Even Stevens: Making Lemonade Since 2013

SOMETHING IN THE AIR

We hear it every time a team has any type of significant roster turnover. “They’ll need time to gel.” Or, “We’ll have to wait and see if they have chemistry.” Sure, these are valid points. But I’m here to tell you, these issues are minimal with this Celtics team. To find out why, you don’t need to look any further down the team roster than the head coach.

Brad Stevens became the head coach prior to the 2013-2014 season. Remarkably, he has exactly zero players left from that team going into the 2017-2018 campaign. Seems like a massive headache for a guy who came from college coaching ranks. A mid-major nonetheless, where he didn’t have to worry about the business side of basketball. Stevens has embraced the challenge, however. He has done a better job than anyone expected him to, improving the teams record every single year since he came to Boston despite some major changes. Let’s take a closer look at how he has handled this tremendous roster turnover in the past.

2013-2014*

Stevens’ first year as head coach was a rough one. The team won 25 games, and it looked like the rebuild might take awhile. He did give us a taste of his genius though, when he dropped Jordan Crawford into the starting Point Guard role in the absence of Rondo. Crawford was widely considered a selfish player around the league, but Stevens made him into a team- first guy. He had his best all-around year, even earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors. Despite the poor record, Stevens showed he wasn’t afraid to do things his own way. He gave the last player on the roster the same opportunity to prove himself as the first guy. He didn’t want to overlook anyone, and made sure everyone got their fair shake. If you could play team ball and defend, you would play, period.

2014-2015*

In his second season, Ainge made some significant midseason moves, and Stevens was finally getting a taste of the difficulties of coaching in the NBA. The Celtics were 9-14 when Rondo went to the Mavericks, and 13-23 when they sent Jeff Green to Memphis. Both were starters, and the players that earned those roles were new to the team. Marcus Smart was an unproven rookie, and Evan Turner signed as a free agent just before the season. Turner was widely considered a bust after being the number two overall pick and never meeting expectations. But Stevens saw something in him.

When the team traded for Isaiah Thomas at the trade deadline, they were still trying to crawl out of the cellar. Nobody expected them to make the playoffs. With a completely different look than just months prior, they finished the year with one of the best post All-Star break records and made it to postseason. In a year that saw 22 different players receive minutes, Stevens created a playoff team. His peers were starting to see him as one of the best young coaches in the game.

2015-2016*

2016-2017*

The last two years have had considerably less roster turnover, but still saw a new name in the starting lineup each year with Amir Johnson and Al Horford. The team has continued to improve and exceed expectations no matter who they roll out. Isaiah Thomas turned into a star, but they still didn’t have much firepower behind him. Stevens’ teams to date have been known for being overachievers.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Let’s take a look at what Stevens was working with in his second season compared to what he will have next year. In ’14-’15, the fresh, new core was a rookie Marcus Smart, Evan Turner, and a young IT who had not yet established himself as a star. Compare that with the likes of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Jayson Tatum along with plenty of other moving parts, and there is no contest as to which group has more talent.

Taking all of this into account, it’s a given that this team will be good, and possibly great. Stevens has without question the most talented roster he has coached in the NBA. He no longer has to make lemons into lemonade; he already has the lemonade. If they simply achieve, progress will still have been made. Betting sites have them pegged for as high as 56.5 wins on the season, more than the 53 wins they reached last year.

The overachieving C’s may be gone, but the new look C’s might not need to overachieve to win a championship. They have the talent. The question we must answer now is, does this team have what it takes to win it all? Do they have championship DNA? Stevens will do his part and put players in the best position to succeed as he always has. But it will be up to them what they do with the opportunity.

* Courtesy of RealGM. Depth charts are from the last game played that season. This takes into account injuries, which shows another element Stevens has had to deal with. He was missing a starter due to injury in the playoffs all 3 years he has been there.

Patriots: On To New Orleans

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After the Patriots got their wake up Thursday night against Kansas City, it’s on to New Orleans to play the Saints on Sunday. The Patriots appeared lost on offense, defense, and special teams. It was unusual for the Patriots to have a distraction get in the way.

Too much play, not enough work?

What was the distraction? The banner ceremony for one. But Brady and Bill have all the answers, right? Some players might think that this game was going to be a cakewalk but that certainly didn’t happen. Like Belichick said, “Last year was last year. This is a new year new team and everyone starts from the beginning.”

Another distraction? The Patriots missed Julian Edelman Thursday night. Fans everywhere predicted that someone like Hogan, Cooks, Amendola would step up. For some reason, Brady couldn’t connect with anyone. Or nobody could get open. I know Belichick doesn’t want to look to the past. But in 2014 when they lost to Kansas City, Belichick said the team fought to the end. Last Thursday it seemed like they just gave up. No fight. No urgency to win. Very unusual and sort of a kick in the butt that you won’t playing in Super Bowls with performances like that.

Brady and Belichick have shifted the team to only focus on this week’s opponent, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints didn’t look good on Monday night in their loss to Minnesota. The Patriots haven’t practiced all weekend. Puzzling. You would think after that performance Thursday, they would practice Sunday and Monday, off Tuesday, then practice on Wednesday. But the Patriots started practice Wednesday for the Saints.

The defensive line and the pass rush need work. Hopefully they get it together with these practices. I don’t see the Patriots going 0-2. I do think they bounce back this week and they have a better game against the Saints.

