Blogging with the Devils

There are high fives all around for an Arizona State baseball team that is thrilled to have catcher Petey Paramore (in helmet) back from injury.

If his left knee can stay together, Petey Paramore is going to play on it. And the Arizona State catcher on Wednesday showed that he can play quite well.

Just three days after suffering what was at first feared to be a season-ending broken leg or knee injury, Paramore made a surprise return to the Sun Devil lineup, going 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs as the designated hitter in ASU’s 12-4 victory against Wofford at Packard Stadium.

Paramore suffered a subluxation when the tibia fell out of its knee joint, then reset itself. The junior compared the injury to a shoulder separation that pops itself back into place.

He said that he hopes to catch when top-ranked ASU plays at Stanford on Saturday, the second game of a Pac-10 series.

“You hear anything pop, and you fear the worst,” Paramore said. “This was pretty much the best possible thing that could happen. I’m fortunate. I’m really lucky that it wasn’t more serious.”

There is still a risk for Paramore, as another subluxation within the next two or three weeks is “not a good sign,” coach Pat Murphy said.

“But the doctors, trainers and Petey feel like he can continue to go,” Murphy said. “So, we have to respect that.”

“In 14 years here, I’ve never had a bigger outpouring of people wanting to know how a player is than for Petey. And it’s great to see him back. It’s good to know that the guy that leads your team is out there. He made his presence known, that’s for sure.”

In his first at-bat on Wednesday, Paramore — an All-America candidate and potential first-round draft pick in June — hit a home run, his second of the season. He added an RBI double, infield hit and walk before the game was stopped after seven innings due to Wofford’s travel curfew.

“(The home run) was definitely a good way to start the game,” Paramore said. “It put my mind at rest about the knee.

“I wasn’t expecting too much. I just went out and played. I got a few pitches to hit and was able to do something with them.”

Freshman outfielder Matt Newman pitched the last inning for ASU. In his first mound appearance, the Phoenix Brophy product allowed a hit while striking out two.

With Chase Field’s center-field wall as a backdrop, former ASU pitcher Brian Flores makes a delivery during last year’s Challenge at Chase game against Arizona.

Arizona State’s non-conference contest against Arizona on Tuesday at Packard Stadium, which will likely be a matchup of the consensus top two-ranked teams in the nation, has sold out.

It is a scenario that screams for a stage much bigger than Packard, which has a capacity of 3,879. The last two seasons, the schools had one, playing a non-league contest at Chase Field, a benefit game labeled the Challenge at Chase.

Proceeds went to the Diamondbacks Foundation’s youth field building program. But attendance at both games — 5,201 in 2006 and 4,296 last year — was lower than expected, and the event was not scheduled this season. Perhaps it is just as well for the Sun Devils, as the Wildcats won both games.

Still, the Chase Field setting was nice for college baseball, and here is hoping that it can be revived in the future, possibly with a different format.

ASU could explore holding its early-season tournament there, inviting Arizona and national powers such as Vanderbilt and Oregon State, who took part in the DeMarini Invitational last month at Packard. Such an event would mirror the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park, one of the most successful regular-season tournaments and one the Sun Devils participated in last year.

Multiple games at Chase Field would help in coach Pat Murphy’s early-season objective of playing on bigger parks. He feels that helps his team prepare for Pac-10 games in the Northwest, where the field dimensions are similar to Packard’s, but the ball does not travel as well in the heavier air.

“You get on a big field like that, one that plays totally different than what we’re used to, that can only help us,” Murphy said.

ASU is one of 16 schools taking part in the Gridiron Bash, a spring football fan festival. The main event at Sun Devil Stadium on April 18 — the day before the spring game – is a musical performance by 3 Doors Down, which has sold 12 million records and boasts six No. 1 singles.

Tickets can be purchased at the Gridiron Bash’s official Web site.

This week, the New York Times published “The Scholarship Divide,” a well-done series that details the misconceptions that some athletes and parents have about athletic financial aid — and the challenges that college coaches have in determining who gets how much. The latter is something that baseball coaches, with only 11.7 scholarships available for rosters in excess of 30 players, wrestle with constantly.

Clicking on the above link will take you to the first story in the Times series; the other articles are available via a menu on the left side of the page.

You think college football’s rankings can get confusing at times? They do not hold a candle to baseball, in which four polls are generally recognized: Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/ESPN (coaches) and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

This week, Arizona State — after outscoring Miami (Ohio), Vanderbilt and Oregon State by a combined 36-6 in the DeMarini Invitational — tops three of the four polls, with the No. 6 ranking by Baseball America the exception. That makes it easy to explain the consensus opinion on the Sun Devils, but some teams can be all over the map when comparing the four polls.

