OT - it's the summer.  Calm down.

I grew up in Indiana in something of a baseball vacuum.  The Cubs were West, the Indians were East (um - right - see comments...), and you never really knew what you were going to get if you ran into a Cards fan.  God help you with the Red's fans.  I grew up being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and remain one to this day, as painful of a proposition as that is.  I think it was mostly to be a jerk to my friends who were Cubs fans; and of course the Pirates of my childhood were actually good. 

Sid Bream isn't a name you hear too often in baseball.  He was not a 5-tool player, as they say.  A career .254 first baseman, he couldn't throw, couldn't run, and couldn't hit.  His tools primarily relied on being left handed, and having a good eye at the plate.  The wheels were already coming off the wagon when he drew a walk off of Pittsburgh Pirate's ace Doug Drabek in game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, prompting then Pirate's manager Jim Leyland to take Drabek out of the game.  Two outs and a Sac Fly later, 3rd string(!) catcher Francisco Cabrera came to the plate for the Atlanta Braves with David Justice on 2nd, and Sid Bream - slow, no-tool Sid Bream - on 1st.  Cabrera sent one into left center on a rope; a base hit that would score David Justice - 5-tool David Justice - easily from 2nd to tie the game.  As Barry Bonds, then skinnily stalking left field in Pittsburgh, fielded the ball, he must have been surprised to look up and see Sid Bream being waved around third to go for the winning run.  He must have though "huh?" and that "huh" was all it took.  His throw, surprisingly limp-armed even for skinny Bonds, traveled up the first baseline.  There was no cutoff because if that throw didn't make it, there was no tomorrow.  Pirates catcher Mike LaValliere fielded the ball and blindly dove towards the plate where Sid Bream was flopping/sliding safely to end the game and send the Braves to the World Series.  The Braves went on to win their division a record 345 times in a row (what?), and the Pirates haven't had a winning season since.

It hasn't been fun to be a Pirates fan.

And so it was in this environment that I moved from Indiana to Boston and had the option of either hating the hometown Red Sox - as it would be so easy to do - or joining the bandwagon.  I couldn't jump on fast enough.  Then they won the World Series.  Then they won it again.  And I got to know a whole side of baseball that I never knew, namely, the winning side.  I also got to watch a team the way that I've always associated with the 1940's and 50's fervor (this was before getting married, obviously).  After awhile, you kind of get to know these guys in a way that is completely different from football or basketball.  You can see when Pedroia is pressing a little bit - and you tell him to calm down.  You can see the emotion when Terry Francona hugged Jon Lester - having just returned from cancer treatments - after his no-hitter in 2007, and you tear up a little yourself.  Baseball is a slow tour of a sport that allows the fan, if the proper investment is made, to reap the greatest benefit of all - the feeling of being there.  College football is a sprint of color and fanfare that disappears before you're able to see it.  Baseball is an endurance race across a desert; the scenery can be boring, but when you reach those oasis's of punctuated excitement, it's a sight never sweeter.  Dallas Braden gave us one of those sights just this past weekend.

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A part of getting to know the players on such a scale is the inevitable heartbreak when one of your guys doesn't have it anymore.  David Ortiz used to stride confidently into the lefty batter's box and stare down the pitcher in a way that I feel one rarely sees in the human race.  It was purely animal intentions - a superior male sizing up an adversary that might be a challenge, but one easily dispensed with a whip of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and a slow trot around the bases.  The glare hasn't gone away yet, but the fear has.  Teams, sensing that David Ortiz is vulnerable, have stopped putting on the shift.  He's dropped in the order.  He's platooning with Mike Lowell - a fine player in his own right, but nowhere near Ortiz in his prime.