Red Sox Potential Playoff Scenarios

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As the season winds down playoff contenders are beginning to game-plan for their potential first round opponents. More than likely, the Sox will encounter either Houston or Cleveland in the ALDS. For the majority of the season, the Astros were the heavy favorite to win the AL due to their remarkable offense and above-average pitching staff. However, thanks to a historic run, the Indians have emerged as the clear AL favorite and possibly World Series favorite as well. The Tribe is currently sitting on a a 21-game win streak, an all time American League record. Meanwhile, Houston is just 18-21 since the beginning of August. Safe to say that Red Sox Nation hopes to face Houston in the ALDS.

Houston is a favorable match-up for Boston

The Red Sox have no reason to think twice about playing the Astros in the first round. Houston is actually a sub .500 team since the All-Star break with a record of just 27-28. Sure, Correa, Springer and Keuchel have all spent time on the DL. But a sub .500 performance doesn’t approach playoff-caliber baseball, despite any injuries a team undergoes.

On the other hand, the Red Sox have gone 32-23 since the All-Star break. Keuchel and Verlander hold down the front of Houston’s rotation. An intimidating duo at first glance, but further speculation exposes their true identity. Keuchel has not pitched well lately. He owns an ERA of 5.59 over his last three starts. Verlander boasts an exceptional 2.20 ERA over the last month. But baseball fans know he has become rather inconsistent in recent years. Due to Keuchel’s struggles and Verlander’s inconsistency, Houston’s rotation becomes a serious concern for Astros fans. As a staff, Houston’s pitchers own an ERA of 4.35 over the last month, which does not compare favorably to the Red Sox ERA of 3.87 over the same stretch. Also, the Astros offense has struggled down the stretch. As a team they are batting a modest .244 over the past 28 days. With Houston’s mediocre second-half pitching, hitting and overall play they have fallen as a legitimate world series contender. The Red Sox should be confident in their chances of beating them.

Why Cleveland is road block for the Sox

The Red Sox will likely have to play Cleveland at some point in the playoffs. This could be a potential problem. But, remember that anyone can win come playoff time. As I mentioned earlier, the Indians are in the middle of a record-breaking win streak which currently stands at 21. Tito and company have certainly been playing phenomenal baseball as of late. During the streak they have outscored opponents 139-35 and have trailed in just five innings. Dominant starting pitching has led their success as they claimed 19 of the 21 wins during the streak. In total, the Indians pitchers boast a 1.79 ERA during this incredible stretch.

Their spectacular offense has batted .284 and slugged 50 home runs since the start of the streak. The Red Sox will certainly have their hands full if they encounter the Tribe. Chris Sale’s poor career numbers against Cleveland remain a central concern for the Sox. In his career he is 5-8 with a 4.78 ERA, certainly not Sale-like numbers. Despite Sale’s struggles against the Indians, I personally trust him on the mound in any situation. He has established himself as a true ace and an elite pitcher in the middle of a historic season. At the end of the day Chris Sale is Chris Sale and he should be trusted no matter the opponent.

American League Title is up for grabs

The postseason is going to be here before we know it. It appears that that the Red Sox will have to face Cleveland in order to make it to the World Series. Let us not forget that the city of Boston in underdog scenarios. With a big 11-1 thrashing over Oakland last night, the Red Sox may be heating up just in time. This team has shown flashes of brilliance over the course of the season and I am sensing a joyfully dramatic playoff run for this group. When Boston plays their own brand of aggressive, tenacious and determined baseball, they can beat anyone. Red Sox Nation, I ask you to please remember this; Boston has already beaten Cleveland four times in seven tries this year. They can do it again. Lets go Sox! Win. Dance. Repeat.

*Statistics accurate as of 9/13/17* Follow me on twitter @MLBfromNH (Kevin Civiello)

“Judging” Rafael Devers

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Let’s jump to conclusions. For one minute, let’s be Yankee fans and make ridiculous assertions about how every player who dons our uniform will one have a plaque in Cooperstown.

Rafael Devers is that guy. His electric start, along with the addition of a scalding-hot Eduardo Nunez, injected energy and offense into the struggling Sox in July and vaulted them back into first place in the East. Even after a recent dip, his .300/8/18 start to his big league career is more than just promising, it’s exhilarating. Let’s face it, if he played in the Bronx they’d already be thinking about retiring his number and ordering his plaque for Monument Valley. God knows they’re already measuring Aaron Judge for a HoF jacket.

But we’re not Yankee fans. Thank the Lord.

We’re smart enough to know that as good as Devers was on the farm, and what he displayed with his hot start, he will level out – in fact he may already have. But when he does, what can we expect? From an offensive standpoint, the answer looks pretty damn good.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Bill James didn’t reinvent the game with his Baseball Abstract in 1977, but he did start a revolution in how we think about, analyze, and project player value. Johan Hill showed Brad Pitt the power of data analytics in Moneyball, and if he could figure it out between adopting half the world’s orphans and murdering zombies then most of us can too.

Many believers in sabermetrics will tell you that the number-one predictor of hitting potential in the big leagues over time is best summed up as the relationship between power, average, and strike-outs. Intuitively, when we think about the greatest hitters who ever played the game, we think about guys who drove the ball with power and seldom swung and missed. Williams, Ruth, Mays, and Aaron come to mind.

