Coming after Vitello

#201
#201
drawing dead said:
We can respectfully disagree. I think modern technology innovations (social media) is a huge advantage for teams in cities like Knoxville. Population along with social media makes it easier to obtain what STATE has in a shorter time frame. Of course the biggest factor is winning like STATE does consistently.
That goes back to recruiting and the whole discussion about how you do that consistently here. Not getting into that again other than to say I believe it is possible. Just look at Legends of Lindsey, about 3-4 weeks ago their following on Twitter was around 200 and now it is over 4,000. By seasons end that could be 20,000.
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yea my son is one of those followers on Twitter but I couldn’t drag him kicking and screaming to go to a game. Just not interested
 
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#202
#202
BruinVol said:
He wasn’t really an elite guy last year. He flashed some 95-96 numbers in the late spring right before the draft but the scouts were shut down at that time. Under normal circumstances I think he’d been a 3-4th round guy that would have gotten a mil or so
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Thanks. I didn’t realize he was so highly thought of. But he’s been a nice surprise (at least to me), especially given the loss of Leath. If Leath hadn’t been injured and your weekend rotation is Leath, Dallas, and Heflin/Tidwell with the odd man out being your long reliever...that would’ve been something.
 
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#203
#203
I have a solution to any recruiting disadvantage: cheat.

Seriously. When was the last time a baseball program was put on probation? Is the NCAA even monitoring how scholarships are divided up and where scholarship money comes from? Just have boosters pay their tuition. The NCAA isn’t worried about monitoring baseball programs closely. They’re too inept. Figure it out.
 
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#204
#204
BruinVol said:
yea my son is one of those followers on Twitter but I couldn’t drag him kicking and screaming to go to a game. Just not interested
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And that’s okay. If they get more of the student body and just a fraction of their followers to attend that’s a step in the right direction. If their following does reach a modest 8,000 this year and they get 1/8 of them to attend that would be a huge boost in attendance relative to capacity at LNS. I’m not talking about only the Legends and Twitter either. I met a couple at Calhouns during the Florida series that had never been to a TN baseball game and because of UT’s Facebook they were taking their 3 kids to a Saturday night game. Social media is real and it’s helping with attendance. Even you Bruin cannot deny this, just look at ticket prices for some of these games.
 
#205
#205
BruinVol said:
He wasn’t really an elite guy last year. He flashed some 95-96 numbers in the late spring right before the draft but the scouts were shut down at that time. Under normal circumstances I think he’d been a 3-4th round guy that would have gotten a mil or so
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He would probably still had been that. He negotiated really hard. Which was smart. His asking price was too high in that 3rd round range. I think his gamble will pay off. Also hearing Burns is going to have a high asking price as well. Was at the game last Saturday and loved it.
 
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#207
#207
Pardon the noob in me...beating Vandy is one measuring stick. It isn’t the only one. Let’s talk UVA.

I just ain’t gonna do it.

If any one of you folks would have said 5 years ago we would be here now with a HC that never had been a HC before, not talking Hoover, not talking making a regional, but being a top 8 seed and hosting a super regional...in Knoxville...well...

Now we can’t keep him, we gotta build something... or...

Enjoy what we have...stop waiting for the bottom to drop out, it ain’t yer money.
 
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#208
#208
Volsbaseballfan1 said:
One thing you have to keep in mind. The stadium will be shared.. problems can arise from that such as scheduling availability. What if the minor league team isn’t willing to play 2nd fiddle to the Vols? Regional and Supers the minor league team would have to agree to play on the road. Practice time? Part of the home field advantage is having a great feel for the Turf and playing environment.
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I vote NO for the off campus stadium, but if sharing a stadium does happen, the issues above will be minimal. LNS will still exist for practice, mid week games, early season weekends, etc. With the new Minor League schedule, UT regular season will be 2/3 completed before MiLB gets started, and AA teams are going to 6 game series to minimize travel. Scheduling weekends for a big SEC series should not be an issue.
 
#209
#209
BruinVol said:
Again going to Starkville is a passed down from generation to generation event that for many the game is not even the main course of the event

It can’t be duplicated in this day of entertainment

So when you say Knoxville can do that I firmly disagree and winning isn’t going to change that.
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I think this sums it up best. I have a co-worker who lives in south GA but attended State. He makes a 7 hr drive (one way) damn near every home weekend for baseball games. His daughter who attends Delta State in Cleveland, MS comes over, his niece & husband come up from Hattiesburg and his sister and brother in law come in from Tupelo. It is truly a family function that is planned like its a wedding or reunion; what time does everyone arrive, who’s bringing what, who’s staying where. I think this mentality or culture is far from an anomaly in Starkville; it’s the norm. I want that so badly and it’s why I’m coming up every weekend and taking my kid as often as I can, but unfortunately it’s not just built like that.
 
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#210
#210
Buzzbait said:
I vote NO for the off campus stadium, but if sharing a stadium does happen, the issues above will be minimal. LNS will still exist for practice, mid week games, early season weekends, etc. With the new Minor League schedule, UT regular season will be 2/3 completed before MiLB gets started, and AA teams are going to 6 game series to minimize travel. Scheduling weekends for a big SEC series should not be an issue.
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Yeah I get that. But you want to be able to practice on the field you play on everyday. The Thursday night practice before the weekend series has a lot of time with familiarity with the surface. Case in point the infield single at A&M the other day. If that is at LNS it’s a ground out because it plays faster. Check out defensive splits between home and road. It’s pretty massive. As far as scheduling goes it is a big deal around this time through June , especially in Supers. Missouri St couldn’t host a super back in 2014 because of the double A cardinals. I’m sure there are more examples of that with shared facilities. I just know that off the top of my head.
 
