HI NOTES: Numerology, June Madness

From what I can tell, Keaton Steele is one of just 4 DI players to lead their team in pitching wins while hitting either 3rd or 4th in order

— Shawn Davis (@ShawnDizzle77) April 29, 2013

THE HOME STRETCH

15-24 (.385)  Mizzou Baseball's Current 2013 Record

7-14 (.333) Current SEC Record

5th in SEC East

11th/12th Tied overall in the SEC with Auburn.

Tennessee and Georgia are 13th and 14th.  Of MU's remaining SEC Opponents, Alabama is 6th overall, Kentucky is 9th, Texas A&M is 10th.

10 games remaining on MU's regular season schedule: 3 each vs. Alabama, Texas A&M and Kentucky, plus a single game this week  vs. SEMO.

12  Number of teams that will qualify for the SEC Tournament (the top 12 in the overall SEC rankings, regardless of division)

.500 Winning percentage required to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals.

100% Winning percentage required in the remaining regular season for Mizzou to finish at or above .500

19-34 (.358) Worst record in Tim Jamieson's tenure as head coach at Mizzou (1995, his first season)

3-7 (.300)  Finish required in regular season to finish 18-31 (.367) and beat that worst winning percentage

5-5 (.500) Finish required in regular season to finish 20-29 (.408) and beat that worst number of losses

49 Number of games MU will probably have played in the regular season, out of a scheduled 56 (barring additional games lost)

48 Number of Division I games MU will have played.

POST-SEASON

♦ ESPN to cover all bases on College World Series coverage (USA Today)

...ESPN, in a plan that will be formally announced today, is trying to make that happen with its College World Series coverage. Consider that during first-round coverage starting May 31, ESPN will carry every game from all 16 game sites – up from games at six sites last year, four in 2011 and just two in previous years.

Meaning, ESPN is going all-in on college baseball tournament tonnage. Its coverage of the first round – the Regionals – could include as many as 112 games over four days...

HI NOTES: Play Ball!

See MU vs. Southern Miss preview: Mizzou Matchup

Be sure to check out the drummer at 2:09

After 258 days, it's finally #gameday for @mutigerbaseball!! The road to Omaha starts today! #EmbraceTheUnderdog #PrayForHattiesburg
— Tigers On Deck (@MUTigersOnDeck) February 15, 2013

The road to Omaha starts today for my teammates and I, it's Opening Day! #MIZ #SEC
— Andrew Hohn (@AndrewHohn) February 15, 2013

VIDEO: Take Me Out to #ThePete@somissbaseball youtube.com/watch?v=0aZtDk…
— Southern Miss Sports (@USMGoldenEagles) February 15, 2013

♦ Missouri baseball enters first SEC season with stacked pitching rotation (The Maneater)

Knowing that he’d be the No. 1 man to start the season, Zastryzny spent the offseason perfecting his craft.

"Yeah, location of the off-speed is what I have been working on a lot, consistency too,” Zastrynzny said. “I know last year I would be like, 'Fastball and curveball are working, got to use that, or fastball-change up.' Now it's kind of like everything is working that's what I had to choose. Now I got some stuff to play with, it's not so predictable anymore...

♦ Series is a go despite tornado (Columbia Tribune)

Eric Anderson: "He looks really good. He's healthy and throwing very well," Jamieson said. "We're tempted, but we're probably going to hold back and wait until next weekend."
...
Shane Segovia: Segovia, penciled in as a starter on the left side of the infield, will make the trip and might get an at-bat.
...
Segovia's injury forced Dillon Everett to move from second base to shortstop, with Kendall Keeton, a junior college transfer from Walters State Community College, likely to start at second base. Mike McGraw will start at first and Keaton Steele will start at third for the Tigers.

♦ Missouri baseball counting on new look infield (Columbia Missourian)

“The journey begins with a lot of newcomers and a lot of questions,” said head coach Tim Jamieson. “What we want to do is answer those questions. The quicker we answer those questions, the better we play.”

Jamieson’s infield features several highly-touted junior college transfers that, if all goes well, will be the core of the infield. Everett is excited by the experience his new teammates bring to the table...

♦ Tossing back a 40 and Giving Thanks (College Baseball Today)

4- I’m thankful the RPI has changed.
Finally – FINALLY – the college baseball formula emulates the college basketball formula in rewarding road wins. What the hell took so long? Baseball is tougher to win on the road, especially with the considerable amount of travel involved. This was a long time coming. Look, I know the NCAA is made up of smart people, but this makes me question the NCAA’s competence level.
.
5- I’m thankful there are no more changes to the bats for 2013.
But get back with me in 365 days, I’m sure it’ll change. Either that or a rash of programs will announce they’re moving their fences in… shamefully...

♦ MSN to Televise Mizzou Baseball vs. UK May 18 (mutigers.com)

The Mizzou baseball regular season finale against No. 11 Kentucky will be broadcast live by Mizzou Sports Network and Metro Sports, as announced by the Mizzou Department of Athletics Friday (Feb. 15). The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Taylor Stadium on Sunday, May 18.

