Ethan Bennett and Blake Thomas "retire"

#2
#2
While I don't know what went into his decision, I do know this was Ethan's decision. He had a great baseball career both at Farragut and the University of Tennessee. If this is what he wants to do, good for him and I wish him well.

Ethan has a lot of interests in his life, he comes from a great family, and he will be successful at whatever he does.
 
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#5
#5
I respect their decision, hate to see them go, and wish them all the best.

Blake Thomas showed some promise in limited action, but I really don't know what kind of potential he had.

As for Ethan Bennett, I was asking weeks ago why he wasn't in our batting order. He was the only power hitter we had, and now he's gone. What a shame.
 
#7
#7
First thought is that a team with weak power numbers just lost the player with the highest slg% and OPS.

Second thought is that although each player made the decision for himself, each made the decision with a clear understanding of where they fit in the coach's plans.

Third thought is that Bennett can graduate, "un-retire" and play his fourth year pretty much someplace that wants him more.

Fourth thought is that I now see there's more than one way to fulfill Serrano's vow to make Godley the last senior to graduate without a postseason experience. Since Price, Bily, and Smart all had postseason experiences at their previous schools, all that's left to do for next year's senior class is to give Saberhagen a postseason experience by sending him to Dollywood or something.

That's enough thinking for now.
 
#8
#8
ShowmeVols said:
Second thought is that although each player made the decision for himself, each made the decision with a clear understanding of where they fit in the coach's plans.

Third thought is that Bennett can graduate, "un-retire" and play his fourth year pretty much someplace that wants him more.
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I don't know about Thomas, but Bennett made his decision knowing that Serrano's plan for him for next year was to have him anchor the lineup.

Bennett battled multiple injuries this season and hey limited the times he could go. When he was physically able to play, he played. When he couldn't, he sat.

He's not going to "unretire" and go somewhere else. He's done. He did a 15-minute interview on SportsTalk this afternoon where he laid out the whole situation and his decisionmaking process. He wants to move on and start the next phase of his life, doing internships that will help him in the job market, and graduate and start his career. I assume they'll post it on their site soon. I encourage anyone who thinks he was run off to listen to it.
 
#9
#9
DeerPark12 said:
I don't know about Thomas, but Bennett made his decision knowing that Serrano's plan for him for next year was to have him anchor the lineup.

Bennett battled multiple injuries this season and hey limited the times he could go. When he was physically able to play, he played. When he couldn't, he sat.

He's not going to "unretire" and go somewhere else. He's done. He did a 15-minute interview on SportsTalk this afternoon where he laid out the whole situation and his decisionmaking process. He wants to move on and start the next phase of his life, doing internships that will help him in the job market, and graduate and start his career. I assume they'll post it on their site soon. I encourage anyone who thinks he was run off to listen to it.
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In which case, good for Ethan for going out on his terms. Best wishes to them both.
 
#10
#10
Deer Park,
Do you know if "anchor the lineup" included being the full-time starting catcher?

I wasn't implying he was run off. However, not many players who are happy with their situations and confident about their team's prospects suddenly decide internships are more important than baseball after their junior year. It sort of sounds like the polite explanation offered by beleaguered coaches who step down to "spend more time with their family." Maybe the full interview will explain how an internship will open more doors than being a top player on his home town team.
 
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#11
#11
:loco:
ShowmeVols said:
Deer Park,
Do you know if "anchor the lineup" included being the full-time starting catcher?

I wasn't implying he was run off. However, not many players who are happy with their situations and confident about their team's prospects suddenly decide internships are more important than baseball after their junior year. It sort of sounds like the polite explanation offered by beleaguered coaches who step down to "spend more time with their family." Maybe the full interview will explain how an internship will open more doors than being a top player on his home town team.
Click to expand...

You can listen and draw your own conclusions, it's the the 5:15 and 5:30 segments here: WNML The Sports Animal - Sports Talk Podcast It's available for the next 24 hours.

