March 3, 2008

Well, it looks like the 2008 baseball team is off to a 6-2 start, and I can't go on without thanking the Tulane fans for an amazing opening weekend. I think it's safe to say that it was everything it was built up to be and then some.

Having the new stadium packed made us realize how far Tulane Baseball has come. All the past teams and players who contributed to its completion will never be forgotten. After all, they were the ones who carried on a great tradition of excellence year after year, and our main goal for this season is to ensure this program continues on its track towards excellence. For that, the 2008 team would like to thank all of those guys for teaching us the Tulane way on how to conduct ourselves on and off the field.

Now let's talk some baseball. We just got in town early this morning from Minneapolis, which ya'll already knew, and I must say it was a little chilly for our taste. Well, at least we were indoors all weekend. The Minnesota people really took care of us and made sure that we had as good a stay as possible.

For the five years I've been traveling with this team I can honestly say we've never had a bus driver go above and beyond until this weekend. Those of you who've been on a New Orleans-based charter bus company don't know what real bus service is all about.

With that being said, I would also like to thank all the parents and alumni for making the trip up. Having you there made the trip easier. The weekend wasn't what we hoped for going 1-2. We had a real battle on Friday with a great pitching matchup, and Saturday wasn't our best game of the season, obviously. Thankfully our team patched up the wound and restored order against TCU on Sunday. The good news is we had an early test of adversity and instead of getting frustrated and down on ourselves we just relaxed and had fun!

The one thing we've noticed as a team is how well we all get along. Everyone is supportive and understands our goal as a team, and there is no one person on the squad that will do anything to disrupt that goal. I know this may sound premature, but this team reminds me a lot of the 2005 team in terms of our energy and talent level. We have good leadership from all of our upperclassmen and the ability to recognize a problem and solve it when something doesn't seem right, hence after Friday and Saturday's losses.

Well, last week is behind us and it ain't getting easier. We have five tough games ahead and we look forward to the challenge. With that said, we can't wait to see another packed house over the weekend. Enjoy the rest of the week. This is your captain 'cashing out'.

Roll Wave, Grayden "G$" Griener