Chase Burns Appreciation Thread

[CAVPUT]

12th paragraph...
Tennessee standout reliever Burns enters portal

My mistake. I thought it was Burns telling Tony V that Tony had plateaued as a coach. Regardless, I don't think it was necessary for Burns to reveal his intent in the middle of a season. That sort of thing does nothing to help the team and can be disruptive. Selfish and petty of him to do it the way he did. The more I read about this the more I'm glad he's leaving. It also won't surprise me if he does go to LSU or Vandy just to try and rub the coaches noses in it. Hate to think that way about the kid, but he's starting to look like the sort of guy who would do it.

 

[Ttucke11]

Meh. Kid has some great potential. Hope he's happy.

But I root for Vols. So I really don't care what happens in his career now. Just another guy.

Let's go get some dudes who want to wear orange.

 

[BruisedOrange]

I agree on most but
This. Most college sport athletes who receive scholarships do not leave with debt. And get a free education. Along with many extra benefits (food, health care, nutritionists, tutors and so on)

"...most college students.." was intended to mean "as opposed to students with scholarships"

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

Meh. Kid has some great potential. Hope he's happy.

But I root for Vols. So I really don't care what happens in his career now. Just another guy.

Let's go get some dudes who want to wear orange.

As much as I wish he had stuck it out for one last ride because of how gifted he is, it’s probably best for Tennessee that he moves on if he was going to be a distraction and wasn’t fully bought in. I’m sure he will be fine wherever he goes, but we will be fine too as you alluded to. Our skipper is an elite recruiter and we have arguably the best pitching coach in college baseball. The future remains bright for Vol baseball.

 

[first time caller]

My mistake. I thought it was Burns telling Tony V that Tony had plateaued as a coach. Regardless, I don't think it was necessary for Burns to reveal his intent in the middle of a season. That sort of thing does nothing to help the team and can be disruptive. Selfish and petty of him to do it the way he did. The more I read about this the more I'm glad he's leaving. It also won't surprise me if he does go to LSU or Vandy just to try and rub the coaches noses in it. Hate to think that way about the kid, but he's starting to look like the sort of guy who would do it.

Nothing surprises any more about college sports athletes...even Oklahoma's star pitcher on their NC softball team is transferring. Lady Vols even picked up their catcher.

 

[vol66]

When a coach kowtows to any player, you can kiss respect goodbye. I'm of the opinion that it's what started Fulmer's downfall. When Kelly Washington danced to his own tune and Fulmer allowed it, I think that began his decline. It most certainly didn't foster a cohesive locker room. Tony V did exactly the right thing by moving Burns to the pen and placing the team above the individual. Burns is a helluva talent, but there will be others. Good luck to the kid, but I think we'll be better off without him. If he didn't want to be here, it's addition by subtraction. Glad it's done and we can move on with building our roster for next season. With our pitching departures, one would think UT would be pretty darned attractive to both pitching recruits as well as guys in the portal looking to play against the best of college baseball in the SEC.

Interesting, you aren’t gonna give Phil, Tee or Al any credit at all? As far as the big 3 goes, I’m pretty sure that was the last one.

 

[first time caller]

Unless they transfer to us

I understand a transfer for more playing time, bad culture, wanting to play in SEC, etc. But to transfer to us just for more NIL money, I can't really respect that.

 

[volman128]

Nothing surprises any more about college sports athletes...even Oklahoma's star pitcher on their NC softball team is transferring. Lady Vols even picked up their catcher.

It was surprising when Bahl left but at least she left to be closer to her family/bf. She’s from Nebraska and that’s where she went. Plus her bf plays baseball at Nebraska.

Honestly when Ally Shipman left for Bama that was more of a headscratcher given her family moved to Knoxville from SoCal and her sister was a star here. She had committed as an 8th grader and those players rarely work out.

Years ago Annie Aldrete was NFOY and tied the single season HR record her first year but left to go to Cal closer to home after her sophomore year after her best friend passed away. And she was a shell of the player she was here in her final two years at Cal.

I think in the end it shows we never really know what’s going on in a player’s personal life in all three of those cases. None of them left for the same reason as Burns, though.

