QUICK READ: Haskins quickly at work at St. Charles East
By KEVIN DRULEY
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kdruley@kcchronicle.com
New St. Charles East baseball coach Dave Haskins wasted no time this week in meeting and motivating his players.
He worked briefly with the Saints on Tuesday, hours after East athletic director Jerry Krieg named him to the position, and rounded out the week challenging the team during summer league doubleheaders.
“I’m telling my kids right now that I believe a lot of people think we can be good and I’m not a coach that wants to be good,” Haskins said. “I want to be great. In everything we do on and off the field, I want to be great as a program.”
Haskins established such a pedigree for Prairie Ridge in his first season there, guiding the Wolves to the 2008 IHSA Class 4A state title. Prairie Ridge went 61-16 under Haskins in two years, compared to East’s 33-32-1 mark in the same span.
A former pitcher at Conant and Northeastern Illinois, Haskins, 36, also spent five seasons apiece as a varsity assistant at Fremd and Palatine.
“I think St. Charles [East] is going to be very pleased and gain from someone who brings so much experience,” Prairie Ridge athletic director Patti Hie said.
Hie called Haskins “instantly successful” and said she will be pulling for him and the Saints unless they happen to be playing the Wolves.
“Other than in those games, I think he’ll do great,” Hie said.
Another homecoming?: The Cougars rolled out the red carpet before the season when Batavia and St. Charles North product Kenny Smalley became the first player from Kane County in franchise history.
In late May, Kaneland alum Casey Crosby returned to his backyard as a member of the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Elfstrom Stadium faithful buzzed on.
A third summer homecoming could be in the works if former North Star Rob Currie keeps pitching well in Montana. On Wednesday, the right-handed reliever threw his third straight solid outing for the advanced rookie league Helena Brewers and could be headed for a call-up to the Midwest League’s Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before the summer ends.
A possible timetable could put Currie, who has a 0.00 ERA and seven strikeouts in 52⁄3 innings, at Elfstrom when Wisconsin visits for a four-game series Aug. 28-31.
Player’s club: Aramis Ramirez hails from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, but he is set to come to Elfstrom tonight anyway. The Cubs’ third baseman is expected to begin a rehab assignment starting with the Cougars’ series finale against the Peoria Chiefs.
Ramirez landed on the disabled list with a dislocated left shoulder May 9 and took batting practice for the first time before each game of the crosstown series against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field this past weekend.
“We need to get Ramirez back in the lineup,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “That would be almost like a trade for a bat. If we get him in the lineup, and a few of our guys start swinging a little better, we go.”
• Kevin Druley is a sports reporter for the Chronicle. Call him at 630-845-5347 or e-mail kdruley@kcchronicle.com.
