David Trageser's Boston Celtics fan blog

I don't have much in the way of sports related musings for you all, my dedicated readership, but this week is (unfortunately) shaping up to be full of putting all of my worldly possessions in bags and boxes as we get ready to relocate in only a few days.  If that's not enough, I'll also be internet-less for a little bit during the transition (NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!), so I may no be able to keep y'all as informed as I'd like to, but somehow I'm guessing that you'll manage.  Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather sit on my ass and wax poetic about baseball, basketball etc. until the cows come home, but sadly I can't.  Don't look so down, though, for I am guessing that I will be up and running again by the time that Olympic basketball starts and the baseball season really starts heating up.   

Continue reading "Ch-Ch-Ch-Changing"

Before you say anything, I know, I know, I know, but this side gig (as enriching as it is) doesn’t exactly pay the bills (or the bar tab, whatever the case may be) at all, so I’ve been putting most of my energy into my alter ego. Dave the outdoor enthusiast and salesman, which hasn’t exactly left me with enough time to really share any of my sports related nuggets of wisdom with y’all.  BY the way, at this time I’d like to just put it out there that I am submitting applications for an unpaid internship position as my research assistant (quick, find me Ryan Howard’s OPS!) and stenographer (translation: follow me to the bar with a tape recorder to find out what I really think about Derek Jeter).  Send in a résumé and a cover letter, and I’ll let you know.

Continue reading "Sinking Feeling?"

Well, basketball is over and Major League Baseball is heading into the All Star break, which means that the real baseball season is about to begin.  I know, I am waaaaaaaaaaayyyyy overdue for this year's first rabid Red Sox post, but honestly I've been a little bit preoccupied with the WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON CELTICS and basketball in general (it has overtaken baseball as my favorite sport, though the Red Sox are and always will be my first love) to really dive into the first three meaningless months of the grueling and arduous MLB season.

That's not to say that I haven't been watching or that I no longer care about baseball or that there haven't been compelling storylines (the Devil Rays are a playoff contender???) to follow, I'm just pulling a San Antonio this year and coasting through the first few months of the season only to turn it on in time for the exciting part of the season.  Maybe there's been a culture change in Boston after two titles in four years, maybe it's just me that's changing, but the sense of dire urgency just isn't there.  Sox fans are still fiercely loyal and passionate, but at least this one isn't dying with every loss the way he used to.

Continue reading "Just Hit"

Let the wheeling and dealing begin!  At about this time last year, Danny Ainge was completing the deal of the century* (*it was at that point, nobody could have guessed that Pau Gasol would be traded to the Lakers for a wooden nickel and a bag of peanuts just six months later) after getting an assist form his old teammate Kevin McHale, bringing Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for one good player (Al Jefferson) and a hodgepodge of other NBA "talent."  There were rumblings and expectations then of the potential greatness to come (as well as a fair amount of doubters), and thankfully, that potential was realized in one of the most spine tingling and electrifying NBA Finals in recent memory. 

During the campaign to win Kevin Garnett the NBA MVP this year, there was much talk of a "culture change" that Garnett brought to the Celtics, making teamwork, sacrifice and defense (three incredibly elusive concepts in today's NBA) the everyday standard.  The Big Ticket certainly was the centerpiece of this year's Celtics team and had an undeniable impact on the team chemistry and identity this year that made him far more valuable than any of the statistics that he routinely stuffs the stat sheet with.

Continue reading "Priority: Posey"

Normally, I am not one to be easily swayed by conspiracy theories, but after delving into Eliot Asinof's Eight Men Out, I am convinced that anything is possible (in a much more troubling and somber manner than KG's interpretation of the phrase after winning the title) in the world of sports and the NBA could easily be fixing games and forcing action.  In case you didn't know,Asinof's book chronicles the fixing of the 1919 World Series, in which several of the Chicago White Sox' best players conspired with notorious gamblers and bettors to intentionally lose the World Series to the less talented Cincinnati Reds.

What is so chilling about this account is not the corruption of the players (in fact, I sympathize with them quite a bit), but the tacit (and frequently explicit) cooperation of the owners and President of the National League to cover up the dirty underside of baseball for the stated purpose of protecting the game and preserving the incredibly lucrative (albeit illicit) industry of sports betting, a central pillar in the foundation of American baseball.

Continue reading "Bull-Plop!"