I think the injuries that limited his playing time this year were a pretty big factor. Listen to the interview.
 
#12
#12
Deer Park,

Thanks for the link. I was struck most by his lack of any definite plans other than just to see what's out there beyond baseball and a general desire to find a chance to be of service to people. The internship issue only came up in the last minute or so. When asked what he'd do with his summer, Ethan said he had a job at an outdoor store and was on the lookout for internships.

When I read your summary ("start the next phase of his life, doing internships that will help him in the job market, and graduate and start his career"), it sounded like a polite cover explanation because it would really be news if a top athlete decided playing baseball at UT was inconsistent with his goals of graduating and getting a job. So I'm glad it wasn't that.

Having heard the interview, I do think the situation is some reflection on the team, either the command climate or his role or his assessment of what one more year would be like. When I've had good employees leave, if they were quitting to pursue another opportunity and leaving was clearly taking them a step closer to their goals, I'd thank them for their service, wish them well and tell them the door would be open if things didn't work out. However, if they were just leaving because they were tired or frustrated or burnt out, and didn't seem to have a well thought out next step, I'd try to work something out, maybe give them some time off or ask them just to stay on until they knew they were going forward to something, rather than just getting away from something that wasn't going well for them at the time.

Ethan's interview sounded like someone in that second category. Seems to me that if I were a coach and one of my top hitters came to me at the end of the season saying, as Ethan did in his interview, that his heart just wasn't in it and he wanted to experience some of "normal" life outside baseball, I'd encourage him not to make a final decision while his body was still sore and his his heart still heavy from the disappointing season. Maybe Coach Serrano did all that and more. I hope so.

I wish Ethan and Blake the best.
 
#13
#13
ShowmeVols said:
Deer Park,

Thanks for the link. I was struck most by his lack of any definite plans other than just to see what's out there beyond baseball and a general desire to find a chance to be of service to people. The internship issue only came up in the last minute or so. When asked what he'd do with his summer, Ethan said he had a job at an outdoor store and was on the lookout for internships.

When I read your summary ("start the next phase of his life, doing internships that will help him in the job market, and graduate and start his career"), it sounded like a polite cover explanation because it would really be news if a top athlete decided playing baseball at UT was inconsistent with his goals of graduating and getting a job. So I'm glad it wasn't that.

Having heard the interview, I do think the situation is some reflection on the team, either the command climate or his role or his assessment of what one more year would be like. When I've had good employees leave, if they were quitting to pursue another opportunity and leaving was clearly taking them a step closer to their goals, I'd thank them for their service, wish them well and tell them the door would be open if things didn't work out. However, if they were just leaving because they were tired or frustrated or burnt out, and didn't seem to have a well thought out next step, I'd try to work something out, maybe give them some time off or ask them just to stay on until they knew they were going forward to something, rather than just getting away from something that wasn't going well for them at the time.

Ethan's interview sounded like someone in that second category. Seems to me that if I were a coach and one of my top hitters came to me at the end of the season saying, as Ethan did in his interview, that his heart just wasn't in it and he wanted to experience some of "normal" life outside baseball, I'd encourage him not to make a final decision while his body was still sore and his his heart still heavy from the disappointing season. Maybe Coach Serrano did all that and more. I hope so.

I wish Ethan and Blake the best.
Click to expand...

So one way or the other this has to be Serrano's fault? I mean...you're kinda all over the place man. First Serrano is cutthroat. Then after the podcast was given to you, Serrano should have given him time off, so it's still Serrano's fault. LMAO
 
#14
#14
RichRollin said:
So one way or the other this has to be Serrano's fault? I mean...you're kinda all over the place man. First Serrano is cutthroat. Then after the podcast was given to you, Serrano should have given him time off, so it's still Serrano's fault. LMAO
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Rich,

What's comical is all the true believers and orange kool-aid drinkers who don't get even a little bit curious about a very unusual sequence of events.

