Brought to you by these three great men:
1) Reinforcing the parts of Sterlin Gilbert's past that matter most for the future
At a place like Texas after an offensive coordinator gets hired, certain aspects about that coach are misplaced while names of players begin to dominate the spring football discussion. That’s life surrounding big boy college football when the quarterback position is now an unsolved mystery that Happy Days thinks is running too long.
Like the veteran defensive specialist that is forgotten about during the NBA regular season only to emerge as a vital piece of a seven-game puzzle, Sterlin Gilbert’s past has been pushed to the side. If it was a traditional past for an older offensive coordinator, it wouldn’t need to be repeated. But it’s not. And it does.
Gilbert has made a living, and caught a flight up the coaching ladder instead of continuing the long climb, installing his offense and getting results. He did it at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Tulsa. That’s three separate times his last four seasons. Obviously, that’s uncommon, but it could mean good things for Texas because this is becoming routine for Gilbert.
However, that’s the cover letter. The highlighted part of the resume with the quarterbacks includes the kind of diversity that speaks to why the Texas offensive coordinator arrived so highly regarded.
At Eastern Illinois, the only place where Gilbert was able to coach back-to-back years recently, he turned Jimmy Garoppolo from good to great by increasing his touchdowns (plus-22), yards (1,227), decreasing interceptions (down six) despite attempting almost the same amount of passes (just 28 more in 2013 compared to 2012) in a more run-heavy offense.
At Bowling Green, Gilbert had to adjust on the fly after Matt Johnson went down, and was able to get solid results out of James Kanpke, who had attempted just four passes prior to his 2014 season as a starter.
At Tulsa, Dane Evans increased his rating (30.4), touchdowns (two), yards per attempt (2.2), completion percentage (7.5), and lowered interceptions (by nine).
So, Gilbert has developed the experienced guy, talented guy; he’s elevated the sophomore with one year under his belt; and he’s taken the inexperienced quarterback in the unexpected situation to a level of solid production.
Again, this isn’t necessarily new, but it needed to be repeated. So while the conversation surrounding the offense and the quarterback position focuses on lackluster experience or no experience, what’s more important is Gilbert’s experience, which includes being in this situation before. If he wants to wipe the slate clean, which is what he said he’s done, with his new guys, Texas fans should be okay with that.
If it ain’t broke…
2) What recruiting would look like if Texas…
The Longhorns are on quite the roll, especially under a head coach that normally does a lot of his recruiting late, to begin the 2017 recruiting cycle. After the Kobe Boyce commitment, Texas is up to five for the 2017 class, including four four-star prospects and Boyce has a chance to head that direction as well. Toss in where Texas stands with players like Taquon Graham, and things are looking up in the world of recruiting for Texas.
Just imagine how it could look in December if Texas has a couple of impressive wins under its belt, and has a chance to win 10 games in a bowl. We didn’t really need another example of how this truly is a make-or-break year for Charlie Strong, but there are so many things, like recruiting, that suggest this program is either going to head definitely in one direction or the other.
3) Jarrett Allen…
Up in Portland right now, practices are going on for the annual Nike Hoop Summit, one of the most prestigious events for high school basketball players in the country. So, it’s no surprise that five-star St. Stephen’s (Austin) big man Jarrett Allen is there participating, and it’s also not a surprise that he wants to devote all his attention to that.
But after that event, which is April 9th, Allen will shift his focus to recruiting (if you missed our interview with him from the McDonald’s All-American Game, click here). When we spoke with Allen, he was a sharp young man that’s clearly evaluated his options in detail, but doesn’t exactly enjoy the process, hence the delay. That delay will soon end, and the most logical next step for Allen is to return home, put together a timetable, and then set a decision date.
Texas continues to be one of the teams best positioned to land the 6-9 prospect that’s ranked No. 20 overall in the 2016 Rivals150. Prospects that haven’t signed can sign beginning April 13th.
