How do you feel about the status of the program?

bamamick said:

I have read several posts on other sites with people saying we hired the wrong guy, were not making any progress, and had a waste of a baseball program. One guy even said the Joe wasn't up to standard as an SEC facility. Personally I disagree with every bit of that. I think we are making solid progress, and from where we have been that's all I have hope of. We have some very knowledgeable baseball people here. How do you feel about it?

rtr

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I have been pretty close to baseball over the years watching Florida State and the Community College programs on the coast close up and realize that Alabama has a long way to go to develop a baseball culture that will bring in the type of talent needed to compete in the SEC. My involvement is out of date now but I see that Mississippi State has just completed a World Class baseball facility and has a strong fan base which is what it takes to bring in the talent necessary to aspire to go to Omaha. It appears to me that Bohannon knows quite well what is required to compete in the SEC. When you get right down to it a couple of weekend starters, a a few good arms in the bull pen and a number three hitter with some pop can make a big difference to get the team to Hoover as a first step. Realistically though there are a number of programs in the southeast that are miles ahead and Bama has to make a big culture change to compete on a regular basis. FWIW.

bamamick said:

But it CAN happen. Jim was the 2nd most successful coach in SEC history based upon winning percentage, and that wasn't that long ago. Bohannon knows talent as well as anyone in baseball, and he will go after every player he believes can help our program. Hopefully he will get a fair share and we will continue to inch our way up the totem pole. I believe we will.

Speaking of FSU, I went down there for a regional a couple of years ago. I had on a Bama baseball cap and a couple of FSU fans came by to talk. They asked me how many regionals we had been to and I said I wasn't sure but I thought it was 22,23. My gosh, but FSU has been to something like 50 regionals in their history. Talk about a successful program. Hopefully we can get back on track towards achieving that kind of success one day.

rtr

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I agree that Bohannon can clearly identify the talent required to get to the next level getting them to Tuscaloosa is the next challenge. The University must get serious about facilities for baseball and basketball to be viewed as a top tier program. Greg Byrne appears to me to be a big step in the right direction.

I came to know Jamie Shouppe , then Florida State recruiter and pitching coach, when our sons played youth baseball together in Tallahassee. Subsequently we went back to a Mike Martin camp and to an Alabama camp as well. Based on playing in Alabama and Florida it just appears to me that there are a lot more athletes playing baseball year round in Florida than here in Alabama. Having said that the FSU teams of that era could never compete well against teams like LSU once they made it to Omaha.

I have not been to the Joe since the upgrades but I have seen thoughts of others that said it really improved the park. But I would agree that the park is still probably not on the same level as many of the others parks around the conference. As far as coaching Bohannon is definitely the best coach we have had since Wells period. Mitch won Wells guys but after the Wells guys started graduating it was really clear that the program was on a downward spiral. Bringing in Goff for his 1 year almost ruined the program in my opinion and set the program back for several years. Bohannon is having to dig out of the tremendous hole Bama was in and is doing a good job at it. No Bama is still not on the same level as most of the other conference members but they are getting there. This team should have a good many returning players next season and I really think they can make noise next season. Making the regionals is still not out of the question this season although with the upcoming schedule it may be a tough task. So bottom line I like the direction the program is headed.

I am extremely optimistic of how the program is progressing. We are getting better but with the incredible teams in the SEC it is going to be tough to get to .500 in league play. But I think we all can see how much better this team is in many facets of the game than the last several teams we have fielded.

I'm happy with things so far, Bohannon has done a good job with what he was given. I like the new Joe and we can only go up from here, of course it sucks trying to "get better" in the SEC but we will get there I think.

As someone else said, we don’t have the arms to compete. No disrespect to Finnerty but, he is NOT a Friday night starter. He would be a mid-week starter on almost every other SEC team. Bohanan inherited a dumpster fire and has had to basically rebuild relationships with HS coaches to even get on their campuses.

That said, I do think he is going to have to qualify for the SEC tourney and make a Regional next year or Byrne may need to make a change. The “I inherited a mess” card only works for a while.

In regards to The Joe, Battle put a bandaid on it at best. It is still a bottom 4 ballpark in the SEC and bottom 30% in America. If Byrne were serious about baseball and basketball he’d make the hard call to move both teams games off campus starting after their respective seasons end next spring and bulldoze both facilities and replace them with brand new state of the art homes. Even if you had to spend 2 seasons off campus, it would be worth it.

WylieTexasTider said:

In regards to The Joe, Battle put a bandaid on it at best. It is still a bottom 4 ballpark in the SEC and bottom 30% in America. If Byrne were serious about baseball and basketball he’d make the hard call to move both teams games off campus starting after their respective seasons end next spring and bulldoze both facilities and replace them with brand new state of the art homes. Even if you had to spend 2 billion dollars, it would be worth it.

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All we have to do is find those $2B!

(Won't comment on the mess Coach Goof left. I don't want to be upset on this day.)

They just spent 40 million on the ballpark and it is very nice. The problem is we let the baseball program fall back down. Jim Wells built a very good program and he and Gaspard also let it slide and most SEC programs passed us. The SEC is not a conference you want to fall behind in with football or baseball. If we were in a different conference, the results would look at lot better. I mean, we are playing Top 25 teams every weekend except South Carolina. 10 SEC wins are about the most you might get this year. We'll make Hoover if we do that. Probably 2 solid recruiting classes away from being competitive.