Players leave all the time, but starting players seldom leave just before their senior year unless there's a reason. But here we have a popular, respected, and capable player who decides he's not coming back. And the school orchestrates a public relations rollout to make it seem normal.

First, the Tweets:

"The #Vols wish the best of luck to true #VFLs Ethan Bennett & @Bthom29 who have both decided to hang up the cleats and move on from baseball."

"Both Ethan and Blake have decided to focus on completing their degrees at the University of Tennessee and pursue other career interests."

"Join us in wishing Ethan Bennett and @Bthom29 the best of luck! They are and will always be #VFLs!"

Then the drive time interview, where it turns out Ethan doesn't really have any other plans. He's going to work at an outdoor store and keep his eye open for internships. Uh, Ethan, if you want to look for an internship, maybe you should apply in the spring like everyone else.

We have players leave early all the time. There were stern press releases for guys who messed up (Toles and Blount) and acclaim for the guys who played out their eligibility (Osborne, Godley, etc.) or got drafted (Steckenrider). But has the school ever given such a sendoff for a guy who quit because his "heart just wasn't in it"? No. Normal, growing up, moving on, greener pasture departures aren't news. Until this time. Which makes attentive people wonder if there might be some news here other than what we're being fed.

But I'm "all over the place" because I have the nerve to say it seems peculiar? Fine.

I understand where you're coming from. You've stated your belief that last year's freshman class is going to lead us to the promised land as soon as they grow up, and that takes a special degree of gullibility once you get past Jackson, Stewart, Simcox, and maybe a couple others. But c'mon. Can't you apply any critical thinking to obviously prettied up official stories?

I don't think there's any big scandal or anything. However, I do think Ethan's "heart just wasn't in it" when he told his interviewers how awesome and amazing everything is in the program he's leaving early.
 
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#15
#15
Most answers to stories like this can be found by looking toward a significant other from the opposite sex or an unpleasant feeling toward superiors. An uneducated guess tells me this might be a little bit of both.
 
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#16
#16
ShowmeVols said:
Rich,

What's comical is all the true believers and orange kool-aid drinkers who don't get even a little bit curious about a very unusual sequence of events.

Players leave all the time, but starting players seldom leave just before their senior year unless there's a reason. But here we have a popular, respected, and capable player who decides he's not coming back. And the school orchestrates a public relations rollout to make it seem normal.

First, the Tweets:

"The #Vols wish the best of luck to true #VFLs Ethan Bennett & @Bthom29 who have both decided to hang up the cleats and move on from baseball."

"Both Ethan and Blake have decided to focus on completing their degrees at the University of Tennessee and pursue other career interests."

"Join us in wishing Ethan Bennett and @Bthom29 the best of luck! They are and will always be #VFLs!"

Then the drive time interview, where it turns out Ethan doesn't really have any other plans. He's going to work at an outdoor store and keep his eye open for internships. Uh, Ethan, if you want to look for an internship, maybe you should apply in the spring like everyone else.

We have players leave early all the time. There were stern press releases for guys who messed up (Toles and Blount) and acclaim for the guys who played out their eligibility (Osborne, Godley, etc.) or got drafted (Steckenrider). But has the school ever given such a sendoff for a guy who quit because his "heart just wasn't in it"? No. Normal, growing up, moving on, greener pasture departures aren't news. Until this time. Which makes attentive people wonder if there might be some news here other than what we're being fed.

But I'm "all over the place" because I have the nerve to say it seems peculiar? Fine.

I understand where you're coming from. You've stated your belief that last year's freshman class is going to lead us to the promised land as soon as they grow up, and that takes a special degree of gullibility once you get past Jackson, Stewart, Simcox, and maybe a couple others. But c'mon. Can't you apply any critical thinking to obviously prettied up official stories?

I don't think there's any big scandal or anything. However, I do think Ethan's "heart just wasn't in it" when he told his interviewers how awesome and amazing everything is in the program he's leaving early.
Click to expand...

