News of the day, 3/17
BREAKING NEWS: Auburn women's team made the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed playing George Washington in the first round. The Tigers lost by two points against GW in early January. It was an excellent game between two teams that were evenly matched. This second go-round has Auburn optimistic to say the least.I was over at Nell Fortner's house and the scene was highly electric -- lost of screams and perhaps a few tears. The team was extremely geeked to make the field after a four-year hiatus.
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Hey everyone. I enjoyed a pretty low-profile weekend in advance of what could be a pretty busy and fun week. We've got the women's team aiming for the NCAAs, the women's swim team headed for the NCAAs, ASU men in the NIT, baseball at home next weekend and, of course, a smattering of football thrown in for everyone's sanity.
Let's get to business.
I haven't said this in a while and I'm sorry: Thanks for making this ths Auburn blog on the 'net. That's why we call it the HABOTN.
I want to address something that one of my favorite HOTTIES, jaytiger, suggested in the blog comments over the weekend.He didn't agree with my belief that the basketball team's troubles are Jeff Lebo's fault. I guess my re-direct is: Then whose fault is it? Lebo now is 57-64 in four seasons with a 19-45 record against Southeastern Conference teams. I don't think Lebo had a role in Josh Dollard's "medical" drama or Vot Barber's broken wrist or Boubacar Sylla's ankle or Archie Miaway's academic problems. Of course not.
Still, the team doesn't win. His best season so far is a 17-15 campaign in 2007. Some of you all act like Barber and Dollard were going to play like Kevin Garnett and Elton Brand.
Barring an completely unexpected change of events, Lebo will get another season to show that the injures -- and not poor overall stewardship -- were to blame. The pressure will be high. If the team sputters, I don't know where Lebo would go from here.
The baseball team didn't perform particularly well at Florida during the weekend, losing all three games. I don't know what to think about this team overall. The Gators were a pretty reasonable (read: Not overpowering) first-series opponent and you saw how that went.Here's a look at the entire batting order's performance:
Caldwell, C/PH -- 1.000 (1/1), 2 RBIs
Morris, 1B -- .583 (7/12), 2 RBIs
Hargett, 2B -- .400 (6/15) 2 RBIs
Patterson, DH -- .384 (5/13), 1 RBI
Jenkins, C -- .333 (2/6)
Fletcher, LF -- .250 (2/8)
Cunningham, 3B -- .250 (1/4)
Jones, OF -- .200 (2/10)
Greinke, OF -- .200 (1/5)
Hall, SS -- .181 (2/11), 2 RBIs
Bianucci, RF -- .167 (2/12)
Sanders, 3B -- .125 (1/8)
Mummey, CF -- .000 (0/5)
TEAM: .290 (32/110) with an OBP of .372. That isn't awful. The problem was that RBI production wasn't spready out evenly over the three-game series. The team hit very well on Saturday ... when Scott Shuman melted down on the mound.
Here's your pitching breakdown:
Starters: 12.28 ERA, 2.23 WHIP
Bullpen: 3.95 ERA, 1.46 WHIP
The problem is pretty obvious. Auburn's starters have to be better than this for the team to have any chance at a .500 record in the league.
HARD TIMES: Kentucky (18-0) plays at Auburn this weekend.
posted by Jay G. Tate at
11:41 AM
50 Comments:
How much longer are we going to have to put up with Slater running the baseball program? I mean clearly the guy is not capable of getting the job done. Why not hire Pierce away from Troy and see what he can do at AU?
Pierce just got a $4 million upgrade to the facilities at Troy which make it comparable to those at Auburn. He has had a lot of success at Troy even been more competitive than Auburn the last few years, why would he leave for a inferior program? And no, I'm not joking
Slater doesn't have much more time to show what he can do. I think he has some really good youngsters on that roster -- particularly the hitters.
I think Auburn could get Pierce away from Troy if it so chose. Auburn's facilites still are in the top 10%.
That is why you need to focus on getting the pressure on Slater and letting up on Lebo. Basketball facilities have stunk for a while. With the baseball facilities, AU should be able to produce a winner, not so with basketball.
