Butch Watch

[TigerCatcher 182]

Two SEC west teams now looking for a new head man.  aTm did not renew Childress and Mainieri has announced his retirement from LSU.  Not sure where either of those programs will be looking (assume LSU will make a run at Bianco), but Alan Greene should be at least a little bit nervous.

Edited May 29, 2021 by TigerCatcher

[AUBwins 10,075]

I hate we have to deal with this every year, but it also means we have a good one.  Hopefully the bad season waters down his priority a little. 

Edited May 29, 2021 by AUBwins

[steeleagle 2,945]

We gave him his first head coaching job. I don't see him going anywhere, unless he feels we are pushing him out...

 

[warbiscuit 278]

On 5/29/2021 at 12:10 PM, steeleagle said:

We gave him his first head coaching job. I don't see him going anywhere, unless he feels we are pushing him out...

 

He passed up MSU for us when Cannizaro resigned and Henderson was their interim

Edited June 10, 2021 by warbiscuit

[OlderWhiskey 953]

aTm has hired Jim Schlossnagle from TCU.

[steeleagle 2,945]

48 minutes ago, OlderWhiskey said:

aTm has hired Jim Schlossnagle from TCU.

Wow, that's a really good hire. He had been to CWS about 5 times, and won it. He's going to up TaM for sure in our league...

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

He had a chance to go to MSU a few years ago and turned it down. Not sure why in the world he would leave now given the success he's had in recent years, unless the AD just refuses to fund him (which might be true actually...).

 

I think he's the right man for the job but good grief we need some commitment to baseball from our AD

[warbiscuit 278]

16 minutes ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

He had a chance to go to MSU a few years ago and turned it down. Not sure why in the world he would leave now given the success he's had in recent years, unless the AD just refuses to fund him (which might be true actually...).

 

I think he's the right man for the job but good grief we need some commitment to baseball from our AD

The player development center behind right field was approved under Greene. I think Auburn has done the scoreboard, lights, turf under Butch's tenure. Greene has been willing to spend.

[warbiscuit 278]

O'Sullivan rejected LSU and LSU is no longer interested in Pat Casey(Oregon State former head coach). The head coach search for LSU might be interesting.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

2 minutes ago, warbiscuit said:

O'Sullivan rejected LSU and LSU is no longer interested in Pat Casey(Oregon State former head coach). The head coach search for LSU might be interesting.

My wife is an OSU grad and I met Coach Casey on a visit there, Great coach a nice guy.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Just now, warbiscuit said:

The player development center behind right field was approved under Greene. I think Auburn has done the scoreboard, lights, turf under Butch's tenure. Greene has been willing to spend.

I agree. We've made some good changes. Got to start getting some more revenue into the program though. Jason Caldwell brought up a good point in that you can use the first base line to make suites and/or pressboxes and rent them out for baseball games or for football gamedays for people to watch Tiger Walk from. 

To me, seating in the outfield has to happen. Darn near every major program in the SEC has it to some extent, and we must keep up even in stadium appearance. I keep saying this, but Auburn has a chance to do something completely different than anyone in college baseball, and that is put a couple rows of seats on top of the monster. The power plant is the reason everyone says its impossible, but if you've been behind there recently, there is plenty of room to build a structure. All you do is build your base directly over the bullpen, and put in seating with low walls in front of each row for safety. Then, you rent those seats out for $25-$30 a game instead of the usual $10 and you've got some increased revenue for the season. It's also a fantastic recruiting angle being able to say "we are the only college baseball team in the country that puts fans up at the top of our monster for you to hit a dinger into. Come see if you can hit one over em." IDK some crap like that. Just have to start getting creative. 

[warbiscuit 278]

8 minutes ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

I agree. We've made some good changes. Got to start getting some more revenue into the program though. Jason Caldwell brought up a good point in that you can use the first base line to make suites and/or pressboxes and rent them out for baseball games or for football gamedays for people to watch Tiger Walk from. 

To me, seating in the outfield has to happen. Darn near every major program in the SEC has it to some extent, and we must keep up even in stadium appearance. I keep saying this, but Auburn has a chance to do something completely different than anyone in college baseball, and that is put a couple rows of seats on top of the monster. The power plant is the reason everyone says its impossible, but if you've been behind there recently, there is plenty of room to build a structure. All you do is build your base directly over the bullpen, and put in seating with low walls in front of each row for safety. Then, you rent those seats out for $25-$30 a game instead of the usual $10 and you've got some increased revenue for the season. It's also a fantastic recruiting angle being able to say "we are the only college baseball team in the country that puts fans up at the top of our monster for you to hit a dinger into. Come see if you can hit one over em." IDK some crap like that. Just have to start getting creative. 