If you understand where I'm coming from then why the long post with all of the false statements. "I think the freshman are gonna lead us to the promise land"...really? Could you please provide these comments if I truly typed them? No you can't because I never said that. If you're gonna throw off on me you need to bring real stuff bro. I'm a Kool aide drinker? LOL, okay buddy. You're attentive, I'm gullible? Oh okay, I see where this is going. You're smarter than all...Bottom line is you came out gunning with no ammo. Someone graciously handed you a podcast which had you straight up backtracking, then later you went back to accusations regarding a situation non of us know anything about. So yeah you were all over the place. And even a gullible Kool aid drinker like me can see that. I prefer to let it all play out and see what happened. And next time please don't accuse me of lame comments that never came out of my mouth in an attempt to make yourself look good. It makes you look shallow, desperate, and far less intelligent than you perceive yourself to be.


P.S. I liked your post by the way. I mean it was a nice try...
 
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#17
#17
Rich,

Here's what you said

March 4th:
"The upper classmen were not SEC quality for the most part. These freshman are SEC quality for the most part...they're just freshman."

March 3rd:
"Most of the older guys he let go from last year were not upper tier SEC players. Many of the players he brought in are, they're just young. "

March 2nd:
"I know it sounds crazy or moral victory-ish, but the team is young. Serrano has made a good career winning games like this, so I'm not gonna foolishly blame him (not that you are). I'm gonna chalk it up to youth. That being said, this team will be beastly by this time next year."

Less than 3 months ago you thought "most" of the freshmen are SEC quality and "many" are "upper tier SEC players" who will lead a "beastly" team next year. Have you changed your mind?
 
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#18
#18
ShowmeVols said:
Rich,

Here's what you said

March 4th:
"The upper classmen were not SEC quality for the most part. These freshman are SEC quality for the most part...they're just freshman."

March 3rd:
"Most of the older guys he let go from last year were not upper tier SEC players. Many of the players he brought in are, they're just young. "

March 2nd:
"I know it sounds crazy or moral victory-ish, but the team is young. Serrano has made a good career winning games like this, so I'm not gonna foolishly blame him (not that you are). I'm gonna chalk it up to youth. That being said, this team will be beastly by this time next year."

Less than 3 months ago you thought "most" of the freshmen are SEC quality and "many" are "upper tier SEC players" who will lead a "beastly" team next year. Have you changed your mind?
Click to expand...

Again, where did I say they will lead us to the promise land? To me the promise land is a National Championship. And I don't ever recall making a statement like that. You have yet to provide such a statement. These statements you provided merely state that I think these youngsters are going to blossom into a good team.

And what does My comments regarding this group of freshman have to do with anything? Unless you are insinuating that I'm fine with Bennett being released because I believe in the freshman? I'm not sure how these comments even come into play here. What's the point in bringing up my thoughts on the freshman. Again...are you insinuating that I'm fine with Serrano letting Bennett go because I liked our freshman this year? That's what it looks like. If so that's the most moronic, absurd thing I've ever heard. Again, another reach. Again, where's the promise land post?

Look buddy, I just prefer to let it all come out instead of jumping the gun. I don't think letting Bennett go was the best thing at this moment. But I don't know that he let Bennett go. Do you?
 
#19
#19
[Cue the Herm Edwards "Playoffs!? Playoffs!?" video and insert "National Championship!?"]

Sorry, your weasel wording over "promised land" is not credible. Nobody on this site has talked about any promised land more blessed than Hoover or a regional bid in about five years. Whether you admit it or not, you were buying and retailing the hype of this freshman class not long ago. It's relevant because it establishes your susceptibility to being sold the party line. And my comments are about not blindly accepting the party line.

I'm not going to take your bait to go down your next rabbit trail, either, because that just takes us farther away from my original and main point on this thread, which is the simple observation that the official version seems like less than the whole story.

