Gripe, Concern with Baseball

[no1cajunfan]

I know I’m not the only one who has been troubled by the handling of certain situations in the baseball program. At the end of last year, there was zero confidence and stability in the lineup from day to day with no rhyme or reason behind some of the changes. Kids being asked to play unfamiliar positions. Pitchers not knowing they are starting until the day of. Players being dismissed/leaving the team and then coming back. Hanging Durke out to dry last year against Southern Miss. Very similar situation happened with Talley this weekend. Granted, he’s a veteran and not a freshman, but that kind of thing sticks with you as a player, and the rest of the team sees it too.

How are you supposed to build trust in a situation like that? How can you feel like the staff is looking out for you when you see your teammate throw 50 pitches in one inning, get tagged for 7 runs, and still not get the hook? It seems as though proving a point sometimes supersedes the actual game and the players themselves. And who would speak out or confide their concerns to a coach, for fear of being benched as retribution and labeled as “soft”?

That kind of environment is not conducive to success. Every questionable decision is passed off under the guise of it being somehow beneficial to character building. The excuse can’t always be that the players are soft, aren’t “water hose boys”, or can’t handle tough love. Even strong-willed and tough-minded people don’t want to be subjected to constant mental stress when it’s unnecessary.

Carter Robinson, Jason Nelson, and Ben Fitzgerald were key contributors last season, and were all hailed as being cut out for this team - made of the right stuff. Yet when they leave, we gloss over it and say, “They must not have been able to hack it.” These weren’t players departing for better opportunities, as we’ve seen in football. They also weren’t the ones who were homesick or didn’t have the playing time/ability. They all had guaranteed roles, but chose to make arguably lateral moves to comparable, competitive programs. This is extremely concerning to me, but I feel like most of us wrote it off and looked past it.

Don’t get me wrong, we definitely need guys with true toughness and grit. The term “alpha” is thrown around a lot. Players like that are few and far between, especially in today’s youth. Even if you have all the right guys in the clubhouse, I still don’t agree with seemingly treating everyone like replaceable parts. Dragging everyone through the dirt, making an example of them, and replacing the scraps anew. You can cut the dead weight and get rid of the ones who don’t belong without going overboard for the sake of it. This approach drives away players who actually deserve to be here, and alienates the coaching staff instead of building trust. Just my take.

The bottom line is the players that left, and the general sentiment of the team last year was that they did not buy into what Deggs was selling and for the most part other than Jake Wells they did not like the coaching staff...For what it's worth.

[JayWalker]

There's an issue with that generation and the previous generation is partially to blame.

Remember Tony talking about select baseball? Kids don't have to sit the bench or earn their spot. They don't switch positions because the roster isn't big enough.

Add to that, some of these kids have never been told "no." They get everything they want and if there's an issue with a teacher or coach, the parent works to get the teacher or coach fired. We've seen that a lot the last few years in our high schools.

By his own admission, Matt is a tough guy to play for. There's going to be adversity and he's going to be the cause of some of it. But this business of "he made me change positions and I can't get comfortable"..well, we don't tolerate excuses from coaches and shouldn't tolerate them from players either.

The guys who aren't here any more either didn't fit or weren't 100% committed. Period.

In case any of you were unaware, Matt coached similarly when he was at Sam Houston. All he did was win three championships and become the first Southland school ever to win a regional.

His biggest problem for some fans here is he isn't Robe.

[Dad04]

There's an issue with that generation and the previous generation is partially to blame.

Remember Tony talking about select baseball? Kids don't have to sit the bench or earn their spot. They don't switch positions because the roster isn't big enough.

Add to that, some of these kids have never been told "no." They get everything they want and if there's an issue with a teacher or coach, the parent works to get the teacher or coach fired. We've seen that a lot the last few years in our high schools.

By his own admission, Matt is a tough guy to play for. There's going to be adversity and he's going to be the cause of some of it. But this business of "he made me change positions and I can't get comfortable"..well, we don't tolerate excuses from coaches and shouldn't tolerate them from players either.

