2023 Texas Baseball

[Valmy77 13,626]

I also loved that story Augie used to tell about Gus. The very first Fullerton team he took to Omaha was in 1975 and in the opening press conference Gus was going on about all the struggles his team had overcome during the season. How they had slumped at one point  and how proud he was how this team which was lacking in some ways had fought back and made it to Omaha. Augie was listening to this and thinking "wow what kind of crazy season did these guys have?" and when he got back to the hotel and took out the media guide and saw that Texas was 52-5. Oh right you guys are sure scrappy underdogs Gus.

[Fletch 5,817]

2 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Two observations on Allen’s move:

1) He’s not the pitching coach as it looks like Ohio State already hired one. Seems like he was brought there to recruit.

2) Not a knock on Ohio State, but you would think someone who was named “D1 assistant coach of the year” could do a little better than a Big Ten school. Maybe he’s just a weird fit on most staffs since he’s not really a pitching coach or hitting coach at this point. Biggest asset is recruiting and I’m wondering if that’s hindered a little bit by being at a school like Ohio State. Going to have a tough time coming down south and getting kids to go up there.

I bet Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Maryland stepping up their game in baseball has gotten Ohio state to wake the fuck up there. Shit even northwestern and Purdue are slowly turning into salty little programs. The big 10 has hired some salty ass coaches the last few years 

[Fletch 5,817]

5 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

I also loved that story Augie used to tell about Gus. The very first Fullerton team he took to Omaha was in 1975 and in the opening press conference Gus was going on about all the struggles his team had overcome during the season. How they had slumped at one point  and how proud he was how this team which was lacking in some ways had fought back and made it to Omaha. Augie was listening to this and thinking "wow what kind of crazy season did these guys have?" and when he got back to the hotel and took out the media guide and saw that Texas was 52-5. Oh right you guys are sure scrappy underdogs Gus.

That sounds about right. God I miss Augie. Has Harmon been hanging around the program at all? Been loving Gus and his players and the Augie studs coming back and hanging with the program. Would love to have Harmon around the disch with these guys 

[Rholl 220]

Someone help the ignorant here.... Tulo left for presumably the USC job.... but then didnt get it, so can/will Tulo come back???    Apologies if this was covered but drunk so o well!

[shadow_operative2.0 16,270]

He’s not coming back, gonna be a ‘consultant’ for awhile. 

[Rholl 220]

 Thanks

Edited July 8, 2022 by Rholl

[Cajun 11,777]

4 hours ago, BillyGoatHill said:

@Valmy77 pretty much covered it.

He was very deliberate in everything he did.

 

Best description of Gus I’ve ever read.

Hat tip

Edited July 8, 2022 by Cajun

[Hookem2147 22,033]

 

[Texas Wahoo 3,631]

It looks like those who thought Tulo got tired of the grind might have been right:

 

 

[txhorns 2,421]

2 minutes ago, Texas Wahoo said:

It looks like those who thought Tulo got tired of the grind might have been right:

 

 

Well he does have a baby on the way

[ClubWhatever 12,309]

Undefeated.  Spending a weekend in Manhattan, KS does not earn you points. 

[Hookem2147 22,033]

Just listened to the full interview and Pierce said some good stuff. Said he looked back at the end of the season and only had 3-4 pitchers he truly trusted. He was frustrated at where guys arms were at towards the end of the season and felt like too many guys stagnated.

Talked about how difficult it was to let go of Allen because of the personal relationship they have, but he said he has to do what is right for the University of Texas.

[jimmyjazz 47,203]

He also said USC offered Tulo the job, which doesn't jibe with the theory that USC requires a college degree to hold a "teaching" position.  Did I hear that wrong?  (Yes, I understand USC is a private school, but they were said to have similar hiring practices to most public universities.)  

[Fletch 5,817]

1 hour ago, Texas Wahoo said:

It looks like those who thought Tulo got tired of the grind might have been right:

 

 

Awesome. Basically an assistant without being on the payroll. 

[Hookem2147 22,033]

Tulo hates Pierce so much he’s still going to come back and help the team for free!!!! Unbelievable!!

