Plainsman Parking Lot

5 Way to Early Predictions for Auburn Baseball

2012-01-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

NOTE: This Post Originally Appeared on CollegeAndMagnolia.com

In the next few weeks, College Baseball Previews will begin rolling out. To stay ahead of the game, here’s an very early look at the 2012 Auburn Tigers with 5 very early predictions:

PREDICTION: Auburn will be picked to finish either 9^th or 10^th in the League:

In fairness, Here are my preseason SEC Picks:

Carolina
Florida
Vanderbilt
Arkansas
LSU
Georgia
Ole Miss
Auburn
Mississippi State
Alabama
Tennessee
Kentucky

I’m probably being too generous slotting AU 8^th and it wouldn’t surprise me if they are picked as low as 10^th in the League. The only thing I can say for certainty? Auburn is better (on paper) than Kentucky and Tennessee.

Now, Tennessee could get some preseason love for hiring Dave Serrano. However, Serrano has yet to take the field in that ugly creamsicle and the East is still a Monster.

Personally, I think Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn are all battling for those 7-10 slots. However, it seems that many writers are getting on the Oxford Express. Baseball America ranked the Rebels 22^nd.

PREDICTION: Auburn will deploy more starters than last season.

Last year, 24 different players started a game for Auburn (including starting pitching). This year? I can only realistically count 20 guys who I can see starting. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. However, there’s bound to be more and in my opinion, that’s a great thing. Guys can be fresh, they can ride hot streaks, and they can focus more. The window for Auburn to pick and choose and test lineups is very small this year. Yes, Auburn will have to narrow down the list of starters early. Sure, the first few weekends will be trial and error, but that should mainly be in the field and even then, Auburn should have enough depth to give guys a day or two off.

Pitching wise Auburn threw out 8 different starting pitchers last year. That’s a ridiculously high number and showed just how much the Tigers struggled to find an identity on the mound. To me, in pitching, fewer starters mean more consistency. Last year, Auburn struggled to settle on a rotation. This year? You can pretty much pencil in Slade Smith, Derek Varnadore, and Jon Luke Jacobs. That’s a big key for Auburn and a big reason I’m higher on the Tigers than most. We already have our big 3 for the weekend. Even if one fails or struggles, we already have back up plans in place. Something we haven’t been able to do in the past. After the initial three you still have Corey Luckie, Ethan Wallen, and one of the incoming freshman (Rocky McCord, Justin Camp, Chase Williamson, or Trey Cochran-Gill). That’s a two deep weekend rotation already. A VERY good thing.

PREDICTION: No Auburn Pitcher will have more than 6 Saves

This is one place I hope I’m wrong. Last year, Ethan Wallen led the team with 5 Saves. This year, hopefully, we can develop a closer early and keep him as our secret weapon throughout the year. Now, whether that’s Wallen, Dillon Ortman, Zach Blatt, or maybe another as yet unknown commodity (Daniel Koger is a real possibility). We’ll have to see. Wallen has to be the early favorite but I’m hoping Ortman finds a groove and it would free up Wallen for a spot start or two.

PREDICTION: You will need to buy a program. You’re going to see a lot of new faces.

Whether they start or just come in off the bench, Auburn is going to need to use a lot of guys this year. With seemingly every infield position up for grabs and many guys having good springs and falls, the competition is going to be fierce. Keep an eye on the new pitching as well. If guys like Rocky McCord, Trey Cochran-Gill, Daniel Koger, Chase Williamson and Chase Williamson can have an immediate impact, then Auburn could turn this into a magical season.

That’s just on the mound. Position wise, nearly everyone on the roster has the potential to start. Whether they are freshman newcomers like Kent Rollins or Craig Shirley, or (hopefully) immediate impact transfers like Garret Cooper or Dan Glevenyak.

PREDICTION: A way too early guess at the Opening Day Lineup.

This really is a shot in the dark, but based on a combination of hunches, gut, message board postings, etc. This is my best guess for Opening Day. Admittedly I have no clue where these guys would slot in the batting order, but this my hunch for the field:

C: Blake Austin
1B: Garret Cooper
2B: Zach Alvord
SS: Dan Glevenyak
3B: Justin Bryant
DH: Cullen Wacker
LF: Ryan Tella
CF: Creede Simpson
RF: Jay Gonzalez

A Love Song for (Auburn) Baseball

2012-01-22T09:25:00.001-08:00

This spring, my weekends will be spent in Heaven. Nestled next to (what’s left) of Sewell Hall and the shell of Beard-Eaves is a jewel called Plainsman Park. The Camden seats, the mini green monster, the lush green grass, and the clean brick façade all come together to create my perfect weekend. These are the elements of my own personal Shangri-La.

For many Auburn fans, the culmination of football season becomes the signaling of the end. Their fandom goes in to hibernation until next fall. For me, the opposite occurs. When football season wraps up, I begin to wake up. Coming out of a stupor and meticulously gathering information, plotting dates on a calendar, and preparing for another spring of enjoyment.

I find myself driving by Plainsman Park more and more before first pitch. Almost like one would drive by an ex-girlfriend’s house. Remembering all the good times you had together; slowing down to a crawl while you let every memory flood and engulf you. Only in my case, we’re getting back together and our first date is February 17^th.

Baseball is such a hard game to explain to people. The nuances get lost. People grow “bored” and use baseball games as opportunities to sunbathe or take naps or do things other than enjoy the most beautiful game in the world. It’s a game that, at its core, is built upon failure. A good hitter will not reach base 2 out of 3 times. A good pitcher will still let runs in. Baseball is (to my limited knowledge) the only sport that keeps track of your mistakes. They are personally assigned to you and you are forced to carry them with you during the season. They even have their own category on the scoreboard so everyone can see that mistakes are just as important as runs and hits.

Maybe that’s why I love baseball so much. It’s almost cliché to say that baseball is a metaphor for life. However, it remains true. We make mistakes in our lives. We have multiple chances to succeed and for the most part, we don’t. We strike out more times than we connect. We give up runs. We make concessions. We rely on others for our successes. Baseball can epitomize that at times because every time we fail, we know we have another chance. We are allowed to try again until our fair share of chances have run their course. Even in the bottom of the 9^th and down by 10 runs there will remain a possibility, however slim, that we can succeed and come out on top. That’s why I love baseball. It’s fair. It doesn’t play favorites.

The closest temple where I can express my love for the game remains at the corner of Donahue and Heisman. The oddball on Auburn’s campus. It’s the last bastion of the common fan; all-inclusive and a place where everyone and anyone can watch a game. College students have begun filling up the parking deck; catching a game without a ticket while enjoying libations and the liberation of a sunny Saturday. I sit in my normal spot inside the stadium where I just chuckle and think that, when I was a student, that would be exactly where I would be. I’d be perched in that concrete stack like bats in a cave. Also from my seat, I can look out past the outfield and see kids playing on the grassy hill. Blankets laid out for couples. A grill fired up. A radio turned to Rod and Andy. Sitting in a unique spot. If Plainsman Park is the sun and all of my personal fandom revolves around it then these fans are the corona. Just on the outside. Still halfway in the game and halfway enjoying just another day. Flaring up bright and hot as the game itself gets more intense.

The hill is flanked by two uniquely different but disarmingly similar features of Plainsman Park: the mini-Monster and the “K Korner”. Even the most casual baseball fans recognize the Monster and it’s homage to its big brother in Fenway. Personally, it’s the last line of armor for Auburn’s defense. An opposing player may have just knocked a bottle rocket to left field, surely it’s gone and it will be runs on the board, but the Monster has other ideas. It wants the Left Fielder to have a chance. So, with a mighty DONK he spits the ball back in to play…where some lazy runner is tagged out at 2^nd Base.

The “K Korner” sits on the opposite end of the outfield. Another turret of protection. Housing only the truest of Auburn baseball fans. Sometimes loud and rowdy. Often polite and knowledgeable. They serve a greater purpose of providing fan interaction and getting into the minds of opposing right fielders. As the ropes inside Plainsman Park get higher and the nets get longer, “K Korner” will remain untouched. The last element of true fan interaction with the players. When the Spring is really in full swing and the grill is fired up. Right field looks as if it houses a dragon, billowing smoke and daring people to test him. It’s not a dragon. It’s just Brother-Man cooking something amazing and at times he’s nice enough to bring a sampling to Rod and Andy in the broadcast booth.

Baseball for most, and for me, was a love developed when I was a kid. I wasn’t allowed to play football before middle school because of my size (being a “husky” kid, the worry was that I would hurt the smaller kids). However, baseball took me in with open arms. Many parents laugh at the rules that say every child in Dixie Youth (or Little League if you are so inclined) has to be given a chance. They have to play an inning the field or have an at-bat every game. They might scoff at it and say it is unneeded and that it is just used to make the kids feel good. Well, I’m here as proof that it worked. It didn’t turn me into Reggie Jackson but instead turned me in to Peter Gammons. It didn’t make me a better player, but it made me a life-long fan. It introduced me to baseball’s arms and those arms have never let me go. It built my confidence. It gave me my chance. I might have been physically terrible at baseball (admittedly, I was) but I was still given an opportunity to give it a go.

That love molded me in to the fan I am today. While Little League got me hooked, it was my time as an undergrad at Auburn the truly refined my taste for baseball and my particular flavor, college baseball. The mythology nerd in me always equates and epitomizes college baseball as a modern-day Janus: the god of beginning and transitions. Looking in to the past and remembering the great players that played on the very same grass and hoping that one day you will be remembered that same way. I think I have to respect college baseball players even more than most other college athletes. I’ll digress a bit, ALL college athletes deserve respect. All have sacrificed and are using their talents at the top of their abilities. However, and this is my biased opinion obviously, college baseball players give just a little bit more.

If you play football, you can get a scholarship and it will cover near everything at school. Books, room, education, etc. Baseball players are different. They have to scrape by on partial scholarships. Halves and Thirds and their ilk. Some schools are able to work around this. An in-state player could qualify for a HOPE-type scholarship and that would cover the majority of the expenses. However, that doesn’t exist here in Auburn. The players who take the field have had to pause their dreams of playing in the Major Leagues for three years and many times do so at their own expense and I get to reap the benefits. I get to watch them develop and they help me wash away any low points of my week and they become the key element of my weekends in Heaven. For that, I’m forever thankful.

My weekends are booked this Spring. I’ve been granted the chance to watch players compete in the sport I love for the school I’ve devoted my life to. They’ll play a game that unites Fathers and Sons and even Mothers and Daughters. They will play in a castle built like a baseball stadium should be. With odes to great memories in Baltimore, Chicago, Boston but brought together in a uniquely Auburn way. They will be surrounded by fans with the same common love. A love of school and sport.

In 25 Days, I will be back in Heaven. I can’t wait. War Eagle.

Now We Can Focus on the Fall

2011-08-16T08:59:00.001-07:00

August 15th might not seem like a big day to many, but for College Baseball fans, it can be more nerve-racking than signing day. August 15th was the final day for MLB negotiations. The last chance for MLB clubs to sign their draft picks before either packing up shop and accepting compensatory picks next year, or scuttling late additions to low A, GCL/DSL, or Rookie Ball. For Auburn, it was patiently waiting on the status of 5 guys: Current RHP Derek Varnadore and signees Clay Holmes (Pirates), Rocky McCord (Twins), Colton Davis (Astros), and Ryan Tella (Twins). When the dust settled, Auburn was left with good news and bad news. Holmes was gone, signing for a record 9th round bonus of 1.2 Million but Varnadore was staying; giving Auburn at least some stability on the mound for next year.

It also starts the numbers game for the Auburn roster. The NCAA Limit is 35. Auburn is JUST at that limit, but of course that could all change. Here's the Roster from Last Year. It was set at 33 Players. Here's my Math:

33 Players - 9 Seniors = 24 Players

24 Players - 2 Draft Losses (Casey McElroy/ Dan Gamache) = 22

22 Players - 1 known transfer (Tyler Dial) = 21

21 Players + 14 Original Fall Signees = 35

35 Players + 2 Late Signees (Kent Rollins / Caleb Smith) = 37

37 Players - 1 MLB Draft Loss (Clay Homes) = 36

36 Players - 1 Signee (Grant Bush to JUCO) = 35

Now that puts Auburn right at the edge, but there's still room for some movement. If Justin Bryant gets granted a 6th year of eligibility that takes up a roster spot. Same deal goes any walk-on that may make the team. Currently, all the signees have turned up in the Auburn University people finder.

For Now? Auburn is set. Honestly, it's a team in a bit of flux and will have a completely new look for 2012. I'm excited about the new blood, some fresh faces. I want to see just how hungry these guys are. Hopefully, we'll have some answers on position battles after the Fall World Series. For Now? I'm just waiting until February.

Auburn, APR, & Needed Changes

2011-08-12T18:39:00.001-07:00

Lost in the shuffle of conference realignment talk, horrifying injuries, and more bad news for the Buckeyes, a bit of news relating to Auburn baseball came out. Namely, the APR changes and the very tight rope the Tigers are currently balancing.

Personally, I’m all for APR changes, but College Baseball is a ridiculous place to try to Academic Progress Rate benchmarks. The game, as it is now, is not designed to be held to the same classroom standards as other sports. Now, I don’t mean that baseball players shouldn’t be allowed to not attend class and not make acceptable games. All I would argue is that Baseball is the one sport that shouldn’t penalize teams for players transferring or not graduating in a certain period of time. You’re already fighting the MLB to get these guys to your school and now you add one more reason to NOT go after the top game changing talent.

Here’s the official release from the NCAA:

The board voted to raise the Academic Progress Rate benchmark from 900 to 930 and supported a penalty structure that will require teams to earn at least a 930 four-year, rolling APR in order to participate in postseason competition.

These changes stemmed from the two-day presidential retreat which concluded Wednesday and focused on improving intercollegiate athletics in a variety of ways: academics, fiscal responsibility and integrity. The presidents also directed NCAA President Mark Emmert to assemble whatever groups are necessary to codify the recommendations in all three areas discussed at the retreat.

Whenever issues/changes come out like this, my first (and sometimes only) question is: How Does This Affect Auburn. Well, here it is:

If these penalties were instituted for the 2012 season, Auburn (with a 4 year Rolling Ave of 933.5) would be ok, but just barely.

The good news? The Tigers are ahead of the curve and trending in the right direction. With APRs of 924, 938, 932, and most recently 940. If next year just stays level then it would erase that blemish of a 924 mark in 06-07.

There’s no reason it shouldn’t increase. Auburn didn’t lose many players early (just Gamache & McElroy for now) and will (hopefully) end up with only 2 transfers. That’s a small rollover of only 4 players.

Will it affect ANYONE in the SEC?

TEAM	4 YEAR APR
LSU	933
Miss St	971.75
Bama	942.75
Ark	943.5
UF	975.25
UGA	938
UK	959.5
UM	962
USC	937.25
UT	912.75
Vandy	988

Only Tennessee and LSU are even close to Auburn. The only difference? Both Tennessee and LSU have faced NCAA Penalties

So that’s where it stands. Auburn is close, but not in trouble yet. Still, it’s something the administration needs to keep a watchful eye on. I’d hate the Tigers to be the first SEC baseball to not make the NCAA Tournament because of APR.

Be sure to leave your comments, send me a mention on Twitter (@AUPPL) or, as always, email me (PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com)

Go West Young Men

2011-08-02T17:33:00.001-07:00

I love twitter. I really do. It’s the best way I can interact with readers of the blog and get information I otherwise wouldn’t come across. Sometimes it leads to nuggets like this.

After a couple of emails back and forth with the Wildcat ticket office, I got a bit of confirmation. A word of warning though, this is not official because everything is still about half a year away, but the University of Arizona has Auburn tentatively scheduled to go to Tucson on February 24th-26th. Granted this could fall through but here’s hoping it sticks. Then the only question that remains is: Just where in Tucson will the Tigers play?

The Arizona Wildcats are looking to move some or their entire slate of games for the 2012 season to Hi-Corbett Field in Tuscon.

The Wildcats have played their home games on campus at Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium since 1967 where they drew about 1k fans per game during the 2011 season.

….

After spending a number of months evaluating the possibility we have not made any final decisions, however we still believe that baseball at Hi-Corbett is worth seriously considering. We will do our best to provide more information as we continue with our exploration of this possibility.

Playing in what essentially is a minor league stadium at Hi Corbett makes the deal even sweeter, in my opinion.

The Wildcats will have a stout club in 2012. Coming off a 39-21 season in 2011, an NCAA Regional appearance (and one win away from a Super Regional), and featuring a couple of Cape Cod All-Stars in All Pac 10 OF Joey Rickard and Pitcher Konner Wade.

It might be worth making the trip to the high desert for that one. Be sure to leave your comments, send me a mention on Twitter (@AUPPL) or, as always, email me (PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com)

No Joy in Mudville Today

2011-08-02T17:15:00.001-07:00

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

It had been rumored for at least two weeks, but today Auburn fans got the official word: Shortstop Casey McElroy will be signing with the San Diego Padres:

Former Boone baseball infielder Casey McElroy has signed with the San Diego Padres as an eleventh-round draft pick out of Auburn.

McElroy, who played second base for Boone through 2005, had a big year for the War Eagles at shortstop – leading the SEC in base hits with 87 and finishing in the top 10 in the league in seven other offensive categories, including batting average (.370), RBI (53), home runs (9) and doubles (18).

He was expected to report to the Padres’ Class A club in Eugene, Ore., early this week.

So there’s no joy in Mudville today, but I’m sure a family in Orlando, FL is smiling brightly.

C-Mac’s departure brings up an interesting predicament for Auburn in 2012. There’s green, and there’s what Auburn will be dealing with in 2012. Auburn will return a total of 3 players who started a game in the Auburn infield, and two of those are at the same position (Catcher: Blake Austin/Caleb Bowen).

Originally, I thought the infield could consist of Zach Alvord (2B), Patrick Savage (1B), Tyler Dial (SS), and Mitchel Self (3B). Well, I’m going to have to go back to the drawing board on that one.

Now? I have no clue. Zach Alvord is the only returning player with any infield experience (outside of catcher). That opens the door for a couple of newcomers: Craig Shirley (Dothan), Jarred Smith (Lake Wales, FL) and Chase Williamson (UMS-Wright). Late addition Kent Rollins (South Gwinett, GA) has some shortstop experience as well.

Shirley played First Base in High School. Smith is a middle infielder with experience at both SS/2B and Chase Williamson’s experience is at shortstop, but most scouting services say his future is on the mound (he went 12-1/ 1.99 ERA in 2010). Really though, for Williamson, he’s going to play anywhere he need to be, even playing catcher during the 2011 when his UMS-Wright team was in a bind.

One darkhorse in the IF race could come from JUCO Signee Garrett Cooper. I’ve not seen anything official that he is on campus but his size (6’6/210) and power make him an ideal choice to replace Kevin Patterson at First Base.

Still, with the loss of Dial, that leaves only 4 players (Savage, Mike Reed, Mitchell Self, Alvord) who are listed as infielders on the Auburn roster. One things for certain, some of these freshman/newcomers are going to play.

Be sure to leave your comments, send me a mention on Twitter (@AUPPL) or, as always, email me (PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com)

Another Season, Another Change to College Baseball

2011-07-27T18:28:00.001-07:00

Last year (heading in to 2011) it was the new bats and how they would (and ultimately did) change the game. This year, the major change is to RPI; one of the key parts of College Baseball. RPI in College Baseball has always had a much more significant impact on the postseason than in College Basketball. How else could you explain an Auburn team, floating at the .500 mark, still being in the hunt for an NCAA postseason birth? The answer are those three little letters: RPI. So what’s changing (and ultimately, how does that affect Auburn)? The new RPI will focus on a weighted system highlighted by these percentages

Road Wins will count as 1.3
Neutral-Site Wins count at 1.0
Home Wins count as 0.7 victories
Home Losses count as 1.3
Road losses count as 0.7
No more bonus points for Road Ws vs Top 75 teams
No more penalizations for losses to bottom 75 teams at home

Of course, this is only going in to a portion of the ultimate RPI calculation:

Long-term NCAA data shows that home teams win about 62 percent of the time, so the committee decided to compensate for that home-field advantage by modifying the RPI formula.

…

The RPI is a major tool used by the committee to fill out the NCAA tournament field. A team's RPI is made up of three components: its winning percentage (which comprises 25 percent of its RPI), its opponents' winning percentage (50 percent), and its opponents' opponents' winning percentage (25 percent). Under the new formula, that first 25 percent—a team's winning percentage—will be calculated differently.

Basically, 75% of the formula remains the same. You still want to face top competition (as wins against those teams help that 50%) and you want those top teams to also face top competition. You’d rather face a TCU team with an early 10-2 records with games against teams like Fullerton, Texas A&M, etc…than say a Georgia State teams with a 12-0 record who’s feasted on cupcakes.

Here's the real reason this move was made: to appease Northern Schools.

For years, Northern coaches have griped that the RPI is inherently biased against them, because the cold weather early in the season forces them to play a preponderance of their nonconference games on the road, but the RPI formula weights road games and home games equally. Long-term NCAA data shows that home teams win about 62 percent of the time, so the committee decided to compensate for that home-field advantage by modifying the RPI formula.

Not to sound heartless, but cry me a river. I would have to define “Northern” Schools as schools in the following states (with number of Division 1 Schools)

New York (21)
Connecticut (7)
Maine (1)
Ohio (6)
DC (2)
Rhode Island (3)
Massachusetts (5)
North Dakota (2)
Pennsylvania (9)
New Hampshire (1)
Illinois (11)
Indiana (9)
Iowa (1)
Michigan (6)
Minnesota (1)
New Jersey (9)
West Virginia (2)
Delaware (2)
Wisconsin (1)
South Dakota (1)

That’s a grand total of 100 Schools. There are roughly 300 Division 1 Baseball Playing schools. The NCAA is wanting to modify a rule to help a 3rd of their schools. (I’m sure I missed one of two schools here or there, but the point remains and the numbers should still be similar.) But does this really benefit the best teams in the NCAA? Of course not. How many of the the Top 40 teams (winning %/Number of Losses) in the NCAA are in the North. This isn’t the top 40 RPI school’s it’s based solely on records:

Stony Brook (4) 41-12/ .777
Kent State (9) 45-17/.725
Dartmouth (16) 21-12/ .700
UConn (19) 45-20/ .693
Marist (26) 35-17/ .673
Monmouth (30) 38-19/ .517
Illinois St (35) 35-18/ .660
Rider (38) 33-18/ .512

That’s only 8 teams. How many of the Bottom 40 Teams are from the North? Just 18.

It’s not benefiting the better teams, it’s not really helping the bottom team. Win-wise, the talent and wins are close to the same. It’s all about the weather. Now, I will admit this is a flawed argument (using these numbers this way) from the beginning, because, as the NCAA has found, home games give a team around a 65% better chance to win.

I suppose this is better than what was rumored as a proposal. A permanent spot for one “Northern Team” in the College World Series as a consolation.

So What Does This Mean for Auburn?

Honestly, time will tell. But we can use last year’s schedule as sort of a guide post. Auburn basically has about 4 weekends to play around with until SEC Play starts. Well, we know one of those weekends is going to be the “Auburn Tournament” that last year featured Virginia, UAB, and Arkansas State.

Now we’re down the three weekends. I would hope Auburn doesn’t do away with the “tune up series” they normally have featuring a mid-level RPI team. (Last year it was Radford).

That leaves the final two weekends. In the past, Auburn has used one of these for a home and home with a high level RPI team (such as Arizona State last year). That will probably continue.

So, we’re down to one final weekend. Auburn could go one of three ways in my opinion: Find another Tournament (such as the College of Charleston Tournament), schedule another “Tune Up”, or go out and play a big boy on the road. That’s where I stand. Auburn could start syncing the schedules so that they play TWO RPI big boys a year. One on the Road, and One at home. How excited would you be for a schedule that featured both Arizona State AND Clemson. One of which you knew was going to be a Plainsman Park.

The Dangers and Obvious Changes

Even though technically it’s a small percentage of the RPI, it’s still a percentage nonetheless. So Auburn will need to make sure it follows a few quick rules/ideas:

MUST win games at home. Especially against non-conference teams. Now losses against the likes of Bethune Cookman, Radford, etc. Well, those are going to hurt a little bit more.
Have to leave Plainsman Park more. It might take a hit on the travel budget, but in my opinion, Auburn should travel to a few midweek games. Besides the obvious in-state schools like Jacksonville State, UAB, etc. Why not branch out a bit and visit schools such as Southern Miss, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Belmont, Memphis, etc. The benefit would be some key road wins and it’s much better than the flip side of losing to some of these teams at home and taking a bigger hit RPI wise.

Ultimately, the new RPI, like the bats last year, will have to be seen in action to believed. I can’t fully get behind it right now, because the current system has benefited Auburn so much. Still, there’s time and one obvious benefit:

With this proposed change still a year away, there is time for schedules to adjust. The question is how will coaches weight the RPI-savvy road games versus the financial and competitive advantage of home games?
For programs like LSU, this is another shot across the bow.
Tiger head coach Paul Mainieri has often alluded to LSU's financial obligations in schedule building. But after the committee's clear message not only rewarding road games but more importantly penalizing home games, how will the big programs react?
Balancing budget concerns from large stadiums with RPI concerns will be a fun topic for fans and media to follow but yet another headache for coaches weary from draft fallout and 11.7 scholarship math.
Another aspect of these changes is the transparency to the formula. With today's system, statisticians like our Paul Kislanko and Boydsworld.com's Boyd Nation make approximations for the bonuses. While bonuses and penalties could still exist, there will be fewer which means the RPI simulations should be more accurate.

Be sure to leave your comments, or sent my a mention on Twitter (@AUPPL) or, as always, email me (PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com)

Wacker’s Super Summer

2011-07-19T12:56:00.001-07:00

One thing Auburn will no doubt lack for the 2012 season is power. Hopefully, Cullen Wacker can step in a fill the power drought. If his time for the Mohawk Valley (NY) Diamond Dawgs is any indication? He’ll be just fine:

Cullen Wacker has not had many opportunities to show off his home run trot this summer but the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs’ left fielder from Auburn University put on quite a power display Monday evening in Elmira.
After winning the pregame home run derby at Dunn Field, Wacker capped a three-hit performance with a game-winning three-run homer in the inaugural Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game.

The Home Run capped off a big night for Wacker in the Perfect Game All-Star Game:

The lefty-swinging Wacker had already singled, doubled and scored two runs when he came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with two runners on base in in a tie game to face Cooperstown Hawkeye Parker Ray. Wacker lost his bat while fouling off a pitch from Ray and had to retrieve it from a fan. The fan wound up with an even more memorable souvenir when Wacker returned the bat following his three-run home run over the right field fence.

