Ht: 5-11  Wt: 178

DOB: May 25, 1986 In: Warren, Ohio

College: Michigan.

Football Inspirations: “Probably Jerry Rice and Charles Woodson.”

Nicknames: “People call me Rio, obviously for Super Mario.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Play video games, I like to read Sports Illustrated, shoot around, I love basketball, I like to shoot around basketball a little.”

Favorite Movies: “Life – Eddie Murphy and Martin.”

Favorite TV Show: “Martin.”

Musical Tastes: “Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.”

Last Book Read: “Can’t remember the name of it. I had to do this essay in college.”

First Football Memory: “When I had four touchdowns against Madison, Ohio, back in high school – Shawn Crabel’s team. He plays for New England, went to Michigan.”

First Job: “I worked for the Scrappers, it’s a baseball team. I would be at the concession stand.”

First Car: “I just got my first car this year – it’s a GL 550 Mercedes Benz (white).”

Favorite Meal: “Chicken.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Cap’n Crunch. Berries.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “Just butterflies, every game, whether it’s a sorry team or not.”

Favorite Web Site: “You Tube.”

Favorite You Tube Video: “Tight Eyez – he’s a dancer, Cali, out west.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Just putting on a Giants uniform, just believing that I’m here, not believing that I’m going through this experience.”

Most Painful Moment: “I got hit in practice my last year at Michigan, when I was a junior. I got hit by Ryan Monday, he plays for the Steelers, he got drafted last year. I thought I broke my jaw. Couldn’t eat for a couple days.”

Favorite Uniforms: “Giants. The red jerseys.”

Funny Football Memory: “It was a game in eighth grade. It was loud. We played in the stadium – Paul Brown Stadium. It was packed. We came out at halftime like the kids did, of a Browns game. I was in motion. I thought he said, Hut. I took off running, I turned around and the rest of the team is still right there, in their three-point stances [smiles]. And everything felt kinda stupid.”

Funniest Giants: “Jonathan Goff. Jonathan Goff being himself. He’s funny. He don’t even know but he’s funny [smiles].”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “That I played against? Probably AJ Hawk. He be everywhere where the ball be. He be right there.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “I like Ahmad Bradshaw run the ball. Because he still already to the ground, hard to tackle. He run the ball hard. He’ll make you miss or he’ll run through you. Pick their poison, whatever they want. Get shook or get run through.”

Last Vacation: “Last summer, went to South Carolina. Went to Myrtle Beach.”

Interesting Fact: Mario ranks #4 in Michigan history with 27 TD catches, surpassed only by Braylon Edwards (39), Anthony Carter (37) and Desmond Howard (32).

People Qualities Most Admired: “I like to see people who keep it real. Just up-front, honest.”

Baseball really is a game about anticipating.  Yes, it’s great if your outfield coach knows where to position Torii Hunter when Joe Mauer is at the plate, based upon the tendencies of where Mauer usually hits balls off certain pitchers in certain game situations.  It’s important for a manager to anticipate what another manager will do if he brings in a lefty to face a lefty late in the game.  Will there be a counter-move?  What move should be made to counter the counter-move?  On the field, knowing what’s going to happen before it happens can set one team apart from the others.

It’s the same off the field from both a team and player perspective.  No decision is made by a baseball team without first thinking about the corresponding reaction to a certain initial action.  Think of when a team trades for a player just to keep that player from getting traded to a rival.  Don’t make the trade and the rival gets the player and beats you senseless down the stretch in September.  Making the trade certainly keeps the player away from hurting you, but what about the players you traded?  Will you pay the price down the line for giving up too much too soon?

Beyond that, there are other decisions a team makes where they should anticipate.  Think about public relations.  In his glory days, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner would fire off statements to the press about the performance of a team or a manager.  Steinbrenner knew it would create headlines and stories.  But he also knew that, in most cases, it would cause a certain reaction from the player or manager, presumably a reaction to help the team win more games.  It was Steinbrenner’s anticipation of how a situation would play out that would determine what he said in his statement and when it was said.  It didn’t always work in Steinbrenner’s favor, but his words weren’t created and spread in a vacuum.

If only the New York Mets had watched the way Steinbrenner used to work.  While in the same town as the Yankees, you can understand how different these two organizations are just by the events of the past week.  Scathing articles comes out about someone in the front office.  GM responds publicly, but speaks poorly (and shows up an hour late for the press conference).  After more negative stories break, the team fires the front office exec but fails with the message by lashing out at the reporter who broke the story that started the whole mess.  The story gets bigger rather than smaller.  Now not only does the GM look bad but ownership appears weak and petty.  The team disappoints on the field and it seems to travel throughout the entire organization on an upward slope.  All while the Yankees go 9 and 1 on their most recent homestand, expanding a first-place lead in the AL East.