Mizzou Baseball 2013 SEC TV Schedule

♦ 2013 SEC Baseball TV Schedule Announced (SECDigitalNetwork.com)

The Southeastern Conference has announced its 2013 SEC Baseball television schedule, the fourth under the league’s 15-year agreement with ESPN. The entire broadcast package will include over 70 contests. In addition, all games from the 2013 SEC Tournament will continue to be televised, with the championship game airing again nationally on ESPN2. The semifinals will also air nationally for the first time, which will be broadcast on ESPNEWS.
. . .
SEC schools maintain the rights to air additional games not included in the SEC package with various television outlets, including official SEC regional television outlets. More than 60 additional games will be broadcast via those means, bringing the total number of SEC baseball games broadcast in 2013 to over 130.
. . .
View the Full 2013 SEC TV Schedule HERE

Missouri has four games on TV this season, which may not seem like a lot compared to some of the other teams on that SEC TV schedule, but it's an improvement on what the Big 12 got the Tigers most years.

• Saturday March 30:  LSU @ Missouri, Fox Sports Network
• Saturday April 6:  Missouri @ Georgia, ESPNU
• Saturday April 13: Missouri @ Vanderbilt, ESPNU
• Saturday May 11:  Missouri @ Alabama, Fox Sports Network

Mizzou will also have the opportunity for games on TV at the SEC Tournament in May.

Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week Schedule ... Minus Mizzou

No, Missouri is NOT included in the schedule for the Thursday night SEC game.

♦ ESPN Announces SEC Thursday Night Schedule (SEC Digital Network)

College football is three-quarters complete and basketball tips off Friday but planning for the college baseball season is already underway. ESPNU’s third annual Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week is the first set of games to be scheduled. The weekly series will begin March 28 and continue every Thursday through May 16.
. . .
Overall, ESPN will provide coverage of more than 150 regular-season and championship games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3, concluding with extensive action of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and the entire College World Series. Additional games are to be announced.

Complete schedule HERE

HI NOTES: Riding the Storm Out

2-day Forecast model from TornadoVideos.net

WEATHER


♦ Latest weather forecast:  Rain and Thunderstorms (possibly sever) likely at Norman, OK, from 5:00 PM on through 9:00 AM Saturday.  Then Storm chances pick up again around 3:00 PM Saturday, continuing well into Sunday.


MIZZOUTUBE


♦ Mizzou Network is showing that they will have live streaming video of the MU-OU baseball series this weekend (subscription required).

♦ There's a new 4•14•12 video at the Mizzou Network site featuring the new baseball uniforms.  It doesn't really show anything new or any more clearly than before.  Take a look, but the official unveiling will be tomorrow, folks.


GAME DAY

♦ Missouri looks to 'jump on' Oklahoma in weekend road trip (Columbia Missourian)

In Missouri's home baseball games, the team lines up inside the dugout and dances in unison to the Sugarhill Gang's "Jump On It" as its hitters prepare to bat in the bottom of the first inning.

The tradition was started by sophomore Mike McGraw, a junior college transfer from Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana . . .

♦ Sooners, Cowboys do not rate among the Big 12's elite (NewsOK.com)

Big 12 baseball boasts three of the nation's Top 25 ranked ballclubs: No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 7 Baylor and No. 23 Texas.

Beyond that… not much.

Over the regular season's final six weeks, Big 12 pride and respect are on the spot and on the line, with a league typically considered a power conference needing to prove it still belongs among the big boys, or face the very real prospect of a reduced role in the NCAA Tournament.
The road to Omaha?

Right now, teams 4 through 9 in the Big 12 standings might want to simply show they're on a road to respectability — to .500.

♦ The Century Mark (College Baseball Today)

Ballyhooed Oklahoma fireballer Damien Magnifico pitched a nasty gem of a game in the Sooners’ 4-0 win over No. 9 Arkansas, tossing 8.2 innings of 3-hit ball. This was just his second career start for the Sooners, and couldn’t have come at a better time, helping the Big Red improve to 19-14 and drop the Razorbacks to 24-8. And as usual, the Sooner slinger was hitting 100+ on a number of occasions during the game.

But the best part of this story has to be the post-game quotes from OU head coach Sunny Golloway. According to SID Craig Moran’s write-up he said, “We’ve asked him to back off the power a little bit and make sure he gets strike one in there. When you ask him to back off, it’s still coming in at 95 miles per hour.”

Geez, if only every coach had that problem with their pitchers.

Mizzou Baseball 2012 A-Z at the Halfway Mark

A week before the 2012 season began, I posted a season preview entitled Mizzou Baseball 2012 A-Z.  Now that the Tigers have played 27 of their 54 scheduled games, it's a good time to see how the season is progressing as compared to the pre-season prognostications.

Anderson

Eric Anderson was expected to be the Tigers' Friday night ace in 2012, but that plan hit a couple of speed bumps.  In his first three starts he pitched well enough, but not well enough to compensate for the slow start of the offense, and found himself quickly at 0-3.  Then in his 4th start he was removed in the 5th inning with arm troubles.  The MRI came up negative with any actual damage, so the plan is to let him rest.  For 10-14 days.  Or 30 days.  Or whatever it takes.

