Dandy Don is conducting a poll on whether or not Smoke should be replaced. With 2200 votes so far, 91% say he needs to go.
Actually, the 91% want our baseball team to start winning again. Smoke knows baseball and he's been around the program a long time, but does Skip think another year and some better luck will turn things around? I think Smoke's record shows he can coach. The Super Regional and WCS appearances were not flukes. College Baseball is a national sport now and the non sunbelt teams are pulling away recruits that used to go south and west. There is one question that baffles me though. How does Graham do it at Rice?? Get me that guy.
Does anybody know Smoke's record at ULM in games not started by Ben Sheets as that would definitely make him appear to be a better coach than he has shown himself to be? I've alway smaintained that Smoke Laval was Curly Hallman reincarnated in baseball by winning b/c of a great player at a small university.
no but i know he lost only one game his last year @ NE which it was called then. something like 15-1 I wanna say. then he went on to be the ace of the olympic team to bring home the gold. I think he won all 3 games he started and may have given up a run at most.
Not sure, but he won around 30 games a year. Lost in the low to mid 20's every year too. if 10-15 of those wins, and 3-4 of those losses were attributed to Sheets then he would have been somewhere around .500 or slightly below without him.
Actually, Smoke's best years (based on wins) were the year before and after Sheets. Sheets went 26-12 during his 3 years in 97, 98 and 99. ULM went to 4 regionals in their history, 3 of those under Smoke. 1994, 20-33 1995, 37-20 1996, 41-19 1997, 33-21 1998, 33-22 1999, 36-22 2000, 41-22
yeah i wasnt gonna look it up since its pretty unfair to judge a career at a school based on one player. Thats like asking what sabans record was at LSU when mauck didnt start.
