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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 16, 2021 10:38:30 GMT -5
Sorry wcp, but Stevens is doing the LORD'S WORK with this roster. No argument here What?, What??, What???☺️ |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 15, 2021 17:25:51 GMT -5
Yankees stole him..15 million per. He must really have wanted to play in Yankee Stadium. Outside of playing in that hitter's paradise called Coors field where he started, i cannot think of a better stadium suited for him currently existing. Fenway was not for him, as some here have called for. Old Tiger stadium perhaps, with it's over hanging boxes in RF may have also helped. Not saying he wouldn't have hit in any stadium, he would have, but his somewhat power numbers will be somewhat artificially inflated in NY. Wise choice on his part and he knew it. Shame Boggs didn't take Fenway into consideration when he left and remember all the hits off the wall he lost which became easy outs in that grand canyon at old yankee stadium. John I agree. The guy is an all fields hitter who maxed power numbers in N.Y. He wouldn't hit 25-30 hrs. in Fenway, but he would hit for high average anywhere and will be a good fielding 2b for at least 3 years....ages 32-34. And he doesn't have the kind of body that will morph heavy by age 37. The Yankees got the 2 time batting champion and lifetime .300 hitter for a song IMO by paying him longer at today's prices....It helps the Yankees now significantly from a financial standpoint. Six years from now that 15M will be a pittance given rising markets and the then likely cap numbers. I'll bet other teams in need and with bucks offered more. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 15, 2021 16:35:44 GMT -5
The New York Yankees and free agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu are finalizing a new contract, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi first reported Friday. The deal, which is agreed upon, is for six years and $90 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Yankees stole him..15 million per. He must really have wanted to play in Yankee Stadium. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 13, 2021 22:44:12 GMT -5
Reports are that the Nets haven’t spoken to Kyrie in days - he won’t answer calls. He was mad at the hiring of Nash and having no input and his and Durants relationship has been “distant”. He has to retire if he won't come back to play with Durant and Harden. Three guys wanting the ball. Hmmmm. Kyrie is the odd man out. I'm betting that he gets traded before the s___t hits the fan. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 13, 2021 9:16:28 GMT -5
Id much rather just hold on to beni than trading him for a bust in moniak and a triple a pitcher from an organization that doesn't have much in the farm. I understand not wanting to trade him at a low point but Benni might also be a bust, so its a bust for bust trade. Benni was a high pick and performed well for most of two MLB years. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. During his first season some even speculated that he might someday win a batting title...so good was his swing, strike zone judgment etc. He was a good fielder with a decent arm. He's 26....not 36. It's far from the norm for such a guy to suddenly lose it (Ok, yup, Stapleton and Nava). Some clubs will reasonably be induced to 'buy on the dip' of just a 2 month performance drop 2019-2020. Still, the prospect of becoming good again and at low salary will be enough that we should get a pretty fair return...or else we keep him. Otherwise, he is the type of guy the Sox might have picked up last year. But perhaps there are other factors warranting his departure. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 10, 2021 14:01:04 GMT -5
Tacko, 14 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocked shots P Rabbit, 32 points, 12 assists, only if Smart doesn't take 30 shots. No way Tacko can play 48... |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 7, 2021 18:03:44 GMT -5
Sugano San is a man of his words. You got to respect that. That's understandable. If teams were only offering ~3/30, which was speculated, then getting 8mil for next year with ~32mil guaranteed (if he stays in Japan all 4 years) to not move across the ocean, and be close to friends and family, seem like the better deal. We can go through all of this again next year when he has no posting fee attached. Do we know that is what mlb teams were offering...3/30? Returning to the Giants might make sense if the U.S. team offers were somewhat comparable. I could understand leaving family and culture could be a drag unless he were financially induced. OTOH, this was his opportunity to prove himself on the highest stage. Yup, if he has another good year in Japan, avoids injury, and there is then no posting fee, it could work to mutual benefit...clubs could then give Sugano a sweetener especially given that revenues would likely return to normalcy by then. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 7, 2021 17:40:48 GMT -5
