Friday, March 28, 2008
Indians have
By Andrew McLachlan
co-editor-in-chief
asmsoo6@psu.edu
The Cleveland Indians surprised everyone
in Major League Baseball last season. In
arguably the most competitive division in
baseball, the Indians won the American
League Central and eventually lost to the
2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox
in seven games in the ALCS, even though
expectations were not that high for the tribe.
With the core of last season’s roster still
intact, the Indians will look to get
back to the World Series and win
their first title in 60 years.
Indians fans are still having a
tough time getting over how last sea
son ended. After leading 3-1 in the
best of seven series over the Red
Sox, the Indians only needed one
more game to take down the power
house from Beantown. The last win
never came for the Indians as they
dropped the last three games of the
series, allowing the Red Sox advance
to the World Series to face the
Colorado Rockies. The Red Sox
went on to sweep the Rockies in four
games to win the World Series
The tribe only made a few minor
deals during the off-season, includ
ing the acquisition of utility infielder
Jamey Carroll. The former Rockies
prospect will be used as a backup
infielder and a versatile bat off the
bench. The Indians did not jump into
the free agency market this off-sea
son due to the fact that the team from
i Tennis
*. ' * i *
If interested contact Rob Wittman at rww3@psu.edu
Sports Fan of the Week
Name: Buster ;
Favorite Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Favorite Player* Hal GiS .
Been a Penguins Fan Stem: April 2007
Cleveland Indians Mascot Chief Wahoo
Intramural Deadline Update
Deadline is Friday, March 28 at 4 p.m.
Deadline is Friday, April 4 at 4 p.m.
eyes on World Series Title
last year was relativity a young team.
The starting pitching staff will be the same
five starters they had last year in C.C.
Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Cliff Lee, Jake
Westbrook and Paul Byrd. Sabathia and
Carmona were the anchors of the staff last
season, which led to trips to the All-Star
Game and Cy Young consideration for both.
They will rely on Sabathia and Carmona to
play at the all-star level they did last year, to
keep them in the mix in the AL. The staff
will count on the improvement of Lee, who
has had two rough seasons since his breakout
Kickball
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Behrend Baseball look to live up to hype
By Andrew McLachlan
co-editor-in-chief
asmsoo6@psu.edu
With the weather still frigid and the threat
of snow still in the air, it is hard to think about
the upcoming baseball season. For the
Behrend baseball team, their season began on
a road trip to Florida, but, now that they are
back in Erie, they can begin focus on winning
their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate
Conference (AMCC) title in five years.
“We are moving in the right direction,” said
Behrend Baseball Head Coach Paul Bemm.
Behrend began their road trip 1-2, including a
19-7 shellacking in Transylvania, Ken., but
the Florida coast must have brought good
luck to the team. They went 6-2 in the sun
shine state to finish their road trip with a 7-4
record. Some of the notable wins in Florida
were a 12-7 victory over Manhattanville and
a 20-3 blowout over Ursinus.
As the divisional play begins in the AMCC,
Coach Benim will look for the same ingredi
ents of success that led them to a good outing
in Florida. “Our depth was important over
our first 11 games. It will continue to be with
the weather and other factors that arise during
the season.”
Behrend finished 27-12 last year overall
and 12-8 in the AMCC. Their record led
them to a N 0.4 place finish in the division, but
was quickly knocked out by Pitt-Bradford in
the first round of the playoffs. With high
expectations going into this year, Coach
Benim is looking at his returning players to
step it up in 2008. “The veterans are mental
ly and physically ready to play. They know
what it takes to excel and have provided
strong leadership early on for our program.”
OPT'
year in 2005. If he starts out slow this season,
look for management to pull the plug on Lee
and give either Jeremy Sowers or Aaron
Laffey a shot in the starting rotation.
