The Big 10 race is gonna be a good 'en ! I think the Bucks and Meatchicken will be neck and neck for the title. Evethough Minny appears to be down, you cant help but think they will get it together and be in the mix by the end of the season. You gotta give Michigan a slight advantage at this point, but the Bucks will be right there if the bullpen comes together IMO. The Buckeye bats have been strong, and thats a great sign considering that the leagues best hitter Steve Caravati is out with a hamstring pull. The defense is solid, and has only cost us one game this year.
The rest of the Big Ten is hard to figure out...if i had to pick the 6 teams that make the Big 10 tourney, i'd go with...Michigan, tOSU, Minny, Illinois, Penn state, and Iowa. Eventhough Indiana has the best record in the league at the moment, i feel they are pretenders like last years team. Northwestern, Michigan State, and Purdue have room to improve and may be factors in the end.
I feel this Buckeye team could be special if our starting pitching holds up, and the bullpen comes around. The return of LHPChris Hanners would be a huge help as well. IMO there is no way this league doesnt get 2 teams in the NCAA regionals this year, and its a safe bet that the Big 10 champ will host a regional with the apparent demise of Notre Dame. At worst, i think we finsh second in the Big 10 with at leat 40 wins.