Each time Ortiz comes up to bad, puts the bat down, spits on his hands and claps twice, I hope.  I hope that this is the At Bat that turns it around for him, that he will somehow start catching up to that fastball and start pulling those balls down the right field line the way he used to.  In my lifetime of watching sports, I don't actually know that there's another player that I hope for the way I hope for David Ortiz.  And when he strikes out, or pops out, or hits a harmless fly ball to the shortstop (it's been that bad...) we see all the things that David is feeling right on his sleeve.  He stomps back to the dugout, snapping his bat over his knee.  He gets a reassuring, but somehow patronizing tap on the shoulder from Terry Francona, who says in my mind "you'll get'em next time" even though it's patently obvious to everyone watching that there might not be a next time.  No one knows this better than Terry.  And Ortiz sits from the dugouts across the country and in Back Bay, watching the vultures circle; the hyena's move in; the sportswriters clamoring for the kill.  It's one of the hardest things to watch; the once great hitter who can't catch up to the fastball and looks udderly useless against a good slider - a pitch he used to crack off the monster with a flick of his wrist. 

My hope is that he turns it around.  My gut says he won't.  And I doubt he'll be in Boston at the end of the month.  It will be on that day that it just might be easier to be a Pirates fan. 

I have, over the course of moving from baseball deprived Indiana to baseball batshitcrazyinsane Boston, become a fan of the game.  I, like the vast majority of American boys, played little league growing up and always followed baseball, but more from a "disinterested party" viewpoint than a true fan.  I could eloquently argue - and often did - which shortstop I would want to build a team around in 2002, and I could probably name you the division leaders at any given time during the season, but it never really occurred to me that some people live, breath, and die with a team.  Until Boston.

It was easy to be a Red Sox fan in 2005.  And I know, I should - as Brian put it - just go ahead and get Duke shorts, and a Laker's jersey and just get it over with, but I feel like I didn't really have a team other than the Pirates (who I grew up loving.  Also: unwatchable), and in Boston you're either with the Red Sox, or you're miserable for a good portion of the summer which is really the only time one can be "happy" in New England.  I jumped on that bandwagon and haven't let go.  And oh - rooting for a contender is fun!  Who knew?

In a fantastic book by David Halberstam entitled "Summer of '49" the author recounts the players that always fascinated him as a youth.  They weren't the superstars: DiMaggio, Williams, Yogi.  Those guys already had the genetic kiss from God (or whoever, really).  They didn't need his help.  The guys he pulled for were the still very good, but journeymen players who scraped every day.  Pitchers like Ellis Kinder and 2nd basemen Bobby Doeer.  I feel a certain kinship with that line of thinking in the players I root for.  Guys like Mike Lowell, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield and Jason Bay (even pre-Red Sox, remember, Pirates fan...).  I know my audience here, and I'm not pandering, but guys like Miguel Cabrera (who is about to crack into super-stardom and lose some appeal) and Dontrelle Willis (I will root like hell for that kid, even though it looks like he may be done...) are two other guys I like.  And my favorite Tiger - one who is getting a chance to be honored this All Star Break - Brandon Inge.

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A day after meeting with the University of Tennessee about their head coaching position, Michigan Baseball Head Coach Rich Maloney agreed to a 5-year contract with the University of Michigan. The Free Press and common sense both indicate Maloney's new contract will make him the highest paid baseball coach in the Big Ten.

As MGoBlog and the rest of the Michigan press were reporting yesterday, Tennessee's vacant head coaching position would appeal to anyone, even a guy who said Michigan was his dream job. As a southern school with a noteworthy baseball history, Tennessee was able to offer not only a better climate but significantly more money than Maloney was making at Michigan.

The question for Michigan fans was whether it was important enough to the University to step up to the plate and secure the baseball program's future by keeping Maloney. His results speak for themselves. Three straight trips to the baseball national championship playoffs and a Regional Crown. Two Big Ten regular season titles and a Big Ten Tournament title. Michigan beat the No. 1 team in the country, twice, on Vanderbilt's home turf. Michigan has averaged 42 wins over the last three years and has never finished with a losing record. For the first time in twenty years Michigan is recruiting top baseball talent, has a major renovation of Fisher Stadium underway, and enough momentum to make the major baseball powers take notice that a northern school can play ball.

Michigan's AD Bill Martin didn't miss his chance to secure that future, and signed Maloney to the long term deal he wanted and deserved. However, the credit for this deal goes to both men. Martin for ponying up the cash and time to a coach who was worth it and to Maloney for actually meaning what he said when he declared Michigan his dream job.

A good day for Michigan.

Go Blue!

