WOW!!!!!
Halladay to Phils, Cliff Lee to Mariners
Tagged blue jays, cliff lee, mariners, MLB, phillies, roy halladay
3 Comments
Charting a Course to March: Kentucky Wildcats
December 5th: #4 Kentucky 68, #10 North Carolina 66, at Kentucky
December 9th: #4 Kentucky 64, #13 UConn 61, at Madison Square Garden
December 12th: #4 Kentucky 90, Indiana 73, at Indiana
With the arrival of John Calipari and the top recruting class in the nation, Kentucky has really emerged as the most talked-about team in the country so far this season. I’ve been able to watch their last three games, ending with a win at Indiana on Saturday that pushed their record to 10-0. It’s hard to imagine there is a more fun team to watch in college basketball. They’re probably the most purely talented team in the nation and, at least physically, they look more like an NBA team than a college team.
Any conversation about Kentucky has to start with freshman PG John Wall. The word “electrifying” gets thrown around a lot in sports, but it fits the bill with Wall. Opposing coaches have described him as “better than Derrick Rose” and “the best point guard to come into college basketball since Jason Kidd.” The kid has it all: size (6’4″, will need to add some muscle), athleticism, quickness, defense, shooting, passing. He turns it over too much right now, but he makes a few plays a game that just leave you shaking your head, or laughing out loud. He’s a legit national player of the year candidate, and will almost certainly be the top pick in next year’s NBA draft.
The key veteran for Kentucky is junior F/C Patrick Patterson. Kansas’s Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich were both pre-season All-Americans, but Wall and Patterson might just form the best duo in the game. Patterson is an elite rebounder and has added a very effective jump shot to his game. He can run the pick-and-pop like a pro right now. He’s the best big man I’ve seen so far this year, and he should join Wall as a top-10 pick in the June draft.
The team has two other players that could end up as lottery picks (especially if they stick around for at least one more season): freshmen Eric Bledsoe and Demarcus Cousins. Bledsoe would be a star PG at just about any other school, but with Wall around, he’s playing off the ball. Cousins is a power forward with NBA size and athleticism, and a lot of skill to go with it. He’s had a lot of foul trouble and probably needs to mature a bit, but he’s already averaging 14 pts and 8 boards.
The supporting cast to those four future pros includes three solid, 6’7″ guards, Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson, and Ramon Harris, along with a promising freshman F/C, Daniel Orton.
With three of their top four players being freshmen, they have the expected mental lapses. The best thing that can happen to this team will be to lose a few games so they realize that they can’t just rely on their talent. Calipari has been trying hard to get that across to them, but it will probably take them getting beat before they really start to listen. It will happen though, and this will be a very tough team to beat.
Best-Case Scenario: National Champions
Best Guess: Final Four (They’re not the best team in the country right now, but they definitely could be by March)
Posted in Charting a Course to March, College Hoops
Tagged demarcus cousins, eric bledsoe, john calipari, john wall, kentucky, patrick patterson
2 Comments
BSB’s 2009 MLB Preview Challenge (Final Results)
So, we are on the doorstep of another season. A season in which the Phillies are going to try and DEFEND THEIR WORLD SERIES TITLE!!! Oh, if no one realized, the Phillies did win the World Series last year. Just wanted to remind everyone. Anyway, we, here at BSB, like to preview sports seasons in a bit of a different way. If you want to see how it works, check out last year’s MLB preview.
UPDATE: Now that we are at the proverbial “halfway” point of the season, it is time to update the BSB baseball preview to see who is doing a better job so far. The underlined italics are the updates. The scores at the end of each update show the points (as they stand now) and then in parentheses are the “solid” points–ones that almost definitely will not be changing.
FINAL: Okay, it is time to catch up on the results of the Second Annual BSB MLB Preview Challenge. Bry won last year’s MLB Preview Challenge 17-13, but Doogan held a close 16-14 lead in this one at the halfway point. It is important for Bry to comeback here because Doogan won the Inaugural BSB NFL Preview Challenge, and he also led this year’s NFL version at the halfway point. Bry won the only NBA version that BSB has done. So, let’s get on to the final tally for the Second Annual (2009 edition) BSB MLB Preview Challenge. The Final Updates will be in bold, so you can skip down to the bold parts, if you just want the final updates.