I don't know anything about anything that transpired between the player and the coaches, I haven't heard any rumors, and I'm not insinuating anything. I'm just saying the situation and explanation strike me as unusual. Deer Park's non-answer to my question about Ethan's catching role next year didn't allay those feelings, and neither did listening to Ethan's vague answers in the interview.

So let me ask you one question, then maybe we can move on--because in the long-term context of rebuilding the program, this incident won't matter a whole lot. Do you at least agree that the Tweets and interview were odd and raised more questions that they answered?
 
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#20
#20
Wow, there's some serious energy going on these posts! I'm jumping in again at a risky spot in the discussion, but I just want to offer another way to look at Bennett's unfortunate departure.

I've questioned many times this season why Bennett wasn't in the lineup -- and posted as much in this forum. My default assumption was that the coaches were making this choice. But apparently, it may have been injuries that kept Bennett out of the lineup. One poster put it something like: "when he felt ok, he was in there; when he didn't, he wasn't."

I'm not taking anything away from Bennett as a player or an individual, but that might speak to the "heart" issue he cites in his recent comments re: his departure from the team. "Heart" has a lot to do with whether an injury keeps a player out of the lineup or not.

So, maybe Bennett simply has more talent than he has passion, and we're finally seeing that for what it is with his decision.
 
#21
#21
Ok, I'm done talking about this because every post I make on the topic, someone wants to over-analyze.

In my mind, there is a big difference between being "gullible" or "drinking the kool-aid" and searching out the conspiracy and back story for every little thing. Most of the time, things are exactly as they appear at the surface, and I can;t understand why that's so hard for so many on this board to understand. Some of you never take things at face value. You seem to think that there ALWAYS has to be more to the story, when most of the time there isn't.

My final comment is this. Ethan is a fine, solid young man who gave everything he had to his team as long as he was a member of it. Injuries limited what he could physically do at times. When he was able to play, he was in the lineup, often still dealing with great pain. He was not pushed out, encouraged to leave or even nudged. Serrano wanted him back and was as surprised as anyone.

UT put out those tweets and comments because of what Ethan meant to the team while he was here and the tremendous level of respect the players, coaches, and support staff have for him, on and off the field.
 
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#22
#22
DeerPark,
Any guesses why people don't take things at face value? Maybe it's because the SID folks relentlessly try to spin every story in a positive light. Look at the individual game stories for the losses: nearly every one has a positive subhead that is irrelevant to the story line of the game or the significance of the event.

For example, the final game at Arkansas where we got blown out and left town with our Hoover hopes seriously damaged. The fine UT journalism interns wrote the following headline:
"Vols Drop Series Finale at No. 14 Arkansas
Zach Luther records pinch-hit RBI single"
We lost 10-2. Our pitching totally failed. And none of that mattered because they were determined to find something, anything, positive about the game. So they lead with a pinch hit that happened long after the game was decided?

The day before, we also got blown out, ant the headline was:
"UT Falls 11-1 as #14 Arkansas Evens Series
Christin Stewart finishes 2-for-2 with a walk and a double"

Right. The big story that day was Christin's good day at the plate. Who thinks this blatant slanting is fooling anyone?

And then there is the endless stream of upbeat tweets about irrelevant stats (e.g., Stewart being the first frosh to lead team in RBI's in a while) that make bad news (nobody on the team had 30 RBI's) sound positive.

The UT sports information department is so consistently, predictably, and ridiculously upbeat about bad sports news that sometimes I think I'm reading the Onion.

So spare us your wounded innocence act because it is entirely in the realm of possibility that your employer would try to spin Ethan's departure. It's what they do.

It's a perfectly natural reaction for fans to read UT positive press releases and try to figure out the real story because we can be pretty certain the official version has been prettied up. It's what we've been trained to do because it's the only way to make sense of what we read.

And I suppose it's over-analyzing on my part to notice that in all your indignant defense, you still didn't answer my question about whether Ethan's likely role as an anchor of the lineup involved being the starting catcher.
 
