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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
By Brian Bailey |
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Pirates working hard to
get ready
By
Brian Bailey
©2008 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Mike Golden |
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(Photo: ECU SID) |
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If you want to get fired
up for the football
season, just spend about
two minutes with East
Carolina strength coach
Mike Golden.
Golden is a true
character. It’s his job
to make this Pirate team
strong. He takes his job
seriously.
I watched some of the
workout yesterday. The
Pirates were coming off
of a long weekend. I
was watching the last
bit of the work as the
team ran sprints.
Golden wasn’t pleased.
The team knew it.
Suddenly, all of the
chatter was gone. The
field was silent. Golden
blew his whistle and the
group started over.
Respect comes in many
forms. For Golden, it’s
a glare or a short blast
of the whistle.
Golden says it’s time.
“The guys have been
doing great,” he said
shortly after Monday’s
workout. “It’s time!
It’s time to go! We’ve
had the best summer, by
far, since we’ve been
here. Guys are getting
stronger and they’re
getting faster. We’re
doing a lot more, but
we’re also asking for a
lot more.”
Golden’s enthusiasm
sparkles from his eyes.
He likes this group. He
loves their work ethic,
and he thinks this team
can accomplish anything.
“It’s time,” he
repeated. “There’s no
more schedule filler.
There are no more
underdogs. It’s time for
us to go. We’ve been
here four years.
Everybody knows. The
players know. The
coaches know. It’s just
time for us to take that
next step.”
Golden says the key to
this season lies within
the players. The
foundation has been set.
“They have to do their
deal,” he explained.
“They have to throw and
catch on their own when
there are no coaches
around. They have to
study the films; they
have to take care of
their academics; they
have to take care of
their bodies to get the
rest when they can. They
have to be responsible
for themselves.”
Golden closed with this
little gem.
“They always say that
champions come around
when nobody is looking.
That’s where we need to
be right now!”
Maybe that will tide you
over as we get closer to
the season.
Lawhorn has big night
close to home
Former Diamond Buc Trevor Lawhorn was back in the
area last week, playing
with the Potomac
Nationals of the
Carolina League.
Lawhorn had his biggest
night of the season in
Kinston on June 30th. He
had three hits,
including a double and a
home run in a Nationals
win.
Thus far in 2008 Lawhorn
has played for two
teams. He started his
year by playing 28 games
in Hagerstown where he
hit .244. He was then
promoted to Potomac
where he is currently
hitting an even .300 for
the season.
Lawhorn says that life
in the minors has been
quite a challenge.
“I got drafted by
Cincinnati, went out
there and played three
years and then got
traded to the Blue
Jays,” said Trevor.
"Unfortunately, they
released me. Last year,
after spring training, I
went out to Independent
ball, did well enough
there to get picked up a
couple of times. I got
picked up by the
Mariners and they
released me and then I
got picked up by the
Nationals. I did well
with them last year and
they re-signed me and
now I'm here.”
Trevor and his brother
Darryl Lawhorn were a
part of a Pirate team
that fell short of their
goal of going to the
College World Series in
Omaha. Both are still
working their way up in
baseball.
“He's out in California,
playing for (the)
Oakland (organization),”
said Trevor. "He's at
high A Stockton and he's
doing really well. He's
hurt right now. He tore
a ligament in his quad
so he's out for two
weeks but he'll be back
getting going.”
As for Trevor, he likes
his current situation
with the Nationals.
“I really like this
organization,” said
Trevor. “I like all of
the guys on the team and
hopefully they like me.
My defense and hitting
are my strengths still.
I just try to do the
best that I can.”
Potomac returns to
Kinston for a three-game
series on August
18th-20th.
BB
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07/08/2008 03:00:27 AM |
