College baseball websites?

With the white-hot start that the Mizzou baseball team is off to, I have decided to actively search for websites that are good resources for getting the scoop on what is going on in the college baseball world. Obviously this is a sport unlike college football or basketball where you unfortunately cannot simply turn on ESPN and get your fix.

So I am calling on you, my readers, to share with me your favorite college baseball websites. I have done some searching and so far it looks like College Baseball Insider is the most comprehensive and informative resource and Baseball America is obviously good, but maybe I'm overlooking something.

I just feel like this is going to be a special season for the Boys of Spring and I don't want to half-ass (or "Leo Lyons") this thing. 

With their 1-0 victory over Texas Tech last night the Tigers have still yet to give up a run in Big 12 play and Aaron Crow has now pitched 33.2 consecutive scoreless innings. I don't need to elaborate on that, I'll just let the stats speak for themselves.

The strange saga of Leo Lyons

This post is admittedly way overdue. By now you've heard all about how Leo Lyons has been considering leaving school early to go to the NBA Draft. When I first heard this my reaction was to simply say "screw him." No player has played more inconsistently with less passion and focus over the past three seasons then Leo. If he hates being in Columbia so much so that he's stupid enough to leave school early when he obviously has ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of getting drafted then let him go. 

But there's that other part of me that just can't ignore the potential. And after seeing the way he performed over the final four regular season games when he averaged 21.5 points and 12.8 rebounds (including that dazzling 27/18 performance against OSU) I think the potential is even greater than any of us realized. 

Everyone always knew that Leo was pretty talented but I always envisioned him as a guy that could possibly be a fringe All-Big 12 selection with an outside shot of getting drafted if everything fell into place. But that's not the case. Leo's legit. I know his best games came against teams that were relatively undersized and weak inside (when he finally went up against some legit bruisers against Nebraska he disappeared) but he showed me more than enough to convince me that he could easily be 1st Team All-Big 12 and get drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. 

I have been notoriously hard on Leo in the past but when he puts it all together he is a thrill to watch. I've been trying to think of an appropriate NBA comparison and I think the best I could come up with would be a more athletic Derrick Coleman with less range (unfortunately he also has Coleman's questionable character and lackadaisical demeanor). 

Leo's a brilliant offensive player. His mid-range jump shot is as good as I've ever seen. He's also a very good ball handler for a guy his size. There were times toward the end of the season where he caught the ball out on the wing and while he was setting his defender up for a drive to the rim you knew he was going to beat him and either score or get fouled. He was unstoppable. 

And here's what really reminds me of Coleman; Leo's offensive basketball IQ is off the charts. I remember writing earlier this season that Leo might be the dumbest player to ever play at Mizzou. Dumb was the wrong word to use. In his career Leo has been a permanent occupant of coach's doghouse (Quin's and Anderson's). He's forgotten to put his jersey on underneath his warmup before a game and was therefore unable to check in when Snyder called his name, he was involved in Athenagate, etc. But when he's on the floor and his team has the ball? Leo knows what to do. He doesn't take bad shots, breaks defenders down, is an excellent passer and knows where to go to keep the floor properly spaced. Despite all of Coleman's off-court issues you always heard analysts and coaches talk about how DC would make a great coach someday. Leo might be the same way. His problems arise with his lack of focus and physicality but not his understanding of the game.

So for next season Leo remains an X-factor. If we get "Good Leo" back then he and DeMarre Carroll would give Mizzou one of the best front courts in the conference. But if he comes back and conducts himself in the same manner that he has the past three years then he's a cancer to the team and we'd be better off without him. 

I tend to think that his coming back would benefit the team and would certainly benefit him. The infamous class of '04 has made up a huge percentage of the nucleus of each Tiger team from the past four seasons. With them gone there is going to be a changing of the guard in terms of leadership that already started taking place following Athenagate. Keon, Tiller, Mateo and DeMarre are now the leaders of this program and that's a good thing. You can question their talents but all four of those guys have proven that they care about the team. If Leo wants to continue to toil in underachievement then I have a feeling he's going to be an outsider. 

There is the question of Leo's motives for considering turning pro. There have been rumors that his family is going through a lot of financial struggles and need his support. Even though he wouldn't get drafted he could still go overseas and make a very good living. But if Leo would just commit to coming back and focusing for one damn season, 5 months, 32 games, then the Lyons family's financial issues would disintegrate because Leo would be a millionaire.