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It’s not enough to simply crush the ball. Nobody in their right minds considers Dave Kingman one of the all-time great hitters – though he did hit 442 HRs in the pre-steroid era. Kingman’s problem? He was a career .236 hitter with more than 1,800 Ks. So, the greatest hitters who ever lived are those with high slugging percentages, high batting averages, and low strike-outs. Not exactly rocket science. If you isolate hitting for power (slugging avg – batting avg) and divide by Ks per 9-innings, you can begin to see quantitatively why the people you think were great hitters were, and why we hate Carl Crawford .

Name	Level	Games	Slugging	Average	ISO-Power	SOs	SO per 9 Inning	ISO-P/K
Ted Williams	MLB	2292	0.634	0.344	0.290	709	0.309	0.937
Rogers Hornsby	MLB	2259	0.577	0.358	0.219	679	0.301	0.729
Babe Ruth	MLB	2503	0.690	0.342	0.348	1330	0.531	0.655
Hank Aaron	MLB	3298	0.555	0.305	0.250	1383	0.419	0.596
George Brett	MLB	2707	0.487	0.305	0.182	908	0.335	0.543
Willie Mays	MLB	2992	0.557	0.302	0.255	1526	0.510	0.500
Gary Sheffield	MLB	2576	0.514	0.292	0.222	1171	0.455	0.488
Wade Boggs	MLB	2440	0.443	0.328	0.115	745	0.305	0.377
David Ortiz	MLB	2408	0.552	0.286	0.266	1750	0.727	0.366
Manny Ramirez	MLB	2302	0.585	0.312	0.273	1813	0.788	0.347
Mark Texiera	MLB	1862	0.509	0.268	0.241	1441	0.774	0.311
Dwight Evans	MLB	2606	0.470	0.272	0.198	1697	0.651	0.304
Jack Clark	MLB	1994	0.476	0.267	0.209	1441	0.723	0.289
Jim Thome	MLB	2543	0.554	0.276	0.278	2548	1.002	0.277
Dave Kingman	MLB	1941	0.478	0.236	0.242	1816	0.936	0.259
Reggie Jackson	MLB	2820	0.490	0.262	0.228	2597	0.921	0.248
Carl Crawford	MLB	1716	0.435	0.290	0.145	1067	0.622	0.233
Wily Mo Pena	MLB	599	0.445	0.250	0.195	559	0.933	0.209

Of the players who belong to the Hall of Fame (bold), Reggie Jackson was an outlier. Objectively speaking, from a quantitative standpoint, he was a painfully average ballplayer. For perspective, in more than 1,000 fewer at bats, he struck out 1,071 more times than Willie Mays. Reggie just happened to excel on the big stage – winning four World Series and winning MVP in two of them.

Boston’s Future

Rafael Devers hasn’t had enough MLB at-bats to generate a sufficiently large statistical sample yet. But if we compare his minor league numbers to Betts, Bogaerts, and Bradley – and knowing how those players have leveled out after over 450-MLB games each – we can begin to see where he might level out himself.

Name	Level	Games	Slugging	Average	ISO-Power	SOs	SO per 9 Inning	ISO-P/K
Mookie Betts	Minors	313	0.442	0.307	0.135	147	0.470	0.287
Rafael Devers	Minors	399	0.482	0.296	0.186	291	0.729	0.255
Rafael Devers	MLB	40	0.513	0.300	0.213	39	0.975	0.218
Xander Bogaerts	Minors	315	0.503	0.288	0.215	272	0.863	0.249
Jackie Bradley	Minors	277	0.474	0.298	0.176	208	0.751	0.234

We should note that currently, through 493 MLB games, Mookie’s ISO-P/K is .355 – placing him squarely between Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. I hope we can agree that he’s leveled out quite nicely. It would be premature, with such a small sample at the big-league level, to project Devers will be in Betts’ class as a pro (he’s at .218 now. But with good coaching, line-up protection, and patience at the plate,. we can expect him to be more productive than either Bogaerts or Bradley – and that’s not too shabby.

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And just for perspective – NY’s newest hero, Aaron Judge, had a .182 in 348 minor league games. And despite all the tape measure HRs and Sportscenter fawning, he’s sitting at .202 through 152 big-league games. Dave Kingman? He’s not even Carl Crawford.

Note: all statistics thank to the tome of wisdom at www.baseball-reference.com

Happy Anniversary Wake

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Aaron Bleepin’ Boone

I was somewhere over the Mediterranean when Aaron Boone hit his home run off Wake to win the 2003 ALCS and send the Red Sox home early from the post season. Another year of what might have been. Truth be told I wouldn’t have been watching anyway. I was redeploying from Iraq that day, and after watching Pedro strike out Alfonso Soriano to end the seventh inning with the Sox still up 4-2, I went to check on my flight home.

Ortiz added a home run off of David Wells in the top of the eighth to make it 5-2. We were in great shape. Between Timlin and Embree the ’03 Sox bullpen was lights out. This was going to be THE YEAR. Enter Grady Little.

When I returned from getting my flight update, Pedro was inexplicably still on the mound for the bottom of the eighth and Jeter was on second base after a one-out double. Bernie Williams singled. Jeter scored. I dropped a number of f-bombs and left. Not because my plane was leaving. I left because I knew, deep down we all knew, how this game was going to end.

