How The Washington Nationals Won A World Series
The Washington Nationals, who will forever be known to some as the Montreal Expos, won the 2019 World Series. Its been a banner year for Canadian or former Canadian pro-sports teams as the Nationals’ World Series title follows the NBA title secured by the Toronto Raptors in June. For the Nationals, now that the excitement has died down,
It’s clear why this moment of glory was even possible. One transaction the organization didn’t make was a long-term financial rich deal for the teams former batting and outfield star Bryce Harper. Harper did sign last off-season (actually during training camp) March 2019 with the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a monster contract of 13 years in length worth 330 million USD.
In other words, the then 26-year-old outfield will receive an average of 25.3 million dollars per year until he’s 39 yrs old. Currently, it is the second richest deal in North American sports but the Nationals failure to re-sign their star led to their success in the World Series victory they recently secured and here’s 3 reasons why:
Transactions that added depth and Quality to their Roster:
In not locking up Bryce Harper to a long term financially crippling deal for the team’s future, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was able to provide his manager the tools necessary to win. While Bryce Harper spent most of the last off-season waiting for a huge payday, the Nationals’ front office went about the business of constructing a World Series-winning roster.
The addition of first-baseman Matt Adams is one such example. His signing on December 18th, 2018 gave the Nationals a left-handed corner infielder. While Adams’ offensive numbers do not stand out with a .226 batting average and 56 RBI’s, he cost the team three million and was a key member of the roster. Anibal Sanchez was added to the Nationals roster on December 27th, 2019. A starting pitcher, Sanchez was 11-8 in 2019 with a 3.85era. Sanchez cost the Nationals 6 million dollars. Second Baseman Brian Dozier was added to the Nationals roster on January 13th, 2019 as a free agent. His cost to the team was 9 million dollars but he played in 135 games, walked 61 times had on OBP of .340 and like Matt Adams contributed 20 home runs.
If the Nationals had signed Bryce Harper for $25 million dollars they certainly could not, (unless they really wanted to spend money), competently fill the spots on the roster that Sanchez, Adams, and Dozier filled and this is not a complete list of key acquisitions the team made in the last off-season.
DID NOT NEED HARPER:
Bryce Harper is a right fielder and at 25 million dollars a season was not a player necessary for the Nationals to win the World Series as it turned out. The Nationals had three other capable outfielders, perhaps none as good as Harper, but Victor Robles, Adam Eaton(who replaced Harper in right field), and Juan Soto did a splendid job in 2019 and were already on the roster. Harper would have been a luxury. The three aforementioned outfielders combined for a batting average of .272 combined hit 66 home runs an average of 22 each, and a total of 224RBIs.
In 2019, Bryce Harper’s batting stats were.260, with 35 home runs, 114 RBI, and an OBP of .372. He hit for great numbers but the Nationals had multiple players hit for good numbers, filled out their roster with smart player additions and not only made the playoffs but won the World Series. As for the Philadelphia Phillies, who Harper signed with, they finished the year at 79-83 missing the playoffs in 2019.
Roster and Payroll Flexibility:
The Washington Nationals now maintain the possibility of competing for a title again next season if they choose because they are not locked into a long-term but financially limiting deal with Harper. As it stands right now, the Nationals are in the process of remaking their roster. They have granted free agency to key members of their World Series team in Matt Adams, Steven Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman, and Yan Gomes among 23 players they have allowed to test free agency.
Their desire to be competitive again next season will depend solely on the players they either trade for or sign in free agency in the coming weeks and months leading up to the 2020 MLB Spring Training. However, general manager Mike Rizzo has roster spots available and only slightly more than $105 million in committed salary while the luxury tax level in 2020 will be $208 million.
We have seen these monster contracts to one player that cripples a team’s future fortunes like the deal the Texas Rangers gave to A-rod, Alex Rodriguez , back in 2000 for 10 years $252 million. The Rangers were 73-89 in the 2001 season, after that deal, with a team ERA of 5.71. The Rangers did not have one starting pitcher under four in ERA and their starting rotation combined for 48 wins.
It’s a cautionary tale of how one large exorbitant contract can prevent a management team from fielding a productive and competitive roster. The 2019 Nationals avoided the fate of the Texas Rangers in 2000 by not signing Bryce Harper and proved that adding multiple good players and having a deep roster is more instrumental in winning a title than one outstanding star.
Raptors Unique Dilemma: How to Solve American Basketball Players Lack of Desire to Play in Toronto
An NBA title is not sufficient for the Toronto Raptors to attract top tier talent in the NBA. It’s long been an issue from day one of the Toronto Raptors’ existence. There has never been a truly high profile free-agent signing in Raptors history. The acquisition of Hedo Turkoglu was a sign and trade with Orlando and it was a bust. DeMarre Carroll was a free agent signing in the summer of 2015 for 4 years $60 million and it is proof that Masai Ujiri can make mistakes. Tracy Murray and Bismack Biyombo were good free-agent signings for the Raptors but not top-notch talent.
Both former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and current sixth man of the year award winner Lou Williams expressed their sentiments on why American players are not enamored with the idea of playing in Canada. It’s troubling and has been troubling for many years. Gilbert Arenas in an interview with Fanatics View had the following to say:
“Raptors being in Canada is hard for American players. You gotta remember, most kids are coming from the hood, that this is where my family, friends are. So me going all the way to another country, my friends, family can’t get there. So that’s already a conflict. So that my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters can’t get there often. They can drive to Atlanta. They can drive to Chicago, and go and follow me and come to all my games.”
“When someone like Kawhi is a free agent and you’re like ‘why would he leave? He just won a championship.’ That’s exactly why he leave. He’s already won two championships. What is he playing for now? Maybe he wants to play 41 home games in front of his mother for the first time in his career. That’s important. It’s the little things. It’s not the money.”
Former Raptor Lou Williams also chimed in with the following statements in an episode of a podcast called No Chill host by Gilbert Arenas and Mike Boticello:
“When you play in Toronto, you feel like you’re playing overseas,” explained Williams to Arenas and Botticello. “We can’t wait to go on the road sometimes, just to be in America.”
“It’s like little [things] you don’t think of, like the Channels on your TV, phone bill, you got to get a Canadian bank account. [Stuff] like that that people don’t think about. That [stuff] is s hard. And then you have kids, you’re raising your kids out in Canada…”
“One you’re there, you’re like ‘oh, this is dope.’ But the hard part is keeping guys there.”
The Value of the Comments Are Silly by Nature but a Problem
Some of these statements seem silly it’s not hard to open a bank account. The raising your kids in Canada has been heard before when Antonio Davis back in the summer of 2001 was prepared to leave Toronto for Chicago he was floating the story he didn’t want his kids learning the metric system (The USA uses the imperial method for measurements). The Chicago Bulls low-balled him with their offer. The Raptors, his only option to getting paid handsomely for what he did on the court, were then able to get his name on a contract.
Certain parts of the USA suffer from severe cold weather as bad or worse than Toronto and Florida gets hit with Hurricanes, Texas with Tornados, and California has earthquakes. Canada is North of the USA and while it is a sovereign nation with different laws and customs it mimics and promotes many American styles and cultures like tv channels, shops and entertainment (movies, tv shows, etc.).
