Mailbag 6/8

Is Danny Hall our Mark Richt?

Programming Note: We had fun with this submission to the mailbag, so we decided to give it its own feature. You can expect to see it posted on the site within the next few days.

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This is a long one so I apologize in advance.

I think that Danny Hall is our Mark Richt. He’s had a ton of success but hasn’t won the big one (and some people think the game has passed him by). By hiring the next new thing some expect that person to be our Kirby (I’m throwing up a little in my mouth right now with these comparisons).

However, Kirby got better along with the HUGE investment that uga put into their facilities, staff, etc. So is Kirby better than Richt? I kind of doubt it, I think the other side made a big enough difference that even Richt would have won one. We JUST did that with baseball (thank you Tex).

My question for you all is… am I right? Has the game passed him by? Will the next new thing be better, or will we end up like Clemson? Will these improvements start paying dividends in the next year or two?

I’ll hang up and listen… – CTjacket

Carter: Since 2011, Georgia Tech baseball has finished above .500 in ACC play exactly twice. It has won two conference championships, which were thanks to Cinderella runs after entering the ACC tournament as the lowest seed. It has missed three NCAA tournaments, and of the seven it made, it has not advanced out of regional play once — not even the single time it was a regional host. Danny Hall’s list of accomplishments over 28 seasons (plus a COVID-shortened one) is long enough he’s earned the right to retire from Georgia Tech whenever he wants, and he should seriously start thinking about exercising that right.

Jake: I think that those improvements can yield improvements, however it is more my lack of confidence in the pitching and development involved there that are my primary concern, rather than the facilities or the manager/head coach role. I think that the lack of improvement there over the past three years will have much more to do with the results Coach Hall’s team sees, rather than any actions of the man at the top. Sure, he matters, but so do assistants, recruiting and development, and the randomness factor that comes with playing the game.

Do you have a hobby you love but is a total pain in the ass sometimes? And if so, why is it worth it? -Osmosis_Jones

Carter: I’m already enough of a pain in the ass for my wife. [rimshot]

Jake: In the fall of 2018/19, I was putting out 3-4 articles here a week plus the podcast, and I probably would have said that. It was a lot of time! Lately, I’ve been trying to get better about getting back into hobbies – I feel like I had more while I was in school still – but as someone trying to do a better job of working out and is still heavily burnt out on swimming, I’ve found I enjoy biking a lot. The pain in the ass part isn’t so much about the act of biking, though Atlanta’s hills are quite trying sometimes, as much as it is a pain in the butt to find roads to bike on that connect to what cycling infrastructure exists. Cars, or more accurately the people driving them, do not make that any easier. It’s worth it, though, because it is a swell way to see a lot of the city, but at a more digestible speed and scale than in a car and a great workout.

Vocals aside…

Please to power rank your favorite instrumental hits.

I’ll go with

5. Tequila, The Champs

4. Love’s Theme, Barry White and Love Unlimited Orchestra

3. Eruption, Van Halen

2. A Taste of Honey, Herb Alpert (my Grandmother’s Favorite song all time)

1. Jessica, Allman Bros – DressHerInWhiteAndGold

Carter: Oh wow. Let me think here. If I was going to rank all the ones I was familiar with, we’d be here all day, so I’ll keep it to a top 5 like you did:

5. YYZ, Rush

4. Any Colour You Like, Pink Floyd

3. Genesis, Justice

2. Robot Rock, Daft Punk

1. A Moment Apart, ODESZA

Jake:

B R A S S B O N A N Z A

My question/thought is this, I think a fun idea for a weekly segment is a sliding scale of optimism.

Winless

Another 3 Win

At least we are better than….

.500

Bowl Team

Coastal Champ

ACC Champ

CFB Playoff

National Champ

And the highest honor, we beat uGA

Just a thought. I have us pegged at bowl team – Notwima13

Jake: I would put myself at a comfy “at least we are better than…” right now.

I’m almost always about football, but today will be a little different. My wife and I recently made the decision that we would like to build her a fun weekender. We decided on a Ford Bronco II, where she gets to decide on the color and interior, but I get free reign with everything else. My question is what are y’all’s ‘realistic’ dream cars (Something that you can afford given your current income) and your dream car (That thing that would break the bank, but God would it be fun)? -Frodo Swagginz

Jake: Well, right now I think my realistic car is “the one I’ve got” and saving the rest of the money. Honestly, I think the dream car really would be something old, like a Model A — NOT necessarily a metallic gold one, but you know what I mean — for a good hands-on project and for a good cruise about town.

Carter: Right now, dream car would probably be any of Audi’s EVs — they all look sweet. As for realistic, well, I just bought my RAV4 hybrid new two years ago, but I almost wish I had held out another year to get the Prime, which is the plug-in version.

Last year there was a bit of back and forth with Yates and Simms at the Qb position (I know Simms was “hurt” for a couple games but I digress). Considering the pressure is now way up on CGC to win and there is even more competition for the QB position, what are the chances we see 3 QBs within the first 3 FBS games (not considering WCU in this)? – gtbadcarma

Drew: I’m expecting to see 2 QBs (probably Sims and Zach Gibson), but I really hope we don’t see 3. That would be a disaster and to me would imply that nobody is impressing.

Jake: I agree with Drew. I think seeing three would be a pretty bad sign, to be completely honest.

Carter: I’m thinking it’s more likely we see three than just two, but who knows.

Carter: What, you volunteering to start at OL or something?

Hey Guys,

How’s it going? You having fun this week? I’m still getting over our loss to Tennessee. Was it bad enough that we got blown out, but did the team also had to give me hope before losing? that sucked. Question this week, who are you rooting for in the college baseball tournament now that GT is out? Have a good one.

Sincerely,

Jo Mama

Drew: As a former Nutmegger I’m cheering for the UConn Huskies even though they are a long shot. Assuming they lose I’m pulling for East Carolina and Oregon State.

Jake: I think I am generally okay with ACC teams doing alright in the supers and in Omaha, particularly at the expense of the other big league here in the southeast, but I think the Southern Mississippi and East Carolina teams have been fun non-Power 5 teams to watch so far.

Carter: I don’t have a strong interest in anyone in the remaining field, but any of the three non power schools remaining would be the most fun. Plus Southern Miss is hosting Ole Miss in the Supers, which should make for some fantastic online content.