I just spent a hell of a lot of time speculating about what the Blazers should and will do with their draft pick this year, and so I think that it is only fair to spend a little time talking about what I'd like to see my hometown Boston Celtics do tonight.  Sadly, I don't think that the Celtics can trade Brian Scalabrine, Scott Pollard, the no. 30 pick and a bag of peanuts for Chris Paul, so expectations for drastic team improvement should be somewhat lower than a year ago.  That being said, I think that the Celtics can improve themselves with the right pick and add a nicely fitting cog into their championship machine.

Specifically, I think that the Celtics should and would be thanking their lucky stars if Memphis' (go Tiger High!) Chris Doulas-Roberts is still available by the end of the first round.  Douglas-Roberts would be a great fit with the Celtics, both in terms of his skill set and because of his mentality as a basketball player. 

Continue reading "Amended Draft"

Well, well, the day is finally here.  Tonight, I (along with many other rabid basketball fans) will have my eyes and ears glued to my TV set to find out who will go number 1 overall what crazy-ass (Benny, you were an English major, do I need to hyphenate "crazy-ass"?) deal Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard will swing during this year's NBA Draft.

Pritchard, who must have come out of the womb wheeling and dealing, has made ten draft day trades in the last two years that have netted him some of basketball's finest young prospects (Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge) while simultaneously cutting out some of the worst clubhouse cancers in this league (Zach Randolph).  In just a few short seasons, Pritchard has taken the Blazers from an irrelevant team toiling in obscurity to a semi-intriguing, slightly less obscure team full of young talent and good character.

Continue reading "First Draft"

Hey y'all, I think that I'm still in shock and recovery mode after such a sweet, sweet title run by the Boston Celtics.  It's been so much so that I still can't truly find the right words to explain the way I feel now and how the series went.  I couldn't have asked for any more, and the joy that I feel right now is (almost) equal to the feeling I had during October of 2004 when the RedSox broke the 86 year-old curse and won the World Series for the first time since 1918.

Now I will readily admit that the Red Sox October triumph was an earth shattering event that was (and still is) unbelievable, but hear me out for a moment about this year's NBA Champion Boston Celtics team.  First, you must remember that the Celtics hadn't won the title until last Tuesday in my lifetime*.  *They won in 1986, and returned to the Finals in 1987 only to lose toLos Angeles , but I was a baby and have absolutely no recollection.  Essentially, I waited longer and endured more pain and anguish over the Celtics than I had to over the RedSox, so it's easy to see why the feelings are similar.  

Continue reading "Sweet 17!"

First of all, I’d like to offer my most sincere apologies for the delay in between the axe murdering defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers at the hands of the Boston Celtics, but seeing as it was their NBA record 17th title, and the first since 1986 (can’t say I remember that one), I thought that instead of immediately pumping out a sloppy reaction column to the Celtics’ 39 point mop-the-floor-with-Pau-and-Kobe victory, I’d spend two days getting hammered in celebration and then pump out a sloppy reaction column later (that’s it boy, show off those $100,000 liberal arts study skills!).  So without further ado, let the praise, adulation, and probably more than a few sick burns commence!

Quick poll: Is there anyone out there (Kornheiser? Plaschke? Bueller?) who still thinks that LA is the better team or that Kobe (Quit it!) is the best or dare I say most valuable player in the NBA.  I think not, and in my opinion, no rational person could possibly make that claim, not even Benny (I’m joking of course, albeit at your expense Ben.  Forgive me, but I couldn’t resist.  And as an aside, here is J.D. Drew’s stat line for June: .441 Avg., .547 OBP, 1.631 OPS, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 22 Runs, and you thought that the Red Sox were going to have trouble scoring runs without Big Papi!).  In my mind, Kobe was the third best player on the floor during the Finals, and that’s being generous. 

Continue reading "Defense Dominates"

I'm somewhat at a loss for words today (surprising, no?).  All I can say is that the Lakers got lucky last night in more ways than just the favorable officiating (Kobe just about hacked Paul Pierce's arm off on the decisive steal, but the game was not lost there).  The Lakers are lucky that KG missed two crucial free-throws (which, should the Celtics lose will become the mother of all albatrosses hanging around the Big TIcket's neck), and especially lucky that 3 of 5 Celtic starters are hurt during the biggest games of the entire season.  Knowing that, the Lakers should be ahead, they should be cruising to a championship, but they aren't.  The Celtics botched game five and spoiled a brilliant performance by Paul Pierce that could have, and should have clinched the series. The bad news for LA is that the Celtics know that, and they won't let it happen again.

Continue reading "Redraw"