Where to go to get info on the 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament

From May 20-23, the Big Ten Baseball Tournament will be in full force at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.  For those interested in keeping up on the latest news, here are some good places to start:

Official 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament page

Complete with the tournament bracket, schedule, and I assume, eventually box scores and wrap-ups.

 

Big Ten Baseball Programs

Good places to get the official word on your favorite Big Ten team.

  • Illinois Baseball
  • Indiana Baseball
  • Michigan State Baseball
  • Minnesota Baseball
  • Ohio State Baseball
  • Purdue Baseball

     

    … then there are the blogs.

    Buckeye Nine Tourney Central

    Chris Webb has brought online a repository of information surrounding the Tourney.  Great articles, info, links, and reviews (including one of Illinois written by yours truly).  Great idea by the Ohio State blogging contingent. 

     

    The Buckeye Nine

    Iā€™m sure Chris will also be updating his Buckeye-specific The Buckeye Nine for all you OSU fans. 

     

    Big Ten Hardball

    Brian DeCaussin will continue to cover Big Ten baseball in the excellent way weā€™ve been accustomed.  If I want to get past the hype, I go to BTH.

     

    Behind the Plate

     

    Inside Pitch 

    Two blogs covering University of Indiana baseball. 

     

    Illinois Baseball Report

    Of course!  Iā€™ll be at the tournament (leaving early tomorrow) and will be updating the site daily on the goings on from an Illini perspective.  Iā€™ll be snapping photos and uploading like crazy.

     

    So letā€™s have some fun and go Illini!!

  • Ten Reasons why I like college baseball (and the Illini)

     

    In celebration of opening day of college baseball I present to you my top ten list of what makes college baseball (and Illinois baseball in particular) so fun. 

    1.  It’s affordable. 

    In this day of rising costs of attending Major League Baseball games, you can’t discount this.  I can’t speak for other Big Ten teams but at the University of Illinois, you can get into a game for six bucks or so.  Parking is thrown in for free.

    And, if you’re lucky enough (and smart enough) to get the Go Illini family card for $50, it gets your whole family into all home games for the season.  Whatta deal!

    2.  You can get so close to the action.

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      3.  It’s my style of baseball.

    While the major leagues have gravitated toward power, power and more power, I find that college baseball has a more balanced attack maybe even favoring the “small ball” style of play.

    I like the homerun just as much as everybody else but I also enjoy a well-executed hit-and-run or a double steal. 

    A perfect example of this small ball action was two years ago in a non-conference game against Robert Morris College when Shawn Roof took it upon himself to score the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. 

    From an article I wrote after the Robert Morris game:

    Shawn Roof led off the bottom of the 8th. Robert Morris pitcher Chris Murchek plunked Roof in the upper arm and Roof took his base. I leaned over to Brando and said, ā€œHere he goes!ā€. And Roof stole second on the first pitch. Brando and I wondered to each other will batter Ryan Hastings bunt in this situation? In a lot of situations, it would make sense but Hastings has been good with the stick so I didnā€™t think he would. Hastings didnā€™t square for the next pitch, he took it for a strike.

    The next pitch, though, he squared for the bunt and the thirdbaseman rushed to cover for the bunt. The key here is that the shortstop didnā€™t cover third and Roof was banking on that. He stole third easily.

    The very next pitch Murchek threw a wild pitch and Roof scored what proved to be the winning run.

    Now THAT’S exciting!

    Another point, since not all college hitters are sluggers, it gives more value to the homerun capability of those cleanup hitters in the college ranks.  You really fear them! 

     

    4.  The players are friendly.

    Ok, maybe that’s a generalization but in my experience, many I’ve met have been nice and some have been downright decent.  A couple that I’ve met I’ve maintained friendships after they’ve left the U of I. 

    5.  It brought back my “school spirit”.

    I’ll admit it.  I root for the Illini football and basketball teams but I don’t intensely follow them like some of my sports fan friends follow their alums.  Illini baseball is MY college sport that I follow. 

    When I’m asked at work, “Did you hear how the Illini did last night?”.  I’ll go on about the slugfest this or the one-run game that and get a quizzical look.  Then I realize they were talking about the OTHER sport. 

    I don’t care.  Baseball is my college sport.

    6.  No salaries, no contract disputes, no arbitrations

    It’s true, college baseball players play baseball for different reasons.  Those with a future ahead of them are looking ahead to a possible MLB draft.  Others are just playing because they love the game. 

