Michigan OF Patrick Biondi

Michigan has never been a power in the world of NCAA baseball, where dominant teams in the Mid-Atlantic States, Texas, and the Pacific Coast dominate the sport.  They've gained some momentum of late, however, after they grabbed an improbable 2-seed during the 2008 college playoffs, eventually being eliminated by Kentucky.  That year, they were ranked #18 in the nation, the highest they've been in recent memory.

This year Michigan starts the season picked 2nd in the conference by the coaches.  Minnesota is picked to win the conference, with Indiana, MSU, Iowa, and Ohio State rounding out the top six.  A trio of Sophomores were picked as "players to watch" as well - OF Patrick Biondi, SP Bobby Brosnahan, and SS Derek Dennis.  Biondi was named a Freshman All American after his campaign last year saw him set Michigan freshman records in both stolen bases (29) and runs scored (69).  All three were named to the Big-Ten Freshman All Conference team from last year.

Things have been rough so far this year, as the Wolverines have had real trouble generating offense.  Michigan entered the season with a real opportunity to win the opening weekend February 18th against Louisville, St. Johns, and Uconn in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge and likely find themselves back in the rankings for the first time since the 2008 campaign.  Unfortunately they dropped all three games, and find themselves increasingly frustrated:

There's no other way to say it... the weekend quickly went from disappointment to frustration. We didn't end up on the winning end in any of our first three games, but on top of that, we got stuck in Nashville, Tenn., due to the great weather that we get in the Detroit area.

That's Senior Captain 2B Anthony Toth.  He did remain positive:

Despite not coming up victorious this weekend, there were a lot of positive signs to be noticed. For starters, we hit the ball really well even though sometimes the center-fielder of the opposing team didn't have to move to catch it. But hey, that's baseball. We also saw some pitchers compete in a very positive way. With such a young team we're going to need guys to step up who haven't experienced success in the past... and this weekend some guys showed that they were capable of doing so.

Sometimes you hit it really well, right to other team.  The team has thus far been unable to turn the corner, however, dropping all three games against Rutgers this past weekend.  When you look at the post-series notes, it's clear that youth is going to be a continued issue of this team.  There were numerous errors in the field and some wild pitches that allowed Rutgers to score; the Scarlet Knights did not return the favor.  Offensively, the team is batting just .270 compared to their opponent's aggregate average of .350. 

It appears, at least from the start of this season, that Michigan is going to have to figure out a way to generate offense, because their defense and pitching is not going to be what wins them games.  Collectively, the Wolverines pitching staff has an ERA of 6.92 compared to their opponents 3.50.  Even when the pitching is working - as it was against the Mets in an exhibition game - the defense is very suspect.  Michigan lost that game 7-1 while only allowing 1 earned run.

They're back in action tonight against Florida Gulf Coast, where they'll look to get this thing back on the rails.  Michigan is 0-6 for the first time since going 0-8 in 1996.  The talent that led them to be picked 2nd in the conference is still there - they're just out of sync right now.  Hopefully as they get out of the heavy travel portion of their schedule, and into conference play, they'll be able to put it all together.  Here's the BTN Schedule for Michigan Baseball:

Unfortunately there isn't much to say right now except that you hope that they get out of this slump and pull it together.  The season is still very young, and the Big Ten season and Tournament are still realistic goals for this squad, who should improve dramatically as they get more games under their belts.

Wait, what?

Baseball, yes that baseball, is literally right around the corner.  Last year, UM put together an impressive run that ended with one of these:

via www.mgoblue.com - click to enbiggen

Of course, this was nothing really new to the Wolverines, as this was their third consecutive Big Ten title.  Head coach Rich Maloney deserves a ton of the credit here, as it is tough for a school like Michigan to pull talent away from those damned warm-weather schools where baseball prospects are grown on trees, harvested,

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Matchup: Michigan 13-5, (3-3); Penn State 14-5, (3-3)

TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050)

Tip-off: 9 p.m., Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pa.

