Posted by Need_2_Know on June 14, 2008 at 9:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"Gomes, a draft-eligible sophomore because of his age, was a 39th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox this month."

I'll be the first to admit there's an awful lot I don't know about baseball, but is there really a 39th round to any draft?

Posted by Pearl4pres on June 14, 2008 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I am glad the coach can run our second best hitter off...Raliegh just sounds like a jerk in this article...

Posted by Ironcity on June 14, 2008 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have been a supporter of coach Raliegh but this concerns me. Sounded like a little sour milk from our coach. Gomes was a good player and this team could sure use him next year. I have got to believe we could have found a spot for him in our line up. I hope for the best for those two players and I hope coach Raliegh is true to his word that we have better coming in.

Posted by newtonrail on June 14, 2008 at 11:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with you Ironcity. This is flat out running players off, and will get you a bad rep in the recruiting world real quick. I know baseball is a different animal than the two major sports, but it still smells. I assume Raleigh thinks he has a better catcher signed. He better be right.

Posted by utchris2003 on June 15, 2008 at 3:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just remember there are always factors that we will never know about that could have played into this. Raleigh seems to be worlds different from Delmonico and that might have caused tension with some of the veteran players that were loyal to Delmonico.

I am sure that he will have the ship righted in the next two years. As far as a catcher, I believe that the young kid out of Memphis (Forsythe I believe) seems to be a good one in the making.

Posted by utchris2003 on June 15, 2008 at 3:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just remember there are always factors that we will never know about that could have played into this. Raleigh seems to be worlds different from Delmonico and that might have caused tension with some of the veteran players that were loyal to Delmonico.

I am sure that he will have the ship righted in the next two years. As far as a catcher, I believe that the young kid out of Memphis (Forsythe I believe) seems to be a good one in the making.

Posted by utchris2003 on June 15, 2008 at 3:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just remember there are always factors that we will never know about that could have played into this. Raleigh seems to be worlds different from Delmonico and that might have caused tension with some of the veteran players that were loyal to Delmonico.

I am sure that he will have the ship righted in the next two years. As far as a catcher, I believe that the young kid out of Memphis (Forsythe I believe) seems to be a good one in the making.

Posted by budd on June 15, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just remember he better start winning. The honeymoon is over when you start running off second team SEC players from a team that tanked like this one did this year.

Posted by Tbaseballfan on June 15, 2008 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mark my words.....Raleigh is a aweful person, I can not wait until the former players get their words in a article, because i think it would shock everyone that loves good ol boy Raleigh.But the former players are more professional to say anything.
What a joke!!!

Posted by 02champs on June 15, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Raleigh will get it done. At least he's honest with his players. And having met and talked with him several times, he is NOT an awful person. This sounds (and smells)like sour grapes.

Posted by BlueGreen on June 15, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hamilton did not score a homerun with this particular Coach. There is alot of tenison in the old dugout at UT. Time will show that Hamilton jumped to quickly on this particular change.

Posted by VolBallFan on June 15, 2008 at 2:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If having an all-SEC, .300+, home-run hitting catcher is not a part of your "coaching philosophy" or "not on the same page" with regard to your agenda, then we should expect a worse season next year.

TR has run off some of his best players. My outlook for the next two years is not optimistic. It makes no sense to push out great veteran players just to have a clean slate.

Posted by tigervol9802 on June 15, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well, I hate to break the news to everyone, but a .316 hitter isn't THAT great. I'm preety sure every player in the FSU lineup is hitting .320+.

I just want to know how he is an awful person. Everyone keeps saying it and points to articles. I've yet to see it.

Posted by VolBallFan on June 15, 2008 at 6:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Dozens of stories from players, his behavior in the dugout, I'd love to have a recording of the things he's said to players. At the game in the Houston Invitational TR sent Gomes and Lima to sit in the outfield bullpen after errors. Not a surprise to me that he railroaded them off the team.
That's not the attitude the Vols should be building in their players.

Posted by tigervol9802 on June 15, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ever though the players may have attitudes too?

Posted by tigervol9802 on June 15, 2008 at 9:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'd like to hear names and stories too from those of you who know so much.

Posted by splinterdand on June 15, 2008 at 10:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tennessee baseball is what it's destined to be. A second tier program. That being said, I didn't care too much for Delmonico personally, but he did take them to 3 CWS, and 2 of those 3 years they were the second best team there. They were just unfortunately bracketed with the best team in those years. As Hamilton said, it's the inconsistency that got Delmonico ousted. But, I don't see this program reaching those heights again, at least not with the current coach.

Posted by FishTacos on June 16, 2008 at 11:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hamilton should have taken a harder look at Alan Cockrell. The former Vol baseball and football player that is the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies. It may have taken more money to hire Cockrell than Raleigh but the Athletic Department has plenty of money. Todd Raleigh talks about "gorilla ball," but his team can't field a ground ball they are lacking major fundamentals defensively. He sounds like Fulmer saying "stay the course." Raleigh's Tennessee team was very inconsistent definsively and it cost them in numerous games. Raleigh also needs to learn that this isn't little Cullowhee, North Carolina where nobody hears about it when you throw a kid under the bus. This guy may be more of jerk/idiot than Delmonico.

Posted by richvol on June 17, 2008 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I can't stand it when a new coach comes in and cleans house with the kids that worked so hard to get there and were loyal to their school. It stinks.

If you can't have the decency to let these boys finish on the team then it says a lot to me about your ego. If they were troublemakers or bad players that's a different matter.

Posted by pdhuff on June 17, 2008 at 7:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I remember when we ran Dupree off. He came back 3 hours later chewing on his 2nd box of glazed.

And offered us his last Schlitz.

Posted by sdye16 on June 18, 2008 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Citizen, the number of errors went down dramatically through the duration of the season, but the one thing that didn't decrease was the number of runners left on base. That is not something that Raleigh has control over: that is the players not being able to get a hit when it matters. It also is the players watching the 3rd strike go by when they are the tying/winning run. That's something they're taught when they are in Little League. I'm sorry, but Coach Raleigh is doing what he feels is the best route to improve this ball program. I hate to see Gomes and Lima go, but there has to be a good reason behind it. Just like with Simunic.