Tag Archives: Philly

What the Machado Deal Means for Boston

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Finally. It took until February the 19th, but Manny Machado has found his new home. Machado is now on his way to San Diego for the next decade. This has to be close to the best case scenario for Boston. The former Dodger was rumored to be between the Yankees, White Sox and Phillies. So with the Red Sox’ rival, a fellow AL competitor and a potential NL World Series representative all missing out on a generational player, the Sox have to be happy with how things culminated. If Machado had chosen a different path in free agency it could’ve really changed things. However, since he is about to be a Padre, let’s analyze how the other scenarios could have affected Boston and its future.

Scenario One: Machado picks the other Sox

Of the three candidates who were tied to Manny all winter, the White Sox posed the smallest threat. Their team isn’t quite ready to contend, with a lot of young pieces on the major league roster still trying to find their place in the league. If the White Sox could’ve have pulled Machado along with Bryce Harper, then they would be much closer to contention. However, even the current White Sox roster + Machado would still be unlikely to win their division. The battle of the Sox will occur seven times this year, which is about the yearly average that the two teams play. Not having to play Machado an extra seven games a year is definitely a small win for the Red Sox.

Scenario Two: Machado heads to the City of Brotherly Love

This scenario scares me as much as any. As is, the Phillies have a roster that is capable of doing damage deep into October. They have big bats, a solid bullpen, and an ace heading their rotation. If you add a star like Manny Machado to the lineup Philly already has, they’re likely the easy favorite to come out of the NL. Now this wouldn’t be the end of the world for Boston. You might remember them beating this Machado guy in the World Series once before. The Phillies really could’ve made a splash by signing Machado and/or Harper, and it would have vaulted them to the top of the NL and near the top of the league. Unfortunately for Phillies fans, ownership wasn’t willing to meet his demands. This doesn’t take the Phillies out of World Series contention by any means, but for a potential World Series matchup with the Phillies, this certainly makes life easier on Boston.

Scenario Three: Machado joins the Evil Empire

Okay, this scenario is the most scary. Yeah, the Sox handled Machado in the division before. Yes, they just beat him in the World Series. And yes, they just eliminated the Yankees in four games. However, this would have been very, very scary. With Manny joining a lineup of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez would be lethal. He would have the opportunity to play shortstop for the New York Yankees, something millions of kids grew up dreaming about. The Yankees were always rumored to be on Manny, and at times it felt like it was inevitable. However, the Yankees lost too much ground in the Machado sweepstakes in the last couple of weeks. The repercussions of Manny coming to New York are obvious. Roughly twenty times a season over the next decade we’d have to face him. Even though the Red Sox starters have pitched him well over his career, that is still a task that Boston is lucky they don’t have to face.

Classic!

Three Takeaways: Celtics 105, 76ers 87

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Boston Celtics basketball is back.

The first game of the regular season for the Boston Celtics did not disappoint. Both teams got off to a slow start, but Boston was able to pull away heading into the fourth quarter and didn’t look back. By the end of the game, the entire team was firing on all cylinders.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from game 1 of 82.

Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball against Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics during a game on October 16 2018 at TD Garden in...

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1. Kyrie Irving off to a slow start

Though the Celtics pulled off the win, Kyrie’s absence on the offensive end was notable. In the first half, Irving didn’t score a single point, going 0-8 from the field. He finished going just 2-14 from the field for 7 points. That included one two, one three, and two free throws. Fortunately, the rest of the team was able to pick up the slack on the offensive end. Hopefully, Kyrie can get his scoring swagger back in time for Friday’s tilt.

However, he did finish with seven assists, and was also a +9 plus/minus, so his performance wasn’t poor. It’s unlikely this scoring relapse will carry over into the next games.

2. Jayson Tatum leads the charge

While Kyrie struggled from the field, Jayson Tatum was the leader on the offensive end of the court. He finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. He also looked at times to be the commander of the court, often times serving as the primary ball-handler.

Tatum had a number of sweet pull-ups, and a beautiful drive and dunk, as well. Near the end of the game, he also took Joel Embiid to school on a free throw line jumper. The NBA sophomore looked confident on the court, and it showed in the box score.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 16 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston Massachusetts NOTE TO...

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3. Defense looks as strong as ever

The staple of the Boston Celtics looks to be the same as ever: defense. Boston was able to hold Philly to just 87 points in the opener. They also forced 16 turnovers, including 10 in the first half alone. Leading the defensive effort was Al Horford, who had 5 blocks and affected multiple other shots at the rim.

It’s obvious that the defense won’t be an issue this season, as if that were ever a question.

Bonus: Gordon Hayward!

