The Most Underrated Positions in Sports

Throughout planning this blog in my head, I realized that the most underrated positions in sports are the really nitty gritty ones. The athletes that bear down and don’t care if they get hurt, they just put their heads down and do whatever it is they have to do. Usually they go through a certain amount of discomfort while performing their task.

These aren’t in order but rather the most underrated. I won’t put a limit on how many I’ll do because I also don’t want to bore you with another 7 billion-word blog.

The center: No, not the basketball one, because he’s fairly rated, but the football one. So to start off, all offensive linemen are underrated, but the center especially. For one, the center has to snap the ball and immediately put his hands up and block the guy charging at him. Along with this, he also makes line adjustments, like “shift left once the ball is snapped,” I bet you didn’t know that. Also, he has to place the ball perfectly into the QB’s hands for him to get ready to throw, like, perfectly. The guy he’s going to block is probably the heaviest guy on the defense, as the defensive tackle is usually the biggest.

Relief Pitchers: You definitely didn’t expect these guys to be on the list. Their existence is summarized by them coming in to a tie game with the bases loaded and no outs. But they definitely have more wrinkles to their being. To start, they are cooped up in a pen (literally) for two hours until they are called upon to go into the game. Also, these guys do not stay on a team for a long time, usually they stay on a team for a year or two, maybe three. Have you ever seen a relief pitcher sign a five-year, $150 million contract? Me neither. Also, these pitchers need to have a significant pitch, a strikeout pitch, a sweeping curveball, a 102-mph fastball, or a lockdown cutter. A lights out bullpen electrifies a team and provides security.

Shooting guards: You got your Klay Thompsons, your Michael Jordans, your Kobe Bryants, but in the NBA, the league isn’t filled with only legends. Especially in the modern NBA, where the 3-pointer is more important than anything else, the shooting guard becomes a very valuable position. Most don’t see how important these guys are. Most may think that point guard and center are at the top of the list every single time, and shooting guard is last or close to it, they’re actually a little wrong. What one should look for in a good shooting guard is right in the name: shooting and defense. I put Klay at the top of the list for a reason, he has both of those and he excels. James Harden is proving that he’s a liability on defense every night. But, he can score, some say, but then he’s allowing the other team to also score. Having a guy like Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder) on your team is a blessing. He’s really young , but he’s shaping up to be a true 3 and D wing, Dort is a lockdown defender, he’s refined defense to an art form, and then on the other side of the court, he can shoot the lights out.

Painful Setback for the Pelicans

Zion Williamson of New Orleans Pelicans really got setback again. This has to be a joke at this point. He’s missed more games than he’s played. What’s going on over there? To start, he had problems with his foot last season. Over the offseason, he had it surgically repaired, the beginning of the season passed, everything was going fine, he was rehabbing normally and then he was experiencing soreness on December 2. That set him back.

To make matters worse, the doctors found a regression in the bone healing. A few days ago, he was injected with a fluid to stimulate healing. It’s reported that he’s going to be re-evaluated in mid to late January. Throughout this whole time, he’s been gaining a lot of weight. It’s been reported that he weighs more than 330 pounds. It’s obvious he’s been eating that good New Orleans food. When did this all start? Well, going into the league, he was a 6’6” power forward, already undersized (height wise), and he already had a pretty large frame, 285 lb in college. He was always an explosive athlete, do a quick search on YouTube and you’ll find tons of college highlights on Duke, devouring (see what I did there?) teams left and right with his partner in crime, RJ Barrett. He relies on explosiveness and athleticism, doing crazy 360 dunks and tomahawks. So, if the laws of gravity and physics are still present, he landed with a lot of weight on his foot, so he would have had problems. Now, Google has him listed at 317 lbs. while some are saying that he’s over 330. Some other explosive athletes don’t come close to him, Ja Morant weighs 174 lbs., Michael Jordan weighed 216 lbs., Zach Lavine weighs 200 lbs.. This is the reason the Pelicans are the 14^th seed, there’s no Zion Williamson, I bet the Pels’ fans are scared to see what Zion brings (or doesn’t bring) once he comes back.