Line: Penn State by 2.

Two straight conference losses will take their toll on a team. After getting pounded inside by Illinois and Ohio State in back to back contests, Michigan takes on another surprising and vastly improved Big Ten team in Penn State.

At 14-5 the Lions are light years ahead of where anyone in their right mind thought they'd be this season. During the Big Ten/ACC tournament the Lions knocked off heavily favored Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and they've topped Purdue in Happy Valley. Not too shabby. But the Lions schedule is one of the weakest in the Big Ten, posted a woeful Ken Pomeroy schedule ranking of 222 and a non-conf schedule ranking of 322! By the way, their RPI is 86. Penn State has feasted on the lower end of the D-1 platter, making their most impressive win after Purdue, their victory over Northwestern. So, yeah, there's an opportunity here.

The Matchups

If there's a team in the Big Ten that Michigan actually matches up against, it's Penn State. For the first time in a week, Michigan won't face a 9 foot corn stalk in the middle of the floor. The tallest guy on PSU's team that sees any minutes is Andrew Jones III, a 6-9 forward who is second on the team in rebounding at 5.2 a game, but doesn't have a lot of offensive capability. What Jones does is fill time for Penn State's more dominant post player, 6-5 Jamelle Cornley. Cornley's failed to score in double figures just twice this season, and went for 26 against Michigan State when the Lions almost upset the Spartans a week ago. Despite his height, Cornley's a load under the basket and isn't afraid to take the ball up strong. As a result, he's taken 79 Free Throws this season, but made only 58% of them.

While Cornley is the inside, the outside belongs to Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle. Battle is definitely the more intriguing of the pair, though they're both damn good ball players. Battle is generously listed at 5-10, but it's the same as saying Kelivn Grady is 6-0. It's a lie. What Battle is, however, is aggressive. In the PSU games I've watched Battle has no reservations about putting the ball up from anywhere on the court. He's averaging 13 shots a game with around 7 of those shots being three point attempts. And he's not just content on the perimeter. Battle takes the ball to the rim with some consistency, as witnessed by his 122 FT attempts this season. (For comparison's sake, Manny Harris has taken only 116 FT). Battle's done a fairly good job of filling the bucket, shooting 43% FG and 40% from three. He's scored 19 or more points eleven times this year and has four 20+ point games in his last seven contests. He's short, but he's fast. To be honest, I'm not sure who's matching up with him. (probably LLP).

Pringle's another smallish guard who loves to shoot from the outside. Pringle doesn't attack the basket the same way that Battle does, but he really doesn't have to. Pringle's shooting 50% from three on 78 attempts. Again, for compairson Manny Harris has 82 three-point attempts and shooting 34%. Do the math and you'll figure out where Pringle's points are coming from. Pringle likes his jump shots, and oddly, he's a little better outside the arc than inside it, averaging around 46% when shooting for two. Those aren't number to sneeze at. Honestly, if he took a few more shots, he'd easily be leading the team in scoring, but seems content to play third fiddle for some reason. I've seen him go in and out of games. Pouring in points one moment and disappearing for long stretches before erupting again. It's worth noting that Pringle really is the Lion's barmometer. When he's scoring, PSU usually wins. When he's cold, as he was against MSU and Minnesota, PSU loses. Somehow I see Harris on him like glue the whole game.

With the aforementioned threesome averaging over 14 a piece, there's not a lot of ancillary scoring. Guard Danny Morrissey, Forward David Jackson, and 6-8 forward Jeff Brooks fill out the majority of the minutes with Jones III. Morrissey fancies himself a three point specialist, with 75 of his 98 FTAs being three pointers. But Morrissey's aim hasn't been the best, he's shooting just 32% from behind the arc. Still, he's a three point threat, so we've gotta watch him. Jackson and Brooks are inside 15 feet players, and put in between 18 and 20 minutes a game, a couple of rebounds and 4 points or so a piece. I don't expect them to hurt us, but if they do, throw things at the TV because we're in trouble.

