the had a pre-season "event" at Foley for baseball fund donors on Saturday afternoon. It was a good time, hosted in the Press Club area at Foley Field, which marked the first time I've been up there. The team was wrapping up practice around the time the event started, and Stricklin came up and addressed the fans after practice wrapped up. Most of the team came up later on, as well.
Stricklin started off by saying how it was important that we elevate the talent level and discussing the latest recruiting class, which he states should be ranked in the top 5 nationally. I thought to myself "here we go... this is what every coach points toward when things aren't going well." But then, he motioned toward the field and said (I'm putting this in quotes, but it may not be exact... it's a very close paraphrase, though) "But we need to start seeing some results out there. And I get that and I feel that pressure. I've had a lot of nights staring at the ceiling fan thinking about that."
That marked the first time I've heard him acknowledge that the results are lacking and that he feels some pressure as a result. I've known that he has, I think anyone who observes the situation even casually can tell that. But Saturday was the first time he's put it out there, at least semi-publicly, and I think that's notable.
I've heard, but am still not sure, that there is an option in his contract after three. And frankly, as I stated here before, I think that a change at the end of last season would have been completely defensible. Obviously a change wasn't made, but the situation now going into year three dictates that we really need to start winning. There was a thread on the Dawgvent tonight that I regrettably waded into that started with "Kentucky basketball is everything that we aren't"... I don't think that the majority of Georgia baseball fans expect us to be LSU or Florida State, but that expectations are and should be that we do a little better than 2-13 in SEC home games in a season and don't finish lower than 10th place in the conference in consecutive years. It SHOULD be better than what it's been the past two seasons, and it was good to hear Stricklin accept that.
I saw that Josh Day is no longer on the roster. Of the 10 signees that we got onto campus from Stricklin's first signing class, only four are still with the program as sophomores, and two aren't starters. The attrition since June 2013 is staggering, and candidly, that attrition is really going to rear its head next year moreso than this year. When I took my first job out of college (with the same company I'm with now) I initially went to work in Seattle. The branch manager there was fairly new to that office too.... She was an "alpha female" and is well known around the company as a being a real hard ass. I didn't realize or acknowledge how much I learned from her until I came down here to our Atlanta office. Anyway, almost off of the staff under her left shortly after she took over... 10 people total, something like that. She told me one late one day that she was "not going to let those people run me off...." After that large number left, she hired all their replacements. Then most of THOSE people left too... And I thought "what are we left to conclude here?" (I do a different job than those people did, and I always thought that she was a poor manager, but a good teacher, if that makes sense). Here in Athens, I will tell you that internally there has always been an air of "wait until we get OUR guys in here." I think that some of the attrition from that first class is undermining the credibility of that "just wait" statement.
I don't mean this to become a "beat up Stricklin" post. The majority of times I hear him talk and the vast majority of times I watch practice I think to myself that "I really want to believe in this man, I REALLY want to." And Saturday didn't change that any, for me. I appreciate his candor. And all indications so far are that he's dialed back some of the negativity since last season. I hope that it continues. As far as I can tell, he has not handled adversity very well since he's been hired. Well, you can bet that we'll have some this spring. In 2004, our eventual Omaha team lost 19-4 at Clemson in a mid-week game and got swept at home by Tennessee and on the road by Vanderbilt. Our 2006 team dropped a home series to Tennessee and was swept at home by Ole Miss. Among the many things I vow to remember "as long as I live" was walking out of the stadium after that Ole Miss Sunday loss and someone had the post game show on the radio. Perno was talking and the fan with the radio said "Yeah, they're going to fire your ass in a few weeks." Of course, we got the ship righted in each case, and while they did eventually fire Perno's ass, it was several years later. Point is, even great teams go through some adversity. How they respond to it determines their ultimate fate. We need to get better at responding to those tough games or tough stretches.
As for the other part of the deal Saturday, it really drove home just how likable our team and program is.... And it's been like that for quite awhile. Stricklin stated that "if you have a daughter and she comes home with Stephen Wrenn or Robert Tyler or Connor Jones, you're thinking 'yes!'" I don't have any daughters (or sons), but I couldn't agree more. The overwhelming majority of players that I've met over the years are just so impressive in how they carry themselves... These guys are so much more mature than I was at 18-22. I remember thinking that about Sean McLaughlin, specifically.... I got a chance to chat with him more a few minutes at the hotel in Statesboro in 2013. I couldn't believe how well he presented himself for an 18 year old guy.... Then, by a very random chance, I ran into him at the 755 Club at Turner Field last June the day that he was there to sign with the Braves. Thought the same thing then. I can't think of a single player with whom I've had a conversation over the years who made me think anything other than "that's a good guy." Saturday was no exception, though I guess I didn't really meet anyone new.
