Trades, trades, trades.....you sho' look good tonight
Celtics going to the playoffs....
If the Celtics would have stayed pat with their trade last month for Ray Allen, I would not have liked the trade because I didn't think that team would have been able to go further than the first round of the playoffs. However, now with this proposed trade for Garnett, the Celtics have the ability to probably go to the NBA Finals. I, as a Knick fan, always took solace in the fact that the Celtics sucked. "Ok, we're not going to the Finals this year or next, but check out the Celtics." Now? This sucks again.
The Celtics and Ainge decided to go for it all these next coming 2 to 3 years. This version of the Celtics is kind of reminiscent of the Rockets team that featured Hakeem, Barkley and Pippen. Except these Celtics are younger. However, those 3 guys will have to play the lions share of minutes throughout the season. I do think that they have a little more depth than I originally thought. Skip Bayless, who I still don't know how he got this job he has, thinks that the Celtics are only the fourth best team in the East. He's an idiot. Looking over their roster I think that they're only really missing depth at the 3. They still have Kendrick Perkins who I thought made some decent strides last year as an inside presence ho ever, I think that they are missing depth at the 3. I like their drafting of Gabe Pruitt, but I don't see him producing soon. I do think that Glen "Big Baby" Davis will produce at the NBA level. He's got great footwork and while he isn't explosive, he is similar to Curry in that he is nimble for his size. I think this puts the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. People will get to see just how good Paul Pierce is again. I think people forgot that this guy is an assassin on the court. he never gives up, scores in bunches and is a clutch scorer. Now you put that together with Garnett in the post and either of them kicking it out to Allen? Pierce was killin' 'em with 'Toine out on the wing, now with Allen? It's going to be a long day for opposing defenses. We will be in for some entertaining basketball next Spring and Summer in the Eastern Conference.
The Mets got better...
Omar Minaya pulled off a nice trade for the Mets' stretch run. Luis Castillo is a very good, professional hitter. While he may not walk a lot or steal as many bases anymore, he gives the Mets another switch hitter at the top of hte lineup. He stole 25 bases last year but he had a lingering quadriceps injury in May that may explain his dip in stolen bases so far this year. While Castillo doesn't draw a lot of walks, he is a consistent .300 hitter who also has a great glove. He broke ryne Sandberg's 123 consecutive games without an error. Castillo has lost a step going to his left, but considering how much range he did have, he still covers a lot of ground. To get Castillo the Mets only had to give up one single A prospect in OF Dustin Martin and one Double A prospect in catcher Drew Butera. Martin has a lot of speed and decent power but strikes out a lot while Butera hit .258 in single A last year, his first in professional baseball, and was hitting .188 this year. Butera does however have a strong game behind the plate. Overall, I think the Mets got over on the Twins which is good considering the Braves just got Mark Texeira....
Here come the Braves...
The Braves finally pulled off the deal for Mark Texeira. I thought they may have given up too much for him, but they definitely got better this season and next. The Braves trail the Mets by 4.5 games and while they could use more pitching help, Teixeira definitely makes them better, especially if this takes some pressure off of Andruw Jones. The Braves had to give up 3 very good prospects along with promising rookie catcher Jarrod Saltamacchia who looks like he's going to be good, productive player for years to come. Thankfully for the Braves, Teixeira is signed through next year so at least they'll be able to hold onto him for that long. Atlanta is taking a big risk but they obviously think the Mets are catchable or else they wouldn't have given up so much to get Teixeira. As long as Smoltz stays healthy, the Mets have finally met a team that has a comparable lineup top the Mets in terms of length and explosiveness, especially now with word that Carlos Beltran will probably going on the disabled list with a strained oblique.
4 comments:
Lou,
I agree with your take on the Celtic's trade for KG. I'm probably the biggest KG fan out here that's not a Timberwolves fan. They guy is one of the top 5 players of this generation. While I thought he was a better fit in Phoenix or Golden State, this is still a better place for him at this stage of his career than MN. They need some veteran help and probably an experienced ball handler (Brevin Knight?) in order to maximize this team's potential but you have to consider them an elite team now, for at least the next 2 years. BTW, you're right about Skip Bayless. How does this dude have a job? He also said that Minnesota will be contending in the next two years with Al Jefferson, Randy Foye and Gerald Green leading the way. Really? In the West? With Durant and Oden there along with PHX, Golden State, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Denver? I thinks not. Bayless is an idiot...and often a borderline bigot.