Game Plan

Michigan's going through a horrendous drought from the floor right now that really shows no sign of abating. I'm willing to guess that 90% of that is playing teams that are a foot taller than they are and having to defend them down low. Fortunately, Penn State isn't that type of team so Michigan shouldbe able to play "their" game rather than expend extra energy trying to keep Tisdale/Mullens out of the lane.

But for Michigan to pull out a win, they're going to have to pick better shots.  Michigan is the Big Ten's second-worst shooting team, at 43%, and the second-worst from three-point range, hitting just 33.8%.That's not good. Honestly, it sucks. But the key to fixing this is fairly evident: move your ass. Over the last three games Michigan has gone from out working their opponents to getting worked over. No one is moving without the ball and everyone is standing around outside the arc looking for an open three pointer to drop into their lap. Unfortunately when it doesn't appear, they're taking contested three pointers instead of doing the work to get down low and actually set up an open shot.

DeShawn Sims looks whipped right now. Just out of steam. 4 games in 10 days does that to a kid, but so does defending guys six inches taller than him. Michigan's got to take some of the pressure off Sims on the defensive end against opposing bigs, and PSU's lack of height might just do that. I expect Sims to return to his usual self and pot 7 buckets tonight, or at least shot a better percentage than his current 7-for-27 slump.

Manny will be Manny, but his supporting cast needs to step up. Novak continues to search for his shot, as do Grady and LLP. If Douglas can continue to knock back critical three's, keep him in the lineup, but I have to admit I prefer Novak's defense to Stu's.

If Michigan actually moves without the ball and creates their own opportunities, they can walk out of Penn State with a win. Stand around and pick their nose like they have the last two games and Michigan's looking at a 3-4 record and a nasty hill to climb for an NCAA invite.

See you tonight at the Open Thread.

A lot of things have been written about baseball. Every year more than a handful of masters or Ph.D. students submit dissertations and theses on the game proclaiming it dead, alive, hibernating, pulsing, or suffering the same steady decline as the aging superpower that spawned it. The old guard writes romantically about the fabric of American life, baseball and apple pie. About the sham of Pete Rose’s gambling and the carnival sideshow that the steroid era has brought. As if there weren’t enough voices, over the past decade a new form of baseball writing has emerged. One purely wedded to statistics and computer league play. A brand of writing without loyalty to a particular team or style of play, but devoted to numbers, projections and the standard deviation.

I chose not to focus on these things simply because they are nothing more than a collection of words randomly grouped on paper. They don’t reflect my views or more importantly my feelings about baseball. They don’t reflect the mysticism or magic you feel as a fan or player when a special season or special team plays for the school you love so dear. Baseball is as much about anticipation and appreciation as it is about athletic achievement, and this year’s Michigan Baseball team provided both feelings in abundance.

Irrespective of the Yankee’s 25 World Series titles, baseball is a southern sport. It is meant to be played on a cool summer day when the clouds are driven away by the sun. It requires us to be outside, to take in and enjoy the passage of time with people whose company we enjoy, while we nervously attempt to predict the outcome of each pitch. For those who play, baseball requires hours upon hours of tedious practice, wind sprints, batting practice, and screaming coaches, all for the right to step into the batters box three, perhaps four times in a nine inning game. It also requires that your muscles be relaxed enough to turn on a 94 mile an hour fastball, rather than clinched tighter than a steel rope in an attempt to prevent heat from escaping your body in mid November.

As a result, the southern and California boys have a developed a stranglehold on the College World Series. Their access to sun and warmth provide them with numerous advantages, not the least of which is to play games in their own back yard in the middle of February.

The intrepid Northern team must spend its late winter, early spring on the road. Playing tournaments in places like Boca Raton, Charleston, Shreveport, or Oklahoma City, all the while sleeping in hotel rooms, eating fast food, and missing their friends and their classes. There are only a handful of schools north of the Mason-Dixon that take baseball seriously.  Sadly, these schools do not populate the same conference, so their RPI’s take a beating once conference play begins, as the southern schools bask in the sun and the perceived serious conference competition.

