Cardinals’ starter Matt Morris will be undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery today. The procedure is expected to clean up the shoulder and relieve a lot of the pain that has bothered Morris lately. It will also prevent him from getting a huge deal on the free agent market. In fact, Morris has instructed his agent not to go in search of a big contract. Morris told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he hopes he can sign a one-year deal with the Cardinals during the off-season. Last year, Morris was 15-10 with a 4.72 ERA. His earned run average was the highest of his career, by a long shot. In 2003 he had a 3.76 ERA and had never peaked above 3.57 before 2003.

The Baseball Hall of Fame released its ballot for the Class of 2005 on Monday. 27 candidates—with 12 newcomers—are on this year’s ballot. Two of the first-time candidates are former Cardinals’ outfielder Willie McGee and former Royals’ reliever Jeff Montgomery. McGee won the National League batting title twice in his career. In 1985 he hit .353, which was the best mark ever for a switch hitter. McGee also won the N.L. Most Valuable award in 1985. In 1990, McGee won the batting title again, but some might argue that he shouldn’t have won it. He was hitting .335 when he was traded to the Oakland A’s. Since stats don’t transfer from league-to-league, his average was frozen at .335. After the 1990 season, McGee spent four seasons with the Giants and one with Boston before returning to St. Louis in 1996 and finishing his career there in 1999. McGee was a lifetime .296 hitter and made four All-Star teams. McGee won the Gold Glove three times. Jeff Montgomery played 12 of his 13 major league seasons in Kansas City, where he became the team’s all-time saves leader with 304. He also set franchise marks most games pitched (686) and most saves (304). He currently ranks 16th on major league baseball’s all-time save list. Montgomery was named the Sporting News A.L. Fireman award winner and the A.L. Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 1993 when he was tied for the league lead with 45 saves. Montgomery was named to three A.L. All-Star teams.

The SMS Lady Bears earned their first win of the season with a 75-47 win over Arkansas-Little Rock at the Hammons Student Center Monday night. The Lady Bears burned the nets to a crisp by shooting 57% from the field—Jenni Lingor led the way with 21 points and an 8-for-10 shooting performance. K.C. Cowgill added 17 points and hit five three-pointers. SMS is still without starting guard Keri Coch, who has a knee injury. The Lady Bears are 1-2 on the season.

He was born in the small Missouri community of Florida, and later wrote, “The village contained a hundred people and I increased the population by one percent. It is more than many of the best men in history could have done for a town…There is no record of a person doing as much – not even Shakespeare.” The roots of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain extend deep into Missouri. He was four when his family moved from Florida to Hannibal. He spent fourteen years there and carried those years into his writing the rest of his life.

AOWM – November 30