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Sunday, May 4, 2008

Buckeyes Bombed in Ann Arbor

The way the Buckeyes had played the first three games of the series and with J.B. Shuck on the mound, I don't think anyone could have possibly predicted the shellacking Mighigan put on Ohio State Sunday. The Wolverines flexed their muscles for a 15-1 victory (Box Score) to clinch a 3-1 series victory.

Michigan scored seven in the second inning and sent Shuck to the showers in the fifth, touching him for 11 runs, all earned, on eight hits. The junior from Galion, struck out 11 but walked five in 4.2 innings. Drew Rucinski allowed a run in 1.1 innings. Josh Edgin allowed three runs in 1.0 inning while Jared Strayer was the only Buckeye to escape without a run against in his 1.0 inning.

The Buckeyes didn't score until the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Brian DeLucia that scored Ryan Meade. Michael Arp had two of the Buckeyes' five, yes five, hits. Conversely, Michigan had 14 hits and were unphased by four errors.

I think we're all getting tired of losing to the team up north. With eight Big Ten games remaining the team will be feeling the pressure. The goal at this point is to make the tournament (as one of the top six teams in the league) and defend last year's tournament championship. Michigan seems like a team of destiny this year.

The-Ozone.net Weekend Recap.

18 comments:

BaseballBucks33 said...

Today's lineup vs. Michigan

LF Kennedy
2B Kovanda
CF Hurley
1B Miller
DH Meade
RF Arp
3B Rupert
C Burkhart
SS Engle
P Shuck

LHP Eric Katzman will get the start for UM on the hill.
Katzman 3.63 era, 17ip,14h,13k,13bb
this year.

Lets go Bucks!

4 of the last 6 said...

Not going to rehash all the "way we lose ..." and 20/20 hindsight postings over the past few weekends. How about this for insightful analysis .... MICHIGAN / PURDUE ARE MUCH BETTER TEAMS!!! Let's roll the dice in the tourney, chalk up the season to a very young team getting valuable experience and see if BT can recruit us a power hitting outfielder and two starters to complement what should be a very good core for us for the next 2 seasons.

rockybuckeye said...

Not buying it.

First what about splitting with Northwestern and Penn State? Say we split with Michigan, a "much better team", what does that say about the 4 games we dropped against the Cats and Lions? Or what about the games vs Maine, Air Force, Akron, St. Louis, N. Iowa, C. Michigan? Still much better teams?

Second why are they better teams? Is Todd get outcoached, outrecruited, not developing talent? Any and all of those are not acceptable.

Last, we are Ohio State, why must we chalk up seasons? I don't see Michigan going .500 and saying, oh its the youth. Putnam, Abraham,, Recknagle, came in as freshman and helped lead them to a championship. This team is not any younger than previous seasons.

What promises does building for the future get you anyways? Go look at the 06 team, 2 SP's that were drafted out of HS (Hale, Luebke) with another going to be in Shuck, anchored by DeLucia. 4 starters wer drafted, Fryer, Angle, Bourquin, Jed, with another in Gus potentially, filled in with guys like Howell, and Zoeller. Then you have last year, where a good core of that returns, and we go .500.

Fine, you're content and happy with winnig 4 of 6 Big Ten tourneys. The most of us are not content with a program that has barely been .500 in the league the last 2 seasons, and has not won a regular season title in quite some time.

rockybuckeye said...

JB strikes out the side in order in the 1st, loades the bases in the 2nd, walks a run in, gets an out sandwiched by 2 doubles, 5-0 Michigan.

BaseballBucks33 said...

I agree Rocky.We are the Ohio State baseball program, we don't chalk up season to "youth" and inexperience. That does not happen with Bob Todd teams.

I think BT does get outcoached and outrecruited some times.We have not been able to develop players at all recently.BT thinks because we are Ohio State we can get the top players,that does not fly with me.

rockybuckeye said...

I'm not anti-Todd, though quite a few of his move puzzle me, but its getting to the point where we're seeing the same failures or shortcomings time and time again.

