SB Nation - Doug Mathis

Monday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:45:03 -0000

Yankees/Phillies in the World Series. Could be worse. Should be an interesting matchup...Yankees are significant favorites, but anything can happen in seven games in baseball.

Richard Durrett talks about the Rangers' long relief options, and thinks that Dustin Nippert and Doug Mathis -- the primary long relievers in 2009 -- will fill that role again in 2010.

T.R. Sullivan has a new mailbag column up, and fields a question on C.J. Wilson in the rotation next year, although he doesn't really give a definitive answer. He also talks about some reasons for Rudy Jaramillo's departure, and the possibility of Fernando Tatis coming back.

And BBTiA looks at the pitch f/x data for Tanner Scheppers.

Wednesday a.m. Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:06:17 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

3 months ago: Texas Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz reacts to striking out against Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Brad Ziegler in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday Sept. 15, 2009. The Ahtletics won 6-1. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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If this team isn't done, it is at least on life support.

There were two plays that jumped out at me last night, that seemed to epitomize the problems with the 2009 Rangers. The first was in the 4th inning, after the bloop off of Doug Mathis that David Murphy dove for and just missed. The next batter singled into center field, and with the runner from first going on contact with two outs, he was easily going to make it to third base. Marlon Byrd came up throwing, though, and as a result, the batter was able to advance to second base. Instead of runners on first and third, there were runners on second and third.

The second was in the bottom of the 5th. Texas had runners on second and third, and after Nelson Cruz popped out, David Murphy came up against the lefty Craig Breslow with two outs. Breslow got behind 3-0 on Murphy, but on the 3-0 pitch, Murphy swung and popped up to shallow center, ending the inning.

This team seems, to often, to have a tendency to play dumb baseball -- to, out of frustration or desperation, too often be overly aggressive in the field or at the plate, as if each player feels like he has to do everything himself. The Byrd play didn't ultimately make a difference in the game, and the Murphy 3-0 popup probably didn't, either...but those two plays seem to symbolize the problems this team has from the mental side of things.

Evan Grant notes that the Ranger offense has had chances in the past three games, when the team has scored a total of one run, but hasn't capitalized.

Jeff Wilson says yesterday was one of the team's worst games of the season, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.

Michael Young's return was intended to provide the team with a spark, but that didn't happen.

Gil LeBreton says the end is near for the 2009 Rangers.

Josh Hamilton won't be back in the lineup until this weekend, and Kevin Millwood won't be back on the mound until Monday, at the earliest, with Derek Holland getting the start on Sunday instead.

Meanwhile, Dustin Nippert is getting the start today.

Friday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:02:10 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

4 months ago: Texas Rangers' Michael Young drives in a run with a single off Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Trevor Cahill during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. Texas won 6-4. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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This weekend's series? Kind of a big deal...

Jeff Wilson said the Rangers badly needed a win and a long outing from their starting pitcher yesterday, and got both.

The Rangers are probably sending Doug Mathis down today to get another position player up, but Ron Washington says it won't be a catcher, and the team is hopeful Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be back on Saturday.

Wilson also has a depressing story up about the Ranger offense, that includes this "get real" quote from Washington:

"All I hear people asking me is, 'Can we take more pitches? Can we start working the count?’ " manager Ron Washington said. "That’s not something that happens just by talking. We have to have the personnel. And it’s not going to happen at this time of the year.

"At this time of the year, if you’re not in shape, you’re in trouble. If you haven’t figured things out by now, you’re in trouble."

Josh Hamilton thinks that his hitting will improve, particularly now that he's stopped taking some medication that he thinks was having adverse effects.

Rangers are calling up Julio Borbon

Adam J. Morris — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:15:24 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers' Julio Borbon calls for a new bat after cracking his bat on a swing against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Monday, June 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

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T.R. Sullivan says that Julio Borbon is traveling to Anaheim to meet the Rangers for tomorrow's game, and is expected to be activated, either in place of Nelson Cruz (who would be sent to the disabled list) or Doug Mathis.

Sullivan also says that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is dealing with a "dead arm," which resulted in him being pulled from today's game, and I suppose the Rangers would have to look at adding a catcher as well, if it looks like Salty could miss time.

