Spring Training Begins; Pt. 2: NL; Season Opener April 1

Atlanta Braves: This team is scary when everyone except Atlanta Braves fans knew that Freddie Freeman was really good, but he wasn’t at MVP level, last year, he won the MVP. They got Marcell Ozuna back, Charlie Morton – I think it will be really interesting to see how he does, Abraham Almonte, who may not get a starting role, and Jake Lamb, just to add an immense amount of offense. This team is such a fundamentally sound team that there aren’t any needs, which amounts to any people they lost in the offseason isn’t too big. I think they’re still going to be a really good team, but Wild Card, around mid to low 80 wins though.

Miami Marlins: The fans of this team are on edge, they made the playoffs but they’re like the Knicks this year, they don’t have a really good player, but they played/playing really well, so it’s all very shaky. They got Adam Duvall, a solid bat, but he’s past his prime, and they focused on their bullpen this year, which, if you look at playoff teams, there’s one common denominator, a good bullpen. They got Anthony Bass, Adam Cimber, and John Curtiss and they’re all scarily good. But, what’s the most “Marlins” thing they did this year? Let go of a lot of bullpen pitchers, so that didn’t work out too well, Ryne Stanek, Jose Urena and Nick Vincent, and more, so, if there could be another move during the season, then that’s a really good move to propel them towards the playoffs. I think they’ll be 5^th in their division without the move, with the move, 3^rd, or 4^th, and that’s a whole lot of difference.  I think they’ll win 70 games.

Philadelphia Phillies: This is a roster with talent, a lot of untapped potential, but with those players not breaking out, and then this team is going to be hovering around 3 or 4 in their division, and maybe even embark on a slow decline. They resigned JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorious, who they needed to resign, they got Archie Bradley, who I’ve always been a fan of, just his consistency was great and Chase Anderson, as a hybrid pitcher. And they only lost David Phelps and Jake Arrieta, both players that aren’t amazing and they didn’t need them. I am such a fan of this roster and the only hole I can find in this roster is a third outfielder. I think they’ll be 3^rd or 4^th, the reason I put three teams at 3^rd or 4^th is because this division is so volatile and so good.

New York Mets: Now, finally, the Mets made that move, yes, that one, the one we’ve all been waiting for, and now, they need to capitalize on this, don’t just raise Mets fans’ expectations, but actually raise them for a reason. Steve Cohen, the new owner, and Sandy Alderson back with the Amazins, they went crazy in the offseason, and Mets fans couldn't ask for a better one. With Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, James McCann, Trevor May, Joey Lucchesi, Taijuan Walker, Albert Almora Jr., and Jonathan Villar all added to the roster, the Mets can now put the pedal to the metal and establish themselves early. Let me tell you a little about that, in Fantasy Basketball, if I don’t get a good start, I lost 9 times out of 10. We lost our two best middle infield prospects, Amed Rosario and Andres Giminez, Michael Wacha and Wilson Ramos, if you don’t say we didn’t get better, then get glasses. I think we’re first in our division by at least 8 games.

Washington Nationals: This roster is very young, but it lost talent, if you look at it, this team has potential, seen, and untapped. They got Brad Hand, a great arm out of the bullpen, Josh Bell, who needs to pop off this year, or else, some bad psyche will set in and he’ll turn into Eric Thames, no offense to Eric Thames. They also got a big, inconsistent, powerful bat in Kyle Scwarber and Jon Lester, to probably finish off his career in Washington, but he’s still good, though. They lost Sean Dolittle, but don’t fret, that’s Hand’s role on the team, Adam Eaton, Kurt Suzuki, and Eric Thames were all older and they all left the team. This offseason is amazing. But, if this team doesn’t bring at least one more hitter on this team, that has some power, then this team can flirt with the playoffs. But right now, I see this team around 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th. These five teams make up the hardest division in the MLB, no question.

Chicago Cubs: This team is amazing, I know they might see that they might be on a decline, but no, no, no, do not rebuild, don’t trade Kris Bryant, he’s literally one of the best third basemen in the league, and, unless it involves mostly prospects, and a benchwarmer in the MLB, then I’ll take it, but we like JD Davis, he’s coming into his own and we’ll keep the prospects. Their team didn’t haul in too many players, supporting the “don’t rebuild” strategy, but they did lose some players, like Kyle Schwarber, a big bat, Albert Almora Jr., a great fielder and just a guy that you don’t appreciate him until he’s gone and Jose Martinez, who’s a great all-around player. This team will be second in their division because they lost more players than they got. Around 80 wins for them, second or first in their division.

St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals finally took that step, the one that made them good finally, but a few moves are needed. They got Nolan Arenado, a guy who has good speed, and will supply you with 35 homers and a player to take your mind off third base, because he’ll sweep up everything. They lost Kolten Wong and John Brebbia, a win in the offseason for them. They got better, but they need defense, not pitching, but good fielders, pitching wouldn’t be too bad either. I think they’ll be 1^st, 3^rd or 4^th in their division; they’ll either flop or be great.