I know Todd (Lamb), does not want this to be an open call to rip BT, so I'll speak no more on it, just its frustrating.

Recknagel with an RBI single, Putnam knocks him in with a double. 7-0 still in the 2nd.

BaseballBucks33 said...

I am not anti-Bob Todd either, i guess i am tired of losing to Michigan year in and year out.It does get old not being able to score runs game after game.All it takes is one bad inning this year and we are done in the 3rd inning.No comeback ability at all this year.

Bob Todd has won more game than i will ever think about,but sometimes i don't understand his moves.I just want this program to be elite and great year in and out.

rockybuckeye said...

JB just struck out the side for the 3rd time already in 4 innings. 9 strikeouts through 4 is very impressive. Though that whole 7 run second inning Michigan put together isn't helping us much. Just shows that walks and free passes really do hurt.

rockybuckeye said...

And boy, that Michael Arp, that kid really doesn't deserve to be on the field. 2-2 so far, psh lets not make him an everyday starter.


*Though being picked off and CS does eliminate runners, which has happened to Arp, he is still getting the job done and putting the ball n play/getting on.

4 of the last 6 said...

Rocky said "First what about splitting with Northwestern and Penn State? Say we split with Michigan, a "much better team", what does that say about the 4 games we dropped against the Cats and Lions? Or what about the games vs Maine, Air Force, Akron, St. Louis, N. Iowa, C. Michigan? Still much better teams?" ... Rocky ... the fact that we lost to / struggled with other teams does not make my statement re: UM / Purdue inconsequential. As to your "not acceptable" comment. OK...thanks for the hindsight ... now what OF it?? I say that EVERY team in EVERY program has an "off" year (detractors would say that our .500 season last year was an off year, but I'll take a trophy and an NCAA bid every year ... call me crazy). Take a look at the age / talent on this team. Clearly there is a lack of the former and at least enough of the latter to keep you off the ledge! Lighten up, mate! Baseballbucks says can't " chalk up" to youth ... uh ... think about it. I guess we do; given that we have 18 frosh / soph!!! We can go back and forth on whether or not the QUALITY is as it should be per Bucks' standards ... but I'd prefer to see what the next year or two holds before we start to suggest that BT can't recruit / win

rockybuckeye said...

Fine, but if the "next year or two", as you look forward, consists of say 3rd and 5th place finishes, with winning the auto bid once, you'll be happy. The fact will still be, we're not the preimere program in the league, and doing nothing to fix that, whiled our league championship drought continue.

We've had down years for the past 3, anyone time we're not 1-2, should be considered a down year. We have not made any type of noise on a national level in 5 seasosn. Its not a matter of looking forward with hope, its the failures of the past being enough.

05
Michigan and OSU tied for 4th. OSU won the auto-bid.

Since then...
06
Michigan 1st
OSU 3rd

07
Michigan 1st
OSU 6th

08
Michigan 1st
OSU 6th

This also coincides with going a good 1-12 against them in the regular season, being capped with a 15-0 spanking, that is in progress.

The Men's programs of Golf, Gymnastics, Tennis, Basketball, and Football have all won league championships since Baseball has. While Volleyball, Wrestling, Soccer, and Fencing are putting trophys in the case, coming off respective National Semifinal, Runner-up, Runner-up, and Championship finishes.

There is no reason to not expect the same level of excellence from the baseball program.

BaseballBucks33 said...

Love ny baseball Buckeyes,but i am GLAD i did not make the trip to Ann Arbor this weekend! My lord 15-0 with 4 hits,2 by Arp. I think we are done and are not going back to Ann Arbor for the Tourny. in 2 weeks.

IU beat Purdue 5-4 in Game #1 of a DH today. IU scored 3 in the 7th to beat Purdue.CF Means hit a 2-run HR in the 7th to tie the game.Phegley singled home Crawford to win it.

Michigan now 34-11,20-4 in League.

rockybuckeye said...

Final box

OSU 1-5-1
UM 15-14-4

6 total runs in 4 games.

