Author: Dave Long

The Patriots are back at work getting ready for the 2022 opener. They do so with a host of big question marks brought on by (a) a disastrous final month of 2021, which included getting annihilated twice by Josh Allen and Buffalo, (b) a number of high-profile defensive departures, (c) losing offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, coupled with the curious “Bill being Bill” decision to not name a replacement, and (d) low expectations for not much more than a one done in the wildcard playoff round.

So with that as the backdrop, here’s what to keep an eye on this month.

Biggest Strength

Running Game: Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson give them thump on the inside and burst to run outside. That will help the play action passing and let them get it more often on third and short, which is the key to having long drives.

Biggest Questions

Who’s Calling The Plays: Since I was no fan of Matt Patricia during his overly cautions, strategy-deficient reign as defensive coordinator, and he was a disaster as HC in Detroit, it’s distressing to hear Matty P will be calling the plays on offense. Made worse by an apparent scrapping of a big part of the playbook to create unnecessary confusion for QB Mac Jones.

Enough at Wideout: With the damage Randy Moss caused 2007 opponents in mind, I wanted Coach B to use his top pick and whatever else was needed to trade for a speed burning No. 1 receiver (and pay him) the way Philly did with AJ Brown. Instead he used that pick on an OL most thought he could get in Round 3 and spent the No. 2 on outside burner Tyquan Thornton of Baylor. Like the sentiment, but given the drafting record at the position he’s already in prove it mode.

So what do they have? DeVante Parker is a nice addition, but he’s a No. 2 and has been injury-prone in a seven-year career with just one 1,000-receiving-yards season. After that are Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne. Both solid, but they’re third-line guys who would be much more dangerous if they had a true No. 1. Finally there’s the speed guy Nelson Agholor, who I’ll get to later. If Parker can stay healthy they’re better, but they’re in a division with Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs, so they should have traded for the burner.

The Secondary: They’ve gone from the best secondary in football two years ago to a giant question mark thanks to Coach B fiddling while Rome burned. Instead of trading Stephon Gilmore for value ahead of 2021 (rather than the bag of beans he got doing it at mid-season) and spending the money to give JC Jackson an early extension, he walked when it got too expensive for Bill. So now it’s mix and match with retreads and rookies at the corners. Not sure who it could be, but someone has to come through or Mac will need to score 40 a game to win.

The Young Linebackers: With Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins gone, opportunity abounds for all the linebackers they’ve drafted in the last three years. And the question is, can those guys do the job?

Big Years Needed

Matthew Judon: He had 12.5 sacks in his first 13 games. But he got Covid in Week 14 and was MIA after that as the D fell apart. They need a full season this year.

Mac Jones: The numbers show he was better in his rookie year than Tom Brady was in 2019. That was good enough for me. Now he needs to be more in command and take the next step up. Plus with Matty P calling the plays, I’m hoping for a lot more audibles.

Guys to Watch

Kyle Dugger: With Devin McCourty nearing the end, the defense needs the next leader. After a solid Year 2 he’s the guy the brass wants that to be that guy.

Josh Uche: We’ve been hearing about his pass rush potential for two years. So in the put-up-or-shut-up year it’s time to find out if he can be the second edge rusher they need

Rhamondre Stevenson: I thought by the end of the year he was even better than Harris, as his acceleration through the hole and elusiveness in the open made big gains more likely. Plus he can catch, so I’m expecting a jump up in production.

Cole Strange: He can’t be a whiff. Because their top draft pick is stepping into a big hole at left guard and with an offense built on a solid running game and led by a young QB who needs to be protected, he needs to be as good asLogan Mankins and Joe Thuney were from the jump.

Marcus Jones: Except for a four-game stretch in 2020 byGunner Olszewski, who seemed more interested in running to contact than away from it, the return game has been awful since Cordarrelle Patterson left town. We’ve been burned (Cyrus Jones) by expectations from big college stats. But the No. 3 pick had four return TD’s last year. So it will be very helpful if he can be as dangerous here.

