Is Auburn’s Dramatic Win Over No.18 Ole Miss Enough to Turn Things Around for Pawlowski?

By Posted on: May 6th, 2013 in Baseball 7 Comments »

auburn-baseball-coachjpg-3e3e424b4da9dfe5_mediumBefore Saturday’s 8-5 win over No.18 Ole Miss, the Auburn Baseball Team had not scored more than three runs in a game since April 16. And before yesterday Auburn had not won a Sunday game in the SEC.

For most of this spring, watching Auburn Baseball has been less than a thing of beauty. In fact for much of the last three years Auburn Baseball hasn’t been much fun to watch.

Not since the Tigers led the nation in hitting in 2010, won the SEC West, and hosted an NCAA Regional has there been much to cheer about. Auburn has not been to an NCAA since they won the Division.

This season has been particularly long and frustrating  both for the team and the fans. Cries for John Pawlowski‘s job have become louder and more frequent.

But this weekend was different. The Tigers, feeling the pressure after giving up a series win to 13th place Missouri last weekend; came out Saturday like a different ball team, pounding out 12 hits to beat Ole Miss 8-5. It was the most hits since the Tigers belted 14 against Samford on April 16th.

Then on Sunday, the Tigers gave the most exciting performance since Creede Simpson’s three run homer with two strikes, two outs in the ninth inning against Clemson in the 2010 Regional.

If you like drama, the Tigers obliged.



Auburn hitters not only came through but did so when the chips were down, getting 7 hits and scoring all the Tigers’ runs with two outs.

Ole Miss was leading 2-0 in the second when Blake Austin drove in Auburn’s first run. The Tigers took a 4-2 lead in the seventh on clutch RBI hits by Cullen Wacker and Patrick Savage. 

Those hits came after John Pawlowski was ejected from the game. Trailing the Rebs 2-1 Pawlowski came out of the dugout to dispute a strike call. He was thrown out – a move that fired up both his team and the fans.

Then after Mississippi came back and tied the game at 4-all, Damek Tomscha hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the eighth to put the Tigers up 5-4.

Except for the starting pitching the Tigers were almost perfect, winning in dramatic fashion as a team. From Hunter Kelley stealing not one but two home runs at the fence and robbing the Rebels of 4 potential runs – to Blake Austin’s picking off a runner at 2nd with the bases loaded – to Tomscha’s mammoth two-out homerun over the green monster in left – to closer Terrance Dedrick fantastic diving over the shoulder catch to end the game …

These Tigers did it all. They were finally fun to watch. They finally played an SEC game the way we thought they could.

With six SEC games left, will this be enough to get the Tigers into the SEC tournament? Maybe. Will it be enough to secure an SEC Regional bid ? Not hardly. Will it be enough to stop the talk about Pawlowski’s job security? No, not that either.

But if the Tigers keep playing with the focus, the fire, and the intensity they showed Saturday and Sunday, those questions will be mute because Auburn ‘will be’ selected for play in the NCAA post season.

Go Tigers Beat Jax State!

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Time for Auburn Baseball to Get the Job Done

By Posted on: May 1st, 2013 in Baseball 1 Comment »
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                                      Garret Cooper hit two homeruns in Tigers’ 3-1 victory over
                                      Missouri April 26, 2013.

Last Friday the  Auburn Baseball Team entered what may have been thier most important series to date. The Tigers needed to sweep13th place Missouri or at least win the series to help keep them in position for an NCAA Regional.

However, what should have been a big weekend for the Tigers (25-18, 7-14 SEC) ended with the 13th place Mizzou Tigers taking two of three and seriously hurting Auburn’s chances for making a regional. 

Both teams came into the weekend needing to improve their record; Missouri won the battle, taking their first SEC series of the year. John Pawlowski said. “Give (Missouri) credit. They out-pitched us, they out-played us and certainly out-hit us.”

The two teams are now tied for 11th place and what’s worse, Missouri owns the tie breaker. In addition, the loss leaves Auburn in a precarious position in the race to make the SEC Tournament since only 12 teams make up the field.

Missouri (12-23, 4-13 SEC) represented Auburn’s best chance to make up ground on the rest of the league. Question now is, “Can Auburn still make both post season tournaments?” The answer is yes. It’s definitely possible. Yet the odds are stacked against them with three conference series left against No.14 Ole Miss, Arkansas, and No. 12  Florida on the road.

Pawlowski’s Tigers are now in a tough spot, needing to win at least two thirds of their remaining games to be in tournament contention; a tall order in any season much less when Auburn is sitting in the number 11 spot.