Big 12

Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma were the only Big 129 teams in any of the pre-season polls.  Everyone expected a down season from the Big129, and that prediction seems to be holding mostly true so far.  Texas started out really slow but is in several of the polls at this point just because they're Texas, I guess.  A&M is in everyone's top 10, and Baylor has come on strong in the past couple of weeks to sneak into the lower end of the polls.  Mizzou managed only 1 win against the Aggies this past weekend, but fought them tooth and nail,s threatening to upset them right down to the final out of each game.  The Tigers play Baylor at Simmons Field this week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday).  If they can play with the same zeal and determination as they did this past weekend, the Bears are beatable.

Ben Turner
Missouri Baseball on Facebook

Catcher

Senior Ben Turner was expected to be the starting catcher, and that he has been, for most of the games so far in 2012.  Turner has been a tough and gutsy leader on the field, enduring backsinging bats to the helmet, full-on tackles at the plate, and other numerous aches and bruises.  But his leadership on the field continues to inspire the Tigers.   Patrick Quintanilla is the heir apparent, and made good use of his starts, both defensively and offensively.

Defense

In some ways Missouri  has been noticeably improved defensively in 2012.  On the other hand, there have been some notable problems.  Eric Garcia has made some amazing plays while also setting a pace to break the MU single season record for errors (29).  And there was a two-game defensive slump by the team that began with 4 errors in the final High Point game on 3/19 and gained steam in the Indiana State game with 6 errors on 3/21.  Not surprisingly, the Tigers lost those two games by a combined score of 28-8.

Edge

As predicted, the Tigers' EDGE in 2012 has been good pitching.  Even with Eric Anderson's injury, solid performances by starters and relievers have kept MU in the games, even when the offense has struggled to get going.  Take a look at Baseball Performance Through March (RockMNation.com):  "There's no Scherzer, Gibson, or Crow here, but developing a third option on par with the first two could give them the depth to grind out their share of series wins through the Big 12 season."

Myles Smith
njcaa.org

Gone

Ryan Gebhart is having a great year as the team leader at Florida Gulf Coast U,  Brian Carr  is having a good season both pitching and hitting with William Woods U, Jeff Lusardi and Garrison McLagan are having decent years with San Diego Christian College, Myles Smith is 7-1 with a 1.64 ERA at Miami Dade Community College.  

Home Stand

19 games in 27 days produced a 13-5 record, with one game cancelled.  That's an improvement on 2011's March home stand, which resulted in a 10-7 record (and 3 rain-outs).

Infield

Dillon Everett (2B), Eric Garcia (SS) and Conner Mach (3B) have become fixtures at their positions.  First base has been shared by Gavin Stark (15 starts), Andreas Plackis (5) and Landon Lucansky (5). Mike McGraw (1), and Ben Turner (1).  Stark has been struggling at the plate, so it remains to be seen who will be the go-to guy at first.

JuCo Transfers

LHP Blake Holovach has established himself as a dominant weekend starter.  His complete game shutout against High Point on St. Patrick's Day brought he Tigers' luck and some hope after the injury to Eric Anderson. His Saturday performance against Oklahoma State earned him the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award.  And his incredible performance against A&M on Saturday got him a lot of attention.

Blake Holovach 

Jeff Cline and Kyle Harbeck have both seen mixed results in their mound appearances.

Mike McGraw and Gavin Stark have both seen playing time, but have struggled offensively.

Kauffman Stadium

The only Tiger at Kauffman Stadium is Aaron Crow, who made the big-league Royals' roster again, but his chances for a spot in the starting rotation were sidelined by an injury to Joakim Soria.

 Line-up

Blake Brown and Brannon Champagne have switched back and forth between the 1st and 2nd slots in the lineup; Conner Mach has been a fixture at #3; Dane Opel had settled into the cleanup spot until he began to struggle in the past week or so; 5-8 have been a constant re-mix between several different players; and Dillon Everett has nailed down the #9 slot in the batting order.

Microphones

Tex Little and Hunter Mense have perfected their Abbott and Costello routine in the broadcast booth, pestering one another with their personal eccentricities and the unique and semi-pertinent points they choose to emphasize (e.g., foul area size matters, statistical W-L performance per uniform style, etc.)

The new "voice of Taylor Stadium" is drive-time DJ turned PA Announcer James Abey.  Abey (aka Jim Shorts) struggled early on to raise his name-pronunciation batting average, but he has steadily lowered his opposing-batters-name-intro-clarity ERA by mixing in a variety of levels of boredom and apathy about their relative importance to the matter at hand.  All in all an entertaining change-up for the ballgame experience. 

NCAA Tournament

The words "NCAA Tournament" still leaves a bad taste for many Mizzou fans following the basketball season, but in regard to baseball, the Tigers had a better March home stand than in the past couple of years, which could help their RPI and record at the end of the season.  It the Tigers play the rest of the season like they did in College Station, that will increase their chances for an NCAA invite.  

Outfield

Allow me to quote myself from the pre-season preview:  "Dane Opel is the key. . .
if Opel can return to the level of offensive and defensive excellence he once showed, he can be the key to giving depth to the Tigers both offensively and defensively. " 

Mr. Opel has indeed been the key.  When he's productive at the plate, the Tiger offense is productive.  And when he's not, the whole lineup seems to suffer.  