Lebo can coach - Slater can't.
I haven't researched this, but here goes anyway. Iv'e been told by a couple of savvy baseball folks in Alabama that Slater doesn't handle pitchers well. These folks blamed Slater for burning out Evan Crawford's arm. Crawford has rebuilt and is doing bang up as a reliever. According to one buddy, this was the Slater's biggest fault and that he handled the players well on a personal level and making game decisions.
I don't follow AU baseball closely, but have noticed the starting pitching problem prior to this weekend. If the problem is pitching; is it player development/training, or rest-game use issues, or lack of pitcher recruit talent due to a reputation?
It's real clear Slater was great on "Saved by the Bell" but he is not an SEC caliber coach, and never will be. We got what we could get at the time. Great Recruiter, bad coach!
Is Auburn baseball worth the discussion?
yes
I think it is worth discussing. I, like a lot of others, want Auburn to be among the best at everything, academically and athletically. We should be striving for excellence in all things. Isn't that worth discussing?
Josh Moon, my homey from the newspaper, also believes Auburn baseball isn't worth a discussion. He says nobody cares. Maybe he's right.
Jay, was brad lester at the scrimmage he did not participate in? I don't buy the whole he is the only guy we have so we don't him beat up. Isn't the point of this spring practice to get better acquainted with offense? What better way to do that than to get reps? That situation has got me worried with his history. I think he is going to be auburn most productive offensive player next year. He seems like the perfect fit for the offense.
Auburn has produced some mlb players, so i always hope they do well. frank thomas, in particluar, was always quick with a "war eagle" when he did spring training here in tucson. i just hope au beats arizona in swimming and diving. you wouldn't believe how the press out here ignores au's accomplishments in that regard. Last year's headline, after the tigers smacked arizona down in s & d was "arizona finishes 2nd in swimming." the entire article dwelt on how arizona only had a limited # of swimmers with which to compete. I knew, as did anyome who understands s & d, that they had a limited # who QUALIFIED for the ncaa's. au left some of their better swimmmers on the bench, preferring to let their seniors swim, qualified full squads and still won both the men's and women's championships. May it be so again this year. war eagle.
Jay G ...
No offense brother, but you and Josh aren't "lifers." That's why it's not worth discussing for you guys. It's different when the auburn creed is something you actually believe in.
You can back up on that one, true.
a.) I've been covering your school for 10 years. I may not be a lifer, but I'm certainly no Johnny-come-lately.
b.) I think baseball is worth discussing, which explains why I discuss it here and why I post detailed weekend batting and pitching reports here. I'm a baseball guy, been a baseball guy and will be a baseball guy.
Jay, If you spent great spring afternoons or evenings at Plainsman Park with your date or buds, while a student at AU, you would feel that it is worth discussing. I don't follow baseball closely, but definitely care about it and will discuss it.
Ron: My (educated) guess is that Lester was a little banged up, nothing serious, and there was no real need to have him out there for a scrimmage at this point.
No Mario. No Tate. There's no reason to get Lester into the medical center right now. It's clear that No. 1 can play.
They're trying to get the passing game rolling right now.
I said Moon doesn't think it's worth discussing ... and he thinks a lot of people are with him on that sentiment.
I DISAGREE, which explains why I dedicate significan space to the baseball team here.
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.
Jay is so sexy when he gets mad.
A good baseball manager is hard to find. I mean, look at Bobby Cox. He's been with the Braves for 27 years and he's absolutely the worst manager in baseball. Point is, good ones are hard to find. Hal Baird was a good one. He won't be easy to replace.
Yea, well Mr. Moon can take his opinion and ......sorry, this is a PG blog. Anyway, he proved himself sufficiently incompetent this past fall with some of the more ridiculous sports writing and opinions I've ever read. He tends to gravitate toward the "professional antagonist" version of sports writing, much like Slimebaum. Keep the AU baseball coming, Jay!
