The Astros are World Series champions once again! [Editor’s note: Don’t remind me.] After doing a lot of damage control since the legitimacy of their 2017 title was put in question following the 2019 season, the Astros built almost an entirely new squad over the last three years. The 2022 Astros’ roster featured only 11 players that were on the 2019 team. Despite the rotating door of outfielders, Justin Verlander’s injury issues, and the departure of key players like Carlos Correa and George Springer, the Astros managed to reach the ALCS in all three of James Click’s seasons as GM, capped off with a remarkable postseason that saw Houston lose just two games. That’s some excellent GM work! Click took a team nobody else wanted and managed to build winner after winner after winner while rebuilding the franchise’s reputation. He earned this championship!

So, what will Click do for Houston in his first title defense? Absolutely nothing.

Click stepped away from the Astros after rejecting their new contract offer, which included a pay raise. Upon first glance, this may seem like Click is slighting the ‘Stros. He’s stepping away from a pay raise with an organization he’s comfortable in and just won a championship with? That seems disrespectful, right? My, my what some context does.

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You see, despite being regarded as one of the best minds in baseball currently, Click wasn’t making a monumental salary as the Astros’ GM. In 2021, Click earned just $1 million. While that’s obviously not a small amount for a GM, it’s still 50 percent less than the salary was in 2020 for former Kansas City Royals’ GM, Dayton Moore ($1.5 million) — and he only reached the postseason twice in 14 years to that point. Click’s raise clearly wasn’t as much as he felt he deserved. Per reports, Click felt so insulted by the offer that he aired his frustrations at a league-wide GM meeting. He was particularly upset with the contract length, and once word got back to owner Jim Crane of Click’s displeasure, the split was practically inevitable.

To make matters even worse, yesterday, the Astros signed 32-year-old reliever Rafael Montero to a three-year, $34.5 million deal, despite 2022 being his first season showing prowess in a relief role. His career ERA prior to 2022 was 5.18. It seems the Astros are willing to make long-term commitments to people who played a pivotal role in the 2022 championship, just not the guy who put them all together.

I don’t know if there’s ever been an instance where such a high-ranking team official was “let go” — I know Click wasn’t “fired” per se, but he and Crane had major grievances with one another, and the awful extension offer makes it seem as though they wanted him out, but didn’t want to fire him — immediately following a championship. Sure, the GM position should be easy to fill given the Astros’ string of success in recent seasons, but given how easily Crane was willing to drop Click, perhaps a few potential applicants will back off from the position. This isn’t a good look for Crane, but the Astros are in a position to compete for another World Series title for years to come, so I doubt he cares very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This World Cup is setting up as either a treatise or a coronation for Lionel Messi. He recently collected his first major trophy with Argentina — 2021’s Copa America — but still needs the World Cup to stand on the same pedestal as Diego Maradona in most’s eyes. He’s coming to Qatar with unquestionably the best team around him that he’s ever had. He may be getting old, but can still turn a match with a simple twist or feint, just maybe not quite as often. It feels like this is Messi at the gates, waiting for St. Peter to grant him access to the most exclusive VIP room. It is one last checkmark to truly walk with the gods.

So why is it any different for Neymar, who still is in his prime?

The situation at home is no different. Nothing but the trophy will do for Brazil every tournament, which is the same in Argentina. He is unquestionably the face of the biggest international team in the world. He has been for quite some time. The team around him hasn’t always been up to the standard that he constantly lives on. But when things have gone pear-shaped, Neymar has been no less in the firing line than Messi.

There are some differences. One, Brazil has seen what the team looks like without him, both good and bad. In 2014, Neymar was knocked out of the World Cup in the quarters. They lost 7-1 in the next game. In 2019’s Copa America, Neymar missed the tournament through injury. Brazil won it at home at a canter. Neymar returned for the 2021 edition. They lost…to Argentina…at home…in the final. There is no bigger horror to the Brazil national team.

