2013 St.Louis Cardinals Attendance Statistics

To sum up this years attendance in one word, "Fantastic." During the season the Cardinals averaged over 42,000 in attendance during each game played at home this season. That is pretty impressive for a team with a small "cough, cough" market. In actuality the Cardinals Market is really big because it stretches all the way to Oklahoma and Nebraska and parts of the South. The Cardinals have the largest radio network in Major League baseball with more affiliates than anyone else. Of course you have to have people listening to those games and looks like the Cardinals have the fans that care.

Let's take a look at the numbers:

Date	Opponent	Attendance	Total Cap	% Capacity
4/8/13	Reds	47,345	43,975	107.66%
4/9/13	Reds	37,731	43,975	85.80%
4/10/13	Reds	34,882	43,975	79.32%
4/12/13	Brewers	42,528	43,975	96.71%
4/13/13	Brewers	44,696	43,975	101.64%
4/14/13	Brewers	42,645	43,975	96.98%
4/26/13	Pirates	44,090	43,975	100.26%
4/27/13	Pirates	40,909	43,975	93.03%
4/28/13	Pirates	41,470	43,975	94.30%
4/29/13	Reds	36,681	43,975	83.41%
4/30/13	Reds	37,535	43,975	85.36%
5/1/13	Reds	39,821	43,975	90.55%
5/10/13	Rockies	37,800	43,975	85.96%
5/11/13	Rockies	43,050	43,975	97.90%
5/12/13	Rockies	40,881	43,975	92.96%
5/13/13	Mets	38,412	43,975	87.35%
5/14/13	Mets	37,460	43,975	85.18%
5/15/13	Mets	38,143	43,975	86.74%
5/16/13	Mets	44,068	43,975	100.21%
5/17/13	Brewers	39,426	43,975	89.66%
5/18/13	Brewers	42,410	43,975	96.44%
5/19/13	Brewers	39,878	43,975	90.68%
5/29/13	Royals	43,477	43,975	98.87%
5/30/13	Royals	43,916	43,975	99.87%
5/31/13	Giants	42,359	43,975	96.33%
6/1/13	Giants	42,175	43,975	95.91%
6/2/13	Giants	43,817	43,975	99.64%
6/3/13	Arizona	38,042	43,975	86.51%
6/4/13	Arizona	39,222	43,975	89.19%
6/5/13	Arizona	40,792	43,975	92.76%
6/6/13	Arizona	43,798	43,975	99.60%
6/17/13	Cubs	44,172	43,975	100.45%
6/18/13	Cubs	44,139	43,975	100.37%
6/19/13	Cubs	43,878	43,975	99.78%
6/20/13	Cubs	43,651	43,975	99.26%
6/21/13	Texas	45,228	43,975	102.85%
6/22/13	Texas	44,651	43,975	101.54%
6/23/13	Texas	44,063	43,975	100.20%
7/5/13	Miami	46,177	43,975	105.01%
7/6/13	Miami	45,475	43,975	103.41%
7/7/13	Miami	43,741	43,975	99.47%
7/9/13	Houston	43,836	43,975	99.68%
7/10/13	Houston	44,313	43,975	100.77%
7/19/13	San Diego	43,929	43,975	99.90%
7/20/13	San Diego	45,288	43,975	102.99%
7/21/13	San Diego	44,033	43,975	100.13%
7/23/13	Phillies	44,780	43,975	101.83%
7/24/13	Phillies	44,317	43,975	100.78%
7/25/13	Phillies	45,567	43,975	103.62%
8/5/13	Dodgers	42,464	43,975	96.56%
8/6/13	Dodgers	41,770	43,975	94.99%
8/7/13	Dodgers	43,523	43,975	98.97%
8/8/13	Dodgers	42,567	43,975	96.80%
8/9/13	Cubs	42,664	43,975	97.02%
8/10/13	Cubs	43,908	43,975	99.85%
8/11/13	Cubs	43,240	43,975	98.33%
8/13/13	Pirates	40,243	43,975	91.51%
8/14/13	Pirates	40,644	43,975	92.43%
8/15/13	Pirates	41,502	43,975	94.38%
8/22/13	Braves	37,363	43,975	84.96%
8/23/13	Braves	41,134	43,975	93.54%
8/24/13	Braves	43,633	43,975	99.22%
8/25/13	Braves	44,009	43,975	100.08%
8/26/13	Reds	35,159	43,975	79.95%
8/27/13	Reds	35,201	43,975	80.05%
8/28/13	Reds	35,698	43,975	81.18%
9/6/13	Pirates	40,608	43975	92.34%
9/7/13	Pirates	45,118	43,975	102.60%
9/8/13	Pirates	40,156	43,975	91.32%
9/10/13	Brewers	35,050	43,975	79.70%
9/11/13	Brewers	35,134	43,975	79.90%
9/12/13	Brewers	35,208	43,975	80.06%
9/13/13	Mariners	40,506	43,975	92.11%
9/14/13	Mariners	41,374	43,975	94.09%
9/15/13	Mariners	40,526	43,975	92.16%
9/23/13	Nationals	39,783	43,975	90.47%
9/24/13	Nationals	38,940	43,975	88.55%
9/25/13	Nationals	40,597	43,975	92.32%
9/27/13	Cubs	44,030	43,975	100.13%
9/28/13	Cubs	42,520	43,975	96.69%
9/29/13	Cubs	44,808	43,975	101.89%
Totals		3,369,777	Average	94.60%
		Total Poss at 100% Attendance	3,561,975
		Empty Seats	192,198
	Median:	42,464

Okay folks as you can see the Cardinals had 3,369,777 fans cross the turn styles this season, only having 192,198 seats empty during the entire home slate. That adds up to 4.5 100% attendance games, which is pretty impressive. During the year the average attendance per game was 42,464 at a 94.60% clip.Another thing of note is that the Cardinals had over 100% attendance during 21 games this season are over 25% of their games played at Busch. The Cardinals also had two 5 game streaks of over 100%.

