Friday night games continue to be plagued by the weather.  Fortunately, Illinois and Ohio State were able to get a good six plus innings in before the game was called.  Even better, the Illini have a good head start on the Buckeyes leading 7-2.

Starter Kevin Manson pitched a gem of a game allowing just two runs (one earned) in 6 innings, walking no one.

It was a balanced offensive attack as eight starters got at least one hit.  CF Kyle Hudson banged out two hits and scored twice.  Ryan Hastings put together 2 hits and including an rbi double.

John Schlichter’s two-run double was key in the Illini’s 3-run 5th. 

The bullpen is rested.  The balance of the game will pick up at 12:05pm Saturday before the scheduled doubleheader.

Go Illini!

Tags: University of Illinois Baseball by The Baseball Zealot
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I don’t know if this is a prevailing feeling among all Brewers fans but BrewersFanatics is getting a bit frustrated with Ned Yost. 

“The bottom line is changes need to be made. The same lineup can’t be sent out there everyday and be expected to kick things into gear. This team is struggling. It’s not time to put up or shut up, for Ned Yost it’s time to put up or pack up.”

Back at the beginning of the season when the TBZ staff did our MLB predictions for 2008, I had Yost down as First Manager to be Fired in 08.  Not that don’t think Ned isn’t a capable skipper (he is).  I just thought that expectations were going to be pretty high for the Brewers this year.  Couple that with a more competitive NL Central and you gotta figure the pressure has to be high.  And as things go in MLB, the manager is the first one to go. 

The BrewCrew are taking on the Cardinals for a three game series.  Yost could help his cause with a series win against the division rivals.

Tags: Managers by The Baseball Zealot
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I’ve enabled nested commenting on the blog now.  That will allow you to reply to individual comments on posts giving it more of a “discussion” feel. 

It should be pretty user-friendly.  If you want to reply to a particular comment, click on “Reply” next to comment you want to respond to.  Otherwise, post your comment a normal. 

Any problems, let me know. 

Back to Gametracker, Illinois is winning 6-1!

Tags: Blog Administration by The Baseball Zealot
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Check out Shoutmouth’s latest article. They are asking the question, who has the hottest fans in major league baseball? From my vantage point, behind homeplate at the Cell, I can tell you there are lotsa hotties at White Sox games (despite what others might think).

I’m suggesting the Baseball Zealot poll fans to see what they think, who has the hottest fans? I checked out the website above and after careful review, I’m going with the Philadelphia Phillies. But please don’t let me influence your vote. Go to the website, checkout the ladies, and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! It’s your patriotic duty as a major league baseball fan.

Tags: Uncategorized by Teddy Ballgame
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Actually John Lannan is a young lefty with the Washinton Nationals, not a member of the Band from Liverpool. Although Lannan is only a .500 pitcher with an ERA in the mid-threes, he is starting to get noticed around the league. Last night John faced the very tough lineup of the Houston Astros, allowing one run on seven hits over six innings of work. In the sixth he looked to be in trouble when Lance Berkman & Carlos Lee reached base with nobody out, but the unflapable rookie induced Miguel Tejada to rap into a 6-4-3 doubleplay and then got the next hitter to ground to short to get out of the jam.

The 6′5″ 200 pound lefty out of Mineola, NY, a product of Siena was drafted in the 11th round of the 2005 draft. In his last year at Siena he was 10-2 with a nifty 2.29 ERA. Then last year Lannan was was 12-3 cruising through A+, AA, & AAA, before being called up to the Nats. With Washington he had an ERA of 4.15 with a 2-2 mark in six starts.

In his major league debut against the Phillies on July 26, 2007, John hit Chase Utley with a pitch breaking Utley’s hand, then he hit Ryan Howard, and was ejected from the game, becoming the first rookie pitcher ejected from his debut.

On August 6th Lannan found himself on center stage as he faced the Giants at AT&T Park in SF in Barry Bonds’ in his first start after tying Hank Aaron’s alltime home run mark. Bonds didn’t fare well in his four plate appearances against the 22 year old lefty, fouling to 3rd, walking, grounding into a doubleplay, and striking out. Despite his efforts against the Giants, the Nationals lost the game 3-2 in eleven innings.

Lannan is 3-3 with a 3-3 record in seven starts this year. This is a special rookie, with the heart of a lion, who should have a long & successful major league career.

Tags: Rookie Watch by Teddy Ballgame
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