Pitching Rotation

The weekend pitching rotation is still in flux, due to the sidelining of RHP Eric Anderson.  If EA makes a successful return to the mound, then the weekend staff will likely settle into some version of Anderson-Zastryzny-Holovach.  Rob Z and Holovach have been impressive and productive. 

If EA is not able to return to the weekend rotation, then someone is going to have to step up and show some consistency as a Sunday starter, whether that be Emens or Platts or Cline or Graves or someone else.

Questions

• Will the Tigers be able to mount an effective offense with an everyday lineup made up almost entirely of returning players who struggled offensively with the new BBCOR bats in 2011?
• Early in the season the answer seemed to be a resounding "NO!".  But following the disastrous San Francisco weekend, the bats have picked up.
• Will the pitching staff live up to the high expectations that are being set for them?
• Yes and no.  EA's injury has thrown a wrench into the expectations, and freshman starters Platts and Graves have yet to demonstrate consistency.  
• Will Tim Jamieson and Matt Hobbs be able to rely on their bullpen past the top 3 or 4 workhorses?
• The bullpen has been impressive.  Jake Walsh has stepped forward as a dominant closer, Jeff Emens is the reliable long relief man, and Dusty Ross, John Miles and Ryan Yuengel have been reliable.
• Will Dane Opel's junior year be the one where he plays up to the potential everyone has seen since he was in high school?
• Yes, most definitely.  If he can keep the slumps shortened, he will end up with a very good yar.
• Will Rob Zastryzny show more consistency and stamina deep into the 2012 season than he did in the 2011 campaign?
• Robby Z has been mostly steady and effective.  His longevity won't be answered until May is well under way.
• Will the Big 12-to-SEC transition be a distraction for the team?
• It doesn't appear to be a factor at all.  The rest of Mizzou seems to have moved on, but sports like Baseball and Softball are facing Big 12 opponents every weekend now, so thoughts of Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, et al, aren't even on the radar.
• Will MU be able to build a superior record on the road, in order to take advantage of the new weighted RPI formula?
• MU hasn't been on the road much yet.
• Will KU continue to suck?  
• Always.

Relief

Jake Walsh has shown the attitude and effectiveness to be the Tigers' closer.  When he comes out to the mound to the semi-sanitized sounds of Eminem's "Cinderella Man", Tiger fans grin wide with anticipation.  His last 2 or 3 outings have been less than perfect, but I doubt anyone expected perfection from the "Junkyard Dog". 

Walsh is not alone in the bullpen.  It's pleasant to not feel the need to cringe when the middle relievers (Emens, Ross, Miles, Yuengel) take the mound.

Senior Conner Mach
Missouri Baseball on Facebook

Seniors

Conner Mach is having a solid year, as is BenTurner.  Both are leaders on the field and off. Jeff Emens and Dusty Ross are steady leaders on the pitching staff.  And without Ryan Clubb, how would we know what to do during a rain delay?

TV

TV is what you watch when you get home from the ball game.

Underestimated

The Tigers are still unranked, but that's OK.  The only ranking that matters numbers 1 through 64 at the end of the regular season.  Mizzou broke in to the top 100 in the boydsworld.com RPI after their weekend series with Texas A&M.

Versus

• Auburn 2-1
• San Francisco 0-3
• Ball State 2-1
• Nebraska-Omaha 1-0
• Charlotte 3-0

• North Dakota 2-0 
• High Point 2-1 
• Indiana St 0-1
• Oklahoma State 2-1
• Central Arkansas 1-1
• Texas A&M 1-3

Weather

I have never sat through an entire week of ballgames at Simmons Field in the middle of March wearing no jacket or coat.  Until this year.  The weather has been incredible.  The Ball State series at the beginning of March was typical Taylor Stadium weather:  An average game-time temp of 42.  But for the remaining 13 games of the home stand, the average game-time temperature was 71.  And three games were in the 80s.

X marks your vote

Followers of SimmonsField.com expressed their opinions in the You Make the Call poll.  They think Mizzou can win the Big 12 (or at least be in the top half), and they overwhelmingly expect the Tigers to return to the NCAA tournament in 2012.  Time will tell.

Year of the Big 12 finale

Ho hum.   Let's get it over with already. 

Zastryzny

@Robbyball_Z has been thrust into the bright lights of Friday nights while Eric Anderson recovers from his arm problems.  He has been more effective than his Friday night record would indicate, holding his own against other teams' Friday aces.

Southern Exposure: SEC Baseball on TV

A taste of what we have to look forward to in 2013, plus a guide for learning about SEC Baseball by watching them on TV this season:

♦ 2012 SEC Baseball Television Schedule Announced (secdigitnalnetwork.com)

The Southeastern Conference has announced its official 2012 SEC Baseball television schedule, the third under the league’s 15-year agreement with ESPN. The entire package will include 66 broadcasts in 2012. In addition, all games from the 2012 SEC Tournament will continue to be televised, with the championship game airing again nationally on ESPN2.

“The success and popularity of baseball in our conference is at an all-time high,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “We are proud to be able to offer this amount of television coverage to both our teams and our fans.”