Even before the season begins, Michigan knew the deck was most certainly stacked against them.

But this was a special team. Nearly the same team that made the NCAA’s for the second straight year after a decade of sanctions and mediocrity. The same team that took out last year’s overall No. 1 seed Vanderbilt and the game’s best college pitcher. The same team that gave eventual champions Oregon State its toughest games of the postseason. Something was building.

And because of this, Michigan’s players and fans alike began this season with a nervous anticipation. A feeling in the gut that’s not quite butterflies and not quite excitement. A feeling that something special was there for the taking, but it would not be taken easily.

Michigan’s pre-conference play included three eventual NCAA invitees in Arizona State, East Carolina, and Coastal Carolina; it even included the New York Mets. While some of the results were not what anyone would hope for, you could see momentum building as the Wolverines rolled into conference play.

And once the big blue boulder got rolling, there was little stopping it. Michigan went into hyperdrive once conference play began, amassing a 26-5 record in Big Ten play and setting a new record for Big Ten conference wins. All this despite starting its season on the road, playing out of hotels, and completing their assignments on a greasy Denny’s table while their buddies back home partied ‘till 2.

Once in the tournament they battled through a rain extended opener against Kentucky to earn the right to play 1 seeded Arizona later that day. Then, on a couple hours of rest, were within three inches of toppling the Wildcats.

Though Michigan did not advance to the Super Regionals, this season was a tremendous accomplishment. A Big Ten Conference Championship. A Big Ten Tournament Championship. A new record for Conference wins. Michigan’s first home Regional since the 80’s. And they demonstrated for all to see that the northern boys can play with the southern and the western schools.

As last season rolls into next season, we are left to appreciate the accomplishments of a special group of young men who wore the Maize and Blue. We are also left with a nervous anticipation of the upcoming season. What happens now that Nate, Zach and Chris are gone? Who will replace the gaps in the middle of the field? How will we match up against the Big Ten and start the season?

These are all questions that we never could have anticipated we’d ask five years ago. And now we’re left with a feeling in our gut that’s not quite butterflies and not quite excitement. A feeling that something special is there for the taking, but won’t be taken easily.

For that feeling, I owe my gratitude to Michigan’s 2007-2008 Baseball Team.

In a year where Michigan won its Conference regular season, Conference Tournament, was ranked in the top 25, made the NCAA playoffs and was chosen as a host venue for the College World Series Regional Qualifiers, there was a lot to be thankful for. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, their outstanding season came to a close Sunday with a 12-6 loss to Kentucky. The prior afternoon, Michigan came up just short of eventual regional champion Arizona by a 4-3 margin.

In both games the Wolverines showed character and determination, battling back from early deficits and competing throughout those contests. Maize n Brew extends its congratulations to Michigan's baseball team on an outstanding season.

(Due to real life time constraints, this will be it for today and possibly tomorrow. Posting should resume as usual Wednesday. In the meantime, if you've got thoughts, pictures, or a detailed wrap up of the games floating around your brain, please post them in the FanPosts or FanShot, and do my best to give them their due! - Thanks, MnB Dave)

Despite falling behind early, Michigan roared from behind and withstood a 13 hour overnight delay to top Kentucky 7-5. Michigan faces Arizona in a battle of the unbeatens tonight at 7pm. Chris Fetter will get tonight's nod on the hill.

Zach Putnam improved to 9-0 on the season with five solid innings of one-run ball
before the skies opened up Friday night. When play resumed the Wolverines held on to 5-1 lead, finishing the game 7-5. The only downside was an undisclosed injury to Big Ten Player of the Year Nate Recknagel, who injured his left hand in a collision at First Base when play resumed Saturday morning. Sophomore Mike Dufek replaced him in the line-up and will likely get the start at First tonight.