One thing we know for sure; the talent's there.

Tiger baseball is UNLEASHED

The no. 4-ranked Missouri Tiger baseball team defeated the no.14-ranked Baylor Bears 7-0 on Friday night in their conference opener. The victory was the eleventh straight for the Tigers and it improves their record to 16-2. 

Aaron Crow pitched yet another gem. He went the distance while striking out 10 and allowing only three hits. He also struck out the final five batters that he faced. When he struck out 15 against Tulane last Friday I thought that was as dominant as he could be but maybe I was wrong. 

Crow is now 5-0 with 51 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched. His ERA is a miniscule 1.03. This guy might be the best athlete at the University of Missouri and I'm the biggest Chase Daniel fan you'll ever find.

Left fielder Aaron Senne hit yet another bomb (his fourth of the year) and drove in three runs giving him 23 RBIs on the year. After the game Senne seemed to be beaming about the atmosphere at Taylor Stadium (an announced attendance of 1196) and the Tigers' performance.

This game (and Crow's consistent dominance) has me convinced that this team should be making reservations for an early June trip to Omaha. Heading into the year I thought this team had a shot at the CWS. Now I think they should get that far and will be disappointed if they don't . 

This team is built for the postseason with their three dominant starting pitchers and their hitting has been better than expected thus far. The only holes appear to be the bottom of their lineup (not many teams have good 8 and 9 hitters) and their bullpen (combined ERA of 5.23), which often improves as the season goes along.

Isn't it great to have a good team to follow again?

A few must reads

I want to share a few links before I finally discuss the Leo Lyons saga: 

• This one's over a week old but it's the best article written on the class of '08 yet. The Tribune's Joe Walljasper compares and contrasts this year's seniors expectations that they had coming in as freshmen with what they actually accomplished. It includes quotes from coaches comparing Jason Horton to T.J. Ford and saying that no team will ever play a zone defense while Glen Dandridge is on the floor. As humorous as those quotes are, Walljasper does a great job of not condemning this year's seniors but actually telling their side of the story. Everyone forgets how these guys committed to a program that was under fire by the NCAA, but no quote shows how they were misled as much as this one from Marshall Brown:
  "They told me not to worry about it, and I’m not." Brown, after giving a verbal commitment to Missouri, when asked if MU’s coaches had mentioned the possibility of an NCAA investigation. 

• A decent column by Jason Whitlock following our lackadaisical performance in the Big 12 Tournament. I agreed with a lot of what Whitlock had to say. Anderson's play calling in the final two minutes of the game was just baffling and his decision to play Butterfield and Volkus at the same time (let alone during critical stretches of the game) was inexplicable. But you could tell Jason hadn't watched a lot of Mizzou basketball this season. The point of this column was to criticize Anderson for being too hard on Leo. But anyone who has followed Mizzou very closely this season realizes that Leo is prone to giving half-assed efforts on a fairly regular basis. Should Anderson play Leo even when he refuses to give his best effort? I don't think so. Even if it costs the Tigers a first round Big 12 Tournament game, you're trying to build a program here and Leo's (this year's Leo anyway) is not a player you turn a program around with.

• Another Walljasper piece, a eulogy for the season that was.

• Now that basketball season is finally over it's time to turn our attention to the no. 4-ranked baseball team. On Friday I saw Aaron Crow give one of the most dominating performances I have ever seen in person at any sporting event at any level. A complete game 15-strikeout performance. Sure he was only pitching against Toledo but it really doesn't matter when you're this good. When you throw 87 strikes on 107 pitches and strike out the side on 10 pitches IN THE EIGHTH INNING, it's impressive no matter who you're facing. Please get out to Taylor Stadium to watch this guy pitch sometime this season.

• And finally, the Fair Play Hornets finished fourth in the state this weekend. After their magical run to Mizzou Arena they lost both of their games in the Final Four by a considerable margin, but quite honestly, it didn't matter. Seeing them play on the Tigers' home floor has to rank as one of the proudest moments of my entire life. For more information on "The Brotherhood" check this piece by the Springfield News-Leader.

Class of '08: Thanks for the...uh...memories?