[txhorns 2,421]

12 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Tulo hates Pierce so much he’s still going to come back and help the team for free!!!! Unbelievable!!

He was already helping for free.

[Hookem2147 22,033]

4 minutes ago, txhorns said:

He was already helping for free.

The volunteer assistant gets paid (through camps and what not). What he’s going to do next year is truly a volunteer role since he’s not on staff.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Hookem2147

[Fletch 5,817]

17 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Tulo hates Pierce so much he’s still going to come back and help the team for free!!!! Unbelievable!!

Even Pierces dog hates him. Dude is just toxic. Good thing we made the CWS 3 of the last 4 years in spite of him. Phil Haig and Sean Allen were the true brains there 

[66BUFF 2,608]

1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

The volunteer assistant gets paid (through camps and what not). What he’s going to do next year is truly a volunteer role since he’s not on staff.

I really doubt Tulo was running camps and giving lessons for some extra $$

[dcar00 14,971]

1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

The volunteer assistant gets paid (through camps and what not). What he’s going to do next year is truly a volunteer role since he’s not on staff.

He's gonna be "Handwork King"

[Hookem2147 22,033]

2 minutes ago, 66BUFF said:

I really doubt Tulo was running camps and giving lessons for some extra $$

He wasn't, but that's the loophole of how volunteer assistants get paid at all schools. They get a large chunk of the money brought in through camps. But as we've all discussed before, Tulo doesn't need the money. The fact he's still going to hang around next year and help out despite not officially being on staff is just another laughable data point for all the people who claim that he hates Pierce.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Hookem2147

[jimmyjazz 47,203]

Pierce would have to be a total Jekyll & Hyde kind of guy for me to believe anyone would hate him.  Hating Pierce would be like hating a bunny rabbit.  (Cue Monty Python image.)

[Valmy77 13,626]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Pierce would have to be a total Jekyll & Hyde kind of guy for me to believe anyone would hate him.  Hating Pierce would be like hating a bunny rabbit.  (Cue Monty Python image.)

I think the idea is that people were supposed to be disgusted by his incompetence and stupidity or something. Not that he was some toxic guy.

[cochamps 1,885]

Really glad to hear that Tulo is still going to be  around the team.  Lots of stories of how helpful his instruction was.

Edited July 8, 2022 by cochamps

[Valmy77 13,626]

1 minute ago, cochamps said:

Teally glad to hear that Tulo is still oing to be  around the team.  Lots of stories of how helpful his instruction was.

Yeah I don't think we need him coaching first base and traveling with the team. If he can practice with them a few times a week that should probably be more than enough.

[Dbeasy 15,596]

So how good of a hire is Williams? Being at San Jac so long is strange if he’s that good. 

[Hookem2147 22,033]

12 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

So how good of a hire is Williams? Being at San Jac so long is strange if he’s that good. 

Just my personal opinion, but I liked the Williams hire the most when looking at all the moves that were made.

I don't think him being at San Jac for 6 or 7 years is a bad thing, especially at a program like that where the next step up is likely a heading coaching job or moving to D1. He may have felt comfortable staying there for a while. He is from the Houston area, played at U of H and has his family there. Similar to Tulo he isn't doing this for the money. He played in the big leagues for 15 seasons so he doesn't need to job hop to help put food on the table. 

I'm guessing here, but he probably doesn't have the desire to run a program at this point in his life so it was just a matter of if the right job came along to force him to think about a move. Apparently he tried to get the Rice pitching job either last year or this year and didn't get it, but I don't put much stock into that because Rice has made some awful baseball decisions the last 5 years or so.

[hobbes2702 13,477]

16 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

So how good of a hire is Williams? Being at San Jac so long is strange if he’s that good. 

Not really. JUCO baseball is not like JUCO for other sports. Especially at a place like San Jac. Guys go there because they have chances to get drafted instead of fighting for innings/at bats at big programs. The players you work with aren’t scrubs.

[Biff Tannen 46,168]

36 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

I think the idea is that people were supposed to be disgusted by his incompetence and stupidity or something. Not that he was some toxic guy.

