Curt Schilling On Tennessee

[chef3531]

Pros and colleges are different.

Well there's a double standard if I've ever seen one. You're saying it's ok for pros to talk smack but not college players? If anything pros should be held to a much higher standard of conduct because of the inflated contracts.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Yeah **** him and the red socks

 

[Mccage]

Unfortunately I agree. I'm sure this is going to start an ageist argument, but here goes.

I don't talk a bunch of crap to rivals before a game. I do believe it gives the other team a bigger edge and more incentive to play better.

We as UT fans have plenty of experience watching our "better" team screw the pooch when we thought we had no business losing. Why give anyone any extra incentive or fuel when winning a championship is hard enough?[/QUOTE

I agree. It ain't live wrestling it's baseball.

 

[Aladywhovolunteer]

100%!

When Coach Anderson was ejected from the game... his body language and immediate reaction...were the actions of someone steeped in the game of baseball...that had just run out to kick dirt on the umpire's shoes... Billy Martin style. It doesn't get anymore old shool than what Coach Anderson did. That is why Schilling's controversial comments are more about carving out a niche on Outkick...than honest analysis. But under the heading, "That's baseball" surely the detractors of this team's rituals understand our coaches have to protect players. When Drew was ejected (a stern warning from the umpire would have sufficed), Coach Anderson made the mistake of trying to protect Drew, at a time when retreat may have been the better part of valor. Of course in the end, we needed Coach Anderson, and that's what Coach Vitello means when he says, "He and Frank had a sincere conversation in the dressing room after the game." Perhaps having a designated trainer too take the ejection would have been better.

Where Schilling really gets it wrong...is the part about, "if you treat every homerun you hit...as the greatest homerun ever... other teams will notice and make beating you a priority." Wow, I thought the reason you played the game was to beat your opponent... my bad. Wearing the fur coat and "Daddy" hat is not about any other team. It's not about trying to show up someone. It's about trying to build a culture of fun and comradery. And brother is it working! This team is the best college baseball team ever assembled to not win a CWS.

Each year in SEC Baseball, your team has a chance to win six banners. Last year's team won three... SEC East Champs, Regional Champs, Super Regional Champs. This year's team won four...SEC East Champs, SEC Regular Season Champs, SEC Tournament Champs, Regional Champs. As the old saying goes it's a marathon not a sprint. However, unless I'm mistaken, last year was the first year since the early 2000's Tennessee won squat in baseball.

Our rituals may make our opponents not like us, clutch their pearl's and say asinine things like "Vitello should be in jail." A dandy little quote from an Auburn fan. Or complain to the umpires after a monster homerun (while rubbing their red and swollen eyes) "Their bat doesn't have a Vanderbilt sticker on it," please...of course it's a rule that should be enforced ( the bat had at least five stickers on it... just not a Vanderbilt sticker) but it's also our opponents crying out, "Moma there goes that man again." But, I absolutely guarantee you, the Auburn fan and the Vanderbilt player would pay anything for what Coach Vitello is selling.

Just a couple of thoughts. When Curt Schilling was speaking about Tennessee's homerun rituals, he talked about bat flipping... as if Drew Gilbert was the first and only bat flipper to ever play the game. Earlier, I addressed the "Daddy" hat and fur coat as harmless fun (in my opinion) but didn't address bat flipping. I guess, I was some what conflicted. Kinda-sorta like my view of the Panama Canal...why should we give it back to Panama, when we stole it fair and square.

This short video is the best explanation, I have seen on the bat flip and why it's popularity has grown recently. The new generation sees it as entertainment and not as being disrespectful to the game. Also, very interesting...is where the idea of bat flipping originated and how it got to MLB. I like Jimmy Rollins asking the question, "Where is it written... I can't flip the bat...and who made that rule? Thanks to Preacherman for the link.

https://www.volnation.com/forum/threads/the-dugout.340919/reply?quote=21388815

Now to Jordan's signaling we are number #1. Unwarranted and certainly something Coach Vitello doesn't condone. Watch the video. Before, Jordan reaches home plate, Coach Vitello has cornered Captain Drew Gilbert and is lecturing him on habits, standards and disciple and directing him to correct a bad behavior.

I have seen a lot of posters explain why Jordan was signaling we are number # 1. But to me...no one has hit the obvious reason. Jordan had struck out at least twice (maybe three times) when he came to bat in the late innings. The center fielder ( GT's head coach's son) for some reason came in at least 100 feet to where he was playing a deep second base (a shift I guess, to save a run). No excuse for the gesture. But that was the ultimate disrespect to Beck. Jordan said when he rounded first and saw the center fielder jump, as a last resort, "he blacked out for a few seconds and let the joy of the moment wash over him (probably a hint to the meaning of the ritual at second after hitting a double).

On Drew being tossed for cursing about a (controversial) call....is again behavior which can't be condoned. However, Coach Vitello addressed the issue with Coach Anderson and I'm sure Drew. He said at the press conference, "He and Coach Anderson had had a sincere conversation in the dressing room immediately following the game." Sounds like a disciplinarian to me.

