Rippee Writes: Mississippi State wins it all
Some Ole Miss-related thoughts on an MSU title, and a new life goal of mine
A happy Thursday morning to all of you. We have a pair of new podcasts out. The first is a conversation with PGA Professional Chris Harder (Hayden Buckley’s swing coach) in which we talked about Buckley’s success, his philosophy on the golf swing, advice to the weekend warriors and how to get started as a junior player. It’s great stuff. Harder was an awesome guest. Check that out here or anywhere you get podcasts.
We also have a Fourth of July Grill Corner with LBs Greg. Kick the weekend off by listening to that as you smoke some meats. Check that out here or anywhere you get podcasts. We have a lot to get into today. Let’s go.
Mississippi State wins College World Series
I am well aware that many of our subscribers are Ole Miss fans, so I imagine this may not be a pleasant morning for you, but there are some lessons to be learned from it. First off, congrats to Mississippi State on an incredible postseason run and back-ending a series against the always lovable Cinderella story that is Vanderbilt. Score one for Team 11.7. Maybe the Commodores will issue 35 scholarships next year to get them over the hump.
In all seriousness, I think this Bulldog team embodied the mindset and culture that currently serves as the primary separating factor between the Mississippi State and Ole Miss baseball programs. What do I mean by that? Well, I’ll start here. I watch a decent amount of SEC baseball and I saw enough of Mississippi State throughout the year to form an educated opinion on the team’s ceiling. When the Bulldogs took two of three from Ole Miss in April, in part due to a brain fart from Mike Bianco in the finale, I left the series thinking ‘Mississippi State has a pretty good team, but not a great one.’ There have been Bulldog teams in the past that I thought had all the pieces to win the whole thing. The 2013 team was one of them and whatever the year was where Arizona’s Bobby Dalbec went full-on immortal hero mode in a super regional was another one. This team wasn’t one of them. That doesn’t mean I thought they were average or some underdog story, I just thought this version of the Bulldogs was very good but not great. I thought there was much left to be desired with the offense and back end of the rotation, despite a great bullpen and an elite (and I mean ELITE) closer. Maybe I am wrong in saying this, and I admit I am no expert on the program, but is this the most talented team State has ever had? Is it top five? I would say no to both. But again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. I am just a casual opiner.
So how did they do it? How did this team go soar higher than any other team in program history? Beyond the heights of the Thunder and Lightning days with greats like Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro? Simply put, they made shit happen, as MSU teams have often done over the last decade. It has sort of become their brand. The Bulldogs were 12-3 in one-run games and 13-8 when they scored five runs or less. They were tough. They expected to win when the stakes were heightened. When a game or season could be altered on a single misplaced pitch or fielding gaffe, this team played its best baseball. This has become a trend within their program and is woven into their culture. Hell, their last three openers in Omaha were one-run games. And guess what? Mississippi State won all of them.
In my opinion, aside from the (very) marginal advantages MSU has over Ole Miss in scholarship money, history and facilities (really just talking stadium) this mindset and culture are what separates the two programs. It doesn’t mean Ole Miss’ culture is poor. It’s not. Mike Bianco has built an incredibly consistent program, but State just has more assholes, for the lack of a better and cleaner phrase, and I mean that in an endearing way. How many Ole Miss teams could’ve used a Jake Mangum or an Elijah MacNamee? Yes, I realize neither of those men are current players, but you get my point. Throw in Rowdey Jordan or Tanner Allen if you want to. The point remains the same. I just found Mangum and MacNamee to be more extroverted in their leadership. The Bulldogs have guys that feel like they can will a team to a win on a given night. Guys that simply decide “no, we aren’t losing tonight” and end up being prophetic. Outside of Doug Nikhazy, how many of those types of guys has Ole Miss had over the last decade? I feel like I am making a bad argument simply because what I am speaking about isn’t tangibly quantifiable, but it’s real and I think you’d be lying to yourself if you 100 percent disagreed. Ole Miss has good kids. So does State, but the Bulldogs have routinely had more guys you would want in your corner in a bar fight and I think that’s played into their postseason comebacks, one-run wins, and finally, reaching the pinnacle of the sport. Both programs are good, but only one currently has that intangible grit or “it factor” that allows them to maximize postseason opportunity. It’s why the Bulldogs have been to Omaha three straight years and Ole Miss has had three teams that left you wondering what could have been.
So how does this affect Ole Miss and Mike Bianco? It’s hard to say. I have never really bought into the apathy argument with regard to Bianco because Swayze Field regularly has 9,000 people every Friday night, but does the dejection of a bitter rival winning the whole thing finally push some over the edge and into the abyss of not caring? I don’t know. What I do know is that expectations in 2022 were already sky-high for Bianco, who spent a week flirting with another job while the team in Starkville continued its ascent. Those expectations are only heightened now. I have no idea if it is Omaha or bust for Bianco and his fate as the head man in Oxford. Only Keith Carter knows that. I do know this: whatever slim margin for error there was in terms of Ole Miss coming up short of a College World Series birth next year and Bianco still having a job, shrunk even more after last night.
NEW DEAL: Greg has switched up the Rippee Writes perks menu. For being a loyal subscriber, show him proof of subscription and you’ll get a 16 oz. prime strip for $15 and a pack of sausage for $5. That’s a hell of a dinner on the grill for 20 bucks. Go check him out, it’s the best place in Mississippi to get meat and Oxford is lucky to have it.
There is no Magnolia State golf update this week
The Korn Ferry Tour is off and there are no Mississippians playing in the PGA Tour event in Detroit, but I will tease a story I have in the works on Chad Ramey and his ascent in professional golf. I hope to have that out next week. It will be worth your time as Ramey may be the most unassuming incoming rookie on the PGA Tour.
A life well-lived, and I didn’t even know the man
I’ve pocketed this one for a while, but I have to recognize a legend when I see one. A couple of weeks ago, I was playing at a country club in Irving, Texas, that my buddy recently joined called Hackberry Ridge. Somewhere on the back nine, we drove through a tunnel to get to the next tee box. As we neared the end of it (in what turned out to be coincidentally enough), one of us had to pee. We looked to our right at a brick wall that rested adjacent to the end of the tunnel as we approached the next tee box. On the wall was perhaps the greatest plaque ever cemented on anything.
A gentleman who is no longer with us, presumably a former member of the club, had peed in this very spot so frequently and regularly that his friends decided to turn this urination station into a full-on memorial. I love this move. There are golden retrievers out there who feel alpha-ed by this level of territory marking. I have no idea what constitutes a life well-lived. I try to treat people equally and do the right thing as often as I can, but maybe I am doing this entire thing wrong. Maybe the only way any of us will enjoy true serenity when we are six feet under is by knowing our favorite outdoor tinkle target will be commemorated and live on forever. I am not a huge “life goal” guy, but this is now one of them.
Rest in peace, Twinks. I didn’t know you, but I wish I did. You are truly an inspiration to us all. Legends never truly die.
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On the horizon
- Grill corner was the last pod for the week as I am headed to Newport Beach to visit a friend.
- I’ll have a full week of newsletters next week as well as that Chad Ramey story.
- The content will begin to shift toward football previews in the coming weeks as the season continues to draw near. It’ll be here before you know it.
That is all from me today. If I don’t muster a newsletter tomorrow, I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day weekend. Be safe, drink a beer or two and enjoy the weather. Oh, and tell all of your friends to subscribe while you do it. Cheers.