Crimson Coverage Highlights

With the winter sports out of the way, baseball has ascended to weekly featured status in the Crimson's Monday sports section, garnering a healthy four stories this week. Some highlights:
* Matt Vance does indeed have a torn labrum, but in a borderline ironic development, has torn it so thoroughly that it shouldn't prevent him from playing center field:

The sophomore speedster will remain a fixture at the top of the Crimson order and will continue to man the outfield, rather than slide into the designated hitter’s slot as once speculated.

Doctors have informed him that his labrum has been torn to the point where it cannot suffer any further damage, and so he will undergo shoulder surgery after the season and then begin a summer-long rehabilitation process, which should leave him ready for the fall of 2006...
Fielding, however, might be a somewhat different story. Although Vance showed no problems defensively in center against Columbia—he even dived on the grass on a handful of occasions—he said his throwing has noticeably suffered.

“I just can’t get a whole lot on the ball,” he said. “Everyone says I’m throwing it fine, but it hurts, a lot.”

Huh. Okay. Although it's unfortunate that the injury will keep the incredibly promising sophomore out of summer ball, we're naturally thrilled to hear that his blazing speed and baserunning savvy will remain at Harvard's disposal. I guess the lesson is, if you're gonna tear your labrum, do a complete job. (Warning: May not work for pitchers.)
* The best description of Adam Cole's early Ivy beastliness, courtesy of fellow ace Shawn Haviland:

Haviland struggled to find words for Cole’s recent success.

“He’s just...I guess I probably can’t swear,” Haviland said, adding, “I was impressed with him. For a freshman to come out there two games in a row like that—I mean, they didn’t have shot all day.”

* Morgan Brown remains day to day with his injured quad.
* Mere weeks ago, we worried about finding four starters capable of taking the hill for the all-important weekend games. Suddenly, we've got five:

Sophomore Brad Unger finished the game for the Crimson, recording all six of his outs via strikeout.

“When your starters are giving you such quality starts as we got from [Castellanos] and Brunnig,” Walsh said, “Unger came in and had six punchouts in two innings and you’re wishing you had a fifth game to throw him.”

* Finally, Harvey Mansfield, author of "Manliness" and renouned coot, was at the Columbia doubleheader on Sunday. He witnessed the manliest event of the weekend--Matt Kramer's hard (but clean) slide into second that took out a Lion infielder--and the least manly event, Columbia missing Kramer three times in the same at-bat in a lame attempt at retaliation.