I’m Baaaack …

I was away for a while, high school’s really something, isn’t it? Well, here are 4 and half months of my observations about three sports:

Baseball:

Playoffs:

The Wild Card games were decently surprising, the Yankees got toasted by the Red Sox for some reason, don’t know why. In the NL, the Dodgers matching up with the Cardinals in the Wild Card game might’ve been the best matchup in a while. The Dodgers totally should’ve won the division, as they proved against the Giants, winning in 5. The Braves easily cruise by the Brewers, there wasn’t any contention there from the beginning of the round. The Red Sox continued to cruise, beating the Rays (what a feel-good story shot down by the Red Sox, everyone was rooting for the Rays because their total payroll is a few cents) and the Astros beat the White Sox. The Astros really had a high-powered offense, now it might fall apart, if Carlos Correa leaves in free agency, Houston might hit the reset button on their team. The only surprise we had in the playoffs was the Braves beating the Dodgers, on the other side, the Astros obviously beat the Red Sox. Then, the Braves become champions by beating the Astros. They have so much depth; it’s really hard to beat them.

Free Agency is always exciting. My New York Mets went haywire, and Saint Steve Cohen opened up his checkbook for a lot of players. Mark Cahna can play many positions, which is exactly what teams need when sports are nearing position-less play. We also picked up Eduardo Escobar, who will definitely see the starting lineup, as he had a career year last year. Starling Marte will also arrive in New York, probably playing left field or right field, depending on where Cahna will play (center is reserved for Brandon Nimmo). These signings probably mean that Michael Conforto won’t be coming back. And then we also signed Max Scherzer, to create something that hasn’t been seen much throughout sports’ history, the pairing of two dominant, perennial Cy Young candidates, Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom. Then, the Mets signed a new manager. Seeing that Luis Rojas is incapable of doing simple baseball tasks his time was up. And Cohen made the right decision, he went with the seasoned veteran, Buck Showalter, previously of the Orioles. I guess he got tired of being at the bottom of divisions. He has 20 years of experience as a manager, and he’s managed before in New York, having New York experience is great, as New York is different than any other market. To top it off, he has a career winning record, 1551-1517, even with being dragged down by the Orioles for nine years. Back to players, this season’s AL Cy Young winner, Robbie Ray and Kevin Gausman (who was widely projected to be the NL Cy Young) both signed with the Seattle Mariners. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien both signed with the Texas Rangers, and they got paid over $500 million combined. That’s insane, especially for a smaller market team. Then, with tons of great talent left, something much unexpected happened in the baseball world, a lockout. The owners of baseball and the MLBPA are arguing over something or other, nobody really knows. And this really sucks for the free agents, they want to know where they’re playing, and now that we’re quickly approaching when pitchers, catchers and eventually all other players must report, this needs to end.

Basketball:

To think how the Knicks started out (5-1 at one point), how did everything go downhill so quickly? During the offseason, we had a few great signings, Evan Fournier and Kamba Walker; and a great draft, Miles McBride and Quentin Grimes. Everything else stayed the same, and we made the playoffs last year, so why not go back with an even better team? That’s all Knicks fans’ thinking. Then everything started going downhill. Kemba got taken out of the rotation (that’s a bizarre move, not only should he be in the rotation, he should be a starter). We’re currently sitting at 12^th in the East. Obviously, we don’t have a superstar, so maybe we should trade for one. We all knew the Pistons were going to be bad, but they exceeded our expectations, winning 4 out of 28. Good job, guys!! The Hornets being the sixth seed shows me that they have the potential to make the play-in, but with their team right now, with just rookie Lamelo Ball at the helm, and no other significant talent, they aren’t going to go very far. On the flip side, I do believe that the Raptors will go far, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes? They’re going to make a nice little run, and I’m not talking play-in. Imagine the Cavaliers with Collin Sexton, sadly he’s out for the year with a knee injury but imagine him on the three seeded Cavs, they would finish the year higher than this, potentially knocking off the Bucks as the one seed. The Warriors and the Suns are fighting for the one seed out West and that should show you that Stephen Curry is the best basketball player on the planet right now. With literally no supporting cast (don’t say Draymond Green, don’t do it) he’s competing with Chris Paul, 1/3 of Devin Booker (because he’s injured), Deandre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges. When Klay Thompson comes back, they’re not going to lose again. The Grizzlies have been straight up hoopin’, without Ja Morant they’ve gone 10-1. I’m making a prediction right now, at the end of the season, the Warriors are the one seed and the Grizzlies are the two seed, if Ja comes back in a reasonable time frame. I’m confused about how the Pelicans are the 14^th seed, they have Brandon Ingram, who by himself should lead the team to at least the 10 seed. There’s so much stuff going on with Zion Williamson, that I’m just sorry for this team right now. The Mavs sitting at .500 is interesting, is Luka Doncic really not that good, or are his teammates selling him?

