Bear Down Wildcats

Posted: **Sat Apr 03, 2021 2:28 pm**

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/look ... o-arizona/
via http://cbssportsapp.com

LOOK: Arizona State outfielder gets stuck on outfield fence, allows inside-the-park home run to Arizona

Posted: **Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:23 am**

Saw that. Very entertaining.

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:36 pm**

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:37 pm**

Competing with LSU and Fullerton who also have openings.

None of them better go after ECU's coach.

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:44 pm**

If I were Ray, I’d go after Checketts at UCSB. That team was very well-coached.

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:15 pm**

Checketts would be a great choice. That ASSU team is pretty you g and tough break for Smith as he had a veteran team last year with the #1 player in college baseball that couldn’t play in a regional due to COVID.

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:26 pm**

It's interesting. ASU extended Smith, but only by two years, so he'd have been going into next season as a lame duck unless they extended him again. I really think it's possible that if we hadn't won the league and gotten into the "sweet sixteen", they might have put it off, but they felt their hand was forced. Meanwhile, I believe UArizona Baseball has now won a national championship, been the national runners-up, and been to three Super Regionals since the last time faded-glory ASU has been to a Super Regional. In any event, there's a certain trap mentality to the job that may impact their hire. It's obviously never again going to be like the 60s in the WAC, when ASU won the league in odd years, Arizona in even years, and they won three of their national titles in a five year period. (In those days, you immediately hosted one team in a best-of-three, and then went straight to Omaha.) Also not like the 70s/early 80s winning the league almost every year, being a regular in Omaha, and adding two more titles. Some ASU fans think something like that level of success is their birthright, but I question if they can even get back to Pat Murphy's level, which was four league titles and three trips to Omaha in 15 years. ASU publishes attendance based on tickets sold, but that doesn't reflect butts in the stands, which is sometimes half the tickets sold. 1,000 bodies in an 8,000 seat stadium isn't SEC-like (or even UArizona like), and they also don't have SEC football money to buy a baseball wizard to turn it around. Smith was considered a good coach at Indiana, and there's no doubt they'll hire somebody who looks good on paper. But then, whoever it is has to play Arizona, Stanford, UCLA, Oregon St and Oregon, along with whichever of the rest get temporarily lucky with a coach or good players, while their fans expect Pat Murphy II and a bunch of major league all-stars at a minimum. All I can say is: Good Luck!

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:31 pm**

I just worry that LSU might come after JJ

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:37 pm**

TheCatInTheHat wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:26 pm It's interesting. ASU extended Smith, but only by two years, so he'd have been going into next season as a lame duck unless they extended him again. I really think it's possible that if we hadn't won the league and gotten into the "sweet sixteen", they might have put it off, but they felt their hand was forced. Meanwhile, I believe UArizona Baseball has now won a national championship, been the national runners-up, and been to three Super Regionals since the last time faded-glory ASU has been to a Super Regional. In any event, there's a certain trap mentality to the job that may impact their hire. It's obviously never again going to be like the 60s in the WAC, when ASU won the league in odd years, Arizona in even years, and they won three of their national titles in a five year period. (In those days, you immediately hosted one team in a best-of-three, and then went straight to Omaha.) Also not like the 70s/early 80s winning the league almost every year, being a regular in Omaha, and adding two more titles. Some ASU fans think something like that level of success is their birthright, but I question if they can even get back to Pat Murphy's level, which was four league titles and three trips to Omaha in 15 years. ASU publishes attendance based on tickets sold, but that doesn't reflect butts in the stands, which is sometimes half the tickets sold. 1,000 bodies in an 8,000 seat stadium isn't SEC-like (or even UArizona like), and they also don't have SEC football money to buy a baseball wizard to turn it around. Smith was considered a good coach at Indiana, and there's no doubt they'll hire somebody who looks good on paper. But then, whoever it is has to play Arizona, Stanford, UCLA, Oregon St and Oregon, along with whichever of the rest get temporarily lucky with a coach or good players, while their fans expect Pat Murphy II and a bunch of major league all-stars at a minimum. All I can say is: Good Luck!

My fondest dream is that they can find someone who can replicate or exceed Murphy’s success with NCAA sanctions.