4) Texas hoops’ too early top 25 rank
A favorite tradition of mine is going through and reading the way-too-early preseason rankings for next season after the college football and basketball seasons conclude. Before you lose your mind about the rankings being before all recruits have signed, transfers, and the NBA Draft, yes, the rankings are what they are – a way-too-early look at things. But they’re still entertaining and give the reader an idea of the perception of the program heading into next year.
If you missed some of them, here are a few:
Maybe this isn’t necessarily “interesting” because it’s not a surprise that the national view of Isaiah Taylor is that he should return to school based mostly on his NBA Draft stock and ability to potentially have a great senior season. However, it’s still at least a little bit unexpected that national voices are projecting him to return, which doesn’t seem like the most likely outcome right now.
If Taylor did return, that gives you an idea of where Texas would likely be – top 15-type of team, and maybe better if the big pieces fall into place. If he doesn’t, Texas is probably just outside the top 25, which would be fair.
A couple other things you’ll notice is that the Big 12 won’t be as strong next season, and also that the perception about the job Shaka Smart did this season is that Texas was ahead of schedule.
What does Las Vegas think? According to Bovada, Texas is 50/1 to win it all next season, which puts it between 20-25 overall.
5) Texas baseball
Here are two crazy things about Texas baseball this season:
Less than two weeks ago, Texas won a series against No. 10 TCU, and the Longhorns, despite being five games under .500 at 12-17, have a run-differential of plus-14.
Those things above represent the frustration for Texas fans because the Longhorns have proven capable of playing good baseball, and have proven to be able to play with top teams.
However, last night’s 5-0 loss at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which included nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings against a freshman pitcher that didn’t even get out of the first inning his last start against NAIA Houston-Victoria, represented all that is wrong with Texas baseball right now. The Longhorns made the first out at third in a key situation during the sixth inning; they benched a player for allowing a single to center to turn into a double; they literally booted a ball in another ninth-inning meltdown.
It was bad. What was worse was the visual because it looked like Texas’ players simply quit, and this comes a week after a home loss to Lamar and a weekend series loss at a bad Oklahoma team that included Texas gift-wrapping the Sooners Sunday’s series-deciding game. Earlier this season, the Longhorns played to their competition, but they also competed, especially at the plate, against much better stuff. That wasn’t the case at all last night, and wasn’t this past weekend either.
Just over a week ago, the Longhorns had momentum and progress, and somehow it’s managed to turn into a fall to rock bottom that’s still not over. What that represents is a total disconnect between manager and roster; there’s no excuse why Texas, who has talented players, is 12-17, and it starts at the top. This isn’t a roster like last season when the pitching depth was patched together almost the entire second half of the season; this is a deep, solid roster that has dealt with some injuries, but not near enough to not just derail the train, but set it on fire too.
Now, the Longhorns, with a roster they felt was good enough to win the league and really compete deep into the postseason, are in a position where it has to win the Big 12 regular season or tournament crown to get into the NCAA Tournament… again.
6) MLB predictions
NL West – Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres, Diamondbacks
NL Central – Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals, Brewers, Reds
NL East – Nationals, Mets, Marlins, Braves, Phillies
Wild Card – Pirates, Mets
Thoughts – It’s an even year, so the Giants have to at least win the division, right? Clayton Kershaw is starting to throw changeups regularly, which is terrifying, but the Dodgers are old, injured, and lacking in areas. Colorado could surprise with its young talent while Arizona could tank, especially after losing A.J. Pollack. Of all the organizations out there, Arizona is in the bottom group when it comes to building a winner. New York’s age and defense behind that awesome pitching staff scares me, and the lineup needs some more juice. Washington has elite talent waiting in the wings, and the best player in the league. St. Louis finally takes a small step back.
