Four Named All-America By Ping

Ohio State's Alex Wimmers headlines four Big Ten Conference players to be named preseason All-Americans by Ping! Baseball. The Buckeyes righthander was the lone Big Ten star tabbed as a first-team selection.

Ohio State catcher Dan Burkhart, the conference's defending Player of the Year, collected a second-team choice as did Minnesota closer Scott Matyas. Indiana sophomore Alex Dickerson was named to Ping's third-team as a designated hitter.

Big Ten Trio Named All-America

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has released their 2010 preseason All-America Teams. Three Big Ten players were selected to one of three All-America sides the NCBWA announced on December 16.

The Ohio State duo of catcher Dan Burkhart and pitcher Alex Wimmers were named to the second-team All-America squad. Michigan outfielder Ryan LaMarre was tabbed as a third-team All-America.

Freshmen All-Americans

Collegiate Baseball and Louisville Slugger have issued their Freshmen All-America Team. A number of first-year Big Ten stars have made the squad. Nick O'Shea (Minnesota), Eric Charles (Purdue), AJ Pettersen (Minnesota), Justin Gominsky (Minnesota), Willie Argo (Illinois) and Alex Dickerson (Indiana) were all honored.

Yes, I was disappointed that several names weren't on the list. Penn State's Jordan Steranka and Illinois' Josh Parr would top my list of oversights, but it was good to see a strong representation from the Big Ten.

Louisville Slugger All-Americans

Collegiate Baseball and Louisville Slugger have announced their 2009 All-America Teams. Big Ten names make their appearance beginning on the second team. Co-Big Ten Pitchers of the Year, Indiana's Eric Arnett and Ohio State's Alex Wimmers, garnered second team nods. Buckeyes' closer Jake Hale is on the third team.

I find the lack of Big 10ers disappointing. (No love for Derek McCallum, Josh Phegley or Dan Burkhart?) However, All-America teams are a bit like beauty contests and it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Phegley Is Rivals All-America

Rivals has issued their preseason All-America Team. The lone Big Ten player on the list is Indiana's Josh Phegley. Kendall Rogers' write-up included this line:

Phegley will become a household name this season.

More All-America Attention

'Tis the season for pre-season All-America Teams. This one is courtesy of Collegiate Baseball and Louisville Slugger. The Big Ten names remain the same. Indiana's Josh Phegley and Michigan's Chris Fetter have both claimed All-America status. Once again, Phegley, IU's catcher, is a member of the first team and Fetter has grabbed a second team pitching honor.

Phegley, Fetter Get NCBWA Nod

Indiana catcher Josh Phegley and Michigan pitcher Chris Fetter have been named National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's pre-season All-Americans. Phegley grabbed a first team selection and Fetter was tabbed as a member of the second team.

Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-America Team

The 2008 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-America Team has been announced by Collegiate Baseball. Three members of the Big Ten Conference have managed to make the team. Northwestern's Eric Jokisch, Ohio State's Dean Wolosiansky and Illinois' Casey McMurray all garnered recognition.

Four Make CB All-America

Three players from Michigan and one from Indiana have made Collegiate Baseball's All-America Team. Chris Fetter (SP), Zach Putnam (UT) and Nate Recknagel (1B) from Michigan and IU's Josh Phegley (C) all occupy spots on CB's second-team All-America squad.

Nominating Newbies

I was asked to submit nominations for a freshmen all-america team. Now, I'm going to work on my list, but I don't get to see everyone. So, I've decided to give you a chance to participate. If your school, another Big Ten program or any other DI school has some first year players you feel are worthy of being named to a freshmen all-america team, here's your chance to give them some love.

I need their name, position and stats (at least through May 11). You can submit them in the comments section or by email. My email address is in the sidebar. Alas, we don't have much time. I'll need these names by Friday night.

Now, submitting their names only gets them onto my nomination list. How many on my list will make the initial ballot, I can't say. However, as the old saying goes, you can't win, if you don't play. Nominate early and often. (Duplicates, however, are not necessary.)

