Four Years Later

This is a repost from two years ago. We love you and miss you, Leslie.

Many of you may know that today is the second anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech that took place on April 16, 2007, but I doubt many of you really know how extraordinary the 32 students and faculty members who died that day really are-so extraordinary that "were" is simply not appropriate.

I can't believe it's been two years. That night, I remember my parents getting a call from my older sister. All she could say was "Leslie's gone." Leslie Sherman was one of her best friends in high school. They ran on the cross country and track teams together, hung out, went on trips and all that jazz. Leslie wasn't exactly a third sister to me-I never really knew her that well-but it really hit close to home. It's hitting closer to home now, because everything is beginning to align. She was a History major. So am I. She worked at a dining hall. So do I. It's just these two little coincidences, going along with the anniversary that really bring it all up. 

I didn't know what to do that day. Fairfax County let us out of school early due to "high wind" (although now we know what the probable reason really was). I went to a friend's house, sat on the couch and saw everything. And then I changed the channel. It was too much for me to think about-I had a binding agreement to go to Virginia Tech, a school as rooted in my family as can be. I never doubted my decision, even afterwards, but obviously it was just too much for an 18-year-old to deal with.

There's not too much else to the story. There were the cameras at West Springfield when we had our "Senior Night" for track. Naturally, I decked out in Tech stuff and ended up on the news. There was the funeral, where I wore a VT tie. I didn't know how to deal with the situation except to be proud of who I was: a Hokie, and where I was going to spend the next 4 years of my life: Virginia Tech.

I've run out of words, so I'll let VT professor Nikki Giovanni finish this post:

We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech.

--Nikki Giovanni, April 17, 2007

If you would like to read more about the legacy Leslie left:

Here's the link to her official VT rememberance biography.

Here's the link to the tribute my high school journalism teacher wrote. Here's another post that she wrote today.

Here's the comment board set up by the New York Times to let people give their best memories of Leslie.

Here's Leslie's biography from the Washington Post.

Here's a feature on Leslie from the Roanoke Times.

A Game to Remember

Three years ago today was the worst day of my life. We lost 32 Hokies, including one of my sister's best friends, Leslie Sherman. Leslie was an extraordinary person and was going to do great things in the world. Her spirit still lives in everyone who knew her.

Three years ago Sunday, the Nationals took the field donning Virginia Tech caps. This was not a planned event. In fact, it came together at the last minute. Marc Carig of the Washington Post had this to say:

With about 90 minutes before first pitch, Harolyn Cardozo, executive assistant to General Manager Jim Bowden, was on the phone calling sporting goods stores. She dialed the number to the Sports Authority's store in Alexandria, and when she heard a voice, she had one simple demand: "Give me the smartest guy in the store who can get something done fast."

Paul Schneider, a department manager, soon was scouring the store for Hokies hats. Cardozo asked for 40 of them and they needed to be at the stadium before the Nats took the field. Schneider found about 20 on the rack and discovered a box full in a storeroom. He talked his managers into donating the 38 hats of various styles, then jumped in his car to cross the Wilson Bridge and weave through rush-hour traffic to get to RFK.

Fifteen minutes before the first pitch, Major League Baseball gave the team approval. Schneider arrived at the stadium during the first inning, and the caps made it to the Nationals' dugout in time for the team to take the field with them for the second inning.

Kasten arrived at the ballpark an hour into the game, surprised the hats had arrived. The gesture was similar to one by the Yankees and Mets when baseball resumed play after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Players from both teams donned hats representing New York's police and fire departments.

While the Nats lost 6-4 to the Braves, this was still by far the best thing they have done since being in DC. Thank you once again, Nationals. We'll never forget this.

Please spend a moment or two today remembering the victims of 4/16.

Trying to spread RyanWilliamsBearPig Awareness

The single biggest threat to college football. Something out there which threatens UVA's very existence and may be the end to Miami football as we know it. I'm talking of course about RyanWilliamsBearPig. It is a running back that roams the backfield of Lane Stadium alone. It is half Ryan Williams, half bear and half pig! Some people say that RyanWilliamsBearPig isn't real. Well I'm here to tell you now, RyanWilliamsBearPig is very real, and he most certainly exists! RyanWilliamsBearPig doesn't care who you are or what you've done. RyanWilliamsBearPig simply wants to get you!

