Hey everyone. I'm working on the big BASEBALL PREVIEW that will run in Friday's editions. Since space always is limited in the newspaper product, I thought this fine blog would be an ideal place to run what I believe will be the team's opening-day lineup.Here we go:
CF Trent Mummey, Fr. (Speed guy, knows how to use speed on offense.)
2B Joseph Sanders, Soph. (Could be good in a variety of places. Bat control puts him here.)
RF Mike Bianucci, Sr. (Experienced. He's up for all the awards.)
1B Hunter Morris, Fr. (Big power bat. Coveted prospect this time last year.)
DH Kevin Patterson, Fr. (Even bigger power bat. Gatorade National Player of the Year finalist in 07.)
LF Brian Fletcher, Fr. -- OR -- Ben Jones, Jr. (Jones is patient and has good speed. I don't know much about Fletcher yet.)
SS Matt Hall, Jr. (Transfered from Arizona State.)
3B David Cunningham, RFr. (Missed 07 with back surgery.)
C Ryan Jenkins (Defensive specialist. Impatient at the plate, but has the skills to be pretty productive.)
SP1 -- Luke Greinke
Other SPs -- You're looking at Taylor Thompson, Austin Hubbard, Scott Shuman and Cory Luckie.
MRPs -- Sean Ray, Brad Hendrix, Grant Dayton
Setup -- Bryan Woodall
Closer -- Evan Crawford
Jay, in your opinion why does college baseball get so little coverage? Just about every website (espn, SI, etc.) has sections dedicated to NCAA Football and Basketball, but little-to-no coverage of Baseball. What gives??
ReplyDeleteAnd it blows my mind how ESPN doesnt show a single college baseball game all season, then they force feed us the College World Series 8 hours a day for two weeks. It would be like them never airing basketball then suddenly throwing March Madness at us. It seems it would help their ratings to give teams some exposure during the season to draw interest to the postseason.
Nice balls.
ReplyDeletedo we have a chance to get to omaha this year?
ReplyDeleteI am glad that I am not a sports celebrity in this state. After what happened on Finebaum today, if I am Jay Barker, I am hiring a PI to find all of the asses I need to kick.
ReplyDeleteIt's unbelievable what some people will say or insinuate about someone they think they know.
I mean ... really ... it was terrible.
ReplyDeleteI don't listen to Finebaum. Do tell.
ReplyDeleteRe: lack of college baseball coverage. I don't think it has widespread appeal. The SEC, the ACC and parts of the Big 12 and Pac-10 have great fan support.
This is pretty much a Southeast thing.
Re: Balls. They're selling Chicken McBalls at a joint down the street if you're interested, cpf.
I'm curious about the finebaum issue re barker. what was said? i'm no fan of barker's since he pretty much had his way with auburn. That said, he pretty much clawed his way into the qb slot and kept it 'til he left. re baseball, I think Omaha is in the equation but, I think, college baseball doesn't get the coverage it deserves because so few quality players even go to, much less finish college as baseball players.
ReplyDeletejay,
ReplyDeletechicken mcballs? wtf? i'm in knoxville. share the knowledge.
jay said he was offended by barkley's comments on his show.
ReplyDeletethe entire afternoon was dedicated to dragging him through the mud over his recent and bitter divorce. I've met him. He's a good guy. The things that were said were just way over the line.
It bothered me enough that I just emailed his show to let him know that there are AUBS who don't support that kind of crap.
having also recently gone through a difficult divorce, I was trying to put myself in his place. It made me physically ill.
ReplyDeleteWhat were Barkley's comments on Jay's show?
ReplyDeleteI dont really agree, scott.
ReplyDeleteNot many basketball players stay four years at school, but March Madness is one of, if not THE, biggest spectacle of the year.
It would be nice if they at least gave highlights or did some kind of stories throughout the year. It's like it doesnt exist then BAM, the college world series is here and most people have no idea who any of the players are.
Chicken McBalls ... it's an inside joke because I know cpf and he's allegedly allergic to chicken.
ReplyDeleteSo Finebaum was dogging Barker over a divorce? Seriously? If so, man, that's a new low. JAY BARKER?
hip hop
ReplyDeleteBarkely on CNN ... republicans are fake Christians
Barker on his show ... I'm offended
Finebaum ... as usual let everybody else do the talking for him ... personal attacks on Barker
Oh, THOSE comments.