I like the Luis Castillo trade too for the Mets. Like you say, he's a switch hitting 2nd baseman that can still get on base and is only signed for one year. He's perfect in that #2 slot for this line-up. They just have to get healthy.
The Texeira trade was also a solid one for Atlanta, who always seems to have a few top prospects in their minor league system. He's still a young player and solidifies that line-up for them.
Can't wait for the NBA season to start...
I refuse to speak of basketball until Dolan is no longer a part of it. I am pretty certain we (as in us on this blog) could do a better job in the Knick's Corporate offices. This is New York for crying out loud. Every other NY team goes for the gusto and the Knick's organization just doesn't seem to be trying hard enough. Steinbrenner should take little Jimmy Dolan over his knee. Anyway, see http://www.myspace.com/selltheknicks for more on this.
Luis Castillo is a good deal. I was hoping for someone with a higher OBP but given the very real squeeze we are in right now, one year with a playoff experienced, dependable 2nd is good for me. I am certain Minaya is looking to keep money in the coffers for next year when some real talent hits the market. Glavine will likely retire and El Duque is having "Pedro-like" issues every now and then ("Me duele, oh, no me duele, oh, me duele"). I think we have to keep the faith about Pedro coming back healthy and as strong as he needs to be for the post-season.
It think the Mets will have to pay for some real depth at the catcher position for next year. Castro is hitting but can't get anybody out. LoDuca keeps getting hurt and hasn't been hitting well, or at the least, consistently. But that's next year. Right now, I alternate them to keep LoDuca healthy enough for the playoffs-we will need him on point to keep the speed we will probably be facing on 1st (i.e. Pierre, Rollins, Victorino, Byrnes, Theriot, etc).
Everything else looks okay. Endy will be back. Gomez will be back. Easley and Gotay are both filling in well where needed and Milledge has been getting some seriously clutch hits. Delgado esta cagao but he is still a big bat who does well in the postseason. Wright has ruts but maintains his power and ability to work the count. And Reyes is the only person on the Mets on any Top Ten category in Batting-isn't that crazy for a 1st place team?
As Wright indicated last week, the Mets need to produce more runs not just really on the long ball. If they start doing that, they take the NL easily. If they don't they sit out one more year until they start three aces next year. Pedro, Maine (ace in the making), and an ace to be named later. Perez and Sosa fill out the rotation.
As for Texeira, he does give the Braves an edge. But so does Franco who is now in Atlanta, after a brief free agency, with the knowledge of all the Mets' game plans.
Iz, ditto on the Bayless-Bigot thing. I dont think its that borderline at times either.
I hear you about Garnett. I love his game and he is the type of player that will get these other 2 guys their touches. He'll probably love the fact that when he does kick it out, its going to someone who can score with consistency. Unless Lebron somehow gets significantly better, I dont see how theyre are lower than 3rd at worse.
Ernie, I kinda disagree about Dolan. Hes not making trades and playing ball. I would compare him to Steinbrenner in the way that he is willing to spend the money to help the team, unlike so many other owners in sports which I believe is probably the biggest travesty in sports.
I dont think that you'll ever be able to include "ace" and Pedro in the same sentence anymore. Besides this being a pretty serious injury to his shoulder - albeit, with the strides that surgeons have made, not as serious as before - it was a really bad sign that they pushed his date back to return to the team . A real bad sign. People were talking about his shoulder BEFORE it got injured. I hope not. I loved watching him pitch, when it wasnt against the Yanks, although they do have a good record against him. Maine has surprised me this year. Rick Anderson (pitching coach?) is the MVP of the Mets with the job hes done and dont discount El Duque. Hes clutch. I miss him.
I didn't even get into how the Yanks are going to bring up two of their young pitching prospects in the next 7-10 days. Pretty exciting.
Dido to all your points. The Celtics are in the conversation for Best team in the East with Detroit and Chicago and maybe the Heat. The Cav's haven't gotten better and their weaknesses got exposed by the Spurs. The Celtics ownership did what the Suns wouldn't go over the salary cap. It's going to cost them. Picking up Grant Hill was nice but he doesn't put them over the top.
The Celtics don't win the Eastern Conference this season because of lack of bench and chemistry that they have to build but once those things are answered they might make it. I say might becuase I think their biggest weakness is at the coaching position. I like Doc Rivers but he doesn't teach Defence the way he needs to and we all know that D wins championships.
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