A Heart Divided

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

On Friday Night, The Wisconsin Badgers travel to Tampa to square off against the University of South Florida Bulls at 7 pm at Raymond James Stadium.

I have a family member that is a Wisconsin native and currently lives in the Land Of Cheese.

My sister-in-law Marie has an interesting dilemma because she graduated from USF with a Masters Degree in Communication.

It's really nice that not only are we related but we're both USF Alumni.

Add to the fact that I earned a BA Degree in Communication and the connection becomes even more enjoyable.

When we texted Marie last night, she answered that "Her Heart Is Divided" and that's where it ended. How can you not be loyal to your hometown with a team that you've followed your entire life?

When the time comes, and I have a feeling that it will whether it be a Bowl Game or a regular season matchup, USF will face the Michigan Wolverines.

Will my heart be divided as much as Marie's?

Probably not as much because when I look at My Class Ring, it resides on my right hand.

It will be with me when I'm laid to rest at Wisconsin Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Milwaukee.

One of My Media Distribution partners for the South Florida Tribune is USF.

Now I'm working diligently to add The Michigan Wolverines because I have a lot of ties to the university.

Plus, I would like to promote U-M in Southern Florida because the Wolverines have recruited heavily in this area.

Twelve years ago, I had another situation like this when I was covering the Florida Atlantic Owls Football team.

They were facing USF in Fort Lauderdale at the now demolished Lockhart Stadium.

When people at FAU asked me who I was rooting for, I was honest and said USF, however, it wouldn't disappoint me if the Owls won.

I added that I really can't lose here but it would be nice if the game was close.

USF defeated FAU 35-23 on October 6, 2007.

To date, USF does lead the series 3-1. The two universities will meet each other again in 2020 and 2022 in a home and home series.

Former FAU Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney would schedule USF and his pitching coach  was Tony Fossas in 2005, who had ties to USF.

Once again, my heart was divided and I internalized it.

But for those individuals that have this same problem, I sympathize with you.

In the end though, the words "Alma-Mater" are special to me because all of the memories that I enjoyed at a university that I SELECTED and will always be a part of what and who I stand for.

I've got the degree, hats and apparel, etc... and continue to add more when I take the four hour trek up I-75 to visit a great part of my past.

Hugs Marie!

I'm sure we'll be having more of these intriguing family discussions.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.
He is the Founder and CEO of The South Florida Tribune.

Meet Daytona Tortugas Pitching Coach Tony Fossas

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTO BY CANDICE EBLING

If there is ever a person that I view as a Baseball Lifer, it's former Daytona Tortugas Pitching Coach Tony Fossas.

Fossas, 57, from Havana, Cuba is a fellow USF Alumnus. I met Tony in 2005 when he was the pitching coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He worked for retired Manager Kevin Cooney.

It was neat seeing him again on August 29, 2015 the day after the Detroit Lions faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in North Florida. Daytona faced the Tampa Yankees on Saturday Night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

During Fossas playing career, he had a 17-24 mark with a 3.90 ERA and 329 strikeouts,.

Fossas played for the Texas Rangers (1988), Milwaukee Brewers (1989-1990), Boston Red Sox (1991-1994), St. Louis Cardinals (1995-1997, Seattle Mariners  (1998), Chicago Cubs (1998), Texas Rangers (1998) and New York Yankees in 1999.

After his playing career, Fossas moved into coaching. It was great talking to him about his post FAU job, plus he had many other interesting insights in this exclusive interview.

Q: Tony, what have you done since leaving FAU?

A: I've been coaching with Cincinnati the past seven years. I've done Extended Spring Training, have coached for the Reds Minor League clubs in Billings, MT., Ohio and in Daytona Beach. So this is a really good job place for me because I live in Fort Lauderdale. This is close to home.

Q: You talk about being at the professional level. Have you thought about going into the higher classifications such as Double AA and Triple AAA, or do you prefer the younger players in Class A?