Anyway, without any further ado, Bry will kick off the 2009 BSB MLB Preview with the first pick:
BRY 1. Tampa Bay Rays UNDER 97 wins: My first selection last year was the Rays and the OVER of 66 wins. That worked out, well, pretty well for me, so I figure I’ll make them my first pick again this year. I know that it’s generally a bad idea to pick the UNDER on a team of all young players that is bringing back the same team as last year, but 97 is just a whole lot of wins in this killer division. Plus, they were the darlings of the MLB season last year; they didn’t face pressure until September and October. Now, they are the hunted. Not to mention all the talent added by the Yankees this year and an Orioles team that may not be a doormat this year (okay, maybe I listen to too much Baltimore sports talk radio). And, the Red Sox still have the best front-end starting rotation in baseball. I’m not saying that the Rays won’t go back to the playoffs. I’m not even saying they won’t repeat as AL champs. All I’m saying is that they will not win 97 regular season games again this year.
UPDATE: This looked like an easy win at #1 for Bry when the Rays got off to a very slow start. But, they have started playing really well again and are clearly in the hunt for the AL East. Currently, they are only on pace for 87 wins, but considering their start, 98 is not out of the question at all. Losing the #1 pick would be a bad start for Bry, especially coming off a defeat in the NFL Preview. But, as it stands now, we will give Bry the point, but not a solid one.
BRY 1(0) – DOOGAN 0(0)
POINT: BRY (1-0)
Bry gets the first pick correct, as the Rays do finish above .500, but not by much (84-78). Maybe it was Pat Burrell… This should be an interesting mid-round pick next year because who knows where this team goes from here.
DOOGAN 2. Atlanta Braves- OVER 72 wins: I’m not as high on this team as some out there and I don’t think they’ll hang with the Phils and Mets, but they are definitely better than a 72 win team. They have two workhorses, Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez, joining the rotation and two potential Rookie of the Year candidates in CF Jordan Schafer and SP Tommy Hanson, who will be up later in the season. They should be good for at least a 10-win improvement.
UPDATE: The Braves have hovered around .500 most of the season and enter the All-Star Break two games under. This puts them on a pace to win 79. This is a decent cushion for Doogan’s pick, but is certainly not completely comfortable. We will give a tenative point to Doogan here.
DOOGAN 1(0) – BRY 1(0)
POINT: DOOGAN (1-1)
A great second-half for the Braves is scary for the Phils heading into 2010, but it is good for Doogan, as he actually gets this pick easily, even though it looked shaky for a while. The Braves were actually alive for the playoffs until the final week, finishing with 86 wins. We will see how this team shapes up for 2010, but I would say that they certainly won’t be a top 2 pick again next year. That 86 number looks pretty tough to work with.
Tell Me I’m Crazy
Okay, this one may even go too far, and I can’t believe I’m even going to try and argue for this one, but:
Tell me I’m crazy, but the Phillies are probably better off, in the long-term, by not trading for Roy Halladay.
With one BIG caveat…UNLESS, they are willing to ink both Halladay and Cliff Lee to long-term deals (which would be AMAZING, by the way!) OR they are pretty sure that they cannot sign Cliff Lee long-term and would risk not having either in 2011.
Now, please understand that if I load up ESPN’s front page and it says “Phillies acquire Roy Halladay…” I will leap up from my chair and probably do cartwheels through the office BEFORE I even read further as to who they gave up to get him. In fact, just writing this blog post is getting the pure fan in me very, VERY excited at the possibility. That pure fan doesn’t care if they gave Toronto the entire minor league system, just as long as the Nationals have to face Lee, Halladay, and Hamels to open the season on April 5, 7, and 8. But, that is the fan in me, not the armchair general manager. GMs have to really look at the long-term implications much more than fans, managers, or even owners. And, that is why, with my wannabe GM hat on, I hesitate on this move, even though, from all reports, Halladay is out there to be had, and all Amaro has to do is say “yes,” because they have the best package of any of the contending teams.
