Mid-Winter Musings

The week started auspiciously with the Red Sox and Dodgers engaging in a trade which would send Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles and Boston receiving a highly coveted Dodgers prospect. The Twins were brought in so that LAD could dump versatile pitcher Kenta Maeda, with Minnesota giving Boston a young pitcher who throws over 100 mph. 

Except here we are, as the weekend begins, with the Red Sox seeking more compensation before the trade is consummated. Which affects a Dodgers-Angels trade where Dodgers outfielder Joc Peterson and pitcher Ross Stripling go to Anaheim. 

MLBPA head Tony Clark is furious over this trade as it drags on without coming to any resolution. Sources say that another team may have to be brought into the mess, as the Twins steadfastly refuse to provide another player to Boston. Stay tuned for more details. 

Of course, the Yankees made news. Unfortunately, news wasn’t so good. Stalwart left-hander James Paxton underwent back surgery, which will require 3 to 4 months recovery time. This makes J.A. Happ and his onerous salary a valuable commodity for the Yankees to keep, unless Brian Cashman has another deal up his sleeve.

That trade might involve obtaining third baseman Kris Bryant, who lost an arbitration case to the Cubs, who are now seeking to trade him. Bryant’s power numbers are down slightly, and he is not quite the fielder that incumbent third baseman Gio Urshela is. The Yankees would then jettison Miguel Andujar, who, after returning from injury, seemingly has no place on the roster. 

News came from Queens that billionaire Steve Cohen could not conclude his negotiations with the Wilpons to take over the Mets. The Wilpons wanted to stay on 5 years after the sale, which evidently did not sit well with Cohen. Nor did it with me. Mets fans are left scratching their heads (again), wondering what now?

Jessica Mendoza has left the Mets front office special adviser position she took earlier this offseason and returned to the ESPN booth, but not for Sunday Night Baseball. She will be the first female solo analyst on national TV. 

Mendoza famously took on Mike Fiers for his detailing the Astros sign stealing. I didn’t particularly like her, because she sometimes was a bit giggly. As much as he can be reviled, Alex Rodriguez is a far more insightful analyst. Rumor has it that YES Network’s David Cone, a former teammate of A-Rod, might join him in the Sunday night booth, while finishing out his raining year on his current YES contract. Curious question—where does C.C. Sabathia fit in regarding TV—this year or after Cone leaves YES?

Regarding the Astros, former manager A.J Hinch has been sounding a bit contrite about what happened. It is speculated that he wants back in the game after the one year suspension. 

However, there are reports surfacing that much more was happening by way of codes and other ways to get the deciphered signs to the Astros batters. If so, this makes things look bleaker for Hinch, Carlos Beltran and Joey Cora.

MLB icon Henry Aaron sounded off about the cheating. He called for a ban for life for those who participated. It is interesting that no players are being held responsible for this deception. 

And in light of the suspensions, Pete Rose has again petitioned MLB for reinstatement and eligibility for the Hall of Fame. He claims what was done here was far more egregious than his betting, and the punishment wasn’t nearly as harsh as his ban from the game. Should Rose prevail and become eligible for Cooperstown, would that same voter who didn’t vote for Jeter  vote for the man with the most hits ever in the game?

Houston hired managerial veteran Dusty Baker as its new manager. Good luck to Dusty.

Before leaving baseball, MLB TV put a curious list of 9 droughts in baseball which await something to happen. I was astonished with a few of them.

First, the Reds have never had a Cy Young Award winner. It has been 44 years since there has been a hit streak of over 40 games, and that was by none other than Pete Rose in 1976. No one has stolen over 80 bases in a season since 1988. The Marlins and Rockies have never won a division title. The Marlins have never had a player hit for the cycle and the Padres have never had a pitcher throw a no hitter. San Francisco hasn’t had a 30 home run hitter since 2004. The last perfect game was thrown in 2012. And finally, while the Mariners have never reached the World Series, Seattle hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001.