Moscoso Recalled, Eyre Optioned

Adam J. Morris — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:58:43 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

6 months ago: Texas Rangers relief pitcher Guillermo Moscoso delivers to Oakland Athletics' Jason Giambi in the ninth inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas Saturday, May 30, 2009. The Rangers won 14-1.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The Rangers have recalled Guillermo Moscoso from AAA, and have optioned Willie Eyre to make room for him on the 25 man roster.

I'm guessing that if Vicente Padilla has to go to the d.l., Moscoso steps in for him in the rotation. Moscoso will also probably follow Doug Mathis today, with Mathis giving the Rangers three or four innings.

Thursday a.m. Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:29:22 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, right, points to a spot on his head as he gets a hair cut by a barber who goes by the name of Montro99 before the start of a game against the Boston Red Sox in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The flu edition. The Rangers are apparently waiting until tomorrow morning to travel to Kansas City, rather than going today as planned, so that the players can spend a full day away from each other in the hopes of not getting anyone else sick.

Jeff (the writer) Miller writes that this was a bizarre game, with Dustin Nippert making a spot start, Doug Mathis getting a not-cheap 3+ inning save, a suicide squeeze, bunches of steals, and Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz hugging inadvertantly after a play in the outfield.

Jeff Wilson says that efficiency and throwing strikes was key to Mathis being able to finish out the game, needing just 44 pitches to go the last 3 1/3 innings.

Jon Daniels isn't happy with the offense:

"I’m not going to beat around the bush, I’m concerned about our offense," Daniels said. "We’ve been spoiled in the past, but we need to perform at a higher level. Right now, we’re too easy to pitch to.

"We can definitely improve on the quality of our at-bats. It needs to improve if we’re going to have a chance not just to contend, but to win."

Also in the story, Daniels has some quotes that makes it sound like the Rangers aren't adding salary.

There's also an update on four of the Rangers unsigned higher draft picks...the Rangers' third and fifth rounders are unsigned, but Daniels expects deals to be done by August 17. Little progress has been made on talks with Matt Purke and Tanner Scheppers, but that's to be expected. MLB has ruled that players who pitched in the independent leagues last year aren't subject to the August 17 deadline, so Scheppers' situation could drag on into the fall and winter.

Jim Reeves says that Josh Hamilton is struggling to get his swing back after surgery.

Either rain or a roster move tonight

Adam J. Morris — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:55:59 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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Evan Grant says that if there's a game tonight, the Rangers are going to option Warner Madrigal to AAA, purchase the contract of Doug Mathis, and move Willie Eyre to the 60 day d.l.

Why? Beats me, other than they want to get Madrigal work. This does suggest, though, that Kris Benson is going to lose his roster spot when Matt Harrison comes back, with Mathis replacing him as the long man. As has been mentioned before, if the Rangers aren't going to use Benson in a situation like last night's game -- and instead would go with Derek Holland, who is supposed to be starting just four days later, and who is a lefty facing a team that kills lefties -- then there's really not much reason for him to be on the team.

The other possibility is that Benson is going to make Saturday's start now, since Holland was used yesterday, and they presumably don't want to start him on three days' rest. In that situation, Mathis replaces Benson as the long man, although Benson could still get the ax when Harrison returns.

In the meantime, there's rain in New York, and some question about whether or not the game tonight will even be played. I imagine the Rangers would like a rainout, since it means they can skip Holland's spot in the rotation altogether on Saturday, and not worry about starting him on short rest or Benson at all. Presumably, the game would be made up in August, and you'd hope that Josh Hamilton would be back in the lineup by then, and possibly someone like Roy Oswalt in the rotation...

Friday a.m. Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:39:22 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

7 months ago: During a weather delay, New York Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher hands over a ball while signing autographs for fans before the game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday, May 26, 2009. The start time of the game was postponed due to passing thunderstorms. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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Doubleheader today against the A's.

Tommy Hunter is being called up today to make the start in game one, although it is up in the air as to who will be added for game 2, or what move will be made to make room for Hunter.

There are a couple of things the Rangers could do. They could cut loose Kris Benson, and then add Doug Mathis after game 1 to replace Benson in the long relief role.

