Q&A with a die-hard Buckeye baseball fan

Instead of the usual upcoming team preview I do, Drew Grigsby, a die-hard Ohio State baseball fan agreed to be interviewed and tell us about Buckeye Baseball.  Thanks to Drew for doing this!!

	Game #46	Record: 31-14 (14-4 Big Ten)
	vs Ohio State University Buckeyes	at Illinois Field, Champaign, IL
May 8	6:05pm CT	Bleacher Bum Barbeque
May 9	3:05pm CT
May 10	1:05pm CT	Senior Day

Illinois Baseball Report:  Alex Wimmers (right) pitched a heck of a game last Saturday.  He threw a no-hitter against Michigan.  Last year, he was winless with a 4.46 ERA and this season, he’s got an 8-1 record and a nifty 2.79 ERA.  Did he come out of nowhere or did the Buckeye baseball program have a good idea what kind of arm they had in Wimmers?

Drew Grigsby:  Wimmers had a great summer while leading the Valley league in K’s with 72 and had the 4th best ERA at 1.70. I did not see Alex pitch this past summer in person but it sounded like it was a great start to an awesome 2009 season. When he had 3 awesome games in March vs. Pitt, Indiana and the Miami Hurricanes’, that is when i thought he was going to have a special season. He is 8-1 on the year his only loss being the Friday game vs. the Gophers. He really could be 9-0 this year. That game, he threw Saturday was the best pitching performance i have ever seen at Ohio State. It was awesome for sure and the crowd was into every pitch. It was something i will never forget for the rest of my life and he did it while playing Michigan. Boy that was an awesome day for sure. I don’t think anyone thought Wimmers would be this good as a Sophomore.

 

IBR:  I assume Illinois won’t get out of seeing Wimmers.  But what other starting pitchers might they see during the three game series?  Can you tell us a bit about them?

DG:  Sophomore Dean Wolosiansky is the #2 pitcher for the Buckeyes. He won 7 games a year ago, and this season is 6-0 in Big Ten games and is 10-1 on the year. In 2 years Dean has won 17 games and has a nice off speed pitch. He is a ground ball pitcher and does not strike out a lot of guys. I guess he is more of a contact pitcher for sure and needs his defense to make plays. He does not throw very hard, but gets the job done. Dean has given up a lot of doubles this year but usually gets out of the inning unharmed.
Junior Left-hander Eric Best is the #3 pitcher for the Buckeyes and is 6-3 on the year. Eric was a reliever last year with 26 appearances and saved 8 games. Eric had a very nice 4.29 ERA (2nd on the team) and did very well last year from the pen. Eric even was the closer for his summer team in Alaska and had 10 saves. Eric also does not throw very hard and has to have good location with all his pitches. He does struggle  when he falls behind in the count and get his curve ball up in the zone. Best also needs the defense to play well behind him and spot the fastball well.

 

IBR:  OSU leads the Big Ten in hitting with a .329 batting average and in homers with 48 and in runs with 362.  Needless to say, you have been a very offensive team this season.  I find it interesting that the Buckeyes don’t have anyone among the leaders in homeruns in the conference.  To me, that points to a deep lineup where everyone is contributing.  Comments? 

DG:  Yes the offense has really surprised me this year too. I knew we would score runs but i did not think we would have this much power as a team. JUCO transfer Michael Stephens has been a great addition to the team. He is hitting .354 with 44 RBI and 22 extra base hits. He does tend to strike a little, but is a great defensive OF. 1B Matt Streng has been quite a surprise with 7 HR. He has hit very well in the bottom of the lineup. He was not even going to start this year until 3B Dan DeLucia got hurt in Florida. Dan Burkhart is solid as they come and is going to be the next great Ohio State catcher. He is hitting .391 with 8 HR and 51 RBI. He has been very solid in the 4-spot of the lineup all year. He also has been doing an awesome job behind the plate and has a great arm. 3B Justin Miller has kind of struggled with his batting average but is a great leader as a Senior and has driven in 40 runs along with 6 HR. He got moved to 3B in March and has played very well there too. I guess my point is it has been a team effort all year to drive in runs and win ball games. At one point, LF Zack Hurley was leading the team in RBI and average hitting in the lead off spot. Zack also has 20 extra base hits and is a speedy OF with great range. DH Ryan Dew is leading OSU with a .400 average and has 6 HR and 28 RBI. Dew has only K’d 8 times in 155 at bats. He does an awesome job of putting the ball in play every time up. Coach Todd does except every guy in the lineup to bunt a runner over if needed. It does not matter if you are the 9 hole or the clean up hitter. The Buckeyes also have 23 triples that lead the league. The one thing the Bucks don’t do much (unlike Illinois) is steal bases although OSU is 38-48 this year. Coach Todd will hit and run more than anything. The guys this year also have done a good job of working pitchers and drawing walks.

IBR:  With OSU being so offensive-minded and Illinois’ focus on speed, pitching and defense, how do you see this dynamic playing out for the upcoming series this weekend? 

DG:  Well i hope OSU can take 2 out of 3 but i don’t know. I wish that one of the games is on the BTN. I always feel good when Wimmers is on the hill but your Sophomore lefty Phil Haig has been good this season too. I think for Ohio State it all starts with the Friday game and Wimmers setting the tone on the hill. It is very hard to play well on the road in the league and this weekend is no different. You guys will have a packed house and be pumped up for sure. Wolosiansky has been good in (game #2) this season and i hope this weekend is no different. Sunday’s for the Buckeyes have been ugly with a 1-4 Big Ten record and to be honest Eric Best has struggled a little in the 1st couple of innings in his starts. If he can pitch well early on then OSU can feel very good about him pitching deep into the game. I would bet a lot of money that the guys are ready to play Friday night cause they realize this is a HUGE series. I hope the weather is nice and does not cause any havoc. We have a huge mid-week trip to Louisville on Tuesday and Wednesday. A split there is a must but Coach Todd can’t blow the league title for 2 non conference game wins either.

IBR:  How do you see Ohio State’s future in Big Ten baseball?  Will they see this kind of success next year and beyond?

DG:  Coach Todd is in his 22nd season as the head coach and he will be at Ohio State until he decides to retire, or step down. He has earned that right too and has always done things his way. I have been following this team since 2003 and sometimes he makes me scratch my head. But 9 times out of 10, he makes the right decisions and gets the job done. I really feel that this is our year to make some noise in the NCAA tourny cause we lose 3 great Seniors and have some Junior players that are on the MLB draft radar. The last couple of years have been tough but the guys also have been very young. We have lost some great Junior players to the MLB draft in recent years. I don’t know if the coaching staff had counted on some of the guys leaving early. That puts you in a bad spot. The one thing that bothers me is the mid-week losses in the last couple of years are becoming more frequent. That is not a good sign and will always bite you at the end of the season. The great teams Coach Todd had in the ’90s never played down to their competition level

IBR:  I assume you will be at the Big Ten Tournament since it will be in your home territory?? 

DG:  Yes the Big Ten tourney should be fun. I have gone up to Ann Arbor the last couple of years to watch the tourney and it has been cool. I have not been over to the new ballpark so the tourney will be my 1st time there. I have seen pictures and heard that Huntington Park is awesome and there is not a bad seat in the house. I am happy the Big Ten did chose Columbus to host the tourney but i think it should move around to other Minor League stadiums in the Big Ten surrounding states. 
 

Thanks to Drew for taking the time to give us insight into the Buckeye baseball program! 

Go Illini!