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#23
#23
ShowmeVols said:
DeerPark,
Any guesses why people don't take things at face value? Maybe it's because the SID folks relentlessly try to spin every story in a positive light. Look at the individual game stories for the losses: nearly every one has a positive subhead that is irrelevant to the story line of the game or the significance of the event.

For example, the final game at Arkansas where we got blown out and left town with our Hoover hopes seriously damaged. The fine UT journalism interns wrote the following headline:
"Vols Drop Series Finale at No. 14 Arkansas
Zach Luther records pinch-hit RBI single"
We lost 10-2. Our pitching totally failed. And none of that mattered because they were determined to find something, anything, positive about the game. So they lead with a pinch hit that happened long after the game was decided?

The day before, we also got blown out, ant the headline was:
"UT Falls 11-1 as #14 Arkansas Evens Series
Christin Stewart finishes 2-for-2 with a walk and a double"

Right. The big story that day was Christin's good day at the plate. Who thinks this blatant slanting is fooling anyone?

And then there is the endless stream of upbeat tweets about irrelevant stats (e.g., Stewart being the first frosh to lead team in RBI's in a while) that make bad news (nobody on the team had 30 RBI's) sound positive.

The UT sports information department is so consistently, predictably, and ridiculously upbeat about bad sports news that sometimes I think I'm reading the Onion.

So spare us your wounded innocence act because it is entirely in the realm of possibility that your employer would try to spin Ethan's departure. It's what they do.

It's a perfectly natural reaction for fans to read UT positive press releases and try to figure out the real story because we can be pretty certain the official version has been prettied up. It's what we've been trained to do because it's the only way to make sense of what we read.

And I suppose it's over-analyzing on my part to notice that in all your indignant defense, you still didn't answer my question about whether Ethan's likely role as an anchor of the lineup involved being the starting catcher.
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You find an SID office in the country that spits out anything other than positive stats and then we'll have a conversation. That applies to college and pro teams.

What do you want them to say? Do you want UT to be the only team in the country that openly says their team stinks? They're not a media organization. Positive spin is what media relations people do.

If this was a player being asked to move on, it would have been handled like every other one was last season, by simply deleting the name from the roster. But Serrano and UT wanted the public to know how much they valued what Ethan gave to the program. And for handling it like that, people want to read into it. I just don't get it.

I don't know what he was promised as position, but I know that Ethan wasn't making a decision on whether to give up on the game based on whether he was going to be the starting catcher.
 
#24
#24
DeerPark12 said:
You find an SID office in the country that spits out anything other than positive stats and then we'll have a conversation. That applies to college and pro teams.

What do you want them to say? Do you want UT to be the only team in the country that openly says their team stinks? They're not a media organization. Positive spin is what media relations people do.

If this was a player being asked to move on, it would have been handled like every other one was last season, by simply deleting the name from the roster. But Serrano and UT wanted the public to know how much they valued what Ethan gave to the program. And for handling it like that, people want to read into it. I just don't get it.

I don't know what he was promised as position, but I know that Ethan wasn't making a decision on whether to give up on the game based on whether he was going to be the starting catcher.
Click to expand...

The problem with your "everybody does it" defense is it's not true.

Look at the team web sites for the four teams that got eliminated yesterday:

Florida:
Headline: Texas A&M Ousts Florida Baseball From SEC Tournament, 6-3
Lead paragraphs:
Texas A&M sophomore right-hander Daniel Mengden (8-3) registered 11 strikeouts in a complete-game effort and freshman Hunter Melton (2-for-4) drove in four runs, highlighted by a three-run homer, as the ninth-seeded Aggies (31-25) dealt eighth-seeded Florida (29-28) a 6-3 setback in the opening round of the 2013 SEC Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the Hoover Met.
With the victory, Texas A&M advances to meet top-seeded No. 1 Vanderbilt (48-7) tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. ET to start the double-elimination portion of the event. The Gators will now await the announcement of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field on Monday at 12 p.m. on ESPNU.

