montgomeryadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:
5.26.2010

AU Baseball: What Went Wrong Today?

Hey everyone. So you were really up on the Tigers after they won the Western Division and pounded Ole Miss into pieces last weekend.

Now you're looking at that same team, fresh off a 7-1 loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament, and you're thinking: What just happened?

Baseball just happened.

It's the least predictable major sport. A great day from an opposing pitcher means you have almost no shot. That's what Auburn experienced today.

KEY ELEMENTS:

  • Alabama starter Jimmy Nelson was really good today. That was his third consecutive complete-game win. He knew even Auburn, the league's most homer-prone team, would struggle to bop the ball out of spacious Regions Park. So he threw good strikes and dared the Tigers to hit it deep. They didn't.

  • Auburn starter Cory Luckie was not as good as Nelson.

  • Auburn's relievers pitched poorly for the most part.

  • Alabama played excellent defense ... particularly at first base.

  • Auburn played imperfect defense. An error at second base early in the game created drama that shouldn't have existed.

And that, HOTTIES, comprises every known reason for the Tigers' struggles.

Auburn plays South Carolina tomorrow morning in an elimination game. The Gamecocks are better than Alabama, but the Tigers will be throwing de facto ace Grant Dayton against them.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

92 Comments:

Blogger Seanzie said...

Sad substance.

3:48 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

C'mon, Scottie, Get some!

3:48 PM  
Blogger Honey said...

Colorado hellos

3:48 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

i hang my head in shame Seanzie.

3:49 PM  
Blogger Honey said...

I leave town and put y'all in charge of one small task! :) Hate we lost but I am admitting to the same bad feeling Eddie had. I just kept trying to deny it. I do feel good about the next game though.

3:50 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

lol.

Dayton better bring it tomorrow. gotta have it.

3:51 PM  
Blogger Honey said...

Air Force Acadmey graduations are unbelievably cool. Very long, but so worth it. Started at 10 am, over about 1:15 pm. The hat toss with the Thunderbirds flyover at the exact same time is one of the most impressive things I have ever seen. Then the TBs put on about a 30 min show. Awesome!!!

If you ever get the chance to attend you should definitely do so.

3:57 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Nice blog, but it is much simpler to just say it was Eddie's fault and leave it at that.

3:57 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

It appears that the stock market isn't just tied to the performance of Auburn football.

"Dow ends below 10,000"

4:00 PM  
Blogger Honey said...

Y'all got any good news?

How do you think we do against USCe tomorrow?

4:01 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

Depends on how Grant pitches. The guy he's going against is really good. Has a 3.08 ERA...if he pitches like homeslice did today, it may be a really quick trip for Les Tigres.

4:02 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

I don't think that's a fair assessment of Luckie.

4:02 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

I was talking about Bama's and USCE's pitcher, Pete.

4:03 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

I was talking about the one on the front page, Seanzie.

4:05 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

If we don't start to hit, we can start the bus.

4:05 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

Luckie ... when he's out of gas, he's really out of gas.

4:09 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

Ah, gotcha. Didn't meant to assume everything is about me.

4:09 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

All of Bama's runs came with 2 outs. Auburn had the worst hitting performance of their entire season today.

Given this team's lack of slumps this year, I don't think a repeat performance is in order. I'm not saying it's not possible to lose tomorrow, but it is unlikely to happen like today.

4:09 PM  
Blogger Honey said...

Well, off to get ready for the "gradulations" dinner to commemorate gladulation. Please pull us through the game tomorrow!!

4:10 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

Jay G,

I agree with that, but his line doesn't scream average to me.

4:10 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

Check thisout. Selection party show with all you can eat wings. Cool.

4:14 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

OK. I'll rephrase to placate you.

4:14 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

That should not read in that order.

4:14 PM  
Blogger easyedwin said...

Beat the cocks

4:14 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

I don't think I've ever seen a wing buffet.

Well, they had one at HEWVUR today ... but it wasn't exactly AYCE.

4:15 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

I know, I know.

The travesties of being a bloggist. Free wings ... but not AYCE.

For the record, I ate four and was happy about it. The limit was 6.

4:17 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

I don't need to be placated; Just disagreed with what I read. I understood why you wrote it. So it goes.

4:17 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

ALL YOU CAN EAT WINGS???!!!!

that's LOCOS!

4:17 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

I've never eaten wings at Loco's.

The service is so slow ... I always assumed they'd be ice cold by the time they arrived at the table.

I order salads only there. I don't mind them being cold.

4:19 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You should have stopped by Patera's Pizza in Pelham on your way out. It is good stuff with a Bubba atmosphere.