Join the Facebook Group to spread RyanWilliamsBearPig Awareness!

May 13-a night of endings rather than beginnings

I'm a little upset about the Caps' loss (even though I didn't see any of the game). I'm not mad at the Penguins or the referees, but instead the Caps. They simply relied on Simeon Varlamov too much-without him, there would have been no game 7, 6 or 5. The Caps (and Bruce Boudreau) have a lot of adjustments to make next year. But, as my Facebook says, the Caps have a bright future ahead and nothing to be ashamed of. The sky is the limit, and in 2010, look for them to once again compete in the playoffs.

Zimmerman's streak ended at 30 as well. Not that much of a surprise-luck and skill don't always coincide.  FJB has a ridiculously awesome, in-depth discussion of Zim being intentionally walked in the 7th inning.

And I took my last final exam of the semester, finishing my second year at Tech. We'll skip further discussion here...

I will be road-tripping from Las Vegas back to the DC area starting Saturday. Feel free to follow my new Twitter to see where I am (assuming I can figure it out): http://twitter.com/seanhoganVT

Remembering Leslie

Many of you may know that today is the second anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech that took place on April 16, 2007, but I doubt many of you really know how extraordinary the 32 students and faculty members who died that day really are-so extraordinary that "were" is simply not appropriate.

I can't believe it's been two years. That night, I remember my parents getting a call from my older sister. All she could say was "Leslie's gone." Leslie Sherman was one of her best friends in high school. They ran on the cross country and track teams together, hung out, went on trips and all that jazz. Leslie wasn't exactly a third sister to me-I never really knew her that well-but it really hit close to home. It's hitting closer to home now, because everything is beginning to align. She was a History major. So am I. She worked at a dining hall. So do I. It's just these two little coincidences, going along with the anniversary that really bring it all up. 

I didn't know what to do that day. Fairfax County let us out of school early due to "high wind" (although now we know what the probable reason really was). I went to a friend's house, sat on the couch and saw everything. And then I changed the channel. It was too much for me to think about-I had a binding agreement to go to Virginia Tech, a school as rooted in my family as can be. I never doubted my decision, even afterwards, but obviously it was just too much for an 18-year-old to deal with.

There's not too much else to the story. There were the cameras at West Springfield when we had our "Senior Night" for track. Naturally, I decked out in Tech stuff and ended up on the news. There was the funeral, where I wore a VT tie. I didn't know how to deal with the situation except to be proud of who I was: a Hokie, and where I was going to spend the next 4 years of my life: Virginia Tech.

I've run out of words, so I'll let VT professor Nikki Giovanni finish this post:

We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech.

--Nikki Giovanni, April 17, 2007

If you would like to read more about the legacy Leslie left:

Here's the link to her official VT rememberance biography.

Here's the link to the tribute my high school journalism teacher wrote.

Here's the comment board set up by the New York Times to let people give their best memories of Leslie.

Here's Leslie's biography from the Washington Post.

Here's a feature on Leslie from the Roanoke Times.

We'll never forget you, Leslie.

Chris Kay interviews former VT manager Chuck Hartman

This interview doesn't need much of an introduction. Chuck Hartman is a member of the Virginia Tech Hall of Fame and could chat you to death. He's one of baseball's all time great characters and a true legend. If you're interested in more by Chris Kay, check out his blog, We Talkin Bout Practice here and his archive of posts at DC Sports Plus here. If you're interested in more about Chuck Hartman, check out his HokieSports.com bio here and an article written by Virginia Tech's Sports Information Director, Dave Smith, here.