Underclassman to build around....TJ Reeves, Drew Williamson, Dylan Smith, Tyler Ras, Sam Praytor, Chase Lee, Tyler Gentry. You never know what juniors will return. We are losing Holcombe, Breaux, Randolph, Finnerty as seniors.

We are finally winning the midweek games against teams like UAB and Sanford and even the before conference slate game in Montgomery against Auburn this year. It has been years since we've even done that with any kind of consistency. We had to start there and bring in some more talent for next year. Seeing the divide against a team as good as MS State was evident this weekend, but I feel good about the progress being made with this coaching staff and effort of the players so far.

Here’s the future. My little guy is second in on the left side




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Have you even been to a game at the new Joe? It is not in the bottom 30 percent nationally. That is borderline ridiculous. To suggest that a new $45 million facility should be bulldozed is beyond comical. It is a very nice facility.

WylieTexasTider said:

As someone else said, we don’t have the arms to compete. No disrespect to Finnerty but, he is NOT a Friday night starter. He would be a mid-week starter on almost every other SEC team. Bohanan inherited a dumpster fire and has had to basically rebuild relationships with HS coaches to even get on their campuses.

That said, I do think he is going to have to qualify for the SEC tourney and make a Regional next year or Byrne may need to make a change. The “I inherited a mess” card only works for a while.

In regards to The Joe, Battle put a bandaid on it at best. It is still a bottom 4 ballpark in the SEC and bottom 30% in America. If Byrne were serious about baseball and basketball he’d make the hard call to move both teams games off campus starting after their respective seasons end next spring and bulldoze both facilities and replace them with brand new state of the art homes. Even if you had to spend 2 seasons off campus, it would be worth it.

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My 7 year old in an 8 year to 9 year old game yesterday


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ptw1961 said:

Have you even been to a game at the new Joe? It is not in the bottom 30 percent nationally. That is borderline ridiculous. To suggest that a new $45 million facility should be bulldozed is beyond comical. It is a very nice facility.

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I’ve been to several the past 2 years and will be at several more this year. I have been in the locker room, seen the meeting areas, indoor cage, got to hit in there and more. The upgrade moved us forward however, we are still in the bottom of the SEC. Kentucky just spent 50% more than we did on a new stadium.

Once Florida completes their new stadium in 2020, Florida, LSU, Miss St, aTm, Auburn, Arkansas, USC, Ole Miss, Kentucky, TN and UGA will all be ahead of us in facilities. We will be ahead of only Vandy and Mizzou.

As we continue to lose SEC series as frequently as most change their underwear, I am beginning to question if we have the correct coach. We are likely to have fewer SEC wins this year than last year. (The schedule has a part in that) Next year he will have to approach .500 in conference and make a regional or Byrne will have a tough choice.

WylieTexasTider said:

I’ve been to several the past 2 years and will be at several more this year. I have been in the locker room, seen the meeting areas, indoor cage, got to hit in there and more. The upgrade moved us forward however, we are still in the bottom of the SEC. Kentucky just spent 50% more than we did on a new stadium.

Once Florida completes their new stadium in 2020, Florida, LSU, Miss St, aTm, Auburn, Arkansas, USC, Ole Miss, Kentucky, TN and UGA will all be ahead of us in facilities. We will be ahead of only Vandy and Mizzou.

As we continue to lose SEC series as frequently as most change their underwear, I am beginning to question if we have the correct coach. We are likely to have fewer SEC wins this year than last year. (The schedule has a part in that) Next year he will have to approach .500 in conference and make a regional or Byrne will have a tough choice.

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Hey Wiley, WHY DON'T YOU GO AND COACH THE TEAM TO SEE IF YOU CAN DO BETTER? COACH "BO" IS A GOOD COACH AND NEEDS TIME TO RECRUIT. GIVE ME A BREAK! WE ARE ALREADY IN A HOLE SINCE COACH GOFF AND COACH BOHANNON WAS LEFT WITH A MESS TO CLEAN UP! COACH "BO" IS THE RIGHT COACH FOR THIS PROGRAM RIGHT NOW!

Coach Bo has 5 years to fix this train wreck of a program. And he should have.

WylieTexasTider said:

I’ve been to several the past 2 years and will be at several more this year. I have been in the locker room, seen the meeting areas, indoor cage, got to hit in there and more. The upgrade moved us forward however, we are still in the bottom of the SEC. Kentucky just spent 50% more than we did on a new stadium.

Once Florida completes their new stadium in 2020, Florida, LSU, Miss St, aTm, Auburn, Arkansas, USC, Ole Miss, Kentucky, TN and UGA will all be ahead of us in facilities. We will be ahead of only Vandy and Mizzou.

As we continue to lose SEC series as frequently as most change their underwear, I am beginning to question if we have the correct coach. We are likely to have fewer SEC wins this year than last year. (The schedule has a part in that) Next year he will have to approach .500 in conference and make a regional or Byrne will have a tough choice.

Click to expand...