A rundown on the Tigers....(long)

[RevDodd]

Someone asked yesterday about Tyler Colvin, our leftfield who was the 13th choice in the draft. I started writing back, then figured, what the heck? Here's a thumbnail on the Clemson team.

But we'll start with TyCo, since he was the guy in the news:

He's been one of our go-to guys for a couple of years. Right-handed left fielder who's most commonly compared in terms of team leadership to a fellow we used to have, Khallil Greene, now playing with the Padres.

TyCo leads the Tigers in average (.359), hits (93), doubles (22), total bases (161), and stolen bases (23). He's sneaky fast, as are a lot of the guys on the team is on pace to join Greene as the first Tiger to lead the team in total bases and stolen bases in the same year since 1992. He enters the NCAA Tournament with a 23-game hitting streak, the fifth-longest in Clemson history and the longest since Greene had a 34-game streak in 2002. He's only got 12 homers, but that wasn't his job. he hits, a lot...right now he's got a 23 or 24 game hitting streak, I forget which. Excellent contact hitter, solid defensive player. He's a junior, but won't see his senior season in a Tiger uniform. We're gonna miss him but obviously wish him well.

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The home run power comes from two other guys, Taylor Harbin and Andy D'Alessio. We've hit back-to-back homers six times this season. Three times it was these two guys doing the honors. D'Lo was first-team All-ACC at first base and has pretty good range. he also led the league in homers. Taylor generally plays second, and both are up around .300.

One guy who's fun to watch is third baseman Marquez Smith. Fast and solid with the bat. He's got a knack for turing singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Very good defensively as well.

My favorite player is Brad Chalk. Good contact hitter and 17-of-17 in steal attempts. Herm Demmick is the DH, who had been at third, but moved to get Marquez into the lineup.

We're going with a freshman in right, D.J. Mitchell after starting outfielder Travis Storrer messed up his ankle. D.J. doesn't have the power of Storrer, but is another good contact hitter.

On the mound, three very good starters, a great closer and a bolt from the blue.

The projected startes in our series are Jason Berken, Stephen Faris and Josh Cribb. Together they have a 27-5 record (ACC losses to Virginia, Ga. Tech and Boston College) with an ERA of 2.72. Berken was chosen in the 6th round yesterday as a junior. His last start was washed out by rain, and the start before that was a wild 16-11 game over Ga. Tech. fortunately, he only allowed three of those runs.

Cribb is fun to watch. He's a senior, throws a low 90s fastball and has a wicked slider. He'll also throw with different arm motions to keep batters honest. Oh, and he hasn't been beaten all year, walking 71 batters in 282- innings. I like him because he's a little guy from a little school in a little town who has kept plugging away. He was bothered by a finger blister in the ACC tourney, but has healed up.

Faris is fast. not just in his pitches but in his delivery. The raio BPB guys get mad because he doesn't give them enough time to share thei insight before he's throwing again.

A new name who might make an appearance is Sean Clark. He pitched about 10 inning all season, then came out to start in the ACC title game. All he did was four-hit NC State over 8-plus innings. Then he came on for Berken after the rainout and threw a three-hit shutrout. He's got a nasty curve, 12-6 with at least a 1-foot drop.

In relief, look for lefty Daniel Moskos or righty PJ Zocchi, depending on conditions. Zocchi has started a few games as well. Moskos is generally regarded as the closer.

All in all, we feel good about the team and our chances...but occasional message board buffons aside, we're looking for a major scrap withy y'all.

Okie State and Arkansas got the team's attention, and after falling to Baylor last year in the Supers, the guys seem pretty set on taking care of business.

Hope this wasn't too long! We'll see y'all Friday!

PS: Please pardon the typos...hard to do this and work at the same time!

[vcboy2000]

Thanks for the info, Rev. Sounds like you guys have a lot of weapons.