It's here!
One of my favorite things has finally arrived this weekend - college baseball. Baseball America has four Pac-10 schools in their top 25 this year, including the alma maters of both Jacoby Ellsbury (Oregon State) and Dustin Pedroia (ASU). But it's Tito's former college that's projected to win the conference this year, according to the head coaches of all of the conference programs.
The conference season officially starts March 20th, but a few conference teams meet earlier than that - and this weekend there's a little season-opening play going on at Arizona State. ASU and Oregon State take one another on this Sunday, so keep your ears peeled as you watch NESN to see if there's any trash talking between Jacoby and Dustin. Curious about this weekend's schedule? I've got it right here.
Other important games include the one on March 4th between Stanford and Cal (you know Jed Lowrie and Chris Carter will be paying attention) and even a game between Oregon State and San Diego State on the 10th. For those unaware, this means that Jacoby's former team will be up against a group of kids coached by Tony Gwynn. Oh, and Justin Masterson was also there for a little while, too.
The first cribbage game (U of A vs. ASU) is going to be on the 18th this year, and Dustin's got home field advantage. I can't wait for this.
Here's the full list of current Sox players and prospects connected to the conference. (I did a lot of digging around on SoxProspects.com a few weeks ago to put this together - and yet there's still a chance it could be incomplete. If you know something I don't, help me out!)
Terry Francona (Arizona)
Brad Mills (Arizona)
Kevin Guyette (Arizona)
Dustin Pedroia (Arizona State)
Beau Vaughan (Arizona State)
Jon Switzer (Arizona State)
Jacoby Ellsbury (Oregon State)
Jed Lowrie (Stanford)
Chris Carter (Stanford)
Nick Hagadone (Washington)
John Otress (Washington)
Richie Lentz (Washington)
A few other things to note - Tim Lincecum went to Washington, as well, and Hagadone only recently was able to step out of his shadow. The kid is going places, though! I also would like to point out that Ian Kennedy is a Trojan.
Finally, here are this year's Pac-10 nominees for the Golden Spikes Award. Dustin came very close to winning it during his college career (I believe he was in the top five candidates one year, but was denied).
2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List (Pac-10 Only)
Preston Guilmet, Arizona
Ike Davis, Arizona State
Petey Paramore, Arizona State
Brett Wallace, Arizona State
David Cooper, California
Tyson Ross, California
Jorge Reyes, Oregon State
Mike Stutes, Oregon State
Sean Ratliff, Stanford
Brandon Crawford, UCLA
I am not at all surprised to see Petey Paramore, Brett Wallace, David Cooper and Jorge Reyes on that list. Actually, if you want to see the projected 2008 draft order, SoxProspects.com comes through yet again - check it out here.
...this is what happens when I watch the movie Prefontaine with my friends. My Pac-10 obsession comes out and I obsess over stuff that most people don't care very much about. My college isn't even in Division I. Maybe this is just surrogacy.
(This also reminds me that I should be updating
slumberwood because they start playing this weekend, too, even though they're a fake baseball team from a fake college. Whoops.)
The conference season officially starts March 20th, but a few conference teams meet earlier than that - and this weekend there's a little season-opening play going on at Arizona State. ASU and Oregon State take one another on this Sunday, so keep your ears peeled as you watch NESN to see if there's any trash talking between Jacoby and Dustin. Curious about this weekend's schedule? I've got it right here.
Other important games include the one on March 4th between Stanford and Cal (you know Jed Lowrie and Chris Carter will be paying attention) and even a game between Oregon State and San Diego State on the 10th. For those unaware, this means that Jacoby's former team will be up against a group of kids coached by Tony Gwynn. Oh, and Justin Masterson was also there for a little while, too.
The first cribbage game (U of A vs. ASU) is going to be on the 18th this year, and Dustin's got home field advantage. I can't wait for this.
Here's the full list of current Sox players and prospects connected to the conference. (I did a lot of digging around on SoxProspects.com a few weeks ago to put this together - and yet there's still a chance it could be incomplete. If you know something I don't, help me out!)
Terry Francona (Arizona)
Brad Mills (Arizona)
Kevin Guyette (Arizona)
Dustin Pedroia (Arizona State)
Beau Vaughan (Arizona State)
Jon Switzer (Arizona State)
Jacoby Ellsbury (Oregon State)
Jed Lowrie (Stanford)
Chris Carter (Stanford)
Nick Hagadone (Washington)
John Otress (Washington)
Richie Lentz (Washington)
A few other things to note - Tim Lincecum went to Washington, as well, and Hagadone only recently was able to step out of his shadow. The kid is going places, though! I also would like to point out that Ian Kennedy is a Trojan.
Finally, here are this year's Pac-10 nominees for the Golden Spikes Award. Dustin came very close to winning it during his college career (I believe he was in the top five candidates one year, but was denied).
2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List (Pac-10 Only)
Preston Guilmet, Arizona
Ike Davis, Arizona State
Petey Paramore, Arizona State
Brett Wallace, Arizona State
David Cooper, California
Tyson Ross, California
Jorge Reyes, Oregon State
Mike Stutes, Oregon State
Sean Ratliff, Stanford
Brandon Crawford, UCLA
I am not at all surprised to see Petey Paramore, Brett Wallace, David Cooper and Jorge Reyes on that list. Actually, if you want to see the projected 2008 draft order, SoxProspects.com comes through yet again - check it out here.
...this is what happens when I watch the movie Prefontaine with my friends. My Pac-10 obsession comes out and I obsess over stuff that most people don't care very much about. My college isn't even in Division I. Maybe this is just surrogacy.
(This also reminds me that I should be updating
slumberwood because they start playing this weekend, too, even though they're a fake baseball team from a fake college. Whoops.)