Gilbert Arenas’ comments and Williams’ comments about taxes are understandable an athlete is paying taxes in his country of residence and also where he works as a non-resident. What’s truly frustrating about the whole concept of the lone Canadian NBA team not being able to attract top free agents or keep key free agents when their contracts expire is the Raptors still have to compete in the NBA.
The Solution
What never gets addressed is how the Raptors overcome this snub that they are an outpost of the NBA. We have seen previous Raptors management teams address the issue by signing foreign players as Bryan Colangelo did in the summer of 2006 with Anthony Parker who had been playing in Israel, Spaniards Jorge Garbajosa, and Jose Calderon. The other method Toronto general managers have employed is to find young players who could become solid role players like a Jamario Moon through free agent camps or even more recently Ujiri signing an undrafted Fred Vanvleet.
There is a very unique way the Raptors could address the problem of not being an attractive destination for top-flight free agents and that’s to develop your talent. The Raptors 905 is a good destination for young talent already identify and signed but the Raptors should look to set up a system or network of world youth basketball leagues in places like Africa, Brazil, Argentina or anywhere really. Once that talent reaches age 19-21 the Raptors simply approach the top talents to either try out for the Raptors 905 or sign a 2-way contract with the Raptors.
Last season, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested sending American youth players to Europe to learn to play the game the right way from a young age in comments he made to Eurohoops.net. Most people focused on the words Cuban used in expressing their outrage at his insinuation. When those comments are examined for actual relevance and value he wasn’t wrong entirely.
College basketball in the USA does not prepare big-men (forwards and centers) for life in the NBA in particular. It’s a guard driven style of basketball and big-men are confined to play around the basket (rebounding, dunking, and short-range shots). In today’s NBA power forwards and centers are expected to shoot from distance spacing the floor and be able to drive the lane from the wing positions when necessary. NBA rules today now restrict back to the basket low post moves.
NCAA basketball is dramatically different from the NBA and is less than half an NBA season, and its played in 2-20 minute halves winding up 8 minutes shorter than an NBA game. There is also the difference in offensive urgency in that NBA offenses must get up shots in just 24 seconds in contrast to the 45 second NCAA shot clock.
The Perfect Template to Train Talent
In Masai Ujiri’s work in Africa as Co-Founder of Giants of Africa, his program offering basketball to the youth of various African communities has changed lives for the better. The nefarious aspect of it is, of course, the potential of mining talent to play professionally. Ujiri could be the guy that sets it up. It would address the issue of the talent that avoids Toronto in the future.
As a franchise, imagine getting teenaged players playing a style and system of basketball you endorse knowing you have allowed them to personally improve but also in an environment under which they practice their passion but its a job that pays them, teaches them discipline and hard work. The ultimate goal is an advancement to the NBA if they so deserve.
This was the part Mark Cuban wanted people to focus on in his statements last year. It eliminates the hero-worship of college ball where egos swell because the player is always told he’s the greatest. It breeds the notion like Allen Iverson years ago who expressed 33 times in an interview his disgust for practice or the need for improvement until its too late.
For the Toronto Raptors, it means also employing local scouts to keep you abreast of player developments and yes investing in a developmental system. Any concerns as to cost should be minor as according to Forbes Magazine in February of 2019 are valued at $1.7 billion and generated revenue of $275 million. While expense like operating expenses needs to be factored in already at$76 million and payroll which was $127 million at the time, a developmental network of youth leagues could be sustainable and adequately address the lack of interest in star American basketball athletes considering Toronto as a place to ply their trade.
Road to the NBA Finals 2019: Masai Ujiri’s Top 3 Transactions as Raptors GM and President(May 27th, 2019)
Masai Ujiri became the 5th Toronto Raptors general manager back on May 31st, 2013. He signed an extension as team president in 2016 hiring Bobby Webster as general manager. What no one knew then is that Ujiri would also become the Raptors’ best ever executive. Ujiri was named executive of the year in the NBA for his work with the Denver Nuggets back in 2013.
Since his appointment as the man in charge in Toronto, the Raptors have made the playoffs for six consecutive years. There has also been a pile of positive firsts. Under his tutelage, the Raptors have won 50 plus games for the first time in franchise history and have now done that for 4 consecutive seasons. The Raptors who are 1-1 in Eastern Conference finals series, having just dispatched the Milwaukee Bucks, made their first ECF under Ujiri in 2016. They are now also about to embark on a journey that could land the franchise it’s first-ever Larry O’Brien trophy in their first-ever NBA Finals Series.
The Finals’ appearance was made largely possible thanks to Ujiri’s trade landing the Raptors their first-ever superstar in Kawhi Leonard, with no disrespect to DeMar DeRozan or Vince Carter.
With only Kyle Lowry linked to a trade made by Bryan Colangelo before he was let go as the Raptors President, the current Raptors roster in the NBA Finals has truly been crafted by Masai Ujiri. Win or lose versus Golden State in the NBA Finals, Ujiri is likely to win the 2nd Executive of the Year award in his career. We take a moment here to assess three of his best transactions as the man in charge of the Toronto Raptors:
Norman Powell or Fred Vanvleet:
This is a tough choice between these players. One was a second-round pick in 2016 the other was never drafted. Just like the San Antonio Spurs management, Masai Ujiri has been making a habit of finding late first-round picks or undrafted talent. In 2015, Norman Powell was a second-round pick, of the Milwaukee Bucks. He was traded to Toronto and has outlasted his draft year mate and Raptors first-round pick Delon Wright in terms of usefulness.
While he did struggle in 2018 and lost his starting job to 2018 late first-round pick O.G. Anunoby, Powell is once again relevant to the Raptors rotation. He has made a big habit of coming up huge in playoff games. The 2019 ECF against Milwaukee was no exception. Powell had 54 points total off of the bench in the Raptors 4 straight victories over Milwaukee.
As for Fred Vanvleet, he signed as an undrafted player in 2016 with the Raptors and has been a steady backup to Kyle Lowry at the point. In the just-completed ECF, Fred Vanvleet scored 48 points in the last three games against Milwaukee. He was deadly accurate from the 3-point arc shooting 14/17 for 82.3%.
Pascal Siakam:
Masai Ujiri had two first-round draft picks in 2017. At #9, he selected c/f Jacob Poeltl. At #27, Ujiri selected Pascal Siakam. In his rookie season, Siakam started 38 games for Toronto and just 5 In his second season. However, in 2018 he was a huge part of the Raptors dominant bench averaging 7.3ppg.
The 2018-19 season has been a revelation of just how high the ceiling is for Siakam. He won the starting power forward spot out of training camp and has literally been the 2nd or third best player for the Raptors this season. He is highly favored to win the Most Improved Player Award for 2019.
Siakam has been pretty good throughout these 2019 playoffs. Siakam has had 5 double-doubles through the first three rounds of playoffs. Siakam also has been averaging 18.7ppg and 7rpg. Masai Ujiri may have unearthed gold when he drafted Pascal Siakam. Head coach Nick Nurse does not need to run plays for Siakam who is often involved in the games off of his tireless running, ball-handling skills and hustle on the court.