The fact that the deadline is in 4 hours and we haven't heard anything yet makes me think he's going back to Japan. Money aside, can you blame him? The sushi is better? |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 3, 2021 21:55:29 GMT -5
Sneaky one of Tatum’s best all-around games of his career. Nice to escape with a win. Let’s focus on fixing the defense the next couple of weeks. Was getting doubled, making amazing passes still. 12 assists! Bird-esque.... |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 3, 2021 12:14:26 GMT -5
I am not a huge Theo guy, but saying he left these teams in ruins is a bit unfair. He left both with a banner they’d wanted for generations. Here is a question. Which do you prefer: Model A: cycles of being elite and down, with a WS at the peak of the up cycle (and suffering at the nadir); Model B: cycles of being competitive and being up-and-coming (with no titles at peak, but hope springing eternal at nadir). do you not remember the 2012 Red Sox? Do you not see how screwed the cubs are right now? I prefer Model C: the dodgers model where you have the payroll to keep your elite players that you trade for or develop and maintain an elite team with really no significant downwards trajectory at any point because of the organizational depth and high end talent. What the rays would be if they had a payroll. You da man. Succinct and to the point. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 3, 2021 11:23:28 GMT -5
I suspect that the more free spending Sox days are over for a while under Bloom's tenure...If so, a Manny is not walking thru that door. I'm ok with that. We will be competitive while striving to operate like Tampa with a few more bucks. It may take us a few years but we will build the long rumored "world class minor league system"....to perpetuate competing at the highest level. I don't need instant gratification. The Sox are going to spend on big contracts in the future. It's Chaim's job to have a little bit of foresight to know which contracts to spend big on. It's why he was brought here. While every GM under the Henry ERA won a title (Theo with two), they also eventually or almost immediately of fell into a trap where they had no financial flexibility at some point. Theo did it with Gonzalez and Crawford. Cherrignton did it with Hanley and Pablo. Dombrowski did it with Sale and Price. There are very few mega contracts that work out and maybe the Sox don't fall into that trap unless there's a perfect opportunity and a Manny Ramirez is reborn somewhere in the league in the future, but there are big contracts that still work out. The Mega contracts you can think of that did work out for the league is Trout (I'm assuming his contract works out), Manny Ramirez, Mike Musina, CC Sabathia, Max Scherzer. Okay maybe you have to find that much of a exceptional talent young enough to provide enough value throughout the contract. Maybe that's impossible to have that much foresight to have. However, there's also big contracts that have worked out that aren't or weren't top of the market rate deals at the time for the right players. Matt Holliday of the Cardinals signed a very valuable 7 year deal back in the day worth a lot of money. The Nolan Arenado contract is a great deal and I think he will be worth most of his contract. I'm sure there are others I can't think of, but THIS is the type of contracts we might see in the future for the right player and fit in the future for this team. Ohh and the Dodgers are the goal. What Friedman has done is arguably more impressive than Theo Epstein's 2003-2008 run with the Red Sox. Theo worked his way around a broken CBA to get high valued free agents, while letting some high valued players go and rebuilt through a compensation system that doesn't exist anymore. He stayed a world series contender throughout doing this. The league fixed this system in the CBA because it was unfair to small and mid market clubs. Friedman didn't do that and couldn't do that. The CBA was already fixed for parity in the league by the time he stepped in. He just drafted, made the smartest trades in the league, and spent on the right players (Justin Turner, Kershaw, maybe Mookie). Bloom was basically brought here to be the best GM in the Henry ERA to maintain flexibility on the payroll, I think. Hopefully this happens. No more getting stuck like in the years 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2009 while waiting for the system to save them with cheap contracts and try to reload 2 or 3 years later. Just my 2 cents. Well, I basically agree with what you said. Bloom will employ a more reasoned, more judicious, more sagacious approach than we might have utilized in the past. As you and I stated, like Friedman he will endeavor to scout and draft better and trade more wisely. I have confidence in him to carry that off. There are damn few Mannys, Trouts, Mookies...So, while we will choose to ply FA waters, I don't expect us to as often tap their deepest end. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 2, 2021 22:31:34 GMT -5