Highest Game Attendance: Opening Day: Cincinnati Reds, 4/8/13, 47,345 (107.66%)

Lowest Game Attendance: Cincinnati Reds, 4/10/13, 34,882 (79.32%)

Games over 100%:

4/8/13	Reds	47,345	43,975	107.66%
4/13/13	Brewers	44,696	43,975	101.64%
4/26/13	Pirates	44,090	43,975	100.26%
5/16/13	Mets	44,068	43,975	100.21%
6/17/13	Cubs	44,172	43,975	100.45%
6/18/13	Cubs	44,139	43,975	100.37%
6/21/13	Texas	45,228	43,975	102.85%
6/22/13	Texas	44,651	43,975	101.54%
6/23/13	Texas	44,063	43,975	100.20%
7/5/13	Miami	46,177	43,975	105.01%
7/6/13	Miami	45,475	43,975	103.41%
7/10/13	Houston	44,313	43,975	100.77%
7/20/13	San Diego	45,288	43,975	102.99%
7/21/13	San Diego	44,033	43,975	100.13%
7/23/13	Phillies	44,780	43,975	101.83%
7/24/13	Phillies	44,317	43,975	100.78%
7/25/13	Phillies	45,567	43,975	103.62%
8/25/13	Braves	44,009	43,975	100.08%
9/7/13	Pirates	45,118	43,975	102.60%
9/27/13	Cubs	44,030	43,975	100.13%
9/29/13	Cubs	44,808	43,975	101.89%

As you can see the Cardinal fans came out in droves this year to support this team which was fun to watch, not because they could out slug the opponent but because they were the best all time at driving runs in while in scoring position and were fun to watch on defense. It looks like the Cardinals are in good hands for a while with Matheny and the likes of Yadier Molina for at least a few years.

Mizzou Greats: Dan Devine vs. Gary Pinkel - Inside the Numbers

As many Tiger fans have heard, Gary Pinkel has over taken Dan Devine for the second spot among Tiger coaches with wins at 93. With the win against Indiana on 9/21, he is only behind Don Faurot by 8. One of the big knocks on Pinkel is that he has built his success on a down Big 12 North and a weak non-con schedule. Well, I was thinking let's just see how each coach compared in their non-con record and conference record.

I used the baseline of opponents record to see how well the other teams that each coach did during the era's that they coached, in this case 58 to 70 for Devine and 01' to 12' for Pinkel (I didn't include the games that they have played yet this season, no final record available for each team). I also had an additional problem, Pinkel gets to play FCS schools while Devine didn't, so I gave every FCS school a ranking of 125 on record rank because there are only 124 school in FBS, so they can't be higher than that.

I also used a rank of Points Scored per Game (FS/G), Points Allowed per Game (FS/A), SRS or Simple ratings system (Explained Here) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). All these ranking are available at Sports Reference and the FCS final schedule are available here.

Dan Devine (1958 to 1970)

Overall Record: 92 Wins, 38 Losses, 7 Ties (Win %: 69.70%)
Non Conference: 27 Wins, 12 Losses, 3 Ties (Win %: 69.23%)
Conference: 61 Wins, 24 Losses, 4 Ties (Win %: 71.76%)
Bowl Games: 4 Wins, 2 Losses (Win %: 66.67%)

Non Conference Breakdown -
Opponents Records: 204 Wins, 200 Losses, 14 Ties (Win %: 50.49%) Average Win %  Rank: 59.33 Lowest Ranked Opponent: Illinois (69') 0-10, Avg Win% Rank: 119th
Highest Ranked Opponent: Tie: UCLA (66') 9-1, Notre Dame (70') 10-1, Avg Win% Rank: 6th


Conference Breakdown -
Opponents Records: 430 Wins, 457 Losses, 19 Ties (Win %: 48.47%) Average Win% Rank: 60.44
Lowest Ranked Opponent: Kansas State (66') 0-9-1, Avg Win% Rank: 119th
Highest Ranked Opponent: Nebraska (65') 10-1, Avg Win % Rank: 2nd

• Colorado: 60 Wins, 66 Losses, 2 Ties (Win % Avg: 52.54)
• Iowa State: 53 Wins, 73 Losses, 4 Ties (Win % Avg: 69.85)
• Kansas: 64 Wins, 64 Losses, 5 Tie (Win % Avg: 58.07)
• Kansas State: 29 Wins, 100 Losses, 1 Tie (Win % Avg: 95.23)
• Nebraska: 93 Wins, 43 Wins, 2 Ties (Win % /Avg: 34.92)
• Oklahoma: 86 Wins, 48 Losses, 3 Ties (Win % Avg: 44.07)
• Oklahoma State: 39 Wins, 69 Losses, 2 Ties (Win % Avg: 68.46)*

*Oklahoma State joined the conference for the 1960 season, so Devine only played them 11 times.

Bowl Game Breakdown - 

Opponents Records: 52 Wins, 13 Losses, 1 Tie (Win %: 80.00%) Avg Win% Rank: 15.67

Lowest Ranked Opponent: Florida (65') 7-4, Avg Win% Rank: 34th

Highest Ranked Opponent: Penn State (69') 11-0, Avg Win% Rank: 1st

Advanced Statistics:

Points Scored Per Game -

Average: 54th

High: 4th (60')

Low: 97th (66')

Points Allowed Per Game - 

Average: 20th

High: 1st (67')

Low: 47th (58')

Simple Ratings System - 

Average: 21st

High: 1st (69')

Low: 42nd (66')

Strength of Schedule - 

Average: 37th

High: 5th (69', 70')

Low: 60th (67')

Gary Pinkel (01' to Present)

Overall Record as of 2012: 90 Wins, 61 Losses (Winning %: 60.2%)
Non Conference Record: 37 Wins, 7 Losses (Winning %:84.09%)
Conference Record: 49 Wins, 48 Losses (Winning %: 50.41%)
Conf Champ Game: 0 Wins, 2 Losses (Winning %: 0.00%)
Bowl Games: 4 Wins, 5 Losses (Winning %: 44.44%)

