APR Released

The NCAA released its APR numbers a few weeks back. In case you aren't aware, this is the NCAA's attempt to put more of an emphasis on the "student" in student athlete. Every year, you are given 2 points for every scholarship player in good standing, 1 point for scholarship players that leave a school before graduating in good standing (i.e transfers) and 0 points for scholarship players not in good standing. If the sport falls below 925, the NCAA can hand down penalties such as loss of scholarships, loss of practice time, etc. You can view Mississippi State's report here if you so choose.

The numbers in the big three:
Football - 924
Basketball - 901
Baseball - 967


Now first of all, Mississippi State didn't receive any penalties in any sport this year. As you can see, baseball isn't even close to being in any danger any time soon. Football is barely below the 925 minimum, but that isn't all that concerning. Don't be expecting penalties here in the future.
The real concern is the 901 in basketball. It isn't hard to figure out why the number is so poor, mass transfers. While no penalties were handed down this year, if it doesn't go up next year I wouldn't be surprised to see a scholarship taken away. I'm less than confident you'll see that number going up though with Hansbrough transferring and Gordon leaving early. At least Hansbrough left in good standing, but rumor is Gordon quit going to class (as many early entries do) and will be saddling MSU with one of those dreaded 0's.

Losing a scholarship actually wouldn't be that devastating. MSU played with just 12 scholarship players this past year and currently only has 11 scholarship players for next year. Loss of practice time or recruiting visits would be more harmful.

MSU Players Trying to Make it in the NFL

Nobody got drafted from Mississippi State back in April, which did surprise me a little. I thought someone would take Titus Brown in the later rounds, but his tweener status probably ended up hurting him.

As of right now, 3 Mississippi State players are on teams as rookie free agents. How long they will stay is anyone's guess. Lance Long signed with the Arizona Cardinals, Dezmond Sherrod signed with Pittsburgh, and Titus Brown signed with Miami. Eric Butler signed with the NY Giants, but failed his physical.

More Player Movement on the Football Front

Josh Riddell has decided to transfer, leaving the QB position shaky once again. Riddell was 18 of 37 for 240 yds, 2TD, and 2int last year. He looked to have won the starting job in the South Carolina game before getting injured. Carroll would then come in and the rest is history.

Carroll had the starting job virtually locked up for the upcoming season and I feel comfortable with him at the helm so the transfer doesn't hurt there. The problem is depth. There were only 3 scholarship QBs on the roster going into spring practice and Riddell in all likelihood was going to be the backup. With his departure, MSU is left with 2 scholarship QBs and a walk-on JUCO transfer, Tyson Lee, who will be given a scholarship in the fall due to his spring performance. Technically we're back up to 3 scholarship QBs, but you can't be too happy about how we got here. This is why you need to be recruiting a QB every year Croom.

So, who will be the 2nd string QB now? Mississippi State is fortunate, because Tyson Lee actually looked very impressive in the spring and pretty much locked up the backup position. Until he does it in a game though I'll be skeptical. 3rd string will be Chris Relf, and he just isn't ready. In the two spring scrimmages he made Henig look accurate, and I'm not exaggerating.

We'll just have keep our fingers crossed that Carroll doesn't get hurt.

Also,
with that ugly gun incident, some scholarships have obviously come open and Anthony Littlejohn will be coming back for his 5th year after all. He doesn't replace the loss of Jamon Hughes, but he does bring a boatload of invaluable experience, is dependable if nothing else, and will add some much needed depth to the linebacker position.

Twanny Beckham Signs With Mississippi State

The Mississippi State basketball team got a late addition to the 2008 signing class with G Antiquawn "Twanny" Beckham. Beckham, from Louisville KY, originally signed with IUPUI out of high school, but decided to go the prep school route instead. He had offers from Bradley, UAB, Wichita State, and a few other mid-major level schools. Twanny is rated a 3 star on both Rivals and Scout. He's also the 15th ranked post graduate according to Scout. (Dee Bost is 4th on that list, just FYI.)

At 6'5, Beckham is big for a guard and could wind up as either a PG or SG. According to an ESPN evaluation, Beckham is a pass first guard who got most of his points around the basket. He is good at penetration, but his jump shot is a major weakness, although he has apparently improved in that area. Also a good rebounder and defender.