Maybe the difference is that Neymar is always linked to Messi, but not the other way around. Much like Bono has a Jesus complex, but Jesus… Anyway, Messi is the true legend, perhaps the greatest ever, who quite simply has changed the game. Neymar is the clearly, supremely talented star, but hasn’t won anything of note without Messi, so goes the line. Kind of an insult to France and their league, but thanks to some epic (and really enjoyable) collapses in the Champions League, it’s easy to turn that into a stick to beat Neymar with. Sometimes Neymar was on the field for those, sometimes he wasn’t, and neither absolves him of the blame that came his way. In either case, he can’t be relied on.

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The real key to all this is that the world doesn’t love Neymar the way they do Messi. It’s some combination of the diving (not that Messi is above a flop on the reg. Ask Chelsea fans), his perceived more lackadaisical attitude to the sport or to work without the ball (as if Messi was some sort of pressing dynamo), the marketing campaigns, the results on the field, and now Kylian Mbappe’s reported distaste of having to play with him. None of these things have ever been attached to Messi, though he’s no less involved in marketing campaigns and Barcelona now have their own collection of comedic Champions League crashes themselves. Pssst…Barcelona never won a Champions League since Neymar left for PSG either.

(Also let’s get it all out there, Messi does not have a sexual assault accusation against him. Neymar does, though his team has denied the allegations.)

At the heart of it, Neymar’s brashness, loudness, and panache have always been used against him. Where Messi has always been the quiet, humble supernova on the field, if such a thing can be. We only know Messi on the pitch, and he’s worked hard to keep it that way. We know a lot about Neymar off the field.

Another difference between the two is how they’re embraced by their home country. Messi has, until recently, had something of a distance from Argentina, partly due to a lot of his childhood being spent in Spain, and not being the fiery character that Argentina legends of yore have been, added to the lack of success with the national team. Meanwhile, Messi has been embraced and loved the world over outside of Argentina.

Neymar is quintessentially Brazilian. He’s a party on the field and off, a walking flash of daring and dash. And yet the soccer world for the most part takes more delight in his failings than his triumphs (and I’ve been just as much a part of that). Perhaps what really galls the soccer world is that Neymar has always seemed like he didn’t give a flying fuck about all that either.

Perhaps this tournament shaping up as pyramid-shaped, leading to the sharp end where Argentina and Brazil will crash into each other in the semifinals, is the perfect climax of all of this. Both players, both teams, will carry the after-effects of that match forever. In that sense, Neymar has no less on the line. The perception, reality or not, that it matters to him less than it does Messi, is what galvanizes the discussion. But should he be the one lifting the trophy, it will be no less the signature image of his career.

So can Brazil do that? It would be near impossible to show up with a more loaded squad. Gabriel Jesus, currently the inspiration for the Premier League leaders, can’t get in the 11. Roberto Firmino, currently the leading scorer for Liverpool, can’t even get in the squad. Bruno Guimarães, the linchpin of Newcastle’s turn into a real power, won’t start either. Vinicius Jr., perhaps the main weapon for Real Madrid, isn’t a guaranteed starter either. Gleison Bremer, who won the latest Defender Of The Season in Serie A, won’t start as well. There is no deeper team, especially now with France’s injury problems.

And manager Tite might have found the perfect blend of joga bonito and the European game where all his charges play. Unlike PSG, Brazil makes up for Neymar’s disinterest without the ball by employing Richarlison, Raphinha, and Lucas Paquetá as a pressing front three without the ball. Fred is deployed behind Neymar, and though he is far from a perfect player, Fred’s industry is rarely in question. Casemiro is the more controlled, smooth destructive force to dovetail with Fred or Fabinho. Brazil can revert to their traditional 4-2-2-2, with Neymar combining with Richarlison, but it can also be a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4 or 4-3-3 or even a 3-2-2-3 with the ball. It’s pliable.

What could possibly be their thermal exhaust port? The defense skews a touch old, but it doesn’t always have to. Thiago Silva hasn’t been great for Chelsea this season, and he’s 38. But he’s partnered with Marquinhos, who has some of the same PSG stink that Neymar does but is also one of the best defenders in the world. And again, should they need it, Bremer is first off the bench, and Madrid standout Éder Militãois behind that. And should it all break down, Alisson is in goal and he’s spent his season putting out all the fires at Liverpool and might be the best keeper one-on-one in the world.

