LSU Baseball Blog: Here's the pitch
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Visit the site throughout the day and during games for updates on the LSU Tigers. You'll find notes, quotes, news, trivia and a lot of other fun and information you won't find anywhere else.
Thanks for stopping by.
Carl Dubois
The Advocate
THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP
Here's a look back at some news and notes from earlier in the week.
**THURSDAY, FEB. 28**
Duquesne at the Box
LSU will play Duquesne in a three-game baseball series this weekend at Alex Box Stadium. A year ago, the series wasn't on the schedule.
The Indiana and Michigan State nonconference series this season at the Box were scheduled by former LSU coach Smoke Laval and his staff. Paul Mainieri, Laval's successor, added Duquesne to the 2008 schedule last year after persuading University of Central Florida coach Jay Bergman to cancel a previously scheduled series between LSU and UCF that would have been this weekend in Orlando, Fla.
Laval coached for Bergman at Florida before coming to LSU as Skip Bertman's top assistant in the 1983-84 school year, and Laval and Bergman remain close. LSU opened the 2004 season at Central Florida, and the home-and-away series was to continue in Baton Rouge a year later. A scheduling error made that impossible.
In 2005, Laval said he and Bergman discussed playing at the Box "the second weekend." One of them interpreted that as meaning the second weekend of February 2005. The other thought it meant the second weekend of the season.
The season started Feb. 11, 2005, the second weekend of the month. The second weekend of the season began Feb. 18, 2005. One coach blocked out Feb. 11-13 for the UCF-LSU series; the other coach blocked out Feb. 18-21. When the coaches realized the mistake, they postponed the series.
Central Florida completed the home-and-away series with LSU in 2007, Mainieri's first season as coach of the Tigers. After learning about the history of the agreement between LSU and UCF, Mainieri realized the 2007 series was the completion of the 1-for-1 connected to LSU's trip to Orlando in 2004, not part of a new home-and-away series. Because he knew the NCAA's new starting date for college baseball would mean two fewer nonconference series for SEC teams, Mainieri told Bergman the Tigers wanted to play all of their nonconference weekend games at home. Mainieri asked Bergman if he would agree to cancel the agreement calling for LSU to travel to Orlando to play UCF this weekend.
Bergman agreed. Mainieri later scheduled the home series against Duquesne to fill the hole on the schedule. Duquesne coach Mike Wilson has some LSU connections -- his nephew is Brad Wilson, a former designated hitter and first baseman for Bertman in the 1990s. Look for more on Duquesne's coach and program in one or more of our Friday updates.
**WEDNESDAY, FEB. 27**
Countdown continues
At the top of the sixth inning in each of LSU's 36 scheduled home games in this final season at the current Alex Box Stadium, a different person will change a sign showing the number of home games remaining. The sign, on the outfield wall near the left-field foul pole, shows 31 after the game Wednesday night vs. Mississippi Valley State.
Longtime LSU employee Ted Stickles, game management director emeritus, made the change.
The list of dignitaries doing the honors so far this season:
Game 1: Brad Cresse, former LSU catcher.
Game 2: Kurt Ainsworth, former LSU pitcher.
Game 3: Members of LSU's 2003 and 2004 College World Series teams.
Game 4: Gregg Patterson, former LSU pitcher.
Game 5: Stickles.
Former LSU and Major League Baseball pitcher Ben McDonald, who was the color analyst Tuesday for Cox Sports Television coverage of the Southern-LSU game, said he agreed to help with the countdown sign April 6. LSU plays Alabama that day, and McDonald will be in the press box once again for CST.
Say hey
I know what you were thinking Wednesday night when you heard the starting right fielder for Mississippi Valley State was Willie Mays. I had the same thought: "Isn't that the guy that used to play for Kentucky?"
William Fredrick Mays, as he's named on his birth certificate, is a native of Lexington, Ky. After his senior year at Bryan Station High School in Lexington, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted Mays in the 49th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He chose to play for his hometown school, the University of Kentucky, an SEC rival of LSU.
