SLU Baseball 2024

[slufan13]

3 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

Give me the business plan that pays for these upgrades.   Show us it will pay for itself.   Until then I continue to believe it's a dream waiting for a miracle donor that hates basketball to walk up with a blank signed check.

You literally just outlined Chris May's job

[billikenfan05]

8 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

Give me the business plan that pays for these upgrades.   Show us it will pay for itself.   Until then I continue to believe it's a dream waiting for a miracle donor that hates basketball to walk up with a blank signed check.

I do admire that you think you have made a difference in this mythical quest though.   Keep hope alive. 

I gave you the business plan, are you unfamiliar with corporate sponsorships? 
 

The donor doesn't have to hate basketball, just not be into it. Look around the country, you’ll see this sort of thing everywhere. There were people around the Volleyball program when Anne was here whose interest was just SLU Volleyball. 
 

You keep white knighting for a guy who will never think of you as anything more than a box to check on his to do list every game. It’s adorable. 
 

[wgstl]

On 7/31/2024 at 9:33 AM, Littlebill said:

Like historically good programs Creighton, St John's, UConn

Creighton plays in the most famous college baseball stadium in the country. St Johns' field is one of the more famous ones in the country. UConn built a new field in 2021. The smaller number doesn't make the point you're trying to. Doesn't even make any point at all

That joint building is awesome, and oh look, we could do the same with Hermann and the baseball field. 

[3star_recruit]

How much would it cost to tear down SLU's existing facility and build a new one?  Where would they play in the meantime?

[JMM28]

33 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

Give me the business plan that pays for these upgrades.   Show us it will pay for itself.   Until then I continue to believe it's a dream waiting for a miracle donor that hates basketball to walk up with a blank signed check.

I do admire that you think you have made a difference in this mythical quest though.   Keep hope alive. 

[billikenfan05]

7 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

How much would it cost to tear down SLU's existing facility and build a new one?  Where would they play in the meantime?

Nobody is asking for that. 

[3star_recruit]

8 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Nobody is asking for that. 

Why not?  Isn't the current field the baseball equivalent of West Pine?

[Billiken Rich]

It is a GREAT DAY in Billiken athletics when the only thing to beotch about is the non-revenue (not ever) sport of baseball.  Not enough people care about baseball for it to supplant BREAK DANCING as an Olympic sport.  God love Coach H but when he retires or leaves the same number of fans are going to go to the games as go now.  Could the Billikens charge money to attend games if we had MICDS level facilities? No. Is the Big East going to give a rip about our baseball complex? No.  It would be nice for everyone to have better facilities, hell I'd like a new hot tub, but I'd rather get a new floor with the Arch on it for the only sports that matter....... 

[billikenfan05]

14 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

Why not?  Isn't the current field the baseball equivalent of West Pine?

It's apples to oranges. The field is fine. Dugouts are an area of complaint, but besides that all other construction could be completed either in the offseason or during the season without causing actual disruption to the playing field. I would have:

This offseason: Replace the home plate bleachers with equal number of chair backed seats and a press box. Including ADA ramp and small seating area.

2025 Season: Replace first base bleachers, with backed bleacher seating or a man made tiered lawn area people could bring chairs and coolers. That's an area where player families like to congregate and hang out. 

25/26 Offseason: Dugout renovations

[slufan13]

If your facilities ever get bad enough that you're to the point where tearing it all down is a conversation, you have failed as a leader of said facilities. 

[OkieBilliken]

16 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

It's apples to oranges. The field is fine. Dugouts are an area of complaint, but besides that all other construction could be completed either in the offseason or during the season without causing actual disruption to the playing field. I would have:

This offseason: Replace the home plate bleachers with equal number of chair backed seats and a press box. Including ADA ramp and small seating area.

2025 Season: Replace first base bleachers, with backed bleacher seating or a man made tiered lawn area people could bring chairs and coolers. That's an area where player families like to congregate and hang out. 

25/26 Offseason: Dugout renovations

Really doesn't seem that hard...

[billikenfan05]

8 minutes ago, OkieBilliken said:

Really doesn't seem that hard...

Other schools are going out and getting naming rights sponsors for their renovations.

The decisions to fundraise for certain projects are fully in Chris May's court despite what his sycophants here will tell you. If Chris May went to Fred Pestello and the BoT with the information that the baseball seating areas aren't ADA compliant and he'd like to raise money or asked for extra budgetary allotment, do you really think they are going to say no to that sort of tiny diversity and inclusion project? 

If he's not willing to even take that initiative...

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

I gave you the business plan, are you unfamiliar with corporate sponsorships? 
 

The donor doesn't have to hate basketball, just not be into it. Look around the country, you’ll see this sort of thing everywhere. There were people around the Volleyball program when Anne was here whose interest was just SLU Volleyball. 
 

You keep white knighting for a guy who will never think of you as anything more than a box to check on his to do list every game. It’s adorable. 
 

That's not going to happen at least until this NIL stuff shakes out.   Corporate and whale like gifts will pretty much go to basketball.   In the here and now, show us how BoT financing could be paid off with attendance, concessions and minor sponsorships.   

The department is very unlikely to cut the big donors out of basketball unless that particular donor(s) specifically directs the money to a non revenue sport.  

