What readers will probably remember most from that February 9, 2006 edition of The Post-Dispatch's sports section was the eyes. There on the front page staring back at that was an extreme closeup of his eyes -- one blue, one brown, and both fixated on the possibilities opening up ahead of him.
Max Scherzer was entering his junior year at Mizzou when I went to Columbia, Mo., to explain how a Parkway Central kid could go from a 43rd-round pick to the fireball sensation of the approaching draft. While we talked, Scherzer stood on the mound at Simmons Field for a portrait, and I'll always remember how he explained the different drills he did to turn his mechanics from a jumble of jerks to a transmission built for speed.