Mays redshirted as a Kentucky freshman in 2005 before transferring to Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. The Florida Marlins selected him in the 31st round of the 2006 draft, but Mays ended up at Mississippi Valley State. He scored the Delta Devils' only run in a 9-1 loss to LSU.
After wearing No. 25 at Kentucky, Mays wears No. 24 for the Delta Devils. I know you know the Willie Mays who wore that number.
**TUESDAY, FEB. 26**
Escobar update
LSU junior second baseman Rene Escobar swung a wooden bat in the batting cages Tuesday night before the game vs. Southern, another step in his comeback from a broken hand on the first day of practice (Feb. 1). Escobar, who hasn't played this season, wore a special batting glove on his left hand.
"He did fine," LSU trainer Beau Lowery said. "He's not hitting with aluminum yet, but he did fine with the wooden bat. He didn't have any problems, so the next four or five days we're going to progress him, and as long as he doesn't have any pain or a lot of soreness the day after, then we're going to get him ready to go."
Escobar said Sunday team doctor Mark Field told him he could be back next week. That's still possible, Lowery said Tuesday. Escobar said he could be ready for the Stetson series March 7-9.
Lowery said Escobar will continue to use the special batting glove.
"Basically, it's a batting glove that has some shock absorption to it," Lowery said. "It's got a special pad right at his fifth metacarpal, and that's what he broke, but it's a padding that goes all the way through his palm and sort of disburses the force of when they grab the bat and the vibration of the bat. It sort of absorbs all that so they're not feeling that as much as they usually do right on the base of their fifth metacarpal.
"For a right-handed hitter, that's big, because that's his bottom hand. That's the hand that's against the knob (of the bat). That's what's made this challenging."
Lowery said it was a big step for Escobar to swing the wooden bat and be comfortable Tuesday. The next challenge was to come Thursday, when Escobar was scheduled to swing an aluminum bat to further test his hand and the new batting glove. As Lowery said, how Escobar feels Friday will be an important indicator the day after swinging the aluminum bat for the first time in a month.
Escobar, a transfer from Riverside (Calif.) Community College, took ground balls Sunday before the final game of the Indiana series. Before the game Tuesday vs. Southern, Escobar took ground balls in uniform on the field with his teammates during warmups. That was another milestone.
LSU first baseman Matt Clark, who transferred from Riverside with Escobar in the fall, said Escobar is the kind of hitter the Tigers need in the lineup.
LSU can certainly use another good right-handed hitter in its batting order.
The first of many
What's that song they play at Alex Box Stadium when Nicholas Pontiff comes to bat? What happened to the music from "The Boondock Saints" they played for him as a freshman? What time are the players expected at the ballpark before a game? Is The Intimidator going to be at the new Alex Box Stadium next year?
Answers to questions like these and many others are among the pieces of information The Advocate and I want to bring to you regularly on this blog. You can expect the same coverage in the newspaper as before, but here at 2theadvocate.com there's much more we plan to tell you about the LSU Tigers.
This is the first post of many to come.
As with anything new, this will be an evolving enterprise, a work in progress, with frequent updates and fresh takes. For those of you unfamiliar with blogging, a method of communicating relatively new to The Advocate, let me point out that posts appear in reverse chronological order, so the most recent is at the top of the page. This might take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. You'll also notice a bit of a different tone than in the print edition. This blog is more conversational than the traditional newspaper piece, but without sacrificing The Advocate's standards for journalism and fairness.
I hope to give you starting lineups well before the first pitch, analysis and observations during the game, and postgame and second-day coverage complimentary to what you'll find in The Advocate print edition. Because no two baseball games are alike, no two days will be the same here, and that's part of the fun. We expect the unexpected, and while we dig for new details and insight, we're going to keep our eye on the ball for all the things you love about this wonderful game.