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:39 pm**

azcat49 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:31 pm I just worry that LSU might come after JJ

I’d say our administration should hurry up and give him a raise/extension but, it is our administration.

Posted: **Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:44 pm**

ekat wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:37 pm My fondest dream is that they can find someone who can replicate or exceed Murphy’s success with NCAA sanctions.

LOL! I think Brock managed that, too, with Nardil, etc. And Winkles probably pre-dated the NCAA even thinking anybody would cheat in college baseball.

I certainly agree about Checketts, and I think we were talking about him back when we hired JJ. But, he's an OSU alum, and was the pitching coach at Oregon, so I wonder how he feels about those jobs. More money and prestige in the Pac-12, but the Big West isn't chopped liver, and living in Santa Barbara and playing games there, at Pepperdine, Long Beach, etc. is pretty sweet. And, as I said, the expectations at ASU are almost certain to be unreasonable, considering changing circumstances. We'll see. They'll always have a decent coach and good players, but expecting and demanding to be dominant is something else. You look at the history of USC baseball, then look at the last 20 years, and you have to wonder what USC baseball fans think about it. I think there are some similarities there, and USC has all the money in the world, from both football and the donor class.

Posted: **Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:39 am**

84Cat wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:36 pm

The son of a former colleague played two years for ASSU before transferring last offseason. He told me it was shocking just how little the coaching staff seemed engaged in winning and developing players for MLB.

In fact, last year they were running out of catchers due to injuries and Covid and his kid had to go to the coaches to remind them that catcher had been his primary position all through high school. They had basically moved him to the outfield and forgotten about him. Tracy even gave some quote to a newspaper saying “apparently he’s played some catcher so maybe we’ll see what he can do since we are down so many players”. It’s like Smith & Co. hadn’t watched him play when recruiting him. Just went by his ranking and offered.

Posted: **Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:00 am**

Checketts has been at UCSB for 9 seasons now. His resume certainly warrants a move to a higher profile school, but I wonder why Checketts hasn't made the move yet? Not a great interview? Comfortable at Santa Barbara? There are certainly worse places to be!

Posted: **Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:57 am**

ASU could easily double Checketts' salary, but then you would have to leave one of the prettiest areas in the US with fantastic weather.

Then go to PHX.

Posted: **Tue Jun 08, 2021 12:37 pm**

Giving Adia a raise was the right thing to do but other coaches will measure their worth accordingly. It is human nature. When that happened I worried about our secondary sports and what they were thinking. Soccer and baseball were two that had shown promise. I am now officially worried about our baseball coach especially if he does well this world series.

Posted: **Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:28 pm**

JJ's a pretty West Coast guy (NorCal & San Diego), and he's coaching at arguably the best baseball situation in the Far West. He makes $335K, which is near the top of the Pac-12 salary structure for baseball. Elite coaches at schools with SEC football money can make hundreds of thousands more than that, and so maybe it should be bumped, although we're not exactly swimming in money. Meanwhile, a cautionary tale for him is as nearby as his predecessor, Andy Lopez. Andy won the national title at Pepperdine (almost unthinkable), and then went to Florida in swampy Gainesville for the big bucks. But Andy was a West Coast guy with all of his recruiting connections there. One of the big reasons he got fired at Florida was that he kept bringing California surfer dudes down there, while they wanted him to have more of their local good ol' boys they could relate to. And Florida's a cake-walk compared to the expectations at a place like LSU. So, more money's great, but being fired sucks and lifestyle also plays into it if you've got your extended family on the other side of the country. As a relatively young man, he's got to have a portfolio of well over a million by now. So, he can win national championships here, sock plenty of money away, have security, and not too much stress. It's a pretty good gig. Arizona fans can worry if they want to. But, if it comes down to it, Nate Yeskie is right down the bench in the dugout.

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:43 pm**

No coaching experience at any level

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:49 pm**

I hope it works out terribly.

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:51 pm**

Man I liked him as a DBack. That's unfortunate

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:54 pm**

"sixth-ever head baseball".

What's a head baseball?

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:56 pm**

Hey, this sounds so much like our President & AD got involved, no?