Shuck 4.1, 11 ER, 11Ks, 5 BB

Arp 2-3
Kennedy 1-3
Miller 1-4
DeLucia 1-1

The Reds are also getting drilled 14-7.

Buckeye Nine said...

Well this certainly is frustrating. Let me say my intent for a bash-free blog is only because I don't want to hurt the program. Things recruits and their parents read on the Internet can have an impact and I don't want to set the program even further back than where it appears we are. I am close to this coaching staff so this kind of dialogue is hard to read and write.

I think it is perfectly acceptable to want more than what we're getting out of this team. Conference championships are great, but teams don't get rings. Every four year player under Bob Todd used to get a championship ring. No rings have been awarded since 2001 so we began promoting the fact that every player has been a part of a championship team.

Conference tournaments championships should be celebrated but any team can get hot in three or four days. A regular season championship rewards consistency over the course of eight weeks. I think that is where this team needs to be and I am sure we where we all want it to be.

It is true there is a lot of youth on this team, but doesn't it concern you just a bit that all three of the four weekend starters will be gone next year. It would be a coup to get Shuck to return, but I think he is as good as gone. Wolo has proven to be solid this year and he will be good to build around.

There is talent on this squad but it is not the talent we had in the 90s when Ohio State was clearly the best in the Big Ten and one of the best in the nation. The coaching staff could recruit to the new stadium and the excitement it was going to bring. It became easy to recruit, but it shouldn't be that "easy" any more. It takes work to bring in the quality of guys and then even more work to help them develop.

I'm not trying to signal an open to bashing the program, but please keep in mind how comments could affect recruiting.

Guillermo said...

After having my hands slapped for posting negative comments about the coaching staff early in the season I have tried to keep from "bashing" it ever since. And I will continue on that course....well, at least a little. I think the biggest problem is not failure to recruit good players but a failure to recruit good players and then develop them into very good players. Its almost like the attitude is we will get them here and then they will just become great. BT is "hands off" in practice and I defy anybody to dispute that. I have heard it from too many players. I think Cyp is in "automatic" mode. And I will reiterate what I've said before...we have not had a "pitching coach" since Bangston left. I find that absurd. Do we have good pitchers? Yes. Have we developed them.....I think the guys who have done well have done so primarily on their own.
You can place the blame wherever you want but doesn't it boil down to coaching for the most part?
BT has obviously done quite well in his years at The OSU. But does that mean there never comes time for a change as long as he wants to be the head coach?

rockybuckeye said...

I agree. I didn't mean to say we don't recruit well, just when noticing a "drop off" relative to Michigan, it either not great recruiting, not great coaching, or not great developing. Those are the only three areas were a team improves/regresses. To most, I included, believe it is the latter and in the development stages.

I read an article from the Padres this past fall regarding Luebke, and how little during the week work he received, and was expect to throw 110+ innings. They were surprised a pitcher of his caliber was still very raw and not developed. Shocking when you consider the season he had.

Now I know Cory would never knock the staff, or his stay at OSU, but this is an area where a program, we can improve on.

I can see where somewhat a bit of negativity could turn off a recruit, but you have to look at it on the other side. We're all very proud, avid, and deep supporters of the program. You can look at the other league blogs, and see this by far gets the most discussion. We just want, and expect a level of greatness. I would think the athletes coming to Ohio State want to be the best, and play at a high level, there is something noticebly wrong, and if somehow things can be changed for the better I'm all for it.

BaseballBucks33 said...

I don't know who to blame, but it is easy to blame the coaches.I am tired of losing to UM and giving AB's away.That is all we did this weekend,in scoring 6 runs. Cyrpet has not done much coaching in the past couple of years because we are getting worse at the plate.Our BA. with RISP is very bad,we have left more runners at 3rd with less than 2 outs than ever.

2006
.332 28HR
2007
.316 21 HR
2008
.323 14 HR

For the most part this is why we are not winning games this year.Only 67 Errors in 44 games this year.Not great,but not that bad either.Last year, i think we were close to 100 errors.The pitching has struggled at times but not nearly as bad as the offense.We have walked alot of guys this year which always hurt's.