Aside from coaching 3rd base, I'd say his tenure has been damn good.  3 Omahas in 6 seasons right?

[Hookem2147 22,033]

Pierce has had his sucky moments in the 3rd base coaching box, but I put some of the blame on the players too. It seemed to be the same group of guys this year constantly running into outs. Baserunning/baseball IQ is a real thing and for as good of hitters as some of our guys were, they just lacked the fundamental baserunning IQ that shouldn't need to be taught at the college level. A 9th year senior or whatever Austin Todd is lapping a runner on the basepaths or running through a stop sign is a middle school level baseball mistake. I'm not putting those on Pierce. He has to clean up some stuff but I expect us to be better simply because a lot of the players who consistently ran into outs are leaving the program.

Overall, I like aggressiveness in college baseball with how most of these teams kick the ball around. Over the course of a season I think it results in more runs than it takes away.

[Levi 2,668]

17 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Not really. JUCO baseball is not like JUCO for other sports. Especially at a place like San Jac. Guys go there because they have chances to get drafted instead of fighting for innings/at bats at big programs. The players you work with aren’t scrubs.

Yep. Knew of a guy that decided to go the JUCO route. When to Ranger, TX where there is absolutely nothing to do but play baseball. He ended up going to a D1 after his sophomore year. 

[Fletch 5,817]

2 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

He wasn't, but that's the loophole of how volunteer assistants get paid at all schools. They get a large chunk of the money brought in through camps. But as we've all discussed before, Tulo doesn't need the money. The fact he's still going to hang around next year and help out despite not officially being on staff is just another laughable data point for all the people who claim that he hates Pierce.

Skip used to give private lessons to Kershaw, Homer Bailey, Scott Kazmir and an ocean of other mlb dudes. And obviously the Knebal, workman, Jungmann, Milner, Curtiss and peters group. Good side gig for these dudes 

[hobbes2702 13,477]

10 minutes ago, DoneWithit said:

Yep. Knew of a guy that decided to go the JUCO route. When to Ranger, TX where there is absolutely nothing to do but play baseball. He ended up going to a D1 after his sophomore year. 

A lot of guys choose JUCO over non power programs. You retain your draft eligibility so there’s no disadvantage really if you’re good enough.

[Hookem2147 22,033]

2 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

A lot of guys choose JUCO over non power programs. You retain your draft eligibility so there’s no disadvantage really if you’re good enough.

JUCO gives full rides too, where as most D1 programs do not. Junior college programs don't have the 11.7 scholarship garbage. I think they get something like 24 scholarships.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Hookem2147

[cochamps 1,885]

44 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Aside from coaching 3rd base, I'd say his tenure has been damn good.  3 Omahas in 6 seasons right?

Really it is 3 for 5 since there was no Omaha in 2020 due to COVID.

[Levi 2,668]

40 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

A lot of guys choose JUCO over non power programs. You retain your draft eligibility so there’s no disadvantage really if you’re good enough.

Yeah, it’s a great avenue for guys that could play D1 but need some work. They can play immediately at JUCO, which is why the guy I knew chose JUCO. He needed live reps show off his true potential and that wasn’t going to be there at a D1. I have a ton of respect JUCO guys for the amount of sacrifices they make. 

[HenryJames 67,367]

1 hour ago, Dbeasy said:

So how good of a hire is Williams? Being at San Jac so long is strange if he’s that good. 

Wayne Graham was there for a decade. Skip Johnson was at Navarro for 12 years.

[Fletch 5,817]

1 hour ago, cochamps said:

Really it is 3 for 5 since there was no Omaha in 2020 due to COVID.

Man I wish the 2020 season happened. We were absolutely loaded that year. Oh well. The baseball gods owe us hard ever since that faithful day against tcu in 2010 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[Valmy77 13,626]

2 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Aside from coaching 3rd base, I'd say his tenure has been damn good.  3 Omahas in 6 seasons right?

Well five seasons, You cannot really fault him for not making it in 2020.

And 2017 I thought his team over-achieved despite losing in the regional finals.

[Fletch 5,817]

35 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Well five seasons, You cannot really fault him for not making it in 2020.

