Mizzou Baseball Weekend Woes

■ Power outage, sloppy play cost Mizzou Baseball in series lost to UIC(kbiasportsextra.com)

The 3-7 start for Mizzou isn’t unprecedented, as the 2009 team had the same record in its first 10 games and still made the NCAA tournament. But that team featured good-to-star-quality players such as Kyle Gibson, Greg Folgia, Aaron Senne, Kyle Mach and others. That’s not to say this Mizzou team doesn’t have players of that caliber, but if it does, those players haven’t really emerged yet

■ Tigers drop final game of weekend (powermizzou.com)

After escaping without any more damage, Heaslip got into a groove. He gave up only three more hits after that inning and the Tigers didn't get a runner past second base the rest of the game.

"It happens with a lot of pitchers," said senior Jonah Schmidt, who was the only Tiger with multiple hits. "Once they get out of a couple jams they build a little confidence and stuff starts getting a little better and they trust it more. You've really got to take advantage of all the opportunities you get in the early innings."

■ Tigers strike back against Flames (themaneater.com)

But as bad as the Flames’ pitching was, the Tigers’ Rob Zastryzny was just as good. The highly touted freshman lefty from Corpus Christi, Texas, threw 5.1 innings of 4-hit baseball, giving up only 2 earned runs and striking out 4. Zastryzny lowered his ERA to an impressive 3.38 through 3 starts this season, and seems to be improving with every appearance.

■ ">Missouri baseball falls to UIC in game one (themaneater.com)

One word sums up Missouri’s home opener against Illinois-Chicago best: sloppy.

Mizzou Baseball Game Day: Saturday split

■ Zastryzny leads Missouri to double-header split (collegebaseballdaily.com)

Start learning to pronounce his name.

Then, once you have that down, learn how to spell it.

Don’t complain about the wind in Taylor Stadium; it’s just a byproduct of Rob Zastryzny sprinting his way to notoriety in Columbia, MO. In the Missouri freshman’s third start of the year, he allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings, on par with his season’s numbers coming in – 10.2 innings pitched and four earned runs allowed.

■ MU Baseball splits double header against Illinois-Chicago (columbiamissourian.com)

In each of Saturday's two games, Missouri center fielder and leadoff hitter Brannon Champagne went 2-for-3 and had two walks.

■ From the Cheap Seats:

• "I was impressed with Dillon Evert at 2B. Made a couple of dazzling plays in addition to his productive offensive day. Zastryzny was as good as advertised." (Tigerboard.com)

• "Offense wasn't the problem today. Obviously it was 11 runs allowed, 6 errors, 7 walks, 1 HBP...and partridge in a pear tree." (Tigerboard.com)

• "I think the SIX errors contributed to our loss!! I believe the inconsistent line up contributes to SIX errors and another terrible season." (Tigerboard.com)

And Mizzou basketball fans weren't the only ones frustrated with play-by-play unavailability on Saturday:

• "Come on KTGR! It's bad enough I can't go to the games, but now I can't even listen..." (Tigerboard.com)

Mizzou Baseball Game Day: Let's try this again

■ Friday's game ws rained out, and the Saturday double headerr has been moved earlier, to Noon and 3:00 PM starting times.

■ Fresh approach for MU's Brown (Columbia Tribune)

After working with the Missouri coaching staff, Brown is getting his front foot down sooner, which helps him recognize the pitch earlier.

Entering the Tigers’ home opener tonight against Illinois-Chicago, Brown is leading Missouri (2-5) with a .444 average (8 for 18) and five RBI. He’s come through in clutch situations, going 5 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Game cancelled

The double header has been moved up to noon on Saturday

Update

A decision on whether to play @MUTigerBaseball will be made at 6:15 or 6:30. Grounds crew is working hard to clear the field! #Mizzou (@shawndille77 on twitter

Game Day: Mizzou Baseball vs. Illinois-Chicago Flames

4:25 PM UPDATE: Game time still set for 6PM. Storms have passed (for now at least); light rain in Columbia. Time to put on the galoshes and get ready to head to Taylor Stadium!

Poor weather and broadcasting conflicts will impact MU Baseball's home opening weekend.