Rainy Days And Mondays

Perhaps it's a result of attempting to figure out all the Big Ten tournament possibilities. Maybe it's the ongoing rain. Maybe I've got a bad case of the Mondays. In the end, it doesn't matter, I just need to vent.

PLAYING HOSTS
Most long-time readers here know that I'm in favor of a neutral site for the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. It makes sense on every level, but one. Alas, the "one" is a biggie. Baseball is a non-revenue sport. That means the Big Ten Conference office views baseball like we view a colonoscopy -- a necessary evil.

With that dazzling attitude towards the oldest sport on most campuses, the Big Ten is in no hurry to pretend like it cares about baseball. So when the subject of a neutral site arises, they dismiss it with the usual "if baseball has a neutral site tournament, then golf, tennis, soccer, curling and every other non-revenue sport is going to demand the same thing and we just cannot afford that."

Yeah, right. You can operate a television network, but you can't find enough change in the couch to borrow a quality minor league park for five days? Sorry, I ain't buyin' that line.

However, if the conference is determined to stick their head in the marketing sand and avoid a neutral site for the baseball tournament, is it asking too much to hold it in one of the venues suitable for such an event?

By suitable, I mean, acceptable for everyone involved -- players, parents, coaches, school officials, conference officials, media and fans. Here are a few requirements:

The park should have lights. It rains in the midwest on occasion. Sometimes games get postponed. Having lights helps the games to be played. It also cuts down on 9:00am starts. I love breakfast with batting practice, but the general public doesn't. Did I mention many in the potential ticket buying public have day jobs? Lights should be mandatory to host the tournament.

Ideally, there should be access to batting cages. There should also be clubhouses for the home and road teams. Excessive? In 1970, yes. In 2008, not so much. I wouldn't be a stickler for either of these items, but it is a championship event and we do have access to these at some venues in the conference. Why settle for less?

It should have a decent pressbox. The media shouldn't get soggy covering the tournament. Neither should ADs, SIDs and the various other personnel filling the box. No pressbox, no hosting.

It should have concession stands, running water and plumbing. That means bathrooms, not port-a-poddies. I can't see anything wrong with demanding basic facilities for your patrons. As further evidence, I heard an interview with legendary Louisiana State coach Skip Bertmann. Coach was asked what was one of the first things he did to Alex Box Stadium to increase attendance. He said he added diaper changing facilities.

We want people to like college baseball and come back. Help your audience take care of life's essentials. If you can't meet this requirement, you can't host.

I know, I know. Very few Big 10 parks can host the tournament under these parameters. Honestly, I'm okay with that. Would it give some schools an advantage? I suppose it would, but having a quality park gives that program an advantage regardless. Don't you think the folks who have such facilities are going to show them off to recruits, thus giving them an advantage over the other programs long before the tournament ever takes place?

Besides, there's nothing wrong with acting like the tournament is a championship event of some import. That's because it is. The winner goes onto the NCAA Tournament.

CBS' CLOSES EYE TO BASEBALL COVERAGE
Has anyone else noticed that the baseball coverage on the website formerly known as CSTV has taken a nose-dive since the CBS generals have taken over? Their baseball homepage has been almost static for weeks. The photo of the Stanford player hasn't changed in over a month. They appear to have jettisoned friend of BTH, Doug Kroll, while you have to hunt for Eric Sorenson's latest entries. If Kroll was indeed let go, and I have absolutely zero proof of that (I'm a blogger, I'm expected to engage in speculation), Big E's stay at the eye network is probably in danger, too.

Hey, CBS big-wigs. Original content, especially on college baseball, is difficult to find. Don't you want to be different? How about cool? Keep the bald-headed, rock-and-roll, Omaha-lovin' guy around. In fact, find him a couple of cohorts. I hear this Kroll guy knows something about college baseball and might be available.

VOTING IN THE DARK
Do you ever wonder how in the world anyone votes in a college baseball poll? Seriously, if I had to participate in a weekly poll, I'd be in trouble. If I head down to the ballpark, I don't get to see the games on television. If I stay home or put the games on DVR, it's not like I'm guaranteed to see the top teams in the land each weekend.