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are a team that’s young, but no one really knows what they’re going to do, except Baseball America. But, they’re not all young, they have some aging players, for the young players, and everyone on the team can perform. They got Jeff Hoffman, who’s not too great as a reliever, Sean Doolittle, who can’t falter, and Noe Ramirez, who’s average-ish. They lost Trevor Bauer, Raisel Iglesias, Anthony Desclafani, and Archie Bradley, they lost the core of their general pitching, they had a horrible offseason, not improving on any position, just filling in positions. They’re getting fourth or fifth in the division.

Milwaukee Brewers: This team is really good, but again, they’re in a really good division, so they can’t show themselves. Something that strikes me immediately is the infielders, they need to get some more infielders now, like a go-to guy, someone who’s really good. The Brewers received Kolten Wong, and a bunch of others, like Luke Maile, a catcher, who’s never really been good, but they’re expecting a 7 HR season, 58 RBIs, and a .240/.250 average, they’re not expecting anything big from their players, except their bullpen, Christian Yelich, and Keston Hiura. Those are the only players that are really good and expected to be good on this team. I don’t like it, I like players, young or old, that are all expected to produce (no need to be a dynasty, like the Dodgers, but just 15 HRs and 80 RBIs are good). They lost Alex Claudio and Corey Knebel, both good relievers. This team is getting either 4^th in their division or 3^rd.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates kicked off their rebuild, and so far, it’s going great, they got rid of the good players, and are bringing up the young. They don’t have a strong rotation and they don’t have really good hitters. They got Tyler Anderson as a back-end (or front end with how bad the rotation is) rotation guy. That’s it. Not eventful, but definitely rebuild-ish. They lost Chris Archer, Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, and Derek Holland. Nice rebuild, but don’t overdo it, your 17 total fans are going to be slowly declining because of how bad your team is going to be this year. I predict last in their division, by a landslide.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The best team in baseball just got better. Wild. Their main concern is deciding who plays second base, not if anyone’s going to hit 20 HRs, nope, who’s going to play second. The Dodgers can’t get much better. They got Trevor Bauer, Blake Treinen, and Corey Knebel, this team is going to be amazing. Now, they could decide whether to make Knebel the closer, Treinen the closer, or stick with the shaky Jensen. They lost Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez, and Pedro Baez, the Dodgers’ roster is so good, it doesn’t matter, let them lose Pederson, let them lose Kike, they’ll still be amazing. I predict top of their division at about 100 wins.

San Diego Padres: Yes, yes, Fernando Tatis Jr. is amazing, he’s really good. He deserves the contract… in three years. Let him get settled, let the Padres get settled with Tatis. During the offseason, they got Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Jurickson Profar. This rotation just got a lot better, sadly, they don’t have Joey Lucchesi. They lost Kirby Yates, a huge hit to their bullpen, and two of their best prospects, Francisco Mejia and Luis Patino. That’s not all, also, Jason Castro, Zach Davies, Luis Perdomo, Trevor Rosenthal and Mitch Moreland. This Padres team rebuilt so perfectly, but they need a second baseman and center fielder. Then this team has a 90% chance to beat out the Dodgers for the division. Right now, they’re second in their division, at around 90 wins in my opinion.

San Francisco Giants: This is a team that has no future what so ever, their minor leagues are bad and their team right now is bad. They got Tommy La Stella (fun fact: he actually went to my middle school), Alex Wood, and a bunch of other bullpen players that aren’t going to have a big role on the team, what scares me is that the guy upstairs (no, not God, a little lower, and in the stadium) isn’t even trying to make this team better. They lost Tyler Anderson, Drew Smyly, Justin Smoak, and Shaun Anderson. Wow, nice job, guys, last in your division.

Colorado Rockies: This team is again, debating within themselves whether to rebuild to push towards the playoffs. They got Austin Gomber and Robert Stephenson, not too flashy, not too great. They lost Nolan Arenado, Daniel Murphy (retired) and David Dahl, you can’t make this stuff up. Yeah, they’re going full rebuild mode now, fourth in their division, because the Giants take “being bad” to a different level.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Now this is a team with an interesting roster, but I just bad management has taken over this team. They got Asdrubal Cabrera, Joakim Soria, and Tyler Clippard, nothing too great, just old players to fill in some positions. Same with the losses, not that bad, only Junio Guerra (who was extremely shaky), Mike Leake, whose career is over after this year, and Hector Rondon, who they should’ve kept, that guy’s good. I think they’ll be third in their division, high 70 wins. 

As they're saying at every baseball diamond: Play ball!

Spring Training Tomorrow; Season Opener April 1

Yes, Spring Training starts tomorrow. In another time I would be playing Little League, except that about a 15 or so months ago, someone in China decided to eat a bat. You know the rest, unless, of course, you experienced a Jumanji-type thing where you were stuck in the past for a while, perfectly understandable, perfectly understandable.

But yes, after an offseason that skyrocketed the Mets straight through the roof, we’re finally here. I will be going over each team and their expectation and, of course, I will throw in this abused, over used phrase: there’s always next year.

And no, you won’t have to split this blog up over your lifetime because it won’t be that long. I will try to shorten it to about 2 or 3, but 4 max sentences about each team, I’m already at 139 words so I’ll shut up and write about baseball.

