Paul Melvin Quotations

We're still battling with numbers. We have the same numbers scenario as last year. We're at 23. They will get better next year. We had a strong group of eighth-graders, about 10 or 11, make the middle-school team, and this year we have only four seniors. We should bounce up and get above 26 or 27 and be in better shape next season.

He has always been a bright spot. He's hitting well and by far he is the best athlete and most aggressive hitter we have. He works hard.

He seems to be involved in all things baseball in this area.

I thought pitching would be a strong point this season, but it's being hindered by the errors. Since we're making so many we're having to throw more pitches than we should be throwing.

We have four guys that got a quite a bit of pitching time last year and they're back to take a majority of the work this year.

This one is sort of celebrating the heritage of Negro League baseball.

We had some fun with the Bristol name, but there were the barnstorming teams that created the first exposure the major league players had to the Negro League players.

Once we came back north, it seemed like we tightened or were afraid to make an error. Hopefully we'll get over that and go into the Division IV tournament and make some noise.

A lot of the guys came in with a focus on 2006 and learn from last year's downfalls and shortcomings. Their attitude and work ethic is great.

There was this whole separate league of African American players.

It?s sort of a homecoming for the Birmingham Black Barons. That team was in the Negro World Series.

I just look for us to start playing better and build on what we started doing at the beginning of the year. My main thing is we have to get better at what we're doing.

He broke a foot in basketball and he's not even jogging yet. He would be my starting left-fielder. The best scenario is he is back versus Heath.