—The Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline is on Tuesday. As I write this, the New York Yankees acquired a reliever that the Red Sox were interested in: Zach Britton. Also, as I write this, Drew Pomeranz’ return to the rotation wasn’t such a glorious one, as he allowed four earned runs on two home runs in four-and-two-thirds innings to the lowly Baltimore Orioles.
So, needless to say, the Red Sox’ rotation isn’t exactly set for the stretch run. Eduardo Rodriguez is injured. Who knows what Pomeranz is going to bring to the table the rest of the way. There will forever be something about Rick Porcello that I just can’t trust. David Price has yet to silence the critics as a postseason starter. And Chris Sale, well, ok, I trust Sale.
The Red Sox should know that you can never have enough pitching, especially starting pitching. So, it isn’t the end of the world that they didn’t get Britton. It sucks that the Yankees got him, for sure. But the Red Sox need another starter, and maybe with Britton off the table, Dave Dombrowski can put his full focus on that.
—Speaking of trades, there have been many hot takes about Kawhi Leonard being traded to the Toronto Raptors. Considering the circumstances — Leonard wanted out of San Antonio — I consider the trade a win-win for both the Spurs and Raptors. Some have tried to tell me that it’s a dumb trade for Toronto because “there’s no way” Leonard re-signs with the Raptors. Leonard can opt out next summer and become a free agent. Some have speculated that he’s going to join LeBron James in LA and become a Laker. But I wouldn’t sleep on him actually staying in Toronto. Now, I don’t know that I’d put my money on him signing a multi-year deal with the Raptors, but I certainly don’t think it’s as crazy an idea as some have suggested.
For starters, Toronto is a pretty good city. If Leonard is looking to live in a big city that’s plenty of fun, then Toronto isn’t a bad landing spot. And if he’s looking to live in a big city while not being in that big-city spotlight, then it’s probably a good thing to share a market with a hockey team that just acquired one of the game’s best players in John Tavares, the newest Maple Leaf.
Even with the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics in the mix, Leonard will quickly learn that the Eastern Conference is the place to be, especially with James now out West. And on top of it all, Toronto can offer Leonard a five-year, $190 million deal, more than anybody else would be able to next summer. So for all the talk of Leonard being LA-bound, there’s a whole lot to like about staying in Toronto.
—Is Tiger Woods back?
I know, it’s a question I feel like I’ve asked already several times this year. But the answer in my book remains the same. No, he’s not back. Almost though. Woods finished last weekend’s British Open tied for sixth place, shooting 5-under on the tournament. He ended up just three strokes behind the champion, Francesco Molinari.
Woods stormed into contention after shooting a 66 on Saturday. He even held the lead for a brief period on Sunday while donning his championship red Nike shirt. But does that mean he’s back? Tiger, in contention on Sunday. Is that the definition of him being back? In my opinion, he has to win. He has to not double-bogey the 11th hole on Sunday in a major like he did this past Sunday at the British Open. For Woods to be back, in my eyes, he has to finish the job. The final major — the PGA Championship — begins Aug. 9. Woods has the fourth-best odds to win at +1800. I’ll take the field.
—The Anaheim Ducks organization amazes me. This week, they revealed their new third jersey for the upcoming season. They decided to revive their original Mighty Ducks sweater. Problem is, they put that old Mighty Ducks logo on a black jersey.
What? Why? How? How stupid is that? Come on now. There’s still time to fix this. It’s the equivalent of the Carolina Hurricanes adding a third jersey with the Hartford Whalers logo, but instead of going with the original green jersey, they go with a black one. Blasphemy. The Ducks need to figure their [expletive] out. And fast. Somebody get Mr. Ducksworth on the phone!
Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com. Also available on iTunes, Tunein, Google Play, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and PodcastOne. Subscribe to his YouTube channel at youtube.com/dannypicard.