The AUfficial site had a nice profile on Wacker as part of their “Summer League Swings” series and Wacker’s goals before coming back to Auburn:

"I want to work on driving the ball better and hitting with more power," Wacker said. "I'd like to try to hit more doubles and home runs in addition to the singles. I also want to get stronger and faster."

Although his Mohawk Valley team is struggling with a 10-21 Record, Wacker has been a bright spot. He’s hitting at a .353 Clip with 41 hits, 17 rbi, 8 doubles, and 2 Home Runs.

A Quick and Dirty Draft Primer

2011-06-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

The MLB Draft starts tonight and the choices made there will impact the 2012 Tiger Baseball Team in a Big Way. First, let's look at how's available to be drafted:

Seniors

Chris O'Neil (RHP/Birmingham/Mountian Brook)

Bradley Hendrix (RHP/Birmingham/Oak Mountain)
- 2010 30th round pick (No. 907) by the Cincinnati Reds
Sean Ray (LHP/Virginia Beach, VA/Kellam)

Kevn Patterson (1B/Birmingham/Oak Mountain)

- 2010 23rd round pick (No. 701) by Tampa Bay
- 2007 24th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox
Justin Fradejas (OF/Pensacola, FL/Pine Forest/NW FL St)

- 2011 35th round pick (No. 1,070) by the Colorado Rockies
Tony Caldwell (C/Winter Springs, FL)

Wes Gilmer (IF/Pinson, AL/Pinson Valley)

Justin Hargett (IF/Hartselle, AL)

Justin Bryant (Utility/Remlap, AL/Oneonta)

All of these guys are gone and the draft will serve as their final chance to be selected by a Major Leage Club. There's still an outside chance they can try to catch as an undrafted Free Agent (similar to what Ty Kelley is doing currently). Also, Justin Bryant could still come back to Auburn if the NCAA Grants him an extra year of eligibility.

No here's the list to focus on. The Draftable Juniors:

Zach Blatt (RHP/Opelika)

Ethan Wallen (RHP/Anderson, AL/Lauderdale County/NW Shoals CC)

Caleb Bowen (C/Anniston, AL/Saks)

Brooks Beisner (OF/Port Charlotte, FL/Charlotte/St. Petersburg JC)

Cory Luckie (LHP/Prattville)

Casey McElroy (SS/Orlando, FL/Boone)

Jon Luke Jacobs (RHP/Gainestown, AL/Jackson)

Derek Varnadore (RHP/Athens, GA/Oconee County/Chattahoochee Valley CC)

Dan Gamache (IF/Exeter, RI/Bishop Hendricken)

Andrew Morris (RHP/Prattville, AL/Gulf Coast CC)

- 2010 16th round (#489) pick by Milwaukee
- 2009 44th round pick by Milwaukee
Creede Simpson (OF/Auburn/NW FL State)

- 2008 45th Round Pick by New York Yankees

As you can see just by reading this list, each of these guys contributed in some regard to the 2011 Team. So if these guys hear their names called, there'll be some anxious moments and some tense decisions to make.

There was an outside shot that Slade Smith could be draft eligible, but he just missed the 21 Year old cut off mark (His birthday is 9/26)

Now in addition to these guys, EVERY incoming draft pick is draft eligible. Here's another rundown of them:

Cameron Blinka (RHP/ Alvin CC/ Rosenburg, TX)
Grant Bush (LHP/Grissom/Hunstville)

Justin Camp (RHP/Austin HS/Decatur, AL)

Trey Cochran-Gill (RHP/OF/Tallassee, AL)

Garrett Cooper (1B/RHP/El Camino CC/Manhattan Beach, CA)

JD Crowe, Jr. (C/Oak Mountain/Birmingham)

Colton Davis (OF/Lake Wales, FL)

Clay Holmes (RHP/Slocomb, AL)

Daniel Koger (LHP/Owens Cross Roads, AL/Huntsville HS)

Rocky McCord (RHP/Spanish Fort HS/Mobile, AL)

Jarred Smith (IF/RHP/Lake Wales, FL)

Craig Shirley (IF/RHP/Dothan, AL/Northview HS)

Ryan Tella (OF/LHP/Ohlone College/Fremont, CA)

Chase Williamson (RHP/IF/Saraland, AL/UMS-Wright)

Choose Your Own SCHADventure

2011-05-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

Oh Joe Schad. Perrenial Punchline and Punching bag for Auburn fans. If you were away from a computer today, you misssed his latest Auburn-Related boil-up. Let me recap via the Magic of Screen Capture:

Before we move on. My personal thoughts on Russell Wilson? Auburn doesn't need him. Do they want him? Sure, probably, why not? But does Auburn really NEED Russell Wilson? Not at all. Barrett Trotter/Clint Mosely will do just fine in what will be, more than likely, a rebuilding year for Auburn football. Wilson could be the next coming of Cam Newton (he's not) but he'll be playing behind a pretty green offensive line, won't have had a spring to learn the system, and Auburn has a BRUTAL schedule in 2011. So what's the use? Let Trotter and Barrett Handle the reigns, give them their shot. Then in 2012 is Keihl Frazier is ready, slide him in. Malzahn already has a reputation of being a "QB-Whisperer". If he can make Chris Todd look like an actual competant QB and made Auburn forget about this:

Then he can do the same with Trotter/Mosely. Seriously, let the guy work. Still, it's out of my hands, but the responses have been varied already:

Those "others" HABOTN referred to include Jeffrey Lee at AuburnSports.com who says Wilson was NOT on campus.

Now, I was just going to drop it, but after Schad tried to link ANOTHER QB-in-limbo to Auburn I felt compelled to post. That QB? Tate Forcier:

One of those things is not like the others. But if Tate Forcier is serious, here's a little map for him:

Again, Trotter/Mosely. Let them take it. Auburn doesn't need the second coming of Todd Marinovich to lead the Tigers. Oh, and what exactly is a "Kansas Stare"? This:

Chaos Theory and Winning the West

2011-05-15T16:11:00.001-07:00

This is going to be an absolute cluster. Currently, there is a 4 way tie for 1st place in the SEC West and chaos heading into the Final Weekend. Here we go with the overall standings

Team	SEC	Next
Vandy	20-7	@UGA
Carolina	20-7	@Bama
Florida	20-7	UK
Georgia	15-12	Vandy
Arkansas	13-14	Ole Miss
Auburn	13-14	@UT
Alabama	13-14	Carolina
Miss State	13-14	LSU
Ole Miss	12-15	@Arkansas
LSU	11-16	@MSU
Kentucky	7-20	@UF
Tennessee	5-22	Auburn

Now, before we go on, Let’s see what it would take for Auburn just to make Hoover. The Auburn Network guys claimed the magic number was just One Game. I’m going to try to double check that. To make Hoover, you have to be better than 4 teams. We already know two of those (UT/UK) and currently Ole Miss/LSU are taking up the rear in the West. So, Auburn just has to be better than UM and LSU. If Auburn just wins 1 game next weekend, that puts Auburn at 14-16 in the SEC.

MSU/LSU	MSU Sweeps	MSU Wins	LSU W	LSU S
MSU Finish	16-14	15-15	14-16	13-17
LSU Finish	11-19	12-18	13-17	14-16

UM/ARK	Ark Sweep	Ark W	UM W	UM Sweep
Ark Finish	16-14	15-15	14-16	13-17
UM Finish	12-18	13-17	14-16	15-15

It’s looking like the Radio guys were correct (they normally are). Even if Ole Miss sweeps that would put Arkansas at 13-17 and Auburn would still make the tournament. The only chaos might come in if there is a four way tie. In other words, if LSU wins and Ole Miss Wins, putting UM/AU/Ark/MSU all at 14-16 in the SEC. Let’s go ahead and throw it into the ultimate chaos mode and say Bama takes 1 (and only 1) game from Carolina. Putting them at 14-16 also. That would bring up a 5 Way Tie. Which brings up this tiebreaker:

2. Three-Team Tie (or more): When three or more teams are tied for a finish, the following procedure will be used (in descending order until the tie is broken): Once the tie has been reduced to two teams, the two-team tiebreaker procedure as stated in No. 1 above will be used.
A. If all three teams are common opponents: Total won-lost percentage of games played among the tied teams.
B. Won-lost percentage of the tied teams versus the No. 1 seed and proceeding through the No. 8 seed, if necessary, using common opponents only.
C. If three or more teams still are tied, the Commissioner will conduct a draw.

Let’s break that down:

Team	AU	Bama	MSU	UM	Ark	Total
Auburn	XX	2-1	0-3	2-1	2-1	6-6
Alabama	1-2	XX	2-1	2-1	2-1	7-5
MSU	3-0	1-2	XX	2-1	1-2	6-6
Ole Miss	1-2	1-2	1-2	XX	2-1	5-7
Arkansas	1-2	1-2	2-1	1-2	XX	5-7

In that case? Auburn’s in, Arkansas is out of the tournament, based both on that tiebreaker and if Carolina ends up being the Number 1 seed, Ole MIss holds that tie breaker.

One other scenario would be if LSU swept State, putting the Bengals at 14-16.

Team	AU	Bama	LSU	UM	Ark	Total
Auburn	XX	2-1	2-1	2-1	2-1	8-4
Alabama	1-2	XX	2-1	2-1	2-1	7-5
LSU	1-2	1-2	XX	2-1	0-3	4-8
Ole Miss	1-2	1-2	1-2	XX	2-1	5-7
Arkansas	1-2	1-2	3-0	1-2	XX	6-6

In that case? Auburn wins the West, MSU and Ole Miss are out.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on to the ultimate goal. Winning the West. Let’s run down the scenarios:

Auburn Sweeps UT (Finish SEC 16-14)

That puts Auburn at 16-14. Do the Tigers need any help at that point? Actually, yes. If MSU Sweeps LSU then MSU would win the West (State holds the Tiebreaker). Even if Arkansas and Alabama sweep their series, Auburn still owns the tiebreakers over the Tide and Razorbacks.

Auburn Takes Series from UT (Finish SEC 15-15)

Auburn needs:

LSU to take series/Sweep Mississippi State
Carolina to take 1 game from Alabama
Ole Miss to take 1 game from Arkansas

Auburn Drops Series vs UT (Finish SEC 14-16)

Auburn needs (see Final Chaos Scenario):

LSU to Sweep Mississippi State
Ole Miss to Win/Sweep series against Arkansas
Carolina to Win/Sweep series from Alabama

Also of note in this scenario, Auburn would need a win Tuesday against South Alabama OR a win in the SEC Tournament, to preserve a chance at an NCAA Tournament berth.

Auburn is swept by UT (Finish SEC 13-17)

At that point, Auburn would NOT be able to win the West. Auburn could still make Hoover, but it gets complete confusing. In that case Auburn needs:

Arkansas to take/sweep series from Ole Miss

OR Ole Miss to sweep Arkansas

Mississippi State to take just 1 game from LSU
Prayer

If Arkansas drops the series to Ole Miss (but doesn’t get swept) then Auburn would need Carolina to Sweep Alabama AND would need Mississippi State to take 1 game from LSU. Also, in that scenario, Auburn would need either 1 win in Hoover and 1 vs South Alabama or 2 wins in Hoover. Honestly, I don’t even want to think about that scenario. Just typing it makes my head and soul hurt. Looking back and thinking on it, I think the only way Auburn doesn’t make the SEC Tournament is if UM Takes series from Arkansas, Bama takes 1 from Carolina and LSU sweeps Mississippi State (forcing MSU/Auburn in to a Head to Head tie breaker). That’s a very worst of worst case scenarios. Honestly, let’s not even mention that again.

Bottom Line? Auburn’s win vs Alabama set them up in position that they can take care of business themselves. Auburn is traveling to the absolute worst team in the SEC. If we can’t take a series from UT then we have no businesses being SEC West Champs. If we get SWEPT by Tennessee? Then Auburn has no business even going to Hoover.

The LineUp 5/10

2011-05-10T08:19:00.001-07:00

Let's see what presents the interwebs brought us today....

1. Congrats to the Grads

A total of 52 Auburn student-athletes graduated as part of the Auburn University's Spring 2011 graduating class on Monday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The six from baseball are Justin Hargett (Hartselle, Ala.), Michael Hurst (Vestavia Hills, Ala.), Jon Luke Jacobs (Gainestown, Ala.), Christopher O'Neil (Birmingham, Ala.), Kevin Patterson (Birmingham, Ala.) and Sean Ray (Virginia Beach, Va.).

(via AuburnTigers.com)

2. Quite the Interesting Theory, Kendall

2:17 Comment From Danimal

How oh how will the (SEC) West be won? 5 teams all within a game of each other with 6 games remaining. Looks like a cluster to me. Who wins it and who gets left out of the SEC Tourny (sic)?

2:19 Danimal,
Man, bringing the fastballs up and in very early today. The SEC West, as you said, is an absolute mess. Auburn finishes the regular season with a home series against Alabama and a road series vs. Tennessee. I'll give the edge in the West to the Tigers. As for teams not making the tournament, give me Ole Miss and LSU as the two teams that don't make the tournament, though, Ole Miss and Mississippi State is pretty much a tossup at this point.

(via PerfectGame.org. H/t @AUTigerBaseball)

3. Congrats to our brothers up I-85

The No. 10 Auburn University at Montgomery baseball team made the 45-team championship field and the school is one of nine host sites for the opening round tournament that starts Thursday, May 12 and runs through May 16.

Each site will feature a five-team double-elimination tournament. The winners will join host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho May 27-June 3.

AUM is in the bracket with LSU-Shreveport, Union (Tenn.), William Woods (Mo.) and Huntington (Ind.).

(via WSFA.com)

4. Looking Grim for LSU

Just a few days ago, Mainieri and his players were riding high after their sixth straight win — 10-6 over Alabama on Friday night that put the Tigers just one game out of eighth. LSU exploded for 14 hits and 10 runs in the first five innings Friday in easily its best offensive showcase in the SEC this season.

"I thought it was as good as we've swung the bats all year," Mainieri said. "We had played so well for five and a half straight games. I thought to myself, 'This is going to be a fun stretch run.'"

Then, as they have done consistently all year, the Tigers just died and lost the next two games 4-0 and 9-0, registering just 16 hits over the two games. The last time LSU was shut out in back-to-back SEC games was in 1982 against Ole Miss. That is four SEC shutouts on the season for another embarrassing historical mark. The last time that happened was pre-Woodstock — in the 1969 season.

"It was baffling," Mainieri said. "I've got the foot on the gas pedal, and everything is just clicking."

(via Shreveport Times)

5. Carolina Needs to get their act together

at this point it becomes all about June, not May, and if you remember last season you’ll recall that May is actually the best time to stumble a little.

Last year May was a horrible month for USC, losing to Kentucky and Florida in regular season series before choking out against Ole Miss and Auburn in the SEC tournament. Did it matter? In getting a bid, no, but in getting our players motivated, yes. The fact is those losses woke this team up from their complacency and supplied them with a little more will to win, which they embraced and rode all the way to the top.

(via Free Times)

AUPPL Note: Seriously, Gamecocks, get it together. Don't phone it in the last two weekends. Auburn needs you to beat Alabama and Arkansas. Get it together, birds.

6. Trent Mummey Update

Frederick outfielder Trent Mummey crashed into the wall today while trying to make a catch. He was taken by stretcher to a local hospital, but Stockstill said that the early reports are good and Mummey is alert and responsive. ...

(via Orioles Insider)

Single-A Frederck outfielder Trent Mummey, who suffered a concussion when his head struck the outfield wall in yesterday's game at Harry Grove Stadium, today was placed on the disabled list. It appears Mummey could miss at least two weeks.

(via MASN Sports)

There are some encouraging words late this afternoon coming from Single-A Frederick Keys outfielder Trent Mummey after his scare during today's game at Harry Grove Stadium.

Mummey tweeted this via his Twitter account a few moments ago:

Thanks for all the wishful thoughts! Scary moment but I'm thanking god that everything is going to be ok. #countingmyblessings

Mummey's head hit the outfield wall in the top of the second as he dove for a ball. He was down for several minutes and taken off on an ambulance. Good to hear him say he's going to be okay.

(via MASN Sports)

7. Feels Like Old Times, Huddy

Hudson shut out Milwaukee 8-0, allowing just a fourth-inning double and ninth-inning walk to leadoff man Rickie Weeks. He threw first pitch strikes to 26 of the 29 batters he faced as the Braves swept a doubleheader.

After the game, he credited catcher David Ross' pitch selection behind the plate and playfully said that it felt like they were back at Auburn together, where they were batterymates more than a decade ago.

"That was back in the old days," Ross said. "I stunk back then."

Ross was filling in for starting catcher Brian McCann after McCann caught the first game of the twinbill.

It was Hudson's 12th career shutout and third career one-hitter.

(via AL.com)

8. Best. Correction. Ever.

(via BuzzFeed.com)

9. 6 Games. 8 Days. All Alabama.

The Auburn baseball team will play six consecutive games against teams from inside the state of Alabama, starting on Tuesday at 6pm at Samford. Following that game the team will return home to play host to Alabama State at 6pm on Fan Appreciation Night, where admission is free.

Auburn (25-22) is coming off of a series win over Georgia over the weekend and is looking to reverse its fortunes against Samford (29-19) after being shutout, 8-0, at Plainsman Park on April 26.

Auburn will start Sr. RHP Bradley Hendrix (2-1, 3.18) on Tuesday, his third start of the season, while Samford will throw Sr. RHP Josh Van Fleteran (3-2, 5.67), who will be making his 10th start of the season.

(via AuburnTigers.com)

The Season Comes down to Alabama

2011-05-08T16:46:00.001-07:00

I can’t harp on it. In a perfect world, Auburn should have held on to their 11-5 lead in the Top of the 9th on Sunday and left the weekend tied for first in the SEC West. Instead, Auburn went from safely in Hoover to clinging to the final seeds. Right now, Auburn is in a 3 way tie for the 7th and 8th seeds with Ole Miss and Mississippi State, with all three teams having identical 11-13 conference marks. Here’s what’s left with 2 weekends to go:

Team	SEC Record	Remaining SEC	Comb. Rec.
Vanderbilt	19-5	UF, @UGA	23-25
Florida	18-6	at VU, UK	23-25
Carolina	18-6	Arkansas, @Alabama	24-24
UGA	14-10	at UK, VU	24-24
Arkansas	12-12	at USC, UM	29-19
Alabama	12-12	at AU, SC	29-19
Auburn	11-13	Alabama, at UT	17-31
Miss. State	11-13	at UM, LSU	19-29
Ole Miss	11-13	MSU, at Ark	23-25
LSU	8-16	UT, at MSU	16-32
UT	5-19	at LSU, AU	19-29
UK	5-19	UGA,at UF	32-16

Yeah, it’s an incredible cluster there. LSU, just barely, has an “easier” schedule over the next two weeks. I say easier because, well, this is the SEC, and anything can happen. Ole Miss took two from Carolina this weekend and cemented them back in the conversation. Same thing with Arkansas over Florida. Mark Ethridge from SEBaseball was asked how he thought the remaining West teams would do over the next two weekends. His best guess? 3-3 for every team. I can’t be in his head, so I can only go by my gut. Here’s MY best guess on how everything shakes out:

Team	Opp. 1	Opp. 2	Finish
Vanderbilt	2-1	2-1	23-7
Florida	1-2	3-0	22-8
Carolina	2-1	2-1	22-8
UGA	2-1	1-2	17-13
Arkansas	1-2	2-1	15-15
Alabama	2-1	1-2	15-15
Auburn*	1-2	2-1	14-16
Miss State	1-2	2-1	14-16
Ole Miss	2-1	1-2	14-16
LSU	2-1	1-2	11-19
UT	1-2	1-2	7-23
UK	1-2	0-3	6-24

I’m playing completely with the hypotheticals amd I’m taking Ethridge’s best guess of the West finishing 3-3 each and trying to apply it to the remaining scheduled. If that happens? Well, we didn’t really go anywhere. Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State are still deadlocked. Then it would go down to tiebreakers. I’d have to double check the rulebook at that point. Personally, I think Auburn can sweep Tennessee. I also think Auburn can take 2 of 3 from Alabama and if that happens? Well, let’s look at that scenario:

Team	Opp. 1	Opp. 2	Finish
Vanderbilt	2-1	2-1	23-7
Florida	1-2	3-0	22-8
Carolina	2-1	2-1	22-8
UGA	2-1	1-2	17-13
Arkansas	1-2	2-1	15-15
Alabama	1-2	1-2	14-16
Auburn*	2-1	3-0	16-15
Miss State	1-2	2-1	14-16
Ole Miss	2-1	1-2	14-16
LSU	2-1	1-2	11-19
UT	1-2	0-3	6-24
UK	1-2	0-3	6-24

If Auburn does that? Well, then the Tigers wins the West. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The Midweek Needs

I never thought I’d more happy to play two midweek games then this week. Both these games are hugely important to the Tigers’ postseason life. Auburn is sitting at 25-22 overall. If they can win BOTH these games (Tuesday at Samford/Wednesday vs Alabama State) then Auburn would go to 27-22 overall. That’s a five game cushion over .500. The Tigers can’t make the postseason with a losing record and have to make Hoover with a record 3 games over .500. Why? Well, unless Auburn wins the SEC Tournament, it will lose 2 games in Hoover. There’s only 1 midweek game remaining. Worse case scenario? Auburn splits this week and loses next week to South Alabama. That puts Auburn at 26-24 overall. Add in the SEC records (and even the 3-3 scenario) and Auburn would go to Hoover with a mark of 29-27. Meaning they could leave Hoover with a .500 record. That could force Auburn to win one game in order to just make the NCAA tournament. It’s a VERY dire situation. This is pins and needles from here on out.

What Auburn Needs to Do

It’s pretty simple. Auburn needs to take the series from Alabama. Doing that gives enough breathing room in every other area and will salvage the season. If you take the series from Alabama, then you can go into the UT series just needing to win. If you drop the series? Then you have to sweep Tennessee, on the road. If Auburn takes the series from Alabama then forces Arkansas to either take the Carolina series, or sweep Ole Miss. It also forces Alabama to have to sweep Carolina in Columbia in order to win the West. Although it won’t be official and crazy things can happen, if Auburn can win the series from Alabama, it will punch it’s ticket to Hoover.

What Auburn Can’t Do.

It can’t get swept. That’s the bottom line. Even if it loses the series to Alabama, Auburn could still make up ground the following weekend at Tennessee, but would be in a must sweep mode. If Auburn is swept, at home, to Alabama, then it’s almost too big a hole to climb out of. No postseason, at all.

Who Auburn Should Root For

Here’s where it gets tricky. For the next two weeks. Auburn should become huge South Carolina and Mississippi State fans. You want Carolina to sweep their remaining series (vs Arkansas/vs Alabama) because it allows Auburn to climb to top of the West. Let’s play that hypothetical out:

Team	Opp. 1	Opp. 2	Finish
Vanderbilt	2-1	2-1	23-7
Florida	1-2	3-0	22-8
Carolina	3-0	3-0	24-6
UGA	2-1	1-2	17-13
Arkansas	0-3	2-1	14-16
Alabama	2-1	0-3	14-16
Auburn*	1-2	2-1	14-16
Miss State	1-2	2-1	14-16
Ole Miss	2-1	1-2	14-16
LSU	2-1	1-2	11-19
UT	1-2	1-2	7-23
UK	1-2	0-3	6-24

Auburn could still lose the series to Alabama and it would bring up a scenario where Auburn could sweep Tennessee and win the West. If Auburn drops a game to Tennessee after that? Well, it’s just chaos at that point. It means that some team will tie for first in the SEC West, and not even make Hoover. Even without a sweep, Auburn needs Carolina to win so it can keep Alabama and Arkansas in check.

Who else should Auburn root for? It’s going to pain me to say this, but Auburn probably needs to root for Mississippi State to win it’s final two series. Auburn has to push Ole Miss out of the SEC Picture. Which is more plausible scenario? Ole Miss taking a series from Mississippi State THEN taking a series from Arkansas in Baum? Or Mississippi State beating Ole Miss (which it’s already done once this year) and beating LSU at home? I’m going with the State scenario.

Team	Opp. 1	Opp. 2	Finish
Vanderbilt	2-1	2-1	23-7
Florida	1-2	3-0	22-8
Carolina	2-1	2-1	22-8
UGA	2-1	1-2	17-13
Arkansas	1-2	2-1	15-15
Alabama	2-1	1-2	15-15
Auburn*	1-2	2-1	14-16
Miss State	2-1	2-1	15-15
Ole Miss	1-2	1-2	13-17
LSU	1-2	1-2	10-20
UT	1-2	1-2	7-23
UK	1-2	0-3	6-24

If that plays out then Auburn would be the last team in to Hoover. They’d still make it, just barely. Plus, they’d still have a high enough RPI to just make an NCAA regional. If Auburn beats Alabama, and the rest of those scenarios play out? Then Auburn could potentially sweep UT and win the West by 1 game.

Let’s flip that coin though and see what happens if Ole Miss takes care of business:

Team	Opp. 1	Opp. 2	Finish
Vanderbilt	2-1	2-1	23-7
Florida	1-2	3-0	22-8
Carolina	2-1	2-1	22-8
UGA	2-1	1-2	17-13
Arkansas	1-2	1-2	14-16
Alabama	2-1	1-2	15-15
Auburn*	1-2	2-1	14-16
Miss State	1-2	2-1	14-16
Ole Miss	2-1	2-1	15-15
LSU	2-1	1-2	11-19
UT	1-2	1-2	7-23
UK	1-2	0-3	6-24

That sends Arkansas, Auburn, and Mississippi State all down to a three way tie for the final two spots. In that scenario, I think it comes down to their records against each other. Arkansas would be (3-3), Mississippi State would be (4-2), and Auburn would be (2-4), so Auburn would be out.

After All That What Does it Mean

Pretty simple. Beat Bama. Then everything else can fall in to place. Auburn desperately needs to beat Alabama so it won’t have to scoreboard watch for the next two weeks. May 13, 14, 15. That’s going to be the defining moment of Auburn’s baseball season.

The Lineup (5/04)

2011-05-04T08:55:00.001-07:00

1. First Prediction is in for AU/UGA

Georgia should win 2 of 3.

Why Georgia should win the series: If you had asked me last week who I thought would win this series I would have told you Auburn. But Georgia played well last weekend, winning 2 of 3 against Arkansas, while Auburn lost 4 of 5 during the same week, including 3 of 3 against South Carolina. It is a home series for Auburn, so the games should be close but Georgia's pitching will give them the series win.