#211
#211
Volsbaseballfan1 said:
Yeah I get that. But you want to be able to practice on the field you play on everyday. The Thursday night practice before the weekend series has a lot of time with familiarity with the surface. Case in point the infield single at A&M the other day. If that is at LNS it’s a ground out because it plays faster. Check out defensive splits between home and road. It’s pretty massive. As far as scheduling goes it is a big deal around this time through June , especially in Supers. Missouri St couldn’t host a super back in 2014 because of the double A cardinals. I’m sure there are more examples of that with shared facilities. I just know that off the top of my head.
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I see your view and concerns, but any agreement could be made to work for up to 2 weekends for Regionals and Supers. A 2 week road trip for Smokies would not be out of the norm. Like I said, I too prefer to be on campus. Maybe an option for a year or two so they can level LNS and start over
 
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#212
#212
AthensVol2007 said:
I think this sums it up best. I have a co-worker who lives in south GA but attended State. He makes a 7 hr drive (one way) damn near every home weekend for baseball games. His daughter who attends Delta State in Cleveland, MS comes over, his niece & husband come up from Hattiesburg and his sister and brother in law come in from Tupelo. It is truly a family function that is planned like its a wedding or reunion; what time does everyone arrive, who’s bringing what, who’s staying where. I think this mentality or culture is far from an anomaly in Starkville; it’s the norm. I want that so badly and it’s why I’m coming up every weekend and taking my kid as often as I can, but unfortunately it’s not just built like that.
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That warms my heart.
 
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#213
#213
One thing UT could do promotion wise is to have a bobblehead day giveaway of Coaches Barnes, Harper, Heupel and Vitello at one of their respective home games to help attendance in the future.
 
#214
#214
Brent Hubbs of Volquest interviewed White about his first 100 days as AD.

Part 1: The first 100 days: A visit with Athletics Director Danny White

Part 2: White on facilities, increasing revenue and concerns in college athletics

In Part 2, Brent asked White about baseball:

Q: Fans are asking me about baseball. That facility is not near the top of the SEC. Where is that as a priority? How do you prioritize facilities and what kind of conversations have you had with coach Vitello? Has that been a deep discussion or has that been a general let’s talk at the end of the season kind of thing?

DW: Normally, it’s a conversation I would want to wait and have at the end of the season. But with everything that’s going on and with a potentially unique opportunity with the downtown project we have had multiple conversations and we will continue to talk to see what that needs to look like. I would say all of our sport program’s facility dreams are a priority. I wouldn’t put one over another. As we find giving opportunities that will probably determine which projects happen first. I would say with Tony’s leadership and the success of the baseball program there are a lot of donors who want to help that program in whatever that means. We need to decide and we are in conversations to try and figure out what’s the best way to position Tennessee baseball and be able to say our baseball program has as good as or the best facilities in the country which is really in the SEC.
 
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#216
#216
TN_gal said:
Brent Hubbs of Volquest interviewed White about his first 100 days as AD.

Part 1: The first 100 days: A visit with Athletics Director Danny White

Part 2: White on facilities, increasing revenue and concerns in college athletics

In Part 2, Brent asked White about baseball:

Q: Fans are asking me about baseball. That facility is not near the top of the SEC. Where is that as a priority? How do you prioritize facilities and what kind of conversations have you had with coach Vitello? Has that been a deep discussion or has that been a general let’s talk at the end of the season kind of thing?

DW: Normally, it’s a conversation I would want to wait and have at the end of the season. But with everything that’s going on and with a potentially unique opportunity with the downtown project we have had multiple conversations and we will continue to talk to see what that needs to look like. I would say all of our sport program’s facility dreams are a priority. I wouldn’t put one over another. As we find giving opportunities that will probably determine which projects happen first. I would say with Tony’s leadership and the success of the baseball program there are a lot of donors who want to help that program in whatever that means. We need to decide and we are in conversations to try and figure out what’s the best way to position Tennessee baseball and be able to say our baseball program has as good as or the best facilities in the country which is really in the SEC.
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A true “non answer”.
 
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#218
#218
I have a gut feeling Danny boy isn't going to commit to what CTV needs to take this program to the next level.......
 
#220
#220
YankeeVol said:
That's really unfortunate
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Maybe, but maybe not. They’re are Definite advantages of having all your facilities on campus. We need to also remember, we need a state of the art track facility on campus. Both sports have improved in the last couple of years with out decent facilities. If they were to take advantage of the new stadium in downtown Knoxville, that may open up the opportunity to build the indoor track facility.
 
#221
#221
Where are they proposing a downtown baseball park? Looking on Google Earth there aint much room that I see. It's not like downtown is miles away from campus though.
If they could put it by the river that would be a great back drop, like no other park.
There's possibly room to the South East. The only issue I see is the high tension power lines overhead. When you match the dimensions of Lindsey Nelson there appears to be enough room. Make walkway over the tracks possibly.

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#224
#224
OldTimer said:
It's going to be really interesting how this plays out. No doubt the new stadium will be a showpiece and a great environment to play in, but I'm not so sure it's in the best interest of Tennessee Baseball.
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Nah, leave the our baseball team alone and let Randy do what’s best for him.
 
#225
#225
OldTimer said:
It's going to be really interesting how this plays out. No doubt the new stadium will be a showpiece and a great environment to play in, but I'm not so sure it's in the best interest of Tennessee Baseball.
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As a former player, playing in Lindsey Nelson meant a lot to players, including myself. I loved being able to walk to and from to the dorm. Just being "our" stadium had a special feel to it.

If playing in a stadium downtown for a year provides the opportunity to renovate LNS, that's a different story. I just don't like the idea of sharing a stadium.
 
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