View From the Cheap Seats
1/30/2012 8:10:00 PM | Baseball
It is that time once again ladies and gentlemen for the North Florida baseball blog – View From the Cheap Seats.
For those who remember me, I have just two words to say… “I'm back!” For those new to the program, my name is Chris Whitehead and I am the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at the University of North Florida. One of my primary responsibilities is baseball. I travel with the team; keep the stats; write the game previews and recaps; do game notes; and a whole bunch of other stuff related to UNF baseball. This is my second year blogging for the team. After receiving a lot of positive feedback last season, I decided to start the blog back up again. This season I am going to try to make the blog a little more interactive and try to get the fans involved.
To start, the season is just around the corner. The 2012 season begins at Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium this year as the Ospreys host SIU in a three-game series beginning on Friday, Feb. 17. If you can't wait that long, North Florida's current baseball team will take on the Alumni Team on Saturday, Feb. 11.
In preparation for the upcoming season, I went to the first team practice of the season on Friday, Jan. 27 and followed that up by going to the intrasquad games over the weekend. I sat in the dugout talking coaches and players, watching and observing the whole time.
This season the Ospreys feature many new faces, as well as, several familiar faces in new positions. Head coach Smoke Laval has created a depth chart for the team so each player knows where they stand. Simple concept, if you want to play, just beat out the player ahead of you.
North Florida has key position battles at first base, third base and in the outfield. Long time starter at first, Andrew Karmeris has moved to shortstop. Junior college transfer Joe Wielbruda is the front runner to play second base. Juniors Corey Bass and Paul Karmeris are set to platoon the catching duties. Sophomores Alex Bacon and Tyler Marincov will handle center field and right field, respectively. Kyle Westwood, Tyler Moore and Tommy Organ each return to the mound for UNF, while Chandler Jagodzinski is set to close once again.
In addition to watching practice, I also re-read all of my old blogs to get inspired. The Ospreys had some highlights last season but faltered down the stretch. Being the superstitious guy that I am, I tried to think of what could have been done on my end. I had a “lucky pen” which proved to be less than effective. I typically wore the same polo shirt each day of the week, especially during weekend series… Think I will need a new rotation this season.
As I have mentioned before, there are some of the press box superstitions are pretty basic that I follow. You never… let me repeat; NEVER… mention anything that effects the game. This means that you never mention the speed of the game. “Wow, this game is going by fast” or “this game is really moving along quickly” are sure fire ways to get the game to come to a grinding halt. You never mention extra innings. The minute someone does, you might as well settle in for a nice 15-inning game. You also never mention the weather. The word “rain” is probably the worst four-letter word that you could ever say. I would assume snow is also bad for the northern schools, but this is the south and if we get snowed out at home, we have bigger problems than the game being delayed.
Probably the biggest instance that quiets the press box is when a pitcher is going for a no-hitter/perfect game or a batter is going for the cycle or a hitting streak. I understand that while in the press box, the players on the field cannot even hear us, but there is something about mentioning it that causes it to end.
One tradition that I have seen in each press box I have ever worked is “Yahtzee.” If you haven't played, you don't know. Let's just say that when a player batting wears uniform number 11 or 22 and the scoreboard shows a 1-and-1 count with one out or a 2-and-2 count with two outs, many people get happy. This season, Yahtzee's will be hard to come by as No. 11 is a pitcher (Marshal Rosenberger) and No. 22 is head coach Smoke Laval. I will try to keep up with them throughout the year.
FYI: I have witnessed back-to-back Yahtzee's before with No. 11 coming to bat with a 1-and-1 count and one out; he gets out and then No. 22 follows with a 2-and-2 count. That is extremely rare though.
As I stated earlier, I want this season's blog to be more interactive with you the fan. So, let's test this out. The Athletic Communications Department has started tweeting more and more the year. The North Florida athletics Twitter account is @UNFOspreys. I have told you some of my superstitions throughout the baseball season and I want to hear some of yours. Tweet me with your superstitions using the hashtag #BaseballSuperstitions and I will retweet/repost some of the best ones.
Ok. I will stop rambling now, but keep watching for more blogs and remember; there is nothing like the view from the cheap seats.