NLDS – Giants over Nationals; Pirates over Cubs
NLCS – Pirates over Giants
Thoughts – The Pirates are constructed to win games in numerous ways, and have the depth to excel in both a 162-game season and a playoff series. Their nucleus has been together for years, and Andrew McCutchen is in his prime while Gregory Polanco, Gerrit Cole, and Starling Marte are rising to theirs. They play defense; they put the ball in play; they understand things like shifting as well as anyone; they have starting pitching, and keep rolling out the bullpen arms; they have chemistry. With the pieces to promote an ace arm (Tyler Glasnow) and deal for something else (good farm system), they’re in great shape.
Of course, if the Cubs decide to package prospects and go get another ace, like Sonny Gray, picking against them is probably silly on some level. Come postseason time, they’ll need to have that bullpen in great shape.
AL West – Rangers, Astros, Mariners, Angels, A’s
AL Central – Tigers, Royals, Indians, Twins, White Sox
AL East – Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Orioles
Wild Card – Red Sox, Astros
Thoughts – Winning in a 162-game season is different than a playoff series. The Blue Jays are going to score a ton of runs, probably more than anyone, and the Tigers are better built to get results over a full season than the Royals, who are definitely the better playoff series-type team. As for the West, Texas’ depth and balance in the lineup gives them the slightest edge over Houston, in my opinion. Are the Astros due to regress? Maybe the pitching staff a little.
Really, the American League to me reminds me of college basketball – there are a bunch of good teams, but on paper right now there doesn’t appear to be a great team. It’s going to make for a bunch of 80-win or better teams jockeying for position down the stretch. The Astros and Rangers will have similar records; so will the Tigers, Indians, and Royals; the AL East could be separated by something as small as eight games top-to-bottom.
ALDS – Red Sox over Blue Jays; Rangers over Tigers
ALCS – Rangers over Red Sox
Thoughts – Boston’s bullpen and starting pitching will likely be better than Toronto’s, and it can match it in offense with probably a better defense too. The Rangers have proven willing to make a big move, should have Yu Darvish back, and have the experience and bullpen needed.
(Note: A definite leap of faith is required to give Texas the benefit of the doubt with its starting arms considering the injury history. When the Rangers became healthier the second half, along with Cole Hamels, they took off.)
World Series – Pirates over Rangers
MVP – Mookie Betts (AL – Red Sox), Bryce Harper (NL - Nationals)
Cy Young – Carlos Carrasco (AL - Indians), Clayton Kershaw (NL – Dodgers)
Rookie of the Year – RHP Jose Berrios (AL - Twins), SS Trevor Story (NL - Rockies)
Names that will make themselves well-known after this year (in addition to ones above): Rougned Odor (Rangers), Gregory Polanco (Pirates), Domingo Santana (Brewers), Corey Seager (Dodgers), Steven Matz (Mets), Francisco Lindor (Indians), Addison Russell (Cubs), Corey Dickerson (Rays), Marcus Stroman (Blue Jays), Raisel Iglesias (Reds), Miguel Sano (Twins)
Three guys you should watch pitch every time they start that you might not know about:
Noah Syndergaard (Mets) – He touched 100 MPH yesterday and threw sliders that touched 95. Plus, he looks like an elf king from Lord of the Rings and Baywatch Pamela Anderson had a kid, and goes by the name Thor.
Jose Fernandez (Marlins) – With maybe the best stuff in baseball, Fernandez, just 23, returned from Tommy John last year and struck out 10.99 batters per nine innings, walked just 1.95 and posted a 2.24 FIP. His stuff is so good that it might hurt his innings because he’s a candidate to strike out 10-plus in six innings.
Carlos Carrasco (Indians) – Carrasco’s slider that averaged 87.8 MPH lastseason is up there with Clayton Kershaw’s, who you should always watch as well, and he’s somehow a bit of an unknown despite striking out 10.58 per nine innings last year, and posting a 2.84 FIP in 183.2 innings.
7) Scanning the rest of the sports globe…
--- March Madness and the college basketball season ended with a bang. Literally. Jay Wright, who reacted like the coolest hoops gangsta in the business, said so.