Chuck Hartman is well known when it comes to [Blacksburg]. The former Virginia Tech head baseball coach has 1,424 wins under his belt which ranks him tied for 4th all time in college baseball history. Hartman’s 47 year coaching history involved only two stops: High Point College and Virginia Tech. The first 19 years of his coaching career were at High Point College (now known as High Point University). The High Point team had eight wins in the previous three years, but with Coach Hartman at the helm they averaged 25 wins a year over a 19 year stretch and achieved 10 Carolinas Conference Championships. After a successful stop at High Point, Hartman moved on to Virginia Tech in 1979. For 28 years with the Hokies, he would amass over 900 wins including the special 1000th career win which occurred in 1992 versus in-state opponent Liberty. Like at High Point, Coach Hartman had great success winning three Atlantic-10 Tournament Championships, one Metro Tournament Championship, and sharing regular season championships in both the Metro and Big East regular seasons. In 2004, Chuck Hartman received the highest honors a collegiate coach could receive when he was voted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Chris had the chance to sit down with this Hall of Fame coach and what is seen is a selection from the interview that took place.

Q: Can you tell me about some of your early days of baseball as a player and early coach?
A: Well as a player, I came up in a high school that had very very good baseball. In fact, won 9 out of 10 state championships. I happened to be a part of the club that didn’t. As a sophomore I got cut. And then later as a senior when we won the state championship I was all-state, and captain of the team and ended up going to North Carolina and having an ok career down there. Thought I was good as a sophomore and then they started pitching me a little tougher (laughs).

Q: When did you know that you wanted to get into coaching?
A: I had it kind of in the back of my mind. My dad had coached [a] legion team. I had to play for him one season. In fact, I made a couple errors one day and we were on the bench and I was about 14 or 15 years old, tears running down my cheeks cause the fans were hollering to put this other kid in. You only play him cause you’re the coach’s son! And I wasn’t mature enough to handle that. He said, “Are you a quitter?” I said, “No, I’m not a quitter.” He said, “Well get your little hiney back on there out on the field.” I wavered a little bit my freshman year of college. At one time I thought a little bit about going into the FBI, but then I changed my sophomore year and from then on I wanted to be a coach.

Q: Did you ever expect coaching for 47 years?
A: (Laughs) No, no, no. No, I never thought it would be that long. I just got real real lucky, fortunate or whatever. It was in January and it was High Point College at the time and now it’s (High Point) University. They were looking for, believe it or not, an assistant tennis coach and an assistant basketball coach and a teacher. I was in the middle of grad school… So, they came in. In fact the president of the school and the athletic director of the school interviewed me. They caught me down in the gym and interviewed me in the dressing room. So they said they would be back in touch with me. I went back to my room and wasn’t thirty minutes they knocked on the door and said, “The job is yours.” And I said, “Well, I’ve never seen the place. I got to come up.” It ended up I coached tennis the first year. I didn’t know anything about tennis. I gave them a can of balls, wrote out the lineup, and got out of the way and sat around and drank water while they were playing. Gave a little pep talk every once in a while. (Laughs) In fact we played for the conference championship. In basketball, I was the recruiter for three years. The second year I was there he told me he wanted me to give up tennis and wanted me to be the assistant baseball and assistant basketball. So, that’s the way that year started off. And half way through the season the head coach at High Point resigned, and I became the interim. In two-and-a-half years I had become the year coach. (Thinks) I was 26 years old. I had become the head coach at High Point College. Oh, they were horrible. The field was bad, but I loved baseball... Having played baseball at (North) Carolina, and I loved baseball. We started working. Of course we did a lot of the work on the field, but then we started recruiting some players. We had very limited. In fact, we had no scholarships to start with… They had won a total of eight games in three years. My first captain came to me and told me we really appreciate the work you’re putting in, and you’re energetic and we’re having a lot of fun playing for you, but we can’t compete against those other teams. So right then we gotta get rid of this losing attitude. 5 years later we won the conference championships and we ended up winning 10 conference championships before I left…

Q: Coach Hughes is in the process of rebuilding the Hokies. What kind of advice can you give him because you did the same thing with High Point College?
A: Well, it sometimes becomes a slow process. You got to get good players let’s face it. I’ve got a little slogan I use. A mule never won The Kentucky Derby. You got to have horses. I still believe that. Now, you have to coach those horses just like those guys have to train those horses, but you can’t train a mule. He can only go so far. You know you got to continue to get good players. It’s a real difficult league to say the least. It’s one of the better leagues. It comes down to recruiting. I think this is a great place. The improvements ya’ll have made in the ball park. It’s got to help in the recruiting…

