State of Baseball

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Seems like the same problem every year: we tend to fail to get clutch plays when we need them. 2 out hitting has improved this year but overall, not much in the SEC. What is the difference in what other SEC squads do? Is it just an execution thing? Why can Auburn baseball with its tradition, storied past, excellent facilities, under Armour partnership, and MLB level coaching not field a great team?

Rant over

[AU64 10,122]

Seems like the same problem every year: we tend to fail to get clutch plays when we need them. 2 out hitting has improved this year but overall, not much in the SEC. What is the difference in what other SEC squads do? Is it just an execution thing? Why can Auburn baseball with its tradition, storied past, excellent facilities, under Armour partnership, and MLB level coaching not field a great team?

Rant over

All good questions but I was surprised to hear comments the other day that AU's baseball park and facilities are among the poorest in the SEC...ranked about 10th. This came from a former AU player. Not that long ago the park was among the best but the rest of the conference has run past AU in a big way in the last half dozen year.

Not saying this has anything to do with the state of the program in recent years though if you take a serious look at the history of AU's baseball program you will find that most people have a higher opinion of our historical accomplishments than is warranted.

Baseball at AU is like basketball and football.....some very good years interspersed with a bunch of mediocre seasons and teams that fail to live up to expectations.

[ellitor 33,092]

Seems like the same problem every year: we tend to fail to get clutch plays when we need them. 2 out hitting has improved this year but overall, not much in the SEC. What is the difference in what other SEC squads do? Is it just an execution thing? Why can Auburn baseball with its tradition, storied past, excellent facilities, under Armour partnership, and MLB level coaching not field a great team?

Rant over

You are free to do so but IMO now is not the time to analyze the baseball team. Sunny ran off all our would be true Sophs before he left. After the Seniors of this team & guys like Grier & Palacios leave the team to graduation or draft we will be very young basically for the next 2 years barring getting a good juco class or 2. We don't have any guys on roster right now that will be Seniors in year 3 under Butch but our Freshmen will be Juniors so that's when I think we should start analyzing the progression of the program under Butch.

[PUB78 1,358]

Actually, AU has experienced only 2-3 good years in baseball in the past 12 years starting with Steve Renfo's last year.

[AU64 10,122]

Seems like the same problem every year: we tend to fail to get clutch plays when we need them. 2 out hitting has improved this year but overall, not much in the SEC. What is the difference in what other SEC squads do? Is it just an execution thing? Why can Auburn baseball with its tradition, storied past, excellent facilities, under Armour partnership, and MLB level coaching not field a great team?

Rant over

You are free to do so but IMO now is not the time to analyze the baseball team. Sunny ran off all our would be true Sophs before he left. After the Seniors of this team & guys like Grier & Palacios leave the team to graduation or draft we will be very young basically for the next 2 years barring getting a good juco class or 2. We don't have any guys on roster right now that will be Seniors in year 3 under Butch but our Freshmen will be Juniors so that's when I think we should start analyzing the progression of the program under Butch.

So all these great ballplayers that Sunny ran off....where are they now? JMO but he got rid of Pawloski's players who were not up to SEC standards and started over and made it to an NCAA berth in a one year turnaround. Also, if you check the new guys on the roster, they are mostly from the southwest where CSG had contacts.

Meanwhile, Holiday got a lot of mileage out of a bunch of pitchers who could barely reach 90mph. I'm wishing he was still around....I know Butch is a pitching coach but he's used to working with better talent than he has now whereas Holiday seemed to know how to milk the best effort from Camp, Yarborough and Lipscomb, All three pitchers have ERA this year that is close to double what they finished with in 2015 and the team ERA is out of sight..

Timing of the dismissal of CSG was VERY bad and CBT did not have time to pick up some additional pitching and far as I know, in June of 2015, nobody expected to be without our best pitcher (Thompson) who was expected to be recovered and ready to pitch this year....so that sure changed the strength of the staff and probably nothing that Sunny or Butch could have done about that. .

Guess I'm back to the same concern I have about Gus....is he the HC or the OC...and can he do both ?. Same with Butch.....is he the HC or the PC and can he do both well?

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year and ecstatic about the hitting. Sisson had done a great job.

[SCTiger2011 1,277]

Seems like the same problem every year: we tend to fail to get clutch plays when we need them. 2 out hitting has improved this year but overall, not much in the SEC. What is the difference in what other SEC squads do? Is it just an execution thing? Why can Auburn baseball with its tradition, storied past, excellent facilities, under Armour partnership, and MLB level coaching not field a great team?

Rant over

You are free to do so but IMO now is not the time to analyze the baseball team. Sunny ran off all our would be true Sophs before he left. After the Seniors of this team & guys like Grier & Palacios leave the team to graduation or draft we will be very young basically for the next 2 years barring getting a good juco class or 2. We don't have any guys on roster right now that will be Seniors in year 3 under Butch but our Freshmen will be Juniors so that's when I think we should start analyzing the progression of the program under Butch.

So all these great ballplayers that Sunny ran off....where are they now? JMO but he got rid of Pawloski's players who were not up to SEC standards and started over and made it to an NCAA berth in a one year turnaround. Also, if you check the new guys on the roster, they are mostly from the southwest where CSG had contacts.

