The Sports Beat

Dear Readers,

If you’ve read The Sports Beat and liked it at all, please check out www.southendnews.com, where I’m now employed, thanks in part to people like you reading this site. I write about almost anything over there, but I do have a sports column you can specifically check out if you want to stay in one genre, called (not so creatively) The Boston Sports Beat. I hope to see you reading at South End News, and please feel free to leave comments over there too.

Thanks!

Brandon

OK, it happened. First CC, now AJ. Fiscal restraint be damned.

The Yankees seem headed down that familiar path of purchased glory–the one that seldom leads to sustained winning, without a continuance of cash-enhanced success. People have fallen in love with the concept that the Yankees can’t win without homegrown players, as evidenced by their inability to win a World Series this millenium. BUT, it’s really a silly notion.

The Yankees have won constantly since the mid-’90s. If it weren’t for a faulty system that allows the three best teams in the league to play in the best division in baseball and thereby discount one of them from making the postseason, the family Steinbrenner would have bought a playoff appearance even last year, when the team won only 89 games–good enough for fourth most in either league.

(In a most ironic twist the same fate befell the “chokers” over in Queens.)

The Yankees will win and win and win. They buy the best players they can each offseason and fill holes thusly. The problem is their farm system, which had returned to prominence over the past few years, will be wearing down again due to losing draft picks signing free agents. Type A, type B, type $, the Yankees are signing them all. They’re being neither clever nor creative. They’re simply doing what their business plan allows, something that is 100% within the rules and therefore can’t be criticized for any reason other than poor vision. (Unless you’re a small market fan, in which case you’re permitted to bitch and bemoan these facts, but you can blame your owners for allowing it more than anything.)

So, fret not, baseball fans. These contracts are a good thing for the game. The Yankees will remain the foil we love to crunch like the tin type cats chase after, and players will get their money. After all, baseball is America’s pastime because it tells the nation’s story, and New York is America. Meanwhile, the rest of baseball will take New York’s draft picks and restock the pantry. Let’s just hope CC doesn’t clear it out now that he’s made his money.

The Yankees are trying to outspend the Treasury Department this offseason. It’s simply amazing. After obliterating Johan Santana’s record contract from just last winter by backing up the vault and dumping $161 million on CC’s lap (a very big one, by the way), they now are in on AJ Burnett for close to $90 million, according to ESPN.com, and may go after Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe. Probably they’ll only sign one of the latter two if they change their names to BB Sheets or Rosie Perez Lowe (that’s a Kanye reference for all you keen readers).

And right about now it feels damn good to be a Sox fan.

Why? The Yankees are losing draft picks, investing inordinate amounts of money in questionable commodities for LONG PERIODS OF TIME, and doing so at the most injury-prone position. Now, granted no contract has been signed yet, but just for the sake of hyperbole let’s say the Bronx Bombshells convince AJ to put a pen to a pad of paper, the likelihood of him starting even 28 games a year over the next five seasons is lower than gas prices after this little economic meltdown we’ve been having. Throw the fact that CC Sabathia is about a hundred thousand trillion pounds (another Kanye reference) and has been overworked each of the past two seasons, and you’ve got yourself an uninsurable contract. Call him The Big Derivative.

If the Yankees manage to sign BB Sheets, look for them to repeat last season’s miserable injury-depleted debacle at least once over the next few years, and all the while with fewer draft picks to help supplement potential studs like JJ Chamberlain (he’s definitely one) and PP Hughes (he might be one).

Meanwhile, in Boston, the steady march of prospects continues on with Junichi Tazawa. And Red Sox fans rejoice.

