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Is Taylor Dugas the biggest mistake of the Mainieri era

Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:08 am
Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:08 am
Obviously, no one thinks based on a pure comparison that Dugas is superior to Mahtook. I think the players are close, but Mahtook is superior. So my question is more in a vacuum and not looking at Mahtook/Dugas as a dichotomy. The mistake isn't picking Mahtook over Dugas, it is that we couldn't get him on our team as the class was constituted.

However, knowing now that you could get three years of Mahtook or four of Dugas, does that change the calculus?

Globally, if you are Mainieri do you choose a player that is slightly worse than another based on a belief that you can get an extra year out of them. Does Dugas sticking around for four years exacerbate LSU's inability to accommodate when he came out him or is it, in your estimation, the same as you have always viewed it.
Posted by Eighteen
Member since Dec 2006
35285 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:10 am to
Predicting the future is a pretty hard thing to do, so I dont really blame Mainieri
Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:11 am to
quote:

Predicting the future is a pretty hard thing to do, so I dont really blame Mainieri


That's fair enough. Evaluating it as we sit here today though, would you take three years of Mahtook of four of Dugas?
Posted by Jimbeaux28
Baton Rouge
Member since Jun 2007
4055 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:11 am to
quote:

three years of Mahtook or four of Dugas


You answered your own question right there.

There is a reason why we only got 3 years out of Mahtook. He was simply more talented than Dugas.

What you should be asking is why didn't Mainieri find a place for Dugas AND Mahtook....
Posted by lsuhunt555
Teakwood Village Breh
Member since Nov 2008
38540 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:12 am to
quote:

does that change the calculus?


I dont believe so. The only thing that I ever did think was odd was why not get them on the same team. Was it a given that they would both either play Center or not come here?
Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:14 am to
I think we were OF heavy and P light at the time and we just couldn't accommodate another OF on the roster.
Posted by TIGERFANZZ
THE Death Valley
Member since Nov 2007
4058 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:14 am to
quote:

knowing now that you could get three years of Mahtook or four of Dugas, does that change the calculus?


How do you know this on signing day?

quote:

Does Dugas sticking around for four years exacerbate LSU's inability to accommodate when he came out him or is it, in your estimation


Who knows what he would have done had he come to LSU. He may have put up Mahtook numbers & left after 3. Would have been nice to get both but given everything is unknown at signing day, I'm satisfied with Mahtook for 3. I wish we could have landed them both for 3.
This post was edited on 1/20/12 at 11:16 am
Posted by Eighteen
Member since Dec 2006
35285 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:16 am to
quote:

That's fair enough. Evaluating it as we sit here today though, would you take three years of Mahtook of four of Dugas?


Id still take three years of Mahtook

Especially considering he was a huge part of our success in the NC run as a freshman, not sure if Dugas would have been able to do it (again, cant predict the future)

Mahtook was one of the few bright spots the past two seasons

quote:

Is Taylor Dugas the biggest mistake of the Mainieri era


Biggest mistake IMO would probably be his handling of Ott the last couples of seasons, kept trusting him time and time again and let him fail over and over until he really had no confidence out there on the mound
Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:18 am to
quote:

How do you know this on signing day?


You don't. The question is more, let's say you did. Let's say you regarded Mahtook as the better player but it was relatively close. Does that change the calculus or do you always go with the better player in terms of the skills you identify.

This question isn't about being unfair to Mainieri with hindsight so much as recognizing we could have had Dugas, was not finding a spot for him a mistake, and do you take a 3 or 4 year player if they are close.

Obviously, 99% of the posters will tell me we didn't know that at the time. I get that. Just trying to get some thoughts on the situation now that we know mostly how it played out.

