A lot has happened since my last blog, including graduation, our trip to Boston College, and the ACC tournament, so let me see if I can get you caught up.  A couple of Sundays ago, Chad Flack, Tyson Lusk and I were able to attend the university's graduation ceremony before our game against NC State.  We did not get to walk due to the large number of graduating seniors, but it was an awesome experience to put on the Carolina blue cap and gown and make the transition from students to alumni.  The guest speaker was Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa.

The next week we made the trip to Boston in what many have dubbed the worst trip ever.  We did stay in a nice hotel, but they did not have free internet and there were no stores or restaurants within walking distance.  This may not sound like a big deal, but when you are trying to kill time on road trips those two features are essential.  When we did go eat, everything cost a lot more than we were used to in the good ol' South.  Friday's game was rainy and cold, but the weather did improve throughout the weekend.  Saturday after our last game, we headed to the airport to find that our flight had been delayed due to inclement weather.  After waiting to board until 10:30 p.m., we were informed that our flight was cancelled and that we would have to fly out of Boston on Sunday morning.  Therefore, we had to check in to another hotel, which did have free internet surprisingly, and spend another night in Boston.  It didn't help that we had sent all our luggage home on a charter bus so we had no toiletries or clean clothes for that night or the following day.  Needless to say, a safe landing in Raleigh was greeted by the team with applause.

This past week was the ACC tournament in Durham.  It was nice to be able to stay in our own beds during the tournament instead of staying in another hotel.  It was disappointing to not play in Fenway Park like originally scheduled, but the DBAP (Durham Bulls Athletic Park) was a great alternative.  It even had a blue monster in left field.  On Tuesday, all the participating teams attended a banquet where a delicious meal was served and awards were given out.  Our team had five All-ACC selections and the ACC Player of the Year.  On the field, we did not get the results we had hoped for, but it was fun to play in front of great crowds including playing in front of the biggest crowd to watch a college baseball in North Carolina on Saturday.  Thanks to all the Tar Heel fans that supported us throughout the week.

Today we met together as a team in the player's lounge to watch the NCAA selection show.  We were excited to get a #4 national seed and be able to play in front of our home crowd again.  We are looking forward to starting NCAA postseason play, but practice must come first which is what we did after the show.  The next few days we have a few team meals set up, breakfast at Breadman's and dinner at Firebird's, which helps to keep the team together outside of practice.  The team is looking forward to a packed Boshamer Stadium full of Carolina baseball fans this weekend.

Exams are over and now the fun begins.  This last week has been stressful finishing up the semester, but it is definitely worth it, considering that baseball is our main focus now.  Since the dining halls are now closed, we receive meal money each day and if you manage your money wisely, you might be able to make a profit some days.  We were able to squeeze a few practices in and made sure we stayed in shape.  We had a scrimmage to make sure our pitchers kept the feel for their pitches, and the hitters got the opportunity to see live pitching.

Senior Day was a couple of Sundays ago against Maryland and it was more emotional than I expected.  It was neat though to see my fellow senior teammates get recognized for their time and contributions at Carolina.  It is hard to believe how fast the semester and the past four years have flown by.  We were presented with a black Tar Heel jersey with our number and name on the back.  In return, our class gave Coach Fox a picture of the three seniors showing off our three College World Series rings.  The day became complete when we won the game.

A Few Interesting Tidbits:
1. Jacob Stallings pitched an inning last night against Longwood and was throwing cheese (baseball lingo for heat).  He struck a batter out and got the win.

2. The new catchy phrase going around the team now is "How Bout It."  I believe this was a Mike McKee/Garrett Gore thing that spread around.

The last few weeks has flown by.  Playing five games a week and wrapping up final papers and presentations is not an easy task.  Classes end on Monday and then we have a week off for exams.  This week off will be good for everyone to recover and get ready for our stretch run.  During exams we do not have mandatory practice, but we all know that we need to stay in shape on our own if we want to make it back to Omaha.  Since the school year is coming to an end that means that we had to attend a few different banquets.  This past Monday was the entire athletic department end of the year banquet held in the Dean Dome.  They fed us and there was a small program including a highlight video, a few speakers, and awards.  The baseball team was recognized for being in the top ten percent in APR (Academic Progress Rate) for the year so that was pretty neat.  Last week was the Leadership Academy banquet.  The Leadership Academy is optional for student-athletes and gives them an opportunity to learn and develop leadership skills.  I was fortunate to graduate from this program and I feel that it will help me throughout life.  We had a handful of guys get recognized at the banquet for their participation.

This past weekend was one of the most enjoyable for me.  Not only did we win all three games, but the new stadium was dedicated and "made official".  It was also exciting to see the fan turnout all week and it was fun to share our new home with all the people that made it happen and let them see how fortunate we are to play baseball at Carolina.  It has been an amazing experience for me to be a part of the transformation of this program.   The entire team is grateful for all those that contributed to this great stadium.