I am in the Tate camp on running backs, both Tates. I don't think Lester is going to be the man anyway. I think Ben will be the go to guy this year.
re: comments by true believer: hey, i'm an aum grad, did some time as a gta at au. lifelong au fan--probably with, or without going there, i would still be an auburn fan. i've converted several folks into au fans, none of whom have any ties to au whatsoever, but they love the enthusiasm i and my local au supporters possess. just 'cause you aren't from there doesn't mean you can't believe. next time you fly into la for a game against usc, or fly into indiana for the ncaa s & d competitions, or fly in every year for the ua-au game, lemme know. perhaps, then, you, too, can be considered a "lifer."
I mean, I'm no fan. My feelings about Auburn haven't changed since the day I arrived in Oct. 1998. I met some great people and some awful people ... just like I'd expect anywhere.
My job is to cover the Tigers: football, basketball, baseball and everything else. So we'll discuss it all here.
I just wish Auburn had a Guitar Hero/Rock Band team.
Occasionally there are people like you. I'm glad of it. But it does not happen often.
I haven't missed a game a home game since I was born. I made the trip to LA and and a whole lot more. I graduated from AU. My mom and dad graduated from AU. Their parents graduated from AL Poly Tech (what AU used to be called).
I mean, I don't see the Swimming and Diving team mentioned on hear much. Do you? But, WE care about that as much as baseball, football, and basketball. If we had a tiddly winks team we would care about that too.
But most of all, we care about Auburn. All of it. Everything about it. It was and is part of our lives. A big part. For some of us, the development part. We went there as children and left as adults. We experienced something.
Sorry to say it, but 10 years of sports coverage, or teaching there for a while, or any of that, doesn't make up for that experience. You'll never have the emotions and feelings that "hoopie" was trying to describe. You can't have them, because you don't have them.
All that said, I AM glad that you are boht such a faithful supporters.
No, I am not David Housel.
Jay G, you proved my point with your second comment. "I'm no fan." That's why it isn't worth discussing. It really doesn't mean anything to you or Josh, it's just your job.
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Mr Moon would be right. Also, guys, AU's baseball facilities aren't THAT nice. C'mon. AU should win just because they have these "great" facilities? Funny. Sounds like a bunch of bammers.
Also, why is Jay to endorse Lebo and not Slater? Show me the logic there? Winning is the name of the game, right?
A little more for you fanatics. You want the pressure eased off of Lebo, right? Being last place in a watered down 2008 SEC league isn't the coach's fault, right? It's circumstance, correct?
If you'll pay very close attention to your own comments you'll realize that you're saying AU isn't worthy of having a good basketball coach. Lebo's as good as it gets. He's the crown jewel. Sonny Smith, Dirty Chuckie and The Rifleman never existed.
Oh yeah. Chris Porter and Marqis Daniels, and Sweet 16 appearances never existed under Ellis either. The facilities were too bad. It was all a dream.
I got a good laugh out of the poster who said Lester would not be the man in '08. Barring injury or grade issues, Lester IS AU's running game. Don't get me worng. I'm pleasantly surprised by Tate. But Tate's changeup probably isn't as shiny without Lester in the lineup. That point was proven during the course of the '07 season.
There's not a offense of any sort in the country that doesn't want #1 at least sharing many carries a game with its offense.
If you're running a spread offense #1's your #1 guy.
You're right: This is my job.
Lebo vs. Slater is an interesting one. I know what Lebo's problem is. He doesn't have enough top-of-the-conference talent.
Slater? I really don't know. I think he has enough talent to at least be competitive in the SEC, yet Slater's team haven't been competitive. It's one of life's great mysteries.
Speaking of teams not usually discussed . . .
Congrats to the AU women for making the tournament.
It's nice to have a team in the NCAA's every 4-5 years.
I saw on the bottom line that the first round game vs. GW will be televised, although I didn't catch when.
To put it matter of factly, Lebo can't recruit. But, we need to keep blaming that on facilities. Tubs started that trend. So let's stick with it.
Wow, glad this place devolved into a pissing contest of who's the biggest AU fan. Who cares?
