It would have been nice if the Quakers had at least taken their faint hopes of winning the Gehrig Division crown back to Meiklejohn Stadium for Sunday’s doubleheader. But according to this scoreboard, they dropped the first of their four-game set with Columbia, 5-4, which clinches the Division title outright for the Lions. Penn needed to win all four to stay in the hunt. Now they have three more games to go, all of them somewhat moot.

Penn grad Mark DeRosa cheated Philadelphia out of a victory.

DeRosa, the Chicago Cubs second baseman, hit a solo homerun with his team up on the Phillies 3-2 in the sixth inning Friday night. The problem was, it didn’t actually happen.

The shot went less than a foot outside of the left foul pole, but the umpires saw it otherwise, and while arguing the call, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel got tossed for the first time this season. The Cubs would go on to win in the 10th frame, 6-5, on a run scored on an error that should have ended the inning on a 6-4-3 double-play.

The Penn baseball team just wrapped up its Florida trip today with a 12-1 thrashing of NJIT.  The week certainly had some very low points, most notably an 18-0 loss to UConn, as the Quakers finished up with a 3-4 record. However, the two starting pitchers that combined for Penn’s three wins were excellent and might have emerged as a reliable one-two punch. Just look at today’s doubleheader pitting the Quakers against Dominican and NJIT.

Todd Roth has picked up where he left off last season. The big right-hander — who recorded a tremendous 1.98 ERA as a freshman last year and was named as a freshman All-American — has mowed down the opposition over the past few weeks. Today against NJIT, he hurled seven strong and struck out nine. Against Maine earlier in the trip, he threw seven innings and fanned nine batters as well. It seems that the sky is the limit for this kid, and Penn is very lucky to have him.

And to balance out Roth, southpaw Tom Grandieri — the only lefty on the staff — is making a name for himself. After two successful appearances out of the pen, the sophomore transfer made his first start today against Dominican. He walked one and struck out five in 5.1 innings and also knocked in a run, guiding the Quakers to a 7-1 victory. In 8.2 innings this season, he’s given up one hit and two earned runs.

This young, righty-lefty duo looks to be a very promising one for Penn going forward. Roth is obviously more experienced and tested as a starter, but Grandieri’s successful outing in his first career start for the Red and the Blue after starting out in the bullpen  is quite impressive. And the best part is that they’re both just sophomores. The Quakers will be back in action against Temple on Wednesday, and the Ivy League season begins on March 29 at home against Yale.

Well apparently, one or two of you would rather read about the upcoming Penn baseball season than about the sub-par football and basketball teams. I expect the number of the hits on this blog to drop off significantly after spring break… But with the very warm weather the past two days, it feels like spring is upon us. The smell of baseball is in the air. So without further ado, a few quick, interesting notes about familiar names on (or not on) Penn’s baseball team this season.

Tommy Grandieri, as in the brother of Brian, is the starting right-fielder this season, and you can expect to see the southpaw make a few appearances on the hill this season.
He is a transfer from Villanova. Against DII West Chester, he went 1-3 with a walk.

Matty Tellem, as in the son of renowned sports agent Arn Tellem, is a freshman infielder on the team this season. His dad represents Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, and Frank Thomas, among others, and is a local product of Haverford College.

Nick Francona, as in the son of Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, is not on the roster this season. The senior, a lefty starting pitcher, had a rocky relationship with coach John Cole and quit the team last season. The one time draft pick of the Sox will not be back for the Red and Blue.

And a quick alumnus update: Former Penn left-handed pitcher Josh Appell ‘05, who had spent the past two seasons in the Mets’ farm system, was traded to the Houston Astros system during the off-season.  He finished up last season playing high-A ball in Port St. Lucie for the Mets, though he spent the bulk of the season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, recording a 3.65 ERA over 24.2 innings.

I hope you got your baseball fix. (Can Zack Rosen suit up for the Cornell game this weekend? Thanks.)

Former Penn baseball player and current Chicago Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa has left Spring Training in Arizona after complaining of a rapid heartbeat during some drills on Saturday. He will undergo tests at a hospital in Chicago. You can read more about it here. A bat that DeRosa gave the DP years ago still sits in our sports office, and we obviously all wish him the best and hope that he’ll be back out on the field for the Cubs soon.

I came across this slightly dated article previewing the 2008 Ivy League baseball season today, and it’s got some good tidbits. Also interesting was the same blog’s interview with Penn coach John Cole, which was posted on Thursday. Looks like Tom Grandieri, whose sibling should ring a bell with any loyal Buzz reader, will be lacing up for Cole this year after appearing in 17 games (31 AB and 7.2 IP) for Villanova last season as a freshman. Fortunately for the Quakers, he won’t have to sit out the year, because the new rules forcing baseball transfers to wait a year — like basketball or football transfers do — won’t go into effect until 2008.

Other additions and subtractions: Sophomore Jake Palumbo (OF) and junior Matt Grimes (IF) are each off the Penn roster, while senior John D’Agostini (RHP) is on for what I believe is the first time.

It’s been a bit of a thin week here at The Buzz, but Happy Holidays from all of us nonetheless. Check back after Christmas and we’ll start talking about the Florida Gulf Coast and Miami basketball games.