mustache eagle 2,412 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Say or think whatever you want, but Pawlowski doesn't get this team ready to play the midweek games, period. We were putrid in midweek games last year, and this is another bad loss. When you work hard to win 1-2 games in SEC play every weekend to give yourself a chance, these kind of losses are inexcusable, and they've been happening way too often. i think we have looked really good this year in midweek games - of course until last night. to me, last night screamed of overconfidence by a team that should not feel that way. every game, they need to go back and look at all of those "putrid" games from last year and be ticked off by it. i am sure it is hard to stay focused for 60 games, but JLJ and luckie SHOULD be focused (heck they are seniors). wade and ortman, who are young and not seeing tons of innings, seemed to pitch ok. and for heavens sake, your senior closer should be rock solid each and every time he pitches. of course, they could have simply had an off night - it happens (but i would rather have my childish little rant because i wish i was still young and could do what they do!) i do have to give them credit for battling back in the middle of the game. the bats did enough to win. and did i see no errors? wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbtiger151345162906 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 So I was at the game last night and was really disappointed in the finish. Here are some observations. -Jon Luke was just off all night. He couldn't locate his fastball and hung some breaking balls one of which ended up as a two-run homer. -We're just not a great hitting team. Samford was rolling out multiple pitchers, and we never really rocked any of the pitchers. I know small schools can have aces, but I was disappointed that we couldn't score more runs on Samford's "staff night" -Garrett Cooper and Dillon Ortman are trending in the right direction. -Creede Simpson and Justin Bryant (as a pitcher) are trending in the wrong direction. -When Jon Luke left the game early I thought it might be a long night, but this team battled back and put themselves in a position to win the game. -Zach Alvord might not be a complete hitter, but if you make a mistake he will make you pay. -I told the people I was with in the 9th that CJP should leave Ortman in, he was dealing, I had less confidence we would win the game with Bryant. -Once Bryant hit the first batter it was all over for him. -I don't buy the whole "we weren't up for the game." First of all, we're 6-1 in midweek games and second of all our game was not littered with errors and strikeouts indicative of a careless team. -I thought CJP managed the game well until he brought Bryant in (hindsight being 20-20 though). -I dont want to take all of the credit away from Samford, they're best player hit a walk-off grand slam. But we really blew this game. -Let's beat State this weekend and make this our last midweek loss of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbtiger151345162906 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 One last thing. The 9th inning was a perfect example to me of why we bunt too much. Glevenyak gets on with a walk. Gonzalez is up next, Creed is on deck. Now, I know the "correct" baseball move is to bunt him over to 2nd, and that is what we did. But at the spot we were at in the lineup I really questioned why we bunted. Jay Gonzalez had a base hit and a walk earlier and seemed to be really seeing the ball well. Creede hadn't had a hit all night and was noticeably less confident at the plate. We give Samford an out to move Glevenyak up, Creede comes up and strikes out. I just wish CJP would assess the situation more often than jut calling for an automatic bunt. Why take the bat out of a guy's hands who's hitting the ball well and put the pressure on the shoulders of a guy you know is struggling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustache eagle 2,412 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 -I don't buy the whole "we weren't up for the game." First of all, we're 6-1 in midweek games and second of all our game was not littered with errors and strikeouts indicative of a careless team. that is a great point - i did not give the team credit for that. i guess i am trying to look for a "solvable" answer other than they just had a bad night. halfway through the year, 2 intense sec series wins and an easy mid week win last week - seemed like a recipe for a loss of concentration. since i made my 1st post, i saw that samford has beaten us 3 straight. guess i should give them a little more credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnBasketball 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 what good do we get in playing Samford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowerOfDixieland 3,226 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 what good do we get in playing Samford 1. Quality opponent 2. Close proximity to home 3. Auburn family in B'ham (especially young 'uns) can see the Tigers play 4. Samford head coach is a great guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerTaz 109 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 As long as Auburn finishes at least 15-15 in the SEC and 4-3 the rest of the way in OOC games they will finish 30-26 heading to Hoover which puts us in good shape. That's very doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerbelle 5,299 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 what good do we get in playing Samford 1. Quality opponent 2. Close proximity to home 3. Auburn family in B'ham (especially young 'uns) can see the Tigers play 4. Samford head coach is a great guy I agree. Samford is not some easy little team with no talent. Right now they own Auburn as far as baseball goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnBasketball 0 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 what good do we get in playing Samford 1. Quality opponent 2. Close proximity to home 3. Auburn family in B'ham (especially young 'uns) can see the Tigers play 4. Samford head coach is a great guy yes but when you lose to them every time its really emberassing just go play UAB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerTaz 109 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Hopefully Auburn will beat Samford in Auburn in a couple weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbtiger151345162906 0 Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 what good do we get in playing Samford 1. Quality opponent 2. Close proximity to home 3. Auburn family in B'ham (especially young 'uns) can see the Tigers play 4. Samford head coach is a great guy yes but when you lose to them every time its really emberassing just go play UAB. Paul Bryant Jr. won't let UAB play Auburn. I kid (but wouldn't surprise me). UAB's not a bad team either, though. All the in-state D1 schools are solid except for A St. and AAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbtiger151345162906 0 Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 And with the baseball budget and schedule you have to schedule in-state schools for midweek games, not a lot of choices or easy roads to take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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