[Surly Official Firing Squad] David Pierce Has Left The Building - FIRED

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

2 minutes ago, chase25 said:

When you call out players who have competed their ass off this year, yeah I have an issue with that.

You've defended him on multiple pages to multiple different posters, not just that post. Get a grip man.

[chase25 2048]

Just now, BurntOrange&White said:

You've defended him on multiple pages to multiple different posters, not just that post. Get a grip man.

If objectively stating what he is while saying there are better managers out there than him is defending him then you got me

[zlavydra 2123]

So was it Cody Howard's dad?

[freyguy 4277]

I am no big cigar, nor do I claim to know any of them.  I am not going to throw the player or his family under the bus either, so sorry to get you hard.  

Before today, I was in the camp of "our pitching is trash, the team has done well to overcome that.  We won't make it out of this regional, but Pierce has earned a few more years of buffer before we decide to fire him."

But the details the guy went into leads me to conclude that Pierce had already checked out this season.  And maybe with his lengthy career, he can quickly diagnose that this team was never going to amount to much, and is safeguarding his sanity.  But to be mailing in the coaching / teaching aspects of his responsibility, leaving the trashy pitching staff out to dry, and going back on individual committments to players (without real explanation)...that's high school level shit.

[cmontexas 3271]

What's obviously going to happen is a compromise this offseason where Pierce hires a "top" pitching coach.

Big brain move to set himself up to be his own scapegoat for a rebuilding year without actually losing his job.

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

3 minutes ago, cmontexas said:

What's obviously going to happen is a compromise this offseason where Pierce hires a "top" pitching coach.

Big brain move to set himself up to be his own scapegoat for a rebuilding year without actually losing his job.

I thought we already reached that compromise when Pierce took full control of pitching?

[jimmyjazz 45963]

Just now, BurntOrange&White said:

I thought we already reached that compromise when Pierce took full control of pitching?

Wait, you're of the opinion that Pierce would have been fired after losing in the Supers last year had he not taken over the pitching coach role?  That's the angle here?

[cmontexas 3271]

Well that didn't work

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

Wait, you're of the opinion that Pierce would have been fired after losing in the Supers last year had he not taken over the pitching coach role?  That's the angle here?

I’m saying he’s done the pitching coach shuffle thing. He will need a new strategy for the “guys please just 1 more chance” season. 

[Hookem2147 21324]

12 minutes ago, cmontexas said:

What's obviously going to happen is a compromise this offseason where Pierce hires a "top" pitching coach.

Big brain move to set himself up to be his own scapegoat for a rebuilding year without actually losing his job.

This was supposed to be the compromise after the 2022 season when Sean Allen was dumped and instead of a top pitching coach we got a mid 50’s volunteer JUCO coach who had never recruited a day in his life. And then we discovered a few months in “oh shit this guy who had never recruited before can’t recruit!”

There is no pitching coach reshuffle coming.

Edited May 30 by Hookem2147

[Balcones 313]

6 hours ago, freyguy said:

Well, after having a nice conversation with one of my buddies who is a parent of a current player, put me in the camp of getting rid of Pierce.  Although I don't think it will happen soon enough, given his current W/L record.

But the players have no team chemistry/camaraderie, Pierce does not coach the pitchers at all, etc. etc.  The son's quote was "this was the most dysfunctional team I have ever been on in my life."

It was probably Ardoin, or Duplantier parents. Or if a recent player, maybe Eric Kennedy? 

[Balcones 313]

5 hours ago, Had Enough said:

That ERA puts us in the top 15% of the country.  I think if you go runs given up over ERA, we are even better.

Troph is right. Top 15% in NCAA is absolutely unacceptable. 

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

18 minutes ago, Balcones said:

Troph is right. Top 15% in NCAA is absolutely unacceptable. 

Sure if there was only like 135 teams or so like football in division one but having 300 teams kind of makes your percentage talking point stupid. 

Edited May 31 by BurntOrange&White

[Balcones 313]

2 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Sure if there was only like 135 teams or so like football in division one but having over 300 teams kind of makes your percentage talking point stupid. 

Oh ok. Then how should we calculate being top 10% like Troph wants?

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

Just now, Balcones said:

Oh ok. Then how should we calculate being top 10% like Troph wants?

By your tears when Pierce is fired 

[Balcones 313]

2 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

By your tears when Pierce is fired 

Damn. That was good. 

[troph 24810]

9 hours ago, Balcones said:

Oh ok. Then how should we calculate being top 10% like Troph wants?

I said top 10. Stop watering down the standard. We are a top 5 program with a top 5 budget and a top 5 NIL program. There’s no basis for being a top 30 (top 10%) pitching team. This isn’t a directional school of the southwest this is the fucking University of Texas. 