■ Radio/Video: TRUE: The Zimmer Radio Group is the exclusive broadcaster of Mizzou Sports beginning with the 2010-11 season. TRUE: ZRG has no less than SEVEN radio stations serving CoMo. FALSE: Seven stations are not enough to handle more than one sport going on simultaneously. But TRUE: At least this weekend the athletic department has a plan:

There has been a slight change in the radio plans for this weekend's game as Saturday's broadcast will be conflicted by Mizzou men's and women's basketball. The first game of the double-header on Saturday will be carried by KTGR 1580 AM/100.5 AM but with the women's basketball game slated for a 4 p.m. start as well, MUTigers.com will offer the second game for free on Mizzou All-Access along with a video stream. Fans wishing to tune into the broadcast can access the game at MUTigers.tv on Saturday. (mutigers.com)

■ So what's there to do if games get rained out or rescheduled?

The True/False Film Festival is in Columbia this weekend. Plenty of good documentary films to take in - all INDOORS! Details HERE

■ Baseball looks for fresh start and return to glory in 2011 (uicflames.com)

In 2010, the season did not go quite as planned. The Flames finished third (22-28, 15-9 Horizon League) in the Horizon League last year after finishing the regular season in first place in each of the previous eight campaigns. UIC won two games at the 2010 Horizon League Championship before bowing out to the Valparaiso Crusaders in an elimination game on May 28, 2010 for a fourth-place finish.

■ The UIC Flames are 1-6 so far in 2011 and have been outscored 63-27

• St. Louis 8, UIC 1
• UT-PA 5, UIC 4
• St. Louis 17, UIC 7
• UT-PA 9, UIC 1
• UIC 10, Kentucky 8
• UK 13, UIC 3
• UK 3, UIC 1

■ Mizzou and the NCAA's new bat regulations (KBIAExtra.com)

Mizzou, like every other team in college baseball, will have to deal with these new bat regulations by finding ways to score not based off the long ball. But for Mizzou especially, that means getting on base at a better rate—a .317 team OBP won’t cut it—and aiming more for the gaps than over the walls—something the team may have been shooting for anyway given its makeup.

■ @CollegeSplits on Twitter:

• New bat update, comparing first 10 days of 2011 vs. first 10 of 2010. 2010: HRs were 2.8% of BIP. 2011: 1.8% of BIP. Huge.

• Also, with new bats, run scoring down even more last weekend. Again, thru first 10 days: 2010: 7.5 runs/game. 2011: 6.25 runs/game.

■ And some things never change, do they? Baseball losing streak hits 3 for the first time since 2008 (hornedfrogsports.com)

Assistant Coach Tony Vitello was ejected from the game for arguing a non-call. Home plate umpire Mark Denezin failed to grant timeout to Jason Coats allowing the DBU pitcher to deliver a strike and put him behind in the count. It enraged the crowd, Coats and the coaching staff, but it was Vitello who was dismissed from the game by first base umpire Jon Wolfe. I know Coach Schlossnagle works to avoid ejections by his team and staff, but the call was unfortunate. But for me, I wish Vitello had gotten his moneys-worth. For a team that needs a spark and seems to be stuck in a rut, a Bobby Cox/Lou Pinella tirade might have been just what the team needed. Oh well, water under the bridge.

Game on!

Sticking with 6 PM start time for tomorrow night! Come on out to Taylor Stadium to watch the Tigers home opener vs. #UIC! #MIZ #PackTaylor
(http://twitter.com/#!/MUTigerBaseball)

MU Baseball Quotes & Notes: Staff & Stats

■ MU Baseball fans may recognize this member of the event staff: Veteran MU Event Staff member knows how to treat customers (Columbia Missourian). Ron Lueck is the friendly Event Staffer I was referring to in my season ending "Tip of the Cap" feature this past June.

“I’m looking up in the stands just watching, seeing if there’s something happening somewhere,” Lueck said.

Sometimes the "something" is a disagreement or a fight. Most often, this occurs during high school wrestling.

"It’s a different kind of fan," Lueck said. "Usually the toughest ones are Mom and Grandma.”

■ College Baseball Insider has been running a series on The State of College Baseball. They polled D-I coaches and received responses from 121 (40%), addressing various topics:

• Bats: 43 percent said the new bats will cause them to change the way they coach.
• Scholarships: 86 percent of coaches agreed there should be more than the current 11.7 scholarships
• Pitch clock: "Our guess is that there are likely a number of coaches who simply believe that clocks are better served for sports other than baseball," said Phil Stanton, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com. "But there also could be a number of coaches who believe that the new bats will help shorten college baseball games on their own, and the pitch clock wasn't necessary."
• Post-season: 45% want to keep the post-season format unchanged
• Best College coaches: Among the BCS coaches, Oregon's Horton captured 14 votes (13 percent), with Clemson's Jack Leggett and Texas' Augie Garrido each garnering 13 votes (12 percent).

