These days in West Virginia, it wouldn't be effective for one to throw a wet blanket over another's plans or hopes.
Everything is already wet. And everything is already chilly.
With for one glaring exception.
Forget red hots, ladies and gentlemen. Get yer red-hot WVU and Marshall baseball teams here!
In case you haven't noticed, major-college baseball in the state may be at its healthiest since ... well, ever.
Maybe, that is. Perhaps. We'll have to see how the next couple of weeks play out. But heading into the two schools' final regular-season matchups, both have legitimate shots at making the NCAA tournament.
That in itself is quite a statement. Marshall has only made the field twice, in 1973 and '78. West Virginia has made it 11 times, but there was a gap from 1967 to 1982. So there wasn't an overlap with the teams. This, indeed, could be the healthiest major-college baseball state of this state.
Whether one or both or neither make the NCAA field, though, it's been quite a story. Times two.
The most incredible story has to be that of Marshall. Heading into this week's series against Old Dominion in Charleston, the Thundering Herd is No. 70 in college baseball's Rating Percentage Index, which is used to select at-large NCAA tournament teams. (Sixty-four teams make the grade.)
OK, so why is that such a great story? Because Marshall was picked to finish dead last in the Conference USA preseason poll. Because it has no true home ballpark. Because it's playing in the nation's No. 5 baseball conference, according to the RPI.
"It's an outstanding season," said C-USA assistant commissioner Russ Anderson. "They were picked to finish last - and now they're one game out of first place [behind Southern Miss and Rice] with a chance to win the title of a top-5 baseball league. They've done a phenomenal job."
MU coach Jeff Waggoner shrugged.
"I work with these guys on a daily basis," Waggoner said. "They're pretty talented."
He was asked about the preseason poll.
"Preseason polls really mean nothing," he said. "Look at college football each year. Any real sports fan knows not to pay attention to [the polls]. It's impossible to tell at the start of the year."
Yeah, well, maybe. Understand, though, the C-USA poll was fashioned by the league's coaches, not the media. One would think they'd have a handle on the conference's talent pool.
Or not.
Marshall (30-18 overall, 19-8 in league play) recently won nine games in a row before losing 3-1 to Wake Forest on Tuesday in a game shortened to seven innings because of fog. The Herd will have C-USA's best in-league road record this season at 12-3. It's won seven of nine conference series, including the last four. And three were sweeps.
"Starting pitching, offense and overall senior leadership that's an extension of our coaching staff," Waggoner said. "Our seniors hold people accountable."
Against Old Dominion, Waggoner will go with his usual pitching rotation of Chase Boster (6-2, 3.72 ERA), Parker Danciu (4-3, 5.35) and J.D. Hammer (4-2, 4.45). Infielder Tommy Lane is leading C-USA with 13 home runs and is third in RBIs with 47.
Nice, right? But also look toward Morgantown, or, rather, Lubbock, Texas, this weekend. The sizzling WVU Mountaineers are facing the Big 12's leader in Texas Tech. West Virginia (32-19 overall, 11-9 Big 12) is in fourth place in league play and No. 84 in the latest RPI playing in the No. 4 league, according to the Index.
"We're feeling pretty good right now," said WVU coach Randy Mazey. "We're having a good time. We're confident. We'll see what we can do over the next 10 days."
Like C-USA, the Big 12 takes the top eight teams for its league tournament. The Mountaineers should be in there, but have work to do to land an at-large NCAA bid. Clearly, however, the opportunity for quality wins is there.
"This series could be huge," Mazey said of playing Texas Tech. "Playing the first-place team on the road ... we're hot and they're really good.
"You talk about the RPI, well, this is the way to address that. If we want to make a run at the title, this is the place to do it."
WVU was picked to finish sixth of nine teams (baseball is a club sport at Iowa State) in the Big 12's preseason coaches poll. Down the stretch, the Mountaineers have won 10 straight dating back to April 30 and 13 of their last 14.
"We're a northern team that's really young," Mazey said. "At times we've had nine of our 10 players, including the designated hitter, as freshmen. It took us a while to settle and see who fits where. We couldn't scrimmage outside like teams in the south.
"It took us half the season. Now, though, we've got a finger on it."
WVU is fourth in the Big 12 in batting (.284) and sixth in pitching (4.13). Freshman outfielder Darius Hill has a .354 batting average with 103 total bases. Two Texas products, junior righty Chad Donato and senior lefty Ross Vance, have been the pitching workhorses. Freshman Michael Grove of Wheeling Park, meanwhile, has made quite a name for himself with a 2.63 ERA.
It's two terrific in-state team stories. And when WVU hit Lubbock on Wednesday, Mazey said it was 42 degrees, a la Morgantown.
"With weather like that," he joked, "advantage Mountaineers."
It's nice to see both teams having a little fun - and a lot of success.