Welcome Back 2007 World Series MVP!!!

The Red Sox did not get their prize, the Yankees spend money like they're afraid of it.  From the standpoint of a Bostonian, multiple stages of emotion probably went through your head when you first heard New York stole Teixiera right under your Christmas tree.  First and foremost you were probably filled with rekindled rage.  For the first time in my life, the Yankees were an afterthought last season.  They didn't make the post-season, didn't notch a blip on Red Sox nation's radar.  Now they've decided to throw boat loads of money at the top three free agents in the 2009 offseason, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixiera.  For Teixiera and his low life dirt bag agent to dangle the Red Sox for the past month and then skip like a fairy to New York is blood boiling.  

The next likely emotion is frustration.  The Red Sox were a pinch away from having their boy.  They had their ridiculous amount of money on the table and Teixiera turned it down.  Many people don't understand what's another 1.5 million dollars a year to match what the Yankees offered.  Let me answer that one, 12 million dollars.  Sorry that's not chump change.  The Yanks have a ton of money coming off their payroll and a bidding war with them is insurmountable.  

So now the question needs to be asked, are the Yankees the best team in baseball? Not even close.  Are they the best team in their division? Nope.  Lets take a look at what they've lost heading into the upcoming season.  Their starting right fielder Bobby Abreu, statistically speaking their two best pitchers Mike Mussina and Andy Pettite (34 combined win), and the indefatigable  Jason Giambi.  Teixiera is an obvious upgrade over Giambi, but we'll see about Sabathia and Burnett.  The former being the highest paid pitcher of all-time and a notorious post-season choke artist and the latter being a guy who has only won more than 12 games once in his ten year career.  

I say let the Yankees spend absurd amounts of money on baseball players while our country is in a recession.  It's laughable, hilarious and doesn't make their team the best in their own division.  Is CC Sabathia a better left-handed pitcher than Jon Lester? You can call this a biased answer but one of them has a no-hitter/World Series ring. The other, like a fat fish, needed an extra 20 million dollars hooked on a line to lure him to New York.  This puts a smile on my face.  As last season's ALCS proved, money isn't the only factor in major league baseball. Good, smart decisions combined with health and a small amount of luck go a long way.  Don't get me wrong though, money can be nice.  

Forget the Yankees for a second.  Where can the Red Sox put their Teixiera money? We certainly need a fourth outfielder and another starting pitcher couldn't hurt.  Ben Sheets, who started the all-star game last year for the National League would be a great addition if he could stay healthy.  Starting pitching wins championships and the Red Sox would have hands down the best rotation in baseball.  Sheets is flat out better than A.J. Burnett and would be worth the money he's paid. 

Looking down the line all signs point to Joe Mauer being a big signing for the Sox. He's the best catcher in baseball, and a perennial batting champ.  The way he works the count would be a perfect match for Boston's philosophy.  

So here's to a healthy Mike Lowell, a healthy David Ortiz and a very good 2009 Red Sox baseball team.

Who is Tyler Hansbrough?

Before you begin reading this I have a statement to make.  This is not a negative Tyler Hansbrough piece. Even though most of the great North Carolina ballers left school early or didn’t get many minutes as freshman, for him to be the all-time leading scorer is very impressive. He’s one of the hardest working and efficient college players I’ve ever seen.  His technique may look a little awkward and his shots would have you speculate that he lacks a normal equilibrium, but two points are two points.  Hansbrough’s probably the greatest living example that slick style alone makes no change to the scoreboard.

            With those positive points officially on the record, make way for the critisicm. I can’t blame Tyler for the national media’s decision to blow a load all over him every chance they get, but when Jay Bilas, a respected ESPN analyst and Duke graduate, said he thought he saw more heart and determination in Hansbrough than one Michael Jordan, well there are ridiculous statements and then there’s that. 

 Did Hansbrough deserve the Naismith award last year? If the NBA never ingrained their one and done rule then yes.  Since they did, the most talented and complete player in the nation, Michael Beasley should have won the hardware. 

That’s all in the past though.  Taking a look at this season, much like Tim Tebow losing his Heisman to a Sooner, Hansbrough is second to Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin at the power forward position.  We’ll see whom the voters like, but numbers don’t lie and Blake Griffin is clearly the most talented force in college basketball. 

            Coming back to the ever-mercurial Psycho T, how does the next level look? Not all that good.  There’s never really been anyone quite like him.  If you were to analyze him strictly on his game, there’s a good chance he’d slide to the latter half of the second round.  He’s undersized but has a decent mid-range jump shot.  Can he bang down low for four quarters with elite NBA forwards?  Not likely.  He’s listed at 6’ 9” and tends to bring the ball down while in the paint, a definite no-no. 

            With all the records that he’s compiled, is Hansbrough a winner?  Running the vicious NCAA Tournament gauntlet is arguably the hardest thing to do in all of sports, but with that being said North Carolina has ended their season on a sour note every year he’s been there.  Last year’s blowout loss to Kansas was downright embarrassing as Hansbrough was outplayed for stretches by true freshman Cole Aldrich. 

