Are you okay with a double standard in Florida State sports?

Well, this is awkward. Ugly even. FSU's good-guy pitching coach Jamey Shouppe is twisting in the wind, awaiting his fate until Randy Spetman is back in town from a European trip.

Meantime, Mike Martin appears to have all but pulled the trap door on his long-time pitching coach. Who else would be orchestrating the apparent dismissal of Shouppe in public? Spetman has indicated it wasn't him.

So could 11 be throwing Shouppe under the team bus in a desperate attempt to win a CWS before he calls it quits?

The Bigger Question. Do you want a double standard between Florida State Baseball and Football?

In football, most FSU fans wouldn't tolerate the mediocrity of 2001 thru 2009. They were tired of the perceived nepotism and cronyism. They demanded changes and got them. Not just with a new head coach, but top assistants who could recruit and develop at the highest level.

Now a guy who's much loved by fans and players in a different sport is about to be sacrificed on the altar of big-time winning.

If you take the position that coaches should be held accountable just like in business, you have a good case. The performance of Shouppe's pitchers is not up to the level of this year's College World Series teams by one very important measurement.

2011 NCAA Team ERA Rankings

1. UVA 2.26
2. Texas 2.27
3. Vanderbilt 2.38
5. South Carolina 2.60
11. California 2.84
13. Texas A&M 2.88
20. Florida 3.01
31. North Carolina 3.27
62. FSU 3.81

However, by ACC standards FSU's pitching is above average. Not the best, but good enough to challenge for the title every year.

So is good enough good enough for you? Maybe having quality coaches who develop character and graduate players, who are loyal to the school and who we just like to see back every year, is more important than being one of the top baseball schools and saving up for trips to Omaha.

Maybe not. We'll soon find out what kind of program FSU wants, when Martin hangs up no. 11 for the last time. Will his replacement be no. 4, a familar face who some fans believe deserves the job? Or will Spetman go after the best possible coach available?

As a fan, tell us which direction you believe Seminole Baseball should go in the Nole Poll at the top right.

Comments

[Mike Oxlong]

I am baffled that anyone named Martin is still there now at any position. If Mike Martin Jr. is so good, then why has team gotten so much worse since he came? All three of these failures should be let go and without apology. They have done nothing but fall short every single year since before Reagan was president. You do not hire one of them to be the head coach when when the father isn't even a legend, just a 30 year failure. Otherwise this crap will continue right up until flying cars are seen in the sky. But Randy Spetman is that dumb so it could happen. He seems to like the lesser sports failing for some reason and Mike Martin Jr. will be just his man.

[George]

I am baffled by how someone can say they can't believe FSU baseball would hire someone without head coaching experience and then point to FSU football as an example in the same post.

Uhhh, Jimbo Fisher didn't have any head coaching experience, and the comparision to Jeff Bowden is stupid. JB wasn't a good OC, MMJr has proven to be a very good assistant coach.

Also, Brian O'Connor, Tim Corbin and Kevin O'Sullivan (3 of the last 4 coaches left at the CWS) were all hired with no coaching experience.

[sugarfoot]

Can't believe the AD department would even consider hiring anyone who was not proven as a head coach for FSU baseball. This is not a program that is just starting it's first year in a baseball program. Just look across the street at the football stadium and see what happened on that field. That situation was handled.

[R Pepper]

I, for one, do not believe Jr. should be given the keys to the Ferrari. FSU baseball coach is one of the plum jobs in the game based of facilities, recruiting base, and fan and administration support. Perhaps if Jr. had gone and cut his teeth at another program as a head coach and shown success, I could then see bringing him back. You find a goo, hungry head coach at a school that doesn't have the tangibles FSU posssesses. Ask DePaul basketball fans how well it works promoting the son of the legend from within. Not too well.