— Now that LeBron James is heading back to the NBA Finals for the eighth straight year, the debate is heating up: Who is the greatest of all time, LeBron or Michael Jordan?
Maybe there’s somebody else you’d like to throw into that argument, but for me, those are the two at the top of the list. And what I’m about to say won’t be a popular opinion in these parts, especially seeing that the Celtics just lost to LeBron and the Cavaliers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but I’ll say it anyways.
LeBron is the GOAT. The guy is playing in the NBA Finals every freaking year. Again, this will be his eighth consecutive Finals appearance. That’s absolutely nuts. And you know what the funniest part about it is? The same people who are comparing him to Jordan right now are the same people telling us he has no shot to beat the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series.
I’m not trying to take anything away from the Warriors here — because they are certainly a dominant group — but if LeBron is the most dominant player in the world, which he is, then how does he have “zero chance” to win it all? The same people telling us the Cavaliers have no chance to beat the Warriors in the Finals are also the same people who would’ve probably given the Celtics a chance to upset Golden State, had the Celtics won Game 7. Well, unfortunately, they didn’t. They lost to the Cavs. And I’ve got news for you. The Cavs have a shot, whether you like it or not.
Sticking with the theme for these NBA Playoffs, I’m here to tell you to stop counting LeBron out. Maybe Golden State wins the NBA Championship again. But you’re really going to sit there and tell me that it’s an absolute lock? Come on. Do you truly believe that, or is that what you WANT to happen because you despise LeBron? The LeBron hate is real. And I understand it. The guy loves himself. And he’ll be the first to let you know how much he’s accomplished in the NBA. But don’t let that get in the way of the facts.
And the fact is, he’s best player in the world, and in my opinion, he’s the greatest of all time.
I’m not telling you I’m a fan of the guy. I’m just telling you that I’m giving him a shot to win this year’s NBA Title.
— I was out of town all last week, only to come back and find out that Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment, in order to make room or Dustin Pedroia on the Boston Red Sox roster. Wow. I did not see that one coming.
The Red Sox were going to have to make a tough decision either way, now that Pedroia is healthy. But the question I keep asking myself is: Are the Red Sox a better team for the rest of the season without Ramirez? If you lined up Ramirez and Mitch Moreland on a wall and told me to pick my first baseman, I would take Ramirez — even with his recent struggles — every single time. The problem is, according to Dave Dombrowski’s reasoning behind the move, in which he said it was manager Alex Cora’s decision to get rid of Ramirez, that’s a sign, to me, that Ramirez didn’t want to play first base. And if he was going to play first base, he wasn’t going to be too happy about splitting time with Moreland, which would then potentially affect Ramirez’ $22 million vesting option for 2019 that would be triggered if Ramirez had saw 497 plate appearances this season.
So, it’s obvious that Cora felt Ramirez was going to be tough to deal with moving forward. To that, I ask: What’s the obsession with Moreland? Last time I checked, Ramirez was the team’s best player in last year’s Postseason. And the Red Sox hadn’t even played two full months of baseball since then, before cutting Ramirez.
He was hitting .163 in May, but in his career, May has always been Ramirez least productive month, for whatever reason. Also, it should be noted that Ramirez hit .330 in 25 games in April.
What’s preventing the Red Sox from keeping Moreland on the bench and letting Ramirez battle through? Maybe it wasn’t just the production or the attitude. Perhaps it was about next year’s $22 million. That has to be it. By releasing Ramirez now, the Sox are off the hook for his $22 mil next season. But I have to be honest, if getting rid of Ramirez now is just about saving money next year, then I have problem with that decision.
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