May 28th: Playoffs? We're Talking About Playoffs?

May is the most intense month in professional sports, as both the NBA and NHL are in the thick of the playoffs. Between the two, there are 32 teams fighting for their championship lives, looking to hoist the trophy high, the result of 82 games each of fighting, clawing, and driving for the final goal.

The difference in playoff intensity this year, though, could not be more different. In the NBA, it has been a downright boring playoffs. Of the opening series, only three of eight went to six games, while there was only one Game 7 across the board. Since then, the Cavaliers and Warriors have each waltzed right into the Finals, with little more than a few token wins for their opponents. Games have, as a general rule, been blowouts, lacking anything that resembles the drama we all have come to love from the playoffs. Last year, we saw the eventual champion Spurs have to flex their muscles just to get to the Finals, getting the best play from Dallas, to Portland (ok, not really Portland, but still…) , and Oklahoma City en route to the Heat and the championship. This year, only the Bulls were able to put even the slightest of dents into the Cavaliers’ domination, and the Grizzlies were the closest to giving the Warriors even a hint of a hard time.

This could not be in greater contrast with the absolutely epic playoffs coming out of the NHL. Six of the first eight series went to a game 6, with no team earning multiple sweeps this post-season. For the first time in 15 years, both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals are going to a Game 7, and it is next to impossible to predict who will win either. The hard-hitting Ducks square off against the finesse game of the Blackhawks, while Ben Bishop’s Lightning try to find the net against King Henrik and the Rangers. Overall, there hasn’t been a dull game yet, and Friday and Saturday will be absolutely epic to set up next week’s finals.

The real difference comes from league parity, something that the NHL has in abundance, but is a fatal flaw for the NBA. When teams enter the playoffs with a losing record, it can be assumed that they won’t put up much of a fight against the best in the league. Nobody was very interested in a Celtics-Cavaliers matchup, nor Pelicans-Warriors. Meanwhile, any NHL team can match up against any other, depending on the night and the arena. Only ten points separated the best team in the Western playoffs from the lowest, leading to 4 simply epic matchups. The East is a little more diverse (15 points from top to bottom), yet the Wild Card team who was the 8 seed happened to be the very legitimate Cup threat Penguins.

Despite the lackluster NBA and the electric NHL, national attention is almost entirely on the hardwood. Yet this should be a huge opportunity for hockey’s coming out party. For anyone who has never seen the excitement, felt the passion, and felt to breathe for minutes at a time, the NHL playoffs are, by far, the cream of the crop when it comes to the post-season. There is no better feeling than the anxiety of driving your team forward in the playoffs. Overtime playoff hockey is the single greatest showing of sports drama, and has happened in abundance this season. When one city can talk about nothing but their boys on the ice, you know you have a playoffs worthy of your attention. The City of Chicago is painted red, and it isn’t for the Bulls.

I’m voting with my remote control, and you can bet that, next week, when both Finals are going on, I’m going to pick Lord Stanley over Larry O’Brien. (C’mon. Which is more illustrious sounding between THOSE two?)

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May 20th: A Castro in the Hand...

While the Cubs and Mets clashed in a four game set on the diamond, the front offices spent some time discussing assets and the possibility of a deal being struck. The Cubs are in need of pitching, with a few arms standing between them and a very deep playoff run. Meanwhile, the Mets believe they are a franchise shortstop away from creating a dynasty with dreams of October. Each team is strong in the others’ area of need, and it looks to be a perfect match to make something happen.

“We haven’t made a deal yet, but there’s been matches that made sense, and I’m sure we’ll talk to them in the future,” Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer said of the conversations with New York. “It’ll happen at some point.”

Today, Bleacher Report took the first crack at guessing what kind of pieces would be included in a blockbuster between the Cubs and Mets. The trade proposed was as follows:

Cubs get: SP Jacob DeGrom, RP Rafael Montero, and C Kevin Plawecki

Mets get: SS Starlin Castro, IF/OF Arismendy Alcantara, and 1B Dan Vogelbach

The argument for the deal is that it is a proven shortstop for a top young arm, with supporting cast members that fill other voids on each team respectively.

The Cubs need to be cautious, though, not to overestimate the value of the infield depth. By trading Castro and Alcantara, they would be losing two of the valuable pieces that contribute to the insane depth of the middle infield. Javier Baez is a valuable piece, but hasn’t proven to be a major contributor at the big league level. Meanwhile, Castro is a centerpiece for what the Cubs have done so far, and has a very team-friendly contract going forward for the next few years.

Right now, the Cubs look like they are about to get to clicking on all cylinders. The infield is a collection of big names, from Bryant to Castro to Russell to Rizzo. That has the makings of a historic squad that can lead the Cubs to a decade of success. To break that up would require an offer that would revolutionize a different facet of the game, and DeGrom just isn’t that.

Rather than using Castro, a veteran presence in the clubhouse, as trade bait, it might better serve the Cubs to use Baez as a high-ceiling gamble for a trade partner. Will this have an impact on the return? Certainly. But it is well worth it to maintain the services of one of the National League’s best shortstops, rather than betting on the development on an offensive monster with strikeout problems.

Another motivation to the trade proposed by BR is the need for the Cubs to find their “Catcher of the Future,” believing that Plawecki could be that backstop. The flaw in this notion is the assumption that Kyle Schwarber doesn’t have a future as a catcher in the league. As a hitter, Schwarber is already begging for his turn at the big league level. Defensively, it seems like the Cubs simply can’t make up their mind. Every few months there is a new article about the hard work he is putting in behind the dish, and how much progress he is making. Then, soon after, we hear that the Cubs are in need of an answer for the future. My money is on Schwarber as a central piece of the Cubs future, and willing to put in the work to make himself invaluable wherever he is needed. It is most certainly not worth it to part ways with Castro to add another name to the mix at a position with a variety of options.

The inclusion of Vogelbach is the one bright spot in this deal. Vogelbach is a strong prospect who has had years of success, but is stuck behind, debatably, the game’s best first baseman for the future. With no real ability to find a different position, the sooner the Cubs can get some return for the hefty first-sacker the better.

On the whole, the Cubs are in a holding pattern with a huge volume of talent at several positions. While they are in need of starting pitching, they should be very thoughtful about giving up a proven star with a team-friendly contract in favor of pitching that might come at too high a price. Waiting to see how the trade market develops in July could be huge for the Cubs to maintain their leadership core while also getting the veteran pitching that will throw them over the edge into a deep playoff threat.

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