Summer Ball

♦ Ryan Clubb pitched and won the deciding game to send the Wildwood Dodger to the 8 team NABF World Series championship round in Toledo OH. He threw his third consecutive complete game victory, a 10-1 win over the Kersey Diamonds (out of Pennsylvania). He gave up 4 hits, 1 run (earned), and 12 Ks. This brought his season totals to 66IP, 12 total runs (7 earned), 6-1 record and a 0.95 ERA.

College Baseball Quotes & Notes

■ Eric Sorenson has a lot of really good stuff in A Summer's Tale (CollegeBaseballToday.com)

• Be sure to watch the video for a trip through college baseball history that includes a Big 8 legend
  
  
• Good comments on the new NCAA RPI changes
  
  
• A link to an NCAA chart showing how the 2011 RPIs would be different if the new 2013 RPI formula had been in place - Mizzou takes a hit

■ Speaking of college baseball history, did you know George Bush (the older one) played int he very first College World Series? Details in this old article from ESPN.com

Mizzou Baseball Recruits: Graves Chooses MU

■ Mizzou Beats Cardinals (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Francis Howell High righthander Brett Graves, the Cardinals' 26th round draft choice in the June selections, has chosen to accept a baseball scholarship to the University of Missouri rather than sign professionally. Graves is said to possess a 94 mile an hour fastball.

■ Brett Graves on Twitter this afternoon:

"Mizzou it is."

Welcome to the Tigers, Brett!

Mizzou Baseball in the Majors: Ian Kinsler

♦ Kinsler's struggles (Fort Worth Star Telegram)

Ron Washington is sticking with Ian Kinsler. Kinsler is in a 1 for 30 slump, but has shown signs of eventually breaking through. “I’m seeing a guy wants to get it done so bad,” Washington said. “When he squares the ball up, he hits it to somebody. He’s just going through that period. … I think people are tired of seeing him popup and it’s frustrating, but I don’t think anyone is more frustrated than Ian is. And the way the game of baseball works, if Ian starts to put it together in the last month-and-a-half, everybody will forget about what they’re seeing now.”

♦ As Kinsler goes, so go the Rangers (nbcdfw.com)

Kinsler has been a part of 57 Rangers wins this season. He is hitting .282 with a 941 OPS in those games and 13 of his 16 home runs have come during victories. He's walked more than he's struck out in Rangers wins, scored 48 runs and generally performed like an All-Star.

He's also played in 47 losses and his numbers in those games resemble those of a completely different player. Kinsler has a .186 batting average, a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and just 13 RBIs when the Rangers lose. His slugging percentage is a pitcher-esque .282, down from .551 when the Rangers post in the win column.

♦ Ian Kinsler still searching for stroke (espn.com)

The second baseman is clearly frustrated, going 1-for-30 in his last seven games. His average has gone from .255 to .239 in that span. He's 1-for-17 on this road trip and can't seem to get anything going at the plate. It hasn't carried over to his defense, which has been solid all season.

"There's nothing really to say about my offense," Kinsler said. "There's nothing. The more important thing is our team getting back on track. That's it, really. On offense, there's nothing for me to talk about. I'm just going to continue to try to play my game and hopefully when I get back on track the team will be back on track."

♦ Ian Kinsler, love him or hate him: a fan's view (yahoo.com)

When you walk into Rangers Ballpark in Arlington there will instantly be two numbers you will see throughout the stands. You will obviously see countless people wearing #32, which is the number of reigning American League MVP Josh Hamilton(notes), but the number you will see rivaling that is the #5 of Ian Kinsler. Kinsler shirts and jerseys are everywhere in North Texas and most often they are on the backs of young girls who love Kinsler to death. They show up at games in droves and get fake tattoos of #5 painted on their face. They make signs and scream at the top of their lungs when he comes to the plate.

This year Kinsler has hit fly balls 48.3 percent of the time, which is the second most of his career. He hit fly balls 51.6 percent of the time in 2009, but had dropped that number to 41.6 percent in 2010. After those girls scream at the top of their lungs, if the result is one of those fly balls or as they are often referred to "pop ups," you will hear many fans complaining and cussing, because once again Kinsler flew out.

Mizzou Baseball in the Minors

♦ Twins top prospect Gibson could need elbow surgery (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Kyle Gibson, the Twins' top pitching prospect, has an elbow injury that could require Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.
. . .
Though Rantz mentioned the ulnar nerve, the team also is concerned it might be the ulnar collateral ligament, the one commonly replaced now for pitchers through the Tommy John procedure. Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan, Carl Pavano and Brian Duensing are among the Twins pitchers who've had Tommy John surgery.

9 Reasons to Follow College Baseball: Be True to Your School

This is part 8 of our weekly series on 9 reasons to follow College Baseball.

Be True to Your School: The Unbeatable College Atmosphere

No professional sport can rival the fan loyalty of college sports. With the always irrepressible college students in the crowd, plus a healthy mix of avid alumni, mixed in with the usual bunch of local townies that have rooted for the hometown school since they were in diapers, the atmosphere at a college game of any type is electric.

College Baseball, while ignored by many college sports fans, is no different.

You'll find the same energy at Simmons Field during an evening game that you'll find in an East Campus neighborhood on any night when the weather's good enough to move the party outside.

I'm a really "old school" sort of fan, and I still value the ideals of amateur collegiate athletics from a time long past. While sports pundits debate the merits of actually paying college football and basketball players, the so-called Olympic sports come much closer to retaining some of what college athletics was once all about.

