Cole Hamels to the Rangers: *Shrugs*?

Should Texas Rangers fans be rejoicing in the streets after last night’s blockbuster deal? Eh. I am not as sold as many people are about the recent trade that has Rangers fans jumping for joy.

Basics:

Ok, so here is how the trade works. The Texas Rangers will receive ace left-hander Cole Hamels as well as left-handed reliever Jake Diekman. Both players are under Ranger control until 2018. Cash was also sent to Texas. On the other side of the trade, the Philadelphia Phillies received veteran pitcher Matt Harrison and prospects Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro, Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff.

At a glance, it seems that both teams got a fair shake out of the deal. The Rangers get an ace that you can control for another three years and you add a reliever to a shaky bullpen. The Phillies get to work with Matt Harrison now and look forward to five top-prospects. Was it worth it though?

This year is a waste of a season. The team isn’t good and they have squandered any ground in the race for the playoffs. So this move was made for the future? On paper it looks good, especially for the starting rotation. Imagine, Hamels, Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Chi Chi Gonzalez and Martin Perez as your starting rotation. Yet, the team is still a few moves away from being a contender.

Look at your lineup, it is full of left-handed batters and you might only have one or two righties on the team. You are going to need to go and spend in free-agency for a power right-handed bat. Also, some of the members of your team are under-performing in a big way. Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, and Shin-Soo Choo are just some of the underwhelming players on the roster. Oh by the way, your bullpen is terrible. Sure, they got a nice kid in the trade to help out, but you are going to need to do an overhaul there. With the way this ownership lately has been with pinching pennies, there is no guarantee that all of this can get fixed so soon.

While I am happy the Rangers got an ace, there is so much still left for this team to do before I start planning any trips to the World Series. Let us tap the brakes people.  

Dez Caught IT.. A contract that is!

As a Cowboys fan, the last week has been a lot of refreshing my Twitter feed for any news on the Dez Bryant contract negotiation. I was rewarded today when news broke about the Dallas Cowboys and Bryant agreeing to a five-year $70 million contract. The Cowboys are contenders again.

I still remember back in my college days at Texas Tech, when I first heard of Dez. Back then I was rooting for Tech’s very own Michael Crabtree, who set college on fire with his numbers. Yet, my cousin Mo Mohmand leans over and tells me that I couldn’t be any more wrong when it comes to who is the best wide-out in college. His choice was Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant.  I ignored him and his claim. I’ve been owing Mo a lot of beers since Bryant has entered the NFL.

Now entering arguably his prime of his career, Dez will now have the financial security he has always craved.

I am glad it is over because I really do hate this part of sports. It makes fans crazy, angry and very depressed. We want to talk about the schemes, the practices, training camp, and real games. Not about money, negotiations, and holdouts.

Dez is back and with his return, the Cowboys can get back to making this offense a threat once again. Running the football is just much easier when you have Dez on the field.  Do I also hear rumblings of a Super Bowl Favorites?

Too early to tell, but we do know that football is gearing back up and the Cowboys just got back one of their most important pieces. Congrats Dez, you’ve earned it. 

Deandre Jordan's decision crumbles Mavs' Dynasty

I basically make a living writing down words and there are no words to describe the anguish I am going through. Last night, the Dallas Mavericks franchise officially crumbled into the abyss. It all started with a call on Monday night.

As many of you know by now, free agent center Deandre Jordan, who had verbally committed to a new four-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, started to have second thoughts on his decision. That is when he phoned Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and the game was back on. On Wednesday, the last day before players can officially sign with a team, the Clippers made a full-court press to convince Jordan to return back home. It worked. The Clippers won and crumbled the Mavs in the process.

Jordan and the Clippers acted like children by pretty much blocking any attempt by the Mavericks to try to reason with the baby-like center. There was an emoji war, blocked calls and Clippers forward Blake Griffin even posted a picture of a chair blocking one of Jordan's doors. It was just sad and pathetic to watch.

Close to mid-night Texas time, Mavs owner Mark Cuban started to call it quits. The grand-plan to rebuild on the fly was over and so was the Dirk Era.

Now what? They can’t bring back Tyson Chandler. No Jeremy Lin. Maybe Mo Williams or Roy Hibbert? It is just awful to think about the upcoming season.

As much as I fought against this plan, it seems like the franchise has to go into tank mode. There is no way out of it now. Dirk is old, and Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews aren’t players you can build around. The draft is the only option now.

While we dread the future of the Mavs, I do want to thank the team for a great run. It was 15 years of exciting basketball, playoff runs, sell-out crowds; two finals appearances, a title, and watching one of the best players in NBA history do his thing on the court.

Maybe now the eccentric owner who changed the NBA, might change his own ways and start actually caring about the draft. After the Jordan kick to the crotch the team got hit with last night, it is the only option.