Non Conference Breakdown -
Opponents Record: 248 Wins, 268 Losses (Winning %: 48.06%) Avg Win% Rank: 69.54
Lowest Ranked BCS Opponent: Illinois (03') 1-11, Win % Rank: 111th
Highest Ranked Opponent: Bowling Green (02') 9-3, Win % Rank: 19th
FCS Opponents: Texas State (01'), Eastern Illinois (03'), Murray State (06'), Illinois State (07'), Southeast Missouri (08'), Furman (09'), McNeese State (10'), Western Illinios (11'), and Southeastern Louisiana (12')

Conference Breakdown -
Opponents Record: 709 Wins, 515 Losses (Winning %: 57.92%) Avg Win% Rank: 45.05
Lowest Ranked Opponent: Kansas (11'), Win% Rank: 109th
Highest Ranked Opponent: Texas (05'), Kansas (07'), Win% Rank: 1st

• Colorado: 60 Wins, 66 Losses (Win%: 47.61%) Avg Win% Rank: 63.4
• Iowa State: 57 Wins, 79 Losses (Win%: 41.91%) Avg Win% Rank: 70.2
• Kansas: 58 Wins, 75 Losses (Win%: 43.61) Avg Win% Rank: 69.3
• Kansas State: 77 Wins, 60 Losses (Win%: 56.20) Avg Win% Rank: 51.63
• Nebraska: 84 Wins, 46 Losses (Win%: 64.61) Avg Win% Rank: 33.6
• Oklahoma: 68 Wins, 15 Losses (Win%: 81.92) Avg Win% Rank: 10.0
• Oklahoma State: 45 Wins, 28 Losses (Win%: 61.64) Avg Win% Rank: 41.33
• Baylor: 29 Wins, 41 Losses (Win%: 41.42%) Avg Win% Rank: 74.8
• Texas: 68 Wins, 10 Losses (Win%: 87.17) Avg Win% Rank: 8.5
• Texas Tech: 47 Wins, 31 Losses (Win%: 60.25) Avg Win% Rank: 39.5
• Texas A&M: 56 Wins, 36 Losses (Win%:59.55) Avg Win% Rank: 44.14
• SEC Schools*: 63 Wins, 28 Losses (Win%: 69.23) Avg Win% Rank: 34.42

* This doesn't include A&M, they are added to the total they accumulated while in the Big 12

Conference Championship Game Breakdown - 

Opponents Records# 23 Wins, 5 Losses (Win%: 82.14) Avg Win% Rank: 8.0

#Both Championship games were played with Oklahoma (07',08'), the W vs. L's only count for Conference

Bowl Games Breakdown - 

Opponents Records: 68 Wins, 37 Losses (Win%: 64.76) Avg Win% Rank: 31.0
Lowest Bowl Opponent: North Carolina (11') 7-6, Win % Rank: 50th
Highest Bowl Opponent: Navy (10') 10-4, Win% Rank: 19th

Advanced Statistics

Points Scored Per Game:
Average: 43rd
High: 6th (08')
Low: 88th (01')

Points Allowed Per Game:
Average: 52nd
High: 6th (09')
Low: 84th (01')

Simple Ratings System:
Average: 36th
High: 7th (07')
Low: 73rd (01')

Strength of Schedule:
Average: 37th
High: 1st (12')
Low: 69th (04')


Just by looking at the numbers that I have placed before you, it is easy to see that Pinkel played a tougher Conference Schedule while under the helm at Missouri compared to Devine. Devine played KSU during his time and that was basically like playing an FCS team in the 60's. Also, OSU didn't impose Devine much a threat during his time. These number are also aided by allowing FBS schools to play FCS schools. By playing these games,most of the time,  it gives the FCS school an easy victory and can help inflate the numbers. If you look at some of the opponents that Devine played you saw where they would go 0-10 or 1-9, that generally doesn't happen much in today's college football with how coaches and AD's handle their schedules. One other reason that Pinkel played a harder conference schedule was he had to switch 3 opponents every two years so you would have to re-scout the teams when the time came, which is something Devine never had to deal with at Mizzou.

As far as Non-Con schedule, you would have to give the nod to Devine. He had some impressive victory and Pinkel's record is bolstered by 9 FCS teams, which skews his numbers. But don't think that Devine didn't play his share of crappy big name teams like Michigan, SMU, Cal (who won 5 games in the 3 years Missouri played them combined), Illinois, Minnesota (You have to remember some of the teams that we know now as National Power mayber weren't the programs that you see today). Devine did also schedule some big games against teams like Penn State, Notre Dame, UCLA to name a few. It is hard to compare the two with the addition of these FCS teams into the mix but I would say that Devine gets an edge.

Bowl games are dominated by Devine. Football back in the 60's didn't just take a team that finished 6-6, they took the best teams (mostly because there weren't over 30 bowls then) Devine played in what we would have called today's BCS Bowl games, and did very well. Pinkel is under .500 in bowl apperances and hasn't played the level of competition that Devine's team did in bowls.

Advanced Statistics Winners:

Points Scored Per Game:
Pinkel - 43rd

Points Allowed Per Game:
Devine - 20th

Simple Ratings System:
Devine - 21st

Strength of Schedule:
Even: 37th

Simple to note, Devine was a defensive minded coach, with his teams in the Top 10 in points allowed during 6 seasons of his 13 (61',62',63',65',67',68'). This might also be why he is lower on points scored because his defense were so dominant that he could let them win the game rather than rely on his offense to score. Pinkel is the opposite, an offensive coach, but has only been inthe Top 10 2 times during his time at Missouri (07',08').

Either way, each coach made a significant contribution to the University of Missouri and accomplished a great deal. Devine with the hunt for two National Championships in 60' and 69' and Pinkel for building and maintaining a competitive program that got us recognized by the SEC. Let's hope that our next coach can be both Devine and Pinkel, strong defense and strong offense.