For the most part,  Auburn pitching has been good enough to win; but the Tigers have either not produced at the plate or have been unable to bring runners home.

The same thing held true in Columbia. Except for Garrett Cooper‘s  two home runs in Friday night’s 3-1 victory, the Tigers were unable to convert on scoring opportunities.

Auburn’s season is still salvageable but time and options are running out. The Tigers have painted themselves in a corner and the only thing they can do now is to fight.  It’s time to get the job done.

(Editor’s note:
Auburn will be back at Plainsman Park Friday through Sunday to host Ole Miss.)

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“Are you about TREE, or are you about FOOTBALL?”

By Posted on: April 18th, 2013 in Baseball, Basketball, Business - Entertainment, Football, Other Sports 11 Comments »
toomer-corner-oak

                                 The last roll will take place on April 20, 2013.

(Author’s note: In view of the fact that our Oaks’ time on the Plains is drawing to a close, I thought I would update and re-run the first article I wrote over here at the new Track ‘Em Tigers, about a true experience I had last summer.  MVH)

My wife Eileen and I were enjoying our first not-visiting-relatives vacation since…our honeymoon four years ago, staying at her mother’s vacation condo in Hilton Head (which is about the only way we could afford to “do” Hilton Head). After our beach-and-pool day, we decided to go to the iconic Salty Dog Café for dinner. Getting a table meant an hour-and-a-half wait, so we took a seat at one of the outdoor bars to eat.

Although she is a Montevallo graduate and a total non-sports fan (yes, I don’t know how we got together either), I finally got my wife to understand what it means to be a part of the Auburn family after taking her to the National Championship celebration and a Homecoming game. I think she got the picture after seeing 80,000 people all wearing the same shirt. In any case, Eileen and I were both wearing Auburn t-shirts and coordinating shorts, not quite matchy-matchy (although I really don’t mind going completely matchy-matchy, which is one of my endearing qualities according to her) but close enough.

A fellow sitting by himself on another side of the bar to our right was talking to everyone around and no one in particular, with a misplaced sense of bravado and self-assuredness that men sitting by themselves at a bar often have. He wore a cap with the legend “NO1 GR8TR” on the front and the Kentucky “K” on the side. It didn’t take him long to notice our Auburn attire. “Awww, you’re from Auburn,” he said, thereby becoming Mr. MOTO (Master Of The Obvious) in my mind. “That’s okay, I like Auburn, they’re SEC, that’s good,” he continued. “But look out for these folks,” he said, pointing to a couple on the other side of the bar from us, “They are Alabama!” Eileen and I exchanged a pleasant wave with the Bama contingent (who incidentally were not wearing colors, and didn’t even look like they were going to make a deal about AU, Bama, or anything else for that matter).

Someone asked him what the notation on his cap meant. “It means ‘No One Greater’—that sure describes me!” Mr. MOTO guffawed, and explained it also represented Kentucky’s recent NCAA Basketball Championship. I really couldn’t ignore this fellow, and the misplaced bravado and self-assuredness was starting to rub me the wrong way. I butted in, “If the ball isn’t pointy or has laces, I don’t really care about it,” which refers to my love of football, rugby, and baseball, and my total present indifference to basketball. “That’s what happens when you can’t win championships,” he rejoindered, thereby scoring a cheap and inelegant, yet nonetheless valid, zinger on me.

True to what I dubbed him in my mind, Mr. MOTO continued on: “Hey, you got those trees down there at, what-do-they-call-it?” thus engaging me in more conversation than I wanted. “Toomers Corner, right in front of the Auburn campus,” I filled in. “Yeah, they poisoned them trees, what’s going on with that?” he asked. The Bama people then jumped right on into the conversation, chirping brightly, “But the trees are alright now.” “No, they are not,” I replied back, “They are biologically alive, and may stay that way for a while, but our horticulture department at Auburn says they may be what they call ‘aesthetically dead’ soon.” Not wanting to be left out of the conversation that he started, Mr. MOTO interjected, pointing at me and saying “Hey listen—Are you about TREE, or are you about FOOTBALL?”

My heart skipped a beat for a second when I heard that, and I had to catch my breath. I’d like to think the whole outdoor bar went silent, like in an old western movie, waiting for my reply (of course, it didn’t).

“I’m about AUBURN,” I told this fellow, and the Bama folks, and anyone else who wanted to hear my voice at normal speaking level. “Those trees are a part of our campus, and that campus is a part of our tradition, and all those things, plus every Auburn man and woman who ever passed under those trees, make up Auburn. Auburn is more than trees, or football, or any other thing. I’m about AUBURN.”

