Setting Worry Aside
8/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 17, 2009
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Rice pitching coach David Pierce had done his due diligence by remaining in close contact with both Owls righthanded pitcher Mike Ojala and a key member of the Milwaukee Brewers' organization as the Aug. 17 deadline approached for professional clubs to sign the players selected in the amateur draft in June.
His legwork inspired Pierce to declare he was "95 percent" sure Ojala would eschew the Brewers' offer and return for his senior season, but almost immediately after his brazen display of confidence, Pierce seemed in need of some wood to rap. Although Ojala underwent Tommy John surgery in June and his complete recovery is not guaranteed, the mere chance that he could return to Rice midway through the 2010 season would add yet another weapon to what has the makings of a loaded arsenal.
As the sun prepared to set Monday evening, the Owls were positioned to lose five players from their 2009 squad, one that claimed the Conference USA tournament title and fell to eventual national champion LSU in the Baton Rouge Super Regional. Second baseman Brock Holt (Pirates) and righthander Ryan Berry (Orioles), both ninth-round selections, signed with their respective clubs; senior second baseman Jess Buenger and righthander Jordan Rogers exhausted their eligibility; sophomore catcher/first baseman Nick DeBiasse transferred to Central Missouri State.
Such relatively meager attrition leaves the Owls stacked and primed to make their fourth appearance at the College World Series in Omaha in five years in 2010. Of the 12 position players that started at least 10 games last season, 11 will return. And though the losses of the staff ace (Berry) and closer (Rogers) are sure to sting, the Owls will have the quantity of quality arms to overcome those departures, especially if Ojala remains unsigned and returns by the optimistically projected date of April 1.
"If you look at it from the perspective of right now as opposed to the perspective of right now in all the other years, it'd be easily the strongest team coming back," Owls coach Wayne Graham said. "We have more people that have already been successful that are coming back. Even in 2003 (when Rice won the national title) we had a lot of people coming back, but some of them hadn't been that successful (previously)."
The task of replacing Holt at second base isn't as daunting with ballyhooed signee Michael Ratterree (Memorial High School) in the fold. Should the unlikely scenario unfold where Ratterree, arguably the top position player in the state last season, proves unable to fill the void, the Owls will have infielder-turned-outfield Michael Fuda (.359/.377/.508) and versatile infielder Jimmy Comerota at the ready. Should Comerota be forced to slide over from first base, outfielders Ryan Lewis and Jeremy Rathjen, who had an exceptional summer at the plate, are viable options to step in.
The remainder of the defense is set. Catcher Diego Seastrunk (31st round) and center fielder Steven Sultzbaugh (41st round) were drafted later than anticipated and are poised for exceptional senior seasons. Junior right fielder Chad Mozingo is progressing nicely from two offseason surgeries (hand and ankle); the last outfield slot should be filled capably by Fuda, Rathjen or Lewis. The left side of the infield will feature the national freshman of the year at third base (sophomore Anthony Rendon) and a member of Team USA at shortstop (junior Rick Hague). Like Fuda (ankle) and Comerota (knee), Rendon is breezing through rehab following offseason ankle surgery. All three are expected to be ready by Oct. 5, the start of fall workouts.
"We think we're going to be a contender, but the focus obviously has got to be pitching in the fall," Graham said. "The competition is going to be good, so we believe we can take the numbers and the arms we've got and develop a good pitching staff out of it."
With Berry and Rogers gone and Ojala unavailable for half the season, the Owls' staff will need reconstruction. Starters Taylor Wall, a Cape Cod League All-Star this summer, and Jared Rogers, who pitched exceptionally in the postseason, will anchor the rotation while junior lefthanded reliever Matt Evers aims to rebound from a subpar sophomore year. If Evers can carry the momentum established this summer into the fall, the Owls will have an outline of a formidable staff from which to build.
After missing last season following Tommy John surgery in February, righthander Anthony Fazio is rehabbing at such an accelerated clip that he could pitch during fall drills. Barring a setback, Fazio will be 100 percent by the start of the season, and considering he had previously shown the talent and tenacity to start before succumbing to injury, Fazio is a prime candidate to secure a place in the rotation.
Talented newcomers will need to fill the remaining gaps. Junior college transfers Boogie Anagnostou (Alvin College) and Tony Cingrani (South Suburban College, Ill.) are expected to use their experience to their advantage. Freshmen Chase McDowell, Tyler Spurlin and Jeremy Fant are teeming with arm strength while Tyler Duffey showed maturity beyond his experience while pitching this summer.
"Bottom line, it's going to come down to pitching," Pierce said. "The pitching that's coming in to mesh with the pitching that's here is capable of pitching in Omaha."
At some point during fall workouts, once all the talent assembles before Graham and his assistants, there might come a moment when the seniors many didn't expect to be back in the fold need to seize control of the team. Seastrunk is no longer transitioning from third base to backstop, so he should revisit his prolific gap-hitting form of 2008. Sultzbaugh needed a spell to adjust to Division I pitching, but he ultimately did and returns with the tools to excel at the plate and in the field.
Ojala can take solace in the fact that Fazio is well ahead of his rehab schedule and motivation in the wildly successful results Bobby Bell enjoyed when he returned from ligament replacement surgery and dominated as a reliever down the stretch in 2008. Ojala might be asked to fill the same role, but given what will be at stake relative to his 2010 draft positioning, excelling out of the pen might serve him well.
If his roster makes it through Monday night unscathed, Graham can turn his complete attention to building a title contender. The talent, experience and motivation will be in place, and that combination should be sufficient enough.
"The team that came back in 2003 was hungry that way," Graham said. "I had teams similar to that at San Jac (San Jacinto College) where they could see, with what they had coming back, they had a great opportunity. You've got a lot of guys that gained enough experienced going to the super regional and playing the top teams in the country that they know what they have to do and know they can do it, and certainly we're going to set that goal to be the best. If you don't dream it, you can't do it."
