Mizzou 0-3 Before Season Gets Under Way

       Tough start to the 2010 season for MIZZOU, already 0-3 with the entire schedule still to play. Where the Tigers and Pinkel go from here will have an impact not just on this season but on future seasons as well.  Under Pinkel's tenure MU football has seen a level of sustained success that MU fans haven't seen in a long while. I graduated from MU in '02 and was fortunate to see things start to turn around under Larry Smith but he was never able to sustain the level of play and recruiting we have seen under Pinkel. It's so easy to forget how poor the Tigers were for so many years and take for granted the 8, 9 & 10 win seasons they have been racking up lately. It seems like many of us, myself included, spend our time getting frustrated with poor goal line decisions (such as never taking a snap from under center when they are inside the 5), but that is post for another day, and we forget just how recent it was the Tigers were only winning 5 games.

       Losing three starters before your first game is tough for even the most loaded roster, let alone for Mizzou. It would be easy for Pinkel to continue to be vague with his statements and issue no real punishment for the three young men. But to me that would send the message that it is more important to win right now than build a quality program built to win for years. Here the hard decision is the right one. The three starters have to be taken off the team and the sooner Pinkel makes that announcement the better. He needs to be seen as a coach who will not tolerate this kind of behavior from his current players and future recruits.

       Not taking any action may win a few more games this year but it will hurt the program in the long run. Take the hit this year and build Mizzou Football the right way and the wins will come as will the respect. Mike Anderson ran into this two seasons ago and did the hard, and right thing. Coach Anderson benched some starters in a conference game and kicked others off the team and has the Basketball Tigers going in the right direction. I want MU to win and win bad, but I would rather have the Mike Anderson(substance) kind of winning over the Quinn Synder (flashy) kind of winning any day.

       That is the decision in front of Pinkel and his answer will help determine whether he becomes the next Anderson or Synder.

Painful (and I'm not talking about Pujols ankle or Holliday's hand)

          The past two series have been dreadful to watch. The only positive I have taken from them is that my 14 month old daughter is still too young to understand and question why daddy is yelling at the TV and why mommy looks at me funny when I say certain words. Since taking over first place from the 2006 Cardinals, excuse me Reds, and everyone in town (me included) dubbing this team awake and ready to take charge of the division our towns Cardinals have gone 3-8.  Are your freaking kidding me, 3-8, and wait for it....against the Cubs, Brewers, Giants, Pirates and Nationals. Take away two those wins were against a team in contention and that makes it 1-7 against teams well under .500.

            Just like everyone else on the radio, TV, web, news paper or where ever you get your news, I cannot figure it out. The only conclusion I can come to is this team is (Reds series aside) lacking in heart, character, commitment and desire. It is also of my opinion that our boys on the diamond have taken it for granted and just assumed we were already hanging up the 2010 Central Division banner before a game was ever played. To quite good 'ol Denny Green "they are who we thought they were", it's just that none of us wanted to admit it (and many still won't) and now that it is becoming to large to ignore, the evidence is every where that this years version of the Cardinals is not a great team.

        A lot of the pundits, experts, talking heads or whatever you might call them always come back to the idea that because the Reds haven't been here before they will soon crumble under the pressure or a playoff chase. Well guess what, in a way neither have the Cardinals. In their last 4 trips to the post season it's not as if we truly been in a pennant chase. In 04-05 it was assumed that both STL and Houston would make the playoffs one as division winner the other the wild card so it's not as if they were fighting to not be left out. And in 06 when there was a chance we would miss out on the playoffs we saw how the Cardinals responded, losing down the stretch and backing in because apparently nobody wanted to win the Central that year. And last year we won the thing going away (no thanks to a terrible September). My point here is the Cardinals for all the years we have made it to the post season this last decade haven't exactly had to face this pressure either.

       Now that they are we see how they are responding it doesn't look good. Not to mention how embarrassing it would be, and I can't imagine it has ever happened, to have the MVP, CY Young, ROY and a Triple Crown winner and not make the playoffs.