First pitch is at 7, so if you're in town head down to the Fish to cheer the team on

#95 in our continuing Series of 100 Days to Football and 100 Reasons to Love Ann Arbor

#95 - Ray Fisher Stadium

via mgoblue.com

In honor of the baseball team being selected as a NCAA Baseball Tournament Regional Host and Michigan's outstanding season, the venerable Ray Fisher Stadium, home of the Maize n' Nine, is number #95 on our Countdown.

If you've got suggestions on places you'd like to see, email me with a photo or a description and we'll get your favorite hangouts in the countdown as well.

Though Michigan's hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA baseball tournament didn't come to fruition, the Wolverines were awarded the right to host their NCAA regional for the first time since 1986. Just goes to show you what winning your conference outright along with sinking a boatload of money into your facilities will do. Michigan is the only northern school to host a regional, one of a handful of northern schools in the tournament, and the only northern school in the top 25.

Michigan draws No. 1 Arizona (Nationally Ranked No. 23, 38-17, 4th in the Pac-10), No. 3 seeded Kentucky (No. 24, 42-17, 4th in the SEC), and No. 4 seeded Eastern Michigan (Not Ranked, 25-32, MAC tournament champ). The full Baseball America Rankings are here. It's arguable Arizona is the weakest No. 1 seed in the tournament, but they did split their season series with No. 4 in the nation Arizona State, including taking 2 of 3 from the Sun Devils during their last regular season series. The same Sun Devils that kicked the holy hell out of Michigan earlier in the year (though neither Putnam nor Fetter pitched). If you're curious, the full tournament bracket can be found here.

The four-team double-elimination tournament starts on Friday, with the first pitch between Arizona and Eastern Michigan scheduled for 2pm at the Fish. Michigan takes to the field for the nightcap with a 7pm start. Ticket information is here. Regardless of whether Michigan or Arizona got the No. 1 seed, the winner of this bracket will likely face No. 1 overall seed Miami in the round. Seeding be dammed. It don't get any easier. If you're wondering how all these selections get made, Corn Nation, whose Corn Huskers are a No. 1 seed themselves, breaks it down in detail from last years tournament.

Looking ahead to Michigan's first game, Kentucky finished the season 42-17, 4th in the SEC, and went 1-2 in the SEC tournament. Though they finished mid-pack in the SEC, this Kentucky team finished with the most wins in Wildcat history. They've got a guy named Sawyer Carroll who is batting .416 with 78 RBIs (21 more than his closest teammate). On the mound Greg Dombrowski will carry the load for the Cats. Rusin, statistically at least, is the better pitcher giving up only 25 earned in 82 plus innings. Dombrowski appears to be more of a power pitcher, gets more K's in fewer innings but gives up a lot of hits, walks and dingers (he's sitting on a 1.532 WHIP).

In terms of common opponents, Michigan and Kentucky played against Oakland, Eastern Michigan, and Purdue. The Oakland series we'll just ignore because the resulting thrashings, but Eastern's in the tournament and Purdue played Michigan tight in the Big Ten this year.

The Wildcats took two from Eastern Michigan earlier this year in convincing fashion and swept a 3 game series from Purdue. Looking at the results between the common opponents, Kentucky and Michigan are evenly matched. The 'Cats pulled a squeaker out on Eastern and thumped them during the second game.
Same for Michigan. The argument can be made Eastern's the weakest team in the tournament though Mt. St. Mary's 21-32 record might give them a run for that title. The Purdue games probably give you your best impression of how the teams will match up and based on the close results for both, I'm guessing this will probably be a 5-4, 6-5 type game. Michigan will role out Fetter or Putnam to start the tournament depending on who is the freshest.

In an effort to get everyone up to speed, A Sea of Blue, SB Nation's outstanding Kentucky blog, and I will be doing a Q&A on Kentucky as the week goes on. More details to follow as they become available. Go Blue!