baseball

So, I know this is way, way OT, but it's just too good to pass up.

Long recognized super-genius and Orator to kings and Gods alike, Jose Canseco, explains gravity. <<link

Is he setting up an insanity defense for something the feds are after him for? Or is this just a cautionary tale about the dangers of roids?

Over the weekend, Michigan Baseball began their 2013 campaign out in Berkeley against cal. It was also the debut of the Erik Bakich era here. 

Friday, Michigan went down 5-4 in 11 innings.

Saturday, Michigan lost 6-5 in 10 innings after leading most of the game.

And today, Michigan lost 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th on cal walkoff RBI.

Certainly all close games that could have gone either way for the young team but a strong showing nonetheless.

Stats from Friday: Trent Szkutnik (Loss; 0-1); RBIs: Biondi, Sexton, Delaney. Runs: O'Neill, White, Martin, Cronenworth

Stats from Saturday: Jacob Cronenworth (Loss; 0-1) RBIs: O'Neill, Maezes (2), Cronenworth. Runs: Biondi (2), O'Neill, Cronenworth, Delaney.

Stats from Sunday: Alex Lakatos (Loss; 0-1) RBIs: None. Runs: O'Neill  

Top weekend performer: Michael O'Neill, 3 runs, 1 RBI 

Michigan will head to their home away from home in Port St. Lucie, FL (home of the Mets spring home whom are owned by alumnus Fred Wilpon) where they will play fordham on Friday, twice on Saturday in a doubleheader and will take on the New York Mets in an exhibition Sunday. 

Interesting article from Angelique Chengelis—Erik Bakich remakes Michigan baseball with mental training, community presence—in advance of Michigan baseball's first game tomorrow.

"The reason we do perspective posters and visit the hospitals is so these guys have a true appreciation for how fortunate they are," Bakich said. "But also with baseball, you build up these bottom-of-the-ninth, game-winning situations like they're life and death. When we actually go visit people who really have struggled with life and death, you understand we're playing a kid's game. We can actually perform better knowing it's not really a life-or-death situation. It's about execution and we'll make the opponent make it life or death."

. . .

Bakich has enlisted the help of Brian Cain, a mental conditioning coach who has worked with several college baseball programs. Cain's purpose is to give players tools to understand the mental aspects of baseball.

"They've learned how to implement routines and use breathing and visualization and self-talk to not only help them maintain their confidence, but be able to focus on one pitch at a time," Bakich said. "Brian has been great for routine implementation and getting these guys to stick to the process."

And part of that process is, very simply, having the players work on their breathing, whether he's a pitcher, hitter, or playing defense.

The players also have been taught to recognize "signal lights," when game situations are getting tight and players begin to talk to themselves negatively. Every player, Bakich said, has a release, whether it's kicking dirt, taking his helmet off or adjusting his batting glove. Next, the player finds his personal focal point, whether it's the left-field foul pole or a spot on the bat, for example, and he then returns to positive thinking.

And here's the official Michigan baseball preview video:

UPDATE: Michael O'Neill was named to 50-man preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award

The Michigan baseball and softball programs both released their TV schedules on BTN today. And wow, does it suck badly. They're basically saying "I hope you have a subscription to MGoBlueTV or you ain't seeing nothin'!"

There is a chance BTN will pick up the full series from May 3-5 against northwestern as a wildcard selection. I would bank on it since those games are usually pretty good. 

And here is the grand of total of 1 confirmed baseball game that will be on BTN-

I expect the game against northwestern at Wrigley to be picked up regardless of what BTN says. 

Saw this on the schedule a couple of days ago. In addition to Michigan's game at CitiField against yale, Michigan will play northwestern on April 20 at Wrigley Field. 

Perhaps northwestern's relationship with Wrigley (discussed here a couple days ago) was only for baseball?

With only 11 days until Michigan's 2013 season opener, a few Big Ten conference previews were posted today.

The most detailed one, from Baseball America, has several Michigan-related items:

• Michigan picked to finish a surprisingly high sixth place
• Wolverine outfielder Michael O'Neill selected as preseason conference player of the year and the #2 prospect for the 2013 MLB draft
• Freshman Evan Hill, a left-handed pitcher, tabbed as top newcomer
• Michigan also featured with this:

Michigan Jr. OF Michael O'Neill (.327/.381/.525, 19 SB), whose uncle Paul was a five-time all-star with the Reds and Yankees, was the fastest player in the Cape Cod League last summer (6.36 seconds in the 60-yard dash). He also has bat speed, power potential and center-field skills. O'Neill plays right field for the Wolverines in deference to Sr. OF Patrick Biondi (.303/.408/.407), a smaller speedster who led the Big Ten with 32 steals last spring and the Cape with a .388 batting average last summer. He turned down the Marlins as a ninth-round pick.

Most of the Perfect Game preview is behind a paywall, but they pick Michigan to finish eighth.

Based on a survey of 9 out of 11 Big Ten coaches, College Baseball Insider has Indiana as the favorite to win the conference title (as do the two sites above). Biondi and O'Neill figure prominently in their rundown of the conference's best players:

The best defensive outfielder: Patrick Biondi, Michigan

The best outfield arm: Michael O’Neill Michigan

The best pure hitters: Michael Pritchard, Nebraska; Sam Travis, Indiana; Michael O’Neill, Michigan

The biggest power threats: Sam Travis, Indiana; Chad Christensen, Nebraska; Michael O’Neill, Michigan

. . .

The best baserunner: Patrick Biondi, Michigan

Here are some miscellaneous items:

• In their countdown of the top 100 players in the country, College Baseball Daily, after previously placing O'Neill at #77, has Biondi at #41.

From a scouting perspective, the success that Biondi had with a wood bat in the CCBL during the summer of 2012 shows a lot of promise. When added with his intuitive defense and fantastic base-running ability, that success may make all the difference for Biondi in the 2013 draft. Having Biondi back for his senior season gives the Wolverines one of their most talented players and leaders in 2013, as Biondi is one of the top players to watch for this season.

• As I posted in another thread, Erik Bakich made an appearance on WTKA this morning—here's the podcast. Among other things, Bakich talked about how young the team is, with many freshmen expected to play major roles. If the season were to begin today, the starting infield would include three freshmen.
• This is from a couple weeks ago, but in case anyone missed the news release, Biondi was named team captain and was one of five players selected for the team's Leadership Council.