Left Field Lite: A Fan’s Perspective of Interleague Play

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Rays vs. Rockies? An age old rivalry that dates back to the… Late 1990s.

Well folks, it begins again: as teams head towards the half-way mark in the season, the not-so-traditional rivalries of interleague play begin anew in 2010. Along with the thrilling matchups of Marlins-White Sox, Rockies-Royals, and Cardinals-Angels, we also get the marquee games such as Yankees-Mets, Phillies-Red Sox,  and the Giants-A’s, all coming soon to a FOX Saturday broadcast near you.

Is this Phil Martelli’s best ever recruiting class?


			

Martelli weighs in on transfers

The picture of next year’s Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is becoming more clear as the team approaches summer, with just two players who haven’t fully committed their futures to the school.

According to head coach Phil Martelli, there are just two players left who in his words “need to have discussions with their families,” but that’s as far along as they are in the process.

Right now, there are six returning letterwinners who are “solid” in their intentions to return next year, including all three members of the freshman class. Speculation had been rife that there could be departures from that group, most notably by Carl Jones, but all three of the youngest Hawks will be staying put.

“They’re not in the mix of going home to talk to everybody [about their future],” Martelli said of his freshman class. “They’re going to go home to tell everybody they have to be back on May 17 for summer school.”

Hawks in the pros: 2009-2010 season

With the NBA playoffs entering the second round, we figured it would be a good time to catch up with some St. Joe’s basketball’s most illustrious alumni who are continuing their careers on the professional hardwood.

The conversation—much like just about any other discussion of St. Joe’s basketball—starts with its most famous alumni, Jameer Nelson.

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The Orlando Magic point guard had to contend with injuries again this season and saw his numbers drop from last year’s career season. He finished the regular season averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 assists in 28.6 minutes per game over 65 games; all three totals were slightly above his career average.

He was slowed by torn knee cartilage in November that caused him to miss 17 games. But he averaged 13.8 points per in the 47 regular season games since returning to action on Dec. 19 and has assumed his usual role as a vital cog in the sixth-highest scoring offense in the league for the Southeast Division Champs.