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      Will the Yankees regret letting Wang go?

      February 16, 2010 /

      Roughly two months ago, the Yankees came to the conclusion that starter Chien-Ming Wang wasn’t worth the roster space anymore, even though they controlled his rights for the next two seasons. That’s why they non-tendered him on December 12 and made him a free agent this offseason.

      It’s hard to blame the Bombers to coming to the decision not to tender Wang after he battled through ineffectiveness and injury in 2009. He was a disaster last season, finishing with a 1-6 record and a 9.64 ERA.

      But in wake of the Nationals signing the right-hander to a contract on Tuesday, I wonder whether or not the Yankees will regret the decision to let Wang go after the ’09 season. After all, he’s only 29 and just a few years removed from posting back-to-back 19-win seasons.

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      MLB

      Blazers trade for Marcus Camby

      February 16, 2010 /



      With centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla sidelined, the Trail Blazers have acquired Marcus Camby.

      The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired the Clippers’ Marcus Camby, the center they’ve desperately needed since they lost both Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla to season-ending injuries.

      In return, Los Angeles receives point guard Steve Blake and small forward Travis Outlaw.

      Portland will also send $1.5 million to Los Angeles in the trade and is responsible for $2 million in incentives Camby will earn before season’s end, sources said Tuesday.

      This is a fairly low-risk move for the Blazers, since Camby is in the last year of his contract. Blake and Outlaw are also in the final years of their respective deals, and there’s a good chance that neither player would be back next season, so why not make a move for one of the best defensive centers in the league?

      At 35 years-old, Camby is averaging 8-12 with almost two blocks per game, so he should be able to shore up Portland’s interior defense and rebounding. His PER (18.54) is #13 amongst centers, though Camby has been playing mostly power forward this season.

      For the Clippers, the prize of this trade is Outlaw, a 25-year-old swingman who averaged 13-4 the last two seasons. He will push Al Thornton for minutes at small forward. Thornton has had a disappointing year and has lost playing time to Rasual Butler, of all people. Outlaw was expendable in Portland due his expiring contract and the Blazers’ logjam at the wing.

      With Blake out of the picture, Portland will rely on Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless at point guard. Both players have played pretty well this season, which prompted GM Kevin Pritchard to make this move. The Blazers are sitting in the #8 spot in the West, and Camby’s arrival should help the team’s chances of making some noise in the postseason.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Bears lacking direction under Angelo, Smith

      February 16, 2010 /

      If anyone can explain to me the direction the Chicago Bears are taking this offseason, then I’ll donate a week’s salary to your favorite charity. And “backwards” doesn’t count.

      The Bears began the offseason by firing offensive coordinator Ron Turner and relieving head coach Lovie Smith of his defensive play calling duties. GM Jerry Angelo’s first choices as candidates to replace Turner and Smith were USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and former Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. But he lost out on both when Pete Carroll hired Bates to run the offense in Seattle and the Giants hired Fewell to run their defense in New York.

      It’s an understatement to say that Angelo settled for Mike Martz in early February. Angelo had Rob Chudzinski, Hue Jackson and a host of others atop his wish list of offensive coordinators, but nobody wanted to come to Chicago with the possibility of Smith and his entire staff getting axed a year from now. Angelo was desperate, and so too was Martz.

      Out of options again, Angelo promoted defensive line coach Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator on February 5, despite the fact that Marinelli had no previous experience in that role. When the Bears hired Smith in 2004, he tired to bring Marinelli (his former staff member in Tampa) to Chicago to be his new defensive coordinator but the Bucs didn’t release Marinelli out of his contract. Seven years later, Smith is getting his wish.

      With the coordinator roles finally settled, Angelo thought it would be wise to fire director of pro personnel Bobby DePaul on Monday. This is significant because DePaul was the man that orchestrated the Jay Cutler trade and had been with the Bears since 2001. That’s nine seasons of experience that Angelo just fired, not to mention the person responsible for pulling off the franchise’s biggest trade.