I brought Miss RedRain to the event with me... that was the first time she's done a Georgia baseball thing with me in the 6 months or so that we've been together, and she's not a Georgia fan to boot. She told me on the ride back that she thought that Trevor Kieboom and Mike Mancuso were coaches, just for how big they were and how old they looked, and how well Mike spoke (we didn't talk individually to Kieboom).... It was really neat overall. I got to chat with a couple of players, including Daniel Nichols, about that Missouri Friday night game two years ago, and remember talking to Nichols about how he stretched the single into a double that ignited our rally in extras. All the players talked about how cold it was out there.... and their own memories of it sound very similar to mine and everyone else in the stands. That was cool.... Like who would have thought a few years ago that a Friday night game in Columbia, Missouri would ever enter the "lore" of Georgia baseball? But it's still one of the most memorable parts of that 2014 season, and I was glad to see that was the case for the players too.... I guess I wind up saying this more about football than baseball, but I'm very fond of pointing out that most of us work inside, under recycled air and florescent lighting all week long and that there's nothing wrong with being in the elements to see a game played by our alma mater (I stole that thought from Tim Green in his book about professional football entitled "The Dark Side of the NFL")... Nobody likes being cold, but that Missouri game really sticks to me because of the weather, and I'm sure that's the the case for anyone else who was there....
I'm just glad that we're going to Missouri in May this season.... But man, Florida and Vanderbilt are really tough road series in back to back weekends.... With my own schedule, I don't know that I can make it to Vandy this year, but I should be able to make all the other road weekends.... Vanderbilt just amuses me with what they are. I was there for football this past September. We won by two scores and didn't feel very good about it.... And this year in baseball , I think we'd all feel great if we just took one game, even if the other two were blowouts. Vanderbilt was hosting a baseball recruiting weekend at that same time as the football game and a number (if not all) their visiting prospects were staying at the Holiday Inn right beside the football stadium (where I was staying for that weekend).... Good heavens those guys were built.... They're going to comprise a banner class, I'm sure, for Vanderbilt baseball, and the Commodores will only get better and deeper on the diamond. Between what those guys do, what Florida does, and what South Carolina can sell, is there any doubt that the SEC East is the toughest division in the entire NCAA when it comes to baseball?
At any rate, maybe this is the best time of the year, the hopeful, optimistic time.... Or maybe late early/ early May is that, when things are really starting to come to focus... Either way, I think you'll have a hard time saying that right now stinks.... We got a full baseball season in a week and a half.... And regardless of where the national outfits have picked us, if you have a pulse, it's pretty damn exciting....
Stricklin started off by saying how it was important that we elevate the talent level and discussing the latest recruiting class, which he states should be ranked in the top 5 nationally. I thought to myself "here we go... this is what every coach points toward when things aren't going well." But then, he motioned toward the field and said (I'm putting this in quotes, but it may not be exact... it's a very close paraphrase, though) "But we need to start seeing some results out there. And I get that and I feel that pressure. I've had a lot of nights staring at the ceiling fan thinking about that."
That marked the first time I've heard him acknowledge that the results are lacking and that he feels some pressure as a result. I've known that he has, I think anyone who observes the situation even casually can tell that. But Saturday was the first time he's put it out there, at least semi-publicly, and I think that's notable.
I've heard, but am still not sure, that there is an option in his contract after three. And frankly, as I stated here before, I think that a change at the end of last season would have been completely defensible. Obviously a change wasn't made, but the situation now going into year three dictates that we really need to start winning. There was a thread on the Dawgvent tonight that I regrettably waded into that started with "Kentucky basketball is everything that we aren't"... I don't think that the majority of Georgia baseball fans expect us to be LSU or Florida State, but that expectations are and should be that we do a little better than 2-13 in SEC home games in a season and don't finish lower than 10th place in the conference in consecutive years. It SHOULD be better than what it's been the past two seasons, and it was good to hear Stricklin accept that.
I saw that Josh Day is no longer on the roster. Of the 10 signees that we got onto campus from Stricklin's first signing class, only four are still with the program as sophomores, and two aren't starters. The attrition since June 2013 is staggering, and candidly, that attrition is really going to rear its head next year moreso than this year. When I took my first job out of college (with the same company I'm with now) I initially went to work in Seattle. The branch manager there was fairly new to that office too.... She was an "alpha female" and is well known around the company as a being a real hard ass. I didn't realize or acknowledge how much I learned from her until I came down here to our Atlanta office. Anyway, almost off of the staff under her left shortly after she took over... 10 people total, something like that. She told me one late one day that she was "not going to let those people run me off...." After that large number left, she hired all their replacements. Then most of THOSE people left too... And I thought "what are we left to conclude here?" (I do a different job than those people did, and I always thought that she was a poor manager, but a good teacher, if that makes sense). Here in Athens, I will tell you that internally there has always been an air of "wait until we get OUR guys in here." I think that some of the attrition from that first class is undermining the credibility of that "just wait" statement.
