Quotes & Notes: Signs, Previews & Service

■ There's an interesting discussion/argument/hissy-fit on the message board at CollegeBaseball.Rivals.com about whether coaches should call the pitches from the dugout vs. letting the catcher call pitches:

Dodger Matt: How does a coach call pitches from the dugout? Does he squat like a catcher and flash the signs between his legs? Do the catcher and pitcher both look, or just the catcher, who relays to to the mound? Does this tend to slow the game? Does using this kind of pitch-calling make it easier to steal signs?

boydnation: It's no huge surprise that we're going to mostly disagree on this one, and I think the other guy's overstating his case a bit, but by and large, the things that coaches do in-game like that fall into the Hitchhiker's Guide "Mostly Harmless" bucket -- they keep the coaches off the streets, I suppose, and they don't do much harm, if any, but they really don't matter. I know that's troublesome to those who believe there's magic to be gained by being inside the game, and I don't care enough to belabor the point past this post, but by and large the best thing you can do is to tell your hitters to get on base and then stay out of their way.

■ Examiner.com has a Preview of the 2009 DeMarini Classic, MU's 2nd weekend tournament:

The Huskies of Northern Illinois head into the 2009 season looking for the Mid-American Conference title. The Huskies were 28-26 (16-10 MAC) last season and have strong hopes for an NCAA Regional berth this year.Those hopes lie on the shoulders of catcher Justin Behm. The senior from Downers Grove, Ill. was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list

■ The Jayhawks held their Media Day Thursday, and The College Baseball Blog has a lot of quotes:

Head Coatch Ritch Price: "We lost our No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 hitters. . . I don't expect to score the same number of runs as last year. We have already talked to our guys about overachieving and trying to get better each month of the season."

■ CBB also has a 2009 Preview of Oregon State, one of MU's early opponents:

Coach Pat Casey: "It's a team that we as a coaching staff would all agree is the most wide open we've had in a couple of years. There are not many guys who have a lot of playing experience, therefore the positions are wide open."

■ CBB also has a link to an interesting article at Lennawe Connection about a college pitcher who missed most of last season:

Siena Heights starting pitcher Chris Boertje traded his cleats for boots, ball cap for a combat helmet, gold jersey for desert camouflage. His new teammates donned body armor, instead of chest protectors. . . .

After graduating from Franklin High, he decided to join the National Guard, which requires work on weekends during the school year and several weeks in the summer.

“I joined for a few reasons,” Boertje said. “One, to do my part as a civilian and as a solider. There’s not a lot of soldiers out there, so the more the merrier. Two, I had
something to fall back on if something happened with school.

“I ended up getting a scholarship to Siena Heights. Me and my dad talked about joining the Guard, and I signed up for six years.”He completed basic training in the summer of 2007. The day he finished, though, after finalizing necessary paperwork, he received some news. Life-changing, unavoidable news.

“They said we would be deployed over to Iraq on November or December of 2007,” Boertje said. “Once the war started going on over there, I kind of figured it out that it was going to happen. I played it by ear and did what I was told to do.”

I'd encourage you to click the link and read the rest of this fascinating story.