Improvement Needed

Jonnu Smith: Let’s just say he was an expensive bust a year ago. Thus while Hunter Henry was fine, the two tight end games never materialized. That needs to change and he needs to be much better.

Nelson Agholor: After a disappointing 37-catch three-TD season he needs to do a lot more to justify the expense. And that would have a bigger impact downhill, because if his speed can be a regular factor, it helps everyone else be better.

The X-Factor: The health of the re-shuffled offensive line where flip-flopped tackles Trent Williams and Isaiah Wynn both have injury histories. With not much depth they need them to stay healthy.

We’ll check back in a month for the answers.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News Item: PGA-LIV Battle Heats Up

The controversial start-up LIV world golf tour currently giving the PGA tour indigestion had its first U.S. event this week when it stopped where else but at Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf course, which naturally started off with a headline-making bout with the PGA by telling players to take the huge money being offered by the Saudi Arabia-financed LIV tour. He’s not the only one saying that, but given the track record it likely has more to do with revenge against the Tour for yanking the PGA Championship from his course after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Politics aside, the question I have about the LIV is this: Is golf about watching top players play, or about them fitting into the annual march of PGA-affiliated major championship? In other words, do you watch golf in the second week of April every year to see the players or how they do competing at Augusta National in the Masters?

Time will tell of course. Though it did not get off to a rousing start, as while the weekend crowds were larger, the Wall Street Journal described attendance as “sparse.”

News Item: Should C’s Trade For Durant?

The big on-court basketball story was the Celtics allegedly offering Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant. With Durant likely in the top three players in the league, the pluses for him are obvious. Not the least of which was Brooklyn being 29-6 before he got hurt last year when they promptly disintegrated. Which is appealing to a team that’s won one stinking title in 36 years.

But here are three things to consider: (1) He’s become a very vocal whiner. What will that do to team chemistry? (2) First he wanted out in Oak City. That’s understandable because he had to live in Oklahoma to play there and coexist with the ball hog Russell Westbrook. But it was the same with epitome of team play Golden State and now Brooklyn. So you have to wonder if he’ll ever be happy. Especially as he gets to the grumpy old man phase of his career. (3) Megalomaniac Brooklyn GM Sean Marks wants Brown, Marcus Smart, another rotation player and three first-round picks for Durant. So are you ready to gut a young team that just added two solid bench players after coming up two games short of winning the NBA title, for a 34-year-old star coming off two seasons marred by major injuries in the last three years?

News Item: Pats Open Camp

Three things stood out above the rest as pre-season camp opened for the Patriots last week.(1) With Mac Jones firmly established at QB, for the first time in two years Tom Brady’s long shadow no longer hovers over the team. (2) After a horrid showing in the final month and several major departures, the defense is filled with question marks, especially at linebacker and in the secondary. (3) As the transition from the vestiges of the last three Super Bowl-winning teams fade and the newcomers from last year’s free agent haul have a year in the saddle, the search is on for new faces to emerge as leaders and high-end performers to keep the rebuild moving forward.

News Item: Ortiz Goes to Cooperstown

Congrats to David Ortiz for his well-earned first ballot entry into Baseball’s Hall of Fame two Sundays ago. But seeing that it took former Minnesota Twins teammates Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva until they were in their 80s and Boys of Summer Brooklyn great Gil Hodges over five decades since he died of a heart attack we have to ask, what took them so long?

The latter three were voted in by a committee of former players who got it right long after baseball writers kept missing. So congrats to three who should have been in years ago.

News Item: Benefit Found for Yellow Uniforms

Well, we finally discovered a good use for the RED Sox’ offensive yellow uniforms, which they wore all through the carnage of last week. It is that it let them play in disguise as they stunk up the joint so no one knew it was them as they fell into last place.

News Item: The Greatest Ever Passes On

After the passing of legendary Celtic Bill Russell at 88 on Sunday tributes to his greatness have been written all week. So instead I’ll just tell you about the one conversation I had with the great man.

