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.

Why DEZ? WHY?

I love Dez Bryant. I really, really do. He is one of the top receivers in the NFL and is a huge weapon for the Dallas Cowboys. Yet, I can’t help but feel he is making one of the most idiotic decisions a player could make regarding his contract decisions

.

So far, the Cowboys have put the franchise tag on Bryant for the 2015 NFL season, which should guarantee him $12.823 million for this year.  Bryant and the Cowboys have until July 15^th to work out a long-term deal or he will be forced to play under the tag this season. That means no long-term deal can be worked out until after the season is over.

So that begs the question of Bryant’s latest negotiation tactic. On Friday, Bryant confirmed a Chris Mortensen report that he plans to miss the season-opener if he does not get a deal done by July 15^th. According to Mike Fisher, Bryant might even extend his hold-out past the opener. My question to Dez is why?

If the Cowboys call Bryant’s bluff and go past the deadline, Bryant will be sitting out for nothing. If he misses the opener or anymore games after that, what will bring him back onto the field? The Cowboys can’t sign him to a long-term deal, so all he will be doing is losing money. In his first three-years in the league, he has made up to $11, 810,500 on a five-year deal. So it makes too much sense for him to just sign the franchise tag and push negotiations to next year.

Plus, Dez loves to play football and does not want to be away from his team. He wants to be with them during every aspect of the off-season, as we saw when he came to practice during OTAs. You can’t keep this kid off the football field, and the Cowboys are going to take full advantage of it.

My prediction? A standoff until July 15^th and the Cowboys sign him to a long-term deal. Both sides want this done and this deadline will force them to make the deal. But, no need to worry about Dez missing any games this season; it is just not in his DNA.

Adrian Peterson to the Cowboys? Hell Yes, for the right Price

Imagine for a minute the Dallas Cowboys with Adrian Peterson. You have arguably the best running back in recent memory behind one of the best offensive lines in the league. Can you say Lombardi Trophy? Ok, I am getting ahead of myself there but this improbable dream just got closer to becoming plausible. On Friday, Peterson will be re-instated by the NFL and it seems that there will be no additional suspension. While it does mean he can rejoin the Minnesota Vikings in all off-season activities, this really opens the door to possible trade situations. So how do the Cowboys fit in and why should they go for it?

First off, we know the Vikings will not release Peterson. They would not only eat a lot of dead money on the salary cap, but they would also not get anything in return. So if they truly want to part with him, a trade is the best option. But, Peterson has a massive contract, including being owed $12 million for next year alone.  I will tell you now, no team in their right mind will trade for a running back with that kind of price. So if Dallas wants to get into the mix, they need to convince Peterson to take a pay cut and drop his salary to at least $8 million. Now, the Vikings are going to want draft picks as well and some are speculating it could be maybe a 1^st or a 2^nd and then adding in a 4^th or 5^th pick. Should Dallas do it?

Absolutely.

The Cowboys are built to win right now thanks to their superior drafting in the past two seasons and their new thrifty approach to paying players. Yet, the problem lies in the fact that the quarterback is over 35 and dealing with back injuries. Tony Romo doesn’t have but maybe three more years left before he retires. You can build the best team around for the next few years, but you need a good quarterback to put you at the next level. Plus, you do want to strike gold in the Tony Romo era. Peterson helps you do that.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not going to break the bank for Peterson or leverage the future. If you have to give him big money and a lot of high-quality draft picks, then move on. The team can draft a quality back in the draft, and the defense is starting to shape up already with Sean Lee and Rolando McClain returning. Defensive end Greg Hardy brings you a low-risk, high-reward option on the defensive line and you can always draft a great cornerback.

Yet, if the price is right and you can make it work, go for Peterson. Because that would not only make you the odds-on-favorite to win the Super Bowl this season, but probably for the next three years as well.

Dallas Mavericks Playoff Preview:

Man do I love playoff time in the NBA, especially when my Dallas Mavericks are in it. It seems that lady luck is on our side because everything went right Wednesday night to set up the dream match-up for the Mavs in the first-round. Here come the Rockets! Some might be discouraged because of the Rockets being a number 2 seed and the injury and chemistry concerns with the Mavs. Yet, this match-up is really favorable for the Mavs.

How can the Mavs win? They need Center Tyson Chandler to make an impact in this series and go toe-for-toe with Dwight Howard. To have a chance in this series, you need to be able to neutralize Howard’s ability to protect the rim and dominate the paint. Of course there is also a matter of trying to stop James Harden from going crazy on the offensive end. Put Rajon Rondo on him and let him frustrate Harden. In the regular season series with the Rockets, Harden went down five percentage points anytime Rondo covered him.

