2 More Days
I know my excitement that the Nebraska baseball team kicks off its season on Thursday against Charelston Southern probably seems a little overstated to most of you guys, but I don't care. The fact that the Huskers are on the diamond somewhere means that winter is, for all intents and purposes, over. The closer we are to winter being over, the closer I am to getting the grill going, to porch sitting, to being able to enjoy a cigar without my winter coat, to outdoor poker games and to an unreasonable belief that Reggie Sanders was the missing ingredient.
Sometimes I think I have that disorder where you get depressed during the winter every year. But even if I do, it makes the end of winter that much more sweet. Last night I realized while I was eating chicken enchiladas just before 6 at my kitchen table that it was the first time in several months that the sun was still out while I was eating dinner. I was more pumped than I should have been.
Also, there's just something calming about talking about, listening to and watching Nebraska baseball. Maybe its because my expectations aren't as high as they are for the basketball or football teams, or maybe its because they continually come through and win big games. I'm always pretty confident they'll win, and usually, they do. It's hard to get too negative.
Anyway, to try and manufacture some of the excitement I've got in you guys, here's some Husker Baseball stuff.
The Schedule (rumor is that radio broadcasts will start on Friday March 3 in the Minneapolis tournament and continue for the year. Sounds like it'll be Jim Rose and Randy Lee this year, which means that Lee should be fired sometime right before the conference tournament)
The Media Guide Roster
My Guess at the Starting Lineup for Thursday
1. Nick Jaros, CF (JC Transfer, stole 71 bases in two years at Maplewood CC)
2. Ryan Wehrle, SS (Mainly played 2B for us last year, should have a breakout season)
3. Andy Gerch, DH (Shoulder surgery may limit him early, but he'll be a fixture later)
4. Luke Gorsett, LF (Our new power guy, led country in JuCo homers last year)
5. Brandon Buckman, 1B (Hit .335 last year, but didn't have minimum at-bats to be ranked)
6. Jake Opitz, 3B (Only .256 last year, but split time with Wehrle)
7. Andrew Brown, RF (Another JC guy who will get time until Gerch is healthy)
8. Jeff Christy, C (His great defense makes up for subpar offensive numbers)
9. Steve Edlefson, 2b (A couple guys may get a shot here, this guy could be defensive playmaker)
Tony Watson will start the first game--here's a great piece on him by Mitch Sherman.
This Week's Polls:
Baseball America (Top 3: Clemson, Florida, Ga. Tech, Nebraska Unranked)
Collegiate Baseball (Top 3: Florida, Oregon St., Nebraska)
NCBWA (Top 3: Florida, Rice, Oregon St., Nebraska #5)
USA Today--as of Jan. 23 (Top 3: Texas, Florida, Clemson, Nebraska #10)
And since there is no local radio coverage, it looks like you'll be able to follow Thursday's game at 2:00 here: Charleston Southern
I'll look for audio links for the rest of the games this weekend in Charleston.
Sometimes I think I have that disorder where you get depressed during the winter every year. But even if I do, it makes the end of winter that much more sweet. Last night I realized while I was eating chicken enchiladas just before 6 at my kitchen table that it was the first time in several months that the sun was still out while I was eating dinner. I was more pumped than I should have been.
Also, there's just something calming about talking about, listening to and watching Nebraska baseball. Maybe its because my expectations aren't as high as they are for the basketball or football teams, or maybe its because they continually come through and win big games. I'm always pretty confident they'll win, and usually, they do. It's hard to get too negative.
Anyway, to try and manufacture some of the excitement I've got in you guys, here's some Husker Baseball stuff.