Kawhi Leonard:
Kawhi Leonard was a surprise 2018 off-season addition to the Raptors that raised many an eyebrow. Masai Ujiri swung for the fence with a deal that removed star scorer and longtime Raptor DeMar DeRozan and Jacob Poeltl and a 2019 1st round draft pick from the roster.
What Ujiri was betting on is what has happened. Leonard has quickly re-established himself to be an elite NBA player after his disastrous 2017-18 season was mostly lost to injury. Along with former San Antonio teammate Danny Green, who was also included in the deal last summer, the two have brought a defensive intensity to the Raptors that is consistent. The pair of former Spurs also bring a winning attitude to the Raptors and Leonard is a former NBA Finals MVP.
Leonard brings an offensive skill set even better than Vince Carter. In these 2019 playoffs, his first as a Raptor, Leonard is averaging 31.2ppg, 8.8rpg, and 3.8apg. While Leonard may not be a Raptor for long due to free agency this summer, Masai Ujiri had a goal to get the Raptors to the NBA Finals where they are now. Win or lose, Leonard gives the Raptors their first and best shot to become the NBA Champions and Masai Ujiri made it all happen.
The NHL Just Doesn’t Get It
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NHL and Zdeno Chara:
Zdeno Chara was back at it again on Thursday night when his Boston Bruins played Buffalo, in a 4-3 over time loss. Chara took a two minute penalty for boarding a penalty drawn by Steve Montador. While Montador was kneeling on the ice Chara checked him from behind into the boards. Montador got up somewhat limping after the play. I thought Chara was a clean player? This all comes after the illegal hit he put on Max Pacioretty Tuesday night leading to the Montreal Canadiens player suffering a broken neck and concussion.
The consistency, in officiating and discipline in the NHL is a joke. The same incident could occur 10 times with 10 different results as far as the NHL sanctioning the offending player. Another lightly discussed aspect of the hit on Max Pacioretty is that the NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell has a son playing for the Boston Bruins one Gregory Campbell. So is the decision not to discipline Chara because the Disciplinarian of the NHL has a soft spot for his son’s team and fortunes? Add this to the fact that Gary Bettman has shown utter disdain for the opinions of the people of the entire Province of Quebec, NHL corporate sponsors like Via Rail and Air Canada all of whom expressed concern for what happened Tuesday night to Max Pacioretty, and the health and welfare of all the players in his league. Also add in the obvious shady deal to fool people into thinking the Phoenix Coyotes are worth nearly $200,000,000.00 dollars when if the Mathew Hulsizer deal is completed the Coyotes are being sold for about 54 million and you get the picture that the NHL is being run like a mafia.
While Bettman continues to ignore the changing times everyone else seems to want change. Joe Thornton had the following to say about the non suspension to Chara:
“It’s just something with Boston; it seems like they have a horse shoe,” Thornton said before Thursday’s game between the Canucks and Sharks.
“There’s just something about Boston and the disciplinary [decisions] are on their side. I’m not sure why that is or anything. I’m not assuming that Colin’s kid being on the team, that’s why. “We saw the Lucic cross-check to the head a couple of nights earlier and there’s no disciplinary thing,” Thornton said. “It’s just really bizarre.”
“What are you doing to do the next time Trevor Gillies comes down and runs a guy into the thing? You can’t give him anything. And you tell the guys [Chara] has no history, so the next time he does it he still has no history because he didn’t get suspended. I don’t see the reasoning behind it. Give him at least something to show that’s not acceptable. “I’ll tell you this: if you say that you don’t know where things are around the ice, I think you’re not telling the truth,” Sedin said. “You play the game for 20 years, you know it’s there. It’s gotten to the point, you have to suspend guys if you hit the head. You have to do it even if guys say they didn’t mean to do it or it’s an accident. You have to start somewhere.
“I don’t think players know where the limit is. That’s the bottom line.”
People these are two of the absolute best players in the game speaking out. A few weeks back I dissed Don Cherry Ron McLean and John Davidson for chiding one Brad Ference for speaking out against Danny Paille’s hit on Sawada of the Dallas Stars. Players are speaking out now more and more. How much longer will Bettman turn a deaf ear?
Perhaps the best player in the game one Sidney Crosby maybe considering retirement as Bob McCown of the Fan 590 suggested Crosby’s family maybe encouraging the young Penguins superstar to do so. Whether this is true or not my advice to Crosby would be to do just that. The young man has nothing to prove to anyone else and he has a long future ahead of him. He certainly does not want to suffer any further complications from concussion and surely would like to enjoy the fruits of his labour with good health. Crosby has not been happy with the leagues handling of illegal hits. Crosby on both January 1st and January 5th was first hit in the head by Washington’s David Steckle on a interference head shot body check that the league claims to want out of the game and then by Tampa’s Victor Hedman on a hit from behind both hits cutting short what uptil then was a brilliant season from a skilled player. Hedman was penalized but not suspended and Steckle was neither penalized nor suspended.
Folks keep claiming that the Chara and Hedman hits were not illegal, they are. In both cases Max Pacioretty and Sidney Crosby have moved the puck, a hit on a player without the puck is at least interference. Further, hits from behind in the Hedman case or boarding should carry game misconduct penalties and suspension. In Chara’s case if he does not interfere with Pacioretty there would have been no injury. These are not hockey plays as Mike Murphy, Colin Campbell’s assistant disciplinarian claims. If every instance similar to these hits are sanctioned the same without prejudice, and applying the rules as they are written players would smarten up especially if sanctions for these acts started at 7-10 games and went up or doubled with each occurrence. Finally, in a CBC piece done by Elliott Freedman Mike Camalerri spoke about how the players are taught in junior hockey to hit to harm or if you take a penalty break a bone. This is absolutely sick, but when you hear a statement like that how can anyone doubt 7 years ago that Marc Crawford demanded of Todd Bertuzzi or someone on the Canucks to exact revenge in a brutal way against Stephen Moore. It’s a culture that has to change and now. The fact the players are speaking out about and against these dark issues in the sport suggest the time to change is now. However, in November 2010 Gary Bettman received a new 5 year contract to represent the owners of the NHL. Change will not come anytime soon.
National Hockey League Players’ Association executive director Don Fehr made the following statement Thursday. “Player safety has always been, and continues to be, a great concern to the Players’ Association. In that regard, issues involving the boards and glass in NHL arenas have been a longstanding focus for the players. The serious nature of the injury suffered by Max Pacioretty in Montreal this week reinforces the importance of maximizing the safety in this area and highlights the need to look further into the matter. We will be inspecting the rink in Montreal, and elsewhere as needed, to make sure the appropriate padding is in place. We will continue to gather feedback from the membership, to ensure the safest possible work environment for our players.” This is not enough. Yes, they need to fix the glass partition to make it safer but there is more going on when Chara shoves Pacioretty’s head into the partition and other players including Pacioretty believe that Chara knew what he was doing. This is unnecessary violence occurring on the ice and until someone takes a stand to stop this insanity a hockey player will die sooner than later.
