THE UNIVERSITY DARRY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2006
SPORTS
MLB
3B
Injured Cardinal crucial for success
Paul Sancya/ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman David Eckstein makes a play at second base against Ramon Santiago in the second inning of Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday In Detroit. Eckstein continues to play despite a shoulder injury.
BY R.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — David Eckstein, the little engine that drives the St. Louis Cardinals, is in need of a tuneup.
The team values the 5-7, 165-pound shortstop and leadoff hitter for his contagious, infectious, go-go attitude as much as for the more tangible contributions. During the NLCS, general manager Walt Jockett referred to Eckstein as the "pulse" of the team.
"He's a leader in this clubhouse, he's a leader on the field and he comes every day to play the game as hard as he can," ace pitcher Chris Carpenter said. "He's a big part of this club."
But it has been a struggle for a while now for Eckstein, who has been worn down by injuries since June. The latest setback: a sprained left shoulder making a diving stop on Jose Reyes' infield hit on the first pitch of Game 5 of the NLCS.
Since then he has taken fewer batting practice cuts than his teammates and avoided unnecessary throws to conserve himself for the games. He skipped everything on the off day before Game 3 on Monday at Busch Stadium while the rest of his teammates went through a mandatory workout.
Eckstein's defense has not been affected, although he's had no success at the plate in the World Series or much in the postseason overall.
"I limit all the stuff I do before the game."
"I limit my swings in the on-deck circle, limit batting practice;" Eckstein said. "If the other guys are taking three sessions in the cage, I'll take one or two.
the postseason with two extra-base hits, a homer and a double, and two RBIs.
Eckstein, who batted .292 in the regular season, is 0-for-9 against the Tigers with a strikeout and a double-play ball to end the eighth inning in the Cardinals' 3-1 game 2 loss. He is hitting .160 overall (8-for-50) in
Trainer Barry Weinberg said the latest injury is not so severe that Eckstein wouldn't have tried to play through it during the regular season. Weinberg also noted the heart factor.
"Is he 100 percent? No. Is he playable? Yeah," Weinberg said. "So he plays. That's David, that's his nature. He pushes on and he doesn't want to not be in the lineup."
"Unfortunately, he's been banged up," Weinberg said. "He plays so hard a lot of times it catches up with him.
"But you can't tell him to back off his game, because that's not who he is."
BASEBALL
New schedule brings Jayhawks home sooner
The Kansas baseball team released its 2007 season schedule Monday.
BY ALISSA BAUER
The major difference in the Jayhawks' 2007 schedule is time they will spend at home. The home opener is slated for Feb. 9, when Kansas will play host to a non-conference familiar face, South Dakota State University, in a three-game series.
The Feb. 9 start at Hoglund is the earliest home game recorded in the past 20 years.
Last season, Kansas played 14 games on the road before its first home contest. Besides practice, the Jayhawks didn't set foot in Hoglund until the first weekend in March.
Big 12 Conference giant, the University of Texas, comes back to Lawrence April 5 to 7. The Jayhawks won the series two games to one the last time Texas came to Hoglund. Fellow NCAA tournament heavyweight, Wichita State, will again square off against Kansas in Lawrence March 14 and in Wichita April 18.
There are tentative plans for Kansas to take on border rival Missouri, which is also in the 2006 NCAA super regionals, in Kauffman Stadium. Should the plans hold up, the game is set for
April 25.
The majority of non-conference opponents the Jayhawks are slated to face in the upcoming season have been a part of their schedules for consecutive seasons, including the University of Hawaii-Hilo. Kansas will open its season there, Feb. 1 to 4 for the fifth straight year.
The new faces, however, will undoubtedly bring plenty of weight to Kansas' strength of schedule in the RPI rankings due out early next spring.
Oral Roberts and Arkansas highlight the new additions to the 2006 Big 12 Conference tournament champions' schedule. Both teams played in last season's NCAA tournament, with Oral Roberts advancing to the super regionals. Kansas will face the two teams for five games total, only one of which will be at Hoglund Ballpark. Oral Roberts will travel to Lawrence on April 10, while the first game of the pair is in California on Feb. 27 directly after Kansas wraps up a three-game series against Stanford Feb. 23 to 25.
The Arkansas series is a three game stint on the road March 9-11.
Kansan sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
- Edited by Nicole Kelley
BOCHY (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"It's not bad at all," he said. "The toughest part was during the spring in high school. It was tough that he didn't get to go to my games. But my mom didn't work, so she was always there."
As a California boy constantly exposed to his dad's work, Brett has had unique experiences like participating in batting practice with the team. He has a big spot in his heart for the San Diego Padres, but is just as big a fan of the Seattle
Mariners and does not necessarily see himself playing for the Padres or for his dad in the future.
"That would be cool to play for him someday," Bochy said. "It's not like something I'm really hoping to do, but it would be really nice."
Kansan sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Aly Barland