SU is back from a quick swing through Chicago and had the chance to visit both Wrigley Field and the United Center and their brand new offices for the teams. The Wrigley Field area has really developed from what I recall back in the late 70s – crazy development and for the better. New hotel going up – this will be a real must see destination in Chicago.
Thoughts for the day:
- Much was made after Manny Machado over-slid 2nd base and banged into Dustin Predoia who had to leave the game with an injured leg. SU must say that the long-time baseball tradition of “protecting your best player” gets a little tiring. Machado over-slid – he wasn’t trying to take him out and put him into left field. But, of course, the Red Sox players were all up in arms. SU note to Red Sox fans: where were you all those years when Pedro and Company were hitting Yankee hitters? The Yankee pitchers never retaliated because of course you couldn’t hit “Big Hugs” Papi. That was always outrageous. SU says the Red Sox have gotten the better of this statistic for about 20 years. I guess that’s why they were so upset with this incident – not used to it. Anyway, their reliever over-reacted and got the suspension he deserved. If the Red Sox are smart, they will realize that Machado is a free agent in a couple of years. Maybe you don’t want to piss him off so he might consider the Red Sox?
- SU just read that Larry Bird has stepped down at Indiana. Can Phil be far behind? Another example of a great player who struggled to live up to his high playing level as a sports executive. But his teams generally made the playoffs and were competitive. Truth is as we all know, it’s not that easy to find guys who will actually pass the ball willingly for the betterment of the team. I guess we will see how good Derek Jeter is soon enough once they complete the sale for the Marlins. That will be interesting to watch.
- SU loved this quote in Harvey Araton’s column today about the Knicks in the New York Times. He was writing about Porzingis and why he might not want to stick around NY when he becomes a free agent: “The worst thing is, he knows he didn’t get better this year,” the person said. “How could he when they bring in Derrick Rose, a point guard who doesn’t pass the ball? With Kristaps, I’m afraid they’ve gotten themselves in a very difficult situation, and I don’t know how they get out of it.” So true about Rose; dude did not even look to pass. All about resurrecting his career as a free agent.
- The Mets are in free fall and while it’s still early, they are already 7+ games behind the Nationals and having injury issues all over the place. It gets late pretty early doesn’t it? Still a long way to go but lots of bodies are breaking down.
Meanwhile, the Yankees all of a sudden have a legit looking starting rotation. Severino has been lights out and even Pineda is keeping it together. They are right up there in runs scored for the season but not really hitting on all cylinders and without Didi and Sanchez. This could be good – really good. SU needs Greg Bird to get untracked or else they should send him down to regain his confidence. It’s actually hard to watch right now. And Matt Holliday even got a big hit last night. SU is still not sold on him but I am prepared to be won over.