But, let’s just think about it for a second, and let’s think about past 2010. I think it’s safe to assume that, no matter what happens this offseason, that the Phillies 2011 rotation will not feature BOTH Halladay and Lee, right? And, I think it’s safe to say that the Phillies at least have a shot at extending Cliff Lee after 2010, right? (ps…if that is not the case, and Lee is hell-bent on testing the market, then this whole argument goes out the window, and there is no doubt that the Phils should immediately go get Halladay and sign him long-term.) So, then for all intents and purposes, trading for Halladay is a one-year rental because they will add an ace at the beginning of the season and, because of that addition, they will lose an ace at the end of the year (even if it’s Halladay who stays and Lee who goes). Joe Blanton is eligible for free agency after 2010, and I seriously doubt that the Phils will resign him. Jamie Moyer will be 97 in 2011, so he’s not in the picture. Pedro will be 96, so he’s probably out, too. That leaves Lee/Halladay, Cole Hamels, and whomever is left over from the Halladay deal (be it Happ or Drabek or, god forbid, neither). What do the Phillies do? They won’t be able to go get a free agent because with the built-in raises to Rollins, Utley, and Howard, the already large expenses of Brad Lidge, Placido Polanco, and Raul Ibanez, the extension demands of Hamels, the questions about the futures of free-agent-to-be OFs Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino, and the humongous contract they will have to give to Lee/Halladay, they will be seriously strapped for cash. And, they won’t be able to trade for a front-line starter because the Halladay deal will, at the very least cost them a SP and an OF, so the other SP will be needed as the #3 starter and the OF will probably be needed to replace either Werth or Victorino, whomever they decide to let go. So, the once “loaded” farm system will be stripped.
So the question is: Is Roy Halladay in 2010 worth living with Kyle Kendrick as your #3/4 starter in 2011? I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s not really that big of a stretch. And, please don’t even think about 2012 and beyond, when you have to extend or lose Hamels, you have to make major decisions on Rollins and Howard, you have to think about replacements for an aging Polanco and an aging Ibanez, and you have to eventually (depending on ML playing time) start thinking about the arbitration demands of a Drabek, a Taylor, a Brown, or a Gose.
Tell me I’m crazy…….
Hold on, there is a good news in all of this, and that is………….WOW, these are GREAT problems to have. And, to play the other sidefor a minute (which sort of defeats the purpose of this post, but whatever), I kind of think Happ is, at best, a #3 starter, and Michael Taylor is not needed now and probably not needed later because of Brown and Gose, so if you can package Happ and Taylor and get Halladay, even for one year. Just do it. And, honestly, I think Ruben will do just that. Happ’s value is at an all-time high, and Taylor is too good for AAA, but does not fit the Phils outfield right now. If that will get it done, do it. Please…
A Weak Attempt at Impartiality: An AI Inquisition
Sorry that I have been MIA for a while on the blog; we just moved and, wow, is a new place a ton of work. Anyway, as things are settling down, it’s time to weigh in on one of two athletes that have ever received “unconditional sports love” from me. Allen Iverson can do absolutely no wrong for me because of what I perceive as a complete and total genuineness and stark, human honesty. Plus, as Doogan so perfectly expressed, the fact that one of my biggest complaints about professional athletes is that they don’t care–they don’t care about winning and they don’t care about fans. NOTHING can be further from the truth about Iverson. Yes, he has his faults, but goddammit, the man cares.
Okay, I’m getting off track (which I often do, especially when there’s a chance to express my love of AI), but what I’m going to try to do here is present a litany of questions surrounding the Sixers (re)signing of Iverson in a way that covers all sides. I won’t try and hide my partiality, but I will try and present all the sides–at least all those that I can see.
Why did the Sixers (re)sign Allen Iverson?
