2008 Woodie Awards
Column: Start of spring means baseball
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Sports
The clang of the bat, the pop of the glove after the zip of a fastball and, of course, "Play ball!" The oh-so-familiar sounds of spring have returned and your 2008 Husky baseball team is ready to go.
The start of the baseball season is always an exciting time for me. It signals that warmer times are ahead, which is always a welcome plus here in New England. On any given day, you never know who is going to step up and be a hero with a spectacular play. And at the beginning of every season, there is a renewed sense of confidence and hope for a good season.
Let me tell you, there is a lot of confidence on this year's baseball team. You might wonder why that is, given that last year's squad finished below .500 in conference and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Despite that, this squad comes back to Friedman Diamond with almost all of the starting regulars still intact, except senior captain and catcher Dan Milano, who they lost to graduation, and then to the Red Sox. However, he was the only Husky to play in more than half the games last year who is not returning.
That leaves a team big on experience. Head coach Neil McPhee loves the depth of his pitching staff this year, and captain/staff ace Kris Dabrowiecki (don't let the spelling fool you, it sounds like "DOM-bro-vee-et-ski") shares his optimism. "Dombro" says he believes in the depth of the staff, combined with a solid offense, gives the '08 Huskies a good shot at going deep in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament in May.
And let's not forget that they have an extra something to play for this year: defense of their 2007 Beanpot Championship. While not as heralded as the hockey Beanpot, taking home the Beanpot trophy was a nice consolation prize in an otherwise disappointing end to the season. But it also provides a nice stepping stone for a group of guys who are still together and ready for the next step.
"The Beanpot's a big deal for us," Dabrowiecki said, "but we ... really want to make the tournament, that's our first goal. We believe we're one of the best teams in the CAA and we believe we [can] beat any team in the CAA."
The start of the baseball season is always an exciting time for me. It signals that warmer times are ahead, which is always a welcome plus here in New England. On any given day, you never know who is going to step up and be a hero with a spectacular play. And at the beginning of every season, there is a renewed sense of confidence and hope for a good season.
Let me tell you, there is a lot of confidence on this year's baseball team. You might wonder why that is, given that last year's squad finished below .500 in conference and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Despite that, this squad comes back to Friedman Diamond with almost all of the starting regulars still intact, except senior captain and catcher Dan Milano, who they lost to graduation, and then to the Red Sox. However, he was the only Husky to play in more than half the games last year who is not returning.
That leaves a team big on experience. Head coach Neil McPhee loves the depth of his pitching staff this year, and captain/staff ace Kris Dabrowiecki (don't let the spelling fool you, it sounds like "DOM-bro-vee-et-ski") shares his optimism. "Dombro" says he believes in the depth of the staff, combined with a solid offense, gives the '08 Huskies a good shot at going deep in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament in May.
And let's not forget that they have an extra something to play for this year: defense of their 2007 Beanpot Championship. While not as heralded as the hockey Beanpot, taking home the Beanpot trophy was a nice consolation prize in an otherwise disappointing end to the season. But it also provides a nice stepping stone for a group of guys who are still together and ready for the next step.
"The Beanpot's a big deal for us," Dabrowiecki said, "but we ... really want to make the tournament, that's our first goal. We believe we're one of the best teams in the CAA and we believe we [can] beat any team in the CAA."
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