So what does that mean for ASU baseball pieces you read in the Tribune and on this blog? Including each of the four rankings can clutter copy, so the USA Today/ESPN poll will be the primary source. If you see a ranking without attribution, assume that it was determined by the coaches.

Brett Wallace gets back to first on a pickoff attempt against Vanderbilt on Saturday. The junior had two home runs and seven RBIs in the game. (Lisa Olson/Tribune)

Third baseman Brett Wallace on Tuesday was named the Pac-10’s player of the week after going 5-for-12 with three home runs and nine RBIs. Against Vanderbilt and Oregon State, Wallace batted leadoff, a role he filled 14 times last season, batting .509 (29-for-57) with seven home runs.

There is a good chance he will remain in the top spot when ASU faces 18th-ranked — and if you figured that is from the USA Today/ESPN poll, give yourself a cookie for reading comprehension — Michigan on Thursday at Packard Stadium.

Citing RPI concerns, the Wolverines nixed the idea of playing Northern Illinois on Wednesday instead of a second contest with ASU. As a result, the Sun Devils’ schedule remains the same: Michigan at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, then the Coca-Cola Classic: Hawaii at 4 p.m. Friday and Michigan at 4 p.m. Saturday (both at Surprise Stadium), and Portland at 1 p.m. Sunday at Packard.

NIU — which canceled a series at Texas Tech last weekend as part of a 10-day athletics moratorium after five students were slain on the DeKalb, Ill., campus on Feb. 14 — still will make up two games in Arizona. The Huskies will play a doubleheader in Surprise on Thursday, facing Portland at 1 p.m. and Hawaii at 4 p.m.

UPDATE: All ASU will say is that Jarvis has been “cleared to play,” a school official said. Jarvis pinch hit for designated hitter Petey Paramore in the sixth inning, drawing a walk, and grounded into a double play in the seventh.

Jason Jarvis

Arizona State closer Jason Jarvis is in uniform and in the dugout at the start of the Sun Devils’ game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, as he has been granted at least temporary eligibility to play.

The sophomore, who had 11 saves in half a season in 2007, has been unavailable to ASU pending resolution of an academic matter. He was not with the team during Friday night’s season-opener against Miami (Ohio).

Also, Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt’s All-American third baseman, was scratched from the starting lineup due to a wrist injury.

ASU is in the process of making a schedule change to help Northern Illinois, which cancelled a series at Texas Tech this weekend to attend a memorial service for the five students slain on the DeKalb, Ill., campus on Feb. 14.

Huskies coach Ed Mathey contacted ASU coach Pat Murphy, who invited NIU to Tempe to make up two games.

Instead of playing Michigan on Thursday at Packard Stadium, the Sun Devils would face NIU at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. NIU would play Michigan at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Packard. (Tickets to the cancelled ASU-Michigan game would be usable for the NIU contest, and admission for NIU-Michigan would be $5).

The changes are awaiting approval from Michigan.

The ASU games for the Coca-Cola Invitational next weekend — at Surprise Stadium against Hawaii on Friday and Michigan on Saturday and at Packard against Portland on Sunday — remain unchanged.

There was no resolution on Thursday to Jason Jarvis’ dispute of a fall-semester grade, so barring a last-minute decision, the Arizona State sophomore closer will be ineligible when the Sun Devils open the season against Miami (Ohio) on Friday night.

His absence is a “crushing blow to our team,” said coach Pat Murphy, who has indicated that Jarvis would be lost for the season if the matter is not resolved in his favor.

Last season, Jarvis was not cleared to play by the NCAA until the start of Pac-10 play in March, due to an issue concerning boarding-school credits he earned. After months of inactivity, he was a dual threat for ASU, setting a school freshman record with 11 saves and delivering clutch pinch hits in the postseason.

“He sat on his butt waiting because he couldn’t practice with us,” Murphy said. “Then, 11 saves and a couple of key hits later, he’s huge for us. Now, he’s ineligible. I’m really sensitive to that.”

Ike Davis is moving from right field to first base, but the junior said that the biggest change in his game will come in the batter’s box. Davis can swing pain-free, thanks to offseason wrist surgery.

Wearing a large black brace on the left wrist for a portion of last season, Davis batted .349 with eight home runs and 61 RBIs. With the injury to his pitching arm, Davis was limited to 6.2 innings in seven mound appearances.

“It feels a lot better than last year,” said Davis, who is a candidate to close with Jarvis sidelined. “It’s great to be able to go up there without any pain.”

Starting pitcher Josh Satow was a 28th-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners after a 2007 season in which he went 13-3 with a 2.76 ERA. The left-hander said that staying at ASU for a senior season was a quick, easy choice.