As happy as I am to see him back, and as great as his years here were, no one should be naive in thinking that this was purely a basketball decision. In fact, if you gave Ed Stefanski and Ed Snider truth serum, you may even hear them say that any basketball effects (positive or negative) had no impact whatsoever on this decision. This was a business decision. The Sixers were next-to-last in the league in attendance, and there was no end to that apathy in sight. Now, they have ticket lines out the door. This was a really easy decision for the Sixers, as a business. And, for the rest of the discussion, let us leave the business out of it (if we can) because I would be kidding myself if I thought I was qualified, in any way, to comment on the business of professional sports.
Does this help the Sixers on the court?
This, obviously, remains to be seen, but I think it does. It is certainly not without potentially significant ramifications (which we will get to in a minute), but as far as positives, from a basketball standpoint, I think they are a better team now than they were last week, especially because…
Would they have made this move if Lou Williams was still healthy?
Maybe.
Would it have been a good move, basketball-wise, if Williams was still healthy?
Probably not. Definitely not in the long-term (more on that in a minute), but I don’t even know if it would have made sense in the short-term. The injury to Williams opened up a spot for Iverson…in fact, I would even argue that it opened up a need for Iverson. They are not going to move Iggy to the #1 (clearly), and Willie Green, well, stinks to put it bluntly. And Jrue Holliday, as much as I think he’ll be a player, if clearly not ready to start–he’s probably not even ready to give you 18-20 minutes in the Association yet. So, without Williams, the Sixers need Iverson just to field a legitimate team night in and night out.
Tagged allen iverson, NBA, sixers
2 Comments
Eagles-Giants Preview AND a BSB Movie Review: Big Fan
On Sunday night, the 8-4 Eagles make their annual trip up the turnpike to take on the 7-5 Giants. As the teams kick-off the final quarter of the regular season, they find themselves gridlocked atop the division, along with the 8-4 Cowboys.
The recent history of the Eagle-Giant rivalry has seen a lot of momentum shifts. From 1997-2000, the Giants won 9 straight, topping the run off by beating the Eagles in the Divisional Round of the 2000 Playoffs, in the first playoff appearance of the Reid-McNabb era. Then, as the Birds emerged as the powerhouse team of the division, they won 7 of 8 in the series from 2001-2004.
It’s gone back and forth more since then, but right now the Eagles definitely have the upper-hand, winning 3 straight, with all three being noteworthy for one reason or another. On November 1st, the day of Game 4 of the World Series, the Birds thrashed the Giants, 40-17, the win representing the biggest margin of victory for either team in the series this decade. Their previous meeting was in the Divisional Round of last year’s playoffs, when the Eagles ended the Giants’ title defense with a 23-11 beating in Giants Stadium.
The first win in the current streak was the turning point in the 2008 Eagle season that helped propel them to the NFC Championship Game. Some might point to their blow out of the eventual NFC Champion Cardinals on Thanksgiving night as the turning point, but it was really the next week, when they went into the Meadowlands on December 7th and beat the 11-1 defending champions. At that point, everyone knew the Eagles were a force to be reckoned with, it was just a question of whether or not they had enough time left to grab a playoff spot, as their record was still only 7-5-1.
A win over the Giants this December wouldn’t be a turning point, but it still represents a crucial game for both teams. 10 wins is generally the number you want to hit to secure a playoff berth. If the 8-4 Eagles can get win number 9 on Sunday, they have to feel very good about their chances. But if they’re stuck at 8, they’ll be faced with needing to win two of their final three games, which won’t be easy with the 49ers and Broncos coming to Lincoln Financial and a trip to Dallas in Week 17.
Brian Westbrook returns to practice today, but it looks pretty unlikely that he’ll play in the game. DeSean Jackson also returns to practice, and his status for Sunday is more promising. The Giants shuffled up their defense for last week’s win over Dallas, and they’ll look to keep that momentum going this week. The two defensive lines for the teams are an interesting contrast. The Giants came into the season with what was thought to be the top D-line in the league, but the benching of All-Pro Osi Umenyiora reflects the disappointing showing they’ve had. For the Eagles, in Sean McDermott’s first year at the helm, the linebacking corps has been different every week and they’ve had some trouble deciding who will replace Brian Dawkins at free safety. As a result, the D-line, led by Trent Cole, Broderick Bunkley, and Mike Patterson, has emerged as the rock of the defense.
