Took a little bit, but an ASU player goes 3rd round, 28th overall to Mike Holmgren and the Cleveland Browns.  Good luck Shawn, and I am sure we will see you blocking for Colt McCoy shortly. Should remind Holmgren of Floyd Womack.

Will update if any other players go - but it will likely not be until tomorrow.

UPDATE:  Day 3 saw a run of Seahawks, like Joe in the comments points out.

First was ILB Travis Goethel going to Oakland in the 6th round at pick number 21.  Should compete for a spot on special teams with the Raiders - his hair will fit in nicely as well.

Next - Kyle Williams to San Fransisco with the 37th pick of the 6th round.  Kyle should compete on special teams for them, but is not likely to return kicks since they just traded for Ted Ginn Jr.

Finally, my Seahawks grabbed Dexter Davis 7th round 29th overall - a bit of a tweener at the pro level at 6'1 1/2 and 244 pounds, Dexter turned in a nice combine with a 4.64 40 time and some solid quickness drill results.  He might be moved to OLB and has been compared to another Pac-10 7th round tweener the Seahawks took last year - Nick Reed.

Not the best draft for Sun Devils, but a solid one nonetheless as ASU produced a 3rd, two 6s, and a 7.

UPDATE 2:

Good luck boys!

ASU has 13 scholarships to offer basketball players. Here is where we stand --

Ty Abbott, senior, 6-3, guard.
Rihards Kuksiks, senior, 6-6, forward.
Jamelle McMillan, senior, 6-2, guard.
Brandon Dunson, junior, 6-2, guard.
Trent Lockett, sophomore, 6-4, guard.
Ruslan Pateev, sophomore, 7-0, center.
Victor Rudd, sophomore, 6-7, forward.
Jordan Bachynski, freshman, 7-2, center.
Corey Hawkins, freshman, 6-2, guard.
Keala King, freshman, 6-5, guard.
Chanse Creekmur, freshman, 6-7 forward.

Note: Kuksiks is considering playing professionally in Europe next season

So, there seems to be 2 spots open.  As the roster stands now... I like it.  Two 7 footers, some midsized players, a number of guards..hopefully Kuksiks doesn't leave for Europe.

I'd like if we added 6'8 McCombs, and Royce Williams.  The roster looks good though, despite the departures of Walker and Co.

Thoughts?

The 24 straight wins to start the season were the best in school history -- since then the team has gone 9-4.  Washington should be a fairly soft opponent to ease into the bulk of the conference schedule with - they have no true stars at the moment and lack any big time hitters or pitchers.

The bulk of their offense comes from SO OF Caleb Brown (.318 avg/.454 obp/.464 slg/.918 ops), FR IF Jacob Lamb (.342 avg / .428 obp / .458 slg / .886 ops) and sort of C/OF JR Pierce Rankin (.273 avg / .369 obp / .484 slg / .853 ops, team lead with 5 hrs.)

The pitching is absolutely terrible, as Washington only has one guy with an ERA under 4.40, and that is reliever Adrian Gomez..  The top starter, despite the ugly ERA (5.90), is probably Andrew Kittredge who has 60 ks in 58 innings and only 14 walks. 

ASU should sweep.

Sun Devils to watch -

Hitters:
Zack MacPhee - .431 avg, .535 obp, .784 slg, 1.319 OPS, 6 HR, 10 3B
Riccio Torrez - .336 avg, .450 obp, .560 slg, 1.010 ops, 4 HR, 15 HBP ?! ha.. next highest on the team is 4.

Pitchers:
Seth Blair - 6-0, 3.21 ERA, 53.1 IP, 56k/12bb
Mitchell Lambson - 3-1, 2.18 ERA, 41.1 IP, 51k/12bb
Jordan Swaggerty - 1-0, 10 saves, 1.29 ERA, 21 IP, 28k/8bb

Blair has been getting some hype as a draft prospect, and has been the most consistent starter for the Sun Devils.  A scouting report from Keith Law -

Arizona State right-hander Seth Blair came out of the chute throwing bullets this spring, reportedly touching 98 mph in his first outing of the spring, but he has settled in since then as a 90-94 guy who might flash 95 or 96 once or twice a game. He was excellent for five innings against Cal on Friday night, pitching aggressively with the fastball, especially to his arm side. His slider was soft in the first inning but became sharper in the second with good tilt at 78-84 mph, and he also threw a few curveballs, an average changeup at 79-82 and even a couple of splitters, although I think ultimately he's a fastball-slider-changeup guy in pro ball who might use the curveball as a "show-me" pitch (meaning something he throws two or three times a game just to remind hitters that he has it). He throws from a 3/4 slot and his hand travels a long way from separation to release, with his pitching elbow going just above his shoulder before he pronates it. In the sixth inning, Blair's velocity was still good but he started finding the barrels of Cal's bats with both his fastball and slider, and since he's not a big, physical kid, there will probably be teams that view him as a reliever in the long term.

Hopefully ASU pulls out the brooms against Washington this weekend and bounces back from the small rough patch the team has hit recently.

ASU has imposed sanctions on themselves for a host of recruiting violations that occurred under former head coach. These include:

• Vacating 44 of 49 wins in 2007
• Vacating postseason honors in 2007
• Prohibiting recruiting phone calls in July of 2010 and 2011
• Reduce the number of permitted prospect visits from 25 to 9
• Reduce the number of scholarships by 2 by 2011
• Collect annual audits of all phone calls

Wow, these are some harsh self imposed sanctions by Lisa Love.

"Arizona State University remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in its athletics programs," Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love said in a statement. "ASU baseball, in particular, based on a remarkable, competitive heritage has the unique potential to be exemplary on and off the field.

Neat, Lisa -- but how about we also commit to maintaining the highest standards of winning too?  Frankly, I know we are not the only school who did this sort of thing, Murphy is gone, and this is going to hamstring whoever our next head coach is for the next two years.

Ugh.  Basketball players leaving, football recruiters leaving, this...

Some good news next? Plz?

Hey, everybody - ASUBoyd here.  Sorry for my lengthy hiatus, but I am back from the depths of 1Ldom to drop some knowledge on your heads about our 2010 Arizona State Sun Devil baseball team.

The weather is warming up and it is a perfect time to get out to Packard and see the boys who are off to a scorching start; 31-4 after dropping one to Arizona Tuesday night.

While the losses have all come against Pac-10 rivals, the team has been consistently ranked #1 for a number of weeks and stands atop a stacked top 25 that features 6 out of the 10 Pac - 10 teams.