From that evaluation, he sounds like a classic point guard. They even mention that Beckham compliments Bost very well, as Bost is more of a scorer and Beckham more of a distributer. Maybe MSU will finally have a true point guard??

Here is some numbers for any stats fanatics out there. As a senior at Ballard HS, Beckham averaged 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. In prep school, he averaged 15 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds.

Strong pickup, especially this late considering the 2008 recruiting is essentially over. Mississippi State definitely needed another guard with the departures of both Gordon and Hansbrough, along with the fact they still had 3 open scholarships for next year. I'm leery of the fact that this guy isn't a shooter seeing as the Mississippi State cupboard is pretty bare in terms of shooters. We know how much emphasis Stans puts on rebounding and defense though, and looking at the stats and reports, Beckham can do both. He seems to fit nicely into the MSU style of play and into this class, assuming Bost and Osby will be able to put up the points. Don't know how much he'll contribute next year, but I can see him running the point his sophomore year on. (Personally, I always assume freshman won't contribute at all and anything you get out of them in Year 1 is gravy.)

Scholarship Breakdown (Football)

2018

Seniors (18)

1. RS Sr. - QB - Nick Fitzgerald
2. RS Sr. - RB - Dontavian Lee
3. RS Sr. - RB - Aeris Williams
4. RS Sr. - WR - Jesse Jackson
5. RS Sr. - OL - Deion Calhoun
6. RS Sr. - OL - Elgton Jenkins
7. RS Sr. - OL - Ronald Cochran 
8. RS Sr. - DT - Braxton Hoyett
9. RS Sr. - DT - Grant Harris
10. RS Sr. - DT - Cory Thomas
11. RS Sr. - LB - Gerri Green
12. RS Sr. - CB - Chris Rayford
13. RS Sr. - S - Brandon Bryant
14. Sr. - TE - Justin Johnson
15. Sr. - S - Jamal Peters
16. Sr. - S - Mark McLaurin
17. Sr. - DE - Montez Sweat
18. Sr. - S - Jonathan Abram

Juniors (25)

19. RS Jr. - RB - Alec Murphy
20. RS Jr. - RB - Nick Gibson
21. RS Jr. - WR - Malik Dear
22. RS Jr. - WR - Keith Mixon
23. RS Jr. - WR - Deddrick Thomas
24. RS Jr. - TE - Farrod Green
25. RS Jr. - OL - Darryl Williams
26. RS Jr. - OL - Michael Story
27. RS Jr. - OL - Tommy Champion
28. RS Jr. - OL - Tyre Phillips
29. RS Jr. - DE - Kendell Jones
30. RS Jr. - DT - Fletcher Adams
31. RS Jr. - DT - Lee Autry
32. RS Jr. - DT - Chauncey Rivers
33. RS Jr. - LB - Tim Washington
34. RS Jr. - LB - Leo Lewis
35. RS Jr. - LB - Sh'mar Kilby-Lane
36. RS Jr. - CB - Maurice Smitherman
37. RS Jr. - S - Brian Cole
38. RS Jr. - S - Jaquarius Landrews
39. Jr. - WR - Jamal Couch
40. Jr. - WR - Stephen Guidry
41. Jr. - DE - Marquiss Spencer
42. Jr. - DE - Kobe Jones
43. Jr. - DE - Jeffery Simmons


Sophomores (15)


44. RS So. - CB -Cameron Dantzler
45. RS So. - WR - Osirus Mitchell
46. RS So. - WR - Reggie Todd
47. RS So. - TE - Dontea Jones
48. RS So. - TE - Christian Roberson
49. RS So. - OL - Dareun Parker
50. RS So. - OL - Greg Eiland
51. RS So. - OL - Stewart Reese
52. RS So. - LB - Erroll Thompson
53. RS So. - CB - C.J. Morgan-Walker
54. RS So. - S - Korey Charles
55. So. - QB - Keytaon Thompson
56. So. - RB - Kylin Hill
57. So. - LB - Willie Gay
58. So. - P - Tucker Day


Freshman (29)