 

[Stownterry]

No I in team
either a Vol or not

 

[drylo]

Very good podcast on this whole situation from 247 with McKee, Rucker, and Will Heflin if you haven’t listened to it. Good points made and light shed on the whole situation:
‎GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast: Chase Burns leaving Vols, others are coming on Apple Podcasts

Yep, good pod. Will didn’t pull many punches in pointing out that this is a kid who showed up on campus as a freshman and was the Friday night starter from day 1 for a team coming off a 50-win season and CWS appearance… got handed a starting role again this year and only finally got moved out of that role more than halfway though the season after really struggling in SEC play… at which point he was showcased in a premium bullpen role… and he still seemingly feels like he was entitled to more.

 

[TartanTurff]

Probably looking for a top shelf NIL deal for that third year, probably not at the top of the list at Tennessee coming out of the pen. I think he'll end up at a baseball school that offers the best deal, but I think he's played his last game in Omaha.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

As wiseman Jerry Seinfeld once said, we’re all really just rooting for the jersey. Most kids are in it for “self” and care very little about the schools. Let’s have an appreciation thread for Peyton Manning and the many like him over the years that have been proud to wear the orange.

 

[cwbytruckers]

Burns is really good but i trust our coaches to get a really good legitimate replacement starter or bullpen dude.

 

[Tenacjim]

My mistake. I thought it was Burns telling Tony V that Tony had plateaued as a coach. Regardless, I don't think it was necessary for Burns to reveal his intent in the middle of a season. That sort of thing does nothing to help the team and can be disruptive. Selfish and petty of him to do it the way he did. The more I read about this the more I'm glad he's leaving. It also won't surprise me if he does go to LSU or Vandy just to try and rub the coaches noses in it. Hate to think that way about the kid, but he's starting to look like the sort of guy who would do it.

IMO, CB making this decision in the middle of the year is somewhat interesting. Especially if the “plateau” discussion happened at that time. He clearly improved as the year went on. Learning a change-up grip on the dugout from Halvorsen among those improvements. Clearly, he hadn’t “plateaued” at the time he was pulled from the rotation.
FWIW, I appreciated his efforts while he was here. He could have tanked on the season and/or become a cancer to the team once he decided he was leaving. His performances late in the year and the love and respect showed between him and his teammates are a testament to that not being the case. I truly appreciate his contributions.
All that said, I only know who he is because he played for my favorite team. If he transfers to another SEC team, I certainly don’t “wish him well”. As a rule, I do not wish players from our hated rivals “well”. Just because he played here doesn’t change that. As much as I hated watching Henry T. get spun in circles trying to defend slants at TN, I thoroughly enjoyed watching that continue at Alabama.
All in all, if this move is an epic mistake and he tanks his career(not likely), that may be “good” for TN in the long run. Maybe the next guy thinking the “grass is greener” (aside from the $$), may think twice before bolting.

 

[tennesseeduke]

Thanks for 2 yrs but you have made your choice.

 

[turbovol]

Burns is too talented to keep in the pen. It's one thing to move him to a relief role when he's struggling as a starter--but when
he's back on track you move him back into a starting role. Why? Because he was our most talented pitcher. The guy should have been
our No. 1 starter in the second half of the season--a no brainer. There are a lot of guys that can give you a few good innings out of the pen.
Vitello didn't get it right.

 

[cardvolfan]

Burns is too talented to keep in the pen. It's one thing to move him to a relief role when he's struggling as a starter--but when
he's back on track you move him back into a starting role. Why? Because he was our most talented pitcher. The guy should have been
our No. 1 starter in the second half of the season--a no brainer. There are a lot of guys that can give you a few good innings out of the pen.
Vitello didn't get it right.

You’re in a very small minority here. He got it right for the team first and foremost, and he might have kept Burns from disaster.

 

[GiveHim6InSC]

Yep, good pod. Will didn’t pull many punches in pointing out that this is a kid who showed up on campus as a freshman and was the Friday night starter from day 1 for a team coming off a 50-win season and CWS appearance… got handed a starting role again this year and only finally got moved out of that role more than halfway though the season after really struggling in SEC play… at which point he was showcased in a premium bullpen role… and he still seemingly feels like he was entitled to more.