A glance at the poll -

USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 coaches' baseball poll

April 19, 2010

Rank	School (first-place votes)	Record	Points	Last week
1	Arizona State (27)	31-3	770	1
2	Texas (2)	30-7	730	4
3	Georgia Tech	31-5	696	5
4	Virginia (2)	29-9	645	3
5	LSU	30-6	638	6
6	UCLA	27-5	612	2
7	Arkansas	31-6	608	8
8	Coastal Carolina	32-5	516	10
9	Florida State	28-9	488	7
10	South Carolina	28-8	467	13
11	Florida	25-10	458	9
12	TCU	27-7	455	11
13	Louisville	29-6	429	12
14	Miami (Fla.)	27-9	395	15
15	Vanderbilt	29-9	288	19
16	Kansas State	26-8	259	20
17	Arizona	26-9	246	21
18	Oklahoma	26-10	231	14
19	Mississippi	24-13	168	18
20	Clemson	23-14	167	16
21	Cal State-Fullerton	20-13	116	24
22	Oregon State	20-11	112	17
23	California	22-11	96	NR
24	Southeastern Louisiana	29-9	65	23
25	Oregon	23-12	64	NR

Dropped out: No. 22 Western Kentucky, No. 25 UC-Irvine.

Others receiving votes: Rice (23-15) 42; Pittsburgh (26-9) 41; East Carolina (24-12) 40; Connecticut (27-7) 36; Virginia Tech (25-13) 26; Western Kentucky (27-12) 26; UC-Irvine (20-13) 21; Auburn (24-13) 20; Michigan State (23-9) 14; New Mexico State (26-12) 12; Ohio State (21-10) 11; Portland (23-9) 11; Kentucky (22-14) 10; New Mexico (24-13) 6; North Carolina State (25-13) 6; The Citadel (26-13) 6; North Carolina (22-16) 5; Pacific (22-12) 5; Stanford (18-13) 5; Tulane (23-14) 4; Liberty (25-10) 2; San Diego (20-15) 2; South Alabama (26-15) 2; Bethune-Cookman (23-14) 1; Florida Gulf Coast (23-12) 1; Kansas (22-14) 1.

ASU has been getting buzz, mostly for winning, but also for their seamless transition to the new coach, a few prospects, and Ike Davis' recent call up.

I'll use another post to take a look at the players, but I want to finish this post with a glance at the new manager replacing Pat Murphy's successful run at the helm -- Tim Esmay.  Still stuck with the "interim" label, despite holding the ship steady through the unexpected change and leading ASU to the #1 ranking, ASU has been reluctant to hand him the job.  Some speculate it may because they want to make sure they have scorched the earth and have no other more proven options.  Keith Law, ESPN prospect guru, weighs in:

• ASU's interim head coach Tim Esmay deserves mention for the outstanding job he's done so far with the roster he inherited in December after the school let previous coach Pat Murphy go. Esmay has been handling players appropriately, taking good care of his pitchers, and scouts are raving about how easy the coach is to deal with when questions arise around schedules or when certain players will hit or pitch. And the team is winning despite the lack of eligible first-round talent that they've had in recent years. I'm not sure what more Esmay has to do to remove the "interim" tag -- I suppose a trip to Omaha wouldn't hurt -- but I hope ASU realizes what they've got. I'm sure other schools that might be in the market for head coaches this summer are paying attention.

I, for one, hope the interim becomes permanent.

ASU loses to #24 Cal, 21-23 in stunning ASU fashion.  Relinquishing a one point lead, allowing Cal to drive down the field for the field goal ASU showed typical conservative playcalling on both sides of the ball (three and out - 3 straight run plays with ~4 min left, soft zone coverage on the last defensive stand) and sloppy play (123 penalty yards).

Some highs existed - we were unexpectedly competitive, Marshall looks like he could turn out to be a great back, the WR corp is solid, the defense was good, and special teams was good.  It is just the damn offense.

Most notably the QB. Cal continually relied on their middle of the road QB's arm to get them out of long 2nd and 3rd downs. ASU could not do the same with Danny Sullivan. 

With each incompletion, turnover, and loss - Danny Sullivan hammers another nail into the coffin of his ASU career. Samson Szakacsy getting two goalline snaps today was telling.

While I doubt DE will throw an unexperienced QB to the USC wolves, I would not be surprised to see a different QB finish the season behind center.

Its not all bad folks, we showed some fight, have good supplemental pieces, special teams looked good... and its Halloween. So go out and be joyous, have some drinks, and try and forget about this mediocre team for a night.

Comment here to discuss the game. Go Devils!

So an easy win that covered the spread for the Sun Devils, however we looked a tad sloppy coming off a bye week. Huge game at Georgia next week - lets hope the penalites go away.

Winners:

The defense: For the second game this week the defense shined, dominating an inferior opponent.  The D-Unit forced 3 turnovers and held ULM to under 200 total yards (199).  The pass rush seemed to come and go (0 sacks), but the coaches were subbing players in and out liberally, not willing to risk injury in a warm-up game. Expect to see a lot more of the starters throughout the game next week.

Kyle Williams: 8 receptions for 129 yards, he was devastating in the open field and caught nearly everything that was thrown his way.

Special Teams: A huge kickoff return for a TD by Omar Bolden and another big return by Keelan Johnson. The coverage units also were excellent, despite inconsistent punting by Hankins.

Losers:

ASU Football's Fundamentals: ASU had 12 penalties for 122 yards against a weak team - that won't cut it against better competition.

The pass rush: 0 sacks? Really? the scheme was undeniably more passive than against Idaho State - the blitzes disappeared and the team seemed to try and rely on pressure from the front 4 - which did not work. The few blitzes that were called never seemed to work, but I am not too worried. This game was in the bag after the opening kickoff was returned 89 yards.

The O-Line:  I did not want to talk about this, but the thing that has plagued ASU over the past few seasons creeped into this game. 3 sacks allowed and constant pressure on both quarterbacks makes even the most devout believer a little nervous about the game at Georgia next week. We ran the ball ok.

Game Ball - Omar bolden. Shut down skills combined with ball skills makes Adam a happy man. Omar is an NFL talent and is due for a big season. The kickoff return was just icing on the cake.