NFLPA Decertifies Union
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NFLPA Decertifies Union:
The NFLPA has been decertified as of Friday March 11, 2011 and the 16 day labour negotiations in mediation between them and the NFL have been halted. Experts had been suggesting the players would use this tactic for weeks now and it became even more realistic once the owners were caught in mediation for accepting $4 billion from their tv network contracts simply to wait out the union in CBA talks by way of lockout or strike.
All of this means the players by majority vote removed the NFLPA as the “exclusive bargaining representative” of the employees-the players. This now gives the players access to the Anti-trust laws where in court they will need to prove that the NFL owners have been engaging in anti-competitive practices. A benefit to this move is a judge could possibly grant an injunction preventing the NFL from locking out the players which in fact the owners have done. The players could also go to an impartial arbiter to settle the matter. Ultimately though if the owners/NFL are guilty under anti-trust laws their ability to negotiate at the bargaining table could be dramatically restricted. The NFL 2011 season though is in serious jeopardy now as talks between the players and NFL has broken down completely.
As it stands now at least 10 players as of Friday have participated in filing the Anti-Trust suit on the grounds that the lockout is a restriction of trade against the NFL. This suit included players Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
Essentially Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has been condescending to player reps like Peyton Manning throughout the negotiations. The owners and commissioner Roger Gooddell have not taken the players union seriously as the owners throughout the mediation have had 1 or 2 owners show up for the negotiations, when several owners were available to attend a round of negotiations after Justice David Doty’s ruling only New York Giants owner John Mara and Green Bay Packers owner Mark Murphy attended. The players union asked for 10 years of audited financial statements and the owners have been reluctant to do this. Thursday afternoon the players union was advised by that they would be called before 4:30pm to come back for a second round of negotiations. It was after 5pm that the union representatives learned via a reporter’s twitter account that the owners attending the meeting were in a conference call with the other owners. When the Union called the mediators office at 6:15pm Thursday evening they were advised the owners and commissioner were packing up to go.so nothing more would be done Thursday. Even on the fateful day when before the decertification of the players union the owners showed up late for a 3:30pm meeting knowing that the players union had already threatened that they would decertify no later than 8 hours before the expiration of the CBA which would be 4pm. Therefore the history here suggests the owners were calling the players bluff, not really taking the union seriously and have been flippant throughout the negotiation. Ultimately, without a player’s union the lockout is improper essentially what you would call collusion. The Anti-Trust Law becomes an issue now because the owners are preventing the players from trading their services. The two sides are quibbling over 9 billion in annual revenue. The owners last offer wanted to set the salary cap in 2011 back to the level of 2008 when it was $116 million per team. The cap was 127 million in 2009. The recently expired CBA gives the players about 60% of all revenues earned. The owners have had a salary cap in play for a long long time but continually allow that cap to rise year after year and like the NBA the cap is linked to revenue.
Some of the comments made:
” In a statement, the union said it “renounced its status as the exclusive collective bargaining representative” of NFL players. The NFLPA will move forward as a professional trade association with the mission of supporting the interests and rights of current and former professional football players,” the statement said.
“To our fans – I give you my word that we as players are doing everything we can to negotiate with the NFL towards a fair deal,” Brees wrote. “The NFL brought this fight to us – they want $1 billion back, we just want financial information to back up that request. They refuse to give that information to us. They think we should just trust them. Would you? We have a responsibility to our players – past, present, and future, to advance this league forward, not take 3 steps back.”
“While we are disappointed with the union’s actions, we remain steadfastly committed to reaching an agreement that serves the best interest of NFL players, clubs and fans, and thank you for your continued support of our league,” Goodell wrote.
MLB 2011 Preview Team By Team
American League East:
Toronto Blue Jays:
The Blue Jays have always managed to be just on the outside looking in at the AL East leaders. The Jays have not spent big to keep pace with Boston, New York or Tampa Bay but always seem to develop great young players especially pitchers. This year it will be a rotation of Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, Brandon Morrow a returning Dustin McGowan and either Kyle Drabek,Scott Ritchmond or Rzepczynski, Marc forming the starting rotation The first three played major roles in the Jays successful season last year. Their bullpen is solid now as well Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel and Frank Francisco probably able to handle the set-up and closer roles. Pitchers like David Purcey, Jesse Litsch, Jason Frasor and Casey Jansen round out the relievers. The Jays are probably weakest at catcher with Jose Molina and rookie J.P. Arencibia behind the plate. The infield will feature Adam Lind as a DH/1b, Aaron Hill at 2nd, Yunel Escobar at ss, Jose Bautista may see plenty of time at 3rd base as Edwin Encarnacion has been inconsistent. Encarnacion may see time at 1st base, if he sticks with the team freeing Lind up for DH duties and John MacDonald is still in the mix as a utility guy. The Outfield will feature Rajai Davis in centre field, Travis Synder and Juan Rivera. The Jays say bye to Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg. The unknowns is how will former Red Sox Pitching coach John Farrell run the Jays? Will Adam Lind and Aaron Hill rebound and provide the Jays with better obp, ba,? Will the Jays hit and run and steal more bases? Will Jose Bautista repeat his MVP like numbers? If the answers to these questions are yes and Farrell has a good grasp of running this team and pitching continues to develop positively this Jays squad could win 80-85 games this year. Jose Bautista needs to hit at least 35 homers to be successful this year and the Jays need somebody to protect him in the order and Lind and Hill have to hit closer to .300 mark than they did last year.
Tampa Bay Rays:
Made a number of changes. After making the playoffs in 2010 it was clear the Rays could not hit very well. However, for a small market franchise the biggest concerns were attendance and salary. They still have David Price, and Jeremy Hellickson, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton. Their starting pitching isn’t bad but they did trade Matt Garza and let go or traded a number of members of their bullpen like Benoit, Soriano, Balfour and Qualls. Carl Crawford left as a free agent. They did sign Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez which may help put seats in the stands but neither of these guys are what they used to be at the plate. Manny had his worst power production stats of his career last season. The Rays probably dwell in the AL East basement this year.
The New York Yankees:
The Yankees starting rotation is weak especially after Andy Pettitte retired leaving the rotation to a trio of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes. After years of trading prospects for stars will Ivan Nova and any other Yankee prospect round out the rotation without a hiccup? Their bullpen is solid especially for 8 and 9th inning duties with Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera andJoba Chamberlain helps in mid-relief. As far as fielding and hitting, with Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter and now Adruw Jones, the Yankees can still put runs on the board. The Yankees major problem is starting pitching and if by July 1st it is a glaring problem they’ll just spend 50 million or more to fix it. That ability to free spend makes the Yankees a threat to win this division every year. If they spend to fix their problems they probably take 1st in the East if they don’t they may be 3rd or 4th.