And that’s the problem- entitled. Somebody who’s in college on a scholarship and has access to the best coaching and facilities, is treated like a king from the moment they step on campus, has all the tools needed to be successful at the college level and prepare for the next one. But they think the grass is greener somewhere else.
Yeah, LSU has the facilities and the money and just won a NC, but he committed to play at Tennessee and be part of what Coach Vitello is building there. 2 trips to Omaha in the last 3 seasons should tell anybody the direction this program is headed, and the facilities are following. He struggled as a starter and the coaches re-worked things to give him an optimal chance to make a difference (which, to their credit, worked), and the best thing he could pull out of his rectum is that he hit some kind of plateau?
I said earlier in the season that I felt some players were toxic, and I believed he and Ahuna were two of them. Still feel that way. I hope he gets absolutely shelled if and when he pitches against UT- otherwise, I won’t lose an ounce of sleep over his departure.

 

[bobbyutvol]

I just heard LSU offered 100K to come there. Vols offered to match but he is headed to LSU.

 

[volz2wallz]

I just heard LSU offered 100K to come there. Vols offered to match but he is headed to LSU.

Tcu

 

[turbovol]

College athletics is a joke nowadays--seriously. There are no rules, no enforcement, corruption is rampant, transfers are rampant,
NIL is a massive freakin' joke., LSU with major basketball and football violations and just got nothing more than a slap on the wrist--which will only spark more cheating; 20 team conferences are a laugh--they're not even conferences anymore in the traditional sense, just Suck on the TV Money Teet agglomerations....it's pretty sad. Fans don't seem to care--the games are America's entertainment narcotic.

 

[vol66]

College athletics is a joke nowadays--seriously. There are no rules, no enforcement, corruption is rampant, transfers are rampant,
NIL is a massive freakin' joke., LSU with major basketball and football violations and just got nothing more than a slap on the wrist--which will only spark more cheating; 20 team conferences are a laugh--they're not even conferences anymore in the traditional sense, just Suck on the TV Money Teet agglomerations....it's pretty sad. Fans don't seem to care--the games are America's entertainment narcotic.

Soooooo, if I may ask…why are you here?

 

[chattavol420]

C’mon op. Burns has a lot of talent but was terrible ti start the year. He actually started way too long and had like a 7.0 era (or something horrendous). Instead of just benchin and moving on Tony refused to not see him get back on track. Moving him to the pen (but in a roll similar to that of a started) based on the how the weekend played out legit saved his career. He was able to thrive when he could come in as a change of pace guy.
Pathetic that he’d leave imo. He would’ve most certainly been given the chance to start the season as a starter again. You can shoved the appreciation where the son don’t shine if you ask me.

 

[fryeguy93]

It is interesting to note, Tennessee fan or not, that most people are surprised by the transfer out. Sure, any other team would take him but there's a reason top-notch pitchers don't leave Knoxville and that's Frank Anderson.

We all mistakes and we all make more mistakes when we're at his age. An an experienced coach knows that every kid is different and you can't handle them the same an expect different results. Chase is one of those people who are more sensitive to perceived slights. This is neither wrong nor right, it is the way he is and likely makes him the competitive guy he is and now explains the fiery emotion we saw in the last half of the season- especially in the post season.

Being a "starter" is obviously VERY important to his psyche and it is clear he wants a bit more "autonomy" in how and what he pitches.

The coaches have a job to develop that talent but also must also look at the team as a whole. We were here in April when Burns and Dollander were struggling and we were all openly wondering when we have look at other weekend starters as the rotation was not getting it done in their current set up.

Looking back, it is clear the coaching staff made the EXACT right decisions prior to the Vanderbilt series. The entire staff - ESPECIALLY Burns, pitched better as reconfigured. A fire was lit under Chase Burns that he took all the way to Nebraska and back.

However, even good decisions have consequences and that bill has apparently come due as a young man took these decisions personally. It's his decision and even though it appears he was treated rather fairly and praised heavily for how he performed his role after the changes, he no longer feels comfortable .

I hope he does well. I hope he does not go to a program that burns -no pun intended, him out. There's some coaches that will allow a kid to do whatever the pitcher wants and whatever it takes to wins games even if that means 2 appearances on a weekend with 150 pitches. That may be what Chase wants- to be "the" guy; but that is not what he needs.

 

[StarRaider]

Soooooo, if I may ask…why are you here?

trolls gonna troll