Dogs playing their way in-sure hope so

I believe Mother nature smiled on UGA last weekend on Mother's Day, or you could say she did the baseball program no favors as well-I can see either point of view as legit and logical. UGA/South Carolina split the first two games of their series last week in Athens. Game 3 on Sunday was washed away, as the area finally got a big rain storm after it seems MONTHS of dryness. So, depending on the way you look at it, that was a good or bad thing for our baseball team. Good in the fact we didn't lose but bad in that we didn't win-and a win against an opponent the level of South Carolina-two time defending national champ would have been HUGE. Take a series against them would have been huge but the negative side of me believes we likely would have lost the third game and thus it was a break NOT to play it. The fact we now play one of the worst teams in the SEC to close things out, I would take a split of the two games and be happy with it. The team got a big win last night in Alabama, winning 8-4 and will play two more before the SEC tourney starts next week in Hoover. Record now stands at 31-22 and 14-13 in conference play. We win one more, we get to the magic 15 win mark and now that we didn't play the SC game on Sunday, would assure a winning SEC record and almost be a guaranteed spot in the NCAA tourney.

So far I have seen us as the #2 seeds in two different locations (regionals). One was at FSU one was at UNC. It is pretty evident that for the most part (last year being the exception) it seems EVERY year we make the NCAA tourney we are paired with an ACC opponent. Course we have been paired with GT a lot, with FSU, with NCST before, they just seem to like to do that in the regionals and it does make a lot of sense to get fans to the ballpark. As for this year, I actually think this team is built to be a pretty good tourney team, at least initially. The #1 and #2 starters are very good and keep the team in most games. The lineup has enough solid hitters along with just enough pop to get the job done. BUT, this group has not been overly consistent to me. They have played a lot of tight games against good opponents but they have found ways to lose more often than win. Therefore, I don't hold out hope of this team getting to the super regional round but it will really depend on the regional and who they match up with.


A football note, UGA has hired Daryl Jones as the new on campus recruiting coordinator. Here is a little background on Coach Jones-

ATHENS --- Daryl Jones, veteran high school coach and athletic director with 17 years in the state of Georgia system, has been named Director Of On-Campus Recruiting according to an announcement Thursday by UGA head football coach Mark Richt.
 "We're extremely fortunate to have Daryl joining our staff," said Richt. "He's a veteran high school coach and administrator who has a complete understanding of the recruiting process along with the relationships between the university and the high schools.  He'll be a great addition to our staff in the areas of high school relations and directing our on-campus recruiting efforts."
A native of Ocala, Fla., Jones played wide receiver and was a decathlete at Long Island University C. W. Post where he earned his bachelors degree in political science and education. From 1990 to 1995, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at Hofstra and Duke, followed by the University of Maryland where he was a graduate assistant coach and earned his masters degree in educational administration.
He spent the next 17 years in the state of Georgia coaching system beginning as an assistant high school football coach at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga. He later served as head football coach and athletic director at Griffin High School, Wayne County High School and North Oconee High School.   Jones also served as assistant football coach and student support coordinator at Oconee County High School and assistant coach at Grayson High School.
Jones was named Georgia High School Athletic Director of the Year in 2005 and was the Under Armour manager of football camps, combines and the 7on7 projects, during which he was a two-time assistant coach of the Under Armour All-America Game.

So what do I think of this hire, HOME RUN!! Great job by Greg McGarity and Coach Richt-at one point it was thought they were going in the direction of the recruiting "experts"-nothing against those guys but they don't hold a candle to the experience Daryl Jones has when it comes to ACTUAL recruiting and not just ranking players and provide a service for their customers. This guy has coached, has been an AD, has worked camps, in other words, he has COORDINATED an operation and will bring a lot to this position. This guy is obviously very well connected, well organized, knows the recruiting game well, knows HS coaches all over the region, he knows how to get the job done. Our coaches will still be selling the program to recruits but this guy will become a focal point for our recruiting operation-one that is already one of the best, this just makes it even better. I know from living in Grayson and from a couple contacts I have, this guy is a solid person all the way around. Not sure he will impact the recruitment of Robert Nkemdiche but he does know Robert and also is close with the Grayson HC. But you look at where he has worked, it is spread out throughout the state-from the coast in Brunswick, to a powerful area like Griffin, to a Gwinnett power in Grayson, working with Under Armour, this guy is going to be great.

All for now, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, GO DOGS!

