Down on the Farm

One of the very many things I love about Baseball, and one of the few things Manfred can’t get rid of, is that they have a farm system.  A true minor league.  Basketball has the G League but it’s only one level and only 2 or 3 guys on the team are actually on the NBA clubs’ teams.  The NHL has the AHL but again, it’s only one level and the best prospects play Major Junior hockey until they are 20 years old.  With baseball, as soon as you are drafted and sign with the team (rather than go to college) you enter their minor league system.  I love seeing who the Yankees have coming up through their system.  I love following prospects and figuring out who is good and who isn’t.   Sometimes I am better at it than Cashman is.  I remember begging them to call up Severino when he was dominating the minors.  Or looking forward to the big kid Judge who keeps mashing long balls on every level.  I usually follow the top prospects but I love finding guys who come out of nowhere.  Like when I was clamoring for Rob Refsnyder to get called up and looking forward to Garrett Whitlock getting the call.  They are both productive players for the Red Sox now.  So, here we are.  Another season of Prospect watching.  I have to preface this by pointing out that I am doing this mostly through stats and I don’t get to see these guys actually play.  I always say the best way to tell if a player in any sport is good or not is to watch them play day in and day out.  I just have no way of doing that so I have to rely on stats.  So here we go…

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Update From Yankee Land

It’s time for an Update from Yankee Land.  After their hot start, the Yankees have come down to earth a bit.  Now tied  for first place in the loss column (the only column that matters) with Baltimore for the AL East, the Yankees have some issues that need to be solved.  Lets look at what’s been going well for the Bronx Bombers and what needs to get better if they want to stay atop the standings. 

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The Boston Bruins vs. The Toronto Maple Leafs

The Boston Bruins will begin their quest for the Cup against a very familiar foe, the Toronto Maple Leafs.  This first round match-up will be the 17th time these Original 6 teams have met in the post-season.  In the regular season, the Bruins won all 4 games against the Leafs.  Let’s look at could decide if that trend continues. 

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Boston Celtics Play-Off Preview

The NBA regular season has come to an end and the play-offs are set to begin.  The Play In tournament is set to begin Tuesday.  The Celtics had a hell of a regular season and have reached the end pretty damn healthy and ready to make a run at Banner 18.  They finished the season with a 64-18 record.  Tops in the East by a hefty 14 games.  They lead the league by 7 games.  They were second in the league in points per game and were 5th in opponents points per game.  They lead the league with a +11 scoring differential which was 4 points higher than the second place team.   They had three guys, Tatum, Brown, and Porzingis, all average over 20 a game with Tatum leading the way at 26.9 per.  Their other two starters averaged 15 and 12.5.  Their 8 man rotation was rounded out by Pritchard, Houser and Horford who averaged 9.6, 9.0, and 8.6 respectfully.  They had more 30 point leads than they had 10 point deficits.  This team is good.  Very good.

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WrestleMania 40

WrestleMania 40 lived up to the hype.  Might not have been the greatest of all time, but it was one hell of a show.  The Granddaddy of Them All delivered with some great wrestling and even better storytelling.  I am thinking that instead of going match by match, I am just going to hit you with random thoughts I had throughout the weekend

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Update From Yankee Land

Usually I would go a couple of weeks or so to do one of these, especially since most of their minor league teams haven’t even started yet so there will be no prospect watch this week.  However, I just had to talk about what happened this weekend.  And I promise you, this isn’t just a Yankees blog.  It’s just that there really isn’t anything going on with any of the other teams I follow.

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