Other thoughts: Sullivan looked pretty bad at the beginning of the game, jittery in the pocket, not comfortable at all. He was not trusting in the system.  By the end of the third sullivan looked like a different player -stepping up in the pocket, delivering passes with authority and finding the accuracy that had eluded him in the first half.  He ended with a respectable line of 19/31 for 220 and 1 TD with a rushing TD as well. I liked finally seeing something from Sullivan, as he looked nervous his first game against Idaho State as well.  Playing in Georgia will be an entirely different beast, however.

The run game also started of slow, but finished well. Running backs had 29 carries for 135 yards and 2 TDs (4.65 per carry). The effectiveness of this spread is predicated on how well we run the ball, so it is important for us to have that going.  Bass further proved how he deserves more carries.

Get some rest Sun Devil fans, we all had a feeling this game would turn out this way, now comes the first real test of 2009.

Yeah, no ASU sports playing at the moment..unfortunately.. But. Still should be some links out there talking about why that is and whats going on with some of the other sports eh?

• Good news up first. ASU has snagged it's 6th recruit for the class of 2010 in football. Lot of offense so far - TE, RB, RB, QB (6'6), FB, WR.
• A look at the recruits.
• Some scouting reports on the kids.
• A recap of the heartbreak in the CWS.
• Looks like our top four baseball players - Leake, Kipnis, Spence and Ramirez - are all expected to sign. So are two from our recruiting class, second round 3B/C Nolan Arenado and P/1B Jake Barrett 3rd round. There is a look at who is leaving and who is coming back in this story.
• Brent Miller has been hired at Washington as a graduate assistant.
• Finally, Murphy has some VERY nice things to say about Leake. Comparing him to Pedroia and saying this is one of the most special groups he has ever managed.

As CFB starts to gear up we will start profiling the 2009 team, which looks to be awfully good on defense.

We gotta win this one. Hopefully Leake doesn't pull a repeat performance.

Go Sun Devils!

ASU started off awfully strong, with Mike Leake breaking into the top 10 and getting drafted by the Cincinatti Reds at number 8 overall. Most people had Leake pegged at 12-14, but the Reds pulled a mild surprise tapping the wiry righty.

Scouting Report on Leake, via Jason A. Churchill:

Leake is a four-pitch arm who sits in the 89-91 mph range, but with an average or better curve, an average slider and changeup, and rounds it out with plus command and control. He uses a two-seamer regularly, getting tailing action shadowed by good arm speed and a compact delivery that he repeats well.
At Safeco in March, Leake breezed through the UW lineup, sitting at 88 but locating well and inducing dozens of weak swings. He did touch 92 and he profiles as a No. 3 starter. One major concern is that on regular rest, Leake's velocity peaks at 89.

 

From MLB.Com:

Focus Area	Comments
Fastball:	Leake threw his fastball from 88-94 mph. It sat comfortably around 91 mph.
Fastball movement:	There was above-average sink and plenty of side-to-side movement, with some run to it. He changes arm angles for different looks.
Slider:	It's a hard, downward slider, thrown 79-82 mph.
Curve:	An average offering ... not an out pitch. He can throw it for strikes in the 73-76 mph range.
Changeup:	Close to a plus pitch and he'll throw it at any point in the count.
Control:	He has plus, plus command, perhaps a 70 on the scouting scale.
Poise:	It's a plus, plus attribute. He has the presence to pitch in the big leagues right now. He's more of a lead-by-example guy -- soft-spoken, but confident.
Physical Description:	Leake is an undersized righty, but is athletic and strong, kind of like a Tim Hudson type.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	Four pitches that are all usable and the ability to command all of them extremelly well. He's extremely durable, having thrown as many innings as just about anyone in the class over the past few seasons.
Weaknesses:	There's a little hip turn in his delivery, but it doesn't affect him. There will be those who'll be concerned about his size.
Summary:	As a six-foot righty, people may want to overlook Leake as a big-time pitching prospect, but they might be missing the boat. He can throw four pitches for strikes and his poise is off the charts. He may not be that big, but he's athletic, strong and durable with an extremely efficient delivery. He's done nothing but perform with the Sun Devils and whoever looks past his size could have themselves a steal.

Next guy off the board for ASU was our boy Jason Kipnis. While he played CF for us, rumors have it the Indians, who took him 63rd overall in the 2nd round, will switch him to 2B. Maybe he is the next Pedroia?

Scouting report:

Focus Area	Comments
Hitting ability:	Kipnis has tightened up his swing, getting the loop that had been an issue out of it. He still uses the whole field, but has been successfully pulling the ball more. He's a big on-base guy.
Power:	He's got a little power, a guy who could hit 12-15 homers annually.
Running speed:	Has average speed.
Base running:	He's a good baserunner and maximizes what speed he does have.
Arm strength:	Has average arm strength.
Fielding:	He's able to play all three outfield spots, though he doesn't profile at one particular position.
Range:	He's got average range, using instincts well to make the most of his tools.
Physical Description:	Kipnis is strong for his size, but he's not that big and has drawn body-type comparisons to guys like Mark Bellhorn or Todd Hollandsworth.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	He plays hard and above his tools. He's very patient and is an on-base machine, something that should appeal to the stats-minded folks.
Weaknesses:	He doesn't profile well as an everyday guy at one outfield spot.
Summary:	It's hard to argue with the statistical success Kipnis has had at ASU, particularly in his junior season. But projecting him is a little more difficult. He's got average tools across the board and does tend to play above them. But he doesn't profile as an everyday guy at any one outfield position, making him more of a tweener or fourth-outfielder type. Still, he's tightened up his swing and his on-base ability should appeal to those teams who really value those skills.

I think he could be awfully good at 2nd.

Josh Spence was next, tagged in the third round by the Angels. Much higher than I thought he would go, frankly.

Carlos Ramirez went at the end of round 8, 261 overall, to the Angels.  Jared McDonald went in the 21st round to the White Sox.

At this point that does it. If anyone else gets taken, i'll update.

I think they all sign except McDonald.

So with ASU taking on Clemson in the Super Regionals i think we should crusie around baseball news and take a look at some of the stuff going on in regards to the Devils on the Diamond:

• AZ Republic takes a look at all the impact freshman we had this year. There is a reason we got the #1 recruiting class according to baseball america.
• The game against Clemson is SOLD OUT.
• Mitchell Lambson is named a freshman All-American.
• Mike Leake is a finalist for player of the year. Strasburg will take it.

A look at the game:

#2 ASU (47-12) will take on #13 Clemson Tigers (44-20).