• Dustin Pedroia’s 6-year contract extension is a great move by the Sox. While Pedroia will earn more than $40 million dollars during the life of the deal, that total is a fair compromise. Although Pedroia may have just completed a career year, his numbers aren’t likely to fall off too far through his prime years–the ones the Sox just locked him up for. He’s not a speed player, he makes great contact and controls the strike zone (he’s walked 104 times in his career and struck out only 101), and isn’t a huge power guy. So, you can reasonably expect him to maintain his baseline performance for quite some time. Think .360/.440 at least, with solid base stealing stats and good defense. Although not a superstar, those numbers, and the likelihood that he’ll top them, make the deal a great move for Boston. Had Pedroia elected to stick it out through arbitration he likely would have commanded huge dollars in the near future. In his first two season the pesky second baseman has collected two trophies arbitrators fawn over: the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player brass pieces. Throw in mounting base hit totals and Gold Gloves and Pedroia could easily have made another $10 million or so through age 31, when his current deal runs out, and could have required a longer commitment after the arbitration process ended.
• Meanwhile, on the hardwood, Rajon Rondo is becoming everything we hoped he would. Already. Tonight he obliterated the Indiana Pacers. His final line–16 points, 13 boards, 17 assists, and 3 steals in 41 minutes–doesn’t even begin to tell the story. His number could have been even better had the game not drifted in and out of absurdity during the third and fourth quarters. Rondo had 10, 9, and 8 at the end of the first half. He commanded the ball throughout the game, and this on a team that features three future Hall-of-Famers in the starting lineup. Plus, he’s doing all this without any sort of a jumper. Think Chris Paul without the J. That’s what we have in Boston. And he’s only 22. By the time he’s 25 he’ll be the best player on the team (if he’s not by the end of the season), routinely throwing up triple doubles and averaging somewhere from 14-18 points, 6 rebounds, 8-10 assists, and 2 steals per game, depending on whom Danny Ainge supports his young star with. Rondo has taken elements of Steve Nash and Tony Parker’s games and put them together (sans the range), driving at will and maintaining his dribble through the teeth of the defense, while remaining a defensive force. It’s his development that keeps the regular season interesting for Celtics fans, who otherwise might simply hibernate until the playoffs.

Here we go:

• The Bruins passed an important test last night against the NHL’s perennial elite, the Detroit Red Wings. In fact, one could say they scored a perfect 1600…er, uh, 2400?? Let’s just say they did really well.
• After all the talk of team last year involving the Celtics, it may be even more true this season. The Celtics have gotten improved contributiuons from Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo, and more recently from Kendrick Perkins, just in time to make up for a drop-off from Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Also, Ray Alle has solidly improved his performance as well, mostly due to driving to the basket more often and acting like the complete scorer he truly is.
• I think it’s safe to say that it’s time for Plaxico “Cheddar Bob” Burress to go. Having him on your team is like going to a night club with P Diddy–it might be a blast for a while but in the end someone’s getting shot.
• I can’t believe how great a job Donnie Walsh has done in Manhattan in such a short period of time. Not only has he hired a great coach who has turned things around instantly and given fans a reason to at least respect the organization somewhat, he’s positioned the franchise to not only revive itself in 2010 but to put a vice grip on the sport. If certain moves are made the Knicks could somehow come away with at least one of the following: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudamire. Simply incredible.

OK, this is long overdue. The Boston Bruins, the once-again Big, Bad Bruins, are straight killin’ it.

Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, MARC SAVARD, Patrice Bergeron, Dennis Wideman, Zdeno Chara, Andrew Ference, Chuck Kobasew, and TIMOTHY THOMAS are all straight killin’ it. And I’m lovin’ it like Justin Timberlake.

OK, enough with this frivolous, self-indulgent writing, now let’s get to some more aprpopriate commentary.

The Bruins are legitimate. They have a top-notch netminder, and a quality backup. In addition they have a top prospect in Providence champing at the bit for a chance up north. They have a team that plays in all three zones and competes nightly. Thier coach has the respect of the team and gets a great effort nightly from his players. Their deep up the middle and have upside on the wings. They play well on special teams. They also have tremendous depth in the minor leagues and a bright future. Essentially, if you’re not a Bruins fan you’re jealous.

So, what should Cam Neely and his front office do to maintain the optimism that’s sprouting on Causeway as leaves fall and snow edges onto the horizon like an attacking army?

Keep the pressure on.

Like a baseball team with an early lead in a series, continuing to run the bases with fervor and pitching aggressively is key. For the Bruins, looking to make moves is like stealing second with no outs and a 2-0 count. If you succeed you can break your opponent’s will.

Ilya Kovalchuk is a free agent after this season–look into acquiring the incredibly talented winger. Perhaps another top-two defenseman becomes available? Look into it. Above all, never stop looking for improvement from any and all facets of the team and organization.

Look for better merchandising, better marketing, better coaching, and better play. And don’t be sting (I’m talking to you, Jeremy Jacobs). Spend money when necessary.

Do these things and this year’s team will quickly rival its Boston siblings for parental attention. After all, isn’t that what we’re all looking for? A little approval from the ones who mean the most to us? So far the forgotten child of Boston has my attention for all the right reasons, here’s hoping I feel the same in a few months.

