No Yu but no Prince, either; and some Raptors stuff

Oh, boy.

I can hear some of you now.

No Yu Darvish? Go get Prince Fielder! Spend that $100 million-plus. Show us you’ll do something.

No, no, no. A thousand times no.

This is a bit of a digression but not to worry, there’s Raptors stuff down below but the big story today is the fact the Texas Rangers beat out the Jays for the right to negotiate with the Japanese phenom.

(Oh and I wonder if all those guys who reported the Jays won the bidding rights the last few days are writing “I was wrong” pieces today?)

But the last thing Alex Anthopoulos needs to do is have some knee jerk reaction and run out to throw money at Fielder, the best free agent player still available.

Forget the fact that Fielder wants something ridiculous like an eight-year contract; even on a four-year deal – and I don’t imagine he ever goes that low on his demand – you cannot possibly imagine he will be any slimmer, quicker or less of a defensive liability than he is right now.

The Blue Jays will score enough runs; they need pitching and maybe what Alex needs to do is package up some of his excess farm talent and a position player or two and get busy in the trade world.

Griff’s got a bunch of possibilities in this typically good piece, that’s the route the GM has to go.

They have shown they are willing to spend significant amounts of money on what they see is precisely the right piece for where the franchise is today; on the cusp, needing more starting pitching depth and seemingly poised to take the next step with a good young group.

They were in on Papelbon, if reports are true they were in on Mat Latos, they were obviously in on Darvish. If Alex thinks it’ll make sense, he’ll do whatever deal is necessary; no one can have complaints about that. The fact Darvish didn’t work out; or that Papelbon spurned them or that Latos drew a better package somewhere else can’t hide the fact these guys are willing to make bold moves.

Fielder would be dead wrong on any long-term deal.

Sure, there’s a gamble with any major acquisition, especially pitching, but it’s more prudent to find youngish talent than a relatively older, far bigger – and I mean BIGGER – and potentially fast-fading physical specimen.

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So a guy mentions that Leandro Barbosa may be a huge part of what happens and that day he misses a practice because he woke up with a stiff back after being drilled on a screen during the Sunday Boston game.

Yikes.

I’m telling you, with the number of games in such a short period that’s coming starting Boxing Day the most valuable employees may be director of sports science Alex McKechnie and head athletic trainer Scott McCulloch.

Now, there’s no sense that there’s anything to seriously wrong with Barbosa, who missed practice along with Anthony Carter (shoulder). But you know that injuries are going to be a factor throughout the league this season, simply because the wear and tear and number of games per week.

Starting off the season as healthy as you can be is paramount.

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Okay, so we’ve got this poll going over at the Facethingy page (go here, please cast a vote, and “like” it; I’m still three short of 600 and that’s a nice round number the Tall Foreheads will appreciate).

Anyway, it has to do with Peja Stojakovic, who announced his retirement yesterday and where he stands among the best pure shooters to ever play the game.

I know the Peja era in Toronto was a bad one but he was never going to play here, he was cap ballast in a trade and a piece to be moved on; maybe he stayed out too long with bad back but that’s really neither here nor there.

What matters is that he’s probably second on my all-time list of guys I could watch shoot all day.

First would be Dell Curry, third would be Ray Allen and, reluctantly, I’d put Reggie Miller fourth because I never liked the way he flayed his legs or spread his elbow on his stroke.

What Dell and Peja and Allen did, and do, is elevate shooting a basketball to an art form. It is quick and seamless and simply delightful to watch. The release seldom wavers, in Dell’s case the ball never seemed to stop in his hand on a volleyball-like catch and shoot.

I could sit in a gym and watch those three guys work for hours on end and marvel at the consistency of the shot and the purity of it.

They don’t make ‘em like that any more, it seems. And that’s too bad.

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This is an out-take from an e-mail I got yesterday and it’s kind of representative of several that have arrived over the last few weeks:

“i am cheering for raps loosing as much as possible. we really need that high pick next year. this is the only way we will see some good b-ball for a few seasons._all the best”

So, to this dude or dudette and all the other who have expressed the same sentiment I kind of demand this:

Do not dare to come here during the season and tell me how bad this team is. It’s what you want, right? You want ‘em to lose? You deserve bad games and have no reason to waste my time, or the time of others, by telling us how bad they are. It’s your wish; if it’s granted, you have to be quiet and take solace in it. Can’t have it both ways.

End o’ rant.

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And, with that …

Nothing says Christmas better than a little Dee Snider.

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Oh yeah, one more Raptors note.

Now that we know what “multiple stops” are (I’m sure you’ve all read this already; if not, take a look) there’s something for the stats-wonks to chart each game this season.

