Pelletier's Perspective 7.17.08: In Defense of The Perspective
Posted by Justin Pelletier on 07.17.2008
It was the NBA draft that was in 411's Justin Pelletier's cross hairs last week. This week MLB is on his mind. Come in and see what Justin thinks about the second half of the season and the All-Star extravaganza in the latest installment of Pelletier's Perspective.
So I took a lot of heat for last week's sarcastic look at the NBA draft. I'm surprised how many Raptors fans there are out there. But the Perspective is nothing if not reader friendly so I will take the first half of this weeks addition to allow the readers voices to be heard. And, of course, to defend myself.
So without further ado may I present to you "Pounding the Perspective". Great.
So, the Raptors averaged 18,000+ but the franchise is decaying? How? By making the playoffs and having a good young core?
You also listed Bayless and Westbook as combo guards...uhhh, since when? Height doesn't dictate game. Both guys play like point guards and are quick enough to run the 1.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever read on sports writing was "don't ever write something you've read somewhere else." But it seems like you would rather shock and come off as snide than give a honest, factual piece. Which is your perogative, obviously, but I think you can do a lot better than this.
Things like Jail Blazers, Jersey Brooklyn, tub of crap Zach Randolph...I'm not sure what target audience you are trying to reach, but I think you're missing your mark.
Posted By: hamatosan (Guest) on July 09, 2008 at 09:50 AM
I appreciate that hamatosan comes with some specific criticism and a little respect. Please allow me to respond.
The point I was trying to make about Toronto was that they are a team in regression, from the stand point of making a championship run. The Raptors were and were 47-35 during the 06-07 season and were 41-41 in 2008. They slipped from the third seed to the sixth seed and no longer look like a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. Perhaps decaying wasn't the right verb to choose but Toronto is a team on the decline.
As far as "writ(ing) something you've read somewhere else" is concerned; I simply used terms that are true. Portland did have a reputation of being the "Jail Blazers" and getting rid of Randolph was a huge step in moving away from the reputation. Randolph is a good player, sure, but he's akin to Stephon Marbury. No matter how good he is, he's the type of player who drags a team down. I can think of (at least) a dozen power forwards I'd rather have on my team, despite his talent. Finally, I meant to cross out Jersey before I posted but forgot to add the code. I believe it would have went over better had I remembered because it is a well known fact that the Nets are on their way to the borough.
Next up is a positive response! Yeah!!
I agree with you on most of your points. I'm surprised you didn't comment on Beasley's dominating of the Bulls though.
28 pts and 9 reb? Not a bad start. Granted it's summer league, but that was the big thing about Beasley. Would he be able to shove around the NBA competition and score? As well as getting double digit rebounds? It was the Bulls, but Noah and Tyrus can rebound, and I'm surprised Beasley looked so good.
Posted By: Enjoyed it (Guest) on July 09, 2008 at 09:56 AM
Thanks Enjoy. Great point about Beasley but it is only fair that I mention his 1-for-14 effort in his second summer league contest. He's a top talent for sure and he's my pick to win Rookie of the Year but he'll still have his ups and downs.
This column is the biggest waste of bandwidth. Sorry I stumbled on it.
Posted By: guest (Guest) on July 09, 2008 at 10:17 AM
More like "Draft UNspectacular" nyuk nyuk nyuk!
Posted By: Ben (Guest) on July 09, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Ouch, let's move on.
Finally we've got a reply from a famous NBAer. Or should I say infamous?
Comparing Russell Westbrook to Respert is bit of a stretch. 1. Respert was a tiny guard for his size and unathletic while RW is a strong athletically gifted guard with explosive legs. 2. Respert could not defend and RW was Pac10 Defensive POY. I think picking RW @ 4 was too high though. As to Beasley over Rose, I think the Bulls decided to take the guy who won't be an issue off the court. Beasley is very immature for a 19 year old who has been around the AAU circuit for so long. He has had issues everywhere he has been. Instead of getting his rest,
the night before the draft Beasley was out gettinig hammered until 4am. Thanks for listening,
Signed Derrick Coleman
First and foremost, the message delivered from Derrick Coleman is very, very funny. Allow me to start with that comparison. Beasley's maturity has been brought into question, true, but the majority of his transgressions occurred when he was just a kid in high school. Rose, on the other hand, recently pled guilty to driving 105 mph in a 65 mph zone. Doesn't sound very mature to me.
As far as Westbrook goes, he is the combo guard least like Respert. He is much more athletic and a better defender than Respert. Bayless and Gordon were more who I had in mind.
So with that out of the way we here at the Perspective turn our attention to Major League Baseball. We are one day removed from the longest All-Star game in the history of the game. A 15-inning thriller ended the same way each of the last 12 have ended (if you don't count that nasty tie) with an American League victory.
Despite this, not to mention Josh Hamilton's epic performance in the derby, MLB can't seem to get out of its way. What should have been it biggest good will showcase turned into another bitchfest. Every time I turned on the TV there were talking heads complaining that players had to exert too much effort in the All-Star game. The sad part is; they're right.
No team wants to see their playoff chances go up in flames because their pitcher threw on short rest in an exhibition game. I'm sure the Arizona brass will be beside themselves if Brandon Webb suffers from his participation.
To be honest there is only one person to blame for this situation, baseball's favorite whipping boy Bud Selig. I know that laying blame at the feet of Selig is passé but it just fits.
It was Selig's reactionary decision to make the All-Star game worth home field advantage in the World Series and it's that decision that has caused the uproar. The decision, not only, lends itself to possible injury, it's also quite stupid. What's the matter with allowing the team with the better record to have home field advantage? It works in every other sport. Selig was getting heat for the god-awful tie and tried to make a sweeping change. What resulted, however, has left Selig and MLB with an even bigger issue.
With the all-star game behind us we can move on to the second half of the season and all the plot lines that come with it.
Each league has a team which is flying through its division, in opposite directions. In the AL Tampa seems to be falling like a lead balloon, while the Mets are rocketing up the NL. Which streak is for real, you ask? Simply, neither.
The Rays aren't as bad as they've looked in recent weeks and the Mets aren't as good. Tampa is too talented to continue to plummet. The staff could use another arm and Carlos Pena (among others) need to get the bats going but Joe Madden will get his young troops back on track.
If I had to pick one to continue it would be the Mets (not simply because they are my team and I picked them to win the NL to start the season, but both of those factored in). Johan Santana has been as good as advertised but has fallen on some bad luck as his teammates have given zero run support. David Wright has been great and Carlos Delgado is warming up. If Jose Reyes can play like the MVP he can be, New York would quickly become pennant contenders.
The NL Central had a shake up when the Brewers traded for CC Sabathia and the Cubs answered right back with Rich Harden. Both pitchers are front of the rotation starters, for sure. But it's Harden's injuries that are a cause for concern. Milwaukee will get the better of the trades but the Cubs will still have enough to hold on.
Look for the Yankees to make a move, despite what they say publicly, but it won't be enough. Boston is too good for NY and too experienced for Tampa. The down year for Cleveland and Detroit will, pretty much, leave the Bo Sox unopposed through out the AL playoffs. Another parade in New England seems like a distinct possibility.
Will the second half of the season shake out exactly that way? Probably not, but stories like Josh Hamilton and teams making moves for the playoffs will give us plenty to talk about.
