The Curse of Sports Extra
Sports Extra 14.0
Skenes Had a Bad Day…
Last week in Sports Extra 13.0 we apparently jinxed Paul Skenes pumping him up as must see TV. In his next start he gave up five runs in a game for the first time in his young career. The Cardinals tapped him for six hits and five runs, hanging the loss on Skenes, now 1-1. His ERA ballooned to 3.44 in three starts.
Well, nobody has ever gone undefeated in MLB history. (That may or may not be true. Let’s say anybody with 10 or more starts).
Jarrod Calhoun was also a Sports Extra Victim
We said, you’ll recall, that Calhoun should have been named the next head basketball coach at West Virginia University. He didn’t get the job.
We urged Wren Baker, WVU’s athletic director, to hire someone with a connection to West Virginia. (He probably never saw my column, so we’ll give him a pass) We thought Calhoun was the guy. He had been on Bob Huggins’s staff for several years. That may have been a deal-breaker for Baker, who doesn’t appreciate Huggins’ legacy at West Virginia. Then again Baker doesn’t have a real connection to the Mountain State either. Calhoun also was really successful coaching Fairmont State to 20-win seasons just down the road from Morgantown.
But Baker instead hired a coach that he had a connection with, Ross Hodge, who came from North Texas State, where Baker had been athletic director before coming to WVU.
Hodge has an impressive winning record, having won about 80 percent of the games he has coached at the college level, albeit small college level.
Sport Illustrated had five thoughts about Ross Hodge at West Virginia:
He won’t bolt. Like Darian DeVries did after just one season. DeVries is being criticized for holding his son, Tucker, out of most of the season so he could red-shirt and take him with him to his new gig, Indiana. Tucker had an “upper body” injury a few games into the season, and the potential All America selection never returned to the court. SI said it doesn’t get the same vibe from Hodge. “He’s a down-to-earth guy who I believe will do a much better job of connecting with West Virginians,” the magazine’s website said.
Clear Vision. He’s used to retooling a roster each year at the junior college level and as head man at North Texas. Four players who started at times for DeVries have entered the transfer portal. So rebuild he must. Hodge is committed to playing tough defense in the Big 12.
Rockstar recruiter? This is the first time he has a “big brand” to recruit to, and he’ll have “resources” (read that money) to lure talent. SI said, “He’s truthful, honest, and deeply cares about his players’ future after basketball.” That plays well with high school recruits, but experienced players from the transfer portal are only after the money.
Mountaineers Return to March Madness. Even SI admits that’s a bit premature since Hodge doesn’t have enough players to scrimmage at this time. As evidenced this year, the road to March Madness via the Big 12 is not an easy one.
Concerns are still valid. “We’d be kidding ourselves if we said there weren’t any concerns surrounding the future of Mountaineer basketball. He has two years of head coaching experience at the Division I level, has yet to coach an NCAA tournament team (although his North Texas team went to the NIT semi-finals this year), and went 0-10 versus NCAA Tournament teams in his first two years as a head coach,” SI said.
We wish him well because he’s coaching my team. Time will tell…
Early Baseball Surprises…
San Diego Padres leading the NL West, a half game ahead of the Big Dollar Dodgers and the Giants. As of Thursday, the Padres and the Dodgers have the most wins (10) in either league.
The Atlanta Braves are 2-9 and cellar dwelling in the NL East. Only the Chicago pale hose join the Braves with just two wins this year. The White Sox result is not surprising.
The Cincinnati Reds are wrestling with the Pirates for the NL Central cellar. With legendary manager Tito Francona leading the Reds, we’ll see how much affect a manager has on a team. Pirate fans are anxious to see how Derek Shelton affects his team this year. In six years at the Pirates helm,, Shelton has a significant losing record, 294-414 at the end of 2024.
No surprise the Pirates are languishing. They have weak bats to support Skenes and Keller. Jared Jones is on the IL at this time, and a less than stellar crew make up the rest of the rotation. Early result for the bull pen are spotty at best. One-time ace closer, David Bednar, is now toiling at Indianapolis.
The Reds and Pirates have a three-game series in Cincinnati beginning Friday.
The Texas Rangers (9-4) an the LA Angels (8-4) are the only American League teams over .600 at this point. The Yankees have been average with 7 wins and five losses. They took just two games from the Pirates.
FACTOID:
The best teams in baseball win 2-out-of-3. The worst teams win 1-out-of three. It’s a fine line.
Thanks for reading. Your comments would add extra innings to this post.
Or, you could buy me a cup of coffee here. Still cheaper than a dozen eggs in most stores.
The old adage (I think it's from Sparky Anderson but I could be wrong) is that every team wins 60 games and every team loses 60 games. It's what you do with the rest that counts.