It seems once we find a good closer, he’s taken away from us… at least for a year. My heart sank a little when I read the news that Bryan Roberts had Tommy John surgery last week. Doing so means that he’ll be out for the 2011 season. The good…
With the baseball season over and nothing better to do (I’m kidding there), the Illinois coaching staff have gone off and signed up some more players for the team. Last week, they announced that four players have signed letters of intent to play baseball for the University of Illinois. Most…
There was some good news for former Illini shortstop Brandon Wikoff that came down the wire today. Wikoff is being promoted to AAA ball. That’s a nice jump for Brandon who had spent 2009 and early 2010 in single A. Most currently, he has been playing for the A Lexington…
Good news from the Altobellis. Former Illini 3B Dominic Altobelli, who has been playing in extended spring training so far this year, has been promoted to the Tri-City Dust Devils, a single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. He’ll be moving up in more ways than one. Dom will be leaving…
Nebraska won unanimous approval to join the Big Ten from conference leaders Friday. U of I interim president Stan Ikenberry assured us that academically, Nebraska was a “good fit” as if it were an afterthought. The idea of Big Ten expansion is a bit scary and to some, irritating. I…
Highest pick from the Big Ten Alex Wimmers who was nabbed 21st overall Below are all the Big Ten players picked in the first two days. As is usual with the Big Ten, catchers are heavily represented. Five backstops were drafted. [UPDATE]: I’ve updated the list to reflect yesterday’s picks. …
Wednesday, the Big Ten recognized the academic achievements of 1,037 conference athletes from Spring 2010 by naming them to the Academic All-Conference teams of their respective sport. Of the 79 baseball players honored, ten were from the University of Illinois. Congrats to them all! University of Illinois Spring Academic…
The Illinois baseball players don’t get much of a break after the college season is over. A few days after it’s over they travel to their college summer teams to hone their skills. This year, twenty-one Illinois players will be playing in these summer leagues. For the most part our…
If you’re a fan of Coach Hartleb (and if I’m a good judge, most of us are), rest assured. He has been told by athletic director Ron Guenther that he still has a job. The UI Athletic Department has said all year that it was going to wait till the…
On the eve of the Big Ten Tournament, conference awards were handed out. Three Illinois players got some hardware to display on their mantles. Shortstop Josh Parr (left) was named to the All-Big Ten third team. Making the switch from second base to short, his conference.337 average and 21 runs…