The Basement View

If you take a step back and put the Yankee season in perspective, you realize one thing after a brutal 8-3 loss last night, the human element of the game. The bats have gone cold, the once unhittable bullpen has cracked, and the magic of Yankee Stadium hasn’t shown up yet in this series. The Bombers are 4-25 in the series with runners in scoring position while seeming allergic to getting the big hit or any huge momentum shifter for that matter. That doesn’t eliminate any level of frustration that Yankee fans (including myself feel), a level of frustration that boiled over last night watching the Bombers kick the ball around the infield when their season was being engulfed in flames. However, you must take into account the greatness it takes to bring these #NextManUp Yankees back to earth. Swallowing the hatred toward the Astros, they are an incredible team, with once in a generation talent, on an incredible stretch of dominating the game. This three-year run by Houston has comp...

The Washington Nationals are trailblazers. Washington is defying recent conventional analytical wisdom with the way their roster is constructed in their playoff run. Since the Kansas City Royals changed the way teams looked at bullpen construction in 2015, baseball has trended toward backloading bullpens hard throwing arms that have the ability to strike out batters at a historic rate. Some, like last years Red Sox, achieve this backloaded pen by transitioning starters into high leverage roles. Some like the 2016 Cubs, make in-season trades to get the arm they need to push them over the edge in October. And some, like those Royals make calculated deals in the winter and start setting up their bullpen attack in Spring Training. The Nationals are doing none of those. Instead, they are going back to the “dark ages” of baseball and using an extraordinary starting rotation to neutralize the opposing bats long enough for their offense to take advantage on the other side. When Davey Mar...

Getting these picks in at the buzzer. Still have no reason why the Saints are getting points. Hurry up and send in that bet. The Saints (+2.5) is 2019’s version of who wants to be a millionaire. Go bet and let’s hope all the parley’s, teasers, and money lines hit.

After one incredible week going 11-5, the picks took a step back at 8-7, however still seven games over .500. The locks are three games over .500 (9-6) and we are pushing forward. I LOVE the slate this week from a line perspective because there too many lines that straight up stink and are a point or two off. With that said, here are the picks for this week.

With the “actual” playoffs underway, one thing has rung true, nobody in the National League has a legitimate bullpen. Not even the best team in the National League Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers turned to Kenta Maeda for valuable outs with a two-run lead when he came in with an out in the 7 th inning. Maeda until this year was one of the starters Dave Roberts turned to for a playoff start. Now, he’s entered the Phil Hughes phase of his career where the only value he has on a contender is a balls-to-the-wall, who cares if I blow out my arm, relief pitcher. It’s only a matter of time until the curtain is pulled on the front of the Dodgers bullpen—and it might cost them yet another shot at a World Series title. What I don’t understand is why Roberts didn’t turn to the guy he used in the 9 th , Joe Kelly in the 7th, then going to Baez in the 8 th , and if the score permitted, Kenley Jansen. That to me is the Dodgers magical bullpen formula to getting to a third straight World Series...

As the splinters of Ryan Zimmerman’s bat fell unto the grass at Nationals Park tonight, so did a bloop base hit that started the rally for a National team that finally broke the elimination curse. Everyone feels for Milwaukee rookie outfielder Trent Grisham who let a line drive past his glove—letting Anthony Rendon score the go ahead run causing the stadium to explode into the stratosphere. Grisham wouldn’t be out there if MVP front runner Christian Yelich didn’t break his kneecap, it’s a different ballgame completely, but that’s how fragile this game is. It comes downs to one pitch, one play, and you have to live with the outcome. Milwaukee had their relief ace Josh Hader on the mound (the guy the Brewers wanted on the mound), Washington had Juan Soto (the guy the Nationals wanted) at the plate, that’s everything you ask for. The definition of playoff intensity. That’s playoff baseball. Waking up tomorrow, Washington plays on, and Milwaukee is looking toward 2020 Spring ball. Bo...

26-19-2 through three weeks. That's seven games over .500 and we're coming off an 11-5 week. Inching closer to a perfect week. So, lets lock in the picks  for week four!

Another week in the books and the closer I am to a perfect week. Here are week three's picks .

6-8-1. That’s the record heading into week 2 or “overreaction week.” I will not overreact this year and/or judge anything happening on the field until week five. I will not be swindled into fake teams and complete overreactions. The picks will survive. The locks will hold true (even with a 1-2 start). With my Jets season already in the toilet I will turn my attention to everything else in football and enjoy the season that way. My seasons allegiance is up for grabs, assuming the Jets don’t hit the lotto and shock the world, so for the rest of the NFL, I’m yours. Here are the official picks.  

It is that time of year where the sports cash cow comes back on the airwaves. With that comes tons of chicken wings, waiver wire hunting, and the undying need to talk about the Sunday craziness over your Monday morning cup of coffee. It also means that my picks are back! Over the past three plus years my picks have been well over .500 even with an up and down year last year. So with that said, here are my picks for Week 5 of the preseason.

With the first game of the new NFL season fresh in our minds, overreactions flying a mile a minute, let’s take a look at my favorite over/under win totals for the 2019-2020 season. After going 4-1 with my over/under predictions and 2-0 on my locks of the year with the Panthers and Eagles. With my picks taking a backseat last year, the over/under column that I did last year took the keys and drove everyone’s money to the back. Let’s keep the tradition going for the NFL’s 100 th season. Spoiler alert this season is will be telling for the next decade. Detroit Lions O (-140)/U (+125) 6.5 wins: UNDER +125 “New England Central…” Yeah right. Detroit’s year will continue to be far off in the distance. Matthew Stafford is the only thing the Lions have going for them and he might not be 100% to start the season. On top of dealing with his wife’s brain tumor (which is where everyone’s attention should turn, hopefully she gets well soon). This season for Stafford and the Lions will be ...