Clemson is an interesting team. Their pitching rotation only has three players who threw more than 60 innings, and only two who threw more than 63. Casey Harman is probably their "ace" - 81 innings, 7-3, 3.78 ERA, 85/15 K/BB.

They use a lot of relief pitchers, give hitters lots of different looks, and rely on their depth more than their overall talent in their pitching staff.

Their offense is potent, with three hitters with 12 or more home runs and is anchored by JR 1B Ben Paulsen.
.369avg/.436obp/.627slg/1.063 ops 13 HR, 60 RBI, 32/36 BB/K. Wilson Boyd (.948 OPS), Mike Freeman (.909 OPS), Jeff Schaus (.977 OPS) and Kyle Parker (.811 OPS) all are threats at the plate. They all get on base and show some pop, so it will be important for the pitchers to stay on top of these guys and Kipnis and crew get going against the Clemson Tiger's somewhat weak pitching staff.

I expect us to win, but it should be closer than some people think it will be.

Unfortunately for Mike Leake, his best season as a college player came in the same year NCAA Baseball witnessed perhaps the most impressive season by a pitcher in history - Steven Strausburg down in San Diego.

Otherwise, people would be talking about the season Mike Leake put together this season, anchoring the staff of the Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils.

Mike Leake won Pac-10 pitcher of the year for the secon straight season and put up this ridiculous line:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA

 8 Leake, Mike......  1.23  15-1    16  15   7   2/1    0 124.2  71  19  17  20 143  15   1   2  419  .169    1  13   2    4   5

An amazing line by any standard. Issuing a walk only every 6.2 innings, striking out over 10 per game, shutting down every major program we have faced - Leake's 2009 season was really special - and would have been considered one of the better ones in recent memory if not for Steve.

Leake won the game over Oral Roberts, 4-1. 9 IP, 1 ER, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts.

He sits 92-94 with his 4-seamer, has a two seamer, a change, and a pretty nasty curve.

Leake will probably be drafted in a few weeks in the first round. Somewhere from 10-25. I am going to be cheering for him to make the majors and have a great career.

I love Leake and hope we can ride him to the championship.

via www.azcentral.com

ASU

The Winthrop Eagles, straight out of South Carolina, came rolling into Tempe this week with 30 wins and a respectable season and left between their tailfeathers between their legs.

Game one set the tone with a 14-3 win. Kipnis was 4-5 with 3 RBI, his 13th HR, a walk, and his 19th SB. Mike Leake went 7 shut out innings for 8 strike outs and no walks and picked up the win to move to 12-1 on the season.

A dominating effort from all fronts and really showed us at our best.

Game 2 was a display of what could go wrong in the post season. Jordan Swaggerty and Seth Blair got crushed for 9 ER. Our offense had 10 runs, but it nearly all came from our 2-4 spots who went 7-12 with 8 RBI and 3 home runs (Kipnis hit his 14th, Ramirez hit his 14th, Calhoun hit his 7th). The rest of the guys went 6-23 and 1 RBI.

In the end we got the win, but pitching is something we need to keep an eye on.

Game three showcased a player who needs to step up with Spence injured and he did just that. Jason Franzblou threw a CG shutout, strike out 5 walked 1. Our offense was all Ramirez and Calhoun as they both hit HRs. (15 and 8 respectively.) 5-0 win.

Series sweep. Oregon next. Team really needed this. Box scores after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

ASU geared up for a short midweet two game set against the Toreros in Tempe.

Game 1 was Franzblou against USD's mishmash of not-so-good pitchers. We ended up winning 8-7 in 11 innings after Franzblou turned in a decent outing, and some errors cost us a chance of winning in standard frames.

MacPhee and Calhoun both had homers as our bats led the way in this one.  9 walks by ASU hitters forced USD to blow through their bullpen as their starter was pulled after 3 innings. Carlos Ramirez was 3-6.

Game 2 was more of the same. ASU cobbled together 9 innings from Lambson, Newman, and Seth Blair and ASU won 7-6.

9 walks again from our hitters forced no USD pitcher to go for longer than 2.2 innings. Newman and Maggi had good days at the plate with multi hit games.

All in all it was a fairly standard sweep of a team who is not nearly as good. None of ASU's best three pitchers started games, although you will start to see different starters pushed out there as Murph tries to limit his best guy's innings going into the post-season.

via asunews.asu.edu

Technically not the current team...but, same results are desired.

Box scores after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Coming off a disappointing weekend in Corvallis where the Devils went 1-2, ASU enters this week with some non-conference games against San Deigo and Winthrop.

The team has been fantastic, no other way to say it. We've been absolutely dominating, have outscored Arizona 54-16 (while going 4-0) and have our sights set on the CWS.

Lets go through how each player has been performing by positon:

The Rotation:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H    R   ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR  AB B/Avg  

 8 Leake, Mike.....1.59  11-1   12  11   4       0/1      0   90.2  53  17  16  18  96  10   1   2  304  .174   
45 Spence, Josh...2.23   8-1    13  10   1       0/0      1   72.2  67  21  18  22  93   7   2   1  272  .246  
43 Blair, Seth......  2.77   4-1   11  11   0       0/0      0   55.1  49  27  17  23  58  11   0   4  209  .234 




The Big Three? Perhaps. They are all averaging more than a strikeout per inning, and hardly walk anyone. Spence and Leake, particularly,
have been complete studs. Leake is on route to becoming a 1st round pick according to scouts and could land anywhere from 12-30.

We couldn't really ask for anymore out of these guys.

Grade: A+

The 4th Starter/Mop-Up Guys:

Player                        ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP     H   R   ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA

40 Lambson, Mitchell  3.15   6-3    23    1   1        0/1      3    60.0  40  24  21  22  65   4   2   5  206  .194 
 3 Swagerty, Jordan.   3.53   2-1    19    2   0        0/1      4    35.2  32  20  14    9  27   8   0   2  133  .241 
48 Annino, Tony.....    0.00   0-0     1    0   0        0/0      0    1.0   1     2     0    0   1   1   0   0    5  .200 
35 Preach, RJ.......      0.00   0-0     1    0   0        0/0      0    1.0   0     0     0    1   0   0   0   0    3  .000 
58 Brule, Kyle......       2.00   0-0     9    0   0        0/1      1    9.0   8    5     2     1   7   2   0   2   36  .222 
51 Borup, Jake......     3.00   0-0     7    0   0        0/0      0    6.0   4    4     2     3   4   1   0   1   21  .190 
11 Newman, Matt.....   3.95   2-1     9    6   0        0/1      0   27.1  35  16  12     4  17   3   0   0  114  .307 
56 Franzblau, Jason.   3.99   1-2    15   4   0        0/1      0   29.1  36  17  13    11  31   5   1   1  120  .300 
36 Ishida, Jeeter...     4.76   0-0     6    0   0        0/0      0    5.2   8     3    3     5   7   1   0   0   24  .333
49 Calhoun, Kole....   11.57   0-1    11   0   0        0/1     0    7.0  11   11    9     2   6   3   2   2   33  .333 

