The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 21, 2005, Page 9, Image 9
Former Carolina baseball stars
survive in MLB’s minor leagues
■ Part three in a
three-part series
By BRIAN SAAL
THE GAMECOCK
In part two of this three-part series,
The Gamecock broke down most of the
2003 draft class from South Carolina.
USC’s College World Series run began
in 2002, when four Gamecocks were
drafted by pro teams.
The last Gamecock drafted from the
2003 class was catcher Landon Powell,
who would eventually turn down the
25th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs.
Powell would eventually hit .328 with
19 homers and 66 RBIs to get the
attention of the Oakland A’s and their
first-round pick in 2004.
The Gamecocks had a momentous
year in 2002. They went 21-8 and went
all the way to the College World Series
finals, beating Clemson twice to get there.
The team received attention because of its
striking youth. On June 4-5, 2002, only
four Carolina players were drafted.
Perhaps the most talented Gamecock,
Drew Meyer, was the first Carolina player
called with the 10th overall pick by the
Texas Rangers. Unfortunately, the
shortstop’s minor-league career has been
rather mediocre. After hitting .359 in his
last season in Columbia, the slugger has
bounced between A- and AA-level play.
Meyer showed an improvement last year
when he dropped down to rookie level for
rehab, where he hit .387 in 15 games.
Patience is growing thin in Dallas, as he
has yet to match the hype. Meyer struck
out a career-high 92 times while only
walking 32 times last season. The
Rangers, however, have faith in the
Bishop England graduate because they
moved him further away from play to
centerfield. The Rangers have Gary
Matthews at center, which most believe is
a temporary solution. It’s now or never for
Meyer, as he has the opportunity to get
called up some point this season, as long
as he can keep his strikeouts down.
Yaron Peters was drafted in the 10th
round by the Atlanta Braves and was last
seen leading the Rome Braves to the
league championship in 2003, hitting
.286 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs.
Gary Bell was taken in the 10th round by
the New York Yankees. Bell has not
received much news during his three-year
minor league career. The left-handed
pitcher played with the Independent
League’s North Shore Spirit, where he
pitched for a 3-3 record with a 5.32 ERA.
The future does not look bright for the
starter-turned-reliever with his current
ball club, but perhaps a change of teams
would bring Bell back to the 10-3 form of
his final season at the Sarge. Both Garris
Gonce and Blake Taylor were drafted in
the 31st and 39th rounds, respectively.
Unfortunately, both players only played
one season in the minors.
Look for a few Gamecocks on this
year’s squad to garner draft attention as
well. Junior infielder Steven Tolleson will
be draft-eligible after this season, and
senior ace Aaron Rawl could also hear his
name called on draft day. Also looking to
take his game to the next level is outfielder
Michael Campbell, who will try to
bounce back from offseason surgery to
have a good season. Don’t forget about
Steve Pearce, who, after being drafted in
the 10th round of the 2004 draft, could
see his stock rise to a top pick in 2005.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
Briefs
ESPN moves opener
to Thursday night
The USC athletics department
announced Thursday that ESPN will
carry the Gamecocks football season
opener against Central Florida to a
national television audience on
Thursday, September 1. Newly hired
USC head coach Steve Spurrier will make
his debut as a Gamecock on the first
nationally televised game of the season.
This will be the sixth time USC has
been showcased by ESPN in primetime,
the most recent coming with a loss at
Arkansas in 2003.
“The fact that ESPN has elected to
televise our season opener against
Central Florida is, I believe, a
tremendous compliment to the South
Carolina football program,” Spurrier
said. “This should be a big boost to our
team and to those who follow and
support the Gamecocks.”
Track teams to travel
to Clemson meet
USC and Clemson will meet for the
first time this track and field season at
the Clemson Invitational, held today
and Saturday. Competition begins at
five o’clock with the women’s 20-pound
weight throw and the men’s distant
medley relay. Today’s events will end
with the women’s 5000 meter tun at
7:50.
Saturday’s events will begin at 11
a.m. with the men’s shot put and 60
meter hurdles final. The Invitational will
wrap up with the women’s four by 400
meter relay at 4:10 p.m.
The Gamecocks had an impressive
showing last week at the Virginia Tech
Invitational. USC managed 29 top
finishes, including four titles and nine
NCAA qualifying times.
* u AFC CHAMP
Continued from page 8
Steelers’ only defeat of the season. He
went on to shatter the record for
consecutive wins (six) by a rookie QB,
winning 14 straight and becoming the
first quarterback to be voted offensive
rookie of the year. At that position,
rookies either struggle or sit.
