This and that

by SID

Who is the guy in the blue tank top on the far left? Answer below.

We have less than two weeks to go before the start of the baseball season, so I thought I would post a blog with some baseball related notes.

• Congrats to sophomore pitchers Sonny Gray and Jack Armstrong getting named to Baseball America's preseason All-America teams. While Sonny saw significant action as both a reliever and starter a year ago, Jack pitched in only six games all year. In fact most people that followed the team last spring may remember Jack more for this, than his onfield contributions.

So how does he get the honor? Well, unlike other preseason All-America teams, BA's is based more on pro potential and the advice of major league scouts and scouting directors. Jack had a sensational summer pitching in the Cape Cod League and continued his success into the fall. Click here for a release on the duo getting the honor.

With the top three pitchers (innings wise) gone from last year, if Gray and Armstrong can come through in the weekend rotation, the Commodores will have answered one of the big question areas of the team. Both guys have immense potential and it should be fun watching them develop. You can see both pitch on opening weekend against Niagara at Hawkins Field on Feb. 19-20-21.

• The annual "Meet the Commodores" Baseball Banquet is set for Saturday, Feb. 13. This is always a fun event and if you purchased a ticket you will certainly find out a lot about this year's team from Coach Corbin.

• Last year we joked around with a guy whose ego is bigger than Kanye West, Frank the Dancing Dog. He made his annual showing last year in the first game of the Tennessee series and the Dores proceeded to get swept by the Vols after having won seven straight regular season games against them. Some could say the bats were the issue, I say Frank was/is. He told me he was done after that, but I don't think he can stand being on the sidelines. Look for a lean, mean, Turkey dog machine at some point during the year. BTW the guy in the yellow mustard outfit looks a lot like athletics intern MUCUS.

• Answer to the picture above. The guy is none other than Eric "Stooche" Jones, Vanderbilt ticket manager and sometime play-by-play guy with baseball. He celebrated his 40th birthday last week by trying to wear that same outfit and ironically it had the same snug fit. And he still drives the car he and his buddies are leaning on, he uses it for his late night pizza delivery runs. Seriously Happy Birthday EJ!