Tampa Bay Rays: Search up Wendy’s roasts Tampa Bay Rays, sounds weird, right? Just do it. They got Rich Hill, an aging pitcher, Chris Archer, another pitcher that reached his peak, but here comes the good stuff, to add to their already stupid good roster, they got Luis Patino, the #19 overall MLB prospect and Francisco Mejia, both from the Padres, both one of the cornerstones of the future of the Padres. Cy Young winner Blake Snell packs his bags, along with Charlie Morton (a player who ages like fine wine) and Hunter Renfroe. They lose Jose Alvarado and Nate Lowe, both players that decorate their roster, not too big. Still in the bottom sixth of the league in salary, with scrappy, young players, I don’t expect them to get to the playoffs, much less the World Series, it would be a miracle if they win over 90 games, hey, a run like last year’s only happens once in a team’s lifetime. (short, eh?)

New York Yankees: The Yankees are starting to look like the 2016-17 Warriors, just building a superteam, brick by brick, $15 million contract by $15 million contract, and more, of course. The Yankees got major upgrades, bringing back DJ Lemahieu, ranked wayyyy too high on mlb.com’s top 100 players of the MLB season, Corey Kluber, they went to Vegas on this one, he’s older and he’s very injury prone (but that fits the Yanks, right?), and Jameson Taillon, to bolster their rotation. The Yankees really screwed up with their departures, Masahiro Tanaka went to Japan, J.A. Happ didn’t like New York, and goes up to Minnesota, Luis Avilan, Tommy Kahnle, and Adam Ottavino all leave New York as well, some of their best relievers leave. Second basketball comparison in a row (I’m on a roll), the Yanks are like the Spurs, they’re always gonna make the playoffs, so yeah, they’re gonna get to the playoffs, they’ll win around 90-100 games.

Toronto Blue Jays: This team’s trying to make a run for the playoffs, and anyone who doesn’t think this team is interesting is not a baseball fan. They got George Springer (an offensive sparkplug to an already great offense), Steven Matz, who they shouldn’t expect anything out of, Kirby Yates, just bullpen help at this point. Also, Marcus Semien, which is an interesting acquisition, maybe as a mentor, Robbie Ray, who I think will thrive this year, and Tyler Chatwood, who, again, I don’t expect much out of it. A lot of these signings were just filling in the holes at a bare minimum. They lost Chase Anderson, who I never really liked because he didn’t bring much to the mound, Jonathan Villar, who they got a better replacement for, and Ken Giles, he’s 30, not too old, right, well, for relievers, age is something like dog years, so, Giles is around 87. I expect that this is the beginning of a long rebuild, but the Jays handled this beautifully, so, there’s always next year, as for this year, I would they’re gonna be around mid-70s, low 80s in wins.

Baltimore Orioles: Does this team know how to rebuild? From looking at their offseason, I doubt it. They got an aging infielder, Freddy Galvis, who’s not getting any younger, Yolmer Sanchez, who had the sky as his ceiling, but then it dropped off pretty fast, Felix Hernandez and Matt Harvey, both to minor league deals. They lost Jose Iglesias, who they subbed in with FREDDY GALVIS? They also got Hanser Alberto, who has a bunch of untapped potential in my opinion, and Renato Nunez, one of their only young lightbulbs, keyword being young. Orioles fans are going to have to be put on Suicide Watch because with how their team is doing, I expect them to be worse this year.

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox had an interesting offseason, last year, they got rid of Mookie Betts, albeit for a handsome payout, but still, Mookie? This year they said bye to Andrew Benintendi. They got Kike Hernandez as a utility man, Hunter Renfroe for the gaping hole in the Sox now (think Selena Gomez without her two front teeth, and there is no Christmas), Martin Perez as a starter, and Adam Ottavino among other relief pitchers and Marwin Gonzalez to give Ron Roenicke some breathing room. They also picked up Franchy Cordero in the AB trade. All they lost was Andrew Benintendi, but as I’ve said, that’s a lot. Beginning of a rebuild, they have embarked on a “Rockets,” which, if you didn’t read my last blog, is a rebuild where you have cap space, no good players, a generally bad team, but enough average players to keep their dignity, so, I’d say them and the Orioles slug it out for the worst team in the NL East.

Minnesota Twins: The Twins are somehow going to have to get back to number one in their division, somehow. They got Nelson Cruz, a slugger but he’s old, so he’ll definitely not do what he was doing earlier in his career, and he may not even be a starter, they got J.A. Happ, another old guy, and Alex Colome, to get that lockDOWN closer. They lost Eddie Rosario, a solid hit almost every at-bat, Trevor May, who just gave them some aesthetically pleasing play, Marwin Gonzalez, a big hit, and Sergio Romo, who is like Ken Giles, 87 years old in reliever years. I think they’re going to sit at 3^rd place in the NL Central.

