Fowl Tips

James Darnell’s staredown with the San Diego Padres paid dividends Friday morning, hours before Major League Baseball’s deadline to sign draft picks.

Darnell, drafted 23rd in the second round and 69th overall, agreed to a $740,000 deal with the Padres, well above the slot recommendation and superior to the four players drafted directly in front of him.

Currently, Darnell is in San Diego, where he’ll take some batting practice at Petco Field and watch tonight’s game. Tomorrow, he’ll head to the Padres’ Northwest League affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds.

“There was always that feeling that you’re not sure how it’s going to work out during the process,” Darnell said. “But as things came closer and closer, talking to my adviser, I knew it would all work out.”

Justin Smoak, drafted No. 11 overall by the Texas Rangers, remains unsigned. The deadline for signing players is midnight Friday.

USC coach Ray Tanner chalked up the late signings to the way business is conducted these days.

“I’m happy for James that he got an opportunity,” Tanner said. “Normally, plays have to wait in the summertime. Most of them want to go out and play, but that’s just sort of the process they all have to go through.”

Darnell on Friday afternoon wanted to make sure USC fans and the folks associated with the baseball program knew how much he appreciated them during his Gamecock days.

“It was just a great experience. I can’t say enough about the people and the fans for making me welcome,” he said. “The first year so far away from home was tough but every member of the club and all the fans in the stands still new my name even though I was on the bench half the time.”

While the Padres and Darnell managed to set aside a brewing war of words (Padres scouting director Grady Fuson accused Darnell of acting as if he was better than Smoak and Reese Havens), Smoak’s negotiation likely will go right to the deadline as the sides haggle over whether Smoak gets a major league contract.

With a major league deal, Smoak must be added to the 40-man roster. The Rangers are on a slippery slope in the negotiation since they have handed similar deals to their previous two first-rounders.

Stay tuned. For more details, see Saturday’s editions of The State

So, t-minus one week and counting for Gamecocks Justin Smoak and James Darnell and still no sign of a conclusion. What gives?

There’s not much to be concerned about in Smoak’s case. The guess here is Smoak signs a couple hours before the deadline. Why should it take that long? There’s a decent reason. Even though Smoak’s appears to be slotted for $2 million, we’re talking about the Texas Rangers, who notoriously never seem able to balance their checkbook.

No. 10 pick Jason Castro inked for $2.07 million while No. 12 Jemile Weeks went for $1.91 million. Both signed for the exact slot estimate suggested by MLB. At No. 11, Smoak is slotted for $2 million, but it’s likely he’ll keep an eye on what Yonder Alonso gets out of Cincinnati at No. 7 and Eric Hosmer from Kansas City at No. 3. He can make the case that he’s a better first baseman than either player and force the Rangers to kick in another $100,000. Either way, of course, Smoak is outta here.

Now, Darnell’s situation is a little different. Wanna dream a little, Gamecock fans?

Though Darnell’s slot estimate is $589,000, it is being reported the initial San Diego offer near that figure was rebuffed. Now comes these harsh words from Grady Fuson, the Padres’ director of scouting and player development:

“It’s a good old-fashioned staredown with some of these guys,” Fusion told the North County Times. “Darnell had two teammates go (in the first round) in the draft and he thinks he’s better.”

There are other factors clouding Darnell’s situation. The Padres are at a loss at what to do with their first pick, Allan Dykstra, due to a nebulous injury situation. If they are frightened off from Dykstra, they’ll need to chase down there other unsigned marquee players — like Darnell and fourth-rounder Jason Kipnis — or face the reality they flubbed this year’s draft.

Another issue: The Padres drafted Brett Mooneyham in the 15th round. A talented and hard-throwing lefthanded pitcher, Mooneyham dropped due to signability issues. If the Padres throw up their hands with Dykstra, they could take Dykstra’s $1.4 million slot suggestion and give it to Mooneyham, rather than boosting Darnell’s deal.

Ever since draft day, Darnell has maintained he would sign. That may well still be the case, but there’s a glimmer of hope there for you Gamecock fans. Perhaps Jeffrey Jones shifts to the outfield?

It would be a nice problem to have if you’re Ray Tanner.

Landon Powell appears to be awakening from a season-long slumber in Triple-A ball.

Monday night, Powell delivered what would stand as the game-winning RBI with a fourth-inning single, then followed with a two-run blast in the ninth inning to lead Sacramento to a 4-1 win at Salt Lake.

“A big night for Landon, a big clutch hit and the two-run homer was huge,” River Cats manager Greg Sparks told the Sacramento Bee. “It was a good night for him. He’s been swinging a hot bat and it continued in this series.”

How hot? He owns a five-game hitting streak. In that span, he’s batting .471 with two home runs, raising his season average from .207 to .227. He’s raking at .364 clip with three home runs in July.

ALEX LEE CHECKS INTO FRANCIS MARION

Blythewood’s Alex Lee has settled on Francis Marion to continue his baseball career.

As a freshman in 2007, Lee hit .288 in 37 games and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team. This year he batted .250 with a .361 on-base percentage in 48 games (23 starts) and didn’t make an error in 55 chances in the outfield.

As is often the case with such transfers, Lee’s decision to leave Clemson was based on playing time. He was usurped in 2008 by touted freshman Jeff Schaus. His playing time was further diminished once it became obvious the hole in Kyle Parker’s glove wasn’t going to heal itself, prompting his move to the outfield.

The new transfer rules likely made transferring to USC a hard sell for Lee, since he would have to sit out a season. He’ll play right away at FMU, a decent DII program, and have two years of eligibility remaining.

Yes, DeAngelo Mack did spend part of his day off Monday on the internet, watching the sod installation at USC’s new baseball stadium.