4:19 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

Jay G, love the rephrasing. Hard to take issue with that statement.

4:19 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

never been to Locos.

if i ever eat wings in auburn now it's at the Buffalo Connection. used to visit every monday nite back in college.

4:20 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

And Pete's right, he's a serial malcontent. I bet he disagrees with your decision to use italics.

4:20 PM  
Blogger Fearless Freep said...

The longest 3600 seconds of a HOTTIEs life will always be the first Puppet Hour after a loss to Bama.

If Faker were here I might have to smack him around a little to ease the pain.

4:20 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

Scottie, Buffcon was a regular on the dining rotation for us back in the day. Love the Honey BBQ and they have some of the best tasting "Hot" wings. Most of the time the sauce is just hot for hots sake but not theirs.

4:21 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

funny, but when i refreshed i was back at the top spot Seanzie. GET SOME of that. ha!

at least we can agree on the BuffConn.

4:23 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

FREEP.

I haven't seen you in a minute.

4:28 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

Sean: We must all do our part to make Peter happy.

4:28 PM  
Blogger easyedwin said...

Cock wings?

4:29 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"We must all do our part to make Peter happy."

Ah, so that's what the Peter Principle is.

4:35 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

Screw you guys; I'm happy. Look. : -D ...see, if you tilt you head sideways and pretend that that's a representation of me, you can clearly see that I am very happy.

4:41 PM  
Blogger Scott Chocolate said...

This just in - Willie Nelson got a haircut.

4:58 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

Didn't Janet Jackson sing something about the Peter Principle?

5:23 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

SC tells the truth. That's a shocker.

5:32 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I mean, Willie cutting his hair, not Scott Calvin telling the truth.

5:33 PM  
Blogger ehyou said...

Prepare yourselves for Thursday morning King Kong Ding Dongs.

5:35 PM  
Blogger ehyou said...

Whatever Willie does is cool, you dig?

5:37 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am looking at some video of the start of the top kill process BP is attempting. This thing has a bunch of metal pipes and stuff on it. It looks like someone would have built in a stop button or vavle or something.

5:38 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

I think that part blew up.

5:49 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

There are some strange looking fish down there, too.

5:49 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

There appears to be a lot of the thing that didn't blow up. It is a big contraption at the bottom of the ocean. I had pictured it as a pipe. It is much more than just a pipe.

5:50 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This Willie Nelson haircut story is all over the place. What's next, Don King combs hair?

5:52 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Okay, here is what is next. A train hit a baby in a stroller.

5:54 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

Steve,

Is any of that Michael's containment dome?

6:08 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hmmm, you may have something there PF. I haven't seen Michael today.

6:33 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

UF having a time with LSU...Looks like at least the top 3 seeds will fall.

6:33 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

UF and USC always seem to choke in those situations. It's just part of them being UF and USC.

6:34 PM  
Blogger digger4au said...

Sad but predictable day. As said Monday good pitching beats good hitting most of the time. Put good pitching in a big ball park and you have big hitting team in deep do do because ding dongs are warning track popups.

6:56 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

I still don't buy Auburn as a true big hitting team. They just hit so much that a good bit go out.

6:58 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

American Idol death match is now on. I still say the show would be better with a gong and a hook.

7:13 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

The Gong Show was far more entertaining.

7:19 PM  
Blogger Kathy said...

Gene Gene The Dancing Machine

7:25 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

LSU fans are loud.

LSU 9 UF 6 in the 9th

7:30 PM  
Blogger Kathy said...

No Megan Fox in the next Transformers movie. Apparently she said no acting is involved. Just running and screaming. She has been replaced by a Victoria Secret's model with no acting experience.

7:34 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

7:37 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

LSU beats UF 10-6...

7:57 PM  
Blogger Kathy said...

Wow, rough day on the top seeds today.

7:58 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

If Vandy can upset Arkansas, all top seeds will be playing in the loosers (sic) bracket.

8:27 PM  
Blogger Norm said...

Something about that seems familiar.

8:34 PM  
Blogger Norm said...

Question: I don't recall ever seeing this happen so I don't know if there's a rule covering/preventing it or not; in baseball, if you're a switch hitter, can you change sides of the plate during the same at bat?

8:37 PM  
Blogger Norm said...

I'm now ready to predict the Braves will win tonight after batting around and putting up 5 in the 7th. I'm also not going to do any more work for "the man" tonight and I'm way past tired so I'm going to bed.

8:39 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:39 PM  
Blogger Norm said...