The NBA changed tonight. On a night where champagne could’ve soaked the Raptors locker room with the franchise’s first title, even having a chance to win in the final moments, instead the basketball world is left in shock. Kevin Durant has something wrong with his Achilles. The specifics will not be known until tomorrow, but in the meantime, basketball from tonight forward has changed. Even if the word back about Durant’s injury is the best possible news he is still likely to miss the start of the regular season next year, possibly until the All-Star break. Instead of Durant leading his own team toward a title next year, he will be rehabbing a major injury. On top of that, this has shades of the Isaiah Thomas, Durant might cost himself tens of millions of dollars. What makes that worse is the loss of money is nobody’s fault. Regardless of what the Warriors front office might say, Durant was cleared for this game. Up until his leg popped half way through the second quarter—Durant lo...

The Yankees are human. After winning nine straight series falling to Toronto for a second night in a row is frustrating but the bombers were due to fall back to earth. It just so happens that the team that the Yankees fell victim is a terrible division opponent in the Toronto Blue Jays. Don’t let the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hype overshadow how awful this Blue Jay team is. The only thing Toronto has going is that Guerrero Jr. is most likely going to win the AL ROY. Marcus Stroman will be pitching for another team on August 1 st , Cavan Biggio is an okay player but hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential yet, and the total attendance last night in Toronto was Tampa Bay Ray-esc (16,609). That said, the Blue Jays are completely out playing the Yankees in every aspect of the game. This series is the first time the bombers are facing the Blue Jays this season and the Yanks did drop the first two games of the season series to Baltimore, but there is something that does draw some conce...

If you are a Mets fan—put the panic button down. Don’t panic. Even with the Cespedes injury, even with Mickey Callaway on the hot seat, and the vets on the team not playing to the level that they are capable of—there is still time to right the ship. Cespedes’ ludicrous injury on his ranch may be something out of a Sunday morning cartoon, and the ownership, front office, and coaching staff might all be certifiable buffoons, but it doesn’t matter. The team that is being put on the field daily is too talented not to win games. Don’t concern yourself with what is going on in the Bronx, because quite frankly even the people in the Bronx don’t know how the hell the Yankees are pulling off this run with $80 Million plus on the shelf. The Yankees run is almost as ludicrous as determining whether or not Cespedes fractured his ankle with help from a horse or if it just happened by his own accord.     The bottom line is this, with a 6-1 come from behind win tonight against Washin...

The NBA is at a crossroads. Following the end of the Conference Semi’s fans are reminded yet again of the magnitude of this upcoming summer and how it will impact every move each team in the league makes for the next decade. With Boston and Houston feeling the agony of defeat again, you learn just as much about this upcoming summer as the two teams that advanced to the conference finals. For Houston, Chris Paul has one more year under his current extension before he contemplates retirement. James Harden is a year older, even with a possible second MVP, surrounding him with the correct talent has proven a tough task (unless you are Sam Presti and Oklahoma City…), and the championship window for Houston is closing at a speed faster than it takes a spaceship to get to the moon. Harden is an incredible player and the impact his career will have on the league will be tremendous, but unless something drastic changes in Houston over the summer Harden and the Rockets will find themselves i...

Major League Baseball has a problem… there are too many foul balls. For the past two seasons (with 2019 continuing the trend) for the first time ever there has been more foul balls than balls in play. That is clearly a problem and other than fundamentally changing how many foul balls can occur during an at-bat—finding a work around to this problem will be extremely tricky. The new way of playing the game where strike outs are as penalized and a ground ball up the middle becoming a ground out instead of a base hit, foul balls have incrementally changed the game as well. More players are trying to create a launch angle to produce a home run instead of just getting on base. Naturally more fly balls will happen that way. Add the increased velocity hitters are seeing on a daily basis, and the weaker fly ball contact will be produced. The analytical era was an overcorrection to the way the game has been played since the dawn of time so, the game needs to over correct itself again. This...

The past few NFL Drafts both the Jets and Giants have tried to rebuild their franchises and usher in a new era. An era that hopefully will be filled with winning football. On Thursday night the two New York rebuilds continue, and if it wasn’t clear by now, the two teams that share Metlife Stadium are going in opposite directions. Gang Green was up first (per usual) and selected Defensive End Quinnen Williams from Alabama. With new Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams and his 3-4 defense, the Jets the run stuffer and hopeful pass disrupter in the middle to put the polish on an offseason that saw them key pieces to sure up one of the worst defenses in the league in 2018-19 (25 th in total defense). For the New York Football Giants, I have some good news… you have your quarterback of the future! There is only one problem, he might be the best quarterback in the draft. That honor could very well be given to the first overall pick Kyler Murray, but the conscience pick from the “exper...

I’m having the song I’m Coming Home by P Diddy playing in my head. It has been over a year since I announced that I was moving to Medium. And since then, I got published in my school newspaper and a mainstay on WBCR with my show The Walk-On. In that time, I have become a better writer and a better storyteller. However, something was missing. I even tried to bring back the Fresh Start series and failed tremendously. So, as I try to come back to writing full-time, I’m coming back to the first outlet that I had in expressing my opinions. Back to the place that I originally found my voice and look to continue to grow. I want to continue to build my brand and just create. If you missed anything in the year plus, here is the link to everything you may have missed: https://medium.com/@BasementView   https://medium.com/@TheBasementView