Article on Smoke | TigerFan.com

Logan · May 25, 2005

Last time I posted an article (JaMarcus Russell interview) from the Mobile Register, it got deleted, so sorry if I'm doing something wrong by posting another

[font=arial,sans-serif]Sports Columnist Neal McCready[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]See clearly through the Smoke[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Wednesday, May 25, 2005[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]HOOVER -- It was fitting that LSU clinched a share of the ultra-competitive SEC Western Division baseball title Sunday in Starkville, Miss. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Had the Tigers won the trophy in Baton Rouge, LSU fans probably would have booed Smoke Laval anyway. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"The expectations are just too high at LSU," said Mississippi State coach Ron Polk, who will face the Tigers today at 10 a.m. in the first game of the SEC tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]A program that in its glory days under Skip Bertman won five national championships lost five consecutive SEC series earlier in the season and fell to last place in the SEC West. In mid-April, LSU hit its low point when it was blown out at home in the first game of a three-game set against Mississippi. Fans booed. Talk radio shows were full of calls for Laval's job. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]LSU rebounded to beat the Rebels on that Saturday and Sunday and finished the SEC slate by winning 12 of its last 16 games to share the division title with Mississippi. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The problem at LSU isn't Laval. The fans are the problem. In short, they're living in a past that can never be repeated. Bertman, Laval's predecessor, built LSU into a dynasty, taking the Tigers to 11 College World Series and winning five before moving into athletic administration. The task of replacing Bertman was the college baseball equivalent of replacing Bear Bryant in football or John Wooden in basketball. In other words, it was next to impossible. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"Smoke knew that going in and he accepted that," Polk said. "He's a great person and a great coach and there's no reason for that criticism because he's been very successful. Even though he hasn't won the national title yet, he's only in his fourth year coaching. Give him time. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"The ideal time to become a head coach is to replace somebody who lost every game. Everybody is happy to have somebody else come in." [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]LSU fans don't want to hear Polk's rational explanation. They expect dominance from Laval but don't want to understand the reality of SEC baseball. When Bertman inherited the LSU job in 1984, college baseball was little more than a blip on the radar. Since then, schools in the SEC have dedicated resources to becoming competitive in the sport. New stadiums, all superior to LSU's Alex Box, have been built throughout the SEC. Practice facilities have been built, recruiting budgets expanded and fan interest has jumped. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]It wasn't a coincidence that the two programs that battled LSU for the Western Division title this season, Alabama and Mississippi, are coached by former Bertman assistants. LSU fans don't want to understand that their competitors have tried to copy the Tigers' formula for success, making it far more difficult for LSU to stay atop the SEC on an annual basis. Instead of appreciating the increased quality of opposition, they're booing their own. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Laval doesn't seem fazed by the grumbling fans. He has taken two of his first three LSU teams to the College World Series and the Tigers are a strong candidate to get to Omaha again next month. Laval admitted earlier this week that he isn't putting a strong emphasis on this week's SEC tournament, choosing to focus on bigger prizes. That could result in a couple more losses in the coming days. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"I know everybody puts a lot of pressure on me and a lot of emphasis on the tournament and they forget about the 30 (SEC) ballgames that we play all year," he said. "To me, it's tougher in those 30 than it is in a four-day span. If you can get hot for 48 or 72 hours, do you want to get hot this weekend or next weekend or the following weekend? I think if I had my choice, it'd be in the next two weekends and not the one coming up." [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] Laval has it figured out. It's a shame that the fans who should be congratulating him can't say the same. [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif](Neal McCready's column [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]appears Wednesdays in the [/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Mobile Register. Contact him at [email protected]) [/font]
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G_MAN113 · May 25, 2005

"If you can get hot for 48 or 72 hours, do you want to get hot this weekend or next weekend or the following weekend? I think if I had my choice, it'd be in the next two weekends and not the one coming up."

I wouldn't have a problem w/ this philosophy if we didn't have to make a decent showing in B'ham to get a top 8 seed, and thus home field advantage
throughout the NCAA playoffs. But the reality of the matter is, we DO have to make a decent showing at the SEC tourney, and we got off to a miserable start there today.

Jean Lafitte · May 25, 2005

We have won the SEC West, and that's enough LSU baseball accomplishment for me.

Right?

LSUGradin99 · May 25, 2005

Logan said:

Last time I posted an article (JaMarcus Russell interview) from the Mobile Register, it got deleted, so sorry if I'm doing something wrong by posting another
Click to expand...

You probably did back then what you did just now. Try posting in this format:

> Link to User Agreement <

Please try to...
* Disagree respectfully.
* Not engage in name-calling.
* Treat opposing fans with civility unless their behavior warrants otherwise.
* When posting articles from other sources, tease it. Just post a paragraph or two from the article and a link to the original article. This gives the reader a taste of what the article is about and the option to continue reading it at the source.
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Logan · May 25, 2005

LSUGradin99 said:

You probably did back then what you did just now. Try posting in this format:

> Link to User Agreement <
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That's exactly what I did. Last time I teased it and provided the link. But if you clicked on the link you had to provide your zipcode and age/sex to access the article. Maybe that had something to do with it?

saltyone · May 25, 2005

dumbass comment said:

In short, they're living in a past that can never be repeated.
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Well, so far this article is a load of bulls**t.

saltyone · May 25, 2005

another dumbass comment said:

Instead of appreciating the increased quality of opposition
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WTF?

TwistedTiger · May 25, 2005

saltyone said:

Well, so far this article is a load of bulls**t.

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Have to agree!!!!!

saltyone · May 25, 2005

smoke said:

"I know everybody puts a lot of pressure on me and a lot of emphasis on the tournament and they forget about the 30 (SEC) ballgames that we play all year," he said. "To me, it's tougher in those 30 than it is in a four-day span. If you can get hot for 48 or 72 hours, do you want to get hot this weekend or next weekend or the following weekend? I think if I had my choice, it'd be in the next two weekends and not the one coming up."
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JMO, I don't agree. You don't preach to your players that it is alright not to be competitive from time to time. You let them know that everytime they step to the plate, nothing but their best is expected. I, personally, do not like this attitude at all.

From the above quote from smoke, I assume that we will go out there tomorrow morning and just go through the motions, with no regard of whether we win or lose. I know that baseball is different in some aspects than other sports, but you should strive to win every game, to include midweek games with non conference opponents.

A chance to host a super, if we win the regional, is nothing to just piss away.

JSracing · May 25, 2005

thanks for posting this Logan.