sniff breakeven or a small profit. LSU can because it's much warmer there, along with Starkville. Arkansas often battles cold and snow in Feb and March but has the benefit of over twenty fully leased out suites and breaks even when the weather works out.

It's the travel costs and per diem for 25 players, 4 trainers and managers, and 4 coaches for 26 road games. It's going to be a loser, just depends on how much.

Even regional bus trips are expensive. Throw in upkeep for the facilities, recruiting budgets for the higher turnover on the roster, and you are starting in the hole, just depends on how much you want to dig yourself out of that hole.

Let's take Missouri St.

Here's a little school that's got themselves a National Seed. Many here expected an Arkansas that got off to a horrible start to get sent to Springfield for their regional but got sent to Okie ST. instead. They are thrilled to host and as a national seed at that. But here's the catch. They benefit from playing in an AA stadium, Hammons Field home the the Springfield (and little bro to AAA Memphis)Cardinals. If they win their regional, they'll lost the Super because the Cardinals have a series on Super weekend. They are faced with either going to Stoolwater or worse yet, if Arkansas wins as a #2 seed, Fayetteville and what will be hostile crowds of 12,000. It's the price you pay for benefitting from someone else's stadium but helps keep costs of a money loser down.

(05-27-2015 04:00 PM)WaywardMemphian Wrote:  Let's take Missouri St.

Here's a little school that's got themselves a National Seed.

Missouri State, (located in Springfield) an up and coming school with a 24,000 enrollment, had a good baseball team this year, and deserved their seed. Mercer, Canisius, Sacred Heart, Houston Baptist, Florida A&M, Lehigh and FIU, all of which have RPI's ranging from #120 to 232 (compared to our #68) did not. Do you think any of the latter would have made it if they played in the AAC? I don't.