Again you have this fairy tail approach to this whole thing that there is an endless pot of gold that is capable of satisfying every dying wish.   That isn't going to happen

[billikenfan05]

19 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

That's not going to happen at least until this NIL stuff shakes out.   Corporate and whale like gifts will pretty much go to basketball.   In the here and now, show us how BoT financing could be paid off with attendance, concessions and minor sponsorships.   

The department is very unlikely to cut the big donors out of basketball unless that particular donor(s) specifically directs the money to a non revenue sport.  

Again you have this fairy tail approach to this whole thing that there is an endless pot of gold that is capable of satisfying every dying wish.   That isn't going to happen

Roy do you actually believe the things that you type or do you just get off on disagreeing with me? 
 

I’m not going to explain corporate sponsorships to you. You are so unbelievably latched on to May that you’re unwilling to see you’re being spoon fed nonsense. Go find sponsorships, work your baseball alumni, present a public plan, solicit new donors. There are always more opportunities out there to raise money. This isn’t fuoking hard.

[willie]

2 hours ago, 3star_recruit said:

How much would it cost to tear down SLU's existing facility and build a new one?  Where would they play in the meantime?

Why?

[3star_recruit]

11 minutes ago, willie said:

Why?

The engineer in me thinks it would make more sense to spend say, 5 million and get a new facility instead of 1 million to upgrade a basic one just to bring it up to average.  But if it's way more expensive than that I can understand why a new facility isn't even part of the conversation.

[brianstl]

The fact that SLU doesn’t have an ADA compliant seating area for baseball in the year 2024 is a joke.  

[thetorch]

I just can't fathom making an argument against this anymore.

Bottom line is SLU's expectations should be to have all facilities be the class of the A10.  If not possible drop the sport.  Being an A10 also ran should be unacceptable for all SLU fans in any sport. 

[OkieBilliken]

OMG - I think I know why Easton Richter hit the portal.  He was a really nice player.   SMH.  

[OkieBilliken]

Looks like another Seton Hall pitcher has signed with us.  Only pitched a couple of innings this year for SHU and just 3 innings the year before.   I’ll take it, I guess.  We did lose a bunch of bullpen guys from this years club.  
 

 

[Brighton]

21 hours ago, OkieBilliken said:

Honestly this is the most baseball related talk that has ever happened on this board.  I love it.    There is a big percentage of posters on this board that care almost exclusively about MBB.   They are happy when another SLU team does well, but any advancement from another team that could be perceived as at the expense of MBB is not worth it.   I love SLU MBB.  Some of the greatest days of my childhood watching the Bills at old Kiel with my dad, yelling and sweating so much that my shirt would stick to the back those strange, antiquated leather chairs.   But I believe our other sports can be a tremendous amount of fun and with the proper investment, successful as well.   I want us to win conference championships in every damn sport.   Why the heck not?

There are now a bunch of people on this board that really care that our baseball team is suffering because of substandard facilities.   That's a huge improvement.   Several years ago, I think entire baseball seasons went by without a mention on this board.  Keep the pressure on!     I'm sure Chris May is tired of my emails and probably deletes them, but I keep sending them, respectfully of course.   

Reports on the coach, whose by far the most accomplished in the history of the program, potentially going elsewhere was a wake up call.

[Speyburn]

The Men and Women's tennis coach has left to go to Drake. At SLU they have no home courts, consistently moving from one location to another. For the last two years they have played their home tournament at Lindenwood. Compared to where he is going The Roger Knapp Tennis Center, completed in Oct. of 1992, features six indoor and six outdoor tennis courts. Athletic team lockers, meeting rooms and tennis coaches offices are located there as well. Is it any wonder why he left. They have yet to find a replacement.

[OkieBilliken]

 

Okay this is cool.   Cam Pferrer was our closer a couple of years ago after transferring in from Mizzou.   He has labored two years in independent ball, but now looks like he will be getting a shot in affiliated baseball.   

[OkieBilliken]

 

Damn,  I am pumped!

[HoosierPal]

23 hours ago, Billiken Rich said:

It is a GREAT DAY in Billiken athletics when the only thing to beotch about is the non-revenue (not ever) sport of baseball.  Not enough people care about baseball for it to supplant BREAK DANCING as an Olympic sport.  God love Coach H but when he retires or leaves the same number of fans are going to go to the games as go now.  Could the Billikens charge money to attend games if we had MICDS level facilities? No. Is the Big East going to give a rip about our baseball complex? No.  It would be nice for everyone to have better facilities, hell I'd like a new hot tub, but I'd rather get a new floor with the Arch on it for the only sports that matter....... 

When we get invited to the SEC, primarily as a baseball school, then we will need an upgrade in the baseball facility. 
 

St Bonaventure is going to have a better facility than ours!  So what?  Does that mean the Big East will send them an invite?

The players care about the game. The players care about winning and losing. They care about their teammates. Bells and whistles are nice but they don’t produce wins.  If the program is as bad as a handful of posters think it is, then why do players still come and why do the coaches stay?  
 

I coached baseball through American Legion. I watched maybe 100 of my son’s high school games primarily from a lawn chair or uncovered metal bleachers.  If you care more about cushioned seats and being able to buy beer at a game, then maybe you need another sport to watch.