59. RS Fr. - WR - Austin Williams
60. RS Fr. - TE - Powers Warren
61. RS Fr. - OL - Cordavien Suggs
62. RS Fr. - DE - Aaron Odom
63. RS Fr. - DT - James Jackson
64. RS Fr. - LB - Tyler Dunning
65. RS Fr. - CB - Landon Guidry
66. RS Fr. - S - Tyler Williams
67. Fr. - QB - Jalen Mayden
68. Fr. - RB - La'damian Webb
69. Fr. - WR - Malik Heath
70. Fr. - WR - Nathaniel Watson
71. Fr. - WR - Johnquarise Patterson
72. Fr. - WR - Devonta Jason
73. Fr. - WR - Cameron Gardner
74. Fr. - TE - Brad Cumbest
75. Fr. - TE - Geor'quarius Spivey
76. Fr. - OL - Kwatrivous Johnson
77. Fr. - OL - Kameron Jones
78. Fr. - DE - Jaden Crumedy
79. Fr. - DT - Cameron Young
80. Fr. - DT - Devon Robinson
81. Fr. - DT - Fabien Lovett
82. Fr. - LB - Jett Johnson
83. Fr. - CB - Esaias Furdge
84. Fr. - CB - Jaylon Reed
85. Fr. - S - Marcus Murphy
86. Fr. - S - Shawn Preston
87. Fr. - S - Aaron Brule

Brown and Wesley Kicked Off Team

The outlook for next year just got a little less sunny. Five football players were involved in an incident involving the firing of a gun on a campus. They are Michael Brown, Quinton Wesley, Anthony Johnson, Rodney Prince, and Jamon Hughes. None of the five will be playing for MSU next year.

You can read more in detail about what happened here, and a little on the sentencing here. Here is the Reader's Digest version. A gun was shown in a threatening manner to two football players. Later on the same day, the same guy returned to the dormitories where, I assume, the players live. Michael Brown and Quinton Wesley both fired a single shot into the air to scare the guy away. Knowing what they had just done, they panicked and tried to hide the gun with the assistance of Anthony Johnson, Jamon Hughes, and Rodney Prince. Soon after they were cooperative and revealed the location of the gun/guns and so on and so forth.

Neither Brown nor Wesley face jail time but both will pay fines and have been expelled from school as well as kicked off the team (obviously). Brown was given two years probation and Wesley 3 years probation.

It looks like Anthony Johnson, Jamon Hughes, and Rodney Prince will not have charges pressed against them, but all three withdrew from school during the spring semester.

I'm actually somewhat sympathetic. I do believe they weren't trying to hurt anyone and when someone shows a gun, I can understand panicking and doing something stupid. However, you just can't fire a gun on campus, even just up in the air. Not after VT and NIU. You can read about it and draw your own conclusions.



Now as far as how this affects things on the football field. Michael Brown and Quinton Wesley are done for good as far as playing for MSU goes. The Johnson, Hughes, and Prince situation is a little more complicated. I don't know why exactly they withdrew from school, but the fact is they did. Now, they can re-enroll during the summer or fall semesters if they choose. However, according to NCAA rules, since they didn't complete the spring semester, they cannot be eligible for the 2008 season. It is entirely possible for them to come back and be eligible for the 2009 season though. Jamon Hughes has decided he is going to transfer instead of sitting out a year and seeing what happens from there. I haven't heard anything on Johnson or Prince, so until I hear otherwise, I'll assume they will both be re-enrolling this summer or fall.

So, to recap: Michael Brown, Quinton Wesley, and Jamon Hughes will not be suiting up for MSU again. Anthony Johnson and Rodney Prince will sit out the 2008 season due to eligibility and will be back in 2009. Follow all that? Good.

Alright now the impact we're looking at for next year:

RS Sr. OT Michael Brown- Has started at LT the last 2 years and was going to start there again this year. Brown was the best OL on the team and had a very real chance of getting drafted next year. So. Derek Sherrod was going to start at RT, but will now be moved to LT. RS So. Mark Melichar will be competing with incoming JUCO Phillip Freeman for the RT spot. Sherrod shared time at RT with Hamilton last year and looked pretty good. There is a decent chance he'll be able to hold down the LT spot with out too much of a drop off. It would have been nice to wait until he was a Jr. though.

The real problem comes at the RT spot, which almost certainly just got worse. Freeman was a highly regarded JUCO, but even so, JUCO's tend to be extremely hit or miss. As far as Melichar, he does have some experience and was probably looking at being the starter at RT in 2009. Cross your fingers that he is ready a year early.

Bottomline, you don't lose an NFL quality LT and get better. The OL which looked to be, dare I say, a strength of the offense just became a pretty big question mark.