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For those too young to remember a time before Aaron Boone was ruining baseball games in the ESPN broadcast booth, I’ll summarize. New York scored three in the bottom of the eighthnn to tie it and Aaron Bleepin’ Boone sent a Tim Wakefield knuckler into the second deck in left field to send NY back to the World Series.

He’s no Bill Buckner

Walking off the mound at Yankee Stadium, having surrendered the series losing home run, Wake admitted that he was terrified that he would no longer be welcome in Boston. After all, the last Red Sox goat – Bill Buckner – had been run out of town after contributing to the collapse in the 1986 World Series against the Mets. But Wake was no Billy Buck.

Wakefield had been with the Sox for nine seasons and won 102 games for Boston by then. He’d thrown 14 great innings of relief and won two games in that ALCS. He was a legitimate candidate for series MVP. Had they won.

Boston forgave Wake. We had Grady Little to hate.

Our Ironman

Wakefield pitched 17 seasons in Boston, winning 186 games for the hometown team and 200 for his career. He did everything anyone could have asked. He averaged 200 innings a season for his 19-year career. He started. He did long relief. He closed. Sometimes all in the same season.

In 1999, the Red Sox used Wakefield, a knuckleballer who’s every pitch was an adventure for the catcher and a home run waiting to happen for the hitter, to close. In addition to staring 17 games that year, he saved 15.

Wake was selfless. In game three of the 2004 ALCS, when Boston was getting pummeled by New York and on the verge of going down 0-3 in the series, Wake asked for the ball so Franconia could save the bullpen. He entered the game in the third inning, already down 10-0. He took his lumps for 3.1 innings and gave the Sox a chance in game four.

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He came out of the bullpen in game five and threw three innings of one-hit ball in extra innings in an elimination game. And won. For those who didn’t live through the 2004 ALCS, it is difficult to describe the intensity. For Wake, who walked off the mound a loser last year, to pitch so many clutch innings in against the same opponent in the same elimination situation the following year, his performance was nothing short of incredible.

Happy Anniversary Timmy

Today, September 13^th, marks the sixth anniversary since Wake won his 200^th career game. It’s not a major sports event, in fact I only remembered this morning when Facebook reminded me that I was there. I’m glad I was. Tim Wakefield really represents the great unsung Red Sox that are too often overlooked. He won’t ever be enshrined in Cooperstown, but he is exactly the kind of player that this franchise should celebrate.

Defense Analysis of The Patriots’ Roster

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Forget the calendar. The real 2017 has finally arrived. the first game of our 2017 NFL season left a lot to be desired. But hey, just one game, and we all know the outcome of seasons with the same disappointing start. Here’s a quick analysis of the defense and what we need to do to be successful in the weeks to come.

Defense Wins Championships

One of the most overused phrases in team sports, but sadly it is quite true. Unless you have a perfect offense (we are close to that but ?), your defense has to play a key role in winning games. Big plays on defense can change a game’s momentum, and turn around what looked like a lost cause (remember Hightower in the SB?).

Defensive Backfield

In my opinion, our greatest defensive strength is the defensive backfield. At corner back, we have Gilmore and Malcolm Butler who would rank in the top three CB pairs in the entire NFL. Having such dominant players at CB usually should help take away opponents’ best wide receivers and throw off their offensive game plan. If the opponents can get around the “Velcro twins” of Butler and Gilmore then they have to deal with our safeties. The hard hitting duo of Chung and McCourty back there can make WRs hesitate for a moment before stretching out for that long pass.

When Coach Patricia goes to the nickel package, he has the freedom of bringing in players like Duron Harmon and Eric Rowe, both better than many teams’ starting defensive backs. Having depth in this area is never a bad thing, especially against a team that likes a vertical passing game. I feel that these guys don’t get enough credit because they are not as flashy as some other defensive backs in the NFL. Flashy is just that, and I will take effective and not flashy any day at all.

Linebackers

The defense could go either way here. This could be a strength of the team when all of the players play a solid “do-your- job” kind of game. But this part of the defense suffers with injuries to players like McClellin and Roberts, notably. The linebacker corp has seen an infusion of new guys like David Harris, formerly of the Jets (bet he thinks he won the lottery getting out of that mess) and Marquis Flowers. The stalwart of the linebacker corp remains — who else — the monster Dont’a Hightower, listed at 6 ft 3 and 265 lbs and can run like he is being chased by a grizzly. Hightower will get this group to focus on the job at hand and act as the QB of the defense, as he has for a number of years. This might not be the only job that Hightower has this season, and I will mention more on this shortly.

Having such a diverse group of “hybrid” LBs allows Coaches Patricia and Belichick to have the defensive players needed to handle almost anyone’s offense. These types of players can really cover more than just their own position and give an opposing offensive coordinator a few sleepless nights.

Defensive Line

This is where the big boys hang out, and the Patriots have a couple of players that give the scale a good workout. Start with the underrated Alan Branch, 6 ft 6 and 360 lbs (I think that he might not have had both feet on the scale there) and Trey Flowers. Both of these players are great and can disrupt an opposing offence quite easily. They may not get Von Miller or Aaron Donald-like sack numbers, but there is more to playing defense than getting “numbers.” Throw in newly acquired Cassius Marsh, formerly of the Seahawks, and that gives the Pats a formidable threesome. Do not forget that we also have players like Malcolm Brown who continues to improve as has behemoth Vincent Valentine.

