The Sinclair Community College baseball team has begun practicing, and coach Steve Dintaman started things off with a question.
“I told the guys, we have 31 days of practice before the season begins,” Dintaman said. “I asked them, what do we need to work on? They came up with a long list.”
Some of the things on the list, like “putting gloves together” or “practice fourth inning” would only make sense to those on the team. But, Dintaman said he believes that the players themselves know the team better than the coaches, and their input was important to him.
“I want to get their feedback on what we need to work on,” Dintaman said. “We want to be prepared.”
The change in preparation comes after a season that could’ve been Sinclair’s best, according to Dintaman. However, he said he feels the team had the potential to win a championship but failed to do so.
“This team has a mission to get over the hump,” Dintaman said. “Win the regional. We have the talent to do it.”
The 2011 Tartan Pride will be led by their pitching; Jeremiah Kerns, Austin Pressly and Christian McElroy lead a rotation that Dintaman is confident in.
“We’re led by a very strong staff overall,” Dintaman said. “It’s the best top-3 we’ve ever had. All three could be drafted.”
The fourth man of the rotation is not set yet, but Dintaman said, because of the depth of the staff, any of the guys in the running could make it,
Dintaman also highlighted some of the Tartan Pride defense. Dintaman called right fielder Byron Johann his “Vladimir Guerrero” because of his arm strength. At shortstop, Dintaman is seeing lots of competition, especially between returning starter Brandon Napier and freshman Joe Ford.
“It’s not a deep middle infield but if Napier can be a leader we will be in good shape,” Dintaman said.
The offense has no real star, he said, but everyone gets on base. The team will be lead by returning players Macklin Bray and Stephen Buglione, who were 1-2 in batting average last season.
Still, Dintaman said this team will need to “manufacture runs” with small ball instead of the power that the previous year’s club had.
The team will be using new bats this year, which could impact the offense. The bats are not aluminum, as in previous years, and “will play more like a wood bat,” he said.
“NCAA made the change,” Dintaman said. “It’s a concern everyone is dealing with, we will adapt.”