For those of you that toured the stadium, you may have noticed that in the bathroom we now have combs and other toiletries.  I know for me personally I combed my hair for the first time in about 8 years.  Also, it has been amusing to see some of the hairdos that some of the guys have been flashing now that we have the option of combing our hair.  Ryan Graepel has put together the best hairstyles so far.

My apologies for not posting a blog last week.  We have been very busy with back to back road series against Georgia Tech and Florida State.  I think most teammates would agree with me when I say that we have had two long and painful bus rides.  Highlights of the Georgia Tech trip included the movie Tommy Boy, a verse of "I'm Proud to Be an American" started by Mark Fleury, and some turned to schoolwork for a cruel kind of entertainment.  We have three weeks left of classes, so this is the time where the papers and projects start to pile up.  Thursday morning we left at 7:30 a.m. and we arrived in Tallahassee around 6:30 p.m.  We were able to practice at Dick Howser Stadium last night for about an hour.  In my opinion, the Florida State fans create the best atmosphere in the ACC.

Last week our brand new whirlpools were filled and ready to be used.  The hot one gets up to 100 degrees and the cold one was down at 50 degrees.  At one point the cold pool looked yellowish-brown due to some minor setbacks, but our trainer Terri Jo tried to remain optimistic by calling it the "Mountain Dew" pool.  This week I think just about everyone has jumped in the pools at some time and there have even been some unofficial pool parties.  There is talk about getting a few basketball goals by the pools, but I don't think our trainers want us shooting hoops during rehab.

Some Thoughts:
1.    Not to brag or anything, but I predicted all four Final Four teams in my bracket and the NCAA champion.

2.    Chase Jones was the target of this year's April Fools Day prank.  The prank basically involved switching his locker with a clever storyline to go along with it.

3.    The most popular song on the team currently seems to be one made up by our one and only Mike McKee.  He has created his own tribute to Bryant Gaines or "Donk" and names it "My Reliable Donkey".

It's a little more difficult to write this week due to the recent losses, but don't worry the team is not panicking.  We have yet to play our best baseball and we still plan on reaching our goals for the season.

During yesterday's game against Charlotte, we were graced by the presence of one only known to the team as the "uh-huh" guy.  The last three years, I have only seen him at games against Charlotte and Miami.  He has yet to cheer for Carolina, but I think he has a secret crush on us. The "uh-huh" guy receives his nickname because after everything he says comes the phrase "uh-huh." He also carries about 10 different signs with his favorite phrase on it in different colors and designs.  Also, he's the loudest person in the crowd so a typical heckle might sound like, "He's gonna walk him uh-huh. Unload and reload uh-huh.  Time to start a rally uh-huh."  In the end, it's one of those things you can enjoy as a fan or player.

Tuesday night, we had the opportunity to play in front of a record crowd at UNC Wilmington.  I think half of them were on the pass list under Garrett Gore's name.  The highlight of the bus ride to the game was a "rap battle" between Chase Jones and Logan Munson.  Basically, it was a back and forth putdown session consisting of four line rhymes.  Chase started out strong, but I believe it was ruled a tie after Logan finished strong.  The subject matter varied from body shapes to former relationships.

In response to a comment last week:
Best walk-out song:  My favorite would probably be Nate Striz's (Hillbilly Deluxe - Brooks and Dunn) because the song fits his personality perfectly.  A lot of teammates also like Brian Moran's (The Rising -Bruce Springsteen).

Nastiest Pitch:  There are many to choose from, but a few to note are Matt Harvey's curveball, Alex White's splitter, and Colin Bates' two-seamer.

Reason why coach won't let me hit:  Believe me, you don't want to see me pinch hitting anytime soon.  I was an average high school hitter, but I always struggled with velocity and sliders.  I bet you would never guess that I was a middle infielder in high school when I wasn't pitching.

Last weekend at Virginia Tech, we were fortunate enough to squeeze in two games with the rainy weather, but we also had a lot of downtime at the hotel.  Most people, including myself, ate, slept, ate, watched college basketball (including the six-overtime thriller between Syracuse and Connecticut), and then slept some more.  In the room beside mine, I did hear Coach McCay and Coach Flack wrestling at one point.  The delay on Sunday's game allowed us to have "chapel," our miniature version of church.  We are blessed to have our own preacher, teammate Mike McKee, who delivers great sermons every Sunday.  After the game, we arrived back in Chapel Hill around 11, unpacked our baseball gear and then had class the next morning. This busy schedule is one of the very few disadvantages of being a student-athlete.