(via GenesPage.com)

2. Dan Gamache: Trend Setter

Intro songs are also a topic on the road, because we like to see what players on other teams have chosen. No one ever copies another player’s song, but if it’s good, it will probably find its way onto the locker room playlist for the next few weeks. For instance, after we played at Auburn, Dan Gamache’s hitting song—B. Lloyd’s “Heavy”—a song from the show Blue Mountain State, started being played in the locker room. We all like different types of songs, but we’ll always give a good intro song a shot over the speakers after practice.

(via College Baseball Daily)

This is the song in question:

3. Speaking of Gamache, here’s one scout/fan’s take on him

Gamache is a Junior on the Auburn Tigers. He might be the first diamond in the rough as I was unaware of him and have not found a recent scouting report. He has shown an increase in power and plate discipline, but there is a question as to where exactly he will play as a pro. I cannot say much more than that. I look forward to Nick's thoughts in the comment section. As Oriole fans know with Trent Mummey, future power is difficult to measure in Auburn because it can be rather easy to hit home runs there.

(via Camden Depot)

4. Auburn: Ending Tennessee’s Dreams since 1989

The last thing Raleigh needed was a lost weekend of historic proportion, especially one administered by, of all people, Vanderbilt.

The Vols went down by counts of 10-1, 10-1 and 19-3 in Nashville last weekend. The combined carnage of 39-5 marks the worst three-game series deficit in program history.

The previous nadir was a 35-6 sweep by Auburn in April 1989. Five games later coach Mark Connor was relieved of duties.

Vol fans can understand why Florida is a national power. But if Vanderbilt can be a top-five program, what’s missing at UT?

(via Go Vols Xtra)

5. Auburn signees get awards/wins

McCord (8-1) was staked to a 6-0 lead in the nightcap, but struggled with his command as St. Paul's scored four runs in the fourth. He allowed three singles, walked three and threw three wild pitches, the second of which negated a potential double play situation that would have ended the inning as runners advanced to second and third and the next batter grounded to short.

But the Auburn signee bounced back by retiring nine of the next 11 batters he faced, the only hit coming on an infield single in the bottom of the seventh.

"Rocky had one bad inning; he hasn't had an inning like that all year," Walker said. "He lost his mechanics, but came back. The last three innings, I told him I wanted (every pitch) down the middle; just let them hit it."

McCord had a pair of RBIs and Rose went 2-for-3 with two runs driven in.

(via AL.com)

In addition to the overall winners, Trey Cochran-Gill and Rebecca Amerson won the boy's and girl's Athletic Awards, Logan Middlebrooks and Kalen Busby won the Church, Community and Character Awards, Jacob Levins and Miranda McCurdy won the Academic Awards and Davis Knapp and Sierra Hauk won the Leadership Awards.

(via Montgomery Advertiser)

6. Carolina Cam

(via Twitter/ @ToppsCards )

There’s also a few Nick Fairley Pics as well.

7. Regional Projections

CB Daily has Auburn going to Chapel Hill to take on Elon (Plus UNC/Charlotte)

SE Baseball has Auburn going to Atlanta to take on Jacksonville (Plus GT/Purdue)

8. Kohlscheen picks up the W

The Beloit Snappers were pounded for 11 hits Monday in a 13-6 defeat to the host Clinton LumberKings in Midwest League baseball.

The LumberKings led, 7-0, after five innings. Snappers’ starting pitcher B.J. Hermsen (2-3) allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss.

The Snappers had eight hits but left 11 men on base. Clinton starter Stephen Kohlscheen (1-2) blanked Beloit on three hits through the first five innings to earn the victory.

(via Gazette Extra)

9. Do you know what day is is? Exactly. May the Fourth be with You

And to geek out for a bit? Here’s my favorite scene in the Star Wars Trilogy. Poor Leia, watching Han about to be dumped in Carbonite, crying out, “I Love You” and Han, like a stone cold pimp, just says, “I Know”. Boom. (/end Nerd)

The Lineup (5/3)

2011-05-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

1. Auburn's in the Cap One Cup Lead...Thanks to a bit of Tweaking

A solution to this on the Division I level may not have pleased everyone, but it may make more sense: To create an award that's separate between men's and women's programs and put the sports in three tiers -- giving higher points value to sports based in part more on their spectator appeal and nationwide participation. And thus began the Capital One Cup for this academic year. (The Directors' Cup still continues for Divisions I-III and NAIA.)

Is there a perfect way to do this without irritating any faction? Of course not. For instance, lacrosse is a strongly East Coast-based sport, but is more heavily weighed for the Capital One Cup than golf or tennis, which are played in leagues across the country.

Still, this system of points accumulation is a more realistic approach that brings a greater number of schools into play for Capital One Cup competition. And it allows more specific recognition for schools' achievements in the women's collegiate sports that are most likely to garner a more consistent and growing television audience: basketball, volleyball and softball. The latter is the top-tier spring sport for the women, while baseball is the same for the men.

(via Mechell Voepel/ ESPN.com)

2. From Wolf Pack to War Eagle?

Think about it: What made Auburn's offense so successful last season? Yeah, you guessed it. It was Cam Newton. That big, strong, powerful runner and passer was the engine of that team. I'm not saying that Wilson is Newton 2.0, but he's a solid passer and is very athletic.
Last season, Wilson led the ACC in total offense with 3,998 yards (3,563 passing and 435 rushing). He also led the league with 37 total touchdowns, including 28 through the air.
Wilson might not be the pounding runner that Newton was, but we know he's a passer. He had nearly 1,000 yards on Newton last season and had more than 200 more pass attempts than Newton.

(via ESPN.com)

3. Ted Roof: Hall of Famer

Ted Roof starred on the gridiron at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville and went on to become an All-ACC linebacker at Georgia Tech where he is a member of the Yellow Jackets Hall of Fame. Today, he is a highly sought after defensive coordinator for BCS National Champion Auburn University.

"I'm very honored and humbled," Roof said in accepting the Hall of Fame ring and jacket that goes along with the honor. "It's really neat to be going in with all these other great inductees. I remember watching George play as a kid. I'm very blessed to be a part of this."

(via Dacula Patch)

4. No, War Eagle is taken, sorry.

The Heights recently ran an editorial wanting to steal a page from Southern college football and develop a Boston College athletics catchphrase like Alabama's "Roll Tide" or Texas' "Hook ‘Em Horns."

"BC doesn't have a slogan like this that transcends the team. "Ever to Excel" is a fine academic motto, but it doesn't have the same punch for athletic success. No one would be caught dead chanting that at a game. "Go Eagles" is a popular cheer, but it's a little too generic to be a catchphrase that immediately makes people think of BC football.

That's why we are suggesting that BC adopt "Stay Gold" as the slogan for its athletic teams. This phrase would be unique to BC. It's simple, yet powerful. It represents the loyalty and aspirations of the school, its students, and its fans."

I like the initiative here. I love the ESPN "Roll Tide" campaign and phrases like "Hook ‘Em Horns," "Gig ‘em" and "Geaux Tigers" serve as a reminder of the team and the pride that community members take in their alma mater's sports programs.

Holly over at SBNation Suggests:

Can We Give Them 'War Eagle,' Since That's Their Actual Mascot?

Some Fans in the Comments suggested "For Boston" as a slogan. Which, to me, is awesome. Mainly because it allows this to played full blast everywhere:

(via BC Report/ SB Nation)

5. From Red Top to Blue Top

Junior ace Harry Norman scattered six hits over five innings to win his pitching duel with Slocomb ace and Auburn signee Clay Holmes. Teammates pieced together runs, scoring on safety squeeze bunts in the fourth and fifth innings before RBI hits in the sixth from Norman, Hayden White and Lucas Tribble gave the Montgomery magnet school the victory in Game One.

...

While the Red Tops would rebound to take a 5-0 lead in the second game, LAMP's ability to hit one of the state's top pitchers clearly boosted their confidence at the plate. Auburn coach John Pawlowski and nearly a dozen professional baseball scouts were on hand to see the Tigers pound out 11 hits against Holmes.

(via Montgomery Advertiser)

6. Brian Fletcher dealing with slow starts and cold temps

Several players are starting to adjust after slow starts, as five players in the starting lineup Saturday had raised their averages over .300.

Brian Fletcher, who grew up in Georgia and played his college ball at Auburn University, is one of the players starting to get comfortable at the plate. After going 5-for-8 with a homer in Saturday’s doubleheader split with Clinton, he finished the homestand with 10 hits in 21 at-bats, including a homer and seven RBI.

“You just have to be mentally tough for it,” Fletcher said. “The best thing to do is to keep warm as much as possible, don’t let it affect you and play baseball.”

The team put up plenty off offense in its spring training games, and Fletcher hopes the bats heat up even more when the warm weather arrives. They started to come alive in the Clinton series as the Cougars scored 20 runs on 28 hits in the three games.

“The more we get used to it, the more comfortable we get, the better we will swing it,” Fletcher said. “We’ll just keep moving forward and start producing more runs.”

(via The Courier News)

7. Around the SEC Today

All seemed right with Arkansas baseball last Friday.

Dave Van Horn agreed to coach the Razorbacks until 2020, a deal that will pay $609,000 at its peak. Van Horn is 348-192 overall and has helped the program make a pair of College World Series appearances.

Arkansas followed that up with a victory against Georgia. Good times, right?

If only the weekend had ended there for the Razorbacks. They went on to drop games Saturday and Sunday, including a 6-5 decision to the Bulldogs in which Arkansas lost after a hit batter advanced the winning run.

Arkansas (29-13) still leads the SEC West along with Alabama. Both are 10-11 in SEC play.

A mid-week series against Southeast Missouri State gives the Razorbacks a chance to regroup entering a crucial weekend against Florida. First pitch for both games is 6:35 p.m

(via Arkansas Sports 360.com)

SEC tri-leader No. 4 Florida (34-10/17-4 SEC) completes a seven-game stretch at McKethan Stadium by hosting Bethune-Cookman (29-19/15-0 MEAC) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Gators are riding a six-game winning streak after back-to-back weekend sweeps of Western Division foes Alabama and Ole Miss. The Wildcats continued their perfect run through the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference by sweeping Maryland Eastern Shore over the weekend, 5-4, 3-2 and 7-3.

(via GatorZone)

This is the oldest and longest running series in all of LSU sports, predating even the football rivalry by a few months, but both schools do not list the same figures. LSU states the all-time record at 163-125-3, while the Greenies give us credit for 10 more wins at 172-125-3 and marking this as the 301st game in the series. Somebody's got the wrong numbers and while I appreciate their generosity, I'm sure we'd all much rather enjoy them being wrong about a statistic.

Weather: A front is making it's way through the state today, but the hope is that it clears for gametime. Unlike the Greenies, we have mastered the sacred and mystical art of "field drainage", and have no need for that blasphemous carpet that they play on in Turchin.

TV: Ah, the comfort zone of LSU Baseball on TV at it's best. Cox Sports with Rollins and McDonald in the booth and Rantz stealing that guy's seat behind home plate.

(via And the Valley Shook)

8. Say Hello to Everyday PT David Ross

Braves catcher David Ross will catch Jair Jurrjens' starts from here on (link). I don't mind this because it gives Ross some regular work, which certainly is not a bad thing. The guy should be starting somewhere.

(via SBNation Atlanta)

9. 500 Days of Britta

The Lineup (5/02)

2011-05-02T09:13:00.001-07:00

You do a lot during the day. It's hard to keep up with all things Auburn baseball. Here's a handy rundown of what you may have missed (with some extras thrown in from time to time).

1. Another Look at the Weekend that Was:

the fact that the Commodores, Gamecocks and Gators are concentrated in one six-team division gives everyone in the West -- including Auburn, which was swept this weekend in Columbia -- a fighting chance at winning their side of the league.

Auburn will finish the season against Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. With an RPI still ranked 20th in the nation even after getting swept, the Tigers will only need to pick up a handful of wins to ensure a spot in the NCAA field. Oddly, getting into the SEC tournament may actually be tougher. With only Tennessee and Kentucky clearly out of the NCAA running, this is shaping up to be a year in which the NCAA selects a team (or teams) from the SEC that don't make it to Hoover.

(via Evan Woodbery/ AL.com)

2. Softball? Yeah, they just did that. Atta Girl(s)!

Auburn pitcher Angel Bunner threw out Megan Wiggins at home plate to end the game and give the No. 25 Auburn softball team a 3-2 victory over No. 4 Georgia and claim the Tigers' first-ever series win over a top-five opponent.

Auburn improved to 36-15 overall and 13-12 in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia fell to 42-9 overall and 15-8 in the SEC. By winning the final two games of the three-game series, Auburn earned its first series win over the Bulldogs since 2004.

"I'm so extremely proud of the way this team hustled and fought this weekend," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "Our pitchers did a great job holding Georgia to just three runs in the last two games. Angel came in today and pitched very well. I can't recall an ending exactly like that. It was very exciting and just a great way to win a ball game."

(via Auburn Tigers.com)

3. Chuck Jeroloman Finds a New Home (Hopefully)

Two players -- shortstop Chuck Jeroloman and lefty Eric Ackerman -- picked up their rings in street clothes.

Jeroloman arrived in York for the ring ceremony Friday, but he won't be staying long.

A resident of West Palm Beach, Fla., Jeroloman will join the Revolution about a month into the season for family reasons. He lost both his babysitters in the offseason, forcing him to stay at home to care for his 13-month-old son until his wife finishes her teaching job this spring.

His grandmother and father watched his son at the end of last year, but his grandmother decided to take a job as a house mother at a sorority house at the University of Florida.

"But I still thought I had my dad. He just retired from being a cop, but then he got hired to be a marketer for a law firm," Jeroloman said. "Both the people who are able to watch my son are gone."

Jeroloman will also earn his diploma in the coming weeks, finishing the last of 24 online credits he needed since being drafted after his junior year at Auburn.

The 28-year-old could be used as a utility player when he returns to the Revs later this season. He's looking to make a career switch to the college baseball coaching ranks.

"I developed some connections at Auburn, and I'm just putting it out there right now," Jeroloman said. "It's just more of a stable lifestyle. I love this game and I'd love to play it as long as I can, but there comes a time when I need to do what's best for my family."

(via YDR.com)

4. Also, Michael Nix is a bit of a hero up there:

But the Revs' big announcement Wednesday could be the return of reliever Michael Nix.

Most fans remember the way Nix closed out the 2010 season -- recording the final out of the Atlantic League Championship Series at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.

Hitters could barely touch the 27-year-old in the postseason. He threw six innings in the playoffs and did not allow a run or a walk. He surrendered three hits and struck out eight. Opponents managed just a .143 batting average against him.

The right-hander also played a big role in York's ability to reach the championship series. He needed just two pitches to end a no-out, runners on first and third jam in the seventh inning of the deciding fifth game of the Freedom Division Championship Series against Somerset. The Revs won the game, 1-0.

"I don't know if there have ever been two bigger pitches thrown by a Revolution pitcher," said Revolution director of baseball operations Michael Kirk.

(via In York)

5. The Nooch is Still Crushing it in Frisco

In his most recent outing on Tuesday in Midland, Carpenter, the Hooks’ closer, gave up two ninth-inning homers and then the winning blast in the 10th as Corpus Christi lost a 4-1 lead and fell 6-4.

Unfortunately for the Hooks, history repeated itself, as Mike Bianucci crushed Carpenter’s 0-1 pitch over the rocking-chair seats in left field for a 5-3 advantage.

Hooks manager Tom Lawless said he brought Carpenter in because the right-hander needed to pitch after being idle for three nights.

(via Caller.com)

6. Also on the Farm: Cole Ks and Hubbard Saves

Austin Hubbard worked a scoreless, perfect ninth to give the Hot Rods their only 1-2-3 inning of the night. Hubbard's second save locked down the first win of the year for Omar Bencomo, who worked three scoreless innings and stranded three base runners with two K's.

(via WBKO.com)

The good news is that Cole Nelson struck out eight in 4.2 innings. The bad news is that he gave up 11 hits, walked two and gave up four runs. Gustavo Nunez was 2-4 with a triple.

(via Bless You Boys)

7. Auburn Adopts Rainsville

Auburn adopts Rainesville, Alabama! Just outside Fort Payne, suffered over 30 deaths, the most in the state behind Tuscaloosa. In desperate need of tarps, tents, and extension cords, along with the basic items such as non-perishable food items, baby items, NEW clothing, underwear, and shoes. Please spread the word and bring your donations this week to 714 E Glenn Avenue in Auburn. Thank you!

(via Facebook/ Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau)

AUPPL Note: I put this on twitter earlier, but I know the focus has been on Tuscaloosa, but don’t forget about the North East part of our state. This past weekend I was up in Huntsville for work and saw some of the damage. It’s pretty terrible. From Arab, Hackleburg, Phil Campbell, Cullman, Huntsville, Anderson Hills, Rainsville, and as Dylan Reeves reminds Cordova, Argo, Sipsey and Warrior. You hear all this information about Alabama Power restoring electricity, however, don’t forget that most of that area is on TVA power which has been shut down and will probably be shut down until this Thursday.

8. Donate. Donate. Donate.

Just go here. Do it.

(via WSFA.com)

9. Finally, this happened last night

So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be playing these on a loop all day (WARNING LANGUAGE):

The Home Stretch

2011-05-02T08:23:00.001-07:00

Here’s where we stand. Nine SEC Games left. Only 3 Non-Conference Games to go. Auburn sits at 23-21 (9-12) and this isn’t being overly dramatic, but the season will come down to these next three weeks. Here’s the salient bullet points as we proceed:

The Pitching

This, really to put it bluntly, is the biggest issue. When Auburn pitching is good, then we can compete with anyone (see Friday night’s loss to Carolina). When it’s bad then we are in for long nights. The problem is that Auburn has no clue what it’s going to get from week to week. Jon Luke Jacobs was inefficient against Ole Miss, yet last weekend he had his best outing. From injuries to arm soreness, to God knows what, it always seems like if it’s not one thing it’s another for the staff. I can’t even begin to speculate who the rotation will be against Georgia. I’m sure Jon Luke Jacobs will be in the mix. Andrew Morris? Got blitzed by Samford last Tuesday. Derek Varnadore? Couldn’t locate anything on Saturday. Cory Luckie? Had Zero control on Sunday. Slade Smith? Great against Ole Miss, put in to tough spots last weekend. Our rotation is a complete crapshoot and stays as one of the most frustrating aspects for this team.

The Injuries

I would have title this bit “the infield” but right now Auburn is dealing with two big injuries. Hopefully, with a full week off, Auburn can start the UGA series completely healthy. Bobby Andrews was finding his way as the lead off man and was providing an adequate spark at the top of the lineup. His position at the top allowed Fradejas to bat 2nd and move him over and Auburn could jump out to early leads. He was that sparkplug. Now? He’s out. Fradejas has been filling in, and doing a solid job but having Bobby Andrew back would give Pawlowski so many more options. Also, Dan Gamache, who left Saturday’s game with hamstring tightness, desperately needs to be back in the lineup and needs to be back at 3rd Base. Gamache had been playing the field more and more and it freed up the DH spot for Gilmer/Beisner/Wacker and allowed it to be more fluid for situational hitting. Also, having Gamache at 3rd gives Auburn our best defensive infield. Gamache/McElroy/Hargett/Patterson is that best option for Auburn to win. The communication is better, the offense is where it needs to be, it’s just the best option for Auburn to win.

The Outside

You’re going to hear this more and more over the coming weeks. “Well, Auburn may make the SEC Tournament, but you have to have a winning record overall to make the NCAA”. Yes, that’s true, but Auburn isn’t going to make one without making the other. In my opinion, Auburn needs to win 2 of the next three series to make Hoover. Let’s say they do that, but don’t sweep anyone. That’s four wins and two losses. That makes Auburn 27-24 (13-14). If Auburn gets swept in that other series? 27-27 (13-17) meaning Auburn would need to win their three midweek games (Alabama State, Samford, South Alabama). I would be tough, but manageable. Again, this is all complete speculation at this point. Auburn has three series left. Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee. It’s really this weekend that’s the most important. Georgia is there with it’s winning record in the SEC and barely above .500 overall record. If Auburn can take this series, this VERY important series, then it can pull back in to the middle of the back.

PREDICTIONS

Ok, here’s where it can get interesting. Auburn is in a run with Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, hell, the entire SEC West. So what’s going to happen? Here’s the remaining SEC schedules, along with my predictions:

Team	SEC Record	Remaining	Prediction	Finish?
Arkansas	10-11	UF, SC, UM	4-5	14-16
Alabama	10-11	LSU, AU, SC	3-6	13-17
Auburn	9-12	UGa, UA, UT	6-3	15-15
Ole Miss	9-12	SC, MSU, Ark	3-6	12-18
MSU	8-13	UT, UM, LSU	5-4	13-17
LSU	7-14	UA,UT, MSU	7-2	14-16

I really don’t think Tennesse will win another SEC game. The Vols got absolutely blasted and just look lost. LSU has the easiest chance to crawl back up in to the rankings and for Auburn the job is actually kind of simple. To reach our magical 15-15 mark (and hypothetically be SEC West Champions) all we need to do is take one of the series against Alabama or Georgia (which are both at home) and then Sweep Tennessee. What could kill Auburn would be if we drop a game to Vols, or get swept by UGa or Alabama. I’ve watched 98% of every Auburn game and I don’t think that’s too farfetched. Still, I might be looking through Orange and Blue Glasses.

The Lineup: (4/28)

2011-04-28T09:26:00.001-07:00

You do a lot during the day. It's hard to keep up with all things Auburn baseball. Here's a handy rundown of what you may have missed (with some extras thrown in from time to time).

1. Tigers beat Tigers (and the rain)

"It's good to get a good win before we head to South Carolina and try to take care of business there," Gamache said. "We have struggled getting ahead early lately and we went out with a plan and got it done (tonight)."

Justin Fradejas singled twice and hit a solo homer in the second, finishing the night scoring four runs, as Auburn improved to 23-18 before heading to Columbia, S.C., this weekend.

(via AuburnTigers.com)

2. Tornados, Tuscaloosa, and Toomer's

Playing off the name of Tide For Toomer’s, a grassroots charity formed by Alabama fans to raise money for the efforts to save the poisoned Toomer’s Oaks, a Facebook group calling itself “Toomer’s for Tuscaloosa” is hoping to return the goodwill gesture.

Just hours after a catastrophic tornado plowed through Tuscaloosa, the page had logged more than 8,000 “likes” most of those earned by midnight; the page was created at 8 p.m.

Group organizer and Auburn fan Warren Tidwell said he’s overwhelmed by the response.

“I’m amazed by the support.,” said Tidwell, 32, the manager of an Opelika auto service center. “I’d hoped for an outpouring of support, but I don’t if I really truly thought it’d be like this.”

(via The War Eagle Reader)

3. Bianucci Sparks Riot, Ejection, Misunderstanding

According to a report from the San Antonio Express-News, several fans were detained for their role in the fracas between a small crowd and the RoughRiders bench following a ninth-inning incident. The ruling on a potential game-changing home run by the RoughRiders' Mike Bianucci went against Frisco and led to the ejection of manager Steve Buechele and pitching coach Jeff Andrews. The RoughRiders bench then got into a shouting match with fans.

"I was standing there, and all of a sudden, a trash can came flying out of the dugout," said San Antonio Missions president Burl Yarbrough. "I've been here 24 years, and I've never seen anything like this."

(via Dallas Morning News)

4. Trent Mummey: Smooth Criminal

From the home team's point of view, there was nothing grand about the theft the Frederick Keys pulled off to beat the Winston-Salem Dash 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at BB&T Ballpark.

Trent Mummey executed a rare straight steal of home plate to score what proved to be the winning run in the sixth inning, sending the Dash to their second loss in three games against the Keys and their eighth setback in the past 10 games.

Mummey's run was the first of a two-run rally that extended the Keys' lead to 4-1, and both teams had to wait through a 59-minute rain delay before relievers Chris Petrini and Sean Gleason cleaned up for starter Ryan O'Shea.

(via Winston-Salem Journal)

5. Bo's Silver Draft Anniversary

Bo Jackson was drafted first overall in 1986 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Auburn.

Jackson never played a down for the Bucs, who wanted the two-sport star to choose between baseball and football. Instead, he signed with the Kansas City Royals.

Tampa Bay’s rights to Jackson were forfeited when the 1987 draft rolled around. He then was taken by the Los Angeles Raiders, with whom he played until 1990.

(via Lost Letterman)

6. The Cold Truth

The SEC West remains wide open, with three teams tied for first place at 9-9 (Arkansas, Mississippi and Auburn), and two other teams within two games of first (Alabama and Mississippi State). All of those teams have RPIs in the top 40, and all but Ole Miss are inside the top 31. Arkansas (No. 16) and Auburn (No. 12) are in the best shape; the other three teams need to firm up their resumes down the stretch to feel comfortable, but right now there aren't enough teams with better credentials to shoulder them aside. Auburn's 22-18 overall mark gives it less wiggle room as it, like Georgia (or any school), can't nab an at-large berth with a sub-.500 record.

(via Baseball America)

7. If you live in Houma, a down year in the SEC means LSU is tanking

With so much success over the years, one would think the SEC is having another dominant season.

Guess again.

The SEC is having one of its rare down seasons.

With four conference series remaining, only three teams — Florida (31-10 overall), South Carolina (31-8) and Vanderbilt (35-5) — are guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournaments. They are all tied atop the SEC East standings at 14-4 and are ranked in the Top 5 in the major polls.

Florida, South Carolina and Vanderbilt have to like their chances of not only reaching Omaha but winning the College World Series.

After that, it’s anyone’s guess because the SEC is a conference of the haves and have nots.

(AUPPL Note: There is so many things wrong with this article that it would take a point/counterpoint the sort them out. The SEC has the Top 3 teams in the nation, will get 8 teams in the NCAA tourney, and probably {barring seeding} send 3 or 4 teams to the CWS. Yeah, that's a down year)

(via Houma Today)

8. Good News? Aqua Teen is back. Bad News? No more catchy rap jingle theme song.

According to the below video announcement from a Meatwad puppet, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is changing its name to Aqua Unit Patrol Squad One, reviving its old premise of having the cartoon crew work as detectives, and also relocating to Seattle. There, that wasn’t so bad, right? We’ve learned to accept these sorts of things, we rational observers of cartoon bullshit.

(via The AV Club)

9. Finally, if you'll excuse me, I have to do this to the Kroger on Dean.

(via Comics Alliance)

The Lineup: (4/27)

2011-04-27T08:36:00.001-07:00

You do a lot during the day. It's hard to keep up with all things Auburn baseball. Here's a handy rundown of what you may have missed (with some extras thrown in from time to time).

1. Championship Tuesdays?

Auburn (22-18) has now lost non-conference games to Jacksonville State, Troy and South Alabama, yet still entered Tuesday's action with the nation's 12th-best RPI.

