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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASEBALL
Power rankings: Jayhawks rise from the cellar
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1. BAYLOR BEARS (35-7, 18-0)
The Bears are on a 24-game winning streak and have yet to lose a game in Big 12 play. Baseball America ranks the Bears third in the country this week. They hold a four-game lead in the conference. Baylor also leads the conference with a .315 team batting average and has scored 22 more runs (282) than the next best team this season.
2. TEXAS LONGHORNS (23-14, 11-4)
The Longhorns struggled in the non-conference season, going just 10-10 before Big 12 play. They seem to have found their stride in the Big 12, losing only four times in conference play. Baseball America ranks Texas 20th in the country, the third-highest ranked team in the conference. Texas has struggled to hit the ball out of the park and ranks last in the conference with 12 home runs.
3. TEXAS A&M AGGIES (28-12, 9-6)
The Aggies have been in a tailspin since losing to Kansas two Sundays ago in Lawrence. They've now lost five in a row and have tumbled from second place in Baseball America's rankings to ninth. Last weekend, the Aggies were supposed to be in a battle with the Baylor Bears for Big 12 bragging rights, but instead, the Bears swept the Aggies.
4. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (22-17, 8-7)
After the top three teams, there is a steep drop-off in the conference, but the Cowboys are the best of the rest at the moment. They've won their last four games and keep other teams off the scoreboard. They come in second in the conference in team ERA and allow just under three runs per game with a 2.98 ERA.
5. OKLAHOMA SOONERS (26-14, 7-8)
The Sooners have won their last eight games and come in fifth in the conference standings. They don't blow away their opponents in any one category. They rank sixth in the conference in team batting average (.275) and fifth in team ERA (3.90). They've hit the third most homers in the conference, though 21 balls have left the park off Sooner bats this season.
6. MISSOURI TIGERS (21-17, 6-9)
The Tigers' offense is solid. The team bats .281 and has belted 20 homers this season. The Tigers' pitching is their biggest flaw. Their staff allows the second most earned runs per game with a 4.47 ERA. The pitchers struggle to miss bats and strike out only 6.17 batters per nine innings pitched, which is the worst strikeout-per-nine rate in the conference.
7. KANSAS (16-25, 4-11)
Despite being only one of two teams with an overall losing record in the conference, the Jayhawks place seventh in these power rankings. In the last two weeks they went 4-4, but two of those victories came against teams ranked in the top 25. They beat Texas & A&M last Sunday and Texas last Friday. When the starting pitching is on, the Jayhawks can hang with any one, but they just need the bats to come alive on a more consistent basis.
8. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (22-20,3-12)
The Red Raiders' record won't blow anyone away, but just looking at statistics, it appears they have just been unlucky this season. Texas Tech claims the sixth best team ERA (3.94) and has surrendered the second fewest homers to opponents (10). The Red Raider offense is where the team excels. They have the second highest batting average in the conference (.298) and runs (260). They've lost their last five games overall and last four conference games, though.
9. KANSAS STATE WILDCATS (19-21,3-12)
The Wildcats have struggled in Big 12 play. Along with the Jayhawks, they're the only other team that has an overall losing record this season. They've dropped their last three games overall and their last seven games against Big 12 opponents. Pitching has let the Wildcats down this season. They allow a conference worst 5.32 earned runs per game and opponents are hitting .298 against their pitchers.
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"At the end we just kind of make our charge, make our run, and there were some things that had to happen the last run really for us to work out, and those things happened."
The victory gave his Joe Gibbs Racing team some momentum heading to Richmond, where the Virginia driver has won twice before — and where he certainly won't sneak up on anybody.
"It felt a lot like Phoenix in the sense of we kind of hung around the top five all day," said Hamlin, whose best finish at Kansas had been third last year.
"We've had good cars, we got the win at Phoenix, and we've had consistent good performances," crew chief Darian Grubb said. "All these details are starting to add up."
NASCAR
Hamlin takes home trophy from Kansas Speedway
His team kept making slight adjustments on every stop and had his Toyota dialed in late in the race when Hamlin charged past Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. He then held off Truex's last-ditch move with two laps remaining to win for the second time this season.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — It seemed as if Denny Hamlin was out for a Sunday afternoon drive at Kansas Speedway, hanging around the leaders most of the day but never really giving anybody too much reason to worry.
Turned out that Hamlin was playing possum, just as he did at Phoenix earlier this year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jimmie Johnson was third for Hendrick Motorsports, which has failed in 14 tries to win the team's milestone 200th race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne also finished in the top 10.
"I was just watching from the third spot, hoping those guys would give me an opportunity," Johnson said. "I just wish I was
closer to those guys to race for it."
"They didn't panic," team owner J.D. Gibbs said. "They paced themselves, and I'm glad the sun stayed out a little at the end."
Truex dominated most of the afternoon, leading a race-high 173 laps, but had to settle for second place. It was his third top-five finish of the season, but he's yet to win in 175 races.
"Sorry guys, I lost this one for you," a despondent Truex radioed to his team.
Long green-flag runs on Sunday gave Hamlin the chance to sit back and watch as the race unfolded, never pressing for the lead until it mattered. When that happened, his team had made enough right decisions that he powered to the front as the sun finally broke through.
"Hey man, you did a great job," came the reply. "They know we were here."
Truex said his final set of tires cost him. He was the loosest hed been all race, and that allowed Hamlin to charge into the lead. Truex rallied within a car length, but he couldn't make a final move on the bottom side stick, allowing Hamlin to pull away.
"I guess if we can be this frustrated with second, it tells you how close we are as a team," said Trues, who hasn't won since Dover in 2007. "The race car was really good. I'm just not really sure what to think about that last set of tires. I was just wrecking-loose that last set."
Truex called the performance a statement moment for Michael Waltrip Racing.
Hamlin is starting to have a statement season.
He won this year at Phoenix, started on the pole at California, and led 31 laps a couple weeks ago at Martinsville before finishing sixth. He was 12th last week at Texas.
"It's hard to analyze your program by a one-week performance," he said. "There are always areas that we need to work in. We feel like we've identified those areas and we've gone to work on them. So right now I feel like we're bringing better race cars to the track."
"It was a tough day," Bifle said. "We were back and forth all day, and we were back just a bit. When the track had a lot of grip the car was unbelievable."
The 14-race drought for Hendrick is its longest since going 15 races without a win during the 2002 and '03 seasons. The streak began after Johnson's win last October at Kansas.
"Everybody here needs a win for one reason or another," Earnhardt said. "We're all working really hard, but I'm not really focusing on homing in on that too heavily. You've got to think about what your car's doing and what you need to do to help your car.
Kevin Harvick was sixth, followed by Earnhardt and Kahne, giving Hendrick Motorsports at least three cars in the top-10 for the second straight week.
Jeff Gordon had engine trouble late in the race and finished 21st.
Matt Kenseth finished fourth despite having a wild afternoon trying to get into the pits, often sliding across the line at the start of pit road. Greg Biffle followed up his victory last week at Texas with a fifth-place run, though he didn't have the car to contend at Kansas.
"Make your car faster, then the wins eventually take care of themselves."
The pressure will continue to mount on the four-car team, though. And when Johnson was asked whether he'll be relieved when someone gets the win, his reply came through unvarnished: "More than you could ever imagine," he said.