Or they could put Matt Harrison on the d.l. to make room for Hunter, and then call up someone already on the 40 man -- Luis Mendoza, perhaps -- to take Hunter's spot after game 1.

My guess is that Benson is cut loose and Mathis takes over as the long man in the bullpen for the Rangers.

Jeff Wilson has an item about Chris Davis trying to work through his struggles, with this explanation as to why he's late on fastballs:

Jaramillo wants Rangers hitters to start their swing when a pitcher breaks his hands. But because Davis doesn’t fully trust his mechanics, his bat has been late and pitchers are routinely beating him with fastballs.

"It’s somewhat mechanical, but it’s more mental than anything," Jaramillo said. "A lot of times you can have the best plan when you step in the box, but if you don’t trust it, then things get out of whack."

Davis is focused on getting the kinks worked out of his swing. His contributions as an above-average fielder are helping him stay in the lineup, and he hasn’t been a total bust at the plate.

The end of Davis’ struggles is near, Jaramillo said.

Wilson also has a new Rangers mailbag up.

Jim Reeves has a column up about David McDavid's ongoing discussions with Tom Hicks about buying the Rangers, with McDavid saying he will either have a controlling interest or won't buy. Reeves also says that while Hicks is valuing the club at about $600 million -- which is what Forbes puts it at -- the current market makes it more in the $400-450 million range, which would be less than what the San Diego Padres sold for, and which would be an almost shockingly low figure for the club.

Richard Durrett has some quotes from Nolan Ryan about the ownership situation, as well as apost about Darren O'Day's thoughts on Mike Maddux.

And T.R. Sullivan has some bloggy notes up.

It's Time for a 2009 Mizzou Baseball Preview (Part Two)

Bill C. — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:00:11 -0000

For Part Two of this preview, I thought it best to go straight to the top of the Mizzou Baseball Fans pantheon--Tim Robertson, a.k.a. trripleplay from SimmonsField.com. Here are nine questions (Get it? Nine? For baseball?) with the inestimable trrip...

1. Tell us about Mizzou's pitching staff (strengths and weaknesses). I'm going to assume most people know about Kyle Gibson by now, but what else do Mizzou's arms have to offer?

Kyle Gibson will certainly be the leader and the Friday night starter. In watching him pitch in practice, he has added a little muscle and bulk to that matchstick frame, but he's still pretty long and lean. Kyle is projected as a 1st round draft pick in June (Considering Aaron Crow will be re-entering the draft in June, MU could have a pair of pitchers taken in the 1st round).

Senior Ian Berger will repeat as a weekend starter, and hopefully he will be a veteran leader for the staff. Nick Tepesch is expected to be the front runner for the remaining weekend starting position. Nick has great stuff, but needs to be more consistent than he was as a freshman. Many have Tepesch as a 1st rounder in 2010.

Kelly Fick leads the pack of returning sophomores for the mid-week starting jobs. He looked really good and effective in fall and winter practice. He, along with his fellow sophomores (Tyler Clark, Brad Buehler, Phil McCormick) needs to show he has gained focus and consistency in the year since he last saw the mound in a game.

Really, the Tigers' effectiveness as a team in 2009 may hinge on those sophomore pitchers consistently fulfilling their potential.

The bullpen will likely be manned by the more veteran guys on the staff, like Scooter Hicks, Ryan Allen, Ryan Gargano and Greg Folgia (who is expected to pitch more this year than in the past).

2. Tell us about Mizzou's offense (strengths and weaknesses). In Aaron Senne and Trevor Coleman, Mizzou have a couple of pretty recognizable guys...but they're only two-ninths of a batting order.

Everyone focuses on the fact we lost Jacob Priday as the heart of the order, but this could be one of the most potent offenses MU has had in a while.

Ryan Lollis turned down a 20th round draft pick and is back in CF for the Tigers. Steve Gray was amazing as a hitter in the last several weeks of 2008 and has apparently been hitting the ball with authority in practice (he hit a homerun off the crown of the roof of the Devine Pavilion a couple of weeks ago). I expect Greg Folgia to be a solid contributor at bat. Andrew Thigpen was better at the plate than in the field last year, and should be key to the lineup this year. Kyle Mach has gotten a little better at the plate each year, and will probably find himself toward the bottom of the lineup every day. JuCo transfer Michael Liberto is a speedster and is reportedly going to hit either 1st or 9th in the order.