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 3:49 pm**

Texas A&M and ASU filled their jobs without even looking at UofA or ECU's coach. It will be interesting to see what LSU does. I'm not sure if Fullerton is considered a destination job any longer or not.

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:12 pm**

JJ mentioned LSU and how recruits perceive the SEC in the south. Was hoping Oregon would have knocked them out so they could get on with their search.

I do agree JJ seems like a west coast guy snd Lopez got burned by Florida but not many outwork JJ and LSU is going to go after someone with 7 figures a year

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:18 pm**

LSU is trying to lure Pat Casey out of retirement.

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/lsu-f ... ching-job/

I just want people to leave Jay Johnson alone. Somewhat related, Nate Yeskie’s name keeps showing up in rumors for head coaches at smaller schools. I’d prefer they leave him alone too. The pitching staff has improved so much since he came here. I have no idea what his relationship with Casey was like, but if LSU succeeds in hiring Casey, I’d wonder if he’d try to reunite with Yeskie.

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:33 pm**

Pat Casey? Wasn’t he the guy at Notre Dame(and then ASSU) who was forced out because he was playing players under the table from his camps?

Would fit perfectly in the SEC. Casey is as cutthroat as they come. He would challenge his players about their performance with scholarship reductions and other monetary take backs. Guy is a slime ball

EDIT: Wrong guy. Sorry Mr Casey. I was thinking about Pat Murphy from ND and ASSU

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:48 pm**

azcat49 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:33 pm Pat Casey? Wasn’t he the guy at Notre Dame who was forced out because he was playing players under the table from his camps?

Would fit perfectly in the SEC. Casey is as cutthroat as they come. He would challenge his players about their performance with scholarship reductions and other monetary take backs. Guy is a slime ball

EDIT: Wrong guy. Sorry Mr Casey. I was thinking about Pat Murphy from ND and ASSU

Yeah but was he at ntOSU when they allowed the convicted Child Rapist to start at pitcher?

Posted: **Wed Jun 09, 2021 6:20 pm**

UofAlum05 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:48 pm
azcat49 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:33 pm Pat Casey? Wasn’t he the guy at Notre Dame who was forced out because he was playing players under the table from his camps?

Would fit perfectly in the SEC. Casey is as cutthroat as they come. He would challenge his players about their performance with scholarship reductions and other monetary take backs. Guy is a slime ball

EDIT: Wrong guy. Sorry Mr Casey. I was thinking about Pat Murphy from ND and ASSU
Yeah but was he at ntOSU when they allowed the convicted Child Rapist to start at pitcher?

Luke Heimlich, and yes, he was the head coach. They won their championship in 2018 on the pitching of Heimlich.

Posted: **Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:21 am**

So ASu hires an alumni who has never been a head coach at any level in baseball, and has never recruited a kid, ever. It's one thing to hire a lead assistant who has recruited, scouted, and likely ran practices. It's another to hire someone who has never been a coach, and never recruited. If Bloomquist wasn't an alumni, would ASu even consider him? With that resume, I would have to say, that's a solid no.

And while you can never judge a hire right away, coaches that are underqualified on paper and get a job an his/her alumni university before they are ready rarely, if ever, pan out. Joe Kapp at CAL for football, Karl Dorrell when he got the UCLA football job, or Matt Dougherty at UNC for Basketball.

Posted: **Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:57 am**

Well, nothing against Bloomquist, but I sure wouldn't be overly worried about him, for many of the reasons you mention. This is totally an Anderson playbook move. An alumnus with some name recognition, so no criticism from fans, and the guy just has to accept more money and change his office destination by about 10 miles. And you can talk about taking things to the next level "the major league way." Yeah, with a draft, a minor league system, and a retractable roof, right? There's much less concern with on-the-job training for a guy like that than with an established college coach with good assistants, a proven system, and a recruiting network who can recruit both on past success and the promise of the future. It's not like ASU baseball is going to blow away like dust, but it's whether they continue to wallow at the Esmay/Smith level of the past 10+ years, or build up to something more like the Texas Longhorns. At this point, it looks more like the former.

Posted: **Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:29 pm**

ASSU has the Edwards model on the brain but baseball is so different than football.