Jay, I'm glad you arent a fan. It's not your place to be a fan. You are a journalist and it is your job to be objective with the facts and not let your "fandom" skew your views. I think you do a good job of that, and pray that we never end up with a fan doing the reporting. It would be hard to value someone's opinion when you know they're heart is with the home team.
Just my $.02
I agree with Mr. hip hop the information and opinions are 10 times better/more honest when they don't come from fans of the team.
And brad lester will definately be the best tailback in this system or any system next year. I like ben tate and all but having lester in the lineup will be crucial.
I agree that Brad Lester is The Guy, but it's important to remember that Ben Tate is one hell of a receiver. He has some incredible hands.
Jay, I'm glad this subject came up about being a fan as a reporter.Do you find yourself rooting for AU during games or do you honestly not care about the result? I thought you might find yourself rooting for AU as a result of spending so much time around the players and coaches(or does that make you know them too well and not pull for them)?Also do you see yourself differently compared to say Jason Caldwell or someone like him who works for the team's unofficial web-site?
I've heard you say that about tate before but i have never seen it during a game largely in part to the "chopping a tree down with a machete" offense we had last year. But that is good to know.
Jay,
With what you've seen so far from Spring practice, does AU have a legit shot at the west this year?
winning the west will all come down to QB play at Auburn and at LSU. Whoever is better there should win the West.
re: fan v. reporter: We'll get into this at some point soon. I'll address it in the main blog.
In short, I never find myself cheering for Auburn. There are a few people I've come across whom I really, really like. I wouldn't say I cheer for them, but I like to see good things happen to them ... whether they're at Auburn or not.
One of those guys is Joe Pannunzio, who coached at Auburn in 99, left for Murray State in 2000 and now is an assistant at Miami, Fla.
He's a pro's pro.
Shannon Weaver is another one ... former basketball coach. He lied to me occasionally, lots of people do, but Weav is a good dude.
Ben Tate has great hands. Ben Tate is just a good football player and he's getting better and better. He will be playing on Sundays as will the dynamo, Lester. In case you haven't noticed, Fannin has exceptional hands as well. Most former QBs do. See Courtney Taylor. We may one day see Deron Furr in a different role as it pertains to his hands.
Crudup! Where you been baby?
You are thinking what I have been thinking and mentioned a couple of weeks ago. Could Furr be used like Hines Ward? Play another spot until he is needed elsewhere?
Probably not, but it's a possibility.
I'd rate Tate's hands a 9 out of 10. He blew me away in two-a-days last year by adjusting to some off-target throws with surprising ease.
Then the season started and he didn't catch much of anything. Duh.
Furr could be a Ward on steroids. Hines was smallish in college although dynamic when he get a couple seasons underhis belt. Furr is a big boy. I could easily see him in an expanded role. He's got the wheels, too.
I've been working too hard, Phred.
You know it's a down year in the SEC and college basketball in general and when UF and UK are irrelevent and UGA wins the SEC Tourney.
What gives?
Also, what's everybody's opinion on Miles' raise? I see Finebaum made a big deal out of it saying LSU was obsessed with Saban. I kind of see it the other way. Finebaum and his cronies seem to be overly obsessed with Miles' success. He's won more games in less time than Saban has. He, like Saban, totally fell backwards into the BCSNC game and easily won against another inferior Big Ten opponent.
What makes Saban superior to Miles? Saban has absolutely blown it since leaving LSU. And, Saban NEVER took the coaching risks Miles did in '07. Miles would have had another Saban like 4 to 5 loss season without them.
Crudup your comment reminded me of something. Everytime i hear the word dynamic i think of tony franklin. How many times a day do you think he uses that word?
And jay isn't more fun to cover good teams as oppose to the ones that suck (this year's basketball team vs. 1998's team). That's what i would have the hardest time with. I would find myself just wanting to cover a team that actually matters nationally.
hey jonathan ... the inferior tigers won.
Yea phred, I was there. Ugly game by both sides.
Franklin does use it a lot. We'll really see what this guy's all about in about 6 months. Just not sure right now.
Jay, I hope you feel better soon.
When I posted at 9:06 re:baseball, I had not seen your 9:03 post.
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