Award Predictions:

MVP: Wardell Stephen Curry Jr., Golden State Warriors

DPOY: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (Jarrett Allen is a sleeper)

ROY: Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

MIP: Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns

COY: Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns

Football:

This season so far has been pretty normal. A few notes: this season went by lightning fast, like weeks 1-15 flew by and the Jets still suck, what’s new? Also, there seems to be a lot more injuries this year than last year. A ton more, and it’s not the superstar players like years past, it’s the role-star players that are getting the worst of it. Maybe the league should make a new tackling rule, because this is encroaching on being detrimental to the entertainment of the games and the long-term safety of the players. Now COVID is making it worse, the practice squad needs to be expanded or I’m going to get signed (probably not a great idea because I’ll get injured).

Something I learned was never, ever, doubt Bill Belichick, everyone was clowning him for cutting Cam Newton for Mac Jones, but now they’re the two seed and Mac Jones is gunning for offensive rookie of the year. The one seed, the Chiefs, are now better than ever. Remember earlier in the year, all of you were saying that the Chiefs are out of it? Yeah, I remember, well never doubt Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and the Walmart baggers on the defense. Don’t count the Dolphins out either, with their team that their genius GM, Chris Grier, stitched together, have won 6 in a row. The Raiders sitting at 6-7 is a miracle, with how depleted and all over the place their team is. The AFC North remains up in the air, that will be such an exciting finish, except for the Steelers, might have to count them out. Because Derrick Henry is out, the Colts might outrun the Titans and make a run at the end of the season and win the division, but the Titans are a Wild Card team nonetheless. The Cowboys sitting at 10-4 is surprising, Trevon Diggs said that the Cowboys have the best defense, that’s probably the reason that they’re great, Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliot haven’t been great. Both Washington and Philly are sitting at 6-7, that’s so confusing to me, the NFC East should’ve been so much closer than this. The 49ers totally caught me off guard at 8-6 (I don’t study the standings, this is one of, probably my first, in-depth look at the standings this season), they seem like a team that’s in the middle of the road but they’ve had a really low key season. They’re two games out of the division, and with the Cardinals stumbling without Deandre Hopkins, they might take their spot, but it’s the Cardinals. Along the same path, the Rams might be division leaders, with Cooper Kupp going berserk, Matt Stafford playing at an MVP level and a somewhat easy schedule for the rest of year, they probably will. The Packers staying at the top of the division this year with so many injuries and Aaron Rodgers’ vaccine problems is so amazing, 10-3 is great. The Bears are a year or two away, considering this is the Bears, they might need more than that, hopefully they don’t mess up and draft another Mitch Trubisky over another Patrick Mahomes. The Buccaneers are Super Bowl contenders, I really don’t want another Super Bowl with Tom Brady in it, right now, it’s a Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady rematch. Nah, let some exciting players go at it, like Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray. The Saints sitting at 6-7 shows us how important Drew Brees was, then Jameis Winston, a decent back up went down, it’s been really unfortunate for them. It also pains me to see Christian McCaffrey go down with an injury again, this man can’t stay healthy, don’t draft him next year in Fantasy Football.