Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Rockets tabbed to win West - News and notes from MAC Media Day

http://www.independentcollegian.com/sports/rockets-tabbed-to-win-mac-west-at-media-day-1.2748435#.UA87RbR8DEi


DETROIT, Mich. -- With college football Media Day kicking off in many conferences, one thing is certain -- football season is right around the corner.
The Rockets are eager to return to the field for what looks to be another promising year for Toledo football.
For the second consecutive season, the media has picked UT to win the Mid-American Conference West. The polls were released before today’s events at Ford Field.
 “It makes me feel good about the direction of our football program,” said UT head coach Matt Campbell. “I think we’ve worked really hard to put ourselves in position to be at the top of our conference. In November, we want to be back here at Ford Field with an opportunity to achieve a goal for our football team.”
Toledo came close to reaching that goal last year, going 7-1 in MAC play with their only loss coming in a 63-60 shootout at home to eventual champion Northern Illinois.
There appears to be a developing rivalry between these two in the West. Their annual meeting carried significant weight in recent years.
“I think it’s more than a little rivalry for us,” said NIU head coach Dave Doeren with a grin on his face. “We look forward to playing them.”
The tough loss eventually sent NIU to the MAC title game instead of UT by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Avenging last year’s loss to the Huskies would go a long way toward earning a trip to Detroit in 2012.
Much of the talk surrounding Toledo at Media Day was unsurprisingly about the two-quarterback system that has become a staple of the offense for the last few years. Senior Austin Dantin admitted it was tough at first, but now it is just part of the offense.
“It’s become so routine we do it every single day in practice and we’re used to it and we’ve grown accustomed to it,”Dantin said. “I think because of that, we’ve learned to just accept it and we know it’s best for our team. Our team’swinning, so we’re not going to have any issues with it.”
Dantin started the first 10 games in 2011, while junior Terrance Owens got the nod for their final three contests, including the Military Bowl.
Dantin completed 122-of-188 passes for 1,404 yards and 15 touchdowns. Owens threw for 2,022 yards on 166-of-230 passing. His 72.2 completion percentage was a MAC record.
“These guys are in a position now where they are great leaders in our football program,” Campbell said. “They’ve led our program to where it is right now from a leadership standpoint, to an unselfish standpoint and from a competitive standpoint. We’ve got two great players at quarterback and we are fortunate to have that.
 “It just so happens that we have two guys that we feel are very talented, that have proven themselves, have won hugefootball games in our program and they deserve the right to play. It’s unheard of today to have two guys at one position, especially a marquee position like quarterback, where those two have an opportunity to share the spotlight.”
Campbell is also in that spotlight.
At just 32 years of age, he’s the youngest head coach in D-I football. Serving as the offensive coordinator last year, he was promoted to head coach after Tim Beckman departed to take the same position at Illinois prior to the bowl game.
The experience from coaching that one game along with all of spring ball will hopefully pay dividends as he transitions into his first full season as head coach.
“I think you’re always learning, you’re always growing,” Campbell said. “But to have that under my belt, I think it helps me prepare for what it’s going to be like through a 12-game season. That’s been worth its weight in gold because I think it’s so important to learn what your players can do, what motivates our players to be successful and how we can continue their success.”
The Rockets begin fall practice Friday, Aug. 3 and begin the regular season at Arizona Saturday, Sept. 1.

Axford can't save the Brewers

(Originally published July 17, 2012)

http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=7801

In a season full of excruciatingly painful losses, the Brewers’ debacle Monday night might have been the most gut-wrenching.


John Axford blew his sixth save of the season, coughing up a two-run lead in the ninth as St. Louis took a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game series at Miller Park.


Axford (2-6), walked two batters and loaded the bases before surrendering back-to-back hits to Matt Holliday and Alan Craig.


“It’s what I’ve been saying a lot with (Axford) this year, it’s his command,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “He’s not able to throw his fastball where he wants to. When he throws his breaking ball, it’s not a strike. And then he’s got to come back with fastballs, which aren’t located real well.”


