Cal Baseball Open Thread: Game 2 at Furd

Time: 1 PM PDT
Radio: KALX 90.7 FM
Gametracker: Click here

Cal lost the opener of the series 3-2 after a balk and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th. Ouch.

Rusty Simmons at the Chronicle wrote an article this weekend about the quirky Justin Jones, who will probably get the start this afternoon.

After selecting Jones in the seventh round out of Oakdale (Stanislaus County) High, the White Sox didn't reach his $300,000 signing-bonus request. Jones attended Cal's summer bridge program, where his Chicano studies and college writing classes reminded him of his home-schooling days through eighth grade. He realized that Berkeley complemented his eccentricity.

"I love sparking up conversations with the homeless and hearing what they have to say," said Jones, whose bangs are trimmed just out of his eyes, which constitutes a "recent haircut." "I like giving. I'd rather see other people happy than me."

Jones taught himself to play the guitar, the bass, the piano and the violin. He brings a stuffed penguin, named Petey, on trips and now to games. Before every game, he listens to Bob Dylan's "Hurricane," Jason Lytle's "Yours Truly, the Commuter," and the Eels' "Prizefighter."

"I'm kind of a quirky goofball," Jones said. "I have some weird tendencies. I guess it's a lefty thing."