Q: You and Johnny Oates are the only two baseball retired numbers in Virginia Tech history. Can you tell me your favorite Oates memory?
A: Yea I do. We were playing here, and I can’t remember who we were playing, but it was a Sunday and we always had devotionals down in the bullpen after we took batting practice. We went into the bullpen and it was optional. Johnny had came down for that weekend. I had asked him if he would do our devotion. He was very religious, really religious. Lived it. His wife came down to the bullpen. We were getting ready to assemble. She said she didn’t think he (Oates) was going to be able to make it. He was sick. He was still taking all that chemo treatment and everything. Then he waved his arm, and he was coming down. He came down and spoke to us. He cried like a baby. After it when I talked to him about that. He said that it was one of the most prominent times of his career. Playing for all those teams and managing two different clubs. He said, “That was a moment I will take to my grave.” It was a very emotional day. We were all out there crying.

One note-this may end up being posted at Planet Blacksburg. Wanted to make sure to give them props just in case it does.

Chris Kay's take on UNC prospect Dustin Ackley

It's been almost two months since we last heard from Chris (although it's quite understandable, considering his busy baseball schedule). Be sure to check out his blog, We Talkin Bout Practice?

Before we delve into his latest report, I want to congratulate him and the rest of the Hokies for their improved play this year. Through 11 conference games this year, they are already halfway to last year's conference win total with 19 games to go. Chris has struggled a little bit at the plate this year, struggling to find consistency with almost half of his plate appearances coming as a pinch hitter, but at least has shown a Don Baylor-like ability to get hit by pitch. His defense behind the plate, however, has been impeccable, with 0 errors, 0 passed balls and only 1 stolen base allowed.

Here's Chris' view on Ackley.

This past month we played the UNC Tar Heels. Everyone knows who their best players are: Dustin Ackley, Alex White, and Matt Harvey. The most impressive of the 3 to me was Dustin Ackley their first baseman.
Ackley is a projected first round pick in this next years draft. He looks like any ordinary guy, but with a strong southern accent. Ackley is average height and size, but his abilities are far from ordinary. The speed that he has with the kind of power that he has is unreal. He hit a home run versus us that was crushed. The guy can really hit. He also possesses a great amount of patience. He racks up a lot of walks while being able to get pitches to hit. Defensively he is very sound at first base. It’s not a tough position to play, but he makes it look effortless with his picks. I think that in professional baseball, outfield will be better suited for him because of his speed and arm. It would be a waste of talent to leave him at first base with the kind of defensive
skills he has.

Thanks again to Virginia Tech baseball player and Michigan-area sports blogger Chris Kay for his insights.

A few of my thoughts: 

-Ackley's arm has been questioned due to Tommy John surgery last summer, but it is good to see in Chris' report that it looks good once again. 

-Brewerfan.net compares him to Todd Helton with the bat and Darin Erstad in terms of athleticism. 

-Beyond the Box Score says he is a good overall player, but "not an otherworldly talent."

-Orioles Hangout compares him to Chase Utley.

-He could POSSIBLY fall to the Nats at #10, but I doubt it. DC Pro Sports Report's MLB Mock Draft Database has Ackley as high as second and as low as sixth. Don't count on grabbing him, but count on watching him play for the Mariners, Padres, Pirates, Orioles or Giants one day.

Introducing Chris Kay

I've got a bit of a new feature. A friend of mine, Chris Kay, graciously agreed to do a bit of guest blogging for me. What makes him relevant is the fact that he is not an outsider-he has a lot of insight to share as a college baseballl player, especially one in the ACC. He recently started a blog about Detroit/Michigan sports aptly named "We Talkin Bout Practice?" that is definitely worth checking out. I'll let him take it away:

My name is Chris Kay and I am from Marietta, GA, the home of East Cobb Baseball. Because of this, I have played with many young talents like Josh Smoker, Michael Burgess, Tim Beckham, Michael Main, and many others. I currently am a sophomore catcher for Virginia Tech. 

Here's the first player.. Weighing in at 6 foot 2 and 1 hundred and 85 poundsssssss. From Calhounnnnnnnn Georigaaaaaaaaa. Joshh Smoooooookeeeeerrrrrr. Ha sorry. Had a little too much fun right there. 

