New Year's 9

The arrival of New Year's Day means . . .

1. Nasty weather. A week ago they were predicting a beautiful New Year's Eve, light jacket weather for those who plan to be out and about. I predicted NOT. New Year's always brings nasty weather. And, true to form, the high Friday is supposed to be around 60. and then that afternoon and evening the temperature is going to drop like a can of corn and hit 20 by the time 2011 arrives.
   
   
2. The most non-productive week of the year. Nobody wants to do much of anything at work during the week between Christmas and New Year's. Me? I'm writing a blog post about how nobody wants to do anything productive during the week between Christmas and New Year's.
   
   
3. Darkness. I drive to work before the sun comes up. I drive home after the sun is going down. It's too cold to go out and do much of anything. There's nothing on TV but bowl games and reruns of Glee (aka, Muzak disguised as a sit-com). No wonder so many people are depressed this time of year.
   
   
4. College Football is finally going to be over. Can there be anything less exciting than a sport that plays only 11-12 games in a season, punctuated at the end by a meaningless bowl game? Picture that schedule being applied to basketball or baseball. It's laughable, right? So why does it make sense for football?
   
   
5. The new BBCOR bat standards go into effect on January 1st, bringing about significant changes to the style of baseball we've gotten used to in college baseball. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.
   
   
6. Looking back. Every program, every magazine, every blog (except this one) has a Top Stories of the Year list. The first one is mildly interesting, and then they start to blur together. And when I look back on MY 2010, hardly any of those Top Stories rank in my top 10. My family moved, my job got crazy, my best baseball buddy moved away, a dear friend was released from prison after 32 years, my son experienced major changes in his life, a former foster child came back into our lives after nearly two decades, my father died, and I discovered the truth that every Baby Boomer discovers, that I'm now responsible for a parent in need. Those are the stories that really impacted my life.
   
   
7. New Year's Resolutions. Lots of people make them. Few keep them. There's a good read and a unique take on the subject at Titus2Tea. What's your 1 resolution for 1/1/11?
   
   

8. Mid-Winter Baseball Deprivation Blues. This time of year I'm reminded of a scene from Field of Dreams. Ray Kinsella has built the field and then waits for weeks and months while nothing happens. there's a quick scene during the holidays. His relatives are in the background making merry, and he's sitting and looking out the window at the snow-covered field. Waiting. New Year's is the low spot for most baseball fans, the middle of the long off-season wait.
   
   
9. New Year's Eve marks exactly 7 weeks until Opening Day of the 2011 College Baseball season! The season ticket renewal forms will be in the mail any day now. The announcement of the date for the First Pitch Celebration will be made any day now. Mizzou-RAH!!!
   
   Those who think the baseball world revolves around the Major Leagues have 13 weeks until opening day. No wonder they're depressed.

Top 9 Online College Baseball Resources: Boyd's World

We're taking a look at my top 9 favorite (in no particular order) online resources for College Baseball information.

BoydsWorld.com used to earn my uncontested my vote as the #1 online resource for College Baseball.

It's still a great website, but Boyd Nation has moved on to other (more profitable) interests and now sells his incredibly detailed stats and analysis of college baseball players and trends to those with the big bucks to pay for it, like major league baseball and scouting groups.

He used to write a weekly column called Breadcrumbs Back to Omaha, for which devoted college baseball fans would eagerly wait and then argue about for days (or weeks . . . or years). He no longer writes that column, but the archives are available on the website and worth your while to read. All of them. Trust me.

Here's an example from a 2005 column on The Racial Composition of College Baseball:

Here then, are the numbers for the 8,591 players checked:

• White 90.4%
• Black 5.3%
• Hispanic 3.5%
• Asian 0.3%
• Pacific Islander 0.4%

The number for black participation is skewed in a way that needs to be mentioned. If the two HBCU [historical black colleges and universities] conferences are removed from the numbers, that number drops to 2.7%, which is much closer to the generally perceived number.

"Asian", in the college game, means something different than in the professional sense. While almost all Major Leaguers of Asian descent are from the Far East, in college the numbers of players of Far Eastern and Middle Eastern descent are roughly equal, with a couple of Indian ancestry thrown into the mix.

The Pacific Islanders are highly concentrated in the two Hawaii schools, of course, but are present in reasonable amounts in many of the Western schools. This is in contrast to MLB, where as far as I know at this time, the presence of Pacific Islanders depends entirely on whether Shane Komine is with the A's or in AAA.

Be sure to read the rest of that article and check out the other archived articles.

Even without the weekly Breadcrumbs, what makes the site still worth frequent visits during the season are the sabermetric rankings and lists that he updates frequently (some of them daily), including his Pseudo-RPI, Strength of Schedule, Iterative Strength Ratings (ISR), Individual Leader Board, and the Pitch Count Watch.

All of these are great for knowing just how Mizzou and Mizzou players rank among other teams and players in D-1 baseball.

Also be sure to spend some time rummaging around in The Filing Cabinet.

And check out the Team Schedule Calendars. When he updates them for 2011, you can download MU's entire schedule to your Outlook calendar or Apple Calendar.