The forward made his Celtic debut at the TD Garden, playing 24 minutes and scoring 10 points. While it wasn’t the greatest performance, it was most certainly encouraging to see him back on the court scoring buckets.

Gordon Hayward high fives Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics during a game against ethics's Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden on October 16 2018 in...

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An emphatic performance in the season opener was surely an awesome sight for Boston Celtics fans. They’ll look to keep the momentum going on Friday against the Toronto Raptors in Canada.

The Boston Uprising: A Look Back Through the Inaugural Season

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As we know, the Inaugural season of the Overwatch League is coming to a close within the next few weeks. Soon the Semifinals and Grand Finals of the playoffs will wrap up within the next two weeks. Unfortunately, our boys in blue were sent home a little earlier than they had hoped. Boston was taken out in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs last week to the Philadelphia Fusion 2-1. Although it seems like yesterday that Boston was “doomed to be one of the bottom feeder teams of the league”. We know our team worked through adversity to gain themselves the number three seed in the playoffs and even garnish the only perfect stage record so far for The Overwatch League! Let’s try to remember how this roller coaster season started and even look towards the future as to where the Uprising will be headed.

 

Their Humble Beginnings:

Back last Summer/Fall when teams were being revealed many teams were either: A.) Korean Pro Teams B.) The U.S World Cup Team (@Houston Outlaws) or C.) Notable Pro players from other Esports organizations. The Boston Uprising, along with Shanghai and Florida was none of those. This immediately led to many reporters, casters and even OWL front desk to toss Boston to the side, having no expectations of them throughout the season. A group formed from pros on lower tier teams, pro’s from other Esports teams and, an ex-professional tennis player. All the skepticism was validated at first. Although as we all know though they continued to prove everyone wrong.

Standing Their Ground:

Flash forward two stages and the Uprising finished both 6-4 just barely missing the stage playoffs both times. Stage playoffs aside, there was bigger success formed. Star players like main tank Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh, off tank Lucas “NotE” Meissner, and future MVP contender Nam-Joo “Striker” Kwon. The team only seemed to be only going up. This is due in part to their hard New England practice ethic. Hearing about just how many days a week they would be doing scrims, practicing and reviewing VODs. You could tell the dedication and grind they all had to succeed. Not to mention the constant chip on their shoulder.

Bad Luck Turned Into Better Results

After two incredibly strong stage showings, the Uprising was ready to take on Stage 3. They finally felt they could make their push for a spot in the stage playoffs. Starting off 2-0, they were tasked with facing the seemingly “unbeatable” New York Excelsior. Unfortunately, days before their spotlight matchup, one of Boston’s key DPS players was suspended. He was then quickly released with legal charges coming his way. The Uprising had to play the best team in the league, without one of their starters. They had to rely on backup DPS player Stanislav “Mistakes” Danilov. People started to cast doubts again on Boston thinking this loss would plummet them down the ranks. It seemed impossible, but the team, the coaches, and everyone supporting the Uprising believed. Sure enough, newfound starter “Mistakes” and the rest of the Uprising pulled the impossible. Boston gave NYXL their third loss of the season.

Now fueling another fire formed from the doubters, and the adrenaline of taking down the beast of the league Boston went on a tear. They ended up finishing Stage 3 undefeated (and garnishing undefeated records on the stage Control maps) and rode a 14 game win streak to the stage finals. Unfortunately New York got their revenge there beating their division rivals 3-0. Losing in the Stage 3 playoffs may of stung, but once again Boston continued to defy the odds. Boston established themselves as a “top 3” team in the league heading into the final stretch.

A Sour Final Stretch Doesn’t End Their Dreams

Unfortunately as the final stage approached came a new meta: The Brigitte meta. This brought upon a lot of trouble for the Uprising as this new character directly countered their previous compositions. With it taking extended time to figure out new strategies to overcome this they ended up finishing the season 4-6. After slugging out wins against poor preforming teams Shanghai, Florida, Seoul, and a “sandbagging” New York. This unfortunately wasn’t enough and they missed the stage 4 playoffs. Thankfully, due to their stellar performance the other 75% of the season, Boston still landed the number three seed in the playoffs.

We sadly know how the playoffs ended with their 2-1 loss to Philly. Now though there is so much to look forward to with the future and the Uprising. Nobody can call them a bottom tier team anymore, nor doubt their potential to win the league in year two. It’s looking more and more hopeful that Boston will bring back all of their starters when free agency signings start up in the fall. Furthermore, they can only add more talent around them with two more roster spots open to be filled. The Uprising may of exited the race a little earlier than they hoped this year, but one things for sure: they’ll be back stronger and better next year. Thank you Boston for the incredible first season!