I like the way JJ recruits his guys. The strategy of comparing College to Single A or double A but not riding busses and staying in first class hotels and having a nutritionist all while maturing before you take the your shot.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:00 am**

So they announced this guy and made it official abd the Twitter comments are about 50/50 it seems.

Guess he was an assistant to the front office/CEO or something on the DBacks. Well they just fired a bunch of coaches and they are underperforming so hopefully this drags the scum program even lower. Short term uptick with long term downside hopefully

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:58 am**

I'd guess he'll do about like Esmay and Smith. UofAlum05 questioned whether CSUF is considered a destination job any more, which is an interesting observation. Think of the titles and history between Fullerton and USC and look at how irrelevant they both are now. You can certainly make a case that ASU has been heading in that direction. If they'd hired away some name coach who'd been doing well at a P5 school that isn't traditionally big on baseball, or from maybe at an underrated Big West school, you might think they could plug-and-play and get some instant momentum. But, this looks more like a wait-and-see situation. I assume they'll bring in another retired MLB "name" alum in some capacity for more excitement and name recognition on the recruiting trail, and to further mend fences with fans and former players. Regardless of how their fans feel about "anyone but Smith", this is much less concerning than a proven commodity plug-and-play guy. In that scenario, you get a two-fer: a proven system and approach married with their brand. In this scenario, you pretty much just get their brand and a lot of unknown.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:28 am**

Don't know how he'll coach but he was a hell of a player.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:26 pm**

Heck of a college baseball player, and scrappy enough to play 14 years in MLB. Seems like a decent guy too. But his entire post playing career has been as an assistant in the D-backs front office.

If we pretend this is the corporate world for a second, and compare Bloomquist with a guy like Checketts, which resume gets passed along by HR? The one who has held the same position with success at a smaller firm? Or the assistant at a larger firm with no experience doing the actual job?

You never know with any hire, and Bloomquist could turn out to a great one for ASu. But on paper, this looks like a big reach, and Bloomquist only got the job as an alum to keep fans happy.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:42 pm**

Yea but many of the Devil faithful are not happy. Judging from the tweets and comments it’s seems to be a polarizing choice.

I think a guy like Checketts would have been unilaterally hailed as a good choice. Maybe the failures of Esmay and Smith made them try something different. I will say Anderson seems to like out of the box choices and for the most part, they seemed to have worked

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:37 pm**

We’re sitting here with not one but 3 head coaches with a combined record of 0-0, so it’s hard for me to pass judgment on assu hiring a much loved alum with no head coaching experience. He has more ties to their baseball program than Fisch or Lloyd have to their respective programs so he has that going for him.

That being said, I would have gone hard after Checketts. I’m glad they didn’t because now I don’t have to hate him.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:40 pm**

So I will give the ASSU coaching change the proper time to occupy my thoughts...

...OK, I'm done.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:50 pm**

Wait, Wait, your telling me they hired a coach without any coaching experience or a coaching win to run their program? That's stupid.

On another note, If we could only take that approach..... wait.... ...what?

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:14 pm**

When does Pedroia take a consultant role?

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:24 pm**

Don't get me started again on the Fisch hire. Only one guy was going to hire him for head football coach. President Robbins. Nobody else would've given him the time of day.

Same with Bloomquist. Think any other school would hire him to be head baseball coach with zero coaching experience? Me neither.

At least Lowe has been with the program for some time as lead assistant. And she's following a true legend, who played a big role in picking his successor.

With Lloyd, we hired away the Gonzaga Lowe equivalent. Handpicked successor destined for a head coaching job sooner or later. Still have questions whether or not Lowe or Lloyd will be up for a head coaching task, but at least we weren't the only school who would consider them for the position. Can't say that about Fisch or Bloomquist.

Posted: **Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:15 pm**

What about Stankiwits?
I wonder if they talked to him.

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 2:36 pm**

What a shame.

Posted: **Tue May 21, 2024 3:25 pm**

Totally forgot that the last Pac-12 baseball tournament started this morning. So now ASU is down to yet another 10 am game on Thursday, this time against Oregon St. And, as somebody said regarding ASU's season: "There's no NIT is baseball."

Bear Down Wildcats

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