Like d1baseball.com, boydsworld.com is a plain vanilla site as far as graphics and flashy stuff (an intentional choice by Boyd Nation). But it is a treasure trove of information.

MU in the Majors: Justin James

A little late news . . .

■ Brewers claim RHP Justin James off waivers from Oakland (mlb.com)
The Milwaukee Brewers today claimed RHP Justin James off waivers from Oakland and selected C Martin Maldonado from Triple-A Nashville. Both players have been added to the 40-man roster.
. . .
James, 29, went a combined 2-1 with 1.83 ERA (39.1ip, 8er) and 5 saves in 28 appearances between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Sacramento in 2010. He went 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA (4ip, 2er) in 5 appearances as a September call-up with Oakland while making his Major League debut this season. He had his contract purchased by Oakland from Kansas City of the independent Northern League in June. James was drafted by the Blue Jays in the fifth round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft and was traded to Cincinnati on December 5, 2007. He is currently pitching in the Arizona Fall League.

■ James waiver claim (brewers.mlbblogs.com)

"I found out about the claim just before today's game," James said. "When I found out, you know you don't have control over that stuff, you just want to compete. Being here in the Fall League really opens up a lot of other doors for you as a player and for many people to see you. There are a large number of scouts at every game watching everyone."

James has bounced around throughout his career between the Reds, Blue Jays and A's organizations as well as a stint in 2009 in the Independent Northern League with Kansas City. He made his Major League debut this season with the A's.

"If I'm not pitching for Oakland or another organization, I might as well be pitching for the Brewers. I really am looking forward to being with Milwaukee and I think I can help the organization win. I want to finish up strong here in Arizona with the Fall League, do what I did last year and come back ready to go in Spring Training."

■ And an interesting message board conversation about Justin James on brewerfandemonium.com

MU in the Minors

■ Twins pitching prospect Kyle Gibson looks forward to taking the mound at Target Field (twincities.com)

The Twins had intended to have him pitch in the Arizona Instructional League, but Gibson (07-09) reminded them he was going to be married during that time. In fact, as we spoke by phone the other day, he and his new bride were wrapping Christmas presents. He's aware the Twins are in need of starting pitching, especially if Carl Pavano signs elsewhere.

Said Rantz: "He's kind of on the fast track. To be upfront, obviously he'll be in the mix at spring training. But we see him at Triple A with a chance to see the majors next year."

"I'm getting pretty excited," Gibson said, "but I'm trying not to overthink it. I'll show up and work hard with whoever I'm working with. They'll send me wherever they send me, and I hope to throw well and have a year like last year. Hopefully, even better."

More 2011 Schedule info

Oklahoma State released their 2011 schedule, which confirms the dates for the MU-OSU series on April 8,9,10 in Stillwater. We now have the scheduled times as well (6:30, 2:00, 1:00), which we have added to our tentative 2011 MU Schedule.

The only games still unconfirmed are those against SIU-Edwardvsville game and the neutral site game against Kansas.

Waiting . . .

The countdown clock tells us there are 55 days until the first game of Mizzou's 2010 season. Even as the weatherman predicts a very white Christmas in the next couple of days, I can hardly wait for Baseball.

My grandson, on the other hand, is four years old and bouncing off the walls right now because he also can't wait . . . for Christmas. Having a child around brings a whole different meaning to Christmas-time, doesn't it?

Then again, you could say that having a child around is exactly what gives the meaning to Christmas. For centuries and centuries, people of faith waited and waited and then waited some more, for the promised son of God. And then, when He finally arrived, many missed it entirely because He came as a child, born to an ordinary mother in a less-than-ordinary setting.

I would hate to wait through the next 57 days and then miss the actual arrival of Mizzou Baseball.

Wise men still look every day for the signs of Jesus among us, as He offers blessings and provides opportunities.

A Merry Christmas to my Mizzou Baseball friends, and a sincere wish that you would seek God as eagerly as He has been seeking you.

Tentative 2011 MU Baseball Schedule

Edited 12/27/2010

We had previously posted an unofficial 2011 schedule, based on a tentative schedule in circulation among the team. Most of the other D-1 schools have now posted their official schedules, and I have been able to verify nearly every one of these scheduled match-ups and the dates and the times.

At this date, only SIU-Edwardsville, among MU's opponents, has not published an official schedule for 2011.

The other game on this schedule that is very much in doubt is the April 19th game against Kansas, scheduled to be played at Kauffman Stadium. That location and time appears both on the unofficial MU schedule I received AND on the official posted KU schedule. And yet, as I pointed out before, the official Kansas City Royals 2011 schedule shows them playing the Cleveland at the K that night. So we'll have to wait and see on that one.

The only game I have moved on this schedule is the MU-Illinois game, since the Illini officially posted scheduled shows the game at Busch Stadium on March 29th, not a week later as earlier reported.