Thanks, and I'll see you at the ballpark.
Carl Dubois
The Advocate
Thanks for stopping by.
Carl Dubois
The Advocate
THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP
Here's a look back at some news and notes from earlier in the week.
**THURSDAY, FEB. 28**
Duquesne at the Box
LSU will play Duquesne in a three-game baseball series this weekend at Alex Box Stadium. A year ago, the series wasn't on the schedule.
The Indiana and Michigan State nonconference series this season at the Box were scheduled by former LSU coach Smoke Laval and his staff. Paul Mainieri, Laval's successor, added Duquesne to the 2008 schedule last year after persuading University of Central Florida coach Jay Bergman to cancel a previously scheduled series between LSU and UCF that would have been this weekend in Orlando, Fla.
Laval coached for Bergman at Florida before coming to LSU as Skip Bertman's top assistant in the 1983-84 school year, and Laval and Bergman remain close. LSU opened the 2004 season at Central Florida, and the home-and-away series was to continue in Baton Rouge a year later. A scheduling error made that impossible.
In 2005, Laval said he and Bergman discussed playing at the Box "the second weekend." One of them interpreted that as meaning the second weekend of February 2005. The other thought it meant the second weekend of the season.
The season started Feb. 11, 2005, the second weekend of the month. The second weekend of the season began Feb. 18, 2005. One coach blocked out Feb. 11-13 for the UCF-LSU series; the other coach blocked out Feb. 18-21. When the coaches realized the mistake, they postponed the series.
Central Florida completed the home-and-away series with LSU in 2007, Mainieri's first season as coach of the Tigers. After learning about the history of the agreement between LSU and UCF, Mainieri realized the 2007 series was the completion of the 1-for-1 connected to LSU's trip to Orlando in 2004, not part of a new home-and-away series. Because he knew the NCAA's new starting date for college baseball would mean two fewer nonconference series for SEC teams, Mainieri told Bergman the Tigers wanted to play all of their nonconference weekend games at home. Mainieri asked Bergman if he would agree to cancel the agreement calling for LSU to travel to Orlando to play UCF this weekend.
Bergman agreed. Mainieri later scheduled the home series against Duquesne to fill the hole on the schedule. Duquesne coach Mike Wilson has some LSU connections -- his nephew is Brad Wilson, a former designated hitter and first baseman for Bertman in the 1990s. Look for more on Duquesne's coach and program in one or more of our Friday updates.
**WEDNESDAY, FEB. 27**
Countdown continues
At the top of the sixth inning in each of LSU's 36 scheduled home games in this final season at the current Alex Box Stadium, a different person will change a sign showing the number of home games remaining. The sign, on the outfield wall near the left-field foul pole, shows 31 after the game Wednesday night vs. Mississippi Valley State.
Longtime LSU employee Ted Stickles, game management director emeritus, made the change.
The list of dignitaries doing the honors so far this season:
Game 1: Brad Cresse, former LSU catcher.
Game 2: Kurt Ainsworth, former LSU pitcher.
Game 3: Members of LSU's 2003 and 2004 College World Series teams.
Game 4: Gregg Patterson, former LSU pitcher.
Game 5: Stickles.
Former LSU and Major League Baseball pitcher Ben McDonald, who was the color analyst Tuesday for Cox Sports Television coverage of the Southern-LSU game, said he agreed to help with the countdown sign April 6. LSU plays Alabama that day, and McDonald will be in the press box once again for CST.
Say hey
I know what you were thinking Wednesday night when you heard the starting right fielder for Mississippi Valley State was Willie Mays. I had the same thought: "Isn't that the guy that used to play for Kentucky?"
William Fredrick Mays, as he's named on his birth certificate, is a native of Lexington, Ky. After his senior year at Bryan Station High School in Lexington, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted Mays in the 49th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He chose to play for his hometown school, the University of Kentucky, an SEC rival of LSU.
