I would like to throw out the name of Mike Barnett as a candidate for the next coach at Ohio University.

I first met Mike in 1979 when I was a bat boy for the Columbus Clippers.  Mike is the reason I visited and selected Ohio University.

Mike is one of the highest quality people I have ever met and his story is very interesting.  Mike played one year for the Bobcats before a shoulder injury ended his career.  Mike grew up in Bexley so he stopped by the Clippers front office in 1978 to see if they were interested in bullpen catcher.  The Clippers did not have a bullpen catcher and thought it might be a good idea for the home games.  After catching a few of the pitchers, they hired Mike and paid him $20.00 per game.  For three years, Mike finished his studies and would drive back and forth from Columbus to Athens each spring during the homestands.  Mike would schedule classes for the morning and then drive to Columbus and then return late each night. After spring quarter, Mike would travel with the Clippers for the road games.

After graduation, Mike then went to spring training and had an opportunity to catch some of the Yankee greats including Tommy John, Goose Gossage and Ron Guidry.

The Yankees eventually hired Mike to videotape the Yankee hitters.  Lou Pinnella allowed Mike to sit in during the meetings with each hitter and become involved in discussions not only about technique, but also how to be selective on pitches.

Mike was an assistant at the University of Tennessee and  became the head coach on an interium basis.  Mike has been the hitting coach for the Blue Jays and the Royals and also served as the minor league hitting coach for the White Sox.  I was watching the ESPN documentary on Michael Jordan and enjoyed the interviews with Mike about Michael Jordan's time with the White Sox.

Another Clipper from the 1979 team is Danny Schmitz who is the head coach at Bowling Green.  Dave Righetti pitched for Columbus in 1979 and has been the SF Giants pitching coach for many years.

Mike is a very determined individual who still has roots in Athens, Columbus and throughout professional baseball and would be an outstanding candidate for the position

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=hou&coachorstaffid=427017

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Barnett_(baseball)

We'll have to wait for the official word from Diamond Cat to see if he approves of this hiring and it counts as far as staying in the program.

As long as the new head coach is not part of the current staff I'm more than fine with the hire. Hopefully the AD does not take the lazy way out and let Carbone promote mediocrity from within. If this guy, who I had no clue about existed until today, wants the job and interviews well, I'm all aboard. Just need someone who can change things, not keep the .500 train rolling.

Probably not, but you never know unless you ask.  If nothing else, Mike would be pleased to suggest ideas during the search.

Found this recent article on Mike when I was trying to research salaries for coaches.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2011/7/27/2297867/mike-barnett-undervalued-on-the-2011-astros