    But what’s really great is when you see the really rare player who steps up and assumes a leadership role on the team.  Those players are destined to go somewhere in baseball. 

    7.  Gametracker

    If it’s a road game and I can’t be there, at least I can follow the game via CSTV’s Gametracker which rivals MLB’s Gameday…sorta.

    8.  Meeting the players’ parents

    I’ve enjoyed meeting the moms and dads of the players the last few years.  I don’t restrict myself to Illinois parents either.  Sometimes I’ll introduce myself to the opposition’s parents sometimes and (if it’s a home game) welcome them to Illinois Field.  I almost always get a good conversation going and learn something I didn’t know before. 

    Like players, parents come in different varieties.  There are competitive types and then the more laid back types.  Interesting to see the similarities (and differences, I guess) between parent and son. 

    9.  No Wisconsin

    Haha!  Just kidding, Badger fans!

    10.  Just try to show me a better time!

    For my money, there’s not a better time.  Whether I’m hanging with my buddies, taking my family or just taking in a game by myself, it’s a lot of fun.  The baseball program at the University of Illinois have done a fantastic job putting a quality product on the field not to mention a fun time all round (yes, they do promotions… the days when the players play wiffleball with the kids after a game are a big hit, so to speak). 

    So before you complain to me about those outrageous prices of major league games and the exorbitant salaries the big league athletes make, try a college baseball game on for size. 

    It might be a perfect fit.

    2009 Big Ten Tournament held at neutral site

    This bit of news came out before the holidays but is worth passing on.Ā  The 2009 Big Ten Tournament will be held at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.Ā  Huntington Park is the home of the Yankees’ Triple-A team, the Columbus Clippers.

    The set dates for the tournament are May 20-23.Ā  This is the first time the Big Ten has played their tournament at a neutral site since 1994 when they played in Battle Creek, MI.Ā  Though it is played at a park foreign to all teams, Ohio State University is right across town.Ā  Some Big Ten teams will be more “neutral” than others, I guess.

    That said, I applaud the move for practical reasons.Ā  What does this mean?Ā  We don’t have to wait till the last weekend of the regular season (and three days before the tournament) before we know where the tournament is held.

    Traditionally, the first place team hosts the tournament.Ā  When this happens:

    1)Ā  All tournament teams (and for that matter, any team in the running) make all travel arrangements at all schools who in still in the running for first place before the last weekend of the regular season then make the necessary cancellations afterwards.Ā  Two years ago if memory serves, three teams were still in the running.

    2)Ā  Any still in the running for first place more than likely needs to start thinking of organizing the tournament.Ā  Think of two years ago.Ā  Three schools needed to get things into place knowing full well that they may not be hosting.

    As you can see, it was a logistical nightmare.Ā  And a neutral site will take care of some of those issues.

    All that’s got to happen now is the Illini have to get into Tournament.Ā  Then Columbus, here I come!

    But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves…Illinois’ first game is February 20 in Clearwater, Florida.Ā  The strange thing… we start off against a Big Ten Team, Iowa.

    Go Illinois!!

    PSU stadium makes the grade

    Rivals.com lists their top ten best college stadiums.

    When I think big time college baseball, the south comes to mind geographically.  And not surprisingly, the stadiums of teams like Rice, Florida State, Texas and Baylor are representative of this list.  Kudos to University of Arkansas for getting top nod for their Baum Stadium. 

    But look at who occupies the # 10 spot… a Big Ten park.  

     
    Lubrano Park — Penn State

    Penn State is one of several trendsetters in college baseball. The Nittany Lions got a jump-start in the facilities race by constructing a beautiful facility that came with a $31.4 million dollar price tag. Opened in ’06 and first used by the Nittany Lions in ’07, Lubrano Park has a capacity of 6,000. In addition to having a spacious concourse and press/luxury suites area, Lubrano Park also provides a spectacular view of Mount Nittany, which sits in the distance behind the center field wall. It’ll be interesting to see if the ballpark eventually helps PSU become a national player.

    via The College Baseball Blog

    Big Ten Hardball reviews Illinois

    Zealot friend Brian DeCaussin from the excellent site Big Ten Hardball takes a turn at reviewing the University of Illinois squad. 

    He does a quite thorough job.  His take on the Illini?

    The good thing for Illinois is that outside of Michigan, the remainder of the conference appears to be very close. The hunch here is the Illini finish in the middle of the pack in 2008. However, if McMurray and Chmielewski explode onto the Big Ten scene, all bets are off.

    Read Brian’s full review at Big Ten Hardball.