CHRIS MANNO, duke blue devils

It's hard not to root for Duke's senior lefty Chris Manno. He's humble, gives credit to coaches and teammates before himself and plays the game smart. He's both the kind of guy you want on the mound in a crucial game as well as someone you'd trust to date your sister.

As a sophomore Manno turned heads with a breakout season in which he went 6-2 with a 3.38 ERA. Impressively he struck out 80 batters in just 58.2 innings for a daunting average of 12.27 per nine innings. He kept it cookin' in the Cape over the summer as he pitched for Harwich and was named to the CCBL All-Star Team and All-League teams. He went 3-0 for the Mariners with a 1.21 ERA, 54 strikeouts and a 1.82 opponent batting average in 48.2 innings. After the All Star game, Manno was the talk of the town as he had entered the contest with the bases loaded and just one out. He proceeded to strike out the next two batters before working a perfect seventh with two more strikeouts.

Manno's numbers were down a bit last year, but he still had flashes of brilliance. Against Virginia, he held the CWS bound Cavaliers to a single run and six hits with eight strikeouts over six innings. Against another top ten team Georgia Tech, Manno fanned 10 Yellow Jackets in just six innings. The Brooklyn transplant finished the season eighth in the ACC with a .234 opponent batting average. He warned professional teams of his intention of returning to Duke for his senior season, but despite the word of caution, he was still drafted by the Washington who wanted to see him in a Nationals' uniform.

Ping!Baseball recently had occasion to talk with the Duke hurler and he was everything he had been made out to be and more:

Ping!Baseball: Your regular season numbers from 2008 to 2009 diminished a little bit, mostly due to a slow start last year. Yet your second half of the season, which was against stronger ACC competition, was solid. Was there something going in the early spring that inhibited you?

Manno: It had a lot to do with that I had never thrown that much. I threw throughout the 2008 season and then I went to the Cape , and then I took a pretty substantial amount of time off. It wasn't the amount of innings I threw, but the time off. It kind of set me off a little bit. I had to take a certain amount of time off and for me, I'm a thrower; the more I throw the better I get and I've never had, knock on wood, any arm pain or soreness whatsoever so I just throw, throw, throw. It was common sense that I had to take a break. Honestly, that break kind of set me back a little bit in regards to feeling good and being able to have the control of the strike zone like I wanted. At the beginning of the year it wasn't that I wasn't ready, it was just something different for me. I just had to adjust to it. I didn't play that summer schedule after my freshman year as I went back home and played my old legion team because I was young enough to play still.

Manno: I really wanted to go back to school during the summer and train. This was after the draft and I wanted go back to school, gain some weight, throw some ‘pens and really focus on this upcoming season. Summer ball was the best experience of my life and it was unbelievable exposure, but in regards to improving when you're there, it's not the ideal place because it's more about performing. Going back to Duke was the best thing I could have done. My coaches were there, like Sean Snedeker my pitching coach I worked with him, my strength training coach, it was the best decision I could have made. It's really helped me step up game and its going to help me this year without a doubt.

Manno: Being herky jerky isn't necessarily a bad thing. You can watch a bunch of major league pitchers who are jerky jerky and funky, but their mechanics are actually good. My mechanics have developed throughout years and they're very sound if you watch them on tape. The way I deliver the ball and the way it comes out are just different. I do everything my coaches tell me to do and they've really, really helped me over the years. I just throw a little different – which is kind of good from what I heard.  

Ping!Baseball: You were a late round draft choice of the Washington Nationals in the amateur drafts last spring. Was there much consideration in turning down the Nat's offers to go pro? You could been paid to play and continued your education later.

Manno: Absolutely. That was definitely a consideration. I was honored to be drafted by them. You have to understand that I still have a lot of space for improving at the school I'm at right now. I haven't outgrown my coaches and I still have a lot to learn from them. I feel like I'm at the university with the best coaching staff in the nation to be quite honest. I have everything on hand for me - the facilities are unbelievable, my pitching coach is an ex minor league guy and he couldn't be better and I still have so much to learn from him. In regards to me possibly signing it was absolutely and option, it's always been my dream to sign, but it just wasn't the right time. To be very honest I made it quite clear to scouts that it was going to take a significant commitment for me to leave an institution like Duke. I also wanted to finish what I started here. I know I'm going to be able to play next year and I can't wait, but I'm exciting to learn more from my coaching staff and hopefully be the anchor that my teams needs on the first night of the weekend.

Manno: Breaking ball. Breaking ball. Breaking ball. Breaking ball. I have been a fastball, changeup guy with a decent slider. Sean Snedeker, my pitching coach, and Mac (Head Coach Sean McNally ), we worked on my breaking ball and tried to have that as a consistent pitch in my arsenal. We absolutely drilled it and I think I've nailed it. We're really excited to have that.

Ping!Baseball: Did you background growing up in Brooklyn shape you at all as a ball player?

Manno: I've been really lucky as to how I've grown up. Number one, my family has been so supporting in everything I've not and not just baseball. My family has been a big baseball family and being in Brooklyn I did nothing but eat, sleep and drink baseball. I played for an organization called Youth Service where guys like Manny Ramirez, Shawn Dunston and Julio Lugo played. It's mainly a Hispanic and Dominican organization and it was the best experience that I could have had. Coach Mel Zitter , he's the head guy, he's has a baseball hungry, love for the game environment; I couldn't ask for more. Everyday, day in and day out, it with was kids who are my family. We played in leagues and days when we didn't have games or practice we'd get together and play stickball or take BP. There wasn't a day in high school during the summer or during the school year that I didn't see my friend and work with them or play ball with them.

Ping!Baseball: What can we expect from the 2010 Blue Devils baseball team?

Manno: I think we're going to get better and better every year and I'm really excited about this year. Every year I've been here the team has been really close and we're just workers. This year is a lot different as we've really clicked in regards to just work ethic and our want to stay up at the field out of commitment times. I think that is the biggest part of success. I think our coaching staff is the best in the nation, but they can only do so much in the time that they are allowed to. They use that time to the best of their ability and that's phenomenal, but I think our main way to success is our work ethic. The younger kids on our team want to be at the field all night and it's going to pay off. I think we're going to be good. There's a lot of young talent and a lot of veteran talent.

Manno: (Laughs) Piwnica- Worms! In the beginning probably pronouncing his name to be honest. We call him P-Dub's because no one could say his name, but now it's definitely facing a tough lineup. He's one of my brothers now and I'll never forget that name.