All in all, that's a lot of good hitting surrounding Coleman and Senne, the two stars. This could be a team that puts up a lot of runs.

3. Tell us about Mizzou's defense (strengths and weaknesses). Mizzou had 75 errors (6 more than their opponents) in 2008, basically half of which came from the middle infield. Will this number (plus overall range, arm strength, etc.) improve for the Tigers in '09?

Thigpen is moving from SS to 2B, where he will do less harm. If he doesn't do well in the field there are plenty of guys crowding him, led by freshman Conner Mach, whose bat could be the biggest thing pushing him into the lineup.

Michael Liberto is reportedly a very good shortstop, which will be a welcome relief.

Kyle Mach has become hands-down the best third baseman defensively the Tigers have had at that position during Tim Jamieson's career as head coach.

The outfield of Folgia, Lollis and Senne will continue to be good, with frequent substitutions from a number of able gloves from the bench.

And then there's Trevor Coleman, who has grown into a dominating presence behind the plate, both in handling the pitchers and in his defense. Besides Kyle Gibson, he's the guy on the team most likely to be All Big 12 or All American.

4. Mizzou's first nine games are in Arizona, including three against Arizona State and one against Oregon State. Is this Mizzou squad one that can hit the ground running and make some noise in the desert?

The good news is that because of the relatively mild weather in Columbia during January and February, the team has been able to practice outside on Simmons Field for most of the preseason, so they will be ready to go. And glad to see the warm weather.

I think the offense is ready to rumble from day one. As for the pitching, the veterans on the staff will be very ready to go (Gibson, Berger, Hicks, Allen, Gargano and the like). It will be good to see just how the younger pitchers do during this first 11 days in Arizona. Fans shouldn't panic if the pitching in the middle set of this road trip are a little rocky. The youngsters need some leeway to get rolling . . . as long as they do get rolling and don't get rolled over.

There's really not much choice about starting the season out with such a packed schedule, because of the late universal starting date that makes the season more compact. Gotta get a lot of games in every week. And if you're going to schedule quality out-of-conference games, it almost has to be early in the season before the Big 12 schedule eats up the weekends. I'd rather play teams like Arizona State and Oregon State than the patsy teams we've seen in the early season in years past. MU's overall schedule strength has been steadily increasing each year for the past several years. Here are the numbers for "Intended Schedule Strength", figured by averaging the previous season's RPI for all the teams on the upcoming schedule for each year (RPIs from http://www.BoydsWorld.com):

2009: .541
2008: .537
2007: .534
2006: .532
2005: .528
2004: .528

5. So if the pitching is solid, the defense is improved, and the offense is explosive, Mizzou's good enough to vie for a conference title, right? Who would you say is their stiffest competition in the race?

Everyone says Texas A&M is the favorite for #1. They've got the pitching to earn that ranking. Texas and Oklahoma State and Baylor will also be right in there. But the road to the Big 12 title probably goes through College Station.

6. Where does the Big 12 rank among the country's best conferences?

The Big 12 sits among the SEC, ACC and PAC 10 as one of the 4 best baseball conferences. I generally think the SEC is the best, because they tend to be the best balanced, with really good teams from top to bottom. The Big 12's basement tends to be less impressive than the SEC's in general, but the Big 12 has as much right to the #2 slot as any of the other contenders.

7. Back on our old website, you wrote a piece called "What If Tim Jamieson had been fired in 2002?" Part of your premise was that Mizzou would have likely replaced him with CMSU's Brad Hill. In five seasons at K-State, Hill has gone 150-128-2 (.539) with 0 NCAA Tourney appearances, while Mizzou has gone 194-113-1 (.631) while winning 8 games in NCAA Regionals.

Do you think this has more to do with the "loyalty = good" premise of running an athletic department (Mizzou has done very well in giving their coaches plenty of slack this decade), or does this speak more to Tim Jamieson picking up his game in the last half-decade? In his first nine seasons, Jamieson only once won more than 37 games. In the last five, he's done it four times.

