Monday Morning Coffee

May 8, 2017

Hey Andrew Friedman….do you still want to send Cody Bellinger back to the minors? I didn’t think so.  Bellinger is hotter than the sun right now, and he’s the only reason the Dodgers snapped out of their early season slump.  Two Dodger stories from last week made me want to throw my laptop out the window.  The first was the idea that the Dodgers need to send Bellinger back to the minors to control his future cost.  If the Dodgers think that way, they are failing to understand that guys like Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, and Justin Turner, won’t be great forever, and that there is a window to win with them.  The other story that annoyed me was the suggestion that the Dodgers have the best pitching staff in the big leagues because they haven’t invested too much money in any single starter, except Clayton Kershaw.  This is a cute strategy until October, when you don’t have any real starting pitchers to get you through the playoffs.

I don’t know about you, but I’m shocked the Angels haven’t collapsed like the United States Congress.  How are they still hovering around .500, yet they are in the bottom third of nearly every critical offensive and defensive statistical category in the American League?  They are counting on dudes like Ricky Nolasco, Jesse Chavez, and JC Ramirez to go to the mound to get them victories.  They’ve had four guys in their lineup getting regular playing time of late hitting .200 or less.  I don’t even think the greatness of Mike Trout and Mike Scioscia can overcome this.   I think staying in the race has more to do with how terrible Texas and Seattle have been than anything else.

Let’s talk NBA playoffs.  Due to human rights concerns the NBA should suspend the remaining portion of the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs, and just give us Warriors vs Cavs.  The NBA’s motto is “NBA Cares.”  If they did, they would just give us the finals already.  The Warriors and Cavs are so much better than everybody else, there’s a very reasonable case to be made that 26 other teams in the league should tear it down and rebuild.  This is how Drake feels after his Raptors got bounced by the Cavs for the third straight year.

Lonzo Ball’s new “Big Baller Brand” sneakers will be sold for $495.  For that price I can go hire an Asian child to make unlimited pairs of his shoes.  I did hear however that 3 pairs of shoes have already been pre-ordered.  That means that “Big Baller Brand” has tripled their sales forecast.  As much fun as it is to make fun of the price and Lavar Ball, he really may turn out to be a genius.  If Lonzo ends up going to LA or New York, he gets a marketing boost right there.  Ultimately though, Lonzo has to be a star player and if he is, then what looks like a ridiculous bet on his son now may prove to pay off.

Just when you thought it was the Oilers who choked against the Ducks, now it looks like Anaheim is the real head case after losing game 6 last night.  Don’t worry Ducks fans, if you lose game 7 at home for the 5th year in a row on Wendesday, your playoff tickets can be redeemed at Zales for “choker” necklaces, in honor of your annual collapse.  I have to say though, up until last night Ryan Getzlaf has played like he’s Jesus Christ rising from the dead, and looked like one of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of hockey skates.  The bad news for Anaheim though is that they now have 3 whole days to think about their past playoff failures before taking the ice again, which can’t be good for their chances.  I guess we’ll find out if the issue was coach Bruce Boudreau from the last four years, or if they just aren’t able to ever meet the moment.

The Kentucky Derby was won by “Always Dreaming”, which is a horse that must have been named after the Rams playoff chances.  I can definitely relate to that horse that jumped out of the gate and just said “nope” and stopped running.  He probably belongs in a rodeo instead.  The derby is easily the biggest group of white rich guys assembled since the Trump cabinet.  How could you not root for “Patch”, the one-eyed horse?

Did anybody watch the Canelo Alvarez – Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight? This is exactly why boxing is dying.  That was the best fight the sport could give us, in what will probably be the only big fight of the year.  Canelo is so savage, he didn’t even sit down between rounds for the entire fight.  Since most of you probably missed the fight, here is a quick recap….

 

 

 

 

 

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