Going to the bottom of the 9th...still down 2-1...which at the current rate is probably insurmountable.
Alabama vs. Auburn
- Thread starter Zona
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True enough and the sad thing is Gaspard and his staff actually believed after last weekend that it was an offensive explosion! Northwestern and Eastern Illinois were horrible baseball teams, from here on out he better come up with some answers or it will be an extremely long season. Wolfe pitched a heck of game to have no more run support than he had. Don't really agree with taking the bat out of Reaves' hand earlier in the game.
Agree completely. And the so-called offensive explosion from last weekend obviously didn't include Friday night, when EIU's Mike Hoekstra, who entered the game allowing an opponent's batting average of well over .300, held the Alabama lineup in check all night.
I can understand bunting and playing for one run in certain situations and with certain players, but in the third inning with your #3 hitter? That's just inexcusably awful strategy. After all, who other than Reaves could you really count on more to drive in those runs in the first place? Reaves is the one hitter in the lineup you want at the plate in that situation.
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And you can thank Troy's left fielder for gift-wrapping that lone win over a respectable opponent.
After a shaky start, the pitching has improved dramatically. Outside of Dugas, Reaves, and Bennett, the bats have been a major problem, and the quality of the opposing pitching is about to get about a hundred times tougher.
Ever the optimist I will say this.
Our pitching was lights out tonight. That's 4good starts in a row from our staff. If we can get them to consistently pitch well each time out, that gives us only one other thing to worry about...
But if that "other thing" does not work itself out soon, we're going to get absolutely worked in SEC play. AU's staff is probably in the bottom third of the league and we managed a measly four hits. Imagine what happens when we face UF, Vandy, Ole Miss, or LSU. Heck right now I'm worrying about hitting MSU's pitching.
Our pitching was lights out tonight. That's 4good starts in a row from our staff. If we can get them to consistently pitch well each time out, that gives us only one other thing to worry about...
But if that "other thing" does not work itself out soon, we're going to get absolutely worked in SEC play. AU's staff is probably in the bottom third of the league and we managed a measly four hits. Imagine what happens when we face UF, Vandy, Ole Miss, or LSU. Heck right now I'm worrying about hitting MSU's pitching.
Makes you sort of wonder what the heck Phillips is doing with the hitters? I am sure one day he will be a good coach but just because you played in the bigs doesn't always mean you coach great. There is a ton to learn and each player has different assets ect. that should be utilized or emphasized for lack of a better word. One point I would like to make that I have observed is that it appears some players have "free passes" when it comes to hitting and others don't. For some reason Booth's inability to hit or rather get started this year is okay but others, i.e. Rosecrans, McGavin, Hendricks, and Miller early on, are yanked immediately for non-production. Right now pretty much Reaves, Dugas, and Bennett are the most consistent, Smith has been decent and we'll find out how he fairs once SEC starts and the pitching level increases.
In Dax's three years as hitting coach, the team posted lines of .310/.389/.486, .330/.415/.566, and .296/.386/.445. Pretty solid results for someone basically learning on the fly. Yet just as he was really starting to establish himself as a pretty fair coach of hitters, he was asked to start all over again as the pitching coach. Phillips has never coached anyone at any level, so he's obviously got a lot to learn. Not only are the players that make up the current team relatively inexperienced, the same can also be said for the coaching staff. No choice but to remain patient and hope for the best.
Very true. I'm not wanting to turn this into a "staff bashing," but I wasn't thrilled with the hire in the first place. Dax had been doing a great job with the offense, we didn't need to hire one to replace him.
Same thing being said about Andy with coaching can also be said for Dax with the pitchers. Yes, some catchers make good pitching coaches, but that doesn't mean that just because one was a catcher that you're going to be a good pitching coach.
Bunn leaving so late in the offseason really put us in a bind, and I know in those situations you really take what you can get, but I don't like how we seemed to really focus in on Andy right off the bat, and, at least from reports, didn't have much contact with a pitching coach to take the pitching position.
Hopefully Andy and Dax will prove to be quick learners, though I'm afraid this season may be a lost cause, chalked up to the "learning-on-the-job" unless they figure it out quick.
Not necessarily disagreeing with your point about having to take what you can get in those situations, but FWIW, an assistant at another SEC school told me that he, and any number of assistant coaches at other programs throughout the country, would have come running at the opportunity to replace Bunn, even in December (why that position was so much more attractive than his current job, I do not know exactly). So according to some, Bunn's timing was obviously poor, but the program wasn't exactly forced to hire whoever happened to be available.
Great post, though. You hit the nail on the head. Being a great guy and a great player doesn't automatically make one a great coach, but here's hoping that Andy can become one in time.
Pulling hair and gnashing teeth usually only allows one to have a lot less hair and a sore jaw, but I still do it through every single loss (and quite a few wins). I was really, really hoping for a 2-2 week, but the odds aren't good that that will really happen. I just don't know what to do other than soldier on.
I sure do love this baseball program.
rtr
I sure do love this baseball program.
rtr
Interesting. That reinforces my belief that we didn't really examine all our options during that search.
In that case, it seems like it was more of the abruptness that the decision to leave came that caught everyone off-guard. I guess, in my way of looking at it, it put our staff in a situation where we "thought" we were in a bind, therefore we "were" in a bind, and we had to rush into a hire.
There are quite a few SEC assistants I'd love to see come running to coach for us, but oh well. We hired Andy, so I will give him (and the rest of the staff) all the support I can.
bamamick said:
So do I bamamick, so do I. Hate to see them have a "down" year.
I think it might have turned into a "hey Dax, do you feel confident being the pitching coach?" Dax: Yes Coach, I know I can do it." Mitch, good, cause I talked to Andy Philips and he said he would like to join the staff, how do you feel about that? Dax: Coach that is a great addition to the staff, lets do it.
While it wasn't necessarily thought of at the time to open up a search and see who comes calling, they did need another body there. I personally wanted BJ Green to come back and be the pitching coach and let Dax stay where he was at. That was just me though. I still think these guys can pull us through it just might take some adjustment from the Philips/Norris camp before we see some success.
From an sebaseball.com story on Phillips, March 17th
For Phillips, he takes on the tall task of learning to be a coach at the SEC level.
"The big thing with Andy is he was playing pro ball this time last year," Gaspard said. "He is getting comfortable back in the college game. He is bringing something to our hitters that we are going to benefit from during the games.
"For him a big part is understanding and learning the college hitter. I think he has to learn the personalities, when to push certain buttons on some guys. He has only been around these guys five or six weeks. But Andy Phillips is good as gold and he will be outstanding for our program."
For Phillips, he takes on the tall task of learning to be a coach at the SEC level.
"The big thing with Andy is he was playing pro ball this time last year," Gaspard said. "He is getting comfortable back in the college game. He is bringing something to our hitters that we are going to benefit from during the games.
"For him a big part is understanding and learning the college hitter. I think he has to learn the personalities, when to push certain buttons on some guys. He has only been around these guys five or six weeks. But Andy Phillips is good as gold and he will be outstanding for our program."
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