Axford, who converted on all but two save opportunities in 2011, saw his ERA soar to 5.35 and left the mound to a chorus of boos as Kameron Loe entered to retire the side.


“All together, that’s the most frustrating outing I’ve had all year,” Axford said. “I’ve had a few blown saves this year, but that’s definitely the most frustrating one. Today, I just felt awful.”


Axford’s latest meltdown overshadowed another tremendous outing from Mike Fiers.


The rookie starter tossed a gem Monday night, something that Brewer fans have come to expect from the 26-year-old righty.


Fiers (3-3) scattered four hits over seven shutout innings, fanning four and walking four, doing more than enough to give the Brewers a chance to win.


“He was great again,” Roenicke said. “He’s got deception, he’s got speed changes that messes up the hitters and he throws up in the zone real well. He’s doing an unbelievablejob for us.”


Fiers lowered his ERA to 2.01 in eight starts since joining Milwaukee’s rotation as a replacement for injured Marco Estrada. He made his season debut May 29 in Los Angeles, where he surrendered just one run in seven innings.


Fiers has been a pleasant surprise during a season of much disappointment and frustration.


“I’ve had stretches in my baseball career where I’ve thrown multiple scoreless innings, but I’m just enjoying it right now,” Fiers said. “I’m just trying to put up zeroes and give our team a chance to win. That’s my whole philosophy here.”


Hot-hitting Corey Hart ended the scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh with a solo blast to straightaway center off Lance Lynn that hit the bottom of the scoreboard. It was the 17th homer for Hart, who is batting .341 for the month after posting a .247 mark in June.


Milwaukee padded Axford’s cushion in the eighth. Norichika Aoki drew a one-out walk off of Cardinals reliever Barret Browning. Two batters later, Ryan Braun delivered a double, allowing Aoki score from first and giving Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.


Axford, who has been plagued by control issues all year, encountered more of the same when took the mound in the ninth.


He walked Matt Carpenter to start the inning, but seemed to have recovered when he recorded two fly ball outs. Axford got St. Louis down to their last strike when Rafeal Furcal hit a hard chopper to third that was too hot for Aramis Ramirez to handle. Ramirez jumped back and tried to backhand the ball. Furcal was awarded a base hit.


“I don’t think (Aramis) is going to get (Furcal) even if he catches it,” Roenicke said. “Once you back off like that to try and get a good hop, I don’t think he’s going to get Furcal.”


Axford then walked Skip Schumaker to load the bases after getting St. Louis down to their last strike for a second time.


Matt Holliday, who extended his hitting streak to 15 games, came to the plate with runners at second and third and two out. He grounded a 3-2 pitch right between Hart and Rickie Weeks to plate a pair and tie the game.


Allen Craig then blooped one over the head of Cody Ransom at short to score Schumaker and give the Cardinals the lead. Axford left the game to a chorus of boos and Roenicke didn’t exactly give him a vote of confidence after the game.


“We talk about it all the time,” Roenicke responded when asked if there could be a change at closer. “We talked about it just now and we’ll talk again tomorrow. I think (Axford) has a lot going on upstairs. I don’t know what all the issues are.”


Axford downplayed the possibility of anything on the mental side hampering his play. The Brewers closer had St. Louis down to their last strike three times, but failed to deliver on each occasion.


“I know how important these games are, so that’s why this one is even more frustrating,” Axford said.

Ransom plays the role of unlikely hero for Brewers

(Originally published July 14, 2012)

