Long Beach State Sports : Re: IF Tomorrow Was April Fools I'd Post

Not sure why any AD would be in such a rush to extend a coach for 5 years so early after the original hire. Maybe there are hidden reasons? I know I'm grasping at straws here but I'm trying to rationalize what I feel was a poor decision due to its timing.

Maybe what we don't know is Eric went to Andy after that one good month and told Andy he had garnered an offer from another University to be their coach. This would be the only reason I can dream of for an "early trigger" on the extension.

Is that a realistic scenario for the 5 year extension bonanza?

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I have been vocal about my feelings regarding Andy Fee (as an AD, no as a person). But, regardless of the forward success or failure, I think the Valenzuela hire was a solid one. He had a very strong history, ant a place that was far from automatic for baseball.

I was not unhappy with the extension when it was announced. Obviously, I now have my doubts. But, ADs have to make these decisions when the future is unknown. The first couple years looked very promising and allowing a Coach to come to the end of his contract can have negative impacts on recruiting and retaining him as he becomes more successful.

There is a clear difference here between baseball and basketball. EV was coming off a couple strong seasons (albeit in weird Covid circumstances) and CDM was coming off a major slump in performance. Interestingly, both went the opposite way this semester.

Yes, in general, I think all of this guaranteeing the future is problematic. In this case, I think it was reasonable. Further, I think EV will turn out to be a good hire in the long run. Would I be giving him an extension right now if we had not done so earlier? No.

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Not sure I wish to get into a budgetary discussion on our Athletic Programs. IF I were running the programs as AD, I'd always come in over budget if it that was what I believed what the right thing for the program. I'd have the rationale when attacked by my leadership to deflect their criticism. Some avoid criticism from their higher ups by "toeing the line."

P.S. I thank you for you amazing support and generosity. You are an Angel sent from Heaven for our program. Keep flying high brother!

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I guess except for the humongous monetary hole he created for us he was OK.

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Once someone gets an extension Fee has nothing to think about or actions to take if they fail. In other words, he will not have to start a new coach search because we simply cannot afford to terminate contracts mid-stream.

I'm not suggesting that Andy is lazy; what I'm suggesting is that he is human. Some humans take actions to avoid other less pleasant actions that may impact them more (such as with work load).

I'm not saying I want a Bobby Knight type as our AD. What I'm saying is our AD might wish to consider toughening up a bit. Right now the term "milk toast" comes to mind as the best adjectives to describe our AD. I do believe he means well, but might not EVER be what we want him to be.

I shouldn't go there, but I really enjoyed the way Vic ran our programs. I got to know him on a one on one basis and I have ZERO bad to say about Vic Cegles. I have only praise for that man.

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Why is Fee so long contract happy?

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I get frustrated when our sports teams are doing poorly because we are in a conference (BW) where we should be top 3 in Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Softball, and other sports every or nearly every year. Men's hoops came through last year after some pretty bad finishes. I was hoping baseball would come through this year but it doesn't look like that will happen. Injuries seem to be a problem at LB. The AD should look into the programs and see if some changes need to be made to minimize injuries. I know injuries happen in sports to all schools, but we seem to have more than our share.

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How in the hell does Fee give Valenzuela an contract extension when he hasn't done anything? He had two good seasons that were shortened due to covid. Now in his first REAL season where no games were cancelled this team has been pure garbage. Is this guy going to be CDM part II? What has he done? The program took a major step backward this year. They were picked to finish 2nd and possibly make the NCAA's and now it looks like we might be stuck with another Fee bomb.

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https://longbeachstate.com/news/2021/7/22/baseball-dirtbags-head-coach-eric-valenzuela-receives-contract-extension.aspx#:~:text=%E2%80%93%20Coming%20off%20of%20two%20promising,Director%20of%20Athletics%2C%20Andy%20Fee%20 .

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Although I haven't lived in Ca for 20 years I love follow the Dirtbags and up until recently this season saw most of our games when shown on ESPN+. I too have been very disappointed this year. Some observations:
Offense: We are hitting .264 for the season which is ok but we have consistently lacked clutch hitting and have lost several one run games. In the late innings down by a run we often get men on base in scoring position but can't get the clutch hit. We also have hit into too many DP's.
Pitching: Huge disappointment! 1/2 way thru the season our team ERA was 3.40. Now it's 4.50 which means it's been over 5.50 in the 2nd half.
We only had one returning started in Luis Rameriz who has pitched ok but has only logged 40 inn due to injury. Our other starters Johnson Watts-Brown, Noble and Voelker have struggled for the most part and with the exception of Fields who has had a good year relievers have struggled especially in giving up the long ball. Our biggest disappointment has been our pre season All-American closer Harrison whose ERA is 7.43 for the year.

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Valenzuela doesn’t impress me.
Outside of a one month 2020, he hasn’t accomplished anything.

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UCSB outscored LB in the series sweep 27-5.

At least your VB team is kicking a$$, looking for an all BW championship vs. Hawaii.