The television package is derived from broadcasts on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FSN, SportSouth and CSS. In addition, ESPN3 will also stream most broadcasts live online.

“This package continues to move our baseball exposure to new levels,” SEC Consultant for Television Larry Templeton stated. “Fans of SEC Baseball will be able to follow the season like never before.”

SEC schools maintain the rights to air additional games not included in the official SEC package with various television outlets, including official SEC television partners. More than 50-60 additional games are set to be broadcast, bringing the total number of SEC baseball games broadcast in 2012 to 120 games or more.

SEC Dixie-nary: T is for TV

T is for TV

One of biggest reasons for SEC expansion was to expand their footprint into new media markets, and the TV revenue they can get.  They've added St. Louis (previously the Big 12's largest media market at 1,253,920homes), Kansas City and the Texas markets with this 2-team expansion.

And one of Mizzou's biggest reasons for joining the SEC was to take advantage of the SEC's current media markets.  Atlanta is the largest market in the SEC, at 2,292,640 homes.

Graphical representation of SEC vs. Big 12 media markets on ColumbiaMissourian.com

Check out the 2011 SEC TV schedule.  And the Additional TV Schedule.


Now compare the 2011 Big 12 TV schedule.  That may be a little deceptive as a predictor of future TV coverage, since the vaunted Longhorn Network will supposedly be showing a lot of UT games in the coming seasons.

The highlight of the SEC TV schedule is a regular Thursday Night SEC Baseball game on ESPNU.  The 2012 Thursday Night schedule has been released.

SEC schools are getting a lot of TV exposure, both for fans and recruits.  And the SEC is going to be able to sell their package to the networks for a bigger dollar amount with the new 14-team footprint that extends into the Texas market and the Missouri market..

9 things to like about Big Ten Baseball

Don't panic: we're not
really joining the
 Big Ten.

In honor of the crazy jump-the-gun MU to the SEC post last night, I thought I'd share this post that I've had queued up in the bullpen for over a year.  But look quickly - I'm liable to take it back down any moment and blame Blogger for this:


Anyone who's been reading this blog for long knows I was not in favor of MU going to the Big Ten. But now it's happened and here we are. So I've been learning everything I can about Big Ten Baseball. Surely, I thought, there's got to be some upsides to this for MU Baseball.

So let's shift gears and find 9 things to like about Big Ten (now popularly being referred to as B1G) Baseball.

1. The Big Ten Network produced over 100 Big Ten Baseball and Softball games for TV broadcast and for streaming at BigTenNetwork.com in 2011. Also, archived broadcasts of Big Ten Baseball games are available online. A lot of that content is not free, but it's more than the Big 12 ever provided for Baseball and Softball.
   
   
2. History: As a student of MU Baseball History, I know all about the storied history of the Big 12:
   

   From the 1907 formation of the original Missouri Valley Conference (MU, KU, NU and Washington U (StL), to the Big 6, Big 7, Big 8 and finally the Big 12 - with Missouri a member of the conference from the very beginning through to the end of the Big 12. Baseball was one of the original sports played by the conference, along with Football.

   It saddens me to see the end of that history.
   
   But the Big Ten has an equally impressive and storied lineage:
   

   Founded in 1895 by the presidents of 7 universities (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, Chicago) as the "Intercollegiate conference of Faculty Representatives". Indiana and Iowa were added in 1899, Ohio State in 1912, Michigan State in 1949. U of Chicago dropped out in 1945. Penn State became the 11th member in 1990.
   
   Football and baseball were the popular sports prior to 1900. Wisconsin won the first two football championships and Chicago claimed the first three baseball titles.

3. The fan experience at a B1G baseball game is very similar to a typical Mizzou game, according to Ten Reasons Why I like College Baseball (and the Illini), at TheBaseballZealot.com:
   

   Just try to show me a better time!
   
   For my money, there’s not a better time. Whether I’m hanging with my buddies, taking my family or just taking in a game by myself, it’s a lot of fun. The baseball program at the University of Illinois have done a fantastic job putting a quality product on the field not to mention a fun time all round (yes, they do promotions… the days when the players play wiffleball with the kids after a game are a big hit, so to speak).

4. There are a lot of good people in B1G Baseball who believe in their sport and their conference, and are working hard to increase the level of competition and even the national playing field. People like Michigan Coach Rich Maloney (collegebaseballtoday.com):
   

   So I’ll start with what you would probably think is a dumb question, can you win a national championship at Michigan?
   
   Coach Maloney: Here’s how big of a feat I think it would be, I think it would be a Sports Illustrated cover. (laughs). I believe in possibilities, not impossibilities. And I’m a dreamer.
   
   But if you would’ve asked me a couple of years ago, I would’ve just talked about making regionals and maybe going to Omaha. But then, when we went down and played Vanderbilt at their place and beat them fair and square, that changed everything. Then on top of that we went out to play Oregon State and quite honestly, if we win game one there (a 1-0, 10-inning loss), we probably would’ve gone to Omaha. And of course, OSU won it all that year. So in my mind, all the sudden my thought process went from dreaming of Omaha to ‘Hey we CAN win this thing.’
   
