I wonder today whether baseball players, notoriously superstitious, go about their day any differently being that it’s Friday the 13th? I’d venture to say “no” becuase it seems like for those ballplayers that are superstitious it has more to do with routine and not so much the fabled black cat, broken mirror, walking under a ladder, or Friday the 13th superstitions. If you have any interesting superstitions, baseball or otherwise, to share, please do so by adding a comment below.

I’ve also wondered how well this blog has caught on through the first couple weeks of the season? Are fans finding it? Is the information relevant? Is there other information that I could be offering that many readers might find useful? If you have feedback, I’ll definitely listen via an email to the address below.

I was at the Mankato/Alexandria game(s) in Mankato last night. As I posted yesterday, I was helping out on the Alexandria broadcast. I called the first game and then Andrew Tichy arrived to the park in time for the second so I was able to wander a little and talk with a few people. Former 2006-07 Beetles Assistant Coach Chandler Rose (who I’ve learned is an avid reader of “The Hot Corner”) was at the park catching up with his former teams. He played for the Beetles in their inaugural  season in 2001 and then played for the MoonDogs in 2002, the first year the team was known by that name.  Chandler was in the area for the “Perfect Game USA Player Showcase and Team Tournament” that is going on all weekend at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. To my understanding, most of the country’s top high school juniors are there to showcase their talents to Major League Baseball scouts and executives, and essentially every college baseball program in the country. Chandler is currently an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy.

For those of you on the edge of your chair wondering how the Browerville/Eagle Valley High School baseball team did in the state tourney, they finished sixth out of the eight teams that advanced to the tournament in Class A (the smallest class).

The NWL alumni draft total will need to be dropped to 140 with news of Nick Vincent (Long Beach State) opting to not join the Alexandria Beetles this summer and instead sign with the San Diego Padres after being selected in the 18th round. The other two players in similar a situation, DJ Mauldin (Cal Poly) of the Eau Claire Express and Brian Gump (UC Santa Barbara) of the Rochester Honkers, have both arrived and have been activated by their NWL team. So 140 is the final official number of current and former Northwoods League players drafted last week in the 2008 MLB Draft. See the entire list here.

Curt Carstensen
Director of Operations
Northwoods League
curt@northwoodsleague.com