The Baltimore Orioles:
Did this team really get as good as they claim or will they struggle a long as usual? I say they still struggle. They picked up an aging and declining Derek Lee, they added Mark Reynolds a strike out king, they added Vladimir Guerrero and former Jay closer Kevin Gregg. Other than Nick Markakis there really isn’t much to get excited about. If Tampa is the the basement this year, in the east, I see Baltimore in the cellar under the basement.
The Boston Red Sox:
This is the class of the division this year. Their starting rotation Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, John Lackey and Dice K. This is the most complete rotation in the east. The bullpen is anchored by the likes of Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon, but is a weak spot overall but with the rotation so strong it may not be needed much. The offense is also potent with Carl Crawford, Jacoby Elisbury, J.D. Drew, David Ortiz, and Adrian Gonzalez. This team has power up and down the line up. The Red Sox should win the division hands down!!!
American League West:
Los Angeles Angels:
First off, this team has long had an identity crisis. Anaheim, California and now Los Angeles make up your mind who you represent. Anyway, their key departures are: C/1B Mike Napoli, OF Juan Rivera, DH/OF Hideki Matsui and their big acquisition was Vernon Wells. Wells was a fall back plan after the Angels hard chase of Carl Crawford fell short. Their starting rotation is strong featuring Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and Scott Kazmir. But the bullpen is definitely weak. They did add former Jay Scott Downs but who will close? The bullpen closer incumbent is Fernando Rodney but he had a horrible ERA last season. The pen is rounded out by Matt Palmer, Kevin Jepsen, Jason Bulger and Francisco Rodriguez. The Angels may struggle offensively with Eric Aybar and Maicer Izturis in the line up. Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter are past their primes as well. Bobby Abreu is the full time DH. This team may still win over 80 games this year.
Seattle Mariners:
The Mariners rotation isn’t great but not bad either with Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, and Luke French pitching in a pitcher’s ball park. The bullpen featuring David Aardsma, Brandon League and Daivd Pauley is average at best but there are worse bullpens. What is a problem is the offense. Ichiro is clearly their best hitter. However, Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley and Franklin Gutierrez don`t really scare anyone. Mariners are lucky to win 70 games.
Oakland Athletics:
The A`s have a solid 4 man rotation needing only to figure out who goes fifth. However, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Dallas Bradon are all under thirty and pretty good starters. The acquisitions of Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes along with closer Andrew Bailey makes for a solid bullpen . Offensively they added DH Hedeki Matsui, and traded for former Royals OF David DeJesus to add to the likes of Josh Willingham, Ryan Sweeney and CoCo Crisp the A`s look to be on the rise this year. Expect them to challenge the Texas Rangers for the Divisions.
Texas Rangers:
C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter are still a solid rotation even if Cliff Lee left for Philadelphia. The Rangers have added former Diamondbacks`ace Brandon Webb on a 1 year deal as the 4th member of the rotation. Closer Neftali Felix along with Darren Oliver , the ageless Arthur Rhodes, Matt Harrison and Darren O’Day form a great mix of youth and experience coming out of the bullpen. While offensively they lost Vlad Guerrero they have added 3b Adrian Beltre. They do have an issue though now with Michael Young demanding a trade due to the fact that he is being asked to change positions. This team is complete in all facets of the game and could win 95 or more games this year.
American League Central:
Minnesota Twins:
Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing and Kevin Slowey make for a solid if unspectacular starting rotation. It remains unchanged from last season. They did lose relievers Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain along with Jon Rauch (Joined the Jays) which hurts their bullpen. The offense is in good hands with Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jim Thome. However, the Twins got great contributions from unusual suspects last season on their way to a playoff berth, but I don`t see that happening again. They probably are good enough for 80-85 wins.
The Chicago White Sox:
The Sox feature a good starting rotation of Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Edwin Jackson and Mark Buehrle. The Bullpen has one question mark who will close but is a solid group as well. They have Paul Konerko returning and added Adam Dunn to the line up. If all goes right this may be the class team of the Central Division even if their manager Ozzie Guillen has none.
The Detroit Tigers:
With Miguel Cabrera continually getting into trouble with the law and his alcoholism, and he claims he is not an alcoholic, its hard to see how this team can just focus on the task at hand. If we are talking baseball, then this team has a solid core of Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, Ryan Raburn, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta which provides rbi`s, hit, power and speed. The starting rotation is a concern. Justin Verlander is the ace Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello have tons of potential followed by Brad Penny and nothing else. I say 75 wins but not much more.
The Kansas City Royals:
There`s always one or two franchise that there just isn`t anything good to say about them. Momma always said if you ain`t got nothing nice to say just don`t say it. This would be one of those times. The Royals will probably win 60 games
The Cleveland Indians:
Are not much better than the KC Royals. They have a lot of young developing pitchers and not a lot offensively to get excited about. They have Travis Hafner, Shin-Soo-Choo, Michael Brantley and Matt Laporta. Expect the Indians to be better than the Royals in the Central.
National League 2011 Preview:
National League East:
The Philadelphia Phillies:
This should be a no brainer. This franchise is the class of the National league. They added Cliff Lee to the likes of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton. This staff is lights out. The bullpen almost doesn`t matter but they have an ace closer in Brad Lidge. Offensively they struggled last year and Ryan Howard needs to be more consistent. They did lose to Free Agency Jayson Werth but there is enough here to do damage. The East is the Phillies to lose.
The Atlanta Braves:
In any other Division, the Braves probably win out right. They will most likely battle for a wild card. Their rotation is led by Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe. It is solid but not overwhelmingly great. They added Dan Uggla to the line up but he is a free swinger so its feast or famine with him. The Braves do have enough to challenge for a wild card spot.
Florida Marlins:
Lost Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, Jorge Cantu and Ronny Paulino from last years squad. They are led by a young explosive ss Hanley Ramirez and have a good young core with RF Mike Stanton, LF Logan Morrison and 1b Gaby Sanchez. The pitching rotation which is strong includes Javier Vazquez, Anibal Sanchez, Chris Volstad, Josh Johnson.and Ricky Nolasco who is now healthy. The Marlins could challenge for a wild card but won`t make the playoffs.
New York Mets:
Will be without ace Johan Santana until at least June. That`s bad news for this franchise. With Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay and Jose Reyes you`d hope to have a star studded and dominant lineup. But Bay was hurt last year and Reyes had thyroid gland problems. Beltran had knee surgeory in the off season. Even if they are a good hitting team the pitching is lacking. 70-75 wins at best here.
Washington Nationals:
The Nationals could be a factor in the wild card picture this year. The club has added Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche, but they lost Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham, so it’s a bit of a trade off. The signing of Rick Ankiel strengthens the bench a bit. The real weakness here is the starting rotation. Stephen Strasburg is out most likely for the year after arm surgeory last year and the Nats struck out several times chasing free agent starters from Garza to Cliff Lee. 65-70 wins is probably where Washington winds up.
National League Central Division:
St. Louis Cardinals:
The Cardinals are expected to make the playoffs but they just learned that SP Adam Wainwright needs elbow surgeory and is essentially done for the year. This weakens a rotation that puts more pressure on ace Chris Carpenter. The bullpen isn`t outstanding either. Offensively the Cardinals feature the best player in the game in Albert Pujols and along with Lance Berkman and Matt Holiday the offense is in good hands. However, Pujols is in a contract year and they don`t need the distraction. The Cardinals will win no more than 80 games and miss the playoffs.