Hmm, sort of a mixed group. Kole Calhoun should stick to the field because he has been garbage in 7 innings.
Mitchell Lambson has been really solid as a rookie putting up a 65/22 K/BB rate in 60 innings. Franzblou has been a bit
of a disappointment, but no one has been too bad. Newman does not have very good stuff. Jordan Swaggerty has been alright.
All in all, an ERA in the 3s is solid, but other than Lambson no one has been spectacular.

Bullpen Grade: B

The Position Players:

Player                      AVG  GP-GS    AB   R   H   2B  3B  HR RBI   TB  SLG%  BB HBP  SO GDP   OB%  SF  SH  SB-ATT   PO   A   E  FLD%      OPS

28 Kipnis, Jason....   .383  44-44   162  52  62  16   1  12  58  116  .716     39   7   22   3     .505   6   2  17-21        76   2   0 1.000      1.221 
23 Ruettiger, Johnny .357  34-14    56  16  20   4    0   1   6   27    .482     12   3     9   1     .493   0   1   7-9          10   1   1  .917         .975
37 Maggi, Drew......   .333  41-29   102  38  34   2   5   0  16   46   .451     22   3    16   2     .461   1   4  11-12       47  84   8  .942        .912
11 Newman, Matt..... .327  44-43   162  30  53   8   1   5  40   78   .481     26   0    31   1     .411   4   0   3-6         46  11   0 1.000        .892
55 Ramirez, Carlos..  .323  45-45   161  40  52   8   2  13  47  103 .640     28   6    40   1     .434   3   0   1-2        380  38   3  .993      1.074
25 Wilson, Zach.....   .290  33-23    69   7   20    3   1   0   7   25   .362      6   3     14   1     .367   1   1   0-0          0   0   0  .000          .729
30 Torrez, Riccio...    .287  38-27   101  14  29   7   2   4  25   52   .515     10   4    27   3     .371   1   3   2-2        168  20   4  .979        .886
29 Torrez, Raoul....   .275  45-43   138  38  38   7   1   1  21   50   .362     21   8    38   1     .401   0  10  15-20      26  66   8  .920        .763
 2 MacPhee, Zack....  .272  44-40   136  34  37   6   1   4  28   57   .419     28   5   30   3     .409   2   7   5-10        60 101   8  .953       .828
49 Calhoun, Kole....   .252  43-36   139  32  35   9   1   6  27   64  .460     22   5    24   1    .369   2   2   8-10         57   1   4  .935        .829
22 McDonald, Jared..  .250  41-25    84  20  21   4   3   3  13   40  .476     19   1    19   4     .394   0   3   4-7        151  36   1  .995        .870
--------------
13 Barnes, Austin...  .364  15-0     11   3      4     0   1   0   2    6  .545       0   0     1   2     .364   0   0   0-0          27   1   3  .903         .909
20 Ruiz, Abe........    .303  23-6     33   7     10   3   1   1  15   18  .545      5   1      9   0     .390   2   0   1-1         34   3   3  .925         .935
 8 Leake, Mike......   .303  15-8     33  10  10     4   1   0   4   16   .485      2   0      7   0     .343   0   0   0-0         44  36   2  .976        .828
46 Workman, Andy....286  29-12    42  10  12    4   0   0   7   16   .381     10   4     9   1     .464   0   0   1-2          11   0   0 1.000       .845
 4 Murphy, Mike.....   .222   9-6     18   1   4      1   0   0   5    5    .278       1   1     3   0     .286   1   0   0-0           3  19   2  .917        .564
 3 Swagerty, Jordan.  .147  20-5     34   7   5     1   0   3  10   15   .441      5   1     8   1     .275   0   0   0-0         46  10   2  .966         .716
15 Magee, Brandon.. .000  10-0      9   2   0     0   0   0   0    0     .000      2   1     7   0     .250   0   0   0-0            0   0   0  .000         .250

So, yeah. Jason Kipnis is the man. Slugging over .700, gets on base over 50% of the time, has not made 1 error and has 17 steals. The team who takes him
in the supplemental first round or second round will be very happy. Carlos Ramirez is everything he was billed to be. He has been a rock behind the plate and has
been absolutely crushing the ball. Riccio Torrez has been playing good D and has been a solid bat. Really everyone on the team has provided some offense, with a
few odd exceptions. Why does Zach Wilson, who has a .726 OPS in almost 70 at bats, not play the field? He is not much of a bat, so...why is he playing? Raoul Torrez is not nearly
as good as his younger brother. Also, Bench has some weird bats; Swagerty can hit homers, that is about it, Brandon Magee I feel badly for. I hope it is just because he has been at spring drills for football.
Mike Murphy - eh. Mike Leake is a stud. Jared McDonald has been fantastic, his defense has been amazing and he has been great at the plate. Overall, this team has been
everything we could have hoped for. The defense has it's issues, but what can you say, theyre in college trying to field balls hit by metal bats.

Position Players: A

The team has been fantastic. Kipnis, Ramirez, The Big Three and the rest of the cast has been much more than many thought they would be - and more than Pat Murphy thought they would be. He laughed when people picked them to win the Pac-10, but it looks like we will be able to pull it off. The team needs to gain some momentum heading into the CWS though. We are 3-3 in our last six and need to finish strong. I would not be surprised to see us in the final four come the end of the year. We will keep you updated from here on out.

Busy week for us here as graduation looms large.

Sun Devils had some good news this past week, a nice respite from the bad news that had been streaming our way.

With Fanaika getting drafted, ASU continues the tradition of having walk-on players drafted.

Mike Leake continues to dominate.

Freshman SS Drew Maggi has been a pleasant surprise this year.

ASU Football has some new game day amenities: two new videoboards, a new ribbon board, and pregaming can start 90 minutes earlier outside.

Freshman CB Josh Jordan is a senator for CLAS and has his sights set on much more.