   So to answer your question, the answer is yes, I do believe it can happen. I’ve been close enough to realize we’ve beaten some teams that are of that caliber.
   . . .
   There are a lot of new coaches in the Big 10 and a lot of new energy and guys that really want to be on the national level. Our goal is to see more teams getting into the NCAA tournament.

5. The annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge: Hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, 2012 will be the 5th year for this tournament matching teams from the Big Wast and the Big Ten at sites in the St. Petersburg, Florida area during the final weekend of February. What form this tournament will take with the new conference realignments is anyone's guess. But it sounds like a great early challenge on the annual schedule.
   
6. If you're one of those Mizzou fans who nurtures a Rodney Dangerfield "We Don't Get No Respect" complex, you're gonna love B1G Baseball.
   
   Big Ten Baseball Proves its Worth (MichiganDaily.com)
   

   And just in case the Wolverines needed further proof the Big Ten is lightly regarded in baseball, CSTV.com also criticized Michigan's seeding before this weekend's play.
   
   "CSTV said that they didn't send a real No. 2 (seed) to the Vanderbilt Regional," Michigan coach Rich Maloney said. "All the guys knew. We did read it to the team and we did talk about it, but in the actual playing of the game, it's all about making pitches and getting the timely hits. If you play the No. 1 team, you're always going to have a tighter focus, especially in front of a hostile crowd."
   . . .
   The strong showing from the three Big Ten teams in this weekend's Regionals justifies the selection of the two at-large bids, though it will probably have little immediate impact on the Southern perception of Midwestern baseball as largely inferior - a fact Ohio State coach Bob Todd said effected the number of Big Ten teams that make the NCAA Tournament.
   
   "There is too much negativism from the warm-weather schools," Todd said. "They still believe, which I do not, that the sixth-place team in some of the warm-weather conferences is better than the third- or fourth-place team in the Big Ten. And I truly disagree with that, especially when you look at how successful some of our programs have been when we play those people in May (in the NCAA Tournament)."

7. For those parents of recruits who e-mail me every year complaining that Tim Jamieson and his staff over-recruit and end up cutting players and pulling the scholarships of some upperclassmen (a practice that happens at nearly all schools in the elite conferences), here's something you'll love about the Big Ten:
   
   ■ Q&A with Indiana’s Coach Tracy Smith (College Baseball360.com)
   

   Now, I do believe the Big Ten recognized this as a huge disadvantage for our league and instituted a rule change this year that allows schools to over sign up to one scholarship spread over two players.
   
   It does help, but when other schools are over signing by 6-8 scholarships, the playing field is not even close to being even. The part that drives me nuts is nobody talks about this issue. Everyone wants to talk about weather, and huge stadiums, etc., as being the things the hold our conference back, but it’s not. The issue of over-signing is the real problem.
   
   My friends who coach at southern schools laugh when I tell them that we can’t over-sign kids until our underclassmen physically sign a contact. They are like, “how in the heck do you guys recruit?” I have my response down to a science now, I put my hands behind my back and say, “like this.”
   
   That said, I am not saying I agree with over-signing to the level most southern do it, because it can create some ugly scenarios where kids are “run off.” Again, too many reasons and not enough time to respond. But what I would like to see is some consistency with regard to the issue of over-signing.
   
   I like the limits our conference has put on over-signing. Now, if we could get the rest of the country to buy into the Big Ten Conference’s rules, wouldn’t if be great? However, I say again, why would they? They are at too much of a competitive advantage under the current system to want to change.
   
   As someone who is trying win every game I play, I guess I understand their position. But if the NCAA wants to do what is “right,” it will address the issue of over-signing, and adopt legislation that truly benefits our student-athletes all the while creating a more competitive environment for all of college baseball, not just some of it.

   Also check out this analysis by Michigan Coach Rich Maloney
   
   While recruiting elite athletes as a Big Ten school will be tougher than recruiting as a Big 12 school, this limit on over-recruiting can actually help the process in attracting certain players who are looking for a more certain guarantee of actually playing for the team they've signed with.
   
8. Natural rivalries
   

   ♦ MU vs. Nebraska: There have been a lot of great matchups between the Tigers and Huskers over the years, and now that both are in the Big Ten, that tradition will continue. And as a bonus, it will continue without Mike Anderson.
   
   ♦ MU vs. Illinois: We've matched up with the Illini on a sporadic basis over the years, sometimes at neutral sites like Busch Stadium or at T.R. Hughes in O'Fallon. Now there will be an annual weekend matchup between the two teams.
   
   ♦ MU vs. Iowa: Another natural geographic rivalry, although the Hawkeyes have not been a major force in baseball. The Joplin Relief series October 8-9 gives us all preview of this inter-state rivalry.

9. 5 or 10 years from now, when people think of B1G Baseball, they should immediately think of Missouri.
   
   OK, so it's a given that Big Ten Baseball is not at the same level competitively as the Big 12 or the other top baseball conferences. Yes, occasionally a Big 10 team rises up and competes on a national level, but the conference as a whole is just not at that level.
   
   This program can easily settle into being one of the better teams in the B1G, sharing the upper levels of the conference with teams like Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State.
   