The rest of the Cape Cod League probably spent their free time brainstorming ways to get the junior-to-be off the basepaths.

The famed wood bat league has been good to Mack. Currently, he’s batting .309 with a .374 on-base percentage in 25 games for Yarmouth-Dennis.

“I knew it would be pretty competitive,” Mack said. “Everyone we face is good here.”

As the numbers infer, Mack has made a successful transition away from aluminum. To date, he has chipped one bat and shattered another, but in the process, he has learned to close a hole in his swing.

“Before I came up here, I was striking out too much and I’ve been trying to improve on that,” Mack said. “I’m trying not to have such a big swing, to trust my hands and put it in play.”

So far, so good …

In 106 at-bats at USC, Mack struck out 27 times.

So far in 97 at-bats on the Cape, he has 16.

Someone is following along at home:

“I check the Web site almost every day,” USC coach Ray Tanner said. “DeAngelo is a guy who had to work hard to get in a position to play and really came into his own during the second half of the season. I know he’s continuing to get better.”

Mack actually had his batting average above .360 earlier this month before coming down with a case of the “at ‘ems.”

“I’ve been hitting balls at people lately,” he said. “It’s still going pretty good, though.”

As for his down time, Mack said he has acclimated well to a culture that is, well … different? … for a South Carolinian.

“They don’t have air conditioning up here,” Mack said with a laugh. “It’s not too bad, though. The weather’s great. It’s 75 degrees every day and there’s pretty good beaches and good seafood.”

One thing that is not as advertised: There are no Jessica Biels.

The Cape Cod League received the big-screen treatment a few years back with the movie, “Summer Catch.”

Let’s just say it was not a good movie. In fact, let us speak no more about it other than to say Jessica Biel was in it and she was, as always, lovely … when she wasn’t forced to recite dialogue.

“Actually, we talk about that movie all the time here,” Mack said. “We cut jokes about it every day.”

(State file photo by Jeff Blake)

Schools lining up for Gantt

USC lost a pitching candidate when southpaw Marty Gantt was unable to qualify.

Gantt, a former South Carolina Mr. Baseball, closed out his high school career at North Augusta this past spring with a brilliant senior season. On the mound, he won five games while posting a 1.44 earned run average. When he was taking hacks, he batted .395.

The solid senior campaign came on the heels of a junior season which saw him fan 161 in 84 innings on his way to being named Mr. Baseball.

Gantt’s sudden availability has the family phone ringing, said his father, Bobby. So far, Chipola (Fla.), Middle Georgia, USC Sumter, USC Lancaster, Spartanburg Methodist and Erskine have made inquiries.

Marty Gantt currently is pitching and playing outfield in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association. His team will participate this weekend in the CABA Wood Bat World Series in Mount Pleasant.

Meanwhile, another talented lefthander, Adam Westmoreland, is taking summer classes in order to qualify on time. Westmoreland was a key cog in Brookland-Cayce’s run to the Class 3A state title.

So, here I am. Some of you have heard of me. Those of you who have had your USC blinders on these past six years probably don’t know who I am.

I’m Patrick Obley. Failed shortstop, hopeless baseball junkie. Hopefully, I’m a perfect match for you and USC baseball.

I’ve been with The State since 2002. Joe Person and I arrived the same week, but while he became entrenched as your go-to guy for USC football, I bounced around the department, doing virtually everything else … including for a time, designing pages, if you can believe it.

In my time here, I’ve done some amazing things. Stories that never in my wildest dreams I imagined I would do. Two series on sudden cardiac death in high school athletes. An in-depth look at obesity and football. I took part in what might have been the most thorough study of race and sports in South Carolina (Blurring the Lines). High school sports. State college sports. Also: NASCAR, WTA tennis, the Carolina Panthers, Clemson sports (kept the seat warm while we worked to bring Paul Strelow aboard) and the occasional USC baseball, basketball or football game.

But the most fun I’ve had here has always involved baseball. In 2004, I did a week-long series on Textile League Baseball. In talking with amazing former players such as Lou Brissie, Rosele Williams, Joe Anders, Red Barbary, Earl Wooten, Bill Voiselle and Tommy Lasorda, I developed a deep appreciation for South Carolina’s contribution to America’s Pastime.

Later, upon the 2006 announcement of former Negro League player Ben Taylor’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, I brought you a pair of stories concerning Taylor’s remarkable family and a forgotten star of the Negro Leagues, Chino Smith.

I won’t bore you with my personal baseball-playing exploits other than to say my first home run also was my last. I was a punch-and-judy sort with a decent glove. When I yanked a fastball from a future Wichita State pitcher over the trees in left field that day, I was so stunned I stood at home plate admiring the shot.

That hurler rightfully tagged me in the earhole the next time up.

So, my career cratered as I entered Cowley County Community College, which would go on to become a giant in Juco baseball, turning out the likes of Junior Spivey and Travis Hafner while winning a couple Juco World Series titles during the mid-1990s.

At Kansas State, the team was scraggly and so was its field. I went to just one game in my time there … to watch that same pitcher who brained me lose a game to the Wildcats thanks to a bad hop that nearly KO’d the third baseman. (Things are much better there these days).

During the course of my career, I’ve covered a lot of baseball, from the Texas Rangers’ annual spring training to three years of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays as they found increasingly obscure ways to lose games. I’ve got stories to tell. Track me down sometime and toss a Guinness in my hand and I’ll regale you with feats that belong lost to fable and song.

So now it’s on to Ray Tanner and his magnificent new digs off Blossom Street. I don’t know what this journey will hold for myself or you, but I bet it won’t be boring. Most of what I offer here will be USC-related, but I’ll also keep you up to date on the exploits of other players with South Carolina ties.

Talk to ya soon,

PO