Mays redshirted as a Kentucky freshman in 2005 before transferring to Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. The Florida Marlins selected him in the 31st round of the 2006 draft, but Mays ended up at Mississippi Valley State. He scored the Delta Devils' only run in a 9-1 loss to LSU.
After wearing No. 25 at Kentucky, Mays wears No. 24 for the Delta Devils. I know you know the Willie Mays who wore that number.
**TUESDAY, FEB. 26**
Escobar update
LSU junior second baseman Rene Escobar swung a wooden bat in the batting cages Tuesday night before the game vs. Southern, another step in his comeback from a broken hand on the first day of practice (Feb. 1). Escobar, who hasn't played this season, wore a special batting glove on his left hand.
"He did fine," LSU trainer Beau Lowery said. "He's not hitting with aluminum yet, but he did fine with the wooden bat. He didn't have any problems, so the next four or five days we're going to progress him, and as long as he doesn't have any pain or a lot of soreness the day after, then we're going to get him ready to go."
Escobar said Sunday team doctor Mark Field told him he could be back next week. That's still possible, Lowery said Tuesday. Escobar said he could be ready for the Stetson series March 7-9.
Lowery said Escobar will continue to use the special batting glove.
"Basically, it's a batting glove that has some shock absorption to it," Lowery said. "It's got a special pad right at his fifth metacarpal, and that's what he broke, but it's a padding that goes all the way through his palm and sort of disburses the force of when they grab the bat and the vibration of the bat. It sort of absorbs all that so they're not feeling that as much as they usually do right on the base of their fifth metacarpal.
"For a right-handed hitter, that's big, because that's his bottom hand. That's the hand that's against the knob (of the bat). That's what's made this challenging."
Lowery said it was a big step for Escobar to swing the wooden bat and be comfortable Tuesday. The next challenge was to come Thursday, when Escobar was scheduled to swing an aluminum bat to further test his hand and the new batting glove. As Lowery said, how Escobar feels Friday will be an important indicator the day after swinging the aluminum bat for the first time in a month.
Escobar, a transfer from Riverside (Calif.) Community College, took ground balls Sunday before the final game of the Indiana series. Before the game Tuesday vs. Southern, Escobar took ground balls in uniform on the field with his teammates during warmups. That was another milestone.
LSU first baseman Matt Clark, who transferred from Riverside with Escobar in the fall, said Escobar is the kind of hitter the Tigers need in the lineup.
LSU can certainly use another good right-handed hitter in its batting order.
The first of many
What's that song they play at Alex Box Stadium when Nicholas Pontiff comes to bat? What happened to the music from "The Boondock Saints" they played for him as a freshman? What time are the players expected at the ballpark before a game? Is The Intimidator going to be at the new Alex Box Stadium next year?
Answers to questions like these and many others are among the pieces of information The Advocate and I want to bring to you regularly on this blog. You can expect the same coverage in the newspaper as before, but here at 2theadvocate.com there's much more we plan to tell you about the LSU Tigers.
This is the first post of many to come.
As with anything new, this will be an evolving enterprise, a work in progress, with frequent updates and fresh takes. For those of you unfamiliar with blogging, a method of communicating relatively new to The Advocate, let me point out that posts appear in reverse chronological order, so the most recent is at the top of the page. This might take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. You'll also notice a bit of a different tone than in the print edition. This blog is more conversational than the traditional newspaper piece, but without sacrificing The Advocate's standards for journalism and fairness.
I hope to give you starting lineups well before the first pitch, analysis and observations during the game, and postgame and second-day coverage complimentary to what you'll find in The Advocate print edition. Because no two baseball games are alike, no two days will be the same here, and that's part of the fun. We expect the unexpected, and while we dig for new details and insight, we're going to keep our eye on the ball for all the things you love about this wonderful game.
Thanks, and I'll see you at the ballpark.
Carl Dubois
The Advocate
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