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After a big week for Boston sports, here are my takes on the major stories around the city:
The News: Patriots trade WR Brandin Cooks to the Rams for the 23rd overall pick
My Take: I have never been of the opinion that Brandin Cooks was a bust for the Patriots. I know some Patriots fans harbor negative feelings towards Cooks and believe that he did underperform last year, but I don’t really think that’s the case. He was a deep-threat for a quarterback that has never been a great deep-ball QB. Cooks was fine. Not great, not bad, but fine. With that being said, I think the trade was a fantastic move. The Patriots gave up a relatively small concession in order to secure another first-round pick, something they desperately need. Let’s remember that in addition to the short terms needs on the offensive line and the defensive front seven, the Patriots must address the ultimate long term need: quarterback. The current Patriots strategy appears to be something between “win now” and “build for the future.” In order to thread that needle, the Patriots need to have enough capital to address urgent needs as well as acquire the successor to Tom Brady. This means New England has to give up offensive weapons in hopes that the greatness of Tom Brady can make up for a lack of offensive talent--minimal losses that will hopefully result in a net gain. I believe the Cooks trade is well within the boundaries of this hybrid strategy, and I believe it will result in a net gain for the Patriots. What other weapons they will give up is unknown, though I have advocated for the trading of Rob Gronkowski, as you can read here. In regards to the ramifications of this move for next season, I really don’t think the loss of Cooks--or Amendola for that matter--has much of an effect on the Patriots. Tom Brady has been known to carry subpar offenses to great heights; build him a defense with those juicy first- and second-rounders and he’ll take care of the rest.
The News: Kyrie Irving out for the remainder of the 2017-2018 season
My Take: I was not shocked to hear the Kyrie Irving news, as I was always skeptical of the information coming from the Celtics in regards to his injury and potential return. Obviously, this absolutely buries the Celtics for this season, and as a Celtics fan, this is absolutely brutal. They had such a great chance this year to go all the way, with Golden State having injury issues and Cleveland being an absolute dumpster fire. Imagine the Celtics with Irving and Hayward going against the Rockets in The Finals. What a missed opportunity. Going forward, the Celtics should be fine as long as Irving and Hayward are both back healthy next year. As for now, the Raptors are probably the favorites, along with the Cavs, to represent the East in the finals, but don’t sleep on the scorching hot 76ers. They may be my pick to win the East once Embiid returns from his injury. Stay tuned. For more on the ramifications of the Kyrie injury, check out ~TB’s article here.
The News: Red Sox win home opener against the Rays on Thursday
My Take: Though many people are not big fans of David Price’s personality, Red Sox fans certainly should give him credit for being a pretty damn good pitcher. Though he got into a little trouble in the 3rd and 5th innings, Price ended up with a shutout through seven. It was only in the 8th, after he had been pulled, that the Rays finally scored. I had the pleasure of attending this 12-inning contest, and despite the freezing cold, I did enjoy it. A couple weeks ago I heard hosts on a talk show that shall remain nameless saying that Fenway Park’s magic had run out, and I couldn’t disagree more. While I love going to other Boston sports games, there isn’t really a lot that is special or unique (at least not yet) with Gillette Stadium or TD Garden. The feeling of going to Fenway Park for its 107th opener is not something that you’ll get heading to a venue named after shaving appliances.
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