ReplyDeleteBarker shouldnt be offended unless he is one of the alleged "fake Christians". If he's right with the Man Upstairs then why would it offend him?
But I agree, Finebaum's an ass anyway.
have those balls been rubbed?
ReplyDeleteThey look pretty pristine to me.
ReplyDeleteCouple of things. First, let's give Chuck a little more credit here. What he said was there are a lot of fake Christians out there, people who are quick to judge others. He didn't call Republicans fake Christians.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not worry too much about Barker. He's dating Sara Evans. How bad could life be?
regarding baseball, many great players don't even go to college for baseball experience. mlb has a farm system that the other major sports lack. that's either for good or ill, but it is there. a friend of mine, here in tucson, did the college thing, then became a left handed reliever for the cubs. he really only had 2 productive seasons because his shoulder gave out. he could have done much better not getting his degree, or foregoing college altogether, like most baseball players do. (not that he should be pitied--the sob made out like a bandit). true enough, college basketball is, for good players, a two year wait 'til the nba. not living in the montgomery area anymore, very confused about the chicken references. now, if you're into javelina...
ReplyDeleteThe fact that anybody cares what Barkley says is always laughable to me. I don't care where he went to school. And neither does he. He's a clown that's not smart enough to wish he didn't say what he just said.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad baseball is relatively unimportant down here.
ReplyDeleteThe pros protect the young pitcher's arms much more than colleges. The pros measure, train and develop the young arms in the farm system, while college coaches are under pressure to either win now or get fired.
ReplyDeleteThere is pressure from the collges on the kids to pitch no matter what. If a pitcher isn't able to pitch hard in one year, the scholly will probably be reduced the next year. Most all baseball scholarships are year to year and the % is negotiable by the college. Once the kid starts at a college, he can't enter the pro draft until he is 21.
I agree with everyone's assessment of the talent level in college baseball effecting the quality. But ESPN has NOTHING to show after March Madness, other than the NBA, until late August. Why not give it a shot?
ReplyDelete*and MLB (which not many people watch either).
ReplyDeleteAm I supposed to know who Sara Evans is?
ReplyDeleteActually Josh you are wrong. Chuck said, "Republicans ... mumble, mumble ... they are a bunch of fake christians." Not that it matters much.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, I don't know how Mr. Barker felt about what went on yesterday. He may have thought it was big fun. I am saying though, that had I been in his place, I wouldn't have thought it was such a great thing even, even if I was dating the lovely Ms. Jenna Fischer.
speaking of...when does the office come back? its been forever. stupid wirters strike.
ReplyDeletehow bout that LOST episode last night? it was pretty good
Josh - by the way, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I mean it as a compliment. Your show is much better than I thought it would be. I am really enjoying it. Keep it up. I've gotten a little tired of Longshore and I hope this will work out for you and the Gump.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know who Sara Evans is? That is very disappointing. First, we have the shenanigans with the Evangeline Lilly photo, now this. Because we're friends and I'd like to see this blog continue to be the Hottest Auburn Blog on the 'Net, here ya go: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000B5QWNS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
ReplyDeletephred: The way I understood Barkley was he was saying the Republican party was full of those type people, not that all were fake Christians.
And thanks for the compliment. We pitched this as a show completely different than the morning show. Glad to know a few folks enjoy that. HABOTN leader Jay Tate is scheduled to appear this afternoon, so listen up.
"The Office" returns April 10, with the first of six new episodes. "30 Rock" and "Scrubs" are both new the same night and "Earl" returns a week earlier.
I am anxious to hear G money. What are you going to talk about Jay G.
ReplyDeleteI think you should say that Bammers are "fake fans" and that Nicki is a "fake coach" and that Finebaum is a "fake host" and see if you can get some crap started.
ReplyDeleteoh yeah ... and that Sir Charles is a "fake gubernatorial candidate".
ReplyDeleteI am sure you can spell it correctly since I can't.
Just had an interesting talk with Pat Dye about recruiting.
ReplyDeleteI'll post some highlights after I transcribe this tape...
Give it up, Jay. Can't wait to read Pat's views.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about talking with Lebo, which occurred at 1:15. That set me back just a tad.
ReplyDeleteLebo said he thinks Frankie Sullivan will be a point guard at Auburn. Sounds like an interesting thing considering ball-handling appears to be Sullivan's weakest skill.