re: On whether Jay Johnson would take a MLB job if offered.....

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Maybe I’m biased but I’d absolutely interview him if I was interested in Vitello. Seems a little bizarre to me.

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Vitello is only in that job because of Buster Posey. Their futures are likely tied together. This was a unique situation.

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Jay is fighting for all that he can get, which a good coach does.

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This. Don't read too much into it. He's talking to the LSU administration through the media.

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Did Skip ever get MLB offers? I never heard of it if so.

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I recall a poll of some sort in the 90s where the responders (don't recall if it was media types or MLB types who were asked) were asked to name the best college coach who would crush it at the MLB level. Not surprisingly, Skip was the top choice by a wide margin. I don't know if he was ever actually pursued, though.

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quote:Because Jay is currently coaching at one of the top 1% of college baseball in financial support for his baseball program That's just a silly argument.

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Very silly

He didn't say there was no interest, he said no offer. Which could easily imply teams have been interested but maybe he shut them down saying he's not interested. Unless the right fit comes along. Nobody is going to convince me Vitello was more attractive than Jay. I'm 100% sure teams have contacted him to gauge his interest.

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Because Jay is currently coaching at one of the top 1% of college baseball in financial support for his baseball program

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Jay thinks LSU is the Mecca of college baseball. He doesn’t want to be in the top 1%—where are you getting that information, anyway?—he wants to be #1 in financial support, especially after winning 2 of the last 3.

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There sure has been an awful lot of crying this season about financial support for a baseball program that is in the top 1% of all of college baseball.

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By who? Some retarded posters, maybe, but I haven’t heard Jay “whine.” He’s fighting to make sure we don’t get complacent after a couple of recent CWS titles and take the program—and himself—for granted. As he should. And can you please show your work on this top 1% support statistic. It could be right. But we also might not even be in the top 1% of the SEC. Mississippi State, Texas, and A&M might all be spending more than us on baseball overall currently.

But he’s especially got to fight right now when it seems that Kiffin and Wade were both given what appears to be blank checks, and seem to very close with the LSU President and ADs. Hell, they hired Wade his own AD to report to. Who’s in those rooms fighting for Jay? Maybe somebody. Maybe nobody. So he feels like he’s got to fight for himself. He’s won twice as many NCs at LSU than the other 3 HCs of the most nationally recognized sports combined (football, MBB, and WBB). But he’s by far 4th on the list as far as national popularity. That may piss him off or he may completely understand that’s just how it goes. But he knows he can’t afford to concede any ground, both at LSU and in the college baseball landscape, so he’s doing what he feels like he has to do.

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If he's not happy with the administration support here, unless he gets hired by the Yankees or Dodgers in MLB, he won't be happy in MLB either.

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This is just a non sequitur that has nothing to do with anything. With all the money they spend, the Dodgers and Yankees managers may be the 2 biggest puppets in all of MLB.

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I see it as Jay is fighting for all that he can get, which a good coach does. I don't see it as a viable threat that he might leave for elsewhere.

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Never underestimate office politics. Kiffin came in but he is the football coach with is the undisputed king of the Ath Dept and fanbase. Now Wade has come in with a lot of $$$ promises. Note that even before the introductory PC rumors were hitting that Kim was going to retire. Now we see CJJ with the options open non denial denial.

Errbody protecting their turf/donors from the new guy.

Thanks, but no thanks, would be my answer.

Yea, that doesn't sound like a coach who is permanently in love with LSU. I wouldn't blame him though. Why wouldn't he want to coach at the highest level if that opportunity came knocking? He's won two titles at LSU in a very short time period, he probably feels the hunger more now than ever before to try and see what he can do in the pros.

I'd be sad, but I wouldn't be mad.

He leaves the door cracked in his answer. Which I think coach would as well because you don't know what the future holds or if an MLB team would come kicking the tires.
If Vitello has some success, which much depends on the GM work, then CJJ will be elevated in some teams eyes. But to be honest, a GM should be looking at the successful minor league managers than college.

Managing in MLB is so much different than college and so much of it is now analytics and stats. I think there is a lot of development that coaches enjoy in the college game. But you can't deny the temptation and money of MLB doesn't exist.