Cleveland Indians: Now here are some fans that should be put in a rehab clinic, or some Men and Black stuff, like memory wiping. They got Eddie Rosario, who is a big help to them, to at least try to regain Francisco Lindor star power, Amed Rosario, who they shouldn’t expect much out of, and Andres Gimenez. I do think that Gimenez will be amazing in his career but his first MLB season was “eh,” and he was not expected to be “eh.” They also got a bunch of burned out vets on minor league deals, who probably won’t be seeing much of the bigs. They lost Francisco Lindor, the be-all and end-all of the Indians, Carlos Carrasco, a reliable pitcher, Carlos Santana, with biceps that make Arnold Schwarzenneger take a second look, and Domingo Santana, a big bat, but now he’s bringing his talents to Japan. Next year, Indians fans, you have the most cap space, with a stacked 2021-2022 shortstop free agent market, even with 2 or 3 resignations. I think they’ll be fourth in the division, at around 80 wins.

Chicago White Sox: Hey! They got the AL MVP, finally, some more people know that there’s another baseball team in Chicago, let’s capitalize on that, shall we? They got Liam Hendriks and Lance Lynn, both nice additions. No new firepower on offense, aaaaand they lost James McCann, Yolmer Sanchez and Nomar Mazara, that was most of the offensive firepower. One year wonder for the White Sox, I don’t expect them to be back in the playoffs, just one more year of having a great offseason and then we’ll talk, but for now, I think third in the division.

Kansas City Royals: Want a crash course on how to capitalize on something? Look no further than the city famous for Patrick Mahomes. The Royals got one of the most explosive young players right now in Andrew Benintendi and they didn’t give up all that much, Franchy Cordero and two players to be named later. Bargain. Also, they got Carlos Santana, haaa, you thought that was all the offense, huh? Nope, they still got Michael A. Taylor for the defensive side of the ball and he can hit. Another Rangers pitcher was given away, Mike Minor came to Kansas City. All they gave up was Khalil Lee to the Mets, and the three players mentioned above. Alex Gordon also retired. They’re right where they want to be, they got all of the right young players and a good amount of money, but all of this hasn’t amounted to anything –  yet. I say they go 2^nd in the division.

Detroit Tigers: Now here’s a team that is really struggling in sports, not just baseball, all of them. They got Jonathan Schoop and Robbie Grossman, two ok hitters, but to the Tigers, that’s like getting Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. The Mets got rid of the cancer that is Wilson Ramos and the Tigers took him. They didn’t lose anyone big, but I don’t know what is classified as “big,” judge for yourself, Ivan Nova, Austin Romine, and Jordan Zimmerman. The Tigers don’t have any big names, so, back to the gutter for them, 5^th in the division.

Oakland Athletics: Billy Beane would be happy with what David Forst did with the team, dragging them back to the playoffs. I just want to say how amazing Matt Chapman and Matt Olson are, they are the only big talent on the A’s, and they led their division last year. This offseason, they got Elvis Andrus and Mitch Moreland on the offensive end, to smooth out some of the bumps, and Trevor Rosenthal, Mike Fiers, and Sergio Romo (there were a lot, these were the best), Rosenthal to help the back-end of the rotation, and the two others to make the bullpen very potent. My prediction is around 4^rd in their division.

Houston Astros: The cheaters are a good team, no one’s taking that away from them, and I respect good teams unless they get one of their cornerstones for a bag of chips and a can of soda. They got Michael Brantley and Jason Castro came back, giving them solid hitters and “eh” defense. They didn’t lose a lot of players, just one notable player, George Springer. Yes, he’s amazing, did they need him? No, but they do need a superstar CF to pick up right where they left off last year, and better. I think they’ll be first in their division, at around 90 wins.

Seattle Mariners: I saw a gem on the Internet today: the only way to stop Tom Brady from winning yet another ring is to put him on the Mariners. True, true, very true. The Mariners got James Paxton, I’m all for that move, that seems amazing for them, Kendall Graveman, Kenyan Middleton, Rafael Montero, and Ken Giles were all signings to give them a safety net and for their fans not to chew their nails when the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings roll around, like Mets fans. They didn’t lose any major players, just dead weights, Dee Gordon, Carl Edwards Jr. (who’s actually really good), and Mallex Smith. I think they’ll still be really bad this year, I predict last in their division, at around high 70 wins.

LA Angels: Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are the only actually respectable players on this team, they’re both really good, but can the rest of the team keep up? I don’t know. They got Dexter Fowler, as a mentor most likely, and a small starting role, Raisel and Jose Iglesias, one with amazing potential to make the bullpen great and the other for another mentorship/small starting spot. Jose Quintana and Alex Cobb also make their way to Los Angeles, hey, I like this Angels team, except for Andrelton Simmons departing, along with some small bullpen pieces, but Andrelton Simmons was really good, that guy could range EVERYWHERE, making Derek Jeter-esque plays look easy. I think they’ll be 3^nd in their division, yeah, I said it, and at around 85 wins.

Texas Rangers:  The Rangers need to rebuild, they need a fresh start and then they’ll begin, but bringing in Khris Davis, is like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound, it won’t help and when you take it off (trading him or releasing him) will hurt like a b**ch. Mike Foltynewicz, David Dahl, and Nate Lowe are also some players they got, wow, did the Texans get some really good players, but still, my diagnosis is a really bad team and my treatment is a rebuild. They lost Lance Lynn, Elvis Andrus, and Corey Kluber, all of them good players but that doesn’t sum up to what the Rangers got.

NL tomorrow, guys and gals.