   Or Mizzou can take a cue from a school like Wichita State during its glory days, and put the money and effort into dominating a mid-major conference (which, in baseball, describes the Big 10), win conference championships more often than not, and be a perennial participant in the NCAA Tournament. That puts the Tigers into position to be ready to catch lightning in a bottle when that exceptional set of recruits pans out and the luck is with us.
   
   Two things are necessary to make that happen:
   
   First, Mike Alden needs to recognize that moving to the B1G is potentially most damaging to Baseball among all the Mizzou sports. And he should compensate for that undeniable fact by sending some of that fabled B1G revenue windfall toward making Mizzou Baseball the most most attractive baseball program in the B1G.
   
   Second, Tim Jamieson and his staff need to rely on their experience competing in an elite baseball conference and put that hard-earned knowledge to use in out-recruiting, out-scheduling, and out-playing the rest of the B1G.
   
   Some of that new money should go to the baseball travel budget, so Evan Pratte can afford to schedule the Tigers to play more Top 25 teams in the non-conference schedule. This will be necessary to build the RPI, to prepare for the B1G schedule by playing against teams that are better than the in-conference rivals, and to be able to entice recruits with opportunity to still play against top teams.
   
   Missouri will have one built-in recruiting advantage in the B1G. The Tigers will be among the southernmost of the B1G schools. Ironically, Mizzou is now the "warm weather" option for recruits considering the B1G Conference.

The Longhorn Network and Baseball

■ Check out this Audio of a radio interview on KZNX AM (ESPN radio in Austin, TX) with the VP of Programming for the new Longhorn Network. At 12:40 on the counter, a baseball fan calls in to ask about coverage of college baseball, including UT road games. The answer is that the first year coverage may be limited to Longhorn home games, but they would like to look into covering some road games as well as Big 12 Championship games and early round NCAA Tournament games involving UT. Also see this discussion of the topic on TexAgs.com.

Big 12 Telecast Schedule

■ Big12Sports.com has a listing of the Big 12 Baseball telecast schedule. There are 4 MU games on the schedule, including one of the MU-OU games this weekend. Availability will vary, of course, depending on your location.

2011 College Baseball on TV

■ Complete 2011 SEC Baseball TV schedule announced (secsports.com)

The Southeastern Conference has announced its complete 2011 SEC Baseball television schedule, the second under the league’s landmark 15-year agreement with ESPN. The regular-season package will include 54 broadcasts in 2011, up from 46 games in 2010. In addition, all games from the 2011 SEC Tournament will continue to be televised, with the championship game airing again nationally on ESPN2. Including SEC Tournament games, a total of 68 SEC baseball broadcasts will air in 2011 as part of the official SEC package.

■ Big Ten Network heightens baseball, softball coverage (bigten.org)

The network will nationally televise up to 30 Big Ten baseball games, including the entire Big Ten Baseball Tournament, and stream a minimum of another 50 games for www.bigtennetwork.com. The network will also broadcast 25 Big Ten softball games this spring to a national audience and stream at least another 37 games online. A selected number of streamed games will be televised on delay through the network's Student U initiative.

■ The #SEC has 68 games and the #ACC will probably have around 25-30. Then you have the #Big12, with six total televised games. http://twitter.com/#!/KendallRogersYS on Twitter.com)

College Baseball Quotes & Notes

■ California done with baseball (perfectgame.org)

The University of California-Berkeley cut its baseball program in the fall as part of widespread budget cuts to put the athletic department in better financial standing, and that decision will stay in place despite valiant efforts by Cal baseball supporters.
. . .
“We are all greatly impressed by how our community organized itself in the attempt to help these five sports and the university,” said Vice Chancellor Frank Yeary. “We are delighted that, together, we have found a path that allows us to retain the two women’s teams and our rugby program without adding costs to the strained budgets of the university and Cal Athletics.”

■ CollegeBaseballToday posted a complete schedule of ESPN's 2011 college baseball games. Mostly SEC games. Just 1 Big 12 game (Nebraska @ Creighton).

2011 College Baseball Quotes & Notes

■ Last yr, MLB teams scored ~4.4 runs/gm. Cape Lg: 3.7 rpg. D1 schools: 6.5! Will be interesting to see how much that changes w/ new bats. (@collegesplits on twitter)

■ Night practice tonight in Devine Pavilion. Stites vs. Zastryzny. Practices have been awesome so far! Redemption in '11... (@MUTigerBaseball on twitter)

■ Big 12 Conferences announces 2011 FSN Baseball Television Schedule (big12sports.com)

6 games! Lots of games featuring teams from Texas. Maybe we should have jumped to the Big Ten after all.

■ Ty Cobb gives up baseball for basketball (sbnation.com)

10 Sports that should not be on TV more than College Baseball

■ 10 Sports that should not be on TV more than College Baseball (CollegeBaseballToday.com)

#4 Golf: Remember, golf is not a sport. It is a SKILL. (And I love when people try to argue try to argue with me that it is a sport.) Look, just like darts. And bowling. And horseshoes. All those things are skills. So is golf. And whoever can sit on their couch for hours on end and watch guys swing clubs at balls and earn millions… well that’s a pretty lame skill too. Sadly.