It happened during a pre-season practice, Oct. 12, 1999. Not even sure how it started, but it went for about 45 minutes after he blurted out how impressed he was with young Shaquille O’Neal. Not the player, but the kid. “He must have good parents, because he’s a nice young man.”

Given Shaq’s immense size, I asked how he compared to his rival Wilt Chamberlain. A knowing smile came over his face as he said, “It’s hard to describe how good he was,” and he went on about him for quite a while. After hearing about the friction between the two, that made me feel good as his affection was obvious.

The conversation got so comfortable I even punked him, by saying to something he said about high school, “That’s not what [HS teammate and baseball Hall of Famer] Frank Robinson told me.” And he shot back, “Whuuut did he say?” I said I didn’t know Frank and was just kidding. That brought out the famous cackle, which was the high point of the chat.

I remember the exact day, because a short while later I heard on my car radio Wilt had just been found dead in his L.A. home. A surreal moment that’s always made our conversation bittersweet. But I will say it was the most normal one I ever had with a famous person and I’ve met a lot of them.

RIP, big fella, and thanks for the memories

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

I don’t make U-turns very often. But I have made one in recent days and it’s a major-league about-face.

It concerns Red Sox owner John Henry, whom I’ve always defended amid all the whining that goes on around here. I defended him for two reasons.

First: All I heard in the first 30 years since I moved behind enemy lines was the whining about bad luck as the Sox World Series streak kept growing until it reached 86 years after the cruelest loss of all to the Yanks in 2003; that ended the next year in glorious fashion and was followed by titles in 2007, 2013 and 2018 to give them four in his first 16 years on the job, yet after a short abatement the whining started all over again. So with the knowledge that no other team has won as much as during his time on the job, I’ve always been willing to stand up for him and ask the question, what more do you ingrates want?

The second reason is obvious: John I. Taylor notwithstanding, he is the best owner in franchise history. It’s been a time when they have mostly spent big on payroll and made the wise decision to save/reinvest in their landmark ballpark, all while ending the curse and delivering some of the most exciting moments in franchise history. Not the least of which was climbing out of an 0-3 hole to finally beat the Yanks in 2004.

But, sadly, I’ve come to the conclusion It’s time for Henry to sell the Red Sox.

Here’s why, and I’ll start with the little things.

It Just Feels Old: There is no vitality in the ownership group. It’s a long way from when Henry pulled up at the Sports Hub to defend his team after listening to the endless negativity of Michael Felger and Tony Mazz while tooling around town in his car. Pretty unusual, but I liked the fight.

Not Dealing With the Media: I’m sure team president Sam Kennedy is a fine fellow. But since the owner deigns to speak to the nuisance media once a year he seems like a lap dog when he constantly is answering for the owner. I get it – the media can be obtrusive. But sorry, pal, it’s part of the job and I shouldn’t have to tell that to the guy who owns the Boston Globe. The Nation wants to hear from the boss.

It’s Become Just an Investment: Again I defended him when Fenway Sports Group bought the soccer team. But now there is an auto racing team and the Pittsburgh Penguins along with soccer, and the team seems like just part of the investment portfolio.

The Tampa Bay Way: I have pointed out many times that over the last few years Tampa Bay has won more than the Red Sox while spending millions less. But it wasn’t in support of how they conducted business. It was to show that it’s not what you spend, it’s how you spend it. Like wasting $170 million on Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez as an overreaction to fan discontent after a last-place finish in 2014. Or losing Jon Lester thanks to a ludicrous lowball offer and then having to spend $8 million per more the next year to bring in the soon to be hated David Price to replace him.

I’m Chaimed Out: I not only hate his stat geek, cookie-cutter, bargain basement vision of baseball, but I also find it insulting that one of the great franchises in sports history is copying the ways of one of the worst franchises in baseball history, one that barely draws 10,000 a game while the Sox had a 10-year sellout streak.

I thought he was going to come in to do what his Tampa Bay boss Andrew Friedman did when he landed in L.A.— clean up the payroll, build a farm system and then when he was done use their big market financial clout to fill out the line-up with big-time players like Mookie Betts and now NL home run leader Kyle Schwarber.