Since March Madness began today, I felt it would be appropriate to talk about some of my predictions.  Don't worry NCAA, my bracket was completed only for fun with no money involved.  My Final Four consists of North Carolina, Connecticut, Villanova and Michigan State, with North Carolina taking home the championship.  My bracket is always way off so I know I will be wrong, but it is fun arguing your picks like it is an exact science.  Going along with the college basketball theme, our bus driver last weekend went by the name of Lorenzo Charles.  If you aren't sure who this is, look him up on YouTube and you will find that he made the game winning dunk against Houston to win the 1983 NCAA Basketball National Championship.  Yes, I know he's from NC State and the bus was red and black on the inside, but he was fun to talk to and a great person.

Interesting Stuff:
1.    Stadium Update - Bullpen phones were installed today, which makes me wonder who will make the first prank call down to the pen.

2.    Mike Copeland, our PA announcer/team rapper, commented on last week's blog saying that the 2009 Carolina Baseball rap is almost completed. If you haven't heard the 2008 version, you're missing out.

3.    The Duke Blue Devils are coming to town this weekend all the way from Durham.  They are known as our school's rival, so it should be a fun weekend.

4.    I appreciate all your comments and responses to the blog. I really enjoy hearing from everyone.

 We just arrived in Blacksburg in preparation for our series against Virginia Tech this weekend.  It took us around three and a half hours via bus.  Entertainment during the trip included watching the ACC basketball tournament, sleeping, playing video games, and watching movies.  The last 45 minutes of the trip, Team 2 (Mike McKee, Ryan Leach, Greg Holt, and Mike Cavasinni) beat Team 1 (Garrett Gore, Patrick Johnson, Chase Jones, and myself) in a game of Catch Phrase.  If you aren't familiar with the game, you try to describe a word to your teammates without saying the word as you pass around the game piece.  If the time runs out and your team is holding the game piece you lose the round.  The first to seven wins.  PJ had the worst clue of all by describing the word barbeque as meat with sauce on it.

I think this is an appropriate week to talk about the art of a rally since we had two come from behind wins since my last blog.  I will start off with our 2's rally since many people have asked me what exactly we are doing in the dugout.  When there are 2 balls 2 strikes and 2 outs when we are batting, we initiate the rally.  When the opposing pitcher toes the rubber, we rub the bill of our cap with two fingers until he comes set. Once set, we take off our hat and shake it near the ground.  Right before the pitcher releases the ball, you pop the hat and put it back on as soon as possible.  If the count runs to 3-2 or we get on base, we "ride it out" by wearing our hat backwards.  If there is a foul ball or the pitcher steps off, you must "wipe it off" and begin again.  I'm not sure of the origin of this rally technique, but it has been proven to work numerous times over my four-year career.

Another popular and effective rally maneuver used by Carolina baseball is known as popcorn.  Popcorn is very simple in the manner that every one claps at odd times to make it sound like popcorn is popping.  When someone initiates this rally, we refer to it as "putting a bag in."  Popcorn was key to our comeback versus Appalachian State on Tuesday.  One of my favorite rallies is when Coach Forbes tells a pitcher to run down to the outfield fence and do five jumping jacks in between innings.  Interestingly enough, this does work from time to time, especially when it is Brian Moran.  Other rallies include different ways of wearing our hat, such as no hats, backward hats, and inside out hats.  Yes, we are superstitious.

A few interesting tidbits:
1.     Garrett Gore's robbing catch on Saturday was most likely the best play I have seen in my baseball career.
2.    Mark Fleury update - He was screaming polar bear and koala bear repetitively on the bus. My last interaction with him made me think he was portraying an animal escaped from the zoo.
3.    Seth Baldwin ordered the "Big Daddy" for dinner in a macho voice in an attempt to woo our waitress.
4.    It's snowing.

Last weekend, we were able to squeeze in three games in two days due to inclement weather.  Saturday we had a rain delay for over an hour, which meant we had to find something to do to entertain ourselves.  Some players went to grab some coffee from the upper level due to the chilling temperature.  Others tried to find out how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they could make and eat.  (Bread, peanut butter, jelly and fruit are generously provided for the team during the game so that we aren't playing on an empty stomach. I've found that a peanut butter and banana sandwich gets the job done every time.)  In the locker room, many were watching Talladega Nights, a movie that is funny every time you watch it.  Coach Forbes found his own way to entertain himself by playing with our new video cameras installed in each dugout and zooming in on Coach Jackson.