You know I’m not a huge fan of advanced metrics in basketball – they have a place in the process but shouldn’t drive it – but it’s pretty easy to see how getting three defensive stops in a row seven times in a game would prove that the defence is working.

So we’ll give you that one to check out as the games unfold.

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Comments

[Aditya]

Watching the Clippers-Lakers play last night, the Clips looked in mid-season form even though CP3 has been practicing with his new team for a shorter period of time than what Mike Brown has been coaching the Lakers. There was a poll on the game itself whether who will win more games this season? Lakers? Clippers
Answer: 65% clippers / 25% lakers......

in addition, i just want to say all you Vinny Del Negro haters, he's not a bad coach. I wonder who gets the praise when the Clips start winning real games (the coach or the players).....

lastly, my boy andrea bargnani suddenly seems to be showing a penchant for helping out defensively on the pick and roll.....i definitely saw some improvement (too mechanical for my liking, it should be more instinctive, but life aint perfect).....

before i forget, i know you hate on bynum for missing games etc....but this guy has the softest hands and he is a damn good player....his free throw shooting needs to improve, and it will (last night is not an indication of how he would shoot in the regular season)

[Nick M]

Drazen Petrovic was not only a guy that would have been nice to sit and watch but was great to watch play the game as well.
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@SheikYurbouti, you took the words right out of my mouth, although, you probably arranged them better than I would have. My wanting of more basketball material is simply because I like the DSP (Doug Smith perspective)!

[Penguin]

Best shooter ever? Wow, so many possibilities. You named some great ones, and someone here cited Larry Bird. How about the big O, the NBA logo (Jerry West), Pistol Pete, just to name a few.
Can't believe Reggie and the Hump are still unsigned. What about T-Mac? Is he done?
As for Darvish, I actually wish the Jays had never even played this Japanese ripoff game. It is further astonishing how much some teams will pay to negotiate given the VERY spotty record of the players coming to NA and bombing (and that's not bombing in the way that Matsui did). Use the $s here for FAs and NOT Fielder please. That's another outrageous contract that will become somebody's millstone.

Blogger's note: Not any more; Hump back to Jersey, Reggie going to Clippers

[Lorie]

Cluck!
All you had to do was ask! And this musical offering should lay to rest the notion that orchestral performances are for the stodgy and dull and Those Of ACertain Vintage! (And by that I mean those who are much - MUCH!! - more vintaged than us!)
http://youtu.be/mQfUgeJxpS0

[DH]

Maybe no Darvish or Fielder. But the Jays still lacking at the clean-up spot. No matter what they do they need a guy whose going to drive in a 110+ runs consistently and protect Bautista at the 3 hole.

To those that say Adam Lind, sorry maybe a 6-7th hitter definitely not a clean-up guy. Lind drove in 87 last year and has averaged 91 over 3. The reason is because he's batting cleanup. Most major league hitters in the 4 hole can average between 85-100 runs, but the true clean-up guys average 110+ runs. It isn't about average its about knowing how to get guys in. Joe Carter was a 250-60 lifetime, yet knew how to drive in runs.

[GM]

I want to echo @Sheik's sentiment. My wish for a dedicated basketball blog is in no way a knock on Doug or the way he does things because I gather the change of this space to a general sports blog was not his doing but rather the tall foreheads. If this stayed a Raptors blog, and Doug still included his DWTS and music and TV stuff, I'd have no complaints at all. So again, my beef is with the tall foreheads, not the way Doug things.

[nes]

Hi Doug,

Not sure I've ever commented before. I like to follow blogs for particular sports, and I followed your blog in the past in order to follow the Raptors. There are baseball blogs I'll follow if I want to follow baseball.

I understand that you've been given a broader mandate, and I understand that it's not that big of a deal that you're dealing with other content (i.e. I know how to use a scroll bar). Still, as an on and off again follower, I am less likely to follow this blog in the future with such a broad mandate for all sports commentary.

Obviously a few comments here and there about the goings ons around the sports world keeps things interesting, but my preference is for it to remain just that - side commentary and not a proper focus.

Your analysis of Fielder is case in point. Fielder may not be worth the money in the end (just as Darvish almost certainly wasn't), but you've baldly suggested that his large size will lead to a decline (even though a 6-7 year deal would only take him to age 33-34), and you did no analysis on the gaping hole we have at 1B (Lind is below avg for a 1B and we have no young players waiting in the wings), versus our young crop of SP. Further, you did no analysis of the starting pitching that will be available next year (note, again no quality 1B will be available). If you're going to comment on baseball specifically, instead of just in passing, then the analysis has to be equal to what you provide on the basketball level.

I really like your basketball writing. You're around the team, you watch the games, you've got a history there, and you have great insights. I'm just one reader I know, but I don't know that I'll keep following as closely as I once did given the new format.

Thanks