Megliola: An unusual spring
By Lenny Megliola/ Daily
News Staff
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - Updated: 01:24
AM EST
BABSON PARK --
In late March, New England high school and college baseball
players are not unfamiliar with working out in the gym,
occasionally glancing outside at 15 inches of snow where the
baseball field might be.
Matt Noone is in his fourth season as Babson
College coach. He remembers what March was like his first year.
"We were out with snowblowers, clearing the field. Then we left
for Florida."
A lot of New England college teams head south
in March. Might as well, for all the baseball weather you’re
going to get up here. Seems like more games are postponed than
played. Noone’s Beavers just got back from a Florida trip. So
did Mike Sarno’s Framingham State Rams. Sunshine and games, no
postponements.
Yesterday, the weather god smiled on both
teams. They played under a clear blue sky at gorgeous Govoni
Field, the temperature in the 50s. OK, it wasn’t Tampa or Cape
Coral, but it wasn’t what you normally get in late March either.
"This is the first time I can remember a day like this so early
(in the season), unless we were in the South," says Sarno.
There was an occasional gust of wind during
the late innings, sending a chill through the fans if not the
players, a reminder that a March wind is first cousin to the
winds of February. But all in all, it was a splendid day for the
Grand Old Game. A rare March 27 day for baseball. Precious, you
might even go so far as to say. "Absolutely," says Sarno, who is
in his 17th year at Framingham State, and 15th as head coach, so
he knows how mean-spirited the elements can be this time of
year. How mercurial too.
Why, the day before the Rams had played a
doubleheader at Bowditch Field against St. Michael’s, a long
day-into-night odyssey. "It was cold and spitting rain," says
Jay Godino, the sophomore infielder from Keefe Tech. "So it’s
good to have a game like this when it’s still March. In high
school, our first game was always canceled because the field
wasn’t ready."
Might be frozen, muddy or snow-covered. But
if it’s just basic bummer conditions, cold, windy, they must
play. "In college, you’ve got to get the games in because exams
come in May," says Sarno. Too many postponements can have you
playing until Thanksgiving. For Babson, yesterday was the start
of an 11-games-in-10-days stretch. Couple of canceled games and
they’re in trouble.
Dave Brumby, a FSC pitcher/DH from
Northborough, appreciates this sweet day but admits after
warming up in the bullpen, "I wish it was a little hotter, to
tell you the truth. It’s easier to get loose. The arm doesn’t
hurt as much." Then, perhaps realizing he’s tempting the fates,
Brumby says, "I’ll take this over snow."
Cold hater Jon Kincaid is catching Brumby in
the bullpen. "I love warm weather. It doesn’t hurt as much when
(Brumby) throws real hard."
"For the first year I can remember," says FSC
junior outfielder Jake Scoppetto, who played at Algonquin
Regional, "we’re able to get outside after we’ve gotten back
from Florida. Usually we haven’t even seen the sun (up here)."
Baseball players hate working out in the gym
due to lousy weather. It gets boring fast. "We’re throwing
softballs instead of baseballs," says Scoppetto. "You want to
get outside, catch fly balls and play long toss without the
restrictions of the gym. The first time we were outside was in
Florida. Baseball is meant to be played outside."
Soaking in the moment about an hour before
yesterday’s 3 p.m. start, Scoppetto proclaims it "a beautiful
day."
Maybe it’ll rearrange the team’s fortunes.
The Rams are 1-10. "But it’s a strong 1-10," says Sarno
sardonically. Sarno cuts a classic baseball coach’s figure, his
demeanor droll, his waistline not insignificant, and you just
hope whatever he’s chewing, when he spits it out it doesn’t’
wind up dangling from his whiskered chin.
How he wasn’t cast in "Bull Durham" remains a
mystery. One more thing. Mike Sarno’s a great baseball man, a
lifer. Think Don Zimmer. Except Sarno would’ve gotten up and
punched Pedro’s lights out.
But 1-10 is 1-10, and as Sarno watches Babson
take an effortless infield, he mutters "This could be a long
day." The Rams’ problem has been defense. "We can’t field," says
Sarno. Is that honest enough for ya? "We’ve been giving teams
four or five outs an inning. Our pitcher’s throwing 85 pitches
and it’s only the fifth inning." Maybe the nice day will help
his players. "God, I hope so," says Sarno.
Indeed, the Rams play a fine game of
baseball, even take an 8-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth,
ready to exact revenge for a 23-3 loss to the Beavers last
spring. Alas, Babson scores three times for a 9-8 win and climbs
to 5-5 on the year.
But it was too nice out to really feel bad
about anything. Nobody got hurt. Everybody could go to supper
now. And the forecast was promising for the week.
"But I’m a New England pessimist," says
Noone. "I’m waiting for snow on April 1."
(Lenny Megliola is a Daily News columnist. Hs
e-mail is lennymegs@aol.com.)
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