2013 Royals Attendance

As many know the Royals are over .500 for the first years since 2003, but did that equate to higher attendance this season at Kauffman Stadium? Let's take a look at how the stats broke down for the Royals this season on the other side of the wall.

Date	Opponent	Attendance	Total Cap	% Capacity
4/8/13	Twins	40,073	37,903	105.73%
4/9/13	Twins	11,697	37,903	30.86%
4/10/13	Twins	10,069	37,903	26.57%
4/12/13	Blue Jays	13,049	37,903	34.43%
4/13/13	Blue Jays	21,690	37,903	57.23%
4/14/13	Blue Jays	29,057	37,903	76.66%
4/27/13	Indians	19,224	37,903	50.72%
4/28/13	Indians	22,001	37,903	58.05%
4/28/13	Indians	19,831	37,903	52.32%
4/29/13	Indians	14,255	37,903	37.61%
4/30/13	Rays	12,738	37,903	33.61%
5/1/13	Rays	11,514	37,903	30.38%
5/4/13	White Sox	19,957	37,903	52.65%
5/5/13	White Sox	16,462	37,903	43.43%
5/6/13	White Sox	15,576	37,903	41.09%
5/10/13	Yankees	24,521	37,903	64.69%
5/11/13	Yankees	30,910	37,903	81.55%
5/12/13	Yankees	29,515	37,903	77.87%
5/23/13	Angels	18,784	37,903	49.56%
5/24/13	Angels	32,148	37,903	84.82%
5/25/13	Angels	27,958	37,903	73.76%
5/26/13	Angels	24,475	37,903	64.57%
5/27/13	Cardinals	34,746	37,903	91.67%
5/28/13	Cardinals	27,833	37,903	73.43%
6/4/13	Minnesota	20,134	37,903	53.12%
6/5/13	Minnesota	12,407	37,903	32.73%
6/6/13	Minnesota	14,942	37,903	39.42%
6/7/13	Houston	24,808	37,903	65.45%
6/8/13	Houston	28,055	37,903	74.02%
6/9/13	Houston	20,723	37,903	54.67%
6/10/13	Detroit	17,653	37,903	46.57%
6/11/13	Detroit	16,493	37,903	43.51%
6/12/13	Detroit	24,564	37,903	64.81%
6/21/13	White Sox	33,830	37,903	89.25%
6/22/13	White Sox	20,364	37,903	53.73%
6/23/13	White Sox	18,622	37,903	49.13%
6/25/13	Braves	29,947	37,903	79.01%
6/26/13	Braves	22,207	37,903	58.59%
7/2/13	Indians	15,625	37,903	41.22%
7/3/13	Indians	28,534	37,903	75.28%
7/4/13	Indians	16,792	37,903	44.30%
7/5/13	Oakland	35,518	37,903	93.71%
7/6/13	Oakland	16,606	37,903	43.81%
7/7/13	Oakland	17,804	37,903	46.97%
7/19/13	Detroit	35,000	37,903	92.34%
7/20/13	Detroit	30,116	37,903	79.46%
7/21/13	Detroit	20,513	37,903	54.12%
7/22/13	Baltimore	16,362	37,903	43.17%
7/23/13	Baltimore	19,072	37,903	50.32%
7/24/13	Baltimore	17,410	37,903	45.93%
7/25/13	Baltimore	17,675	37,903	46.63%
8/5/13	Twins	21,474	37,903	56.66%
8/6/13	Twins	18,924	37,903	49.93%
8/7/13	Twins	20,198	37,903	53.29%
8/8/13	Red Sox	21,121	37,903	55.72%
8/9/13	Red Sox	29,485	37,903	77.79%
8/10/13	Red Sox	38,742	37,903	102.21%
8/11/13	Red Sox	24,935	37,903	65.79%
8/12/13	Marlins	15,956	37,903	42.10%
8/13/13	Marlins	21,094	37,903	55.65%
8/14/13	Marlins	17,760	37,903	46.86%
8/20/13	White Sox	13,060	37,903	34.46%
8/21/13	White Sox	13,083	37,903	34.52%
8/22/13	White Sox	13,363	37,903	35.26%
8/23/13	Nationals	28,733	37,903	75.81%
8/24/13	Nationals	28,023	37,903	73.93%
8/25/13	Nationals	19,661	37,903	51.87%
8/26/13	Rays	20,546	37,903	54.21%
9/2/13	Mariners	20,063	37,903	52.93%
9/3/13	Mariners	13,638	37,903	35.98%
9/4/13	Mariners	13,621	37,903	35.94%
9/5/13	Mariners	14,004	37,903	36.95%
9/6/13	Tigers	21,358	37,903	56.35%
9/7/13	Tigers	20,402	37,903	53.83%
9/8/13	Tigers	16,774	37,903	44.26%
9/16/13	Indians	15,413	37,903	40.66%
9/17/13	Indians	21,685	37,903	57.21%
9/18/13	Indians	21,198	37,903	55.93%
9/20/13	Rangers	21,837	37,903	57.61%
9/21/13	Rangers	36,575	37,903	96.50%
9/22/13	Rangers	27,899	37,903	73.61%
Totals		1,750,484	Average	57.02%
		Total Poss at 100% Attendance	3,070,143
		Empty Seats	1,319,659
		Average Capacity: 20,364

The low point of the season came on Wednesday April 10th, at 10,069 against the Twins. That day was also a rain soaked day that turned people away from the turnstiles. The high point of the season was on Opening Day at the K, with 40,073. The Royals also broke over 100% on Saturday August 10th against the Red Sox

At the end of the day the Royals, had 1,319,659 empty seats or unsold tickets during this season. Maybe if Mr.Glass could put a more exciting product (I know he did this season) they will get more folks in the KC Metro, Mo, Ks, Ne, Ia and Ok to attend games.

The Royals did average 57.02% attendance for the season with average capacity of 20,364 people. A grand total of 1,750,484 walked inside Kauffman's gates to see a game during the season, which is better than last season.