The problem with the Mets was their failure to properly anticipate.  By showing up late and appearing to not be prepared, by letting emotion dictate responses to questions rather than coming in with prepared answers to anticipated questions, Mets GM Omar Minaya looked bad.  Never considered a great public speaker, his reputation in that realm took another negative hit.  And then, in the press conference announcing the firing of the front office executive, Tony Bernazard, the Mets didn’t anticipate what the reaction would be to the personal attack on the writer who broke the story.  They didn’t realize how vindictive they’d look.  They didn’t realize how the media would rally around their counterpart and attack the organization with all of their might.  The Mets found themselves with a surprising 3-game winning streak on the field but a 1-week losing streak off of it.

Players make the same mistakes.  Did Alex Rodriguez and “his people” properly anticipate the reaction to his admission to not one, but three years of steroid use and then his subsequent attack on Selena Roberts after she broke the story?  Did Wade Boggs, back in the 1980s, anticipate when he started having an affair on his wife that the girlfriend would go public?  Did Darryl Strawberry anticipate his life falling apart and out of control by signing with the Dodgers in 1991 instead of staying in New York with the Mets?  Was Randy Johnson using his skills of anticipation when demanding a trade to the Yankees from Arizona earlier this decade?

If you see Johnson was traded back to Arizona almost exactly 2 years to the day later, the answer is a resounding No.  If you know Strawberry found himself released by the Dodgers within 3 years and the Giants less than a year after that, the answer is No.  If you remember Boggs going to court after getting sued by his former paramour for not paying her for the four years she traveled with him on the road, then we know Boggs thought with one part of his body when that whole thing started, and it wasn’t his brain.  If you remember Thurman Munson and Cory Lidle dying in plane crashes, crashes where they were at the controls of the planes, you wonder if they ignored what others anticipated happening.  Did Bret Saberhagen think about public reaction before throwing bleach at reporters or firecrackers at the feet of fans?  Did former pitcher and current announcer Rick Sutcliffe anticipate the public apologies that had to be made by his employer after appearing drunk on camera?  Lack of anticipation behind the plate is the same as in front of it.  If you don’t think about where the ball, or your life, is heading, your battle can get even harder.

The game is all about knowing what’s going to happen next.  Some of it is common sense.  If you cheat, on the field or off, you’ll likely get caught sometime.  How do you keep from getting caught?  Better yet, how do you respond when the inevitable occurs?  Anticipation can solve much of that future emotional distress.  Whether you’re in the front office, in the bedroom, or hugging the third base line in a close September ballgame anticipating the next play, your next move is paramount to succeeding in the Big League Life.  Because if you don’t, you can lose a lot more than baseball games.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

On June 12, athletic director Jim Spartano named Weimer the head baseball coach of Utica College.  Weimer, now in his fifth season of professional baseball and second with the Bluefish, is ironically amidst the best season of his career.  In 13 games, Weimer is 1-0 with a team-best 0.98 ERA and 10 strikeouts.  The new head coach has held opponents to a .217 batting average and has given up just two earned runs.

It was a tough decision, but he is confident that he has made the right choice.

“Obviously I want to keep playing because I’m pitching so well,” said Weimer.  “But at the same time, if I can’t get picked up with the numbers I’m putting up and the success I am having now then I guess it’s a good sign that the time is right.”

Coaching was something that Weimer always planned on getting involved in after his baseball career.  Despite playing professional baseball for the past five years, he has found time to be the assistant coach at Mohawk Valley Community College from 2004-2009 and he has been an instructor at the Field of Dreams athletic facility in Utica since 2003.

The Pioneers certainly can use Weimer’s pitching knowledge, as the team compiled a 7.10 ERA and a 5-27 record this year.  Junior captain and starting pitcher Chris Pallas is excited to play for the current Bluefish next year.

“I am extremely excited,” said Pallas.  “During the interview I felt he had a world of baseball knowledge and experience.  He is a great candidate for the job and I am 100% positive that he will help our pitching staff in every aspect.”

Weimer believes that his professional baseball experience is one reason why he was chosen for the job and he plans on basing his baseball philosophy on a strong pitching staff with a good defense behind them.

“I believe that if we turn the blowout games into competitive games then that’s a matter of two or three wins instead of losses next year,” said Weimer.  If we build at that rate every year then we should be a good program in the next few years.”

Assistant Coach Chris Parkinson has been in constant contact with Weimer since he took the position nearly three weeks ago.  Parkinson met with Weimer this past Monday and came away with a “great vibe.”

“He has a very calm and collective, intelligent demeanor,” said Parkinson.  “He doesn’t seem like he is going to be overly taken back or surprised by anything.”

The six-foot-two inch relief pitcher has been accustomed to getting out of jams or troublesome situations throughout his career.  Weimer was selected out of Le Moyne College in the 15^th round (428^th overall) by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2003 Major League Baseball draft.

At Le Moyne, Weimer was 20-7 with a 2.13 ERA with 22 saves in 85 career appearances.  As a senior, he went 7-1 with a 0.74 ERA and seven saves as the Dolphins won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament.   Part of his success was a result of his sidearm pitching style on the mound.

Growing up, Weimer always threw sidearm when he played baseball at the park or on the playground.  It just felt natural to him.  When he arrived on campus, Weimer was not sure if he would be a shortstop or a pitcher after playing varsity baseball at New Hartford High School.