Based on performance, Jamieson "deserved" to lose his job in 2002. I say that within the context of big time D-1 NCAA athletics. Loyalty probably saved him for a year. But loyalty doesn't account for what happened next.

Tim Jamieson reportedly spent that summer learning how to be a better coach, re-evaluating the way he does things. And things turned around immediately and have continued to do so at a steady pace.

8. How much of Mizzou's success can be traced to Pitching Coach / Recruiting Coordinator Tony Vitello? (Disclosure: I went to grad school with him, so I'm biased because I liked him before he turned out to be a great assistant coach.) Is there any way Mizzou can hold onto Vitello for too much longer?

Part of being a highly successful head coach is hiring really good assistants (Gary Pinkel's staff is a prime example). And Tim Jamieson made a very smart move by hiring Tony V, which was questioned by some people at that time, since Tony, an infielder, was hired to replace the void left in the Pitching Coach position. But Tony has turned out to be a good pitching coach and is probably one of the very best recruiters in all of D-1 Baseball.

If Tony was eager to jump into a head coaching position wherever he could, he would have sought out and taken the SLU job a couple years ago, considering he is from St. Louis (his dad is a well-known high school baseball coach in the area).

I really think Tony likes being at MU and figures it makes more sense to wait until he has the age and experience and resume to start being considered for head coaching jobs at schools in the leading conferences. The current head coaches at Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech all got their first head coaching jobs at their current Big 12 schools after being successful assistant coaches at tier-1 schools. I expect Tony V will be considered for head coaching positions in the Big 12 or SEC in the near future.

9. We'll close with a two-parter. First, Mizzou seems to be attracting higher-caliber talent during this run of postseason success--has there been a bump in recruiting, or are Jamieson and his staff just doing a better job of developing the talent they have? Second, talk a bit about the planned expansions to Taylor Stadium. Do you see this giving us a further recruiting bump (if we have indeed had a bump), and where will this expansion get us ranked regarding Big 12 baseball facilities as a whole?

The answer to the first question is Yes. They're doing better at recruiting (led by Tony Vitello) and it gets easier to recruit as you (a) make the postseason so many years in a row, and (b) have high profile Jamieson-era alumni in the major leagues (Scherzer, Kinsler, Mathis) and others doing quite well on their way up in the minors (like Evan Frey).

Extra inning question: Nice facilities will always help in recruiting. No high school prospect really got excited to play at the old Simmons Field. It was not much better - and sometimes worse - than their home field in high school. The new construction includes a really nice clubhouse for the home team, which will be attractive to recruits.

Unfortunately, even with this expansion, Taylor Stadium will still be considered by most to be in the lower half of the Big 12. Its hard to compete with stadiums that are built for minor league ball and shared by the college team (like Nebraska), or stadiums that have a capacity of 7,000 (A&M) or 8,000 (UT) - especially when a recruit or a fan goes to a game there and the stands are FULL of rowdy partisans.

But the renovations and expansion will make Taylor Stadium something that won't turn most recruits away. The stadium is not the only - and seldom the #1 - factor in attracting a recruit.

Thanks to trrip for the great stuff, and with the season kicking up, be sure to put SimmonsField.com on your list of daily visits or your RSS reader.

It's Time for a 2009 Mizzou Baseball Preview (Part One)

Bill C. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:00:10 -0000

Hard to believe that it's already this time of year, but...Mizzou Baseball's 2009 season starts tomorrow! In preparation for the first pitch (8pm tomorrow...follow along at KTGR), we will take a two-part look at the 2009 Tigers. Today, we'll focus on Tim Jamieson, the man in charge of the program; tomorrow we'll look at the guys on the field with a little help from a friend.

Great picture from a great StL Post-Dispatch article

The Man in Charge

Think longevity and loyalty are things of the past? Tell that to Tim Jamieson, who leads his fifteenth Tiger squad onto the field tomorrow night. Jamieson's career at Mizzou can really be broken into three periods.

