Lemonade and some stat sheets

Mash, Steffan Wilson, mash. Through eight games, Stef is batting .394 with 9 RBIs to lead the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League. Meanwhile, Brad Unger has been lights out so far for the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate League, allowing 3 earned runs in his first 17 2/3 innings in two starts and a relief appearance... Lance Salsgiver is playing Class-A Ball for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Short-Season affiliate of the SF Giants... Ben Crockett '02 has had a terrific season for the Somerset Patriots. He recently saw a 22 2/3 scoreless innings streak come to an end, and boasts a 1.62 ERA and a 4-3 record... Frank Herrmann's Crimson diary has come to an end, but he continues to pitch (2-2, 4.67 in 14 starts).

Taking a Chance on Lance

A number of Harvard students graduated last week without jobs lined up. Lance Salsgiver doesn't have that problem.

Congratulations to Lance, taken in the 37th Round (1106 overall) of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft last week. Good job by the Giants; the toolsy outfielder (or would they use him elsewhere?) seems a great late round pickup by Brian Sabean and crew. Meanwhile, John Birtwell '01 continues to make the most of his shot with Oakland's AAA team, Morgan Brown continues to load up on academic honors and The Crimson's commencement coverage touches on baseball here and here.

Apologies on the lateness with all of these, but commencement was very, very busy. Life is starting to calm down, and we'll take a look at some of those freshmen soon.

Summer Plans and John Birtwell

Those looking to keep tabs on their favorite Crimson players over the summer will be happy to see Harvard's listing of assignments for summer ball. Like last year, a lot of players come back with summer ball experience. Most notably, Steffan Wilson and (non-roster invitee) Shawn Haviland in the Cape League, and Adam Cole, Tom Stack-Babich, Brad Unger, Max Warren and Matt Rogers in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

An alert commenter (and thanks, guys--this site really benefits from you guys looking out) points out that John Birtwell has happily resurfaced in the Sacramento Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A's. Given the A's Harvard connections, Birtwell's unusual delivery and past record with the Tigers and Moneyball (remember Chad Bradford!), it's probably not as surprising as one might think. In 13 2/3 innings spread out over 10 appearances so far, Birtwell's only allowed 2 earned runs while striking out 9.

Awesome. We'll definitely keep an eye on this situation, and we wish John all the best. Also, in a situation that probably plays out in amusing fashion given Birtwell's documented sense of humor, or perhaps not given Birtwell's even better documented record as a great teammate, one of his fellow Sacramento River Cats is Kazuhito Tadano.