Thursday, June 13,2013
10 Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
The season of rebuilding that turned into more
In a season that was expected
to be fraught with losses during a
process of rebuilding, the Michi-
gan baseball team exceeded expec-
tations by taking its first steps back
into college
baseball rel- LAX
evancy. COHEN
From
the time On Baseball
his players
arrived on campus in the fall to
the end of the season, first-year
Michigan coach Erik Bakich
instilled a winning culture in a
program that had many more losses
than wins in recent memory. Once
the season began, the newfound
expectation of winning became
evident while the Wolverines (14-10
Big Ten, 29-27 overall) consistently
battled back from adversity to earn
the program's first berth to the Big
Ten Tournament since 2010.
"This team was on a mission to
really bring the winning culture
back to Michigan," Bakich said.
"You prepare and you play with the
expectation that you're going to be
competing for championships."
The leadership council,
comprised of senior center fielder
Pat Biondi, junior outfielder
Michael O'Neill, senior right-
hander Kyle Clark, senior right-
hander Ben Ballantine and senior
right-hander Chad Jasman, worked
throughout the season to help their
coach instill the winning culture
among their younger teammates.
You could see it had paid off on
thefinalregular-seasongame,when
the Wolverines not only earned a
Big Ten Tournament bid, but also
trounced Nebraska in the process.
Though Michigan was eliminated
from the double-elimination tour-
nament after two games, its appear-
ance demonstrated the beginning of
success in the program.
"As a coach, your goal is to get
the maximum potential out of your
team," Bakich said. "I felt like with
this particular group, we squeezed
every drop, every ounce of energy
out of it."
There were times during the
season when using every ounce of
energy wasn't enough for the Wol-
verines. Michigan took its lumps,
particularly during, a 12-game
stretch in which the Wolverines
went 5-7 when Biondi was out
because of a sprained thumb.
All season long, Biondi encapsu-
lated the spirit of the team in ways
not visible in the box scores. When
he returned from his thumb injury,
he couldn't swing a bat. Yet he was
in the Michigan lineup during the
team's sweep of Michigan State,
attempting to bunt for a base hit
each time at the plate while playing
his usual rangy defense.
"It just captured everybody's
enthusiasm and just really was a
huge sparkplug and a catalyst for
us," Bakich said.
Biondi continued to demonstrate
the new winning mentality of the
program by playing through an
injury later in the season. He even
switched to second base duringthe
final series of the regular season
- the last of his Michigan career
- so that Bakich could put the best
lineup on the field.
As the Wolverine baseball pro-
gram looks forward, it will have
to do so without the leaders who
helped precipitate the team's
change in mentality. With Bakich
at the helm, Michigan will look to
new leaders to carry the program
into the next phase of its develop-
ment as Biondi and O'Neill pursue
professional baseball careers.
Bakich sees a trio of freshmenn
shortstop Travis Maezes, second
baseman Jacob Cronenworth
and left-hander Evan Hill as
future leaders because they
already established themselves
as workhorses on and off the field
this season. Bakich looks forward
to the arrival of next year's highly
touted recruiting class, his first at
Michigan as he looks to guide the
team to the next level.
The incoming class drummed
up more excitement when four
of the players were selected on
the third day of the MLB Draft.
Bakich expects them all not only to
come to Michigan, but to help the
program do much more than earn a
bid to the Big Ten Tournament.
"While everybody was happy
to get to the Big Ten Tournament,
everybody also realizes that this
past year was the worst year
Michigan baseball is going to have
moving forward," Bakich said.
And he could be right. Especially
since he doesn't have to spend time
implementing a winning attitude.
New rankings place
Moff among U. S. best
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Hospital places Chris Dickinson,' interim
executive director of Mott and
op 50 in all 10 .professor of pediatrics and
communicable diseases, said
catergories the high ratings awarded to the
cardiology department are in large
y TUI RADEMAKER part due to the excellence of the
Daily StaffReporter doctors and staff.
"We have excellent surgeons, and
the parents who send their what's really unique here is that they
n to C.S. Mott Children's work really well and extraordinarily
al, they can be assured their close with the cardiologists, so they
tes are in good hands. talk constantly about the patients,"
rding to new U.S. News and Dickinson said.
