Mizzou Baseball Quotes & Notes

Stats

■ Current Boyd's World Pseudo-RPI for Mizzou: 0.512, ranked 128th.

Question: How does this early-April RPI ranking compare to the past several seasons? Fortunately, our friend Boyd has all the archives for us:

4/5/10: 128th 0.512
4/6/09: 52nd 0.565 Regional
4/7/08: 43rd 0.578 Regional
4/10/07: 34th 0.593 Regional
4/11/06: 50th 0.566 Super Regional
4/12/05: 69th 0.550 Regional
4/13/04: 119th 0.509 Regional
4/7/03: 26th 0.589 Regional
4/2/02: 137th 0.499 No post-season
4/10/01: 58th 0.554 No post-season

Game Day

■ Tigers come to life after explosion (Columbia Tribune)

Not to be overlooked was Brad Buehler’s extended outing. After taking over for starter Aaron Blunt in the third, Buehler gave up four runs on seven hits over four innings. He allowed single runs in the fifth and sixth and was charged with two runs in the seventh — the second when Phil McCormick gave up a two-out triple — good enough to allow Missouri to grind its way back into the game.

“On a day like this, giving up one run an inning, that’s huge. That’s a victory,” Thigpen said.

MU in the Minors

■ Razzball.com has a grammatically-challenged feature on Players of Interesting in 2010:

Brock Bond (06-07) Accidentally drafted by the Giants in 2007 (in round 24), Brock Bond has been their Sparky Anklebiter, except he’s 5-10. Praised for his scrappy play and work ethic, Bond has exceeded most expectations. His defense is fringe-average, his plate-discipline/strike zone judgment is good, and he has great speed. This great speed hasn’t translated to a ton of steals as he gets caught far too often (15 times in 28 attempts). He runs the bases aggressively and breaks up double plays. Not that the Giants need scrappy infielders, but with Freddy Sanchez perpetually injured, Bond may get a call up during the season. His ceiling is a major league utility man.

[Trrip Note: I'll bet Brock is growing fond of that "accidentally drafted" tag]

■ Former Tiger Garrett Broshuis (02-04) may not be a minor league player any more, but he's still writing about the minor leagues in Playing for Peanuts (BaseballAmerica.com). The whole article is worthy of a click-and-read:

Rothstein, whose family served as a host for the Norwich club when it was a Yankees affiliate, lives with her husband in a ranch home on the outskirts of town. Their basement is littered with futons in various positions, monuments from their hosting days.

"We had 12 players, two wives and a baby staying with us all at once," Rothstein says. "We didn't charge them a dime. One month we had a $5,800 food bill and we tried collecting $20 from each, but some of them couldn't even afford that."

MU in the Majors

■ So many possibilities, but Max Scherzer holds the key to the Tigers' season (Detroit Free Press)

So my final pick is Scherzer (04-06). If he can live up to the hype that accompanied his arrival in the majors in 2008, he can give the Tigers a front three that really can mask some other issues on the team.

■ Mathis on Opening Day roster (Star-Telegram.com)

Reliever Doug Mathis (05) has been with the Rangers each of the past two seasons, but Monday will be the first time he's made the Opening Day roster.

The moment isn't lost on Mathis, who found out Wednesday.

"It's huge," Mathis said. "I was fortunate to do well and be in a situation where they thought I deserved it. There are other guys that have been pitching well, too. I'm definitely appreciative of the opportunity I have. I've heard about it and seen Opening Day on TV, but this is something I'm looking forward to."