Edited May 31 by troph

[jimmyjazz 45963]

Our team ERA was 10th in D1 last year, so it's not like it's an unattainable feat.  If you want to blame this season's results on the switch to Pierce as pitching coach, then have at it, but somehow I doubt that explains the whole story.

[Had Enough 2083]

Seems as though there was plenty of bitching last year too.  

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

16 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Our team ERA was 10th in D1 last year, so it's not like it's an unattainable feat.  If you want to blame this season's results on the switch to Pierce as pitching coach, then have at it, but somehow I doubt that explains the whole story.

Didn't realize this was last year.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

Just now, BurntOrange&White said:

Didn't realize this was last year.

DId I say it was, fuckstick?

[UTPhil2006 3807]

Alright all y’all got 7 hours to get it out of your system 

[jimmyjazz 45963]

2 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Alright all y’all got 7 hours to get it out of your system 

Not my problem.

[Hookem2147 21324]

5 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Seems as though there was plenty of bitching last year too.  

There was. And it's usually directed at the bullpen, thinking college bullpens should be stacked. Most of the time, outside of your closer and a setup man or two, there is a reason a guy is in the bullpen.

A fraction of the fanbase is still stuck in the dead ball era, thinking Texas staff should be putting up 2.50 ERAs every year.

Anything hovering in the low 4.00's is pretty damn good nowadays and will have you around the top 20 nationally. That gives some people a stroke who have followed Texas baseball for a long time, but that's just the way the game is nowadays. 

The average SEC ERA over the years:

2019- 4.13

2021- 4.41

2022- 4.56

2023- 5.09

2024- 5.01

Our staff and ERA need to improve, but expectations need to be recalibrated as well. Also, the way they are scoring games nowadays is hilarious. You get a hit for pretty much anything. A ball through the legs of Jack O'Dowd last week is scored a hit, leading to 3 'earned' runs. 

[The_Great_Hornsby 3236]

12 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

There was. And it's usually directed at the bullpen, thinking college bullpens should be stacked. Most of the time, outside of your closer and a setup man or two, there is a reason a guy is in the bullpen.

A fraction of the fanbase is still stuck in the dead ball era, thinking Texas staff should be putting up 2.50 ERAs every year.

Anything hovering in the low 4.00's is pretty damn good nowadays and will have you around the top 20 nationally. That gives some people a stroke who have followed Texas baseball for a long time, but that's just the way the game is nowadays. 

The average SEC ERA over the years:

2019- 4.13

2021- 4.41

2022- 4.56

2023- 5.09

2024- 5.01

Our staff and ERA need to improve, but expectations need to be recalibrated as well. Also, the way they are scoring games nowadays is hilarious. You get a hit for pretty much anything. A ball through the legs of Jack O'Dowd last week is scored a hit, leading to 3 'earned' runs. 

I noticed that. Errors are pretty much never given out anymore, wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Makes sense when you think about the everyone gets a trophy mentality our society as. 

[VirginiaLonghorn 4773]

56 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Our team ERA was 10th in D1 last year, so it's not like it's an unattainable feat.  If you want to blame this season's results on the switch to Pierce as pitching coach, then have at it, but somehow I doubt that explains the whole story.

Fine … then, blame the guy responsible for recruiting and giving the OK to sign them.

Surely, someone is accountable.

[Rockethorn1978 6088]

It’s always easy to point out the family member poster of the shitty coach we want to fire. 

[MuellerHorn 4255]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Our team ERA was 10th in D1 last year, so it's not like it's an unattainable feat.  If you want to blame this season's results on the switch to Pierce as pitching coach, then have at it, but somehow I doubt that explains the whole story.

The one consistent feature of the grand inconsistency and lack of competitiveness against top-tier competition when it matters is David Pierce.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

30 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Also, the way they are scoring games nowadays is hilarious. You get a hit for pretty much anything.

I'm glad you said this.  I've had the feeling it's true for a few years now, but no way to quantify it.  Seems like the old standard was more "if the fielder did (or could) touch the ball, it's an error".

[jimmyjazz 45963]

2 minutes ago, MuellerHorn said:

The one consistent feature of the grand inconsistency and lack of competitiveness against top-tier competition when it matters is David Pierce.

No argument there.

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

[troph 24810]

I’m pretty bummed about last night. Certainly not over yet but damn. And not here to stick a knife in anyone’s side. Just really disappointed in Texas baseball and seeing clutch play fall through at the end. The play by play guy asked who would crack first. Fuck man. Texas is better than that. 

[Dbeasy 15052]

Last night should be no surprise, other than they hung in there better than the records indicate. 

[jimmyjazz 45963]

11 minutes ago, troph said:

I’m pretty bummed about last night. Certainly not over yet but damn. And not here to stick a knife in anyone’s side. Just really disappointed in Texas baseball and seeing clutch play fall through at the end. The play by play guy asked who would crack first. Fuck man. Texas is better than that. 