BSB Movie Review: Big Fan
To prepare for the big game, I recommend trying to find a copy of the movie, Big Fan. I saw the movie in the theater a
few months ago. It’s a dark comedy written and directed by Robert Siegel, who also wrote the best movie of 2008, The Wrestler.
Big Fan stars well-known comedian Patton Oswalt as Paul Aufiero, a die-hard, fanatical Giants fan from Staten Island. Paul is the type of guy that plans out his calls to local sports-talk radio stations so he can get his rants about the Eagles and Cowboys just right. One night, he has a chance encounter with his favorite Giant, and the encounter does not go so well for Paul. After that, his life starts spinning out of control a bit, culminating in a final scene that is a must-see for any Giants or Eagles fan.
It’s a strange movie, as you might expect from a “dark” comedy about a sports fan. Some critics have called it a type of Taxi Driver for football fans. It’s definitely well-acted and, at times, hilarious. If you’ve ever listened to some of the crazier-sounding callers to WIP and wondered what might be driving them to such levels of insanity, this is a movie for you. I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone, but if you’re a big NFL fan, and especially a fan of the Giants or Eagles, I say make the rental.
The Return of AI
On Monday night, the most memorable Philadelphia athlete of the last 25 years made his return to the City of Brotherly 
Love, after an unhappy three-year odyssey to Denver, Detroit, and Memphis. The great Allen Iverson scored 11 points, kissed the Sixer logo during pre-game announcements, and the team went on to lose their 10th straight game, dropping their record to 5-16, the third-worst record in the league. So what does Iverson returning mean? Does it make sense?
As readers have probably noticed, we don’t do much coverage of the Sixers here at BSB. Some quick research shows that we’ve had three posts about the team in the 2+ years we’ve been doing this blog, with the last one coming in July of 2008, when they signed Elton Brand. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, neither me nor Bry live in the Philly area, and while we may be willing to throw down the cash to have access to all the Phillies games, we’re not going to pay for every NBA game. So we just don’t get to see all that many Sixer games.
And, of course, the other reason would be that the team has been, to put it kindly, really bad. That fact further diminishes the amount of games we get to see. Currently, the team is scheduled to play on national television just one time for the entire rest of the season, on New Year’s Eve against the Clippers (and if anyone reading this is planning on spending their New Year’s Eve watching the Sixers play the Clippers, you need to really start reassessing your life a bit).
All of this brings me to one of the main reasons that this signing DOES make sense: the simple fact that I’m writing this post. The team is in the news, ticket sales will increase, and, most importantly, the team is interesting again. That’s one of the things that AI will always be able to provide: intrigue.
Beyond that though, I’m really happy that he’s back on the team. So many of the things that Bry said about him in that post a few weeks ago were on full display in Iverson’s first press conference last week: “…you could really look into what was going on with him both on and off the court. He never held back, and he was innately intelligent and insightful enough to verbalize it. ”
For many fans around the country, Iverson represents everything that is wrong with the modern athlete. But those fans are over-simplifying the guy by a mile. I’m not here to tell anyone that Allen Iverson is a model athlete, or a model human being. In that press conference, he says something like, “I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger.” I’m sure he’ll continue to make mistakes. But the biggest complaint you always hear is that “athletes today don’t give a damn”, or something along those lines. People will point to the infamous “practice” press conference as evidence of that for Iverson. The bottom line is, NOBODY cares more than Allen Iverson. And that’s one of the things that makes him so compelling and someone that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed rooting for throughout the years.
We always knew that AI would not age well as a basketball player. When so much of a player’s value rests in their speed and quickness, they’ll have a hard time getting it done at 34, 35 years old. He is not going to make this Sixer team much better. I’m looking at this season as a farewell tour for him, where he can score 20 points a game.