Fortunately, our food finally came, and I was relieved to be free from the conversation into which I was reluctantly drawn. A woman came up to me and said, “I think it is just TERRIBLE what they did to those trees.” And it is terrible, but it is more terrible to think why someone would do that to our trees. Folks, the man who “allegedly”admittedly poisoned our trees did that not because he is a jerk, not because he hates trees, and not because he has “too much Bama” in him (a sentiment which was repudiated by the family of Tommy Lewis, the originator of the quote). That man “allegedly” did this because he wanted to hurt all of us that hold Auburn dear. As such, he “allegedly” did this because he, along with all the Bama fans that now idolize him, stands, at heart, against all that Auburn really is. The thing is, he really isn’t smart enough to understand that about himself, but it is still true nonetheless.

So, folks, as we live our lives and scream “WAR EAGLE” and mourn our trees and enjoy our football, let’s remember one thing—at heart, we are all about AUBURN, and no less than all of AUBURN.

Michael Val

(who believes in Auburn…ALL of Auburn…and LOVES IT!)

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Can Auburn Baseball Make a Case for the Postseason?

By Posted on: April 16th, 2013 in Baseball 6 Comments »
5169bf07e1f5b_image- Michael O'Neal

                   Michael O’Neal is on track to be the Tigers first 10 game winner since 2003.

After the Auburn Baseball team plays Samford  tonight in Birmingham, the last  half of the SEC Baseball season will begin on Thursday. And despite winning their last two series, the Auburn Tigers have a mountain to climb if they want to play in the post season.

Even though Auburn sports a 17-4 non conference record, the Tigers began the SEC season at a dismal 0-7, the worst conference start since 2007.

But after winning the series with No.17 Texas A&M in College Station, the Tigers won for the seventh time in eight games and fourth time in six Southeastern Conference games this past weekend when they took two of three from Georgia at home.

It was a shot in the arm to win consecutive SEC series after winning just one game in the first three series. However, Georgia has one of the worst teams in recent years and Auburn really should have swept the Dawgs. A sweep would have gone a long way in making up lost ground from the first half of the season.

While the pitching staff led by Michael O’Neal (7-2) has done a good job with a team ERA of 3.33 (the lowest mark at this point in the season since 2002) – the offense has struggled. It was the lack of offense that prevented the Tigers from getting the sweep against Georgia.

Auburn had a combined 25 hits in its two victories against the Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday but could only muster three in the last game of Saturday’s double header.

In the first half of the season, John Pawlowski became the Tigers’ all-time third Winn ingest baseball coach (by number of wins.) Yet Auburn finds itself in the familiar position of possibly not making the NCAA. Because of it, some believe Pawlowski will be on the hot seat if …

… the Tigers fail to make it to the NCAA tournament. The mid-season record of 22-14 and 5-10 in the SEC is not a bad record per se  but it doesn’t get any easier from here on out. 

Nine of the 15 remaining SEC games will be on the road, including series against No.16 Mississippi State this weekend and No. 7 Florida in the season final. The Tigers must also face No.10 Arkansas and No.18 Ole Miss at home. To have a chance to get into an NCAA regional, Auburn needs to at least split those remaining series.

After winning the SEC West three years ago and hosting a regional, Auburn has narrowly missed making the NCAA field the last two years. A sweep of at least one opponent would not only improve their record and enhance their chances, but would do wonders for their confidence. That prospect is doable although it will be a tall task.

The good news though, is the Tigers control their own destiny. At the midpoint of the conference season, they are in 11th place. Still, before all is said and done there could be a lot of rearranging in the conference standings with 15 games left to play.

I still believe it’s possible for the Tigers to wind-up with a good year – an SEC/NCAA postseason year. But the metal of Pawlowski‘s Tigers is about to be really tested.

Will they finish strong and propel themselves into the SEC and NCAA Tournaments? Or will they wilt into a near miss team once again? The fate of their future and quite possibly John Pawlowski’s may hinge on it.

Go Tigers beat Samford and MSU!

 

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Monday Musings

By Posted on: March 24th, 2013 in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News, Other Sports 5 Comments »
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A New Era in Accessibility.

Expect to see a lot more of the Auburn football team this spring. While former coach Gene Chizik preferred keeping a lid on practices, Gus Malzahn is opening things up a bit. While we won’t be returning to the open policies of Tommy Tuberville, the media will have a half hour a day to watch practice. Unfortunately, fans will still be locked out when things get started Wednesday.