Tttttraayyde Talk!

Andre Drummond trade: Well, he’s been thrown around quite a bit, if he goes to the Celtics, the Cavs might get greedy and ask for Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, or Jayson Tatum, which they’re not willing to give. Their mentality is to get Drummond without giving up one of the three listed above, that’s a tough ask for one of the top centers in the NBA. The Knicks might get him. Yes! That’s perfect, move Mitchell Robinson to the 6 man and move Noel in the deal. The Knicks don’t have much that the Cavs want, so, virtually, we’re not losing anything, just potentially gaining. Toronto: I talked about that above, and yes, that’s good, Aron Baynes is not good, Chris Boucher is not the move (I like him but Drummond is better). If we want to get freaky, move Siakam to the 3, Boucher to the 4, and Drummond to the 5, you’re not losing speed and you’re gaining height, I hope Nick Nurse is reading this. Except, Kyle Lowry’s going to have to move in this deal, no doubt. For Colin Sexton and Darius Garland to improve more, Kyle Lowry could be a mentor, like the Rose situation in New York. Knowing how volatile the bottom of the East is, they could be the 11th seed or the 4th seed in a few games, they need all the help they can get. Those are the leaders to win the lottery for Drummond, but the Lakers, Hornets, and Mavs are all in the mix as well.

John Collins trade: This is the Robin to Trae Young’s Batman, you have to keep him. The only catch here is that Collins doesn’t want the puny money the Hawks are willing to pay him, so, they want a lot for him, evidently. The Knicks are in the mix again but I feel like we’re leaning towards Drummond and anyway, we have Randle at PF. The 76ers are a great candidate for Collins, but the Hawks are reportedly looking for a lottery pick, the 6ers pick is most likely late 20s. The Thunder are also a great destination because they could convert to small ball and play Collins at the 5 while still developing Darius Bazley at the 4. Collins is young and also right in the Thunder’s wheelhouse.

Blake Griffin: Griffin could to the Suns, to remake the Clipper’s “Lob City” with Chris Paul. If you don’t know, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin teamed up in Los Angeles and they threw A LOT of lobs. But, the Suns don’t want the cap space, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin both have totally unreasonable contracts and two players cannot make up 50% of your salary, I mean, it’s possible, just not practical. He could also go to the Nets, but then, their bench will be full of Walmart baggers and free agents signed on minimum contracts. But hey, you get 4 great starters, haha. The Thunder? No, just no, because he’s old and he costs a lot, the opposite of where the Thunder should go. The Heat are the favorites, bye Kelly Olynyk and hello solid power forward. They could run a big ball lineup, with Jimmy Butler as the primary ball-handler, Tyler Herro at the 2, Duncan Robinson at the 3, Griffin at the 4 and Bam Adebayo at the 5. Butler can see things differently and he’s a vet, not all primary ball handlers need to be short and fast.

Zach Lavine: He could go to the Knicks. I couldn’t begin to make up some trades but I trust Leon Rose. This would be great. Immanuel Quickley at the 1, Lavine at 2, RJ at the 3, and then Randle and Robinson at the 4 and 5. Wow, we’re a lock for the second round of the playoffs then. Lavine could also go to the Heat, and that would make them a superteam. Duncan Robinson, Kelly Olynyk, and Kendrick Nunn may go. But, we haven’t paid any attention to the Bulls. Why would they trade him? They’re left with Lauri Markannen at PF and barely anything else. I think Lavine will stay in Chicago. Most of these rumors are really just rumors, but some really may happen.

One trade that’s not a rumor anymore is Carson Wentz to the Colts.

This trade is so bad. I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in NFL front offices, although I would love to, but the Colts were in the market for so much more. They had Carson Wentz, Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott (if the Cowboys didn’t resign him), Russell Wilson and a QB in the draft all at their disposal, all they had to do was choose. They went with Wentz? Aw, Cmon, Colts! Watson wanted the Colts, Russ might’ve been on the move, or they could’ve drafted Mac Jones. Wentz to the Colts doesn’t make the Colts too bad of a team. They need to draft a receiver, take Kenny Golladay or Allen Robinson in Free Agency and then touch up their defense and they have a really good team. Running backs are good, Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines and Jonathan Taylor, added receivers are good, TEs are good, the O-line is good and their defense is a top 10 in the NFL. What Wentz needs now is renewed confidence and for his teammates to like him. Nelson Agholor was on the Eagles and he didn’t like Wentz, everyone blamed it on Agholor – Agholor leaves – 8 touchdowns, up from 3 with the Eagles, more than 500 yards more in Las Vegas and that’s on only 9 more receptions. His teammates didn’t like him; the media didn’t like him and now, with a coach that he knows? If he doesn’t prove himself here, then, well, bye this North Dakota State star’s career. I think he’s going to do well, this situation isn’t so much physical as mental and I think he’s going to hit the theoretical hammer right on the “good QB” nail. 

We’ll see if the NBA stops being so shaky and, of course, if I’m right.