Murray State vs. Missouri - Thoughts and Numbers

First off let's start by saying that it was hotter than a two dollar pistol on Saturday and attendance suffered because of it. 58,038 was the final attendance and while not bad it wasn't close to last years opener of nearly 63,000

The Stats:
Rushing: Mizzou had 6 individuals rush the ball for 45 times and gained 358 yards, that's a 8.0 yard per carry clip. The running game was completely different from years past, due to the fact that at all times there was a running back directly behind the Quarterback. I think I only saw 5 wide once in the game. The welcome back celebration for Henry Josey led to a 68 yard touchdown run in the 3rd Quarter to put the Tigers up 51 to 14, and for a guy that had a devastating knee injury, he looked really fast. Russell Hasbrough impressed with a 51 yard run of his own. All in all, the Tigers have a three headed monster with Josey, Hasbrough, and Murphy.

• Henry Josey: 13 Carries, 113 yds, Long: 68 yds, Per Carry Average: 8.7 yds
• Russell Hasbrough: 8 Carries, 104 yds, Long: 51 yds, Per Carry Average: 13 yds
• Marcus Murphy: 7 Carries, 56 yds, Long: 31 yds, Per Carry Average: 8.0 yds
• James Franklin: 6 Carries, 44 yds, Long: 26 yds, Per Carry Average: 7.3 yds
• Morgan Steward: 8 Carries, 29 yds, Long: 10 yds, Per Carry Average: 3.1 yds
• Greg White: 3 Carries, 16 yds, Long: 10 yds, Per Carry Average: 5.3 yd

Passing: The passing game look great and crisp. James Franklin was throwing balls with power and we saw no floating duck balls come from his passing. Maty Mauk saw limited number of passes and did make an appearance in the second quarter. After he subbed in for Franklin in the second half he threw the ball once and Mizzou ran the ball from there on out. Berk came in to get mop up time and made one pass to the bench. Looked like he overthrew his man, and why he is now #3 on the depth chart.

• James Franklin: 26 for 38, 318 yds, 68.4% completions, 3 TD's, 0 Int
• Maty Mauk: 2 for 3, 18 yds, 66.6% completions, 0 TD, 0 Int
• Corbin Berkstressor: 0 for 1, 0 yds, 0% completions, 0 TD, 0 Int

Receiving: Tall could be a one word description of what the receiving corp but that leaves out strong, fast and athletic and that they are. With no starters under 6'4" tall, and Hunt and Coplin being the two short kids at 6'1" tall, the Tigers have talent. The Tight ends caught two passes during the contest but it seemed that they weren't targeted like they might be later in the season. Culkin is big and can be a very valuable weapon for the Tigers. Jaleel Clark is who impressed me the most, made some tough catches and showed some great awareness on the field.

• Jaleel Clark: 5 rec, 51 yds, Long: 14 yds
• Dorial Green-Beckham: 4 rec, 83 yds, Long: 44 yds
• Bud Sasser: 4 rec, 41 yds, Long: 18 yds
• Marcus Lucas: 4 rec, 33 yds, Long: 10 yds
• L'Damian Washington: 3 rec, 32 yds, Long: 16 yds
• Darius White: 2 rec, 44 yds, Long: 37 yds
• Jimmie Hunt: 2 rec, 26 yds, Long: 22 yds
• Eric Waters: 1 rec, 11 yds, Long: 11 yds
• Levi Copelin: 1 rec, 7 yds, Long: 7 yds
• Sean Culkin: 1 rec, 6 yds, Long: 6 yds
• Henry Josey: 1 rec, 2 yds, Long: 2 yds

Special Teams: The return game didn't impress much on Saturday, maybe because the punter for Murray State would hit a line drive style rugby kick and they covered the kick well. Murphy just didn't get a real opportunity to take one back. The field goal team didn't impress when Baggett shanked a 30 yd field goal in the first half and missed one extra point, but came back to hit a 43 yd field goal right before half time. One caveat though was Baggett's kickoffs. Seemed like everyone he kicked landed in the end zone for a touch back or went completely out of the end zone. Christian Brinser is a great punter and will be a great weapon for the Tigers in flipping the field position.

• Punting: Christian Brinser: 3 punts, 145 yds, Avg: 48.3 yds, Long: 51 yds
• Field Goals: Andrew Baggett: 1 for 2, 50%, Good: 43 yds, Miss: 30 yds
• Extra Points: Andrew Baggett: 7 for 8, 87.5%
• Kickoffs: Andrew Baggett: 9 kicks for 584 yds, 8 Touchbacks, Avg: 64.9 yds

Defense: The night started out poorly. After Bud Sasser put the ball on the turf, Murray State proceeded to drive down and score on Missouri, and everyone in the crowd had this thought on their head, "Oh NO!, here we go again." The good news is that Missouri had limited information on the new QB for Murray State and once they adjusted the team settled in and didn't let them score again after the 1st Quarter. I did see some problems, like Dan Hoch not getting a push and noticed that Andrew Wilson wasn't on the field much during the game, he only made one special teams tackle later on in the game. I am not sure if the turnover started the defense off guard or what but Steck has to have his kids ready and they need a lead to be successful. They have to be able to pin their ears back and get after the QB, then the game gets easier for them. 

Other Thoughts:

The New Rock M: The "new" rock M looks great. It should have been done a long time ago, and Alden does get props for that. The way that it joins right up to the field and allows for a larger concourse, where several people were watching from the railing (Reminded me of watching the Royals above the fountains). The brick wall really enhances the look of the facility and it shows how they will head with the East Expansion.

The East Expansion: Wow! They are really moving along on that project. It won't be long and all the towers will be cast and they will be working on the trusses that support the upper deck. It will be a nice addition to the facility once it gets completed.

The Uniforms: The uniforms didn't look that bad and they don't when you are winning in them, but lose and they become the butt of the joke. When Mizzou wins the fans don't really have a need to worry about them looking weird or non-traditional.