Then on the offensive end, you’ve got to find ways to score. They need to Run DMC! Dirk, Monta, Chander Parsons! If those three can get going, this series will be long and very entertaining.

So I am going with Mavericks in 6 because I have to have hope right?

Texas Rangers:

Speaking of hope, there is none for this team. They suck!

Irvin says Cowboys are going to "explode"? Really?

So Demarco Murray is gone and the Dallas Cowboys are going to explode? That is what former Cowboys great Michael Irvin said when asked about the decision for Murray to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles this past week. In fact, Irvin was rather upset, not with Murray, but with the Cowboys for not paying him what was necessary to keep him around. Sounds kind of foolish don’t you think?

Murray picked the Eagles over the Cowboys mainly because the team wouldn’t offer him the big guaranteed money. According to the reports, the Cowboys offered around $12 million in guaranteed money, while the Eagles came in with $21 million. The decision wasn’t about loyalty or being hurt, it was all about the money. If Dallas even came close in that regards, he would be a Dallas Cowboy still. So why is Irvin blaming the Cowboys for sticking to their financial model?

“The new Dallas Cowboys, everyone says they’re not wasting money,” Irvin said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “Well when you have a winning formula and you keep a winning formula, that’s not wasting money.”

Irvin also said in an interview with 105.3 the Fan that he felt the Cowboys had a family and that is what it takes to win in this league. He recalled stories about his relationship with former Cowboy great Emmitt Smith and how they backed each other up on the football field. He tries to say that is what you had with Dez Bryant and Murray. Sorry, Playmaker, but there is one inherent flaw to your argument.

Back in the 1993 season, Smith held out for the first two games trying to force the Cowboys to give him a new deal. The team lost both games and Owner Jerry Jones was forced to make a deal happen for him. The Cowboys went on and repeated as Super Bowl champions later that season. Smith, who was a part of the so-called family that Irvin talked about, put business over his team that year. He may have loved Irvin and Aikman, but he wanted his money.

Today, Murray’s former teammates also made some “business decisions” as well. I didn’t see Tony Romo restructuring his mega-contract to help fit Murray in.  Dez Bryant didn’t like what the Cowboys offered him so he has a franchise tag on him that costs the Cowboys with a huge cap-hit. I am not blaming these players, but pointing out that the NFL is a business first and winning and teamwork comes second in this league.

Irvin still is worried about these Cowboys and said that the team could “explode” without Murray. 

With all due respect, I am sure the Cowboys will be fine without Murray. With how good the offensive-line is, the Cowboys won’t miss a beat with the running game. I think Irvin forgets that it was our defense that let the team down the last time we played.

Let’s hope Irvin settles down sometime soon or we might have another Cowboy “hater’ on NFL Network next season.

The Curious Case of Greg Hardy?

As free agency is nears, the Dallas Cowboys have one major need that has to be addressed before the NFL draft. The pass-rush is considered to be the biggest weakness on this team and we saw how it bit the team in the ass in the playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. Since the draft isn’t a reliable or immediate fix to that problem, free agency is where they need to strike. There is one name out there that could be very appealing, but his legal issues might make it a major obstacle. Here is the curious case of Greg Hardy.

Hardy is one of the best defensive ends in the league. In 2012 and 2013, Hardy has put up 26 sacks. Just last year, the Cowboys only had five sacks. The problem is that Hardy is still in hot water with the league. Though he was cleared of charges of domestic abuse, the league still has him on the commissioner’s exempt list.  He could get a suspension of up to six games and signing him could be a controversial move. So do the Cowboys sign him? Should they?

Let’s pretend that the Cowboys can convince Hardy to come here and for a good price. If it comes to that point, we need to sign him and ignore the calls for morality. This is the NFL and it is naïve to believe all players are morally sound. There is another world that the fans don’t see and we aren’t meant to see. The point of the game is to win and that is all that matters. Even if Hardy is suspended six games, he would still be a huge benefit to the Cowboys.

This team has only two years left with quarterback Tony Romo playing at a high level and we are at win-now mode. It is no time for being cautious or being thrifty, it is time to win. Hardy helps this defense get to another level. If he isn’t coming because he wants a lot of money, I understand. But, if there is a chance to bring him here, you sign him and try to compete for a Super Bowl.