All we are saying is, Give Lance a Chance

Weather permitting, we have been led to believe Lance Salsgiver--he of the career 11.0 K/9 ratio in 23 college innings--will earn a start against Brown tomorrow. Here's hoping he receives a longer leash than he did in his only other career start (which was more of an experiment than anything and came, incidentally, also against Brown).

Salsgiver's high school career as a hitter is well chronicled: school records in batting average and homers, Baseball America All-American twice over, Louisville Slugger All-American, etc. His pitching exploits, though frequently referenced by Joe Walsh, are less known. To the rescue is Timm Rye, Salsgiver's high school coach from Davison, Mich., who was kind enough to send along his high school pitching stats, beginning with his sophomore campaign in 2000:

Season	GS	CG	IP	ER	H	ERA	BB	SO	W	L	S
2000	10	8	55	17	41	2.16	30	94	5	3	2
2001	13	9	70.1	9	41	.90	42	122	13	0	1
2002	6	-	34.2	5	27	1.00	19	51	2	2	6

As Rye explains, an asterisk belongs next to Salsgiver's 2002 stats: "Lance's senior season numbers are little short because the hockey team (he was a captain) went deep in the state playoffs and his start on the season was a little late, causing him longer to get into baseball shape." For a truer indication of what he's capable of, take a long look at the junior season numbers: 13-0 record, with a .90 ERA. For every hit allowed, he struck out three guys. Rumor has it he even relied on the jam-your-fist-into-a-bucket-of-rice training regimen made famous by Roger Clemens. Marvels Rye: "Lance still has 20 spots on our high school records page and several on the Michigan High School list as well. Lance was our starting shortstop as well as our leading pitching for his three years on varsity. 90+mph fastballs tend to do that to you!"

Final anaylsis: Salsgiver may not project as a pitcher when his career proceeds to the next level, but in these final two weeks, he's plenty capable of carrying Harvard across the finish line.