I suspect that the more free spending Sox days are over for a while under Bloom's tenure...If so, a Manny is not walking thru that door. I'm ok with that. We will be competitive while striving to operate like Tampa with a few more bucks. It may take us a few years but we will build the long rumored "world class minor league system"....to perpetuate competing at the highest level. I don't need instant gratification. I see no sign that this team is not willing to give Manny money to people with Manny talent, especially starting next year.. They were hamstrung when it came to trying to retain Mookie, and this year there is the disincentive of giving up the #4 pick (and $) in the 2nd round, but I see no evidence that they are going to be unwilling going forward to pay for talent. Bauer and Springer may not be worth the cost, and they are not the people who deserve Manny money. Well, we'll see. As you note, there are no Mannys out there now as free agents...Still some are offering their services at 35-40 million per. Been there. No thanks. But I think the Sox are going to go the more analytical, cerebral, methodical route, look for some more rough cut diamonds... under valued talent and drafting better. I just don't see us back in the DD days reflexively whipping out the wallet while oogling the bauble. If Tampa can go toe to toe with us on a payroll 150 million less, just think what we could do employing the same stratagems but having greater, but not unfettered, financial flexibility. I don't want a group of 250-300 million dollar contracts clogging the spigot. Next year's FA market could be interesting tho with continued lower revenues. Baseball became less exciting as home runs, strikeouts are waaay up, averages down....Guys throwing 100...less contact. The game is more like pitch and catch. Dull. I have been an advocate for moving the sacred 60'6" back to help offset increasing pitcher dominance...especially those late inning guys where drama is often nonexistent. That baseball is less exciting goes without saying as action has declined. More home runs have not been the antidote. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 2, 2021 15:37:39 GMT -5
Im so disappointed on the collapse of the baseball hot stove. Another thing that had killed interest in baseball. Can we land someone to get excited about... I suspect that the more free spending Sox days are over for a while under Bloom's tenure...If so, a Manny is not walking thru that door. I'm ok with that. We will be competitive while striving to operate like Tampa with a few more bucks. It may take us a few years but we will build the long rumored "world class minor league system"....to perpetuate competing at the highest level. I don't need instant gratification. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 1, 2021 21:13:31 GMT -5
Observations tonight so far: Tatum's handle really isn't amazing. I wonder if he'll ever focus on improving it. Many nights he's pretty sloppy with it. The Refs absolutely blow tonight. I can't believe some of the calls tonight. Smart has no handle tonight either. When he doesn't have have a handle it looks like all his fine motor skills are just off a little bit. His passes float into the back court, or out of bounds, or just miss targets entirely. Detroit looks like a dirty team, lots of cheap shots. Yeah. Tatum has never been great going to the hoop regardless of his height...He is smooth but not a leaper or a good finisher....3 pointers and fade away jumpers are the niche. His handle has always been a bit suspect. He doesn't have Brown's quick twitch and explosiveness IMO. I honestly feel that Brown has more upside and can score in a greater variety of ways. I also think that Brown has become better than Tatum defensively. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 1, 2021 20:27:34 GMT -5
Please, please take over as coach of the Celtics. It's obvious that you know so much more about coaching than Stevens. As you so correctly imply, he is the embodiment of the Peter Principle.If you had been coach, we would have several more championships. I'll do whatever I can to support your pursuit and return us to the throne. Just let me know. So you’re saying it makes sense Grant played twice as many minutes as Rob? Got it. Absolutely got it...point taken. But perhaps you misunderstood. I know that you are, at base, a diehard Celtic fan who lives and dies each game and maybe possession by possession. Some might think that you are a bit negative, but I am on your train. If the Cs are to improve, they need consistent, critical, quality, expert analysis of the kind that you offer rather than the usual fanboy pablum. I honestly think that you are onto something. Is there any way that you can connect with Celtic management to get broader exposure? |
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Post by sarasoxer on Jan 1, 2021 19:46:36 GMT -5
I’m seriously tired of watching Grant get more minutes than Rob Williams. Stevens has no idea what he’s doing with these rotations. Please, please take over as coach of the Celtics. It's obvious that you know so much more about coaching than Stevens. As you so correctly imply, he is the embodiment of the Peter Principle. If you had been coach, we would have several more championships. I'll do whatever I can to support your pursuit and return us to the throne. Just let me know. Yours, Sarasoxer |
