LSU Tiger Blog

LSU Earns National Championship

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009      Email Print

No computers, no media, no BCS, just college sports the way it should be played on Wednesday night inside Rosenblatt Stadium. Wasn't that refreshing?? LSU rolled up its sleeves, grabbed its lunch pale and simply went to work against Texas. They were the better team, the more complete team and in the end the Number One team in the country. The Tigers in effect went wire to wire, starting out as the preseason number one and finishing up as the postseason number one. This team always played with pressure and these guys proved over and over again they could handle it.

Even though he won't take it, Paul Mainieri deserves so much credit. The LSU Head Coach had all the right moves this season from giving his team a facelift before the stretch run, to saving Anthony Ranaudo for the final game, to inserting Sean Ochinko in the cleanup spot where he would precede to go 4 for 5 in the championship game. My favorite move might have been his clearing of the bench in the 9th inning against Texas which is unusual in baseball, but special for every player in his dugout. Skip Bertman told me after the game that the thing the media has missed is that Mainieri could have done what "he" did at LSU or what Augie Garrido has done at Texas, he just needed the platform. Well, Mainieri has the platform now and it seems only a matter of time before his one national title turns into two or three.

You look at the final box score of this "Winner Take All Game" against Texas and you see once again a team effort, something which will be the legacy for these champions. If it wasn't MVP Jared Mitchell setting the table with a three run first inning homer, it was Ochinko driving in runs left and right and you can't forget about the defense. Tuesday night it was Leon Landry with the great catch, on Wednesday it was Mikie Mahtook saving two runs with a clutch grab in center field. This team can hit, they can pitch and they can defend. Sure that's important but just as crucial is the chemistry in the dugout which was as potent as a Louis Coleman fastball.

So where will this team stack up among LSU's six National Champions? We go back to Bertman who says they are every bit as good as any of the five teams he won with here in Omaha. Bertman really was impressed with the talent on this team telling me he expects "7" players on this squad to wear a big league uniform one day. High praise for a man who built this program, and after this night, its clear the rebuilding process is complete. LSU baseball is the best in the country and the bad news for everybody else, there seems to be no end in sight.

MAINIERI MOMENT: Lots of great scenes in the celebration of LSU's championship but my favorite was the hug Paul Mainieri gave his dad Demie after the game. When asked what he told his father who was a legendary coach at Miami-Dade Junior College, Mainieri said he told him in the 9th inning all he could think about was not losing this game and disappoining his Mom and Dad who have been with him during the team's entire stay in Nebraska, not to mention his whole coaching career.

TOMMY BOY: Mainieri said he got a call from his godfather Tommy Lasorda yesterday who told him to "get out there and make it happen." Lasorda has been a mentor for Mainieri for years teaching him everything from how to deal with the media to handling players.

CUBBIE CONNECTION: Another close friend of Mainieri's, Cubs GM Jim Hendry was there for the game where he celebrated with his good friend and got to see his second round pick DJ LeMahieu. I asked Hendry if it could be possible to have a Theriot,Fontenot and LeMahieu infield one day, he kidded, "I told those guys if they don't start playing better, he might take their jobs."

MILES WEIGHS IN: Les Miles was animated in the stands cheering on the tigers the past two games. Mainieri credits Miles for being great in sharing Chad Jones and Jared Mitchell. Les seemed very fired up when Jones marched off the field following two strikeouts in the sixth as if he was about to crush a receiver running a route across the middle of the field.

By: Mike Nabors

An Emmy award winning sports reporter who covers a wide variety of events for CST. Primarily, Mike serves as the network's reporter for Saints coverage.

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