The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN IN THE PROS posted a .261 batting average, .324 on-base percentage and .347 slugging percentage, while going 25 of 27 in stolen base attempts. He hit .255 for the Royals in 2011 and stole 21 bases in 28 attempts. Overall, Getz's big-league career will come to a close with a .250 aver- age, .309 on-base percentage and .307 slugging percentage in 1,574 plate ap- pearances. The former fourth-round pick stole 89 bases in 107 attempts, which is good for an 82 percent suc- cess rate. Baseball Reference said Getz has made $3.276 million playing in the majors. He also earned a $225,000 signing bonus with the White Sox. ZACH PUTNAM SHINING IN CHICAGO Former Michigan pitcher Zach Put- nam was seeking a fresh start when he joined the Chicago White Sox in the offseason, having been knocked around in short major league stints with the Cleveland Indians (2011) and Chicago Cubs (2013). He suffered through a 6.14 ERA in eight appear- ances with the Indians, and a whop- ping 18.90 ERA with the Cubs. Moving across town seems to have helped tremendously. The White Sox called him up from Triple-A Charlotte April 17 after he posted a 1.35 ERA in seven relief appearances, and he's been very good while posting a 1-0 mark with a 1.62 ERA in 10 appearances as of May 18. "I had a couple of rough outings when I got called up,'' Putnam told The Chicago Sun Times in early May after pitching two perfect innings at Wrigley Field and getting the win in relief against the Cubs. "After having a good spring and continuing at Triple-A and having some good momentum go- ing right now, I'm just trying to not get too high or too low about anything." One thing seemed clear — having bone spurs removed from his elbow last August helped. It eliminated the pain he'd been pitching with for some time, and it allowed him to perfect a split-finger fastball that's been his go- to pitch. "The nice thing about it is when it's not as sharp as I want it to be, it's al- ways going to be down, so I'm not going to get hurt on it," he said. "More than anything, I'm throwing strikes. "I don't want to say it's easy, but it helps for a ground-ball guy like myself to have infielders like we have. Keep the ball down — let them do the work. It makes throwing strikes less of a chal- lenge … you're a little less gun shy. "Getting healthy and being able to throw with where my arm is at, it's nice to say I've been 100 percent healthy — then getting an opportunity and running with it. I've had rough outings when I've gotten called up. This year, I wondered if everything would come back to where it was stuff- wise, and it's been really good." The NFL LEON HALL AHEAD OF SCHEDULE WITH REHAB Two years ago, former Michigan cor- nerback Leon Hall tore his right Achil- les tendon in the heat of battle with the Cincinnati Bengals. Many wondered