Basketball Review Continued

Thunder: The OKC Thunder pulled a “Rockets” before the Rockets pulled a “Rockets”. A “Rockets” is where a team sells their good players for draft picks, but still having players that will sustain their dignity. Yes, they’re bad, but they have so many draft picks, so out in the future, that they’re scouting kids who just learned how to walk. Theo Maledon, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort make up a great, young backcourt that’s not producing. The Thunder went a little overboard here because these are young players, but we need some really delicate coaching here, and we don’t want a Michael Carter-Williams or Anthony Bennett. Darius Bazley and Al Horford are great bigs, one’s old, one’s young. I would love to watch this team win, Al Horford is on his death (retiring) bed on this team, if this isn’t his death (retiring) bed then he will be a journeyman for the rest of his career. Bring in a leader, like Leon Rose brought in Derrick Rose, make this offseason the best you can and draft well (because the bad drafting slander will never cease if you swing and miss on this). Claim your OKC Thunder being good again non bandwagon ticket here, with me. Save this blog and show it (rub it in their faces daily and talk to them about it every chance you get) to your buddies when they break big. My prediction: 11th in Conference.

Pacers: Looking back at yesterday’s game will not sum up the Pacers’ season for you, that was a warning, because I didn’t want you to think that their team is better than KD, Curry, and Klay Thompson, or KD, Kyrie and Harden. They have a good team, and they’ll win a lot of games. Malcolm Brogdon and Justin Holiday are not a good backcourt, Brogdon is as volatile as the stock market right now, Holiday never displayed even smidges of signs to be as good as his good brother, Jrue Holiday, and before you go hunt down the Pacers roster, no, there isn’t a better bench replacement, except maybe Jeremy Lamb, but that’s up to the HC. Doug McDermott is just a placeholder, in my opinion, 13 points for a bench player? Douggie will take that. TJ Warren is actually there at SF but he’s injured, personally, Warren is built like a borderline PF, but he plays like an SG. Wow, that’s a player I want. Of course, he doesn’t have the speed of a guard and doesn’t have the height of a PF, so that’s the only downside to him, he’s in the middle, but you can’t call him an SF. The frontcourt for the Pacers is dangerous, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are stereotypical bigs nowadays, Sabonis can shoot and Turner is dabbling in shooting. Both are great and defense and they both don’t specialize in back-to-basket play, except for Turner, because you can’t blame a giraffe for reaching a 20 ft banana. If you look at the big picture, this roster is built for 4th or 5th place in the East, which they are. My prediction: 5th seed

Knicks: My favorite team, finally, finally turning it around. It’s wild what a better coach can do to a team. Exit David Fizdale and enter Tom Thibodeau and you’ve got a 6th place team, that weren’t just bottom feeders in the East or the NBA. We weren’t even at the bottom of the food chain. We were whale excrement, just sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Well, now, with the right roster moves right before the deadline, we could be like a bass, or a trout, or salmon. They start Elfrid Payton at point, I don’t like that, no one does, Derrick Rose should be the 1. Reggie Bullock shouldn’t even be the third string shooting guard on a bad team (yes, I just said the Knicks aren’t a bad team). Start Immanuel Quickley at SG or put him as the second string at point. I’m pleased with RJ Barrett’s performance so far, yes, I want him gone, yes, I’ll give him a little more time. Kevin Knox has to go, please, he was pulling comparisons to Jayson Tatum or Paul George when he was drafted, and now he has to go. Julius Randle is a great player, he may be one of the best power forwards right now, I’ll put him at 3, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis. There may have been slight bias but I will give you a solid argument for each PF why he shouldn’t be better. Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel are really good centers, they hold down the fort well together and separately. Obi Toppin has yet to prove himself, but Immanuel Quickley is going to be the next Jeremy Lin. They’re both guards and they both play the same way, he plays electrically, and right now, everyone is rooting for Quickley. 

My dream Knicks lineup:

PG: Derrick Rose

SG: Immanuel Quickley

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Julius Randle (offense plays around Randle)

C: Mitchell Robinson

Bench: Elfrid Payton, Nerlens Noel and Obi Toppin.

This way, the fans are happy and the Knicks are better.

Next, the trades.

Basketball, yes, finally.

I will write about 6 teams in two posts, randomly generated, and then trade talk. Here is the order: Raptors, Magic, Clippers, Thunder, Pacers and Knicks, all done by a random number generator.

Raptors: 7th in East. This is such a good roster. Kawhi Leonard was just a really good boost to send them to the Finals and win. Kawhi Leonard is criminally overrated, yeah, great defender, good scorer, ferocious muscles but he’s just a cog in a machine, not like LeBron to the Lakers, Cavs, and Heat. Yes, I know, after I said Tom Brady was washed, he went out and won his 7th Super Bowl as if saying, “HA, that’s for you, Yulian!” They are 7th in the East only because the East has emerged with some really big underdogs, like the Pacers and Knicks. Kyle Lowry and Fred Vanvleet make for the most underrated backcourt in the NBA. Vanvleet could play both guard spots but mostly plays the 2 even though he handles the ball really well and does so throughout the game. Kyle Lowry hasn’t really gotten much attention from the media because ESPN and SportsCenter mostly covered the NFL up until about a week ago and BleacherReport turned into OnlyLameloBallReport. Lowry is a productive scorer, not anything amazing because they do have a three headed monster (that’s he’s a part of) and they’re all pretty equal. Pascal Siakam could be moved to small forward, he has everything OG Anunoby has and more. That would free space for Aron Banes to come to PF and Chris Boucher to C. I love Chris Boucher, he is 6’9” and he rebounds like a 7’1” center and can shoot like a SF. Nick Nurse is an amazing coach, last year’s COTY and I love his style. The only flaw I see in this team is their bench. It’s weird, it doesn’t sit right with me. They have shooters but everyone needs to have one solid bench player to play through or a nine man rotation (so one starter is on the floor at all times), but even though the second one is harder, just get a good bench player. My prediction: 8th in the conference.

