Short Hops
Feb 8, 2004 | Baseball
Feb. 9, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The countdown to the start of the season is finally coming to an end. I know all of you are as excited and anxious about it as I am. Family, friends and fans are always asking about the expectations of the team and my opinion of how we will match up this year. Well, come this Friday, we can stop talking about the expectations and start proving ourselves to everyone. Taking the field this weekend will start to give us a glimpse of what we've been working so hard all preseason to achieve. We definitely started off on the right foot this past weekend.
First off, thanks to the many who endured the cold weather to come out to Turchin Stadium for the Alumni Game. Wasn't that a fun day? I got to the field early to check out some of the "Old-Timers Game." Please, don't let the name "Old-Timers" fool you. Those guys can play. After watching a couple innings of that battle, I wasn't so sure if our team would be better off playing them than the 2001 team we were set to square off against later that day. It was really fun, though, to watch some of the names that I've always read about and heard of come to life on the field. There were, no doubt, a lot of great ballplayers out there.
After watching some of the game, the team set off to the cages for some pregame batting practice. At this point, I could see a lot of the excitement building up in everyone, especially in all the newcomers. I know I'll never forget my first Turchin experience at the Alumni game my freshman year. All the pre-game festivities seemed to run smoothly. Well, except for the fact that Wes Swackhammer knocked over my pre-game coke. (I know, I know.... Dad always tells me...I need to find a healthier pregame ritual.) Anyway, after that whole fiasco was cleared up, I was ready to play a ball game. I don't think that we actually realized the talent that we were about to play against until the CWS/Pro Players were announced. We made up our minds, though, that we were going to go out there, play our game, and let the score take care of itself. From my perspective, this strategy worked nicely.
The CWS/Pro Players team took an early 4-0 lead, capitalizing on some walks and timely hitting, but we fought back. Our pitching kept us in the game long enough for our bats to come alive and produce a 6-5 outcome in favor of the good guys. Well, the 2004 good guys that is. We all had a great time being on the field with all of those guys that some of us current players used to play with. It was fun for me to say a couple quick hellos to them when they reached second base. I had mentioned last week in my column that I would try to get James Jurries back for the pie in the face. I guess, in a way, I did. When he got to second base early in the game he told me, "Now Tommy, I'm not going anywhere so you don't even have to worry about me." I almost laughed when, about 5 seconds later, I got a pickoff call. I don't think J.J. was very happy about the dive back to second base. So, there you go, score one for Tommy. I guess we're close to even now. All in all, it was a very fun game and a good win for our team.
I just got back to the house after a nice Sunday intra-squad. I was encouraged to see the intensity that the team played with today, even in the aftermath of Saturday's festivities. Things like that make me really excited about this team. We played a lot of baseball and saw a lot of good things from different players. I know I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to write out this lineup. I know, though, that no matter who's in the game, we're all going to be pulling for each other because you never know when the team is going to need any one player to step up and perform.
Well, we're heading back to practice to prepare for UT-Arlington this weekend. We play Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. I hope to see all of you out there to cheer us on as we take the field. So, get ready for the start of another season of Green Wave baseball. We'll do our best to make this season one for the records, one game at a time. Thanks for tuning in and see you at the ballpark!
Roll Wave,
Tommy