There were different expectations
when each arrived in the NFL.
Bradv was a sixth-round pick after
starting at Michigan only in his senior
year.
As a rookie in 2000, he threw three
passes, completing one for 6 yards and
was considered a long-range project _
at best. s
He was behind Drew Bledsoe,
s seemingly locked into the starter’s spot;
" veteran journeyman John Friesz, and
the much more athletic Michael
Bishop.
But he moved up to No. 2 behind
Bledsoe the next year and became the
starter when Bledsoe was injured in the
second game.
He went on to lead the Patriots to a
Super Bowl victory and was voted the
game’s MVP after leading a last
minute drive that led to Adam
Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal.
Brady was MVP again last year in a
32-29 win over Carolina and is often
compared to Joe Montana because or
his calm under pressure.
Neither was a first-round pick
(Montana was a third-rounder) and
neither has the powerful arm of John
Elway, Dan Marino _ or
Roethlisberger for that matter.
^ Roethlisberger, a mobile 6-foot-5,
P241 pounds, was a first-round pick, 11th
overall from Miami of Ohio and the
third quarterback taken last April after
Eli Manning and Philip Rivers.
He got his chance right away, but
broke in slowly as the defense and
running backs Duce Staley and Jerome
Bettis carried the team.
But he performed when he had to,
leading late drives to beat Dallas and
Jacksonville and his passer rating of
98.1 was fifth in the NFL behind only
Peyton Manning, Daunte Culpepper,
Drew Brees and Donovan McNabb.
“It’s not like he is 14th in the league
or anything,” Belichick says. “He is up
there at the top with and above a lot of
guys who have a lot more experience. I
don’t think he is just a guy to stand there
and hand the ball off to Bettis and
^italey. He makes plenty of plays himself
in that offense.”
But that was before last week.
Against the Jets, Roethlisberger had
an interception returned for a
touchdown. He threw another that
gave New York
a shot at a
game-winning
field goal _
Doug Brien
missed from 43
yards and the
Steelers ended
up winning in
overtime.
Meanwhile, the
Patriots shut
down Peyton
Manning and
high-scoring
Indianapolis
20-3 in the
snow at
Foxboro with
Brady his usual
efficient but
unspectacular
self.
Sunday’s
game will be a
test of
Roethlisberger’s
resilience _ he
says it took just
10 minutes to
put last week’s
game behind
him. (It would
have been a lot longer had the Steelers
lost).
“You can’t afford ro feel like a
rookie,” he said. “If I go out and play
like a rookie this week like I did last
week, we’ll definitely lose the game.”
Brady had his ups and downs in his
first playoff season _ his “rookie” year as
a starter.
In his first postseason game, he
“fumbled” in the snow of Foxboro
with the Patriots trailing Oakland by 3
points in the final minutes.
But the fumble was negated by the
infamous “tuck rule” replay, the
Patriots tied it and Brady was 6-of-6 in
overtime to set up a game-winning
field goal by Vinatieri.
The next week against Pittsburgh,
he injured his ribs in the first half
against the Steelers and Bledsoe
relieved him and threw for the Patriots’
only offensive touchdown in a 24-17
win.
Brady was back for the Super Bowl,
led the Patriots to an upset over
favored St. Louis and established
himself as one of the game’s top
quarterbacks _ not a statistical
machine, but a winner.
Both quarterbacks have a lot of
support, especially on defense.
The Patriots set a record with 21
straight wins _ 18 in the regular season _
before the loss in Pittsburgh.
They have done it with everyone on
the roster making big plays _ especially
Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Mike
Vrabel and Richard Seymour on defense
and Corey Dillon and five different wide
receivers on offense.
But when starters go down, others
step up _ like wide receiver Troy Brown,
who had a punt return for a touchdown
in the title game in Pittsburgh three
years ago.
Brown plays offense, special teams
and is a third cornerback because both
starters are out.
The Steelers rushed for 154 yards a
game in the regular season, second in the
league.
Their defense allowed the fewest
points and the fewest yards as James
Farrior had a career year at linebacker
and second-year safety Troy Polamalu
emerged as a playmaker.
. But quarterback is a glamour
position, so Brady and Roethlisberger
are likely to get the credit.
Or blame.
“This business is about being
accountable,” Steelers coach Bill
Cowher said of Roethlisberger, who
made no excuses for last week’s
mistakes.