The Attendance: Attendance was good for a 97 degree day in late August. The stadium didn't look that empty to be honest and could have swore their were at least 62,000 people in attendance. Realizing that it was a FCS opponent, we still need to call out the students of this University. It is you job to stay for the entire game and cheer the team on. We need to get this notion out of our heads, that when we are up a ton we leave. That is one place we are not fitting in with the SEC for now.

The Corny Advertisements (Pun intended): First it was the CaseIH Red zone now it is the Missouri Corn Growers sponsoring every first down, and their interesting looking mascot shaking Truman's hand. I understand that Agriculture plays a big part into the state's economy and the University, but we will be laughed at because it is just too "silly." At least we don't have the Barilla "Noodle Dance" like they do at Iowa State. You go to an Iowa State game and you know that you are in a state that is predominately agrarian in nature.

Two No Big Deal complaints: The cannon doesn't have the same boom that it used to, maybe because the government is running out of blanks for "Little Joe." The government doesn't see the need to make high powered blanks for demonstration shooting, which makes sense. Also, the North End zone goal post is not straight up and down, and it just bothers me. I think that it should probably be fixed before a team comes in and loses on a field goal and put in a protest.

Stock Up, Stock Down: I will do a weekly things that are trending up and things that are trending down in Mizzou football.

Up

1. Head Coach Gary Pinkel - After last season, every one said he was on the hotseat but after the offensive performance the Tigers should make a bowl game this year and that will keep him safe for now.
2. Quarterback James Franklin - After being injured during last season and really struggling it looks like that James is going to be a solid QB with a chip on his shoulder, which could lead to great things for the Tigers this season
3. Henry Josey - What else can be said about the halfback from Texas. He has a major(one of a kind) knee injury that could have threatened his career. He rehabs and comes back 685 days later and looks just as fast as before. Josey will be a threat all season for Mizzou.
4. Snaps - Remember last season when the QB has to bend or jump to catch a snap, well I only counted one bad snap from Boehm to Franklin so I think we might have our timing back up to par this season.
5. The Offense - This team will get up and down the field and in a hurry. The ball was snapped with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock all the time. It makes for a lot of action and it might be Mizzou's only chance to win some games and put other teams out of reach.

Down

1. Andrew Wilson - The Tigers leading tackler from last season only managed one tackle against Murray State and wasn't on the field much in the first half. Andrew needs to step up for the Tigers to have a chance against stronger competition, well unless one of the young Linebackers are just better.
2. Matt Hoch - Hoch had real trouble getting a push on a FCS defensive line. It might been a part of the strategy for him to occupy a couple blockers so the ends and backers could make the plays but we will need a push from him or Harold Brantley might find his way to the starting rotation.
3. The Check In - When walking in the stadium we had to wait in line for at least 15 minutes to get checked in, all this would have been solved by adding one additional scanner to the Express lane. I mean it says Express, so it might would need to be faster.
4. Bud Sasser - The only reason I put Bud on this list is because he had a key fumble to start the game and it kind of put our defense in a bad spot. He also dropped a couple of passes later. For this team to be successful the receivers need to catch the ball and not give it away. It doesn't matter in this game but it will in the future games.

Missouri's Football Attendance (Revisited)

I went back in and added the numbers for the 2012 season, which were a record (with the help of 3 sellouts during the season) As you can see the attendance shot up drastically with the introduction to the SEC. They will go down this year with the loss of nearly 4,000 seats for this season. Take at what I said about this season last January and see that I was short on my prediction of 66,000 fans. It was closer to 67,500.

I know that you when you go to Columbia to watch the Tigers you hear a lot of negative things about the empty seats at Memorial Stadium. Well that got me wandering. I was on TigerBoard and one poster pointed out that Mizzou finished 2011 ranked 25th in average attendance. I was surprised. I thought that with the underwhelming outcome at the Texas game and Tech game that we surely wouldn't rank that high, but we did. I then decided to do some further investigation and look up the numbers from past years. The latest data at NCAA.com was 2005. I thought that would be a good starting place because that was the Senior Year of Brad Smith. Let's look at the Data.

Year	Rank	Avg Attendance	Capacity	Percentage
2005	36	53364	68349	78.08%
2006	33	55918	68349	81.81%
2007	31	60232	68349	88.12%
2008	26	64520	68349	94.40%
2009	28	64120	71004	90.30%
2010	26	61540	71004	86.67%
2011	25	62095	71004	87.45%

As you can see from the chart, MU has been moving up the rankings in the last seven years. I just wanted to show you how the program has been improving and the fans have been coming out for the games. After Chase Daniel left the program to go to the NFL, the seating capacity in the stadium was expanded to 71,004. We have dropped a few thousand in numbers but I think we are beginning to gain that back. Next year I predict we will have 66,000+ in average attendance

Mizzou Facilities Upgrade (Paraphrase)

Here is the original article, if you would like to read it in it's entirety.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/more-on-mizzou-s-facilities-facelift/article_f125d834-44cf-53df-a5ca-e6225693b8ce.html

Football Stadium:

1. Stage #1: Dig New utility/pipe lines - Done
2. Stage #2: Add new elevator for press, move press to from 5th to 6th floor, will be done for the start of season.
3. Stage #3: Moving the North End closer to the playing surface. It will reduce the seating capacity and the wall will mimic the contour of the South End.Will be done by seasons start.
4. Stage #4: East Side Construction - we started and there will be parts of the stadium barricaded off for the games this season - Completion August of 2014.

Hill Movement: 

• We needed more concourse space with there being no pass outs. We aren't putting the bleachers up there and we are going to keep it clean
• Capacity will be near 68,000 for 2013
• We don't see the big traveling groups of fans for 2013

Moving the Football Offices:

• Putting the football offices and locker rooms behind the south end of the stadium - it's in the concept stage and no time table has been set.
• Same for a new indoor facility

There is more to do but we need more money and more donations. Also demand for the stuff needs to be higher to justify the changes.