The guys who aren't here any more either didn't fit or weren't 100% committed. Period.

In case any of you were unaware, Matt coached similarly when he was at Sam Houston. All he did was win three championships and become the first Southland school ever to win a regional.

His biggest problem for some fans here is he isn't Robe.

Maybe his second biggest problem is winning. Winning (getting to regionals) always fixes everything. It's just that simple.

[ManAboutTown]

I’m an “old school” baseball type and I certainly don’t love this new generation of player. But at some point, we have to adjust to the new player rather than trying to force them to adjust to our “philosophy”, in my opinion. There are plenty of programs around the country that are finding success doing just that.

It’s still early. 2022 has its own story to tell. But patterns are developing in year 3 that can’t be ignored.

[babysitter]

There's an issue with that generation and the previous generation is partially to blame.

Remember Tony talking about select baseball? Kids don't have to sit the bench or earn their spot. They don't switch positions because the roster isn't big enough.

Add to that, some of these kids have never been told "no." They get everything they want and if there's an issue with a teacher or coach, the parent works to get the teacher or coach fired. We've seen that a lot the last few years in our high schools.

By his own admission, Matt is a tough guy to play for. There's going to be adversity and he's going to be the cause of some of it. But this business of "he made me change positions and I can't get comfortable"..well, we don't tolerate excuses from coaches and shouldn't tolerate them from players either.

The guys who aren't here any more either didn't fit or weren't 100% committed. Period.

In case any of you were unaware, Matt coached similarly when he was at Sam Houston. All he did was win three championships and become the first Southland school ever to win a regional.

His biggest problem for some fans here is he isn't Robe.

Well said. I'll add that this fan base needs to get over the 2000 season, 2014, 2015, and 2016 seasons. Those are long gone. they also need to get over the fact that this is not Robe's program anymore. Rest his soul. This program needs to move on and create it's own identity which means the identity that Deggs creates with HIS type of players. This is now Matt Degg's program and some folks need to get a grip on that. Every coach is different and brings a different style to the table. The stench of Talbot still lingers but sooner than later these players will "get it" and when they do, this program will be fun to watch. Give it time.

[jumboragncajun]

At Diamond Club, he had a lot of "rah-rah" jargon about how tough they are and how hard they worked, and how he got rid of those not cut out for it, etc. It just reminds me of HUD. A maniacal ego that can talk the talk, and people are just fascinated with the empty words. Much akin to some tele-evangelists, can spew hollow rhetoric that gives you the warm fuzzies and people open up their checkbooks. If a former player used the word "fraud" as a coach, I have nothing to rebut if using only what I see from the stands. Nothing at all. Aside from what is heard from within the program, I can't convince myself he is the long-term best choice for the program. My opinion of him began to dwindle after reading his book. It could have been a solid "C" for a 7th grade term paper. My opinion only. I am not trying to convince anyone I am correct. I obviously still hope the team excels and has great success.

[ManAboutTown]

At Diamond Club, hehad a lot of "rah-rah" jargon about how tough they are and how hard they worked, and how he got rid of those not cut out for it, etc. It just reminds me of HUD. A maniacal ego that can talk the talk, and people are just fascinated with the empty words. Much akin to some tele-evangelists, can spew hollow rhetoric that gives you the warm fuzzies and people open up their checkbooks. If a former player used the word "fraud" as a coach, I have nothing to rebut if using only what I see from the stands. Nothing at all. Aside from what is heard from within the program, I can't convince myself he is the long-term best choice for the program. My opinion of him began to dwindle after reading his book. It could have a solid "C" for a 7th grade term paper. My opinion only. I am not trying to convince anyone I am correct. I obviously still hope the team excels and has great success.

Feel like I should qualify my comments after that nuke job.

My comments are 100% about baseball and not at all about Deggs as a man. I have a great deal of respect for Matt Deggs, personally.