The youthful batting and fielding of the
Indians has the same big names in the lineup
that include center-fielder Grady Sizemore,
designated hitter Travis Hafner and right
fielder Franklin Gutierrez. Sizemore, who is
one of the most coveted outfielders in the
game, has been a leader on and off the field
for the Indians. As the lead-off hitter for the
Indians, Sizemore is an energy source for the
team. An injury or early season strug
gles of Sizemore could create a huge
problem for the Indians.
Hafner, who in 2005 was finalist for
the AL MVP, has had troubles match
ing his number from three seasons ago.
Still a major threat in the batting order,
Hafner needs to find his stride in ’OB or
the Indians might try to find a cheaper
alternative for the DH spot. Gutierrez
had his breakout season in 2007,
showing signs of a potential stud in the
batting order and in RF. A major fac
tor in last year’s success, Gutierrez
needs to avoid being a one-hit wonder
that many Indians fans have seen over
the years.
With the Indians season starting in
three days, fans and experts have
expectations for the club in ’OB. Will
the tribe keep their focus on the top of
the Central Division or will they have
another letdown season like in 2006?
We will find out in the next few
months.
Behrend received high praises from their
competitors when they were voted and ranked
No.l in the AMCC preseason poll. Behrend
Junior starting pitcher David Koerbel was
also voted as the Preseason Pitcher of the
Year. Koerbel finished 5-1 in 11 appearances
last season, with an ERA of 2.87 and 55
strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched. While
Coach Benim is thrilled with the preseason
rankings and awards, he has his team focused
on their goals for this season.
“The preseason honor is nice,
but the end of the year stuff is
what you hang on your refriger
ator. Our league is ultra compet
itive and you have to be pre
pared to play everyday. Top to
bottom you will be tested in
each and every game.”
Behrend will rely on the
pitching staff of Koerbel, junior
Andrew Chrobak, junior Ben
Cain, sophomore Charles
Zimonski and freshman Blake
Pavlik to shutdown the compe
tition and help carry Behrend to
an AMCC title. “Our starting
pitching must continue to be
one of our strengths,” said
Benim. Behrend lost some of
their top batters from last year,
but Benim believes that some of
the younger guys could step it
up this season. “We have some
youth that is pushing and mak
ing our staff take notice of what
they might be capable of as the
season unfolds.”
~ CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Behrend s coaching staff con- Behrend Baseball went 7-4 on their road trip
sist of Benim and assistant 1
This Week in Sports
NBA
-Golden State Warriors forward Chris Webber
announces his retirement after 15 seasons in the
NBA.
Webber, who was made famous for being
apart of the University of Michigan
Basketball’s “Fab Five” during the early 90s,
finished with an average of 20.7 points, 9.8
rebounds and 4.2 assists per game over his
career.
-Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy
will miss the next four games due to a groin
injury.
Roy, who is emerging as a premiere guard in
the NBA, is averaging a team-high 19.3 points
and 5.8 assists this season.
NHL
-Former NHL goaltender Patrick Roy was
suspended five games and his son, goaltender
Jonathon Roy, was suspended seven games for
their part in a brawl that took place between the
Quebec Remparts/Chicoutimi Sagueneens of
the QMJHL.
Hie elder Roy, who was on the bench, denied
jlaying any role in the melee, although he
appeared to urge on his son with a wave before
le attacked the rival goaltender, Bobby
Nadeau.
Patrick Roy, who is the NHL's career leader
in victories and a member of the Hockey Hall
of Fame, apologized on Tuesday, Mar. 25 to
Sfadeau and his family, as well as to the
lemparts organization.
SeahdWßs feornferbackMaMus Trufant
signed a six-year, $50.2 million contract.
The deal includes $2O million in guaranteed
money. Trufant is due $2B million over the
first three years of the contract, making him
one of the highest-paid comerbacks in the
league.
The Behrend Beacon I
coaches Brian Hirschbcrg and Butch
Kemling. Behrend begins their divisional
play at Mt. Aloysius on Saturday. March 2d.
at 1 p.m. Their first scheduled divisional
home game will be on Tuesday. April I. at 1
p.m. "We need to play one pitch of one game
at time." savs Benim.