I just want to call your attention to a few things I’ve noticed that amuse me:

• Brian Scalabrine is having a career-year in terms of PER at just over 11.00. Amazing.
• Tony Allen is BACK. Dude is almost 100% back to where he was before his post-whistle dunk. I’d say he’s at 89% back. The unfortunate part is that while he’s a better player than James Posey, he’s a worse fit for the green.
• Speaking of Green, Gerald is back to being terrible after a brief stint as an effective shooter during the season’s first few games. Too bad, I thought he could be the next T-Mac when he first hit the scene–and I meant the guy on the Magic, not the bum who’s always hurt and less-than-advertised in Houston.
• LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh. Pick one or two of them and slot them on the Knicks in 2010 thanks to Donnie Walsh’s genius maneuvers. The Nets better hurry up and get to Brooklyn already if they think they’re landing anyone, let alone the King.
• The Lakers are looking absurdly good, you can pencil them back in the Finals again this spring.
• Meanwhile, back in the better conference (yup, that’s right), the Celtics and Cavs will likely be facing off in the Conference Championship before heading to L.A.
• Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James are all putting up insane seasons. Thier PERs are all over 32.00.
• Kevin Garnett’s numbers are wayyyyyy down. He needs to attack the basket a bit more–like he did Sunday against the Raptors–in order to raise his PER back up to the mid-20s level we’ve grown so accustomed to during The Big Ticket’s storied career.
• Leon Powe might be the best dunker in the NBA.

After signing a new deal this offseason number 16 may be signing his name Matt Ca$$el. 

It started as a joke. Not necessarily a very funny one, but one I made several times nonetheless.

“After Matt Cassel wins the MVP and we win the Super Bowl we’re gonna trade Brady for three first-rounders and restock the defense,” I would tell whomever would listen, attentatively or not, after Tom Brady went down for the season after just 11 pass attempts.

At 26 and finally getting a chance to take some goddamn reps after his stint as Backup to the Stars (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Tom Brady chronologically), trading the 31-year-old Brady for a boatload of young studs to shore up our quickly aging defense and shallow depth in the defensive backfield would be ideal. But it was nothing more than a wistful idea.

In fact, it was more to cheer myself up than anything–the reigning MVP and best player in football was done, and our season was too. If we could joke about lightning striking a successful New England quarterback twice, first the dearly-departed Drew Bledsoe, and now his model-replacement, then the harsh reality of 15 sad Sundays (or Mondays, or Thursdays) wouldn’t hurt as much. It’s a classic approach–ease the pain by putting it right out there.

All proceeded as we truly expected through the first nine games of the Cassel Experiment, with the almost lifelong backup playing relatively well, but lacking the clutch kick Brady has shown throughout his storybook career and failing to handle pressure well enough to become a star. Cassel had the tools–he could make decent reads, has a good arm, throws a tight, accurate spiral, and can run with almost any quarterback in the league. But, without the ability to sidestep pressure and avoid the urge to run for a two-yard gain every time the pocket shrank, he was destined to be nothing more than a sidenote in the NFL’s modern version of a dynasty.

Then he pulled a reverse-Kafka, becoming the man.

In an overtime loss against the Jets last Thursday night, Cassel took over. His numbers popped: 400 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. He was what Michael Vick should have been before the Georgia inmate shortened his first name and starting torturing canines.

But, despite the big numbers and his better-than Brady-like throw on the run to Randy Moss at the end of regulation to tie the game, Cassel had not convinced me he was the real deal. Then came today.

Another 400 yards passing. A rushing touchdown and an epic six-yard gain on a QB sneak, a growing rapport with Randy Moss, and a second-consecutive dominant fourth quarter.

But what has officially put my “trade Brady” joke into the realm of possibility is Matt Cassel’s newfound proficiency in the pocket. Today he didn’t panic when blitzes came, he merely felt their heat blasting his way like a furnace and moved to cooler ground, looking to pass first and run only if there were a concrete reason for doing so. He looked calm and poised as his confidence spread throughout his offense and New England’s spoiled fans.

Matt Cassel has arrived.

So, once this absurd season that has seen more Patriots hit the infirmary at Foxborough than at Lexington and Concord, if the man who has spent the majority of his adult life watching from the shadows leads his team to a win or two under the biggest spotlight of all–the postseason–it might be time to turn an absurd joke into a restocking effort Wall Street would appreciate.

The NBA has suspended Kevin Garnett one game for smacking Andrew Bogut in the face this weekend. The decision should be about as popular as George Bush.