UGA baseball, Perno or no Perno

So, UGA lost to GT a couple nights ago, they lost the season series to the Jackets for the 3rd year in a row I do believe, I think it is like 7 of the last 8 years. It is CLEARLY obvious which in state school has the most consistent baseball program. Now, Coach Perno did lead us to within a win of the college world series title what 4 years ago, has led us to multiple trips to Omaha, but this was the worst GT team probably since Perno took over as our coach. Why am I using the season series againt GT as a barometer-simply put because GT and UGA in baseball are on equal ground moreso than any other major sport. Yes, they have the "academic" issues still involved-and college baseball players are fully aware coming into to school that they MUST stay for 3 years before the draft, but the fact the scholarship limits are the same, both schools are able to use the Hope scholarship to their advantage, this state produces a boat load of HIGH LEVEL baseball talent, I think it is only fitting we compare the two programs. While UGA has actually had more success in the NCAA tourney, GT reaches the tourney every year-UGA has had several LOSING seasons under Perno. This brings us back to this year-UGA came into this season highly ranked-returning the bulk of a team that made the NCAA tourney last year, although if you remember, they had to make quite a run in the SEC tourney to make the big tourney. Still, several stud pitchers and position players coming back, a schedule that included the bulk of the early season at home, just a lot of positives. This season is not a train wreck and I still believe they can make the NCAA tourney-first they MUST make the SEC tourney, but certainly it has been a struggle. In SEC play, they currently sit with a record of 12-12 with South Carolina-two time defending champs coming to town this weekend. Overall record is 28-21. South Carolina btw, leads the east with a 16-8 conference mark. SO, this weekend will be a TOUGH task. Last weekend, they certainly did a great job sweeping Auburn, that put them at 12-12, that coming after two straight TOUGH road trips, first to Gainesville and then Baton Rouge, losing some tight close games in both series, but they did manage to avoid sweeps at both locations. We now get back to GT, UGA had won 4 in row heading into that game, with a chance to finally take a season series with them. They fell behind early and although they rallied, they lost 8-6. The lost at Turner Field earlier in the season 4-3, in a game they let slip away. To me, this weekend is a pivotol one for David Perno as head coach at UGA. If they lose 2 of 3 or get swept, that to me will put him on the hot seat. I feel like he MUST make the NCAA tourney this year or McGarity might just have to make a move. Last year they made it, but BARELY. This year with higher expectations, to not make it would be a serious blow. Here are the latest standings for the SEC, keep in mind UGA closes the season at Bama, who is not a good team so there is hope to build something if they could take the series this weekend. You can see, UGA stands tied for 5th right now-only the top 8 make the tourney.

Team	SEC	Pct.	Overall	Pct.	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak
Eastern
South Carolina	16 - 8	.667	37 - 12	.755	26-5	10-7	1-0	W2
Kentucky	15 - 9	.625	38 - 11	.776	26-5	11-6	1-0	W2
Florida	14 - 10	.583	36 - 13	.735	24-7	11-6	1-0	W1
Georgia	12 - 12	.500	28 - 21	.571	22-11	5-9	1-1	L1
Vanderbilt	11 - 13	.458	24 - 24	.500	19-12	5-12	0-0	W3
Tennessee	8 - 16	.333	24 - 24	.500	20-11	3-11	1-2	W1
Western
LSU	16 - 8	.667	38 - 11	.776	29-5	8-6	1-0	W1
Mississippi St.	12 - 12	.500	30 - 18	.625	25-7	4-10	1-1	W1
Arkansas	12 - 13	.480	34 - 16	.680	27-7	5-8	2-1	L2
Ole Miss	11 - 13	.458	31 - 18	.633	22-8	8-10	1-0	L1
Auburn	11 - 14	.440	27 - 22	.551	20-10	6-12	1-0	W2
Alabama	7 - 17	.292	18 - 30	.375	15-12	3-16	0-2	W1

So, I think the last two weekends of the season are HUGE for the Diamond Dogs and the future of David Perno. Because McGarity did not hire ANY of our current head coaches in the three big mens sports, I do wonder how much stability any of these three guys have with their job security. Coach Richt appears to have righted the ship and will get a contract extension soon-but then again, schools HAVE to give extensions this day and age for recruiting purposes. Coach Fox had a pretty bad season recently, but he got a little bump due to his NCAA tourney appearance the year before. That being said, I believe the 2012-13 season is going to be big for Coach Fox. I hope Coach Perno and his team can start a nice winning streak going forward and make a run in the tourney-I am pulling for them. But, the losses to GT, the losses earlier in the year to Vandy, Tenn, Ark, getting swept at home by UCLA (yes, a good team but you should not get swept at home), I am not sure if Perno is safe any longer. All for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend and GO DOGS!