RS Jr DT Quinton Wesley- Wesley was 2nd string last year and was looking at the same spot on the depth chart this year. Mississippi State rotates their DTs alot though, so the backups at that spot are important. Wesley had 19 tackles and 2 TFL last year, not bad for a backup DT. LaMarcus Williams was ok as a true freshman last year and should be able to fill Wesley's role. Also, with all the D-lineman MSU brought in last year, everything should be fine for the future. You'd certainly rather have him than not, but far from a crippling loss.

Jr CB Anthony Johnson- This one hurts, maybe not as much as the loss of Brown but its close. It was too early to say for certain, and I'm no talent scout, but I thought Johnson was on track to being a mid rounder in the draft. Again, you just don't lose an NFL quality CB and get better. Last year he was sixth on the team in tackles with 52 and 2nd in interceptions with 3, two returned for touchdowns. That's alot of production. Marcus Washington will be looking to replace him. I'm not thrilled with that. Though he is good on special teams, he has had a tendency to get beat deep. Washington was just a Sophomore last year so he could be better this year just with the time and experience. With Johnson this was a top 3 secondary in the SEC, maybe even the best. Without him, its still good but has a big question mark at the vacated CB spot.

Jr LB Jamon Hughes- As the reserve MLB last year, Hughes was still 4th on the team with 65 tackles. He was going to be backing up Jamar Chaney again this year, but coaches had the luxury of giving Chaney a breather with no drop off at MLB. Not so much anymore. RS Fr Jamie Jones will probably replace him. The starting 3 will still be good, but this is a major blow to depth.

RS So. DE Rodney Prince- Rarely saw the field last year and was looking at being 2nd string at best. Again, MSU rotates the D-line alot, so depth is important. Even so, one of the incoming freshman should be able to take over his spot.


Not exactly building on the momentum of that 8-5 season. There are still alot of significant starters returning though, and this shouldn't be enough to derail the season. Still, not good.

Very Minor Football Notes

After looking at the spring media guide it looks like 3 players are no longer with the team that I haven't already mentioned.

-OL Chris Herrera is gone. I had heard a couple of months ago that he had transferred to Texas A&M, but I can't find him on their roster, but then it probably hasn't been updated. Wherever he is, he isn't with Mississippi State. Would have been a redshirt sophomore and backed up one of the guard positions. Probably not a big deal.

-RS Sr. OL Roland Terry Jr. is also gone. He has had alot of medical issues and has rarely been healthy enough to play. I would imagine these health issues led to him leaving the team. Again, a backup and probably not a big deal.

-RS Sr. FB/TE Jeremy Jones . . . gone. Didn't play much after the first 3 or 4 games last year. Doubtful he would have played much this year either. At 285 pounds, he is just too big to play FB or TE effectively, and it is too late to move him to OL. Normally this would hurt as both FB and TE are somewhat thin. However, he couldn't have helped much even he was still on the team.

Scholarship Breakdown (Basketball)

2017-2018
1. RS Jr. - SF - Xavian Stapleton
2. Jr. - SG - Quinndary Weatherspoon
3. Jr. - PF - Aric Holman
4. So. - PG - Lamar Peters
5. So. - SG - Eli Wright
6. So. - PG - Tyson Carter
7. So. - C - Schnider Herard
8. So. - C - Abdul Ado
9. So. - PF - E.J. Datcher
10. Fr. - PG - Nick Weatherspoon
11. Fr. - PF - Keyshawn Feazell
12. Open
13. Open


2018-2019
1. RS Sr. - SF - Xavian Stapleton
2. Sr. - SG - Quinndary Weatherspoon
3. Sr. - PF - Aric Holman
4. Jr. - PG - Lamar Peters
5. Jr. - SG - Eli Wright
6. Jr. - PG - Tyson Carter
7. Jr. - C - Schnider Herard
8. Jr. - C - Abdul Ado
9. Jr. - PF - E.J. Datcher
10. So. - PG - Nick Weatherspoon
11. So. - PF - Keyshawn Feazell
12. Fr. - PF - Reggie Perry
13. Fr. - SF - D.J. Stewart


2019-2020
1. Sr. - PG - Lamar Peters
2. Sr. - SG - Eli Wright
3. Sr. - PG - Tyson Carter
4. Sr. - C - Schnider Herard
5. Sr. - C - Abdul Ado
6. Sr. - PF - E.J. Datcher
7. Jr. - PG - Nick Weatherspoon
8. Jr. - PF - Keyshawn Feazell
9. So. - PF - Reggie Perry
10. So. - SF - D.J. Stewart
11. Open
12. Open
13. Open

Jamont Gordon Declares for NBA Draft

This comes as a surprise to precisely nobody. Gordon averaged 17.2 ppg, 6.6 rebound per game, and 4.9 assists per game. He also averaged 4 turnovers per game though.