Malzahn also plans to make coaches and players more accessible after practice. Auburn will practice 14 times before closing things out on A-Day April 20th…

I don’t know about you, but sentencing for Harvey Updyke last week was somewhat anti-climatic. The Toomer’s Tree killer was given a three year prison sentence, but in reality will only serve another six months. He’ll be placed on five years probation and will be prohibited from attending any college sporting events or speaking with the media. He’ll have a nightly curfew of 7 p.m. I say there’s no way he goes five years without violating parole. I predict at least two additional visits to the big house in the coming years…

Watching all the upsets by these small schools in March Madness makes you wonder why programs like Auburn and Georgia can’t compete. These small programs don’t have the shoe contracts or recruiting budgets of schools in the SEC, yet find a way to compete. As long as I’ve watched Auburn basketball, I’ve never been able to figure it out…

While some still believe this Auburn baseball team has a chance to be good, starting off 0-6 in conference makes you really question that logic. Then again, opening against the second and third ranked teams in the country is no easy task. You have to believe a good team would at least grab one win. Losing both series to Vanderbilt and LSU was maybe expected, get swept six straight was certainly not.

I’ll hold off passing judgement on this team for a few weeks, before putting them in the basket with football and basketball. It’s a big hole to overcome, but all is not lost – yet…

We saw this coming from 10 miles away. The Toomer’s Oaks slated to come down in a few weeks will quickly be converted to souvenirs. However, if you were hoping to buy a big slab of wood with Toomer’s written on it, you’re out of luck. Because of licensing issues, they’ll be called Auburn Oaks. Nobody loves the tradition of rolling those trees more than me, but without the Toomer’ name on them, the appeal is just not there. I’ll pass…

Word is, Auburn will be putting up power lines along Toomer’s Corner next season for fans to roll. There won’t actually be power running to them like the old days, but it will take the tradition back to where it started. Before fans turned to the oaks, they rolled the power lines situated on the corner. It may be four years before the soil is suitable for planting on the site. All in all, this is probably the best short term solution…

Despite them being our hated rival, you hate to see Alabama athletic director Mal Moore exit like he did. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone on either side of the rivalry that had a bad word to say about him. He’s had some tough personal battles in recent years. I hope he finds peace in retirement… 

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Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News, Other Sports | 5 Comments »

You Play Like You Practice!

By Posted on: March 21st, 2013 in Baseball, Football, Other Sports 1 Comment »
Play like Practice

Those green jerseys aren’t so easy to earn, this year.

     War Eagle, everybody! Spring has sprung, although you wouldn’t know it from the heavy layer of frost on the ground this morning. In less than a week, the Auburn Tiger football team will hit the practice field, and try to put the wheels back on the program. And encouraging news continues from the Plains.

      Yesterday, Auburn coaches and select players met with the media and revealed some of the details of a grueling off-season regimen. When Auburn’s conditioning drills began, strength coach Ryan Russell instituted a three level system for grading players. All players started with an orange jersey, and had to earn their way up to “average,” or a blue jersey. Only guys working at a championship level could advance to a coveted green jersey.

     On the very first day of lifting weights and running, three Auburn Tigers showed enough mettle and tenacity to earn the green shirt. These were Gabe Wright, Dee Ford and Jay Prosch. After last year’s team was pushed around up front, it was encouraging to hear that two defensive linemen made the grade!

     It’s probably little surprise to anyone who follows Auburn football that Prosch has stepped up in the weight room. He was one of the few bright spots on a poor Auburn offense last season, and there’s little doubt that he be a valuable asset this fall in the Malzhan/Lashlee offense. Much like Eric Smith was a couple of years ago, Prosch will be a dynamite blocker from the H-Back position. In addition, we learned last year that he can catch the ball, and pick up first downs on short yardage situations. Prosch was not stopped for a loss all last season.

More good news after the jump!

     This spring will feature another starting quarterback battle, something Auburn fans have become used to during the past five seasons. Junior Khiel Frazier and sophomore Jonathan Wallace are battling hard for the distinction, with both reputedly putting in long hours on their own in the film room, and during player-led workouts. May the best man win!

     And finally, a bit of post-season non-football good news! Auburn’s lady Tiger basketball team took the floor last night in the first round of the NIT, and downed UAB by 23 points! The hustling, pressing Tigers forced 23 turnovers, and converted those into 30 points. Auburn was led by Tyrese Tanner, who scored 29 points. Here’s hoping the 80-57 win catapults the Tigers into a deep run through the tournament!

     Also, the men’s baseball team picked up the pieces after a disappointing weekend getting swept by Vanderbilt. The team knocked out a couple of mid-week wins over Alabama State and Southern Miss, to run their overall record to 15-6. With tough teams like Vandy and LSU as SEC openers, the team can’t afford to drop those wins during the week, something last year’s team did frequently. We’ll be pulling hard for the Tigers against LSU this weekend in Louisiana.