And 2017 I thought his team over-achieved despite losing in the regional finals.

That was a fun season and we got totally fucked. We should’ve been a 2 seed somewhere in the southeast but they shipped us off to Long Beach and we still almost won. Fucking Cantu. That’s a team I feel like would’ve done some damage in Omaha. Really good lineup with Cooper, Kennedy, Kingham, Shugart and Ridgeway. Fucking baseball being all annoying like that 

[Valmy77 13,626]

Are we talking about the same 2017 team? I mean I was proud and surprised by what they were able to do but that was not a good team. They had a losing record in the Big 12 for a reason.

[petscii 1,195]

52 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Are we talking about the same 2017 team? I mean I was proud and surprised by what they were able to do but that was not a good team. They had a losing record in the Big 12 for a reason.

because you touched yourself?

[Valmy77 13,626]

22 minutes ago, petscii said:

because you touched yourself?

In 2017? That's none of your business.

But yes. But I still don't see how they made Texas Baseball lose games. I certainly touched myself plenty in years they won.

[Rynosauri 23]

In 2017? That's none of your business.
But yes. But I still don't see how they made Texas Baseball lose games. I certainly touched myself plenty in years they won.

So you didn’t touch yourself enough in 2017? Uncommitted.

[Valmy77 13,626]

Just now, Rynosauri said:

So you didn’t touch yourself enough in 2017? Uncommitted.

Now our conference title in 2018 is easily explained. 

[Fletch 5,817]

5 hours ago, Valmy77 said:

Are we talking about the same 2017 team? I mean I was proud and surprised by what they were able to do but that was not a good team. They had a losing record in the Big 12 for a reason.

Yes. As usual, Pierce had us playin our best ball come May and June. Cooper, Kingham, Johnston, Kennedy, shugart and ridgeway was a damn salty staff. Kacy, Boswell, Jones, Hamilton, Todd, Kody, Mathis, Gurwitz, Reynolds and even Cantu and McCann were a bitch of a lineup. Yeah Cantu and McCann weren’t our standard, but McCann was average enough defensively and a solid contact hitter. Cantu could pound the ball every now and then. Our defense was really solid that year and Kacy, Boswell, Todd, Reynolds, Jones, Shaw; McCann and at times, Cantu killed it at the plate. 
 

We got fucked being sent out west. We should’ve been in Baton Rouge or Southern miss or Gainesville. Feel like we would’ve won any of those regionals easily. Shit we should’ve won the Long Beach regional and I think we matched up well with Fullerton. If we had say, Tres, DJ, Silas or even fucking Jacob felts at catcher, we would’ve gone to Omaha. Fuck it. Whatever. This is the best staff we’ve had since Augie, Harmon and skip. We’ve gone to Omaha 3 of the last 4 full years. We significantly upgraded our pitching coach and Rodriguez is a badass hire. And tulo is still gonna be around the program. Y’all ready for some 02-‘14 action? It’s coming. The program from Gus and his dudes to Huston and the Augie dudes all hanging around the program. The whole Texas baseball family is aligned. Y’all ready for some more Omaha trips and a few dog piles? The next 10 years are gonna be 2000-2014 all over again, but with a couple more dog piles thrown in. I’m beyond fucking ready

[HenryJames 67,367]

 

[Valmy77 13,626]

On 7/9/2022 at 12:28 AM, Fletch said:

Y’all ready for some more Omaha trips and a few dog piles? The next 10 years are gonna be 2000-2014 all over again, but with a couple more dog piles thrown in. I’m beyond fucking ready

D1Baseball disagrees man:

OSU, TCU, and Tech but no OU or Texas eh? Weird.

[Fletch 5,817]

7 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

D1Baseball disagrees man:

OSU, TCU, and Tech but no OU or Texas eh? Weird.

Well yeah, D1 Baseball? 

[Hookem2147 22,033]

One of the mods on OB mentioned that Mitchell Daly was told in his exit interview this year to prepare to play SS next year.

They must not have a ton of confidence in Flores making it to campus and apparently see O'Dowd as a 2B.