What more could a hoops fan ask for than what that national title game provided? Think about it: the game had skill, veteran players making plays, younger players making plays, good coaching (mostly on the Villanova bench), emotion, energy in a full arena, an impossible to imagine three-pointer to tie the game followed by a buzzer-beater three that the coach knew was going in. TV people lost their minds. Fans lost their minds. A campus rioted and cancelled class.
We’ll be lucky to see something close to that over the next decade.
Back to Wright, who I’ve been hard on before. He was magnificent during the NCAA Tournament. Against Oklahoma, he, like Texas, switched almost everything around the perimeter and wasn’t afraid to invite isolation opportunities when it was OU guard matched up against Villanova big. Against UNC, he aggressively fronted the post and used his team’s length and athleticism around the perimeter to make life hell getting the ball inside to UNC’s strength more often than not. Against Kansas, Villanova completely took Perry Ellis out of the game, and it also blasted good Miami and Iowa teams.
It takes a run like this to be a made guy, and Wright isn’t just a dude in awesome suits that looks like he could star in a TNT show about Al Capone. He proved to be a damn good coach on a stage that seemed to him like an impossible mountain to climb for years.
--- By the way, if you’re wondering what senior leader Ryan Arcidiacono received for winning, how about Jim Nantz’s tie? No, seriously. That happened. And Nantz, harnessing his inner-Narcissist Lex Luger, has some bizarre story behind it.
Okay, Jim. Sure. Hopefully Arcidiacono at least was interviewed by Kacie McDonnell afterward, who, if you were one of the thousands that didn’t realize there were “homer” broadcasts for each team on TV in addition to the actual broadcast, was a nice accidental find for non-Villanova fans.
--- Speaking of Nantz, he called that game, gave out his tie, then headed to The Masters. I guess when you’re able to do that, you can do silly things to stroke your ego like come up with some weird tradition that includes giving a player your tie in the biggest moment of his life. Or maybe he's just getting into soccer and is totally confused by the switching of jerseys at the end of the game. No, it's definitely the ego thing.
As for the golf and a pick, I’d be lying if I said I felt great about a guy. Maybe Jason Day. But the lack of clear Las Vegas favorite should make an always-great tournament hopefully even better to watch. HD television was invented for a couple of things: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and The Masters.
--- Leicester City just isn’t going to collapse, is it? It’s the king of 1-0 results.
--- After the Warriors lost in overtime last night to the Timberwolves – don’t laugh because the T’Wolves look like a team that’s seriously figuring it out – the Bulls’ record suddenly has life. And so does San Antonio winning home court for the playoffs. After the loss, Draymond Green said Golden State is ready for the regular season to end. Maybe the grind is finally getting to them? But it would be silly to think they’re suddenly vulnerable come playoff time.
--- How about the Rockets in a must-win tonight against the Mavs with just five games remaining and both teams competing to crawl their way into the playoffs? Whoever wins this one has a good chance of getting in… to likely play the Spurs or Warriors. Awesome prize. That’s like winning a car and finding out it’s an old station-wagon you have to pay taxes on.
8) Anything and everything
--- Orangebloods.com’s reach never ceases to amaze me, so if you know of anyone in the wedding getaway car business/field/interest, please shoot me a PM or e-mail me. Ours fell through, and we’re 24 days away from the big day.
--- We’ve all wanted to do this.
--- What is the world coming to? Lindsey Pelas, who could maybe melt hearts with a wink, has haters (NSFW).
---
9) The best non-sports thing I read this week
What we want for our children and younger people is to become passionate about something, and work towards achieving that something. Sometimes, it happens when they’re 22. In this case, it’s happening with a nine-year-old that’s getting noticed as a reporter that legitimately breaks news in her field. That’s the awesome part. The bad part are the comments and the reaction she’s received. Her reaction? Well beyond her years, just like her reporting skills.