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Auburn Falls to 3-27 in SEC Play This Academic Year… And No One Seems to Care

By Posted on: March 18th, 2013 in Baseball, Basketball, Football 18 Comments »

jacobs sideburnsReflecting on another stellar week of Auburn Athletics, I sat with a group of friends this weekend and tried to put into prospective how bad the situation is on the Plains. In case you missed it, and I pray that you did, Auburn was swept in a three game series by Vanderbilt at Plainsman Park.

On Friday, athletic director Jay Jacobs gave a vote of confidence to embattled basketball coach Tony Barbee. Coming off the worst season in Auburn history, and you know it’s monumental when you say that, Jacobs has pledged to assist Barbee in the rebuilding process.

“Coach Barbee and I will continue to work together to support our basketball program at the highest level so we can give our fans the kind of program they expect and deserve,” said Jacobs.

I don’t know about you, but I feel 100% better knowing that Jay is rolling up his sleeves and going to work on behalf of Auburn people everywhere. Meanwhile, Auburn president Jay Gogue was seen Friday walking on campus whistling Zippity Doo Dah.

Vanderbilt has long been the gold standard for futility in the SEC. As my friends discovered over a few cold beers this weekend, that’s no longer the case. Here are a few sobering stats to get you thinking:

  • Auburn now stands 3-27 in the SEC this academic school year in football, basketball and baseball. With Auburn traveling to Baton Rouge on Friday, it stands to get worse.
  • The Tigers have lost eight consecutive basketball games to Vanderbilt.
  • Auburn baseball has lost five of the last six games against the Commodores. Granted, Vandy is a top five team, but that begs the question, ‘Why not Auburn?’
  • Auburn has been outscored by Georgia and Alabama 146-21 over the last two seasons in football.
  • The Tigers have not scored an offensive touchdown against Bama since Phillip Lutzenkirchen did his dance in the end-zone of Bryant Denny Stadium in 2010.

These were just a few depressing nuggets that Miller Lite pulled out of us on a warm spring night. We decided to stop there in case anyone became suicidal. After all, we had one friend whose wife just left him. But rightfully so, he was more depressed about the situation at Auburn. 

I promise I’ll stop beating this dead horse at some point. I know it’s depressing to read this stuff on a Monday. I’m just stunned that Auburn people with deep pockets seem not to care.

It’s like they’ve double-downed on Gus Malzahn and pray that he makes everything right for all sports. The apathy is disturbing. Most everyone seems optimistic about football, but any success this fall will only mask the bigger issues taking place in the athletic department.

I’ll ask again, “Does anyone care?”

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Auburn Fails to Give Pitchers Run Support, Falls to Dores 8-1

By Posted on: March 17th, 2013 in Baseball Comments Off
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Michael O’Neal took the loss for Tigers despite another strong performance.

Auburn’s batters were confounded by some of the best pitchers in the country Saturday and the Auburn Tigers stranded 11 base runners in an 8-1 loss to the No.2 Vanderbilt Commodores.

However, the Vandy pitchers were not entirely on their game, issuing nine walks to the Tigers in their game at Samford Stadium. The Tigers had 4 hits, but they came in the last three innings when it was too little too late.

Starting pitcher, Michael O’Neal (4-1) had a solid outing through the first six innings but couldn’t get any run support from the offense. He sat down the first nine batters he faced, giving the Auburn pitching staff 29 consecutive batters retired going back to Friday night’s game.

O’Neal  held the Dores scoreless till the fifth inning, which ended his streak of consecutive shutout innings at 13 2/3 innings. He  gave the Tigers a chance, but no pitcher can get it done when his offense leaves that many runners on base. After Michael was pulled for issuing a walk in the seventh, things went downhill for the Plainsmen.

Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said, “It’s a little frustrating. We had nine free bases and had guys in scoring position, we just unfortunately weren’t able to come up with a big hit in those situations.”

It’s important that the Tigers get a win in the final game of the series today or take two of three from LSU next week. Otherwise Auburn will be in a hole going forward in league play.

Auburn will try to avoid the sweep today at 1p.m. Rocky McCord (2-0) will be on the mound for Auburn while Vandy will start south paw Philip Pfeifer (2-0). The game will be broadcast on the Auburn Baseball Radio Network.

Go Tigers, beat the Dores!

UPDATE: After falling into a 7-1 hole, Tigers mustered a furious rally but came up short; losing to Vanderbilt 8-6. Auburn’s next game will be against Alabama State Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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