The defensive line may not be our strength on defense, but we do have some very good players who “do their job” very well. They are not the flashy types of players like Donald or Miller, but I will take quiet and effective anytime. The only thing that matters is the score at the end of the game and not personal numbers.

My Radical Defensive Strategy

My off-the-wall thought for this year’s defense may seem a bit radical radical. Blame Andy Lykins, my BostonSportsExtra colleague, who brought it to my attention. With the unexpected retirement of Rob Ninkovich, would it be a crazy idea to insert Dont’a Hightower into Nink’s former role? Hightower is big enough, fast enough, and just ask Matt Ryan if he can get to the QB if he is let loose. This may require inserting David Harris possibly as the starting middle LB. Not a stretch in my opinion. This may seem like a radical departure from what Patriot fans are used to, but I think it could work very well.

The only thing that matters right now is that we get this season on track. Enough of the talk, let’s play some football. Let’s Go Patriots. Check out the 2017 Patriots roster at www.patriots.com Check out other great Patriots articles at www.BostonSportsExtra.com

Baltimore: America’s Sports Armpit

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Worse than New York

Though I now live outside Washington, DC and spent most of my adult life a nomad, I will always consider myself Bostonian to the core. There is only one kind of chowda, and only one way to say it. Dunkin Donuts kicks Krispy Crème’s ass. And, of course, New York sucks.

I hate everything about New York – from the filth in the streets to the noise pollution that is their accent. I hate the Yankees, the Giants, and all their fans – certainly in part because much of my childhood misery came at their hands. However, like most rationale Massholes, as much as we hate our neighbor to the south, we have to respect them. New York is a strong, important city with character and the Yankees and Giants have great traditions of winning.

The same cannot be said for the landfill three hours further south. Baltimore has not one redeeming quality. I’d rather live in Baghdad, again, than spend more than an hour in that cesspool.

Baseless Arrogance

Baltimore, a city that burned itself to the ground in a race riot two years ago and needed the National Guard and 1,000 police officers to restore order, still somehow presumes to lecture Boston on racism. I get it, the Red Sox were the last team in baseball to integrate. Yeah, it was almost six decades ago. Progress has been made.

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Maybe they haven’t heard that Red Sox principle owner John Henry is so overwhelmed with guilt that he doesn’t sleep well? The sport’s most aloof owner is “haunted” by the ghost of Tom Yawkey, who – like Scrooge’s Marley – apparently walks the concourses of Fenway Park in the dark of night howling racial epithets.

Perhaps it was Yawkey’s ghost who threw racial slurs at Adam Jones on that fateful night in May. That’s the only plausible explanation how in 2017, in a crowd of a thousand cellphone cameras, nobody caught the incident on video, nobody saw who said it, and not a single witness has been found. I’ve seen enough Discovery Channel to know you can’t see ghosts. It couldn’t possibly be that Adam Jones wasn’t telling the truth or just hates a divisional rival. Of course not.

Besides Jones, of course, my least favorite bird has to be Manny Mochado. Mochado spiked Pedroia on a dirty slide back in April and Pedroia hasn’t really been healthy since. If there were any justice in baseball he’d take a heater in the ribs every at bat in Fenway for the rest of his career.

The O’s are led by an equally unbearable ass. Buck Showalter once managed the Yankees, but since landing in “Charm City” has found the nerve to complain about baseball’s uneven financial playing field. Even more than the fact that he’s a hypocritical ass, I hate that he absolutely owns the Red Sox. Since taking over in 2011 the Orioles lead the head-to-head matchup with Boston 72-56. Thankfully, he’s simply awful in the post season, having one exactly one post season series in 19 years and posting a 9-14 record.

Showalter and his team love to talk about “playing the game the right way” and the unwritten rules of baseball. Save it. You haven’t even been to a World Series since 1983. Please stop talking until you do.

Whiney Losers

The truly sad thing is that the Orioles are actually Baltimore’s likeable team. Led by the whiniest coach this side of the University of Michigan, the Ravens may be the most disgusting franchise in all major North American sports.

I get the whole Edger Allen Poe thing, but let’s face it, only reason they chose the Raven as their mascot is that the NFL wouldn’t let them put the image of a battered spouse on their helmets. The greatest players in the history of the franchise are a murder and two spousal abusers. By the way, brave stance there with Ray Rice – once the video leaked anyway. Terrell Suggs? Oh, he’s still productive on the field so let’s not discuss his domestic abuse history.

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The Ravens aren’t just bad, they’re stupid. Baltimore once made Joe Flacco the highest paid player in league history – the self-appointed “elite” QB with a career QBR lower than Rich Gannon. Rich Gannon. Take a moment and let that sink in. And, of course, who can forget the 2015 AFC Divisional playoff game when New England twice took advantage of the same innovative, but fully-legal, formation to conceal eligible receivers to get critical first downs on scoring drives against Baltimore.

Harbaugh, of course, lost his mind – first on the field with the officials, then in the post-game press conference, and finally in the off season when Baltimore joined other teams to petition the league to change the rules. To this day, Harbaugh cries foul, despite the fact that the league has confirmed time and again that the formations were legal.