Taylor Stadium:

• New 4,000 sq. ft clubhouse to be done by January
• We can't improve the quantity but can improve the quality, some seating will be added.
• Baseball hasn't warranted a larger capacity - we aren't bringing in 10,000 like LSU is every night.
• We are terrible so expanding wouldn't be a good idea (emphasis mine)
• So we are going to focus on making the stadium look better, we want one of the best stadiums in the country but not necessarily the biggest

New Softball Stadium:

• There is talk of a new stadium, but "Not so fast my friends"
• Best option is to build a new stadium
• New stadium cost between $12 and $20 Million
• Coach Earleywine has built a Nationally competitive program, softball has earned a new venue
• When we have big games and big series the place is busting at the seams, we need more seating.
• Coach Earleywine isn't going anywhere for a long time.

Hearnes Center:

• We aren't going to tear down Hearnes. We use the building for 4 sports and many other events during the year. It is the Workhorse of the Athletic Department.
• Opened in 72' with some systems failing it is still too useful to tear down.

Tennis:

• Getting a new building. Yeah, we decided to actually care a little about that now (emphasis mine)

SEC Brought:

• More revenue, higher amount of tickets sales and more donations

Year 2 Dip:

• Yes, there is concern, since football was a huge let down(emphasis mine). We predict less tickets sales than last year.

Athletic Budget:

• Missouri ranks 11th or 12th, tied with Ole' Miss for that spot. Above MSU and Vandy, and about 15$ Million less than UK, USCe, and Arky. 

Travel Expenses:

• Travel Expenses were slightly more than predicted
• Big 12: 5 Million
• SEC Prediction: 6 Million
• 2012-2013: 7 Million
• Reasons:
• One: Missed on estimate
• Two: Growth in air travel
• Three: Carter issues with basketball
• The 50 seat regional jet went away for a while (Columbia Regional Airport)
• The 50 seat jet inventory was low, so they had to get larger planes.

Lack of Royal developed power?

The Kansas City Royals are a team that lacks power to a great extent. The current single season home run record holder at 36 is Steve Balboni. That has stood since the 1985 season. This lack of power tends to put Kauffman Stadium as a pitchers park, but numbers from Baseball-reference indicated that Kauffman is equally fair to both hitters and pitchers. So what is the problem? Well let's break down the single season home run leaders for the Royals.

Single Season Home run Leaders:

1. Steve Balboni - 36,29,28,24
2. Gary Gaetti - 35
3. John Mayberry - 34,26,25,23,22
4. Dean Palmer - 34
5. Danny Tartabull - 34,31,26
6. Jermaine Dye - 33,27,26
7. Bo Jackson - 32,28,25,22 
8. George Brett - 30,25,24,24,23,22,22
9. Chili Davis - 30
10. Carlos Beltran - 29,26,24,22
11. Billy Butler - 29
12. Mike Sweeney - 29,29,24,22,22
13. Jeff King - 28,24
14. Hal McRae - 27
15. Bob Oliver - 27
16. Amos Otis - 26,22
17. Bob Hamelin - 24
18. Raul Ibanez - 24
19. Willie Aikens - 23
20. Al Cowens - 23
21. Alex Gordon - 23
22. Miguel Olivo - 23
23. Craig Paquette - 22
24. Frank White - 22,22

I think the biggest problem is that the Royals can't develop power hitters, and really have never been able to do so. They must rely on trading players away or free agency to obtain these power hitters. That is an indictment of the current regime more than anything. Maybe it is time for the Royals to get a OBP strategy to their offense to win games.

How were those players aquired?

1. Steve Balboni - Trade/Yankees/1983
2. Gary Gaetti - Free Agent/Angels release/1993
3. John Mayberry - Trade/Astros/1971
4. Dean Palmer - Free Agent/1997
5. Danny Tartabull - Trade/Mariners/1986
6. Jermaine Dye - Trade/Braves/1997
7. Bo Jackson - Draft/1986
8. George Brett - Draft/1971
9. Chili Davis - Trade/Angels/1996
10. Carlos Beltran - Draft/1995
11. Billy Butler - Draft/2004
12. Mike Sweeney - Draft/1991
13. Jeff King - Trade/Pirates/1996
14. Hal McRae - Trade/Reds/1972
15. Bob Oliver - Expansion Draft/1968/Twins
16. Amos Otis - Trade/Mets/1969
17. Bob Hamelin - Draft/1988
18. Raul Ibanez - Free Agent/2001
19. Willie Aikens - Trade/Angels/1979
20. Al Cowens - Draft/1969
21. Alex Gordon - Draft/2005
22. Miguel Olivo - Free Agent/2007
23. Craig Paquette - Free Agent/1996
24. Frank White - Undrafted Free Agent/1970

Let's break that down even further. The Royals had to sign free agents or a trade for all the players that have hit 33 home runs or more. That tells me that the Royals aren't great at developing power, or at least early power in the careers of players. Carlos Beltran would be the leader in season home runs if he would have stayed. 16 of the 24 players who are in the top 50 in home runs in a season were acquired from another team via the draft, expansion draft, or through Free Agency (I put Frank White as a developed player because the Royals were the first and only team he played for) and that is exactly 66% of all the Franchise's "elite" home run hitters we not developed by the Royals. That leaves 33% for players were drafted by the Royals and developed by the Royals.

In closing, the Royals have never been a great team at finding talent with power, and may never be a team that can develop one once they do. It is time for the organization to change it's mind set and realize that you may get 10 hits a game, but if you never drive them in you aren't going to win very often. It won't matter how good of a pitching staff you have. It won't matter how great a coach you have, until they find someone who can get over 30 home runs in a season on a constant basis.

Cardinal's Attendance 2010 to 2012, What teams bring the crowds to Busch Stadium?