Meanwhile, Holiday got a lot of mileage out of a bunch of pitchers who could barely reach 90mph. I'm wishing he was still around....I know Butch is a pitching coach but he's used to working with better talent than he has now whereas Holiday seemed to know how to milk the best effort from Camp, Yarborough and Lipscomb, All three pitchers have ERA this year that is close to double what they finished with in 2015 and the team ERA is out of sight..

Timing of the dismissal of CSG was VERY bad and CBT did not have time to pick up some additional pitching and far as I know, in June of 2015, nobody expected to be without our best pitcher (Thompson) who was expected to be recovered and ready to pitch this year....so that sure changed the strength of the staff and probably nothing that Sunny or Butch could have done about that. .

Guess I'm back to the same concern I have about Gus....is he the HC or the OC...and can he do both ?. Same with Butch.....is he the HC or the PC and can he do both well?

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year and ecstatic about the hitting. Sisson had done a great job.

In my opinion, the only thing unfortunate about Golloway's dismissal was the timing. Is that having an effect on this year? Maybe, maybe not, but its never optimal to have a change right in the middle of offseason preparations.

No matter his coaching ability, enough sources inside the program (and not just upset parents) felt he was having a negative influence. Was the "plan" to get him out a bit weak and very transparent as a head-hunting? I would probably say absolutely, with what I know of the situation, but I'm not that tore up about it. In his two seasons, he took a bad Auburn team and made them almost average. Neither of his teams could hit for much of anything, whether by talent afforded him, equipment changes or coaching who knows but two .270 teams (after a .305 team average the year before he was hired) aren't world beaters.

In short, it's not like we got rid of the second coming of Casey Stengel. All I know is Jordan Ebert looked absolutely high-schoolish under his staff, as did Connor Short who he ran off and last I saw was hitting in the mid-upper .300s last week as a regular starter for Alabama.

What does it mean? Who knows? If AU finishes 28-28 (the same record as in Golloway's first year) after losing 2 weekend starters from last year's team, will Butch get the same "give him time" support Golloway got from most here after taking Pawlowski's last 33-23 campaign? Golloway did with Pawlowski's team last year what Pawlowski did with Slater's team in 2010.

All I do know is Auburn (hitting .322 right now) needs to maintain those batting numbers and do a pitching overhaul to be competitive in the SEC. And with the commitment of JC Calvin Coker today for the next two years, I say that competitiveness will be here sooner rather than later.

[Mikey 16,584]

I like the coaching change and fully expect to see steady improvement year-to-year. I feel better about AU baseball than I have since Coach Baird was at the controls.

[SCTiger2011 1,277]

I like the coaching change and fully expect to see steady improvement year-to-year. I feel better about AU baseball than I have since Coach Baird was at the controls.

Dangit, I wish I could be as concise as you. I'll get there one of these years. +1 to this.

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

I hated everything about the way the Golloway firing went down. Still think the same guy that hired him also set him up with a flimsy "violation" accusation and therein lies the deeper problem with all things athletics at Auburn University.

How in the hell are you supposed to do anything but pontificate about what might have happened with so many freaking coaching changes across all sports? What an absolute joke. Doesn't anyone ever get tired of this roller coaster ride??

By all accounts Butch Thimpson has all the makings of an outstanding head coach. Either the Eeyore in me or the reality that we have an idiot running our athletic department makes me think we will never find out. At least not at Auburn.

[ellitor 33,092]

I like the coaching change and fully expect to see steady improvement year-to-year. I feel better about AU baseball than I have since Coach Baird was at the controls.

The world must be freezing over Cuz Mikey & I are in full agreement here.

[ellitor 33,092]

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year

It's bad overall no doubt but I'm not disappointed. Almost every report said our pitching would be very bad this year so a few guys pitching overall ok has me actually pleasently surprised in some ways.

[keesler 5,924]

We just have to have patience, Thompson is learning on the job just like Malzhan. Give them a few more years (till 2020 maybe?) and we'll know what we have in both sports.

[AU64 10,122]

We just have to have patience, Thompson is learning on the job just like Malzhan. Give them a few more years (till 2020 maybe?) and we'll know what we have in both sports.

I expect you are correct....just wondering why we seem attracted to guys who come here and then have to learn on the job .

[lionheartkc 6,150]

We just have to have patience, Thompson is learning on the job just like Malzhan. Give them a few more years (till 2020 maybe?) and we'll know what we have in both sports.

I expect you are correct....just wondering why we seem attracted to guys who come here and then have to learn on the job .

Because we have a preference for people who have ties to the university, and that means we have to home-grow talent. It has it's advantages for maintaining our environment (see Golloway as a prime example of not maintaining our environment), but there aren't a lot of superstar head coaches out there who are "Auburn men"

[steeleagle 2,945]

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year

It's bad overall no doubt but I'm not disappointed. Almost every report said our pitching would be very bad this year so a few guys pitching overall ok has me actually pleasently surprised in some ways.