A banner year for the University of Michigan baseball team came to a close last night as the Wolverines fell to Oregon State 8-2. The loss eliminated Michigan from the College World Series and punched Oregon State's ticket to Omaha.

Like yesterday's 1-0 loss, walks cost Michigan. A lead off walk in the top of the ninth lead to Sunday's only run. Similarly, walks accounted for the first run scored in Monday night's game and sealed a Michigan defeat.

That was where the similarities ended. Unlike Putnam's masterful performance on Sunday, Mike Wilson, Michael Powers, and Chris Fetters looked lost on the mound. Early on it was apparent none of Michigan's first three pitchers had much in their tank. Pitches were in the dirt. Arm angles were off. Pitches were being guided rather than thrown.

Sadly, things started well. Wilson started the game with a walk and three strike outs. It was over the next third of an inning he completely fell apart. Wilson walked the bases full with one out in the second inning, and walked in a run on four pitches to Hopkins. Wilson was lifted after missing badly on his first offering to Joey Wong. Michael Powers came into the game inheriting Wilson's 1-0 count and walked Wong on four pitches, forcing in another run. Powers would give up an 2 RBI single before finally getting out of the inning. Despite failing to give up a hit, Wilson's final line was: 1.1 innings; 0 hits; 4 runs; 4 earned runs; 4  BB; 4 Ks; 10 batters faced.

Things didn't get much better after he left. Oregon State plated three more runs before Michigan got on the board.

The story of the game was simply that Michigan's pitchers could not locate the strike zone. While some of the blame can be placed on home plate umpire Mitch Mele's floating strike zone, the majority must be placed on the shoulders of Michigan's first three pitchers. During the second inning neither Wilson nor Powers were anywhere near the plate. Seemingly convinced their fastballs were not good enough, both pitchers relied on an assortment of dirt bound breaking pitches to load the bases and clear them with base hits. Close pitches were called balls, but in fairness to the umpire, when a pitcher isn't anywhere near the plate on his three prior pitches he's not supposed to get the benefit of the doubt.

Curves were not curving. Sliders did not slide. It appeared as thought Michigan's pitchers were afraid to throw a fastball. Michigan was down 2-0 before the first hit of the game put them down 4-0. It is said when you're confident, pitching is like throwing a stone in the ocean. When you're not, it's like threading a needle with barbed wire. After yesterday's performance it is a safe assumption no one's fingers escaped unscathed.

The same could not be said for Oregon State starter Mike Stutes. Stutes went 8 strong innings, fanning 9 and giving up only 3 hits and 2 runs. He constantly kept Michigan batters off balance with a mid 90's fastball and a high 70's change up. Despite working behind in the count the majority of the game, Stutes seemed to control the at bats knowing Michigan's hitters were desperate for base runners. Falling behind on several 3-0 counts, Stutes fired lasers across home plate to fill the count and then finished his victims with his change up.

I wasn't until Eric Rose turned on an inside fastball in the top of the 6th that Michigan finally got on the board. His home run made it 7-1. Rose would homer again in the top of the ninth, but the game's outcome was decided by that point. Through 8 innings Michigan managed only two hits including Rose's first home run. The Wolverines normally potent lineup fell silent in Corvalis, going .133 (8/60), securing a single walk, striking out 11 times, and scoring only 2 runs.

Another popular baseball saying is "Good pitching beats good hitting." That axiom was on full display Monday night. My congratulations go out to Oregon State and to Jake over at Building the Dam, best of luck in defending your title.

Despite the bitter ending to a sweet season, Michigan's loss in the Super Regionals does not eclipse the superb season this team had. Michigan went 42-18, won the Big Ten regular season crown, won a regional championship for the first time since 1984, and defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the country twice on their home field.

Michigan has a bona fide Ace in sophomore Zach Putnam. Despite losing key cogs like Rose and Roblin to graduation, this is a very young team comprised of freshmen and sophomores. Next year's team will have senior leadership in VanBuskirk and Pickens, and experience from this season's triumphs.

This team put Michigan back on the National Baseball stage after twenty years of purgatory. They gave us a season to remember too. Thanks guys. Job well done.