I don't mean this to become a "beat up Stricklin" post. The majority of times I hear him talk and the vast majority of times I watch practice I think to myself that "I really want to believe in this man, I REALLY want to." And Saturday didn't change that any, for me. I appreciate his candor. And all indications so far are that he's dialed back some of the negativity since last season. I hope that it continues. As far as I can tell, he has not handled adversity very well since he's been hired. Well, you can bet that we'll have some this spring. In 2004, our eventual Omaha team lost 19-4 at Clemson in a mid-week game and got swept at home by Tennessee and on the road by Vanderbilt. Our 2006 team dropped a home series to Tennessee and was swept at home by Ole Miss. Among the many things I vow to remember "as long as I live" was walking out of the stadium after that Ole Miss Sunday loss and someone had the post game show on the radio. Perno was talking and the fan with the radio said "Yeah, they're going to fire your ass in a few weeks." Of course, we got the ship righted in each case, and while they did eventually fire Perno's ass, it was several years later. Point is, even great teams go through some adversity. How they respond to it determines their ultimate fate. We need to get better at responding to those tough games or tough stretches.
As for the other part of the deal Saturday, it really drove home just how likable our team and program is.... And it's been like that for quite awhile. Stricklin stated that "if you have a daughter and she comes home with Stephen Wrenn or Robert Tyler or Connor Jones, you're thinking 'yes!'" I don't have any daughters (or sons), but I couldn't agree more. The overwhelming majority of players that I've met over the years are just so impressive in how they carry themselves... These guys are so much more mature than I was at 18-22. I remember thinking that about Sean McLaughlin, specifically.... I got a chance to chat with him more a few minutes at the hotel in Statesboro in 2013. I couldn't believe how well he presented himself for an 18 year old guy.... Then, by a very random chance, I ran into him at the 755 Club at Turner Field last June the day that he was there to sign with the Braves. Thought the same thing then. I can't think of a single player with whom I've had a conversation over the years who made me think anything other than "that's a good guy." Saturday was no exception, though I guess I didn't really meet anyone new.
I brought Miss RedRain to the event with me... that was the first time she's done a Georgia baseball thing with me in the 6 months or so that we've been together, and she's not a Georgia fan to boot. She told me on the ride back that she thought that Trevor Kieboom and Mike Mancuso were coaches, just for how big they were and how old they looked, and how well Mike spoke (we didn't talk individually to Kieboom).... It was really neat overall. I got to chat with a couple of players, including Daniel Nichols, about that Missouri Friday night game two years ago, and remember talking to Nichols about how he stretched the single into a double that ignited our rally in extras. All the players talked about how cold it was out there.... and their own memories of it sound very similar to mine and everyone else in the stands. That was cool.... Like who would have thought a few years ago that a Friday night game in Columbia, Missouri would ever enter the "lore" of Georgia baseball? But it's still one of the most memorable parts of that 2014 season, and I was glad to see that was the case for the players too.... I guess I wind up saying this more about football than baseball, but I'm very fond of pointing out that most of us work inside, under recycled air and florescent lighting all week long and that there's nothing wrong with being in the elements to see a game played by our alma mater (I stole that thought from Tim Green in his book about professional football entitled "The Dark Side of the NFL")... Nobody likes being cold, but that Missouri game really sticks to me because of the weather, and I'm sure that's the the case for anyone else who was there....
I'm just glad that we're going to Missouri in May this season.... But man, Florida and Vanderbilt are really tough road series in back to back weekends.... With my own schedule, I don't know that I can make it to Vandy this year, but I should be able to make all the other road weekends.... Vanderbilt just amuses me with what they are. I was there for football this past September. We won by two scores and didn't feel very good about it.... And this year in baseball , I think we'd all feel great if we just took one game, even if the other two were blowouts. Vanderbilt was hosting a baseball recruiting weekend at that same time as the football game and a number (if not all) their visiting prospects were staying at the Holiday Inn right beside the football stadium (where I was staying for that weekend).... Good heavens those guys were built.... They're going to comprise a banner class, I'm sure, for Vanderbilt baseball, and the Commodores will only get better and deeper on the diamond. Between what those guys do, what Florida does, and what South Carolina can sell, is there any doubt that the SEC East is the toughest division in the entire NCAA when it comes to baseball?
At any rate, maybe this is the best time of the year, the hopeful, optimistic time.... Or maybe late early/ early May is that, when things are really starting to come to focus... Either way, I think you'll have a hard time saying that right now stinks.... We got a full baseball season in a week and a half.... And regardless of where the national outfits have picked us, if you have a pulse, it's pretty damn exciting....
