Hurricanes Baseball Opens Fall Practice On Thursday

Nov. 1, 2006

CORAL GABLES (www.hurricanesports.com) — The World Series may have just ended, but the 2007 Miami Hurricanes baseball team is just getting started. UM is returning talent in the field, at the plate and on the mound. Fans will have the opportunity to catch their first glimpses of head coach Jim Morris’ next squad at Thursday’s fall ball practice opener at Mark Light Field.

Fans are invited to attend and can enter the field through the right or left field gates at no charge. The ‘Canes will stretch and warm up at 2:30 p.m. before beginning their first intra-squad scrimmage at 4 p.m.

Morris sat down with hurricanesports.com to preview fall ball with the ‘Canes.

Hurricanesports.com (HS):What do you typically expect going into fall ball?

Jim Morris (3): In the fall you hope to evaluate players and establish some type of thought as to what may be the lineup next spring. You hope to cover all the individual stuff with players and all the team-type things like bunt defense and fly ball communication, everything. You want to cover all those things and evaluate people.

HS: You’ve been able to see the team workout individually. What areas do you see the team being on the right track and what areas do you think need attention?

3: I’m cautiously optimistic about this team. Everyone talks about how young we were, which we were. We started four freshmen last year. We also have to understand seven guys from last year’s team signed pro contracts off last year’s team, so we did lose some quality players.

We have a great recruiting class, maybe as good as I’ve had since I’ve been at Miami. But we’re going to be a young club this year, with that in mind. We have a lot of work to do and I feel that some of the freshmen will definitely make an impact on our team. We have a lot of things to cover to get ready. It’s our job as coaches to get them prepared on every aspect of the game as we get them ready for next spring. I think we can evaluate them more after we get them together as a team versus on an individual level. Sometimes, when they turn the lights on, the young guys are very excited. We want to see how they play in game-type situations. Some guys are gamers, some guys aren’t.

HS: You mentioned the four starters from last year that are now sophomores. How much of a jump do you normally see between players in their freshman and sophomore years?

3: You look at that on an individual basis. I wouldn’t expect a tremendous jump on Jemile Weeks’ play because he had a tremendous season, or from the way Dennis Raben finished the season. That’s the way we want them playing, swinging the bat. I expect Blake Tekotte to be a lot better because he had a great summer and he started all year for us. Yonder Alonso will be better this year. He started out very well last year but I think the wear and tear of the season got him tired. He’ll be more used to that this year and I think he’ll be more solid this season.

HS: In terms of pitching, what guys are you particularly excited about coming back?

3: Before fall practice starts, you have to think that Scott Maine will be our No. 1, Danny Gil should be our No. 2 and Manny Miguelez should be our No. 3. I’m not sure who our No. 4 will be and we’re looking for a closer. That’s what fall practice is for. We’ve got some good players with good arms, who can grab those roles.

HS: What do you see from this team heading into fall practice that pleases you the most?

3: The attitude. They work well together and they seem like a close-knit group of guys. They know what their goal is, and that’s to go back to Omaha.

UM FALL BASEBALL SCHEDULE			Day	Date		Stretch		Start			Thur.	Nov. 2		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Fri.	Nov. 3		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Sat.	Nov. 4		9:30 a.m.	11:00 a.m.			Mon.	Nov. 6		3:30 p.m.	5:00 p.m.			Tue.	Nov. 7		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Wed. 	Nov. 8		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Thur.	Nov. 9		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Fri.	Nov. 10		3:00 p.m.	4:30 p.m.			Sat. 	Nov. 11		9:30 a.m.	11:00 a.m.			Mon. 	Nov. 13		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Tue.	Nov. 14		2:30 p.m.	4:00 p.m.			Wed.	Nov. 15		3:30 p.m.	5:00 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 18 10:00 a.m. 60-yd dash 10:30 a.m. 9.5 inning game