In a discussion with one of my friends at work, we were debating how the opposing team has an effect on who the people come to watch and how many come to watch the team play that opponent. Without taking, in account the day of the week, because a Thursday get away game will draw less than a Friday night game pretty well all the time, I compiled the teams that the Cardinals played in the Central, East and West of the National league and the few American League teams that they played in those few years. I also found out the total numbers of attendance and average number per game, as well as the highest attended game and the lowest. Let's look at the yearly breakdowns first

2010: 86 W, 76 L

• Total Attendance: 3,300,588
• Empty Seats: 261,387
• Average: 92.66% Capacity or 40747
• Largest Attendance: 4/12/10, Houston Astros, Opening Day, 46,918, 106.69%
• Lowest Attendance: 4/27/10, Atlanta Braves, 35,257, 80.18%

2011: 90 W, 72 L

• Total Attendance: 3,093,954
• Empty Seats: 468,021
• Average: 86.86% Capacity or 38197
• Largest Attendance: 3/31/11, San Diego Padres, Opening Day, 46,368, 105.44%
• Lowest Attendance: 4/5/11, Pittsburgh Pirates, 32,007, 72.78%

2012: 88 W, 74 L

• Total Attendance: 3,262,109
• Empty Seats: 299,866
• Average: 91.58% Capacity or 40,272
• Largest Attendance: 4/13/12, Chicago Cubs, Opening Day, 46,882, 106.61%
• Lowest Attendance: 9/5/12, New York Mets, 30,090, 68.43%

Now lets take a closer look at each individual team that brings the fans in to the games to watch or root against the Cardinals. First we will start with the NL Central.

National League Central

1. Chicago Cubs, 43,293, 98.45%
2. Milwaukee Brewers, 40,956, 93.13%
3. Cincinnati Reds, 39,887, 90.70%
4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 38,882, 88.41%
5. Houston Astros, 37,022, 84.19%

There are no real surprises here, the Cubs, the Cardinals bitter and long time rival, lead that way as it should with 98.45% attendance rate. The Brewers came in second thanks mostly to their 2011 campaign with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. The Reds came in third and outside of Brandon Phillips and Johnny Cueto it doesn't seem to peak the fans interest like the others. The Bucos are about where you would think them to be with teams that don't seem to have the star power to bring in the fans. Then there is the lowly Astros, it may be a good thing that they are no longer in the NL Central, because now the Cardinals can bring in a team that fans will want to go see and fill the stands (I know that MLB sets the schedule).

National League East

1. Atlanta Braves, 40,242, 91.51%
2. Philadelphia Phillies, 39,139, 89.00%
3. Florida/Miami Marlins, 38,670, 87.94%
4. New York Mets, 38,151, 86.76%
5. Washington Nationals, 37,250, 84.71%

The NL East doesn't surprise me much outside of the Marlins. The Braves have been one of the best NL teams, outside of the Cardinals, in the last 20 years. The Braves also bring some history to Busch Stadium. The Phillies have many well know stars and names that people would like to come see play, but after their start this year it is clear to see that their window maybe closing in the city of Brotherly Love. The Marlins, oh the Woeful Marlins, they get a new stadium, sign a bunch of players and then the owners takes a dump on all his fans...but they seem to bring more interest than the Mets which is interesting. The Mets were the Cardinal's bitter rival in the 1980's but since the Mets have fallen into the doldrums after Adam Wainwright buckled the knees of current Cardinal Carlos Beltran they just haven't been the same team, well save for David Wright. The Nationals still probably have that moniker as that team that is fairly terrible but with up and coming stars like Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper they might start to become a fairly big draw in STL in the future. 

National League West

1. San Diego Padres, 39,617, 90.09%
2. San Francisco Giants, 39,393, 89.58%
3. Colorado Rockies, 39,036, 88.77%
4. Los Angeles Dodgers, 38,833, 88.31%
5. Arizona Diamondbacks, 37,228, 84.66%

The NL West is a big surprise to me, just for the fact that the Dodgers are fourth. What this tells me is that folks from the Midwest don't care as much about the Dodgers as the rest of the country would like us to, I'm talking to you ESPiN. The Padres come in first in this group and they are here because of two weekend series which draw more crowd, but they beat out the World Champions from 2010 and 2012. The Giants are about where they should be as far as attendance numbers. The Rockies are a more know commodity around here and draw better that the last two. The Dodgers are sitting there less than some teams they should be above and have the star power that should bring people to the park but it just doesn't seem that way. The D'Backs are last and for good reason, just like the people of Phoenix, Cards fan are apathetic to their games at Busch Stadium.

American League Teams

1. Los Angeles Angels, 43,540, 99.01%
2. Cleveland Indians, 42,397, 96.41%
3. Oakland Athletics, 42,012, 95.54%
4. Kansas City Royals, 41,856, 95.18%
5. Chicago White Sox, 41,494, 94.36%
6. Seattle Mariners, 38,801, 88.23%
7. Toronto Blue Jays, 38,185, 86.83%

The American League teams coming and playing inter-league games are kind of a novelty in a way and fans don't get to see these teams as often. The first five teams in the AL that played the Cardinals averaged more fans than only the Cubs. This might be because they see the National League teams once each and every year. The Angels managed to almost draw 100% attendance for a series in 2010. In 2012, the Cleveland Indians did a great job of bringing the fans for a team that wasn't in a pennant race last season. The "Money Ball" Oakland Athletics managed over 95% attendance, and the Royals in two series with the Cards in 2011 and 2012 managed over 95% attendance as well. The White Sox also managed to bring the folks in. Now the Mariners and Blue Jays weren't as high because they played the Cardinals during the week, so that skewed the numbers for them a little bit.

As you can see that sometimes teams with cache don't bring the fans out, see the Los Angeles Dodgers. Also teams that have been your long time rival will continue to draw the fans, 'Da Cubs. Some teams will surprise you like the Padres, who haven't been a great team in years past. And then some teams will be where you would imagine them to be like the Braves. All these attendance numbers are relative to time of week and if the Cardinals are in contention or even the results of the previous year. Look at the numbers from 2011 after the Cardinals lost in 2010. The average attendance went down to near 86%. Conversely after the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, the average attendance went up to 91.58%. It is all relative in a way. As of today, so far in 2013 the Cardinals are around 91.5% average attendance and on line for the same numbers as 2012. I hope you found these stats entertaining and interesting.