At a college baseball game you'll be much more likely to be watching many students who are playing the game for the sake of the athletic endeavour and competition and for the privilege of representing the university against its storied rivals.

And the lingering echoes of that bygone "Be True to Your School" attitude brings a different feel and energy to the experience of attending a baseball game on a college campus.

If you look in the archives of the local papers, you'll see there have been times in MU Baseball's history when students packed the stands were for every game, providing a raucous home field advantage. That sort of huge crowd is more of a rarity these days, for some reason.

I'm not sure what it would take to build a groundswell of interest among the student population at Mizzou. Better promotion and advertising on campus? An organized fan group like the Zou Crew?

Back in the late 90's there was a 4 or 5 person band made up of former Marching Mizzou members that showed up at games, sat in the top row above the third base line, and played semi-awful traditional Mizzou band music between innings. They led the heckling, got the fans to sing along with "Hey, Hey-ey Baby" and generally brought some flavor and character to the ballpark.

It doesn't take much to bring a unique feeling to a college ballpark. But we can't even get Truman the Tiger to show up at Taylor Stadium these days.

If the powers-that-be would take a look at what the college baseball atmosphere is like at several other universities, they might be motivated to put some effort and money behind developing a strong fanbase at MU. It could help generate revenue as well as helping the recruitment process.

ModernEraBaseball.com offers a list of the Top 25 NCAA Division I Ultimate College Baseball Experiences. Some excerpts:

Dudy Noble Field, Polk DeMent Stadium – Starkville, Miss. (Miss. State Bulldogs): Who says trends don’t get started in the South? Back in the 1980s, the ‘Dogs were the first in the SEC to expand their ballpark, and the “Left Field Lounge” is often imitated but can never be duplicated. A great ballpark with better fans and one unique atmosphere not to be missed.
. . .
M.L. Tigue Field – Lafayette, LA (University of Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin Cajuns): It really isn’t much of a ballpark, but it is one unique place to catch a ballgame because of the fans, mostly alumni – and the food and drink. Come to pig out and bark out, with the “top row guys,” Vic the Peanut Man, Louisiana barbecue and beer by the pitcher (yep, they sell brew by the pitcher). If this place ever drew more students, it would climb up the Top 20.

The college baseball experience captures the imagination of all sorts of people, including best-selling novelist John Grisham. Take time to read his 1992 piece, Take Me Out To the Ballpark. An excerpt:

It was quite a performance, really. He didn't hear a word. He ate his shrimp and watched the chefs at play in the fog. He studied the zany architecture of the trailers and trucks and vans packed together. He stared at the crowd of nine thousand rowdies who had gathered for a college baseball game. "Unbelievable," he said again. "I wish I played here."

Simmons Field used to have unique and tasty food for sale, back in the day when Johnny's Beanery ran the concessions. To draw the fans and build a reputation, the people putting out the bids for concessions ought to stipulate something beyond the usual MU concessions fare. Let's have some of the sort of food that makes Columbia unique. You may not be able to serve Shakespeare's pizza or Booche's cheeseburgers or Lee Street juicy burgers, but surely fans would appreciate something more than a non-descript hot dog.

Taylor Stadium may not have barbecue grills in the outfield or crawfish at the concession stand, but it's still a great place to root for the black & gold. The intimate setting lends itself to a relaxed atmosphere where friends are made and fun is had.

Mizzou Baseball in the Minors

■ Kyle Gibson placed on DL (sore forearm) (@RocRedWings on Twitter)

Summer Ball

■ A journey through life and baseball (El Dorado Times)

Most might have given up on a dream after coming face to face with the adversity and prospect of never being able to walk correctly again after a catastrophic ankle injury.

Not for Ryan Gebhart, a recent graduate of the University of Missouri and the former starting centerfielder for the El Dorado Broncos.

The voyage back into the game for Gebhart was not an easy one and for the faint-hearted a monumental task.
. . .
Through it all, Gebhart has come to a knowledge of why he plays the game and why he cherishes every moment that he is on the field because at any instant it could be gone.

“I know who is in control and He has seen me all the way to where I am at today and in Him I know my life is in His hands. All that matters whether playing baseball or not is His light shining through me,” said Gebhart.

■ Dodgers turn back Indians, advance to NABF World Series (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

When the smoke cleared, the Wildwood Dodgers were on top of the heap. They swept the defending St. Louis Metro Collegiate Baseball League champion Alton Indians in a best three-out-of-five series recently to win the post-season tournament championship after finishing second in the regular season to the Ballwin Bandits.
. . .
Ryan Clubb (Eureka, Mizzou) was the staff ace.
. . .
Thanks to the tournament win, the Dodgers advance to play in the NABF World Series in Toledo Ohio this week.

Tiger Bullpen Scramble

■ Baseball announces bullpen scramble (mutigers.com)

The Mizzou baseball program has announced plans for the 17th Annual Tiger Bullpen Scramble, which will be held on Friday, Oct. 21, at A.L. Gustin Golf Course. The scramble gives Mizzou baseball supporters a chance to enjoy a great day of golf with the Mizzou baseball progam. Mizzou baseball alumni are invited to attend the event free of charge. The scramble will begin at noon with registration and a shotgun start will kick things off at 1 p.m.

Individual sign-up for the event is $105 while team registration is $400, a savings of $20 per foursome. Also, baseball supporters can sign up for package deals that include hole sponsorship, 2012 season tickets, special recognition and a variety of other great Mizzou baseball opportunities. For a complete rundown of the entry fees and package deals, be sure to click this link to the registration form.