Offensive explosions and spring football

It was a pretty wild weekend at Taylor Stadium as the Mizzou baseball team outscored the No. 12-ranked Texas Longhorns 44-14 in the first two games before dropping the finale 9-2.

The weather conditions on Friday night were not exactly pitcher friendly. With 40 mph winds gusting, all a hitter really had to do was put the ball in the outfield and there was about a 50-50 chance that the wind would catch it and take it for a ride (Ask Jacob Priday for more information on said conditions). 

But it was good to see the bats come alive in the first two games and it was really encouraging to see Rick Zagone pitch four solid innings out of the bullpen (I know he gave up three earned runs but that was something to write home about in this game).

Here are a few links concerning Mizzou baseball from the past few days that are worth taking a look at:

• Joe Waljasper's article on the circus that was Friday night's game.
• An entertaining article from the Missourian on the search to find the real owner of the consecutive scoreless innings pitched record. 
• Another Missourian piece on how well the changes that Tim Jamieson made over the weekend to the rotation and lineup worked out.

Now onto football.

By now I'm sure you've heard that Van Alexander will be out for a while with a torn ACL. You gotta feel for Van. His career seems destined to be defined by injuries. Fortunately, Pinkel is confident he'll be back for Illinois. 

Hopefully his injury ends up being a blessing in disguise. Our depth at linebacker is rail thin so maybe some of the less experienced guys like Luke Lambert and Jeff Gettys will benefit from having to play with the No. 1 defense. 

Ultimately, I think our defense is going to be pretty good regardless of Van's health. The depth across the board has improved dramatically over the past couple seasons. I think Willy-Mo's inability to practice this spring is actually one of the best things that could happen for the Tiger secondary.

Mo's a proven guy who you know is going to perform once he's healthy. You really don't have to worry about him messing with the defense's chemistry because he's been in the system for a few years. His injury is getting guys like Del Howard and Justin Garrett, guys who were already pretty solid last season, a lot more action. Once Moore gets healthy our secondary is going to be stacked. 

And if this Missourian article gives any indication, Carl Gettis is about to become a cornerstone of our defense. You gotta love it when a sophomore, who was as good as Gettis was as a freshman, is saying things like this in the offseason: 

• "I'm not a freshman anymore, so little mistakes that I used to make, I don't get away with anymore."
• "It was a good experience last season, but I’m refocusing. I'm ready to step up and become more of a leader."

Some more football links:

• A Dave Matter article on MU's deep backfield. De'Vion Moore has to be the frontrunner in the race for the Danario Alexander Most Pleasant Offseason Surprise Award.

• I am absolutely giddy over the 2008 Mizzou football commercial as described in this Mike DeArmond story: 
  "So what you’ll get is a group of students daydreaming, to video highlights, of some of the biggest plays of last year’s 12-2 season. The kicker: One of the students says, “There’ll never be another season like that again,” and MU quarterback Chase Daniel and MU defensive lineman Ziggy Hood counter, 'Don’t bet on it!'"

• A good story from Sunday's Missourian about the transition that most college athletes go through once their careers end.

• Apparently half of the Big 12 is going to use the same type of hurry-up offense that we have been using for the past few years. Posers.

• If you're not a season ticket holder or donor you might have a difficult time finding a ticket to next fall's Mizzou-Illinois game.

• If you're like me, you got sick of hearing about Mike Gundy's obnoxious, "I'm a man! I'm 40!" rant months ago. But Tom Friend wrote a fantastic article that tells quarterback Bobby Reid's (the inspiration for the rant) side of the story. This is an example of superb sports journalism.