tough decisions

May 31, 2014, 11:49 PM

I purposely held back from commenting on baseball during the season. I wanted to see how it would all play out and hoped this year would be the one to get things back on track. Obviously, that didn't happen.

I try to refrain from calling for a coach to be fired on a message board, but I understand why others feel the need to do so. Having been let go in a layoff and knowing the hit to one's psyche, I can only imagine the difficulty in dealing with this on a more public level. Regardless of this personal preference, I have no problem pointing out glaringly obvious issues with a program, and I believe our baseball program deserves criticism and scrutiny.

I used to be a much closer follower of the baseball team and remember many nights following bigdaddy (pbp) in TAC with the play-by-play. It was formerly our most consistent program, but I don't see how anyone can claim that now. We lost something, as David Hood said a while back, when the "music stopped." We hit a wall in the cws, and instead of pushing through, we have slid steadily backwards. I believe the music stopped for me and other fans as confidence was replaced with doubt.

I understand some who defend Jack because of past successes and possibly personal relationship or preference. I imagine some of the defense is driven by the unrelenting criticism from some, which ironically, is so unrelenting and harsh because of the perceived need to overcome the "blind loyalty" of others.

In the end, I hope we can all agree that we wish this team had won more not only for the program, or just our desire to enjoy its success, but also for the players who worked hard and wanted much more. I hope we can all agree that where we are is not where Clemson baseball should be, though I'm sure that won't happen. Some think making the tournament is good enough but don't seem to understand that the tournament field expanded to 64 from 48 in the late 90s and was at 36 for most of the 80s. In other words, making the tournament should be a foregone conclusion for any decent program.

I wish we could all agree that something must change because what is being done isn't working. I know there is disagreement on Jack, but none of us gets to make that call. I don't know what DRad will do or if his move will work, but I hope he values our baseball program as much as our fans do. He has some tough decisions to make; I don't envy his position. I hope whatever is decided brings a turn that can get our players and fans back believing that we'll succeed again. I hope Clemson baseball rises again to the level of being a consistent winner and force on the state and national level. Go Tigers!

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tough decisions

Best post I've read in years regarding Jack.

Great post***

Good post.***

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