Kentucky:
Headline: No. 21 Rebels Eliminates Baseball in SEC Tourney Opener
Subhead: Wildcats Suffer SEC Tournament Opening Loss to Rebels
Lead paragraphs:
No. 21 Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead and held on to post a 4-1 win over Kentucky in the opener of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, eliminating the Wildcats, on Tuesday morning at the Hoover Met.
Kentucky (30-25) fell behind after the Rebels plated a single run in the first and third innings. The Wildcats manufactured a run with a delayed-steal play with two outs in the fourth inning, with Ole Miss plating a pair of runs in the sixth for a 4-1 lead. The Wildcats loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning but couldn't get anything across to narrow the Ole Miss lead.

Auburn:
Headline: Auburn Plays Waiting Game After Losing SEC Tourney Opener
Subhead: Tigers finish strong in regular season, but loses to Alabama in SEC tourney opener.
Opening Paragraphs:
Auburn closer Terrance Dedrick figures it's going to be a long week waiting to see if his Tigers get the call next Monday to play in the NCAA baseball tournament.
"It's always tough not knowing what the outcome is going to be, relying on other people and what they do," Dedrick said. "It's going to be a tough week."
Auburn, which finished the regular season on a nice run, is in a wait-and-see mode after losing to Alabama 6-3 in a Southeastern Conference first-round tournament game Tuesday at the Hoover Met. The Tide scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to break away from a 3-3 tie.

Mizzou:
Headline: Mizzou Drops Marathon SEC Tourney Game, 2-1
Subhead: Zastryzny's masterful start highlights 17-inning marathon.
Junior starter Rob Zastryzny (Corpus Christi, Texas) gave Mizzou a great effort on Tuesday night (May 21) as Mizzou's season came to an end with a 2-1, 17-inning loss to fifth-seeded Mississippi State at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Zastryzny put together a masterful start, going 9.0 innings, allowing just seven hits and one earned run while striking out seven against just two walks. He threw 124 pitches. Keaton Steele (St. Joseph, Mo.) was also very good game on Tuesday - and into part of Wednesday - as he went 7.0 innings, allowing no earned runs while scattering eight hits and striking out five.

Only Mizzou played up a great effort by a member of the losing team, but it wasn't spin because Zastryzny and Steele were the story for independent media, too.

Not one of these teams tried to slant the loss or the story line or the resulting situation in any way. Now what do you suppose would have happened if UT had earned the twelfth seed and lost in the first round? Don't you think the odds are pretty good the story would have been all about the historic return to Hoover, the progress of the rebuilding effort, and the great effort by the Vols?

One of the things I appreciate about Coach Serrano is that he lays it out pretty straight in his postgame interviews. If the team played poorly and he didn't like the effort or attitude, he says so. If he can say, "We're just not very good right now," why can't the sports information office?
 
#25
#25
ShowmeVols said:
The problem with your "everybody does it" defense is it's not true.

Not one of these teams tried to slant the loss or the story line or the resulting situation in any way. Now what do you suppose would have happened if UT had earned the twelfth seed and lost in the first round? Don't you think the odds are pretty good the story would have been all about the historic return to Hoover, the progress of the rebuilding effort, and the great effort by the Vols?

One of the things I appreciate about Coach Serrano is that he lays it out pretty straight in his postgame interviews. If the team played poorly and he didn't like the effort or attitude, he says so. If he can say, "We're just not very good right now," why can't the sports information office?
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If you want to pick particular paragraphs out of context in various losing press releases, you can find enough to fit your agenda. I'm not going to debate you on this.

If you want to change the way they do business, then maybe you should apply for a job there the next time one becomes available.

Me? I have no desire to get in the middle of that, pretty much because of the things you cite in this thread. They can't win. Too positive? People complain and look for conspiracies and hidden agendas. Too negative? Same.
 
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