Satow can use the year to build endurance. He admitted to being fatigued at last year’s College World Series, which took speed off of his inside fastball, limiting the effectiveness of his primary pitch, the changeup. When the fastball is not working, hitters can wait for the soft stuff over the plate.

During the team’s media day on Tuesday, however, Satow said that gaining maturity has been the biggest benefit of returning to school.

“I came back to learn a little more about the mental side of the game,” Satow said. “I wanted to become a leader of the staff and help kids out the way the juniors and seniors did for me when I first got here. I wanted to get my degree, too. Since the fall, I’ve grown a lot more than I did last year at this time.”

Sitting nearby, Davis quipped, “Ah, we just gave him $15,000 to come back.”

Replied Murphy, “Yeah, that would be great for (the reporters) to print.” Third baseman Brett Wallace added, smiling, “Just let everyone know Ike said that.”

Ryan Torain

Former ASU running back Ryan Torain, who missed the second half of last season due to a foot injury, told the Kansas City Star that he figures to be limited at the NFL scouting combine that runs through Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Torain — who before his injury was rated as the No. 2 senior running back in the nation by ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. — will likely limit himself to the bench press, vertical jump and interviews with NFL executives and scouts. He hopes to perform running and agility drills at ASU’s pro day next month.

Safety Josh Barrett, linebacker Robert James, center Mike Pollak and cornerback Justin Tryon are the other ASU players at the combine.

The blog staff always gets a little fired up at the start of an Arizona State baseball season — this little corner of the Web started out as a baseball blog, after all — so here are a few diamond notes as we anxiously await the Sun Devils’ first pitch.

ASU, ranked No. 1 in the USA Today (coaches) poll, No. 9 by Baseball America and No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, opens the year on Friday against Miami (Ohio) in the DeMarini Invitational at Packard Stadium. It plays Vanderbilt on Saturday and two-time defending national champion Oregon State on Sunday.

As of Monday afternoon, coach Pat Murphy indicated, there is no change in the status of sophomore closer Jason Jarvis, whose eligibility is in question due to a dispute over a fall-semester grade. He is unavailable to the Sun Devils until the matter is resolved, and for much longer if it is not resolved in Jarvis’ favor.

Murphy said that left-hander Ike Davis and righties Dustin Brader and Tommy Rafferty are among the stopper options if Jarvis, who set an ASU freshman record with 11 saves last season, remains sidelined.

The Sun Devils will be all-new up the middle, where shortstop Andrew Romine and second baseman Eric Sogard were as consistent as they come the last two seasons. Three players — junior-college transfer Marcel Champagnie, sophomore Raoul Torrez and transfer Jake Elmore — are battling for two spots.

Champagnie is in the running to start at shortstop, while Torrez and Elmore can play either midfield position.

“We’ll have a lot of inexperience up the middle,” Murphy said. “If (infielders coach) Andy Stankiewicz can pull it off and make them grow up quickly, then maybe he should get hired by USA Baseball to help them win the World Baseball Classic. He’s been doing a great job with them so far.”

Brett Wallace’s move from first base to third and Davis’ switch to first leaves a hole in right field, where a pair of true freshmen — Matt Newman, a Phoenix Brophy Prep product, and Andy Workman of Chandler Hamilton — are vying for playing time.

Right field can be a challenging position at Packard Stadium, where evening start times later in the season come with a vision-impairing setting sun. However, Murphy has no hesitancy to use two guys straight out of high school.

“Newman is advanced beyond his years,” Murphy said. “He’s the kind of freshman you really want. He won’t show up in the box score all of the time, but he can impact every game he plays in. Workman has a ton of ability, and he’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Among the other notable non-conference matchups are a March 22 doubleheader against Florida International, now coached by former ASU assistant Turtle Thomas; a March 23 game against UC Irvine, which eliminated the Sun Devils from last year’s College World Series, and a two-game series at frequent super-regional foe Cal State Fullerton on April 22-23.

The Sun Devils host archrival Arizona, Collegiate Baseball’s preseason No. 1, in a non-Pac-10 game on March 18. The Challenge at Chase is apparently dead, and — the money raised for charity notwithstanding — that is a good thing for ASU, considering that the Wildcats took both games played between the teams at Chase Field.

Joey Parigi pitched at Texas in 2006.

Seven Arizona State baseball players faced with the prospect of very-limited playing time in 2008 are off the roster as they explore options elsewhere.

Coach Pat Murphy said that his program is helping facilitate moves (such as to a junior college) for the players, adding that some could eventually return to the Sun Devils.

