OPS And Other Things

Regular visitors here are probably wondering "What happened to OPS Wednesday?". Well, a couple of things only one of which you will find relevant. Tom at The Baseball Zealot, and resident fan of the Illini baseball club, invited me to participate on his podcast. For those interesting in hearing me stammer through yet another interview, here is a link to TBZ Radio.

Our brief chat and some other things, far less interesting, tied up my midweek evening. However, I'm back tonight to review some numbers. Perhaps, I'll toss in a few other items just for my amusement.

I'll begin with those much anticipated OPS numbers. The leader of the pack is still Lars Davis, Illinois' catcher, at 1.184. Mike Mee, who is vying with Davis for the batting crown in the Big Ten, is also second in OPS at 1.122. All-Conference second baseman Jason Zoeller of Ohio State is third at 1.120. Dusty Napoleon, Iowa's Johnny Bench Award nominee, is fourth at 1.099. The fifth and sixth spots belong to Purdue players.

Jordan Comadena, Boilers' OF, has an OPS of 1.084. Ryne White, Purdue's 1B, is next at 1.071. The list closes with four straight Michigan players. Nate Recknagel is at 1.068, Zach Putnam is in at 1.047, Jason Christian's OPS is 1.039 and Doug Pickens makes his first appearance at 1.008.

Breaking news out of Columbus, The Lantern's Dustin Ensinger reports All-Big Ten starter Dan DeLucia is done for the season. DeLucia, a senior, was Ohio State's Friday starter. Coach Todd informed Ensinger that DeLucia was being operated on by the noted surgeon, Dr. James Andrews.

I have a new blog to alert you to. Gopher Nation has kindly linked a few things I have written, so it seems appropriate that I return the courtesy. It appears this Gophers fan is going to try and follow all sports at The U. As usual, I'll be adding this Minnesota blog to my link section. When is the question.

The official Illinois Athletics site has a profile of your OPS leader, Lars Davis. So much for the tools of ignorance, Davis, the Illini backstop, is studying molecular and cellular biology.

Iowa closer Mike Schurz gets similar treatment from the official Hawkeyes website.

Former Michigan pitcher Jim Abbott and former Minnesota head coach Dick Siebert have been named as inductees to the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Yes, Virginia, the Big Ten does have a history of success in baseball.

Weather has already altered some weekend plans. Penn State's trip to Michigan State has been pushed back a day and will begin Saturday. The same thing has happened to Minnesota's visit to Iowa. (No Floyd of Rosedale on line in this one. I'll let you decide if that's a pro or a con.)

The Golden Gophers (does anyone call them that anymore?) won a midweek game against Northern Iowa, 7-1.

Andy Reid of The Michigan Daily looks at Adam Abraham's journey from hockey to Ray Fisher Stadium.

The Daily Northwestern's Jake Simpson discuss Wildcats' Randy Myers post outing workout and Tommy Finn's struggles at the plate.

If you get the chance, head out to the ballpark near you. Have a good weekend and enjoy the games.