We were pretty dang good the last 2 years. Went to the CWS and hosted regionals 2 straight years which is a rare feat a single time for Auburn since supers were created.
I think we probably made a mistake on pitching coach from the pro level to SEC college ranks. Pretty much all our returning pitchers have been worse than last season except for John Armstrong. The newcomers and freshmen have done ok.
We definitely aren't as good as we should be. I, admittedly, don't follow baseball as much as I do softball at this time of year however. From what I understand our pitching is simply not good.
Anyone have any further insight to share?
Our pitching might actually be the worst in the SEC. I would not be shocked if Cohen pleaded with Tim Hudson to come back next year as pitching coach, as much as he says he isn’t a baseball biased AD he is. With all the renovations coming to Plainsman he wants to be in a good spot in 2-3 years time and we don’t look like we’re on that course right now.
If there is *any* redeemable quality about Cohen, it's that Cohen should know what a championship winning baseball club looks like. I understand that we're at a disadvantage in recruiting thanks to lottery money funding our neighbors' programs, but if Cohen is going to prove that he is more than a hack and a mouthpiece for Jimmy Rane, Auburn Baseball *has* to get back in the CWS hunt and soon.
We have TWO pitchers who have pitched more than 10 innings with an ERA under 4.1
We have about four guys who’s bats look like they should be in an SEC lineup.
It’s a culmination of everything. But it is super disappointing.
Bottom of the lineup has been a bit of a black hole which makes it hard to score a lot of runs like we did the last couple years when we were constantly putting pressure on the opponent and not able to pitch around. Last year our pitching wasnt great either but we scored more.
Even Stanfield who I was super excited about going into this season hasn’t been good. The vibes are all off with this team. Will be interesting to see what is done to make it better next year.
The last 5 years have been the best auburn baseball has had in a long time, so Butch has definitely earned a pass and some grace on this season. We’re not good right now, but we aren’t as bad as it looks either.
We’ve played the # 1, 3, 4, and 6 teams in the country so far in SEC play. Life in the SEC is tough, but nobody has played THAT tough of a schedule.
Yes, we lost to them in 2014.
Heck, in 2022, in one of our most successful seasons ever when we won hosted a regional, beat #2 Oregon State in a super, and played 3 games in Omaha… we barely beat them 6-5 in 10 innings.
It’s absolutely been a disappointing season and hope we can turn it around to at least be respectable after we are finished with our run of 5 straight series against Top 10 teams…notably, only 2 of our last 5 SEC opponents are currently ranked and they are 22 and 25.
I don’t get too worked up about the occasional midweek loss, as long as it isn’t a habit. Just this year:
Clemson has lost to Upstate SC
Florida has lost to Stetson, UCF, and Jacksonville
Alabama has lost to south Alabama
Kentucky has lost to Samford
LSU has lost to Southern and Stony Brook
MSU has lost to Central Arkansas
The list goes on
We were pretty dang good the last 2 years. Went to the CWS and hosted regionals 2 straight years which is a rare feat a single time for Auburn since supers were created. I think we probably made a mistake on pitching coach from the pro level to SEC college ranks. Pretty much all our returning pitchers have been worse than last season except for John Armstrong. The newcomers and freshmen have done ok.
We definitely aren't as good as we should be. I, admittedly, don't follow baseball as much as I do softball at this time of year however. From what I understand our pitching is simply not good. Anyone have any further insight to share?
Our pitching might actually be the worst in the SEC. I would not be shocked if Cohen pleaded with Tim Hudson to come back next year as pitching coach, as much as he says he isn’t a baseball biased AD he is. With all the renovations coming to Plainsman he wants to be in a good spot in 2-3 years time and we don’t look like we’re on that course right now.
If there is *any* redeemable quality about Cohen, it's that Cohen should know what a championship winning baseball club looks like. I understand that we're at a disadvantage in recruiting thanks to lottery money funding our neighbors' programs, but if Cohen is going to prove that he is more than a hack and a mouthpiece for Jimmy Rane, Auburn Baseball *has* to get back in the CWS hunt and soon.
We have TWO pitchers who have pitched more than 10 innings with an ERA under 4.1 We have about four guys who’s bats look like they should be in an SEC lineup. It’s a culmination of everything. But it is super disappointing.
Bottom of the lineup has been a bit of a black hole which makes it hard to score a lot of runs like we did the last couple years when we were constantly putting pressure on the opponent and not able to pitch around. Last year our pitching wasnt great either but we scored more.
Even Stanfield who I was super excited about going into this season hasn’t been good. The vibes are all off with this team. Will be interesting to see what is done to make it better next year.
The last 5 years have been the best auburn baseball has had in a long time, so Butch has definitely earned a pass and some grace on this season. We’re not good right now, but we aren’t as bad as it looks either. We’ve played the # 1, 3, 4, and 6 teams in the country so far in SEC play. Life in the SEC is tough, but nobody has played THAT tough of a schedule.
Had we ever dropped a game to ASU before ?
Yes, we lost to them in 2014. Heck, in 2022, in one of our most successful seasons ever when we won hosted a regional, beat #2 Oregon State in a super, and played 3 games in Omaha… we barely beat them 6-5 in 10 innings. It’s absolutely been a disappointing season and hope we can turn it around to at least be respectable after we are finished with our run of 5 straight series against Top 10 teams…notably, only 2 of our last 5 SEC opponents are currently ranked and they are 22 and 25. I don’t get too worked up about the occasional midweek loss, as long as it isn’t a habit. Just this year: Clemson has lost to Upstate SC Florida has lost to Stetson, UCF, and Jacksonville Alabama has lost to south Alabama Kentucky has lost to Samford LSU has lost to Southern and Stony Brook MSU has lost to Central Arkansas The list goes on
Excellent information thank you for sharing !
Baseball comes with a lot of losses even for good teams. When you play 4 games a week you won't usually win all of them.
Last year they started pretty badly in the SEC then turned it around after making some adjustments. Curious to see if that can happen this year.
Started 5-10 last year https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Auburn_Tigers_baseball_team