PowerOfDixieland

22 hours ago, SCTiger2011 said:

Geeze, I did not suffer through the pain of the Slater/Pawlowski/Golloway years for some bandwagon fans who watched two innings of the 2019 CWS to spew this nonsense lolll.  

Anybody remember @nightranger44?  I was convinced it was Pawlowski's brother.

You could really add Renfroe to that list as well. 

Cohen's not stupid, knows what he has.....

On 4/19/2024 at 11:04 AM, Barkchevious said:

Any news about Ike Irish?  I can’t find any info on him, has he been playing?  

Irish is playing.  Continues to hit the ball as well as last year.  Last night at MSU he was starting in RF and not behind the plate...not sure if that's Butch trying to give him some "rest" or if he's finally acknowledging that Ike's future won't be at C.  He's a tremendous competitor, wish we had 10-12 more just like him.  In the seventh inning last night he had bases loaded and was sitting on a first pitch fast ball, which he got.  Crushed it foul just missed what would have been a game tying GS.  

Oof.  Coaching matters, especially with as many "philosophies" on pitching.  Particularly in the transition from high school/travel to the SEC.  I remember David Adams used to tell the story about Dewayne Friend going to the mound in the middle of a game and asking him "Do you ever throwing a [effing] fastball with less than [effing] max effort?"  With the hyper focus on the gun currently, it's gotten even worse.  It seems simple, attack the zone and work fast...but in the SEC it's much more complicated.  As a former catcher, it's a given that pitchers can be flaky and the mental side is much more significant once arm talent is established.  Butch can't be teaching that every day with everything else he has to deal with, only so much time those guys can be on the field or in the pen.  Take a look at the programs that have entrenched themselves at the top of the league and see who has pitching coach turnover.  Alan Dunn was at LSU how long...?  Arkansas and Vandy likewise.

Gonzo seemed very promising, but something (or someone) got inside his head and that ship sailed long ago.

Again, as a former catcher, I happen to think that receiving has huge implications for a pitcher as well.  Current #1 will go a long way with a bat in his hands, but not as a catcher.  

Drye, Smith, Hudson, Schoenrock, Teaford/Foxhall.

Tough to get consistency with that kind of turnover at one spot.

22 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

0.00 hit well but wouldn’t get up and run. The kids loved it. Looked pretty goofy to me.

I really don't need a camel to get excited about a "Wednesday doesn't mean a whole lot vs Air Force" game, but that is freaking awesome. 

Somebody deserves a raise.

On 3/5/2024 at 11:55 PM, aubaseball said:

I understand your sentiment, but you have to understand that the SEC is now the top dog in College Baseball.   It’s extremely hard to win the conference.   I would say that it is harder to win the conference than it is to win a national championship.    I’ll keep taking hosting regionals, super regional wins and CWS appearances.   

Yep.  Ask Ron Polk about the meaning of competing/success.

Not comfortable with the starters...understatement of the week.

59 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

Two more insurance runs provided by Ike:

 

3 more outs for a series win.

Thanks for the updates by the way, love the highlight links.  I saw the first one Irish hit, UConn pitcher hung an 0-2 curve ball exactly where he shouldn't have.  Just now seeing the second Irish HR, I guess they weren't going to let him get another hanger.  That fastball got turned around pronto.

Canon loaded the bases in the 9th before finally getting it finished.  Dang does this pitching staff throw way too many pitches.  Got to be in the zone more.  If not for that disastrous 1st yesterday, it would have been a great weekend.  UConn is definitely a tournament team again this year.

On 2/28/2024 at 11:48 PM, arktiger1975 said:

They never recovered from that beatdown we put on them in January in Auburn. 

ISWYDT.  Beard and beatdowns......

55 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

Strike zone has moved some last couple innings.

Was the HPU crazy tight with the zone??  WSU gave up 16 walks in 7 innings….yikes. 

7 minutes ago, AlaskanFAN said:

Appreciate the updates!!

Ditto. On a plane back from the DR, muchas gracias. That’s all I know. 