Orlando Magic: A good team, with a lot of hidden gems, whatever they shed in the offseason didn’t matter because the season is what sucked for them. So say they have been plagued by injuries would be an understatement, Jonathan Isaac, one of the most fun players to watch in the NBA, out for the season. They are playing without Markelle Fultz, Aaron Gordon and Cole Anthony. And, for the moment, without Evan Fournier, their role player shooting guard. They are playing with Michael Carter-Williams, a bust in the 2013 NBA Draft at PG, Terrence Ross, Dwayne Bacon, Gary Clark, and the only bright spot on this team, Nikola Vucevic. At full health, this team is amazing, but, realistically, no Jonathan Isaac, so, their only liability is SF, and that’s huuuuuuuuuge. Dwyane Bacon and James Ennis III cannot, I repeat, cannot play SF for the rest of the year, haul someone in, Magic – at every position except 1 and 5. There’s not much more Vucevic can do, 23 PPG and 11 boards per game are outstanding. He’s not fast, he’s not obligated to pass the ball around and he isn’t a real Joel-Embiid-type-build, but he’s your only superstar. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave Orlando at the end of the season, because Orlando doesn't really suit him. My prediction: They horribly miss the playoffs.

LA Clippers: High hopes for this team at the beginning of last season, yeah, they got to the playoffs, so did the Nets (last year). They’re 21-9, steep decline incoming, though. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are out (when I’m writing this 2/18) and, looking at their roster, that was the system that was everything they played through. Patrick Beverley, Reggie Jackson, and a fading Lou Williams are the backcourt for the Clippers. Lou is having one of the worst seasons in his career, Reggie Jackson was never a real sparkplug and Patrick Beverley’s defense is fading too. It’s almost as though everything’s against the Clippers, oh wait, it is. Not to worry, though, the two superstars aren’t out for too long. Serge Ibaka hasn’t been playing well, compared to his Toronto days and Nicolas Batum was never amazing. The system relies so heavily on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George (in my opinion, I still think the Patriots’ system relied more heavily on Brady than here), that they’re slipping and falling. Rebuild mode? Not yet. Do something the Rockets did so perfectly? Not yet, next year (seems I use that term quite frequently in my blogs). Prediction: 5th in West.

More tomorrow.

Ahead of Tomorrow’s Super Bowl 55

I’ve heard this phrase go around for a few days now, I and I think it’s really cool – this Super Bowl is going to be the GOAT of the Old Generation, Tom Brady (or every generation in my opinion, unless Patrick Mahomes or Trace McSorely has anything to say about that) versus the GOAT of the Next Generation, Patrick Mahomes, and their supporting cast – it’s like Mission: Impossible (except with a few more characters [players] on both sides).

Maybe now you can name the whole cast of Mission: Impossible but in some 7-10 years, after the franchise stops producing, you won’t be able to name the other characters, just the main one(s), Tom Cruise, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

For tomorrow’s Super Bowl, I think that the Bucs need to come out firing because when you’re playing against not only the number one team in the AFC, but also the best and most unpredictable one. If the run game worked so well in the win against the Bills, then the Chiefs should use that as a crutch, but the main support, for both teams, should and will be the pass game. If I’m talking about blitzes (you might be thinking to yourself – when was this guy talking about blitzes? – you’re right, when?) then I would say that it would be horrible to blitz both QBs. One, because Tom Brady has the best pocket presence and awareness in the league and he will get rid of the football really quickly and for the opponent – when you blitz Patrick Mahomes, he will roll out of the pocket, or if that fails then he’ll find someone (ah hahaha, I’m entering your mind again, you’re thinking to yourself – hey kid, you know how stupid that sounds? – yeah, yeah I do, I don’t get it either) because we’ve seen SportsCenter lose control over themselves when it happened the first time and when history repeated itself.

Talking about playbooks and game plans, a game plan in the regular season is far different than one in the playoffs and I think both of them are far different than the one in the Super Bowl. So, I think that the viewers will see a game plan that’s tailored around combating what the other team did to the Bills and the Packers, respectively.

I know, choppy language, let me clear it up. The Chiefs will try to account for the run game and try to just PLAY better in the redzone than the Bucs. The Bucs will just play the pass, especially the deep zones and the mid zone, if it is a run, then the Bucs’ freakishly good Front 7 will stop it. I think it will be thrilling (Yes, I know I sound like a science teacher getting his/her blood pressure up by talking about the Water Cycle), seeing Andy Reid and Bruce Arians bounce off of each other’s play, but the matchup we’ve been waiting for, which might be a conspiracy orchestrated by the NFL by doing all sorts of science/tech-y things to make certain teams lose games and certain teams win games to perfectly create a matchup for Tom Brady to hand the torch of the NFL onto Patrick Mahomes, if you haven’t guessed it yet, the Bucs will win it.