Bottom line is we have to get better or we will always lose to Michigan because Maloney has UM on the big time track.They are really close to being a Big Ten Power house. They have all 3 phases working over the last 3 or 4 years.They are big time.OSU was big time in the '90,but are not close to that right now.

Michigan 124 wins ('05,'06,'07)

Ohio State 115 wins

In Big Ten play last 3 years:

Michigan has 61 wins to our 51.

That to me shows some decline in our program.

I support this great program more than any one,but i am worried about the direction the program is heading.I don't miss home games and go on some road trips.My bad reaction is not to be negative,but wanting the team to be elite.I can not be too harsh on BT,cause i have 0 wins in college baseball.I just think after 21 years you get comfortable and set in your ways.Some good and some bad.

Go Bucks!

4 of the last 6 said...

In case this response to Rocky's May 4th post isn't viewed with the original I'll post it here and there. My response to his comments are in CAPS (not intending to break etiquette ... just want them to be easy to pick up)

05
Michigan and OSU tied for 4th. OSU won the auto-bid.

AUTO BID ... HMMM ... I BELIEVE THAT ACTUALLY THAT'S WHAT'S KNOWN AS A TOURNAMAENT CHAMPIONSHIP. THATS ALL THAT MATTERS. 'WINNING' THE REGULAR SEASON GETS YOU NOTHING MORE THAN A SELF INDULGENT 'CHAMPIONSHIP' IN YOUR PRESS GUIDE. JUST ASK THE ILLINI. THEY WON THE 'CHAMPIONSHIP' THAT YEAR AND DIDN'T GO TO THE NCAA'S. AS YOU WANT WHAT'S BEST FOR THE PROGRAM I PRESUME YOU WANT IT TO GO AS FAR AS IT CAN EACH YEAR ... THAT MEANS WINNING THE TOURNEY.. SO THAT YOUR SEASON CONTINUES ON THE NATIONAL STAGE (BTW I ENJOYED SEEING THE BUCKS HOST THE REGIONAL IN 'O3 EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T WIN THE CONFERENCE 'CHAMPIONSHIP' ... I LOOKED AND LOOKED BUT DIDN'T SEE MICHIGAN ANYWHERE ON THE FIELD)
Since then...

06
Michigan 1st
OSU 3rd

07
Michigan 1st
OSU 6th

OSU TOURNEY CHAMPS

08
Michigan 1st
OSU 6th WOW. CAN'T CALL THAT HINDSIGHT. YOU ALREADY GOT THEM SIXTH AND THE SEASON IS NOT EVEN OVER!!!

This also coincides with going a good 1-12 against them in the regular season,REGULAR SEASON. DID THE BUCKS HAVE ANY SUCCESS (i.e. TOURNAMENT) VS. THEM IN '02 / '03 ' 04 '05 ' 07?? I'M GUESSING THEY DID IN MOST OF THOSE YEARS. with a 15-0 spanking, that is in progress I SEEM TO RECALL YOUR RESPONDING TO MY "MICHIGAN IS SIMPLY BETTER" POST THAT DAY WITH A SCENARIO THAT THE BUCKS COULD WIN SUNDAY AND GET A SPLIT?!.

The Men's programs of Golf, Gymnastics, Tennis, Basketball, and Football have all won league championships since Baseball has. While Volleyball, Wrestling, Soccer, and Fencing are putting trophys in the case,(CHECK THE CASE AT ST. JOHN'S. I SAW HARDWARE FROM 'O2 /'03 / '05 / '07)coming off respective National Semifinal, Runner-up, Runner-up, and Championship finishes.

There is no reason to not expect the same level of excellence from the baseball program. WITH THAT LOGIC WHY STOP THERE? EVEN THOUGH MICHIGAN AND MICHIGAN STATE HAVE 2 OF THE BEST HOCKEY PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS... BECAUSE WE HAVE A GREAT FENCING TEAM OUR HOCKEY TEAM SHOULD BEAT MICHIGAN AND MICHIGAN STATE EVERY YEAR ... TO DO LESS WOULD BE UNACCEPTABLE !!!!