Garnett (over)reacted to a hit to his face by swinging his hand at Milwaukee’s resident Australian in retaliation on Saturday night. His blow glanced Bogut, and both players were hit with technical fouls; Bogut’s was his second of the game, thus earning him an early release from the principal. The decision to give Bogut a technical in that situation was absurd–he didn’t appear to have intentionally hit KG in the face, and even if he did, it was about as effective as an A-Rod slap of Bronson Arroyo. In my opinion, neither player should have received any sort of technical, nor any sort of ensuing punishment. But, as usual, the NBA went overboard like the world was sinking after a scratch on the hull.

It’s typical overreaction like this that makes the NBA’s player conduct rules so nebulous. At the same time that the league allows its players to travel, palm, and shove incessantly, it mandates fancy clothing worn to and from the stadium and suspends players almost aimlessly. Is it perhaps because the majority of the players don’t look like the majority of the NBA’s paying customers and the ghost of Ron Artest still walks the hardwood floors of the Association? 

Don’t discount that option. But, at the same time, don’t discount Andrew Bogut’s disgust at the lifestyle his contemporaries often choose: groupies, drugs, and rain showers Lil Wayne would be proud of.

I’m not saying that lifestyle is right or wrong, but the NBA surely has the right to try to tone down negative PR caused by its players. But, let’s just say putting lipstick on a pig isn’t the answer, maybe changing the system that encourages mucking around in the mud is a better idea.

Suspending players for minor scraps isn’t that. But not catering to every whim and “need” these rosters of millionaires think up is a start. Giving coaches real power by allowing them to fine players and sit them without pay should they warrant such penalties (hey, Starbury), enforcing a code of conduct that doesn’t amount to a silly, culturally insensitive dress code, or telling a guy he’s really not all that once in a while could help.

Who knows? But please, Mr. Stern and friends, this isn’t field hockey, so stop using your whistle every ten seconds, all it does is blow. 

• Did you see ESPN.com’s report about how the Red Sox wanted to suspend Manny Ramirez before last season’s trade deadline? Hilarious stuff. Let me give you a little snippet of the gaiety:

“For weeks leading up to the July 31 trading deadline, Ramirez had been complaining of pain in his right knee. After he told Boston manager Terry Francona that his knee was too sore to play on July 25, the Red Sox’s front office ordered an MRI exam during that night’s game against the Yankees.

But on the way to the exam, Ramirez, according to sources, couldn’t remember which knee was sore. So the Red Sox had both of his knees examined. The MRIs revealed no damage in either.”

***

“A number of incidents earlier in the season added to the tension between Ramirez and the Red Sox. Just after the All-Star break, Boston was swept in Anaheim, a series in which Ramirez reached base in eight of his 13 plate appearances. But late on Sunday afternoon, July 20, as the team was leaving Anaheim for Seattle, he initially refused to board the charter flight. Sources said he told the Red Sox that his knees were so sore, he couldn’t play for three weeks.

He eventually boarded the flight and played in the first two games against the Mariners, reaching base in six of the 10 times he stepped to the plate, before telling Francona his right knee was too sore to play on July 23.

On June 28, Ramirez shoved 64-year-old traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground inside Houston’s Minute Maid Park clubhouse after Ramirez was told McCormick might not be able to accommodate his 16-ticket request.”

Oh, man. He forgot which knee hurt. Priceless stuff. If only these reports could be substantiated with quotations attributed to reputable sources we could have quite the read on our hands. I guess we’ll have to wait a few years until Manny’s out of the game and then we can get the dirt. The real question is who will play Manny in Jimmy Fallon’s ”Manny Being Manny?”

• In other news, the Yankees are officially making moves. Or rather, intend to do so. They’ve made one, acquiring Nick Swisher for a brown bag of flaming feces, a move I quite like, and now intend to sign every free agent pitcher to ever walk the face of the earth. I hope it happens–it’ll make them more interesting in the short-term and cost them prospects in years to come, thus keeping them from reaching 27th Heaven. (Hey, Hank, my stuff is almost comparable to Chad Bradford’s from a 1/4 arm slot, how ’bout you give me a few bucks to chuck it for ya? At the very least it’ll be entertaining for the fans, and there’s no way I could be a worse investment than Carl Pavano was–wait, nevermind, Pavano was a great investment, just like Enron, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and me, Brandon Simes!)

• Rumor (Central) has it that Jason Varitek isn’t looking for a Posada-like deal anymore. Gee, you think the fact that he’s become an abysmal offensive player, his defense is only above-average, and he’s old has anything to do with that? I wouldn’t give him more than a one-year deal worth $5 or $6 million with an option year worth the same only on the team’s terms (meaning a team option or a vested option based on incentives, like having an OBP above .330 in more than 100 games).