The reason, Drew over-reacted (in my opinion), is earlier in the game the umpire ruled he had moved into a pitch to get hit. I knew when it happened the umpire would not award first base. But if you watch Drew's swing... he keeps his head and eyes on plane with the ball. When ready to commit... he starts the bat moving on plane with the ball by pushing his elbows through first. Of course only by comparing his normal swing with the one in question... could you make a fair ruling of the play. The umpires didn't do that....they ruled he moved into the ball. Then released an odd statement saying Drew had been warned to stop questioning balls and strikes. That warning supposedly came in the second inning in the outfield. Really, rather odd to be told to be quiet while playing in the outfield. I still contend the umpire over reacted. Coach Vitello, Coach Anderson and Drew should have been warned on camera. Then it would've at least seemed fair ...and had everyone's attention. I'll quote Kyle Peterson when the ejection happen, " I don't agree with that....if he's going to eject Gilbert in a Super...then everytime someone complains...they need to be ejected." After Tom Hart questioned his logic, Peterson didn't repeat his original statement.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Just a couple of thoughts. When Curt Schilling was speaking about Tennessee's homerun rituals, he talked about bat flipping... as if Drew Gilbert was the first and only bat flipper to ever play the game. Earlier, I addressed the "Daddy" hat and fur coat as harmless fun (in my opinion) but didn't address bat flipping. I guess, I was some what conflicted. Kinda-sorta like my view of the Panama Canal...why should we give it back to Panama, when we stole it fair and square.

This short video is the best explanation, I have seen on the bat flip and why it's popularity has grown recently. The new generation sees it as entertainment and not as being disrespectful to the game. Also, very interesting...is where the idea of bat flipping originated and how it got to MLB. I like Jimmy Rollins asking the question, "Where is it written... I can't flip the bat...and who made that rule? Thanks to Preacherman for the link.

https://www.volnation.com/forum/threads/the-dugout.340919/reply?quote=21388815

Now to Jordan's signaling we are number #1. Unwarranted and certainly something Coach Vitello doesn't condone. Watch the video. Before, Jordan reaches home plate, Coach Vitello has cornered Captain Drew Gilbert and is lecturing him on habits, standards and disciple and directing him to correct a bad behavior.

I have seen a lot of posters explain why Jordan was signaling we are number # 1. But to me...no one has hit the obvious reason. Jordan had struck out at least twice (maybe three times) when he came to bat in the late innings. The center fielder ( GT's head coach's son) for some reason came in at least 100 feet to where he was playing a deep second base (a shift I guess, to save a run). No excuse for the gesture. But that was the ultimate disrespect to Beck. Jordan said when he rounded first and saw the center fielder jump, as a last resort, "he blacked out for a few seconds and let the joy of the moment wash over him (probably a hint to the meaning of the ritual at second after hitting a double).

On Drew being tossed for cursing about a (controversial) call....is again behavior which can't be condoned. However, Coach Vitello addressed the issue with Coach Anderson and I'm sure Drew. He said at the press conference, "He and Coach Anderson had had a sincere conversation in the dressing room immediately following the game." Sounds like a disciplinarian to me.

The reason, Drew over-reacted (in my opinion), is earlier in the game the umpire ruled he had moved into a pitch to get hit. I knew when it happened the umpire would not award first base. But if you watch Drew's swing... he keeps his head and eyes on plane with the ball. When ready to commit... he starts the bat moving on plane with the ball by pushing his elbows through first. Of course only by comparing his normal swing with the one in question... could you make a fair ruling of the play. The umpires didn't do that....they ruled he moved into the ball. Then released an odd statement saying Drew had been warned to stop questioning balls and strikes. That warning supposedly came in the second inning in the outfield. Really, rather odd to be told to be quiet while playing in the outfield. I still contend the umpire over reacted. Coach Vitello, Coach Anderson and Drew should have been warned on camera. Then it would've at least seemed fair ...and had everyone's attention. I'll quote Kyle Peterson when the ejection happen, " I don't agree with that....if he's going to eject Gilbert in a Super...then everytime someone complains...they need to be ejected." After Tom Hart questioned his logic, Peterson didn't repeat his original statement.

…tldr but yes!

 

[Andy1]

I wonder where all the “sportsmanship equals post-season” crowd were last year when State won the CWS. While their antics weren‘t as well catalogued as UT’s were this year, they were probably among the worst in 2021.

 

[SpookyAction]

Curt Schilling can be a butthole and his mouth can get out ahead of his brain, but this isn't one of those times.
He's talking to our team from the POV of a mentor and someone who has been there. He is talking to them in order to help them get right back there next year where he sees they obviously belong. He wants them not to trip themselves up next year, like this year. He wants them to reach their potential as a team and get their heads in the right Championship Space it takes to win these consecutive series against capable teams.

If you are going to Hulk Up on everyone about everything, you are going to get anchor punched over and over. Even Buster Douglas connected enough in one exchange to take out a champion he couldn't even spar with when the Champ was blown up in his headspace. And that Champ never got his head back in the Championship Space.

