pointafter_Tom Mendonca ready to go

Now that he's an upperclassman, it's Tom Mendonca - not the comparitively juvenile-sounding "Tommy" who garned loads of attention starring for the Fresno State baseball team in its 2008 national title run. There were no orders, but even the school's official website lists No. 32 as Tom now where he had previously been "Tommy." It's fitting though, especially after considering what came after the College World Series for the player from Turlock and how he reacted to it.

Mendonca said there was no way he could pass on an opportunity to play for the Team USA collegiate team, despite the fact the Bulldogs played more games than any college team in the country. He got the national team call the day before of the day of the championship game - it's a blur now - and used the experience as a learning opportunity.

"My life goal, and a lot of childrens' life goal, is to play professional ball," Mendonca said. "In the major leagues you play 168 games in a seaosn, if you're lucky a lot more, and you have to be able to push through when you don't want to play. I think it helped me grow. I didn't call my parents. I didn't call my friends. We barely had internet access. All-around I think I appreciate life a lot more. People think America sucks now (with the economy), but we have it a lot better that some other countries."

The month overseas reminded Mendonca of when he played summer ball in Alaska after his freshman season. His team would ride in a "1972 bus" for eight hours ebtween Fairbanks and Anchorage, get 30 minutes to an hour to warm-up, and play a game. There were long stretches of boredom and not much access to familiar technology, just a bunch of kids who wanted to play baseball. He was supposed to go back until Team USA called. Traveling and playing in Europe, especially on short notice, was a little different because Mendonca was nearly wiped out.

After the World Series, the Bulldogs returned to Fresno for a victory parade. The day after that, just three days after Fresno State became the ultimate college sports "Cinderella story,"  Mendonca was on a plane to Europe. He didn't say it, but the excitement from the CWS and his still hurting dislocated right hand had to have taken a toll. He played in 21 of Team USA's 24 games - all wins - in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany. Mendonca hit .231, but went 4-for-4 with a double in the 12-inning 1-0 championship victory over Japan.

"I was lucky enough to be able to do that at age 20," he said. "It made me a better person, a better talker, better everything. That's an honor to do that and I got a gold medal to show for it."

Though he answered a number of media requests in the weeks leading up to today's season opener, Mendonca is clearly focused on playing and getting back to the CWS. He sounds older, wiser than a 20-year-old kid - polite but intense, anxious to be a leader and not just recapture his star turn. He wants to be a part of his teammates' bonding process and helping pull the newcomers up to a championship-caliber level. Mendonca knows what's important, knows how the Bulldogs rose last year and seems to have ideas about how to do it better. He's still easy to root for.

Check out this link from ESPN on another Mendonca story: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3910035