But that has not materialized, as it looks more like his place in Red Sox history will be as the 21st century’s answer to Harry Frazee by giving Raffy Devers and Xander Bogaerts insulting (idiotic) lowball contract offers on top of already dumping Betts.

Which brings me to the point of this diatribe. I was OK with not giving Betts what he wanted based on the risk of giving a 12-year contract. And I’m right about that.

But more deals like that have followed, and with Juan Soto (somehow) turning down a 15-year, $550 million deal last weekend it’s not likely going to go in the other direction. So if you don’t want to play that game it’s time to leave. Plus while the overall record is good, amid constant turnover at GM and manager there appears to be no real plan, which might be why they’ve finished last three times and missed the playoffs seven times since 2010.

Take The Money and Run: The team is now worth $3.9 billion, which is a 459 percent return on the $700 million you bought it for in 2002. For the mathematically challenged that’s $187 million appreciation per year or a $3.2 billion profit before whatever they made in annual profits.

So at the risk of understating the case: You have made your money. How much more do you need?

Bottom Line: While you technically own the team, Patriots owner Bob Kraft gets it right when he says teams are a public trust owned by fans who’ve been here longer than any owner ever was or will be.

So unless you still have the passion and energy to lead, along with the willingness to invest at today’s rate, take your $3.9 billion and ride into the sunset.

Yankees fans would never accept anything less. And neither should the fans who you are asking to pay the highest ticket prices in baseball while letting Chaim Bloom turn the Sox into baseball’s version of TJ Maxx.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

Count me among those who liked that Brad Stevens did not stand pat after the Celtics’ surprising season.

Adding real scoring punch to the bench was met with near universal approval in these parts and around the league, as trading for Indiana guard Malcolm Brogdon and signing free agent Danilo Gallinari serms a perfect fit.

Except, maybe by me.

Not because I don’t like either player, but because on paper they fill two slots.

Gallinari has always been the 3-point-shooting instant-offense wing they’ve needed forever, with the added benefit being he’s big enough and versatile enough to do it at the 3 or 4. And if you read this space regularly you know I like Brogdon’s combo guard game a lot, especially his ability to get below the foul line and score. I’ve suggested/begged that the Celtics should trade for him (and teammate Domantas Sabonis, who I liked even more) on numerous occasions. Including when Danny Ainge blew a chance to make a larger sign and trade deal when the Pacers were lusting to bring free agent Gordon Hayward home to Indiana two summers ago — a trade that, oh by the way, also would have filled the glaring hole (see below) this deal created.

The deal also makes them deeper and didn’t cost any of the first eight guys in the playoff rotation. Plus his contract gives them another big-number contract to include if a deal for a great max player presents itself.

So having said all that, what’s not to like, Dave? It’s not so much what’s not to like, as much as that each guy brings a red flag. For Brogdon it’s durability. He’s played as many as 70 games in a season only once, and that was six years ago in his rookie season of 2016-17. The six-year career average is just 51 games per and last year it was a worst of all 36. I hate guys who get hurt a lot and can’t recover quickly. So beware.

For Gallinari it’s aging. In the last four years his scoring averages have been, in order, 19.3, 18.7, 13.3 and 11.7, while for the 3-point shooting averages it’s been a career best .433, .405, .406, .381. That seems like a trend to me.

Then there’s the giant hole behind 37-year-old Al Horford and the brittle Lob it to Rob Williams. It remains to be seen who the new guy turns out to be. But don’t underestimate this; filling this spot with the right guy is important. Of the available names, I like athletic defender Nerlens Noel best.

Now some thoughts on the other big stories going on.

Kevin Durant: Due to their unrealistic demands — an all-star player, two role players and five first-round picks — it’s looking like he’ll stay in Brooklyn.

If I’m Miami, as good as he is I’d be reluctant to give up mid-20 Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro for him. With one including Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and James Wiseman the best package could come from Golden State. But they just won the title, so why not keep the young guys to try to extend their reign beyond the Curry era.