 

[turbovol]

Call me old-school (and I played collegiate baseball), but I don't find bat-flipping entertaining. It's kin of dumb/silly and, yea, disrespectful--you are showing up the opposing pitcher/team--but it has certainly has caught on with some players. Gilbert's 12-foot high bat flip in the regional after he hit a homer was particularly cringe-worthy. Loved the guy's competitive spirit, but as usual he got carried away....If hitters can flip their bats, they we should allow pitchers to perform some sort of entertaining stunt after a strikeout--fair is fair, no? If you start extending this idea that baseball has to be more entertaining, there's no telling where we'll end up. Maybe we'll see players riding around the bases on a unicycle and juggling baseballs after they hit a dinger.....Or maybe the home-run hitter simply returns to the dugout and the team sends out a chimp in the team uniform to run around the bases--stopping at second to bow to the crowd. The possibilities are endless.

 

[worthlesswanderer]

Call me old-school (and I played collegiate baseball), but I don't find bat-flipping entertaining. It's kin of dumb/silly and, yea, disrespectful--you are showing up the opposing pitcher/team--but it has certainly has caught on with some players. Gilbert's 12-foot high bat flip in the regional after he hit a homer was particularly cringe-worthy. Loved the guy's competitive spirit, but as usual he got carried away....If hitters can flip their bats, they we should allow pitchers to perform some sort of entertaining stunt after a strikeout--fair is fair, no? If you start extending this idea that baseball has to be more entertaining, there's no telling where we'll end up. Maybe we'll see players riding around the bases on a unicycle and juggling baseballs after they hit a dinger.....Or maybe the home-run hitter simply returns to the dugout and the team sends out a chimp in the team uniform to run around the bases--stopping at second to bow to the crowd. The possibilities are endless.

 

[AthensVol2007]

Call me old-school (and I played collegiate baseball), but I don't find bat-flipping entertaining. It's kin of dumb/silly and, yea, disrespectful--you are showing up the opposing pitcher/team--but it has certainly has caught on with some players. Gilbert's 12-foot high bat flip in the regional after he hit a homer was particularly cringe-worthy. Loved the guy's competitive spirit, but as usual he got carried away....If hitters can flip their bats, they we should allow pitchers to perform some sort of entertaining stunt after a strikeout--fair is fair, no? If you start extending this idea that baseball has to be more entertaining, there's no telling where we'll end up. Maybe we'll see players riding around the bases on a unicycle and juggling baseballs after they hit a dinger.....Or maybe the home-run hitter simply returns to the dugout and the team sends out a chimp in the team uniform to run around the bases--stopping at second to bow to the crowd. The possibilities are endless.

Like pitchers barking to sit down to a guy after striking them out? Or pointing their ass back to the dugout after a strikeout? I’ve seen plenty of pitchers do their fair share of talking, showing up or whatever you want to call it.

 

[UTFanHades]

Yeah, true, but on those occasions when they don't win because they made an opponent irate, it can ruin a great season. That's the point, and that's one reason why I picked that example. Vols were undefeated, 7-0, before that game. They finished the 10 game schedule (which was standard then) 9-1, and went to the Gator Bowl instead of playing for the national championship as an undefeated team. Texas finished as the national championship with an undefeated season.

Keep in mind Schilling wasn't talking about trash talking on the field, which always goes on between players. He's talking about public demonstrations of disrespect that fans and tv viewers can see, like the 20' high bat flips, and raised fingers flung at the opponent.

I don’t agree with what Beck did but isn’t it a stretch to say something that happened in a GA Tech regional not only made a super-regional opponent angry but enough to inspire the series win? As I recall, the only bulletin-board material between the teams (not between a team and umps) was ND saying UT should be a little scared of them and ND advanced. I think we’re making too much of that incident and somehow applying that to ND in the super. UT played two bad series all year and it just sucks that one was the supers. That’s all.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

Like pitchers barking to sit down to a guy after striking them out? Or pointing their ass back to the dugout after a strikeout? I’ve seen plenty of pitchers do their fair share of talking, showing up or whatever you want to call it.

Roger Clemens comes to mind.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Roger Clemens comes to mind.

“…and if you don’t like it come out here to the mound and we’ll talk about it, Robin.” -Nolan

 

[UTFanHades]

Curt Schilling can be a butthole and his mouth can get out ahead of his brain, but this isn't one of those times.
He's talking to our team from the POV of a mentor and someone who has been there. He is talking to them in order to help them get right back there next year where he sees they obviously belong. He wants them not to trip themselves up next year, like this year. He wants them to reach their potential as a team and get their heads in the right Championship Space it takes to win these consecutive series against capable teams.

If you are going to Hulk Up on everyone about everything, you are going to get anchor punched over and over. Even Buster Douglas connected enough in one exchange to take out a champion he couldn't even spar with when the Champ was blown up in his headspace. And that Champ never got his head back in the Championship Space.

I believe it’s spelled “SHILLing”