For those who remember me, I have just two words to say… “I'm back!” For those new to the program, my name is Chris Whitehead and I am the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at the University of North Florida. One of my primary responsibilities is baseball. I travel with the team; keep the stats; write the game previews and recaps; do game notes; and a whole bunch of other stuff related to UNF baseball. This is my second year blogging for the team. After receiving a lot of positive feedback last season, I decided to start the blog back up again. This season I am going to try to make the blog a little more interactive and try to get the fans involved.
To start, the season is just around the corner. The 2012 season begins at Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium this year as the Ospreys host SIU in a three-game series beginning on Friday, Feb. 17. If you can't wait that long, North Florida's current baseball team will take on the Alumni Team on Saturday, Feb. 11.
In preparation for the upcoming season, I went to the first team practice of the season on Friday, Jan. 27 and followed that up by going to the intrasquad games over the weekend. I sat in the dugout talking coaches and players, watching and observing the whole time.
This season the Ospreys feature many new faces, as well as, several familiar faces in new positions. Head coach Smoke Laval has created a depth chart for the team so each player knows where they stand. Simple concept, if you want to play, just beat out the player ahead of you.
North Florida has key position battles at first base, third base and in the outfield. Long time starter at first, Andrew Karmeris has moved to shortstop. Junior college transfer Joe Wielbruda is the front runner to play second base. Juniors Corey Bass and Paul Karmeris are set to platoon the catching duties. Sophomores Alex Bacon and Tyler Marincov will handle center field and right field, respectively. Kyle Westwood, Tyler Moore and Tommy Organ each return to the mound for UNF, while Chandler Jagodzinski is set to close once again.
In addition to watching practice, I also re-read all of my old blogs to get inspired. The Ospreys had some highlights last season but faltered down the stretch. Being the superstitious guy that I am, I tried to think of what could have been done on my end. I had a “lucky pen” which proved to be less than effective. I typically wore the same polo shirt each day of the week, especially during weekend series… Think I will need a new rotation this season.
As I have mentioned before, there are some of the press box superstitions are pretty basic that I follow. You never… let me repeat; NEVER… mention anything that effects the game. This means that you never mention the speed of the game. “Wow, this game is going by fast” or “this game is really moving along quickly” are sure fire ways to get the game to come to a grinding halt. You never mention extra innings. The minute someone does, you might as well settle in for a nice 15-inning game. You also never mention the weather. The word “rain” is probably the worst four-letter word that you could ever say. I would assume snow is also bad for the northern schools, but this is the south and if we get snowed out at home, we have bigger problems than the game being delayed.
Probably the biggest instance that quiets the press box is when a pitcher is going for a no-hitter/perfect game or a batter is going for the cycle or a hitting streak. I understand that while in the press box, the players on the field cannot even hear us, but there is something about mentioning it that causes it to end.
One tradition that I have seen in each press box I have ever worked is “Yahtzee.” If you haven't played, you don't know. Let's just say that when a player batting wears uniform number 11 or 22 and the scoreboard shows a 1-and-1 count with one out or a 2-and-2 count with two outs, many people get happy. This season, Yahtzee's will be hard to come by as No. 11 is a pitcher (Marshal Rosenberger) and No. 22 is head coach Smoke Laval. I will try to keep up with them throughout the year.
FYI: I have witnessed back-to-back Yahtzee's before with No. 11 coming to bat with a 1-and-1 count and one out; he gets out and then No. 22 follows with a 2-and-2 count. That is extremely rare though.
As I stated earlier, I want this season's blog to be more interactive with you the fan. So, let's test this out. The Athletic Communications Department has started tweeting more and more the year. The North Florida athletics Twitter account is @UNFOspreys. I have told you some of my superstitions throughout the baseball season and I want to hear some of yours. Tweet me with your superstitions using the hashtag #BaseballSuperstitions and I will retweet/repost some of the best ones.
Ok. I will stop rambling now, but keep watching for more blogs and remember; there is nothing like the view from the cheap seats.
Friday, February 13
Tuesday, February 10
Tuesday, February 10
Tuesday, February 10
