Strasburg Could be a Risk

            With pitchers and catchers reporting exactly one month from today, it’s time to have a look back at the 2015 offseason so far, and a look ahead what deals are still to come.

            Because of all that was going on in the NFL over the weekend, it probably blew by most New Englanders that Max Scherzer signed with the Washington Nationals, agreeing to a seven-year deal on Sunday night. Scherzer will reportedly make $15 million annually for the next 14 years, even though he will only pitch for seven of those years. That adds up to $210 million over the next 14 years. This is a huge move for not only the Nationals, but also multiple other teams across the league, including the Boston Red Sox.

            The Nats rotation already featured ace Stephen Strasburg, and the signing of Scherzer means that Strasburg is now on the trading block. Stephen Strasburg could be the ace that the Red Sox need, and, at this point, is the best option that the Red Sox have. He finished last year at 14-11, with a 3.14 Earned Run Average.

            Though bringing Strasburg to Boston sounds very enticing, there’s something about it that signals a red flag for me. Fox Sports released a report citing multiple sources saying that the Nats have been looking into trading Strasburg all offseason, and there’s a few reasons as to why they might want to do that. For one, they may want to trade for more offense, which makes plenty of sense. But the second reason is that they may have been looking to get rid of, and then replace Strasburg, and there’s only one reason why they would want to do that. He’s hurt. Strasburg had Tommy John Surgery in 2010, and had a rough road to recovery following that. Last year, Strasburg allowed more earned runs than ever before in his career, and I fear that he is injured and that is the reasoning for the Nats’ moves. If my conspiracy theory is correct, then what the Nationals are doing makes perfect sense. Scherzer will virtually replace Strasburg in the rotation if he is traded, and the Nats will receive a player of significant value for Strasburg.

            Now that Scherzer is off of the table, all of the teams who are in desperate, last-minute need of a pitcher can now turn their attention to James Shields. Because of his age and ability, he isn’t going to make anything close to what Scherzer signed for, but he is still a very good pitcher who is capable of leading several rotations. As much as I’d like to see the Sox go after Shields, it is highly unlikely that the team will be willing to pony up the money to sign him. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that MLB executives are expecting Shields to sign somewhere in the range of $75 million over four years. At this point the Sox are more likely to make a big trade for someone like Cole Hammels of the Philadelphia Phillies to beef up the rotation, than to throw money like that at a free agent.

            The team who I think is most likely to land Shields is the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays feature an aging rotation, with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey at the front of it, and they are in desperate need of pitching help. Granted Shields isn’t the ideal age for your top-of-the-line starter, but he would definitely make that rotation a lot better.

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            On a local note, the Vermont Mountaineers are getting set for their annual Hot Stove Banquet, which is this Saturday night at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier. This year’s banquet will feature a meet and greet with Red Sox legend Bernie Carbo. The team will also be honoring several volunteers who have made a difference to the organization over its 11 years.

            Though snow is coming out of the sky on a daily basis right now, there is warm weather to come and believe it or not, opening day is less than three months away. I look forward to what promises to be an exciting baseball season, locally and nationally.

Worlds Collide in 2014

2014 brought lots of excitement, but with a big year in sports also comes an important year in the sports media world.

          Before I get down to business, I think it’s appropriate to remember the late ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott. Scott died tragically on Sunday after a multi-year battle with stomach cancer. Stuart was a trailblazer in the industry, helping to build SportsCenter up to what it is today, and becoming one of the best known faces at ESPN. Stuart Scott was a truly original sportscaster, bringing terms like “booyah” and “hallah” to the airwaves at ESPN, and leaving a golden legacy behind him, with shoes far too big for anyone else at that network to ever fill. Scott’s death was national news on Sunday, and it warranted remarks from a number of celebrities, including President Barack Obama. Stuart won’t be with the Worldwide Leader anymore, but his brave legacy should, and will live on.

            Scott not only brought a great style to ESPN, but also brought diversity to a network that really didn’t have any. He was among the first African American sports anchors when he started at ESPN in 1993. Scott helped to build ESPN to become one of the most diverse newsrooms anywhere, and made minorities feel welcome in the industry where they might not have before.

“Knowing that he was able to bring the hip-hop culture, that urban feel, to television sports broadcasting, something that’s never been done before,” ESPN analyst  Keyshawn Johnson said. “(It) gave me the hope that I didn’t have to be some corporate guy, to feel like I had to wear the white shirt with the red tie, and sit there and talk a certain way.”

            On a lighter note, 2014 brought a year of changes and excitement to the sports media landscape. Fox made a big step forward in 2013 when it launched Fox Sport 1, a 24-hour cable sports network that was designed to compete with ESPN, NBC Sports Network, and the CBS Sports Network. In order for a national sports network to succeed today, it needs to have the big names—live games from national sports leagues that people want to watch, and in 2013 FS1 simply did not have that.

            However, beginning this year, FS1 began carrying Major League Baseball, and in 2015 they will gain live broadcast rights to NASCAR, US Open Golf, and Major League Soccer. Both the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups will also air on Fox and Fox Sports 1, which is a huge gain for the network.

            With all of their live sporting events, I think that FS1 will continue to grow. However, it will be a long time before they are able to even touch ESPN’s viewership numbers. ESPN was 2014’s most viewed cable network, with FS1 finishing in 50^th. That’s a huge gap, and one that the network is unlikely to close anytime soon.

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            2014 was also a year in which social justice issues and sports converged, with athletes taking big public stands on current issues that were appreciated by some, but angered others.

