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Former Dirtbag LHP Jason Vargas will start for the Florida Marlins in an exhibition against the Univ. of Miami Hurricanes today at the Marlins' spring training facility in Jupiter, Florida. It won't be the first time Jason has pitched against the 'Canes. On the Dirtbags 3 game trip to Miami ending the 2004 regular season, Jason took the loss on Sunday, May 29, as the Hurricanes swept the Beach. Vargas went 6 innings, allowing 6 ER on 5 hits, while stiking out 6 and walking 4. He did go 4 for 4 at the plate, including a 2 run homer, and scored 2 runs. [Box Score]. I'm sure he's looking for a better result today!

P.S. Fortunately, I sure the umpires will be from among the ranks of MLB/MiLB professionals, rather than the local yokels who called that 2004 series.

There's a nice feature on junior RHP Andrew "Drew" Carpenter here in his hometown Vacaville Reporter.

The Beach remains 15th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Assn. poll this week. The Rice Owls, defeated by Long Beach State 4-1 in the Coca Cola Classic tournament at Rice in Houston on February 18, moves to #1 in the poll.

Former Dirtbag Paul McAnulty is featured in this piece on the San Diego Padres website at MLB.com.

Junior RHP Andrew Carpenter was named the Big West Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week today, after his 1 hitter against Illinois-Chicago. He also earned the honor last week.

The 1st in season ESPN/Sports Weekly poll of Division I coaches is out, and the Dirtbags are ranked 15th (up from 20th pre-season).

Friday, February 24, 2006: Dirtbags 5, UIC 3
LongBeachState.com story. Box Score. UIC Website. Long Beach Press-Telegram. Daily Breeze.

Saturday, February 25, 2006: Dirtbags 6, UIC 0
LongBeachState.com story. Box Score. UIC Website. Daily Breeze. Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Sunday, February 26, 2006: Dirtbags 10, UIC 0
LongBeachState.com story. Box Score. UIC Website. Long Beach Press-Telegram. 6-4-2 Blog post, and Photos.

The week/series: Baseball America's Top 25 Tracker.

The highlight of the weekend was junior RHP Andrew Carpenter's 1 hitter on Saturday. I wrote it up here. There was a correction on the LongBeachState.com story...I'll add it to mine here: In the early '90s Steve Whitaker and Dennis Gray also threw 1 hitters.

The box score for the game on Sunday is 1 of the stranger ones I've seen, with the Dirtbags and Flames both having 7 hits, but Long Beach State scoring a 10-0 shutout victory. The difference, in part, was 5 errors for Illinois-Chicago leading to 5 unearned runs, and a 7 run 2nd inning. The Dirtbags played error free, and turned 2 double plays. 2 of their 7 hits went for doubles (by Edgar Sedano and Jose Hernandez), and they got 3 sac flies (Evan Longoria, Brandon Godfrey and Scott Bradley). The Beach left only 3 on base, while the Flames stranded 6. To state the obvious, good defense, timely hitting, and execution wins games.

On the weekend, the Dirtbags made the most of their opportunities, scoring 21 runs on 26 hits. Kip Masuda hit his 1st homerun as a 49er on Saturday, the only 1 hit during the series by either side. He also had a double in the game, and 3 RBI. Three other 49ers had multiple hits Saturday, including Evan Longoria (3 for 4), Matt Cline (2 for 3), and Brandon Godfrey (2 for 4).

Freshman RHP Vance Worley got his 1st win as a Dirtbag Sunday, going 8 innings and allowing just 6 hits and no runs (striking out 2, and walking 1). He pitched well enough to win a week earlier, making this his 2nd solid start in a row.

Senior outfielder Sean Boatright missed the series with a "tweaked" back.

Long Beach State's team batting average now stands at .298, with 6 players hitting over .300 (Evan Longoria at .439 [18-41], Kip Masuda at .412 [7-17], Scott Bradley at .364 [8-22], Matt Cline at .333 [3-9], Brandon Godfrey at .324 [11-34], and Danny Espinosa at .306 [15-49])

Update: Andrew Carpenter is featured in this week's Baseball America Three Strikes column.

Long Beach State is now ranked 16th in both Baseball America (from 18th last week) and Collegiate Baseball (from 17th), after going 3-0 against Illinois-Chicago at Blair Field.

I'll do the full recap on the weekend on Monday as usual. But for a school known for great pitching, junior RHP Andrew Carpenter's performance against the Illinois-Chicago Flames today was truly remarkable. In a 9 inning complete game, won by the Dirtbags 6-0, Andrew gave up 1 hit, struck out 8, and 1 walk. He faced 1 over the minimum. 60 of 94 pitches went for strikes. It's the 1st complete game 1 hitter by a Long Beach State pitcher since Dan Danielson's in 1979. On the season, Andrew is now 2-0, with a 1.29 ERA over 28 innings and 4 starts. He's struck out 23, and walked just 4, holding opponents to a .167 average. [Box Score][LongBeachState.com story].

