Baseball Thoughts: A new era begins NOW!

Nine thoughts entering season-opening series vs. UIC

Every Friday, prior to A&M's series opener, I'll throw out nine random thoughts on the series, the team, individual players and coaches, etc. Here is the debut of the 2012 edition with A&M unveiling Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park tonight at 6:35 p.m. vs. UI-Chicago. There are nine innings in a baseball game so nine thoughts makes sense to me. Enjoy!

1. I can't believe that this day is finally here! The opening of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park ... the nicest college baseball park in the entire nation now rests right here in the heart of Aggieland! It's amazing to think about and I can't imagine what my emotions will be like when I walk underneath the arched entryway, through the turnstiles and into the concourse of the new complex for the very first time on a game day! If I shed a tear or two, would you blame me?

This is an excerpt of my post-game article on June 6, 2011 ... immediately following A&M's 3-0 win over Arizona to capture the NCAA Regional title. It was the last game at the ballpark formerly known simply as Olsen Field:

"Today was a good day at the ballpark. The Aggies got a little "Olsen Magic" one last time before the "facelift" begins. Sure, it will still keep the name — in part — and the new era of this facility will be much nicer and will have many more amenities. But this park never needed suites, a fully-inclosed press box, elevators and fine dining to be considered great to most of us true fans. It has always been one special place to watch a baseball game and I will forever miss Olsen Field the way it is right now.

"On my way out the door to head home and finish my story, I took a few minutes to stop and slowly take in "Old Olsen" one last time under the beautiful afternoon sun. I observed from foul pole to foul pole, and then I slowly turned around and panned across the entire stands … sucking up a little "magic" of my own before saying good bye to my absolute favorite "spot" on the campus that I love so dear."

On the day that Blue Bell Park opens, there is a small part of me who will miss the way Olsen Field was ... filth, character, and all. But a much larger part of me is ready to kick the tires on the new wave of Aggie baseball! Bring on "The Creamery" ... aptly nicknamed for what we all hope that "they're gonna do to 'em, Ags."

2. Got a little story for ya, Ags! I am a first generation Aggie and I fell in love with Texas A&M in the spring of 1999 thanks in large part to Olsen Field and those redass Aggies hanging out in the sun down the first base line on the second deck. It was a Saturday game against Kansas State; the Aggies won. And it was the first time in my life that I had that "Field of Dreams" feeling. "Is this heaven?" I remember asking my buddy, Jeremy Duff, who brought me to the park that day. "No," Duff said. "It's Olsen Field." The Raggies had a line for everything and I was enamored by their energy, passion for baseball, intelligence and appreciation of the nuances that make up this game that I have loved my entire life.

It was that day at Olsen Field that I made up my mind that I would be transferring from Grayson County College to Texas A&M ... if it would accept me. It did, and I came to A&M. The rest is history! And hundreds of games later, I still love that hallowed ground as much as the day I embarked on my journey with this program. My personal history with this park and this program makes me even more fired up to turn the page on the next chapter of my love affair ... one that my wife welcomes and even enjoys herself, by the way!

3. I'm amazed that Rob Childress has enough time to prepare his team to play championship level baseball, considering how much time and energy he's put into this project. I can't imagine that there has ever been a coach as involved in a stadium project than Rob has been with Blue Bell Park. He came from Nebraska, where the Huskers have a truly great facility. He certainly has his finger print on this place and I will tell you this ... without Rob Childress' involvement, the park would be nice but it wouldn't be THIS perfect! The man is meticulous, calculated and very organized and detail-oriented. He took those same characteristics and went to work ... and it has made a tremendous impact.

But there are countless people that put so much time and energy into this venue ... too many to name, in fact. From Kevin Hurley in the athletic department to HKS (the architectural firm that designed it) to Skanska (the construction company) to the Kruse Family with Blue Bell ... everyone played their role to perfection! Blue Bell Park was supposed to be around an $8-million facility and it became a $20-million-plus thing of beauty. Lots of effort from the 12th Man Foundation and generous Aggies went into this project and that is why today feels like Christmas to so many people! It's time to open the gift that we have long awaited!