"It's definitely frustrating," said Auburn shortstop Casey McElroy. "We've been having good weekends and maybe we've just not been getting after these mid-week games. There's no excuse. We should take every game like a championship game."

(via AL.com/ Woodbery)

2. Still, There’s No Sugar Coating This: Auburn Sh*t the Bed vs. Samford Last Night

“I firmly believe it starts with the guys on the mound,” coach John Pawlowski said. “When you get behind that quickly, it’s a totally different mindset.”

…

“You don’t get out of the gates, you struggle at the beginning of the ballgame, and it’s tough,” Pawlowski said. “We didn’t get anything going offensively or pitching early in the game.”

Freshman Will Kendall, who had thrown 3 2/3 innings over two career appearances entering Tuesday, provided a bright spot in relief of Morris (1-3), giving up a run on six hits while striking out four and walking three over 5 1/3 innings.

(via OANow.com/David Morrison)

3. Slocomb Signee is Super Studious

Clay Holmes is well known for his prowess as a pitcher for Slocomb’s baseball team.

But the Red Top senior and Auburn University baseball signee is also a top-notch student – a feat equally important to him as winning games with his pitching arm.

This Sunday, he will be recognized by the state of Alabama Baseball Coaches Association as its Student-Athlete of the Year.

…

For now, though, Holmes is busy trying to help his Red Top teammates in pursuit of a state title. Slocomb advanced to this weekend’s second round against LAMP after an impressive series win this past weekend over previous No. 1-ranked Trinity.

…

After the season is over, Holmes will turn his attention to the upcoming major league amateur baseball draft. He will attend pre-draft workouts for several teams.

Holmes said he has heard possible speculation that he could be a high-round draft pick, but says that is just speculation.

“You can’t really tell one way or another right now,” Holmes said.

(via Dothan Eagle/ David Mundee)

4. Cole Nelson & Austin Hubbard Doing Work

Austin Hubbard earned the win, pitching a scoreless ninth, to improve to 2-0. (via WBKO)

…

Cole Nelson pitched five innings, giving up three earned runs (four runs in total) while walking four and striking out two. (via Bless You Boys)

5. Fletch Lives

RC: You played college ball at Auburn, a major college program. What was that experience like?
BF: It was fun. It was awesome. The last year was really exciting. We hosted a regional against Clemson and had thousands of fans in the stands. It was a great environment to play in.
RC: What were some of the things you learned from your collegiate experience?
BF: I learned about failure and how to come back from it. The college level is when media starts to get involved. It sucks when you start to struggle a little bit, but you learn to bounce back and keep your composure, and to be able to play in front of the types of environments than we did.
RC: Was it a tough decision to leave after your junior year at Auburn and sign with the Royals?
BF: It wasn’t necessarily a tough decision. I wanted my junior year to be the year for me to remember, and I definitely was hoping to have one of my better years that season. I was pretty satisfied with what I did. The draft process was pretty crazy, looking back on it now, but it was fun, and I’m glad the Royals were able to select me

(via Royals Corner)

6. It’s like the ESPY’s, but with Auburn (and more Tim Jackson)

AUPPL Note: Highlights include Barrett Trotter in a Fratastic BowTie, and Jorrell Bostrom doing a solid Jack Johnson impression

(via Auburn Athletics You Tube)

7. David Ross just killed my Fantasy Team

Braves backup catcher (AUPPL Note: and Former Auburn Tiger) David Ross sang an Eddie Money ‘80s hit “Shakin’” as a good-luck ritual during a series sweep at San Francisco last weekend. On Tuesday, he and sh-sh-shook San Diego and Padres pitcher Aaron Harang.

Ross hit two homers to drive in four runs during the Braves’ 8-2 win against the Padres at Petco Park, where Jair Jurrjens pitched the first complete-game win for the Braves since 2009 and Chipper Jones matched a mark by the great Mickey Mantle.

(Another AUPPL Note: Guess who thought he’d be smart and start Aaron Harang for his Fantasy Team? Guess who ended up with –10 points? This Guy!)

(via David O’Brien/ AJC)

8. If Brotherman likes it, it must be good

Bill “Brotherman” Beckwith (AUPPL NOTE: and HUGE Auburn baseball fan/ K-Korner Stalwart) is organizing a reunion for regulars of legendary Auburn hippie bar Peeps, which kept it real on Opelika Road from 1969 to 1975. The two-day event will start Friday, May 13 with a potluck dinner at the house of Auburn hippie turned Realtor Tara Nolan and end at The War Eagle Supper Club on Saturday, May 14. There will be barbecue. There will be music.

“A lot of our friends that hung out at Peeps made big names for themselves in the music industry,” Beckwith told The Corner News. “We’ve been able to contact a lot of them and get them to come back to Auburn for the party to play.”

(via TheWarEagleReader)

9. So…Tubs is a Birther? Also, Hannity’s Next Guest will be Terry Bowden:

CREDIT: FOX NEWS, "HANNITY" by sportsxbrooks

So, that happened. Tommy Tuberville appeared on Sean Hannity’s show last night:

Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville appeared on conservative commentator Sean Hannity’s television show Tuesday, taking part in a panel discussion about President Obama’s Easter Sunday pastor, the controversy over his birth location and who might run against him in 2012.

Tuberville suggested that the president has a good chance to be unseated by whoever opposes him.

Asked by Hannity if there is anyone he likes for president, Tuberville said, “It really doesn’t make any difference. If the economy doesn’t get better, if the price of gas is six or seven dollars a gallon, if we’re still in wars, anybody’s going to run and win. Bottom line, we can’t keep going the direction we’re going.”

Tuberville was the day’s celebrity guest on “The Great American Panel” segment, joining in with former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich and FOX News legal analyst Tamara Holder in a discussion moderated by Hannity.

(via Red Raiders.com )

The Lineup (4/26)

2011-04-26T08:25:00.001-07:00

You do a lot during the day. It's hard to keep up with all things Auburn baseball. Here's a handy rundown of what you may have missed (with some extras thrown in from time to time).

1. Gabe Gross Hangs Em Up

After some heavy soul searching, Gabe Gross has decided it’s time to hang up his cleats and retire from baseball.

“I just felt like my heart wasn’t into it,” Gross said Monday. “This and quitting football are the two hardest decisions I’ve ever made.”

(via Dothan Eagle)

2. Mummey gets called up, Immediately Delivers.

Trent Mummey soaked up his opportunity to make a good first impression at Class A Advanced Frederick, posting a career night in the Keys' 14-7 rout of Winston-Salem on Monday.

Mummey finished 4-for-6 with a career-high five RBIs, falling a home run short of the cycle in his first game with the Orioles affiliate.

(via MiLB.com)

3. Tug Hulett. Still playing. Still Awesome.

The Washington Nationals have signed infielder Tug Hulett to a Minor League contract. Hulett had been with the Colorado Rockies earlier this year but was cut loose after the recent acquisition of 2B Brad Emaus.

Hulett last appeared in the big leagues in 2009 with Kansas City Royals and was with the Seattle Mariners in 2008.

Hulett will provide depth in the minors, as he will be assigned to Triple-A, and he will also serve as an insurance policy if there were to be injuries at the Major League level.

(via The Nats Blog)

4. Hunter Morris: Putting the MAN in Manatee

There are times in pro baseball when the ball leaving the pitcher's hand looks like a pill.

And there are others when it looks like a pumpkin and that's what Brevard County Manatees infielder Hunter Morris has been seeing this season for the Class A-Advanced Florida State League team, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Heading into Saturday night's game at Lakeland, Morris was hitting .281 with a team-leading 18 hits in 64 at bats. He ranked second in the league in doubles with six. His presence in the middle of the lineup is vital to a slowly awakening Manatees offense.

:::::::::::::::

(AUPPL NOTE: He has had one minor setback though:)

Injury note: Morris struck out in the top of the 9th and was replaced in the bottom; he may have been injured somehow.
UPDATE: It seems Hunter Morris dinged up a finger during that at-bat, something to keep an eye on this week. Not a big deal, it seems.

(via Florida Today & Brewers FANdemonium, h/t to @SessileFielder)

5. So You're Saying There's a Chance

But even beyond the standings, check out Auburn's RPI. According to Boyd's World, the Tigers have the 12th-best RPI in the nation. In other words, it would take a meltdown of epic proportions for Auburn to miss the NCAA tournament this year. And if Auburn does a little work in the next three weekends, they could be in position to host a Regional.

(via Evan Woodbery/ AL.com)

6. Auburn Signee Makes Hitters Look Silly

Keegan Thompson was kicking himself.
Normally, a blemish this minor wouldn’t bother the Cullman High pitcher. But on this night, it was the difference in history being made.
The scorecard was almost perfect. Key word: almost.
One walk in the first inning. It was the only thing that kept Thompson from hurling a perfect game in top-ranked Cullman’s 22-0 win over Madison County in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night.
Cullman (39-8) won game one of the doubleheader 13-11.

(AUPPL NOTE: The game was Mercy Ruled, so it was only 5 innings and it gets better)

Hitting 91 to 93 miles-per hour on the radar gun, Thompson breezed to the win, striking out 15 in the five-inning complete game no-hitter.
That’s right. Fifteen strikeouts. As in every out recorded.
“I was just feeling it,” said Thompson, an early Auburn commitment. “I just wish I hadn’t walked that one guy.”

(via Cullman Times)

7. Charles Barkley Loves Pizza

(via SI Vault)

8. The Bulldogs Have Bite

After all the twists and turns of its season, Auburn will still enter tonight's game against Samford as the first-place Tigers.

Yes, that's a three-way tie for first place in the parity-filled SEC West, but it's still in better shape than many expected when Auburn started the SEC season 2-7.

The Tigers (22-17) host Samford (24-17) today at 6 p.m. at Plainsman Park.

Auburn will start junior Andrew Morris (1-2, 5.62 ERA), while either junior Josh Martin (2-1, 4.91) or freshman C.K. Irby (3-1, 2.08) will start for Samford.

Auburn swept last season's two-game series with Samford but hasn't won consecutive games in Auburn since 2007.

(via Woodbery/ AL.com)

9. SEND ME STUFF

If you've got a tip, Auburn related, baseball related, Auburn baseball related, just email me: PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com or you can send the the link via Twitter: @AUPPL

Harvey Updyke is Auburn's "Coma Baby"

2011-04-21T10:44:00.001-07:00

Bear with me. I'm trying to hammer this out between jobs this morning. I'll probably have to come back and re-tool it later. Still, here goes.

Maybe you've read the book, or seen the play or movie, "Bright Lights Big City". I've only seen the movie twice and read the book only once (and that was years ago). But you know, when something sticks with you? Some concept that really makes sense and you find yourself applying it to other scenarios? This is one of those cases.

Bright Lights Big City (I'm referring specifically to the movie from here on) has the "Coma Baby" this meta-summary of the events that are unfolding in the movie seen through the periphery. The Onion's AV Club does a good job of summing it up in one of their Inventory lists:

You Can watch the full scene here:

My basic theory is this (with apologies to Dr. Hannah for a quickly researched and hastily put together thesis):

The "Coma Baby" exists as a social commentary we have no control over. In the film the Coma acts as a running commentary on the main characters life, in practice, The "Coma Baby" can refer to a media event that offers unwarranted yet cathartic commentary on another issue.

Harvey Updyke is Auburn's Coma Baby. This saga, which keeps getting weirder, is now playing out like a soap opera. It's only going to get worse. From the actual event, the trial, the "assault", and the long legal process this is going to take (and believe me, it will be long).

Outsiders see the Updyke Saga as "fandom gone to far" and "look at dem crazy rednecks", etc. That's true, but like the "Coma Baby" they are only gleaming the headlines and drawing conclusions. In my opinion, Updyke's story is a comment upon how the landscape of College Football, and the Iron Bowl rivalry have changed.

We created this beast. We, as college football fans, demand information constantly. We want updates. We want to know how far Zeke Pike can throw a ball. When a recruit leaves after a weekend visit, we want to know (within hours) what he said, how he felt, what his gut is telling him. When someone gives an interview we want to read the updates and quotes on twitter. We are hungry for knowledge. We listen to Paul Finebaum and curse his name, but like true junkies, we tune in every day.

That hunger has ratcheted up the rivalry to an ugly level. A rivalry that's never been on good ground to begin with (remember Auburn & Alabama had to take a "break" from the rivalry over a simple money dispute). It's created and given a voice to the fringe of both our fanbases that we tried to long hide.

Listen, you and me are normal football fans. You wouldn't try to burn down Denny Chimes or harm an Alabama fan just because you "hate" the other team. Yet, slowly we are becoming the minority. You can call them "sidewalk" alums (even though I absolutely despise that term) and try to ignore them, but I know plenty of folks who hold degrees from either school who can have moments and twinges of "fan-sanity".

So these fans, this crazy fringe, now has a platform. Instead of just being that crazy guy you talk to at passing at the Conoco, he now can publish a blog, fill up message boards, and call in to radio talk shows. As they do this, they increase their own "self-worth". They get e-"atta boys" and become legends on the internet.

This is where Harvey Updyke comes in. He followed that same rise. He called into Finebaum, he posted his brags on message boards, and the entire time he was lauded by other members of the fringe.

So the Updyke saga is playing out. His legal obligations are being followed around the country. Updyke's story is serving as Auburn's "Coma Baby" and showing us (and Alabama) what is going wrong with our rivalry and the current state of fandom. Just like the "Coma Baby", everyone has an opinion on how it should be dealt with. Everyone has a comment. Everyone wants to know what's next. We're perversely fascinated by it.

At the end of the Bright Lights Big City, the main character asks if the Baby wants to be birthed, if he wants to leave. His response?

“No Way, Jose. I like it in here—everything I need is pumped in.”

So what if I asked you, would you change the rivalry? Would you live in a college football world where there was no Finebaum, no message boards, no twitter updates? I'm pretty sure, for the majority of fans, the response would be just like the Coma Baby's:

“No Way, Jose. I like it in here—everything I need is pumped in.”

So for now, we're just going to have to sit back, and let the Updyke saga comment on the ugly state of our two fan bases. Let it play out and continue to fester and grow. Many people wondered if this would be the "final straw". I don't think it is. If anything, this is opening salvo, and it's only going to get worse from here.

Visitor’s Dugout: And the Valley Shook

2011-04-15T09:22:00.001-07:00

You could hear me blab on and on about Auburn baseball and the upcoming series against LSU. Thankfully, PodKATT from And the Valley Shook took the time to answer some of my LSU baseball related Questions. As with most Visitor’s Dugout, you can check out my answers to his questions over there.

1. What's the biggest difference for LSU this year? I know the record doesn't reflect the talent, but what are the Tiger's biggest issues this season?

The offensive gameplan this year to compensate for the bat problem has gone, in my opinion, in a complete 180 from what you normally see from LSU towards the small ball strategy, to the point where I can almost guarantee you that the first time LSU gets on base this weekend the very next batter will be showing bunt on the first pitch. After being embarrassingly bad at bunting last season, we've been relying heavily on it since day one. We passed last season's bunt total before we even started conference play. Not that we don't bomb it out every now and then, as Mikie Mahtook continues to be near the top of the league in homers, but manufacturing runs the hard way is the MO this year. I don't totally agree with it either, as I think it sacrifices too many outs just to get a guy around and hope you can get him in.

It's probably something you hear every fan of every team complain about at some point, but a lack of timely hitting is really what has killed us this year and it's both kinds for us. First, we leave way too many guys on base, 233 so far this year. It's related to what I've already stated about our gameplan this season. Too often we'll get a runner or two in scoring position with 2 outs and the next guy at the plate Ks or pops out. You'd think that could be rectified by moving the batting order around, but so far we can't seem to find something that works. The other timely hitting problem is that we seem to just shut down in the clutch. In many of our league losses, the Florida series especially, we've dropped 1-run games because we never seem to find that clutch hit when our backs are against the wall. All those losses where we know we could have won if we just had that one hit take a toll on you emotionally, because you know you were good enough to win and you didn't.

2. You've seen him in person more than me, but what happened to Matty Ott? Is it mental with him? Do you even feel comfortable with him closing games at this point?

I think there are two schools of thought about Ott's struggles. One says that it's a mental thing that's still carrying over from last season. The other is that his Freshman season was a fluke and he really isn't the all-world closer we thought he was. I'm of the first opinion but I'm starting to worry that it may be the latter. Frankly, he hasn't been the same since this exact weekend last year. We had a home stand against Bama and were deadlocked in the 9th on Sunday afternoon. Ott had only had a brief outing in the friday game, so we sent him out and he ends up staying in until the 14th. We won the game, but he was never the same. I'll be uncomfortable with him closing until I see him do it successfully in a league game again. That's just the way it is with closers, you trust them implicitly until they let you down, then you have no trust until they prove themselves again. However, now that Kevin Berry is having issues (see the disaster that was last Saturday at Arkansas) we may have no choice. If we have more than one save situation this weekend, I expect to see Ott pitch one of them

3. What's been the frustrating point of the season? Can you pinpoint the low point?

That's easy because it just happened. After the crushing 9th inning losses at Arkansas, we came home this past Tuesday and lost to Northwestern St. for the first time in a decade (and we play them almost every year, sometimes twice) They were a bad Southland conference team, but our bats were just dead. It reached the very bottom when their reliever, who was no ace coming in, K'd 10 of the final 13 batters. We just stood there and took it.

4. Do you think the Bengals can turn it around? Can the team that swept Fullerton return?

One thing the Mainieri Era at LSU has shown is that we can always turn it around and get on a hot streak. In '08 we had a middling club that suddenly won 23- straight and went all the way to Omaha. Last year we were tanking in the 2nd half of the conference slate, but we turned it on just in time to make and sweep the conference tourney and make the post season. Mainieri is not averse to sometimes drastic lineup shakeups in order to find a spark and the return this week of star running back Spencer Ware to the team after spring ball might be just what we needed. We are so close to winning some of these games, that you just have to believe things will start going our way again.

5. LSU has a huge crop of Freshman talent. How have they fared this year? Better than expected or going through some growing pains? Would you call this a "rebuilding" year (even though I hate that term)?

We haven't seen a lot of the freshmen and transfers (almost half of the roster is new to the team this year) in meaningful playing time, but the few that have are mostly impressive. True Freshman JaCoby Jones was moved to 2B from 3B the day before the first game and has flourished defensively and was a monster slugger at the plate. He's struggled a bit since we moved him up from the 9-hole a few weeks ago, but overall an impressive season. Ty Ross at catcher has the unenviable task of following one of our all-time greats at the position after Micah Gibbs left for the draft. He was a bit rocky to start, but I'm seeing improvement out of him as the weeks have gone on. He still gives up way too many steals at 2B for my liking, but he's getting there.

6. Why do I keep drafting Brad Hawpe for my Fantasy Baseball team?

The same reason I keep drafting Matt LaPorta, or Caddy Williams and/or Ronnie Brown in fantasy football. You remember the guys who crushed you.

Who Goes on the Wall?

2011-04-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

The question was posed…so who did Auburn fans think deserves enshrinement on the Outfield Wall?

@kylebwde Kyle Bradbury

I'd put Hal Baird on the wall.

Justin Murphy @murpho5

gabe gross

Tyler Nay @TylerHNay

Mark Bellhorn. We share a birthday, he was drafted out of HS, and he won a WS

Justin Malone @jwm0004

how about hunter Morris, mark bellhorn, gabe gross, and throw in Hal Baird...

Elliot Cook @Elliott_Cook

A 20 ft. Casey Dunn used to be featured above the dairy section in the old Auburn Bruno's. Even they knew he was the obvious choice.

you could always dedicate the wall to Vestavia's indelible contribution to AU Baseball. Dunn, Halla, Waggoner, Dearth and many more..

And Finally, via e-mail from Ted Hilley

Q V Lowe for absolute certain...one of the most influential players ever at AU.

Joe Beckwith and Todd Walker if we are only looking at their college careers,

So, a couple of votes for Gabe Gross and Hal Baird. Regardless of the school’s final choice, Auburn has a dearth of the choices for enshrinement.

Tweet of the Week: Who Goes on the Wall?

2011-04-13T09:18:00.001-07:00

You already know my choice. Now, let’s hear from you. Who do YOU think Auburn should honor on their Outfield Wall of Fame? There are a ton of names, and here’s just a few to get you started:

Pat Duke
Larry Nichols
Jimmy Barfield
QV Lowe
Dom Fucci
John Powell
Jay Waggoner
Mark Bellhorn
Ryan Halla
Finley Woodward
Casey Dunn
Brent Schoening
Chris Bootcheck
Todd Faulkner
Gabe Gross
Steven Register
John Madden
Brian Fletcher
Hunter Morris
Joe Beckwith
Scott Sullivan

You tell me. You can Tweet me @AUPPL

Or Send me an Email: PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com

I’ll post the results and choices on Friday Morning.

Regional Radar (April 13)

2011-04-13T09:08:00.001-07:00

Once we reach the halfway point of the season, the Regional Projections are going to come flooding in. Where does Auburn stand as the Tigers head to LSU this weekend?

SITE	HOST	Seed 2	Seed 3	Seed 4	Location
ESPN	UVA	AUBURN	UConn	J. Madison	Charlottesville, VA
SEBaseball	Ga Tech	AUBURN	Louisville	Wright St	Atlanta, GA
CB Daily	OUT	OUT	OUT	OUT	OUT

At the time of writing, Perfect Game hadn’t released their projections yet. Also, I’m taking the College Baseball Daily projections with a grain of salt. Not only were they the ONLY group to exclude Auburn, they also still have Clemson hosting AND have a regional consisting of Southern Miss, Troy, Texas Tech, and Jacksonville State, which I don’t think the NCAA would even dream about doing. Still, they spend more time covering college baseball than I do and are entitled to their opinions.

Not all sites will rank and actually seed the teams, some will just list a “Who’s In” and “Who’s Out” such as College Baseball Insider who says:

Auburn (5-7, 18-14, RPI 16) and Georgia (8-4, 18-15, RPI 17) both need to keep their overall record above .500 to get in the field.

Or one of the best judges, Baseball America who says this about the Tigers:

Auburn is also on the bubble, with an 18-14 overall mark, but the Tigers helped their cause with a sweep of Kentucky last week, so they stay in our field. We're keeping LSU (just 3-9 in the SEC) out of the bubble category by a thread, based almost solely on its series sweep of Cal State Fullerton. But this weekend's LSU-Auburn series is huge.

Digging Deeper

At this point, with the SEC being a jumble and the high RPI, the SEC is being mentioned as a 10 bid league, something that has never happened before. I’d have to double check, but I think the most the league has ever received has been 9 bids. 10 bids would be very interesting. Still, I think the race will shake itself and the SEC will stay as a normal 8 bid league.

Arizona State is an interesting case and it should affect the SEC laterally. The Sun Devils are currently in position to host, but the NCAA has yet to rule on their Postseason ban and the ruling may not come until after the bids are announced.

Auburn is on the cusp. The Tigers have a high RPI but really have very little room for error. We’ve got the RPI to get in, but the record has to be there. There’s a ton of baseball to be played and Auburn has a lot of business to take care of. Can we host? VERY doubtful, but after the sweep at State, that should be the last thing in Auburn’s mind. The goal right now is making it to Hoover and then the NCAA will take care of itself. You can tell Auburn is on the cusp just by the seedings released by ESPN and SEBaseball. Yes, the Tigers are a 2 seed in both, but they are traveling to two tough regionals with solid Big East foes as openers.

The number that desperately needs to improve (or at least get to .500) is Auburn’s record against RPI Top 50 Competition. Boyd releases an RPI Needs report, and since Auburn’s RPI is so high right now, there isn’t a whole lot of direction the Tigers can move. To get in the Top 8 (according to Boyd) Auburn would need to go 22-2 down the stretch, to stay in the Top 16 (17-7), Top 32 (11-13), and Top 45 (7-17). Basically, Auburn’s could easily slide down, but it’s very tough for the Tigers to move up.

The Resume

Record	18-14
vs RPI 1-50 (Nolan)	5-11
vs RPI 51-100	4-0
vs RPI 101-200	8-3
vs RPI 201+	1-0
Bad Losses	Radford (126), Jax St (108), Bethune (147)
Key Wins	Arkansas (12), Alabama (32), Arizona State (7), Troy (25)
Nolan RPI	15
Boyd RPI	13
NCAA RPI	15
Nolan Power	62
Nolan Strength of Schedule	2
Boyd SOS	8
Boyd ISR	38

So what’s the remainder of the Schedule look like for Auburn? Well, for starters each of the SEC series have big RPI consequences. LSU (28), Ole Miss (34), South Carolina (5), Georgia (16), and Alabama (32). Tennessee is the only team on the outside looking in with their RPI of 79. Let’s say, Hypothetically, that Auburn takes a series from LSU and Ole Miss, then Auburn’s record against RPI Top 50 would swing to 9-13. If they take a game from Carolina? 10-14. Series from Georgia? 12-15. Series from Alabama? 14-16. All of that is best case scenario.

Another team for Auburn to watch out for is Samford. The Bulldogs are currently 66 in the Nolan RPI. If they can improve their standing and jump into the RPI top 50, it would help Auburn’s record. Same goes for UAB (62) and College of Charleston (56).

Bottom Line, Auburn has to take care of their own business first. Just get to Hoover, the rest falls in to place.

The Case for Q.V. Lowe

2011-04-12T14:46:00.001-07:00

He's one of the greatest pitchers in Auburn history, holds some incredible records, and yet, to some Auburn fans, he goes unnoticed. He's Q.V. Lowe and he deserves to be honored on Auburn's Outfield Wall of Fame. Lowe pitched just two years for Auburn (1966-1967) put his mark still comes through whenever a fan leafs through a media guide or Tiger record book.

1.69 Career ERA
10 Complete Games in 1967
23-3 Career Record
.885 Career Winning Percentage
5.87 Hits per Innings Pitched 1966
Career 5.87 Hits per Innings Pitched
15-1 Record in 1967
All American Honors
123 ks in 128 Innings in 1967
Led the Tigers to the 1967 College World Series
Enshrined on Auburn's Walk of Fame

Those are just the numbers (and a few honors) for Lowe. For most players, that alone should be enough to warrant induction because I don't think Auburn will anyone as dominant as Lowe was for a long, long time.