http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=7701


I guess it’s only fitting that Friday the 13th provided us with one of the most wild andunpredictable games of the Brewers season.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth, Cody Ransom drove a 2-2 pitch from Tony Watson well over the wall in left center for a go-ahead grand slam that gave Milwaukee a 10-6 lead.
John Axford surrendered a solo homer to Andrew McCutchen in the ninth, but held on to give the Brewers a huge 10-7 victory against the first place Pirates.
“It’s nice to start off this way,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “Good offense and we had some good bullpen today.”
Two of the National League’s best pitchers were on the mound in Zach Greinke and James McDonald, but you wouldn’t have known it from their performances Friday night.
Greinke was pinch-hit for after five and McDonald was pulled after just 4.2 innings clinging to a 6-4 lead. McDonald, who entered the game with a tidy 2.37 ERA, allowed four earned on eight hits and walked five.
Greinke surrendered five earned runs on seven hits during his third consecutive start for Milwaukee, including two long home runs. Red Faber was the last pitcher to take the hill in three straight games back in 1917 as a member of the White Sox.
“I didn’t pitch perfect by any means,” Greinke said. “They capitalized on all their opportunities. I wish the three games would have went better than they did on my part, but we won two out of three, so I guess you can’t be too upset over that.”
Despite all of the trade rumors that have surrounded the former Cy Young winner, he insisted it hasn’t bothered him on the rubber.
Something that wasn’t out of the ordinary was Ryan Braun putting on yet another show. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player hit the first of his two homers on the night in the bottom of the first, a solo shot to right center to put the Crew in front, 1-0.
Braun was 4-4 with two home runs, three RBI, one walk, one steal and three runs scored. His 26 long-balls lead the NL and he’s just one RBI shy of the league lead with 64.
“I feel good, I’m seeing the ball well,” Braun said. “I feel like my swing is in a good place.”
Three batters later, Rickie Weeks ripped a sharp liner down the left field line to scoreAramis Ramirez from second. Pittsburgh left fielder Drew Sutton bobbled the ball twice trying to scoop it up after it caromed off the side wall just past the tarp, allowing Corey Hart to score from first to put Milwaukee in front 3-0.
After allowing an unearned run in the third, Greinke ran into huge problems in the fourth.
Rod Barajas and Clint Barmes each had broken-bat, bloop singles over the head of a Brewers infielder. Sutton followed with yet another flair, this time over the head of Ramirez at third to bring in a run.
Neil Walker then extended his hitting streak to 13 games when he clobbered a hanging curveball from Greinke and sent it over the wall in center, giving Pittsburgh a 5-3 lead.
“It’s not like (Pittsburgh) got two good base hits and then they hit a home run,” Roenicke said. “(Greinke) shouldn’t have even been facing Walker if everything was right. Those guys should have been out, and that changes things.”
Milwaukee looked for their best player to respond and he didn’t disappoint.
In the bottom of the fourth, Braun stepped in with two outs and runners at the corners. He promptly lined one right back up the middle that brought Maldonado home to inch his team closer.
Trailing 6-5 in the sixth, Braun once again came through in a big way. The red-hot left fielder went yard for the second time, his fourth multi-homer game of the season and 16th of his career to tie it up at six. Both of his bombs Friday night were to the opposite field.
“I think when I’m going my best, I’m hitting the ball the other way,” Braun said. “More than anything, I try to hit it where it’s pitched. If it’s inside, try to pull it, if it’s outside, try to hit it that way.”
The game remained tied in the eighth when Braun and Ramirez came through with base hits off Watson. Corey Hart struck out, but the runners advanced to second and third on a double steal.
The Pirates elected to intentionally walk Weeks, despite his .200 batting average, to load the bases for unlikely hero Cody Ransom’s mammoth grand slam over the Brewers bullpen in left center.
“(I was looking for) just something to drive,” Ransom said. “We just needed a single there to get a run, so I was just looking for a pitch to hit.”
Maldonado also had four hits, going 4 for 5 with a run scored. Hart went 3 for 5 with three singles.
Francisco Rodriguez picked up the win and improved to 2-4 on the year.
The Brewers got a much needed victory to start their most important stretch of the year to this point. After these three games with first place Pittsburgh, Milwaukee will take on St. Louis and Cincinnati, all teams who are in front of them in the Central. Milwaukee currently sits seven games back in the division.
“We recognize the importance and significance of these games,” Braun said. “There’s no reason to pretend like they’re less important than they are. We understand that these next nine games will dictate which way the rest of our season goes.