The Ravens didn’t make the playoffs last year. They probably won’t this year either. Neither of those facts will stop Harbaugh from being a whiney sideline diva.

One Good Thing

We are a week away from the final Red Sox – Orioles series of the year. Baltimore will most likely miss the post season again – for the fifth time in Showalter’s eight years as manager. With any luck they will finish below .500. But, as we head into this final series, we should recognize that Baltimore has in fact given us one thing for which we should be thankful: the HBO series The Wire. It’s saying something that this city’s greatest contribution is a cable drama about their crime and political corruption. As we assess the Orioles and Ravens, their contemptible players, their unlikeable leaders, and their seemingly unending jealousies of the Red Sox and Patriots, I offer this final thought, from The Wire’s great warrior poet Omar Little: “you come at the king, you best not miss.”

Watchgate: A Brand New Boston Sports Scandal

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In 2015, it was Deflategate that swept the New England sports family. Now, it’s another “Scandal” that is sweeping the nation- Watchgate.

A New York Times article reports that the Yankees have evidence of the Red Sox stealing signs from them. The report also says that the Red Sox, “admitted that their trainers had received signals from video replay personnel and then relayed that information to Red Sox players — an operation that had been in place for at least several weeks.”

I know what you’re saying: “But Jon, stealing signs is perfectly legal in the MLB!” Well, it turns out, it is legal. The stealing of signs from second base to the batter is commonplace in baseball. On the other hand, using any electronics- even binoculars- is illegal. Stealing signs has been around as long as baseball itself has- it’s part of the game. What hasn’t always been part of it, though, is stealing signs using an Apple smartwatch.

In a recent interview about this issue, Red Sox manager John Farrell clearly stated that he had no idea that this was occurring in the dugout and on the field. Fingers pointed to one of the Red Sox not in the dugout, maybe someone in center field, or in another spectral position.

There’s no hacking in baseball

The question is: What will the consequences be for the Red Sox? Will they be big or small? Five days ago, it was reported that the Sox would receive a “slap on the wrist” for their actions. This reminds me of another issue involving a St. Louis Cardinals staff member hacking into the Astros’ system and stealing information. Following the scandal, the Cardinals were forced to surrender their first two draft picks of the 2017 draft, and pay a $2M fine. (One of the largest fines ever surrendered by a team.)

The punishment for the Red Sox certainly won’t be of that magnitude, but there will be one. John Farrell could be suspended a couple games, or another staff member. Along with the punishment, I would not be surprised if Major League Baseball banned Apple Watches – or all non-league administered electronic devices. If they’re not allowed in the dugouts, why not enforce this rule further? Whatever happens, don’t worry Red Sox fans. This won’t affect our drive to the postseason. Major League Baseball is expected to make a decision on a punishment for the Sox by early this week.

Scandal or dust-up?

The final question is: What should we make of this “scandal” as Red Sox fans? Admittedly, when I first saw this unwind, I was annoyed. On the other hand, I progressively got less and less annoyed with it. For one thing, obviously using the Apple Watch did not benefit their offense in that series against the Yanks. Secondly, the Sox are being very upfront about the whole issue. They weren’t trying to hide any of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Red Sox weren’t the only team using technology to boost their performance.

PARIS, FRANCE – DECEMBER 01: A signage for Apple Watch is displayed inside the new Apple store Saint Germain during the press day on December 01, 2016 in Paris, France. On December 3, Apple will inaugurate and open its new Apple store to the public at the ‘Marche Saint-Germain’ (Saint Germain market). (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

World Series - Cleveland Indians v Chicago Cubs - Game Three

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 28: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred speaks to the media before Game Three of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on October 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

FORT MYERS, FL – MARCH 16: Manager John Farrell #53 of the Boston Red Sox talks to the media prior to the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at JetBlue Park on March 16, 2017 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

The Greatest Teenage Superstars

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I have decided to create an all-time teenager team. This isn’t picking the best players who debuted as teenagers. This picks the players who performed the best while they were teenagers. It is an impressive feat to make the major leagues while most people are still in school, so let’s celebrate those who have.

Pitching Staff

Dwight Gooden #16 of the New York Mets poses for a season portrait. Dwight Gooden played for the New York Mets from 1984-1994. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Dwight Gooden

The Doc headlines the staff, as he went 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 276 strike outs during his age-19 season. Gooden won the Rookie of the Year Award, made the all-star team and placed second in the CY Young Vote. Gooden also led the league in both WHIP and strike outs. Doc had a chance at being an all-time great, but instead ruined his career with Darryl Strawberry by snorting cocaine constantly. Gooden had notched 154 Ws by the age of 28, yet would win just 40 the rest of his career.

Bob Feller

Feller broke into the majors at the age of 17, pitching almost three full seasons as a teenager. Placing him second on this staff is for the body of work, considering he pitched three different seasons. None of his seasons were the second best by a teen. In 1936, at 17 years old Feller went 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA and struck out 76 batters in only 62 innings. This feat is made even more impressive considering it was 1936, batters didn’t strike out much back then. The next season Feller won nine games against seven losses. He had a 3.39 ERA and again struck out more than a batter per inning. In 1938, at the age of 19, Feller won 17 games and struck out a league high 240 batters. He also walked a league high 208 batters!

