Ye Olde Green Wave Forum

In 26 years of watching Tulane play baseball have I ever seen such horrible performances.

We literally gave them the game tied up with a bow. Those mistakes we had were comical. UNO played aggressively, they were well coached. We, on the other hand, played like we were still trying to throw things at a wall to experiment what sticks.

This loss reminds me of playing 9 men in football under CJ. Those bunt pop flies? I have never watched a bunt turn into two outs, that was a first for me. Isn't a bunt supposed to hit down, not up in the air?

And jeesum, a DH with a 148 going in for the final at bat that just stood looking at the fastballs going straight over the plate, after that pitcher's warmup showed his pitches were 6 out of 7 fastballs? That was the most questionable "hail mary" I have witnessed in my career as a baseball fan.

When I'm armchair quarterbacking a baseball game, we got problems and "injuries" isn't it. Vanderbilt sold us a bill of goods.

Bad coach, bad team. Can't beat UNO, can't beat LSU anymore, Can't beat S.E., Can't beat S. Miss. How low can it go? The season is done for our once proud TU baseball team. This will take a LONG time to repair. If in my lifetime. Was not too far back that we were college world series material. No MAS!

We had a team good enough to be one game from a Super Regional two years ago. This is bad, especially because this is usually what we can fall back on after difficult football and baseball seasons. The right path forward is becoming more and more clear.

Baseball is sinking to its lowest sustained level in my lifetime.
Women's golf, top 20 3/5 years from 2012-2016 is now high-fiving itself on twitter when they finish 2nd to last (instead of last) as "something to build on."
Women's basketball.
Every minor sport except for men's tennis is in the doldrums.
For the 2nd consecutive year, ONE Tulane sport has been in the NCAAs (men's tennis) when we use to be President's Cup (or whatever it's called) top 100 regulars. (one sport is record low)
Yes football is making slow improvements and men's hoops may get better.
But where y'at, Troy Dannen? Honeymoon is long over.

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A refreshing culture of standards, expectations and accountability is upon us.

Everything in Tulane sports, EVERYTHING, hinges on football's success. It funds all else. Until that gets fixed, we'll struggle. Right now, our reputation in sports ain't all that great, so student-athletes are going to places that are contending for titles. The AAC has been a big bite to chew on for us.

That said, although I'm not much of a Wave baseball fan, it's possible that TD made a mistake on Jewett, although it needs to be assessed at the end of the season. Personally, I think he needs one more season, but he needs to know that sentiment. One more season like this one is unacceptable.

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Plan your work, work your plan.

Roto, I agree with pretty much everything you wrote.

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After a while, the residents of the sea do not hear the sound of the waves.
How bitter it is, the story of routine- Arabic (Anon)

It was pointed out that Pierce wasn’t recruiting well, so it is possible that Jewett was entitled to a grace period while building the next generation of winning Tulane baseball. But this year is a worsening disaster, no other way to put it, on top of a notably disappointing first year. The season isn’t over but when it is more people here will be in favor of a change than not if things do not improve sharply.

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You want experience running the entire show? You got it. You want someone young and energetic? You got it. You wanted someone with absolutely no ties to Cowen/Dickson? You got it. - TU23

I think the verdict on Pierce's recruiting is still in dispute.

(In best Tom Hanks voice) Are you quarterbacking? There's no quarterbacking in baseball!

Fair enough, but one of the posters who posts a lot about baseball said this up and down these forums.

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You want experience running the entire show? You got it. You want someone young and energetic? You got it. You wanted someone with absolutely no ties to Cowen/Dickson? You got it. - TU23

It's simply the way the team is playing leading to losses. Errors including wild pitches and then 'hit-by-pitch'. Just not fundamentally sound baseball - somethings us fans are not accustomed to.

Pierce did take a couple of his better Tulane recruits to Texas with him. Zubia and one other.

I think the issue is that our schollys were (are?) largely tied up in one class (the big one that Gautreau brought in) which limited the numbers available to him. He brought in some pretty good talent and had top talent committed that left when he did...to blame his recruiting for the mess we're currently in seems like wishful thinking.

One baffling thing I've noticed is Witherspoon's on-base awareness. Many would argue he's our "best player" but he drops routine fly balls and might have as many pickoffs at first base as he has steals. The play last night getting doubled up may have been more on the poor bunt execution, but you can't completely acquit Spoon for the reasons I've mentioned.

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Tulane Greenbackers

"It's my job to prepare the coaches. It's their job is to prepare the players and the players' job is to play lights out." Willie Fritz

"If you want to win you have to have good players." Vince Gibson

He’s still our best player. Nobody is even really close to his offensive production.

That still doesn't mean that there shouldn't be someone on the staff who's signalling to him to watch the pitcher and how he was pounding his glove. The pitcher was totally giving away that he was fixing to throw to second. We saw that happening and Spoon was completely unaware.

Maybe because he was watching someone on the staff instead of the pitcher?

So it's the staff's fault the player wasn't watching the pitcher? How exactly did you want this to play out? Call time and walk over to the player and let the pitcher knows he's tipping, just yell it out, or maybe tell folks in the dugout so that when they were in second they could take advantage?

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Using big words is not a personal attack

Windy, we agree on something. I may go play the ponies tonight.

LMAO

This is the least talented team we have had in the last 30 to 40 years. Coach Jewet has been around a lot of good teams and coaches the last few years. Wasn't he named assistant of the year not that long ago. Rick Jones coin the phase that sums up our problem. He said that for a player to come to Tulane you have to be able to pay, pass , and play. By the time you get pass the pay and pass situation we have eliminated 80% of the talent pool which leaves us with 20 % of the talent that we have to judge if . they can play. Of this amount we relalisticly can get very few that would pass up a offer to go to State U. for a fraction of the cost and come play for Tulane. The coach may well be part of the problem, but I assure you Tulane it self is the major problem no matter who the coach may be. rjc

Vandy, Duke, Coastal Carolina, Dallas Baptist and Stanford do it. All in the top 25. All private schools.

Yes they are, but they all fund their programs with other money that Tulane is unwilling to do. It is easier to recruit to Vandy than it is to recruit for LSU. The players that chose to go to Vandy gets a better scholarship offer and is cheaper to go there than LSU. rjc

I am unassured. The obstacles, whatever they are, are not greater today than they were when our last good team was being assembled just a few years ago.

When Rick Jones coined that phrase he wasn't talking about a problem or an obstacle. He was talking about a target & an ideal.

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You want experience running the entire show? You got it. You want someone young and energetic? You got it. You wanted someone with absolutely no ties to Cowen/Dickson? You got it. - TU23

rjc, I've seen that mentioned on the board before but how can they do that without running afoul of the NCAA scholarship cap? I'd like to know how TU could make that arrangement with the fat cat donors.

Increase need based income and your recruiting pool opens up.