The Schedule (rumor is that radio broadcasts will start on Friday March 3 in the Minneapolis tournament and continue for the year. Sounds like it'll be Jim Rose and Randy Lee this year, which means that Lee should be fired sometime right before the conference tournament)
The Media Guide Roster
My Guess at the Starting Lineup for Thursday
1. Nick Jaros, CF (JC Transfer, stole 71 bases in two years at Maplewood CC)
2. Ryan Wehrle, SS (Mainly played 2B for us last year, should have a breakout season)
3. Andy Gerch, DH (Shoulder surgery may limit him early, but he'll be a fixture later)
4. Luke Gorsett, LF (Our new power guy, led country in JuCo homers last year)
5. Brandon Buckman, 1B (Hit .335 last year, but didn't have minimum at-bats to be ranked)
6. Jake Opitz, 3B (Only .256 last year, but split time with Wehrle)
7. Andrew Brown, RF (Another JC guy who will get time until Gerch is healthy)
8. Jeff Christy, C (His great defense makes up for subpar offensive numbers)
9. Steve Edlefson, 2b (A couple guys may get a shot here, this guy could be defensive playmaker)
Tony Watson will start the first game--here's a great piece on him by Mitch Sherman.
This Week's Polls:
Baseball America (Top 3: Clemson, Florida, Ga. Tech, Nebraska Unranked)
Collegiate Baseball (Top 3: Florida, Oregon St., Nebraska)
NCBWA (Top 3: Florida, Rice, Oregon St., Nebraska #5)
USA Today--as of Jan. 23 (Top 3: Texas, Florida, Clemson, Nebraska #10)
And since there is no local radio coverage, it looks like you'll be able to follow Thursday's game at 2:00 here: Charleston Southern
I'll look for audio links for the rest of the games this weekend in Charleston.
posted by JohnnyMitchell at 8:04 AM
2 Comments:
I know that College Baseball polls are all over the place, but how in the world can you have a team that is ranked in the Top 3 in one poll not even ranked in another? I think that we are overrated at #3, but come on--not ranked?
Anyways, I am pumped for the season to start, too. Looking forward to some Fairbury Stadium Dogs, Chinese Horseshoes, and good times at Haymarket!
This is how the press release from earlier this week projects the lineups. I tried to add in a few things based upon pitching matchups in mine, so that accounts for the difference, although most likely, I have no idea what is really going on:
C 21 Jeff Christy R Sr. .232 1 32 Threw out 46 percent of baserunners in 2005
1B 19 Brandon Buckman L Sr. .335 2 30 Ranked fourth on the team with 18 multi-hit games in 2005
-or- 18 Andrew Brown R Jr. .000 0 0 Texas Collegiate League MVP in 2005 (.311-13-39)
2B 3 Jake Opitz L So. .256 3 14 Made 33 starts at second in 2005; 39th-round draft pick in 2004
SS 10 Ryan Wehrle R So. .275 0 25 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12; Team-high .396 with RISP in 2005
3B 2 Jake Mort R R-Fr. .000 0 0 Two-time All-Nebraska player; Redshirted in 2005
-or- 9 Steve Edlefsen S So. .000 0 0 Hit .341-1-21 at Barton County CC in ‘04; 41st-round pick in 2004
OF 6 Nick Jaros R Jr. .000 0 0 Two-time all-region selection at Maple Woods CC (.350-5-55, 31 SB)
CF 24 Bryce Nimmo L Fr. .207 2 12 Speedy leadoff hitter who had 2-homer game vs. Seton Hall (3/19)
OF 14 Luke Gorsett R Jr. .000 0 0 First-team NJCAA All-American in 2005 (.402-24-71)
DH 26 Andy Gerch R So. .364 4 35 NCAA Regional MOP; All-CWS Team; Hit .460 in the 2005 NCAA Tourney
Off the Bench (2005 Stats)
Pos. # Player Bats Cl. Avg. HR RBI Worth Noting
C 8 Jeff Lanning R Fr. .000 0 0 First-team All-Iowa performer in 2005 (.509-14-48)
OF 21 Nick Sullivan L R-Fr. .000 0 0 Redshirted in 2005; First-team All-Colorado in 2004 (.526-10-31)
INF 17 Casey Klapperich R R-Fr. .000 0 0 Redshirted in 2005; Two-time all-state performer was a career .451 hitter
C 45 Mark Hightower R So. .400 0 3 Was NU’s top backup at catcher, appearing in 18 games in 2005
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