ASU Golf finishes 3rd in the pac-10.

Brandon Thompson's scouting profile has been completed. The results are good.

Grade 90 = April, 2009: Brandon is an under-the-radar true combo guard who brings a ton of versatility to the court. He's capable of running a team and setting others up or scoring the ball himself. Brandon has excellent court vision and is a precise passer. Thompson also possesses high end speed which allows him to score in a variety of ways. His quickness gets him to the rim but he can also find open spots behind the arc and knock down three's. He's also a hard working defender who can guard either the one or the two. Overall, Brandon's a tough minded, all-around guard who truly understands when to take over a game. He knows when to get his teammates involved or score if his team needs it. The Arizona State coaches love his versatility and mental toughness. They'll also like him because he does whatever is asked of him.

Nice pick-up Sendek.

The Women's coach Turner Thorne will help coach Team USA for the girls.

That about does it for now, more content en route.

Redshirt freshman Steven Threet is coming to Tempe.

Michigan fans say they don't care.

Threet is 6'6, 230 LBS and was a 75 grade from Scouts, Inc in the 2007 recruiting class. Scouting evaluation:

(Done for Class of 2007) Threet is a pocket passer with fantastic measurables and a big arm. Has ideal size and is a better athlete than you might think. Has the arm to place the ball anywhere on the field and is very accurate. He stands tall in the pocket, keeps his eyes downfield and does an excellent job working his way through progressions. He is balanced and poised in the pocket, has his feet set and generally delivers the ball on time. He shows very good RPMs on all throws, has natural wrist-snap and the velocity to fit the ball into tight coverage. He makes good, quick decisions and rarely forces the ball. He has just enough movement skills to avoid within the pocket and buy a second passing chance. Builds speed as he goes and is capable of making the short first down with his legs, but he is not an elusive athlete. He is not a guy you want on the perimeter; is at his best in the pocket. Threet's delivery is quick, though you do see a subtle wind-up, he gets rid of the ball quickly. You worry a little about his release point. For such a tall player, he releases the ball low and his elbow sinks, very much like Vince Young. This negates his great natural height and can cause batted balls. His footwork can be inconsistent and drop speed needs to improve. Overall, Threet has good tools and upside. He needs to clean up his mechanics, but he is very productive and should only get better with experience. He is smart and heady.

With Elway quitting and Stangel transferring, that left only 3 QBs on scholarship.

Threet started 8 games for Michigan last year, and while not spectacular, he was facing a tough schedule, a new coach running an odd offense with personnel in place who did not fit, and wanted to play in a pro style system (hence, ASU).

I like it. I think he has a chance to play next year, and will be able to compete for the number 2 job right away.

Not bad. Had a good game against Notre Dame and Illinois.

Let's see what you've got Threet. Welcome to Tempe.

UPDATE: Miami QB Robert Marve was also considering ASU. Does Threet's decision mean we are out on Marve? Marve was in Threet's 2007 recruiting class and was regarded slightly higher - Scouts, Inc 80 grade. 2008 stats at Miami

Scouting Report: This kid is going to be a very good college quarterback. He may not be receiving the national attention of others, but he probably should. Marve is an excellent overall passer and very good athlete to boot. He has good size and will need to bulk up, but he has the frame to develop into an impressive athlete at the quarterback position. He is a pocket passer first who can make plays with his legs when he has to. He has good feet, drops quickly and his set up is balanced and calm. Stands tall in the pocket and sees the field well. Carries the ball at chest level and shows good pocket presence avoiding the rush, yet keeping his eyes downfield. His delivery and arm are both excellent. Release is quick and compact, and he gets great natural wrist snap on the ball. Shows big RPMs on short-to-intermediate routes. Can thread the needle on underneath throws. Shows good touch, timing and accuracy on underneath routes. Can changed ball speeds. Has the arm to drive the ball downfield and has the touch to drop it in over coverage. His throwing motion is something that need not be messed with. He is a deceptive and elusive runner with good speed for the position. Can be dangerous outside of the pocket as a pass/run threat. Throws well on the move and when off balance. Can make the first defender miss in space and is tough, will lower his shoulder to get the extra yard. Overall, this kid is going to be a late-bloomer with his best days of football ahead of him. He has confidence and savvy to go along with very good physical tools and arm strength.

6'2, 190 pounds. If getting Threet means no Marve, that is ok. I like Threet - prototypical size, seems to fit. Looks like Marve is leaning towards Purdue. We will keep you updated.

Herb's 2008 class - to put it bluntly - was pretty bad.

However, 2009 looks to be a different story, and it could not have come at a better time.

With the departure of James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, ASU lost it's two best players, its best rebounder, best inside scorers, best best best.

That production will need to be picked up partially by the returning players and partially by the incoming freshman. This class has the potential to make the loss of our two studs sting a little less.

Demetrius Walker - SG 6'3 190, ESPN Scouts, Inc Grade 92, Top 100 player #74

via www.azcentral.com

Walker is an interesting player. Bursting onto the scene 4 years ago via SI labeling him "The Next LeBron", Walker has not exactly become what he was once believed to be. He has not grown taller in those four years like many thought he would and is now a slightly undersized 2-guard, sometimes masquerading as a PG. 

Latest scouting report is from August of '08.

August 2008 -Walker doesn't have great upside, but there are few prospects in the country that play as hard as him. He has a chiseled physique and it's been like that since his freshman year. He is first and foremost a scorer and he can hurt the opposition in many ways. He's at his best in transition where he attacks the basket with reckless abandon - usually with a thunderous dunk. Although he has very good straight-ahead speed and a quick first step to the basket, he has limited lateral quickness. When defenders get into him that can match his strength he struggles getting to the basket. His jump shot has improved since last season, but it's still streaky. He gets great lift on his shot and he can stop on a dime, but most of the time it has a hard landing. He needs to hone his perimeter handle, particularly his left hand, and continue to smoothen out his jump shot to play at the highest level. Despite these drawbacks to his game, his effort level is unquestionable.

2007 - Walker is another victim of the "middle school hype-machine" that elevated him to stardom before taking a bounce at the high school level. After a pedestrian two years of high school basketball it appears Walker is beginning to develop into a solid basketball player with the potential of playing at the division one level someday. He has a solid frame with broad shoulders and long arms. He has a quick first step to the basket and he's quite bouncy - though he's primarily a two-footed jumper. His jump shot (mechanical in its release) needs some refining but he makes enough of them where you have to honor it. His handle - particularly his left hand - needs some polishing, primarily in the half-court set. He's an adept passer - especially in the open court - however in the half-court set he has a flair for the spectacular instead of making the simple play. Walker plays hard at both ends and has the potential to be a solid defender at the next level due to his length - though his lateral quickness is just adequate at this point.

