By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

The sound of shoulder pads popping around this time of year is music to most people’s ears.


There will be plenty of it on Thursday and Friday afternoon in Sikeston.


The DHS football team has been preparing to go to the Sikeston Contact Camp this week. Head Coach Aaron Pixley noted that the team has gone to the camp for five years, and that it’s a great way to jump-start the season.

“It gets us going physically, I think, because out here during camps, we don’t go full pads,” Pixley commented. “It’s the first day of the new football season where we get to go full pads, and we get to do it against different people. After a while, you get tired of hitting your teammates.”


“For me and the coaching staff, it really shows us who’s going to play hard and be physical and run as hard as they can - just being physical to the football,” Pixley added. “It’s the little things like that that will win championships.“


Coming off the most successful season of his coaching career at DHS, Pixley insisted that living in the past wasn’t going to help get anything done.

“We should be working harder, and this group is working hard. Nothing changes - we’ve done nothing in 2011. Everything we’ve done has been in the past,” Pixley said. “We didn’t play well the first half of the season last year; we have to execute better and get more consistent. We can’t wait until halfway through the season and start doing it. We need to get confident, build great habits early, and continue doing it throughout the season.”


Never satisfied, Pixley noted that hard work from his players would result in a successful camp and campaign this season.

“We have to work hard - we have a lot to prove to ourselves,” Pixley added. “Hopefully this summer helps our cause out, and hopefully this camp helps us out physically and tells us who is going to play hard, and hopefully we stay healthy.”


The Bearcats will be competing in a division with Sikeston, Cape Central, and Jackson during the two-day camp. The ‘Cats are scheduled for scrimmages at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday (June 23 & 24) at the SIkeston High School football field.


By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

Tuesday (June 21) saw more great little league baseball and softball action at the Dexter Park and Recreation Sports Complex.


The youngsters were beginning to show a firmer grasp on fundamental aspects of the game, as well as more aggression at the plate.

It’s been an unusual season -with no rainouts - thus far, and hopefully the weather stays agreeable. Fans were able to enjoy the games in relative comfort, with temperatures in the 80’s and a steady breeze.

Another round of games is scheduled for Thursday night, with the season ending after next week's group of games.


Coaches are invited to send their games' scores and highlights to the ShowMe Times. Items should be emailed to amiller@showmetimes.com or acato@showmetimes.com, or click "Submit Event" at the bottom of the ShowMe Times homepage.

---

The ShowMe Times will be out enjoying the youth league action this week, and a complete photo gallery of photos this week of the DPR season will be posted this weekend on the ShowMe Times!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium - the Cardinals have a 3-2 lead over the Royals in the top of the sixth inning - a scene that would typically bring a ‘warm fuzzy feeling’ to members of Cardinal Nation.

Jaime Garcia is on the mound with Wilson Betemit at the plate, with a 3-1 count. Garcia delivers a high fastball, and Betemit hits a ground ball right up the middle. Second baseman Pete Kozma fields the ball in the grass behind second base, and makes a hurried throw to Albert Pujols over at first.


Pujols - who hit a solo home run to give the Cards the lead in the fifth inning - lurches out to catch the ball as it is slicing towards the infield grass.


This is where things went horribly wrong.


Betemit runs into Pujols’ extended left arm.


Pujols immediately drops his glove, screaming in pain, and falls to the ground near the first base coach’s box clutching his left wrist.


Dan McGlaughlin utters four words during the FSN telecast that would make any Cardinal fan cringe: "Pujols may be hurt..."

The crowd of nearly 42,000 people fell silent.

People watching at home fell silent.

For many members of Cardinal Nation, it was a shock that hadn’t been felt since the death of Darryl Kile in 2002.

Initial reports after the game indicated that it was just a sprain - the initial X-rays on Sunday didn’t show a break - but after a CT scan and MRI on Monday, it was revealed that Pujols had a non-displaced fracture of his left radius, one of the two major bones in the forearm.

The Cardinals have been hit hard by injuries this season - twelve players have had fourteen stints on the DL - and Pujols would be the third ‘superstar’ on the roster to fall to injury.


Adam Wainwright had season-ending Tommy John’s surgery during Spring Training. Matt Holliday has been on the DL twice - once for an emergency appendectomy, and more recently for a strained left quad.


Members of Cardinal Nation - including myself - have one lingering question: What now?


This is unfamiliar territory for us.


Since making his first Major League start in 2001, Pujols has only been on the disabled list twice, but both stints were on the 15-Day DL.

Sure, he's had two surgeries on his right elbow (one for pain in the Ulnar Nerve after the '08 season, one to remove bone spurs after the '09 season), but that hasn't had much effect on his game.

Albert showed signs of humanity at the start of this season - April 2011 was the worst month of his already legendary career as a Cardinal - but he'd started to 'be Albert' again. From May 30-June 5, Pujols had a .444 batting average with five bombs, 10 RBI's, and 1.074 slugging percentage (#1 in MLB during that timeframe). Back-to-back walk-off home runs against the Cubs were just icing on the cake of Pujols' return to normalcy.

But the question still remains: 
What now?

In actuality, if Pujols were to have a significant injury, right now is about the best time for it to happen.

Think about it: David Freese is about to come off the DL. Lance Berkman has been an absolute madman at the plate this season; Berkman played first base for the Astros from '05 until he was traded to the Yankees in 2010. Matt Carpenter, currently on the Card's 40-man roster, can play first base. Mark Hamilton could be recalled from AAA Memphis.