The Cincinnati Reds:
Made a return to the playoffs for the first time in 13 years last season. With the Cardinals misfortune, Adam Wainwright `s injury, may mean the Reds may make a return to the playoffs again this year winning their second straight divisional title. The Reds have a good rotation an average bullpen but offense is their strong point. Withn Ramon Hernandez, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, and Jay Bruce they have some players who get on base and are productive with the bat. The Reds may win the Central again, if not they`ll be in the wild card hunt.
Milwaukee Brewers:
Corey Hart, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee provide power and production in a potent offensive line up. They upgraded the pitching as well. They picked up Zack Greinke who automatically becomes the ace of this staff and they traded for Blue Jays Shaun Marcum another solid starter slotted in as the #3 guy. The Brewers will challenge for a wild card spot at the very least.
The Chicago Cubs:
This team is in rebuild mode. They have a pretty decent starting rotation with Matt Garza, Carlos Zambrano, and Ryan Dempster. The bullpen is perhaps mediocre and the offense led by Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano and Tony Pena is really not that dominant. The Cubs are saved from being last place thanks too……
The Pittsburgh Pirates:
This is another horrible team they will finish last in the National league`s Central Division.
Houston Astros:
Are hoping for a .500 season. They were Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde last year. The first two months of the 2010 season were just horrible. They are hoping for good things from pitching prospect Jordan Lyles. Overall their pitching rotation and bullpen is mediocre. Hunter Pence and Chris Johnson are the best hitters of a mediocre lot. Carlos Lee had his worst statistical season last year and hopes to recover. Don`t expect much from the Astros.
National League West:
San Francisco Giants:
After winning the World Series the Giants still have a dominant pitching staff. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Baumgarner were great last year and I expect much of the same again this year. The bullpen is strong as well with closer Brian Wilson having secured 48 saves last year and posting a 1.81 ERA. The Giants should be better offensively with a number of injured guys last season healthy and ready to go now. Expect great things from sophomore catcher Buster Posey who had a great rookie season. Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross and Pat Burrell are hoping to make significant contributions with the bat this year. They have also picked up the bat of on Miguel Tejada as well.
Colorado Rockies:
The Rockies will hit well but have little pitching. Led by Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez the Rockies will excite at the plate but don`t expect much else.
The Los Angeles Dodgers:
This is a team that has a bit of pitching and a few bats but not enough of anything to challenge even for a wild card. Clayton Kershaw, Jon Garland and Ted Lilly are the top three starters and the bullpen is also mediocre. Andre Ethier and Jay Gibbons are th best of a line up that includes Juan Uribe, Raphael Furcal and Casey Blake.
San Diego Padres:
The Padres are young and rebuilding. Don`t expect much to happen with this team. They did sign former Twin 2nd baseman Orlando Hudson and traded for Rays ss Jason Bartlett. There is not enough hitting or pitching on this team to be taken seriously.
Arizona Diamondbacks:
Another team not expected to win very much is the Diamondbacks. They traded away Mark Reynolds and Dan Haren. They do have some offensive talent but defensively have question marks at 1st and 3rd base. Both spots are currently manned by Juan Miranda and Melvin Mora respectively for the time being. RF Justin Upton and Stephen Drew are splendid with the glove defensively the rotation is led by Joe Saunders but there`s not a lot to get excited about on the mound with this team.
Donovan McNabb Hall of Fame Worthy
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Yahoo Sports had a list of locks, on their way and maybe maybe nots to make the Football Hall of Fame. Well on the list of Maybe maybe not is one Donovan McNaabb. It is absolutely frustrating to witness the lack of respect this man has received over the years from Philadelphia faithful and management and now with the Washington Redskins. All McNabb has done is toss for 35, 139 yards. He has also thrown more than twice as many touchdowns as interceptions with 225 td’s to 111 interceptions. This is the second best ratio next to Tom Brady. He is 1 of only 6 qb’s to have more than 25, 000 yards passing and 3,000 or more yards running. He is currently holder of the third highest winning percentage among active QB’s. For a scrambling Qb he has the 20th most pass attempts all time. He led his Eagles team to 4 consecutive NFC East Division Championships and 5 NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. In that Super Bowl he threw for 357 yards and had 30 receptions. The Eagles didn’t lose that Super Bowl because of McNabb. The Philadelphia Eagles really didn’t have any explosive wide receiving group during the majority of McNabb’s time there and most of the offensive productivity laid on his and all purpose back Brian Westbrook’s shoulders. Folks will insist the following: McNabb ranks 27th in completion %, McNabb has thrown more interceptions than TD’s this season and McNabb is the second most sacked QB in the league. Well sacks are directly related to your o-line. So if you go by that stat Ben Roethlisberger has ben a horrible quarterback for 4 years when you consider how often Big Ben is sacked. Completions and interceptions yes can be related to the quarterback but the receivers in Washington aren’t exactly household names. Further, McNaab’s career Touchdown to interception ratio is extremely good.
When you look at the so-called QB’s who are locks for the Hall of Fame since 1998 Peyton Manning has had 2 Super Bowl Appearance winning 1 and only 9 wins in 19 playoff games and a reputation for not winning the big game. Tom Brady has 3 Super Bowl Championships, 2 Super Bowl MVP’s. McNabb should fit into this group quite easily but the elephant in the room is black and scrambling quarterbacks are still not respected.
This season was another prime example with the Shanahan led Redskins mis-using and degrading McNabb, the Eagles wanted to and did start Kevin Kolb ahead of Michael Vick before coming to their sense, Jeff Fisher’s Titans usually won when Vince Young started games but Fisher has spent 5 years pining for the useless Matt Leinhart (who he wanted to draft instead of Young) and attempting to destroy Vince Young’s career at the same time. It took years before the NFL appreciated and recognize the value of Randall Cunningham, Warren Moon and even Doug Flutie’s (because he was small discrimination is discrimination) scrambling and overall abilities. The NFL is in love with the stand in the pocket QB. While there are more Quarterbacks of ethnicity today than ever before their unique skill set to move the pocket and make things happen off the run has been resisted. However, those same abilities were revered in the likes of Steve Young, Brett Farve and now Aaron Rodgers. McNabb is hall of fame worthy no question no doubt.
Trade Deadline Deals and News in The NBA
Be careful what you wish for cause you may just get it. Deron Williams wanted Jerry Sloan out as coach of the Utah Jazz and now he plays for the one of the NBA’s outposts. Wednesday it was announced that the New Jersey Nets who failed in the highest profile off-season in NBA history, failed to acquire Carmelo Anthony after 6 months of negotiating with Denver settled for plan C or worse. The Nets have given rookie forward Derrick Favors, point guard Devin Harris, two first-round draft picks and $3 million for Deron Williams. They also made a smaller deal in significance where they’d receive of Brandan Wright and center Dan Gadzuric from the Golden State Warriors in a while the Warriors take on forward Troy Murphy’s expiring contract.
