University of North Carolina Athletics
Peter Gammons Talks Tar Heels
May 19, 2009 | Baseball
May 19, 2009
Peter Gammons, a 1969 UNC graduate, diehard Tar Heel fan, and oh yes, the most respected baseball analyst in the country, stopped by the Tar Heel Sports Network booth/trailer during the Carolina-Boston College game on Thursday. That game was internet-only, so just in case you missed Gammons's insights when he joined Jones Angell and Adam Lucas, here are the highlights. Yes, you could call them Diamond Heels Notes:
On Daniel Bard-mania in Boston: "It's pretty cool. Daniel is growing up so much. He had such a great spring training. He got off to a tremendous start in Pawtucket. Boston may end up sending him back there to let him keep pitching, but this gets his feet wet. He will be a very important 8th inning guy for Boston in August and September. To watch him grow up has been really impressive. He put that awful year behind him, and in the long run I think it will make him one of the best closers in the game. No one throws as hard that easy that I've ever seen."
On Andrew Miller: "It's a very confused thing with Andrew. He is a great athlete and extremely smart. We believe he may have the highest SATs of any major league player. Florida has changed his delivery, and I'm not sure he has that figured out. He winds up differently with every delivery. He was throwing 85-87 the other night. He needs to go back and pitch by instinct and not by learning."
On what Mike Fox has done with the Carolina program: "The status of the program has been tremendously elevated. They've become a national program. If the guys from last year's class had not signed, they'd easily be the number-one team in the country. I saw Rick Porcello pitch, and I kidded him that he had let me down and I was going to rip him all year. But I might have taken $8.7 million, too (laughing)."
On Dustin Ackley's place in the pros: "He could be a center fielder in the big leagues. I think he's going to go second in the country to Seattle. That's a huge ballpark and defense and speed is very important. There's an intriguing idea that he could play second base. To get that kind of offense from that position would be very intriguing, and the Chase Utley comparison is a good one."
On Alex White's place in the pros: "I think he will go somewhere in the first 10 picks. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes seventh to the Braves. The Braves farm director is Roy Clark, a big Carolina guy. It would be great for Carolina to have two of the first seven picks in the country. Alex will be a good starter. I hope he goes to the National League, because I have always heard he's a terrific hitter."
On other prospects: "Someone having a very good year in the Red Sox farm system is Tim Federowicz. If he hits, he's going to be a very good major league player. He's by far the best catcher in their organization and they love him."