The Cards basically have two options: move Berkman to first, and put Jon Jay in right field - either permanantly, or until Allen Craig gets off the DL where he has been nursing a broken kneecap, or to call someone up.

Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa indicated that the latter was a more likely scenario.

"We need to call up somebody that fits in to the most needs that one guy can fit in," La Russa said in an interview with Matt Leach of MLB.com, "and deserves a promotion."

If they decide to go with the former, a big question from Spring Training will come back to the forefront: How healthy is Berkman?

Berkman has played the outfield almost exclusively this season with limited time at first, but he has held up well.

"When we were talking to [Lance] after we signed him and people were worrying about his legs in the outfield, he said actually first base is more stressful with the quick lefts and rights," La Russa said. "So getting Lance in a place where he's physically feeling the best is a real good answer for us - and can play the most."

The Cards' roster moves today will be the only indication of what is going to happen before the start of the three game set with the Phillies tonight; if no moves are made, I'd count on seeing Lance Berkman at first for a while. If someone is called up, Berkman will probably stick to right field for the time being.

All I know for certain is this: it's too early to kiss the season goodbye. Granted, Albert is a huge component of the Cardinals. But, given the depth of the Cardinals' roster, I'm honestly not too worried. Albert will be back by August, just in time - as long as an appropriate solution is found during his absence - for a push to the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of Scott Rovak-US PressWire.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

It’s always great to see people giving back to their community. Three young men from Dexter are preparing to do exactly that.


Drew Pixley, Tyler Tanner, and Caleb ‘Bob’ Miller, with the help of Dustin Hunter of Senath, are putting on a youth baseball camp this weekend.

The Southeast Missouri All-Skills Baseball Camp will be held at the DHS Baseball field at East Park. Kids between ages 9 - 13 are invited to attend the four hour camp, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 25. Registration for the camp is $25.

“Whenever we decided to put it on, it was mainly to give back to the community. We all went to school at Dexter and [Drew] is the one who is hosting it,” Tanner said, “but we wanted to give back because the community has given a lot to us and we wanted to return that.”



All four of these young men either played or are currently playing baseball at the collegiate level. Pixley just finished his career with Murray State (Murray, Ky.); Tanner is entering his senior season at Williams Baptist College (Walnut Ridge, Ar.); Miller is playing at Maryville University (St. Louis, Mo.); Hunter is playing at Western Illinois University (Macomb, Il.).


 “I found out that there are fewer little league teams than there were when I was that age,” Pixley said. “Baseball seems like it’s dying in this area. I was hoping to be able to re-vamp interest in the game and enhance the skill level of some of these kids. If the kids see better players start coming out, maybe they’ll want to be a part of it.”

Coaching duties during the camp will be divided by position. Pixley will handle catchers, Tanner will handle the outfielders, Miller will take the infielders, and Hunter will instruct the pitchers.


 Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for more information on this great event! 


By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

Baseball Season is in full swing for the summer, but Caleb “Bob” Miller started his baseball season in the middle of February of this year. Caleb is another Dexter High School athlete that has continued his career at the collegiate level at Maryville University in St. Louis, MO.

During his tenure as a Bearcat, Miller displayed strong leadership as a two sport athlete, playing baseball and football all four years. With a quiet manner, his performance was always above the line of exceptional.

As a four year letterman in baseball, his love of the sport was shown on the diamond throughout his career at DHS. Miller enjoyed great success, earning All-Conference and All-District recognition - honorable mention his sophomore year and first team his junior & senior year - as well as being the SEMO Conference Co-Player of the year his junior year and the Standard Democrat Player of the Year his senior year.


Baseball was always a great love for Miller, and it’s a family tradition. Specialty Engineering has always been known for the partnership with the youth of Dexter and local youth league baseball programs. The Miller family can be credited for the support and organization of the Junior Babe Ruth program for many years.

It was always assumed that “ Bob” would continue his career at the college level.

“Maryville, Florissant Valley (St. Louis), and Saint Joseph’s College of Indiana all recruited me out of high school,” Miller recalled. “They were the schools that were talking to me hard. I had a visit with Arkansas State, but nothing came out of that.”


In the end, Miller decided to take his talents to Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo.


“The location of the school is great - close to home, but not too close,” Miller said of his decision. “The educational program is elite; all my coaches are driven and motivated, they all want us to get better. It seemed like the right fit for me.”

With a 44 game schedule, the Maryville Saints are members of the Great Lake Valley Conference. The 2011 Spring season was challenging as the Saints ended the season with an overall record of 9 wins and 35 losses. (5-25 GLVC)

“We haven’t had a lot of success yet,” Miller said, “but we just moved into one of the best Division II conferences in the nation. The transition’s been tough, but we’re getting better.”

As a sophomore, Miller has been able to plug himself into the lineup very quickly, and (so far) has a career batting average of .240 with 15 RBI’s. He has also performed well defensively with a .941 fielding percentage and 36 putouts.

Miller was also named to the Academic All-GLVC team his freshman year.

“My freshman year I played in 20 games, but those were mostly pinch hitting or coming in off the bench,” Miller added. “I started all but four or five games this season.”

With hard work and determination, there is no doubt that Miller will continue to be an everyday starter for the Maryville Saints. "Bob's" love of the game wouldn't let him do anything less.


The ShowMe Times will keep you up-to-date on Miller's progress with the Maryville Saints next season; you can read up on everything about Maryville athletics here.