Gary Nolan

Gary Nolan broke into the big leagues at the age of 18 in 1967, quickly turning 19 in May. He had a phenomenal rookie season, finishing 14-8 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 206 strike outs. Unfortunately, pitching at such a young age may have caught up to Nolan, as he suffered arm problems and had a short career. By age 24, Nolan was 76-47 with a 2.83 ERA and was coming off a 1.99 ERA in 1972. Over the next two seasons he pitched only 10.1 innings. After two successful comeback seasons in 1975 and 1976, Nolan re-injured his arm and retired at just 29 years old.

Wally Bunker

Another young guy who had a short career due to arm problems. At the age of 19 in 1964, Bunker was the Orioles ace, going 19-5 with a 2.69 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a league leading .792 winning percentage. However, he hurt his arm late that season and was never quite the same. He enjoyed some success the following season, but his career was over by the time he was only 26 years old.

Joe Wood

Tough call for the fifth spot, but I’ll give it to Smoky Joe. Wood was known for throwing as hard as anyone in the game, but his violent delivery did not allow him to sustain his velocity as late into games as Walter Johnson could. In 1909, Smoky Joe went 11-7 with a 2.18 ERA and 1.02 WHIP for the Sox. He would remain one of the very best pitchers in all of baseball up through 1915, despite pitching injured for those last couple seasons. Based on accounts of the pain, he probably suffered from a torn rotator cuff. However, in 1915, his final season as a pitcher before switching to hitting because of the pain, Wood led the league with a 1.49 ERA. At that point, at age 25, Wood was 117-56 with a 1.99 ERA and 1.08 WHIP for his career. He should be in the Hall.

Bullpen

Rube Bressler

Bressler had an interesting career. In 1914, making 10 starts and 19 relief appearances, Bressler won 10 games versus four losses while pitching to a 1.77 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. That’s why he’s on this team. However, over the rest of his career he would go 16-28 with a 4.01 ERA. So what did he do? He switched to hitting and batted .311 between 1921 and 1932.

Larry Dierker

Dierker pitched two seasons as a teenager, mostly starting, but he made 10 relief appearances while a teenager. In 1965 at 18 years old Dierker posted a 3.50 ERA. The following season he brought his ERA down to 3.18 while finishing with a 10-8 record. In both seasons he had a 1.17 WHIP. Dierker had himself a solid career, making two all-star teams and winning 20 games once.

Walter Johnson

I’m cheating a bit with this one, as Johnson made 12 starts versus only two relief appearances in 1907. Despite being 5-9 on a really bad Senators team, Johnson had a 1.88 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. As I said, really bad Senators team. The Senators were bad almost his entire career and yet he won 417 games. Imagine if he had pitched on a decent team.

Jim Palmer

This one is actually not cheating, as Palmer was a reliever initially. In 1965 Palmer went 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA while mostly pitching out of the bullpen. Of course, he had one of the best careers on this list.

Don Gullett

In 1970, Gullett went 5-2 with a 2.43 ERA and six saves pitching out of the Reds bullpen. Over the next eight seasons, Gullett would primarily start, and do it very well, receiving Cy Young votes in two separate seasons. He was forced to retire in 1978 at the age of 27 due to shoulder problems. He was 109-50 with a 3.11 ERA for his career.

Billy McCool

Who wouldn’t want a guy with the name McCool closing out games for them? McCool turned 20 in mid July in 1964, but spent enough time as a teenager before that to qualify. He was 6-5 that season with a 2.42 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and seven saves. He went on to save 39 games over the next two seasons, but flamed out quickly and was out of the league by the age of 26.

Billy McCool of the Reds.

Starting 9

Catcher

Del Crandall batted .263 with four home runs and 34 RBI during 1949. As one can imagine, there haven’t been many highly successful teenage catchers. Crandall would spend most of the next decade and a half as the Braves primary catcher and hit 179 career home runs.

First Base

Phil Cavarretta turned 19 in July of 1935, his first full season in the Bigs with the Chicago Cubs. He batted a very respectable .275 with eight home runs, 12 triples and 82 runs batted in. His 82 RBI were good for third most on the team. Cavarretta spent almost two decades with the Cubs, through the 1953 season.

Second Base

Sibby Sisti is the only guy I even wrote down. Unfortunately, the other infield positions have several more worthy candidates than Sisti fighting with each other. Sibby batted .251 with six home runs and a .664 OPS in 1940, when he turned 20 years old in July.

Shortstop

Edgar Renteria gets the nod, which surprises me. I forgot he was a teenager when he broke in with the Marlins. In 1996, at age 19 (he turned 20 in August), Renteria batted .309 with a .757 OPS for the Marlins, also stealing 16 bases. So he gets the pick over some worthy competition.

Third Base

This one was close, but I am going with Freddie Lindstrom. He and Buddy Lewis had very similar batting numbers, but Lewis committed many more errors so the nod goes to Freddie. Lindstrom batted .287 with 12 triples and a .761 OPS in 1925, the highest OPS of any teenager who didn’t play the outfield. Lindstrom eventually made the Hall of Fame courtesy of the Veterans Committee.

