Jae LeVine and the Wolves keep on gunnin’ down foes, and computers keep ignoring reality. (John Fisken photo)
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I liked to rib the guy who used to run the ScoreCzar website when his eeeeeeevil computer “Debbie,” would spit out her high school rankings, and, invariably, stiff Coupeville teams.
He had a good sense of humor about it, and, I have to admit, a lot of times his Skynet-lovin’ mistress proved to be right.
The website switched bosses after basketball season, and as we waited for the first spring sports rankings to hit, I momentarily thought maybe Wolf Nation would embrace our new overlords.
And then the new bucket of bolts — I’m naming her “Wanda Sue” — kicked out her softball rankings tonight, and all I could do was shake my head.
Why, you ask?
Because the hottest team in Cow Town, the run-gun-and-stun Team of Destiny, the CHS softball team, sits seven slots behind a team they beat.
Yes, ladies and gents, “Wanda Sue” is dead sure that Bellevue Christian (ranked #20 in 1A) is better than Coupeville (#27), despite the fact we saw the Wolves beat the Vikings 17-16 in eight innings.
And, this is where the doo-doo gets deeper … despite the fact CHS tops BCHS in every category.
I know the computer relies less on wins and losses and more on strength of schedule, but that doesn’t explain this.
Looking at Bellevue’s schedule, there is no magical ah-ha moment to explain this. None. Zippo. Zilch.
You got some ‘splainin to do, “Wanda Sue.”
Let’s look at the stats.
Wins: Coupeville is 6-1, BC 4-1.
Losses: BC’s was to the #27 team in 1A (you might have heard of them), while Coupeville’s was to the #18 team in 1A (Sultan).
Head-to-head: Advantage, Wolves, duh.
Record against fellow 1A schools: BC is 2-1, with two wins over #39 Vashon Island, while Coupeville is 3-1 (with wins over #20 BC, #35 South Whidbey and #48 Port Townsend).
Record against other divisions: BC is 2-0, with a win over a 1B school (Forest Ridge) and a 2A school (Highline), while Coupeville is 3-0 against 2B schools (two over Concrete, one over Friday Harbor).
Forest Ridge, while ranked #11 in its class, sits in the smallest class in the state.
Highline, while a 2A school, is a bad team (#51) that has won one game, narrowly, over a really bad team, #60 Renton.
Point differential: Who knows if “Wanda Sue” considers this, but Coupeville is +31, while BC is +25.
Unless I’m missing something, the Wolves have the edge in every category, including WINNING HEAD-TO-HEAD (which, in the real world, we like to refer to as “important”), and yet, like Rodney Dangerfield, they can’t get no respect.
Now, of course, there is one really easy (really hard) way to rectify matters.
When Coupeville returns from Spring Break, it takes its 6-1 record on the road Apr. 12 to face Lynden Christian (5-0), which currently sits at #1 in the ScoreCzar rankings.
Pull off the huge upset win in that one and even a heartless computer will have to believe in the Wolves.
Maybe.
To see the current “rankings”, pop over to:
http://www.scoreczar.org/classifications/324-high-school-fastpitch-wa1a
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