As a freshman I would not be surprised to see Walker start some games, struggle some, then become a stronger contributor later on in Pac-10 play. It will be interesting to see if he can run the team from the PG position, or if he is only interested in being a scorer.

The highlight of our 2009 class, if Walker has an inch or two left in him, he could turn out like Randy Foye or Russell Westbrook - extremely athletic, somewhat of a distrubutor, and a big time scorer.

Expectation for 2009:

Do not be surprised if Walker is in the starting lineup opening night.  He he so athletic he will be an asset on defense and someone who can attack the rim - something we wished Harden would do a bit more last season - with the best of them.

~25-30 minutes
12.5 PPG
4.5 RPG
2.5 APG
2.0 TPG
1 steal

Maybe a little less, maybe a little more. He will take minutes from Ty Abbott, but in a good way. Let Abbott focus more on what he does best, he will not have to carry so much of a load on offense.

So, Stangel transferred - do we care? Well, sure, since it is always nice to have depth at every position - but realistically, he had no chance to play here. He decommitted from UTEP to join ASU, but at 6'1 he just has not had the arm or size or athleticism to ever play here. He has solid accuracy, but that is about all that can be said for him.And really, one less upperclassman makes ASU all the more attractive to 2010 QB recruits.

The baseball team has been playing solid with a sweep of Stanford.

5 ASU football seniors give their take on spring ball and the upcoming season.

• Highlights include: Sullivan saying its not even funny how good the offense has gotten - oh and watch out for Kyle Williams this year.
• Lauvao giving cautious optimism to the line and hinting that D Erickson met with Mack Brown and got some pointers. Weird considering Erickson is the one with more national championships...and is older...and has coached at the pro level...
  
• McGaha pretty much says nothing interesting.
• Davis says the depth on the team is good.
• And Nixon...says the depth is good.

The defense dominated against the offense in spring game.

Also says we have a new read-option offense. This sort of thing takes some pressure off the QB to make quick decisions - one quick read, maybe two, then you can hand it off if nothing looks good. Not sure if I am a fan of this.

East Valley Tribune checks in with Rudy as he preps for the draft.

A couple things: Rudy does not seem to think he will be drafted. He wants to switch places with Bill O'Reilly. He has never had a job. Hmm.

The debate rages over who should be ASU's QB. Sullivan leads the fan poll.

Top 10 Pac-10 DT list - ASU's Guy and Adams come in at 2 and 10 respectively.

And finally, a spring practice round up courtesy of Ted Miller:

• Senior Danny Sullivan completed only 8 of 16 passes for 42 yards, but he didn't throw an interception as Samson Szakacsy (9 of 14 for 50 yards) and true freshman Brock Osweiler (7-14, 66 yards, two picks) did. Sullivan will enter the fall No. 1 on the depth chart, but the biggest news out of the weekend at the position was the departure of sophomore Chasen Stangel, who had fallen to No. 4. He is the second scholarship quarterback to bolt this spring, joining Jack Elway, though Elway will remain at ASU.
• How good was the Sun Devils' defense? From the Arizona Republic: "There were three interceptions (Ryan McFoy, LeQuan Lewis and Josh Jordan), a fumble recovery (Clint Floyd), seven sacks (including a pair by Jamarr Robinson), four failed fourth-down conversions and 10 punts in as one-sided a conclusion to spring practice as anyone would care to witness."
• The news wasn't all good for the defense: Defensive tackle Otis Jones tore his ACL. The redshirt freshman would have at least added depth on the defensive interior, and his loss increases the pressure for incoming freshmen Corey Adams and William Sutton to be as good as advertised.
• Ryan Bass managed a 35 yard TD run - the offenses only highlight.

So, quite a somber week of news around the Valley.

I've been avoiding it, but might as well get it all out of the way.

• Coach Bruce Snyder died, as we all know. 69 is too young, and he paid for his years of service in the desert before a lot was known about UV rays.
• Some great ASU related voices sounding off on Coach Synder's career as a coach and how great of a guy he was.
• Offense is starting to look sharp in football spring drills. Sullivan looks like the 1. Gerrell Robinson has been getting some good reps. Ryan Bass has a tweaked ankle, Dmitri Nance has some undisclosed injury and Shaun DeWitty seems to be ineligible due to academics. Those freshman RBs might get more action this season than we originally thought.
• Natyazhko chooses UA.
• Josh Spence dominated WSU. 10Ks gives him double digit strikeouts in 5/8 starts.
• ESPN/Seattle Mariners prospect guru Jason A. Churchill weighs in on some ASU players.
  

BTW, ASUBoyd, I did see ASU last weekend.

Saw Leake at Safeco on Friday, Spence Saturday.

Leake wasnt sharp, but he's good. Better than some seem to think. Not sure I don't prefer Leake over Gibson or Oliver to be honest.

The only difference between Gibson and Leake right now is Gibson's size, which means so much less for a 21 year old college junior than for a 17-18 year old prep arm.

Spence was sitting 85-87 but threw strikes with his curve and change all day long. I think UW swung and missed 21 times when I stopped counting.

• ASU vs. UA basketball breakdown.
• A look at what each ASU QB brings to the table.
• ASU scrimmage: 1 offense/2 defense vs. 1 defense/2 offense.
• ASU's Kerry Taylor might have had the best catch of the spring.

Arizona State's Kerry Taylor Makes an Amazing Catch (via ASUAthletics)

That does it for now. Baseball recaps en route.

Arizona snags Kyryl Natyazhko. Damn it.

Happy Wednesday.

• Bye James.
• Josh Spence dominated the Huskies, striking out 14 and Pat Murphy got his 600th win.
• Erickson insists the QB job is still up for grabs. Sullivan is getting the most reps though.
• ASU baseball #1?
• Dennis Erickson likes burgers and the Rose Bowl.
• Natyazhko's top teams changed from 5 to 4, and ASU and Arizona seem to be at the top...
• ASU Football signed a TE for next year - looks solid.
• Not a ton of in-state talent at this point for football recruiting.
• We are leading the pack to get this top QB recruit.
• This guy is into us too.

So, not a ton going on news-wise, but some interesting recruitng stuff to keep an eye on.

