re: Baseball Thread (46-18, 20-9) I SC vs. Oklahoma State - L 1-3

As far as I'm concerned, I'm fine with Coach Holbrook. It's tough for a guy who's never been a HC to take over such an elite program in ANY case, much less right after that program made it to 3 consecutive NCAA championship series, winning the first 2.

Holbrook had to cut his teeth in many ways with his first year as HC 4 seasons ago, perhaps mainly in the areas of making the kinds of final decisions, lineups, calls for plays in mid-game with big moments on the line - the kinds of things that only the head coaches have the privilege to make. He's rolled some snake eyes a number of times, and it's brought him some heavy criticism. But he's also rolled a few 7s as well...

Now, last season doesn't matter anymore. In 3 of the 4 seasons Holbrook has been our HC, we've made it to the NCAA postseason 3 times, and made it to the Supers 2 times. We've won 43, 44, and now 46 games in 3 of them, and finished no worse than 2nd in the SEC East, with other divisional teams such as Florida, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky included. Possibly the toughest conference division in college baseball.

Holbrook has had one bad season, and I hope he isn't permanently stained from that one season for life with the rest of Gamecock Nation. We were getting a bit emotional about Ray Tanner after the mid-to-late 2000s teams that included Smoak, Darnell, Disher, Havens, etc. that never made it to Omaha. We had a few 15-15 SEC seasons in those years too. Now Tanner is a coaching God to Gamecock Nation.

I'm going to give Coach Holbrook a pass for a while, until he gives me more of a reason not to. He's just given me a reason to give him a break. so I'm gonna do it....