I agree on the outfield seating. Having seats on the Monster would be huge. A recreation of Fenway park. Unfortunately with the recent building in right field, don't think there can be seats there, but in right center and center would be huge too. May be a bit too costly for a new stadium but this is the best they can try right now.

I'm not sure how involved some of our older famous alums are with Auburn. Like I don't see much involvement from Frank Thomas. Bo seems more on the football side. Obviously Josh Donaldson, Gregg Olson, Casey Mize, Tim Hudson, Gabe Gross are all involved and may even donate a good bit. One of the benefits of having Peyton Glavine on the team is his dad likes Auburn enough to send another kid here. Possibly also some donations as well. Anyways, just to point this out it seems like we always have a kid on the team since Butch's first full year that he has a dad that is involved in Major League baseball. 

2017: Mike Rojas, Brett Olson

2018: Peyton Glavine, Brett Olson, Mike Rojas

2019: Peyton Glavine, Brody Moore, Brett Olson

2020: Peyton Glavine, Mason Greer, Brody Moore

2021: Peyton Glavine, Brody Moore

2022: Seaver Sheets, Wes Helms, Bordy Moore

 

[warbiscuit 278]

Ole Miss extended Bianco for four years. Next year might be rough for Ole Miss as they will lose their top two starters(Nikhazy and Hoglund), top two hitters(Elko and Kevin Graham), top two bullpen guys(Taylor Broadway and Max Cioffi), and their only top recruit is most likely a top ten pick in the draft(Jackson Jobe) and going pro, as the rest of their class is not really noteworthy(ranked 33rd by perfect game with Jobe). 

Edited June 21, 2021 by warbiscuit

[AUBwins 10,075]

On 5/29/2021 at 1:12 PM, warbiscuit said:

He passed up MSU for us when Cannizaro resigned and Henderson was their interim

This worked out for MSU! They dominated the last 2 games to win their first.  I was shocked to hear they had never won.  They were here a lot in the 90s.

[warbiscuit 278]

43 minutes ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

You know better than most that the current edition of HF@PP is second tier at best in this league.  Butch Thompson should not have to raise his own funds to piece together an SEC calber facility.  The PDF came from mostly/all private funds if I'm not mistaken.  The "108 Club" shouldn't even have to be a thing.....

Alan Greene (or whoever is in charge of the athletic department) should be forced to do tours at Baum, Box, Florida BP, Founders, Noble and finish it out by working for a week on the grounds crew at O'Brate in Stillwater.  Good grief, even Kentucky came up with $50 Million for a new stadium, albeit not very pretty.  We're going to lose the best coach we've ever had in any sport, before he ever even gets good traction.

 

https://tigersunlimited.com/sports/2020/7/9/108-club.aspx

The weird part is Greene has a baseball background. I have a feeling it’s more the boosters who aren’t as interested in baseball. Heck Charles Barkley has done more for Auburn basketball than say Frank Thomas or Bo Jackson or other players combined have done for Auburn baseball post playing career wise. Okoro and Okeke still train at Auburn for the off-season. Now I know Bo does more with the football team but when you have a legend like Frank Thomas who doesn’t really do much with Auburn University, it sucks. David Ross does more for Florida because I think he lives in Florida now. Olson, Gross, Donaldson and Hudson have contributed a good to the program post playing career wise but it doesn’t compare to as much as what Barkley has done for basketball. I know Butch has been trying to get funding and I wish he’d have more help.

Edited July 27, 2021 by warbiscuit

[AU_Canoe 230]

On 7/27/2021 at 1:50 PM, warbiscuit said:

The weird part is Greene has a baseball background. I have a feeling it’s more the boosters who aren’t as interested in baseball. Heck Charles Barkley has done more for Auburn basketball than say Frank Thomas or Bo Jackson or other players combined have done for Auburn baseball post playing career wise. Okoro and Okeke still train at Auburn for the off-season. Now I know Bo does more with the football team but when you have a legend like Frank Thomas who doesn’t really do much with Auburn University, it sucks. David Ross does more for Florida because I think he lives in Florida now. Olson, Gross, Donaldson and Hudson have contributed a good to the program post playing career wise but it doesn’t compare to as much as what Barkley has done for basketball. I know Butch has been trying to get funding and I wish he’d have more help.