ETA: if you can't evaluate a decision based on the outcome, you can never classify anything as a mistake. Choosing an alternative that was reasonable at the time without regard to the consequences can't ever be a mistake, by definition. Only the outcome tells us if a mistake was made.
This post was edited on 1/20/12 at 11:22 am
Posted by BUSCH
Where I live
Member since Jun 2008
2431 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:25 am to
quote:

Globally, if you are Mainieri do you choose a player that is slightly worse than another based on a belief that you can get an extra year out of them


Go for the best players.
Posted by TIGERFANZZ
THE Death Valley
Member since Nov 2007
4058 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:28 am to
quote:

let's say you did


Mahtook all the way. 3 yrs and a HUGE part in a NC, yup Mahtook.
Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:30 am to
quote:

Biggest mistake IMO would probably be his handling of Ott the last couples of seasons, kept trusting him time and time again and let him fail over and over until he really had no confidence out there on the mound



That's a good point. He did sort of wreck Ott.

I know these wouldn't qualify as biggest, but I second guess Mainieri's entire strategy against Florida game one last year. Pulling Eades after he mowed UF down in the eighth was questionable, but forgivable because you had Ott. Bunting Jones (I think it was) in the ninth was unforgivable, though.
Posted by bbap
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Feb 2006
96386 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:43 am to
quote:

Is Taylor Dugas the biggest mistake of the Mainieri era


He definitely made the right call. Not even close to a mistake.
Posted by jameison125
Jersey
Member since Aug 2007
2184 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:56 am to
I would have loved to have him on the team.
Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 11:57 am to
quote:

Go for the best players.


Choke Laval did that. None of them ever made it to campus. This strategy has risks as well.
Posted by Choupique19
The cheap seats
Member since Sep 2005
62517 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 12:11 pm to
Same topic, different players.

Spring of 1994, LSU recruiting coordinator Dwayne Bailey is looking at two first baseman from Texas. He had to make a call between one or the other. Bailey offered the first baseman out of Nachodotches, Eddy Furniss. Bailey had to call the first baseman out of Austin and tell them that they were not going to offer him, Lance Berkman.

Furniss for 4 years? Or Berkman for 3?
Posted by ME712
Lafayette
Member since Dec 2008
56 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 12:23 pm to
I read that LSU only had one scholarship to offer between Mahtook and Dugas. If true, no doubt we made the right decision with Mahtook.
Posted by LSUzealot
Napoleon and Magazine
Member since Sep 2003
57656 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 12:32 pm to
This thread is a joke. You're seriously asking if this was PM's biggest mistake because he helped develop a player so good he was a 1st round MLB draft pick.



Posted by therick711
South
Member since Jan 2008
25553 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 2:05 pm to
quote:

This thread is a joke. You're seriously asking if this was PM's biggest mistake because he helped develop a player so good he was a 1st round MLB draft pick.


Nope. I'm seriously asking if his biggest mistake was not figuring out how to have his cake and eat it too. I find it an interesting question if 4 years of production out of Dugas is greater than 3 out of Mahtook. I'm not sure if people here have seen Dugas' numbers. It isn't like Mahtook blows him away in every facet. Mahtook is consistently better, but it won't be enough to have better numbers then Dugas if Dugas has an average year (for him) this year. That would be expected as Dugas has more games, but that's the point. Does the extra season make him more valuable than Mahtook.

Finally, this is the rant and should have expected that a thread that didn't involve Miles or JJ would get some clown shoes response instead of just a simple, "no I don't think it was even a mistake." My mistake for trying to have a thread that hasn't been posted nine times a day for two weeks on this board.

Chou, that is a real good question. I think Berkman was better but four years of production out of Furniss is hard to argue with. I think in that case it was a win for the Tigers to go with the four year player.
This post was edited on 1/20/12 at 2:15 pm
Posted by nicholastiger
Member since Jan 2004
46844 posts
Posted on 1/20/12 at 2:14 pm to
The decision did come down to Mahtook and Dugas and LSU chose the right one there. Mahtook contributed to a national title. Dugas hasn't been to Omaha.

The mistake that was made was taking someone like Dishon over Dugas but that's not easy decisions to make. I do remember Dugas' average his sr year was pretty gaudy but baseball is hard to project to the next level.
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