Well Senior Night came and went and the pre-game ceremonies were not nearly as awkward as I anticipated. I heard no boos and I honestly didn't notice a difference between the senior nights from the past two seasons, which is surprising considering Tiger Nation's disdain for this senior class. It was however, the first time I have ever seen four seniors benched (at the same time) in the opening four minutes of a senior night game for a noticeable lack of effort. 

I've decided not to even post my thoughts on the actual game. I guess it was nice to get a win, but it was by far the most unexciting double OT game I have ever seen. Instead I have decided to dedicate this post to the class of '08. I will recap both my favorite and worst memory of each player from this year's senior class.

*Editor's note: I will also be devoting an entire post to Leo Lyons within the next week, because the scenario that we are seeing play out with him is unprecedented.

Jason Horton

Favorite memory: In December 2004, Gonzaga came to Mizzou Arena (although it may have still been Paige Sports Arena at that point) and the Tigers ended up pulling off a huge upset that ended with the fans storming the court. At the end of the first half of that game I remember Jason taking Adam Morrison one-on-one to the rim and hitting a shot with Morrison all over him. After hitting the shot Horton got right in Morrison's face and told him all about it. I can remember thinking, "Man, this kid's got some swagger to do that as a freshman." Looking back three years later, maybe it wasn't swagger, maybe it was just him being a punk. I don't know.

Worst memory: How about his entire sophomore season when our offense evolved around him dribbling the shot clock down to about 5 seconds and then passing to either Thomas Gardner or Jimmy McKinney and having them shoot an errant three-point attempt? If that's not specific enough how about when, during that same season, he suggested that the entire team might elect to transfer at the end of the year following Quin Snyder's dismissal/resignation?

Marshall Brown

Favorite memory: During his freshman season the Tigers played a non-conference game at Indiana and overcame a 16 point deficit by ending the game on a 21-2 run that culminated with a Brown 360 degrees dunk with one second left to seal the deal. The smart play there would have obviously been to run out the clock, but I was impressed with Marshall's confidence to attempt such a dunk in that situation. His well-known timeout rant against Purdue this season deserves honorable mention.

Worst memory: I'd have to say last night, when Marshall only received 10 minutes of playing time on senior night. I'll never understand what happened to Marshall Brown. During his freshman season I thought he looked like a Ricky Paulding clone. Marshall's weaknesses (ball handling and an inconsistent jump shot) even coincided with Paulding's from his freshman season. But Marshall never developed like Paulding did and I'm not sure why. On the court I always thought it looked like Marshall was simply going through the motions, yet everything I read about him mentioned how he was a team leader and one of its hardest workers. His involvement in Athenagate aside, Marshall was always a role model off the court and that's what made seeing Darryl Butterfield get over twice the number of minutes that Brown got last night so hard to stomach. For whatever reason Brown was just a soft player. I can't say that I've ever been so perplexed by a player's underachievement.

Darryl Butterfield

Favorite memory: N/A

Worst memory: Wow, so many to choose from. I'm going to go with the time he was charged with peace disturbance barely over a week after he was arrested for beating his girlfriend.

Vaidotas Volkus

Favorite memory: V' improbably ended up being the fan favorite of this senior class. I always loved him for his awkward facial expressions and goofy demeanor. I'll never forget seeing him walking alongside Providence Road following the Tigers upset victory over K-State this season. After the biggest win of the year V' was apparently unable to find a ride home. I swear that this happened and I have witnesses to prove it.

Least favorite memory: As hard as he tried, defense was not one of V's strengths. I remember him getting murdered by Aleks Maric in a game in Lincoln last season. 

So there you have it. I think my loyal reader big head described my feelings toward this year's seniors best in his comment on my last post:

"It's like dumping a bad girlfriend. Hurts for about five minutes until you go to Arbys. It's all good after that, and you're excited to head out afterwards."

I don't want to be too hard on these guys because, in all fairness, they were put in difficult positions with Quin leaving the program in the state that he left it. 

But this was different from the class of '06, which was also very disappointing. The seniors that year, Jimmy McKinney and Kevin Young, also failed to live up to expectations but unlike most of this year's seniors they always gave their best effort. McKinney was considered to be one of this biggest signees in recent memory when he signed his letter of intent and proved to be a complete bust. But he never quit on his team or coach, which is something most of this year's group made a habit of doing.

