By: Kyle Schulein
Some Ramblings from behind the Glass on Sportsline…
Okay here it is on Tuesday May 15, 2007, and the Texas Tech baseball team just lost to New Mexico State 5-4. Tech has lost four of its last five games in five days, against competition that at worst should have been three and two. But now the Texas Tech baseball team is 27-25 on the year and has a chance at finishing the year at worst 27-28, but at best 30-25 on the year. Now there has been a lot of talk about what should be done with the baseball program at Tech. The fist thing that needs be done is decided, do we blame the coaching staff, the players or is the fact that this team was just not that good.
In my thinking, you can blame the coaching staff and the players for this season. One the coaching staff has to know what is going on with this team; this team is not playing well this year, they know that so they should have done something to make it better. The staff has done some things to make it better, taking Doug Tennis out of the field and putting him as the DH, Chris Richburg is now playing left field, and Taylor Ashby playing centerfield. Those few changes have produced some better play at the plate and in the field. Right now Richburg is leading the team with a .344 average, while only playing in twenty one games out of fifty one games on the year. Richburg has been the spark plug on the team hitting game changing hits to get Tech back in the game or putting Tech on top. But on the flip side, Coach Hays has put Roger Kieschnick in the leadoff spot this past weekend. That did not work out as he is one for twenty one with two walks and four strike outs. Kieschnick has not worked out in the leadoff spot. Kieschnick against Dallas Baptist in which Tech won 15-6, he was two for five, with on strike outs and one base on balls that is the Kieschnick that needs to be in the second place in the line up. Coach Hays needs to put him back there and leave him there, if this team wants to win at least one game in Oklahoma this weekend.
The Players have something to do with it as well, with the team struggling, they have seemed to be not playing well. They all seem to be just going through the motions and just waiting to get the season over with. If these players were Big 12 player then this would not be the problem. At this time they are not.
Don’t get me wrong, I support this team everyday, but I really can’t stand the fact that the team is doing so badly. There are probably some things that we don’t know about the team, if there is some problems with the team, or what, we just don’t know. The only person that does know, he will never tell anyone.
So what do we do as fans, do we just wait this out and see if Coach Hays can pull this out next year, or do we as fans want change and want the change now. The only problem I do see with a change at the end of the season is that Tech will get raid of the third active all time winningest head coaches in the NCAA history. Gerald Meyers does not want to be the guy who fires that coach, if Coach Hays leaves, let him retire and go out on top and with some respect that he does deserve.
So, what should we do, I can think of one thing for right now, support the Team, the Coaches and hope for the best when it comes for the time when Coach Hays leaves that third base coaching box it will be for the best of the program and the Team.
I have to go now Earl is calling on the phone; I have to answer it…….