A: I just like working in baseball. Double AA, Triple AAA and the Major Leagues is the same. The organization tries to put you in the best place you fit to help the organization. So I don't have any problems being here.

I just enjoy what I'm doing and being in the game. The part of the game isn't just where I'm at, or who I'm with. I just love the game of baseball!

Q: At our Alma-Mater USF, you had the opportunity to play for Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. What was that experience like?

A: I played my last three years for Robin. He was a Father Figure to me, and cared a great deal about me. He was a guy in my young-hood, who developed me as the pitcher I was. It was a great situation for me all the way around.

Q: What lessons from Roberts have you conveyed to your pitchers?

A: The same thing Roberts taught me, I heard from Ferguson Jenkins. When I was with the Cardinals, I heard the same message from Bob Gibson, so I figured out nothing can go wrong if I repeat the same message to my players.

Q: Last year, I had the opportunity to interview former Detroit Tigers Pitcher Joe Coleman when he was with the Jupiter Hammerheads. I'm going to ask you the same question that I asked Joe since you're both pitching coaches. Why are we seeing so many Tommy John Operations?

A: I don't really know. I do know that guys are bigger and stronger than they have been. Some players are throwing the ball harder than ever.

But if I can say a couple things about it, but I'm not an expert at it, I would say when I was younger, I played football, hockey, street hockey, basketball and some baseball. It wasn't like me playing baseball on a year-round basis. Nowadays, the parents are so infatuated from getting the kids their scholarships. Therefore, their kids play baseball at 10 years old all-year round. The kids body isn't fully developed enough to do that.

So that's one of the attributes that's in the best interests of the player is to play multiple sports, and let their arm rest, and not be full-time in one sport.

Second, I think in the era that we play, there is a lot more weight-lifting and a lot less long distance running. In the older days, we ran a lot more. The players I played with, we did a lot more long distance running. Now their is a combination of weight lifting and running.

So what's the answer to your question, I don't have the answer. But if I did have the answer, I'd be a very wealthy man right now (laughing).

Q: What are your thoughts about pitch counts being more emphasized these days?

A: Again, I'm not involved in the science of the game, but in the older days, there was no pitch count. I don't have a thought one way or the other. We try to obey orders. When people tell you what to do, there is a protocol to follow, you do it.

The science is a lot greater than it was, and there is a lot more knowledgeable people in that area than I am. It really doesn't matter. If you don't have a really good bullpen, it doesn't matter if the starter goes six innings. The key is to have a really strong bullpen at whatever level you're in to win games.

Q: Working in Daytona Beach, many of these ballparks are past and current spring training sites. Are the Major League dimensions a good way to judge the development of younger players in the Florida State League? Does a major league ballpark help in the way you judge pitchers?

A: I judge pitchers by their ability to throw strikes, keep the ball down, the ability to throw an off-speed pitch for a strike, the ability to throw a change-up, the ability to be able to pitch inside and outside effectively, attack the strike zone and attack the hitter.

It's irrelevant about where you're pitching at because some ballparks are hitters friendly or pitchers friendly. It's important that you learn how to pitch. Also, you learn the place/park that you're pitching at.

Q: Finally, let's talk about what it's like to work for the Cincinnati Reds organization. When I was covering the Tampa Tarpons from 1984-1986, Cincinnati had one of the best farm systems in baseball. What are your thoughts about the Reds farm system?

A: We have good personnel that works together really well. From the top all the way down, everybody  is on the same page and we try to work together for the benefit of the major league club. We try to find that "Diamond In The Dust" to help the major league club.

The Daytona Tortugas finished the 2015 season winning FSL North Championship. The Charlotte Stone Crabs defeated the Daytona Tortugas to win the FSL Championship.

Three pitchers to watch from Fossas' staff include starters Jackson Stephens, Amir Garrett and reliever El'Hajj Muhammad.

Stephens was 12-7 with a 2.97 ERA, 26 games, in 145.1 innings pitched with 30 walks and 97 strikeouts.