Every year, there are phrases or words that catch on throughout the team. For example, a couple of years ago, Rob Wooten introduced the concept of "do talking."  "Do talking" is basically saying the opposite of what you mean.  So if you want someone to be quiet, you would say "do talk." Its very confusing so if you don't understand, I don't blame you, but I'm glad that it phased out even though Garrett Davis, Rob's cousin, carries on the tradition.  This year, the popular word is nestle.  According to the dictionary, nestle means to be naturally or pleasantly situated.  In baseball terms, a nestler is a ball that is not hit solid, but falls in front of the outfielder for a base hit.  So whenever a ball has a chance to fall in, the whole dugout is screaming "nestle," hoping we can encourage the ball to pleasantly situate for a hit.

Yesterday's win over Gardner-Webb was Coach Fox's 1,000th victory as a head coach.  After the game in the locker room, coach was presented a Tar Heel jersey that had his name on the back and the number 1,000 below it.  As a team we were honored to be a part of such a great milestone, and we are ready to begin the journey for the next 1,000 wins this weekend. 

Conference play starts tomorrow against Clemson, which is exciting because the intensity is turned up a notch.  On a personal note, this week I get the chance to play against two of my former high school teammates, Matt Sanders and David Towarnicky.  Matt plays for Clemson and David plays for Appalachian State.  It will be fun to see these guys and compete against them.

We have finally moved in to the new Boshamer Stadium! No more dirty visitor football locker rooms, soapless showers or 30 minute drives to Cary.  Today we packed up our belongings (in a trash bag, but it was Carolina blue) and settled in to our own locker room.  The weight room and players lounge have been completed for the most part, with 52-inch flat screen TVs plastered everywhere.  Not to mention that every weight has a UNC logo engraved on it. Yes, ladies and gentleman, we are spoiled.

As for on the field, this past week we earned our first win plus three more.  It was exciting to see the fan turnout for the first game, especially with it being so cold outside.  I have been told that this year's student section is cleverly referred to as the "Bosh Pit".  We also suffered our first loss this week.  Losing hurts, but unlike football, going undefeated in baseball is almost impossible.  There are so many games that you are going to lose some, we just weren't ready to lose our first game in the first week.  But as many before me have noted, a team is defined by how they respond to failure.  And we came out the next day and picked up the win against Liberty.

For those of you who have been to a game already this season, you may have noted that we have attempted to start a new tradition.  Before the team takes the field, the whole team huddles up and what you may not see is Tyson Lusk, one of our wonderful student managers, gets in the middle and gives us a pregame pep talk at the top of his lungs while turning red in the face.  I have known Tyson since my freshman year and he is very intelligent.  But, what he says during these short speeches is still unknown to me.  I believe I heard something about the other team representing the devil with a key and we needed to get the key back or something like that.  But anyways, it is a good way to start off the game.

I'll leave you with a few interesting tidbits I learned or was reminded of throughout this week.  As a starting pitcher, you only play once a week, so we have plenty of interesting conversations and debates.  I have not checked on these rules in the "official" rulebook, but they have been confirmed through reliable sources.

1.     There is no 45 degree rule for lefties to determine a balk on their pickoff move.  The move has to be more towards first than home, which is why the mystical 45 degree line is taught for lefties.

2.    A pitcher can get a save if they pitch the last three innings of a game that your team is winning, even if the score is 100 to 0.

3.    Tomorrow's pitching matchup is White vs. Black.  Good vs. Evil? Just kidding, but it is pretty neat.

This is my first blog entry so bear with me.  Today feels like Christmas Eve.  You want to go ahead and go to bed so tomorrow will be here.  Tomorrow we open up with VMI in our new stadium, Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium.  We have been practicing on the new field for about two weeks now and every time I walk out there I am amazed.  We have not moved into the locker rooms yet and it looks like we won't until Thursday of next week.  The construction crew still has a few minor things to complete and then the stadium will be ours.  This week our brand new weight equipment and the furniture for the players' lounge arrived.  In the players' lounge there is also a pool table with Carolina blue felt and the UNC logo in the middle.  It's pretty nice to say the least.  Its amazing how much more room the new Bosh seems to have than the old structure.  

This past week we have done a little bit of everything.  Last weekend we scrimmaged all three days.  From a pitcher's perspective the last few scrimmages are tough because the hitters start to find their groove and they have seen us so many times that there are no more secrets.  Monday we had the day off and then practiced Tuesday through today.  Tonight we went out as a team to eat at Champs. This has become a team tradition over the last few years.  The last three years we went to Hooters, but this year we decided to change it up. Shortstop Ryan Graepel said it best: "The best way to start the season is to eat at a place called Champs."

We are all excited to get started this year and we hope that there will be a huge crowd turnout.  Another interesting tidbit about the first weekend is getting to hear everyone's walkout song for the first time.  Tomorrow our journey starts toward our ultimate goal, a national championship, but we must focus on smaller goals, winning each game, to get there.  We have a great team this year on and off the field, and I am looking forward to competing with them every day.