“Hit it where they ain’t.”
Or so said Willie Keeler in 1904, his 7th straight season with a batting average over .360. Ever since, it’s been a classic adage for baseball, one of the, well, strangest games people play worldwide.
Continue reading “On Baseball, Luck, and Squirrels”
The NBA’s Preseason is finally over. Naturally, then, it’s time to rank some teams.
Continue reading “Projecting the 2021-22 NBA Standings”
Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!
Got a mismatch!
Walker, on McGhee with four.
Kemba Walker — stepback — Walker — CARDIAC KEMBA!
Yes: Kemba Walker, who grew up in the Bronx, went to high school in Harlem, and hit that shot heard round the world in Midtown, is returning to the Mecca to play point guard for the New York Knicks.
Continue reading “Kemba Walker is Coming Home”
Note: this post was originally published for MetsMerized Online. Give them a click!
The New York Mets are in 1st place in the NL East. As of July 11th, they have a 4 game lead on the 2nd-place Braves and a nearly 80%-chance at the postseason per Fangraphs. Could it be possible they’ve actually been unlucky?
Continue reading “Luck and the 2021 New York Mets”
Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!
Julius Randle has not been himself.
The Knicks’ newly minted star put up just 15 points in each of Games 1 and 2, the first time all season long he scored 15 or fewer in back to back games. He clearly hasn’t looked himself, and whether it’s the Hawks or himself, somebody has been in his head. However, midway through game 2, Randle made some concrete adjustments that could change the course of the series – or at the very least, force the Hawks to go back to the drawing board.
The first half of Game 2, however, wasn’t it.
Continue reading “Julius Randle, the Most Improved Player of Game 2”
Note: this post was originally published for Metsmerized. Give them a click!
Bears are famous for hibernation.
Maybe that’s what happened in 2020 for Pete Alonso. The affably-known “Polar Bear” had about as red-hot an MLB debut as physically possible, when he set the all-time record for home runs in a rookie season with 53 in 2019. Last season, though, was clearly a down year. Pete saw declines vs. his rookie year in just about everything: batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, exit velocity – I could go on but won’t for his sake.
Continue reading “Polar Bear Plate Discipline: is Pete Alonso Waking Up?”
Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!
Mitchell Robinson is good at basketball.
We know this. We have spoken at length about this. Mitchell Robinson was anchoring one of the top five defenses in basketball at 22 years old. Unfortunately, Mitchell Robinson also broke his hand.
Continue reading “The Ego and Alter-Ego of Nerlens Noel”
Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!
I never check a weather forecast until 1 or 2 days before.
It’s simply far too difficult to predict – infinitesimal changes on one side of the globe can cause massive swings in the climate on the other. As the old saying goes, a butterfly flapping its wings in Tokyo can cause a tornado in Tennessee. The Butterfly Effect – a tiny, seemingly irrelevant occurrence may cause colossal consequences weeks, or even years, later.
On July 1st, 2019, the New York Knicks verbally agreed to sign Reggie Bullock to a 2-year, $21 million contract.
Continue reading “The Butterfly Effect: Has Immanuel Quickley unexpectedly become the Knicks’ best asset?”
Note: this post was originally published for MetsMerized. Give them a click!
How we feeling, Mets fans?
It’s true – Francisco Lindor, Mr. Smile, is officially headed to Queens. Just as the Dodgers did last offseason, and in shockingly similar fashion, the Mets have acquired a career-prime, marketable superstar to underscore new owner Steve Cohen’s stamp on the team (if that wasn’t strong enough already).
Continue reading “Mr. Smile: a Deep Dive into Francisco Lindor”
Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!
When asked in The Strickland’s preseason roundtable what Thibs’ most frustrating lineup trend would be, I said “Elf/guard/RJ/Randle/Mitch is my nightmare, and not because I don’t like RJ and Mitch, but because I do! These guys need the opportunity to not only play with spacing and show the front office whether or not they can be pieces on a winning team one day, but also grow with their current young’uns as much as possible. I’d rather see RJ come off the bench than stand on the wing and watch Elf/Randle buddy ball, or drive to the rim into seven help defenders at once.”
Continue reading “Game 1 of Season 2: RJ Barrett’s 2020-21 Debut”
Corner Three 