As for the unrealistic demands? They’re fine, but to make that work you need a sucker and I don’t see one right now. Which brings us to an old friend.

Danny Ainge: Nobody is better at finding suckers than Danny. He did it with Brooklyn to eventually get Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for fool’s gold in 2015. And now comes a deal for a guy (Rudy Gobert) who couldn’t get his team out of the first round of the playoffs in April with Minnesota for five unprotected first-round picks and five players. Given their gruesome 21st-century history, I give Minnesota points for trying something different. But I’m guessing after a few productive years it eventually ushers in a decade of more awfulness. The good news is, since he’s now a part owner, A-Rod will be one of the sufferers.

Now watch what Danny does with Donovan Mitchell and the two best guys he got back, Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley.

Kyrie Irving: Speaking of Celtics alumni, I guess hell has frozen over. It appears no one is dumb enough to want team-killer Kyrie Irving. Well, except the Lakers, who have turned into a sad, desperate mess. Except the Nets aren’t dumb enough to take back the hard to play with Russell Westbrook and his $49 million contract. Beyond that, the Nets can’t find any takers for the alleged “superstar” who led the Nets to 11-18 in the 29 games he played last year.

James Harden: I was wrong about him again. He not only stayed put in Philly; he took a big pay cut so his boss had more cap space to bring in players to help them win. Kudos to him. Now all he has to do is lose 30 pounds or adjust his game to a bigger, maturing body

Steph Curry: There was some chatter last week saying he is the second best player in NBA history. Putting him in the Top 10 never even occurred to me, to be honest. But after gaining a new appreciation for him as he annihilated the Celtics in the Finals I’m willing to entertain the Top 10 debate. But who would he replace? On his side, his 3-point shooting changed how the game is played and his four titles is one more than Larry Bird and three more than Oscar Robertson. Can’t go No. 2 as among LeBron and the Greek Freak I’m not even sure he’s in the Top 2 of his era as that’s still being determined. But he’s climbing.

Ja Morant: I don’t know if it’s youthful enthusiasm or youthful ignorance but I did get a kick out of him saying last week he could beat an in-his-prime Michael Jordan playing one on one.

I’ll take Mike because of his unmatched killer instinct.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

We are a few days away from baseball’s All-Star break, the time in the good old days when Manny Ramirez would announce (again) the same relative had died for an eighth time to get him out of playing in the once great game.

Even though it’s long past that point in games, it’s the unofficial midway point for the season. So let’s take a look at some of the big first-half stories and one looming on the horizon.

Pennant Race: After splitting last weekend’s series in Boston, the Yanks were 61-25, among the best starts ever. Meanwhile, after their glacial start, Boston was 47-39 and 14 back. A big but not insurmountable lead, as history shows Boston led NY by (gulp) 14.5 on July 17 in 1978 and lost.

Assuming 95 wins takes the division, the Sox need to go a doable 48-28, a .613 winning percentage, which translates to a 102-win season. But it requires a 34-47 Yankees collapse, not for Boston to play out of their jocks.

AL News

I’m not against it and I’ll sorta buy the nod for the 8-4, 2.44 pitching record, but with him 14th in homers (19) and 15th in RBI (54) can we all agree taking Shohei Ohtani as a “two way” All-Star is a gimmick?

There was a time Merlot Joe Maddon was considered a managerial savant as low-budget Tampa Bay won with him in the dugout. But after ending the Cubs’ 108-year curse in 2016, it’s been straight downhill since. He got pushed out of Chicago in 2020 and then didn’t even last till June in Year 2 with Anaheim. In the meantime, still budget-conscious Tampa mostly just kept winning. So maybe it wasn’t Joe after all.

NL News in case you’re interested

Thealwaysunlikable Manny Machado is living up to the big money he got from the Padres (.309, 14 bombs and 50 RBI). That’s not good news for the Xander Bogaerts contract front. Because with Xander better and more reliable it’s another benchmark his agents can use at the bargaining table.