Mizzou Baseball in the Majors & Minors

■ ESPN interviews Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer at Tigers camp (Detroit Free Press)

"I fixed my mechanics," Scherzer said. "My mechanics were out of whack in the beginning of the year and I figured it out. I shortened up my arm action and that just allowed me to pitch so much better.

■ Ian Kinsler hoping to be injury-free for the Rangers (DallasNews.com)

Kinsler will do his part to stay on the field, but he won’t change the aggressive way in which he plays.

“Hopefully this year I’m a little more lucky,” said Kinsler, who also suffered a groin injury in late July. “I’m going to take care of myself this spring to make sure, come April 1, I’m on the field.”

■ The three faces of Ian Kinsler (Baseball Time in Arlington)

Over the last three seasons, there have been 18 major league players who have amassed (a) at least 1,500 total plate appearances and (b) enough playing time at second base to qualify for the three-year wins above replacement league leaderboard. There's Chase Utley (20.9 WAR) in a tier situated somewhere in the baseball heavens, and then there's a fairly tight clustering of three players some distance behind him in the very good, All-Star-level tier -- Dustin Pedroia (14.9 WAR), Dan Uggla (12.5 WAR), and Kinsler (12.4 WAR). Those three perched above Kinsler have played 62, 18, and 95 more total games from 2008-2010, respectively, and yet there is he, hanging right there with them.

■ Brewers sign 7 to 40-man roster (reviewingthebrew.com)

The remaining four members of the “League of Seven” are; right-handers Justin James, Wily Peralta and Cody Scarpetta, along with left-hander Dan Merklinger. Reality check, none of these four will make the opening day roster. Peralta could be on the roster by the end of the season, but only if Parra lights up the Miller Park night sky with his usual array of dumpster pitches. Then I could foresee Peralta filling the long reliever spot by September. Scarpetta and Merklinger do not have enough experience to make the free-standing leap to the majors.

Justin James could be an interesting player to watch during the spring. With 8 seasons of minor league ball under his belt, one would suspect that he is ready to take the next step. His best statistical time in the minor leagues, was while he was up in Triple-A. He has some pretty solid walk to strikeout numbers, 7.5 K’s per 9 innings versus 2.7 walks. JJ features a upper 80′s fastball, a solid changeup (scout.com says it’s his best pitch), and a curve ball that is not quite ready for major league batters yet. It is possible that he could find himself a spot in the rotation if he has a nice spring.

■ Together again (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Reliever Justin James, claimed off waivers by the Brewers from Oakland shortly after the 2010 season, had special interest when the club later acquired Shaun Marcum in a trade with Toronto.

The pitchers were selected by Toronto in the 2003 draft and are from the same area of the country. The Blue Jays took Marcum in the third round out of Missouri State University and James out of the University of Missouri in the fifth round.

The two later took divergent paths. Marcum remained with the Blue Jays, but James was traded to Cincinnati in 2007. He was cut by the Reds in 2009 and played for the Kansas City T-Bones of the independent Northern League.

Oakland purchased James from that club in June 2010 and he received his first call-up to the majors last September. The Athletics placed James on waivers last fall and the Brewers claimed him.

"I was happy when that happened," said James, 29. "I got the news and I thought this was a lot better situation for me. I'm glad to be here and looking forward to contributing to the team, no matter where I'm at."

James has a minor-league option remaining, so it's not make-or-break for him in the Brewers' camp.

Trrip Note: Shaun Marcum played for Mizzou as a freshman in 2001.

■ ON Top 50 Prospects: #35 Rick Zagone (orioles-nation.com)

One of the most consistent pitchers in the system, Rick Zagone has posted solid numbers every step of the way throughout his three year minor league career.
. . .
He’ll be 24 years old when the season starts and likely headed towards Norfolk’s rotation, though a return to Bowie is not out of the question. He has a slight chance to become a back end #4/#5 starter but will likely end up in the bullpen when all is said and done.