Playing catchup

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Here are some Tuesday links as I return to the computer and try to remember how to string a sentence together...

Not a bad draw for Clemson's baseball team, though the Myrtle Beach regional would've been more attractive to the Tigers by virtue of a virtual home-field advantage (remember 2007?).

And the prospect of Clemson vs. South Carolina with a trip to Omaha at state would've been really cool.

On one hand, Clemson has to feel good about its draw because Jack Leggett has absolutely owned former assistant John Pawlowski.

On the other, Clemson's suspect pitching should be put to the test against all those big bats of Auburn (and Southern Miss).

And the Golden Eagles are just a year removed from a truly magical run to the CWS.

If the Tigers do not advance past this weekend, this season has to be considered a failure.

One could reasonably argue that it's a failure if they don't reach Omaha.

That's the traditional standard around these parts, right?

Sort of hits on the issue I've been thinking about lately: Have the standards diminished in recent years? Because at this point, it sure would feel like an accomplishment if this bunch merely reached the Super Regional.

Here's the story from yesterday's selection in the Greenville News, and another in the Independent-Mail.

While Leggett talked with reporters, his cell phone buzzed. It was a text from Pawlowski, reading, “Congratulations, and see you soon.” The two talk regularly, and will do so this week, too, Leggett said.

“I’m excited about seeing him, first of all,” Leggett said. “Checking in on him, seeing how he’s doing, how his daughter (Mary-Louise, who is battling cancer) is doing. He’s done a great job with the program.

Having experienced a Clemson takeover at his regional three years ago, Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore was no doubt happy to see the Tigers get shipped to Clemson Without a Lake.

He still has to worry about a visit from the Gamecocks, though.

T-minus six days until the MLB Draft.

Former Clemson beat writer Paul Strelow, who now covers preps at the Independent-Mail, is fascinated by the Kyle Parker situation.

Good insight here:

The draft is about player potential relative to signability, and rules of other drafts don’t apply.

Scouts talk to prospects and their parents in advance to obtain an estimate or figure for how much it will cost to sign the player. As the draft goes on, those scouts are calling prospects to see if they will accept a specific dollar amount to sign, regardless of the round.

There will be a bunch of highly rated high schoolers who will go unpicked because their bonus demands exceeded what an organization was willing to pay for their perceived value. You can also expect New York (AL), Boston, Detroit and Kansas City, among others, to collect expensive leftovers in rounds 5-15 because they can afford to roll their eyes at how much MLB wants teams spending in a particular round.

There were first-round picks who got less than $1 million to sign last year, and less than half got more than $2 million (most pitchers). Conversely, T.L. Hanna pitcher Brooks Hall’s $700,000 bonus was merely the fourth-largest in the fourth round, and at least three others — including Clemson’s Graham Stoneburner — netted between $675,000 and $995,000 between rounds 10-16. Which is why, more or less, Parker’s quandary boils down to this: What’s his number?

And good numbers here:

Only 16 of the 291 draftees in the first nine rounds last year didn’t sign. In 2008, a mere five of the 149 four-year college players taken through eight rounds returned to school.

In his recent interview with TI, Dabo Swinney said he's leaving for vacation June 23rd and will relax an unwind at a remote locale south of Tampa.

If KP hasn't made his decision by then, hope there's cell phone reception down there.


Rumor has it talk of expansion might come up at this week's SEC and Big 12 meetings. John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel says SEC expansion is only worthwhile if Texas and Oklahoma are in the discussion.

And this:

Without them, the next expansion wouldn't be much different from the last one.

If you're looking for compatibility, Clemson and Florida State make the most sense. They've always had more in common with the SEC than the ACC. But if you want to expand your market, Virginia Tech would be a better choice.

Georgia Tech might be next in line, simply because of its location. However, even in their hometown of Atlanta, the Yellow Jackets are still a distant second to the Georgia Bulldogs. And do you really want to add a school that was foolish enough to leave the SEC in the first place?

Bringing in any of those programs might improve the league somewhat from a competitive and financial perspective. But in a conference that has won four consecutive national championships in football, they won't wow anyone.

Texas could do that.

Bart Wright says college sports needs a boss to clean up the ever-growing mess.

Didn't realize former Virginia QB Peter Lalich got in trouble again ... and kicked off another team.

And finally, Pac-10 commish Larry Scott says his conference is going on the offensive as it tries to enhance its brand. Included is a "barnstorming" tour in which the league's coaches will fly to the East Coast to schmooze with major media outlets.

Under former commissioner Tom Hansen, the Pac-10 seemed content to nap in the 1970s, oblivious to the evolution occurring around it. That’s not entirely fair — Hansen answered to 10 bosses who didn’t want change, either — but there’s no question Scott has brought a different approach.

“We haven’t been progressive or risk-takers,” he says. And also: “It’s fair to say we have fallen behind in certain areas because the conference isn’t working together, being aggressive in its approach.”

Scott has restructured the conference office, hiring marketing and TV types, changing the culture.

Love the approach. John Swofford could stand to borrow a page.


LW