Those are all good points. Butch has appeared to spend more energy vs. previous coaching on bridging our baseball alumni to create a more rich culture for AU Baseball; however, there does seem to be some missing pieces vs. Football and Basketball. I am unsure what the underlying reasons for the lack... previous bad blood or if AU Athletics marketing, outside of outfield wall art, has put much effort in creating a dynamic between the program and alum. Pearl created a AU basketball culture from scratch. It can be done for AU baseball. 

[AU_Canoe 230]

21 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

I can't speak for the "high visibility" baseball alum, but for the average Joe their has been radio silence for some time.  Not sure exactly why that is, but since the start of the 2020 season, there has been almost no contact.  During the first couple of years he was actually texting quite a bit, haven't seen anything for a while.  Maybe the response wasn't worth the effort?

Thank you for the feedback. You post a valid question, maybe the outreach wasn't worth the effort. I admit to not completely understanding the business of collegiate baseball and I can imagine coaching is no longer seasonal but in a lot of ways 365, therefore, balancing outreach can be a challenge. However, I have always felt that AU Baseball had a very "human" feel in it's connectivity with players, coaches, and fans but maybe that is my superficial view and not the reality of the business of AU Baseball and it's current culture. I have a lot of respect for the players, both past and present, and I hope they keep the "human" connectivity with players, especially the average Joe, but I see your point too, it goes both ways. Athletic Departments can be focused on their mega donors and celebs but I hope we don't lose focus on everyone else that has put on the AU. 

[AU_Canoe 230]

3 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Interestingly enough, the latest update just arrived.  These things are coming in the form of video clips via email, this one done by Tim Hudson.  

1.  Matt Bragga (former Tennessee Tech and Rice head coach) is now part of the staff as Director of Player Development

2. Intra-squad game times throughout fall practice will be posted via social media

3. Fall games vs. Tuskeegee 10/15 and Clemson 10/23

4. Fall world series in October

5. Facility dedications - locker room, Joey Pierson and Keith Jones (sp?) archway and Josh Donaldson hitting lab and player development center 10/29 at 3:30 (prior to last game of the fall world series)

 

Thank you for the update! The name Matt Bragga seemed familiar, maybe from a TV appearance. 

[LPTiger 5,154]

I watched the intra-squad game Tuesday.   There were probably 75-100 people watching.  It is a dog friendly park.  Beautiful day.   Beautiful field.   Tons of talent.   Butch has to cut the roster in several weeks so many hard decisions have to be made.   Go by and support Butch and the team.     

[AlaskanFAN 1,666]

Saw Butch at Academy yesterday, wished him good luck on the season and hoped he caught some fish with his new fishing poles he was buying. 

[kevon67 2,368]

18 hours ago, AlaskanFAN said:

Saw Butch at Academy yesterday, wished him good luck on the season and hoped he caught some fish with his new fishing poles he was buying. 

With his salary Bass Pro should be the way to go😂

[LPTiger 5,154]

1 hour ago, kevon67 said:

With his salary Bass Pro should be the way to go😂

Butch is a non-nonsense, small town Mississippi boy.    If he were making Elon Musk money, he would still be driving a pickup that was at least 7 years old. 

[AUBwins 10,075]

15 hours ago, LPTiger said:

Butch is a non-nonsense, small town Mississippi boy.    If he were making Elon Musk money, he would still be driving a pickup that was at least 7 years old. 

Funny thing is Elon musk also lives in a $50k Tiny home on his workplace lot. Doesn't feel the need to have a multimillion dollar mansion. 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

On 12/21/2021 at 9:46 AM, AUBwins said:

Funny thing is Elon musk also lives in a $50k Tiny home on his workplace lot. Doesn't feel the need to have a multimillion dollar mansion. 

That is a recent development. He just sold most of his mansions in 2020. He's pretty eccentric so who really knows why he did it. And he didn't sell all of them. 

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Tigerbelle

[warbiscuit 278]

On 9/24/2021 at 6:50 PM, AU_Canoe said:

Thank you for the update! The name Matt Bragga seemed familiar, maybe from a TV appearance. 

We missed this, but Bragga went back to Tennessee Tech to coach to replace Steve Smith.