(All times Central)

FRI 2/18 • Southern Cal @ USC (4 PM)
SAT 2/19 • Cal Poly @ USC (4 PM)
SUN 2/20 • North Carolina @ USC (1 PM)

FRI 2/25 • @ UNC-Charlotte (3 PM)
SAT 2/26 • @ UNC-Charlotte (DH: 11 AM / 2:30 PM)
SUN 2/27 • @ UNC-Charlotte (11 AM)

FRI 3/4 • Illinois-Chicago @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 3/5 • Illinois-Chicago @ MU (DH - 1 PM / 4 PM)
SUN 3/6 • Illinois-Chicago @ MU (1 PM)

TUE 3/8 • Gonzaga @ MU (4 PM)
WED 3/9 • Gonzaga @ MU (2 PM)

FRI 3/11 • Lemoyne @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 3/12 • Lemoyne @ MU (2 PM)
SUN 3/13 • Lemoyne @ MU (1 PM)

FRI 3/18 • Central Michigan @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 3/19 • Central Michigan @ MU (DH - 1 PM / 4:30 PM)
SUN 3/20 • Central Michigan @ MU (1 PM)

TUE 3/22 • Central Arkansas @ MU (6 PM)
WED 3/23 • Central Arkansas @ MU (4 PM)

FRI 3/25 • Oklahoma @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 3/26 • Oklahoma @ MU (2 PM)
SUN 3/27 • Oklahoma @ MU (1 PM)

TUE 3/29 • Illinois @ Busch Stadium, StL (6:30 PM)

WED 3/30 • @ Texas State (6:30 PM)

FRI 4/1 • @ Texas (6 PM)
SAT 4/2 • @ Texas (2 PM)
SUN 4/3 • @ Texas (12 Noon)

FRI 4/8 • @ Oklahoma State (6:30 PM)
SAT 4/9 • @ Oklahoma State (2 PM)
SUN 4/10 • @ Oklahoma State (1 PM)

WED 4/13 • SIU-Edwardsville @ MU (6 PM)

FRI 4/15 • Kansas @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 4/16 • Kansas @ MU (2 PM)
SUN 4/17 • Kansas @ MU (1 PM)

TUE 4/19 • Kansas @ Kauffman Stadium, KC (6:30 PM) - This date has since been shown to be in conflict with the Royals' published schedule)

THU 4/21 • @ Baylor (6:30 PM)
FRI 4/22 • @ Baylor (3 PM)
SAT 4/23 • @ Baylor (12 Noon)

TUE 4/26 • Eastern Illinois @ TR Hughes Stadium, O'Fallon, MO (6:30PM)

WED 4/27 • Missouri State @ MU (6 PM)

FRI 4/29 • Texas A&M @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 4/30 • Texas A&M @ MU (2 PM)
SUN 5/1 • Texas A&M @ MU (1 PM)

TUE 5/3 • @ Missouri State (6:30PM)

FRI 5/6 • @ Kansas State (6:30 PM)
SAT 5/7 • @ Kansas State (2 PM)
SUN 5/8 • @ Kansas State (1 PM)

FRI 5/13 • Texas Tech @ MU (6 PM)
SAT 5/14 • Texas Tech @ MU (2 PM)
SUN 5/15 • Texas Tech @ MU (1 PM)

FRI 5/20 • @ Nebraska (6:35 PM)
SAT 5/21 • @ Nebraska (6:35 PM)
SUN 5/22 • @ Nebraska (2:05 PM)

WED 5/25 • Big 12 Tournament @ Oklahoma City


I count 56 regular season games, so this schedule is likely very close to what will actually take place.

Top 9 Online College Baseball Resources: Baseball-Reference.com

We're taking a look at my top 9 favorite (in no particular order) online resources for College Baseball information.

Baseball-Reference.com may seem like an odd fit for this list of College Baseball Resources. The website is well known as an online repository of historical details about everything MLB. It's the more nuts-and-bolts version of the more fan-friendly Baseball-Almanac.com.

But there is a feature of Baseball-Reference.com that the curious college baseball fan will find very interesting: the Collegiate Baseball Information page.

On this page you can find a list of every player who was ever in the major leagues who played at the University of Missouri (35 total, at this point). Or Haskell Indian Nations University (1). Or the University of Southern California (102 -- 2 more than the #2 school, Texas).

When you bring up the list of a college's alumni, you can sort the list based on a full range of statistics. For example:

• Homer Summa (MU '18) leads MU alums in career MLB batting average at .302 (among players with a significant number of at-bats)

• Glenn Wright (20-23) leads with most games played (1119) and plate appearances (4480), as well as home runs (94), although Ian Kinsler (03) is due to take the HR lead, having 92. Kinsler leads in slugging % (.466)

• Sonny Siebert (58) has a strong lead among pitchers with a 140-114 record, but is edged out by Darold Knowles (60) in ERA (3.12 vs. 3.21). Knowles is far and away the leader in saves (143)

If you're a casual fan, you'll take a look, shrug your shoulders and go, "Well, huh."

If, like me, you're a fan of college baseball history, don't be surprised if you get lost in the depths of BaseballReference.com.

Collegiate Baseball 2011 Pre-Season Poll

■ TCU No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball Pre-Season Poll (collegiatebaseball.com)
Big 12 teams ranked:

#6 Oklahoma
#7 Texas
#8 Texas A&M
#37 Kansas State
#39 Baylor
Also receiving votes: OSU, MU, NU