Utah gets a great chance to retool their roster with the two first round picks as even with Deron Williams they are just 8th in the Western Conference. Derek Favours also gives them a lottery pick from the most recent draft and Devin Harris is a good young point guard himself adequately replacing Deron Williams. Plus Andrei Kirilenko, Al Jefferson, Paul Milsap, Mehmet Okur and C.J. Miles was a decent nucleus to start with.
The Nets, yes get a star player who I’m sure hates the fact that he’s in New Jersey and is probably hopping mad at this deal. Williams who early this season stated he wanted to retire a Jazz suddenly decided about 2 months ago he wanted out of Utah and recently hinted he’d like a deal to New York. His feud with the coach led to Jerry Sloan re-signing from a position he held for 23 years. Williams probably felt like he won the NBA Finals forcing the long time Jazz head coach out of Utah. He probably also felt like Carmelo Anthony and so many other players he had the Jazz over a barrel and could write his future anyway anyhow. However since he signed a 4 year 70 million dollar deal back on July 18th 2008 and won’t be a free agent again until July 1st, 2012. This now means that he is stuck in one of the NBA’s outposts (New Jersey) until then unless he forces another deal over the summer (trade Deadline was Thursday). He apparently knew nothing of this deal to New Jersey. The Nets only have Brook Lopez their 2008 lottery pick and Travis Outlaw to boast about along with Deron Williams now. New Jersey is really no better for having made this deal and probably have a disgruntled Williams to deal with , but Utah gets rid of a potential contractual headache in Deron Williams and add pieces that will help today and in the future.
New York Knicks:
Wednesday night the Knicks got to display their new roster for the hometown faithful. They bested the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 with the hometown crowd chanting a raucous “Melo” throughout the game. Anthony poured in 27 points and 10 rebounds. His ex-Nugget teammate Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 8 assists.
With the trade deadline in the NBA now over (Thursday at 3pm) the Clippers and Cavaliers swung a deal in which Baron Davis was sent to the Cavs from the Clippers for Mo Williams. This deal involved two struggling franchises swapping point guards. They The Cavs also sent Jamario Moon to the Clippers for a first round pick in 2011. I give the edge to Cleveland because they get the 1st round pick which will help in their rebuild post LBJ although this years draft is not considered a strong.class.
The Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards have a deal in place. The Hawks will receive Kirk Hinrich and center Hilton Armstrong from the Wizards for point guard Mike Bibby, forward Maurice Evans, guard Jordan Crawford and a first-round draft pick.
Former Raptor Jarred Jack was arrested Sunday for drunk driving in Georgia. He was traveling 66 mph in a 45 zone and his Mercedes benz was weaving. He also failed a sobriety test on the scene.
The Boston Celtic have weakened their team in two weird deals beating the trade deadline. First, centre Kendrick Perkins who was the difference in the Boston v L.A. series before he got hurt in the Final last spring was shipped along with Nate Robinson to the OKC Thunder for Jeff Green and Centre Nenad Kristic who hasn’t been a significant factor since his days in New Jersey dating back to the 2006/07 season. Then Danny Ainge sent rookies Luke Harangody and Semith Erdin to the Canvaliers for a second round pick. So they have essentially reduced their roster by 2, gotten smaller as Jeff Green is under sized, Erden was a big body to help staving off Joakim Noah of Chicago, Roy Hibbert of Indiana and Dwight Howard of Orlando for the playoffs and without the aggressive play, rebounding and lane intimidation of Perkins the Celtics are left with Shaq and Jermaine O’neal in the centre spot. Nate Robinson is a guy that can light up the score board at any moment so that’s a loss on the bench as well. Clearly Danny Ainge has lost his mind because change for change sake is not always good.
The Charlotte Bobcats in a cost cutting move traded Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trailblazers for Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks and a conditional 2011 1st round pick. Nazr Mohammed was also sent to the OKC Thunder for D.J. White and Morris Peterson’s expiring contract. The Bobcats will also waive several players to make room on their roster.
Mark Cuban is angry that the NBA owned New Orleans Hornets just assumed a huge contract in acquiring Carl Landry for one Marcus Thornton. Since all owners are trying to promote the idea of payroll roll backs and cost cutting they don’t want to see this type of deal. Marcus Thornton makes just over 760 thousand while Landry makes 3 million. Mark Cuban is definitely not a fan of the David Stern and the two are always at war. However, if all the owners, who yes have a stake in New Orleans successes or failures due to revenue sharing, start going don this road of working together to restrict player salary sooner or later someone will shout out collusion.
the Houston Rockets have traded Shane Battier to the Memphis Grizzlies for former No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet and a first-round draft pick. Shane Battier who has played for the Grizzlies before is expected to replace the injured Rudy Gay. The Rockets also sent the under performing Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for Goran Dragic and centre Demarre Carroll and a lottery protected 1st round draft pick.
Deron Williams Traded Fitting Justice
Deron Williams got what he deserved on Wednesday February 23rd, 2011. He and his ex team mates apparently heard about the deal while watching Sports Centre. Williams signed a 4 year 70 million dollar deal to play in Utah!!!! The key words are he committed play 4 years in Utah. First play means to use his basketball acumen and athleticism to entertain on the basketball court, second do that for the fans in Utah for 4 years. Therefore, to all the Chris Paul’s, Carmello anthony’s and Deron Williams, demanding a trade 1 or 2 years before your deal or commitment ends is a breach of contract. In my opinion, any player actively seeking to break a commitment (a contract) should have their deal null and voided immediately. Its funny how these players expect the terms of their deal to be honoured when they force their current franchise to send them to their dream destination, which invariablely 2-3 years from now will have to deal with the same issue again, expect to maintain their pay under the old or original contract that they breached.
Now this may sound like I have a bone to pick with the players and that I’m a owner/management guy. Not necessarily but this growing cancer in pro sports and in particular the NBA of the player/manager/agent/owner player is getting old and real fast too. I am not a military guy either but there has to be order and I believe in a chain of command. Owners hire GM’s to manager player personnel through drafts, signings and trades and development. Coaches take those assets, the players and indoctrinate or coach those players to execute certain schemes, plans, plays, systems or whatever your choice word is for the madness that becomes reason in a basketball game. Players need to employ these plans by learning them and then executing them on the court first in practise and then duplicating it before a live crowd on game day. Kordell Stewart was called “Slash” because of the multiple positions he could play which is different from the “slash of today “player/owner/everything. While one has to applaud the business sense of most athletes today that empowerment gets lost in translation because they have gone way to far with their power.