Still, there's something else that separates Lowe from most and that's his connection to Auburn through our sister school, AUM (Auburn University-Montgomery). Football might be king on the plains, but at AUM, it's baseball who wears that crown and Lowe is the man to thank. He took the Senators program and built it from scratch, earning NAIA Hall of Fame Honors and over 1,000 Career Victories over the years:

Back in 1986, Lowe was hired at AUM to start a baseball program. While winning is always a focus of any great coach, in the early days Lowe's thoughts were consumed with building a proper ballpark, recruiting and raising private funds to help run the program. Thanks to Lowe's tireless work ethic, all those details worked themselves out. He raised the money to build the field and to run the program.
And, according to assistant head coach Marty Lovrich, Lowe has never had a problem recruiting.
"He's great in so many areas, but you have to really look at his recruiting to see how we got here," Lovrich, a part of Lowe's AUM staff since 1990, told the Montgomery Advertiser. "You bring a kid in, they meet Q.V., the parents meet him and they call back two weeks later ready to sign. Everyone loves the guy. Everyone respects him for the man he is and the coach he is."
Lowe's recruiting prowess helped the AUM program mature quickly. The first three teams --- in 1987, 1988 and 1989 --- won seven, 19 and 28 games, respectively, with the 1989 team making the Senators' first postseason appearance.
Then, in 1990, the Senators exploded onto the NAIA scene with a 40-win season and a surprising postseason run that ended just short of a national championship when the Senators dropped the title game, 9-4, to Lewis-Clark. Since then, there have been no losing seasons and Lowe's Senators have made NAIA World Series appearances twice more --- in 1992 and 2006.

AUM is a powerhouse and it's Lowe's guidance that got them there:

After his collegiate playing days, Lowe played eight seasons for the Chicago Cubs and later coached in the Yankees and Expos organizations. He also spent eight seasons as the head coach of the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College baseball program.

...During his tenure, he has captured 923 victories, led the Senators to nine conference or independent region championships and made four trips to the NAIA World Series. Lowe has coached 70 all-conference players and 35 NAIA All-Americans.

Lowe was awarded the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1990, after his team was runner up at the NAIA World Series. He was inducted into the Auburn University Tiger Walk Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2007, he was named the Alabama Baseball Coaches Collegiate Coach of the Year.

He's touched lives and is still ticking:

“The numbers of lives touched by Q.V. Lowe’s leadership is uncountable,” Crotz said in an Auburn-Montgomery press release. “He has not only helped players in our program at AUM, but countless individuals during the year with various aspects of the game of baseball. A coach is often measured by his impact and the bond developed with his current and former players. Coach Lowe is the epitome of success and is very deserving of the highest honor the NAIA can bestow on a head coach.”

Lowe pointed out that more than the record, he was proud of the men that have left the Senators baseball program.

“Because of the baseball program, it’s safe to say is one of the top in the NAIA,” said Lowe. “If you called around to some of the other coaches they’d tell you that we are extremely competitive and most folks will tell you they’ve enjoyed playing us. When you come in here and start a program, you want to have one that’s clean. And you want the men on the team to get an education and make sure they are good for the community and will leave here and be good fathers and husbands and are good in the community. I hope that we’ve accomplished that and I think that being elected into the hall of fame shows that.”

It's because of Lowe's impact on the field while at Auburn and the legacy that he's built in Montgomery that he should be honored in the outfield with Gregg Olson, Frank Thomas, Tim Hudson, and Bo Jackson.

Cannon at Catcher: A Quick Look at Tony Caldwell's Numbers

2011-04-11T13:40:00.001-07:00

Sparked by @dmiller1856 and his late afternoon question:

Is any C in the league playing better than TC defensively?

Catching and Fielding is a very hard number to quantify in baseball. The numbers will be skewed and can be easily inflated. Fielding % isn't a hard and fast judge over who is a better catcher. I mean, a guy could have an unblemished F% but that could simply be because he never takes chances in the field. Tony's Fielding Percentage is .975 (6 errors) So I'll look at a few "Catcher Specific" Numbers in the SEC:

Passed balls
------------
1. Brandon Stephens, UG.......    7
 Matt Ramsey, UT............    7
3. Mike Zunino, UF............    4
 Taylor Hightower, UM.......    4
5. Brady Thomas, SC...........    3
 Ethan Bennett, UT..........    3
 Miles Hamblin, UM..........    3
8. 9 tied at..................    2

Tony is among that group of "Nine Tied at 2"

Steal attempts against
----------------------
1. Brandon Stephens, UG.......   44
2. Ty Ross, LS................   38
3. Brock Bennett, UA..........   33
4. Tony Caldwell, AU..........   30
5. Matt Ramsey, UT............   29
6. Wes Thigpen, MS............   28
7. Miles Hamblin, UM..........   26
 James McCann, AR...........   26
9. Michael Williams, UK.......   25
 Curt Casali, VU............   25
11.Mike Zunino, UF............   21
12.Luke Maile, UK.............   18

Simply put, Tony is among one of the most tested Catchers in the League

Stolen bases against
--------------------
1. Brandon Stephens, UG.......   41
2. Ty Ross, LS................   30
3. Brock Bennett, UA..........   24
4. Wes Thigpen, MS............   20
5. Curt Casali, VU............   19
 Miles Hamblin, UM..........   19
7. James McCann, AR...........   17
8. Michael Williams, UK.......   16
 Matt Ramsey, UT............   16
10.Mike Zunino, UF............   15
 Tony Caldwell, AU..........   15
12.2 tied at..................   12

Yet on this list? He drops way down. Showing just how tough it is to run on him.

Which is further evidenced here

Caught stealing by
------------------
1. Tony Caldwell, AU..........   15
2. Matt Ramsey, UT............   13
3. Brock Bennett, UA..........    9
 James McCann, AR...........    9
 Michael Williams, UK.......    9
6. Wes Thigpen, MS............    8
 Ty Ross, LS................    8
8. Miles Hamblin, UM..........    7
9. Curt Casali, VU............    6
 Mike Zunino, UF............    6
 Luke Maile, UK.............    6
12.Taylor Hightower, UM.......    5

Percentage-wise? (Stolen Bases Against/Steal Attempts Against)

Tony Caldwell (Auburn) 15/30 (.500)
Brandon Stephens (UGA) 41/44 (.930)
Ty Ross (LSU) 30/38 (.789)
Brock Bennett (Bama) 24/33 (.700)
Wes Thigpen (Miss St) 20/28 (.714)
Curt Casali (Vandy) 19/25 (.760)
Miles Hamblin (Ole Miss) 19/26 (.730)
James McCann (Arkansas) 17/26 (.653)
Mike Williams (UK) 16/25 (.640)
Matt Ramsey (UT) 16/29 (.551)
Mike Zunino (UF) 15/21(.714)

Missing from this list would be South Carolina which goes with a platoon occasionally with Brady Thomas taking the bulk of the duties (.750 %)

So, after looking at the numbers? I'd say, Yes. Tony is one of the best Catchers in the League.

Bury the Bad

2011-04-08T10:01:00.001-07:00

Baseball is a superstitious game. From Jobu to Dueces Wild and all points in between, Baseball players and fans will try everything to reverse a bit of bad mojo. I have my own personal superstitions when it comes to games. I wear the same hat, I use the same pencil to keep score, and I keep a lucky coin in my left pocket. Is it rational? Meh, probably not. So Auburn is in a rut. A huge rut. Losers of 6 straight SEC games and 8 straight overall. It’s a terrible slide that I’ve documented here. So what can be done? What can, I, as a fan, do to help the bad Auburn baseball mojo.

One thing I thought of was burying the bad. The bad in this case would be the Auburn losses. I came up with an idea (and I’ve heard this being employed elsewhere, but mainly in football):

They were headed to a funeral -- "a funeral for a football," Revis would say later.

Ryan gathered his players around a hole in the ground, just off a grass practice field, and placed a football into the earth -- a game ball from Monday night's embarrassing 45-3 loss to the New England Patriots.

According to some players, Ryan said, "We're burying this game and all that happened Monday night."

With that, the Jets interred the memory of their most lopsided defeat in nearly a quarter century -- or so they hope.

The hole was filled with dirt and covered with patches of sod. They skipped the tombstone. In two days, the Jets went from ripped to R.I.P.

Give Ryan points for creativity. Revis said it might have been Ryan's best motivational tactic ever. Several players said they'd never witnessed anything like it in football.

"I've never seen a coach do that," Revis said. "We all got the point. Usually, in the past, you hear a coach say, 'Let's bury this' and you have to visualize it. When you actually see it, you're like, 'Wow, this is serious.'"

Even if Rex Ryan wasn’t the first to do it.

It was an idea that was simple in execution and, hopefully, simple in its results. So I went to Wal-Mart and bought a cheap baseball (because these were cheap and hopefully easily disposable losses) and I wrote each loss to the Auburn baseball team, so far:

Then I drove to Campus today and found a proper place for burial. In this case, right behind the outfield wall. Pretty simple, I thought.

A couple of caveats. I didn’t bury it completely. I’m not an idiot. I didn’t want to raise any suspicion with some random guy coming on to campus and burying something underground. I simple put it where it should go and covered it in dirt. If the school moves it, that’s fine. I did my part (I think). Now, if any students want to finish the job, that’s fine. It’s easy to find and I didn’t want to do anything that would alarm the school.

This might seem like something stupid and trivial, but at this point, I think Auburn could use any good mojo they can get. So here’s to Auburn reversing this bad losing streak and refocusing on the rest of the season. Just Make it to Hoover, everything else should fall in to place.

War Eagle.

Finding an Answer

2011-04-06T14:09:00.001-07:00

I can't sugar coat this. These past 8 or 9 games for Auburn baseball have been tough to watch. Almost physically painful to watch. The road ahead looked pretty nice for Auburn. Coming off a big series win against Arkansas and in prime position to make a few waves in the SEC. Then came the Mississippi State buzzsaw and the Vanderbilt implosion and just like that Auburn went from the cieling to the cellar. 6 straight SEC losses, in-state drops to Troy and Jacksonville State and now the Tigers just sit a game over .500 overall. So is there an answer? Coach Pawlowski seems to think so:

"I'm not going to sit still," he said. "We're going to try to adjust things. We're going to maneuver guys around. We changed the rotation. I'm sure that when you go through something like this, we need to keep working, but there will be major changes made."

Read more: http://www.wareagleextra.com/2011/04/#ixzz1ImBB3vSF

So what are those major changes? Well, before we go in to that, let's look at Auburn's focus down the stretch. The season hit it's halfway point on Tuesday (although, Auburn didn't exactly start it out on the right foot) and the Tigers face a string of about 6 straight road games. First, let's look at the SEC standings:

Florida (7-2)
South Carolina (7-2)
Vanderbilt (7-2)
Alabama (7-2)
Georgia (6-3)
Ole Miss (4-5)
Mississippi State (4-5)
LSU (3-6)
Arkansas (3-6)
Auburn (2-7)
Kentucky (2-7)
Tennessee (2-7)

If the season ended today, Auburn would be sitting at home instead of going to Hoover. That's the bad news. The good news? Auburn is a series win away from jumping back into the mix, and a series sweep away from sliding into the middle. Playing and qualifying for the SEC is simple. Just be better than 4 teams. That's it. Thankfully for Auburn, the Tigers still have games against a majority of this competition to make up some ground.

That's also why these next two weekends are so vitally important for Auburn. Kentucky and LSU. The teams that right there are the bottom with Auburn. Wins in these series and you establish distance. That's why I'm not too worried about Arkansas. Auburn still has the series win over them in their back pocket. Say Auburn rights the ship and takes a series from LSU and Kentucky? Then that's 3 of the 4 teams around you that you've distanced yourself from. With Tennessee still on the schedule, Ole Miss (and who knows what teams shows up then) and Georgia (who have an odd combination of luck and tenancity these days). Auburn has series that I can safely call "winnable". Auburn will need these, desperately.

Why? I'll stand by this thinking. Even if Auburn is the 8th seed into Hoover, just making it will cement a place in the NCAA post season. That's the goal right now. Go to Hoover and punch your dance card.

The Issue(s)

Auburn, right now, has two major issues. The first is defense with two outs. The numbers (which I don't have at hand) are astounding. It lead to implosions against Vanderbilt and Troy. I don't have an immediate answer for this. My main theory is that it's a byproduct of Auburn's pitching. I can't think of any of our pitchers who have a garunteed "out" pitch. Everything for the Auburn hurlers seems to build off of fastballs. That's nothing odd. A ton of pitchers do that. It's a pretty common strategy. However, once those fastballs are thrown, established, and used, it's a bit tough to go back to that well. It becomes obvious. Hitters can just tee off and sit back and wait. Luckie has a bit of a changeup. Slade has a sinker. Morris a pretty solid curve. That's about it. So when crunch time comes and Auburn can only throw up "Dead Reds" we are going to get killed.

The second issue is kind of a by-product of the first. It's the lack of consistent pitching. From starters to the bullpen (but mainly the bullpen, honestly) I don't know if there is a guy right now, outside of Derek Varnadore, that I'd have completely faith in on the hill.

Issue one and issue two are so symbiotic that they can almost be lumped into one huge major issue. Some people might look at the offense as an issue. In a way? Yes. However, when you look at it. The bats have been there. Even last night. The issue with the offense is just a matter of timely hitting.

The Answer(s)

Pawlowski mentioned "major changes". I'm not sure what he's going to qualify as a "major change". All I can do is theorize/postulate with a few bullet points:

The Rotation is still going to be patchwork. For now, I think it shakes out as Andrew Morris, Jon Luke Jacobs, Derek Varnadore.

Cory Luckie and Slade Smith are going to have to prove themselves out of the bullpen before moving back into the rotation.

Dillon Ortman will have a more prominent role out of the bullpen and possibly be a darkhorse to start.

Not a theory, but just a suggestion. Maybe Auburn should warm up multiple guys when we go to the bullpen. There have been too many times when guys have been left to dry because we didn't have any available arms.

Will Kendall needs to have a more prominant role. He had some nice flashes on Tuesday and he would give Auburn another Lefty arm.

Bobby Andrews will see more and more playing time in the OF. Possibly pushing Creede Simpson out of the lineup.

At some point, Auburn needs to completely figure out Zach Alvord's role. If you are going to play him at SS, you have to keep McElroy (and his iffy defense) at 2B. That moves Hargett out. You could put Gamache at 3B and DH Hargett, but that pushes Wes Gilmer out. That's the biggest mess Auburn has offensively. Hargett and Patterson didn't even start Tuesday but they need to see the field in order for Auburn to win. Putting Gilmer at 1B just isn't the best option.

Jay Gonzalez isn't completely ready yet. He's getting close, but until he can hit left handed pitching, he needs to be a base runner solely.

So those are just some theories. We'll see what happens this weekend. These next two series are as close to "Must-Win" as Auburn can face right now.

You Need a Response? Here.

2011-03-29T22:55:00.001-07:00

For the uninitiated, Clay Travis sent a couple of tweets out late last night:

Auburn "family" = absolutely silent.

No denial yet? Uh oh

Take money and lie = all in. Take money and tell truth = all out. Welcome to Auburn.

Here’s referring to this about the upcoming Real Sports HBO Special.

Clay wanted a response, here’s one from an Auburn fan and grad.

What would you like me to do? Sit here and say I condone cheating? That I have to think that, as an Auburn fan, anything the team does I have to agree with and take as a barometer for how to live my life? Am I also supposed to sit and agree and believe every allegations leveled at the program. Especially when one of the parties involved has been discredited by not only his former High School Coach, but by other Auburn players as well? Or Another Auburn player who’s distaste/distrust of the school is well documented, who is interviewed with another player who had all the talent in the world, but never saw a significant snap. Perhaps a fourth, who I can’t even remember playing for Auburn (but that’s just me in this case).

I can’t. I can’t sit here and do that. Why? Because when it comes to Auburn football and allegations, I honestly take a Serenity Prayer approach to the whole thing:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference

That’s not putting my head in the sand. That’s not arranging deckchairs on the Titanic or whatever other cliché or hyperbole you’d like to throw out. No, it’s just how it is. The last time I checked (and that was this morning) Gene Chizik is the head football coach at Auburn. Was he the head coach of these players? Nope. Their coach is currently in West Texas in some type of football purgatory.

Still, let’s take a realistic and rational approach to this. If there was a systematic cheating system in place that involved sex and money for players, why would it take more than 5 years for it to be uncovered. Better yet, if Auburn WAS paying players, don’t you think we could have done a lot better than this or this as our starting quarterback? Not to knock those guys (they’re still better football players than I could ever hope to be), but if we were actually paying players this systematically and this blatantly over the past few years, we could have done a bit better with our money.

You asked why Auburn fans weren’t responding. You also asked this question at around 11:30 CST. Most Auburn fans I know have actual jobs that require at least some modicum of sleep (present company excluded, I have a job, I just work nights). Asking this question and then getting dumbfounded by the lack of responses is akin to the drunk guy who shows up to your house at 2:00am and wonders why no one wants to party with him. We’ve got lives outside of football. We don’t get paid to fill content between commercials on Nashville Radio.

Are you expecting Auburn fans to riot or something? For us to take pitchforks and arms and burn down Samford Hall? Unlike Tennessee, we don’t have a chunk of rock that we can graffiti when we get pissed off.

Let’s take your worst case scenario and play it out. Let’s hypothetically suppose each of the allegations is true. What then? Are you hoping (like many Alabama fans are) that Auburn will get the Death Penalty and be forced to bump down to Division III, filling our schedule with Miles College, Tuskegee, and Birmingham Southern (Go Panthers)?

You chastise Auburn for taking a “no comment” approach at this point. What were you expecting? The school to have a full press release ready to deploy, issuing denial after denial. In some cases, that doesn’t really work out for the best. A “no comment” most of the time is just that. A lack of comment. It’s not some backhanded way of saying, “oh yeah, you guys totally busted us, but we’re just gonna clam up right now”. No, it’s a simple, “No Comment”.

You can continue to mock and belittle Auburn for saying “The Auburn Family” and “All In”. Bravo, you’re disagreeing with marketing. You might as well start shaking your fist in righteous anger at Alka-Seltzer, because they might say “Plop. Plop. Fizz. Fizz. Oh, what a relief it is” but damnit, you’re a Nexium man and Speedy the Alka-Seltzer imp (or whatever he is) is just wrong.

I won’t even sit here and take exception at the mocking of Auburn family, because trying to explain it to you would be like trying to explain why Democracy really works to a Marxist. At the end of the day, you’re just gonna believe what you’re gonna believe.

Do I think this is some grand Conspiracy Theory by Alabama Boosters to bring Auburn down? No. Not at all. That gives them too much credit. They actually have bigger things to worry about (like keeping Anthony Grant on the Capstone).

You asked for a comment from an Auburn fan. A response. Something besides a request for you to engage in Coprophagia (you can google that if you want but make sure Safe Search is on). Here it is plain and simple:

I, an Auburn fan, just don’t care. It might bother me in the back of my mind. It might gnaw at me slightly, but at the end of the day, I’ll believe Auburn is in trouble when the PLOI is dropped off at the Athletic Complex. Until then, these just become unsubstantiated allegations made by people with bitterness and resentment. If players were getting paid and in such a complex and blatant way, you’d think we’d either A) see the product on the field (I mean at least SMU got Eric Dickerson and Craig James) or B) it would have come out a LONG time ago. At my core, I’m a realist. Occam's Razor still applies here. You can say Auburn is “dirty” and “tarnished” and whatever other adjective you can throw from Roget’s. At the end of the day, I’m still an Auburn fan and I'll remain one. I’ve seen the best of times and the worst of times. My devotion is unwavering. You can call me oblivious, delusional, what have you. What I can do is trust people who have more time and energy invested in to this program. Men who’s cheating would cost them not only their jobs, but their lives.

This is just how I feel. I want to see actual hard evidence. Auburn produces engineers, not criminal masterminds. Even when we foray in to the later, it doesn’t take long until we’re busted.

What will never change is the love I have for my school and my town. A school that gave me the best four years of my life and the school I try to repay a debt to in any way I can.

War Eagle

You want to email? feel free. PlainsmanParkingLot@Gmail.com Have at it.

What to Watch For: The Uphill Climb

2011-03-29T14:40:00.001-07:00

So it begins for Auburn. The toughest stretch so far of the season. A stretch, that by all accounts, Auburn could have dropped a few games in and still be in good shape. However, after the disaster in Starkville this past weekend, Auburn is put in a very tough spot. Just 4 games over .500 and a schedule has the next four games against ranked opponents. Not only are these teams ranked, but Vanderbilt will come in as the Number One team in the country. Yes, technically, the next 5 games are against ranked teams (because we play Troy next Tuesday as well), but we'll worry about that next Monday. At least these next four are at home, a place where Auburn is comfortable. They are vitally important because this weekend and these next four games will either serve as a springboard, or possibly, the fuse that begins a season implosion.

Sorry to make it sound so grim, but that's just how it is. Scuffling isn't the right word for what's happening right now. No, this is an absolute tailspin and how Auburn responds will show a lot about the future of Auburn baseball in 2011.

What Am I Watching For?

RESPONDING WITH TWO OUTS

How Auburn responds with two outs, both offensively, but mainly defensively. Mississippi State absolute killed the Tigers scoring with two outs last weekend. It's basic baseball, you need to shut the door. Two outs (and in most cases two outs and two strikes) start so many chain reactions in baseball. Runners leave early and take risks, guys don't worry about tagging up, defenses shift suddenly, swings become shorter. Two Out at bats are the catalysts for good teams. Singles rack up RBIs, double devastate and offenses can really blow innings open. All it takes is two outs.

It's demoralizing, too. You're this close to ending the frame, limiting the damage, and having a chance to respond. If you don't then you have to start all over again and the snowball just grows larger and larger.

Offensively it's the same thing. You want a team that fights. I hate to use Alabama as an example, but the Crimson Tide softball team has a huge motto, it's plastered on the foul poles and around the dugout. It simply says: Two Away? So What? (or something to that affect). No at-bat should be viewed as a final at-bat, baseball isn't a finite game. It's never over until you say it's over. If there are two outs? So what? Keep fighting and keep playing smart.

Jon Luke Jacobs and the Weekend Impact

JLJ gets the start on the hill tonight. His start is of vital importance, but reading between the lines, it's who doesn't make an appearance tonight that could start a big change for the weekend. I'm looking for Andrew Morris. Morris is next in line for a weekend start. If he doesn't take the mound tonight, then I'd say he has about a 70% chance of starting this weekend.

JLJ needs to go deep into tonight's game. He has to eat up innings and prove just what kind of pitcher he is. This is just check time for him. Once he's done though, whoever comes next will tip the hand for the weekend. If it's Morris, then we can assume the weekend rotation is Luckie, Irvin, Varnadore. If it's Luckie? Then all bets are off.

Personally, I think Irvin should at least throw an inning. Auburn needs to know if last Saturday was an aberration, or the new norm for him. If Irvin can't locate his fastball, then he's lost his spot. It's as simple as that. He couldn't locate it Saturday and State pretty much took BP against him. If he can come in, locate, look good? Then Irvin could maintain that Saturday slot. If not? Well, Morris is nipping at the heels.

If Cory Luckie comes in, then it's going to be a surprise, but it's going to show me that Coach Pawlowski isn't playing favorites. He's here to win. Yes, Luckie is a senior, but if he can't get the job done then he has to move to the bullpen. He did it last year and it actually worked out a little better for him.

Finally, I want to see what Slade Smith does. If he makes an appearance tonight, I hope it's a confidence builder. He's gotten battered a bit and it could be something as simple as a lack of break on his sinker. Possibly pitch placement. Slade has a tendency to leave pitches up and batters will feast.

The Bats to Come Out Hot

This is a minor thing, but something big for Auburn. The pitchers need cushion. They need a little wiggle room. When Auburn wins, they score early. Over the weekend, that response and attitude wasn't there. That early stat of Auburn coming out and outscoring opponents over something like a 3:1 margin the first three innings? I'm sure that's come back down to earth a bit. In order for Auburn to right the ship, that's one of the first things that needs to return.

Assorted Odds and Ends

One player to watch for? Bobby Andrews. I think he might have played himself into some regular PT and tonight would be a good chance for him to bring a little spark.

Hargett has struggled a bit. It looks like CJP isn't going to make him work through it, instead, Zach Alvord is getting another shot in the infield.

Speaking of the infield. Gamache will make his first go at third base (Caldwell will DH). That's a shrewd move. Gamache had some fielding issues and I hope the lay off doesn't affect him.

Lastly, I just want a win. I desperately want a win. I want so bad for Auburn baseball to be good and watching a struggle like this is physically painful.

Why? Because I see the opportunity in the SEC and I see that Auburn isn't taking this Golden Chance.

War Eagle and Let's Get 'Em Tigers.

Gene Chizik and Vampires: A PSA

2011-03-29T09:08:00.001-07:00

It all started with an offhand comment; at least I think it was an offhand comment. There’s a distinct possibility that Gene Chizik actually believes in Energy Vampires:

Chizik’s message to all the so-called haters is simple. In short, get a good look at the ring.
“Whatever people want to say or whatever somebody is comfortable talking about in terms of talk radio or other places, we have absolutely no control over that,” Chizik said. “But here’s what we know: We are the national champions, and we were the best football team in the United States last year. There’s nothing I have to do to defend our honor for that.
“They’re going to say what they’re going to say and discuss what they’re going to discuss, and you have absolutely no control over that. I call those energy vampires. They’re not going to suck my energy out worrying about that. That’s how we work.”

Then again, “Energy Vampires” have an actual Wikipedia page, so that adds some credence to the term. As does an entry from someone claiming to be a “Doctor”. Yes, on that same website there is an extended entry from “Dr.” Goldberg where, when asked if he’s a time traveler responds with this:

If I am a time traveler, I most definitely would be from the 35th century when teleportation is developed as a means of time travel.

The answer to the question am I a time traveler? I can only say that a true chrononaut takes an oath never to reveal that fact, unless it is an emergency to do so. To do so would be a breach of what is known as timeline international security laws that exist in the future. Chrononauts always seek to stimulate the intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth. The answer to the question am I a time traveler can best be determined by you.

But we’re getting off track. Coach Chizik was actually making us aware of a very legitimate issue. Vampires among us. So, let’s heed his warning and know your vampires:

For those playing at home, we have Dracula, Blacula, Count Chocula, Count Von Count, Bat-Boy, Edward Cullen, George Hamilton, and playing the role of the Energy Vampire, we have the 10,000 Volt Ghost from Scooby Doo. Sorry, no room for Count Duckula, because he’s a duck and duck vampires don’t exist. Oh, and id you were wondering about George Hamilton, go rent Love at First Bite:

I’d ignore Once Bitten, although it does have its moments:

Is Disaster the right word?

2011-03-27T14:12:00.001-07:00

I’m sitting here and typing this during Auburn’s Sunday game against Mississippi State. Even if Auburn manages a rally with two innings left (It’s 5-0 Maroons Bottom 7) this weekend will not go as planned for Auburn. On paper, Auburn was and probably still is the better team than Mississippi State. On the field? Not so much. It’s hard to pinpoint just what went wrong this weekend. There are some glaring issues and I’ll go into those in a minute. First, though, it’s just hard to fathom just how bad Auburn played this weekend. A team coming off a series win over a solid Arkansas club, playing a team that in all truthfulness is still putting pieces together. In a perfect world, it would have been a sweep, and in the least, Auburn should have taken the series. That didn’t happen. Now, Auburn is facing a huge uphill battle for the next few weeks.