Final Score: 27-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Back to some unfinished business …

Packers vs. Bucs: This game looks easy on paper, the Bucs are playing with 5 above average players at their position and while the Jets have absolutely no one, we don’t even have a best player (me, a Jets fan, quietly crying reviewing the Bucs roster). The Bucs have the GOAT at QB, and he has so many more players to throw to than he had in New England. I thought that the Rodgers-Adams connection would be too much to handle. Factor in the run game with Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, and Jamaal Williams and a good defense and I thought that’s the recipe to beat the Bucs. But, the GOAT, in what may be his final season, defied all expectations – again. Not many people predicted a State Farm Super Bowl, but I was a black sheep, and my prediction just made sense. I thought the probable 2020-2021 MVP would throw for over 350 yards with four touchdowns and one pick, not really. It just didn’t come together, the Packers were always playing one step behind and were always treading a swamp, instead of plain water. The Bucs? Oh, they just walked, they didn’t need to tread anything. A nonexistent run game got going really well, using their tank, Leonard Fourtnette, more than my would-be choice, Ronald Jones II. And he produced, being their inside-the-10 running back, getting 55 yards on twelve carries and an impressive touchdown run where he stiff-armed and tore his way into the endzone. What won the game for the Bucs was not their defense, their passing game, or their coaching/decision making, no, it was their redzone play. Not one specific play, it was their play in general inside the 20. They would do a mix of passing and running in the redzone, more specifically fades to Mike Evans and Gronk and slants to Chris Godwin, and then outside zone runs to Fourtnette and that would work. Props to them.

Chiefs vs. Bills: The Chiefs were better, Patrick Mahomes and his curly hair are just unmatched. You have to give credit to Andy Reid, not just for being a great coach and leading a team to the Super Bowl for a second straight time but for incorporating a run game that’s virtually nonexistent. I’ll get to how, why, and with whom, but I just want to say one thing. Notice how both coaches incorporated the run game and something different than they did in the regular season. They caught the other team off guard and confused them, while still having a strategy and not running around like a chicken with its head off.  The Chiefs ran the ball more than they usually do, and get this, without their starting running backs even getting started. Andy Reid saw something in Darrel Williams pregame and he produced, 13 for 52 and one touchdown and the rookie Clyde Edwards Helaire got a touchdown on 7 carries and… and… and… 6 yards. Also, the Chiefs wanted to focus on the short or 9-12 yard passing game, and guess what? They put up 38 points. The Bills came in expecting deep passes (usually complete) and a minimal run game, the Chiefs did the extraordinary, they stretched time. What does my mother tell me all the time? There are only 24 hours in a day (or 48 minutes of football in a football game) and you can’t stretch them, at all. The Chiefs still took their deep shots and still took chances but also incorporated the medium passing game and the run game. Another thing I noticed was that the two (to say main here would be an understatement, so I’m going to say, well, only) only receivers, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce got (again, most would be an understatement, literally, they got 89% of the passing/receiving yards of the game, so, I’ll say all, but know it’s not really all) all of the receptions in the game, and that worked, expect more of the same, Bucs. On the flip side of the coin, the Bills played on the flip side of the coin. They didn’t run the ball, when they did, it was Josh Allen tucking it and running it. Josh Allen spread the ball around really well for a young QB who is pretty much only targeting his best friend, Stefon Diggs, both on and off the field. Cole Beasley, the definition of Swiss Army Knife, caught 7 passes for 88 yards while reportedly playing on a broken leg, yes, I wrote that correctly and you read that correctly. The Bills didn’t come in with a game plan as good as the Chiefs, but hey, with any game plan it’s hard to beat the Chiefs.

Final Note – on Baseball: Trevor Bauer is the biggest Diva in sports history, yes, even bigger than what Kevin Durant did, and is doing (he did, if you didn’t know joining teams to create super teams and virtually spitting on his old team). Trevor Bauer got Mets’ fans excited that he’s coming to New York, LA wasn’t even in the Trevor-Bauer-Media-Spotlight-Talks (keep in mind I said “spotlight,” hardcore baseball fans knew he was in talks just regular fans didn’t) until 2 or so days before he signed. Then, even though the Mets have built a great team under Uncle Steve Cohen and we offered him more money than the Dodgers, he spurs us and walks over to LA, wow, thanks, Bauer. Let’s see him go 8-7 with a 4.17 ERA this season because he was never really amazing. Yes, I know, this paragraph is a sad Mets fan crying but remember, numbers don’t lie, the people interpreting them do. And, we already didn’t really need him, we have a Top 5, or maybe even Top 3, starting rotation in the league, Jacob DeGoat, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Carrasco, Joey Lucchesi, David Peterson, and more reinforcements coming.

So, bite me, Dodgers, Dodgers fans, and most importantly, Trevor “Biggest Diva in MLB and the guy who isn’t worth signing” Bauer.