The group includes two higher-profile pitching signees: Joey Parigi, a left-handed transfer from Texas who began the 2007 season as the Sun Devils’ No. 3 starter, and right-hander Joe Hatasaki, a national top-100 prospect out of high school.

Parigi, who had a 3-1 record, 6.57 ERA and two saves as a sophomore, struggled early, went to the bullpen and worked in less-meaningful situations as the year progressed. He made six combined appearances in April and May and did not pitch in any of ASU’s eight postseason contests.

Hatasaki, who underwent elbow ligament-replacement (Tommy John) surgery as a high-school junior, was limited to four appearances as a freshman in 2007, allowing 11 hits and seven runs in six innings.

Also in the group is Jeff Urlaub, a left-handed pitcher who was enjoying a solid true-freshman campaign in 2006 until struck with mononucleosis. He injured his elbow last year and was expected to miss this season after having Tommy John surgery in June.

The other players currently off the roster are pitchers Adam Bailey and Jason Mitchell, infielder Joe Van Meter and outfielder Mike Petello. Thirty-four players are listed on the Sun Devils’ updated roster, which can be found here.

The most recent federal graduation rate figures were released on Tuesday, and ASU’s rate for scholarship athletes that entered school in 2000 and graduated within six years is 44 percent, compared to 56 percent for all students.

Federal rates are more stringent than the NCAA Graduation Success Rate, which allows institutions to count athletes that transfer in and exclude those that leave school, as long as they were academically eligible had they stayed.

ASU’s overall GSR, also released on Tuesday, is 68 percent.

Matt Spencer

I have not been able to find a story or notebook that details it, but anyone who scanned the sports transactions from Tuesday saw the line:

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: Signed OF-LHP Matthew Spencer.

So, for now, it can be cautiously assumed to be true, ending what must have been an interesting negotiation process between the Phillies and Spencer, an Arizona State product. A team official told a Pennsylvania newspaper two weeks ago that Spencer had signed, then backtracked a few days later, saying only, “They were close.”

Spencer, a third-round pick of Philadelphia in the June draft, is expected to report to Class-A short-season Williamsport (Pa.).

Outfielder Tim Smith has agreed to terms with the Texas Rangers, who drafted him in the seventh round. Though I could not find an account of pitcher Scott Mueller signing with the Baltimore Orioles, the 21st-round choice has been playing for the team’s Class-A short-season affiliate in Aberdeen, Md. (a franchise owned by new Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and his brother, Bill).

And that likely wraps up the Sun Devil signings, as the team’s other two drafted players — pitcher Josh Satow (28th round, Seattle) and outfielder Mike Jones (42nd round, Chicago White Sox) — are expected to return to school. Jones, also a wide receiver, figures to be on campus next week for unsupervised (by coaches) football workouts.

Matt Spencer

Steve Noworyta, the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league director, spoke too soon when telling a Pennsylvania newspaper that Arizona State outfielder Matt Spencer had signed with the team.

Days later, Spencer has still not put his signature on a contract. Part of Noworyta’s mea culpa had him describing negotiations between Spencer and the Phillies by saying, “They were close.” It’s unclear how much should be read into his use of past tense.

If he signs, Spencer will likely report to Class-A short-season Williamsport (Pa.).As a result of this development, this blog entry from Wednesday has been corrected.

ASU has compiled its 2008 baseball roster, which currently consists of returning varsity players.

Pitcher Josh Satow, a 28th-round pick of the Seattle Mariners, and outfielder Mike Jones, who went in the 42nd round to the Chicago White Sox, are listed. Outfielder Jarred Bogany, a transfer from Louisiana State who had limited playing time this season, is not.

Two more drafted Arizona State players, second baseman Eric Sogard and shortstop Andrew Romine, are off to professional baseball.

Sogard, a second-round pick of the San Diego Padres earlier this month, agreed to terms on Tuesday and will report to the team’s Class-A squad in Eugene, Ore. Romine, a fifth-round pick of the Anaheim Angels, signed for a reported $125,000 and will join the club’s advanced rookie-league team in Orem, Utah.

Undrafted senior utility players Joe Persichina and C.J. Retherford signed free-agent deals with the Chicago White Sox and are playing for the Great Falls, Mont., rookie-level team.Five Sun Devils have signed pro contracts. Pitcher Brian Flores agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last week.

Five drafted ASU players remain unsigned: outfielders Matt Spencer (Philadelphia, third round) and Tim Smith (Texas, seventh round), pitchers Scott Mueller (Baltimore, 21st round) and Josh Satow (Seattle, 28th round) and outfielder Mike Jones (Chicago White Sox, 42nd round). Satow and Jones will likely stay in school.

UPDATE: Sogard’s signing bonus was for more than $500,000.