Written by Greg Fertel
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15 March 2007
March Madness has me in a college sports sort of mood. Basketball isn't really my thing, though, so I was going through and watching clips of the '05 College World Series. My precious Gators got swamped by the Longhorns and I swore I'd erase every memory of that fateful Omaha series from my mind. Just to please me, the Yankees went right out and drafted the closing pitcher who made the Gators look like Geckos during those games: J. Brent Cox. My first reaction, naturally, was to hiss in his general direction and hope that ex-Gator Alan Horne (also signed by the Yanks) would prove to be better than him, but that's just not so. Alan's working out in single A, and hopefully he'll learn what he needs to in order to move up. JB, however, can pitch pretty well.
JB (whose real name is James Brent) must be used to pressure by now. He inherited the closer role as a junior from Huston Street, the 2005 AL Rookie of the Year. His freshman and sophmore years were spent as Street's understudy. The Longhorns made it to the CWS all three years, and JB's experiences in the first two set him up for a stellar third appearance. He didn't just win, he dominated. His 0.00 ERA after 10.1 innings was the CWS in one stat. Even though the Gators relied on pitching to get them as far as they did (Darren O'Day also had a 0.00 after 8.1), they had offensive machines in the form of Matt LaPorta and Jeff Corsaletti, and JB shut them down. In two multi-inning apperances, he allowed one hit and one walk. Most impressive (and to me, dissapointing) was Game 1. Florida was losing 4-2 after a rally in the 8th inning, and JB, complete with infamously wicked slider, was brought in. There were two on and nobody out, and JB Cox struck out all six batters he faced. Game two was just as hopeless, as JB struck out two of the five batters he faced.
It was a sad day for Gators fans, yet the Yankees saw something they liked and picked up JB Cox in round two of the '05 draft. JB's gone on to post a 6-2 record and a 1.75 ERA in AA ball, striking out60 batters in 41 appearances. Earlier this year, JB broke a bone in his pitching hand after being involved in an "altercation" and wasn't able to start throwing until the first week in February. He should be able to throw in time for minor league opening day, but he definitely missed a chance to impress the brass in Tampa this spring.