“To admit when you haven’t done
well is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign
of strength.
“Sometimes you’re going to have a
bad game. But you learn from it, you
move on, you grow from it.”
WINSLOW TOWNSON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looks
downfield for a receiver in this photo. Brady will
lead the Patriots against the SteelerS this weekend.
I
■ RECRUITING
Continued from page
Wednesday.
Brandyn Young, listed by Rivals.com
as an athlete, made his verbal
commitment to Spurrier and USC
Wednesday. Young, who told
Gamecockcentral.com he will start out
at running back for Carolina, is listed as
a three-star prospect from Tucker, Ga.
The 6-foot, 190-pound back runs a 40
yard dash time of 4.4 seconds. He also
had offers on the table from Auburn,
Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and
Maryland, among others.
Staying in the Palmetto State for his
collegiate career will be North
Charleston defensive tackle Jarriel King.
King stands at 6-foot-6-inches and runs
the 40-yard dash in 4.87 seconds,
according to Rivals.com. He is listed as a
two-star prospect.
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WORKING OUT THE KINKS
ALLEN SHARPE/PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
The USC baseball team stretches Wednesday as the Gamecocks prepared to start their first official
day of practice. The team will take the field for the first time in the 2005 season on Feb. 11.
■ WOMEN
Continued from page 8
team. The Gamecocks grabbed 34 boards,
its second lowest output of the season,
while the Tide grabbed an impressive 45
boards. The minus-15 margin and 45
rebounds put up by Alabama are both
season-highs against the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks travel to Fayetteville
on Sunday to take on the Arkansas.
Arkansas registered its first conference
victory of the season last Sunday against
Mississippi State, a team that the
Gamecocks lost to 48-55 earlier in the
season. After losing starting center
Kristin Moore to a knee injury Jan. 2,
the Lady’Backs saw a great 10-2 start
begin to slide while searching for
consistency on offense and defense.
The first key to the game will be the size
advantage that USC will hold yet again.
Carolina will look to exploit Arkansas on
the boards, as the Lady’Backs are last in the
SEC with a sub-zero rebounding margin.
Coach Susan Walvius has consistently said
that good rebounding teams win games,
and Carolina has had plenty of
opportunities to rebound while holding
opponents to .360 percent shooting,
second best in conference. Sliskovic, Olga
Gritsaeva and Ilona Burgrova will need to
be more physical and aggressive in the post
for Carolina to succeed.
The second key to the game will fall
in the category of turnovers, as the
Gamecocks are big underdogs in this
department. Carolina is the only
conference team averaging more than
20 turnovers a game as well as a negative
turnover margin. On the other side of
the spectrum, Arkansas leads the league
with 15.33 steals per game. If all follows
current trends, the Gamecocks will be
in over their heads.
The game is set for 3 p.m. The next
home game will come next Thursday
against No. 8 Tennessee at 7 p.m.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
• *'• : :
>
GAMECOCK CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE: Every week, Jonathan
The Gamecock's readers and Hillyard
staff test their sports knowledge Sports
with game predictions. :^lt0
(6-4)
Tennessee at 14 Louisville Louisville
3 Wake Forest at 20 Cincinatti Cincinatti
Clemson at VirginiaClemson
Davidson at FurmanFurman
UNCG at CitadelCitadel
LSU at 8 KentuckyKentucky
Auburn at ArkansasArkansas
22 Alabama at Mississippi Alabama
Vanderbilt at GeorgiaVanderbilt
USC at Mississippi State USC
70-68
Stephen Alex Miquel
Fastenau Riley Jacobs
Asst. Sports Staff Staff
editor Writer Writer
(3-7) (7-3) (6-4)
Louisville Louisville Tennessee
WakeCincinatti Wake
Virginia Virginia Virginia
Davidson Davidson Davidson
UNCG UNCG UNCgT
Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas
Alabama Alabama Alabama
Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt
Miss. St. USC USC
60-55 68-62 70-64
Jake Paul
Broom Edwards
Special Reader of
guest the week
(7-3) (6-4)
Louisville Tennessee
Wake Wake
Virginia Virginia
Furman Furman
UNCG UNCG
Kentucky Kentucky
Arkansas Arkansas
Alabama Alabama
Vanderbilt Vanderbilt
Miss. St. USC
70-64 65-63
WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAMES TO
GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Alex Riley and the special guest
jumped off to a quick lead with 7-3 weeks, one better than Miquel Jacobs and Jonathan Hillyard.
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