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 18, 2020 22:39:58 GMT -5
The game looks extremely high effort for Tatum and Brown right now. I'm sure this is probably common so early in the year, but they both seem uncomfortable and like they're having to push extra hard just to get anything currently. I hope to see them relax into the game again soon. That high effort seems to have them both missing tons of shots you normally see them make. Would agree. Losing Hayward and Kemba puts so much pressure on good, complementary players...which I believe Brown, Tatum, Teague are. I think a record of 43-39 is where we will be... absent a great exception or trade acquisition. Prichard and Nesmith showed little tonight. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 13, 2020 23:50:07 GMT -5
Must have missed this but people are saying Tatum is close to 6'10" now. FINALLY Ainge gets a good big! I haven't seen this. What people? Where?.... |
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 12, 2020 20:13:49 GMT -5
Grant Williams blocked the game winning shot from Fred VanVleet in G7 of the ECSF as a rookie. Hes going to be a good to very good defender for a long time. He had a very similar rookie year statistically and minutes wise to Draymond. They literally had the exact same defensive box plus minus their rookie year. I think he's going to surprise a lot of folks this year. Mine is an eye test. Grant is built a bit like Semi and perhaps the same or not much taller. He appeared to be very intelligent and seasoned beyond that expected for a rookie...as advertised. But I don't think that he has above average length or certainly leaping ability. He is not a rim protector. I don't think he will be a factor against good sized centers. I don't know whether he has the quickness to guard quicker 4s. His bulk and savvy are his apparent (to me) strong points. In small ball games, he could be useful. I hope he proves to be more. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 12, 2020 19:53:17 GMT -5
Yeah, until there is contrary evidence, just as in Danny I trust, in Bloom I trust. We are lucky.
Bloom has plucked a lot in a short time from relatively barren fields. Many/most might not pan out but this guy is actively and intelligently scouring the landscape, not throwing darts. I love what has been done in a short time and look forward to cheering a team on a "v-shaped recovery".
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 7, 2020 15:47:59 GMT -5
Pritchard has a low release, yet it's also very quick. So I'm not worried, he's a smart player that does a lot of little things that don't make that an issue. What I want to see is if he can still knife in and out of the paint in the NBA with his creative dribbling like in College. In regards to Grant Williams, it's more than just a good shooting percentage. Semi had a good shooting percentage last year. Grant needs to be much more involved and taking a lot more shots. He's got to find his niche in the NBA. If it's just floor spacing than it's he needs to take more three's. Yet I really want to see him do work in the paint. He was an elite low post scorer in College. He won't be that in the NBA, yet he should be able to do somethings down there. Basically he needs to not be Semi on offense and he looked like that last year. Semi is the guy who gets the ball and unless it's a wide open three acts like he's scared to have the ball. To unlock Grants full talent like his passing he needs to find what works in the paint in the NBA. I went back and watched his College tape again, he has a ton of moves. Which he'll need, it's going to have to be crazy high skill level with him. First year get his D ready, now let's try and unlock his offense. I start with the low post, I make him the guy you put on the line to beat the crazy D we faced in the playoffs. He showed dribbling skills in College we didn't see in the NBA. I was a little harsh on Grant Williams given his NBA ready tag label and what we got. He just turned 22 and I forget sometimes he's young for his class. So prove me wrong big fella, prove you can be a top bench piece for a title contender. He's got a golden opportunity to start the year. Take that big year two jump, show us your not Semi. As to Pritchard, he reminds me a bit of Edwards..in the sense that he often pulls up way outside to get clearance. The videos show some ability to drive when there was a rush to close him down in college. As you allude, will that translate against bigger, quicker NBA defenders or will he mostly sit 25-30 feet out waiting for a kick out to squeeze off a 3? Grant was the quintessential 3 point bricklayer early. Hopefully that is past because I worry about him as a center...offensively and defensively down low....His bulk serves but he is not a shot blocker or intimidator. I see him as utilitarian...a hard worker who is on the overachiever side to be used against some 'bigs'....ready to make short periods of contribution like Pritchard and Nesmith, but very much a side piece. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 6, 2020 10:08:21 GMT -5
Does Pritchard have a low release? or short arms? It looks like he needs a lot of space to get his shot off.