“I was a shortstop growing up so I would always throw the ball across my body,” said Weimer.  “When I pitched, I would throw more of a three-quarters angle.  The coach convinced me to throw sidearm and I picked it up immediately with instant success.”

The sidearm approach helped Weimer become a powerful closer for the New Haven County Cutters of the independent Can-Am League in 2006 and 2007 as he racked up 20 saves both years.

With the season-long struggles at the back-end of the bullpen, Weimer may begin to see more save situations the rest of the season.  For now, Weimer is just focused on finishing his last season the best he can and possibly getting one last shot at affiliated baseball.

“I never got the opportunity to play at Double-A or Triple-A which is something I really wish I had done,” said Weimer.  “But who knows, maybe in the next few months something might happen and I will definitely pursue the opportunity if given.”

Parkinson is assured that the experience Weimer is getting this year on the mound for the ‘Fish will gain him immediate respect in Utica’s clubhouse next year.

“I can assure you that he will be respected immediately just by in the way I saw his presence during the interview process, from meeting and talking to him daily and from seeing the letter he wrote to every player,” said Parkinson.

“We it was a big series for us”, replied Ducks Manager Gary Carter.  “We needed a good outing by Brad (Halsey), and he gave that to us.  We had the toughest part of our schedule over the past two weeks, so hopefully now the schedule will be in our favor.”

The Ducks quickly got runs on the board to start the game.  Long Island’s Preston Wilson was hit in the nose from a fastball from York starting pitcher Dan Foli (0-6), and left the game.  After Alex Prieto replaced Wilson at first, Victor Rodriguez tagged a pitch to deep centerfield, scoring Ray Navarette.  Foli then walked Johnny Hernandez, allowing the Central Islip standout Harris to the plate, who then drilled a fastball out to right centerfield to give the Ducks their first Grand Slam of the season.

Wilson was taken to a local hospital for X-rays, according to Ducks General Manager, Michael Pfaff.

“He has a minor displaced fracture on the nose, and we don’t think it will require surgery”, said Carter.  “I was just scared of a fracture of the cheekbone.  Hopefully, he will be back in a few days.”

York (10-24) got their only run of the ball game in the top of the second on a double by catcher Luis Taveras, scoring Matt Esquivel who had doubled two batters before Taveras.

Harris started the Ducks next offensive output in the fourth, hitting a single up the middle off of Foli, who had retired eight in a row after Harris’ homer in the first.  Catcher Rob Sandora, the pride of West Babylon, drove a Foli pitch over the right centerfield wall for his first home run of the season, to give the Ducks a six run lead.

“I’ve been feeling good, and when you are getting consistent at-bats, you get into a groove”, said Harris about his recent performance. “It helps to be playing every day, and the fact that you will be in there the next day, even if you are not successful that day, it is less pressure on you, and it’s a lot easier to play.”

Brad Halsey (2-3), who struggled mightily in his last outing, allowing seven runs in just over three innings, seemed to have his control in order, allowing only four hits in six innings, striking out one and did not walk a batter.  He retired 10 of his 18 outs on the ground, and was consistently picking the corners and staying ahead of the hitters.

“It helped to have the guys step up in the first”, said Halsey.  “They had an idea that I was not doing too well, and they gave me a chance to relax.  The big difference today, was that I was having fun out there.”

“We did not want to over-extend him”, replied Carter on Halsey’s outing. “He had 95 pitches, so it gave us a chance to get guys some innings, and get other guys a day off.”

Robert Paulk, a former Met farmhand that just signed by the Ducks on Saturday, made his debut with a scoreless seventh inning.

Sandora, drove his third run of the game, as he squibbed one past the glove of Jeff Eure to bring in the eighth run of the conquest.

Mike Hrynio had a scoreless eighth inning, and Ron Flores finished the ninth, allowing one run to score.

Victor Rodriguez had four hits for the Ducks, while Ray Navarette was on base with three hits for Long Island.  Luis Tavares had three hits to lead the York attack.

For Carter and the Ducks, they are now sitting at the half-way point of the first half, and he feels that they are doing quite well.

“We’ve lost a lot of key players”, said Carter, “but guys have been stepping up and doing nicely; and our pitching staff is getting stronger.  We just need to hold our own.  We can’t take Bridgeport lightly, and in York they will be want to try to get the wins back.”

Thirty-six games left in the half, and Long Island seems to be ready to move up the standings.

Quacker Notes:  Today’s attendance of 6,096 at Citibank Park giving the Ducks another sellout crowd. Who’s Hot?  Despite the struggle on the field on Saturday night, Joe Valentine’s scoreless streak is now sitting at 18 innings.  He has not allowed an earned run, since April 28^th at Lancaster.  The Ducks are on the road for the next seven with a three game stint against the Bridgeport Bluefish, following with a four game rematch versus the Revolution.  The Ducks return to Long Island on Monday, June 8^th to face the Newark Bears in a four game series.