James Laurinaitis announced today that he would be staying for his senior year at Ohio State and instantly makes the Buckeyes contenders again.
The "little animal" was thought to be leaving for the NFL draft after his BCS record setting game vs LSU,but apparently decided that the NFL can wait and we applaud his decision.
The Buckeyes were able to retain corner Malcolm Jenkins,linebacker Marcus Freeman,receiver Brian Robiskie and tackle Alex Boone along with Laurinaitis from leaving early as Juniors.
Only junior defensive end Vernon Golston will be leaving Columbus early.
So you Buckeye and Big Ten haters out there should get ready (like it or not) for another Buckeye run at the national title.
The Washington Nationals cut a large number of minor leaguers yesterday an
d it seems like they pretty much cleaned out the entire 2007 Hagerstown bullpen.Seven pitchers that saw action in Hagerstown were released along with catcher Erick San Pedro and outfielder Lindon Bond.
Lefty pitchers Zach Baldwin,Coby Mavroulis,Joe Welsh and Gene Yost were released along with righthanders Greg Bunn,Devon Drag and Buzz Vargas.
The one surprise on this list was Baldwin as he seemed to be improving late in the season and seemed like he was certain to be either in Potomac or back in Hagerstown.
Mavroulis was a nice guy.but the sidearmer never seemed to recover from being hit with a line drive in the face early in the season.
Welsh never really showed me much,Yost spent most of the season in Potomac,Bunn was effective in Hagerstown,but was pounded at Potomac,while Drag and Vargas were late season signings to just have arms available in August for the Suns.
Linden Bond seemed like a nice guy that was just overmatched here.
Too much too soon for the Nats last pick in the 2007 draft,although it would have been nice to see him given another try.
San Pedro has been a disappointment to the Expos/Nationals since he was a second round pick a few years back and I suppose that his injury history was finally too much for Washington.
This really throws a wrench into what to expect for the Potomac pitching staff this season and likely improves the chances of Erik Arnesen to start the season at Potomac.
Bullpen Notes
Thanks to Ryan for reminding me of the passing of Don Cardwell.
The well traveled righty pitched for the Cubs and Pirates among others and is (as Ryan noted) best remembered for his 1960 no hitter in Chicago.
Looks like Rex Ryan could be the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
As a huge Buddy Ryan fan,the Falcons move up on my list with a possible hiring of Ryan.
The Cleveland Indians announced a deal with Progressive Insurance for naming rights to the former Jacobs Field.
Not a big fan of these deals,but Progressive Field is better than most of the parks that sell naming rights.
Finally in good news,Cate Edwards,the daughter of John Edwards was uninjured after her car was rear-ended by a drunk driver in North Carolina.
The Edwards family has had enough tragedy and happy to see that this time they caught a break.
Photo Credits
Laurinatis-Doral Chenoweth-Columbus Dispatch
Baldwin-Hagerstown Suns
Cardwell-Topps
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