Perhaps that everything flows through Neymar will be seen as the problem, because people want it to be. And he is the fulcrum of the entire attack. He drops deep to get the ball off the holding midfielders and lasers passes of all distances and shapes to the three attackers ahead of him. But there have been times when both PSG and Brazil have found a struggle when that route from Neymar is cut off. When he’s either crowded out or just isn’t there. 2019’s team got to play a whole tournament and get accustomed to life without him. But Argentina in the 2021 Copa final found it pretty simple to nullify Brazil with Neymar (0.7 xG for Brazil despite trailing for an hour). It was basically the same team as the one that will be in Qatar. Neymar had double the touches in the attacking third of any of his teammates, but created next to nothing.

Can Brazil use him as a decoy when he’s blanketed? Will Neymar accept not being the focal point for a quarterfinal or semifinal? Can the team pivot that quickly if it needs to?

These questions are no lighter than the ones for Messi. It’s just that most everyone wants the negative answers for Neymar.

It is not the easiest group for Brazil. Cameroon will either use the tournament to shake off the cobwebs from last winter’s AFCON or to continue the hangover. The Indomitable Lions were cruising before and during that tournament that they hosted. They blitzed their World Cup qualifying group, winning five of six with the only loss being away to Ivory Coast. Their run in the AFCON was pretty simple, waltzing past Comoros and Gambia in the knockout rounds. But in the semifinals they got Quieroz’d by Egypt, losing on penalties after a 0-0 draw that was cruel and unusual to watch.

And since then, things have been wonky. They squeaked by Algeria in the WCQ playoffs with a goal in the 124th minute of the second leg from Karl Toko Ekambi. They’ve lost to Uzbekistan and South Korea in their most recent friendlies. This draw hasn’t been kind to them either, as their preference to want to play with the ball but to leave the wide areas deserted could be exploited by every other team in this group.

Serbia will bring something rarely seen these days in the modern game, and that’s an honest-to-goodness striker partnership. Assuming Aleksandar Mitrović is healthy for the tournament, that is. But if he is, both he and Dusan Vlahović are genuine center forwards, and instead of having a country-wide debate about who should start, manager Dragan Stojković has just employed a 3-5-2 system around them. They combined for 12 goals in qualifying and another five in their latest round of Nations League fixtures as they clobbered both Sweden and Norway. Dusan Tadić is usually deployed behind the two as the timeless playmaker he’s been for Ajax, or he’s moved out wide to accommodate Filip Kostić in that role, If anyone is going to test Marquinhos and Thiago Silva early, it’s these two forwards.

Switzerland will present the opposite side of the coin from Serbia’s bruising wrecking ball of a strikeforce, as they prefer Breel Embolo’s pace to get in behind, with a strong throughline in the middle of the field from Fabian Schär to Granit Xhaka to Xherdan Shaqiri. They can insert new hotness Noah Okafor anywhere on the frontline to give it more juice as well. That kind of pace and players like Shaqiri and Xhaka who can spring counters quickly make Switzerland dangerous — ask France — to a team like Brazil or Cameroon that wants more of the ball and wants to get up the field. Brazil will feel tested early.

Most likely manager to get sent off

Seeing as how Cameroon’s Rigobert Song is one of two players to be sent off in multiple World Cups — the other is Zinedine Zidane, funnily enough — he’s the obvious pick.

Best jerseys

There are some horrifying options in this group, with both Switzerland’s and Serbia’s away shirts looking like giant name tags, and Cameroon’s with some unfortunate striping decisions that make their shirts look like a chest x-ray. So just going with the traditional Brazilian look, because it’s never bad.  

Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 24 – Switzerland v. Cameroon (5 a.m. EST), Brazil v. Serbia (2 p.m. EST)

Monday, Nov. 28 – Cameroon v. Serbia (5 a.m. EST), Brazil v. Switzerland (11 a.m. EST)

Friday, Dec. 2 – Cameroon v. Brazil, Switzerland v. Serbia (2 p.m. EST)

The Sacramento Kings have been one of the biggest jokes of the NBA for well over a decade. On Tuesday night, Sacramento passed the torch of league laughing stock over to the Brooklyn Nets by stomping them out 153-121. This Nets squad is an embarrassment even with a superstar in Kevin Durant “leading” the way.

Entering the game in Sacramento on Tuesday, Brooklyn had won four of six games since Kyrie Irving’s indefinite suspension was handed down. But they’re on another two-game skid after dropping back-to-back games against the Kings and Lakers. The Nets lost these games by a combined 45 points. L.A. beat ‘em on Sunday, which was bad enough.

Brooklyn isn’t the worst team in the Association in terms of record but based on the level of star power this franchise possesses, the Nets should all be ashamed of how dreadful they’ve looked on the court. Sacramento has played better lately, winning seven of its last nine games after smothering Brooklyn’s not-so-finest. But the Kings are just a game over .500 at 7-6. It’s not like they’ve been some juggernaut running through every team the NBA places in front of them.

Nets owner Joe Tsai is supposed to be a good businessman but refuses to see the writing on the wall. It’s been there all along, and he continues applying fresh coats of paint like that’ll make it go away. That writing is under those extra layers of paint and says the dream is over.

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Everything about this team is terrible, and we need to stop this talk about Kevin Durant being the best anything. He’ll go down as an all-time great, no doubt, but he’s not the best player in the league, and he’s not better than LeBron James or Stephen Curry, the two players he seems to most frequently be compared to.

Through the ups and downs in Golden State, Curry has stuck around and been rewarded with individual accolades and leading that franchise to multiple championships. Steph was undoubtedly the leader during Durant’s three-year stint with the Warriors. He allowed KD to share in his spotlight. Clearly, Curry has always been the leader of that team.

James bounced around on teams, but in his wake, he left them a championship or two. In the case of Cleveland, he went back to make sure they got that city the title he’d promised years earlier. That’s called leadership, a quality Durant has never had in his toolkit. Or his bag, as folks like to say. Scoring a ton of points is great, but all the legends have been able to score at will, and even some less-than-legendary players were known to fill up the cup.

Intangibles matter, and Brooklyn lacks those qualities because its best players are devoid of them. Irving is another player who gives you points, fancy dribbling, and not much else. Kyrie thinks he’s a leader, but he isn’t. Players aren’t clamoring to follow Irving anywhere.

Then there’s the Ben Simmons issue, and reportedly the organization is already unhappy with Simmons’ “availability and level of play,” according to reports from Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

These Nets are the worst team in the NBA based on yearly expectations and the level of “talent” on the team. Durant is not a top 10 player of all time, so that conversation also needs to cease until he can prove he’s worthy of that praise. KD will continue to score a bunch of points, Irving will come back eventually and dazzle us with his ball-handling ability, and Simmons will continue to frustrate the organization with injuries and a lack of passion.

One thing this group won’t do is win many meaningful games in May or June. That’s FDIC insured, so you can take it to the bank. 

While every World Cup is unique in its own way, and this one especially, there are certain happenings you can count on. They come about every tournament. The pressure, the coverage, the overall oeuvre of the whole thing just drives people into the same patterns. Over the next month, you can look for just about any and all of these to happen at some point.

The press conference meltdown

The only distinction here is whether it’s a player or a manager. Sometimes it’s a striker who has misfired in the first two games. Sometimes it’s the captain who’s tired of eating all the shit between his manager and his teammates. Sometimes it’s a manager who knows he’s about to hit the unemployment line in the next few days. Either way, there will be a press conference where the first question sets someone off, and no matter the language, you can be sure it’ll be translated to something to the effect of, “You are not men! I am a man but you are not men!” as bewildered journalists look on. Generally, this is spurred on by a simple question like a change of formation or if he’s worried about the next opponent.

