Inside the Box Score... and some random thoughts

Coach Walsh decided to change around his lineup against New York Tech yesterday, and it paid off. Ian Wallace made his second start of the season, in right field. He provided a spark batting out of the eight-hole, singling twice and scoring two runs. Morgan Brown, who generally hits in the bottom third of the order, was placed in the two-hole and delivered two hits and two RBI.

Lance Salsgiver did not make an appearance (maybe because Coach was keeping him aside to possibly use as a middle reliever... or maybe just to get some other guys in). Josh Klimkiewicz started at 1B, while freshman Steffan Wilson started at third. Seven strong innings from Haviland, and Matt Brunnig, looking more and more like he’s going to fill the all-important reliever position I talked about earlier, pitched two uneventful innings of relief. So far this season, Coach Walsh has been tinkering plenty with the lineup, giving opportunities to a number of different positional players to show what they can do – Wallace being the latest example. For the most part, the results have been positive, with the Crimson showing that they should have a deep roster on the offensive side of things.

I’ll take this opportunity to issue a few random musings. As a former Quadling (for the uninitiated, we’re the people who lived far enough off campus that we had to take the bus...), I was sad to hear the QRAC is being shut down temporarily for renovations. The QRAC front-desk helped partly pay my way through college, and because I had a key, it was also the host of many midnight pick-up games between me and my blockmates. I agree wholeheartedly with this Crimson editorial that the diminishment of the Quad’s resources delegates Quadlings to second-tiered status for the short-term. The Quad was a great place to live, but it wouldn't nearly have been as great were it not for Hilles Library and the QRAC's conveniences. It remains to be seen what the long-term impact will be, but I somehow doubt that River students are going to be trudging up to the Quad very frequently to take advantage of the new student resources. Ironically, the upgrades may have the unintended effect of suppressing student activity of the very groups who stand to benefit from the renovations simply because students have always been averse to going up to the Quad for any extracurricular activity. Location, location, location.

I remember when former Harvard President Neil Rudenstine stopped by the Cabot Dining Hall for a dinner with us on his farewell tour. He took a few questions from the crowd, and one person asked him about the Quad’s resources, specifically the QRAC. Rudenstine responded: “QWAC? What’s the QWAC?” Luckily, his wife bailed him out by telling him what the student was referring to: “it’s the quadrangle recreational center, dear.” Looking back, that was an ominous sign of things to come and a very apt analogy for how Quadlings are currently being treated.

On another subject, does steroids help you shoot three-pointers? Having watched an unbelievable set of college basketball games this weekend and seeing three-pointer after three-pointer rain down from the heavens, I just want to know what drugs help you shoot the basketball like that? Whatever it is, these college kids are smoking or injecting the heck out of it. Or maybe it’s the rarified air of these indoor arenas. Or maybe it’s the lighter ball. That must be it – we’ve ushered in the lighter ball era in college basketball. Whatever it is, it’s fun to watch.