Opening Day Is Right Around The Corner!
The Pelicans will open play in
May with a new manager. Mac Seibert has left for a position with
the New York Mets. General Manager Talmadge Nunnari will take
over as manager and James Gamble will be in charge of player
procurement.
Long time baseball fans will be amused by this story. In late August, the Pelicans traded LHP Dan Smith to Southern Maryland of the Atlantic League for a "player to be named later." In October. the Pelicans acquired LHP Dan Smith from Southern Maryland to complete the earlier trade. In effect, Dan Smith WAS TRADED FOR HIMSELF!
Things like this happen in the minor leagues and I seem to recall it even happening in the Majors but it is rare at that level. It is also typical of the wild and zany world of minor league baseball. There are a million stories. If you've never seen a Pelican's game you're in for an experience. The baseball is excellent between the lines. Between innings and outside the lines it is pure zaniness and entertainment.
Incidentally, Dan Smith is an excellent player.
The UWF Baseball Team opens the 2009 season with a game at Rollins on 2-1-09. The home opener is 2-4-09 vs Mobile. The Argos are loaded with returning talent. Look for a good season. Coach Mike Jeffcoat knows how to coach the game and he'll combine some talented returning hitters with some excellent pitching.
The UWF Women's Softball Team opens at home vs Gulf Coast Community College on 2-7-09. They return some excellent pitchers and only lost a couple of position players to graduation. Look for them to continue the excellent play of last year.
Funny story: I was watching/photographing the Lady Argos play a game early in the season. It was about the 2nd inning. A man hurried toward the field and asked me "How are we doing?" As we talked, he mentioned that he'd just flown in from Alberta, Canada for the game. You can imagine my surprise but I assumed he must be the parent of a player. Now imagine HIS surprise. In conversation I mentioned that I listened to my favorite Internet radio station from Alberta, Q 107. It has an oldies rock play list that leans toward the hard edge. He reached in his pocket and handed me his business card. He works for Q 107!
His daughter played first base and has since graduated. She was a good player at the plate and in the field. First base is a key position. The diamond is small compared to baseball and the throws are shorter. A first baseman needs to have quick reflexes and, like the other infielders, a certain fearlessness in facing hard hit balls at the shorter distances. Last year, the Argos first base coach got hit with a line drive. The third base coach narrowly escaped getting hit. The ball gets there quickly.
I guess I'm a baseball junkie. My first baseball game was at old Crosley Field in Cincinnati. My favorite field was the old Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Here in Pensacola, I first started watching the Pelicans under Bernie Carbo. I "discovered" the high quality of ball being played by the men at UWF. And then one day I wandered over to watch a softball game. I was hooked. The brand of ball played at UWF is fast paced and highly skilled. The speed at which the pitchers bring the ball is amazing and each often has a selection of breaking balls. Like baseball, you need to be strong up the middle (catcher, pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, centerfielder), but because of the smaller field, there is nowhere to "hide" a poor fielder or slow runner. It's a complete game, played by complete players.
When I first watched women's collegiate softball, I wasn't fond of the complicated rules for pinch running, pinch hitting and players re-entering the game after being replaced. The unique tie breaking rules for extra innings seemed strange at first. But it's all in your mind set. This isn't baseball and baseball isn't softball. The skills are very similar, even exactly similar. Each has its own rules and when you accept that, you find both are interesting in their own right.
It's kind of like soccer in a way. I've heard Americans say they wouldn't like soccer because of the low scoring. I'd always heard that before watching my first 0-0 soccer match at a high level. Every play was a potential game winner. And if you think about it, there are few things as exciting as a 0-0 baseball game in the ninth inning. When you consider it, because of the near automatic quality of extra points at the pro level, a 14-7 football game is really a 2-1 game. An entire low scoring soccer match has almost a "sudden death overtime" quality to it. Softball, among the world of different sports, is both unique and similar. Each sport needs to be enjoyed as an entity unto itself.
Long time baseball fans will be amused by this story. In late August, the Pelicans traded LHP Dan Smith to Southern Maryland of the Atlantic League for a "player to be named later." In October. the Pelicans acquired LHP Dan Smith from Southern Maryland to complete the earlier trade. In effect, Dan Smith WAS TRADED FOR HIMSELF!
Things like this happen in the minor leagues and I seem to recall it even happening in the Majors but it is rare at that level. It is also typical of the wild and zany world of minor league baseball. There are a million stories. If you've never seen a Pelican's game you're in for an experience. The baseball is excellent between the lines. Between innings and outside the lines it is pure zaniness and entertainment.
Incidentally, Dan Smith is an excellent player.
The UWF Baseball Team opens the 2009 season with a game at Rollins on 2-1-09. The home opener is 2-4-09 vs Mobile. The Argos are loaded with returning talent. Look for a good season. Coach Mike Jeffcoat knows how to coach the game and he'll combine some talented returning hitters with some excellent pitching.
The UWF Women's Softball Team opens at home vs Gulf Coast Community College on 2-7-09. They return some excellent pitchers and only lost a couple of position players to graduation. Look for them to continue the excellent play of last year.
Funny story: I was watching/photographing the Lady Argos play a game early in the season. It was about the 2nd inning. A man hurried toward the field and asked me "How are we doing?" As we talked, he mentioned that he'd just flown in from Alberta, Canada for the game. You can imagine my surprise but I assumed he must be the parent of a player. Now imagine HIS surprise. In conversation I mentioned that I listened to my favorite Internet radio station from Alberta, Q 107. It has an oldies rock play list that leans toward the hard edge. He reached in his pocket and handed me his business card. He works for Q 107!
His daughter played first base and has since graduated. She was a good player at the plate and in the field. First base is a key position. The diamond is small compared to baseball and the throws are shorter. A first baseman needs to have quick reflexes and, like the other infielders, a certain fearlessness in facing hard hit balls at the shorter distances. Last year, the Argos first base coach got hit with a line drive. The third base coach narrowly escaped getting hit. The ball gets there quickly.
I guess I'm a baseball junkie. My first baseball game was at old Crosley Field in Cincinnati. My favorite field was the old Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Here in Pensacola, I first started watching the Pelicans under Bernie Carbo. I "discovered" the high quality of ball being played by the men at UWF. And then one day I wandered over to watch a softball game. I was hooked. The brand of ball played at UWF is fast paced and highly skilled. The speed at which the pitchers bring the ball is amazing and each often has a selection of breaking balls. Like baseball, you need to be strong up the middle (catcher, pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, centerfielder), but because of the smaller field, there is nowhere to "hide" a poor fielder or slow runner. It's a complete game, played by complete players.
When I first watched women's collegiate softball, I wasn't fond of the complicated rules for pinch running, pinch hitting and players re-entering the game after being replaced. The unique tie breaking rules for extra innings seemed strange at first. But it's all in your mind set. This isn't baseball and baseball isn't softball. The skills are very similar, even exactly similar. Each has its own rules and when you accept that, you find both are interesting in their own right.
It's kind of like soccer in a way. I've heard Americans say they wouldn't like soccer because of the low scoring. I'd always heard that before watching my first 0-0 soccer match at a high level. Every play was a potential game winner. And if you think about it, there are few things as exciting as a 0-0 baseball game in the ninth inning. When you consider it, because of the near automatic quality of extra points at the pro level, a 14-7 football game is really a 2-1 game. An entire low scoring soccer match has almost a "sudden death overtime" quality to it. Softball, among the world of different sports, is both unique and similar. Each sport needs to be enjoyed as an entity unto itself.