TicketsFeb. 7, 2007
Diamond View: 2/7/07
By Shawn Sell, UC Assistant Sports Communications Director
Greetings baseball fans and welcome to the first edition of Diamond View! What is Diamond View you ask? Well, this weekly piece (to be updated every Wednesday) is my first venture into column writing and it is my hope to bring loyal UC Baseball fans a different look at their team. Each week, I will bring you the story behind the story. Be it fun stories from the road or observations from the pressbox, it's all right here in Diamond View.
By now, you are probably asking yourself, who is this Shawn Sell guy and what makes him qualified to write a column. The answer is, I am the Assistant Sports Communications Director and primary media contact for the UC Baseball team. In English, that means I am the guy that goes to the games, keeps stats, provides content for GoBEARCATS.com and acts as the middle man between the media and the Bearcats' players and coaches. If you read something about baseball on our website, I am the guy that most likely wrote it. With this column, though, I wanted a more open forum and a place where I could be less formal with my observations.
As for my qualifications, well this weekend marks the beginning of my fifth season in this role. I haven't missed a game, home or away, in my four seasons (that's 222 straight for those of you into numbers). Each week, I travel with the team when they are on the road and man the official scorer's seat in Marge Schott Stadium when they are home. I see the players and coaches in the hotels, the airports, in restaurants and at the field. To me that makes for some pretty good credentials and a different perspective to offer opinions.
With all the preliminaries out of the way, let's get down to the business of the 2007 season. By now, everyone knows that the Bearcats open on Friday in (hopefully) sunny and warm Boca Raton, Fla. at the home of the Florida Atlantic Owls. Our last trip to the hometown of head coach Brian Cleary was two years ago and ended up a frustrating one as the Bearcats lost all three games by a combined six runs. Let's hope for better results this weekend!
As we enter the 2007 season, I sense a quiet confidence amongst the players and coaches. While the BIG EAST polls picked UC to finish seventh, it's hard to measure how the 17 newcomers are going to contribute this year. With increased depth on the mound, look for the Bearcats to have one of the better pitching staffs in the league. You can also count on a new brand of offense as the Bearcats have the speed to wreak havoc on their opponents.
One more thing before I go for this week. If you are unable to join us in Florida this weekend, be sure to log on to GoBEARCATS.com and follow the action on the new and improved Gametracker. I saw a preview of the new design and believe me, it will blow you away! The site will also have game recaps written by yours truly following each game.
In closing, thanks for reading my new venture. I welcome your comments on my column or the team any time at shawn.sell@uc.edu. Until then, GO BEARCATS!
That's my view, now what's yours? Thoughts and comments are always welcome via email at shawn.sell@uc.edu.