So what happened? The main answer is two out pitching. Auburn could not close the door all weekend. They’d get in great position to limit damage but couldn’t get that right pitch and the floodgates would just stay open. I’ll have to double check the boxscores but I think MSU scored more than 75% of their runs this weekend with 2 outs. That’s been a problem all season and this weekend it just exploded this weekend. What was once just a minor issue has become a major problem. A huge glaring problem. But is that the biggest problem?

For now, yes. Personally I think the issue is starting pitching and inconsistency. Will Irvin absolutely imploded on Saturday. That kind of set the tone for rest of the weekend. By the time Auburn blinked (or rather, headed into the 2nd) they were already down 8-0 with 6 of those runs coming with 2 outs. Corey Luckie had another rough start, but at least gutted it out Friday to get some solid innings.

I can’t fault Varnadore. Yes, he took his first loss of his Auburn career but for his part it was solid but the offense wasn’t there to bail him out. At least he put Auburn in position to win.

And as I finish that paragraph Auburn drops the Sunday final and sits at 14-10 and 2-4 in the league. That’s the number the really needs to focused on. The record. Because Auburn has exactly 1 day to right the ship. The Tigers are mired in this 4 game muck and it are facing a huge uphill battle.

We’ll know Monday morning just how big that hill is, but now, as I see it, Auburn will be facing a Top 25 caliber club in Troy and probably the nation’s #1 team in Vanderbilt. That’s four games against tougher competition that Mississippi State.

The SEC West standings are completely pear-shaped with LSU at the bottom, Arkansas and Auburn next to last, and Alabama and Mississippi State at the top. There’s still movement there, but it’s the overall record and really the mentality that could come with dropping to 14-14 and 2-7 in the SEC if thinks don’t get corrected fast.

So here’s how I look at it. Auburn has Monday to completely wash the bitter taste of this sweep out of their mouths. A win on Tuesday and we can (maybe) consider this a little blip in the road and a building block for a huge weekend series on the Plains. A recoverable misstep. A loss? Then the steam roll can keep going and it might be too much for Auburn to recover from.

The season restarts with Troy on Tuesday.

Regional Radar (3/25)

2011-03-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

Projections

	HOST	1 SEED	2 SEED	3 SEED	4 SEED
CB Daily	Clemson	Clemson	AUBURN	Charleston	Stony Brook

Just one projection this week and it still has Clemson hosting, and I’m still scratching my head. Still, there is a bit of hope for Auburn’s hosting chances and it comes from Kendall Rogers and Perfect Game:

The national seeds: We’re still a couple of weeks away from beginning our official weekly NCAA postseason projections, but that doesn’t keep us away from our own crystal ball. If the season ended today, our national seeds, in order, would be Florida, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Texas A&M. UF is 10-1 vs. RPI Top 50, Virginia is 10-2 vs. RPI Top 50, Vanderbilt is 4-2 vs. RPI Top 50, Fresno State is 9-0 vs. RPI Top 50, Georgia Tech is 4-0 vs. RPI Top 50, South Carolina is 6-3 vs. RPI Top 50 and Texas A&M is 6-3 vs. RPI Top 50.

How about those hosts?: While we’re talking national seeds, we can’t not talk about regional hosts. If the season ended today, other regional hosts besides the national seeds would include Stanford, North Carolina, Auburn, Texas, Baylor, LSU, Rice and East Carolina. Others to watch include Cal State Fullerton, TCU, Southern Mississippi, Clemson and Oregon State.

For Auburn it’s all going to come down to RPI and right now it’s pretty healthy:

Resume:

Record	14-7
Boyd RPI (change)	8 (+3)
Nolan RPI (change)	8 (+2)
Boyd ISR (change)	29 (-7)
Nolan NPI (change)	45 (-10)
Key Wins	Arizona St (1), Arkansas (2), Alabama (1)
Bad Losses	JSU, Radford, Bethune
Nolan SOS	5 (+10)
Boyd SOS	35
vs RPI 1-50	4-4
vs RPI 51-100	3-0
vs RPI 101-200	6-3
vs RPI 200+	1-0

Good News

Thank you Arkansas and Alabama. The Hawgs (44) and Tide (49) jumped a bit in RPI, which helped Auburn add 3 more wins in the RPI 1-50 win category. Auburn is now sitting pretty at a healthy 8 rpi. A sweep against Mississippi State (33) would really help Auburn.

The Bad News

Charleston continues to slide and are down to 64 in the Nolan RPI. The Jacksonville State loss is going to sting a bit (110) but both the Gamecocks and the Radford Highlanders (105) are right on the cusp of boosting their RPI. Which would eliminate all but 1 of those bad losses (the Bethune loss and their 162 RPI still remains).

Stock Report (3/25)

2011-03-25T08:59:00.001-07:00

When Auburn can actually get all of their hitters back on the same page, then we can truly be a force to reckon with. By “on the same page” I mean everybody is hitting a high clip and steadily increasing our averages. Still, this is probably the hottest the team has been offensively with only 1 player in a slump. You want the best explanation for Auburn’s success against Arkansas? It’s Creede Simpson. Sure, Casey McElroy got most of the headlines, but Creede has been steadily increasing his offense and getting back on track. He’s hitting .500 over his past 3 games and is hitting almost double his normal average. Who else is Hot? Who’s Not? Let’s take a look:

Heating Up

BATTER	AVG	3 GAME	% CHANGE
Fradejas	.319	.364	.045
McElroy	.404	.500	.096
Simpson	.257	.500	.243
Caldwell	.246	.333	.087

Gamache didn’t make the cut here. He had a bit of a struggle over the weekend (.200 for the series) but he’s still hitting at a .338 clip and had a nice 2 for 4 night on Tuesday against JSU. Patterson is holding steading and after his monster Arkansas series (.429) his steadied himself at around .250

Cooling Off

BATTER	AVG	3 GAME	% CHANGE
Gilmer	.354	.182	-.172

Wes is in a bit of a funk, but his overall average of .354 and the fact that he’s finishing up a long hitting streak will keep him in the lineup for the time being. Still, he needs a good bounce back this weekend.

5P Primer: Mississippi State

2011-03-25T08:30:00.001-07:00

Welcome to what I like to call “Bear Trap Weekend”. We all know what a “Trap Game” in football is, a game that the better team could easily overlook and then lose because the better team was looking ahead. This weekend is a bit different. It’s not just a trap game, it’s a bear trap. Sure, Auburn might get trapped, but if it does, the affects and damage will be even more damaging and bloody than usual. It’s bigger than a trap, it’s a bear trap. On paper, Auburn is a much better team than Mississippi State. Next weekend, against Vanderbilt probably has some of Auburn’s focus. However, Auburn can’t look ahead. The focus has to be on Mississippi State. If it’s not, then the damage will be very painful.

Trap 1: A Road Series
Trap 2: An opponent Auburn hasn’t lost a series to in 3 years.
Trap 3: A team with obvious flaws, but obviously hungry for an upset.
Trap 4: An Auburn team possibly looking ahead to next weekend
Trap 5: Hangover from a midweek loss

Why? Well, partly because of next weekend. Auburn needs a good pad before it takes on the team 1b in the Nation (Vanderbilt). Let’s play with the hypotheticals a bit. The very worst case for Auburn is to be swept by MSU. That would put that Tigers not at square one next weekend, but at square negative one. We be going into the VU series with a losing SEC record (2-4) and with absolutely no momentum. Let’s say we drop the series but don’t get swept. Great, now we will go into the Vandy series with a .500 SEC Mark.

No, what makes this game even more important is that MSU is in the SEC West. A win and Auburn has scratched off 2 of it’s 4 SEC West competition. We’ve established a comfortable lead and actually will have some wiggle room going forth in the season.

This series against the Maroons is a big one. Every weekend is really, but this one especially. Auburn is coming off a midweek disappointment and MSU is tough at home, no matter the record. Auburn needs to win. They need to hope for the sweep.

One of the more overlooked things this past weekend was the revamped lineup for Auburn that saw Creede batting in the 9 hole and loaded a bit of Auburn’s power toward the bottom of the order. Hargettt, Fradejas, McElroy, Gamache, GIlmer, Caldwell, Patterson, Beisner/Wacker, Simpson. It’s a solid lineup and it produced in unexpected ways for Auburn. Personally, I love that lineup. It puts out hottest hitters out in front and gives a better chance to produce runs and create big innings. I know that when Creede fully heats back up that he might move up the order (probably flipping with Fradejas) but I’d hope the majority of the order stays intact. It’s not a lineup with big obvious holes. It’s a proactive and offensively minded setup.

Offensively, Auburn is in good shape. They tagged Arkansas DJ Baxendale for his first earned runs of the year (and actually completely knocked him out of Arkansas’s rotation) and it kept producing and putting pressure on the opposition. Auburn has had one of the most surprising starts this year:

Auburn has outscored its opponents 59-14 over the first three innings of games and didn't allow a run in the first three innings of a game until the ninth game of the season (vs. Bethune-Cookman, March 2) ... Of Auburn's 13 home runs, seven of them have come in the first three innings of games ... Auburn is 6-2 when scoring in the first inning and 11-5 when it scores first ... The team is also hitting .343 (93-for-271) over the first three innings of games.

No, the issue now is with the bullpen. If it’s not one thing, it’s another for Auburn. For a bit it was the middle innings (5/6) and how the bullpen would just utterly collapse. Now it’s being pushed back so that inning 7 and 8 (the more critical innings) are the ones giving the Tiger’s trouble. Why? It’s pretty simple. Auburn can’t do a good job of keeping inherited runners from scoring. The Auburn starters will come in and hit the proverbial wall in the 7th inning and leave in some bit of trouble. Then the bullpen gets to work and leads get lost.

I think, and again I’m not the coach, that Auburn isn’t fully utilizing their bullpen. We will tap on the same few guys. Perhaps a change of blood is in order. Instead of the normal look of Hendrix, Ray, and then Wallen; I’d personally like to see a guy like Jon Luke Jacobs see if he can bring a change of pace. Slade Smith is still working out a few bullpen kinks. Zach Blatt can be brilliant (see Alabama/Arkansas) or brilliantly bad. Hendrix is still a mystery. Ortman is a wildcard. I know Auburn doesn’t have a true closer, but if Wallen is becoming that defacto guy, then he needs to be used in that regard. There is always a bit of trepidation when I see him come in during the 7th inning. Wallen will be stellar for two innings but then he will just get gassed a bit. It’s almost too much for him to handle. No, JLJ is the wildcard. Outside of maybe a random midweek start, his role is going to be in the bullpen. So Auburn needs to see him in that role. Just to, in the very least, give the bullpen at least some semblance of depth.

All eyes for the Auburn pitching staff should be on Cory Luckie tonight. Sure it’s a bit early, but realistically, Luckie is pitching for his position. Andrew Morris had a solid outing midweek and he might be taking the Will Irvin path to the weekend rotation. I would say that given on more midweek performance by Morris, and another dud by Luckie and Cory could (unfortunately) be in the bullpen by the Kentucky series. Luckie needs a solid performance tonight. Desperately. That means more than 6 innings. It’s pretty simple. We know Cory has it in him, the pressure is just mounting for him to perform.

So who’s laying the bear trap this weekend? It’s the Mississippi State Bulldogs, a squad Auburn has had a bit of success with recently, but not so much historically:

MSU holds an 89-83-1 all-time series lead against Auburn in a rivalry that dates back to 1907. State's lead in the series has narrowed in recent years, with the Tigers having claimed seven of the last eight meetings and four of the last five series, including last year's sweep (9-6, 16-14, 11-8) at Auburn. The Bulldogs' last series win over the Tigers was a 2007 sweep in Starkville during MSU's run to its eighth College World Series appearance.

Last weekend was not pleasant for the Bulldogs, they didn’t even score a run in the first two games against Vanderbilt, but part of that was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was for the Bulldogs to rebound and salvaged the finale:

In their last outing, the Bulldogs erased a 6-1 Vanderbilt lead and went on to record a 9-8 series-ending win over the Commodores last weekend in Nashville. It was the most runs allowed this season by Vanderbilt, which entered the series first in the NCBWA poll. Senior third baseman Jarrod Parks cracked his second home run and recorded his second three-hit game of the campaign to pace the Diamond Dogs at the plate. Freshman Taylor Stark singled in a run to launch a five-run, eighth-inning rally. He later took the hill to register the last five outs of the game and earn his first career save. The first career hit by freshman infielder Tim Frazier, a two-run pinch hit single, tied the game, while rookie outfielder C.T. Bradford, who made his debut as a starting pitcher in the game, singled in the go-ahead run moments later. The Commodores pitched 10-0 and 4-0 shutouts at the Bulldogs in the first two games of the series.

The Bulldogs are paced offensively by two seniors:

Senior Jarrod Parks (.412) leads the Bulldogs in hits (28), extra-base hits (10) and RBI (20), while senior infielder Nick Vickerson (.267) paces the SEC in both runs scored (29) and stolen bases (17).

PRESENTING:

The Mississippi State Bulldogs, in year 3 of John Cohen’s rebuilding process. They come in showing some flashes of success and sporting a 15-6 record. Their signature wins have come with two victories against Georgia State.

PREVIOUSLY:

Auburn swept the series last year and has won 4 of the last 5 series. Last weekend, the Maroons took three games to score a run against Vanderbilt, but did rebound with a surprising 9-8 win in the final game.

PLAYMAKERS:

Two seniors pace the offense. Jarrod Parks and Nick Vickerson

PREVIEW:

For Auburn, this is a bear trap weekend. It all starts with Cory Luckie tonight. He’s competing for his job at this point and is facing an anemic offense and goes against a pitcher with a less than stellar stat line. Still, Auburn has to overlook that and take care of business on its end.

PREDICITION:

I think the roll continues for Auburn. Tigers take the series and need to try to work for the sweep.

Ranking Round-Up (3/22)

2011-03-22T13:37:00.001-07:00

With the win over Arkansas this weekend, Auburn cracked each of the Major Polls, and there are a ton of them: The National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/ESPN, Perfect Game, etc. It's kind of hard to keep track of them all.

Here's how Auburn will start the week (Number of Ranked Teams in Parenthesis):

NCBWA (30): 22
Baseball America (25): 22
Collegiate Baseball (30): 21
USA Today/ESPN Coaches (25): 20
Perfect Game (25): 23

Of course, each poll has their strengths and weaknesses. The USA Today poll is used more widely than any poll, but the Baseball America Poll is one of the toughest/more stringent polls. Having 5 Major polls definitely creates a wide range of success for any team. Look at Arkansas for example. The are ranked in the Top 13 (still) in two polls (NCBWA/USA Today), yet are completely unranked in two others (Perfect Game/Baseball America).

Personally, I check out a website called College Baseball 360.com and check out their Composite Rankings (Auburn comes in at 18). It does a pretty good job of sorting through all the polls and factoring in RPI to develop a nice Top 50 list to go by.

So you know how Auburn ranks, what about the opponents on the schedule?:

&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Auburn really needs Charleston to right the ship. If the Cougars can rebound from their terrible weekend and climb back in to the polls, Auburn will benefit from the RPI boost. Another team to look out for is Troy. The Trojans are playing solid baseball and are just outside the Baseball America Poll. Their high RPI and the fact that Auburn will play one of the games AT Troy, could really help Auburn out down the road.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;After Troy? Well there's the little issue of Vanderbilt. The Number 2 team in America. Coming to Plainsman Park. That weekend is setting up to be one of the biggest on campus in a long time. We'll cross that Commodore when we get to it, but until then Auburn has some solid competition in Mississippi State and Troy (all on the road) that they will need to take care of.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Auburn really needs Charleston to right the ship. The Cougars had a terrible weekend in another hosted tournament. If they can get back on track and re-enter the polls, then it will help Auburn down the road.

Another team to look out for is Troy. The Trojans are just outside the Baseball America Top 25 and Auburn will play two games against them, meaning a good RPI boost. Especially when one of those games comes on the road.

I know what most of you are looking at. Next weekend and the Number 2 team in America: Vanderbilt. Before Auburn looks ahead to the Commodores, they need to take care of business with a High RPI Road test against Mississippi State.

5P Primer: Arkansas

2011-03-18T09:48:00.001-07:00

Here it is. SEC play. A huge weekend and hot start that could mean the difference in Auburn playing catchup or forcing other teams to play follow the leader for the opening couple of weeks. The Hogs are such a tough squad to figure out. Yes, there is talent (less so than last year though) and yes, they have a solid 14-2 record. Still, it's come against some mid-level competition. Still, the #9 team in the nation isn't one to take lightly. It's also an odd series, recently. The visiting team has taken the last 4 series and Auburn hasn't beaten Arkansas at Plainsman Park since 2007 (under Tom Slater). The Tigers just barely lead the all time series (35-30) and do have an edge at home (16-11) but the recent history has been different.

The Hogs are a hard team to scout. The lineup/offense is pretty powerful (scoring double digits 6 times) but the burden is mainly on a handful of players. Kyle Robinson is the biggest power and HR threat (22 RBIs), Dominic Ficociello has been a revelation at First Base (.426 average/20 RBI). However, these numbers are coming against Delaware State & UW-Milwaukee. Still, the Hogs will get their hits. The onus will be on Auburn to limit the damage. Especially with hitters like Colin Kuhn and Bo Bigham. Kuhn has been in the same struggle Kevin Patterson has been in, hitting just .190 but having 2 Home Runs and 8 RBI over his last 5 games. Two holes in the lineup could come from CF Jacob Morris (.059 over his last 5) and SS Tim Carver (.196 on the season). One other hitter to watch will be C James McCann who is hitting a scorching .563 over his last five. To put it simply, the bats are potent, but are on the decline. Hopefully Auburn can take advantage of that.

Pitching wise for Arkansas, it's all about DJ Baxendale. The Sophomore RHP is 4-0 with a (wait for it) 0.00 ERA. That's right, he's yet to allow an earned run on the year.

Enough about Arkansas. Let's talk Tigers. This weekend will see the first shakeup to the rotation all season. The Saturday position is listed as TBD. The rumor is that Will Irvin could get the nod, but Andrew Morris could be a dark horse. Maybe the change will be a shot in the arm. Auburn's team era (4.07) is next to last in the league and the Batting Average against is dead last. The 126 strikeouts are also at the bottom.

However, is the issue the starting pitching, or is the bullpen? Yes, the Tigers only have 2 blown saves, but they've allowed around 40% of inherited runners to score. It's shifted the balance of games. Over the first 3 innings, Auburn hurlers have only allowed 9 runs. In the 5th and 6th innings? 32 runs. Most of the time that's where the trouble occurs and Auburn arms have hit a wall.

Offensively it's a similar thing. Auburn can jump out early (55-9 over the first three innings) but the bats go cold. However, the offense is there. The power is just lacking. Auburn leads the SEC in hits, double, but is 6th in runs, and 7th in Home Runs. We can get guys on. We just can't bring them home.

It's really going to come down to 3 players busting out of a slump. Kevin Patterson, Creede Simpson, and Tony Caldwell. Caldwell is still nursing his shoulder (I assume) but to have him back and 100% would be a huge boost. Patterson's strikeouts have increased but his hits have decreased and its been a bad combination. Creede's slump has been the most frustrating. His position in the lineup and his role on the team means Auburn really can't afford to have him go Golden Sombrero much longer.

PRESENTING

The Arkansas Razorbacks. 14-2 on the year, #9 in the country. A surprising mix of veteran talent and a great freshman first baseman, the Hogs have been one of the hottest teams in the SEC to start the year.

PREVIOUSLY

Auburn took last years series 2 games to 1. The Tigers rallied to steal the series over the final two games. However, the visiting team has had the most success over the last 4 meetings.

PLAYMAKERS

For Arkansas, watch out for Friday starter DJ Baxendale who has yet to allow a Home Run. Also, Dominic Ficociello is that hot Freshman First Baseman and has been a great 3rd slot and clean up hitter for the Cardinal and White.

PREVIEW

For Auburn they need to flip the script on the season. Avoid the middle inning meltdown that has plagued both the bullpen and the bats. The Tigers have shown they can come out hot, they just need to keep the momentum going. Hopefully, Creede Simpson and Kevin Patterson can start to heat up.

PREDICTION

If you had asked me after Saturday, I would have predicted an Arkansas win or sweep. However, after the showings on Sunday and Tuesday, I'm hoping Auburn has turned a corner. Auburn wins 2 games to 1.

The Real Season Begins

2011-03-17T09:41:00.001-07:00

Great to get a win on Tuesday against Alabama in the Max Capital City Classic. Granted the offense wasn't there and really isn't anywhere close to where it needs to be. Let me rephrase, the offense is there; the situational hitting is not. That's the main drag for Auburn. Sure, we can get guys on base, but then brainfarts abound and big innings are killed before doing any damage. It's quite the frustrating situation to be in. Now that the Classic is out, it's time to focus on the real task at hand: The SEC. This weekend brings another Top 10 opponent in Arkansas. The Hogs are a bit of a mystery. Yes, they are ranked in the Top 10, but who exactly have the played? The 14-2 record is deceiving. I can give them credit for going to West and taking 3 of 4 from San Diego State. Kudos. However, this isn't the same SDSU team from years past. Stephen Strasburg isn't suiting up for the Aztecs again any time soon. No, that's an SDSU team with only 3 wins on the season. Arkansas has played ZERO games against Top 50 RPI (Auburn has played 4) and Their only quality win is a 3 game sweep of Utah (RPI 70). However, before we can talk about the Hogs, we have to look at Auburn. So here's your reset button on Auburn so far this year and heading into SEC Play:

Pitching

Give Auburn credit in this area. The pitching has been a bit of a surprise. Sure, there have been bumps and a few bruises, but over the past two weeks I've seen the arms improve. Zach Blatt is pitching out of his mind right now and looks like he wants that closer title. The 4 or so innings he's thrown against Arizona State and Alabama are the best I've ever seen him. The main issue with Auburn right now is starting pitching and we'll see our first shake up this weekend. In my mind, Auburn has about 6 guys competing for 3 weekend spots :Andrew Morris, Will Irvin, Slade Smith, Cory Luckie, Derek Varnadore, and Jon Luke Jacobs. Slade has struggled a bit in his past two outings and it seems like the decision was made to move him to the bullpen. Saturday is listed as TBD (Luckie Friday, Varnadore Sunday) and the general consensus is that Will Irvin will get a shot. In the even Irvin falters, then the back up would be Andrew Morris. I assume. It's not the end of the world for Auburn and for Slade. In fact, I see it as a bit of a good thing. Think back to last year and Slade's relief work against Ole Miss. It was incredible. Normally when Auburn makes pitching changes, it's with runners on and in desperate need to ground balls. Who's the best arm we have to accomplish that? Slade Smith. Irvin has looked solid in his midweek outings. Starter solid? We'll probably find out this weekend. Now, if Bradley Hendrix can use the Alabama game as a springboard then I'll feel even better about the rotation. We'll have three solid long tossers (Jacobs, Morris, Slade), two guys with a closer mentality (Blatt and Ethan Wallen) and a two nice stop-gap options (Dillon Ortman and Sean Ray). Now, if we can get Will Kendall and Jay Wade to start contributing, I'll be ecstatic.

Hitting

I can't sit here and complain about the hitting. If I do, it's just going to sound like whining. Dan Gamache has been outstanding. Wes Gilmer is keeping himself in the lineup. Hargett has been up and down (but more up than down). McElroy is consistent. Justin Fradejas does his thing (much to the admonishment of some fans when he squares around to bunt with 2 out) and to his credit, it's working. The only issues are with two big slumps from two big players. Kevin Patterson and Creede Simpson. Creede finally laced a single on Tuesday and maybe, just maybe, that's the spark he needs to get rolling again. Patterson is falling into the same trap as last season where he is getting frustrated/impatient and that's leading to more strikeouts. The other thing, and it's not really an issue, just an observation, is the platoon in left field. Brooks Beisner and Cullen Wacker. Brooks is the better power threat and the better hitter, but Wacker is going to get this playing time based on the pitching matchups. I'd love to see Beisner in a full time role, but at this point Wacker is just going to have to hold his own when he gets his chances. Something that hasn't been talked about much is what's going on with Tony Caldwell. His shoulder has been a little tender (according to Pawlowski) and the company line is "he's available to pinch hit". Still, he's yet to PH and has been pretty much out of commission since the Charleston Tournament. That's two weekends ago. Blake Austin is doing yeoman's work and really stepped up on Tuesday. However, he's yet to record a hit at the plate. That's a big hole at the bottom of the lineup. Pawlowski didn't address the Caldwell situation at his press conference Thursday morning, so I don't know if it's an issue or not. Finally, there's the Zach Alvord situation. Personally, I wish he could play. I think with more at-bats he can settle in nicely and probably pick up some slack while Creede is slumping. Realistically, that's not happening. Wes Gilmer's play and his bat have cemented his status at 3rd base. Gamache is perfect in the DH role. McElroy and Hargett aren't leaving any time soon. That leaves Alvord as the odd man out. It's unfortunate, but it's life. You can't expect him to move to the OF. For now, Zach just has to bide his time and wait.

Overall

This is going to be a grueling stretch for Auburn and the main thing will be to either tread water or stay on top. Then again, all SEC play is like that. It's going to be a stretch where it's off then on for Auburn. Tough competition, little lighter, tough, light, tough light. Arkansas (tough), Mississippi State (light), Vanderbilt (tough), Kentucky (light), LSU (tough), Ole Miss (light), South Carolina (tough), UGA, Bama, Tennessee (light). It's a very front loaded schedule, but Auburn can't go in to it with the mentality that I have. Instead it's a pretty simple rule for SEC play: Avoid Sweeps against the Top, Try to Sweep against the bottom. That's the best way the Tigers can make up ground. A perfect record or ideal situation would be for Auburn to go into the final 3 series with a conference record of 15-7. That's assuming Auburn can sweep the "light" series, avoid sweeps from the "heavy" series, and steal one of those heavy series along the way. 14-7 with 9 games to play would mean that Auburn would have a legitimate shot of playing it's way into a Regional hosting job (just like that year). Either way, it will all start this weekend against he Hogs. Play Ball.

Regional Radar (3/17)

2011-03-17T08:29:00.001-07:00

Let's start with a huge caveat: It's still early. Way too early. I wouldn't expect updated Regional Projections from the various writers until at earliest two weeks from now. Still, we show what we have so far and at least take a good look at how the Auburn RPI is shaping up:

Projections:

	HOST	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4
CB Daily	Florida State (5)	AUBURN	WA State	E. Michigan
ESPN	Stanford	AUBURN	UC Irvine	Stony Brook

Again, don't put much stock in to these. Really, don't. Both CB Daily and ESPN have Clemson hosting. Explain to me how a team that is .500 overall right now, just got swept by UVA, and is playing in a down ACC is hosting? Just by name alone. Until either Clemson improves or actually ends up traveling for a change, I'm going to take all these projections with a grain of salt.