Gordon says he isn't going to hire an agent. He has until June 16th to take his name out of the draft, in which case he would be able to return next year. There is about a 1%-5% chance of that happening though. Gordon seems to think he'll be a first rounder, but even if he is told he won't go until the second round, it sounds like Gordon is satisfied with getting drafted anywhere. Bottom line, unless Jamont Gordon goes undrafted, he will not be playing for Mississippi State next year.

You can tell just by the numbers that this is a significant loss. Ben Hansbrough transferring magnifies the absence of Gordon even further. His leaving isn't quite as devastating as experts will have you belief though. I truly believe he was the 3rd most important player on the team by the end of the year. The 1st and 2nd most important players is a toss up between Charles Rhodes and Jarvis Varnado. I think everyone can understand Rhodes, 17.4 ppg on the year but a significantly higher average the second half of the year, 7.8 rebounds per game, and a career high 34 points against Oregon. He was unstoppable against everyone, except probably Memphis. I put Varnado up there too because of his defensive presence. In the Memphis game, when he was in there, MSU played them toe-to-toe, and maybe even was getting the better of them. As soon as Varnado had to go to the bench, the flood gates opened. It really was amazing.

Anyway, he was one of the most frustrating and at the same time thrilling players in MSU history. He'd commit a bone headed charge one play and an electrifying drive and dunk the very next (or a game tying 3 at the buzzer against UK).

I'll close with this:

Ben Hansbrough Transfers to Notre Dame

Its the offseason for basketball, and at MSU that means somebody is going to be transferring. This year it is starting guard Ben Hansbrough. He cited Mississippi State's lack of a practice facility as a major factor in his decision. Now, I am 100 % confident the lack of a practice facility was a factor in his decision. I am also 100% confident it was not the only factor. What else led to his decision we don't know and we will never know.

Hansbrough averaged 10.5 ppg and was the team's leading free throw shooter at 78.9%. With him gone, MSU will have one proven outside shooter next year in Barry Stewart. That's not good. Now there are some other guys with potential, i.e Ravern Johnson, but they have yet to show it on the court. I'm not one to sugarcoat, but even if I wanted to there isn't any way to put a positive spin on this transfer. It hurts. Mississippi State is going to have an extremely young and unproven lineup yet again next year. It looks to be ugly.

Looking at the big picture, this trend regarding transfers is becoming disturbing. I don't know what is going on inside The Hump, but something needs to change. You just cannot have multiple players leaving the program every year, it destroys the program's stability. I realize transfers will happen, but not at this rate. It has gotten so bad, I honestly feel fortunate that only one player decided to leave the team this year.

I like Rick Stansbury as the coach, really I do. He has done a very good job, especially given that he has been working under an athletic director that refuses to support him. However, he needs to make some changes to his program. I don't know what needs fixing and I don't know what needs to be done, but these transfers have to stop. Maybe he promises recruits the world, maybe he gives preferential treatment to some players, heck maybe it has just been the Jamont Gordon effect. Whatever is going on, if it isn't corrected, Mississippi State will never be a real player on the national stage.

Good News/Bad News

Which do you want first?

Nevermind, it doesn't matter. You're getting the bad news first.

If you recall, MSU got a commit from one Chris Garrett back in October. I was a little excited about it. Well fast forward a few months, and the 21st ranked quarterback in the country changed his mind and has committed to LSU. . . . Ouch. Hard to compete with national championships I guess. Not that it is over necessarily, February is a long way off and he did grow up a MSU fan, but for now he is gone.

Fortunately, this is the point where the good news comes into play. You see, this is an exceptionally rare year in Mississippi. It's not often that a QB with BCS level potential comes out of Mississippi, and it is even less often that you'll see three high level QBs in Mississippi in the same year. This is one of those years special years though, with Chris Garrett, Tyler Russell, and Clayton Moore being the #21, #32, and #35 quarterbacks in the country respectively.