I currently receive, courtesy of my cable provider and a growing monthly bill, the aforementioned CBS College Sports plus three Fox College Stations -- Atlantic, Central and West. Between the four of them, I get a minimal amount of live college baseball each weekend. I might get one or two top level games, but the majority of games being broadcast, especially on the Fox networks, are often games not affecting the rankings or repeats from weeks ago.

There's also no one providing a quality highlight package, either. It's not a college football Saturday night where you can at least get a taste of what the elite level programs have done that day. College baseball is almost played in a media blackout, nationally speaking.

I can't see how coaches or the media can come to informed decisions about the ranking the programs each week or voting for All-Americans or the Player of the Year awards. We, and, yes, I'm including myself here, are all voting in the dark.

Ping! All-Americans

A handful of Big Ten players claimed pre-season All-Ping! honors from Ping! Baseball. Ping's second team includes Ryne White of Purdue, Michigan's Zach Putnam and Penn State closer Drew O'Neil.

Ping! also included a "For Your Consideration" slot that highlighted a player, while perhaps not next in line for all-Ping! selection, is worthy of your attention. Purdue's Matt Bischoff and Northwestern's Jake Owens both merited recognition in this category.

Five Make Louisville Slugger's All-America Squads

On Christmas Eve, Collegiate Baseball released their pre-season Louisville Slugger All-America Team. Five players from the Big Ten have earned recognition from CB. Michigan landed three players with P/DH Zach Putnam gaining a second team nod as a utility player. Putnam's teammates, SS Jason Christian and 1B/C Nate Recknagel, each landed on the third team.

Penn State closer Drew O'Neil and Purdue 1B Ryne White were the final two Big Ten players receiving All-America status from CB. Both were third team selections.

Putnam Gets NCBWA Nod

The University of Michigan's Zach Putnam was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association 2008 pre-season All-America Team yesterday. The Michigan junior was selected to the NCBWA first team as the utility player.

Last season, Putnam hit .330 with eight homers and fifty-nine RBI while going 8-5 with a 3.87 ERA as Michigan's Friday starter. Putnam was the only Big Ten representative on any of the three All-America teams the NCBWA chose.

Davis Named All-Ping!

Illinois catcher Lars Davis was named first team All-Ping! catcher. Congratulations to Lars and kudos to the Ping! staff for tabbing a northern player with a first team selection.

All-America Teams

Collegiate Baseball released it's pre-season All-America Teams. Unfortunately, not a single member of the Big Ten was able to crack one of CB's three squads.

Rose, DeLucia Earn Honors

University of Michigan centerfielder Eric Rose and Ohio State University pitcher Dan DeLucia were both named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association pre-season All-America team. Rose and DeLuica, both seniors, were tabbed for third team honors and were the only two Big Ten players selected.

Miller Grabs BA Honor

North Carolina junior Andrew Miller was named Baseball America's Player of the Year today. Miller, the sixth overall pick in the amatuer draft, went 13-2 for UNC and posted a 2.11 ERA.

Miller also heads BA's All-America team for 2006. No players from the Big Ten were selected to any of the three star squads.

Freshmen All-America Team

The Big Ten is well represented on this year's Freshmen All-America Team. The team, chosen by Collegiate Baseball, has five members of the Big Ten on it. Conference champion Michigan placed two first year players on the squad. Zach Putnam was named as a pitcher and Adam Abraham, coming off being named the Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament, was tabbed as a multiple position player.

Another multiple position honoree is Ohio State's J.B. Shuck. The Buckeye standout was also named the conference's Freshman of the Year. Two outfielders round out the Big Ten's selections. Matt Nohelty of Minnesota and Ryne White of Purdue were also amongst the best freshmen in college baseball this year.

Bourquin Named All-America

Ohio State thirdbaseman Ronnie Bourquin was named to Collegiate Baseball's third team All-America squad. Bourquin who paced the Big Ten in a number of categories, including batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage, was the only Big Ten player to receive All-America recognition.