Resume

Tournament Resume		CHANGE
Record	12-5
Boyd RPI	11
Nolan RPI	10
Boyd ISR (Strength)	22
Nolan NPI (Power)	35
Key Wins	AZ St (3/13)
Bad Losses	Bethune (3/2), Radford (2/25)
Nolan SOS	15
Boyd SOS	47
vs RPI 1-50	1-3
vs RPI 51-100	5-0
vs RPI 101-200	5-2
vs RPI 200+	1-0

Bad News

The only bad losses were obvious ones to Radford and Bethune. However, we knew that going in to this week. Had Auburn dropped the Max CCC to Alabama, you could have chalked up another bad loss. The Tide isn't doing in the SEC any favors with their abysmal 130 RPI. Still, it's not the lowest in the league (that would be Kentucky at 203).

The Good News

Auburn should get a boost RPI wise in the coming weeks. College of Charleston (57) and Memphis (52) are right on the cusp and could sneak some Top 50 RPI wins into Auburn's favor. The biggest boost will come from the Tigers themselves. Dates with Troy (8), Mississippi State (47), South Alabama (38) and even Georgia (43) are all upcoming and should all be winnable games for the Tigers. If Auburn wants to return to hosting however, it will need to knock off the biggest of the big boys RPI wise: Vanderbilt (17), LSU (13) and Ole Miss (4). Still, with a healthy RPI of 10 right now, Auburn has a bit of wiggle room.

Bring on the Big Boys

2011-03-15T09:33:00.001-07:00

Who would you like to see Auburn play non-conference? I asked on Twitter and the responses showed that Auburn fans (especially die hard Auburn baseball fans) are clamoring for big non-conference match-ups. Now, My suggestion/dream would be for Auburn to resume a series with Georgia Tech midweek. Playing in Auburn, in Atlanta (at GT's on campus Russ Chandler), and a final game either in Gwinett or at Turner Field.

@NickyV95 Nick Villanacci agrees:

that would be an amazing series. I'd try to go to all three games.

Other suggestions showed that Auburn fans aren't shying away from big non-conference series:

@jmiddsau Jonathan Middleton wants to go West, young man:

Cal state fullerton. Witchita state. Texas.

@jwm0004 Justin Malone also thinks we need to think Plains States:

TCU, Nebraska, Rice

@ChrisRushingCSM Chris Rushing echoes the Texas sentiment:

I would love a home-and-home with Cal State-Fullerton or Texas. Texas mainly for the opportunity to go to Austin.

@WarBlogle WarBlogle.com wants some Tiger meat every year:

Clemson every year. Fullerton would be cool.

@AUKGB Keith G. Barrow Also wants the Titans:

Cal St Fullerton

@jwm0004 Justin Malone wants to go All-ACC:

ga tech, fsu, Clemson

@Elliott_Cook Elliott Cook has some other ACC Foes he wants to see:

my vote is Rice, UNC, and Miami. Miami series in honor of 90s transfer Derek Reif.

@jmjonesjr James Jones brings up Nebraska and the ACC Heavies:

GA Tech, Clemson, other usual ACC suspects...what about Nebraska?

@jaredm2012 Jared Miller wants the Purple & Orange also:

Clemson for sure, often. Possibly College of Charleston or Texas A&M

@Jkm4au Kris agrees:

Clemson

@PrestonHornsby Preston Hornsby has a unique in-state suggestion:

at Alabama State because new stadium is so close to OLD CLOVERDALE :)

I will admit the thought of baseball followed by Tomatino's or maybe some Sinclair's does sound good.

@dmiller1856 D. Miller agrees about the GT series:

GT... Close enough to travel, could play one at Turner. FSU would be another.

@cfuhrmeister Chris Fuhrmeister is on the same page:

I'd like to see an annual series against Georgia Tech or Florida State.

@murpho5 justin murphy wants Northern foes:

big ten school or a pac 12 school

@JaredSmiths Jared Smith also likes the idea of games in Atlanta:

Love the venues idea! Players & Recruits would be thrilled over games at Turner or Gwinnett. @AUTigerBaseball: let's make it happen

But @JaredSmiths Jared Smith also is thinking about Vacation days:

How about ski weekend series at NorthernColorado in Feb & beach series at Miami in May? Always away series! I'd travel for them.

Back to D. Miller, who wants to see a personal series:

I have to throw my alma mater in the mix... Mercer. Would make a good midweek series.

@GoCrazyCadillac Paul Stewart wants meaningful games:

I would love to see us play someone like Miami or maybe Texas. Big traditional powers to try to raise our profile.

D. Miller also brings up a unique opportunity for Auburn. Playing in MLB Stadiums:

How about Maryland at Camden Yard?....What about Boston College with a Sunday finale at Fenway?

That could happen. For Every MLB club, there is an NCAA Team (and in most cases NCAA power) close by:

MLB Team	College Team(s)
Tampa Bay	South Florida
NY Yankees	St. John's
Boston	Boston College, Harvard, Northeastern, Boston University
Toronto	U Buffalo?
Baltimore	Maryland, Navy
Minnesota	U Minnesota
Chicago White Sox	Notre Dame
Detroit	Michigan? Michigan State?
Cleveland	Ohio State? Akron
Kansas City	K-State?, Kansas?
Texas	TCU, SMU, Dallas Baptist
Oakland	Cal/ Stanford
LA Angels	Fullerton
Seattle	Washington
Philadelphia	Temple, Penn, Villanova, LaSalle, St. Joe's
Atlanta	Georgia Tech, Georgia State
Florida	Miami, Florida International
New York Mets	St. John's, Hofstra
Washington	Georgetown, George Washington
Cincinnati	Cincinnati Bearcats
St. Louis	U St. Louis, Mizzou?
Milwaukee	UW-Milwaukee
Houston	Rice, Houston
Chicago Cubs	Northwestern
Pittsburgh	Pitt
San Francisco	Cal/Stanford?
San Diego	USD, SDSU
Colorado	Air Force?
Los Angeles	UCLA, USC
Arizona	Arizona State

Now some of these aren't exactly feasible. There's no real point RPI or travel-wise to play the likes of UW-Milwaukee in Wisconsin. The best thing would be for Auburn to become a part of the Dodgertown Classic (like UGA did) or the Houston College Classic or even the Cal Baseball Classic in San Francisco. For Auburn, the struggle would be two-fold: you need a strong enough schedule RPI wise and justification for playing a road series. It's not often that Auburn leaves the comfy confines of Plainsman Park (or the state of Alabama) for a non-conference game. In fact since 1991, Auburn has only played a handful of Weekend Road Series outside the state of Alabama. Sometimes, the farthest south that the team will travel is just down to Mobile (and the Coca Cola Classic). See for yourself:

Year	Opponents
91	None
92	Coca Cola Classic
93	Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, UCF*
94	New Orleans^, Tulane^
95	Coca Cola Classic
96	Big 10 Classic (Montgomery)
97	Coca Cola Classic
98	USF, UCF, Clemson*
99	GT%, UVA%, UMD%, Blue Gray Classic (Montgomery)
00	Tulane^, New Orleans^
01	Coca Cola Classic
02	@ Clemson
03	@ North Carolina
04	@ Clemson
05	@ Florida State
06	@ Arizona State
07	Coca Cola Classic
08	@ Florida State
09	@ Florida State
11	@ Arizona State

*Olive Garden Classic (Orlando, FL), ^Winn Dixie Classic (New Orleans, LA), %Disney ACC Blast (Kissimmee, FL)

Also, over the past 20 years, Auburn hasn't exactly brought a dearth of competition to the ball park. Here are the non-conference games against Major Conference opponents over the past 20 years. Most of these opponents came from Weekend Tournaments:

Year	Opponents
91	Clemson, Michigna
92	Clemson, Oklahoma, Tulane
93	GT, Pepperdine, Clemson, Michigan
94	Tulane
95	Louisville, Ohio State, Penn State
96	Missouri, Michigan State, Indiana
97	None
98	USF, Clemson, FAU
99	GT, UVA, UMD, Minnesota, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Northwestern
00	Tulane
01	Minnesota, North Carolina, GT
02	Clemson UNC GT
03	UVA, Clemson, UNC, GT
04	BC, GT, Clemson
05	FSU, Clemson, GT
06	FSU, Arizona State
07	Michigan State, AZ St, Purdue
08	FSU
09	FSU
10	BC, Missouri, FAU, AZ St

I haven't seen the schedule for 2012. However, knowing that Coach Pawlowski likes to keep the Auburn tournament (which would bring in at least 1 big name) and also likes to schedule good RPI competition, I have a nice glimmer of hope that the Big Boys will soon be meeting Auburn once again.

Stock Report 3/14

2011-03-13T22:51:00.001-07:00

War Dan Gamache. Or better yet, according to @KalebLBurks #wardangamache The Auburn DH had a super weekend, batting .500 with 7 hits, 9 rbis, 3 doubles and a triple. Gamache consistently was a catalyst and knocked in the game winner on Sunday. Of all the guys who have struggled, there’s Gamache sitting pretty and holding steady.

Heating Up:

Batter	AVG	3 Game	% Change
Gamache	.339	.500	+.050
Fradejas	.365	.444	+.016
Gilmer	.400	.417	+.006

Cooling Off:

Batter	AVG	3 Game	% Change
Simpson	.232	.000	-.051
Patterson	.255	.125	-.024

Hard to include Patterson on this list because he did have a Home Run. However, his 2 Run shot was his only hit of the weekend and can’t outweigh 7 strikeouts. Simpson’s struggles were documented earlier and without his bat being a catalyst it leaves Auburn in a bit of a bind. Creede is a team leader and hopefully his struggles won’t continue for very long. If Auburn goes into the Arkansas weekend with Caldwell still out (shoulder), Creede struggling, and KP catatonic then it could translate into a long weekend.

Forked Over, Again

2011-03-13T22:16:00.001-07:00

I can’t sit here and sugar coat it. This weekend stung. It really did. Mainly because I saw an Auburn team that didn’t fully progress from weekend to weekend. Instead, Auburn regressed and it cost us. It stung because Auburn really could have won this series against Arizona state. The Friday Night game came down to a fluke call that reopened the door for the Sun Devils. Auburn didn’t respond to the adversity and dropped the series opener 8-7:

Reliever Ethan Wallen walked Austin Barnes to start the ninth. After a bunt moved him to second, Carrillo's RBI single up the middle scored him to tie the game at 7.
Andy Workman batted next and hit a sharp grounder up the middle that got past the pitcher's mound and struck umpire Jay Pierce on the foot. The ball ricocheted to second baseman Justin Hargett, who was ready to fire to first when Pierce ruled the play dead, putting runners and first and second.
Pawlowski argued the call saying the play should have been live, although the umpires were backed up by the rulebook, which says a fair ball that hits an umpire before it passes an infielder other than the pitcher is dead and runners advance one base.
"Sometimes those things happen," Pawlowski said. "It's unfortunate the ball hitting the umpire. That's part of baseball."
After an ASU runner was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a grounder to short, MacPhee hit a grounder into hole between first and second that took a bad hop over Hargett's head and into right field, allowing Workman to score with the winning run.

Wallen was overused a bit this weekend. Becoming the De Facto closer tends to have that affect, but by this point Wallen was in his second full inning of work. Ethan has incredible stuff and was lights out last weekend but against Arizona State he just kept getting dinged. It was a bit tough to watch. However, the problems for Auburn can’t be boiled down to one inning. Instead it was mounting inconsistencies on the base paths and a lack of timely hitting. Numerous times over the weekend, big innings were stopped short because of base running miscues. Zach Alvord ran through a sign, Wes Gilmer was caught in a rundown from 3rd to home, etc. There were tons of little things.

However, the biggest things were rough outings by starters. Luckie went 4.1 innings, Slade went 3.1, Varnadore went 6 full but was tagged more than usual. Still, just by going a full 6 innings, Auburn put itself in position to win, and it did on Sunday. Yet, I can’t sit here and say these guys were ineffective. They were actually surprisingly good at times. Luckie hit 8 ks and Slade had to deal with a mixed up and make shift infield which included a Gilmer at 1B, Alvord at SS, McElroy at 3B, and Caleb Bowen catching. It’s not the strongest lineup Auburn could put out defensively. A quick side note on Alvord. There has to be a role for him somewhere. At first, I could understand it. His bat just wasn’t there. Now however, I think he could add a bit of a spark plug to the offense. His last two starts (Saturday against ASU and last weekend against NYT) Alvord went 4 for 6. Hopefully Zach can get some midweek work and prove himself some more.

When the Auburn starters can’t go over 5 innings, it taxes the bullpen. A bullpen that is still finding itself. Andrew Morris is stuck a bit in relief role. Dillon Ortman actually stepped up and was a bit of a silver lining on Saturday. I don’t think Auburn has found guys it can consistently call on in relief. Wallen is there somewhat, Ray can be dynamite, Blatt turned a bit of a corner on Sunday. The shuffling process is still going on and Auburn is running out of time to find a good working solution. Credit Pawlowski though, he knows the team and can normally get the best out of his guys. Personally, I would have liked to see a couple of new arms like Jon Luke Jacobs or Jay Wade. I don’t have the answer and for Auburn the options are limited. The Tigers have established 4 guys as solid starters (Irvin, Smith, Luckie, Varnadore) and only 9 guys in relief. Technically 9, but Jay Wade and Will Kendall have only made 1 appearance each. In Kendall’s case that was a forgettable outing. Are there any fresh arms left? Not really. The only one yet to make an appearance is Chris O’Neil. Even taking that into account, the options are limited. Only 2 relievers are lefties (Ray and Kendall) and realistically it’s only Ray that takes up the lion’s share of the work. Pawlowski can’t set up lefty/righty match ups easily and has to instead has to use guys based on strengths.

Finally, one of the toughest things to watch was Creede Simpson struggle at the plate. He’s been in a super funk and went hitless over the weekend. His average has dropped from .304 after the Radford series to .232 after this weekend. Outside of positive blips during the Memphis and WKU games, his average has just gone southward. It hit rock bottom on Friday when Creede went 0-5 with 4 Ks. It finally reached a point where Creede had to be pulled after 1 at bat Sunday for Bobby Andrews.

There were positives and you can’t overlook those: Auburn didn’t get swept; Zach Blatt had one of his best outings in relief ( 2 ip/0h/0bb/3 ks and a W) and the Auburn bats battled at the plate and actually had some guys step up. Dan Gamache had an incredible weekend (.500 with 9 rbis) and has settled in nicely as a DH. Wes Gilmer was another bright spot (.417) and is making it hard to move Alvord into the infield (and Gilmer out of the lineup) while he’s hitting at such a hot clip. One of the highest bits of praise came for the newcomers like Jay Gonzalez and Bobby Andrews who helped boost Auburn.

The weekend (which admittedly went as expected but still stings) is over and Auburn has a short turnaround. The “preseason” officially concludes on Tuesday Night when the Max Capital City Classic against Alabama is over. Arkansas comes to town and Auburn will have a few things to work on if they hope to start league play on the right foot.

Play by Play: 140 Characters at a Time

2011-03-08T12:47:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend, @TylerHNay brought up a good point :

@ AUPPL Can we get a crash course on scoring notation sometime? some of these are not the 3 that I know...

It was something I completely spaced about. I normally update throughout the game but sometimes my shorthand can be confusing. Even I realize that. I try to follow the same formula each time for each game. So here's a little peek behind the curtain as to how I tweet the play by play. First things first go check out Bethany Heck's Scorekeeping 101 over at the Eephus league . That should give you a bit of an overview of what we're trying to do here. Are you back? Good. Here's a little review:

Position	NUMBER
Pitcher	1
Catcher	2
1st Base	3
2nd Base	4
3rd Base	5
Shortstop	6
Left Field	7
Center Field	8
Right Field	9

As for putouts, I only really use a couple of notations and not the full broad spectrum I'd use if I was keeping score during a game:

Fx	Foul Out/Fly Out
K	Strike Out
Px	Pop Out
Lx	Line Out
xU	Unassisted Out
DP	Double Play
CS	Caught Stealing
PO	Pick Off
FC	Fielder's Choice

That's normally it. "X" in these cases stand for the position player who made the out. Ground Outs are done in a standard x-y notation (Assist-Put Out).

I normally try to follow the same formula when I tweet an update:

(Team Abbreviation) (T/B)(Inning) Outs (Score) End of Inning

If there is room then I will give a bit of a headline or scene setter before getting into the details of the outs. For Auburn I'll give the players names. For the opponent, I could care less, so I just give the details.

Let's see it in action:

AU Top4: Creede bb CMac 4-3, Gilmer RBI single, Gamache FC, Gilmer out 1-6, KP rbi double, Wacker bb, Bowen K. #auburn 7 #wku 3 bot 4

That's from Saturday's nightcap against Western Kentucky. So what happened? Auburn was batting in the Top of the 4th inning. Creede Simpson walked, Casey McElroy was out 2nd Baseman to 1st Baseman, Wes Gilmer hit an RBI single. Dan Gamache hit into a fielder's choice which forced Wes Gilmer out Pitcher to Shortstop. Kevin Patterson hit an rbi double, Cullen Wacker walked. Finally, Caleb Bown struckout to end the inning. Auburn headed into the bottom of the 4th leading 7-4.

For the players I abbreviate names in most cases. KP=Kevin Patterson, TC=Tony Caldwell, CMac=Casey McElroy.

As always, it's a work in progress. If you'd like to follow along, be sure to follow me on twitter (@AUPPL)

Follow along tonight. If you have any questions then just send me a reply and I'll try to answer as best I can/know how.

A bit of a caveat. I work nights, so during games I'm bouncing around multiple things. I try to block out time as best I can. However, it's like I always say: Rock beats Paper and Work beats Twitter.

Stock Report (3-7)

2011-03-08T09:32:00.001-08:00

After the solid weekend in Charleston, almost every hitter in the Auburn lineup saw some sort of uptick. So who's the hottest bat in the lineup right now?

Player	crnt avg	3 g avg	Diff
Hargett	0.346	0.267	0.079
McElroy	0.353	0.500	0.147
Simpson	0.273	0.250	0.023
Gamache	0.295	0.286	0.009
Caldwell*	0.225	0.250	0.025
Patterson*	0.300	0.333	0.033
Fradejas*	0.333	0.500	0.167

Caldwell and Patterson are asterisked because their TC only pinch hit in one game over the weekend, and KP sat the College of Charleston game out completely. Still, the two biggest weapons over the weekend were Justin Fradejas and Casey McElroy. Both of whom hit a full tenth above their average. The best news was for Patterson though, who found a bit of a power stroke (his first HR of the year). The only person "cooling off" would be Hargett. However, that's a bit misleading. He started the season so hot that eventually he had to come back down to earth. Slumping? That's Creede Simpson. Creede has been in a bit of a tailspin since the 2nd Radford game when his avg was at .333 (and now is at .273). However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. His performance in the final game included 2 doubles and a SAC hit and 3 RBI and he finally started showing some life.

Wacker vs Biesner

Two position players, both battling to replace Justin Bryant in left field. Biesner has a bit of the edge right now. Wacker did see some extended pt this weekend with 4 official at bats. Beisner only played on Friday against NYIT and made a big impression, going 3-4 with a double and a HR. It ended a pretty vicious slide by Biesner over the past few games. Still, Brooks has made due and kept his average around the .400 mark currently. Hopefully, a few midweek games can keep his confidence rolling.

Alvord vs GIlmer

The other position battle isn't so much offense related. Instead it's situation related. Gilmer had a pretty nice weekend, while Alvord just had a solid Friday. There's one thing you can say about Wes, he's consistent. He'll give you a .333 day but his real strength comes sacrificing. He leads the team with 5 SAC hits, including 2 this past weekend. I really want to see Alvord succeed, especially because I think he has a power stroke just lurking in his swing. However, Wes has shown that he can be more consistent and the fielding for both is a push.

Finally, if you want a link to my stat spreadsheet. Here it is. Enjoy.

5P Primer: Charleston Tournament (Part 1: NYIT)

2011-03-03T20:31:00.001-08:00

Time for a road trip, and for Auburn this should be a great time to take the show out of Auburn for a little bit. A chance to refresh the batteries so to speak. Why? Well, for starters the Tigers are still stinging a bit after their loss to Bethune on Wednesday. A team that Auburn knew they could beat. Coach Pawlowski was on Inside the Auburn Tiger's Radio Thursday afternoon and said the bus ride to Charleston was a little subdued and the Wednesday game was still on their minds.

Think of this game as the ultimate reboot. A new location, early times, 3 different teams in 3 days. This is a great chance to press the reset button on the 2011 Auburn season. Not that everything is going southward. Heck, just look across the State at an Alabama team that's loss 4 straight to UCF, USA, SELA, and USM. That's a team that is reeling. Not Auburn.

Auburn's problems boil down to one simple thing, or one simple lack of a thing. Timely hitting. Auburn can get men on base. Move them over. However, we just can't cash them in. It's frustrating to say the least. Will they come? Sure. Well, hopefully. Pawlowski seems to be moving and shuffling the lineup as best he can at this point. However, there are holes in the lineup that have gone from minor bumps to huge potholes. Justin Fradejas showed a little bit of life on Tuesday but has gone ice cold at other times. Zach Alvord has struggled and Wes Gilmer's hot hitting has pushed him out a bit and really forced Alvord to battle for playing time. Brooks Beisner and Cullen Wacker are a bit interchangeable at this point. It's been tough sledding for all involved, really.

So what's the solution? Well, I can't sit here and say I have the answer. I don't see the team on a daily basis like Coach Pawlowski. Gut feeling though? The hits are going to come. Auburn still leads the league in doubles, so that shows that the bats aren't completely silent. The hits just don't fall like the did last year.

What is going well for Auburn is the pitching. It's been nothing sort of a revelation this year. Slade Smith, Ethan Wallen, Derek Varnadore, Andrew Morris. A ton of new guys have stepped up and a ton of old faces have settled in. The trick with the pitching is just making through the middle innings unscathed. Hmm, I wonder where I've heard that before. Yet, just like last year, I fully expect Auburn to settle down and fix the middle innings. Guys will get stretched out and go longer. They'll be more efficient. It'll work out.

Now we're back to the weekend. A fresh start. A change of scenery. For the past two weeks. Really, for the past 6 months, all Auburn has seen has been the friendly confines of Plainsman Park. I do love our stadium. I honestly do. However, for a team struggling on offense, it can be an absolute killer. The dimensions cause outfielders to play at odd spots and not play deep, which in turn can put them in position easier. With the changes to the bats the ball just isn't traveling as far.

This weekend, Auburn plays at spacious "Ballpark at Patriots Point", right off the Charleston Harbor. It plays like a minor league stadium and could hopefully be the medicine the Auburn bats need. Apparently, the ball (along with some wind whipping off the water) can fly.

What about the opponents. Well, New York Tech (NYIT) is an interesting team. A member of the Great West Conference (yes, a team in the Northeast is a member of the Great West Conference) and this is their first baseball game of the year.

All I can really tell about NYIT is that Preston Wasmund will take the mound. Yes, he's a senior leader. Last year, he posted a 5.99 ERA and 6-3 Record. He's not an overpowering guy (35k in 76 innings) and the Bears were picked to finish 4th out of 8 teams in the GWC.

NYIT returns a core group of veterans in 2011 with senior captains George Carroll and Preston Wasmund leading the way. Last season, Wasmund made 16 appearances on the mound, starting 11 games and producing a 6-3 record.

With the loss of players like Brian Smith, Christian Dienna and Andrew Guarrasi to graduation, head coach Bob Hirschfield, who enters his 30th season at the helm of NYIT baseball, is relying on the underclassmen - the freshmen turned sophomores and sophomores turned juniors - to step up to the Division I talent and meet the challenges set forth this season.

Luckily, the Bears return three of their top-5 producers at the plate in seniors Effrey Valdez and Jerry Smith, and junior Sebastian Grazziani. The trio accounted for 138 of the Bears 398 runs last season. Valdez batted .438 with 21 doubles, 11 homers and 46 RBIs, while Smith hit a .374 clip with a team-best 59 RBIs. Grazziani added six doubles, nine homers and 45 RBIs.

Also returning for NYIT is 2010 starting infielders Ryan Campbell and Ali Rodriguez as well as outfielders Dane Hardy and Dan Lackner. Last season, Rodriguez swiped a team-best 22 bags in 24 attempts. On the mound, Hirschfield

brings back six righties and one lefty in addition to RHP Wasmund.

Oh, in case you were wondering, the other teams in the GWC are Utah Valley, Northern Colorado, Houston Baptist, North Dakota, UT-Pan Am, NJIT, and Chicago State.

PRESENTING

The New York Institute of Technology Bears. Right off Broadway. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure baseball is the only sport NYIT competes in at a Division 1 level.

PREVIOUSLY

Nothing. This is the first game of the year for NYIT and the first time the two teams have met.

PLAYMAKERS

Your guess is as good as mine.

PREVIEW

Hopefully a change in scenery can help Auburn's bats wake up.

PREDICTION

I'm going to put this bluntly. Auburn better win this damn game.

5P Primer: Bethune-Cookman

2011-03-01T10:19:00.001-08:00

Trying a little different format with the 5P Primers. Personally, I think I'm able to write better in a stream-of-consciousness style and the majority of time the 5P Primers can take a little longer to write than expected because I get frustrated with starting and stopping, looking up information, uploading links, etc etc. So instead, I'll try a little looser style and see how this works.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the Bethune Cookman Wildcats come to town. First, I know what you're thinking. Yes, B-CU (and yes, the always hyphenate that) is an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and historically, HBCU's aren't great at baseball. B-CU is the exception. Well, B-CU and Southern (out of the SWAC) are the exceptions. Quietly, but not overnight, the Wildcats have built themselves into a Regional Contender year in and year out and completely dominate the MEAC. Coach Mervyl Melendez is in his 12th season with the club and has lead the team to 10 NCAA Regional Appearances of the last 11 seasons. I don't care if you are playing against DIII Clubs, baseball is baseball and it's a funny game (and anything can happen) and to have that kind of dominance is incredible.