Maybe he can have a couple throwback nights when every shot is falling, the Wachovia Center is rocking, and he drops 40 or 45, his left hand behind his ear, coaxing the fans to get even louder, as the opposing coach calls a timeout, wondering why his team can’t stop this 5-foot-nothing guard with toothpicks for legs. Then, come April, he should announce his retirement and ride off into the sunset to wait for his call to the Hall of Fame. It would be a fitting end to a legendary career for one of the truly iconic athletes in the history of the city.
Tagged allen iverson, NBA, sixers
5 Comments
Welcome Back, Placido
Placido Polanco is coming back to Philadelphia. Much like last off-season, Ruben Amaro was faced with one spot to fill in his everyday line-up, and he acted quickly in handing a three-year deal to a solid veteran. Some questions and answers about the signing:
Was Polanco the right choice for the third-base job?
Obviously, this is a fairly complicated question that is dependent on what the other options were, and how much money it would take to sign them. Mark Derosa and Adrian Beltre are both really good players that can do certain things that Polanco cannot do, but Polanco also has his advantages over those guys. All in all, you can’t fault Amaro for targeting Polanco and for trusting that he will be a nice addition to this team.
It’s true that he’s 34 and that his numbers have declined each of the last two years, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Statistics will fluctuate in baseball. His ’09 numbers are better than his ’06 numbers, and his ’07 season was an anomaly on the positive side (.341 BA). I think a fair prediction for next season would be something like .300 with 12 homers, which would be similar power numbers to Pedro Feliz, with a roughly 40 point improvement in average. And another added benefit is that Polanco can play second-base if Utley needs a rest or gets hurt, with Greg Dobbs manning third.
Did they overpay for him?
Very possibly. At first glance, $6 million a year for Polanco sounds fair, but considering his age, would have they been better off just making it a two year deal? When Amaro signed Ibanez early in free agency last year, it later became clear that he wouldn’t have gotten the same amount of money had he signed a month or two later. That could end up being the case with Polanco as well, but if Polanco produces the way Ibanez did, nobody will really care. But at some point a youth movement will be needed, as they can’t go on forever handing out long-term deals to players in their mid- to late-30’s.
What does the choice of Polanco suggest about the team’s priorities?
By choosing Polanco over the other choices on the free-agent market, the Phillie front office basically told us two things. 
One, they want to improve their situational hitting. Polanco is basically the poster boy for “bat control.” He’s second in the big leagues over the past five years in fewest strikeouts per at bat. He can lay down a bunt, and he will consistently hit the other way, especially with a runner on first base. The Phillies obviously feel like they have enough strikeout-prone power hitters in their lineup, and they probably see Polanco as someone that can add some consistency and help create some offense on the days when the ball isn’t flying out of the park.
The second thing this signing tells us is that the front-office is continuing to put a premium on team chemistry and character. We heard throughout ’09 that one of the reasons they signed Ibanez was because he was seen as such a good teammate. A lot of times those statements are just lip service, but early on in this off-season they’ve let Brett Myers walk, and brought in Brian Schnieder and Polanco, two guys that are also seen as great teammates. Polanco was a semi-fan favorite in his first stint here, and he probably will be again. These things are always speculation by someone like me, but “by all accounts”, Polanco is another great guy, a gamer, and someone that is well-liked, and well-respected, by everyone that plays with him. He’s someone you enjoy rooting for, and that’s definitely a big part of the reason why I like this signing.
Where will he bat in the order?
It seems like the early statements from Amaro are that Polanco will bat 2nd, with Shane Victorino “moving further down the order”, presumably to 7th. I guess that will work. Obviously, if Victorino is your 7-hitter, you probably have a pretty awesome lineup. But, the team will have to consider having Victorino leadoff and moving Jimmy Rollins down, maybe to 7th. I do think that Polanco should hit 2nd because, as I said earlier, his biggest strength is his situational hitting, and he’s basically a prototypical 2-hitter. Maybe they have to start the season with Rollins leading off, but if he can’t get his OBP at least into the .325-.330 range, it’s time to move him out of that spot. In the end, having these three top-of-the-order hitters is a pretty good problem to have, and it will probably work itself out once the season gets going.