All Tigers, All the Time?

■ MU ponders starting own TV network (Columbia Tribune)

Last week, after the Big 12 was saved, University of Missouri system President Gary Forsee publicly asked, “Why shouldn’t there be a Mizzou network?” Since then, MU officials have met to discuss new ways to deliver athletic programming to fans.

Their most ambitious idea is a 24-hour sports network filled with live games, archived footage and studio shows.

■ "I'm telling you: if this happens, do NOT forget the Rock M Power Hour on Sunday nights." (RockMNation)

[Trrip Note: And while we're dreaming, we can fill all those not-ready-for-prime-time schedule slots with archived video of Mizzou Baseball games past, sponsored by SimmonsField.com, with voice-over commentary from yours truly about uniform numbers, heckling tips and other exciting insider info.]

Mizzou Baseball on TV

■ FSN to air two Mizzou Baseball games (mutigers.com)

The Big 12 Conference has announced its 2010 baseball telecast schedule on FSN. Six games, including the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, are slated for broadcast. Missouri will be featured in two of the five regular season games that have been selected by FSN.

The Tigers' game at Oklahoma on April 10 and the home contest against Kansas State on April 24 will both air on FSN. Eight different schools will be featured on FSN during the regular season. Mizzou and Texas are the only teams that have multiple games scheduled for FSN.

The six contests will be available to FSN's regional affiliates, reaching more than 82 million cable and satellite TV homes nationwide.

Additional television appearances are possible through other Big 12 broadcast partners and institutional contacts and will be announced at a later time.

FAQ: Listening to the Games

KTGR 1580 AM / 100.5 FM

The Zimmer Radio Group signed a contract to be the official broadcaster of all MU Athletics starting with the 2010-2011 season.

Of course, they have been the official home of MU Baseball for some years now. They will broadcast all 2011 games live on KTGR 1580 AM. KTGR is the ESPN Radio affiliate for Columbia.

In addition, they will also be broadcast on FM 100.5 in Columbia, which has been transformed into an FM simulcast for KTGR. 100.5 has a much broader footprint of coverage throughout mid-Missouri, and should provide a better signal at night than the AM counterpart. During the Cardinal Baseball season, Mizzou Baseball games will be bumped aside for Cardinal games on FM 100.5, but will still be carried at AM 1580.

Broadcasts are scheduled to begin 20 minutes before game time with a pre-game show, and will conclude with a 15 minute post-game show.

Tex Little enters his 20th year as the play-by-play Voice of the Tigers. Tex manned the radio microphone for the Baseball Tigers for 12 years, through 1998, and has done the same for the past 7 years. His knowledge of MU Baseball history is a great asset.

Hunter Mense, former Tiger outfielder, will be in the booth with Tex for the 2011 season, providing color commentary and keeping Tex from breaking the electronic gadgetry in the booth.

Internet Broadcasts

The KTGR radio broadcasts can also be accessed through the internet. To tune in the Tigers online, go to the Streaming Audio link at KTGR.com, or go to the mutigers.com Schedule Page and click on the Audio Broadcast link for each day's game.

Live Webcasts of Oxford Regional

The games of the Oxford Regional will NOT be televised on ESPN or any other cable or broadcast station. But live video of the games WILL be available:

RebelVision Gamecenter offering FREE live webcasts of Regional (olemisssports.com):

Fans can catch all the action from this weekend's NCAA Baseball Oxford Regional live and for free on OleMissSports.com, as the Rebels' official athletics site will be streaming every game on RebelVision.

The webcasts will be showcased in the new RebelVision Gamecenter, which debuted for the final regular-season home series against Mississippi State. The state-of-the-art portal gives fans an incredible interactive experience with an integrated ticker and built-in live stats, which feature an animated field view and player profile data.

To watch the games, click the Gamecenter link, or visit NCAA Oxford Regional Central for all in-game and postgame links and everything you want to know about this weekend's action.

In addition, RebelVision subscribers can catch all of the team press conferences in the standard media player. Each team will take part in a press conference Thursday and following each game.

RebelVision provides subscribers with live streaming video of press conferences, baseball games and select other sports and on-demand access to coaches' TV show, practice reports and replays of football and basketball. Subscribers can also listen to every Rebel football, baseball and men's and women's basketball game without subscribing to any other service.

OleMissSports.com's RebelVision is your ONLY online source for live streaming video and audio of Ole Miss athletics.

RebelVision Subscription cost is $99.95. There is no discount for one-weekend subscription. But, the online live video streaming is FREE and does not require subscription.

Quotes & Notes: Rosters, etc.

■ Evan Frey (05-07) has been invited to the AZ Diamondbacks major league Spring Training as one of 17 non-roster invitees, according to MLB.com.

■ Word is the final 2009 Roster will be posted next week on mutigers.com. The Tigers have 36 on the current practice roster and the NCAA deadline to get the roster down to 35 is February 18th, just two days before the first game. In the meantime, you can take a look at our patched together unofficial version of the current roster.

■ It's disappointing but not surprising to note that the Big 10 Baseball national TV package is a good deal better than Big 12 Baseball's package.