* photos courtesy AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens and UM Photo Services

Zach Putnam did everything he could to give Michigan a chance to win. Despite holding the Beavers hitless through eight innings the score was knotted at 0-0 into the bottom half of the ninth. After allowing a lead off walk to Scott Santschi, Putnam retired the next two hitters before Joey Wong hacked up a soft ground ball with eyes that found the empty middle of the Wolverine defense. Pinch runner Braden Wells advanced to second on a sacrifice and sprinted around the bases well ahead of the throw from VanBuskirk.

Game one, Oregon State.

Michigan's bats were quiet on Sunday, managing only four hits. However, there's little time to think and contemplate yesterday's game. Michigan plays do or die tonight at 7pm EST.

Don't expect Michigan's bats to remain silent tonight. With a team batting average well over .300, the Wolerines will be swinging away tonight and likely to far more success. Michigan has responded well to adversity all year and proven they can play with the best in the country.

They'll do it again tonight.

Go Blue!

With yesterday's game getting rained out, first pitch in the Oregon State/Michigan series will take place at 10am EST/11am CST/1pm PST/2pm MST/3pm CST/4pm EST. (For some reason I can't figure out time changes. That makes me an idiot..)

According to the Ann Arbor News, Zach Putman (8-4, 4.13 ERA) will start for the Wolverines. In some ways the washout is a blessing. We'll actually get to see the series now. First pitch is on ESPN regular (not The Ocho).

Go Blue!

Game Time!

The first of three games in Corvalis, Oregon starts at 3pm EST/2pm CST/1pm MST/Noon PST. The game will be aired on ESPNU (which means 4 people will be able to watch it). Michigan's official website has all the details including press releases and CSTV's Gametracker which will allow the ESPNU-less Michigan nation to follow the game. Oregon State's offical site allows you to listen to the game live through Beaver Nation Online ($)

Game Info!

According to the Detroit News, Sophomore Mike Wilson (7-0, 3.07 ERA, 11 starts, 60K, 41 BB, 5 HR) will start on the mound today for the Wolverines. Wilson has an excellent pick off move and leads the team with 8. Wilson has been generally lights out this season. He's second in strike outs and has the best ERA of Michigan's starters. If there's a concern, he walks a lot of people. Even so, his WHIP(Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched) for the season is 1.398, far and away the best WHIP on the team. Despite leading the team in walks, he's given up the fewest hits and runs (earned or otherwise) of Michigan's starters.

Both starters today are excellent young pitchers. According to the Corvalis papers (HT: MGoBlog) Freshman Jorge Reyes will start today against Michigan. Reyes came on after the first quarter of the season and basically bullied his way into the starting rotation by whiffing guys instead of walking them. Reyes throws a nasty fastball that tails in toward right handers. He went 5-3 this season but struck out an obscene 57 batters while walking only 15.

It's going to be a great day and a great game in Corvalis.

Go Blue!

It's gotta be hell to be a PAC-10 blogger. Imagine having to write about USC playing Oregon State every year, or Oregon State playing, well, anybody. While the joke might never get old to us, I'm sure it drives Jake over at Building the Dam nuts (heh).

Despite the wealth of jokes, the purpose of this post is to give you a little insight into Michigan's Super Regional host, Oregon State. The winner of this weekend's three game series earns the right to punch their ticket for Omaha and a berth in the College World Series.

Anyway, on to the Breakdown:

School: Oregon State

Nickname:  The Beavers

Mascot:  "Benny Beaver"

(insert joke here)

History:  Oregon State fielded it's first team in 1907. Since that time, Oregon state has captured NCAA titles in 1952 and 2006, and 22 conference titles.

Head Coach:  Pat Casey (Pac-10 Coach of the Year 2005, 2006; Baseball America Coach of the Year  2006)

2006-2007 Record: 42-18 (Home: 15-7; Away: 21-8; Neutral: 6-3; PAC-10: 10-14 [6th])

2006-2007 Season So Far: It's been a strange year for the Beavers. Despite racking up the third most wins of any team in the PAC-10, Oregon State had all kinds of trouble in conference this season. Starting out 2-4 in conference play, the Beaver went 1-2 against Washington and Washington State, got swept by Arizona and Arizona State. Strangely, the Beavers only seemed to come away with wins against California teams, taking 2 of 3 from USC, Cal, UCLA, and Stanford.

