1. Sorry man, but this is a terrible comment as there are countless girls that can field a ball better than a lot of male players. My comment derives from the absolute terrible fielding this team is showing, and the one last year that had errors as well and could not overcome them. In softball the bats aren't as hot as baseball bats and if you ever watch a game up close or have someone you know that plays and you watch closely, you can hit a ball on 98% of the bat and it just dies in softball. That 2% is hit really hard and you can tell as soon as it's hit due to the sound. That means there are many more playable balls than you would see on a baseball diamond for instance. Smaller field means smaller area to cover. I personally feel there shouldn't be as many errors as we are seeing. A top notch coach and program??? You wouldn't have this.
I agree, and have said as much, that the defense has been bad. But every point you're throwing out there has a counterpoint to it. Smaller area also means plays/throws have to be made faster. More playable balls, routine or not, will simply equal more errors... for
any team. But again, yes, the amount of errors (and the type of errors) is very concerning and needs to get fixed.
2. Everyone has an opinion, I just know the ones I've heard worked under him and said he treats his staff less. The smiles and exuberance on TV is not what is seen behind the scenes when the cameras aren't rolling is what I was told. Difference between Saban and Murphy, is Saban never hid what and who he was. He demanded excellence and that's what he got. He never had lulls. Unless you count two or three losses in one season a lull. Same with Oats. He does not apologize or try and come across as anything other than a high intensity guy that expects the most.
Ok. I don't really understand how any of this factors into any of this honestly. That should have probably been my reply in the previous post and just left it at that. We are unlikely to find much common ground here but regardless, I don't see the relevance.
3. Who has outcoached him? SEC Standings back to 2015. Not terrible, not great, but plenty of other teams outperforming, and this is just in the SEC.
Was hoping for some actual names there instead of some discombobulated W/L charts. But if that's the metic, then let's use it (not sure why standings stopped it '15, but that's ok). So
if I'm seeing the final standings right going back those years (and taking out the '20 COVID year), the only teams that had a higher average finish than Bama is Tennessee (barely) and Florida (who is well ahead of both). But if we dig a
little deeper on the Vols, and you'll allow me that "outperforming" would also include postseason success, then we see that since '15, Tennessee has had just 2 WCWS appearances and failed to make it out of Regional play 3 different times. Alabama... 5 WCWS appearances and failed to make it out of Regional play only once. Florida's run during that same time period is ahead of Bama's, mostly because of their WCWS title in '15 (other than that, the postseason resume is very similar).
4. Money always helps, you're right. I was under the impression money was never an issue at Alabama, muchless what I am expecting to be our highest profile women's program. I don't think money can be used as a reason we have fallen as far as we have without a pitcher like Montana, Traina, Osorio, Littlejohn etc. We have had the arms, we have had the bats, All-Americans, Olympians, we've had it all, and all around the same era for the most part. The Rhoads Family donated a lot of money to this program and it was a hot name for a long time now, so what has cooled or what has kept it from blossoming like so many other programs? If we are in fact getting the players, then why has development not occurred and why are we not seeing the results a Top 10 program should see?
I think you kinda answered your own question in a way there. Generous support and donations from a select few (namely Ann Rhoads) helped put Alabama ahead of (most of) the pack in terms of facility upgrades years ago. Murphy, together with the support, snowballed Alabama into a power. Eventually, along came the TV money and some other schools poured a lot of that into their own softball programs... a
Build it and they they'll come approach in a way. After that, NIL and collectives kicked in, which again, is helping others catch up. It isn't, IMO, so much that Bama is falling off the mountain, it's others are climbing higher. Basically, to use your term if I may, Bama
blossomed years ago... here lately, some other schools finally have as well. Look at Florida the last couple of years... they're not running through the league like a hot knife through butter lately either, unlike a few years ago.
Also, to backtrack some, money is always an issue (to a degree) at Alabama. UA has nice things, much nicer than most, but they are far from having an unlimited stream of cash. There's a reason Byrne begs for donations. There's a reason why the basketball arena keeps getting punted. And now, the need to have these stupid collectives only makes it worse.
That last part about getting the players? IMO Bama is
NOT getting the players they need. And they haven't held onto a couple of the ones they
did get that they needed. The overall talent the last couple of years has been below what it should be, IMO. There's immediate issues that need to be shored up, like the defensive play which we hit on... but Murphy is going to have raise the talent level some if he wants to win another WCWS title. My point from earlier in the thread though is, he's either going to get that chance or he's going to decide to walk away... he ain't getting fired in the foreseeable future.