Alexi Lalas reaching for some bullhorn narrative

Lalas yearns to be the Stephan A. Smith of soccer, except he doesn’t have the personality, or the knowledge, that Smith has (I realize that seems like a low bar to clear, but here we are). And this is really funny because Lalas was an executive in MLS for a long while and was GM of the Galaxy when they signed David Beckham. Anyway, Lalas will do his damndest to make sure that every time he speaks he has a good chance to end up trending, trying to emit enough smoke that something catches. Last time around he couldn’t wait to jump on Spain firing their manager right before the tournament as the reason they were struggling… 45 minutes into their first match.

There’s gotta be something easy for him to reach for this time around. Seeing as how Argentina joins us on the tournament’s third day, let’s say at halftime of their first match he will claim that Lionel Messi is letting his country down. It’s right there.

Someone on ESPN who doesn’t know anything about soccer screaming as if they do know something about soccer

This almost certainly will happen when the U.S. exits the tournament, noting how it’s a disappointment, even if it’s the semifinals.

Someone sent home for PEDs

With FIFA going to pull every “Hey look over there!” lever possible to try and distract from the idiocy of having this tournament in Qatar for a variety of reasons, they will do anything to look like they’re in charge and have the sport’s best interest at heart without actually offending their hosts.

A burn notice

During any Germany or England match, a shot of a group of fans that have attained a level of sunburn that is somewhere between “grape” and “strawberry fields.”

A broadcaster making reference to the stereotyped temperamental nature of South American players

Likely when there’s some kind of kerfuffle in the 70th minute of a match involving Uruguay or Ecuador.

A Seoul sonic force

South Korean fans don’t stop cheering during halftime (this only applies if you’re attending a match).

An existential crisis for Mexico whenever they exit

Even if they get bounced at the same point they always do (Round of 16).

Some big team utterly burying a machete in their manager’s back (figuratively) before their tournament is over

France in 2010 was the prime example when things went balls-up. Some big team that had huge expectations is pulling a full body dry heave in the group stage, and suddenly the biggest sports paper or section in their country is running anonymous quotes and stories about what a mess the whole camp has been and how every player thinks their plans and tactics were drawn up by sugar-packed kindergartners. If you had to guess, Germany and Belgium are probably the surest bet this time around. Most of Germany’s squad already has a distaste for Hansi Flick, and this is Belgium’s last real swing at a trophy. Roberto Martinez could meet the undercarriage of a bus so easily.

Cristiano Ronaldo having some pre-planned celebration

And it’ll be after he scores a penalty that’s the fourth goal in a 4-0 win over Ghana that will tie into his interview with Piers Morgan.

A late-night host making jokes about Neymar diving

Trevor Noah for sure.

Get ready folks, it’s almost here.

Projected 2023 Payroll: $237 million

Notable Free Agents: Jacob deGrom, Brandon Nimmo, Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo

Could they use Aaron Judge? Not only for the bat, but as we know the Mets love to play the backpage headline game with the Yankees (and always lose it) and this would probably be the biggest move in that category since 1986.

What else could they use besides Judge? This is the winter we’ll find out what Steve Cohen is really made of. Because even though three-fifths of the rotation is now free, and a major part of the bridge to Edwin Diaz, along with one of their better bats are as well, they’re still committed to spending nearly $240 mildo before they even fill those gaps.

If the Mets don’t want to spend the $45 million on deGrom it probably takes to keep him, that’s understandable, but someone’s gotta take that spot for a team that wants to run with the five-strong rotation of the Braves. If they can’t coax Verlander to New York (again), they’re pretty much out of that class of starter. They need at least two from the Bassitt-Anderson level as it is, whether they can bring in an ace or not. And that’s before they start thinking about whether Scherzer’s injury problems the past two seasons are now the norm.

The Mets scored the sixth most runs in baseball while being a middling home run team, and many wonder if that’s a trick they could pull again. They got on base a ton and struck out less than everyone save the Guardians, and that sort of approach can only be augmented by the defensive limitations being imposed by MLB. But how much is anyone’s guess. Without Nimmo, it’s Starling Marte slated to move to center, and that’s not anything anyone should want for him or the Mets…except everyone who’s not a Mets fan. Sadly for the Amazins, there is not much below Nimmo in free agency that can keep Marte in right and Jeff McNeil in the infield, and certainly for nowhere near the offense that Nimmo brings.

