re: Is Mainieri on the hot seat for next year?

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I hear you say this, but I don't see all this talent you are talking about in terms of being loaded. Our fundamentals are bad, our defense is not that strong, and we can't hit. I personally see the talent declining here over the past few years....had we not had excellent pitching this year, we would have had a very rough year...we can't always expect that.

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The talent they refer to is what we have coming back from this year. Which is considerable considering we won the SEC outright and hosted a super. We only lose our left side of the infield, so only two from the everyday lineup, and two pitchers. That said however, there are a few I'd like to see improved or replaced.

I gotta disagree with the defense. Our defense was solid this year and led the SEC. That's one complaint I don't have. Only thing I'd like more of is speed in the outfield.

I completely agree our fundamentals at the plate and on the base paths are completely atrocious.

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LSU has led the nation in attendance 17 straight years, has a brand new facility, has won 6 titles in the last 20 years, and appeared in Omaha 15 times in last 26 years. Expecting them to make it every year is unrealistic, and expecting them to win it every year is way unrealistic....but a program like lsu is one of the elite programs in the nation, and should be able to get top talent and top coaching....

IF LSU does not go to Omaha next year, then it will make 5 times in 6 years that they didn't go. I remember when we expected to not only go, but be competetive. I don't think that is too much to respect from an elite program. You guys love you some PM...but you have to admit the coaches he has hired haven't exactly been great...and that talent he has gotten isn't all that great. Y'all say he overachieved.....well he is responsible for bring in talent and coaches......we should overachieve every once in a while. He isn't a terrible coach....but our defense and hitting are just not that good...and we run the bases terrible..poor fundamentals.....

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Skip Bertman took over the program in 1984 and missed the tournament in his first year. After that he only missed the tournament once more and that was in 1988, year 5 of his tenure at LSU. Skip's first trip to Omaha was 1986, third year with the program. After that, the longest gap he had between Omaha appearances was ONE year.

The longest gap we've had post-skip is 3 years (2005-2007 & 2010-2012). Mainieri got here and did the same as Skip did tourney wise, missed the postseason in his 1st and 5th seasons. In 6 seasons, he has 1 less appearance in the CWS and 1 more championship.

I put the first missed year for PM on Smoke, and PM righted the ship after that. But, we should not be missing the post season. Period. The program is too far along for that to happen. We're at the point where hosting a regional every year and a super every other should be a given. This facility was built for the post season and has only seen 2. I hate this crap I hear from him about new bats and competition in NCAA baseball. There are teams that do it year in and year out. LSU should still be one of them. We have more invested and more fan support than any other team in the country.

We have top coaching in Alan Dunn. I can legitimately see top round pitchers coming to LSU to get coached by a true big league pitching coach, get an education, and improve their draft stock. There is absolutely no reason we shouldn't be able to do the same with a big league batting coach. We have the resources and support to make that happen.

I think next year is a big year for Paul