While Oregon State's record didn't look pretty at the end of the conference season, their body of work was impressive. Sweeping Georgia (sorry Kyle) and splitting a series with Texas A&M, Oregon State was playing very well early.  Further, take away their conference struggles, and Oregon State was 32-4 this year.

Oregon State got to the Super Regionals by topping Rutgers and Virgina in Charlottesville. Much like Michigan's triumph over Vanderbilt, Oregon State was expect to have a difficult time on the road against and Virginia team that had played well at home all year. Like Michigan, Oregon State didn't care and dispatched the Cavaliers 2 games to 1.

A Quick Scouting Report

Oregon State is a tough team to figure out. They don't hit a lot of homers. They don't steal a lot of bases. Their 405 runs were 30 fewer than Michigan's. While several members of the 2006 championship team remain, several key members are long gone.

But they win games.

It's difficult to overstate the importance of winning a College World Series, and doing it from the losers bracket. This is an experienced team that not only knows what it is capable of, but knows it has something extra come crunch time.

The way they do it is pitching. This year's Beaver team has given up only 29 home runs and limited their opposition to a .247 team batting average. Walks, hits, homers, and runs are all better than last year's championship team. Where Jonah Nickerson and Dallas Buck won 13 games last year, this year's team sports three 9 game winners and a fairly deep bullpen. In fact, Oregon State's given up 39 fewer runs than Michigan.

With the exception of Darwin Barney (17), they don't commit a lot of errors. The team's .977 fielding percentage is seven points better than Michigan.

On the field, the Beavers line up like this:

Chris Hopkins cf: .266; 50R; 2HR; 24RBI
Mitch Canham c: .323; 48R; 9HR; 54RBI
Mike Lissman lf: .325; 35R; 7HR; 47RBI
Darwin Barney ss: .296; 48R; 4HR; 48RBI
Jordan Lennerton 1b: .325; 35R; 7HR; 47RBI
Jason Ogata dh: .295; 31R; 4HR; 40RBI
Braden Wells rf: .279; 17R; 0HR; 3RBI
Joey Wong 2b: .283; 36R; 0HR; 13 RBI
Lonnie Lechelt 3b: .240; 13R; 2HR; 10RBI

Joe Patterson P: 9-6; 3.81 ERA

Batting Team Leaders

AVG: Mike Lissman .327; Jordan Lennerton .325; Mitch Canham .323; Darwin Barney .296

SLG: Mitch Canham .535; Jordan Lennerton .534; Mike Lissman .491; Darwin Barney .432

Hits: Darwin Barney 74; Mike Lissman 72; Mitch Canham 64; Jordan Lennerton 62

HR: Mitch Canham 9; Mike Lissman 8; Jordan Lennerton 7; Two Tied at 4

RBI: Mike Lissman 56; Mitch Canham 54; Darwin Barney 48; Jordan Lennerton 47

Runs: Chris Hopkins 50; Darwin Barney 48; Mitch Canham 48; Mike Lissman 45

Walks: Mitch Canham 37; Chris Hopkins 31; Two tied at 30

SB: Chris Hopkins 14-19; Darwin Barney 12-15; Braden Wells 10-13

Pitching Team Leaders

Wins: Daniel Turpen 9-1 (3.65); Mike Stutes 9-4 (4.05); Joe Paterson 9-6 (3.81); Jorge Reyes 5-3 (3.48)

ERA (Min 10 games): Mark Grbavac 2.36 (0-1); Anton Maxwell 2.42 (3-1); Eddie Kunz 3.05 (3-1); Jorge Reyes 3.48 (5-3)

Innings: Joe Paterson 118; Mike Stutes 113.1; Daniel Turpen 88.2; Jorge Reyes 62

SO: Mike Stutes 111 K/51 BB; Joe Paterson 74 K/25 BB; Daniel Turpen 57 K/22 BB; Jorge Reyes 57 K/15 BB  

Saves: Eddie Kunz 10 (3-1, 3.05)

That's what we're looking at.

Go Blue!