Oh, That Other Stuff...

Amidst all the excitement from the baseball team's playoff dominance, several things slipped my attention. Until now.

For one, our star fullback Brannan Southerland will miss 16 weeks after he underwent surgery on his ailing ankle. The stress fracture didn't respond well to the initial process, and he had no choice but to be subdued under the knife again. The way I see it, we should be just fine. With the exception of Carolina, our first four games (within the 16 weeks) are against teams that Shaun Chapas and Fred Munzenmaier should be able to handle. Munzenmaier will be suspended for the first two, but Chapas has proven he can handle the offense enough to cover Georgia Southern and Central Michigan, not to mention run a little bit of it as well. Munzenmaier will bring size when he comes back for the South Carolina game and should be able to contribute. So, while I am concerned about Southerland, I am optimistic that we'll be just fine. Perhaps Bobo's revamped offense will stress less on power and more on speed and redirection, so we may not need to worry at all. But come the Alabama and Tennessee games, Southerland better be back. Those are going to be dogfights, and his motor, size, and experience will be needed badly.

While the impact isn't as glaringly obvious, Perno's Diamond Dogs took several blows to next season and beyond. Not only did the two-sport star Xavier Avery get yanked in the 2nd round, but the top two pitchers in the class were also selected, both by the Braves. The Bravos must have a thing for trying to take Bulldog pitchers. Georgia Sports Blog has more info on that impact and also on the hope that still remains.

Looking forward, however, there is still plenty of promise for both teams. Football should be preseason #1. Baseball should continue to roll in Omaha. The recruiting classes for both are stacking up well, and it looks as if Perno can overcome the fallacy of the MLB draft.

More Baseball Tidbits

As mentioned earlier, our very own Gordon Beckham and Joshua Fields have been selected in the first round of this year's MLB first-year draft, as they were selected 8th and 20th overall. Fields has recently been named the top closer of the year after his stunning season where he accrued 16 saves, captured the SEC all-time save lead, and pitched 56 strikeouts, not to mention his amazing 0.0 ERA streak. Beckham is looking for a trophy of is own as he awaits the final tallies of the Golden Spikes Award, similar to football's Heisman Trophy.

Silently, however, another Bulldog was chosen in the second round of the draft, 50th overall. That other Bulldog, Xavier Avery, may never even put on the "G" and run out onto Foley Field. Or Sanford Stadium, for that matter. The two-sport athlete signed his letter of intent earlier this year to play both football and baseball, a la Israel Troupe, for the Bulldogs. As good as he would have looked in the Red and Black, it appears he will be donning the orange and black for the Baltimore Orioles instead. 50th overall out of high school is too promising for a young man with a bright future to hold out on the opportunity. Sure, we all feel that a college education is key these days, but with his talents and promise, we all hope he'll do just fine.

In other news, Georgia Sports Blog has a great article on the Wolfpack and their bullpen and starting pitching rotation that sounds quite formidable. As hot as our bats are right now we will hopefully be fine, but the 'Pack should pack a punch at the mound.

DawgBone.net also has a handful of good baseball news about Gordo, Fields, Avery, and the upcoming weekend.

And remember, first pitch for the weekend series is tomorrow, Friday, at 12:00 pm. If you can't make it like me, you can catch it on ESPN. We know their presence will be known in and around Foley, but hopefully ESPN gives a shout out or two to the right field brew crew up there at the Greenhouse and Brickhouse.