total happiness continues

I caught the last two games in UF's opening series against New York's Siena College this weekend. I was happy to see last year's core line-up mostly intact. New coach Kevin O'Sullivan has made a few changes -- some good, some strange. My thoughts:

It took me a couple of at-bats, but I quickly realized O'Sullivan instituted walk-up music (music that's played just before a batter goes up to the plate) for his players. The first thought in my head was, "I wonder who will choose 'Crazy Train'?" the ubiquitous Ozzy song used by many major leaguers including the Braves' Chipper Jones. I was rewarded just a few at-bats later by my new favorite player Jonathan Pigott (you made me laugh out loud Jonathan -- thanks!) I thought Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" was an odd choice for Brandon McArthur's walk-up music (seeing as how the song is almost as old as he is) until I sat on the third base line today and watched him make the sign of the cross before stepping into the batter's box. That actually confused me further since that song is more about false idolatry, but I digress.


O'Sullivan kept Figueroa at shortstop. Last year he had a terrible hesitation problem before throwing the most common in-field play, shortstop to first (6-3 for you scoring fans.) That cost the Gators several valuable outs too regularly, especially in close SEC matches. I'm sure it's fixable in the long run, but there has got to be someone else who can cover that position until he figures it out. Figueroa is an amazing hitter who is partial to stealing bases. Find a spot he can shine somewhere else in the in-field.


O'Sullivan perked up Sunday's traditionally lackluster pitching lineup with promising freshman pitcher Tommy Toledo. He pitched five complete innings today with two earned runs and five strike outs -- impressive in his first outing in a Gator uniform. O'Sullivan also moved senior pitcher Josh Edmondson from closer to late-inning relief pitcher. It's a much better fit and certainly takes the stress off Edmondson, who gave up too many saves last year as his confidence deteriorated. I'm curious to see what O'Sullivan will do with his pitchers given the new five game weekly schedule the NCAA instituted this year along with the later start date.


Other observations:

• What's up with the new italicized F on the caps? I suppose I'll get used to it, but why?
  
• They got rid of my favorite silly promotion (the one where some random fan gets to choose between 5 frozen pizzas and a mystery prize hidden in a box -- always choose the box!) and replaced it with two lame ones: Albert's noise meter (a plywood box that Albert opens once fans scream loud enough, prompting the staff to start throwing free T-shirts) and Fan Juke Box (the announcers name three songs and whichever gets crowd approval is played during the next inning break.)
• The music selection has gone from old, comfortable mainstays to a more hard-edged sound. There's nothing wrong with adding a few new songs, but it's not quite family friendly anymore. Maybe I'm just grousing because I actually like baseball-themed music at the ballpark.

The start of Gator baseball is also the start of spring -- this weekend left no doubt. I soaked up the sun during the wonderfully comfortable temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s, and despite the use of sunscreen I am a light shade of pink from head to toe. I better get a decent base tan (and stronger sunscreen!) before hitting Spring Training in a few weeks or I'll really be hurting!