BATON ROUGE — LSU baseball coach Smoke Laval and his squad met with the media Wednesday to preview the 2005 season. The second-ranked Tigers open the season at 6:30 p.m. Friday versus Nicholls State in Alex Box Stadium. Following are quotes gathered Wednesday from Laval, pitcher Lane Mestepey (Friday’s starter) and outfielder Ryan Patterson:
LSU HEAD COACH SMOKE LAVAL
On the strength of the SEC…
“Again, the SEC is the toughest. I think parity has set in more than ever with four teams last year going to Omaha and six SEC teams being represented in the eight super regionals.”
On the depth and potential of the pitching staff…
“There’s no question this is definitely the deepest (pitching staff) that we’ve had. And we do have some guys that throw hard. Chris Cahill and Edgar Ramirez can get it there in a hurry. They’ll pitch it from 89 to 91. Now, can they pitch and win? I don’t know. (Lane) Mestepey, who doesn’t throw real hard, can pitch and win. We’re just trying to get guys that can win the ballgame. We can mix and match. Greg Smith is sitting at 90 now, and he’ll be the Sunday starter. Chase Dardar pitches at 89-90. It doesn’t necessarily mean they can win the ballgame, though.”
On the ability for the newcomers to play immediately…
“They know that coming here when they were recruited. J.P. Padron knew that (Bryan) Harris was going to be there. The shortstop situation — (Blake) Gill was coming back. Second (base) was a little bit open. They’re in it, and they know the more we win the more opportunity there is. They understand that if J.P. Padron goes and gets into the game against Nicholls or I start him and he goes 4-for-4, that doesn’t change one thing. Bryan Harris is still our guy until he proves otherwise.”
On the proposed uniform start date for the college baseball season…
“No, I’m not in favor of it. I don’t like any parts about it. Not only that, but they’re going to cut the games back, which I think is nuts. Fifty-six is definitely not enough games. I still think the same teams that have been good and have gone to Omaha will always be there. I think the top 20 will kind of always be the same no matter when you start. What they’re doing now is if you can’t start then, now you’ll have to play Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That brings in the injury factor. You’ll need more pitchers with 11.7 scholarships. Some open up in January. Maybe there should be a uniform start date, but it’s Feb. 15. If you want to start March 1, go for it. It says you can’t practice until Feb. 1 and you’ve got to open up March 1. They’re going to cut back games too, which is what we’re fighting right now and it will be detrimental for college baseball.”
On playing ranked teams in the middle of the week…
“I like it just because the hardest thing to do is to get a team focused for a middle-of-the-week game. You just think you’re supposed to win those games. No matter what you tell 18, 19 or 20-year olds, that’s No. 1. We’ve never thrown our weekend guys in the middle of the week. Well, that means (Clay) Dirks step it up and beat somebody, which he did. Justin Meier, you’re pitching against a nationally ranked opponent. Step it up and beat somebody. We’re going to need you in a regional, super regional or maybe next year. You may have to open up and pitch against Army in a regional. What a better time to see if you can get ready or how far you’re away than trying to beat school X that’s ranked on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. So, it gives an opportunity for the younger guys to step it up, show them what they’re made of.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
Pitcher Lane Mestepey
On getting the season started…
“We’re excited to get the season underway. I think all of our guys are kind of tired facing the same pitchers over and over again, and the pitchers are tired of facing the same batters over and over again. It will be nice for us to start to face a new team in Nicholls State. We’re looking forward to it.”
On getting the start on opening night…
“I think it’s going to be very exciting. I’ve never taken the ball on opening night before, but it shouldn’t be anything different. It’s just a regular baseball game. We’ve got to go out there and we’ve just got to beat Nicholls.”
On having to pitch in the cold weather…
“There’s no difference in pitching in cold weather or warm weather. I’ve just got to make sure I stay warm in the dugout and make sure my arm stays loose between innings.”
On the depth of this year’s team…
“We’ve got depth at every position. That’s one thing that I kind of like about this team this year. We’re not afraid to put anybody in a new position at any time, including the pitching. You can’t say enough about the recruiting that coach (Turtle) Thomas has done bringing in some good quality guys. We have a lot of experience and a lot of young guys that can compete.”
On his approach to Friday’s game…
“I’ve just got to go out there pitch my game, let my defense do the work and just win games. It’s like a snowball effect, as long as we keep winning I think things will run smoothly.”
On the type of leadership this team needs…
“I’ve told the guys — everybody, freshmen included — anybody can step up and say anything at any given time. If somebody needs motivation or if somebody needs to put them on the straight and narrow path, do it. It doesn’t matter who gets it done, we need to act as a team and anybody can say anything at any time.”
Leftfielder Ryan Patterson
On playing in his senior season…
“It’s unbelievable. I’m graduating from college and playing in the biggest year of my career. We’ve been to Omaha twice, haven’t gotten really anything done since we’ve been there. So, this is my last go around. I’m pretty excited.”
On having the spotlight on him this year…
“I really don’t worry about all that kind of stuff. I don’t mind being the kind of guy in the background. I just like to go out there and do my thing on the field and know that if there is some spotlight, I’ll take it with open arms. I like meeting people and having people know who I am just like anybody else, but if that’s not the case like when Aaron Hill was here, that didn’t bother me. I just like to go out there and play my game.”
On the expectations placed on him and the team this season…
“I think at the beginning when it first comes out, you kind of feel a little bit of pressure like these people expect me to do this or that. I don’t think anybody can have expectations higher than I have for myself. It really doesn’t put too much pressure on me. I like for people to expect me to do well because I have such high expectations. I want that. That’s why I came to LSU. I want high expectations.”
On how his baseball career has turned out…
“It’s kind of weird how things worked out. Out of high school I didn’t really get recruited, so I was kind of worried. I was upset that no one wanted me to come there. It ended up working out better than I could ever imagine. Things happen for a reason, and I’m a true believer after that. This is my third year at LSU. That’s why when the draft happened and it didn’t go my way then I just figured that things are going to work out somehow. No regrets.”