All in all, I’m glad to have Placido Polanco back, not only for his skills, but also for his awesome name, and his weird-shaped head. A job well-done by Ruben Amaro.
Charting A Course to March: North Carolina vs. Michigan St.
December 1st: #11 North Carolina 89, #9 Michigan St. 82, at Chapel Hill
North Carolina:
This team’s relying on a lot of underclassmen, and they’ll only get better as the season goes on, but they look pretty good already. Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard are the unspectacular but rock-solid seniors providing much needed experience. The big-name sophomores are Ed Davis, who’s showing a soft touch to go with his superior size and athleticism, and PG Larry Drew II. Davis could be an All-American this year, and if he adds some muscle he could eventually be a force on the next level as well. I’m not convinced that Drew will ever be a star, but he’s already a steady lead guard.
The bench is made up almost entirely of first-year players (including soph. Tyler Zeller, who missed most of last season with an injury), but that doesn’t mean it’s not really good. John Henson is the biggest name among the freshman. He’s a rail-thin, athletic 6’10 forward, who allegedly can also shoot it pretty well. He could be the key to this team if he can emerge as a force at the small forward spot. PG Dexter Strickland showed a lot of ability in this game. The Wear twins also come in with a lot hype. As the year progresses, this could end up being one of the best benches in the nation. They don’t have much depth at guard, and another question for this team will be whether or not the guard play from Drew, Ginyard, and Strickland is good enough to win it all in March.
Best-Case Scenario: National Champions
Best Guess: Final Four
Michigan St:
The Spartans have almost everyone back from last year’s team that lost to UNC in the championship. Junior PG Kalin Lucas is the team leader and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, but he didn’t play a great game here. F Draymond Green really stood out in this game as maybe the most improved player on the team. They need his presence in the post. Raymar Morgan has had a lot of injuries and illness to deal with and that probably explains why he’s a disappointment. He led the team in scoring two years ago as a sophomore, but he doesn’t look like a guy that can create his own offense all that much. He had 18 points, but almost all of them came in transition and on alley-oops. A key to this team could be F Delvon Roe. He came in with a lot of hype last year but was underwhelming. He shows flashes of being really good, but can he do it on a consistent basis?
The three returning guards along with Lucas, Durell Summers, Chris Allen, and Korie Lucious, are all capable of putting up a big game and give this team a level of talent and experience in the backcourt that most teams would love to have. This team showed a lot of heart in coming back from a 16-point half-time deficit in Chapel Hill. They’ll need Green and Roe to avoid foul trouble (both fouled out).
Best-Case Scenario: National Champions
Best Guess: Elite Eight
Phils Add Schneider and Castro as Backups
The Phillies signed catcher Brian Schneider today to a 2 year/$2.75 million deal, to backup Carlos Ruiz. I said here on the site a few weeks ago that Schneider was probably my top choice for a backup catcher, so this is a nice signing by Ruben Amaro.
Schneider is pretty much exactly what you want in a backup catcher. He’s a veteran who has many years as a full-time catcher under his belt. He’s solid defensively and bats left-handed. As an added nice benefit, he’s spent his entire career in the NL East with the Expos/Nationals and the Mets, so he has good knowledge of how to pitch to a lot of the players in the division. He’s also from the Philly area, as he played high school ball in the Lehigh Valley. And, finally, he seems to be a good all-around guy and good teammate. He should be a nice addition in the clubhouse, a nice option for when Ruiz needs a day off, and a nice option if Ruiz goes down with an injury at some point. It’s a signing that makes a lot of sense.
Also, last week the Phils signed Juan Castro to replace Eric Bruntlett as the team’s utility man. I don’t have as much to say about this signing because I don’t know a whole lot about Castro, but I do think he’ll probably be an upgrade over Bruntlett. I never liked the idea of Bruntlett as our backup middle infielder, because I just never trusted him at shortstop. Castro should be able to give solid defense at the spot if J-Roll were to go down for any period of time.
Tagged brian schneider, carlos ruiz, eric bruntlett, juan castro, MLB, phillies
5 Comments
