Weekend 1: Firsthand Observations

Thanks to everyone who checked in with observations from last weekend's games. We're happy to grant anonymity whenever we can (which is pretty much all the time), and with me no longer being in Cambridge, we're going to depend on SoBB readers as our eyes more than ever.

We've got some comments, first this one on the overall state of the team. Highlights:

Having seen all 4 games, I came away from the weekend feeling very good about this club. Overall, they hit the ball hard throughout. There were many "atem" ball shots that didn't show up in the hit column, but that registered strongly on the field and in the stands. Vance, Rogers, Wilson (when they pitched to him), Stack-Babich, Kramer and Stoeckel were solid throughout. Byrne made a living as a walk machine and along with Douglas, Casey and Prince, also added key hits. The Roth HR was a no brainer at the crack of the bat.

Defensively, Harvard was up and down. Solid in the victories and looking rusty and tired in both losses. I suspect the inconsistency was related to not playing at game speed since last fall. Practice only goes so far. I would say that the middle infield and outfield play was excellent. The speed of Rogers and Vance and the arm displayed by Stack-Babich in right bode well for the upcoming season.

And this on the frosh arms, one of whom was named Ivy Rookie of the Week on Tuesday:

The freshmen shutout of Notre Dame has created an understandable buzz in Florida and Cambridge. With the addition of Perlman and Eadington to a starting rotation that includes last year's Ivy League Pitcher of the year and rookie of the year, Joe W. has a right to be pumped up! ..and don't forget the solid saturday performance turned in by the freshman from Washington, Ian Bolliger.

Another SoBB reader e-mailed with a little more about the freshmen:

Perlman was lights out against ND. Good fastball in the high 80’s. He did not show a pattern. He would thrown either fast, change or curve first pitch with command of all three. He routinely got ahead 0-2 on hitters. Then he tried to nibble a bit but he seems to know how to pitch.
Eadington looked a little wild up n the zone but he was dealing. He had to have been consistently in the 90s with a plus curve. I did not see too many changeups but he got a few hitters on them as a show me pitch. If he develops that along with the other two, he will be a force. He also made a huge play that seemingly went unnoticed when he forced out a ND runner on a bunt situation at third. Two on, none out, ND batter lays down a bunt and he big guy got to the ball and flipped to third for a big out.
Perl and Boomer will almost certainly be weekend guys. Unger and Cole may be battling out for the other spot.

This is interesting. What about Adam Cole, last year's Ivy ROY? We saw those walks in the boxscore...

He was throwing gas early with a good breaking ball but just lost control, command and composure. Duq batters were not even close to hitting him. One infield hit was all they got. Very similar to last year but he either does not seem to know how overpowering he is or simply has command issues with his pitches. He throws so many pitches it is tough to watch.

Seems to me that Cole's start this weekend bears watching as much as anybody's.
Meanwhile, we got an undoubtedly angry Notre Dame team again this weekend. I believe there will be free audio at ND's site, you just have to go through a registration process.