1 hour ago, SaltyTiger said:

Looks like a home run hitter. 
 

Hope Allsup can get straight as a Friday starter. Not good to come out on and get “behind the eight ball” early in a series. Understand he had a great preseason and no doubt he is talented.

Alsup very nearly turned a messy first  into a disaster but was able to get through it only giving up 1 run. Maybe that’s going to be his MO, but he is going to have to last more than two or three innings if he’s going to be the Friday night guy once conference play starts, as you pointed out. 

Tigers found the running game early, leading the conference in stolen bases and 5th in the country after the first week of the season. This is an aspect of the offense we have not seen in a very long time…that I can recall. 

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

do you think our pitching is still good after we lost Hudson?

Absolutely. 
I loved having Huddy around for all the reasons you would think, but I’m not sure great players make great coaches by default. I expect to see even better results out of this staff with both Foxhall and Teaford around. Talent has also gotten better with each successive class. We will miss Hudson, but we won’t really…if that makes sense. 

3 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Fun game today. Myers’s and Herb looking good. Love the way Myers worked. Can tell he has pitched a few games in the past.

Have a nasty aching self diagnosed head cold and watched all from the recliner. Really hurt not to go. Love Sunday afternoon at PP.

WDE!

Hope you're feeling like your Salty self soon.  I'd be worthless if I lived anywhere near Hitchcock Field in the spring time.

Early season sweeps are no longer a given these days, this team looked focused this weekend.  I noticed top 5 Arkansas took it on the chin today.  Vandy, Florida, Ole Miss, Miss St, Tennessee and the Hogs all took a loss during the weekend.

Pierce homered in the 8th to close out the scoring, Tigers win 6-1.

2 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

I’m not a baseball guy.  Why did we pull crotchfelt at that point?  Hard pitch count?  Crotch looks pissed off so I’m gonna guess he wasn’t throwing the pitches the coach was calling?

He had only thrown just over 20 pitches, had to be something else.  I think we may see things done a little differently than straight by the book with Teaford involved in pitching decisions.

6 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

Can Irish play 3rd?  McMurray isn’t giving up 1st.

green is athletic enough as witnessed by that snag a couple innings ago but his arm seems a little light at 3rd?

Without knowing for sure, my guess is that Irish wants to catch and Butch wants to do everything he can to accommodate that bat.  Not saying he would leave, but it's got to be in the back of everybody's mind.  

Just now, mustache eagle said:

I hope our catching does well this year.  I know that position will have better O but I’m worried we’ll miss LaRue’s D.  It “feels” like Irish isn’t as comfortable behind the plate these first 2 games 

You're not wrong.  He won't play back there at the next level, but he will hit at the next level.

Just now, SaltyTiger said:

Listening to radio broadcast it sounded great. Went over to parking deck and no spaces to be had. Crazy on campus this afternoon.

Everything you would expect after that kind of layoff...loss of velocity, trouble locating, wouldn't throw a breaking ball, timing off (two balls called on pitch clock violation in the first), just not all that fluid.  Gave up 1 unearned run, walked three and struck out two.  Not awful.

Back to back to back extra base hits in the third, Tigers up 4-0.  Pierce tripled, McMurray homer and Stanfield tripled.  EKU RF misplayed what should have been the third out; they really should have been out the inning without giving up a run.

Gonzo really looking like he hasn't thrown a competitive pitch in a year....  Everything seems to be a struggle so far, but the defense has been very friendly turning double plays in each of the first two innings.

Just connecting the dots, I played high school baseball with the Maners kids father.  He was a couple of years behind me, but I think the legend is that Sammy Dunn claimed Martin never made an error in practice or a game at SS.

38 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Right, booted a couple of outs. I would have been there last night but a little under the weather and fighting to stay tuned.

Doesn't look like the weather will be to your advantage this afternoon if you're not feeling great, breezy and cool...?  This is the one I'm really interested in, Gonzo could be a huge lift to our starting pitching.  He won't make or break us I don't think, but man if he could get it together for a full season....