Outfield

Mel Ott broke in at the age of 17 and batted .309 over 223 at bats during two partial seasons to begin his career. In 1928, at the age of 19, Ott was up for good and posted arguably the best offensive season a teenager ever has. That season Ott batted .322 with 18 homers, 77 runs batted in and a .921 OPS, the highest ever by a teenager. Standing at just 5’9” 170 pounds, Ott went on to win six home run crowns and bash over 500 career home runs.

Tony Conigliaro is one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ ever. Conigliaro homered in his first Fenway at bat (and later would homer in his first game back from his beaning). In 1964, at the age of 19, Tony C hit 24 home runs, the most ever by a teenager. He accomplished that in only 111 games. He also batted .290 and posted a stellar .883 OPS. The next season he would lead the league in home runs with 32 at just 20 years old. Conigliaro had 104 home runs in only 494 games at the time of his head injury at just 23 years old.

Bryce Harper didn’t disappoint in his first season. In 2012 he posted an .817 OPS while making the All-Star team and winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He batted .270 with 22 home runs and stole 18 bases at the age of 19.

Mel Ott, New York Giants Hall of Fame outfielder, practices his unusual swing in preparation for the upcoming World Series in 1936. This is the third image in a series of four. (Photo Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)

Patriot’s Scary Offense: A roster analysis Part 2

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Now that the glory of the 2017 NFL season is upon us and the anticipation of training camp behind us, we can take stock of the roster as it heads into the early part of the year. The situation is very fluid and much of the bottom of the roster will be churned in an effort to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. The offense had quite a few surprises. How does it look for this season? How is it shaping up for the next two to three years? Read on and find out.

Quarterbacks

Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo

FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 07: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots reacts on the sideline during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on September 7, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The surprise trade of Jacoby Brissett really sent shock waves throughout the fans. It answered one question; are we carrying three quarterbacks this year? And raised many others. Is Jimmy G tagged or extended after this year? Is it Tom Brady’s last year? Will TB12 be extended too? Unfortunatethird we will most likely have to wait for the playoff run to end before we get our answers. But I can tell you this; getting an asset that you can play for even 25% of the snaps is better than a 3rd QB who you hope to never have to see throw the ball. And the Patriots figure to sign a guy to the practice squad once some of the injuries at other positions clear up.

Running Backs

Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, James White, Dion Lewis, Brandon Bolden (ST), DJ Foster (PS)

After all the drama of the running back competition, it looks surprising similar to the off season roster. Even Bolden made it back after a couple of days unemployment. This could be the most talented group of ball carriers that Tom Brady has ever shared the backfield with. Ground and pound the ball, check. Pass protectors, check. Dynamic pass catchers, check. The only downside to this unit is that two of them are UFA and even Gillislee is expendable if he doesn’t perform to expectations. That means that it could be facing a large amount of turnover in the off season again.

Wide Receivers

Danny Amendola, Brandin Cooks, Phillip Dorsett, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater (ST), Demarcus Ayers (PS), Cody Hollister (PS)

Disaster struck when Julian Edelman went down in the preseason with a torn ACL. This could’ve been a record-setting unit, but without Elelman wel’l have to settle for merely scary. Instead, the bombshell of trade that sent Jacoby Brissett to the Colts for their speedy wideout Phillip Dorsett brought back those thoughts. It will take some time for him to gel and for it to transition from a dink and dunk with a gritty Edelman getting those third to bombs away, chunk grabbing TD machine, wiith Cooks, Hogan and Dorsett. Mitchell and Amendola are great depth receivers but both are injury-prone and should not be counted on extensively. Even with Edelman’s and Mitchell’s injury worse the Pats have a very deep and scary unit this season.

Tight Ends

Dwayne Allen, Rob Gronkowski, Jacob Hollister

And the last man standing in the battle royale for the 3rd tight end is – Jacob Hollister. Showing up for big stretches in all the preseason games and practices, the undrafted rookie out of Wyoming secured his spot on the roster. A naturally fluid route running and great hands won him his job and as a better blocker will have him stick. And when you consider he gets to learn behind one of the young greats at that position in Rob Gronkowski, his future looks bright. Dwayne Allen as the backup on an offense that likes its two tight end sets appears extremely fortuitous.

Offensive Line

David Andrews, Joe Thuney, Marcus Cannon, Cole Croston, Cameron Fleming, Shaq Mason, LaAdrian Waddle, Nate Solder, Willie Beavers (PS), James Ferentz (PS), Ted Karras (PS)

If the shockwaves from the Brissett/Dorsett trade registered an 8.0, then the surprise cut of Ted Karras as the backup interior lineman in favor of Cole Croston was a mere 3.0. But have no fear Karras fans (@stevenviner1). He made it back on the practice squad. Other than that,- this is the unit that completed the comeback for the Super Bowl. Everyone is back and getting healthy. With another year under offensive line maven Dante Scarnecchia we should really see some wire-to-wire improvements. Next year will provide some uncertainty as Fleming, Waddle and Solder are all free agents after the season. Rookie Tony Garcia will spend the season on the Non-Football Injury list. Hopefully he’ll compete next year for a depth spot.

All in all a very powerful unit to begin the season with. They’ve already weathered several injuries and upheavals and there will undoubtedly be more. As long as Tom Brady is back there healthy and slinging the football the team will be competitive and a threat to win every game. If the injury fairy has completed its visit this season and the newcomers and young guys all step up, they have the potential to break some records this season as they begin their quest for the sixth ring.

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