As you say, it's not over yet, but winning 3 in a row seems beyond unlikely, especially given how good A&M really is.

What grinds my gears is that this will be two years in a row in which really uncharacteristic errors helped seal our fate.

[MontereyMX 869]

anyone catch the schloss interview early in the game where he spoke of JT's homer and actually called him "JT"?  he had a strange look the whole interview and ended it with a half assed gig em

[troph 24810]

16 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Last night should be no surprise, other than they hung in there better than the records indicate. 

That’s exactly what makes it more gut wrenching. Texas is the 3 seed in a regional. A&M is the 3 seed nationally.

[Tex Long 4401]

32 minutes ago, troph said:

... Texas is better than that. 

 

18 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

... really uncharacteristic errors ...

Apparently not, on both counts.

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

25 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

As you say, it's not over yet, but winning 3 in a row seems beyond unlikely, especially given how good A&M really is.

What grinds my gears is that this will be two years in a row in which really uncharacteristic errors helped seal our fate.

At what point does "uncharacteristic errors" become characteristic? 

 

 

 

*Note I am not trying to be a smartass, just curious on your thoughts.

[troph 24810]

That’s why I’m so disappointed. This season really feels like a low point in the program.

22 minutes ago, MontereyMX said:

anyone catch the schloss interview early in the game where he spoke of JT's homer and actually called him "JT"?  he had a strange look the whole interview and ended it with a half assed gig em

I did. Are you suggesting something? 

[Tex Long 4401]

Just now, troph said:

That’s why I’m so disappointed. This season really feels like a low point in the program.

Low point? We may not be in the top 32 teams (#1 and #2 seeds), but we're damn sure close to the top of the next 32.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

4 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

At what point does "uncharacteristic errors" become characteristic? 

 

 

 

*Note I am not trying to be a smartass, just curious on your thoughts.

I'm not saying this is our best defensive team ever, but they have a 0.973 fielding percentage.  I don't recall them boning it up that bad very often.

[MontereyMX 869]

7 minutes ago, troph said:

That’s why I’m so disappointed. This season really feels like a low point in the program.

I did. Are you suggesting something? 

could only hope, but probably seeing too much into it. 

[troph 24810]

42 minutes ago, Tex Long said:

Low point? We may not be in the top 32 teams (#1 and #2 seeds), but we're damn sure close to the top of the next 32.

68 regional appearances. All time most. You said we are at best 33rd. That’s shitastic. Our lows are other programs highs. Yeah this year is a low point, not the lowest point, but low point without a doubt. 

Edited June 2 by troph

[Royale with cheese 1467]

On 3/29/2024 at 7:49 PM, ConferenceRoom said:

FSM gets me through the day. 

Pastafarianism or Female Seeking Male? Actually, there may be some overlap there . . .

[Tex Long 4401]

1 minute ago, troph said:

68 regional appearances. All time most. Our lows are other programs highs. Yeah this year is a low point, not the lowest point, but low point without a doubt. 

We're #33! We're #33! We're #33! We're #33! We're #33! 

There are what, around 300 D1 Baseball teams? We're almost in the top ten percent, almost.

Whoop! Oh, wait... that's someone else...

Seriously, I get your point. But the problem appears to be that we are less than elite in terms of players, which makes it difficult to get to the top, even with excellent coaching, which also seems to be less than elite.

In a very real way, this is shaping up somewhat like the Mack endgame. I still can't believe we let him stick around another three years on the basis that he would "fix the problems"... Problems which were absolutely on him.

Pierce isn't a Bad Coach, but he isn't our Top Ten standard, either.

We can't fire the players, so...

 

 

 

EDIT: Well... we could fire the players, but recruiting would be a little iffy, at best.

 

 

[troph 24810]

Same page. Thanks for the clarification.

[MirrOlure 14787]

Serious question, as I don’t follow coaching trends in College Baseball…but if Pierce is suddenly available…what level program would be interested in him?

I can’t see any SEC team. Maybe UH or another of the new Big XII teams?

[Royale with cheese 1467]

8 minutes ago, Tex Long said:

Seriously, I get your point. But the problem appears to be that we are less than elite in terms of players, which makes it difficult to get to the top, even with excellent coaching, which also seems to be less than elite.

"I washed it down with some snakebite remedy, which I always keep handy. Only, however, after first being bitten by a snake, which I also always keep handy." -- W. C. Fields

[Tex Long 4401]

1 minute ago, MirrOlure said:

Serious question, as I don’t follow coaching trends in College Baseball…but if Pierce is suddenly available…what level program would be interested in him?

I can’t see any SEC team. Maybe UH or another of the new Big XII teams?

Mmmm.... Maybe Tulane? Sam Houston?

[Js1 85353]

I’m just ready to move on. The excuses, the what-ifs, the hoping for better. We aren’t a top 10 program right now which is why CDC will make a change