When it started who knows. There are always players who are upset with coaches, unhappy with pay, hate losing, or don’t like the city they play in. At some point even your average person becomes disinterested or frustrated with their work environment. However, the average person has to seek out other employment, quit their current job-stop taking money from the current employer – and start a fresh somewhere new. Every athlete though knows if you are lucky enough to make the pros you may find yourself getting cut, traded and multiple times in a short period, and waived. However, these are decisions for a GM on the advice of his coach and at the permission of the owner. The Player plays. Some how this fundamental distinction or separation of management and player got blurred. It seemed to start when owners not willing to annoy fans listen to their star player over the coach and GM like what Deron Williams did to get Jerry Sloan fired although Williams claims he did not force Sloan out of Utah. Maybe it started when the New York Knicks made a trade to obtain Latrell Sprewell after he had choked his coach P.J. Carlissimo. I mean if a player who can’t take direction and chokes his coach what would make any Gm or owner feel they could rehabilitate that player? By the way Sprewell left the NBA because a 3 year $21 million dollar contrct could not feed his family and he has now lost his home in bankruptcy. Maybe it was when Vince Carter talked his way into becoming a shooting guard and not a small forward allowing him to play on the perimeter more frequently. Whenever it was that this madness started, players are managing and telling the owners of pro sport franchise what to do more than ever before. LeBron James’ departure from Cleveland is vilified not because he chose to leave as a free agent, but because of the decision and the fact that he forced the owner to fire 2 coaches and a GM especially and specifically Mike Brown and Danny Ferry weeks before he left.
Players today have too much power. All these super power teams are what makes the MLB fan base mediocre because everyone knows the Yankees and Red Sox are going to make the playoffs meaning fans in other cities in the American League East, where the Red Sox and Yankees play, have no hope and don’t care what happens. The reverse is true in the NFL where the Carolina Panthers who were awful in 2010 could dominate 2011 because of the parity therefore fans stay invested in the franchise. Right now look at the NBA, Toronto, New Jersey, Cleveland, Memphis, Utah, Denver, and even Orlando right now is scred to death of losing Dwight Howard, are like outposts. They get lottery picks on a regular basis, which means these players are trying to get established in the league and don’t have the voice or power to demand a trade or change their situation so they may re-sign like Chris Bosh did with the Toronto Raptors in 2007, and like Deron Williams in 2008 for 3 or 4 years. However the first chance these players get, they demand the team spend over the luxury tax like Bosh suggested the Raptors do while he refused to give a clear indication what he wanted to do re-sign in 2010 or leave. As I mentioned before LBJ forced Cleveland to change their management and coaching staff in the 2010 off-season only to walk away from Cleveland. As I say I don’t know when it happened but owners and managers have become almost enchanted, if not servants to these players when in essence it should be the other way around.
While everyone understands that the players bring the fans out, the fans want to know that their local team has a chance to win. When all the good players demand to be group together on 4 or 5 franchises in a league of 30 teams that leaves fans in 25 cities frustrated and annoyed. The players have no loyalty to their fans anymore and the slightest hint of rebuilding or losing and these players want to leave. Gone are the days of a player starting and finishing his career with one team. When you think Majic Johnson you think LA Lakers. When you think Larry Bird you think Boston Celtics. But when you think Vince Carter what team comes to mind? Long ago the players began demanding that this player be signed or that the owner spend x amount of dollars otherwise they aren’t going to stay. What they fail to realise is they are the problem too. When one player makes $23 million dollars out of a $57 million dollar salary cap that leaves 34 million to be distributed amongst 14 other roster spots. That is less than 3 million per player. What kind of team do you expect to play on? Its up to the owners if they want to pay the luxury tax and have multiple stars on their team but that should be the owner’s choice profit or championships. The New York Knicks until 3 years ago were proof that spending over the luxury tax does not guarantee wins either.
This is a two fold problem where the owners need to start saying no more often. Further, the Utah Jazz handled the trade of Deron Williams quite nicely. While I wish the situation hadn’t cost Jerry Sloan his job when a player acts up the best way to solve the problem is a trade to a poorly performing franchise and retool your team for the future. The Jazz did quite nicely in this deal with New Jersey for their present and future. You will also notice that Utah did not make a lot of noise about the situation between player and coach and while Deron Williams thought he had won, he had no clue what the game was. It may seem cold but players are commodities to be traded to the highest bidder. Its always best to make that trade when the player is in peak performance like a well performing stock, sell high. If more of these types of trades would happen, instead of the public fiasco the Carmello Anthony saga became, the players would act more appropriately because the reality is they could be traded into a worse situation. Carmello Anthony’s desire to move to New York was weird because Denver won games with him in the line up. I get New York is a bigger market but again he committed to Denver for 5 years and this isn’t about honouring your word it wasmore serious as it was in black and white in permanent ink that he was property of Denver. Essentially the trade demand to break a commitment for greener pastures is exactly what a child does to his mother when trying to test what he/she can get away with. The more the parent gives in and allows, the more the child will try to get away with and then patterns of behaviour form from these tests. Right now the NBA is an Asylum run by the inmates. This deal between Utah and New Jersey is a step in the right direction because Deron Williams should not have been able to dictate a trade away from Utah to start with. This trade is what things used to be like and believe me many are missing the old days in more way than one.
Ron MacLean And Don Cherry Part of The Problem
Once again I will reiterate my disgust with Ron McLean and Don Cherry regarding the whistle blowing comments about Brad Ference’s comments on the Dan Paille hit against Dallas’ Sawada a couple of weeks back. Ron McLean has to realize that as an on air personality like any athlete is held to really high standards and considered a role model, using his position to admonishing some for “whistle blowing” is akin to the whole I witness a murder but I’m no snitch. In other words, when a citizen refuses to talk to the police and give his /her witness statement that murderer could kill you next, but you’re not a snitch. What happens when Ference is nolonger a Paille team mate and Ference is drilled on n illegal hit from Paille? If Paille’s hit a couple of weeks ago was an accident well discussing it and dealing with the issue now may make him a better more conscientious player who avoids those scenarios next time out. As for Don Cherry his put down of Mario Lemieux’s comments are comical and revisionist. Saturday night he discussed how the League made Lemieux rich. Does anyone not recall how Lemieux had to buy a bankrupt Pittsburgh Penguins to recoup the $30 million he was owed because the previous owners mismanaged the team so poorly.
So when Lemieux called the league a “garage league” he was right. Yes, at the time Lemeiux referred to the clutch and grab in the game, but only a garage league couldn’t pay its players either especially its star player. If you don’t follow consider the Atlanta Thrashers situation right now, the mess in Long Island, Phoenix and other teams. Oddly enough Phoenix is not the worst scenario in the NHL right now. Yes Lemieux was a bit hypocritical for complaining about illegal hits on his team and how they were punished when he employs the worst offender in Matt Cooke. Don Cherry and Ron McLean are painted on the side of Leaf Goalie James Reimer’s helmet, if anyone doubts the impression these personalities on HNIC have on the youth, players and faithful followers of the game of hockey. Somebody needs to clean up the diarrhea that spews from their lips soon.
It is clearly Cherry’s stereotypical and neanderthal attitude and Ron MacLean’s stupidity are essentially the core of the problem in the NHL which is why hits to the head only became an issue when star players starting missing seasons at a time and retiring from the effects. These attitudes are the reason Sidney Crosby is out of the Penguins line-up. With weekly rants about foreign players being soft and making money off of Rock’em Sock’em Hockey Don Cherry and Ron MacLean’s Coach’s Corner needs to be phased ou soon or replaced on Hockey Night In Canada.
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