{"id":110963,"date":"2018-12-23T23:06:19","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T04:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=110963"},"modified":"2018-12-23T23:06:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T04:06:44","slug":"monday-mailbag-december-24-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2018\/12\/23\/monday-mailbag-december-24-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Mailbag: December 24, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n

This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag includes questions about Van Wert basketball, Eggerss Stadium, the Cleveland Browns and the recent Reds\/Dodgers trade.<\/p>\n

Q: Whatever happened to the Van Wert County Hospital basketball tournament? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I shared this question with Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley and this was his response:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe four schools decided to play each other and specifically Van Wert would play Crestview and Lincolnview on the opening weekend. All schools agreed it was time for a change and get more home attendance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Obviously, the last three Crestview-Van Wert games have been moved from opening weekend because of Crestview\u2019s playoff football success.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Why doesn\u2019t Van Wert play more basketball games in the Goedde building? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The \u201cthrowback night\u201d they started last year is a fun idea and I think you\u2019ll see it continue into future seasons. However, I don\u2019t think there are plans to play multiple games at the Goedde building. It’s intended as a “once-a-season” type of event.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Why does Van Wert play so many small schools for non-conference games? Why not schedule schools their own size or bigger? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Offhand, I\u2019m going to say proximity has something to do with it. Let\u2019s look at the schedule: Why not play Crestview and Lincolnview, two county rivals? Parkway, Wayne Trace and St. John\u2019s are nearby, along with Ottoville, Kalida and Columbus Grove. Marion Local, Coldwater and St. Henry are successful MAC schools who present big challenges, and Lima Central Catholic has cranked plenty of good teams. Bryan is Division II.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for more Division II or even Division I teams outside of the Western Buckeye League, how far do you want to travel, and what schools do you want to see the Cougars play?<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Whatever happened to renovating Eggerrs Stadium? They seemed so gung ho about it, but I haven\u2019t seen or heard anything lately. Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: You have to understand that these things take time and perhaps more importantly, money. The most likely scenario is the project will be done in phases. The visitors bleachers were replaced in August\/September and improvements were made to the south side of the stadium, so I suppose that can be considered Phase One.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m guessing we\u2019ll hear more in 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Who will be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns and why? Dave Breese, Venedocia<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Based on what he’s done since taking over as interim coach, I’m really starting to think it’ll be\u00a0 Gregg Williams. I wouldn’t have dreamed it six weeks ago, but it’s tough to overlook what he’s done while in charge, and it’s hard to imagine GM John Dorsey upsetting the apple cart now.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

If for some reason it’s not Williams, I’m guessing it will be someone we currently wouldn’t expect. Despite their connection in Green Bay, I don’t think it’ll be Mike McCarthy and I don’t think it’ll be Lincoln Riley. Offensive cooridnator Freddie Kitchens has come up, but I’m not sure if he’s ready for that type of role. Then again, look what he’s done in a short amount of time.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I just hope that the Haslams let Dorsey and his staff handle this without interference.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Thoughts on the Reds trade with the Dodgers, and how about the longevity of those former L.A. players actually staying in Cincinnati? Zach Profit, Van Wert<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Keep in mind you\u2019re talking to a Cleveland Indians fan whose team is shedding players left and right.<\/em><\/p>\n

If Alex Wood pitches like he did in 2016 (16-3, 2.72 ERA, 151 strikeouts), it\u2019s a great deal. For some reason, I\u2019m not a Yasiel Puig fan but there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s an upgrade. How much does Matt Kemp have left in the tank?<\/em><\/p>\n

How long they\u2019ll stay in Cincinnati depends on how things go this season. If the Reds are out of the playoff race by June, don\u2019t be surprised if they send any of those players away in a trade\/trades.<\/em><\/p>\n

As far as the players Cincinnati sent to L.A. \u2013 Homer Bailey was inconsistent, Kyle Farmer was a backup and the two minor leaguers may or may not make an impact.<\/em><\/p>\n

I do know this \u2013 the Dodgers cleared a lot of payroll from the roster.<\/em><\/p>\n

At least on paper, both teams accomplished what they wanted to \u2013 the Reds got better players and the Dodgers freed up salary space for other signings.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you have a question for next week\u2019s Monday Mailbag, email it to sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>. In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag includes questions about Van Wert basketball, Eggerss Stadium, the Cleveland Browns and the recent Reds\/Dodgers trade. Q: Whatever happened to the Van Wert County Hospital basketball tournament? Name withheld upon request A: I shared this question with Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley and this was his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 07:36:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110963\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}