This season has actually been a big of a struggle for the Wildcats. In a big stunner, Grambling beat B-CC in the Urban Classic (in Compton, CA) to snap a 26 game wining streak over HBCU's for B-CU. But it was really same song, different verse for BC-C. They play a tough schedule, steal 1 or two wins from a team, then completely dominate the MEAC. Don't believe me? Just read The Stitchhead's Preview of the MEAC:

I said it last year. I said it the year before that. I said it the year before that. And it looks like I’ll continue to say that for perpetuity – It’s still Bethune-Cookman’s domain until further notice. In the last five MEAC seasons, BCU has gone 82-4 and no one has finished closer than three games behind them in the standings. That’s dominance. There’s not a lot of change here in the MEAC, as the Wildcats dominated wire-to-wire without a single loss.

Plus, the Wildcats do have some talent. If you are lucky enough to go to the game Today (6pm) or Wednesday (4pm) then keep an eye out for Catcher Peter O'Brien. Some argue he's the nation's best Catcher. A Spike Award Watch List, ESPN Pre-Season All American and he's making history at B-CU:

With ESPN, O'Brien earns a particularly notable honor, as the first player from an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to earn All-American status with the nation’s pre-eminent sports news organization since Southern's Rickie Weeks last did it in 2003. Interestingly enough, Weeks is a Daytona Beach native. O'Brien batted .386 last season topping the MEAC and was 25th nationally with 20 home runs and a .748 slugging percentage.

This year so far, he's at a respectable .278 Clip but his main asset his slugging % where he leads with .722. He also leads the team in Home Runs.

What can you expect from B-CU? You can expect speed on the bases, probably a few defensive lapses, solid hitting, and a team the will try to capitalize on mistakes. Now, it could just be the competition, but looking at the box scores the have some pitching talent to go around and their main weakness there is just one or two guys in the bullpen. B-CU hasn't announced a starting pitcher for tonight, so there's no way to know what Auburn can expect in the department. For Auburn, at least tonight, the TIgers will throw out Will Irwin (and possibly Jon Luke Jacobs) just like they did last week against Jacksonville State. Irwin did a pretty solid job to start off with, but hit a wall late in the game. That seems to be a surprising trend with some of the Auburn pitchers. Go solid for 4 innings and the around the 5th or 6th (and not because of pitch count) a couple of singles get strung into runs and the wheels fall off. It happened Friday against Radford. It happened two Saturday's ago against Virginia.

Still, for tonight and tomorrow, this game will serve as a bit of a proving ground for Auburn. Now, whether that is testing out some arms in different places (like maybe Andrew Morris starting Wednesday) or finding roles for guys (is Jon Luke Jacobs a starter or middle reliever?) or getting some guys loose from inactivity last weekend (Brad Hendrix for one). Whatever the case, Auburn has two games against a pretty solid club (and one that shouldn't be taken likely) to test out some things. Both on the mound and in the field. The BEST thing that could happen would be for Auburn to find a bit of rhythm on offense and get some confidence heading into this weekend at Charleston. The Home Run power isn't there and I know for a couple of guys like Alvord and Fradejas the confidence has to be down because of their struggles at the plate. Fradejas especially. He's become almost too aggressive at the plate and it's resulted in some badly time strikeouts. Hopefully he can get back on track with these two midweek games.

The biggest thing I'm looking for is what version of Jon Luke Jacobs shows up to play. I'd feel confident that he'll make an appearance (whether starting Wednesday, or relief today) and if he's a solid as he was last Tuesday then I'm pretty excited and thrilled for his role in the rotation. Having a midweek guy you can turn to in confidence is a huge premium and if JLJ fills that role, then Auburn should look even better for Hoover.

PRESENTING

The Bethune Cookman College Wildcats. Powerhouses of the MEAC, NCAA Tournament Team, and why you secretly wish Marching Bands could play at baseball games:

PREVIOUSLY

The Wildcats dropped a tough loss to Grambling earlier but seem to have gotten the offense back on track after a 9 run 7th inning against Southern last Sunday.

PLAYMAKERS

There are a few, but Catcher Peter O'Brien stands out. Preseason All-American and a slugging machine.

PREVIEW

B-CU is a talented team and you don't dominate a conference just by luck alone. They will try to use speed on the bases and the key for Auburn is to get to the Wildcat Bullpen as quickly as possible.

PREDICITON

Auburn Takes 2.

Radford Wrap-Up: The World Didn’t End on Friday

2011-02-28T09:44:00.001-08:00

Let’s get that out of the way, first. The world didn’t end on Friday. Even though Auburn lost in extras for Radford and presented one of the most frustrating games of the young season, the season will still go on and, in hindsight, it’s not as big a deal. Sure, a sweep would have been nice but, upsets were all over the place in College Baseball on Friday. Including Kentucky, UGA, Mississippi State, Alabama, and a host of Top 25 teams. I would say that going forward sweeps versus series wins are what will separate Auburn from the bottom/middle of the pack in the SEC, but at this point it will be those midweek wins that will provide distance.

So how do we judge this series? Let’s look at the homework assignment:

PITCHING

~~12 or more shut out innings. Pretty simple. that breaks down to about 4 innings per game.~~
~~6 or more innings by a starting pitcher~~
No Blown Saves
~~8 or fewer runs allowed with 2 outs. Last weekend Auburn allowed 19 RBIs. 8 of those came with 2 outs. It absolutely killed AU against UVA. So let’s limit that.~~
~~An Andrew Morris/Dillon Ortman sighting.~~

HITTING

~~3 or more Stolen Bases~~
2 or more Home Runs
~~3 players with multi-hit games~~
~~3 or fewer Strikeouts for Kevin Patterson~~
4 or more multi-run innings

FIELDING

3 or fewer errors
~~1 error free game~~

So all in all it wasn’t too bad. Auburn only allowed 5 runs with 2 outs (but most of those came in the deadly 1st game). There was a blown save (a big one on Friday); only 1 HR (from Tony Caldwell), and only 3 multi-run innings. Although Auburn played an error free game on Sunday, they had 3 costly Es on Friday. So final tally from the homework assignment? 8/12 but that’s only about 66% and won’t be good enough when Auburn hits SEC play.

Stray Observations

The pitching (despite) the blown save, looked very solid this weekend. Luckie and Smith got deep in counts early and that, coupled with an anemic offense meant short afternoons for both of them. Varnadore has cemented the Sunday slot.
Speaking of Varnadore. 9 ip. 13 Ks, 2 bb, 2 h, and 0 er. DV hasn’t allowed a run in his first two starts. Super Pleasant surprise.
Ortman and Morris both made their debuts. Both had mixed results. Good in relief, but they both are/and should slot as starters.
Justin Bryant was having some arm difficulty according to Coach Pawlowski in the Friday post game and was out this weekend. No word on his return. His loss was felt pretty well. Brooks Beisner held his own in LF (despite a big error) but his bat was a big positive.
Speaking of bats. They were absolutely dead this weekend. I know the new bats are having an impact and even the Auburn players know it:

“I think part of it is the bats,” Auburn senior Kevin Patterson said. “We’re squaring a lot of balls up. We really hit some balls hard this weekend that got caught. We’ve just to got stay with our approach. To get one out you’re really going to have to square it up. Casey (McElroy) and Creede (Simpson) have been squaring the ball up. I think we’re going to hit some home runs they’re just not falling right now.”

That would be an understatement when you look at Auburn’s season through seven games. Hitting just two home runs, the Tigers on a pace for around 25 home runs in 2011 after hitting 130 last season to lead the country.

I think this weekend was more about the underrated defense of Radford than anything. The games I saw, Auburn looked absolutely snakebit. Every hit has right to a Radford defender. I hope, over time, that those hits will find gaps and translate to more runs.
One negative was the lack of sac hitting. Auburn could get guys to 3rd or 2nd but couldn’t get a timely hit to score them. Again, something that needs to be improved.

Bottom Line:

Sweep would have been nice. A series win was what was needed. 5 big games coming up against a historically surprising Bethune-Cookman team, and a momentum builder this weekend at the Charleston Tournament. The Sun came up Saturday and the Radford loss was just a blip. Still credit Auburn for bouncing back and taking the series. A loss there would have been truly demoralizing. Ask Alabama went O for 3 against Southeastern Louisiana, Central Florida, and South Alabama.

Weekend Homework

2011-02-25T10:12:00.001-08:00

Every weekend Auburn should be working on something. Baseball is about more than wins and losses and especially in the early preseason. At this point, Auburn is trying to find their identity. So how can judge (or Jobu) a team when the main focus (making the SEC tournament) isn’t on the forefront. So, after the opening weekend, what should Auburn work on. Basically, here’s what I’m looking for and hoping Auburn can accomplish for this weekend against Radford. We’ve got 3 (for now) categories and bullet points for each:

PITCHING

12 or more shut out innings. Pretty simple. that breaks down to about 4 innings per game.
6 or more innings by a starting pitcher
No Blown Saves
8 or fewer runs allowed with 2 outs. Last weekend Auburn allowed 19 RBIs. 8 of those came with 2 outs. It absolutely killed AU against UVA. So let’s limit that.
An Andew Morris/Dillon Ortman sighting.

HITTING

3 or more Stolen Bases
2 or more Home Runs
3 players with multi-hit games
3 or fewer Strikeouts for Kevin Patterson
4 or more multi-run innings

FIELDING

3 or fewer errors
1 error free game

Pretty simple stuff. I don’t think it’s asking too much for Auburn As the season progresses, the homework will become more and more focused/specialized.

Oh, and if you don’t get the reference and the Crime Dog. Here’s a refresher:

Sadly, I couldn’t find the Tom Emmanski commercial with Fred McGriff.

Help an Auburn Grad. Enjoy America’s Past Time, Too.

2011-02-25T09:19:00.001-08:00

I’ve mentioned Bethany Heck before on AUPPL. Here’s a chance to help her out and revive a dying art at the same time.

Now you can help her get her Eephus League Baseball Scorebook Revival Project off the ground and get a pretty nice Scorebook (or T-Shirt, or Poster) to boot. I keep score are games and It’s a pretty fun thing to do. So, Instead of having piles and piles of loose paper and $1 scorecards around your house, why don’t you pick up one from the Eephus league. They are gorgeously designed and if you don’t keep score, they’d still make a pretty sweet gift for any die hard stitch head.

So watch the video then go here and make sure you check out Bethany’s complete Eephus league project. Oh and if you’re new to Scorekeeping then let Bethany walk you through it here.

War Eagle and congrats to Bethany on the project.

5p Primer: Radford

2011-02-25T09:02:00.001-08:00

An old coach used to always hammer the 5 "Ps": Prior planning prevents poor performance. Not just a fancy slogan that gets a High School football coach/Driver's Ed instructor through the day; it's also a good way to know what to expect from upcoming Auburn opponents. Here's your 5 "Ps" for Auburn's next opponent: Radford University

PRESENTING

Not much can be said about Radford. The Highlanders were picked to finish 5th in the Big South, a conference which has quickly become Coastal Carolina’s to dominate. Last year they finished just above .500 with an 29-26 record. No way to sugar coat this, Radford is a decent team but that’s just putting it nicely. Best analogy? Radford is like playing Utah State in football. You should win, you should win convincingly, and a loss is a huge setback. Still, they’re on the schedule and Auburn will need the game and hopefully use the game as a tune up before the Charleston Tournament. Best thing I can say about Radford? Their mascot is the Highlander, which gives me an excuse to post this:

Hell yeah. Queen. Princes of the Universe. PA Announcer at Plainsman Park, if you are reading this. PLAY THIS SONG when Radford takes the field. You won’t have another chance for a long, long time.

PREVIOUSLY

Radford got off to a good start last weekend, taking 2 games from Army and dropping their Sunday finale against Davidson. The Army game was the first season opening win since 2000 and only the 7th time in School History that the team has opened up the season with a win. Auburn and RU have met before. The last time was in 1999 when Auburn swept the weekend series. The Highlanders' head coach is Alabama assistant Joe Racuuia who actually played against Auburn in 1994 when Radford lost a double header to Auburn. So there’s history, but a bit of dominance on Auburn’s part.

PLAYMAKERS

Every team should have a player that shines. For Radford, that player is Jeff Kemp. A 2009 Big South Freshman of the Year. He’s hitting .308 on the year right now and is a bit strikeout prone, but Kemp is hands down Radford’s best player and biggest power threat. Last year was a wash for Kemp thanks to injuries but his 2009 campaign was something any player would be pleased with:

2009 Big South Freshman of the Year; became the first frosh in Radford program history to earn the honor ... Added to the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year award watch list in April; only Big South shortstop named to the initial award list ... Started his collegiate career with safeties in 18 of his first 19 games, including a 10-game hitting streak (16-of-19, .390) to begin the 2009 season

PREVIEW

This weekend should be all about Auburn. No offense to Radford, but the Highlanders aren’t in the same league as Auburn. The biggest is decent and they did hold Army a little silent. Still, Auburn should focus on improving themselves and finding a bit of a rhythm on offense. One thing I’m personally hoping for is an Andrew Morris sighting. Rumor is that he’s back in the dugout and some relief work could help him sharpen.

PREDICTION

Auburn should sweep. If they don’t then I’ll have some serious worries about the team. I know we are facing the Highlanders, and of course, there can be only one. But in this case, Auburn is Conner MacLeod and Radford is the Kurgan. Yes. That’s a Highlander reference. It’s kind of the only thing that helped me power through this preview.

Wrapping Up Opening Weekend

2011-02-22T09:13:00.001-08:00

Okay, so this is a little delayed. Apologies. However, I kept flip flopping back and forth Sunday Night/Monday morning whether to post my initial thoughts on the weekend. In my opinion, the Jacksonville State game today (at 3:00pm) should be lumped in with the four games this weekend. 4 Teams, 4 games, and a good barometer to set the levels for the next couple of weeks. Sure, Arkansas State and UAB are fine competition, but Jacksonville State and especially UVA are a tremendous step up. Still, with the 3 games this weekend I saw a good bit of good, a solid bit of bad, and some room for improvement. So here are some stray observations from the opening weekend of the Auburn Tournament, in which Auburn held off Arkansas State, get routed by Virginia, and dominated UAB.

Stray Thoughts

So those new bats? DEFINITELY will have an impact on the game. Auburn went without a Home Run this weekend and if memory serves only 3 HRs were hit all weekend by the four teams involved. Of course, the new bats can still rock terrible pitching, as evidenced by the James Madison University Dukes, who hit 23 homeruns in their 4 game opening weekend against Bucknell.
The lineup still needs a bit of shuffling. Auburn got a bit of spark on Sunday when Justin Hargett batted lead-off (swapping with and moving Justin Fradejas to the 9 hole). Still, there isn't a lot a ton of protection for Kevin Patterson in the linup up. KP batted Cleanup on Friday and Saturday and moved down to the 6th spot on Sunday. He had a better game Sunday, going 1-2 with a double, an rbi, and a walk. Hargett probably had the best weekend offensively. That's a big relief for Auburn and will be much needed in the coming weeks.
Still a bit of kinks to iron out when it comes to the short game. Auburn laid down some terrible bunts and really didn't push/pull them as well as they did last year. Hopefully with a bit of real world experience, that can change. When they work it's a key part of the offense. Justin Bryant for example, laid down a great bunt and it caused Arkansas State to completely implode.
The infield is in flux and I wish it wasn't that way. Alvord has a cannon and can easily make plays in the field. However, he took a couple of bad jumps on Saturday and it leads to Virginia runs. Repetition and Communication. That's going to be key to get Alvord accustomed to the field. I still think the IF will be McElroy at 3B, Alvord at SS, and Hargett at 2B. It's just going to have to take a bit of work.
Two things stood out that were HUGE positives for Auburn over the weekend:

The pitching. Well, the pitching outside of Saturday. Slade Smith had his sinker working on Friday and Ethan Wallen cleaned up a bit of Zach Blatt mess to preserve the bullpen. Derek Varnadore pitched beautifully on Sunday. Rather surprisingly. 7 innings strong and 0 er. That's fantastic for a Sunday. Justin Bryant was equally surprising in a save opportunity on Sunday. The only worrisome part was that Brad Hendricks and Zach Blatt, two guys who Auburn needs to step up, were virtually ineffective. Still, once the settle in, get some confidence then our pitching staff will be the strength I had hoped it would be going in to the season.
The bench play. Such a good sight. During the Virginia game, Pawlowski was just subbing guys and giving them experience and they made the most of their chances. Mike Reed (who didn't have a graphic ready for the video board, that should show you who much Auburn expected him to play this weekend. Oh and a guy I incorrectly labeled in my scorebook as Mike Lee) came through in the 8th with Auburn's 3rd hit and first run of the day. Brooks Beisner looked pretty good and so did Tyler Dial (who got the first RBI of Saturday). That's healthy competition for Auburn and will just increase the competitiveness of the club.

All in all I was actually happy with the weekend. Sure, the UVA loss stung but I think UVA and their pitching are on a crash course to Omaha. The guys are good. Here's how I see this "preseason". March 11th is D-Day for Auburn. That's when Arizona State comes in to town. Until then, Auburn has 11 games to adjust, tweak, and fiddle with the lineup/order/fielding/rotation, everything. Auburn will be favored in each of those 11 games, but Bethune Cookman, Jax State, and College of Charleston will still provide quality competition and keep Auburn honest.

So we head into Arizona State. The tilt with the Sun Devils should be Auburn's last dress rehearsal before SEC play. Let's see how the Tigers progress until then.

Today at 3:00pm, Auburn will take on Jacksonville State and we'll see another new face on the mound for Auburn. It's probably going to be an Octopus Day and Auburn will throw out a number of arms to get reps and prepare for the weekend against Radford. War Eagle.

JOBUs

Let's not forget our friend Jobu. I'm feeling a little generous and so we've got 4 (out of 5) Jobus for the opening weekend. Based on the positives in the pitching and the bench.

5P Primer: Virginia

2011-02-18T10:29:00.001-08:00

PRESENTING

The University of Virginia. Call them the Hoos. You might know them as the Cavaliers or "Cavs" but the go-to nickname and one that gets bandied about the Baseball team is the Hoos. Short for Wahoos. The origin is actually steeped in the baseball history:

What Is A Wahoo?

The most prominent and widely accepted nicknames of Virginia athletic teams are "Cavaliers", "Wahoos", and "Hoos".

Legend has it that Washington and Lee baseball fans dubbed the Virginia players "Wahoos" during the fiercely contested rivalry that existed between the two in-state schools in the 1890's. No doubt this was a reference to the carp of the same name found in the waters of Virginia which is capable of retaining a prodigious amount of liquid to increase its size and fend off enemies. By 1940 "Wahoos" was in general use around the grounds (campus).

Today the University faithful or "Hoos" for short, embrace and celebrate the "Wahoos" spirited capacity to prevail as their athletic teams continue the proud tradition of success and achievement at UVA.

Basically it's a frat-boy fish. One that drinks twice it's body weight and uses the "added" liquid to fend off enemies. Still, it's a nice tie from UVA to Auburn. Today, think of "Hoos as their version of Auburn's Plainsman.

The Hoos have a bit of nice MLB 3B talent, too. Mark Reynolds and Ryan Zimmerman.

UVA comes into this weekend ranked pretty his in all polls. 15 in Baseball America, 17 in Collegiate Baseball, 13 in the NCBWA, and 14 in USA Today/ESPN. They are also a pretty good lock to host a Regional.

PREVIOUSLY

Last year was a banner year for UVA. The Hoos went 51-14 and set a school record for wins. They won the ACC Coastal, won their Regional, and advanced to Super Regional. All that success was thanks to a school record 9 players that were selected in the 2010 MLB Draft. RHP Tyler Wilson and C Kenny Swab decided to return. So yeah, these guys are good.

Overall, Auburn holds a 9-3 Edge in the Series and has won the last four meetings. The last time the two met was in 1988 when Auburn won 13-8.

PLAYMAKERS

There's one name you need to know when it comes to Virginia. Danny Hultzen. The guy is a complete stud. 1st Team All-American from each of the major polls. The Junior LHP is the ACC Pitcher of the Year and posted an 11-1 Record with a 2.78 ERA in 2010. He led the ACC with 11 wins and 123 Strikeouts. Thankfully though, Auburn will miss him this weekend. He's pitching today (Friday) in his normal spot. The only space we may see him is if he grabs a bat, where Superman becomes a bit more human ).281 ave, 0 HR, 10 RBI).

Instead, Auburn will focus on Tyler Wilson. A RHP who is moving into the rotation after 51 consecutive relief appearances. He's made 3 career starts but his last one came in 2009. Wilson was a Reds draft pick and has a bit of overpowering stuff. He has an 8-4 Record with a 3.41 ERA last year.

PREVIEW

Fans expecting fireworks might want to stay at home. This is going to be a low scoring game on Saturday. UVA has one of the best pitching staffs in the nation and led the NCAA in ERA the past six years. UVA returns 5 position starters and 10 pitchers who saw action last year. The bullpen is solid and their only question is at closer. The Offense isn't a powerful attack but the get on base and they are peppered with experience. They only bit of breaking in they will have to do is in the middle infield. Stephen Bruno (SS), Chris Taylor (DH/SS)and Reed Gragnani (IF/OF) were groomed last year to take over their respective roles in 2011. The strategy is simple. Be patient and let Wilson work his pitch count up. Manufacture runs in the early innings and hope for an explosion later. Defensively, this will be a huge test for Auburn. UVA puts a lot of pressure on pitchers with motion and steals. Any error on Saturday will be costly.

PREDICTION

The Hoos are going to be the toughest team Auburn faces for a couple weeks. A win and it's time to rev up the prediction train with the hope caboose early. A loss? It's not the end of the world. I'm going to say UVA will take this game but Auburn will make it close.

Preseason Regional Radar

2011-02-18T08:51:00.001-08:00

There hasn't been a first pitch but there is already talk about Omaha. Think of this as your overview of the Regional Radar for the season. I'll be using 4 different sources this season: Baseball America, College Baseball Daily, Perfect Game, and ESPN. As the season progresses, we'll start to get the RPIs in and I'll be using Boyd's World's and Warren Nolan's RPIs just like last year. As well as Auburn's tournament resume at this point. Unfortnately, at this point, all we have are 3 projections. No RPIs and No Resumes at this point.

SITE	HOST	SEED 2	SEED 3	SEED 4
PerfectGame	Florida St (6)	AUBURN	FL Atlantic	FL Gulf Coast
CB Daily	Clemson	AUBURN	Citadel	Charlotte
ESPN	UConn	Wash. St	AUBURN	Stoney Brook
Baseball America	Florida St	FL Int'l	AUBURN	Jax State

There you have it. Best projection comes from ESPN. Even though Auburn would get shipped off to Norwhich, it's a winnable region and UConn still hasn't found a way to battle out of a regional, no matter how many times the NCAA puts it there for "the betterment of the game".

The worst? Well, this is just nitpicky, but Perfect Game putting AU in Tallahassee and having the 'Noles be a National Seed. Plus, two VERY solid clubs in FAU and FGCSU could mean an early exit from the postseason.

Looking over all of these, one thing becomes clear. If Auburn wants to host a regional it has to be in the Top 4 in the SEC just to have an outside shot. Florida, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt all seem like host locks in the preseason. With a solid resume, Auburn could make a case that the #4 team deserves a host bid as well.

Take a Minute

2011-02-17T10:10:00.001-08:00

I swear baseball content is coming. In fact, I would expect a pretty slammed Friday morning on AUPPL. However, before I shift focus completely to baseball, I just want to get something off my chest. You haven't been under a rock. You know what's happened in Auburn over the past two days. You know who did it. You know why he did it. You know more than you ever thought you would know about a 62 year old man in East Alabama.

That is where it needs to stop. I'm not going to preach and carry on and say people have overstepped boundaries but at this moment, it is venturing dangerously close. Especially now that people have discovered the identities of his children.

Poisoning the trees was a horrible thing to do. I agree. Not just for Auburn fans, but for fans around the nation:

You don't have to be an Auburn grad to have a Toomer's story. I have one.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/02/17/toomers-corner/index.html#ixzz1EEc92tGT

I would recommend reading Andy Staples's personal account of Toomer's Corner at the link above. He's not alone. There are millions of people who have "Toomer's Stories".

So where do we go from here. Well, I can't tell you what you can and can not do. That's not my place. I can only give a level headed recommendation.

Don't Go After Harvey Updyke

That's not your place. I can say that. I can also say this: his life is over. Leave it to the Legal system. Don't be a vigilante. Don't have your own personal Falling Down moment. His story should end here.

Don't Roll the Trees

Rolling Toomer's at this point would be even more detrimental. Removing the Toilet Paper with water hoses (which is normally done) is out of the question now. The oaks are in a state where they are not actively drawing water from the soil. Blasting the tress with water will allow the herbicide to spread in the soil and whatever slim chance of survival the Oaks had...will slowly diminish.

Plant a tree

It's pretty simple. I have one in my backyard at home, actually. Plant a tree. It doesn't have to be a Toomer's Seedling either. Just plant a tree and make it your own personal Toomer's tree.

Don't Equate This Action with All Alabama Fans

Here's where we are getting into murky waters. Yes, an Alabama fan did this. Yes, he did this because he hated Auburn. Still, and this might be asking much, but in the words of the Osmonds, "One Bad Apple Don't Spoil the Whole Bunch". Chief Tommy Dawson of the Auburn Police Department mentioned it. Jimmy Rane's comments at the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce this afternoon will back up the same sentiment. Even my buddy Will Health, who paraphrased a quote from Se7en mentioned something to the same affect. Here is that quote:

I've been trying to figure something in my head, and maybe you can help me out, yeah? When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you're insane?

This guy was insane. Sane people don't use herbicide to destroy the monuments of Rivals. Unfortunately, he was an Alabama fan and that's the buzz of the story. In any situation, the good might outnumber the bad, but damn if that bad doesn't become the most vocal and poisonous minority.

Instead, let's use this as a lesson for both sides. We passed Hatfields/McCoy territory a long time ago. Living in this state, seeing the success of both programs, watching as facebook/twitter/blogs become a monster of (mis)information and accusations. It's becoming a recipe for disaster.

The majority of Alabama fans are sane, rational, and don't condone the actions of one of their own. Yet, the vocal, adamant, and poisonous minority in their fan base (and in Auburn's too) is growing and it's scary. It truly is.

Hug Toomer's One Last Time

An impromptu display/rally will take place on Saturday:

Join us in hugging the tree. It needs our love. Invite your friends!
Our tree needs us. The city and university have spent so much time and effort preserving this great landmark and tradition for us, and for other generations to enjoy. I personally grew up loving the atmosphere and beauty of Toomer's Corner after a game and even when it wasn't being rolled. Someone has attacked the place we gather in victory and celebration.
I know that the university said the fate of the beloved tree is grim, but maybe we can show it and the rest of the nation how much we love not only the tree but what it stands for, which was so cruelly attacked.

The even starts at Noon. Auburn baseball starts at 1pm. Auburn basketball starts at 3pm. There, I've planned your Saturday for you. You're welcome.