1) Reinforcing the parts of Sterlin Gilbert's past that matter most for the future
At a place like Texas after an offensive coordinator gets hired, certain aspects about that coach are misplaced while names of players begin to dominate the spring football discussion. That’s life surrounding big boy college football when the quarterback position is now an unsolved mystery that Happy Days thinks is running too long.
Like the veteran defensive specialist that is forgotten about during the NBA regular season only to emerge as a vital piece of a seven-game puzzle, Sterlin Gilbert’s past has been pushed to the side. If it was a traditional past for an older offensive coordinator, it wouldn’t need to be repeated. But it’s not. And it does.
Gilbert has made a living, and caught a flight up the coaching ladder instead of continuing the long climb, installing his offense and getting results. He did it at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Tulsa. That’s three separate times his last four seasons. Obviously, that’s uncommon, but it could mean good things for Texas because this is becoming routine for Gilbert.
However, that’s the cover letter. The highlighted part of the resume with the quarterbacks includes the kind of diversity that speaks to why the Texas offensive coordinator arrived so highly regarded.
At Eastern Illinois, the only place where Gilbert was able to coach back-to-back years recently, he turned Jimmy Garoppolo from good to great by increasing his touchdowns (plus-22), yards (1,227), decreasing interceptions (down six) despite attempting almost the same amount of passes (just 28 more in 2013 compared to 2012) in a more run-heavy offense.
At Bowling Green, Gilbert had to adjust on the fly after Matt Johnson went down, and was able to get solid results out of James Kanpke, who had attempted just four passes prior to his 2014 season as a starter.
At Tulsa, Dane Evans increased his rating (30.4), touchdowns (two), yards per attempt (2.2), completion percentage (7.5), and lowered interceptions (by nine).
So, Gilbert has developed the experienced guy, talented guy; he’s elevated the sophomore with one year under his belt; and he’s taken the inexperienced quarterback in the unexpected situation to a level of solid production.
Again, this isn’t necessarily new, but it needed to be repeated. So while the conversation surrounding the offense and the quarterback position focuses on lackluster experience or no experience, what’s more important is Gilbert’s experience, which includes being in this situation before. If he wants to wipe the slate clean, which is what he said he’s done, with his new guys, Texas fans should be okay with that.
If it ain’t broke…
2) What recruiting would look like if Texas…
The Longhorns are on quite the roll, especially under a head coach that normally does a lot of his recruiting late, to begin the 2017 recruiting cycle. After the Kobe Boyce commitment, Texas is up to five for the 2017 class, including four four-star prospects and Boyce has a chance to head that direction as well. Toss in where Texas stands with players like Taquon Graham, and things are looking up in the world of recruiting for Texas.
Just imagine how it could look in December if Texas has a couple of impressive wins under its belt, and has a chance to win 10 games in a bowl. We didn’t really need another example of how this truly is a make-or-break year for Charlie Strong, but there are so many things, like recruiting, that suggest this program is either going to head definitely in one direction or the other.
3) Jarrett Allen…
Up in Portland right now, practices are going on for the annual Nike Hoop Summit, one of the most prestigious events for high school basketball players in the country. So, it’s no surprise that five-star St. Stephen’s (Austin) big man Jarrett Allen is there participating, and it’s also not a surprise that he wants to devote all his attention to that.
But after that event, which is April 9th, Allen will shift his focus to recruiting (if you missed our interview with him from the McDonald’s All-American Game, click here). When we spoke with Allen, he was a sharp young man that’s clearly evaluated his options in detail, but doesn’t exactly enjoy the process, hence the delay. That delay will soon end, and the most logical next step for Allen is to return home, put together a timetable, and then set a decision date.
Texas continues to be one of the teams best positioned to land the 6-9 prospect that’s ranked No. 20 overall in the 2016 Rivals150. Prospects that haven’t signed can sign beginning April 13th.