Now they've put up 6 in the 7th.

8:40 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

Norm,

No. You can't do that. You really wouldn't want to, anyway.

A related topic,This caused a bunch of stink a few years ago as to how early you have to establish which way you're batting. Rules were made as a result.

8:47 PM  
Blogger ehyou said...

Braves

8:51 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

Oh, wait. It appears you can. Just not for a single pitch once the pitcher is in the ready position (rule 6.02(b)). Nevermind.

8:53 PM  
Blogger ehyou said...

Bandwagoneers, it's not too late to hop on board. Better hurry, after they're in first, sorry no new fans allowed.

8:54 PM  
Blogger ehyou said...

I heart the baseball rule book.

8:55 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

This is apparently the 5th straight year an 8 seed beat the 1 seed on day 1 of the tourney. SEC_Chuck said so.

8:57 PM  
Blogger Kathy said...

Anybody heard which song won for the intro or do we have to wait until the 1st game?

10:06 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

Wow, so I didn't actually get the first post? Scottie, what type of black magic dost thou have?

10:33 PM  
Blogger Seanzie said...

Kathy, this is from the official site:

"The winning song will debut at the Arkansas State game on Saturday, September 4."

10:56 PM  
Blogger Peter Frankenschmidt said...

All four lower seeds move on to winner's bracket. Geez.

11:28 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

Good morning, Hotties!

Rise and shine!

GO TIGERS!!! BEAT USCe!!!

4:46 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

before we start the long commute, let's have a shout for...

4:46 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

BEASLEY!!!

4:46 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

and for Scottie B...

HELLOOOOOO KENNESAW, GA!!!

...where everyone, by law, packs heat.

4:47 AM  
Blogger E-Bro said...

Morning Hotties. Last day of work before a five day holiday. Looking forward to it. Business to attend to first, though. Mainly, South Carolina.

Vamos!!

5:25 AM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

I consulted with Miss Cleo and she said a Big Cat Weekend post will appear at precisely 7:14 a.m. CDT.

Let's see if she was worth the $4.99.

6:20 AM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

Oh, and GOOD MORNING.

6:21 AM  
Blogger E-Bro said...

The anticipation is killing me.

6:43 AM  
Blogger E-Bro said...

Is it 7:14 yet?

It's like Chinese Water Torture!

7:08 AM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home


follow me on Twitter

• THE RING OF FIRE •
INAUGURAL CLASS
Phormerly Phred
Scottie B. in Tennessee
crudup
Hoopie
Ron Mexico
hip-hopanonymous
AUnMobilz
Sullivan013
Scott from Tucson
scottatl
jhag **FRANCHISE PLAYER**

CLASS OF 2008
Peter Frankenschmidt
Mr. Sensible
WarEagleRK

CLASS OF 2009
eddie4au
FakeSteveJobs (aka FSJ)
AUBigCat
michael
Steve from Columbia (aka SteveFC)
kristina
Jet

WHERE EAGLES SOAR
AUFan365 was Larry Bailey, 1948-2010

FEELING THE HEAT
WarEagleGirl
TarHeelTiger
Kathy
D. Miller
Dear Leader
j-z
Norm
digger4au
Harrison
LuvAU1968
cincytiger
mytommyd (is supposed to be mrtommyd)
ehyoutiger
wtc
IV
wakeriderof87
Sean
Scott Chocolate
NoVaTiger
Taylor
BinOBA
wes
Aeronaut
chip chip
Spongeworthy
Loganville Tiger
E-Bro
Ephemeral
au1n04
FearlessFreep
coosa
bear82
wartiger
patdyeswildturkey
atlantatiger
JD the Biscuitator
shesaid
depressedAUfan
dnatl

NOTABLE NEWCOMERS
Cousin Humpers = Bammers (aka CH=B)
dan dan the AU fan
bellefay1
API
Jay 'W. not Tate'
missinit
Craig Miller
AU1292
MLF
Comm'r of Flesh Wounds
Stupup74
61northak
Jimmy
bigdaddy334
Secondaid
Andrew
SCoats
astatguy
Jason Crawford
paulmain
Lowcountry Tiger
BigEZ
Will
WDCWE

MY PEEPS
Wifey
cpf
GritzNGravy
roundtable
Josh_Moon
MrsFrontRim & FrontRim
ChuckCrim
troyznoiz

FIRST DOCUMENTED POSTER
Buck

BANHAMMERED
Hamburglar
ROLLTIDEROLL
hairydawg
DavidOku
Jay_G (an impostor)
WarEagleogDotCom

Powered by Blogger

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

Advertisement