So Lipscomb was NOT suppose to be quality pitcher for us? I realized losing our best pitcher to TJ surgery was going to knock our pitching down a notch, but for our starters to have ERAs this bad, is not what i expected.

Am I asking for too much this year? ))

[steeleagle 2,945]

We just have to have patience, Thompson is learning on the job just like Malzhan. Give them a few more years (till 2020 maybe?) and we'll know what we have in both sports.

[ellitor 33,092]

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year

It's bad overall no doubt but I'm not disappointed. Almost every report said our pitching would be very bad this year so a few guys pitching overall ok has me actually pleasently surprised in some ways.

So Lipscomb was NOT suppose to be quality pitcher for us?

No. I did not say or imply otherwise. Reality is he is almost the only healthy guy on staff that had any positive expectations.

[AU64 10,122]

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year

It's bad overall no doubt but I'm not disappointed. Almost every report said our pitching would be very bad this year so a few guys pitching overall ok has me actually pleasently surprised in some ways.

So Lipscomb was NOT suppose to be quality pitcher for us?

No. I did not say or imply otherwise. Reality is he is almost the only healthy guy on staff that had any positive expectations.

I don"t understand this coment....Camp ,Lipscomd Yarborough all looked better last year....stats-wise...and one would think they would have improved this year.

[autigeremt 6,608]

I don't know but I'm disappointed about the pitching this year

It's bad overall no doubt but I'm not disappointed. Almost every report said our pitching would be very bad this year so a few guys pitching overall ok has me actually pleasently surprised in some ways.

So Lipscomb was NOT suppose to be quality pitcher for us?

No. I did not say or imply otherwise. Reality is he is almost the only healthy guy on staff that had any positive expectations.

I don"t understand this coment....Camp ,Lipscomd Yarborough all looked better last year....stats-wise...and one would think they would have improved this year.

I think we are headed in the right direction. Patience.

[nightranger44 3]

ever since CJP was released by a simply terrible AD director baeball has continued to spiral downhill...Thompson is a great coach but Sonny pushed the progam at least 3 years back...Meanwhle CJP is at Western Kentucky turning a very bad program around.....They are 18-11 and doing it with literally no pitching....AU would be in Omaha by now if he continued and will have the Hilltoppers there within 2 yrs....well played Jay Jacobs

[WarTiger 3,901]

ever since CJP was released by a simply terrible AD director baeball has continued to spiral downhill...Thompson is a great coach but Sonny pushed the progam at least 3 years back...Meanwhle CJP is at Western Kentucky turning a very bad program around.....They are 18-11 and doing it with literally no pitching....AU would be in Omaha by now if he continued and will have the Hilltoppers there within 2 yrs....well played Jay Jacobs

MASSIVE speculation.

[autigeremt 6,608]

I like CJP......but he lost it at AU and needed a fresh start. Things were not heading in the right direction when he was let go.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Also, Golloway was not necessarily the bad that everyone thought he was while here IMHO. There were of course some off the field issues, and if the players had a problem with it, you would've seen more than just Connor Short transfer. I think Jacobs had a lot of say so in firing Golloway. Winning helps everything in a program, and like it or not, CSG was winning. He got us to a regional again. He was recruiting well. He was making sure the guys made their grades. Of course he had that spat afterwards that showed a lot of his true character, but from a strictly BASEBALL perspective, I thought the firing of Golloway came too soon. I like Butch, and think he will do well in due time, but there's too much talent on this current team to not at least be over .500 at this point in the season. By no means is Butch on my hot seat, I'm just merely expressing frustration with these guys. Almost this same team went to an NCAA regional last year. They're battle tested in the SEC, yet they can't seem to win. Frustrating

[Mikey 16,584]

I see Pawloski's brother, Nightranger44, has returned to the scene. Pawloski, (bless his heart) was in over his head at Auburn. We are much, much better off with him elsewhere and so is he.

[AU64 10,122]

Also, Golloway was not necessarily the bad that everyone thought he was while here IMHO. There were of course some off the field issues, and if the players had a problem with it, you would've seen more than just Connor Short transfer. I think Jacobs had a lot of say so in firing Golloway. Winning helps everything in a program, and like it or not, CSG was winning. He got us to a regional again. He was recruiting well. He was making sure the guys made their grades. Of course he had that spat afterwards that showed a lot of his true character, but from a strictly BASEBALL perspective, I thought the firing of Golloway came too soon. I like Butch, and think he will do well in due time, but there's too much talent on this current team to not at least be over .500 at this point in the season. By no means is Butch on my hot seat, I'm just merely expressing frustration with these guys. Almost this same team went to an NCAA regional last year. They're battle tested in the SEC, yet they can't seem to win. Frustrating

Agree.....We don't know what kind of HC Butch is....he's basically been a pitching coach and is learning the HC job on the job. We don't know whether he will be a great HC....sure not showing it at this point IMO. I'm afraid this year is a lost opportunity......some of the best players we've had in a while but somehow can't get the hitting and pitching playing well on the same day.

BUt they are going to give some good teams problems the rest of the season and pitching does seem to be looking better though Mizz is not necessarily a good reference point.