4) Texas hoops’ too early top 25 rank
A favorite tradition of mine is going through and reading the way-too-early preseason rankings for next season after the college football and basketball seasons conclude. Before you lose your mind about the rankings being before all recruits have signed, transfers, and the NBA Draft, yes, the rankings are what they are – a way-too-early look at things. But they’re still entertaining and give the reader an idea of the perception of the program heading into next year.
If you missed some of them, here are a few:
Maybe this isn’t necessarily “interesting” because it’s not a surprise that the national view of Isaiah Taylor is that he should return to school based mostly on his NBA Draft stock and ability to potentially have a great senior season. However, it’s still at least a little bit unexpected that national voices are projecting him to return, which doesn’t seem like the most likely outcome right now.
If Taylor did return, that gives you an idea of where Texas would likely be – top 15-type of team, and maybe better if the big pieces fall into place. If he doesn’t, Texas is probably just outside the top 25, which would be fair.
A couple other things you’ll notice is that the Big 12 won’t be as strong next season, and also that the perception about the job Shaka Smart did this season is that Texas was ahead of schedule.
What does Las Vegas think? According to Bovada, Texas is 50/1 to win it all next season, which puts it between 20-25 overall.
5) Texas baseball
Here are two crazy things about Texas baseball this season:
Less than two weeks ago, Texas won a series against No. 10 TCU, and the Longhorns, despite being five games under .500 at 12-17, have a run-differential of plus-14.
Those things above represent the frustration for Texas fans because the Longhorns have proven capable of playing good baseball, and have proven to be able to play with top teams.
However, last night’s 5-0 loss at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which included nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings against a freshman pitcher that didn’t even get out of the first inning his last start against NAIA Houston-Victoria, represented all that is wrong with Texas baseball right now. The Longhorns made the first out at third in a key situation during the sixth inning; they benched a player for allowing a single to center to turn into a double; they literally booted a ball in another ninth-inning meltdown.
It was bad. What was worse was the visual because it looked like Texas’ players simply quit, and this comes a week after a home loss to Lamar and a weekend series loss at a bad Oklahoma team that included Texas gift-wrapping the Sooners Sunday’s series-deciding game. Earlier this season, the Longhorns played to their competition, but they also competed, especially at the plate, against much better stuff. That wasn’t the case at all last night, and wasn’t this past weekend either.
Just over a week ago, the Longhorns had momentum and progress, and somehow it’s managed to turn into a fall to rock bottom that’s still not over. What that represents is a total disconnect between manager and roster; there’s no excuse why Texas, who has talented players, is 12-17, and it starts at the top. This isn’t a roster like last season when the pitching depth was patched together almost the entire second half of the season; this is a deep, solid roster that has dealt with some injuries, but not near enough to not just derail the train, but set it on fire too.
Now, the Longhorns, with a roster they felt was good enough to win the league and really compete deep into the postseason, are in a position where it has to win the Big 12 regular season or tournament crown to get into the NCAA Tournament… again.
6) MLB predictions
NL West – Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres, Diamondbacks
NL Central – Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals, Brewers, Reds
NL East – Nationals, Mets, Marlins, Braves, Phillies
Wild Card – Pirates, Mets
Thoughts – It’s an even year, so the Giants have to at least win the division, right? Clayton Kershaw is starting to throw changeups regularly, which is terrifying, but the Dodgers are old, injured, and lacking in areas. Colorado could surprise with its young talent while Arizona could tank, especially after losing A.J. Pollack. Of all the organizations out there, Arizona is in the bottom group when it comes to building a winner. New York’s age and defense behind that awesome pitching staff scares me, and the lineup needs some more juice. Washington has elite talent waiting in the wings, and the best player in the league. St. Louis finally takes a small step back.