      The timing of DePaul’s firing is perplexing. Most teams fire personnel people in May because at that point, the draft is over and free agency has settled in. Teams rarely fire the man responsible for evaluating players, managing scouting and preparing the club for free agency right before the NFL combine and the free agency period begins. It just doesn’t make any sense because scouting free agents and prospects is a yearlong process – a process that should be almost completed in mid February.

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      NFL

      Heat ‘coming hard’ after Stoudemire

      February 16, 2010 /

      Just two days away from the trade deadline, Marc Stein says that the Miami Heat are stepping up their efforts to acquire Amare Stoudemire.

      The Heat emerged from the All-Star break even more determined than they were before to find a third team to help them broker an Amare deal before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

      Miami is “coming hard” after Stoudemire, one source said.

      Although the Heat have first-round picks available to sweeten any Stoudemire deal — with the Suns hoping to come away with at least one first-rounder if they decide to trade Stoudemire this week — sources say Phoenix has no interest in taking back Jermaine O’Neal’s hefty expiring contract because, at $23 million, it requires more players to be worked into the deal than the Suns are comfortable with.

      Yet one source insisted Monday night that the Suns have not ruled out taking back forward Michael Beasley as part of a Stoudemire deal.

      The Suns seem to be more interested in J.J. Hickson than Beasley, which is a little odd. Beasley does have some off-court issues, but he seems to have straightened those out and he’s having a very nice sophomore campaign (16-7 on 46% shooting). His 3PT touch has mysteriously disappeared — 41% last year vs. 28% this season — and he is still a work in progress defensively, but he’s one of the best young scorers and rebounders in the league.

      Ric Bucher writes that the Suns aren’t alone in their disinterest in Beasley.

      “While other pieces would’ve had to be included, the trade essentially would’ve sent Beasley to Philadelphia, Iguodala to Phoenix and Stoudemire to Miami. The deal broke down, sources say, because Philadelphia wasn’t overwhelmed by the prospect of rebuilding around Beasley. This isn’t an isolated case: the Heat appear to be the team most enamored with Stoudemire, but their trading chips are Beasley and Jermaine O’Neal, aka, a big, fat expiring contract. So far, no one has been willing to bite — underscoring why the Heat tried so hard on draft night in 2008 to trade down and take the player they really wanted, O.J. Mayo.”

      That last sentence underlines an interesting point. The Heat felt obligated to take Beasley with the #2 pick because he was widely considered the second-best talent in the draft. But if they really wanted Mayo and couldn’t find a trade partner, then they should have drafted the guy they really wanted.

      According to Stein’s source, the Suns haven’t ruled out a Beasley-for-Stoudemire swap, so that still may end up being the best deal that Phoenix can get.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Colt McCoy close to being 100%?

      February 16, 2010 /

      Colt McCoy is throwing 40-50 balls a day while rehabbing the right shoulder injury that knocked him out of the national championship. He hopes that he’ll be able to participate in the scouting combine next week.

      From FOX Sports.com:

      “Hopefully I’ll be able to throw in the combine. That’s my goal, I love to compete, I want to go out and compete with those guys, go out there and throw and be myself,” McCoy said. “But obviously if the doctors don’t let me, I’m not going to be able to do that.”

      “The injury and I think the way that my college career ended has kind of sparked a fire inside of me as far as I’m going to show that I’m going to be ready to go. I’m going to show them that I’m the best, I’m going to show that I’m confident,” he said. “I can’t wait to step out on the field again, forget the taste that’s in my mouth for the last time I played a game. That’s what’s driving me every day.”

      McCoy, whose rehab is being overseen by noted sports doctor James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., said if his doctors determine he can’t throw at the combine that begins next week, he will still do everything else possible in Indianapolis. He also plans to participate in the Longhorns’ pro day March 31.

      The scouting combine will be important for McCoy, because pro scouts will want to know how the recovery is going. If he can work out for scouts and field questions about the injury, it’ll go a long way to improving his draft stock come April. (Or at the very least, not hurt his stock.)

      But the thing he needs to keep in mind is that he still has his Pro Day in March, so if he needs the extra time to recover then he should take it. Scouts would certainly understand if he needs more time to recover, but at some point before the draft he’s going to have to work out. A team obviously isn’t going to take him in the middle rounds without seeing him throw.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

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