Former Dirtbags Terrmel Sledge and Paul McAnulty have signed one year deals with the San Diego Padres.

John Sickels at MinorLeagueBall.com picks Marco Estrada as the #18 prospect in the Washington National's system. And Abe Alvarez as #13 with the Boston Red Sox. Steve Hammond and Adam Heether with the Milwaukee Brewers don't make his top 20, but get a mention as legit prospects. Jered Weaver comes in at #4 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With the Chicago Cubs, Russ Rohlicek is #18 (unless the Cubs have another Rohlicek named Rick). More to come.

From Mayo's Mailbag at MinorLeagueBaseball.com (hat tip to reader Rhonda):

What can we expect from Omar Quintanilla and Luis A. Gonzalez this year? And what is the future of second base for the Rockies? Could Clint Barmes ultimately end up there with Troy Tulowitzki replacing him as the Rockies long-term shortstop? -- Galen, Minnesota

Yes, to the second question. I think Troy Tulowitzki will be their shortstop before the season's over. At the very least, he'll be there Opening Day 2007. And he's a shortstop. Barmes is probably going to have to move. The Rockies have so much depth there, he's going to be looking over his shoulder a bit. ... You can never have too much help up the middle and they've certainly stockpiled there. I do see a scenario for next year at the latest where Tulowitzki plays short and Barmes plays second.

Former Dirtbag Jason Vargas is featured in this piece in the Miami Herald. Excerpts:

Left-hander Jason Vargas -- who started last season at low Class A -- has a 'leg up' on the competition to make the Marlins' rotation.
BY CLARK SPENCER

JUPITER - A.J. Burnett, Paul Lo Duca and Todd Jones pleaded with Jason Vargas to leave his hair long after he was called up from the minors last season, and the young lefty bowed to their request. But those teammates are gone, and so too is the coif.

''It's kind of something a few of the guys told me to keep last year, so I really had no choice,'' Vargas said.

"But I didn't want to come into spring training looking shaggy like I did last year, because it's always best to make a good first impression.''

Vargas did that Tuesday when he threw his first bullpen session of the spring in front of new Marlins manager Joe Girardi. But it wasn't the do that caught Girardi's eye. It was his steely glare.

''He's got that look in his eyes that he's going to get you out,'' Girardi said. "And that's not a look everyone has. I like that look.''...

Vargas wasn't invited to the Marlins' major-league camp last spring. There were no openings in the rotation, and the team figured Vargas, their second-round pick out of Long Beach State in 2004, needed more seasoning in the minors even though they didn't think it would take him long to reach the majors.

But nobody thought he would make the climb so fast.

Vargas started the 2005 season at low A Greensboro (N.C.) and, after just five starts, was promoted to Single A Jupiter. He made nine starts with the Hammerheads before being elevated to Double A Carolina. Then, after making three starts there, the Marlins called Vargas up in mid-July when they lost patience with Al Leiter and released him.

Vargas was thrust into the rotation and reeled off five wins in his first six decisions.

''I think there was a certain air of confidence that he had and the team had in him, which is a positive,'' Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest said. "He handled himself well, showed a lot of poise and was very competitive.''...

When he was with the Dirtbags, the way that Jason always battled impressed me the most. Apparently his employers agree.

The Dirtbags are home against Illinois-Chicago this weekend. Friday will be the 1st meeting ever between them. The Flames won the Horizon League championship tournament last season, securing an automatic berth in the Regional field. UIC went 0-2 in the Lincoln Regional, losing 2 close games against tough competition - 8-6 against Nebraska, and 9-7 against North Carolina. They finished the season 38-21-1. They play 'Ole Miss next weekend, and 2007 non-conference opponents include Georgia Tech and Tennessee.

The matchup tonight could be interesting. The Flames start junior RHP Zach Peterson (0-0, 0.00) against junior RHP Jared Hughes (2-0, 3.86). Peterson was named to the College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll for the week of February 21 [pdf], with these comments:

Zach Peterson, Illinois-Chicago, P - Peterson, who went 10-1 in 2005, held the Creighton Bluejays hitless until Chris Gradoville hit a solid single up the middle with two down in the fourth. That would be all the Jays would get, as Peterson finished with a no-decision after seven scoreless frames, allowing just four hits. Creighton was held scoreless through eight innings, but tied Illinois-Chicago in the ninth, 2-2, only to fall in the 10th inning on Jake Carr's single at Hohokam Park in Mesa, Arizona.