How about the Freddie Freeman nonsense? In his first trip back to Atlanta since leaving last winter he acted like a homesick puppy, which followed his firing the agent who convinced him to take the bigger deal from the Dodgers. We can only guess how that played in the Dodgers locker room.

What is it with the Dodgers and the weird (dis) spirited first baseman? A couple of years back an injured Adrian Gonzalez actually went on vacation when they were in the playoffs. Though with those hated Dodgers on pace to win 106-games (again) Freeman hasn’t been an issue yet.

Alumni News in case you’re wondering

Andrew Benintendi: Off having a nice first half hitting. 327 with 3 homers and 35 homers, rumors have him headed to the Yanks at the deadline.

Kyle Schwarber: His 28 homers are second in baseball. Along with his 57 RBI and the modest deal he got in Philly, it makes not re-upping him to DH a titanic mistake by Chaim Bloom.

Hunter Renfroe: With him hitting .247 with 13 homers and 27 RBI he’s no loss.

Eduardo Rodriguez: Amid family problems he left Detroit a month ago and hasn’t been heard from since. Sad news for him and Detroit, but a disaster averted for Boston.

News From The Empire

With all due respect to the upcoming Bogaerts free agency saga, it’s not gonna touch the looming drama that could ignite a full on war in the Big Apple.

If you ain’t been paying attention there’s a gigantic game of chicken going on between Aaron Judge and the Yankees, which the Yanks are really screwing up with a lot more at stake than usual.

First, since Yankee fans have never seen them lose a free agent they wanted to retain, Judge has the leverage in the contract negotiations in a normal year.

But with him challenging The Babe (60) and Roger Maris (61) for the Yanks’ treasured single-season home run record, the leverage grows stronger, as that’s a pretty good way to walk into free agency.

Finally, that leverage will explode if the Mets step up to try and outbid them for Judge after a historic year, a very real possibility.

Their (still) new owner Steve Cohen is nuts enough to do it because (a) he’s a lifelong diehard Mets fan from Long Island who’s been taking guff from Yankee fans his whole life, (b) after bringing in Max Scherzer and Francisco Lindor he’s already shown he’ll spend big, and (c) since he’s the richest owner in baseball he’s got the incentive and dough to do it.

Most importantly, even with the extreme expense, it would be good business for New York’s JV baseball team to steal the face of the Yankees franchise away from them, because (a) it would be like when the Jets gave rookie to be Joe Namath the richest contract in sports in 1965, which sucked in all the PR oxygen and the tabloids ate it up,and(b) it could swing the pendulum their way in NYC if it leads to an immediate World Series with Judge as the star, as, oh by the way, it would make a beloved former Yankee star the face of their hated crosstown rival. Thus it’s the biggest event in their joint history since the Mets arrived in 1962. Not to mention likely the biggest and most expensive free agent battle in history.

So all the pressure is on Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman. Who have played it so far the same lowball way that sent Jon Lester to free agency all ticked off in 2014.

The only thing missing is George Steinbrenner, who would have it in the headlines every day while making it a nasty fight to boot!

Please, Steve Cohen, make it happen.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

It’s time to chronicle what’s been a totally under-the-radar first half of the baseball season despite having some notable highs and, considering their horrid April, really low lows.

Let’s get to the annual first half Red Sox report.

Holy Cow Moment

Alex Cora went against type to let Nick Pivetta and Michael Wacha pitch actual complete games that each exceeded 100 pitches. Wacha’s was a three-hit shutout of Anaheim in early June. No word yet on whether the final balls were sent to Cooperstown for their Herculean feats.

The High Points

Middle of the Order: I was for signing Kyle Schwarber and trading J.D. Martinez, and with Schwarber having 23 homers and 50 RBI to J.D.’s 8 and 33 that would have been the right thing to do even if he’s hitting .217 in Philly. But with him hitting way over .300 all year, it’s hard to complain about J.D. With Xander Bogaerts and Raffy Devers being even better, it’s a great 3-4-5 middle of the order, occasionally wrecked when Devers bats second. Throw in Alex Verdugo’s 43 RBI and average-challenged Trevor Story’s team-leading 52 and 12 homers on either side of the first three and it’s a potent group.