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 2, 2020 8:23:29 GMT -5
Recently I asked what Kemba's knee issue was. I understood that it was arthritis not a cartilage issue. Maybe he had prior cartilage damage and the inflammation led to arthritis. But what will a stem cell injection accomplish or hope to accomplish? Can it regenerate cartilage, mollify arthritis? As someone pointed out, he played a limited amount of games this year, had the injection in Sept., has worked hard to strengthen the supporting structure of his knee and still won't be available until sometime in January... Reports were that Danny tried to trade him for the 5th pick in the draft. Had he pulled that off, his jersey would be in the rafters and Koby Altman seen selling trinkets on the streets of Peru. It's common, my father who's 67 is going through the same issues. Was talking about knee replacement, yet he's years from that. ACL surgery about 20 years ago, caused cartilage loss, which now is causing arthritis. It's all connected. It won't get better and he likely gets a knee replacement at some point. Now Kemba is much younger, yet that sure seems like his issues. He got a shot to stop cartilage loss and help repair what's left like 6-7 months ago. That doesn't seem to have helped, so he's trying stem cell. Will it help? Let's hope it does. Yet it's bad news, like really bad news. Cartilage doesn't grow back, when it's completely gone you get knee replacements. Walker is obviously years from that. Yet it's never getting better, he'll keep having flair ups. It's really more a question of how many and how often? Every single person is different. The rest and keeping to a timeline made sense. Yet the truth is he got another shot. There's a reason Danny tried to trade him. Found the following article... bioinformant.com/stem-cell-therapy-for-knees/ |
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Post by sarasoxer on Dec 1, 2020 21:43:43 GMT -5
First, I’m the one who raised the alarm bells here about Kemba, despite getting criticized for it ,so I’m certainly concerned. However, the news he’s on hold until January is a GOOD thing. I wrote about this earlier, but they literally stopped playing 2 months ago. Originally, it was expected the season wouldn’t start until January so they mapped out a plan for Kemba to be ready for that start time. To change that because the NBA decided to start earlier would be foolish. I guess that's one way to look at it. Another is he's played like 20 games in like eight months and he's not close to 100%. Which he'll never be again, so now it's just reduce his playing time and try to keep him healthy for the playoffs. No amount of strength training is going to offset the loss of cartilage in his knee. Recently I asked what Kemba's knee issue was. I understood that it was arthritis not a cartilage issue. Maybe he had prior cartilage damage and the inflammation led to arthritis. But what will a stem cell injection accomplish or hope to accomplish? Can it regenerate cartilage, mollify arthritis? As someone pointed out, he played a limited amount of games this year, had the injection in Sept., has worked hard to strengthen the supporting structure of his knee and still won't be available until sometime in January... Reports were that Danny tried to trade him for the 5th pick in the draft. Had he pulled that off, his jersey would be in the rafters and Koby Altman seen selling trinkets on the streets of Peru. |
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Post by sarasoxer on Nov 27, 2020 22:51:28 GMT -5
Charlotte offered 120 million over 4 years for Hayward. What's the holdup in announcing that?
Supposedly Danny is trying to work a deal for a trade exception...but what leverage does he have?? After losing out to Turner and a first round pick...it seems none...
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