Period 1 (1995-99) saw Mizzou quickly bounce back from Gene McArtor's retirement. After a 19-34 transition season in 1995, Mizzou came out of nowhere to win the 1996 Big 8 title, breaking the long OU and OSU stranglehold on the conference. Mizzou's 39 wins in 1996 were followed up with 36 in 1998 and 37 in 1999.

Period 2 (2000-02), well, almost saw Jamieson get canned. Recruiting slipped, and Mizzou's win total went from 37 in 1999 to 33 in 2000, to 31 in 2001, and finally to 24 in 2002. Rumor has it, it took some lobbying from Gene McArtor to prevent Mike Alden from dismissing Jamieson in 2002.

Period 3 (2003-present) is, quite simply, the renaissance. Jamieson and his squad rebounded from near-career death to win 36 games in 2003, making the NCAA Regionals and losing a heartbreaker to #2 seed North Carolina in 11 innings in the first game. Mizzou won another 35 games in 2004 and ended up in the Fayetteville Regional. In 2005 came a breakthrough. Mizzou hit 40 wins for the first time since 1991 and qualified for their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, but the season ended in a heartbreaker--Mizzou lost 8-6 to CS-Fullerton after giving up three runs in the top of the ninth and loading the bases and not scoring in the bottom of the ninth.

In the middle of 2006, a season that had begun with high hopes, Mizzou was on life support. A rather successful non-conference start to the season (which included a win over #1 Florida) started to unravel when stud pitcher Max Scherzer got hurt and Mizzou lost 10 of 11 games in early April. Mizzou went from trying to break into baseball's upper echelon to simply trying to make their fourth straight NCAA Tournament. A late-season home sweep of Texas and two wins at the Big 12 Tournament got them in by the skin of their teeth--they were a #4 seed in the Malibu Regional. After ace Scherzer lost the regional opener to home Pepperdine, Mizzou simply ripped off four straight wins, getting magnificent performances from freshman pitchers Rick Zagone and Aaron Crow and gutting out an 8-3 victory over Pepperdine with a makeshift pitching staff in the regional final. Mizzou was thumped by CS-Fullerton in the Super Regional, but it couldn't overshadow the fact that, after major mid-season tribulation, Mizzou had broken through to the next level of NCAA success.

Mizzou followed up the excitement of the 2006 run by ripping off an incredible 42 wins in 2007 and hosting its first ever NCAA Regional. Mizzou was solid in all facets of the game that year, but the most notable aspect of '07 was the crowd of 3,632 fans who more than packed Taylor Stadium to watch Mizzou beat Louisville, 7-5, in the regional's Saturday night game. Louisville came back to upset MU and plow through Oklahoma State in the Super Regional on the way to a cinderella run to Omaha, and while that was extremely disappointing, the fact remained that Mizzou, in making a fifth straight NCAA tournament and basically getting better each season, had arrived as a national program.

2008 was another solid year--Mizzou won 13 straight games in March, and after a small April slump, won 8 of 10 games to finish the regular season and earned a 2-seed in the Miami Regional, where they lost a major heartbreaker to the #1 'Canes and finished the season at 38 wins.

"Period 3" has been very kind to Mizzou and Tim Jamieson--Mike Alden's patience has paid off with not only more Mizzou wins, but higher visibility in the form of two first-round draft picks in three years--Max Scherzer in 2006 and Aaron Crow in 2008. It appears that scouts really like 2009 ace Kyle Gibson as well, and he could become Mizzou's third first-rounder in four years (with Nick Tepesch possibly following in 2010). On top of that, former Mizzou infielder Ian Kinsler has made a name for himself with the Texas Rangers, becoming one of the AL's best second-basemen, while other former Tigers like Scherzer and Doug Mathis have shot through the minors as well. Success breeds more success, and Mizzou continues to find themselves in an upward trajectory.

Jamieson has survived a down period, and not only is he now known for being one of the classiest guys in college sports--he's also known for being one of the best coaches in the country.

The Mutigers.com Preview

Can't wait until tomorrow to read about the product on the field? Check out Mutigers.com's lovely 5-part season preview.

Part I - A Look Back at 2008
Part II - The 2009 Pitching Staff
Part III - The 2009 Infielders and Catchers
Part IV - The 2009 Outfielders
Part V - The 2009 Schedule