            Comparing Hansbrough to someone in the NBA is very difficult.  Athletically he’s not on par with anyone in today’s league and his game is so mysteriously successful that fans have wondered since he was a freshman how it would translate to the professional ranks.  The way he attacks the basket is so irky-jerky, so mechanically bizarre.  Can you imagine him getting the ball on the block with Kenyon Martin guarding him? Four pump fakes and a prompt swat to the eighth row later and you’ve got yourself a wasted draft pick. Hustle and tenaciousness can only get you so far as a professional athlete. 

            I will say this though, people said the same thing about David West before he was drafted.  An undersized power forward who was thought to be too small to have an effect in the league, West is an all-star. Of course that’s where the comparisons end between the two.  David West has arguably the best range for someone his size while Hansbrough would seriously need to work on his.  His teammate is also the best point guard of the last 20 years so that helps a tiny bit. 

            In the end, Hansbrough’s legacy will be a puzzling one.  For those who like him, he’ll go down as one of the greatest college basketball players of all time.  For those that don’t, his short NBA career will speak for itself. 

Old Formula for Future Success

Ah the world of sports. Much like everything else, it’s cyclical. Take a step back and look at the Boston sports scene over the past eight or nine years.  No championships, no winning, no happiness until Tom Brady jolted into our lives.  A sixth round draft pick who before the 2001 season, had to fight and claw his way into being New England’s fourth option at quarterback.  Years later, Brady is one of the most successful athletes in American sports history and a wonderful example of what a tireless work ethic can do for a person, franchise and community.  During that span, where the Patriots won three Superbowls and transformed themselves from one of the least successful franchises in league history to the team of the decade, the other teams in Boston eventually caught up. 

            The Red Sox, behind fresh ownership and local whiz kid Theo Epstein, snatched up two rings in three seasons, catapulting themselves from sympathetic underdog to budding dynasty.  The combination of unprecedented middle of the lineup power in Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, with pitchers who intravenously insert cold water into their bodies (Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett) had the Red Sox on top of their sport for the first time in nearly 90 years. 

            That’s two out of the four major teams from Massachusetts who were suddenly the envy of all their peers.  Twisted ankles and separated shoulders were suddenly popping up all over the country from fans who tried to fit on the Boston bandwagon but found themselves getting booted off. 

            Why stop there? Next came my favorite and the most unlikely team of them all.  We all know what happened here.  Danny Ainge pulled off one of the greatest trade sequences in recent memory and the most historic franchise in basketball history was once again relevant.  Kevin Garnett’s attitude, Ray Allen’s Crisco slickness and Paul Pierce’s undeniable grit led the C’s to a 17^th banner and placement on top of basketball’s hierarchy.  Here they joined the Patriots and the Red Sox as the best teams in their respective sports. 

            As they say, nobody stays on top forever. 

            Not saying either of the three have fallen off their perches, but others have officially begun gaining on them.  With a loss in last year’s Superbowl and the subsequent season ending knee injury for the Golden Boy, the Patriots are no longer expected to dominate the AFC every season. 

            After losing in seven games to the division winning Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s ALCS, and then watching two of the best pitchers available via free agency get plucked by the Yankees, the Red Sox are still stable, but reeling.    

            The Celtics, looking even more impressive this year then the last, have an inevitable showdown with Lebron to worry about as well as a possible finals rematch with Kobe’s crew. 

            So here’s where things get interesting as the teams from Boston fight to remain where they were for most of the decade. Right now the Patriots are without their MVP, the Celtics entered the season James Posey-less and were thought to have tougher competition this time around, and the Red Sox although still in the running for Teixera, saw their season end last year with out Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz as the two offensive juggernauts.

   Right now the Patriot’s life raft is Matt Cassell.  Unlike Tom Brady, Cassell wasn’t drafted in the sixth round.  He was picked in the last.  His remarkable season is either a nod to Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick or an incredible case of lightning striking twice in the same place. 

            I guess the point here is that if Boston doesn’t end up with Mark Teixera, we’d be right back where we were when Tom Brady was coming into age.  Dustin Pedroia is as physically imposing as an eight-year-old,  but in my opinion the best player in baseball, Rajon Rondo is going toe to toe with the best point guards in the league with his team coming out on top literally every night and Matt Cassell is the backup turned coming of age superstar. 

            While I could devote an entire book to what makes Rondo such an essential part of the Celtics success, I’ll leave it to this quote from future hall of famer Ray Allen after a late November contest. 

            “It’s funny, cause when the game was over I told him ‘When you play like that, we are a beast to contend with,'" Allen said. "And he said, ‘When you play like that’. And I told him ‘I feed off you'. 

Sure there's the Big Three, everybody knows that.  However the emergence of Rondo as an all-star caliber point guard is clearly catching the league off guard.  Just look at this KG quote.

"If Rondo is not the best point guard in three or four years, I'd be very, very surprised. He has all the tools to lead a team. His defense is unlike any other guard I've seen," Garnett said just days before the season began. "He has the quickness of a Tony Parker. He has the eyes and the passing skills of a Jason Kidd. He has to establish that 15-foot jumper, make it stick and be consistent. But I'm very, very, very, very impressed with Rondo."           

Boston may not be on top (except the Celtics and Bruins) but we’re certainly not out of the picture.