Slow time of year with baseball coming along, and all the other major sports on hold for the moment.

Some links for you:

• The most interesting story to me? This one here at AZC, which talks about ASU building this $22 million dollar Weatherup center to "woo top recruits and maintain top flight coaches." Senek thinks it could be worth 2 recruits a year.
• Erickson has two thoughts: last spring was a disaster, not physical enough, and he loves his LBs.. Says he has the most depth and speed he has ever had. We have the senior trio - Goethel, Munns, Nixon. The sophomore trio - Aaron, Lyons, Magee. And he is not even talking about Burfict yet, who arrives in the fall - who Erickson compares to Ray Lewis who he coached at Miami. Also - the DE does not have the same depth, John Elway was at practice, and all the QBs seem to be getting reps but it says Sullivan and Szakacsy are the leaders.
  
• Kyle Williams looks to rebound this year. Says he is bigger, faster, and badder than ever.
• Apparently, Sullivan pretty much has the job locked up. Erickson says he has "experience" and "accuracy"... whatever, DE. I am still not down with Sullivan even if he is angry.
• Easy Valley Tribune does not think Sendek will go anywhere unless Pittsburgh comes calling.
• ASU is going after some football recruits for 2010 already.
• Ted Miller, still doing his top 30 pac-10 players (with Lawrence Guy coming it at #24) puts Dexter Davis at #13. Has a link with Dexter pegged as a probable 2nd round pick in 2010.
• ESPN updated Kyryl Natyazhko's profile - ASU is now in his top 5 schools...

So there you go, not a bad few days for ASU links. Keep 'em crossed for Natsyankajsnkz to come to ASU and maybe check out the Weatherup Center when it opens up.

Solid weekend with two great pitching performances, followed by a stinker on Sunday.

First game was a 2-1 win over Boxberger, USC's first round prospect. Total pitching duel. Boxberger went 8 strong with 8Ks, but Josh Spence was better. Complete game shut out with 10 strike outs. The lefty is looking a bit like his Australian countryman - MLB player Ryan Rowland-Smith.

Box Score

                     2009 Arizona State Sun Devil Baseball
                        #2 Arizona State at USC Trojans
              Mar 27, 2009 at Los Angeles, Calif. (Dedeaux Field)

Arizona State 2 (18-3,4-0)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
MacPhee, Zack 2b.........  2  0  0  0   0  2  1  2   0
 Leake, Mike ph/2b.......  2  1  1  0   0  1  2  0   0
Kipnis, Jason cf.........  1  0  0  1   2  0  1  0   0
Newman, Matt rf..........  4  0  1  0   0  2  1  0   1
Ramirez, Carlos c........  4  0  2  1   0  1 10  2   1
Calhoun, Kole lf.........  3  0  0  0   1  0  1  0   2
Torrez, Riccio 1b........  4  0  0  0   0  1 10  0   0
Wilson, Zach dh..........  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Ruettiger, Johnny ph/dh.  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
McDonald, Jared ss.......  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  2   2
Torrez, Raoul 3b.........  2  1  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Spence, Josh p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
Totals................... 30  2  4  2   3  8 27 10   6

USC Trojans 1 (10-11,1-3)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
De Pinto, Joe 2b.........  4  0  1  0   1  2  0  0   2
O'Neill, Mike lf.........  4  0  2  0   0  1  1  0   0
Green, Grant ss..........  5  0  1  0   0  2  1  2   4
Vasquez, Anthony rf......  4  1  1  0   0  0  5  0   1
Rabago, Hector 3b........  4  0  0  0   0  1  3  1   2
Stock, Robert c..........  4  0  0  0   0  1  8  0   0
Pinkerton, Billy 1b......  2  0  0  0   1  1  3  0   0
Oropesa, Ricky dh........  4  0  2  1   0  1  0  0   0
Houts, Garret cf.........  2  0  0  0   1  1  6  0   2
Boxberger, Brad p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Cooper, Daniel p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 33  1  7  1   3 10 27  4  11

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Arizona State....... 000 002 000 -  2  4  2
USC Trojans......... 000 100 000 -  1  7  0
-------------------------------------------

E - Ramirez(1); Torrez, Ri.(3). LOB - Sun Devils 6; USC 11. 2B - Green. HBP
- Torrez, Ra.. SH - O'Neill; Houts. SF - Kipnis(3). SB - Torrez, Ra.(5); De
Pinto; Pinkerton. Reached on CI - Pinkerton.

Arizona State          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Spence, Josh........  9.0  7  1  0  3 10 33 39

USC Trojans            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Boxberger, Brad.....  8.0  3  2  2  2  8 26 30
Cooper, Daniel......  1.0  1  0  0  1  0  4  5

Win - Spence (5-0).  Loss - Boxberger (2-3).  Save - None.
HBP - by Boxberger (Torrez, Ra.). PB - Stock. CI - Ramirez.
Umpires - HP: Bill Speck  1B: Tim Vessey  3B: Billy Haze
Start: 6:30   Time: 2:30   Attendance: 713
Weather: Chilly
Game: GAME21

Othjer two games after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Gettin' you all the hottest links in the valley of the sun - as long as ASU is somehow involved.

• Starting off is a look at ASU football's schedule for the upcoming season. Naturally, all talk centers around the team's trip to Georgia. There is also a game-by-game breakdown.
• ASU is apparently called 'Brophy East' is some circles - due to our abundance of Brophy Prep players. 5 to be exact: Matt Newman, the Torrez Bros, Drew Maggi and R.J. Preach. It seems they planned to stay together from little league to college - just like Mr. Feeney and Corey Matthews. Murph says that Brophy is a school he can trustl
• A host of links about the Sweet 16 game between the girls team and Texas A&M. Defensive battle story. Briann January is ok.  The Coach has 250 wins. Texas A&M coach praises our coach, shows sportsmanship.
• Our softball team started the season with a no-hitter.
• 2-0 so far against USC this weekend. Full writeup on the series Monday.
• Should Harden turn pro? This EVT writer chimes in. He thinks Harden needs more 'tude.
• Remember that Ukrainian PF we were talking about recruiting? Well he is a 95 on Scouts, Inc's grading scale and the 6th best center recruit in the nation.
• Brock Osweiler is an 87 as a basketball recruit...team could use a 6'8 player...wishful thinking.

That is all for the moment, but my god do I hope we somehow sign Kyryl Natyazhko...the possibilities...