4. How about the team? Well ... it's a great time to usher in the new stadium because the squad coming back is extremely talented and more battle-tested than it has been in years. The top two pitchers and top five hitters return from a team that advanced to the College World Series one year ago, for the first time since 1999. Sure, the Ags lost both games in Omaha but they finally broke through and got there. Guys like Michael Wacha, Ross Stripling, Kyle Martin, Estevan Uriegas, Tyler Naquin, Jacob House, Krey Bratsen, Brandon Wood and Matt Juengel have not forgotten what it's like to play in the CWS. And now the minimum expectation is to get back to Omaha and the goal is to be the last team standing when the dust settles at TD Ameritrade Ballpark.

It all starts Friday night against the UI-Chicago at Blue Bell Park. Of course, it doesn't hurt when you return Wacha and Stripling as your Friday and Saturday starters ... two guys that enter 2012 as pre-season All-Americans after dominant 2011 campaigns and a duo that could battle against some of the all-time great one-two punches in A&M baseball history ... and there have been some great ones. Let this season play out and then you may be talking about the Wacha-Stripling combo as being the best Friday-Saturday tandem the Aggies have ever produced. High praise, I know, but they're that good.

5. Man, I hope Rafael Pineda is good this season because it will make for a tremendous story. Here's a young man that is originally from the Dominican Republic and came to A&M two-and-a-half years ago. Injuries and confidence issues early rendered Pineda an afterthought, but give Rafael credit for continuing to grind it out. He got healthy and put together a tremendous summer last year, pitching out of the bullpen for the Coppell Copperheads of the Texas Collegiate League. He rolled that into an even better fall showing as a starter and now he enters the 2012 campaign as the Sunday starter ... edging out Navasota right-hander Derrick Hadley. Pineda is a good kid that is built like Michael Wacha — he's about 6-6 and has tremendous stuff. If he can put it all together, he can be that third starter that separates good teams from great ones. And that would be a welcome sight around Aggieland.

6. Who else is ready to see Tyler Naquin throw a 275-foot laser beam from right field to third base or home plate and nail a runner who failed to read the scouting report? I hope that happens this weekend against UIC. Twice. It's my favorite thing to see at the park these days. I love Naquin's all-around game and he's hands down the best position player at A&M since Cliff Pennington. But my favorite part of his repertoire is that big league-ready cannon right arm. Come out early, get a good seat on the grassy berm down the right field line, camp out and pay close attention to Naquin. To put it in children's terms: Tyler Naquin is really good at baseball.

7. What if Mikey Reynolds is as good as people think he will be at shortstop and at the top of the A&M lineup? A switch-hitting, slick-fielding spark plug that can hit in the one hole. If he does that, the Ags will keep Krey Bratsen in the second spot, allowing Naquin to hit third and drive in an obscene amount of runs this season. A&M could then go with a combination of Jacob House, Matt Juengel and Brandon Wood in the middle third of the order.

Scott Arthur or Charlie Curl would provide speed and athleticism in the nine hole while seven and eight would be filled with young but extremely talented, "wow factor" bats ... guys like Cole Lankford, Daniel Mengden, Andrew Brown, Jace Statum, Chance Bolcerek, Mitchell Nau and Troy Stein. But it all starts with Reynolds being able to hit leadoff. All signs point to him being next in the line of tremendous JUCO shortstops to come through A&M during the Rob Childress era.

8. UIC will come in here with a very good approach and will sort of resemble the A&M squad. The Flames are very up-tempo on offense and play a speed game. They have athletes and they like to raise your blood pressure a little bit on the base paths. They are very well-coached and they pitch it okay ... good at times, but they can also get in trouble when they start falling behind in counts and allowing too many runners on base against good teams. This is a tournament team that has experience playing in Aggieland in big games. They were a regional participant a few years back at Olsen Field.

Basically, this is a battle-tested group and they won't be scared by the environment. With that said, if A&M plays Aggie baseball, it should be able to take care of business this weekend in front of an excited group of A&M fans at The Creamery!

9. Let's close by giving you my projected opening day lineup and weekend rotation:

1) Mikey Reynolds - SS
2) Krey Bratsen - CF
3) Tyler Naquin - RF
4) Jacob House - 1B
5) Matt Juengel - 3B
6) Brandon Wood - LF
7) Cole Lankford - C
8) Daniel Mengden - DH
9) Scott Arthur - 2B

Friday - Michael Wacha - RHP
Saturday - Ross Stripling - RHP
Sunday - Rafael Pineda - RHP

Closer - Daniel Mengden - RHP
Setup - Kyle Martin - RHP; Estevan Uriegas - LHP; Parker Ray - RHP; Denny Clement - RHP