The NBA ended its trading period with a flurry of deals. The one I liked the most, if it wasn’t as big a splash as some others, was that Golden State traded prolific shooting guard D’Angelo Russell, part of the Kevin Durant replenishment, to Minnesota and received forward Andrew Wiggins. The Warriors also shipped out two shooters to a suddenly weak and in turmoil Philadelphia team. This is setting up the Warriors for a great 2021-22 campaign with the return to health of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, plus a very high draft choice, unless they parlay that into another veteran player designed to make the Warriors relevant again in a hurry. 

But don’t worry, Knicks fans. The team fired longtime President Steve Mills. Highly sought-after forward Marcus Morris was dealt to the Clippers. Still, help may be on the horizon. 

Rumors persist that the team is angling to lure player agent Leon Rose to lead the team. This falls in the mold of Brodie Van Wagenen of the Mets, Rob Pelinka of the Lakers, Arn Tellem with Detroit and Golden State GM Bob Myers. All former highly successful agents now with team leadership posts.

In this case, what do the Knicks have to lose? They tried the guru, Phil Jackson. That was a bomb. Mills, a veteran NBA career man, didn’t pan out. So now the Knicks are going the non-traditional route. 

The one constant is James Dolan, the mercurial owner fans love to hate. Even he, by sheer luck, might make a good hire here. After all, the Knicks have had the worst record in the NBA over the past couple of years. Perhaps his hiring of Steve Stoute to rebrand his franchise might also help—Stoute is responsible for the Chris Paul State Farm commercials.

Yes, Knicks fans, hope is once more in your corner. I am sure that the Commissioner’s office would love to have a viable team in Madison Square Garden. With or without Dolan. 

Rutgers had a bad game at Maryland on Tuesday. The #9 Terrapins hung on for a 56-51 win in College Park. This was another winnable game that RU couldn’t pull the trigger on. Plus, offensive player Trae Young was arrested for driving while impaired by campus police, which led to a a violation of team rules, causing him to miss the game when the Scarlet Knights could have dearly used his scoring.

RU is in a funk. They are not exhibiting a winning mentality. Their lack of scoring is a glaring problem, which unfortunately undermines their good defense. 

But let’s be real about Coach Steve Pikiell’s team. Nobody expected such loftiness this year. That they are 16-7 at this time of the season is way beyond expectation. Yet it has created an illusion that this is an NCAA Tournament level team. I have said it before—I don’t think they are.

RU has 8 games left to play. I will be at 3 of the 4 home games, starting with Northwestern on Sunday evening (I’ll miss the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards on the Oscar telecast). RU remains unbeaten on the floor of the RAC. Besides the Wildcats, two other visiting teams are ranked—Illinois and Maryland in the final home game—and Michigan, which RU has never beaten.

Should RU run the table and go undefeated at home, that isn’t enough in my estimation to get them to the Big Dance. For RU has dangerous road contests with a ranked Penn State team eager for revenge, a suddenly improving Ohio State team, and Wisconsin and Purdue, two more teams seeking revenge for earlier losses. Failure to win at least two of the four road games could easily place RU on the outside looking in. This team also will need a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament to make a statement to the selectors. 

The odds are against RU in this instance if they cannot find more offense, especially on the road. Still, a season above .500 and an NIT berth would be a successful season, one which they can build upon. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and certainly the renaissance in Rutgers basketball isn’t going to happen overnight. It is, however, a promising start.

Duke and North Carolina renew hostilities on Saturday night in the best rivalry in college basketball. Except that UNC is in the midst of a horrendous year and Duke is not like the Duke of old—they aren’t a true first seed at this point. I am so not intrigued by the level of this game that I might actually skip it. 

Nor am I watching the XFL inaugurate its maiden season this weekend. No interest at all. I guess that much of pro football fandom agrees with me on that one. Besides, I’d much rather be at Disney World, as stated by Patrick Mahomes after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. 

And I will not be viewing Justin Bieber on SNL. Only the cold opening will be good. 

Speaking of cold, I do look forward to the 2020 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series from the Air Force Academy (that sounds weird), when the Los Angeles Kings meet the Colorado Avalanche. A beautiful nighttime setting in the frigid Rocky Mountains. Now that ought to be fun.

This is what happens when you are just past mid-winter and the skies are so changeable, just like the standings in all of the leagues competing right now. This is why my thoughts are called Mid-Winter musings.