NLDS – Giants over Nationals; Pirates over Cubs
NLCS – Pirates over Giants
Thoughts – The Pirates are constructed to win games in numerous ways, and have the depth to excel in both a 162-game season and a playoff series. Their nucleus has been together for years, and Andrew McCutchen is in his prime while Gregory Polanco, Gerrit Cole, and Starling Marte are rising to theirs. They play defense; they put the ball in play; they understand things like shifting as well as anyone; they have starting pitching, and keep rolling out the bullpen arms; they have chemistry. With the pieces to promote an ace arm (Tyler Glasnow) and deal for something else (good farm system), they’re in great shape.
Of course, if the Cubs decide to package prospects and go get another ace, like Sonny Gray, picking against them is probably silly on some level. Come postseason time, they’ll need to have that bullpen in great shape.
AL West – Rangers, Astros, Mariners, Angels, A’s
AL Central – Tigers, Royals, Indians, Twins, White Sox
AL East – Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Orioles
Wild Card – Red Sox, Astros
Thoughts – Winning in a 162-game season is different than a playoff series. The Blue Jays are going to score a ton of runs, probably more than anyone, and the Tigers are better built to get results over a full season than the Royals, who are definitely the better playoff series-type team. As for the West, Texas’ depth and balance in the lineup gives them the slightest edge over Houston, in my opinion. Are the Astros due to regress? Maybe the pitching staff a little.
Really, the American League to me reminds me of college basketball – there are a bunch of good teams, but on paper right now there doesn’t appear to be a great team. It’s going to make for a bunch of 80-win or better teams jockeying for position down the stretch. The Astros and Rangers will have similar records; so will the Tigers, Indians, and Royals; the AL East could be separated by something as small as eight games top-to-bottom.
ALDS – Red Sox over Blue Jays; Rangers over Tigers
ALCS – Rangers over Red Sox
Thoughts – Boston’s bullpen and starting pitching will likely be better than Toronto’s, and it can match it in offense with probably a better defense too. The Rangers have proven willing to make a big move, should have Yu Darvish back, and have the experience and bullpen needed.
(Note: A definite leap of faith is required to give Texas the benefit of the doubt with its starting arms considering the injury history. When the Rangers became healthier the second half, along with Cole Hamels, they took off.)
World Series – Pirates over Rangers
MVP – Mookie Betts (AL – Red Sox), Bryce Harper (NL - Nationals)
Cy Young – Carlos Carrasco (AL - Indians), Clayton Kershaw (NL – Dodgers)
Rookie of the Year – RHP Jose Berrios (AL - Twins), SS Trevor Story (NL - Rockies)
Names that will make themselves well-known after this year (in addition to ones above): Rougned Odor (Rangers), Gregory Polanco (Pirates), Domingo Santana (Brewers), Corey Seager (Dodgers), Steven Matz (Mets), Francisco Lindor (Indians), Addison Russell (Cubs), Corey Dickerson (Rays), Marcus Stroman (Blue Jays), Raisel Iglesias (Reds), Miguel Sano (Twins)
Three guys you should watch pitch every time they start that you might not know about:
Noah Syndergaard (Mets) – He touched 100 MPH yesterday and threw sliders that touched 95. Plus, he looks like an elf king from Lord of the Rings and Baywatch Pamela Anderson had a kid, and goes by the name Thor.
Jose Fernandez (Marlins) – With maybe the best stuff in baseball, Fernandez, just 23, returned from Tommy John last year and struck out 10.99 batters per nine innings, walked just 1.95 and posted a 2.24 FIP. His stuff is so good that it might hurt his innings because he’s a candidate to strike out 10-plus in six innings.
Carlos Carrasco (Indians) – Carrasco’s slider that averaged 87.8 MPH lastseason is up there with Clayton Kershaw’s, who you should always watch as well, and he’s somehow a bit of an unknown despite striking out 10.58 per nine innings last year, and posting a 2.84 FIP in 183.2 innings.
7) Scanning the rest of the sports globe…
--- March Madness and the college basketball season ended with a bang. Literally. Jay Wright, who reacted like the coolest hoops gangsta in the business, said so.