The Dirtbags' junior RHP Andrew Carpenter was named to the same list with this:

Andrew Carpenter, Long Beach State, P - Went seven strong innings, striking out a career-best eight and giving up only one run on three hits, as the 49ers topped Rice in their own Coca-Cola Classic Tournament in Houston. Carpenter walked two and used just 103 pitches in topping Owl's All American Joe Savery, leaving with a 4-1 cushion.

There's a nice piece in the Long Beach Press-Telegram featuring Andrew, with a little history on Dirtbags Saturday starters.

The LongBeachState.com weekly release is here in html, and here as a pdf file. The Illinois-Chicago release is here in html, and here as a pdf.

Update: The Long Beach Press-Telegram has a piece today on the Dirtbags' progress 10 games into the season.

Former Dirtbag, and current Oakland A, Bobby Crosby has been sidelined with a sore shoulder.

Former Dirtbag Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies 1st round pick in '05, comes in at #25 on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list, with the comment (from an anonymous scout) that "He's better than Bobby Crosby". True, or not, it says alot for the shortstops coming out of the Beach lately. Hat tip to reader NinerDave.

Update: Be sure to take a look at the comment left by reader Chris Jackson concerning Evan Longoria's draft status.

Former Dirtbag John Bowker is featured in this Sacramento Bee piece:

Giants notes: For now, Rio grad must wait out things
By Nick Peters -- Bee Staff Writer

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Tony Torcato's career with the Giants has ended as the unsigned free-agent outfielder continues to search for baseball work, and the former first-round draft choice has been replaced by another valley boy in camp.

He's outfielder John Bowker, 22, who has batted .295 with 19 home runs and 94 RBIs in 162 games in the lower minors the past two seasons after starring at Rio Americano High School and Long Beach State.

A three-sport athlete as a prep, Bowker went to Long Beach after setting season records at Rio Americano with a .463 average, 41 hits, eight home runs and 41 RBIs. He batted .323 in three college seasons and was a third-round draft choice of the Giants.

"I have no timetable for reaching the bigs," said Bowker, whose 27 doubles, 13 homers and 67 RBIs helped Class-A San Jose win the California League title last season. "This is my second big-league camp, and we'll just see what happens."

Bowker, whose father, Brite, was a tennis player at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, spent the winter working out in Sacramento and with college buddies in Long Beach. He's hopeful of starting the season at Double-A Norwich, Conn.

A left-handed hitter, Bowker is more or less lost in the shuffle now, but with veteran Giants outfielders close to drawing Social Security, there's always hope he'll reach the bigs with the team he followed as a youngster.

"I was a Giants fan, and my favorite player was Barry Bonds," he said. "I played with (pitcher) Jered Weaver at Long Beach, so I was the other guy. My best memory was beating Stanford to reach the NCAA [Super Regional].

"I had a couple of hits, including a homer, but we missed going to Omaha (the College World Series) when Arizona beat us. Of course, winning the Cal League title was a lot of fun, too."

...is ranked as the #57 prospect by Baseball America.

Update: Jered comes in at #35 on the Baseball Prospectus list (I picked this up at 6-2-4 Blog).

Former Dirtbag Jeremy Reed comes in at 81st on Tim Dierkes Top 100 Outfielders for 2006 list at the Hardball Times, with these comments:

Jeremy Reed: Reed garnered accolades mainly for his defense in his rookie season, as he wasn't the .300 hitter many forecasts called for. He'll improve across the board in '06, and could become David DeJesus with more SBs eventually. For now I predict .270-10-55 with 78 runs and 17 steals. He's certainly capable of beating my runs and batting average projections and vaulting up this list in '06.

Former Dirtbag Jason Vargas is featured in this piece at TCPalm.com (free registration required):

JUPITER - Florida Marlins pitcher Jason Vargas barely pitched enough innings last year to eliminate his status as a rookie. Yet Vargas is one of the few left on the Marlins roster after an offseason overhaul.

Vargas finished 5-5 with a 4.03 earned-run average in 2005.

"I don't know if I'd call myself a veteran," Vargas said Saturday, the day the Marlins' pitchers and catchers reported.

The 23-year-old would not even guarantee himself a spot in the starting rotation in 2006, noting that the Marlins have talent, though they don't have much experience. That doesn't mean he will shy away from the spotlight this year.

"I always have high expectations for myself," he said. "But I'm not going to try to do anything different out there."

Vargas also has high expectations for his team, even if several pundits have picked the Marlins to finish toward the bottom of the league. The Marlins' second-round pick in 2004 won't have any part of the negativity.

"If you're thinking that way, you shouldn't be here," Vargas said.

Vargas could help the Marlins rebuild quickly. He had a productive season and won two of his last three starts last year.

Here's a piece I missed before on the Dirtbags victory over Lamar in the Beaumont Enterprise, entitled "Long Beach Pummels Lamar Pitching".