Josh Smoker is a talented lefty pitcher from Calhoun, GA. He was the 31st pick (1st in Supplemental) of the 2007 draft. I first met Josh when I was 14 and playing for East Cobb. The first thing I thought was “What a great name for a hard throwing lefty.” The kid was throwing gas from a young age and everyone knew he was going to be great. He throws a pretty good 2 seamer, solid curve and change, and when it’s on, a nasty splitter. Josh is a very mature pitcher for his age, and really has the tools to become a front end of the rotation starter. 

My favorite part about Josh is that he is such a great teammate and kid. He was very well brought up by his parents and you can tell by his manners. Over the last few years, he has learned to “flip the switch” per say, and turns into one hell of a competitor when he’s on the mound. Josh is a natural born winner and has won at every level. He has always been the guy that’s had the ball in his hands when the game or a championship has been on the line. Be excited Nats fans… Josh Smoker is a star in the making.

Thanks a lot to Chris for this guest blog. Chris will be doing this fairly regularly, so make sure to check back in here as well as over at his blog, We Talkin Bout Practice?

Monday Links

Check 'em out!

RotoAuthority takes a look at the "cliches" of Spring Training-losing weight and gaining muscle and their correlations with player performance.

Baseball Insider gives us some hope that Randy St. Claire might be able to turn Daniel Cabrera into a good pitcher (but why isn't this on Nats Journal?).

Alex Ovetjkin defends Alex Semin's "fighting" style, comparing it to the hammerfist.

Chris Cooley buys a yellow shirt, can't start his Mercedes, has a dance party in the back of a taxi.

3 days after winning the Orange Bowl, the Hokies already aren't getting any respect for next year.

That's all for now, hopefully there will be some Nats news sometime soon!

Hokie Dominance

What a way to start 2009. WAY TO GO HOKIES!!

EDIT-good news-starting FS Kam Chancellor announced after the game that he will return for his senior season. This team is going to be LOADED next year, losing only 9 players that really contributed at all this year (although the number could rise to 10 if G Sergio Render ends up declaring, as he has submitted paperwork but has not hired an agent).

Happy Thanksgiving!

and GO HOKIES! BEAT UVA!

Tech Triumph

Even though the calls and the bounces went Maryland's way, Darren Evans still set a VT rushing record, the Hokies' D held the Terps to negative 12 rushing yards and this happened (not even the best hit of the night-check out the video on this page of Darrius Heyward-Bey getting drilled).

Mission complete

The Nats' intentions of losing were very evident today with the most pathetic lineup in baseball history:
Bonifacio
Hernandez
Casto
Langerhans
Gonzalez
Bernadina
Montz
Orr
Perez

Seriously, Odalis Perez was our best hitter today. Pathetic. Our lineup today was an embarrassment to our franchise. I don't care what our record is...we should NEVER field a lineup this horrible. Manny should be beyond ashamed of himself.

Thanks to the awful lineup, we've clinched Stephen Strasburg. He better live up to expectations, because we seriously look like the worst franchise in all of baseball right now.

All of our coaches minus Randy St. Claire are gone. Glad to see Lenny out. I'm sure Corrales will retire. Good to see Bowden finally took the 'classy' road and notified them last night that their contracts wouldn't be renewed. Hopefully we'll see a similar decision regarding Bowden in the next few days. I want Rizzo before the World Series is over.

In other news, a big win for the Hokies last night at Nebraska. They tried (once again) to give it away late, but ended up on top for their fourth straight win, vaulting them back into the top 25 (#20 in the AP poll, #24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll).

A moral dilemma

I was getting frustrated by my Hokies today, as they were down 17-3 in the third quarter and didn't look like they could make anything happen. So I went to do my laundry (go figure). While I was in the laundry room, they scored back-to-back touchdowns and since then have added a field goal to make the score 20-17 Tech.

I am a generally superstitious person. My dilemma: should I spend the last 10 minutes of the game in the laundry room?