Soon after Garrett decommitted, Tyler Russell gave a verbal commitment to Mississippi State. Now the consensus is that Garrett is the best QB in Mississippi with Russell being #2 and Moore #3. However, while Garrett was still committed to MSU, I heard quite a few people say they hoped Mississippi State could still land Tyler Russell as he was the better of the two. Only time will tell who's right, but that is encouraging.

Russell is similar to Garrett in that they are both largely pocket QBs, but with the edge in mobility going to Russell. Tyler threw for 2,481 yards and 26 TDs his junior year with just 8 interceptions. Thats nothing to sneeze at. Now once again, it is a long time until February, and I promise you that there will be some big time schools offering Russell before it is all said and done. Hopefully MSU can hold on to him.




*****Since we are on the topic of recruiting, let me say this. I'm not going to make a post every time someone commits. I tried that last year and just didn't like it. Instead, I'm going to just wait until February and go over the entire class all at once. I'm still going to do that for the 2008 class too by the way. It's coming, I promise.

The exception to this rule will be if there are any "big time" commits, I will make a post about it when it happens. For example, we all know QB is probably the most important position on the team, and we all know how much trouble MSU has had at QB under Croom. Thus I consider getting the #32 quarterback in the country big news. Similarly, if a 5 star WR commits, there will be a post about it. Otherwise, recruiting information is going to be very non-specific and very infrequent.

Speaking of non-specific, I will say this. The 2009 class is getting off to a very strong start. You can definitely see the impact of the 8-5 season. If Croom can take the team to another bowl, this will likely be his best recruiting class so far.

Ron Polk Is Retiring

Seeing as this was announced a couple of months ago I'm quite certain that all of you already knew this. I know baseball is big at MSU, but I am not a baseball fan, not even a casual fan. I might watch an inning or two if one of my three favorite NCAA teams (Mississippi State, Michigan, and Louisville) happens to be on T.V, and I'll probably watch at least most of the game if its a post season game. Otherwise, I don't watch baseball and I don't even make an attempt to keep up with it. This means my knowledge in this particular situation is very limited, and thus so will this post. (Warning: This isn't going to be a post full of praise and admiration for Ron Polk. Its going to be largely negative. If you just can't handle that, stop reading and go somewhere else. I don't know enough about the past to comment, so I comment on the present, which is undeniably ugly. You've been warned, so don't come crying to me with outrage.)

I know Ron Polk has meant a great deal to the sport of baseball. Why exactly, I couldn't tell you. I know he has meant a great deal to Mississippi State. When your name is on the stadium you probably did something right. Again though, I couldn't tell you why exactly. I'm quite certain the majority of you can rattle off his accomplishments without assistance from me though. So we move forward.

This baseball season has been an absolute trainwreck. The team is flat out awful, sporting a 20-32 record and a 7-20 SEC record and regularly getting crushed by 10+. Its been decades since MSU has been this bad. It really is a shame that Polk has to go out like this, however, he has nobody to blame but himself. I know that will be unpopular, but so be it.

MSU has been pretty average during Polk's return stint. They've missed the SEC tournament 3 of the last 5 years, and last year was quite frankly a fluke. They weren't that good during the season, but got hot at the right time. Polk has been too busy fighting the NCAA 24-7 to get out there and recruit, to get out there and coach to the best of his abilities. Basically, he has just lost the fire. That doesn't even bother me though. What bothers me is he is emphatically demanding that his unproven assistant, Tommy Raffo, should be the next head coach. No search is needed according to him because he knows better than Greg Byrne what is best for the program.

Why is Raffo the best hire for the program according to Polk? Basically because he is more of the same. When a team isn't any good, the last thing they need is more of the same Ron. You're not bigger than the program Ron. Enjoy your last weekend of coaching, step down gracefully, and get the hell out of Greg Byrne's way.

Anyway, I could go on, but I won't. This isn't the time for it. Fortunately Byrne has said there will be a national search despite Polk's wishes. I wonder if good ole' LT would have done the same? That is another rant entirely though.

Good luck to you Ron Polk and thank you for all that you've done in the past. Do your research and get the best guy for the job Byrne.

If interested, here is Ron Polk's retirement letter.




This will be all of the baseball coverage you will see this year, save for one post when the new coach is hired. Is it football season yet?