            As the athletes were taking stands, so did bloggers, analysts, and other big names in sports media. Among them were ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. Stephen A, who is a total blow-hard in my opinion, said on his daily talk show First Take that he would tell women to make sure that they weren’t “doing anything to provoke the actions.” His comments created a Twitter explosion, and Smith took heat from several of his own colleagues including ESPN anchor Michelle Beadle. ESPN then suspended Stephen A. from going on ESPN or ESPN Radio for a week.

            It’s important to note that Smith comes from a conservative background. He is a frequent guest on Hannity, a Fox News show hosted by Tea Party conservative Sean Hannity, and tends to lean to the right when he chimes in on political issues. While what Stephen A. said isn’t right, and I don’t agree with it on a number of levels, I’m not sure ESPN made the right move by suspending him. First Take is an opinion show hosted by two blowhards, Smith and Skip Bayless. All Stephen A. did was express his opinion on the matter. That’s the format of the show, and he shouldn’t be punished for doing his job.

            There was also quite a bit of controversy around how ESPN handled its coverage of the Ray Rice issue, in which the Baltimore Ravens running back was captured on video beating his fiancé in a hotel elevator. After ESPN analyst Bill Simmons called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar” on his ESPN-based podcast—Simmons claimed that Goodell had seen the video of Ray Rice before it was released by TMZ--ESPN suspended Simmons for three weeks. Ironically enough, Simmons’ suspension was longer than the one that Goodell gave to Ray Rice.

            There is now much speculation about whether Simmons might opt to leave ESPN, but I don’t see that happening, and he would be crazy to do so. Simmons earns $5 million annually from ESPN, and I doubt he will find another network out there that is willing to pick up that tab.

            Much remains to be seen throughout the sports media world, and the 2015 ratings could be a big factor in what the sports media landscape will look like down the road.

            I think that social issues will continue to get responses from the sports world, but how that affects the players and the games still remains to be seen. Stay tuned on one of your 35 cable sports networks that are fighting for your attention.

Red Sox Drop the Ball

            It’s almost Christmas, and even though December 25^th is usually a day of gifting to family members, there are a few things that the Red Sox would like to see under their tree this holiday season.

            The gift that was number one on Sox General Manager Ben Cherington’s list for Santa was a big hometown discount from Jon Lester, but that ship has long since sailed. It’s unfortunate, but it’s time to accept reality Red Sox fans: Jon Lester is gone to Chicago and he will never, ever wear a Red Sox uniform again.

            It’s now time for the club to build for 2015 and though they have been busy this offseason, the team still has several key needs. For one, they need an ace. Boston has signed starters Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, and Wade Miley, and as enticing as that all sounds, it still leaves my stomach very unsettled. If the Red Sox want to be an elite team, they need an ace, and right now they do not have one.

            Ben Cherington told reporters on Saturday that the Sox are “not actively engaged with anything right now” regarding the team’s starting pitching staff. “We like the direction the team is headed in,” Cherington said. “I think it’s more likely if we add anywhere, it’s the bullpen.”

            To hear the General Manager of this club say that they aren’t in on an ace right now is extremely disappointing. Does Ben Cherington think that his team can be a winning ball club with Clay Buchholz at the top of the rotation? I sure don’t.

            It also shows that Cherington is ignorant to the state of Red Sox Nation right now. The fans of this team are frustrated, and they have every right to be. Boston could have signed Jon Lester last spring for a fraction of what the Cubs got him for the offseason. Unfortunately, the Sox front office blew it, and threw a low-ball offer at him. For them to say now that they aren’t perusing another ace at the moment gives fans every right to be annoyed.

            When the Red Sox signed Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandavol, I’ll admit I was excited, but now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I can’t totally make sense of why they felt the need to sign Hanley after already getting the Panda. See, both players can play third base, and the Sox definitely needed a third baseman, but they didn’t need two of them. The team’s response to that is to stick Hanley in the outfield, but even after trading Yoenis Cespedes, the club already has an excess of outfielders. Ramirez has also proven himself as being extremely injury-prone, averaging just 103 games per season over his last six years in the MLB. If Boston, had kept the money that they threw at Hanley Ramirez in their pocket, well, they could have Jon Lester right now.

            Kansas City Royals ace James Shields is the best available option right now who is in the team’s price range. But based on Cherington’s comments, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be walking into the team’s clubhouse anytime soon.

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            In other news, President Barack Obama introduced a new relationship with Cuba last Wednesday, which has profound positive impacts on countless lives, but among those who were watching the deal closely were the people who run MLB teams. Cuba is widely considered to have some of the best baseball talent of anywhere in the world, but up until now, the world’s most prestigious baseball league hasn’t been able to take many of them in as players. Though we’ve seen some, such as Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, make it to the USA, most Cuban stars haven’t been willing to risk their lives by getting smuggled out of the country and into the United States. Fortunately, now they won’t have to.

            The impacts that the renewed relationship with Cuba is going to have on the game of baseball will be remarkably positive. It means more superstars like Puig, new Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo, and Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and White Sox rookie sensation Jose Abreu, and an all-new crop of fans from a country of 11 million people. As for the idea of an MLB team in Cuba? Well…that’s stretching it. But the point is, the relationship is great for the people of Cuba, and great for baseball.

            One never knows what Santa will bring until walking downstairs on Christmas morning, and there are MLB surprises to come this offseason too. Only time will tell what lies ahead for the Red Sox.