College baseball fansites are far and few between and ones dedicated to the Big Ten are even rarer. So that’s why I was happy to run across Big Ten Hardball. It’s been since January 2005 covering diamond news for the Big Ten conference.

To be honest, I found out about it because they linked to Baseball Zealot Radio’s interview of Illini shortstop Shawn Roof. If you haven’t heard it yet, take a listen.

By the way, Brian the blogger for BTH, also puts out Beyond Boxscores, a sports blog with a Detroit bent.

Tags: Baseball Blogs and Web Sites, Baseball Podcasts, University of Illinois Baseball by The Baseball Zealot
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To cut down on comment spam, I’ve installed a component to the blog which will require commenters to type in a simple word before their comment is posted. It will (hopefully) help the situation and I don’t think it is too much of a hassle.

Let me know if you know if you have any problems.

-tbz

Tags: Blog Administration by The Baseball Zealot
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Nick Masset

First off I’m a Sox fan! I know my baseball and believe in GM Kenny Williams’ ability to evaluate talent and build a ballclub. He’s the guy who put together a championship team a couple of years ago and a 90 win team one last season.

So I’m not going to go into panic mode just because we traded Freddy Garcia, Neal Cotts, Ross Gload, & Brandon McCarthy. The White Sox strength from their championship ballclub was the starting rotation, which consisted of quality arms from one to five. Last year the arms were there, but the results were shakey. Although Garcia had a solid year, his velocity wasn’t there. So he was dealt for Gavin Floyd & Gio Gonzalez, I have no problem with that. Then we sent Cotts to the Northside of town in exchange for hardthrowing Dave Aardsma, Neal lost his confidence with the Sox and was resembling departed lefty Damaso Marte, Aardsma throws smoke & looks to be the righthanded compliment of Matt Thornton. Then you add the 6′10″ lefty Andrew Sisco stolen from the Royals for Ross Gload. But Kenny wasn’t done there, sending Brandon McCarthy to the Rangers for pitching prospects John Danks, Nick Masset, & Jacob Rasner. Williams likened Masset to closer Bobby Jenks in velocity, which isn’t a bad thing. Not sure where all these arms are going to fit in, but it’s a nice problem to have. Not to mention 22 year old knuckleballer Charlie Haeger appears to be ready. It looks like the 2007 bullpen will be a strength rather than a problem.

I also like that Toby Hall will backup AJ Pierzynski behind the plate. Now all we have to do is get centerfield figured out, we’ll have to see what Kenny has up his sleeve.

Tags: Articles by Teddy Ballgame by Teddy Ballgame
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This will be my last posting before Christmas so I wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays!

If you’ve got the holiday blues and you’re missing some real baseball rather than everyone just TALKING about it, don’t forget:

Pitchers and catchers report in 53 days

First Illinois game in 62 days

First Spring Training game in 65 days

First Illinois home game in 94 days

First Cubs game in 100 days

and first Cubs home game in 107 days.

take heart, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Merry Christmas!

-TBZ

Tags: Cubs, University of Illinois Baseball by The Baseball Zealot
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Christmas came early for The Baseball Zealot. I got my Cubs Convention tickets in the mail.

Of course, I didn’t get them through the normal channels. Try as I might, the tickets sold out in 12 minutes the day they went on sale. No, I bought these on Ebay. Luckily, I didn’t pay too much over retail price.

Didn’t they have a good photo of Piniella with a Cubs hat on yet? Then why cut him off at the forehead hiding the team logo? That’s my theory.

Update: I’ve been asked who exactly will be at the Cubs Convention this year. According to Cubs beat reporter Carrie Muskat, they won’t announce that till the Sunday before the convention.

Tags: 2007 Cubs Convention, Cubs by The Baseball Zealot
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Sox and the City is a book I picked up for my friend CLuke’s 50th birthday, but being a good Sox fan, he already had it. So I had to keep it for myself. It’s a quick read, written by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times and Ebert & Roeper, nothing against Roeper, but I miss Siskel. Gene Siskel used to sit by me from time to time at the Bulls games, he was a great guy! I’d highly recommend this book as a Christmas present for any White Sox fan you might have on your shopping list.

The book brought me back to the old Comiskey Park. I could almost smell the place (a strange combination of stale beer & whatever else that lingered in the bowels of the ballpark) as I leafed through the pages. Many of the memories that stuck in Roeper’s mind were not his alone, in fact he struck common ground when he said, he remembered some of those games in his childhood better than the 2005 World Series.

My mind drifted to days gone by when Ken Berry roamed centerfield, Wilbur Wood was on the mound everyday as a starting pitcher (or so it seemed), Dick Allen hit two inside the park homers against Minnesota (Bobby Darwin was the Twins centerfielder), and the beloved South Side Hitmen of 1977. And I’ll never forget Sox announcer Bob Waller criticizing lack of hustle after a particularly long season. Nor can I forget the Sox short pants uniforms! Oh and those rabbit ears, trying to fine tune UHF and rid Comiskey of snow on my black & white TV set. I’d write more, but I wanna get back to reading this delightful book.

Tags: Articles by Teddy Ballgame by Teddy Ballgame
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In the dugout, Illini shortstop Shawn Roof can never stop talking. Fortunately for us, the same was true when Baseball Zealot Radio interviewed him for our latest show. Shawn had plenty to say.

Shawn talked about the Illini’s chances for 2007 and what it was like growing up around ballplayers as the son of professional baseball coach Gene Roof. He talked about his hopes and aspirations for Illini and beyond.

By the way, the family involvement doesn’t stop with him and his father, either. Well, there’s his uncle Phil Roof. But you would have guessed that. He has two brothers as well though. One plays for Michigan State and the other just signed a letter of intent with Michigan State as well. I’m definitely not missing THAT series.

Check out the show. It’s a good one. Todd and I yak a bit about Matsuzaka and the Pirates for the first half then we get down to business with the interview of Shawn.

Tags: Baseball Podcasts, Baseball Zealot Radio, University of Illinois Baseball by The Baseball Zealot
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On Baseball History Podcast, Bob Wright gives a detailed history of Wrigley Field. And he goes wayyy back, elaborating on the environment which contributed to Wrigley being bulit.

I know I learned something.

The Baseball History Podcast is just the thing for baseball history buffs. Taking a look at the subject matter, he seems to cover the gamut from pre-1900 to the 1980’s.

And he has such a soothing voice, too.

Take a listen.

Tags: Baseball History, Baseball Podcasts by The Baseball Zealot
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I noticed this on MLB Radio’s web page today:

I wonder where that puts Jim Hemond…

Tags: Cubs, Humor, White Sox by The Baseball Zealot
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Dice-K Mania has commenced with earnest in Boston with the signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka. If you want to hear the press conference where the deal was announced, you can hear it at MLB Radio Daily. Matsuzaka of course, is speaking through a interpreter.

While I’m on the topic, I highly recommend MLB Radio Daily. It’s not really a talk show and it usually doesn’t contain interviews, opinion or analysis, It generally contains press conferences, official releases and the like in an audio format. So if you want baseball info “straight from the horse’s mouth”, this is the show for you.

Tags: Baseball Podcasts, Hot Stove by The Baseball Zealot
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