Boston Sports Bye Week

Let’s call this the Boston sports bye week.  The All Star Game is over.  There are no professional sports games for three days.  It’s peak time for summer vacations.  Beach.  Pool.  Relaxation.  We’re going to offer some random thoughts this week in a non-standard blog post for First Score Boston.  Enjoy!

1.  There’s been more talk about when the Brady suspension appeal results will be shared than the actual Patriots Team.  We’re less than two weeks away from training camp opening.  This team just won the Super Bowl.  We’re debating a date on the calendar.  It’s all about the team and not one single player, right?

2.  The Patriots top cornerbacks are Malcom Butler, Bradley Fletcher, Kyle Arrington, and Logan Ryan.  They will face Antonio Brown, Sammy Watkins, Dez Bryant, T.Y. Hilton, DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jordan Matthews, Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, DeAndre Hopkins, and Brandon Marshall this year.  In Bill We Trust?

3.  Would it be the worst thing to have a 38 year old quarterback sit out the first two games of the season in order to be more fresh when the games matter in January?  It sure sounds that way for a lot of people.

4.  In baseball, there’s always talk about teams that are “strong up the middle” having great success.  The Red Sox have Christian Vazquez (C), Dustin Pedroia (2B), Xander Bogaerts (SS), and Mookie Betts (CF) all signed through 2020.

5.  Allen Craig has a .384 OBP in AAA Pawtucket.  John Farrell says he would like to see him “drive the ball more.”  Has he been watching Mike Napoli play this year?

6.  Who would win the Red Sox Home Run Derby in the new format?  The easy answer is Hanley…but would he make the effort to swing the bat 30+ times in four minutes?  And how much time would it take for him to pick up his helmet after each swing?  I’m taking Ortiz.

7.  Tom Verducci recently said “Mookie Betts, right now, is probably one of the best 20 players in the game” on WEEI.  There has been a lot of discussion about this statement being over the top.  Betts is 9th in MLB in Wins Above Replacement amongst position players.  Miguel Cabrera is 10th.  Sounds pretty accurate to me.

8.  Jackie Bradley Jr. has a .294 average with a .847 OPS in 291 career games in the minors.  He has a .193 average with .542 OPS in 178 career games in the majors.  Good enough sample size?

9.  In 15 years, will people be comparing Lebron James to Michael Jordan?  Or is it just the trendy thing to do right now?  Enough already!

10.  Prior to 2014-15, David Lee averaged at least 16 Points Per Game and 9 Rebounds Per Game in six consecutive seasons.  Gerald Wallace average 1 point and 2 rebounds last year.  Still trying to figure out how this trade happened.  Dealer Danny at his best.

11.  Larry Bird recently said the following about where Paul George will play: “He’s a basketball player and we can put him anywhere out there.  He don’t make the decisions around here.”  As a player, Bird told Coach K.C. Jones to give him the ball and tell everyone else to get out of the way…

12.  Can you imagine if Bird was a free agent in today’s NBA?  I’m guessing there would be no emoji’s.

13.  Loui Eriksson had 70+ points in three consecutive seasons in Dallas.  He has scored 37 and 47 in his two years in Boston.  And people are wondering why he gets criticized in Boston?

14.  If the Tampa Bay Lightning just made it to the Stanley Cup Finals is there any reason to believe the Bruins couldn’t do it next year?  Just saying…

15.  How great would it be if Tiger gave Spieth a run this weekend?  I know…too good to be true, right?!

Enjoy the bye week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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