Report rankings that were Despite the overall excitement
d Monday, the hospital places with which the rankings were met
op SO in all 10 of the pediatric by the hospital community, there
ty areas that were used to were several drops from last year's
e pediatric hospitals. rankings. Cardiology went down
are extremely proud that from fourth in the country to sixth,
tinue to get high rankings diabetes and endocrinology went
.S. News and World Report," from 17th to 21st and orthopedics
'a H. Pescovitz, CEO of the went from 14th to 33rd this year.
sity Health System and Dickinson said for the most part,
ve vice president for Medical year-to-year differences are simply
at the University, in a press the result of natural fluctuations,
issued by Mott on Tuesday. but they also give the hospital the
rive for an ideal patient care opportunity to focus and improve
once, so it's wonderful. to in the specific areas. He added that
recognition for our efforts each year hospital administrators
be ranked year after year conduct an in-depth analysis in the
the nation's best in all the areas from which ratings dropped or
ties." points were deducted.
t received its highest rating in "If there was something that
ogy, placing sixth nationally. came up, for instance, our rate of
'ogram boasts the second- a complication or something that
congenial heart program was much higher than it should be
U.S. and performs over then that's a great window for us to
rdiac surgeries each year, look back at and (say) this is an area
ng to the release. we have to focus on and do better,"
Dickinson said.
To determine its rankings, U.S.
News and World Report surveyed
179 pediatric care centers around
the country. The 10 categories the
hospitals were evaluated in were
cancer; cardiology and surgery;
diabetes and endocrinology;
gastroenterology and GI surgery;
neonatology; nephrology; neurology
and neurosurgery; orthopedics;
pulmonology and urology.
While Mott was the only hospital
in Michigan to be ranked in all 10
of the areas considered, it failed to
make the "Honor Roll" under which
hospitals were included who had
received high rankings in at least
three of the categories.
Mott has consistently received
high rankings for its pediatric
care, most recently in February
when it was named the eighth best
children's hospital nationwide by
Parents Magazine.
Dickinson said this high ranking
is just one way in which Mott
can contribute to the tradition of
excellence that the University holds
itself to.
"The University of Michigan
is a huge, big place and this is just
part of what the University is all
about," Dickinson said. "'Leaders
and Best' - you hear about it
over and over again, it permeates
the entire campus including the
health system ... this is just part
of the same and we're so blessed
to be here."
'U' professor
to serve as U.S.
Economics
Councilmember
By AMRUTHA SIVAKUMAR
Daily StaffReporter
On Monday, President Barack
Obama announced that he has
nominated Betsey Stevenson,
associate prof. of public policy,
to serve as a member on his
Council of Economic Advisors.
The CEA, an agency within
the Obama administration, is
responsible for advising the
president on issues related to
economic policy and present
potential solutions. Stevenson
will work alongside a chairman
and one other member to shape
economic policies for the
coming year.
Public Policy Dean Susan
M. Collins said Stevenson
had a reputation as a "highly-
regarded labor economist"
and noted the importance of
the CEA in shaping national
economic policy.
"(Stevenson) cares deeply
about the application of her
work to real-world policy
problems," Collins said in a
press release. "We're pleased
and honored that she was
chosen for this distinguished
service."
Economist Jason Furman
was simultaneously nominated
to be the CEA Chairman -
replacing Alan Krueger, who
had chosen to step down from
the position.
Collins said in an interview
with The Michigan Daily that
Stevenson's expertise in labor
markets and her experience
as Chief Economist for the
U.S. Department of Labor
would complement Furman's
knowledge of financial markets
and macroeconomics, making
her a fit candidate for the
position.
"(The CEA) is intended to
span the key economic issues
that the president would like
and would need their advice
on in the year to come,"
Collins said. "Certainly issues
related to labor market and
employment are extremely
important in that regard."
Collins added that
Stevenson's expertise was very
relevant to certain aspects of
the president's agenda.
"I would expect that
(Stevenson's) expertise on
issues related to women and
families would certainly play
a part in some of the work that
she would do," she said.
Though no formal start date
has been announced, Stevenson
will start her term at the White
House this summer. It is
unclear how long Stevenson's
appointment will last and
when she will return to the
University.
"She has a lease for the
coming year and I would be
surprised if she were to request
an extension," Collins said.
"But that's still unfolding, I
would say."
Stevenson was unavailable
for comment.
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