What more could a hoops fan ask for than what that national title game provided? Think about it: the game had skill, veteran players making plays, younger players making plays, good coaching (mostly on the Villanova bench), emotion, energy in a full arena, an impossible to imagine three-pointer to tie the game followed by a buzzer-beater three that the coach knew was going in. TV people lost their minds. Fans lost their minds. A campus rioted and cancelled class.
We’ll be lucky to see something close to that over the next decade.
Back to Wright, who I’ve been hard on before. He was magnificent during the NCAA Tournament. Against Oklahoma, he, like Texas, switched almost everything around the perimeter and wasn’t afraid to invite isolation opportunities when it was OU guard matched up against Villanova big. Against UNC, he aggressively fronted the post and used his team’s length and athleticism around the perimeter to make life hell getting the ball inside to UNC’s strength more often than not. Against Kansas, Villanova completely took Perry Ellis out of the game, and it also blasted good Miami and Iowa teams.
It takes a run like this to be a made guy, and Wright isn’t just a dude in awesome suits that looks like he could star in a TNT show about Al Capone. He proved to be a damn good coach on a stage that seemed to him like an impossible mountain to climb for years.
--- By the way, if you’re wondering what senior leader Ryan Arcidiacono received for winning, how about Jim Nantz’s tie? No, seriously. That happened. And Nantz, harnessing his inner-Narcissist Lex Luger, has some bizarre story behind it.
Okay, Jim. Sure. Hopefully Arcidiacono at least was interviewed by Kacie McDonnell afterward, who, if you were one of the thousands that didn’t realize there were “homer” broadcasts for each team on TV in addition to the actual broadcast, was a nice accidental find for non-Villanova fans.
--- Speaking of Nantz, he called that game, gave out his tie, then headed to The Masters. I guess when you’re able to do that, you can do silly things to stroke your ego like come up with some weird tradition that includes giving a player your tie in the biggest moment of his life. Or maybe he's just getting into soccer and is totally confused by the switching of jerseys at the end of the game. No, it's definitely the ego thing.
As for the golf and a pick, I’d be lying if I said I felt great about a guy. Maybe Jason Day. But the lack of clear Las Vegas favorite should make an always-great tournament hopefully even better to watch. HD television was invented for a couple of things: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and The Masters.
--- Leicester City just isn’t going to collapse, is it? It’s the king of 1-0 results.
--- After the Warriors lost in overtime last night to the Timberwolves – don’t laugh because the T’Wolves look like a team that’s seriously figuring it out – the Bulls’ record suddenly has life. And so does San Antonio winning home court for the playoffs. After the loss, Draymond Green said Golden State is ready for the regular season to end. Maybe the grind is finally getting to them? But it would be silly to think they’re suddenly vulnerable come playoff time.
--- How about the Rockets in a must-win tonight against the Mavs with just five games remaining and both teams competing to crawl their way into the playoffs? Whoever wins this one has a good chance of getting in… to likely play the Spurs or Warriors. Awesome prize. That’s like winning a car and finding out it’s an old station-wagon you have to pay taxes on.
8) Anything and everything
--- Orangebloods.com’s reach never ceases to amaze me, so if you know of anyone in the wedding getaway car business/field/interest, please shoot me a PM or e-mail me. Ours fell through, and we’re 24 days away from the big day.
--- We’ve all wanted to do this.
--- What is the world coming to? Lindsey Pelas, who could maybe melt hearts with a wink, has haters (NSFW).
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9) The best non-sports thing I read this week
What we want for our children and younger people is to become passionate about something, and work towards achieving that something. Sometimes, it happens when they’re 22. In this case, it’s happening with a nine-year-old that’s getting noticed as a reporter that legitimately breaks news in her field. That’s the awesome part. The bad part are the comments and the reaction she’s received. Her reaction? Well beyond her years, just like her reporting skills.