Big Win

We needed this one today. Not a whole lot on the topic (I've got some celebratin' to do!), but it's nice to see how much respect Georgia Tech players have for Virginia Tech fans:

Defensive tackle Darryl Richard: “The biggest thing about it is the respect that the fans have for playing the game of football. A lot of people, fan-wise, they think screaming is what it’s all about. But at Virginia Tech, they know when to scream. They know how to scream. They’re so involved in the game. They understand, on third down, when their defense is on the field, to make noise. They get involved in the kicking game. When it’s time to punt, you see all those hands waving, talking about blocking that kick. That atmosphere, they get it. That’s the best way to put it. … [The noise] is mind-numbing. You’d better know your stuff, because you can’t really hear. … If you really love this game, that’s the place for it.”

As always, I was not particularly pleased by the actions of a few Virginia Tech fans (they were from Jersey, though, so what do you expect from people who root for the likes of the Mets, Yankees, Giants, Flyers, Rangers, Jets, etc.), but most Georgia Tech fans I talked to after the game were pleased with the hospitality of Blacksburg. It's all about Hokie Respect.

Weekends are wonderful

There's just something about waking up on a Sunday morning, eating a waffle with strawberries and whipped cream and watching football all day. And while I don't have any rooting interest for the two games on TV for me right now (Miami vs. New York Jets and St. Louis vs Philly), they're still fun to watch. The storylines are great: Favre's first game with the Jets, Philly fans being jerks, etc.

Yesterday was a great day for me as well, as the Hokies finally got their first win (does a win against Furman count, though?). And then ECU wrecked West Virginia. Now losing to the Pirates doesn't look so bad...and it's always great to see WVU lose. One of the more random events of my life occured yesterday when Subway's Jared Fogle was introduced on the 20-yard-line during the 1st quarter of the Tech game. As some of you may know, I worked at Subway during high school...so Jared is pretty much the bane of my existance. Still, it's cool to see a random "celebrity" supporting the Hokies.

I know most of my readers are used to seeing me blog about the Nats, but I can't watch games at school, so it's pretty much impossible to say much that hasn't already been said by other blogs. I'll still try to keep up with the Nats, though. After watching last night's highlights, I wasn't sure I was watching the same team. 5 homers? Boy, Dukes and Zim have been hitting the tar out of the ball. Harris' career year continues. They better keep him around for next year. It's nice to see Langerhans get some redemption against his former team, too.

I'm not too surprised Bergmann has been bounced from the rotation. I love Bergy and I hate him at the same time. He's either going to shut down the other team completely or get destroyed (and lately, it's been the latter). I have a feeling he'll be in the rotation next year nonetheless (just a feeling, but I doubt Martis will be in the rotation next year to start the year, Zimmermann maybe), but I like Bergmann out of the pen. Also good to see in the same article that Mock has a 2.35 ERA as a reliever. He and Hanrahan both have great stuff and with the two of them, we might have a decent back of the bullpen in a year or two. If Mock can develop into a nice setup man (sorry, Saul, but you're better in the 7th), I like our pen.

One last bit-On Mondays, I'll be posting stuff about my Fantasy Football teams. I know many of you won't care so much, but I'm just looking for things I'll be able to update throughout the winter when things are slow on the baseball front. I've got 5 teams, so there is going to be a lot of opportunities for material there.

Wednesday Wrapup

Just a few things:

Hokies QB Tyrod Taylor will play on Saturday. Not that it really matters against Furman, but he'll get into game rhythm with his receivers (well....with Greg Boone) and hopefully be ready for Georgia Tech in 10 days. Thank God.

The Nats are lowering season ticket prices significantly. I still bet they will sell 20% fewer season tickets next year at least (unless they go big in FA...I'll wait for your laughter to cease).

Chico shows his Pittsburgh Penguins fanboy side in his chat today. BOOO CROSBY! YAYYY OVECHKIN!

Don't think I ever passed this link along. Go and rate your favorite team's players defensively when you get a chance.

Not a whole lot else going on. Hopefully Odalis sends Utley a message tonight. Regardless of whether or not he intended to hurt Flores, he did. I view baseball as an eye-for-an-eye sport. Utley needs to get chin music tonight.

At least today can't be worse than yesterday...