At any rate, thanks for the memories (or nightmares) seniors!

The most awkward Senior Night in the history of senior nights

In case you haven't heard, Mike Anderson has elected to start his four seniors: Marshall Brown, Jason Horton, Darryl Butterfield and Vaidotas Volkus, along with Matt Lawrence for Senior Night on Wednesday. 

I think this has to be the consensus for least popular starting lineup in MU basketball history, right? Brown and Horton fell well short of the expectations that fans and coaches had for them when they hit campus four years ago, Butterfield has proven to be nothing but trouble and as hard as V' plays and as much unintentional comedic value that he offers, he's really just an awful player. 

So how many fans do you think will boo these guys during the pre-game ceremonies? And more importantly, what do you think the appropriate response to give them is?

 In all fairness, many of the problems with the basketball program have not been their fault. They didn't create the Quin catastrophe. And it's not their fault that they were rated so highly coming out of high school by the various recruiting websites. 

But these guys did quit on their team  and coach on multiple occasions throughout their careers. When I remember this class I think the games that I remember most will be the games against Texas A&M in '05, Baylor and Iowa State in '06 and K-State this year. All games where these guys just rolled over and clearly quit trying. And I haven't even mentioned Athena yet.

I can't justify booing a kid in front of his parents, but I'm not sure I can stomach cheering these guys when they've shown so little commitment to the team throughout their careers. 

Volkus I can cheer for because he always gave a pretty solid effort, but like I said, he just kinda sucked. Brown has been a leader in the community and on the team despite his relatively pathetic play over the course of his career. He was involved in Athenagate, but I don't think I can condemn him for making one mistake. 

But when Horton and Butters have their names called on Wednesday night I believe I will watch in silence. Is that appropriate?   

Be sure to check out the rest of Watson's blog today. She gives the rundown on Leo's absurd perceived NBA dreams (I'm officially nominating Leo for dumbest player in Mizzou history), and sheds some light on Keon Lawrence's frustrating season that he seems to have finally come to grips with:

"Honestly folks, Keon had one foot out the door last month. He was terribly homesick, frustrated with the way the team was playing and worried about where he’d fit in next season. But over the last couple weeks, Lawrence has emerged out of Stefhon Hannah’s shadow and found his voice and his leadership."

"Oh, and you can thank Jeremy Maclin for some of Lawrence’s newfound confidence. The two have become close, and Maclin, who shares some experiences with Lawrence, talked his new friend off the ledge several times."

You gotta love our footballers. Now they're even taking care of our basketball team. I'm personally thrilled that Keon has decided to stick with Mizzou. I can see this guy really growing into his leadership role over the next couple seasons. He's dealt with the frustrations of losing and is clearly sick of it. I think we'll see him take a lot of the younger players under his wing the next two years and tell them about what it takes to compete in the Big 12. Remember how Rucker and Zo Williams made a pact to change the culture of Mizzou football after frustrating freshman and sophomore seasons? Couldn't you picture Keon and J.T. trying to do the same thing?

So that's what a real team looks like.

I didn't post my thoughts on the Baylor game on Saturday because I was not able to watch the game. On Friday I went home to watch my alma mater, Fair Play High, win their first district championship in 11 years. 

Not that I think too many of you care about class 1 high school basketball, but I do and since I'm sick of writing about our future NBAers (more on that later this week) I'm making the executive decision to write about a team that wears Black and Gold and doesn't make me want to vomit. 

Like I said, 11 years since the last district champion was from the FP and we've had some pretty bad teams over the past decade and have also been the victims of bad luck on more than one occasion. I've said it before and I'll say it again, our district is as good as any in the state. There were two or three years where we probably would have won had we been in just about any other district (district 11's the Pac 10 of Missouri class 1 high school basketball). 

But the streak of bad luck and bad teams is finally over. Our guys are ranked no. 9 in the state, are winners of 18 straight and needless to say, are the talk of the booming metropolis of Fair Play. 

Several of the guys on the team were freshmen during my senior year and they always worked hard in practice and you could tell they loved basketball. They've had a couple rough seasons themselves and have had plenty of opportunities to throw in the towel, so I gotta say I'm proud of them. 

They're the first team I've seen in person that seems to have a will and desire to win in quite awhile.