Garrett posted a 9-7 mark with a 2.44 ERA, 26 games, in a 140.1 innings pitched with 55 walks and 133 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Muhammad was 6-6 with a 2.96 ERA, 17 saves in 52 games in 54.2 innings pitches.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is a member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

Gork Hammered By A Dork

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I have been to Fayetteville, Arkansas once to see the Razorbacks play a basketball game at the old Barnhill Arena (10,000 capacity) and I have to say that these are some of the most passionate college fans in the country.

During my hoops game, these folks had to have sore feet because they stood-up the majority of the contest and the energy is enormous.

But the Razorbacks energy took on an entire new meaning earlier this month, when in my view there was an over-reaction when an Arkansas radio personality was fired recently for wearing a Florida Gators hat to a Hogs press conference.

Two days after wearing the Gators hat, Renee Gork was fired by KAKS, a northwest Arkansas radio station that calls itself Hog Sports Radio.

Last season, Arkansas lost to the Gators 23-20 at Florida, and Hogs Coach Bobby Petrino commented on Gork's hat after answering a question she asked. He told her, "And that's the last question I will answer with that hat on."

Gork said that she grabbed the hat without thinking because it was raining outside and also sent a letter of apology to the university and Petrino. She was even going to apologize publicly on the radio but never got that chance because she was fired.

I know that the station is Hog Sports Radio, is very biased and support the Razorbacks 100%, but please, the woman made an honest mistake and owned up to it.

What bothers me about the entire decision is the man who made a big deal about the situation is anything but perfect.

In 2007, Petrino abruptly resigned from the Atlanta Falcons and didn't finish out the season. He was 3-10. Petrino quit on his players and the organization which paid him millions of dollars to try to make them a winner. He informed his players through a note of explanation in the locker-room instead of having the guts to talk to them directly that he felt more comfortable in college.

You talk about professionalism, who is Petrino to criticize anyone when he makes a boneheaded move like this?

I'll never forget the first time that I started covering FAU Sports.

I was interviewing Tennessee Titans QB Rusty Smith. He asked me where my college ring was from. I told him the University of South Florida. It just so happened that FAU was going to play USF in Fort Lauderdale that season.

Smith asked me who I was rooting for? I told him the truth. My allegiances are to USF but if you win, that won't bother me at all.

USF did win a close game in what was one of the most difficult contests that I've ever sat through. I bit my finger nails so bad that they were bleeding and my heartbeat was moving faster than open-wheel indy cars. I told Smith I wanted to see a competitive game and that's what I got.

FAU Sports Information Director Katrina McCormack and I used to joke around about my USF connections all the time and she politely asked me out of respect not to wear my alma-mater's attire around the university especially when they faced each other.

Of course, I had no problem with that, but I told her that the ring stays on my finger. She smiled and had no problems with that.

Former FAU Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney and I used to joke around about when these two teams faced each other and he would tell me that it must be a tough night for you. I admitted to him it was and yes, the finger nails took a beating.

But his pitching coach was Tony Fossas (2005-2008) who also attended USF. I did write a story on Fossas and we had a great time.

The bottom line is I understand there is a fine line to the area where you work and what your collegiate loyalties are, but Gork did try to take the high road, but the dork Petrino, who took the low road in Atlanta, should have cut her a little slack. He's anything but perfect.

Even an ESPN Sports Nation Poll asked a question as to whether Gork should have been fired for wearing a Gators hat. Of the 5,375 votes, 72% said no and 28% said yes.

As we enter another college football season, the only time these two teams could meet is if they play in the SEC Championship Game since they don't face each other during the regular season.

If they do meet in the SEC Championship Game, there is no doubt that the absurd end of the Gork situation would over shadow the game.

If anything good does come out of this, perhaps Gator Nation will give Gork a job at the university or a Gainesville radio station will hire her.

Scott Morganroth's Blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com and he can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.