Third base would be another spot that the Mets, in an ideal world, would try to boost. Maybe they just hold out for Brett Baty to take it given how much money they need to spend to fill the holes that are more glaring. Nimmo almost seems like a must re-sign…unless it’s Judge they can pry a few miles east.

They’re also going to need to find at least two arms for the pen, where right now Drew Smith is the only proven reliever to get the ball to Diaz (and considering Diaz’s luck with leaving runners on base last year, he’s probably not going to repeat his act of God again though will still be among the league’s best).

So, to total up, at least two starters, an outfield solution, maybe third, and a couple of pen arms. Which will probably push the payroll near $300 million. You talked big, Mr. Cohen, so let’s see it.

Yes, the officiating was questionable. Both teams have cause to complain, and also, the Philadelphia Eagles caught the shorter end of the stick. That being said, they still had every opportunity to extend their record to 9-0 against a below .500 division rival that they demolished on the road seven weeks ago.

However, a healthier Washington Commanders squad took it to the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 10. The Commanders could have crumbled on the road after a sack-fumble in their first offensive possession. The fumble was recovered by Philly deep in Commanders’ territory and the Eagles quickly scored a touchdown.

By the end of the first quarter, the Eagles held a 14-7 lead, but were heavily trailing in time of possession. Some of that can be attributed to where they began their first possession, but on Washington’s second drive, the tone for how the game would be played was set. The Commanders had decided to run the ball down the Eagles’ throats. With Jordan Davis inactive, the player who led the charge was Brian Robinson Jr.

Robinson, Washington’s 2022 third-round pick was placed on injured reserve after getting shot in his right knee in August during an attempted robbery. Most importantly, the bullet did not hit any critical arteries in his leg. Also, it didn’t cause any significant damage to the knee so the rookie running back was able to return to the lineup in early October.

In recent weeks, Robinson has been the focal point of the Commanders’ rushing attack, but it hasn’t resulted in much success. Washington has scored little, has an unimpressive average per rush attempt, and has mostly relied on its defense to get back in the playoff mix following a 1-4 start to the season.

On Monday night, however, it was Robinson who got the Commanders’ offense rolling early. While Taylor Heinicke can produce at quarterback, he is not the type of quarterback who can run a strong offense without a running game. Even though the Commanders have won three of their last four games, it has largely been in spite of their offense.

Robinson carried the football 16 times in the first half and the Commanders’ total was around 30. Their yards per carry average wasn’t great, but it was enough to make the Eagles respect it, and help Heinicke to be successful on many third-down conversions through the air. The Commanders would end the night 12-of-21 on third down in their 32-21 victory.

Heinicke is a talented quarterback. Through three years in Washington, that should be clear. However, he is not the type of quarterback who can fasten the offense to his back and lead them to victory. He needs help, and as much as Curtis Samuel and Terry McLaurin offer at wide receiver, Heinicke is most effective with a respectable rushing attack.

Robinson finished the evening with 26 carries for 86 yards. That’s far from a spectacular evening, but the effect of his attempts reverberated. The Commanders have been one of the worst rushing offenses all season, but because they stuck with it, and had a few successful attempts, it opened up the passing game. Heinicke’s two turnovers could have resulted in an easy Eagles victory, but Washington’s rushing attack kept the opposing offense off of the field for much of the game. The Commanders won the time-of-possession battle by more than 20 minutes.

Without Robinson, that is not possible. He put that Eagles’ defense to work early and often, making the night easier for his team. Coming off a week in which Commanders’ ownership went so low as to use him being the victim of a violent act to try and help their cause so they don’t have to sell the franchise, Robinson deserves to stand alone this week.

Washington put itself in a bad spot on Monday night, but it was the rusher’s steady presence that allowed the Commanders to pull off the biggest upset of the 2022 NFL season. He is not going to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but his Week 10 performance deserves to be lauded.