[RedTails]

At Diamond Club, hehad a lot of "rah-rah" jargon about how tough they are and how hard they worked, and how he got rid of those not cut out for it, etc. It just reminds me of HUD. A maniacal ego that can talk the talk, and people are just fascinated with the empty words. Much akin to some tele-evangelists, can spew hollow rhetoric that gives you the warm fuzzies and people open up their checkbooks. If a former player used the word "fraud" as a coach, I have nothing to rebut if using only what I see from the stands. Nothing at all. Aside from what is heard from within the program, I can't convince myself he is the long-term best choice for the program. My opinion of him began to dwindle after reading his book. It could have a solid "C" for a 7th grade term paper. My opinion only. I am not trying to convince anyone I am correct. I obviously still hope the team excels and has great success.

Tell us how you really feel

[CajunT]

There's an issue with that generation and the previous generation is partially to blame.

Remember Tony talking about select baseball? Kids don't have to sit the bench or earn their spot. They don't switch positions because the roster isn't big enough.

Add to that, some of these kids have never been told "no." They get everything they want and if there's an issue with a teacher or coach, the parent works to get the teacher or coach fired. We've seen that a lot the last few years in our high schools.

By his own admission, Matt is a tough guy to play for. There's going to be adversity and he's going to be the cause of some of it. But this business of "he made me change positions and I can't get comfortable"..well, we don't tolerate excuses from coaches and shouldn't tolerate them from players either.

The guys who aren't here any more either didn't fit or weren't 100% committed. Period.

In case any of you were unaware, Matt coached similarly when he was at Sam Houston. All he did was win three championships and become the first Southland school ever to win a regional.

His biggest problem for some fans here is he isn't Robe.

I tend to give coaches opportunity to adjust their rosters the first few years in a program. If I'm going to hold my coaching staff accountable, they must be given the opportunity to hold their athletes accountable in their system. College athletics are result oriented, the more success a staff has, the more acceptable supporters are with their roster decisions. As long as the athletes have had a fair opportunity to compete for playing time, I'm okay with the roster changes. I see Coach Deggs continue to give players opportunities and they continue to not perform. I wonder what some supporters will say when these athletes are not part of the program going forward next season, especially a few of the local ones?

[OrlandeauxCajun]

At Diamond Club, hehad a lot of "rah-rah" jargon about how tough they are and how hard they worked, and how he got rid of those not cut out for it, etc. It just reminds me of HUD. A maniacal ego that can talk the talk, and people are just fascinated with the empty words. Much akin to some tele-evangelists, can spew hollow rhetoric that gives you the warm fuzzies and people open up their checkbooks. If a former player used the word "fraud" as a coach, I have nothing to rebut if using only what I see from the stands. Nothing at all. Aside from what is heard from within the program, I can't convince myself he is the long-term best choice for the program. My opinion of him began to dwindle after reading his book. It could have a solid "C" for a 7th grade term paper. My opinion only. I am not trying to convince anyone I am correct. I obviously still hope the team excels and has great success.

I’m glad someone said it.

[ManAboutTown]

I tend to give coaches opportunity to adjust their rosters the first few years in a program. If I'm going to hold my coaching staff accountable, they must be given the opportunity to hold their athletes accountable in their system. College athletics are result oriented, the more success a staff has, the more acceptable supporters are with their roster decisions. As long as the athletes have had a fair opportunity to compete for playing time, I'm okay with the roster changes. I see Coach Deggs continue to give players opportunities and they continue to not perform. I wonder what some supporters will say when these athletes are not part of the program going forward next season, especially a few of the local ones?

I think people are ok with other players getting the opportunity to play. The concern is HOW he does it. He’s managed to alienate several, not few, several players from the group and that started immediately when he got here.

I totally agree that toughness and overcoming adversity has to be part of the recipe, but you can’t just chop people’s knees out from under them and then complain when they struggle to walk.

[LifeTimeCajun]

Winning will cure alot of things and if that happens it will be really fun. The process sucks in that we want consistency. Obviously the coaches are still confident in what they have on this roster to compete at a high level