Yeah, I know the Nats won. In the grand scheme of things, though, I would prefer a Hokies win to anything else. I'm not going to talk about the game any because it makes me want to cry, but I will leave the following as my statement of the game:

In other news, the Skins made their cuts. I'm very proud of Justin Hamilton for making the team and I'm also happy that Durant Brooks grabbed the punting job from Derrick Frost. Frost seems quite bitter for someone who shouldn't have had any feeling of job security. The best way to sum up the punting battle in my opinion came from The Redskins Report (via the official blog of the Redskins):

If you are one of the worst punters in the league, you’re going to have to whip the competition to win a camp battle, Frost didn’t. It was close and tie goes the guy who might not suck.

Tonight has to be the night Odalis gets dealt. He has no value to the team anymore (just blocking youngsters) and has been surprisingly effective for someone who nobody else wanted. I don't think anyone else gets moved...Colome, Boone, Nieves, Harris and Langerhans could be of some use to contending teams as well, so maybe one of them could be dealt. I'd say there's a less than 10% chance anyone gets dealt, though, and if anyone it's gotta be Odalis. Check out MLBTR's list of guys who have cleared waivers. Expect a few trades tonight before the playoff roster deadline at midnight.

Hat-tip to NFA, who was the first (or at least the first I saw) to note the Nats' press release concerning the September call-ups:
Roger Bernadina
Kory Casto
Alberto Gonzalez (activated from the DL)
Mike Hinckley
Shairon Martis
Levale Speigner

The Nats' press release has some decent detail on everyone. The other day I predicted Casto, Gonzalez, Tyler Clippard and Brian Sanches would be added, plus good possibilities that Hinckley, Luke Montz and Bernadina would get the call. I was less pessimistic on Leonard Davis, Yunior Novoa, Jordan Zimmermann, Ian Desmond and Mike Daniel, and for good reason, as none were called up. Everyone seemed to miss out on Martis, probably because they figured his innings limit was coming, but it's not a real surprise. I'm very surprised Clippard and Montz didn't get the call, but they might when the AAA season concludes (or at least Clippard might).

And about this. Are you freaking serious? Vladimir Nunez, you are not a good pitcher. Become a ML-quality reliever and then comment on the awful taunting that is celebrating after a win. Geez, what a moron. It's the second time this year a crappy pitcher has attempted to diss the Nats for being "unprofessional" after losing to them. The first one, Nelson Figueroa, is unprofessional himself, because he is no longer a professional baseball player (or at least a ML one). I have a feeling Vladdy Nunez is going to join him soon.

Tomorrow...

Friday thoughts

I can't watch Nats games anymore at school (unless they're on ESPN...I'll wait until you stop laughing), but I did catch highlights and the writeups of last night.

Why was Anderson Hernandez batting leadoff? I don't care that he's 5 for 9 in on the season so far or that he went 3 for 4 the other night. ANDERSON HERNANDEZ IS A NO-HIT SHORTSTOP! I think the 12 for 87 line in the majors before this year, the .264/.310/.354 career minor league line or the .203/.262/.307 line this year in AAA would tell you that. And, seriously, what does it tell Willie Harris when you move him to the #8 spot in a career year to make room for a guy who is a historically awful hitter to bat leadoff just becuase he had a 3 for 4 game.

Manny, I don't disagree with you most of the time, but what were you thinking? It's ANDERSON HERNANDEZ!

The Nats and Cubs start a 3-game series tonight. For those who don't know, I was raised on the Cubs and regularly sport a Ryne Sandberg jersey. During Cubs-Nats series, the team who needs to win the least always seems to wim the most. So the Nats will probably take at least 2 of 3 and the Nats will end up losing out on the #1 pick by 1 loss and the Cubs will lose the division by 1 game. Maybe I'm a pessimist in that sense.

In other news, I really enjoy the blog Kyle Tucker writes for the Virginian-Pilot concerning VT (based out of the Hampton Roads area). Here are some funny things to picture:

Nothing I can report from practice, since today was one of those off-limits workouts...I like to imagine on such days – when the gates are closed to all outside eyes – that Frank Beamer is cackling into his bullhorn, “Muhaha! Muuuuuuuhahahahaha!” while scheming plays like the Ed Wang end-around and the receiver screen to Ike Whitaker, who then throws into the backfield to Greg Boone, who then throws a bomb to Taco Thompson, who would’ve been lined up in the slot for this particular trickeration.

The fun thing is, I can totally see that happening.