Young Pitchers: It looks like they’ve found their close in Tanner Houck. He’s made 15 straight relief appearances since May 5, with the last 10 as the closer when they won all 10 and he got one win and eight saves and had an ERA of 1.54.

Personally, I wanted him to be the starter among their two best young pitchers and Garrett Whitlock the late-inning reliever. But Whitlock became a permanent starter in late April where, thanks to some ridiculous early yanks by Cora, he’s only 2-1. But the ERA is 2.05 as a starter and they’re 5-1 in his last six starts before going on the DL in June. Throw in Pivetta and that makes three emerging young guys to build the staff around going forward.

Do I Hear Four: A fourth may be Josh Winckowski. Bloom took a lot of flak when he traded Andrew Benintendi, especially after Franchy Cordero’s Dumpster-fire season. But getting Winckowski from the Mets was supposed to be the prize in the deal. While it’s too early to tell anything, it’s encouraging that in his four starts filling in for Whitlock and Nathan Eovaldi he’s 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA.

Chaim’s Best Trade: With being 19-13, with a spectacular, had-to-have-it extra-inning win over Tampa in the playoffs, since arriving in 2020 after being disappointing in Philly Nick Pivetta represents Chaim Bloom’s best trade/steal so far. This year it’s 8-5 with a 3.23 ERA.

Surprises and Miscalculations

Michael Wacha: Boy, did I get it wrong on him. I was thinking bargain-basement signing all the way. But at 6-1 with a 2.65 first-half ERA he’s exceeded all expectations in returning to the form he showed with the Cardinals at the start of his career.

What’s the Story? Despite a lower than usual average, no regrets on signing Trevor Story. The power numbers are there and his smooth transition to second base has helped the infield defense.

Not According to Plan: Bloom’s biggest miscalculation was thinking that after his solid final two months of 2021 Bobby Dalbec would evolve into a 30-homer guy to replace the power lost by sending Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee last winter. Thus far it’s just 5 homers and 18 RBI for Bobby, who finally got over the Mendozza Line last week and is now splitting time with Cordero at first base.

A Little History: That walk-off grand slam by Cordero for an 8-4 win over Seattle in May was the first walk-off slam (as best I can remember) since Mo Vaughn also did it to the Mariners in the home opener in 1998.

To the stat geeks who think starters should face the order a third time: Seattle yanked Randy Johnson that day with a 5-2 lead after getting 15 strikeouts in 8 innings. They even scored two more runs before the Sox came up in the ninth. The stellar Mariners bullpen then let the Sox get it to 7-5 before Mo (money) came up to hit the slam for the 9-7 win. It’s a reminder that when you yank a starter who’s got it going on, you do so for the uncertainty of whether whoever comes out of the pen has their good stuff or not.

What’s To Come

Next Three Weeks: Their 16-5 streak in June came against the weaker teams, which has the naysayers saying they’ll come back to earth. But that’s what they said about the Celtics when they started to win all the time in January. So for me, I know you can only play who they tell you to play and I saw good things were happening as they did. Especially with the pitching. Which means they enter a critical stretch of 23 games (including losing the 2 of 3 from Toronto to start it) with the top three teams in the AL East and the White Sox with momentum.

Chris Sale: Who knows what they’ll get from him? Could be a big boost or a nothing burger. So instead of predicting I’ll be like Yogi Berra when his wife asked him where he wanted to be buried and he answered surprise me, as I let it play out.

Rumor Mill: The ones on Bogaerts being traded at the deadline have died out completely. Beyond that, crickets.

Help Wanted — Or Is It Needed: I don’t trust anyone in the bullpen beyond Houck, especially Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes, so they need to add one, maybe two difference-makers.

Prediction: With bullpen help, the winning continues with a spot in the play-in game looming.

Next week, a look at all of MLB.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.